Hello there. Yes, I updated two days later. Enjoy!
(This is a recap from the last episode)
Standing By!
Yuka jumped by the sound at first, but soon was determined to fight. Yuka then side-closed the phone.
"Yuka!" Michael screamed.
Henshin!
Yuka then put the phone in the belt.
Complete!
(time jump for recap)
Yuka then pulled out the blaygun, and fired it and Akai, causing the belt to fly out him, and land on the ground.
(time jump for recap)
555
Standing By!
Henshin!
Complete!
Michael transformed into Faiz and began to fight Akai with Yuka.
(time jump for recap)
Exceed Charge!
A low red light came from the phone and went to the right leg, until it made way for the flashlight. When the light and the flashlight made contact, the flashlight glowed. Michael then jumped and did an air summersault and the flashlight glowed and a red energy drill appears and was near Akai's chest.
"Osada, move!" Michael ordered. Yuka quicky got out of the way, and Michael then did a flying side kick and entered into the red drill, which hit Akai's chest.
Michael then came back after his kick, in a red figure for a couple of seconds. The red Faiz symbol shows up on Akai's chest and Akai turns to ash.
(time jump for recap)
"Osada Yuka. You will pay for taking away my power. For messing up my plans," Kusaka said in anger.
(cue Justiφs's by ISSA; same as the original except a switch in places: Michael in Takumi's place, Yuka in Mari's place, Kiba in Keitaro's place, Sawada in Kiba's place, Saeko in Yuka's place, and Takuma in Kaido's place. Kaido, Mari, Keitaro, Murakami, and J will also be included. Kaixa is now added.)
(Created by Shotaro Ishinomori)
Hirogaru uchuu no naka Can you feel?
Chiisa na hoshi no hanashi wo shiyou
Tell me the truth shinjite 'ta mirai ga
Kuzure sarou to shite'ru
Kanashimi wo kurikaeshi (Written by Shoji Imai; Music by Kazunori Miyake)
Boku-ra wa doko e yuku no darou?
Ima hitori-hitori no mune no naka (Creature Designer by Tamotsu Shinohara)
Me wo samase The time to go
Tsuyoku aru tame ni (Produced by Jun Hikasa, Naomi Takebe and Takaai Ustunomiya)
Mata mamoru koto to tatakau koto
Dilemma wa owaranai... hashiri-tsuzukete mo (Directed by Takao Nagaishi)
(The) end justiφ's the mean
Episode 21: False Friendship
Kikuchi Cleaners
Yuka took a sip of ice water, while Mari was still touching her hands.
"I told you already, Sonada-san, I feel fine," Yuka reassured Mari.
"Really? Nothing's wrong with you?" Mari asked.
"Yeah," Yuka replied with a smile.
"I'm surprised that you didn't turn into an Orphnoch after the effects of the Kaixa gear," Mari added. Yuka's smiled then faded when she heard the word Orphnoch. Mari noticed Yuka's face was expressionless. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Yuka replied.
"But still, you seemed to fight well on your first fight. You helped get back the Faiz gear, and defeated the Orphnoch with Michael," Keitaro added. "Come to think of it, you and Michael seem to work well together more than Michael and Kusaka."
"Where is Michael anyways?" Yuka asked.
"In his room. Kusaka is there with him," Mari explained, as she got off her chair. "I'm going to call them both down."
Mari then walked upstairs, and walked to Michael's door.
"How long are you going to stay in this room?" Kusaka asked. That comment made Mari confused, and want to eavesdrop. "You're lucky that girl survived. I don't know what happened…but it seems that you've started to sympathize with the Orphnoch. You're finished as Faiz."
That sentence made Mari to be taken aback. Her own childhood friend talked to one of her current friends cruelly. Mari then quickly walked down the stairs.
Ryusei School
Rina looked through the broken school windows with her binoculars.
"Found anything yet?" Kyosuke asked.
"No," Rina responded, as she took her eyes away from her binoculars. "There's got to be some evidence on why the Orphnoch attacked us. I would give Saya a call…but she hasn't been herself ever since that night."
Just then, Rina's phone then rang and Rina picked it up.
"Yes? Mari? What about Kaixa? Really? Okay. Make sure send her blood to Saya. Bye," Rina said on the phone, then hanging up.
"Was that Mari?" Kyosuke asked, and Rina nodded yes.
"It seems…we have another Kaixa survivor," Rina said.
"Another survivor? Someone other than Masato was able to survive the effects of the Kaixa gear," Kyosuke said. "This is unbelievable."
"We're going to see her. Mari took some of the user's blood for Saya to analyze," Rina added. As Rina turned, out of nowhere, an Orphnoch with the motif of an Equisetum, who also looked like a guard, jumped in front of her and Kyosuke. Rina and Kyosuke quickly ran to the bus, with the Equisetum Orphnoch chasing after them. Just then, the Equisetum stopped, and got down to its knees like it was in pain. Rina turned to notice this.
"Help me," the Equisetum said, whose voice sounded familiar to Rina.
"Nishida-kun?" Rina asked.
"Come on!" Kyosuke shouted, as he took hold of Rina's wrist and pulled her to the bus. The bus then quickly drove away from the Ryusei School building.
"Wait!" The Equisetum yelled, before turning back into its human form, revealing a young man in glasses. "Rina. Kyosuke. I'm sorry."
Kikuchi Cleaners
"Why did you invite all of us here, Sonada-san?" Kiba asked.
"Did you wanted to confess your love to me?" Kaido cockily asked.
"That's not it. Both of you were involved or attacked by the Orphnoch," Mari explained, as she sat in the round table. Across the table were Michael, Keitaro, Kusaka, and Yuka. "I just want everyone's opinion. Do you think there some Orphnochs with human hearts? I'll start with Michael since he defended one."
"I'll speak for him!" Yuka shouted. "Sorry. The truth is that…it was…healing Michael. It did kill some humans…but it was only self-defense. I was looking for Michael, and I came across one. That's why I ran from it, due to being shocked."
"Osada-san…you believe that some Orphnochs have human hearts?" Mari asked.
"Maybe all of them are misunderstood or unloved. Which is why most of them turned on humanity," Yuka theorized. "That's just how I feel."
"So, we have two for believing Orphnochs are humans," Mari said.
(Cue Harm's Way by VideoHelper: 0:00-0:38)
"Osada-san," Kiba spoke up, which caught the attention of the group. "I don't disagree with you. I do feel like Orphnochs are misunderstood. I chose to side with humanity after what Morishita-san had become. I feel sorry for him. That's why I want to believe that there still Orphnochs, who want to live as humans."
"So, we now have three," Mari said with a smile. "How about you?"
Kaido didn't respond.
"Come on, I just want your opinion," Mari said, in an annoyed tone.
"I don't have one. I just came for you," Kaido explained.
"Aren't you a Romeo," Mari commented.
"I also don't have an opinion," Keitaro added, which made Mari sighed.
"Same here," Mari agreed, as she then turned to Kusaka. "How about you, Kusaka-kun?"
"Orphnochs, they're monsters. Nothing more, nothing less," Kusaka said. Michael then got up and walked out of the cleaners.
(End Track)
Yuka then followed him outside.
"Michael!" Yuka cried, which made Michael stop. "I…I…I want to go out for ice cream!"
"Huh?" Michael asked.
"Ice cream. It's near 4:00, and…I want to celebrate," Yuka explained.
"There's no way I'm eating ice cream," Michael said.
Later that same day
"So good!" Michael exclaimed. Yuka was shocked on how different of a person Michael became. One minute he was secretive, the next minute he was hyper as a kid in a candy store. Yuka then took a deep breath. It's now or never.
"Um…Michael. There's something I…" Yuka started to say, until a flower was shown to her by Michael. "What is this?"
"My way of saying thanks. You've really helped me through the tough times. Plus, you're as pretty as a flower," Yuka complimented, which made her blush a bit. "I would also like to apologize from the beginning about being obsessed with fate. I now realize…they're just events that can be easily changed."
"Wow. I'm sorry, I just feel like you're a completely different person," Yuka said.
"It's alright. I just haven't had it in so long," Michael explained, which made Yuka smiled.
Kiba's Apartment
Michael fell on the couch and sighed.
"Thanks for letting me stay here for the night," Michael thanked Kiba.
"It's really not a problem," Kiba reassured Michael with a smile. The two then heard a clattering sound. They turned to Kaido dumping a bunch of DVDs from Michael's bag.
"Careful! Those are mine!" Michael said to Kaido.
"Do they have any Japanese subtitles?" Kaido asked.
"I think so," Michael replied, which made Kaido look through the dvds. "Where's Yuka?"
"She went out. She wouldn't say why," Kiba explained.
Salon
The bell rang as Yuka pushed the door open. Yuka's mother, Kana, turned to see her biological daughter.
"Yuka! Your shift doesn't start until tomorrow. What are you doing here?" Kana asked.
"Well…Mom…I want to ask you something," Yuka said, as she and her mother sat in the waiting room chairs.
"Sure, what is it?" Kana asked.
"When you met…my birth father…what was he like?" Yuka asked, which made Kana smiled with nostalgia.
"He was the craziest person I've ever met. Drove me crazy in high school. But he was a good friend. Helped me during my darkest times," Kana said.
"How did you know he was the one?" Yuka asked.
"Well…when I was walking home from school, I was about to get hit by a drunk driver. Your father pulled me out of the way just in time. And when I looked in his eyes, I knew he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," Kana explained, which made Yuka a bit teary eye. "And when we had you, he was glad to see you. In his own word, you were as pretty as an angel."
Yuka got even more teary eye. Her actual father, cared about her more than her biological father.
"I've been wanting to tell you that for a long time. However, your step-father, Shoichi, wouldn't allow it," Kana said. "Why did you ask me those questions, Yuka?"
"Well…I…have a crush," Yuka admitted.
"Really who?" Kana asked, Yuka then thought about when she and Michael went out for ice cream earlier.
"He's a bit standoffish on the outside, but on the inside, he's like a little kid, hyper," Yuka explained. "I've been trying to crack his shell. Trying to have him be more positive."
"I see. You remind me of your father when he was trying to impress me. I never imagined for you, it would be vice-versa," Kana said.
"How do I tell him?" Yuka asked.
"Be yourself. It's easier than being something you're not," Kana said, giving Yuka her advice.
"Be myself?" Yuka asked herself.
Plaza
A man with a briefcase was walking at the plaza at night, looking at his watch. The man stopped as he left his foot and saw that he stepped on a toxic spore.
"What is that?" The man asked. But his confusion had ended when he was stabbed by a spear by the Equisetum Orphnoch, turning into ash after.
Kikuchi Cleaners
Mari was looking out the window and thinking on what Kusaka said to Michael.
"You're lucky that girl survived. I don't know what happened…but it seems that you've started to sympathize with the Orphnoch. You're finished as Faiz."
"What happened to you after the reunion, Kusaka-kun?" Mari thought to herself. Mari then heard her phone ring, and she picked it up.
"Hello? Nishida-kun? Now? Alright, be there soon," Mari said on the phone. Kiyotaka Nishida was one of her classmates from the Ryusei School, and by the tone of his voice, he needed to talk to Mari immediately.
Indoor Pool
Mari met with Nishida, who seemed to look shaky from Mari's perspective.
"Do you have the Faiz or Kaixa gear?" Nishida asked.
"Yes," Mari nodded. "Two of my friends have them."
"Call them both…and kill me," Nishida requested.
"What?" Mari asked in shock.
"To kill me. I'm too dangerous to be kept alive," Nishida stated.
"Are you serious? Why?" Mari asked.
"I've been injected by the Orphnoch power. I can't control it at will," Nishida explained.
"How?" Mari asked.
"Does it matter?!" Nishida asked.
"Yes!" Mari responded.
"Not like your life," a voice said. Mari then turned to see Kusaka, wearing the Kaixa gear on his wait.
"Kusaka-kun?" Mari said in confusion. "The Kaixa gear…why do you have it?"
"I just took back what belongs to me," Kusaka simply said, as he then side-flipped the Kaixa phone.
913
Standing By!
Henshin!
Complete!
Kusaka transformed into Kaixa and charged at Nishida, whose face faded white, and he then transformed into the Equisetum Orphnoch, generating a spear as a weapon. The two then began their fight.
"Stop! Kusaka-kun! Nishida-kun!" Mari screamed, wanting her friends to not fight each other.
Near Super Saitama Arena
Michael was riding on Auto Vajin, since the Orphnoch Searcher had detected an Orphnoch. Michael stops when he sees a woman collapsed on the road. Michael takes off his biker helmet and runs to the woman, which is revealed to be Yuka.
"Osada-san? Hey! Wake up! Osada-san!" Michael cried, shaking Yuka.
"You're noisy. I'm still alive," Yuka said, groggy.
"What happened?" Michael asked.
"That guy... Kusaka Masato..." Yuka explained, groggy.
Ajinomoto Stadium
Nishida fell on the platform of the Ajinomoto Stadium and Kusaka jumped in front of Nishida, soon grabbing Nishida by the throat, punching him in the stomach.
Just then, Michael arrived on Auto Vajin with Yuka behind him on the seat. They both parked and took of their biker helmets.
"Orphnoch," Michael muttered as he put on the Faiz belt. Mari got of the indoor pool and turned to Michael and Yuka.
"Don't! That's Nishida-kun! One of my classmates!" Mari called out. Michael looked at Mari and then the transformed Nishida. Michael then thought about how he killed two of Mari's classmates. Takamiya as the Tortoise Orphnoch and Inukai as the Ostrich Orphnoch.
Michael then flipped open the Faiz phone.
555
Standing By!
Henshin
Complete!
Michael transformed into Faiz and charged at the battle.
"Michael, wait!" Mari cried, worried for her classmate. But Michael actually punched Kusaka.
"Not this again," Kusaka groaned.
"This is different. This person…don't hurt him!" Michael said. But Nishida tried to choke Michael with his spear. "Some classmates you are."
"I'm sorry! I can't control myself!" Nishida shouted. Kusaka then targeted the blaygun at Michael and Nishida, for the intent of shooting them both.
"Goodbye," Kusaka said, but he then felt something from the Kaixa gear. He looked down as saw Yuka had just took the Kaixa phone, side-flipped it open, and pressing the end call button, which caused the Kaixa suit to disappear in yellow lasers.
"I've always wanted to hit you ever since we've first met," Yuka said.
"What?!" Kusaka asked in confusion. Yuka's response was by punching him in the face, taking the Kaixa gear from his waist, and putting in on her waist.
913
Standing By!
Henshin!
Complete!
Yuka transformed into Kaixa and charged at Nishida, hoping to restraint him.
"Please. Try to regain control of your body," Yuka begged. Then, Yuka's chest was slashed by a sword.
"Osada-san!" Michael cried, as the two both turned to see, Mr. J, already transformed into the Crocodile Orphnoch. "The Orphnoch from the other day."
Michael tackled J, but J precedes in punching Michael in the back with both of his crocodile hands. Yuka ran to help but was stopped by Nishida. Yuka was thrown in the air by Nishida, who then charged at her after she was smashed into the ground. Yuka quickly took out her blaygun and fired it at Nishida, who fell due to effect of the blast. Nishida's human form then appears in his shadow.
"Please kill me," Nishida begged.
"Kill you? No, I can't you're Mari's friend!" Yuka said.
"I'm not who I was in the past," Nishida said. "Please, do it. For Mari, for the Ryusei School students, for the sake of humanity!"
Yuka shakingly took out the Kaixa mission memory and inserted it into the blaygun.
Ready!
The blaygun then generated a yellow blade on the bottom. Yuka then side-flipped the phone open from her belt and pressed the enter button.
Exceed Charge!
Yuka, curisouoly, pulled the hammer part at Nishida, pressed the trigger button, and shot the Swordfish, with a yellow energy yet paralyzing his body. Yuka holds on to the sword, before super speeding into Nishida, slashing Nishida's Orphnoch body from the inside. When Yuka comes out from Nishida's Orphnoch body, Nishida explodes into blue flames. Nishida then turned to Yuka.
"Thank you," Nishida said. "For saving me."
Nishida then turns to ash the Kaixa symbol appears on his chest. Yuka turned to Mari, thinking she was upset. Her thoughts were cut short after Michael was thrown into Yuka. Both of them got off of each other, turned to see Mr. J with his giant crocodile-like sword.
"How are we going to beat this guy?" Michael asked. Michael then took Yuka's phone from her belt.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Yuka asked. Before Michael could respond, Mr. J charged at them, but Yuka shot him using her blaygun. "What are you doing, Michael?!"
"Just trust me," Michael said.
9821
Side Basshar, Come Closer!
Mr. J then got up, and started to walk to the two heroes. Just then, Side Basshar, in Battle Mode, had landed into the battlefield.
"Wow," Yuka said in awe. "Should I…"
"Go for it. Don't kill me though," Michael joked.
(Insert The people with no name by m.c.A・T; TV Size)
"Was that a joke?" Yuka asked, and Michael nodded yes. "Looks like you found your sense of humor."
Yuka then jumped in the biker's seat.
"Wait for my signal," Michael said, as he resumed his fight with J. However, since J was more powerful with his crocodile skin, and this was his third life, it was difficult for Michael to deliver a successful punch.
After some more punches and kicks, Michael started to run from J. J followed Michael, and Michael turned to Yuka, who was on the biker's seat of Side Basshar.
"Osada-san, now!" Michael said, and Yuka pressed the middle button, causing missles to fly out of Side Basshar and into J. Michael was able to dodge the missles before they can hit J. After the missles hit J, there was an explosion, but J fell beneath the sidewalk, and onto the driveway, where he retreated, after he saw his chest was turning to ash. Michael and Yuka noticed J's escape, and Michael was very annoyed.
(End Insert Song)
"He got away again," Michael said in an annoyed tone. Both of the two took out the phones, flipped them open, and pressed the end call button, causing their suits to disappear in lasers. Yuka took the Kaixa gear from her waist and walked to Mari. "Osada-san?"
Yuka extened her hand to Mari, with the Kaixa gear in her hand, as she caught up to her.
"I'm sorry, that I killed your friend. If you don't want me to fight anymore. That's alright. I won't intervene," Yuka apologized.
"No. You keep it," Mari said.
"Really?" Yuka asked.
"Yes. That was Nishida-kun's last wish, and I have to accept it. Besides, I need you as Kaixa," Mari said, which made Yuka smiled.
"Thank you very much. I'll be as helpful as possible," Yuka said with a smile. As Yuka turned to Michael with her smile, Michael blushed a bit with a smile as well.
Kiba's Apartment
Kaido was sitting down on the stairs, doing nothing but looking at his hands. Kaido then turned to see Yuka opening the door with a guitar in her hands. Yuka then walked towards Kaido with the guitar in her hands.
"Kaido-san? Can I ask one favor? I know you don't want to, but just play the guitar, for me. It can just be a little bit," Yuka said. Kaido then grabbed the guitar from Yuka's hands and sat on the guest bed. Yuka sat on the stairs, to hear the music. She saw that Kaido took of his biker glove, which was on his left hand.
"This is my one of favorites, Four Divertimentos, op. no.1, Andantino Grazioso," Kaido said, as he started to play that tune. Yuka's reaction to this, happiness. The way that Kaido played that instrument to her, was beautiful.
Alleyway
J ran into an alleyway, holding his chest, then reverting back to his human form. J then started catch his breath, as his chest stopped turning to ash.
"Another failure," a voice said, and J turned to see Murakami. "Mr. J, you have unsuccessfully recovered the belts, again. You're lucky to still be alive. If you weren't, Chaco wouldn't have lived."
"The former president, Hanagata-san, would never treat me like this!" J snapped.
"But I'm not Hanagata-san, am I?" Murakami questioned. "I'm nothing like that traitor."
A mysterious room
In a mysterious room, a miner was strapped onto a chair.
"Help me! Hey! Please me! Stop it!" The miner begged. He was begging to an Orphnoch with the motif of a Goat (seen in the first scene of the first episode). The Goat Orphnoch was holding a belt, similar to the Faiz and Kaixa gears. "What are you doing? Hey…stop it!"
The Goat Orphnoch walked towards the tied up miner, and then the miner screamed.
To Be Continued
I feel like this may be a drop of writing quality. Mostly because of the ice cream scene. But that's just my opinion. And in the end, the only opinion that should matter is yours.
Yes, I made Mari discover Kusaka's true colors. I've always felt on him while watching Faiz was, "Why does everyone believe this guy?". Having Mari overhearing Kusaka's true motives to dethrone Michael, could cause conflict in their friendship. That's how I interpreted it.
Reviews:
9292 Productions: Yeah. There are not a lot of main female Kamen Riders. The only one that I can think of, story-wise, is Valkyrie from Zero-One. I'll agree with you on that, Takumi's character journey is interesting. He's different from protagonists like Godai (Kuuga), Kenzaki (Blade), Ryoutarou (Den-O), Kouta (Gaim), and Aruto (Zero-One). However, one main part I have a problem with the series' he's in is the writing. Every episode, the movie, and the novel (which is very distrubing from what I've heard) was written by Toshiki Inoue, who also was the head writer for Jetman (1991), Agito (2001) Episodes 30-48 of Hibiki (2005), and Kiva (2008). What happened during those years? I don't know. Nevertheless, Takumi, Kiba, Yuka, and Kaido, are my favorites of the season. With Yuka being my favorite female character in all of Tokusatsu. Oh, and don't worry, I don't plan to discontinue this anytime soon. Thank you so much for your encouragement. The middle of the story may be mediocre, but the second half, I hope, will really blow your mind.
Thank you for reading this episode, make sure to leave a review. I like the feedback. Also, I want to know what other series of Tokusatsu (Power Rangers, Super Sentai, and Kamen Rider) should I fix? Let me know in the reviews. I'll see guys, girls, and all in between, next time. Bye.