Hello there, everyone. I hope you enjoy today's chapter.

(This is a recap from the last episode)

Michael then closed it, and 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 the Coral's back.

Yuka side-flipped the Kaixa phone and pressed the enter button.

Exceed Charge!

Yuka then closed it and a yellow surge came from the belt all the way to the gauntlet.

Michael then did a flying side kick and entered into the red drill, which hit the Coral's chest. The Coral then flew towards Yuka, but Yuka punched the Coral with the gauntlet, causing the Kaixa symbol to appear and for the Coral Orphnoch to turn to ash. To Yuka's surprise, Michael was able to make it out alive.

(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 Hidenori Ishida)

(The) end justiφ's the mean

Episode 23: Stolen Power

Kiba's Apartment

Yuka tied a bandage around Keiko's arm, which was injured during her struggle with the Coral Orphnoch.

"This should be alright for now; it doesn't look bad anyway," Yuka said, finishing putting the bandage on her arm.

"Th…thank…you," Keiko stuttered. "But seriously, who are you people? Why are those monsters after me?"

Kiba, who was in the room, turned to Michael, due to his knowledge of the past and future.

"Michael…do you have something to say?" Michael asked.

"Actually…yes," Michael replied. "This girl is Kurata Keiko, age 7. On her mother's birthday, possibly earlier this year, both of them were caught in an explosion. Even I don't know how the explosion was planted. That's all I got for her."

"Hey, how did you know?!" Keiko asked. "Are you a stalker?!"

"No. I see the past, present, and future. It's just a gift I have," Michael simply put it. Kiba then researched in Keiko's bag, then took out her switchblade.

"Why do you have this?" Kiba asked, and Keiko saw it, then snatched it out of Kiba's hand.

"Don't touch it! It's mine!" Keiko said.

"Have you even stab anyone with that?" Michael asked.

"Only an Orphnoch," Keiko replied, referring to the time she stabbed the Toadstool Orphnoch.

"Where is your mother?" Kiba asked, changing the subject, but Keiko didn't respond. Kaido then came walking down the bedroom stairs, with a pink towel wrap on his head and lemon slices beneath his eyes.

"Man, this kid has no manners," Kaido complained. "Come on, say something!"

"What happened to you? Trying to do a homemade spa?" Michael asked, snarkily.

"It's just facial. You got a problem?" Kaido responded.

"I don't think Michael has a problem. The question is why are you having a facial?" Yuka questioned.

"This the 21st century. It's an age where even men can feel pretty," Kaido replied. "There's no problem with that."

"It's to impress Mari, isn't it?" Michael assumed.

"Maybe," Kaido said, trying to be vague. Just then, Keiko took out her drawing notebook, and colored pencils. "Oh! What's this? Are you going to make me your model?"

"I can tell you love attention," Keiko said.

"Oh, stop it, I'm not that flamboyant," Kaido said.

"We'll see," Keiko said, as she started drawing Kaido.

"You're making a big mistake, Kaido," Michael warned Kaido. "Just saying."

Kiba and Yuka looked over Keiko's drawing process to see what Michael was talking about. Both of them giggled as Keiko made the final touches. As Keiko was finished, she ripped the paper from her drawing notebook, and handed it to Kaido. Turns out, it was pretty bad.

"What the hell is that?!" Kaido loudly asked. His tone then suddenly turned to laughter. "This is the picture?"

Keiko nodded yes.

"This is the greatest picture I've ever seen," Kaido said, taking of the pink towel wrap and lemon slices.

"That will be 500 yen," Keiko said.

"You're even charging me?" Kaido asked.

"Well, I have to get money somehow," Keiko replied.

"Give me a pass on the money," Kaido requested. "I'm going to the movies."

Kaido then got off of his seat and ran out of the apartment building.

Outside of the Stadium

Murakami and Mr. J, with Chaco, were both having tea, from a distance of the stadium entrance.

"Mr. J, your job is to steal the Faiz and Kaixa belts. However, you still have not managed to get either belt," Murakami briefed to J. "It's not that I doubt your power…But for the immortal lizard to have lost two out of three lives. I don't believe you are afraid. Kaixa is a very powerful system, the third Smart Brain has made. The second being Faiz, and the first being Delta."

J was silent, as he was on most occasions.

"I'm here today to apologize my behavior from yesterday. I decided to give the encourage as appropriate as possible, from your standards," Murakami said. "I also wanted to see Chaco too."

Murakami got up from his seat and went to pet Chaco.

"That's right…Chaco is the reason why J hasn't attacked more humans lately," Murakami said to himself, before turning to J. "When this work is over, how would you like to take a trip to Los Angeles? I'll arrange a first-class hotel for you and Chaco."

"Very good," J said in English.

Kiba's Apartment

"How have you survive without adult supervision for 4 months?" Yuka asked.

"Also, how can you eat three sets of ramen and still be this hungry?" Michael added, but Keiko was too busy eating her Chinese food. "She really must be hungry."

"Probably," Yuka agreed.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Michael asked, and Yuka turned to Michael. "Well…since we've…confessed our feelings for each other…I was wondering if…"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Yuka asked, and Michael nodded yes. "Of course! But is it alright…to go out with me?"

"You might be an Orphnoch, but in mind and soul you're human," Michael said. "Kiba told me that before he left to get the laundry from the cleaners. I believe with Kiba that you're human."

Yuka smiled and touched Michael's hand which made both of them blush.

"Do I had to witness that?" Keiko asked, which made Michael and Yuka turned to them.

"You'll experience love when you're older," Michael said.

"As if," Keiko snapped. Michael and Yuka then resumed their moment connecting.

Pizzeria

The next day, Michael and Yuka went out on the first day, a pizzeria.

"Have you ever tried pizza?" Michael asked, as he and Yuka walked through the pizzeria doors. Michael held the door open for Yuka. "After you."

"Thank you, kind sir," Yuka joked, as she then giggled. "And to answer your question…no, I haven't. Not in a long while. So long, I've forgot the taste."

"Well, this will probably melt in your mouth for days," Michael said, with a smile.

"I trust you," Yuka said to Michael. The two ordered their pizza, which was cheese, Michael's favorite. They watched the chief making the pizza. He looked incredibly skilled on rolling the dough, putting on the tomato sauce, and putting on the toppings. As more customers came in, the chief was overwhelmed, since he just started a few months ago, and was the only one working.

"Sir, do you have any room for part-timers?! If so, I want to help!" Michael exclaimed.

"Same here!" Yuka added.

Kiba's Apartment

"So that's how you got the part-timer job at the pizzeria?" Kiba asked, as Michael and Yuka brought the pizza home.

"Yes. Not exactly a perfect first date," Michael said.

"When was the first date ever perfect?" Yuka jokingly said. Her happiness was cut short was she heard Kaido sense. "Kaido-san…is everything alright?"

"Just a little cold. I'm fine," Kaido said.

The next day

"I'm sick!" Kaido complained.

"I thought you said you were fine," Kiba said.

"Well, I was wrong!" Kaido snapped.

"How did this even happen?" Yuka asked.

"The other day, by coincidence, I encountered Mari and that Kikuchi guy, from the cleaners, at the movies, in where an orange fish is separated from his father," Kaido explained. "The two were sniffling, in which I assumed due to the sad nature of the film. I was wrong."

"Can I say something in this conversation?" Michael asked.

"Sure," Kiba said, as he granted the access for Michael.

"I thought Osada-san was going to be the one to get you sick," Michael said.

"Seriously?" Yuka asked.

"Well…for once, I was wrong," Michael said.

Kikuchi Cleaners

Mari extended the ruler of the tape measurer.

"At least 7 feet apart is the best," Mari said to Keitaro, who were bot sick, which explains the bag of ice on their heads. "I can't believe I went to the movies with that guy."

"Technically, he was in the same theater as we were," Keitaro corrected her.

"Excuse me!" Mari snapped.

"No…nothing," Keitaro whimpered, and both of them went back in their rooms. The two had at least two things on their mind.

"Work. Work," Mari said.

"Osada-san. Osada-san," Keitaro said, referring how he saw Yuka kissed Michael on the cheek.

Pizzeria

"I'm Kiba Yuji," Kiba introduced himself to the chief. "My friend, Michael, is taking care of a friend who is sick. I will be taking over his shift for today."

"It's nice to see people looking out for people," The chief complimented. "You're in a great group of people, young Yuka."

"Thank you, Mister…" Osada thanked.

"Aoki. Aoki Shigehisa," The chief introduced himself. "Now, are you read to start working?"

Later, with Michael

Michael was on Auto Vajin, going to the store to Kaido some medicine. Since Michael is a fortune teller, he already knows Mari and Keitaro are sick as well.

"Even if I do give them medicine…will Kusaka's influence fade away?" Michael asked himself. But Michael's thought process was interrupted when Takuma Itsuro, after the Lucky Clover, got in the way, which made Michael stop Auto Vajin. "Takuma…Itsuro."

Meanwhile with Kiba

Kiba was driving on the pizza motorbike to deliver pizza, until he was stopped by a very fancy car. Kiba took of his biker helmet and saw Kageyama Saeko of the Lucky Clover.

Back with Michael

"So, you've heard of me. Well, I heard you have the Faiz gear. I will be taking it," Takuma said, as his face faded gray. "Along with your life."

Takuma then transformed into the Centipede Orphnoch.

Back with Kiba

"I heard your friends with Osada Yuka," Saeko said.

"Are you Kageyama Saeko?" Kiba asked.

"Indeed. A boy like you seems too young to drink," Saeko said, taking off her sunglasses. "Instead…I'll sing you a lullaby."

Saeko got out of her car, her face faded gray, and she transformed into the Lobster Orphnoch.

Simultaneously, both Michael and Kiba transformed to Faiz and the Horse Orphnoch, respectively.

Meanwhile with Yuka

Yuka was doing well with delivering the pizzas, since she had experience talking to customers at the salon. She stopped her bike when Sawada, as the Spider Orphnoch, jumped in front of her. Yuka took of her helmet and opened the Kaixa case.

"There's no need for that," Sawada said. "I came to talk to you about Smart Brain."

"Smart Brain? What do you mean by that?" Yuka asked.

Warehouse

Kiba and Saeko, in Orphnoch form, were having a fight with their weapons; Kiba's sword vs. Saeko's rapier. However, Kiba was not up to par, since, like his first fight with Takuma, she was a strong Orphnoch that Kiba haven't fight before.

Michael vs. Takuma

On the other side of the warehouse, Michael wasn't doing his best either, since Takuma is one of the strongest Orphnochs. Michael got even more vulnerable when Takuma summoned his whip to assist him to fight.

Michael took out the flashlight to do his kick, but Takuma used his whip to take the flashlight from Michael's right hand, and then proceeds to take the belt from Michael's waist, which caused to Faiz suit to disappear in red lasers.

"I honestly got to admit that was pretty impressive," Michael complimented.

"This is cooler," Takuma said, trying to attack Michael with his whip. But Michael was able to run away and dodge Takuma's whip attacks.

Kiba vs. Saeko

Kiba and Saeko both kept clashing with their weapons, until it came to an end when Saeko caused Kiba to throw his sword in the sky, and doing a stabbing motion to Kiba's chest, causing Kiba to revert back to his human form.

"Is that all you got?" Saeko asked, as her human form appeared in her shadow. Kiba didn't respond. Instead, he ran away to find a place to lose Saeko.

As Kiba got at the end of the warehouse, which was near the water, Michael was thrown from the inside of the warehouse, and landing next to Kiba.

"Michael!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Kiba! Let me guess, the Lucky Clover are targeting you too?" Michael asked. But their conversation was cut short when they turned to see Takuma, putting on the Faiz belt on his waist, which made the two's eyes widen.

555

Standing By!

Henshin

Complete!

Takuma transformed into Faiz, and he immediately started to love the power. Takuma took out the Faiz phone, opened it, turned it into its gun mode, and fired it at Michael and Kiba, who managed to deflect. Takuma walked outside and walked toward Michael. Then managed to put his foot on Michael's chest. Takuma tried use his super strength to crush Michael, who was hitting on his foot to stop.

To Be Continued

The Faiz gear has been stolen! No surprise to people who've seen the series. Sorry it took me so long to update, I was on vacation, but I managed to get this one done while I was at it.

Also, Keiko is also back. You know, the one-off girl? It's alright that you don't remember. Her coming back, was inspired by Junichi from Kuuga. Junichi was a troubled person who saw a Gurongi as a saving race, until he was almost killed by one. His perspective changed after Kuuga saved him. When we see him again, Junichi is still trying to get his act together, and he's helped by Tsubaki, the doctor.

To give you readers some excitement, I will be introducing something that didn't explain the first time it was introduced.

Thank you for reading this episode, make sure to leave a review. I like the feedback. Or you can just PM me to share your thoughts. I'll see guys, girls, and all in between, next time. Bye.