Episode 4: The Forked Path of Truth

Ryuta squeezed Chieftain through a rather large window in one of the rooms of the clinic. The tall Agent falls flat on his rump, rolling back to an upside down position with his head laying on the floor.

"This is supposed to be a backdoor!?" Chieftain complains.

"If you'd given me a few more minutes, I would've driven around the clinic," Ryuta said, climbing through the window, "But you kept complaining, so I had to find a faster way in."

"You drive too slowly, that's why!"

"Whatever, I'm going to see if the doctor's in." Ryuta grumbled as he heads out of the room. The minute he steps into the waiting room, J-Pop cues up on the loud speakers. He glances towards the center of the room to see the Divas' gearing up for their first performance.

Shintarou opens the door, allowing an elderly couple into the room. The woman places a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"It looks like grandpa's going bald," she mutters worriedly.

"I assure you I can cure him!" Shintarou shouts, crossing his arms and hiding his fears, "I'll put my entire reputation on the line!"

The Divas giggle as they find their moment to perform. Ryuta stood in the background, staring at them before looking towards the window, seeing Tsuyoshi, Shinta and Kenshin glaring at the three girls, Shinta being the angriest of the three.

kimi ni deaeta yorokobito, kimi ni aenai samishisa no
ryouhou wo te ni irete, koi wa hashiridasu
sora mo tobenai boku dakedo, kodoku wo utau yoru dakedo
sono hoho ni, hohoemi wo ataerareta nara

Shintarou, shaky on the procedure of hair growth, began applying some hair gel to the elderly man's head. Nothing happened at first, so he washed it off and tried something else. He saw that hair was starting to grow back onto the man's head and vigorously began applying more to the other balding areas while combing out what had already grown.

hajimete kimi wo dakishimeta shunkan ni
kamisama ga boku ni kudashita shimei wa kimi dake no Hero

The operation light turns off as Shintarou exits the room, looking towards the old woman, "The family can come in now."

"Doctor!" the woman yelps, running over to Shintarou, "How is grandpa?"

"This way," Shintarou said, escorting her to the operation room. Upon presenting his hand, the woman saw her husband flip a long, handsome lock of hair to one side of his face, "The operation was a great success!"

"Good heavens!" the woman shrieks in love and shock. The two then crowd around Shintarou, giving him an excited hug, "This doctor is a genuine, excellent physician-dabe!"

"Naturally," Shintarou said as he pushes his glasses up with confidence.

Another patient comes on, a man bringing in an exhausted looking horse, "Gosaku isn't well-dabe!"

"Understood!" Shintarou said, placing a hand on his chest, "Let me make him healthy!"

I wanna be a pop star
kimi wo motto muchuu ni sasete ageru kara ne
kirakira no pop star hane wo hiroge, mahou wo kakete ageyou
kirakira no pop star hane wo hiroge, mahou wo kakete ageyou, kimi dakeni

Shintarou brought the horse into the operation room, staring at him a few minutes while trying to figure out what to do to make the horse feel energized. He walked up to it and began grabbing one of its rear muscles, causing it to freak and nearly kick him in the face. He stumbles back, frightened, then catches his breath as he looks the horse over again.

He scratches his head before placing his hands on the horse's shoulders and slowly massaging it. The horse loosens up upon feeling the massage and lays down on the table. Surprised at what he had done, Shintarou began massaging more of the horse's joints, watching as it snorts and wags its tail in comfort.

kakushite itai kurayami mo, kimi wa sotto hiroi agete
taisetsu na boku nanda to, dakishimete kureta

The operation lights turn off as Shintarou comes out of the room, "The family can come in now."

"Is Gosaku getting any better-dabe?" the man asked.

"Have a look," Shintarou said, pointing inside. The man looks to see his horse pumped up and shouldering a rake on its shoulder, "He's gotten MUCH better now!"

"Ah!" the man yelped in surprise before he and his horse gave Shintarou another hug, "Doctor! I want to leave my cow in your care next time!"

"It can't be helped," Shintarou sighs, pushing his glasses back in confidence.

Another woman walks into the clinic, holding a microwave, "My microwave is broken! Please fix it, I'm begging you!"

"Understood! Let's repair it!" Shintarou said, rather nervously.

hikari eto tsuzuku, michi aruite yukou
kizu kabau, kono migite wa, kimi to te wo tsunagu tame ni

Shintarou had to rely on a blueprint of the microwave to help him figure out how to fix it. He constantly stares at it as he tries to figure out why it wasn't working as well as the woman would want it. After looking back and forth a couple of times, he finds the problem and begins a mad dash to fix it.

you're gonna be my pop star boku wo motto muchuu ni saseteyo hohoende
kirakira no pop star sono hitomi de, boku ni mahou wo kakete ima sugu ni

The operation light turns off as Shintarou comes out of the room, "The family can come in now."

"How's my oven!?" the woman asked frantically. Shintarou places the microwave on a nearby table.

"All you have to do is press the button like this..." he said, pressing the cook button. Minutes later, the door opens to a finely sautéed lobster. The woman drools as she takes the lobster and nibbles on it for taste.

"You're cooking skills are also ultra top-notch-dabe!" the woman said as she elbows Shintarou in relief.

"A doctor's frickle grill," Shintarou says, pushing his glasses back in confidence.

The elderly couple rush back in. The man was beginning to bald again.

"Grandpa's going bald again!" the woman cries.

I wanna be a pop star kimi wo motto muchuu ni sasete ageru kara ne
kirakira no pop star hane wo hiroge, mahou wo kakete ageyou

Having been familiar with the procedure, Shintarou wasn't nervous when he uses a slightly stronger brand of hair gel to bring back the old man's hair. The man sits in the patient's chair, calm and relaxed while the process was going on.

I wanna be a pop star kimi wo gyutto, dakishimete ageru kara oide
kirakira no pop star hane wo hiroge, mahou wo kakete ageyou, kimi dakeni

"Doctor!!" everyone cries from the window outside the clinic. Shintarou sticks his head out.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "Everyone's here." His eyes widen in surprise as everyone presents their buffed up muscles, sporting a healthy smile.

"Thanks to you," everyone said, "The entire Island has become healthy! Please stay on the Island with us!"

Shintarou stares in shock before shutting his eyes and spilling tears of joy, "I will become the savior of this Island for all times!"

The crowd cheers joyously at his decision.

Tsuyoshi and Kenshin stare at the happy ending, trembling in anger and frustration.

"How dare they! Those Western Ouendan!" Tsuyoshi growls, "This was supposed to be Kikuchi-sama's chance at asserting his reliability and those vixens stole it from him!"

"Saionji-sama will hear this when we get back!" Kenshin growls, looking beside him, "Let's go Kikuchi-sama! We're..." he suddenly freaks out, "Ack! Kikuchi-sama's gone!"

"What!?" Tsuyoshi cries, looking in Kenshin's direction to find that Shinta was no longer near them. The two panic and began whipping around, "Where'd he go!?"

"Kikuchi-sama!" Kenshin cries out, "Get back here this minute!"

Shinta ran along the docks near town, his face laced in anger as he looks left to right before spotting Missy and Foxx standing near the edge, looking at the slowly setting sun.

"Wow! I can't believe how well we did!" Missy pipes up with excitement, "Those patients looked happy once the doctor showed his stuff!"

"I'll say," Foxx chuckles, "This being the first time we ever performed in Asahi, we weren't sure if we'd be able to pull it off!"

Missy looks over to Foxx, "Totally! You should've seen the look on Ryu's face when he saw us perform! It's almost as if he was too stunned to say anything!"

Shinta's anger increases the more he heard them talking about what they did earlier. He throttled his fists in vengeance before charging towards the two girls, causing them to jerk their heads to the sound of his rapid footsteps. Shrieking, they stumbled out of the way, watching as he flew past them. Shinta yelps, trying to come to a screeching halt just inches from the edge of the dock, but his body was bent too far forward and he wound up toppling off and landing into the ocean below.

Missy and Foxx stood over the dock, staring down at the pile of bubbles emerging from the surface seconds before Shinta came up with a lobster sitting on his head. The oncoming evening air caused the ocean temperature to drop near freezing as the rookie Noble shivered to stay warm while coughing water out of his lungs.

"What was that all about!?" Missy yelps, "I almost thought we were gonna get mugged!"

"He isn't happy about something, that's for sure," Foxx mutters nervously, "Wha'cha think got his goat?" Shinta glares up at the two, his entire face twitching in anger as Missy looks over to Foxx rather scolding.

"I don't know, but if we're the reason he's upset, we should apologize and help him out." Missy turns around, about to say something when Shinta tore the lobster from his head and threw it into her face. The lobster bounces off and clamps its claws around her nose, causing her to scream in fright and pain while running around in circles, "EEEEEEEEEE!! GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!"

"Missy, hold still!" Foxx panics, trying to catch her friend, "I can't help you if you keep running around like that!" Missy eventually scrambles down the docks towards the clinic with Foxx chasing after her. Shinta glares at the fleeing Divas before throwing his fists against the wall of the docks in anger.

Hayato sat in the living room of the houseboat, opening and closing a blue fan bearing the emblem of their squad on both sides. His eyes were closed as his cheek rested on his hand with his elbow resting on his knee. The door to the houseboat flies open as Tsuyoshi and Kenshin scramble into the room, panicked and hysterical.

"Saionji-sama! It's an emergency!" Kenshin cries.

"Those Western Ouendan just stole Kikuchi-sama's chance of asserting his reliability!" Tsuyoshi pants.

"What's worse, he ran off before we could figure out what his intentions were!"

Hayato snaps the fan shut and grips his hand around it, "So...why did you two decide to come back here..." he then began slapping the closed fan against Tsuyoshi and Kenshin's heads in aggravation, "WHEN YOU SHOULD BE OUTSIDE LOOKING FOR HIM!!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! WE'RE SORRY SAIONJI-SAMA!!" the two cried, grabbing their heads in pain. Hayato turns his back to them, throwing the fan open again and holding it a few inches from his mouth.

"Honestly! I can't even take my mind off you two for a minute and you've already botched up your duties like a trail of ants separated by a fallen leaf!"

"With all due respect, Saionji-sama," Kenshin mutters, "Even if we could sense where he is, it'd take us hours just to get there! Tokyo is a big city!"

"And with everyone calling on us every now and then, the chances of us ever taking a break long enough to find our own teammates is practically slim to none!"Tsuyoshi complains,"I can't even imagine how those other Ouendan were able to do this sort of thing so calmly!"

"What matters is getting people to realize they don't have to keep calling on the same Ouendan to pull them out of a jam! Why do you think Asahi has relied on us so much?"

"It's not going to matter if those Western Ouendan continue to stamp their names all over this city and sway people into relying on them more than us!" Tsuyoshi said.

"I'm well aware of that," Hayato said, "Not everyone would rely on a bunch of dancing idiots to pull them out of a jam. And even if they could mimic our moves, Japan still won't fall for their attempts at shutting us down for good! That squad will eventually give up and stop pestering the Japanese Community into relying on them for anything other than entertainment!"

Spin sneezes as he was heading back to the convertible with a bag of food, later that evening. He stops and rubs his nose, sniffling.

"Wow! I think someone just spoke behind my back," he mutters, placing the bag below the glove compartment of the front seat, "Nah, must be the air." He straightens up, "Sure is gettin' cold this time of the month. I'd better get back to Central before..." he stops when he notices a shadow stumbling towards him, shivering and wet.

He cocks an eyebrow as the shadow trips and falls into a spotlight shining from a lamppost, revealing Shinta flat on his side, his eyes squeeze shut and his face twitching from the cold.

Spin cringes, looking between the novice Noble and the convertible before heading over to the latter.

"Don't worry about him, Missy," Foxx said while sitting in the waiting room of the clinic, "I'm sure whatever he's upset about will eventually disappear overtime."

"He didn't have to throw that lobster at me!" Missy whined, poking the bandage on her nose, "If he'd just told us why he was upset, we would've done something to help him!"

"I think whatever we did pushed him beyond simple argument," Foxx sighs and leans onto her crossed knee, "I don't know, maybe we should think about why he was upset to begin with. I'm sure it was no big deal."

"No big deal! I am offended!" snaps a voice. Missy and Foxx jerk their heads towards the source of the voice to see two girls in red cheerleader outfits standing before them with their hands planted on their sides. On their chest and armband is the same shield-like emblem that represents the Noble Squad.

"Shinta-kun suppose to do part in asserting reliability and you bully from America snatch it from him!" snaps one of the cheerleaders, her hair orange, tied in two, unbraided pigtails. She also had a small, pink bunny hanging off the left side of her skirt.

"How're we supposed to know that!?" Missy snapped, standing up, "The doctor came to us and asked us to perform! No one even told us he was supposed to do the cheering around here!"

"Of course! That is because we are still trying to settle in!" the second girl complained, her hair silver with two curls hanging off both sides of her head, "But you Ouendan do not seem to care that this is the Noble territory, and all those who are not with the squad are banned from doing any cheering here! All you care about is making the world rely on you more than the other cheering squads on the planet!"

"What gave you that idea!?" Foxx snaps, standing up, "We're only doing what we were taught to do, help people get on with their lives without having to worry about obstacles getting in their way!"

"Exactly my point! You Ouendan think you are the only ones who know what they are doing, and thus, you try to make a name for yourself while putting the others to shame! Our leader will make sure you do not try and tarnish our tradition and our reputation!" Missy and Foxx were about to say something, but the two cheerleaders turned around and stormed out of the clinic, leaving them baffled and frustrated.

"What was that all about!?" Missy growled, "Do they honestly expect us to know what's going on around here!?"

"They probably think all organizations have the same spirit seeking abilities as the Ouendan," Foxx mutters, flopping back down in her chair, "I don't blame them for assuming we would've known how many Ouendan actually do their parts in Japan, and thinking we only care about our own agency..."

Missy looks down at Foxx, upset at first, but then worried. She sighs and flops back down in her seat, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands.

Shinta's face twitched before opening his eyes, finding himself laying in a twin-size bed of a dimly lit room. Despite being dry and having thick, black blankets covering him from the neck down, his body still shivered to the point where he felt nauseated, while his cheeks flushed a light red.

"Hey! You're awake, eh!?" calls a voice. Shinta snaps his head towards a bright light spilling into the square-shaped door at the far end of the room, finding Spin leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, sporting a cocky grin.

"Pretty freaky, seein' you stumble around town at this time of night," he chuckles, "You was pretty messed up when I brought ya here; soakin' wet and burnin' on the forehead. I'd say you gotta fever of 102." Shinta's face twists in anger, "Don't know what happened to ya, but I'm sure a coupl'a days rest'll get you back on your feet in-" Shinta jerks his entire body away from Spin, cutting him off before he could finish. The BA-5 Agent stumbles back in bewilderment and shock.

"A forked path now stands between them and the truth," said a voice. Spin looks to the left to see Ryuta leaning against the wall with a neutral look on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spin asked.

"He saw the Divas perform to someone in Noble territory," Ryuta said, "Now everything that was rumors to us has become facts to them. As far as they're concerned at this point, you're nothing more than enemies to them."

"Enemies!? Over a misunderstanding!? That ain't right, dawg! There's gotta be someway of making them believe we ain't tryin' to destroy them!"

"As long as they keep ignoring you and following those rumors like blind bats, there's little chance you can get them to at least understand why most of Japan began relying on you as much as they do Ouendan."

"Did you try explaining it to them last time you ran into each other?"

"At that time, we were weary of their presence, unsure of how long they would last here before they decided to move somewhere else. We didn't exactly exchange stories, just stared at each other and moved on. And besides, even if we did try to explain why we didn't stop EBA from accepting Japan's cry for help, there was a slim chance they would actually believe it and stop thinking of you as zealots trying to make yourself known to more than just America."

Spin sighs a moan as he looks down at his hands sitting in his pockets.

The next morning, in Yunnami Inn, an old fashion Japanese Inn deep within Yuhi Town, J, second BA member of EBA with his orange pompadour and amber sunglasses, slips on his black coat and buttons it up.

"You go out for today?" asked an old woman in a purple kimono.

"Yep," J said excitedly, "Figured I go check up on Chieftain. Starr said he was staying overnight at the clinic."

"Ah, yes! Again, I sorry for the trouble Kaede-san caused you last week. Ever since she retire from wrestling and made living here, she always cause trouble. But I so glade your friend okay!"

"Hey, no need to worry. Stuff happens, ya know. Your daughter-in-law seemed a bit shaken by what happened, though. Said she was going to try and make up for her mistake by cleaning some central pillar."

The woman's face jerks into hysteria upon hearing what J said, "She do what!?"

"Central Pillar Twist!" Kaede shouts as she runs two cloths along the center of the pillar. Cracks started to form around the sides of the pillar from the pressure she applied to her polishing.

"Kaede-san!" the Mother-in-Law cries as she runs into the room, finding Kaede throttling the pillar and increasing the cracks, "What're you doing!?"

"Hi there, Mother-in-Law!"Kaede shouts, looking over to the mother-in-law as J shows up behind her,"I know how important this pillar is, so I'm wiping it very firmly!"

Kaede's strength accidentally snaps the pillar in half, sending the top half crashing onto the Mother-in-Law's head. The okami-in-training yelps in shock over her actions, "Are you okay!?"

"That's gonna leave a mark," J mutters, looking unfazed by what just happened.

The Mother-in-Law tries to contain her anger as she gives Kaede another stern look.

"Kaede-san..." she mutters, eyebrow twitching, "As a young hostess... No, as a person, don't you have any self awareness!?"

Kaede didn't seem to be paying attention as she runs to the son of the current okami, hugging him gently, "Darling!"

"Come on, mother! You can trust Kaede!" the husband said, placing his hand around Kaede.

"Oh really?" the Mother-in-Law muttered before pointing to an elderly man with messy, gray hair, wearing a green kimono and tan vest, "Then I want Kaede-san to entertain sensei while he's here!"

"Whoa! The living national treasure, Seizan-sensei!" the husband yelps in shock and awe. J and Kaede stare at the new arrival rather oblivious.

"A famous sculptor?" J asked.

"He synonymous for work on many piece of art," the Mother-in-Law said, addressing J, "To have him in our inn is honor we must cherish like fine glass." She then glares at Kaede sternly, "If Kaede-san cannot satisfy Seizan-sensei, she must separate from Kazuo, pack her bag and leave this inn!"

"No way!" Kaede shrieks in shock, understanding every word the Mother-in-Law said, "Separate from my beloved darling!?" she then begins to bend back, "O..." she places her hands on the ground beside her head, her face masked with fear and anxiety, "O..."

"Uso! They actually said that!?" complained Aoi, the youngest of the three female cheerleaders in the Ouen Squad. She and the other girls sat in the onsen with Missy and Foxx sitting at the far end of the spring. Missy was up to her chin in water, her pigtails tied to the top of her hair to keep from getting wet.

"I don't know what to do..." Missy mutters, "They were really angry, like they wanted us to know where they are at all times."

"You shouldn't feel bad about this," said Sayaka, the lead member of the Cheer Girls, "Even though they thought you accepted Kuroiwa-san's offer without knowing why Ouen can no longer respond in Asahi, it doesn't mean you should feel responsible."

"The way they talked to us begs to differ," Foxx grumbles, crossing her arms, "They don't bother asking us why we stole one of their people, they just flat accused us for humiliating them and declared they were going to chase us out."

Anna, the blond American member of the Cheer Girls, looks over to her two companions, "I say we have a talk with those members and explain the situation to them," she said, "Maybe then they'll understand and back off."

"I suppose you're right, Anna," Sayaka sighed, "Just sitting around and waiting for them to warm up doesn't seem to be doing much, especially since they have no clue just how limited they are to choices."

Just then...

OUENDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!

The girls look towards the inn, almost startled by the call.

"WAI!! ACTION TIME!!" Aoi cheers, grabbing her towel and throwing it around her body as she stood up. Sayaka and Anna looked over to Foxx and Missy.

"Just leave everything to us," Sayaka said as she and Anna stood up and wrapped their towels around themselves, "That squad won't bother you anymore, I promise."

Foxx and Missy watch as the girls head off to the inn to change and perform their duties.

End Notes:

An "okami" is like a bellboy at a hotel, they serve and obey whatever order the customers gives them without question or complaint.