I do not own any characters from the Justice League Unlimited series or from Kamen Rider OOO. They belong to their creators. I will only claim ownership of any original characters, monsters, Core Medals, Combos and Greeed that appear in this story. This story is set as a cross-section between the JLU and KR OOO.
—
Justice League: OOO Unlimited
So far on Justice League: OOO Unlimited…
Ankh begins his training with Dr. Fate on learning magic and the art of Fire Bending. During the training, Ankh's Greeed form begins to show signs of slightly evolving due to the presence of the three God Core Medals that are currently housed within his body. As Ankh trains, Fire and Ice try to enjoy their day off at Barra de Tijuca but are soon called into action at the Tijuca Forest when Atomic Skull, Giganta and Volcana steal a rare stone with strange powers. With a powered up Volcana as their opponent, Fire and Ice find themselves having a hard time until they get help in the unexpected form of Ankh. After the battle, Fire begins to shows signs of affection towards Ankh which only go on to irritate him but he soon discovers that he is evolving in more ways than one.
—
As the sun slowly rose up into the sky over New Metro City, its morning rays of light shone through the windows of three bedrooms located on the top floor of a luxury high rise penthouse that rose almost one hundred stories into the sky. Filtering through the windows, the light lightly caressed the inner makings of the bedrooms, slowly making their way across the floor and over to the beds which held their sleeping occupants. In the first room was a big desk covered in schematics and blueprints to many technical devices as well as a few spare canisters and a spare Birth Buster lying on an opposite table.
On an opposite table was a laptop which had a screen saver in the form of a picture of Gotou, Eiji, Hina, Date, Ankh, Satonaka and Chiyoko standing in front of the restaurant which Chiyoko owned. Set next to the laptop were a few silver cans colored with patches of either green, red, grey or purple. These were the newly finished prototype Candroids that Gotou and Batman had finished developing and they were brought back to the apartment for a test run.
Over in the bed lay Gotou who was sound asleep under a plan grey and black colored blanket. As he slept his alarm clock suddenly went off, slowly waking him up and causing him to groan in reluctance as he did not want to wake up just yet. Cracking an eye open he could see the sun was already rising and slowly made his way out of bed, his body clad in a pair of black bed pants and a black tank top. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he slowly made his way towards his dresser and pulled out some clean underwear before going to his closet and grabbing an outfit for the day. Making his way towards his bathroom he then stripped and got in the shower, the cold water jolting him right awake.
"Ah, crap! Cold…way too cold!" he complained.
As he showered, in another room slept an arrogant and overly bossy young man who was really what was known as a Greeed. Decorating the room were tables and bookshelves that housed many different books, paintings, statues and replicas of exotic plants and birds. The window was covered with a silk curtain colored in red while the wall behind the headboard of the bed had a silk red cloth dangling from it, as if signifying the color and presence of the man within the room. Lying under a red silk sheet was Ankh who seemed to be smiling as he let bits of sleep talk escape his mouth, mostly about ice pops and something about a fire. His own alarm clock soon went off and he too woke up with a bit of disdain in his voice as he looked at the clock angrily and then at the window to see the rays of the rising sun peering through. 'Kuso…I don't want to get up today.' Ankh complained mentally as he got up out of bed and made his way towards his own dresser, pulling out his own set of underclothes. Set on top of the dresser were also a few Candroid cans which either had red or red-orange color patches to them, signifying that they were mostly Taka and Kujaku type Candroids.
He then made his ways towards his closet and pulled out his uniform for his job at the atrium and then made his way towards his own bathroom. "Meh, oh well. At least I got a good reason to get out of bed today. The new sets of falcons are supposed to be arriving and I want to be there to greet them." Ankh said to himself as he stripped out of his black bed pants and red t-shirt before slipping into the hot shower. "Ah…the perfect temperature~." Ankh purred quietly in an almost catlike manner.
Within the final bedroom it was actually rather cold, much colder than the other two rooms. But it wasn't the AC that made it so cold for it was the rooms' inhabitant. Decorating the room was all sorts of items and objects that represented different cultures as well as a bookshelf that held books on different cultures as well as information on mythical and legendary creatures and even extinct animals. The window had a plain silk sheet colored purple hanging over it and the wall behind the headboard of the bed had a purple silk cloth dangling behind it as well. On the nightstand next to the bed was an alarm clock that was starting to go off, waking the young man up. Sitting next to the alarm clock were four Candroids colored with patches of red, red-orange, purple and deep green. They represented the Taka, Kujaku, Ptera and Tricera Candroids which Eiji found himself using a lot around his room.
As Eiji woke up he slid out of his purple comforter and turned off his alarm clock before slowly getting up and making his way towards his dresser, getting what he needed, including an extra clean pair of underpants. He then went to his closet and got a decent pair of clothes and then went and got his shower, stripping out of his black and purple bed cloths and slipping into the warm water.
"Well, looks like today is starting out just fine."
—
OP Theme: Anything Goes!
By: Maki Ogurou
—
Chapter 11:
Daily Life, Hints of Attraction and a New Job
Author: Toku Warrior
—
Walking down the stairs to the first floor of their apartment, Ankh was still messing with his hair so as to make sure it was curled at the ends like it usually was. As he made his way into the kitchen he noticed Gotou cooking breakfast while Eiji sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the morning newspaper. "Ohayo…" Ankh greeted tiredly which the others returned with a greeting of their own. Taking a seat across from Eiji, Ankh soon found a cup of coffee placed in front of him, courtesy of Gotou, who then set down three plates of breakfast which consisted of toast and sausage. He also set down a morning ice pop for Ankh to eat after he finished his breakfast.
"So, since we have the day off from League duty, what's on today's agenda?" Eiji asked as he folded up the paper and set it down before taking a bite out of his toast.
"I've got work today." Ankh replied as he took a sip of his coffee. When he was a normal Greeed he did not need such things, but now that he was evolving and becoming more alive he found that coffee and regular food had their uses in helping him stay energized throughout the day. "The atrium is supposed to be getting in a pair of Falcons in so I volunteered to help out."
"Sounds like something you'd do. You do have a thing for birds after all." Gotou added as he ate some sausage and then took a sip of coffee.
"Maybe that's because he's a Greeed based around birds?" Eiji inquired which Gotou seemed to agree with. "Anyway, what about you, Gotou-san?"
"Me? Well, I've been helping Batman with the development of the Greeed data to be used in the simulator. Today is the first official test of that data in an actual battle simulation."
"Really?" Ankh asked, now interested in the topic at hand. "Which Greeeds have you guys input into the data matrix of the simulator?"
"Just the basic ones." Gotou replied as he took another sip of coffee after finishing his breakfast. "There's Gamel, Mezool, Kazari and Uva. We also added in Doctor Maki's data but it won't be used until Hino tests it out." He then turned to look at Eiji, "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, not really." Eiji said as he also finished his breakfast and his coffee as well. "Besides, it might give me a way to release some of my pent up stress about Maki."
"You still having those nightmares, aren't ya?" Ankh asked as he finished his coffee. Eiji nodded and then gathered all of their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher before starting it. "Well, I got atrium duty and Gotou is going to help out with the Simulator…but what about you?"
"Hmm? I was thinking of going out today and looking for a job. You know, something to help put some extra cash into our finances." Eiji replied as they all went upstairs to the second floor and stopped in front of the far wall, opening the sliding door to reveal the express elevator hidden behind it.
As they entered the elevator and pressed the button for the parking garage, Gotou turned to Eiji and gave him a curious look. "What, are you going to join a traveling agency or something?" Gotou asked while making a small joke due to Eiji's love of traveling.
"No, of course not." He quipped as the elevator came to a stop, opening up to reveal a set of three vending machines set before them.
They then took a Cell Medal and slid one into each machine before pressing the flat black button on the front, converting them to their Ridevendor bike modes. Along with the Candroids, the Ridevendors were also finally finished but only a small handful were made. Each bike also hade a small assortment of Candroids set within it so that they could be used at a moments notice.
"Then what?" Ankh asked as he got on and strapped on his helmet.
"Well, my parents had both me and the rest of my siblings trained in various forms of martial arts. I wasn't the best student but I do remember a lot of the moves and techniques that were taught to me." Eiji and Gotou also slipped on their helmets and all of them started up the bikes, revving the engines every few seconds. "Even more so, the full combos helped to bring those moves out in a more polished state which I've been recently working on mastering outside of transformation. So I was thinking of getting a job as an assistant instructor at one of the local dojos.
"Hmm, you know, that actually makes sense. Plus you've learned a few new moves by training with Batman a couple of times as well so those could come in handy." Gotou added. "Well, we should get going. I need to get a few things before I head to the tower so I'll see you guys later." And with that all three of them sped out of the garage and down the road before going their separate ways at the stoplight. Starting now, today is going to be an interesting day for the three of them.
—
— New Metro City Atrium —
Inside the Atrium, a bird handler was carefully keeping an eye on two of the Atrium's employee's who were carrying a cage from a truck and inside of the building. The handler, a man who looked to be in his mid to late forties and wore tan jungle style clothes and boots, walked alongside them as he talked with the director of the atrium.
"Please, be careful with those two falcons." the man complained as he noticed one of the men carrying the cage stumble just a tad bit.
"We are sir." the other employee said and then looked at the director. "Director Etchinson, how much farther?"
"Another few feet." the director, a woman in her mid thirties with short cut red hair, soft brown eyes and wearing a pair of black slacks and a white blouse, said and then she brought a walkie-talkie to her mouth. "Shingo, ready the door." she told a third employee over the walkie-talkie.
"…hai." was all she got back.
A moment later they came to a corner and turned to see a young man wearing a pair of tan khakis, white shirt and with his blonde hair set in a curved and curly fashion on the right side of his head. His eyes were a chocolate brown color but they seemed to have a red hue to them as well. This man was actually Ankh, taking on the guise of Shingo Izumi, the name of his former host from his original world. Standing next to the opened door that led into a huge open aired sanctuary, Shingo held the door open as the other two employees carried the cage inside, followed by Director Etchinson and the bird handler.
After letting the others in, Shingo too went inside and closed the door. Looking back at Shingo, the director pointed over to the other employees, "Open the door to the cage after they set it down on the table." Shingo nodded and did as told; opening the door after the cage was set down. The bird handler then came over with a thick leather gloves covering both of his forearms.
"Alright now, these two aren't very friendly with people so stay back while I take them out." the handler instructed and the four of them did so as he took out the first falcon. The bird, unhappy with the handler from grabbing it, squawked loudly as it flapped its wings wildly, digging its talons into the leather gloves and even biting the gloves with its sharp beak. "Now calm down, Pisces. It'll be okay."
"Che," Shingo tisked as he saw the display. "It seems that he really doesn't like you that much."
"Like I said, neither of them care for people that much." the handler shot back at him as he set the male falcon down on its new perch and then went on to take hold of the female falcon.
As they continued with the falcons, a group of people who were visiting the atrium watched from a display window at the scene. They all stared on in awe at the graceful presence of the birds and lightly laughed at the misfortune on the bird handler. As the people continued to watch them the front doors opened up to let in another small group of people; a man with short brown hair with shaved sides, a young woman who held onto his arm with fair skin and short cut silvery white hair and another woman with sun-kissed skin with long wavy green hair.
The three of them headed over to the display and all three of them easily noticed the form of Ankh within the display alongside the director and a couple other employees and a bird handler. The greenette stopped and smiled softly as she watched the events unfold as the female falcon actually ripped its beak through the gloves and got the piece of its handlers arm. The man shouted out in pain as he set the bird down on the perch next to its mate and then stepped back as one of the employees brought him a first aid kit.
"Serves that man right." the white haired woman said as she stayed close to her boyfriend. "It's apparent to everyone that those two don't like humans all that much."
"You're probably right Tora." her boyfriend told her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. They didn't get to spend much time together due to his job so they tried to enjoy as much of the time that they had with one another as much as possible.
The greenette watched them and then sighed as she looked back at the form of Ankh within the display. Images of their adventure back in Rio swarmed through her head as she recalled how Ankh had come to their rescue. She had fallen for him almost instantly but Ankh was a hard person to get close to as he kept to himself a lot. She then looked back at her two friends and did a mock cough.
"Ahem, hey love birds; maybe they could put the two of you on display here?" the greenette said which caused the two of them to blush a bit.
"Come on Bea, you know Guy and I don't get to spend much time together." Tora quipped with a cute pout. Beatriz just smiled as they resumed watching the group Ankh and the others handle the falcons.
Back inside the atrium display, Shingo watched as the handler was attended to by one of his fellow employees and then noticed the small tray that held some type of raw meat for the pair of birds. "Is that supposed to be fed to them?" he asked, causing the handler to look at him.
"Yes, but that'll have to wait for a few minutes." he told them and then notice Shingo grab the tray and walk slowly towards the falcons. "Hey, wait a sec! They don't like people so if you approach them then they'll attack you, kid!"
"Rule number one; do not refer to me as a kid." Shingo said calmly as he stopped a good few feet away from the birds.
The director watched on with curiosity as did her two employees while the handler was about to move and bring Shingo back. The two falcons just kept their eyes on Shingo, watching him carefully and then noticed him raise his arm, holding it there for them to fly over to so that they could use it as a perch. He showed them the tray that held their food and he set it down on the table before taking out a piece of meet.
"Do you want to get hurt, kid?" the handler shouted which caused Shingo to look back at him with a dangerous glare in his eyes.
"Bakayarou! I said not to refer to me as a kid!" Shingo then looked back at the two falcons and locked his eyes with theirs; keeping himself absolutely calm as he showed them that he meant them no harm. The people outside watched on with amazement as they saw him approach the pair of deadly birds without any sort of protection. "And now for rule number two; as long as you can completely show an animal that you mean it no harm then it will cause no harm to you. A beast will never bare its fangs at one who is not its enemy nor its prey."
Shingo went on to prove this point as he continued to stare at the two birds with complete and utter calm within his eyes. After a few tense moments one of the falcons, the male known as Pisces, seemed to acknowledge Shingo and flew over to him, gently landing on his arm but careful enough to not dig its talons in too deep. Shingo winced ever so slightly at the sensation of the talons cutting into his skin but he fought the pain so as not to cause the bird any sort of stress. The female falcon, known as Uriel, also took the air and slowly landed on the shoulder opposite of the arm that its mate was currently perched upon. Shingo carefully adjusted his body to the extra weight and then held up the meat for Pisces who took it from him. He then picked up another piece and lifted it up to Uriel who also took her own share of the meat.
Everyone, especially the bird handler, watched on in complete and utter amazement at what Shingo had just accomplished. As he continued to feed the birds, Shingo then turned around and faced his boss, his fellow employees and also the bird handler. "A piece of advice; if you want these birds to respect you then you must show them the respect that they deserve."
Director Etchinson made her way over to Shingo in a slow manner so as not to startle the two feeding falcons and came to a stop near Shingo. "Mr. Izumi, I must say that I am quite impressed. I didn't know that you had such a close affinity with birds."
"I guess you could say I feel like I'm part bird. As such I know how to properly respect such magnificent creatures such as them." he told her as he continued to watch them eat. "A creature that is frail on the inside but has a fierce and powerful presence on the outside; a sense of pride that is unmatched by any other animal as it takes flight and becomes the winged lord of the skies."
"My, my," Director Etchinson said as she admired Shingo's love for birds. "That was really nice. It seems that you feel you have something in common with them." Shingo just looked at her and then back at the falcons.
"We do have something in common. We have very little tolerance for humanity. We only feel close to a select few who somehow find a way to show us any proper respect." He then turned back to his boss and looked her right in the eyes, "Don't worry though, you're one person that I hold no ill will for. Like myself, you show the birds and every other animal you've ever come across the respect that they so rightly deserve." The director smiled at that remark, knowing that at least he respected her enough to be honest with her. She then thought of something that would probably be interesting and something that Shingo might enjoy.
"Well then, Shingo Izumi, consider your internship over and welcome aboard as a full time member of our staff."
"Arigato." Shingo replied as he used his left finger to gently stroke Pisces' head, causing the falcon to close its eyes and enjoy the treatment.
"Well then, I feel that your main priority for now shall be the care of these two falcons and any other bird that meets your standards. Do you have any problems with that?"
"None what so ever." He then moved his arm which held Pisces and offered him to the Director. She looked at him and then, slowly, raised her arm to act as a perch. "Don't worry; he won't hurt you as long as you remain calm for him."
"I understand." Pisces, noticing the offered arm, gently hopped over to her arm and rested there, allowing her to gently stroke his head as well while Uriel moved to the perch of Shingo's right arm for herself.
As this continued, Beatriz watched closely from behind the display window at how well Ankh interacted with both the falcons and his boss. She wished that somehow, someday, that she would be able to be as close to Ankh as those birds were, perhaps even closer.
—
— Watchtower: Simulator Deck —
Up in the Watchtower, Kamen Rider Birth was hard at work with some aid from both Batman and Mr. Terrific with adding as much information into the simulator's data matrix without overloading it. It had taken Birth a few weeks but he had been able to compile all of the gathered data on the complete forms of Kazari, Mezool, Gamel and Uva and of the many Yummies that he and OOO had fought back in their world. Now he wanted to help give the League a taste of what they had to fight so as to better prepare them for the future seeing as Uva was still at large.
As the three of them worked on the new simulator construct protocols, both Donna and Diana entered the room with Kara, Green Arrow and Black Canary following close behind them. Diana had been informed of Birth's idea and had been waiting patiently to try it out now that the data input was nearly complete.
"So, how's it going?" Kara asked as she came to a stop behind Birth.
"Honestly, we finished about an hour ago but we're just giving the protocols of the new data a few final look throughs so as to make sure that everything is as perfect as it can be." Birth replied as he pulled up a list on the screen in front of him, showing the girl of steel which of the monsters from his world would be selectable for future opponents.
Donna walked over to him as well and placed a hand on his shoulder as she leaned over, looking at the list for herself. Birth blushed a bit behind his mask, the close contact that Donna was giving him making him feel uncomfortable. To him, she was a good friend but, for the past week, she had started to invade his personal space a lot and she herself didn't really see a problem with it. That or she probably didn't understand why she was doing so as well. With Amazons, one could never tell.
"So, are all of these so-called Greeeds and Yummies on the list?" Donna asked as she looked at Birth.
"No, not all of them." he replied as he brought up the Greeeds. "The only Greeed that is not available is Ankh seeing as he's a team member and you can always request a sparring match with him at any time. Then there's Ankh Lost, Ankh's original body which gained a life of its own. It basically had the same abilities as Ankh so we decided not to add him."
"What about this Doctor Maki that OOO once told me about?" Kara asked which caused both Birth and the present founding members to go quiet. Batman turned around in his chair and faced them.
"We're keeping the protocol data for Maki locked until OOO himself tests it out." he told them calmly, earning him a stare from a few of them. Kara and Diana knew well enough not to question such a decision and Mr. Terrific had been informed before hand when he was asked for his help in installing the data. Donna and the others though did not know about the past of the Riders or the Greeed.
"Why do we have to wait for OOO to test it out? What makes this data so important that he needs to give it the go-ahead?" Green Arrow asked as he crossed his arms.
The others began to think the same question as well. Why should they wait for OOO to give them the go-ahead to test the Maki protocol when they could test it themselves? They knew even less about the Riders than they knew about one another so how could they trust their word on it.
"Because…," Kara began as she turned away, a look of hurt and pain on her face. "OOO has more battle experience against Maki then either Ankh or Birth and…he also has…a bit more of a connection to him." Arrow looked at her with a stern stare, not fully understanding the last part of her answer.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Canary asked as she too felt the same way Arrow did.
"It means that you'll know if OOO chooses to tell you." Birth quipped, catching everyone's attention. He stood up and walked over to them, letting out a small sigh. "Look, OOO and Maki have a mixed past of sorts and Maki did whatever he could to try and stop OOO from defeating the Greeed by either creating Yummies that went after our friends to even trying to use the Core Medals that OOO and Ankh use to destroy our world." Arrow and Canary gave Birth a soft look and even Donna had to admit that she felt sorry for the three of them. "So, for the time being, just let it go and wait for him to test the protocol data. Once he gives the okay then I'll add Maki into the list."
"Something tells me there's more to OOO than what we've seen so far. Something like a dark secret." Canary said as she looked Birth right in his eye piece.
"And whether or not anyone else finds out will be up to OOO himself." Batman added as he joined them. "OOO has already reassured us that he will reveal all of his secrets in time once he is sure that every single member of the League can be trusted. As it stands, not everyone here is able to accept everything that is different from them."
"Fair enough." Arrow said and then walked over to the screen and pulled up a few Yummy and Greeed names on the list. "So, if everything is in order how about we get down to testing out some of these new opponents?" Birth thought about it and then, along with Batman and Mr. Terrific gave the system one last look through and then nodded.
"Very well, but I will go with whoever tries it out first so as to instruct you of their abilities as they come up." Birth said as he walked over to the door.
"I have a better idea, how about a team-up battle?" Diana suggested.
"Excuse me?" Birth said in confusion.
"It's simple; you and another person among us will go down there and face both a Yummy and a Greeed as a team. This way we can not only train against them but also work on our own teamwork at the same time." Birth thought about this suggestion and nodded.
"Very well then." He then turned and looked at the others, "So, who's first?" Donna raced to the front and stood next to him before he could even begin to place what had just happened. "Eh…Donna-chan?"
"I'll go; I really want to test out just how powerful these Greeed really are." Donna said excitedly. Diana just smiled as she could tell that things were starting to develop on a more personal level with the two of them though it seemed that Birth was still nervous around her.
Batman took a seat at the controls and brought up the list. "Very well." He then turned towards Birth and motioned him over to his side. "Birth, since you have the most experience of those among us at the moment, please choose the opponents."
"Hai." Birth looked through the list and then chose a Yummy and then its Greeed counterpart before heading back over to Donna. "Well, let's get this battle started."
"Right." Donna added as she followed Birth down the hallway past the door and out into the simulator. After they left and the door closed, Diana turned to the others with a smile on her face.
"So, does anyone else see a relationship starting to form between those two besides me?" Everyone else, except for Batman, nodded in agreement. "I thought so. But it seems that Birth is still nervous around her while Donna doesn't fully yet realize what she's doing or possibly why she's acting in such a way."
"Heh, young love." Canary said quietly as they watched Donna and Birth on the screen in front of them as they prepared themselves for battle.
—
— New Metro City: Border of Little Tokyo & China Town —
Riding down the street on his Ridevendor, Eiji kept a close eye out for any of the local dojos that were established in the area. He looked around and noticed that a small festival seemed to be going on so, wanting to absorb the atmosphere, he brought the Ridevendor to a stop near an alley and, after dismounting the bike, reverted it back to its vending mode. Walking along the street he noticed many different people, adults and children alike, running around and talking while having a good time. He lifted his nose and could smell all sorts of wonderful food coming from the many different booths.
'Hmm…everything smells so delicious here.' Eiji then noticed a crowd gathering in front of a pair of wooden gate doors that led to a small building styled after a traditional Japanese house that was connected to a modern day apartment complex. The apartment complex itself looked rather small in comparison to the house in front of it and Eiji soon found himself stopping next to the crowd to see what all the commotion was about. 'I wonder what could be going on here.'
He soon got his answer as he noticed a set of fast moving figures moving around on a ring mat, the figures being two men going back and forth in a sort of exhibition match; each one showing off their skills in their preferred style of martial arts. Eiji smiled in astonishment as he enjoyed the spectacle of watching a young man that seemed to be of Brazilian decent demonstrating a form of Brazilian Jujitsu. The man let loose a kick which his opponent caught with hands and then, with a swift and fluid countermovement, spun his arms around so as to send the other man spiraling to the floor. But he didn't stay down long as he popped himself back up with a backflip that he then used to launch himself forward, landing on his feet and taking another fighting stance. His opponent, a man of Japanese decent, just stood there and took a small stance, not leaving any openings to be taken advantage of.
"Sugoi ne…" Eiji said to himself, catching the attention of a young Japanese woman who was holding the hand of a small girl while gently holding her other hand against her slightly bulging belly, indicating that she was currently pregnant. The woman looked at Eiji and noticed that she had never seen him around here before but also noticed the fire in his eyes as he watched the exhibition match that was currently taking place.
'Hmm…I wonder…maybe he could,' she thought until she heard the crowd cheer loudly and looked to see the Japanese man standing above his Brazilian opponent, holding his hand out to help him up. The other man just smiled while wiping a bit of sweat off of his brow before taking the offered hand.
"Kaa-chan, lookie, Tou-chan won the match." the little girl said as she jumped up and down at seeing her father win.
"I see that, Futaba-chan. Why don't you go and congratulate him?" the woman offered which got her a bright smile in response.
"Mn." she said with a nod and was instantly off as she made her way through the crowd and went towards her father who picked her up and held her in his arms.
As Futaba celebrated with her father, the woman looked back at Eiji who just watched all the excitement with a big smile on his face. It had been some time since he had seen a martial art exhibition match and seeing one at this point and time was just as exhilarating as it had been during the few times he had seen them back on his own world. She pondered about something and then approached Eiji.
"Ano…sumimasen," she began, catching Eiji's attention. He looked around at everyone else and noticed that she had been talking to him directly.
"Eh…you mean me?" Eiji asked while pointing to himself, the woman nodding in confirmation.
"I was wondering what you thought of my husband and how he fought? I ask this as I noticed that you seemed to have a burning passion in your eyes."
"Ano…well, I think that he's an amazing fighter and that, with his skills, he could protect many people." Eiji told her which made her smile.
"Then you would be correct. For you see, my husband practices the fist that protects." she told him which caused him to give her a confused look.
"Fist that protects?"
"Hai." Eiji thought about it and then looked back at the man who had won, the man that this woman claimed to be her husband and he let a big smile cross.
"I wouldn't mind seeing how I would compare to such a fist." Eiji said which the woman seemed to acknowledge as she then took him by the hand and dragged him towards her husband. The man, as he held his daughter, noticed his wife coming over to him while dragging a young man with her. He looked at the scene with an inquisitive look on his face until his wife stopped before him, presenting Eiji to him.
"Chisato-chan, what's the matter?" the man asked as he set his daughter down.
"Anata, I think this young man here might have that spark that you've been looking for." she whispered into his ear. "I noticed a passionate fire burning in his eyes as he watched you fight. He even wonders how he would compare to your fighting style." she said in an even quieter whisper. Eiji, even with his enhanced hearing, had to really listen in just to hear but he decided against it.
The man, looking up from his wife, gauged Eiji with a critical eye and looked at how he was dressed. He didn't seem the type who was a fighter but it was always wise to expect the unexpected, even from the most unlikely of sources.
"Well, young man, do you have a name?"
"H-hai, Hino Eiji desu. Yoroshuku onegaishimasu." Eiji said quickly and bowed to show his respect which the man returned.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Hino-san. My name is Taikawa Saito."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Taikawa-sensei." Eiji said as he held out his hand which Taikawa took, shaking his hand.
"Well then, how about we test your skills? Mind telling me your main style of preference?"
"Ano…I have no main style, sensei. I just use a mixture of different styles. But I am trying to combine the best teachings and lessons of many arts into a single style of my very own. I figure, by doing this, I'll be one step closer to having the strength that can be used to protect those who reach out their hands for help."
Taikawa thought about Eiji's response and liked what he heard from the young man. It sounded sincere enough that he wanted to see what the young man could do. He then escorted Eiji into his dojo and showed him all of his students that were hard at work at honing their skills.
"Well the, Hino-san. My wife seems to have brought you to me as she knows that I'm looking for a new assistant instructor for the dojo. With her being pregnant now, I need to be able to devote most of my time to tending to her." Taikawa told him which struck Eiji as a good thing to be doing.
"I see, so you're possibly hiring today?"
"That all depends on you." He then moved a few feet away from Eiji and got in a stance, performing a few kata's so as to prepare himself in both body and mind. "Come at me, Hino-san. If you can either defeat me or even impress me in the slightest, I'll give you a job here and even teach you some of my own techniques."
"Honto ni?" Eiji asked and then quickly removed his shawl over shirt and scarf and set them on the ground before taking off his shoes. He then set himself into one of his many stances that he would take when fighting as OOO but today would just be a normal sparring match to see if he could get a job at this dojo.
All of the students immediately stopped what they were doing and headed on over to watch the match that was about to take place. Chisato, while holding onto Futaba's hand, took her spot at the center to act as the referee for the match. She watched both Taikawa and Eiji as they stared one another down and then raised her arm into the air, keeping the tension among everyone there. Then, in a swift movement, she brought her arm down, beginning the match.
"Hajimei!"
—
— New Metro City: Atrium – Near Falcon Display —
Shingo stood outside the display as the bird handler from earlier went over everything he had learned about the two falcons, wanting to make sure that Shingo would have as much information as possible seeing that he would now be the caretaker of the birds at the atrium. Shingo held a small pamphlet in his hands which listed any medical conditions that the birds had and any quirks they had shown to possess over the past year at their last residence.
"So, Mr. Izumi, do you understand everything now?" the handler asked as he picked up his bag while the two employees from earlier lifted the now empty cage and prepared to take it back to his truck.
"Seems simple enough to follow." Shingo then folded up the pamphlet and tucked it into his pants pocket and then turned and faced handler. "I'll make sure to keep you updated on their status as time goes on."
"I'd greatly appreciate it. It might not seem like it, but those two birds have grown on me."
"Beautiful creatures such as those two could easily impress anyone, Mr. Carter." the Director said as she walked over to them. "Though, when it comes to you, anything with a nice pair of legs will do." she added in as a small joke.
"Ah, come on Alexis, you know me better than that." Carter retorted in a mock-hurt tone.
"You're right, I do…seeing as we used to date back in our college years." Alexis quipped back at him sarcastically.
"You're still sore over that little misunderstanding?" Alexis glared at him with anger and her two employees, not wanting to get caught in the cross fire, quickly took the cage to the truck.
"Misunderstanding? Finding you in…" she started their argument, quickly annoying Shingo. Not wanting to get involved with petty human affairs, he quickly made his way back to his station to look over his list of remaining duties for the day.
Grabbing his list, he quickly scanned it over and noticed that not much was going to happen for the day as it was set as a half day seeing as today was the introductory day for the new birds. It was meant to let them get used to their new surroundings without all the loud noise of the crowds of people coming from within the hallways of the building.
"Che, stupid humans." Shingo chortled as he looked through the display window and noticed the birds sleeping in their new nest house. 'Sometimes, I can really admire how creatures such as yourselves can get it so easily while I have to deal with these idiots.' Shingo thought to himself. He was immediately knocked out of his thoughts though when a pair of slender hands wrapped around his face, covering his eyes. "Oi!"
"Guess who…Ankh~!" a familiar female voice announced in a bit of a sultry tone, as if the woman was whispering right into his ear. It was a voice that Ankh instantly recognized as only one woman could instantly annoy him just by being there.
"Fi—oomph!" he began to shout out until Beatriz placed her finger against his lips, quickly shushing him.
"Daaammmeee~. You mustn't use our code names out loud in Public when we're not in the right attire." Beatriz reminded him, causing Shingo to develop a dumbfounded look on his face as she removed her finger. "Here, how about a peace offering?" she added as she produced an ice pop and handed it to Shingo who, after a moment, took the treat and began to slowly enjoy it.
'Hmm…pineapple, that's a new one.' He then removed the ice pop for a second and looked back at Beatriz who was soon joined by both Tora and her boyfriend, Guy Gardner. "So, what brings you to the atrium? And when did you start learning Japanese?"
"Well, we wanted to come as we heard through the grape vine that this place was getting a pair of rare falcons in today." Tora told him.
"And my Tora here loves all animals and she really wanted to see them so we decided to come." Guy added in. "As for Bea here, well, she heard that you worked here and instantly wanted to come."
"Can I help it if one of our friends works at such a place?" she shot back. She then turned and faced Shingo again, "And I'm trying to learn Japanese so that maybe, one day, we could hold a decent conversation in your native tongue."
'More like you want wrestle his tongue with yours, Bea.' Tora thought to herself.
"Well, Japanese isn't my native tongue. It's just that when I revived after being entombed for over eight hundred, I was in Japan so I instantly adapted to that language. Plus, this form you see me taking is the form of the human I used as a host for over a year after I awoke." he informed them. "But now I can produce this form on my own, without needing him as a host, so now he can live out his life and I can live out mine."
As they continued their conversation, Alexis was walking down the hallway in a huff. Carter had apparently tried to hit on her while he was there and she did not take it so well. 'The nerve of that man!' she thought and then noticed Shingo talking to a small group of people she had never seen before. She had to admit that the man of the group was attractive and the two girls that were with him were both very beautiful. She also noticed how the girl with the green hair just stared at Shingo as he talked. "Mr. Izumi, may I have a word with you for a moment?"
"Hai." Shingo said as he turned around and faced his boss as she came to a stop right in front of him. He could see some of the irritation still present on her face and just laughed lightly, but not loud enough that the others could pick up on it. "So, how did it go with your old boyfriend?"
"That's…that's…well," she started and now she really wanted to kick Carter's butt. "Well, let's just say he won't be hitting on any more women for a few days." Shingo nodded in understanding and Alexis went on. "Anyway, Mr. Izumi, since today is just a half day, and since the falcons are already retired for the remainder of the day as well, why not take the rest of the day off and go relax."
"You serious?" Shingo asked.
"Of course. After what you did earlier you deserve it. So go out and enjoy the weekend and I'll see you bright and early Monday morning."
"Hai." Shingo replied as he began to head towards the office to punch out for the day.
"Oh, and Shingo," He turned around and noticed her looking at him with a sly smile. "Treat that girlfriend of yours there nicely." This caused a rise of laughter to erupt from Tora and Guy while Beatriz just smiled and then gave Shingo a wink. Shingo shot her a glare and then turned to gripe at his boss.
"Oi, she's not my girlfriend!" Shingo then found himself being dragged down the hallway by Beatriz and towards the front doors. "Baka-onna, I still need to punch out!"
"Oh, your boss can do that for you. Now come on!" Beatriz shouted excitedly as she pulled Shingo out of the building and down the street with Guy and Tora following close behind. "There's a celebration going on down town so let's go have some fun!"
"Oi, ch-chotto matte! I said wait! I'll transform right here to get you to stop!"
"And then, if you do, you'll get reprimanded heavily by the League." Tora reminded him, causing him to glare at her and then to clam up and sigh in defeat. With that said and done, Beatriz continued to drag a defeated Shingo all over town as they hit the festival area and join in the celebration.
—
— Watchtower: Greeed Battle Simulation —
As the six League members watched the ongoing battle within the simulation room, both Birth and Donna were having the workout of their lives. The Yummy that had been produced was a simple Feral Cat Yummy that OOO had defeated a few weeks into his beginnings as a Rider while the Greeed which had been activated was none other than Kazari. Donna had at first thought that they would be pushovers but that analysis was soon proven wrong on many different levels as Birth was busy fighting the Yummy, leaving Donna all on her own against the Kazari simulation.
The Cat Yummy came at Birth with a claw slash to his chest, ripping off sparks as they connected with his armor, sending him to the floor with a yelp of pain. Donna turned around to see Birth get knocked down as instantly tried to go and help him only for her path to be blocked by what appeared to be a sudden barrage of machine gun fire. She turned to see Kazari's dreadlock-like mane extended outwards and levitating behind his body as it continued to lay heavy fire at her which she found herself having a hard time blocking.
'Damn cat…didn't know that this thing had projectile weaponry in its arsenal!' Donna cursed to herself as she flew into the air, avoiding the machine gun fire and then coming down and landing a drop kick into Kazari, sending him flying into a wall of an adjacent building. "Alright, scratch one cat!" she cheered and then turned to where Birth was. "Hang on Birth, I'm on my way."
Birth saw her starting to come towards his direction and began to grow agitated, and for a very good reason. "Bakayarou! Don't turn your back on your opponent!" he shouted at her, causing her to flinch at his harsh tone before she turned to see a sandstorm twister slam right into her, knocking her right into Birth, sending them both stumbling down to the ground.
As the two of them got up slowly both Kazari and his Yummy closed in on them, preparing to finish the job. Donna, not one about to let her pride be marched upon by a bunch of fakes, got up and flew at the both of them at top speed. "HYAH!"
"Baka, don't rush in blindly without having a plan first!" Birth shouted at her but was too late as Donna had fully underestimated her opponent. Kazari ran at a speed that she could barely keep up with and slammed a fist into her gut, hard, knocking the wind out of her.
As the fight continued, Diana watched her sister with concern. Batman and the others noticed this and also kept a close eye on her. "Okay, is it me, or does she not even think when jumping into a fight?" Kara asked which got her looks from her senior heroes. "What?"
"You do know that you are not one to talk, kid. Remember that Chong Mai mission?" Mr. Terrific brought up, causing Kara to cringe at being reminded of that mission. It was partly her fault that they almost lost and that OOO was now barred from using his PuToTyra combo during missions until further notice.
"Yeah, I get it so write a book about it or stop bringing it up already." she shot back. "Besides, what's with your sister anyway Diana?"
Diana just continued to watch and remembered many of the times where Donna would act the very same way when training back at their island home of Themyscira. "She can be a bit stubborn…and prideful." she told them. "She feels like she has to prove herself to her peers or else she won't be recognized as a warrior."
"Really?" Arrow asked as they noticed Kazari extend one of his claws and prepared to impale Donna right then and there. "Batman, I think it's time you ended this test for now."
"I agree." Batman said, preparing to end the test. "It appears that Donna is not yet ready to fight monsters of the same caliber as a complete Greeed."
Back down in the simulation, Kazari prepared to strike and all Donna could see was a pair of metal claws coming down towards her face. "Yaameeeeerrrooooouuuu!" Birth screamed as he ran towards them while sliding the Cell Canister onto the front of the Cell Busters' muzzle.
"CELL BURST!"
Pulling the trigger, Birth sent a powerful blast of energy at the Yummy, destroying it on the spot and then dropped the buster as he lunged for Kazari. As Donna and the others saw the claws of Kazari come down, Donna completely saw her life flash before her eyes. This was just a simulation but the data and powers and even the strength of this Simu-droid were almost at the same exact level of the real Kazari. It was a pure beast of power of the likes neither she nor her sisters had ever seen before. Scrunching her eyes shut, she soon noticed after a few seconds that no pain came but she soon heard a metal against metal sound followed by a pained grunt.
SLASH!
SCREECH!
"ARGH!"
Opening her eyes and looking up, Donna stared on in fright at the sight of an injured Birth who now stood between her and Kazari, his front facing her while his back was towards the Greeed. Birth then soon fell to one knee with Donna catching him, using her body to support his weight, while Birth lifted his hand to his helmet, activating his communicator.
"Koumori…san…," Birth breathed out tiredly.
"Yes?" Batman said through the comm. link.
"T-terminate…the test." In an instant, the hard light constructs of the environment and even Kazari shimmered before vanishing, leaving on the simulation room, a Simu-droid standing behind Birth and a busted droid on the floor.
A few moments later, Diana and the others came out into room and ran over to them. "Birth, are you alright?" Diana asked in a panic as she went and helped him up.
"H-hai…daijoubu…desu." he managed to get out. Everyone else then turned and looked on at Donna who noticed their gazes and then moved over towards Birth and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"B-Birth, I'm so sorry." she apologized as she tired to help her sister support the weight of Birth's armored body. "I…I just…I just," she began until Birth angrily slapped her hand away and pushed himself off of Diana and glared at Donna, right in the eyes.
"Donna-chan, you may be an Amazon…and a warrior…but this is not just some game that we're playing!" he yelled as he berated her.
"I know that!" she retorted but was then cut off by him again.
"I don't think you do!" He then began to take deep, slow breathes as he tried to relax his tired and injured body. "You run off into a battle halfcocked and don't even bother to truly think of how powerful your opponent could be. While it may be true that rushing in might work sometimes, most of the time it will just get you killed."
"But…but…,"
"No buts, Donna-chan. This exercise was supposed to be about teamwork and to show you all how to combat the Greeed and the Yummies in the near future and yet you just rushed in without even thinking. This isn't your run of the mill villain we were fighting, we were fighting a monster and yet you seem to have forgotten that." Birth then felt a hand place itself on his shoulder and he turned around to see Diana looking at him sternly.
"That's enough, Birth. I think you made your point."
"Iie, I have not." he told her harshly, surprising her. "Just because she is your sister does not mean that she gets special treatment. If she messes up then she deserves the same berating that the rest of us get when we screw up." He then looked back at Donna, "Donna-chan, I am not trying to sound mean or cruel…but you have a long way to go if all you do is jump without thinking."
Birth then made his way towards the door, limping slightly and almost falling over until Kara came to help him to the infirmary. He then stopped for a second and turned back towards Donna.
'Gotou…' Donna looked at him with hurt eyes.
"Donna-chan…we will resume training again in two days once I've had some rest. We will start from the ground up and practice only against the Yummy." Donna looked at him with surprise. She had thought that he would never train with her again. "You are an excellent fighter but you still lack proper judgment…so I'll act as your instructor for the time being. Understood?" Donna didn't say a thing but simply nodded her head and, with a simple nod of his own head, Birth left the room with Kara helping him to the infirmary so as to get medical attention.
As Donna watched him leave she could have sworn that her heart had just skipped a few beats. Some strange feeling was now starting to fester from deep within but she could not place it. She would think about it later though as she soon found herself getting a lecture from the rest of the League members that had been in attendance. It would seem that she still needed a bit more practice but she would welcome the training.
'Sorry Gotou…' Donna thought as she took the lecture in stride. She would have to think of a way to make it up to him later.
—
— New Metro City: Taikawa Dojo —
"Hyah!"
"Toh!"
Both Eiji and Taikawa shouted as they quickly began their match. Eiji had started the battle by using the familiar stance that he took whenever he used the TaJaDor combo and started using a mixture of different kung fu styles on Taikawa who effortlessly blocked each and every strike with ease. Eiji thrust out with a palm strike which Taikawa blocked by using his left arm to push it away and thrust out with side kick which Eiji dodged by spinning around before striking out with a quick fist strike to Taikawa's face. Taikawa easily backed away in time while ducking and then performed a fast roundhouse kick, causing Eiji to use both arms to block the kick. Grabbing his leg, he then use a move he noticed Taikawa had used earlier and twisted his arms, rolling Taikawa's leg around and spinning him in the air before sending him to the ground.
Taikawa was surprised to say the least. 'Incredible, this young man can imitate a move after seeing it only once. I wonder if he can imitate the more advanced moves though.' Taikawa thought as he flipped himself back up just as Eiji came down with an axe kick, his heel hitting the spot on the mat where Taikawa had been only a second earlier. 'And he's quick. Something tells me that this kid has seen some battle in his youth.' Taikawa then upped the ante and started to increase his speed and the fluid slow of his strikes.
They both threw punches and back hands, each person blocking the others' strike within inches of actual contact but Eiji soon found himself being pushed back as he caught a punch to his chest with his right hand. He then rolled his arm around to try and lock their arms together but Taikawa masterfully counter rolled the twist and locked up Eiji's arm instead, forcing his arm up.
'Shimatta!' Eiji cursed in his mind as he noticed a fist aimed for his rib cage. He quickly used his free hand to catch the punch and then, using the force in his legs, spun their bodies around until the tables were reversed, Eiji now having Taikawa's arm locked up. 'Yosh!'
'Not bad…' Taikawa thought as he decided to stop playing around and began to get serious. He brought his locked arm in to his body, bringing Eiji in along with it and then spun him around and locked both of his arms behind his back. Eiji struggled to break free but soon noticed Taikawa lift his body up and throw him to the ground. Eiji pushed himself up after a second and looked at Taikawa with a bit of amazement in his eyes. "Not bad Hino-san. You definitely have some skills…and a great amount of untapped potential." Taikawa said as he got into another stance. "But you still have a long way to go if you're ever going to be able to defeat me."
And with that Taikawa rushed at Eiji and began to let loose strike after strike of punches and kicks; his attacks going so fast that Eiji could barely dodge and block. He couldn't even retaliate as Taikawa was keeping him on the defensive the whole time and then Eiji soon found himself on his back once more from getting sweep kicked. Hitting the mat hard, he looked to see Taikawa come down with a fist to his face but the punch came to a stop only a few centimeters from his nose. Eiji looked at Taikawa and Taikawa looked back at him and smiled. He the rose a bit and opened his hand to help Eiji up.
"Well, Hino-san, it appears that I win this match." Eiji just smiled a bit and took the offered hand, Taikawa helping him to his feet.
"It would appear so. And I thank you for the lesson." Eiji said as she straightened his clothes out. "I think I was able to learn a few things just from that exercise but I also noticed that my own moves need more focusing if they're going to be used properly."
"A very keen observation." Taikawa replied as he led Eiji to a towel rack and handed him a towel while Chisato brought them both some bottles of water. "You may have what it takes to become a true master one day if you can keep up this pace."
"Arigato, Taikawa-sensei!" The two of them then took a few swigs from the water bottles and then continued to dry themselves off.
"So, anata, what do you think?" Chisato asked while she smiled at hr husband. Taikawa looked at her and then at Eiji before looking back at her again.
"Well, he still has a long way to go," he began and then looked back at Eiji. "But with the proper guidance he can advance to an even higher level in skill." He then thought about his wife's suggestion and decided upon his decision. "So, Hino-san, how would you like a job here as one of my assistant instructors?" Eiji nearly spit out his water and coughed a bit while trying to get some air back into his lungs.
"Are…(cough)…are you serious, sensei?" Eiji was able to get out.
"But of course. While it is true that you still need some more training, I can do that better while on the job and you already possess enough skill to at least to be able to help me out here." Taikawa then motioned for Eiji to follow him and showed him the dojo as the students had gone back to training. "You see, Hino-san, I only have two assistants. One is Nobuhiko-san over there," Taikawa said as he pointed over to a young man who looked to be in about his mid twenties who was watching over a group of young kids as they sparred. "The other one is my wife here. But with her now being pregnant I am spending more time taking care of her and all of the responsibilities of running the dojo are slowly falling down onto Nobuhiko-san."
"I see, so you want to lighten the burden a bit for him?" Eiji asked.
"Exactly, and I was hoping to find another instructor anyway as the dojo is starting to get more students every year. By next year, if we do not have another instructor then we could be in a pinch in trying to help all of kids." The three of them looked at the students and then Taikawa and his wife looked back at Eiji. "I mean it Hino-san, you have enormous potential and you can only keep getting stronger. I also want to see you perfect this new style that you're trying to create and I could also use your help. So what do you say?"
Eiji thought about it for a moment and looked back at the students who seemed to be enjoying themselves. He noticed that they all had looks of determination on their faces and then thought about his own personal desires. He now had the power to extend his reach to help those that needed it thanks to the League but he felt he could use more power so as to better protect people. He had also slowly begun to develop a couple of new desires as well but he was not sure what they really were yet. He could feel himself desiring something else but was unsure of what that desire was. He then realized that Taikawa's Fist of Justice would be a great asset in his desire to protect people and also believed that what Taikawa was trying to do was right. He wanted to help these kids to better themselves and Eiji wanted to see them succeed in their dreams as well.
Eiji looked back at Taikawa and Chisato and noticed their daughter, Futaba, come up to join them as well and smiled. "Taikawa-sensei…I'd like to help…so when do I start?" Chisato sighed in relief while Taikawa laughed out loud a bit and wrapped an arm around Eiji's shoulder as he led him to his office.
"Hino-san, I can tell this is going to work out just fine." he said as they walked through the door. You can start first thing next Monday, this way, you'll have time to prepare yourself and so I can have time to set up your hours. Four now, you'll help out for at least three days a week, when Nobuhiko-san isn't working, and I'll train you every weekend in my personal style so that you can be brought up to par. How does that sound?"
"I accept!" Eiji said with a bow. "Arigato gozaimasu!" Things were starting to look up for Eiji but he just hoped he could juggle his new job around both his League duties and his duty as a Kamen Rider. He just prayed that he never got called away on his days off so he would have to talk with Batman to place him on emergency call only for the days he worked. It would only be three days but that would be enough for now.
—
— Later that evening —
Returning home after receiving a bit of training from Taikawa-sensei, Eiji came back up to his apartment via the express elevator and entered only to see no one on the second floor. Gotou would usually be in the lab working on new Candroid designs and Ankh would usually be playing video games on one of the arcade machines.
"Ne, Ankh…Gotou-san…doko wa?" Eiji called out as he went downstairs and then noticed Gotou lying on the couch with an ace wrap around his abdomen. He also noticed Ankh sitting in a chair while surfing the net on his laptop with a bit of an irritated look on his face. "Okay, do I even want to know what happened to the two of you today?"
Ankh just tisked while Gotou looked at him. "Hino…I think we're going to have to really apply ourselves with those new Greeed and Yummy Simu-droids." Gotou then sighed as he put his face into his arms, not wanting to strain his back anymore.
"What's that supposed to mean? What happened?"
"Let's just say that Donna-chan has a long way to go before we can expect her to fight properly on a team." Gotou said uncomfortably and then slowly and carefully pushed himself up before reaching for a glass of tea that was sitting on a coaster on the coffee table.
"She's like Kara-chan then, isn't she?"
"Just about." Gotou replied while taking a sip of his tea.
"Well," Eiji began as he smiled. "She can only improve and I know that if you are going to teach her then there shouldn't be any problems in the future." Gotou looked at him and then smiled lightly as he let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, you're right Hino. She has potential but her brash attitude and pride are definitely going to make it a challenge."
"And where would the fun be if it wasn't a challenge?" Ankh asked as he poked his head up from his laptop.
Gotou and Eiji both looked at him and nodded in agreement. Eiji then walked over to Ankh and took a seat across from him while relaxing from the day's workout. "So, Ankh, how did your day go?"
"It went fine in the beginning. The new falcons are resting peacefully and I was even put in charge of their care seeing as they like me more than anyone else there." Ankh told him.
"Really? That's great." Eiji then noticed a strange colored beaded necklace draped around Ankh's neck and wonder where that had come from. He then noticed a scowl appear on his face as well.
"It was great…until that baka-onna showed up!" Ankh shouted.
"Baka-onna…desuka?"
"He means Fire, you know, the female League member with green hair that we met on Initiation day?" Gotou reminded him.
"Oh, Fire-chan, I remember now." He then looked back at Ankh. "But why did she go to see Ankh?"
"Because she lives to annoy the hell out of me, that's why!" Ankh screamed and then went back to working on his laptop. Eiji looked at him and then over to Gotou who was just smiling and snickering the whole time.
"Actually, she ended up dragging him all around town after he got out of work and took him to that festival the next few blocks over. They spent the whole day together." Ankh just glared at him angrily as if giving him a death threat.
"I see, so that explains the necklace."
"She forced me to go!"
"That's not how I saw it when she and her friends walked you back through the front door earlier…Ankh-chan." Gotou said, using the chan part in a way that Beatriz had referred to him after she and Tora and Guy had escorted him home.
"Ankh-chan?"
"Urusai, bakayarou!" Ankh shouted at Gotou who just began to laugh so loud that his ribs began to ache slightly, but he could care less. Eiji then got the implication that Gotou was implying at and developed a sly smirk on his face. Ankh noticed and glared at him as well. "Don't you even think about it!"
"Ah, does out little Ankh have himself a girlfriend?" Eiji then got up and began to make his way to the stairs. "Well Ankh, I think it's time we had a talk about the bird and the bees." And that was the final straw as Ankh threw his laptop onto the couch and jumped over the back before chasing after Eiji at full speed.
"That's it! I'm going to kick your ass and then take those Purple Medals of yours and use them to kill you! You hear me Eiji?" Ankh shouted, still giving chase while Eiji kept on making girlfriend remarks and even making kissing sounds, just to mock Ankh a bit. As they continued to run around the teleporter upstairs activated, allowing Bruce, Clark and Diana to exit. They soon heard the entire ruckus going on downstairs and went down only to see Eiji run passed them with Ankh in hot pursuit. They then looked over at Gotou who was sitting on the couch while holding his sides, laughing so hard that he nearly fell of the couch.
They then heard things falling down to the floor upstairs and then a few death threats from Ankh as he shouted at Eiji. The three of them looked back over to Gotou who looked at them with a look of hilarity on his face. His day had finally gotten better. Clark just looked at him and put a hand to his head.
"So, do we even want to know what happened?" Clark asked.
"You guys wan the long version…or the short one?" The three of them looked at one another and then took a seat.
It appeared that they wanted the whole story and Gotou was more than willing to tell them. After today's adventures for out three heroes, Ankh was not going to be able to live down this day for the next few weeks.
—
Next time on Justice League: OOO Unlimited:
It's Superman's birthday but what do you give the man who practically has everything? Batman and Wonder Woman go to visit him in his fortress up in the arctic but soon find a strange plant strapped to his chest. To make things worse, Mongol appears and a fight soon breaks out. Eiji soon shows up to give Superman a gift that he, Gotou and Ankh had crafted for him but also gets dragged into the battle. OOO will have to pull out all the stops if he's going to fight a being that is almost as powerful as Superman but can he keep himself from going out of control when his Greeed tendencies suddenly begin to emerge? No one knows and Mongol may soon find himself for the fight of his life when the Ultimate Greeed comes after him with a few new powers and a slightly new form.
Chapter 12:
The Man Who Has Everything, Black Mercy and the Ultimate Greeed's Wrath
Toku Warrior: Well, there's chapter 11 and chapter 12 looks like it should be a good one. So, what did everyone think of all the hell I put Ankh through and how Gotou reacted towards Donna and her brash nature? Also, it seems that Eiji finally found himself a job but what will happen if he gets called out while working? Or worse, what if he's attacked by Uva and a Yummy while he's there? Will he go Greeed or transform into OOO? These are just some of the questions that will be answered sometime in the future. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please, R&R. Until then, ja ne.