By the way, I forgot to tell that this story takes place after episode 38 and before episode 39 of Shinkengers. I sometimes made mistakes without even looking at it first such as the places and meanings of some words but I'll try my best to make it perfect.
That night in the Shiba mansion, the Shinkengers were hurt badly and so does Hiro from the battle before. The bluenette is sleeping on a Japanese futon, covered by a blanket after being treated by the Kuroko. He had been like that since they return in the evening.
As for the Shinkengers except Takeru, they are currently resting in the common room after receiving their treatment as well. Hikoma was informed about Hiro's friends being manipulated and also the appearance of Gedo Shinken Red.
He was quite shocked too by this bad news. Everyone had been wondering about whether the fact that Takeru would fell into Gedo is true or false. "Hey, you guys. What do you guys think about what Corroder said? Do you really think that Takeru would fall to Gedo?" Chiaki asked out loud.
"To be honest, I'm scared if that's true. Having Lord-sama as an enemy, I...can't fight him" Kotoha admitted. "I don't want to fight Takeru in that as well" Mako concurred. "You guys! Do you seriously think that Take-chan will turn into that?!" Genta berated.
The others remain silent by this and while on the note, Chiaki noticed that Ryunosuke had not spoken anything at all since the conversation started. Like others, he is worrying about the same matter but no one can tell what his opinion since he does not says it.
"Ryunosuke. You hadn't say anything about this" Chiaki remarked. "What is your opinion about if Takeru become a Gedo?" he asked. "You...! Don't tell me you really think Take-chan will turn into that?!" Genta questioned angrily. "I won't make any excuse!" Ryunosuke proclaimed.
Everyone else had their attentions on Ryunosuke while Genta keeps his mouth shut. "Ryu-san..." Kotoha muttered. "True, I'm scared that Lord will turn his katana with the intention to kill us. But! I refused to believe that Lord will become a Gedo" Ryunosuke admitted.
"Ryunosuke..." Mako muttered. "But I'm not worried about that. No one could actually predict what will actually happened in the future. Even if we know beforehand, we may still not be able to prevent that from happening" Ryunosuke started.
"By the way, everyone was aware that Mojikara is able to counter most of Gedoshu's dark magic, right? That's why we needed to use this if we want to save Lord. But what will happened if we try to save Lord using Mojikara? That's what I'm worried about" he continued.
Mako, Chiaki and Kotoha already had an idea where this conversation is going and what Ryunosuke is trying to express for them. "What're you trying to say?" Genta asked confusedly. "Genta. Do you know that some characters are not meant to be used on humans?" Mako asked. "No... Wait a second, I don't understand what you're trying to say" Genta remarked.
"Listen carefully, Genta. An Ayakashi called Hitomidama had manipulated me and Tora Origami before into fighting against Lord and the others using his dark magic. Lord was the one that saved us by infusing Mojikara into our body" Ryunosuke began.
"So? What's the problem?" Genta asked. "Mojikara can be an ability with the properties of a double-edged sword, Gen-san. Lord-sama may succeed in repelling the Ayakashi's spell at that time using Mojikara but there is a high chance that Ryu-san will die from being infused too much of it" Kotoha explained. "Really?!" Genta asked in surprised and everyone else nodded.
"That's what Ryunosuke and the rest of us were worried about. If we managed to dispel the spell that manipulated Takeru using Mojikara, we might ended up killing him in the process" Chiaki concluded. Genta reacted nothing but being silent and anxious upon hearing this. No one is angry with him to act like that as they knew he understands.
The sushi seller himself did not want to say the wrong word that would bring more misunderstanding or problems. As proved by one of the sayings, sometimes silent is the best action because words can hurt others more except in some cases. For this situation, silent is the best answer.
Silent continues to fill at the tatami room and among the samurais, at least until everyone starting from Mako noticed Hiro stood just behind the gate. The bluenette had bandages around his face and also forehead.
"Hiro-kun...were you there the whole time, listening to our conversation?" Mako asked. "Not really. I only heard about half" Hiro told them as he walked and sat near them. The bluenette did flinched a bit upon sitting, probably due to the wounds he had.
"Are you okay? You shouldn't move too much" Kotoha stated. "That's right. You might opened up any of your wounds" Genta concurred. "Don't worry. I'll do that soon" Hiro assured them. "More importantly, I wanted to ask a lot of things from everyone, relating to Takeru-san" he stated.
Meanwhile, at a shrine within a mountain...
A bandaged Takeru is wearing his dark blue kendogi and hakama while wielding the Shinkenmaru, practising his swordsmanship there for three hours. During those hours, he keeps slashing, parrying and dodging around while fighting an invisible opponent.
Afterwards, he fell to his knees and began breathing heavily because of exhaustion. He then remembers about the battle he had today. There was another Takeru, who transformed into an evil version of Shinken Red, Gedo Shinken Red.
Although he was just a replica, Gedo Shinken Red is indeed strong, possibly more than the current Takeru. Even though Ryunosuke and the others refused to believe what Corroder said about Takeru will fall into Gedo, the current Takeru actually believe that. Clenching the ground hard, Takeru could only grunt when thinking about this.
To be frank, the samurai lord himself was actually scared. He had people who respected and fawned all over him. However, he would eventually turn his katana against them and possibly taking their lives.
I...will fall to Gedo? That's impossible! I don't want that to happen! I lied to those guys by having them entrusting their lives for me. For me to fall into Gedo and might ended up taking their lives, I cannot let that happen. Definitely! Takeru vowed in himself.
"So this is where you've been, Takeru-san?" a familiar voice asked all of a sudden. Turning towards the direction of the voice, Takeru saw the one who asked that question. It was Oozora Hiro. Takeru stood up and gave a glare at him before continuing his training again.
"Leave me alone! If you came here to mock me or something just go back to the mansion already! I want to train" Takeru scolded and Hiro sighed. "Hey, I'm not here to start a catfight. I came here to apologise" said the bluenette.
"For what?" Takeru questioned, not even facing the bluenette. "A lot and most of them were bad things that I thought and said about you" Hiro answered. Hearing this, Takeru stopped swinging his Shinkenmaru and looked at the bluenette directly.
"I asked this question to Ryunosuke-san and the others. Why everyone serves, fawns and worries about Takeru-san even though he seems to have bad personalities? Everyone had their own personal reasons but what they had in common is that they are willing to entrust their lives for you" Hiro began.
"Kotoha-san wants to do her best to fight with you. Chiaki-san wanted to surpass you as a Shinkenger. Genta-san wants to keep his promise that he made for you in fighting the Gedoshu together during your childhood. Mako-san seems intrigued to know more about you. Ryunosuke-san said he was raised to support you, even if you found him annoying and he wanted to perform his duty well until the end" he continued.
"Speaking of them, they were worried about you. Everyone is talking about your future self that had fallen into Gedo. To be honest, everyone were all scared about what they would do if that really happens to you later, especially when your live is on the line if they tried to save you with Mojikara" said the bluenette.
"Those guys..." Takeru muttered anxiously. Of course, he is worried as well. He might ended up killing his allies sooner or later when he falls to Gedo. He still remembered clearly that Ryunosuke nearly got killed when trying to infuse Shinken Blue with Mojikara. Now, the situation is completely different but still worth to be call a nightmare.
They might ended up killing him instead and Takeru knew that he must not blame them if Ryunosuke and the others could not save him alive. "Takeru-san" Hiro called out and the samurai lord looked at the bluenette. "I have something to tell you"
Hiro then told Takeru that the former had a situation that is similar to the one currently occurring. The only difference is that it was really the person from the future instead of a replica. That person was the villain, victim and indeed Future Hiro.
"I see...Your future self actually become evil, huh?" Takeru repeated after hearing the stories from Hiro. "Yes but you are very much lucky, Takeru-san. In that other world, people sees me as a pure entity of evil. I was totally upset and my minds had gone crazy. At least, that did not happened to you yet. That's why I could understand your feelings about this a lot" Hiro explained. Takeru remained silent for a while.
"At that time, what did you do?" Takeru asked, breaking the silence. "Probably what you would do before. Thinking about what should I do to handle this, selfishly leave my friends and take things into my own hands, perhaps? But I learn that won't be enough. I needed to tell someone my feelings and things that bothered me. I also must trust my allies and do what I can only do. Otherwise, I cannot solved this matter" Hiro advised.
Takeru then remained silent before turning his back on the bluenette. "Hiro, do you think you can keep secrets?" Takeru asked. "Of course! Secrets were meant to be kept hidden from others. I won't tell anyone else. The least I could hope to prevent it is that I will make myself forget that secret" Hiro explained.
"You sure gave longwinded answers for almost every question. Keep it short" Takeru ordered. "Yes...yes" Hiro grumbled. "Then, what is it that you wanted me to keep a secret?" he asked. Taking a deep breath, Takeru then faces the bluenette again.
However, this time he stare seriously and Hiro could tell that Takeru was resolved about telling his secret. "I...am not the true 18th head of Shiba clan" Takeru confessed. "Eh?" Hiro muttered. The bluenette was indeed surprised by this confession.
Interpreting the words that Takeru said, Hiro got some rough idea about it. "Does that mean, you're... not the real Shinken Red?" Hiro guessed. "That's right" Takeru confirmed. This makes the bluenette intrigued even more. "Can you explain everything from the start?" Hiro asked and Takeru nodded.
"I am just a Kagemusha or in other words, a decoy to fool the eyes of the Gedoshu. The true heir to the Shiba clan was actually Princess Shiba Kaoru, the daughter to the previous Shiba head, who is also her father. Her father died after being killed by Dokoku but not before using the incomplete sealing character on him. My role is to buy as much time as possible for the Princess to fully master the sealing character" Takeru explained. "To conclude this rambling, I lied about being the 18th head of Shiba clan to almost everyone, especially Ryunosuke and the others. Other than being a big liar, I am...nothing"
Hiro was actually shocked to learn about this fact. Takeru lied about being the 18th head of Shiba clan? Plus, he had to be a decoy to fool the Gedoshu. Silence continued to fill the atmosphere.
"Does Ryunosuke-san and the others knew about this?" Hiro asked, breaking the silence again. "They knew nothing at all, not even the Kuroko. The only ones in the mansion that knew this were just me and Ji" Takeru stated. "If this true reaches the Gedoshu, who knows what will happen to this world? To Ryunosuke and the others?"
Hearing this question to be brought upon makes Hiro understands the reason why Takeru lied and keep the truth a secret. He does not need to ask further about this matter.
Words are not needed to tell the bluenette the reasons for Takeru's depression. If the enemy knew that the 18th Shiba head was an imposter, what will happen to Ryunosuke and the others? They might die and the Gedoshu will easily conquer this world.
Putting that part aside, Takeru lied to Ryunosuke and the others. He did heard from Ji that Takeru was completely against bringing his retainers and also Genta involved in this battle. Now that Hiro knew the truth about Takeru, he can conclude what he got.
Takeru may not mention it but he honestly did not want Ryunosuke and the others to entrust their lives for him. Because he deceived them into thinking he was the real samurai lord and head of Shiba clan. They might die carelessly, senselessly and meaninglessly on the wrong person they should protect.
With the appearance of Gedo Shinken Red and knowing the future that shall fall upon Takeru, Takeru himself was completely depressed. This liar himself will soon ended up hurting others, especially the ones that he lied to.
If the bluenette was in Takeru's shoes, he would feel the same way that are sadness and pain as the latter. It does really hurt to have people who called yourself with the title that you did not deserved to be addressed with.
For Takeru's case, he was called 'Lord' or 'Lord-sama'. It is painful to have others risking their lives and may ended up losing them for yourself.
To put things right, Ryunosuke and the others should fight together with, entrust their lives for and protect the real Shiba head, Princess Shiba Kaoru in the first place, not for Takeru. Still, Hiro does not disagree with the fact that Takeru is nothing.
(Play music: Shinkenger OST 'Something Treasured Left Behind')
"Takeru-san, do you really think that you're nothing?" Hiro asked. "Yeah..." Takeru confirmed frankly. "There's nothing left for me. None of the truth matters compared to that lie. No one can changed the fact that I lied to everyone, including you." he explained. "Sorry..."
Hearing Takeru apologised makes the bluenette sighed and felt concerned about the former even though he hated him initially. "Takeru-san...what you would you do once this truth reaches Ryunosuke-san and the others?" Hiro asked again.
"I...will set things straight for them, leave that mansion and never see them again...for good" Takeru answered and looked up to the skies. "I'm sure that will be the best decision for them" he said, gazing at the stars. Hiro stared again at Takeru's face.
He seems more depressed than before, especially when he mentioned that he will not see Ryunosuke and the others again. There is a slight flow of tears over his eyes. Hiro can tell that Takeru really had been connected to the hearts of Ryunosuke and the others. For Takeru to cut off his bonds with them, that truly hurts him.
"I...don't think Ryunosuke-san and the others will approve your decision, even if you ordered them to respect it" said Hiro, grabbing Takeru's attention. "I don't know what the others would say but if I were Chiaki-san, I will be depressed if Takeru-san left. He said you were strong and wanted to surpass you. Even if you're not the real Shinken Red, he would definitely wanted to surpass you. For a big liar, you're pretty strong"
"Hiro..." Takeru muttered. "Since you spent a lot of time with Ryunosuke-san and the others, you unknowingly created a bond for each of them. In other words, they're very attached to you. Plus, I don't think you're nothing. You do have something as yourself. I'm sure the others think the same way. If you really were nothing, Chiaki-san won't decide that he wanted to surpass you. Everyone won't entrust their lives for you and you may not even come this far if you really are nothing" Hiro continued.
Hearing this, Takeru could turned his face away from the bluenette and shed tears. Hiro remains silent as the crying Takeru reminds the bluenette about himself, who regrets and felt sad about something. When someone finally shed tears for keeping their sadness inside them too long, it is best to let them release out all their true feelings. Later, the two of them walked themselves back to the mansion after Takeru had settled down from his sadness.
That's it for this chapter. I know that the truth is actually revealed bit by bit starting from episode 44 but I feel that I want to quick the pace this time. And that, Takeru did told someone about his big secrets. I may not be updating fast like this again since I got test next week. Plus, I got tons of assignments and projects in college. Please Rate and Review. Good day for everyone.