On one night in an ancient era of samurai, a wedding is taking place at the Oozora household. Though no one know the full details, it is the wedding of an adult Hiro and a certain woman. Of course, the dressings for the bride and bridegroom are rather traditional.
The open wedding ceremony starts as the invited guests had arrived. Though the ceremony was halted when the guests and newlyweds became staggered when someone arrived. That someone is Hanasaki Ran, wearing a white kimono with flower patterns but what is shocking is that her eyes threw daggers of hatred and anger while carrying a torch lighted with flames.
Hiro's bride hid behind the former as she feared this. "Ran-san..." Hiro addressed. "Hiro..." Ran muttered. Then she lets go of the torch and suddenly the whole wedding place becomes a sea of flames.
The flames began to burn everything and killed the people there in the process. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Hiro screamed. The scream continued until the bluenette suddenly woke up from his nightmare. He looks around but did not see anyone else or sea of flames.
He is on a futon covered by blanket within one of the rooms at the Shiba mansion. He also noticed that he is wearing grey pyjamas while having bandages nearly everywhere on his bodies and a few attached to his face.
When he realised that he was just having a nightmare, Hiro started to pant because he tired himself from screaming. Then he noticed the sliding door nearby was opened and saw Kotoha and Mako coming in. "Hiro-kun, what's wrong?" Mako asked. "We can hear you screaming from the common room" she stated.
The bluenette did not reply anything as he is still panting and scared from the sudden shock. Knowing that someone who was shocked from a nightmare will not talk immediately, Kotoha went to get a glass of water while Mako accompanied Hiro until the former arrive.
When Kotoha arrived, and gave Hiro the glass of water, Hiro takes it and drink until the last drop before putting the glass to the side. This method seems to work as Hiro's fear had subside a little. "Had you calm down?" Mako asked. "Yes..." Hiro replied after some time.
"Can you tell us why you suddenly become like that?" Kotoha requested. "Yes..." Hiro approved and told the two about his nightmare. "I see...you had a nightmare involving you and Ran-chan. It is identical to Usukawa Dayu's dream" Mako replied after hearing the whole story.
"I don't know why I had such dream when I already like her in the first place" Hiro stated. "There must be some kind of meaning if you had such a dream. Maybe in your case is that it is trying to warn you what would actually happened if you betray Ran-chan" Kotoha suggested. "Nightmares are actually like warnings for us humans to act more properly in our life. That's why don't get too scared whenever you got one"
"Well I guess I'll keep that in mind from now on..." Hiro replied. Then moments of himself fighting his friends, who were manipulated including Ran, who transformed into Mukuwarenai Ai, an identical form to Usukawa Dayu flashed into his mind. Remembering those moments, Hiro panicky asked, "What happened to Ran-san and my friends, and Takeru-san?! How am I here?!"
"Calm down, Hiro-kun" said Kotoha. "Your friends are safe and alive. The same goes for Ran-chan and Lord-sama" she stated. "The Kuroko unit had treated their wounds and all of them are currently resting. As for how, Hikoma-san sent Genta and DaiGoyo to spy on you two and report on your condition. He contacted the Kuroko unit to pick up all of you. You yourself had been unconscious for 3 hours because you used too much Mojikara" Mako explained.
"I see..." Hiro sighed in relief. "So, are they aware of the situation they're in?" he asked. "We explain all the necessary details that they were required to know and like you requested, we kept some of the information confidential" Kotoha stated. "I see...Thank you" Hiro thanked.
Meanwhile in the Sanzu River...
Within the Rokumon Junk (Dokoku's shipwreck), Dokoku had been growling like a wolf for the past few hours due to the failure of that ghost called Corroder. Shitari knew that the General himself is in bad mood so he kept quiet as not to get himself unnecessarily hurt.
As much as the old squid Gedoshu wants to avoid trouble, those imitator troublemakers, Susukodama (Soot kodama) appeared and make noises. Finally losing patience, Dokoku grabbed one of furred balls and infuriatedly yelled, "Shut up!" before throwing it towards the other furred balls. He only threw at one target but it ricocheted to others repeatedly.
Likewise, those furred ball soot imitated Dokoku's words even though they rammed towards each other. Dokoku's anger had yet to calm regardless he makes and outburst or not. "Shitari!" Dokoku summoned.
"Yes" The old squid Gedo rushes towards the general. "Round up the Nanashi company and had them on standby" Dokoku ordered. "Uh...Yes..." Shitari responded and went to do his assigned job. The General then sit at the place he was before, growling like usual.
At the Shiba mansion...
A day had passed since the challenge and the time is around 9.00 AM. Hiro and Takeru had recovered from their injuries. Same goes for Ran and the others. Right now, everyone except the former Shinkengers are in that room.
For Hiro, today is the first time he sees his friends again as who they truly are after three months. "Everyone, are you all okay? Have you all take breakfast?" Hiro asked. "Don't worry, we're okay, Hiro" Ban answered. "We ate till our stomach were full" Asuka followed.
"The foods were indeed delicious" Jessica stated. "That's glad to hear" Hiro replied. "But...I still can't believe this" Gouda mumbled. "About what?" Hiro asked, not understanding what Gouda meant. "Isn't it obvious? You trained yourself to become a samurai and a Shinkenger for the past 3 months to save us" Gouda pointed out.
"Plus, you worked together with a Lord-sama" Sendou added. "Seems like someone is ahead of us to where we can't reach" Kirito muttered. "Err...Thank you..." Hiro thanked as he chuckled awkwardly.
"Hey Hiro-kun. According to what we heard from Ryunosuke-san and the others, you can summon almost anything from writing words, right? Can you show us?" Yuuya requested. "Sure..." Hiro approved.
The bluenette then took out his Shodophone and set it to brush mode before writing a character. He wrote the character, '枕' (Pillow) and it transformed into a pillow lidded with a blue case. Ran and the rest were awed by what their youngest friend can do.
The bluenette can perform magic, to put it easier for beginners to understand. "A-Amazing..." Kazu complimented. "The word really transformed into what it truly means" Jin stated. "As long as the words have the meanings. Other than creating common needs, my main specialty is summoning fire-related words like smokes or steams" Hiro explained.
"So, can you show us that specialty?" Asuka requested. "I think I'll pass if it is not for battle" Hiro politely refused. "Last time I tried a fire-related word, I nearly burned this whole mansion. Hikoma-san really put a squeeze on me for that" he stated awkwardly.
The burning part truly switched their surprise reaction. "Really?!" Jessica asked. Likewise, the others one by one began to ask questions. That is until when Kazu interrupted by a loud clap, which had everyone's attention. "I've been thinking about this. How about we all try to become a samurai? As in with a lord and retainers or a princess and retainers" Kazu suggested.
"That's a good idea..." Yuuya concurred. "But who will be that lord or princess?" Ran asked. Everyone except Hiro look at each other, wondering who would be suitable to be the leader of a samurai. With a brief chortle, Hiro proclaimed confidently, "Isn't it obvious? Me!"
"Huh?!" everyone else exclaimed. Everyone then stared at the bluenette and those looks are not friendly but underrating. "Oh, wait" Hiro raised up his right palm towards his friends briefly and put it down. "Hum... Just a samurai lord won't be enough" he hummed while thinking. After some moments, he hammered his left palm with his right clenched fist.
"I know! Maybe a king would be better!" the bluenette pronounced and somehow he makes a concurring expression of liking that idea. The moment he speaks the word 'King', everyone else began to imagine something. They imagine how it likes if Hiro was the samurai lord first followed by that same bluenette becoming a king.
Using Takeru's elevated platform seat as an example and a stern-looking Hiro sat there layered with a cushion, they find themselves as his retainers. The next image is that inside a royal palace and at the throne room. Hiro sat on the throne while wearing luxurious clothing and related jewelleries.
Ban and the rest think of themselves that they are either Hiro's maids or soldiers that served the same king around the castle. As everyone knew the common knowledge, a king is an elite who rule a country or maybe the world.
Simultaneously, a king can also be lazy, stupid and just being authoritative. Knowing that and Hiro's personality, they rejected the image in their mind by shaking their head. The bluenette himself had yet to notice that his friends are glaring at him because he still indulged himself in the image of being someone assertive with mumblings of descry.
A moment later, he confidently announced, "All right, everyone... No... You guys! From now on, call me King or Your Majesty!"
"Definitely never!" everyone else chided vehemently. The responses were a bit surprising and Hiro was astounded while losing up his cheerily mood. "Then...how about calling me 'Lord-sama'?" Hiro sheepishly suggested. "No!" everyone refused. This made the bluenette felt disappointed and exclaimed, "Eh?! Why?!"
"We got a lot of reasons why" Jin answered. "First, you're too young from the rest here" Sendou, Kirito and Gouda pointed out. "Second, we won't serve someone who is a happy go lucky" said Kazu, Ami, Yuuya, Jessica and Asuka.
"Third, you're the most childish among all of us here" Ran and Ban stated. "Finally, we don't like the idea of you being the leader all the time" everyone concluded. "Got it?" Ban questioned with anger. "Yes...Don't get so mad. I was just joking for once" Hiro pouted, crossing his arms.
For once, can't they think of me from a different view? All they gave were just excuses and finding my flaws. The bluenette grumbled in his mind. While Hiro and his friends are talking to each other, Ryunosuke and the others sans Takeru and Genta are watching from a pathway that is parallel to the pathway leading to the entrance of the mansion.
"Looks like they are having fun" Chiaki deduced. "What's so fun? They were just chatting" Ryunosuke stated. "Chatting might not be as fun as watching movie or getting into a ride at the amusement part but it will be if you got a conversation that is worth for others to listen without having to think much" Mako pointed out.
"Whatever it is, Hiro sure looks happy" Kotoha assumed and the others nodded concurringly while watching Hiro and his friends. "Anyway, I got a question to ask, Hiro" Jin stated. "What is it?" Hiro replied. His tone is still unfriendly.
"Why Corroder couldn't capture you when he captured Ran? Ryunosuke-san and the rest did tell us that we beaten you till you're unconscious. That was a chance but why would he let go of it and had you fight us again?" Jin asked. The bluenette immediately turned his face away from his teammates, refusing to have his eyes meet their gaze.
"According to Takeru-san and Hikoma-san, it's because my Mojikara. There are still mysteries about this but it is possible for Mojikara to act on its own will. As for my case, it saved me by burning Corroder's hand. For your second question, Corroder would probably have wanted to find entertainment in making me suffer a lot more before getting rid of us for good. Or perhaps, he wanted everyone to kill me in the first place. Since everyone was under Corroder's control, he was droll about forcing all of you to do something you wouldn't do. The only way for me to save you all is to accept his challenge to duel against everyone. If either me or Takeru-san didn't show up or make it in time for the challenge, he'll had everyone promptly commit suicide" Hiro explained.
The rest remained silent though. How come they are not? Hiro had to fight Ban and the others all by himself just for the sake of saving them. "Is that so? I guess you really had a lot of burden for now" Ran mumbled. Hiro just kept quiet and not even meeting their gaze.
Nevertheless, before anyone could say anything further, the Sukima sensor chimed. This not only got the attention of Hiro and the others, but also Takeru's team. Hikoma, a few Kuroko and the former Shinkenger team made their way there as soon as possible.
Hiro picked up the orange stick coming out from the device and gave it to Hikoma the moment he arrived with the rest. "675" said Hiro. The Kuroko on duty opened the scroll related to the mentioned number. "It's Kaidou-Cho!" Hikoma pronounced.
"Let's go!" Takeru proclaimed. The rest of the samurais including Hiro nodded in response. Not even saying a word to his GranSazer teammates, the bluenette left the mansion ahead from everyone else. Takeru and the others find it weird at first but chased after Hiro.
Likewise, Ban and the others could not turn a blind eye and ignore this, so they chased after their teammate, Hiro. For some reason, the bluenette ran so fast that everyone had to sprint after him. Takeru's team was way, way ahead than Ban's team in the chase.
"Wait, Hiro!" Chiaki yelled. The others in Takeru's team called out Hiro's name. However, the bluenette did not falter a bit even from the repeated calling that is until DaiGoyo appeared out of nowhere in front of him. The sudden appearance of the lamp totally surprised Hiro and he had no choice but to halt his pace completely as not to hurt himself or DaiGoyo.
Of course, this also means that Takeru's team had finally catch up with Hiro although they needed to take a breath due to the sudden sprinting. Noticing their arrival made the bluenette to turn at them. He only saw Takeru's team but not Ban and the others in his current sight.
"What's wrong, Hiro? Why do you left the mansion like that without even saying anything to them?" Genta asked. "Is it because you fed up because of that lame stuff you guys were talking about a while ago?" Ryunosuke guessed.
"No... I don't want them to get involved in this battle anymore..." Hiro corrected. "Just like what Takeru-san thought about not having his retainers and best friend involved from the very beginning. The same thought that I once had when I figured out that there is an evil me in the future to be. I only wanted to fight alone but when I was told that fighting together is better, I succumb to it. From that moment, I became too naive because I really thought that it is better to fight together. But the moment I knew what happened to them from that day and so on, I completely doubt the decision that I made that day" he reluctantly admitted.
"Hiro-kun..." Kotoha and Mako muttered. The acknowledgement that Hiro gave was indeed long but the content was the one important. Everyone became speechless while having mix of emotions in their mind when they interpret it.
"I just don't get it. I chose to be and fight alone, I get betrayed. I chose to be and fight together, I also get betrayed. Which one I should choose? I don't know. Now, I am back to square one with various routes. I don't have a resolve anymore..." Hiro confessed. His eyes are looking at the floor, with doubts and uncertainties.
While Ryunosuke and the others were still clueless, Takeru takes the first step and walks up to Hiro. The samurai lord did not say anything but instead he gave a pat on the bluenette's left shoulder. This action make the current (Takeru) and future (Hiro) Shinken Reds to gaze at each other's eye.
No words were said through Takeru's lips but he is telling Hiro something. Of course, only Hiro can understand what Takeru is trying to say for the former from the latter's gaze, especially when it does not involve voices.
Speaking of voices, Hiro heard the voices of his friends yelling out his names. Turning to the direction of the voices, he saw them approaching from a distant at a quick pace. Takeru, knowing that Hiro needs to be alone said, "Hiro, we'll go ahead first"
Takeru turned towards his teammates and nodded. Ryunosuke and the others responded the same way and they along with their samurai lord take their leave. By the time Takeru's team left, Ban and the others had arrived.
All of them had to catch a breath for some time from the moment they arrived. The reason for their exhaustion was because they lacked their usual stamina and had not completely recovered. "Man, you're so fast, Hiro" Kazu commented. "Why did you suddenly left us like that?" Jin asked. Hiro did not say anything even though he looks at them in the eye.
"Tell us..." Ban requested. "I... don't want to burden you all who are still recovering join the battle. That's all" Hiro confessed. "Burden? Are you kidding us?! We can't just sit by burdening you with all the fight. Not when you gave it your all just to save us!" Gouda berated.
"That's right. We may not be a Shinkenger like you but we want to fight. To protect this world and the people in it" Ami supported and the others except Ran nodded. "So, you all still wanted to fight, regardless you know you might get in my way?" Hiro questioned.
"Get in your way? Come on! We can take care of ourselves" Kirito retorted. "If that's the case, we'll go...But! I have two questions to ask to all of you before we do so. Will you all entrust your lives to me? Is it okay for me to entrust my live to you?" Hiro questioned.
Ban and the rest except Ran then glanced towards each other briefly before looking back at the bluenette. "Sure!" Ban proclaimed. "As many times needed" Jin followed. "Rest assured, Hiro-kun. Leave it to us. We'll take the responsibility for your live" Yuuya pronounced.
The others except Ran again nodded concurringly by these three statements. "Then, let's go!" Hiro declared. "Yeah!" everyone except Ran responded. Hence, all of them except Hiro and Ran make their way to the place where Takeru's team is going.
The two of them are standing alone within an empty quiet street. Of course, Hiro did notice his beloved girlfriend and lover was quiet during the whole conversation before. She looks awfully depressed, probably since she was manipulated twice to fight against him. "Hiro... I..." Ran tried to say something.
However, she did not able to complete her sentence because the redhead saw Hiro took out his Shodophone and set it to brush mode. Then, the bluenette wrote the kanji '蘭' (Orchid) and afterwards, a blue Orchid materialised from it before he held it in his right hand.
Hiro proffered the flower he summoned from Mojikara to Ran. "Sorry for the colour but I didn't expect it to appear like this" Hiro apologised. "This flower..." Ran muttered, recognising the type of flower given. "That's right, this is the flower that shares the same name and meaning with yours, Orchid" Hiro confirmed.
"Orchid...?" Ran echoed. "I have just one request. Will you cherish this flower while you still live?" Hiro asked. Slowly reaching out her hand, Ran finally took the flower from Hiro's hand. "All right, I will..." Ran approved. Hiro replied with a nod and afterwards both went to catch up with the others.
Sorry for the late update and leave things hanging again. Please Rate and Review, like always.
[By the way, LAXH1107, I think I can do a Goseiger and LBX Crossover but it will take some time because I had not watch the whole series of Goseiger. In other words, I need to learn their personalities and plot first. I also need to find myself some starting idea for this. So far, I only watch the first two episodes of Goseiger and the Super Sentai Crossover related to Goseiger]