Part One


Chapter Eight

All told, I don't mind being the mascot for Yuuta's sixth birthday party. Not only do I actually kind of like the kid—he grows on you after a while—I also feel just the tiniest bit guilty. After all, it's my fault he never had the chance to turn six before now, and I'm sure it must really suck to go back and forth between four and five so many times, though considering his birthday is in July, he was pretty much always five.

So while I could have objected or found an excuse not to go, I didn't. I even let Teruhashi keep coming over so she could measure me and compare fabric samples with my skin color or whatever ridiculous thing she was doing. My only stipulation was that we finish our project first, which—surprise, surprise—we got done in a single, uninterrupted afternoon. What I didn't expected was what I found waiting for me on Saturday afternoon when my doorbell rang.

Now, I've always suspected this was true, but I never had any proof until that moment when I opened my front door dressed as Cyborg Cider-Man #2 on my way to the neighbor kid's sixth birthday party: Teruhashi Kokomi is not an angel. And if she's not the devil's mistress, it's only because she's the devil herself.


Cyborg Sentai

Kusuo looked himself over in the mirror once he'd finished dressing. The costume Teruhashi gave him was nothing like the uniform Cyborg Cider-man #2 wore in the comics or anime, but it still fit the image surprisingly well. Gone was the one-piece suit, thank whatever gods existed, and instead Kusuo wore a pair of white cargo pants with a sky-blue, canvas belt. The pants tucked into a pair of dark blue combat boots with lighter blue laces and white soles. The white, form-fitting shirt was high-necked and sleeveless, but Teruhashi also included a blue-black leather jacket with sky-blue accents and a fitted waist that flared just a bit to where it ended right below the knee. It was actually a pretty bad-ass coat, and Kusuo wouldn't object to wearing it again when the weather turned cool.

His favorite part of the suit, however, was the lack of helmet. Instead, Teruhashi provided a pair of blue-lensed sunglasses very similar to his old, green-lensed pair. They settled so comfortably on his face, they almost felt like a part of him. It was a bit weird seeing the world in shades of blue instead of green, but that didn't stop the nostalgia from creeping in.

The last thing Kusuo did while looking in the mirror was drape the long red scarf around his neck. It was far too hot for scarves, but he had to admit that it tied the look together nicely, and it was a huge step-up from that stupid neckerchief the 'real' Cyborg Cider-man #2 always wore.

With nothing left to do, Kusuo went downstairs to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang right on schedule, and Kusuo stifled a sigh. Partly from annoyance because it was obviously Teruhashi here to drag him off to be the main attraction at Yuuta's sixth birthday party, but mostly from relief. Mom was relentless in her photo shoot and Dad relentless with his taunts. Though he had plenty of complimentary things to say about Teruhashi's impeccable sense of style and talent with a needle, he also made it pretty clear that Kusuo couldn't pull it off.

Yare, yare. Kusuo opened the door. I've never been so happy to see Teruhashi-san before.

It wasn't Teruhashi.

Kusuo stared at Nendou for all of five seconds, taking in the immaculate replica of Baron Cola's ridiculous costume from the soda-bottle hat to the eyepatch to the long black coat with the Dracula-esk collar. He even had pointy ears and white contacts.

Nendou grinned, flashing a pair of fangs. "Buddy!"

Kusuo slammed the door. The doorbell rang. Knowing what horror lay on the other side, Kusuo ignored it. The doorbell rang again.

"Ku-chan!" Mom called cheerily from the kitchen where she'd disappeared to put the finishing touches on Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-Man #2 birthday cake. "Someone's at the door."

Kusuo eyed the kitchen door with an incredulous scowl. Did she think he was stupid? Or deaf?

The doorbell rang again.

"Ku-chan? I'm working with the piping bag; will you please get the door?"

No, no he would not. In fact, Kusuo was going back upstairs to remove his costume and spend the rest of the day binge-watching cringy day-time television. He strode past the kitchen on his way to the stairs, but Mom's sweet voice made him pause.

"Ku-chan?"

Against his better judgement, Kusuo looked over his shoulder. Mom smiled up at him, piping bag held skillfully with both hands, but it was a dark, ominous smile that promised unspeakable horrors.

"Aren't you going to answer the door for your friends? They're waiting for you to attend Yuu-chan's party."

Kusuo turned on the ball of his foot and strode purposefully forward as the doorbell rang again. He opened the door without preamble and was once again greeted by the sight of Nendou-Cola looming over him.

"Hey there, buddy! Did you grab what you forgot?"

Kusuo bit back a sigh and stepped outside, forcing Nendou to step aside or be run over. Not the least bit bothered, Nendou fell into step beside Kusuo as he strode down the walk to the front gate without a word.

"You're surprised right?" Nendou rubbed his nose with a self-satisfied grin. "After we all saw Teruhashi sewing that jacket during lunch, we asked what she was doing. I thought it was pretty cool how you guys are helping out that kid, so I volunteered to help too."

Of course, you did.

"Teruhashi was gonna come get you herself, but I said I'd to do it for her, and she said that was a good idea."

Of course, she did.

"I mean, we're best buddies and all, so of course, it should be me."

I really wish you'd stop saying that; we're barely friends.

"And what with Teruhashi being busy and all, I figured it made the most sense."

Busy with what?

"She and the others are in that lot behind your house."

Which others?

"Since there's not a lot of time to practice, we figured we'd get here early."

Practice for what?

Kusuo almost broke down and asked, but they were already rounding the corner for the lot, so he stayed silent. Good thing too; his voice probably would have broken off mid-sentence with a shocked crack that would rival the most pubescent of pubescent boys.

The formerly vacant lot was entirely unrecognizable as it was now packed to the brim with studio lights, a gleaming, silver trailer, racks and racks of colorful costumes, high chairs with folding wood frames and canvas supports, each with different surnames embroidered on the backrests in English lettering, and dozens upon dozens of frantically scrambling people dressed in identical, navy blue coveralls with BACKSTAGE written across the backs in English. Looking a little closer, Kusuo recognized several of the boys as Kokomins—members of Teruhashi's rabid fan club—which explained how she'd gathered them so quickly and on such short notice.

Amidst them all stood Teruhashi. Her back was to him, so all he saw was the calf-length expanse of her white, leather long-coat and her shimmery indigo hair that hung loose to the middle of her back.

"I want that ramp set up five minutes ago!" Teruhashi ordered in an uncharacteristically militant voice. Usually, she spoke to everyone with an annoying level of grace and civility, but this Teruhashi was like a completely different person. Well, almost completely different. While she was certainly acting more authoritative than normal, the men falling over themselves to complete their assigned tasks was exactly as expected. She could stand over them with a whip cackling madly, and they would still be grateful for the chance to be her lackeys.

The trailer door opened outward, shielding the former occupant from Kusuo's vision, but the hesitant voice instantly revealed who it was.

"Um…ah…Teruhashi-san?" Kaidoh stuck out a gloved hand from beyond the shielding door and waved. "Are you sure about this?"

"Eh? What is it, Kaidoh-kun?" Teruhashi hurried over to look behind the door. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as sparkles seemed to erupt from her eyes. "Kaidoh-kun! You're so adorable!"

Kusuo's eyebrows shot up. Adorable?

"Oi, Chibi!" Nendou hurried forward. "Let me see!"

"No way!"

Kaidoh tried to shut himself back inside the trailer, but Nendou grabbed the door before he could get it closed. Looking around the side, Nendou burst out laughing. "Wow, you really are adorable!"

Okay, now I'm curious…

Nendou grabbed Kaidoh's arm and hauled him into view. "Hey, buddy! Look at Chibi-chan! Ain't he adorable?"

"Oi, Nendou!" Kaidoh struggled vainly in his friend's too strong grip. "Cut it out!"

Kaidoh was dressed as Cyborg Qoo in a chartreuse one-piece with short sleeves and long pants. His gloves and boots were orange with white edging along the tops but were solid black at the toes and fingers. He also had on a white belt with a buckle shaped like a wooden ship's helm, a pair of enormous, circular goggles with orange lenses, a vermillion neckerchief like the OG Cyborg Cider-man #2, and a tiny white sailor hat perched atop his spiky, ice blue hair.

Adorable.

Not that Kusuo would ever, ever say so aloud.

"What's all that noise?"

Of course, Kuboyasu is here.

Kuboyasu stepped out of the trailer as well, though he didn't hesitate or try to hide. His costume was surprisingly familiar to Kusuo, but it took him a minute to remember why.

Ah; he's Cyborg Ramune.

The sky-blue one-piece suit was a surprisingly good match for the tall, lean, former yankee. His white gloves and boots were edged with gold, matching the gold, white, and navy accents on the suit itself, and he also had a vermillion neckerchief. He'd taken off his glasses to accommodate the helmet as well, but he currently held the stupid looking accessory under his left arm instead of wearing it. Kusuo didn't blame him; the thing looked like a blue version of Cell's head from Dragon Ball Z.

Creepy.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Kuboyasu put a hand to his chin and looked Kaidoh up and down with a snarky grin. "Looking good, Shun."

"Sh-shut up!"

The trailer door opened again.

Another one? Seriously?

"All right!" Hairo charged out wearing a white one-piece suit with cobalt-blue boots and gloves. Hairo's suit also had blue accents and a red neckerchief, but he wore a pair of white rimmed, oversized sunglasses with blue lenses instead of a helmet. He was also sweating profusely. "Let's goooo!"

Cyborg Pokari Sweat. How suitable.

"Heh, just like a peasant; always running around without a single thought or care."

Kusuo looked back at the wood and canvas chairs to find Saiko lounging with a tall glass of mostly ice and too little soda, though the glass was filled to the brim.

When did he get there?

Dressed as Cyborg Mitsuya, Saiko had one leg crossed, drawing attention to his emerald green boots, and he wore—of course—a white one-piece suit with emerald green gloves and accents. Like Kuboyasu, he'd chosen not to put on his green-visored helmet just yet, which made his vermillion neckerchief stand out even more.

What's with all the stupid neckerchiefs?

The trailer door opened again.

How many people can fit in there? Is it the Tardis?

"Sorry we're late!" Yumehara stepped into view followed closely by Mera, who was voraciously snacking on an extra-large box of chocolate pocky. "Has the rehearsal started yet?"

Yumehara had on a pink one-piece suit with a built-in skirt. Her gloves and boots were both a bright, strawberry red that matched her strawberry shaped belt buckle, and her helmet was bright green. Mera, like Saiko and Hairo, wore a white one-piece suit—also with a built-in skirt—covered in blue dots that matched her blue lensed goggles. Her gloves and boots were golden-brown, and she was the only girl with a red neckerchief. Strawberry Milk Girl and Calpico Girl.

Of course.

"Not yet." Teruhashi propped a fist beneath her chin as she looked over the clipboard in her left hand. "We're still waiting for Saiki-kun. Nendou-kun, didn't you go get him?"

"Eh?" Nendou looked up from tugging on a blushing Kaidoh's neckerchief tails. "Buddy? Yeah, I got him." He pointed. "He's waiting over there."

Teruhashi turned around, and Kusuo's breath caught. Beneath her white, leather coat, she had on a high necked, pink, one-piece suit with short shorts instead of pants. The shorts cut-off just above mid-thigh but left her long, pale legs bare only to the knee, where her pink boots started. The white belt she wore drew an obscene amount of attention to her narrow waist and wide hips, a sight that made Kusuo's fingers ache for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom. The eyepatch she wore over her left eye was heart-shaped, as expected, but it was blue instead of the pinky-red he remembered from the anime.

The same blue as Kusuo's leather coat.

Offu. As usual, he kept the response inside, but it annoyed him that she managed to get the reaction she wanted out of him, however silent. Why was it always the little things that caught him off guard when her beauty—while undeniable—barely fazed him?

A smile blossomed on Teruhashi's beautiful face. "You're here!" She frowned. "You're late."

Kusuo stared at her for a moment, puzzling her out, before turning his attention back toward the activity buzzing through the vacant lot like worker bees in a hive. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, well…" Teruhashi looked around at their friends, blushing a bit, and rubbed her cheek with one finger. "You see, when I was working on your costume at school, everyone saw and wanted to know what I was doing. Then, when I told them about Yuu-chan's birthday party, Nendou-kun insisted that he would be a great Baron Cola."

"And while everyone was talking, I was looking through Kokomi-chan's copy of the comic and mentioned how much Kaidoh-kun reminded me of Cyborg Qoo, and Chisato-chan started drooling over the different sodas and said she'd join in if there were free samples—"

Kaidoh cut Yumehara off. "Which got Saiko started on "peasant this" and "peasant that," so Aren dared him to put his money where his soda was—"

"Naturally, I find it appalling to participate in such a plebeian event, but I couldn't very well let you all run amok with my money when not one of you has the vision or sense that I, as a man of both, was born with."

Kuboyasu snorted. "And if this snub was doin' it then of course I couldn't back out. I ain't no damned sissy."

Kusuo refrained from pointing out the former yankee was currently dressed in a skin-tight, blue leotard and turned back to Teruhashi. "And Hairo?"

The class-rep was too busy running laps around the lot to speak for himself.

Everyone looked at each other, blinking in surprise, before they looked back at Kusuo and shrugged.

"He's Hairo-kun?" Teruhashi offered. Kusuo watched Hairo fall into a shadow boxing routine before resuming his seventeenth circuit around the lot.

"Fair enough."

Unfortunately, Kusuo didn't have any options to escape now that he was there, and Teruhashi wasted no time in dragging him over to the wood-framed, canvas chairs and forcing him down into the one labeled "Saiki." The others chatted happily as they slipped into their own chairs, though Hairo chose to stay standing as he didn't want to risk getting out of character.

Considering you are the character, I'm pretty sure that's impossible.

It was honestly kind of creepy how much his friends resembled the heroes (and villain) of a product placement anime aimed at children. In fact, they were only one character short of the full Cyborg Sentai. It would be amazing, if it wasn't so stupid.

Scripts were handed out at Teruhashi's order, and Kusuo accepted his with resignation. Why he thought he'd get out of this birthday party with a simple cameo and a few handshakes, he'd never guess. After all, whenever Teruhashi was involved, things always had a way of blowing out of proportion.

Speaking of which, Kusuo mentioned Teruhashi's prolific sewing abilities, but she waved a hand and laughed it off. "The only things I made were your outfit and mine. The rest of this is borrowed from my brother. He's been cast as Cyborg Yakult in the upcoming live-action adaptation, and all of these are the costumes they plan to use. He let us borrow them as a favor to me for my birthday."

That made sense. And while Kusuo was loath to accept any help from the pervert lest he think to hold it over Kusuo's head, he decided to let it go this once. The favor was to Teruhashi, after all, not Kusuo himself.

It was a simple enough sketch. Kusuo and Teruhashi would go in first in their "civilian" forms to greet the children, shake hands, sign autographs, and do all the other typical, easy things Kusuo had expected from the start. Then, using the rear lot as their staging ground, a band of Cyborg Cider-man #2's greatest villains would attack, including L-Ginger, Lemonade Fiend, Melon Mumbler, and Lady Matcha, while being led by Baron Cola himself.

After riling up the crowd a bit, Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Peach-T Girl would put in a call for reinforcements, which their friends would answer by using the same ramp to leap over the wall in their uniforms. They would start fighting off the bad guys while Kusuo and Teruhashi stepped behind a false backdrop to change into their battle uniforms so they could join in.

As the rest of his friends were playing heroes, Nendou-Cola's posse would be made up of Saiko's best bodyguards, which meant they were all professionals. This was very good because Kusuo could easily see a fake fight between these two groups devolving to an all-out, no-holds-barred brawl. Honestly, Kuboyasu was Kusuo's biggest concern. Hairo was a black belt in judo and knew how to pull his punches, Saiko would probably throw his money around before his fists, and Kaidoh…

Yeah, something tells me the Jet-Black Wings won't be a problem.

The girls weren't much of a concern either; he doubted any of them knew how to make a fist never mind throw a punch. That only left Nendou and Kusuo. Since he hadn't yet been able to get a solid measure on his strength, Kusuo agreed that it was best to take on Nendou by himself as his "best buddy" was unlikely to attempt serious harm even if he got carried away. Besides, Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Baron Cola were the bitterest of archenemies; it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to fight him head-on.

The group was running their lines a third time when one of Teruhashi's cover-all clad lackeys came up and cleared his throat at her shoulder. "Excuse me, Teruhashi-san? You asked me to keep an eye on how the party was going."

"Oh?" Teruhashi checked her watch in surprise before she turned with a grin. "I can't believe it's already been two hours! Is everything going well? Yuu-chan is having fun, right?"

The man looked suddenly nervous as he tugged a lock of his magenta hair. "Um, actually, it seems the other kids are picking on him when the adults aren't looking."

Teruhashi's expression went flat, but the brave man only gulped and continued. "They said he was lying about knowing Cider-man and Peach-T Girl or else they would have shown up by now."

Teruhashi's face went dark. The man faltered, but no one could ever accuse him of not having guts. "I-Iridatsu-kun looked quite upset at some of their words. One of the boys kicked dirt at him, then sneered when Iridatsu-kun refused to fight back because, in Iridatsu-kun's own words, 'being a hero is about more than being the best bully.' I'm afraid that didn't win him any friends, though. One of the girls in his class called him a coward. Considering his expression, I think it's safe to say he likes her."

Judging by her expression, if Teruhashi had pyrokinesis, the entire world would be on fire. "I see. Thank you, Namiharu-san."

Namiharu gave a quick, almost impolite bow and scurried off with a relieved expression on his pallid face. Teruhashi turned to the rest of the group and looked them over with a cold eye. Even Kusuo felt a bead of sweat slide down the back of his neck at the thought of earning her ire.

"You know your parts," she said darkly. "Let's go."

#

Teruhashi rang the doorbell with a trembling finger, and Kusuo wondered if he should say something before she boiled over with barely suppressed rage. He understood why she was upset, of course—Kusuo was surprised by how angry he was over Yuuta's treatment at the hands of those kids—but he was used to releasing his pent-up emotions to the ether—being a telepath had given him ample opportunities to be upset at family, friends, and random strangers alike without being able to act on said feelings—while he doubted Teruhashi had ever been in the position to be truly upset in her life.

Teruhashi Kokomi was a girl blessed by God with an easy, uncomplicated life. Everywhere she went, people went out of their way to help her, compliment her, even worship her in some more disturbing cases, so it stood to reason she'd never wanted for anything in her life—not clothes, not food, not kindness, not attention. She'd never been ignored, brushed aside, or made fun of for anything because there was nothing about her that could be ignored, brushed off, or made fun of in anyway.

In fact, Kusuo would lay money on him being the first complicated, frustrating, unattainable thing to ever happen to her. And if Kusuo was the first, there was no denying that Iridatsu Yuuta was the second.

He should have realized sooner how alike Teruhashi's relationship with Yuuta was to her relationship with himself. Both started out abnormally for Teruhashi's well-defined sense of reality with Kusuo ignoring her and Yuuta out-right disliking her. Both boys had done their ample best to keep Teruhashi at arms-length, but she'd rallied admirably until Yuuta was enamored by his beloved Peach-T Girl, and Kusuo had grudgingly admitted, if only to himself, that he saw her as friend. And not just any friend, either, but a good friend.

Yuuta's adoration and Kusuo's friendship were probably the only two things Teruhashi had ever fought for in her life, and that only made ownership of them all the more important to her, which in turn made Yuuta and Kusuo important to her. Very important.

It was a startling realization for Kusuo as he eyed his friend, trembling head to foot with indignant rage, as she put on her perfect, pretty-girl smile and prepared to make Yuuta's day while simultaneously making the days—and future days—of his enemies a living hell. Or as close to it as Teruhashi could justify when faced with a hoard of five and six-year-olds.

Something inside Kusuo stretched toward Teruhashi, aching to pull her to him and hold her close, but he slammed it down with the iron hammer of his will. He may be willing to admit that he and Teruhashi were friends, but that was it. He'd come too far to throw in the towel now. No matter what she did, Kusuo would never give her the 'offu' she wanted.

Still, if her trembling grew any stronger, she'd vibrate right through the pavement.

Yare, yare.

Kusuo dropped a hand on Teruhashi's shoulder, and she jumped at the unexpected contact. Her finger was still on the doorbell, so she accidentally rang it again from the sudden jolt. Blushing—it wouldn't do for a perfect pretty-girl to appear impatient by over-ringing a doorbell—Teruhashi jerked her hand back and looked up at Kusuo with her eyebrows slightly drawn in confusion.

"Saiki-kun?"

Kusuo gently squeezed her shoulder. "Getting angry won't do anything for Yuuta. You need to calm down, Teruhashi-san."

Teruhashi's blush deepened, though from anger rather than embarrassment. "How can you say that?" She hissed. "After what those kids did to him?"

"That's why we're here; to set the record straight. Yuuta will be vindicated and those kids too embarrassed to say anything against him."

Teruhashi looked mutinous, so Kusuo turned her and took both of her shoulders in a firm grip. He pulled her half-a-step closer and leaned in, meeting her one visible eye through his blue tinted glasses. "Yuuta is at a vulnerable age, Teruhashi-san. Don't make things worse by rampaging through his friends—no matter how fickle they may be."

"Then, what?" Frustrated tears gathered at the corners of her eyes while her trembling mouth turned down in an angry scowl. "I'm just supposed to let the little brats get away with treating Yuu-chan like that? Just look the other way and smile pretty because he has to handle it himself?"

Kusuo's grip on her arms tightened as his own cold rage burned just the slightest bit hotter. "I never said that. We'll get even, Teruhashi-san, but no good will come from doing it while angry. Remember, we're the adults here; we'll show them it's a bad idea to mess with Yuuta because it means having to mess with us."

A slow, vicious smile overtook Teruhashi's face and damn if it wasn't the most beautiful, sexy expression he'd ever seen her wear. That stretching, grasping part of him took over with a lurch, and he started to lean in before the front door opened. Yuuta's father appeared, and Kusuo immediately released Teruhashi and stepped back. Not usually home because of his incredibly involved job, Iridatsu Kouta looked unnaturally rumpled in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt instead of his usual suit with his green hair—identical to Yuuta's—in a wild tangle instead of slicked back by gel.

Relief shattered the frazzled panic on Kouta's face when his eyes landed on Kusuo and Teruhashi, and he quickly hurried over to open the front gate and let them in. "Thank God you're here. I swear the kids were about to riot!"

"Sorry we took so long." Teruhashi smiled her patented pretty-girl smile as she followed behind Yuuta's father. "There were a few last-minute adjustments to make."

"Whatever it was, I'm just glad you're here." The relief on Kouta's face faded slightly as pained lines appeared on his forehead. "I don't think Yuuta is well liked at his kindergarten; so many of the other children are being mean to him when they think no one's looking, but there isn't much I can do to discipline someone else's children, no matter how much I want to spank them all and sit them in a corner."

"Don't worry," Kusuo said before Teruhashi could. "We're here to take care of that too."