Wednesday, Nov 19: Afternoon.

A cell phone beeped with its twelfth text alert in two minutes, before a feminine hand harshly muted the device and put it on Do Not Disturb. "Enough…"

Mitsuki Aoyagi, age eighteen, stalked through the fast-emptying halls of Menjo High School with a laser-focused glare.

I've got better things to do than deal with this bull-

"Tsk!"

"Gahhhh!"

Acting on instinct, Mitsuki grabbed whoever walked into her by a fistful of his shirt and twisted around to pin them against the wall without losing her footing, and glared a hole through his face.

"It's my fault," the boy murmured without looking at her. "I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry."

Tsk, herbivore. So annoying...

A second later, however, she took stock of what she was actually looking at: a thin sad sack in glasses who couldn't tear his gaze from the floor. In fact, she'd go so far as to call him the incarnation of defeat.

Asou's fan club kept going on about how she shredded this nerd during the entire lunch period, she realized. And with that awareness came an unexpected question. What am I supposed to do here?

After a moment's thought, an uncomfortable Mitsuki let go and walked away. I don't know Kobe and it's not my problem. Best to act like nothing happened and let him keep whatever pride he's got left.

Mitsuki had only just made it outside, short black hair blowing in the strong wind, before she was interrupted again. This time, by the absolute last bitch she wanted to deal with.

"What's wrong, Paper Tiger?"

Tsk. If that shut-in hadn't bumped into me, I could've been out by now…!

"I haven't seen you in a while. Did you give up karate for the going-home club?"

A girl in a white gi, with long brown bangs framing either side of her face and a ponytail over her shoulder, casually strolled on crutches from behind a pillar to bar Mitsuki's path, her leg in a thick white cast.

Clenching her fists, Mitsuki glared at the other girl and let out a growl. "Mio Usagi…"

The captain of the karate club… instead of overseeing everyone else's training or keeping them in line, you show up here in person to harass me on their behalf, is that it?!

Mitsuki shook her head and made to walk around her, but Mio stepped back into her path with a scowl. "We've been friends since we were children, but now you won't even answer a basic question?!"

"I have nothing to say to you." You wouldn't listen if I tried.

With that, Mitsuki barged past a stunned Mio and stormed out of the school courtyard.

"Is that how it is, Mitsuki Aoyagi?! You won't even talk to me, you're just gonna walk away?!"

Nothing I can say will make you understand how I feel!

As Mitsuki disappeared into the sea of pedestrians on the street, Mio's indignant plea went unanswered.

As Hitoshi retrieved his shoes from his locker, his phone alerted him to a new text.

[I need you to come on-site and work on the systems directly. Can you do it today?]

Hitoshi stared down at his phone for several seconds in disbelief.

Another shady invitation, this time from a client? Really?

Letting out a sigh, Hitoshi stared through a nearby window up at the cloudy sky. "It looks as gloomy as I feel…"

His phone buzzed again, insistently.

[I'm scouting for talent today, and I can't leave to chance any risk of the system running improperly.]

Hitoshi looked back up at the empty sky, considering his options. It's not like we have a contract or anything, so I could just tell them it's a bad day and they're on their own…

[I'll be there around 4:00,] he replied instead.

"Life sucks and I hate it." But it has to beat dying, I guess...

His phone went off again, one last time. [Excellent. I look forward to meeting you in person, Kobe.]

As Hiroyo Hakase drove around the streets of Akihabara, she kept a keen eye for any noteworthy pedestrians. She'd chosen a formal business suit and skirt to lend more credibility to her introductions, and she'd left her bangs to hang loose on either side of her pretty face.

"I'd like to thank you again for taking me up on my offer, Miss Aoyagi..."

Mitsuki, in the backseat of Hiroyo's black sedan, rolled her eyes and said nothing. As if the crossed arms and put-upon expression hadn't made it clear enough how impatient the student was.

Hiroyo's mouth, by contrast, curved up in a slight smile. Heh... I've recruited a teenager with attitude.

"As soon as I've found two more," she promised, "we'll be ready to start."

Pulling over against the curb as something caught her attention, Hiroyo suddenly felt her phone vibrate. "Hm?"

[About your VR program… what specifically did you want me to look over?]

Hiroyo glanced back to the sidewalk, where she recognized a local deliveryman in a red jacket, gazing into a storefront display in despair - as if his wife or childhood girlfriend were tied up in shibari and enthusiastically serving another man on the other side of the glass.

Hiroyo smirked. Well, I need more than one personality type to test it properly. Not everyone behaves the same way, after all~

"A moment please, Miss Aoyagi. I've found one of your training partners."

And with that, Hiroyo stepped out of the car and approached the man, thumbing a text reply as she did so. [My primary concern is with regard to synchronization across units and ensuring sensory fidelity. I don't expect you to find any problems, but it never hurts to have a second pair of eyes.]

As she coolly approached the deliveryman, arms crossed, Hiroyo called out to him. "Nobuo Akagi, correct?"

Startled by his own name, the man turned to her with visible confusion. "Eh?"

Hiroyo took a second to observe him. Scarlet uniform jacket with a company logo on the back, blue jeans, cheap sneakers made for comfort. Middle-aged or close to it, but judging by his job and appearance he's never gotten anywhere in life. ...or perhaps he might be satisfied with where he is, who knows?

Idly, she glanced at the window display, and found a cardboard cutout of the wildly popular magical girl heroine Aoi-tan, no doubt voicing adorable catchphrases to market her recent home video release. Next to it, she saw a vintage Shinka Gattai DX Daizyujin - the combined super robot piloted by the Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger - in mint condition. A legendary toy initially released in 1992, which achieved record-breaking sales across the entire world a year later thanks to widespread popularity of the US adaptation of its series into Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

Turning back to Akagi, Hiroyo schooled her expression into one of perfect seriousness. "You've been chosen to be Red in the next Sentai," she declared with utmost gravity. "There's no one else who can do it but you. And so I ask: will you become an Akibaranger, and fight for the peace of all mankind?"

Akagi tilted his head in confusion, testing the unfamiliar name on his tongue even as his eyes betrayed an obvious burning interest. "Akiba... ranger?"

Some time later-

"So," a cheerful and enthusiastic Akagi asked from the front passenger's seat, "where will we be going over the script - Oizumi? Ginza? When does the filming start?!"

Hiroyo opened her mouth to answer -

"Ah, don't worry about it," he said with a wave of his hand, "I'll be happy to find out when we get there. In the meantime, it's good enough to savor the anticipation!"

He's... actually thinking someone from Toei picked him out of the blue to star in the next TV series, Hiroyo realized with wide eyes - and a wide smile she barely kept hidden. As far as Red candidates are concerned, I've just won the lottery!

"If that's what you'd prefer," she diplomatically replied instead, giving nothing away.

Akagi then twisted around in his seat, holding out his hand with a grin to the girl in the back. "I'm Nobuo Akagi, pleased to meet you."

A bit startled by his abruptness, Mitsuki reached out and, after a moment's hesitation, shook it. "I'm... Mitsuki Aoyagi."

Nobuo's grin got even wider. "Then you're Blue, right?"

"Wha-? How'd you guess?!"

Because he's genre-savvy enough to notice the way your respective names match up with how Sentai members are color-coded, Hiroyo noted even as she drove away. Let's see if I can push this lucky streak far enough to track down our final candidate…

After coming to the general area she'd found on a search engine earlier, Hiroyo pulled over and into a streetside parking spot, casting her glance about even as Akagi continued.

"So who're we recruiting next anyway?" Akagi asked. "Is it Green? Black, maybe?"

Hiroyo didn't see the harm in answering such a question. "Our final team member will be Yellow," she replied… and earned an overdramatic groan of despair to the heavens for her trouble.

Hiroyo tuned out the prospective Red and Blue candidates as the former lamented that it would be difficult to find someone whose family name would have "yellow" in it; as if she hadn't already solved the matter herself the day before.

"Excuse me," Hiroyo called out, "but I believe we spoke on the phone earlier."

The very fluffiest of cat ears perked up and twitched, before the cheerful blonde wearing them turned to face her, cutely hiding behind her paws in feigned shyness. "You meowst be Professor Hakase! I was super excited when mew approached me about your project, it sounds like so much fun meow!"

Hiroyo was immediately wary of the cosplayer's easygoing charm. She'll get me doing it too if I'm not careful. "If you're not too busy, Yumeria Moegi, I have the rest of the team already assembled."

Yumeria enthusiastically took Hiroyo's hand and shook it, before skipping her over to Akagi and Aoyagi, her prosthetic tail drifting from side to side in a way that could easily change from cute to sexy if so desired.

Following the newly chosen Yellow back to her car, Hiroyo found Akagi gazing off into the horizon. So deep in concentration was he, the man likely had no idea that he was humming the opening song from Choujin Sentai Jetman… and then he all but jumped out of his skin when he realized that Yumeria had unsubtly walked up in front of him and handed him her business card. As he read the characters in her name, the man's eyes grew wide with awe. "This… this is historic," he declared. "A moment that will be immortalized in Sentai history until the end of time!"

Mitsuki raised an eyebrow from her position behind him, arms crossed. "What, a woman introduced herself to you on her own?"

As he spun around to face her, the zing clearly went ignored if it had even registered in the first place. "Don't you realize?! In 37 years of Super Sentai history, there has never been a team where Blue and Yellow were both female!"

"It's the first time ever?! Meowww," Yumeria purred as she danced in place. "That's so exciting! I'll work hard to become a strong and cute Yellow like Chisato, meow!"

Mitsuki's head whipped between Nobuo and Yumeria in abject confusion as the conversation rapidly traveled beyond her ability to keep up with, even as Nobuo gazed upon the cosplayer with a newly appreciative eye. "So you still remember MegaYellow, eh? Not bad, not bad at all!"

"That's enough chit-chat," Hiroyo declared as she slid back into the driver's seat. "We need to get moving before they arrive in force."

An ominous crash echoed across the darkening city sky as Akagi jumped, before he leaned forward in clear interest. "They? Could you be referring to Akibaranger's enemy?!"

Rather than address his question, the trio of ladies all buckled up... just before the clouds opened up and unleashed an absolute downpour.

Hiroyo rolled down a window, just enough for the man to hear her as he fumbled with the door handle. "I was talking about the storm clouds!"

From beneath his umbrella, Hitoshi stared up in utter bewilderment at the storefront his GPS had led him to. "...so if a maid cafe has cute girls in maid outfits serving you," asked himself, "then who serves you in a Super Sentai cafe? Is it the Rangers? The monsters?"

Under the heavy rain, the young man's lips quirked up into a small smile from the sheer absurdity of what lay before him. "Is it the mecha?"

Shaking his head, Hitoshi stepped under the cafe's awning and out of the rain before folding his umbrella and shaking it dry as he stepped inside his client's establishment: the Super Sentai cafe, Secret Base. "Guess I could order a coffee and find out."

Inside was a comparatively spacious cafe with only a few tables, some of the floor space presumably left open for excitable cosplayers or nerds. The white walls were absolutely covered with a collection of decorative Super Sentai merchandise representing nearly 40 years of franchise history. Toy weapons had been tied to a rack on one wall; other walls had shelving displays that showcased other collectibles or memorabilia such as replica helmets, morphers, action figures, and even some model kits.

Dropping his umbrella into the entranceway bucket, Hitoshi's gaze drifted up to the poster advertising for Z-cune Aoi-tan's upcoming movie, and lingering for a split second on the edge of the anime heroine's schoolgirl skirt.

C'mon Hitoshi, save that for when you're at home…

Shaking his head, the young man then turned around – and almost jumped out of his skin at the 8-foot-tall mecha that loomed in the corner of his eye. "YIPE!"

"Welcome back from your mission," said a professionally welcoming female voice. Turning in that direction, Hitoshi found himself face to face with a decently pretty woman wearing a heavy-duty orange jacket and an armband with a six-pointed insignia that took him back to his earliest memories.

"Uh, thanks," Hitoshi distractedly replied. "Always good to survive another day."

And then he remembered that not only was he in a cafe and speaking with an employee whose job responsibilities literally include faking friendliness, but also that he was there to do some work himself. As if anyone would ever actually be happy to see me. "I'm, ah, here to do some software revision for Ms. Hakase?"

The employee made a sound of understanding, and just before she turned for the bar Hitoshi caught a glimpse of her nameplate. Miss Kozkoz…

"The access terminal is back here," she explained while leading Hitoshi through a door modeled after a Sentai installment he didn't immediately recognize. "I'll brew you a coffee."

Hitoshi tried to roll some tension out of his neck and, on being shown his workstation, took a seat and accessed the program, having already received the needed instructions from Ms. Hakase via text. "I appreciate it." Let's see what we're looking at…

A short while later…

Mitsuki held in her annoyance as she waited for the otakus she'd been gathered with to finish geeking out over this and that from whatever Sentai. I went along with this because I didn't have anything better to do, but that doesn't mean my patience is unlimited.

A passionate and heroic Sunday morning superhero song was playing softly through the store's speaker system, which only made her moodier.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," the Professor said as she emerged from the back, donning a white lab coat. "I haven't properly introduced myself yet, have I?"

Withdrawing some business cards, the woman gave one each to Mitsuki, Nobuo, and Yumeria… and earned confused stares from all three when they read what was on it.

"Professor… Hakase Hakase?"

"Of course not," the Professor said with a roll of her eyes as she went to the bar, "it's Hiroyo Hakase. And you should be addressing me as Owner, not Professor."

Nobuo's eyes lit up. "Just like Commander Edogawa, eh!"

"Right, that makes sense," Yumeria agreed. "...but mew have the coat?"

The Prof– the Owner – Hiroyo smiled and twirled with a slight flourish, showing it off. "Of course I do, it's my costume in the shop~"

Ugh, so in the end you're all just a bunch of geeks and coming here was a huge waste of time. "Forget this, I'm out of here."

Throwing the words out like a slap in the face, Mitsuki stalked off for the exit –

"I thought you said you wanted to get stronger. Is this all your fighting spirit's good for?"

– before Hiroyo pinned her to the floor with a verbal cheap shot of her own.

Teeth and fists clenched, Mitsuki whirled around with a growl to face the woman and almost walked into that morning's newspaper. "That's…!"

Hiroyo remained firm, insistent. "Didn't you want to hone your techniques?!"

Mitsuki shook with indignation, even as the other nerds crowded in to see what the fuss was about. Right there, on the second page of the sports section, was reporting on a cross-ward and open-age martial arts tournament.

[MIDDLE SCHOOL GENIUS HUMILIATES HIGH SCHOOLER], the headline read, before continuing to describe the awe-inspiring string of victories of a young Akane Tendo from Nerima.

And placed just beneath the victorious young lady four years her junior, name captioned for all the world to see, was a battered and bandaged Mitsuki.

Nobuo looked from Mitsuki's photo in the paper to the girl herself. So that's how it is…

"Alright," he said while offering Mitsuki a hand. "Let's work hard and get stronger together…!"

Smack!

"No one could get stronger in a place like this!"

A second later, Mitsuki turned her glare from the hand she'd slapped away to the impassive store owner. "You tricked me!"

"You say that now, Miss Aoyagi… but you still haven't even seen my creation yet."

So saying, Hiroyo summoned her assistant from the back, who wheeled in a cart covered with a brightly-colored sheet.

"This is the MMZ-01," Hiroyo announced with a smile, drawing everyone's attention as she took hold of the sheet. "Although its formal designation is…"

And then with a theatrical flourish she tugged it free, revealing three expertly-crafted statuettes of the wildly popular anime heroine Aoi-tan in a glass display. "The Moe-Moe Zukyuun."

"AOI-TAN!"

In an instant, Nobuo and Mitsuki had both blitzed past Yumeria to kneel against the display, twin shouts of excitement echoing through the store… for about five seconds, as the two suddenly became aware of the other's proximity.

No problem, Nobuo reassured himself. I just need to play this cool. "So, ah, how do you know about Zukyuun Aoi?"

Mitsuki, of course, wasn't having any of it and immediately deflected and threw him under the bus. "Well, what about you?!"

She called me out! So ruthless… "No, well–"

Hiroyo, Yumeria, and even Kozkoz's stares pierced into the man from all sides, leaving him with only a corner to turn to for imagined safety from judgment. "I – the truth is, I…" Am probably the otaku your friends and family warned you about. "...am a fan of Aoi-tan's."

Yumeria, who'd had to lean up behind him to hear his whisper, let out a whistle. "A 29 year-old Sentai maniac who's also in love with Aoi-tan…" The kind of guy who would shout to the world with complete seriousness that an anime girl is his waifu.

"But hey," Nobuo said with a grin as he turned back to face Mitsuki, "it's always great to meet a kindred spirit!"

Let it never be said that Nobuo Akagi was slow to recover.

"Hey, don't compare me with the likes of you! I just…" How do I not sound like a total loser geek?! "...admire… her strength!"

Next thing she knew, Nobuo had plopped his hands on her shoulders. "We're the same."

Mitsuki made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and found that he spoke truth. He wasn't being creepy or perverted towards her; he genuinely understood her, like a senpai.

That was arguably more horrifying, in its own way.

Mitsuki desperately brushed him off… "No we're not!"

…only for a chuckling Nobuo to put his hands right back where they had been, giving her a distressingly supportive and even comforting squeeze. "We are."

"I'm telling you we're not the same!"

"I know the hit to your image hurts like crazy," he replied, "but denying yourself like this isn't healthy."

"NOPE!"

"YEP!"

"ANYWAY!" Hiroyo cut in before the unlikely duo could continue their budding routine, thrusting one of the Moe Moe Zukyuuns between the two. "Try transforming."

Nobuo stared at the statuette, and then at Hiroyo as he digested what she was saying. "...wait, we transform with Aoi-tan?!"

"That's right," she agreed, before turning to look specifically at Mitsuki as Nobuo and Yumeria took hold of their own MMZs. "You can decide for yourself what to do after this."

Mitsuki's gaze wavered for a long moment between the trinket and Hiroyo's serious expression, before she hesitantly reached out and accepted it. "...fine, just this once."

Taking the MMZ in her hand, Mitsuki felt a trigger mechanism and a grip extending from Aoi-tan's backpack armaments, just like the controller in shooter games at arcades.

Hiroyo nodded, and stood back with a smile as the otaku trio grouped together in an open part of the floor. "The transformation code is 'Juu Mousou'!"

Grinning, Nobuo struck a passionate pose as he took a stance and lowered the MMZ down to his knee, before raising it to head level and bringing it back alongside his face to brandish at an imaginary foe. "Juu Mousou!"

"Juu Mousou!"

"Juu… Mousou?"

Yumeria and Mitsuki imitated his pose with respective cheer and awkwardness, before all three changed grip on their MMZs to the handle, aiming Aoi-tan feet-first at an imaginary enemy and pulling the trigger.

ZUKYUUUN!

A peppy jingle rang out from the MMZ as Aoi-tan's backpack arsenal folded and condensed around her, until it very much looked like a toy handgun.

A blindingly bright sigil combining the kanji for "Hi" and a stylized "A" appeared under each of the trio in their respective colors – red, blue, and yellow – before a spiral of sparkles rapidly flew up from it to cover them in color-coded latex armor.

Nobuo's suit was, of course, a deep red with black highlights and exposed white fabric around his neck. His helmet was molded to have shonen anime hair sticking out to one side, and an uneven visor mimicking bangs over the left eye. He had now become… Akiba Red!

Yumeria's and Mitsuki's suits were, similarly, bright yellow and a royal blue, leaning much harder into white as a primary color, as well as miniskirts over their suit leggings.

Akiba Yellow's helmet had short twin ponytails on either side, while Akiba Blue's helmet had a molded singular ponytail along the back. Finally, each of the three had a pristine white scarf that trailed almost to their knees.

"What the – where are we?! What is this, some kind of warehouse, or maybe a barn?! Did we teleport here?!"

Indeed, the trio had abruptly found themselves in a vast open building with high walls, steel girders supporting the ceiling, and a smoothed-over dirt floor with occasional loose rocks or other debris strewn about.

Akiba Red turned to the badly-disconcerted Akiba Blue. "That's not anything to worry about," he said with a wagging finger and a grin so confident and self-assured that it could be heard from behind his helmet.

If you can make this make sense, Akiba Blue thought, I'll think about apologizing for getting creeped out when you tried to be a senpai earlier!

"This kind of thing happens in Sentai all the time!"

…that doesn't explain anything at all!

"I'll tell you what you should really be surprised by, though…"

Almost weeping with joy, Akiba Red spun around and threw his arms wide! "WE ACTUALLY TRANSFORMED!"

"IT'S SO COOL!" Akiba Yellow agreed, copying his pose with a shout in another direction.

Red's MMZ started beeping, and as he unfolded it back to reveal Aoi-tan again, Hiroyo's self-satisfied voice could be heard coming from the statuette. "Isn't this so much better than acting in a show?"

Red stared at the MMZ for a moment, before the true meaning of her question struck him like a world-shattering plot twist. Unbidden, tears welled up and streamed down his face beneath the mask as his voice trembled with the kind of reverence suited for an audience with God. "No way… then does that mean… I've really become a Sentai Red?! It's amazing…"

Feet wide, Red cried out as he stabbed the sky with Aoi-tan! "IT'S SO COMPLETELY INCREDIBLE!"

"I can't believe this," Blue scoffed, hands on her hips.

"And to think," an audibly grinning Hiroyo encouraged him, "you haven't even tried out your powers yet. Eyes up~"

As if on cue – and perhaps literally so – a wrecking ball easily two meters in radius detached from where higher scaffolding had held it in place, before swinging on a chain towards the newly assembled Sentai.

Blue and Yellow stared at the oncoming threat for all of no seconds before retreating out of the way, while Red almost doubled over in joy.

"A giant stone ball for training purposes?! Oh man oh man," Red cheered, "I've DREAMED about stuff like this every night since I was six!"

Blue stopped moving in mid-run as she heard his enthusiasm, turning to stare at the inevitable collision in dumbfounded horror. "Are you crazy?! Move out of the way you dumb geezer!"

Rushing back over to Red, Blue tried to budge him out of the wrecking ball's path before she realized how close it had gotten.

Too close to escape.

Adrenaline surged, and with flight far from an option, the only response left was to fight.

"Grr… YOU-!"

With a defiant yell, Blue stepped forward and threw a punch at the speeding stone sphere – with such force that it instantly shattered into dust and hand-sized chunks that flew everywhere, some of the debris harmlessly impacting on her suit and bouncing off.

Jaw gaping behind her helmet, Blue stared at the wreckage she'd so easily created, and then at her still-outstretched fist. "So much power…"

Before Blue could really even try to come to terms with what she just saw and did, a shout from Yellow got her attention. "Look out meow, here comes another one!"

Blue turned in the direction her new teammate was pointing, and indeed saw another wrecking ball swinging towards them… and then panicked when she realized it was made of steel and five times the size of the last one. "T-that's way too big!"

A comforting hand fell on her shoulder, and she looked up to see the ever-motivated Red. "We'll deal it with this!"

For an instant, Blue stared in confusion at the Aoi-tan in his hand… before she remembered that the MMZs had folded up into a gun back when they transformed. …wait, what?! I thought all that did was transform us?!

Stepping in front of Blue, Red fearlessly stared down the second wrecking ball and took aim. "Follow my lead, you two; let's take it out with a Normal Attack!"

…you're seriously a 29 year-old middle schooler, aren't you?

Fully aware of Blue's judging stare, Red's Super Hero Time worthy composure faltered… but only for a second as he recovered. "It's just a temporary name, we'll come up with a better one later!"

That is so not the point…

Yellow stepped up and took a firing position at Red's eight o'clock, one hip cocked to the side. "Okay, Normeowl Attack (Temp)!"

Shaking her head in disbelief but off-kilter enough to just roll with it, Blue awkwardly joined Red and Yellow in opening fire on the massive steel wrecking ball – shredding into and then obliterating it with only a handful of shots.

Once again, Blue stared in shock for a moment at the results of their brief combat, before shaking herself and turning to Red. One question after another stumbled out of her mouth, each more hurried than the last. "She never said anything about…? How did you–?!"

"Hmhmhm! While it may have started as a Kamen Rider trope a decade ago? It's not unheard of for transformation devices to double as weapons in Sentai as well," Red explained with a big thumbs-up. "The Goseigers and last years' Kyoryugers are just two easy examples that come to mind. It helps move toy gimmicks like cars and batteries, you know."

"And of course," he continued, "following on the currently-airing Tokkyugers' heels would make us the 39th Super Sentai!"

"No, it wouldn't."

Back at Secret Base, Hiroyo stepped over to the bar for a coffee as the newly-minted Akibrangers' confusion and Red's dismay echoed in her radio earpiece. "Our activities aren't recognized or even acknowledged by Toei," she explained. "Surely you must realize that only teams with a Sunday morning TV show are recognized as an official part of the Super Sentai series."

"In other words," she continued while striding back to a terminal from where she could oversee the Akibarangers' performance data, "you guys are an Unofficial Sentai."

Back at the warehouse, Red digested that for a moment before placing a hand over his heart. "Then we're… Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger," he solemnly declared to Blue and Yellow. "We'll be heroes who protect the Earth and its people, and someday… maybe someday we'll be put on TV and recognized as an official Super Sentai."

"...well, I guess that's fine for now."

Before any of the Akibarangers could reply to Hiroyo's offhand remark, the world around them blurred white before they found themselves back at Secret Base in their civilian identities.

Mitsuki stared at her hands, the costume and its unbelievable power still fresh in her mind. "We're… we're back?"

"That was so awesome," Yumeria cheered. "Absolutely meow-raculous!"

"I know, right?! Oh yeah, before I forget –"

Nobuo excitedly turned to face Hiroyo, who had since retreated behind the bar. "As defenders of Earth, who's our villain? Is it a child-hating witch like Zyuranger's Bandora? Or maybe a cult of academics like Volt in Liveman?!"

Hiroyo stared at him with wide eyes, before a helpless laugh bubbled up from inside and she shrugged. "...I dunno."