Renka thought about the assignment given to her as she entered her house. Her parents were still at work while her grandmother usually stayed home doing anything she could to keep busy. For being in her 80s, she was spry.

"I'm home," Renka said.

"Welcome home," her grandmother said. "How was school?"

"Same as usual," Renka said sitting down next to her in their tatami room. The screen door was open allowing the refreshing spring air to come rolling in to take over for the old winter air that had occupied the house for several months. The weather had finally warmed up last week after an obnoxious and brutal winter. It was the perfect time as the sakura bloomed and it was the first week of school.

"It never ceases to amaze me how much school uniforms have changed," her grandmother said inspecting her granddaughter's clothes. "My uniform was boring by comparison. It was just one piece with a vest top and a white shirt underneath. Your mother's uniform is closer to yours in design. Did you know your mom was a gyaru?"

"Wait, really? A gyaru?"

"Yep, she had the short skirt that I yelled at her about often as well as the long socks that she bunched up above her shoes. That was the style in the nineties. She grew out of that after high school. She had to grow up real fast. You're more modest than her but you still have a relaxed look with your uniform. And your skirt is too short."

"Too short?" Renka asked standing up. "It goes to my knees."

"No, it stops above your knees. My skirt went past my knees. You could barely see any of my legs."

"That's probably because you were chibi and had a uniform that was too big for you."

"Chibi? I was average height, maybe a little taller than average." Renka gave her an unconvinced look and her grandmother relented. "Well, your skirt isn't as short as your mother's. You could see her underwear even when she was standing. The skirt barely poked out from under her vest."

"It's hard to imagine Mom dressed like that," Renka said reaching into her bag. She pulled out some taiyaki and two bottles of milk tea. "I brought these."

"And this is why I like you," her grandmother said. "You know how to spoil an old woman, but I'm supposed to spoil you. You're supposed to have a carefree life at your age." She looked outside. "But things are looking pretty bad now, aren't they? I mean, things have to be bad if people are rioting against the sentai teams."

"Yeah, I don't understand it," Renka said.

"We might be entering another dark time for Japan. Since I was born, everything always had a positive outlook. Even when times got dark such as the Baranoia takeover, there was still a sense of hope because the sentai teams were there."

"What about during the war?"

"I was born after the surrender so I can't tell you anything firsthand. If your great-grandmother was still alive then she'd tell you. All I have are her possessions of that time."

"Can I look at those? We have to do a project for class and I wanted to do it on my great-grandfather. I don't know anything about him except he fought and died in the war."

Her grandmother took a drink of milk tea before getting up and disappearing into another room. She returned a few minutes later with a box that no 80-year-old had any business carrying but she had no problem with it.

"I often asked about him when I was a kid and I wasn't told much. Only that he was kind and that they had known each other since they were kids. I do know that he was only seventeen when he was killed."

"Seventeen? So..."

"Yeah, they weren't married and had a special night before he left to fight."

"That's only a year older than what I am now."

"They didn't even finish high school. They had to help with the war. He had to go to the front lines and she had to train to fight in case we were invaded. It wasn't until I was older was when I was told more about him and what he did in the war. When I tell you the rest, please don't think poorly of him and understand that it was a different time and there was no real choice in the matter."

She pulled out a photograph, the last one of her great-grandfather.

"You see, he was part of the Special Attack Unit."

"What is that?" Renka asked looking at the photograph. He was dressed in a pilot's uniform with a jacket and bandana with the rising sun design on the front.

"He was a kamikaze pilot."

The monk gave up on Renka for now as it would be weird to follow her home. He realized just how creepy and suspicious he had been following a high school girl home. He changed targets. He saw two of them come out of an alleyway. He wondered which way would be the best in recruiting them. Considering what was at stake, he decided the direct approach was best. When it came to their type, there was no sure way.

He approached them from the front and stopped, standing in their way. His eyes darted back and forth between Shiori and Taiga. They glared at him. They didn't have to say anything. Their looks demanded why he was bothering him.

"I don't mean to cause any trouble," the monk said.

"Then get out of our way," Shiori said. "I'm not in the mood."

"Yeah, move Krillin!" Taiga said shoving past him. Shiori laughed at his comment referring to the monk's bald head.

"You're right, he so looks–"

Suddenly, Taiga was on the ground. His eyes were wide as he took a few moments to register what had just happened. Even Shiori was frozen as she had to process things. The monk held Taiga's arm in a position that prevented Taiga from getting up.

The monk's eyes widened as they focused on Taiga. Shiori stepped back.

"Never call me that," the monk said.

"Okay, okay, sorry."

The monk pulled Taiga to his feet, putting him back at Shiori's side. The two looked incomplete if not at each other's side. If only their ancestors had been there for each other then Japan's history would be very different.

"This will only take a moment," the monk said. He noticed people were staring. He had to make this quick. "There is a darkness coming. It is something the sentai teams cannot handle, especially now." He pulled out two small pouches from his bag, handing them to Shiori and Taiga. "I've been tasked in gathering the next sentai team that you will be a part of."

"Huh?" Shiori asked. "You're recruiting us to be the next sentai team?"

"That's right. In those pouches are your Rekinchangers." He looked around noticing a pair of police approaching. He cursed himself for drawing such attention. "I will explain more later. I want you to meet me at my shrine in the mountains in Okutama."

"Okutama? That's on the other side of the city," Taiga said. "How would we get there?"

"The power coins in your Rekinchangers will guide you there. I still need to recruit the others."

"And if we refuse?" Shiori asked.

"Then we all die," the monk said flatly.

The monk effortlessly evaded the police after talking with Shiori and Taiga. His next target was just now leaving the same school as the others. This one was a teacher on a bike. The monk sighed knowing he was going to have to run to catch him. He played with the idea of throwing something into the wheel of the bike.

The light at the intersection turned red and Tenzo slowed to a stop, placing a foot on the curb. He gazed at his surroundings as he waited for the light to change. This particular intersection was an annoyance as it took longer to cycle through its lights.

"Tenzo Terakada," the monk said startling the high school teacher.

"Lucky guess," Tenzo said. "Do I know you? Are you a parent of one of my students?"

"No, but the world needs your help."

Tenzo smirked. "The world definitely needs help but it's in big trouble if it needs my help."

The monk held out one of his pouches. "This is for you."

"Past experiences have led me to not accept gifts from strangers."

"Do not misunderstand," the monk said. "This is only for you. It is what you will use to become a Rekinger."

The light finally changed and Tenzo put his foot on his pedal. He gave the monk an apologetic look. But before Tenzo could pedal away, the monk locked Tenzo's back tire and pulled out the key.

"What the hell?"

"Here. I said this is for you. It is your Rekinchanger. With it, you will become a Rekinger."

Tenzo hopped off his bike and made a futile attempt at the key in the monk's hand.

"Fine," Tenzo said pushing his kickstand down. "What do you want?"

"I literally just told you," the monk said. "You need to take this and become a Rekinger."

"What is a Rekinger?"

"It's the newest Sentai team that is needed if we're going to save humanity."

"I need to become one right now?"

"No, not right this second but I need you to meet me at my shrine in Okutama. I'll explain everything else there."

Without saying anything further, the monk handed Tenzo the pouch and his bike key before walking away.

Renka walked out of the convenience store closest to her house. She had a craving for chocolate and potato chips and naturally, there was nothing in her house to satisfy that craving. The street was empty with the exception of one other person who was walking unsteadily. Renka guessed the woman had been drinking but wasn't completely drunk.

Renka was still taking in all the information her grandmother told her regarding her grandfather, the kamikaze pilot. She sat down in the small near her house as she processed everything. It wasn't the fact that her grandfather was a soldier, as that was normal but not everyone's grandfather was a kamikaze pilot.

There was a stigma about them, mostly about their willingness to just throw away their lives for the country. No sane person would do such a thing. People likened them to the terrorists who crashed planes into buildings in America. Why couldn't he back out of that? Did he have the extreme loyalty that only fanatics possessed? Her grandmother had relayed the praise her own mother had for her husband but the fact he willingly crashed his plane into an enemy ship wiped away any positive thoughts that Renka held for him. There was no way she was going to reveal this to anyone else.

Renka leaned against the back of the park bench as she sighed. She jumped when she noticed the monk was sitting next to her. How long had he been there? How did she not notice? Was she so deep in thought she didn't notice him approach? Why did he sit next to her of all places?

"Here," he said holding out a pouch. Renka just looked at the pouch but made no move to take it. The monk sighed. "It's not anything bad. As soon as you take it I'll leave."

"What is it?"

"It's your Rekinchanger. You've been chosen to be part of the next Sentai team."

"Don't mess with me."

"It's not a trick. I'd explain more but I still have one more recruit to meet. I will explain the details to everyone at once when you all meet me at my shrine."

"Why not now?"

"Because it's easier at one time and I'm tired. I've been all over the place chasing you and the others down."

"How many are on this team?"

"Right now, you're the fourth of five."

"Can I say no?"

"Sure, but if you do then we all die and the world ends. I'd rather not let that happen."

Renka stared at the pouch while her hand acted on its own to take hold of it.

Night had fallen by the time Haruka left the izakaya. She made her way home down the empty street, passing only a high school girl. She could only tell the girl was in high school because of the uniform.

She thought back to her high school days and felt life was so much easier back then. She wanted a boyfriend back then too but she was too afraid to ask the guy she liked. She lost that chance when her crush ended up with another girl. She felt things were looking up when she started dating her most recent boyfriend but that failed before it even got started.

Tears blurred her vision by the time she entered her apartment. She stood in the middle of her room as she tried to let the tears clear on their own. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply while she undressed.

Her button-up shirt, undershirt, and bra ended up on the floor. She didn't care. She'd clean later. Tonight, she wasn't in the mood for anything productive as the tears weren't retreating. This was going to be another night of crying in the shower. She stripped away the rest of her clothes before walking into the kitchen.

Living alone had its advantages such as sitting around the house naked. She yearned for a boyfriend to be here and see her naked. That probably wouldn't happen anytime soon.

She disappeared into the darkness of the hallway and out of sight of the monk who had a clear view of her from the street. He didn't plan on spying on her but while he was trying to figure out a way to deliver her Rekinchanger, she had started undressing and before he knew it, she was topless.

He pulled the pouch from his bag as he approached the window. He didn't understand why a woman like her would keep her curtains open. He climbed onto her veranda and to his disappointment and shock, the window was unlocked. He was going to have to have a few words with her the next time they met.

He placed the pouch on the table just inside the window with a set of instructions with it. He had just closed the window with someone called out to him. It was a pair of police officers. His attempt to convince them it wasn't what it seemed fell on deaf ears.

"Damn it all," the monk said before sprinting away at an inhuman speed knowing the cops wouldn't catch him.