The Badge and the Burden 5 - An Original Super Sentai/Magical Girl Setting

Tekkan could tell this lovely morning was going to be ruined the very moment he saw Miki storming inside his shop, a furious look on his face and the little brat of his tailing after the man with a rather guilty look.

"Where is she?"

...

"Who?"

"The girl- that inconsiderate girl that yelled at my daughter!"

...

"Why?" Tekkan asked back with a flat look. "What did your daughter do to get yelled at by Komeko?"

"She- She said something about her doing things wrong. Which is in line with what you would say?"

The shop-keeper frowned at the taller man. "I don't like that tone, sir."

"Tekkan, the girl-"

"I have no clue where she is. She is not my daughter, but I don't really like how you are just being so vague about why she yelled at your brat. In fact, I don't even think she's even fine having the girl lambasted like this."

Miki didn't seem to notice the extremely awkward look on his daughter's face, Ichiko looked absolutely ashamed for some reason he couldn't deduce out of the blue.

"Well, she still-"

"Miki, I want a reason. I don't care what your papa bear mindset is trying to get out of me. I am not her parent, but I do remind you that I prefer to hear both sides of a story rather than jump the gun. So, unless you have a valid enough point to raise beyond what you are doing, then you will be quiet and we will wait for Komeko."

The man spared Tekkan a very frustrated look. But while that would have broken lesser men, Miki knew that the one he was trying to crack was known to do the reverse and 'break him' when the situation got too stupid.

The many times Miki got into troubles for trying to be a good kid were still in mind for Tekkan, and the fact that the family man hadn't grown much out of this ugly habit meant that there may be some of it inside his daughter.

Perhaps it was to the full extent as Tekkan remembered, which would make sense on how things ended the way they did the previous night. Nonetheless, there wasn't much to wait since Komeko appeared roughly ten minutes after the last words had been uttered.

The pinkette looked a bit at ease as she stepped inside the shop, such a calm expression gone the moment she noticed who was waiting for her. Miki almost jumped away from the counter to walk up to the girl and give her a piece of his mind, but he was stopped as Tekkan grasped at his wrist and kept him still despite his furious look.

"Komeko. We have questions, and I will ask of you the utmost honesty."

Komeko blinked and then nodded, silently walking up to the counter, but putting herself beside a very nervous Ichiko.

"S-Sorry."

The little blonde said, which prompted me a curious look as her father softened a bit at that response. Confusion flared on Miki's face, but it was ultimately Komeko's truthful recollection of yesterday's battle plus Ichiko nodding at her words that confirmed Tekkan's suspicions: the brat was a bleeding heart since she saw redeemable monsters everywhere. And she literally had the balls to patch herself up just so she could continue putting herself at risk for nothing!

"I-Ichi-chan. W-Why?"

"B-Because I didn't want to worry you, papa!" Ichiko replied loudly, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Ever- ever since what happened with mom, her death, I... I didn't want to worry you. And so- so I told you it wasn't a scary thing. It was a game but-"

"But it is not. And you worried him twice now than you would have if you were honest from the very beginning," Tekkan harshly remarked, Miki frowning at him. "Don't give me that look. This isn't the classic 'sorry, I was a silly kid, I will do better'. Your child literally set herself up for an early grave, all because of some self-conscious need to be independent for your sake."

Miki closed his eyes and sighed, turning to Ichiko with a serious look. "Ichi-chan. I... I will not punish you. This doesn't mean I am not disappointed, but I think you need to understand this is not a simple lie. You got yourself in harm's way, and you did so with little preparation. That's stupid, and I know you're not an idiot."

The girl bowed her head, and Tekkan held back from rolling his eyes at the two morons. Of course they were both idiots, he thought within reason, they were both bleeding hearts to some extent. Miki had gone through enough mistakes to know better than be a silly goof in combat, but he was older... he was rusty. And this could play heavily in weakening his resolve to keep an eye on his daughter.

"Which is why, from now on, I will start training you myself. And... we will tag along with Tekkan and Komeko to exercise and get ready for more battle!"

"R-Really?"

"Of course! And... Komeko-chan, I am sorry for yelling just moments ago."

The girl nodded at this, but said nothing as the father-daughter duo just 'convinced' Tekkan to accept this idea and left for their merry way. There was silence that came later on, and yet it wasn't bound to last for long as Komeko took a chair and sat with Tekkan behind the counter. Soon the girl's chin was resting on the counter itself, thoughts heavy in her mind.

"How are you?"

"Annoyed," the pinkette hummed almost immediately, staring forward. "Why did she have to lie?"

"It's easier to lie to get away from trouble. Sometimes it comes easy for us when it is a tiny thing," Tekkan explained quietly. "The issue is when we get too deep in the habit and we lie for dumb stuff. It's clear Ichiko lied so much about the troubles she faced that she couldn't do much but keep lying."

"E-Even though I could have told her wrong?"

"Yep."

"...I don't get it."

"Kids are kids. Silly people are silly people. Silly kids? Those are the worst to try and understand when you try to apply common sense in life," The shopkeeper argued. "Think of it this way: you have your own experiences, the child has her own. You both are magical girls, which is why you will help her get out of that troubled mindset."

Surprise flared within the pinkette's wide-eyed gaze as she aimed her eyes at Tekkan.

"I-I have to train with Ichiko?"

"I understand you don't like it. Maybe you don't trust her. And I don't fault you for it," Tekkan remarked, then looked at her with a serious look. "But you are her senior. You are someone with a greater understanding and you are, by all means, the one that should be the leader of whatever group of people you are part of."

"I have to agree with Grump-sensei, Meko-chan," Ruby spoke up, the mascot appearing and sitting on the counter with a surprisingly serious look. "While I wouldn't be too harsh with Ichi-chan, she truly got herself in trouble and it's clear her friend is not helping her the way he should. So, it is best for you both to train and foster a bond."

"Which doesn't have to be a friendship," Tekkan jumped in, gaining the attention of the pinkette. "I think the rabbit can agree that the priority is to do your job, which means having colleagues. Even if you don't like your work 'buddies', that doesn't mean you should hinder them. Just entertain a work relationship and you will be fine for now."

Komeko nodded slowly and... yawned.

"Can we go train now?"

Tekkan huffed. "That worked up?"

"Very. Sensei, I..." Komeko stood up, shuddering at her own mood. "Is it wrong to feel still upset? I accepted their apology-"

"Did you? I just saw you nod and that was all."

The pinkette opened her mouth, trying to rebuke that but ultimately deciding against it. "I suppose I didn't."

"You did nothing wrong, Komeko. If you didn't skirt any unpleasant details on your narration, you did as good as you could have done in that situation. I have nothing to complain about."

"But I hesitated. For a moment, I could have just killed the bug before it started to hit Ichiko-"

"You hesitated because Ichiko jumped in front of you. Unless you are trying to tell me you acquired a way to phase your attacks, I doubt you could have done anything else."

The girl sighed and nodded. "I guess."

Tekkan rolled his eyes and patted her head as he almost dragged her to the training field. "You did good. Take the compliment, you brat."

The shopkeeper took the lead, failing to notice the pleased smile on the girl's face at the praise before she caught up to him to get today's training started for good.

After all, trouble was soon going to be stirred for her and her 'friend' - a stronger foe soon to approach.

AN

Next time will be a mostly Ichiko-centric chapter since she has a lot to unravel in her own perspective, and she needs to get her character development started at once!