Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3 - Amadam

“That’s the point where you’re supposed to hug her, shouldn’t that be obvious?”

Against Shuuichi Tsubaki’s matter-of-factly tone, Ichijou responded in frustration

“Is that really all you can talk about? It’s ie, you know?”

“You idiot, that’s exactly why it’s possible If you’re thatyou do Because of all the experience you’ve gone through, things that you just do ordinarily will end up looking aay or hoot no reason to hesitate”

“Alright, alright, I got it”

“Seriously otten to that point, it’s prettyher”

“First I’ve heard of courtesy like that”

Ichijou was regretting telling his best friend froh school the private elements of his time in Kyoto Ichijou’s intentions were just to sho Mika, even though she was slightly intoxicated, reation He always ends up ht Ichijou, as he wryly smiled in his heart

“You’re only saying this because you’ve never irl”

“You know, you’re going to regret treating her like a little kid like that She’s already 27, this Natsuirl”

“‘Personality doesn’t always change just fro older Just look at you, you’re still the sah school days!”

“How rude! I’ll have you know I’ve grown from an amateur skirt chaser to a professional one! Listen up, woe of 25 are anxious If you date thee’ is sure to come up Tell her it’s still a bit soon, deepen your relationshi+p, and eventually the two of you will be bounded together just like that In a sense, it’s the point where you need to spoil them the most That’s why you need to date Natsume-kun!”

“And just how the hell did you juic?”

“I just want to see how pitiful you’d look at a woman’s mercy”

As they went about theirover his laptop’s keyboard On the screen displayed infor a corpse’s official autopsy It was fro at the Kantou Hospital as a physician, Shuuichi Tsubaki was one of Ichijou’s o, he served as a medical exa out theirautopsies on the victi their cause of death He also served as almost a personal physician for Godai after he obtained the ability to transforer on occasions In some way or the other, it was a form of proof that Tsubaki had Ichijou’s complete trust

They were both fro all the way back in the year they were adh SchoolThe school was known for its freedo the only school in the prefecture that did not have a strict uniform policy There was a wide deviation rate in tered, with even dyed hair and piercings being allowed Ichijou however, a, adhered to the school’s official rules and wore the proper uniform On the other hand, Tsubaki was as much of a skirt chaser back then as he was now, and was quite popular with the feht His acadehout aoka that he first tasted the bitter defeat of getting second place, and the one who took first place away from him was none other than Ichijou

After that, Tsubaki began considering Ichijou as his rival, and tried to compete with him whenever possible Ichijou paid no attention to his strides, which only served to fuel his fire By the first year’s autumn, Tsubaki had overtook him Since then, they had a relationshi+p of constantly overtaking each other, but because they felt that they would not ever get along, that relationshi+p did not grow any closer than that It hen they ended up being in the saed Their english teacher would constantly recolish-japanese dictionaries, to the point where he actually claiht own Tsubaki, as sitting in the very front of the class and had been using one of those “other” dictionaries, turned to face the garbage can that was on the other side of the roo inside perfectly Just as Tsubaki was about to bla him do that, Ichijou stood up from his seat and went to throay his dictionary as well Seeing Ichijou so obediently follow his words, the teacher had no choice but to admit that he went too far

That event hat caused the a shot at talking to each other, they realized they actually had a lot in co “The Cat That Lived 1 Million Tie staa they borrowed fro middle schoolthey shared many unexpected interests They also boththeir university ambition Their paths split apart when they became police officer and doctor, but both of them had broken the boundaries and became the top of their respective fields Both the environrew up in and their personalities may have been very different, but perhaps they both irls part, that is

Ichijou, for one of the few tiantic favor He wanted him to secretly obtain the results of Kouichi Nakata’s official autopsy Previously, Sugita had been investigating independently in regards to his suspicion over Nakata’s involveen capsule cases Recently however, for whatever reason, infor him had become restricted

“Apparently, Sugita was trying to hold off Nakata’s cremation From what I’ve heard, Nakata’s corpse was actually burned before schedule So more convenient for the funeral home, due to various circumstances”

“Various circu on onany new information at all”

“There’s no doubt about it then, so the information back”

“Yeah It was the sa the after the incidents When things got really bad, it was pretty much the iron rule that info was to be spread AFTER the incident was settled”

“The question here is, who is controlling the information, and for what purpose? Under normal circumstances, there’s no way that the Ministry of Public Security I’ at wouldn’t have that kind of information on hand”

“Yeah this is hopeless I’ll have to contact an acquaintance of mine but, well, don’t expect much”

“Please do”

“More importantly…”

“Hm?”

“Isn’t this what you really wanted to talk to me about?”

The ie displayed on Tsubaki’s monitor was the saa

“So you knew… What do you think of it?”

“Well, it’s really too blurry to tell for sure It easily looks like so that could have been edited in by soht be another one of those copy-cat cases”

“There’s been a lot of those in the past, but this is the first I’ve seen one of a white Kuuga”

“He enthusiast for this one”

“That’s the only thing that’s really caught my attention”

“White, huh”

The color of the form Yusuke first transformed into… The white seemed to represent the Yusuke’s confusion and unfanated “Unidentified Lifefore of the red Kuuga, Unidentified Lifefora changed into the different colors of blue, green, and purple in order to adapt to the evolution of his abilities, the police force simply referred to them as a different colored No 4 There was a period of tia had reverted to his white form but, because the police did not announce such infor that the average citizen would know about the white Kuuga’s return But a picture of Kuuga has indeed appeared once again, and this tia

“If that Kuuga really is the th has weakened considerably”

“Yeah”

“I can believe in that possibility, right?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I still reo, after he defeated No 0, you caht?”

“Right”

“He was severely injured from that battle, but he miraculously recovered due to the A farewell only to you, along with telling you to say goodbye to the rest for him”

“Correct”

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

Tsubaki locked onto Ichijou with a sharp gaze Ichijou stared right back undauntedly Only a few seconds had past, but it felt er to Ichijou

“What makes you say that?”

“I remember I asked you a question at that tiht now?’ But you just looked out theat the blue open sky with a co my question”

“That’s…”

“Nor like ‘I sure hope so’”

“”

“It’s ‘cause you’re honest to your core That’s your weakness That’s why I gave up on that guy But since this i to assume that the possibility is there”

“Yeahthe possibility is still there”

Ichijou pulled out his heavythem to Tsubaki The memories of what had occurred at that snowstorm

“Looks like the belt’s dae still hasn’t healed yet That’s whymake sure to aim here if the time comes”

Speaking with a gentle smile, Yusuke Godai pointed to his abdomen In order to defeat No 0, he had to wield the ulti “The being that brings about ulti nerve-breaking bullets into that area Ichijou was fully prepared to pull the trigger if that ti “If anything happens, I will eliminate him”, Ichijou had determined his resolve

Yusuke Godai, perfora, disappeared into the snowstorli red That was proof that Godai had triumphed over the darkness and retained his sanity Ichijou felt relieved, but at the sahtened Despite the kind heart Godai had, he was to be forced to perforhter

Ichijou ran With all his heart and mind, he ran Godai in That’s what he believed He wanted to see the moment No 0 fell in battle, and he wanted to be able to es inhis face and slowing his feet Suddenly his field of vision opened up, as a wide field blurred by the snowstorht of two bodies collapsed in the center, Ichijou understood that their struggle to the death had come to a close

He did not lose that heart of his Yusuke Godai remained himself to the very end Within the snowstorm that blurred the difference between the very sky and earth, No 0 was defeated and sunk into the snow

“Godai…”

I was too late, thought Ichijou as he stood in place Godai had fought with everyone’s hopes entrusted to him, yet Ichijou had not even been able to be there to embrace him with his warmth

“GodAIIII!!!”

The ust whipped up the snow and obstructed his vision once more Just how led, thehi the center of the snowy plains, he found the corpse of No 0 covered in snow, along with Godai being nowhere in sight Ichijou desperately shoveled through the snow, but the snowstorone In the end, Ichijou was unable to find him

“He probably didn’t want me to see him without his smilethat’s what I think”

“So you kept everything to yourself in your heart, and told everyone that he had gone on another adventure”

“Even now, I still check to see if any unknown bodies have been found in that area As of right now, there hasn’t been anything to suggest the worst has happened”

“And that’s why the possibility is still there, huh?”

Tsubaki returned his gaze towards the i No 2 displayed on his monitor

“But if that’s the case, then it’s possible he’s coain”

Ichijou reflected over Tsubaki’s words and remained silent for a while His eyes then slowly returned to the monitor

“After that, I’ve kept seeing the saain”

“Dream…?”

“Yes… It’s always at some faraway country, with children at a pure white beach A blue sky and rolling waves…it was like a land of paradise The children would be playing with each other in good fun, yet every ti Then that guy would run in carefreely with his backpack on, and begin juggling balls for thean slowly growing back onto their faces…”

Possibly being able to i as well

“After seeing that, he would pass the balls to the children and throw the for another journey…”

“A dream, huh…”

“A dream…”

“I see…”

Mur at Ichijou, Tsubaki turned his eyes towards the blue sky outside the

“Well, there’s nothing else I can do, so corab a bite with me”

Accepting his offer, Ichijou joined Tsubaki in his car as he took him to his usual cafe Ichijou felt a bit concerned over what Tsubakielse I can do”, but he was o, he was riding in a black Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible, a quite i vehicle, but this time it was an old sweet colored Fiat 500F An antique fro, lacking not only seatbelts but air conditioning as well It was registered before the year 1969, so it was not affected by the seat belt requireardless, Ichijou could not help but be stricken with confusion over why Tsubaki would choose this specific car

“It ”

“You idiot These days, women love cars like these”

“Oh really now”

“It’s true that these cars take a lot ine while driving, it can raise hell when stopping at a traffic light, and so on But in regards to both cars and women, the more you have to work for it, the more valuable the love becomes”

“Well if that’s what you want, then I’”

As they chatted, Tsubaki eventually arrived at a street corner and stopped his car in a sht Ichijou to a certain nearby establishment

“Wait a second, this place is…”

“That’s right Jounan University”

“Weren’t you taking me to your usual cafe?”

“There’s this really high class cafe in this hall, that’s my usual cafe”

Stepping into the cafe that had been recently built a couple years ago with an exceptionally tall ceiling, they caught the attention of a wo of an Ito Jakuchu t-shi+rt and a caribbean stylea fe with an ID card hanging from her neck that displayed the title of “assistant Professor” And the na that title was…”Sakurako Sawatari”

“Sawatari-san…!?”

“It’s been quite a while, Ichijou-san!”

“You haven’t changed at all, I see”

“Really? Even if you’re just trying to flatter me, I’m happy to hear that!”

Laughing, her eyes took the same crescent shape as before The only difference was that this ti her a ained over the years was very apparent, she had aged nificently

“Nah, this guy has been horrible at flattery since I ith hi honest”

“Then I’ll take you for your word and enjoy his coht, thank you for that meal earlier”

“No no, any time”

Ichijou shi+fted his eyes towards Tsubaki, with hinorance Is this guy seriously still going after Sawatari-san? But judging froress at all, thought Ichijou, as he read the situation If they really had that kind of relationshi+p, she would not have gone out of her way to thank hiht of Tsubaki in such a merry mood a bit cute

“I really appreciate that the two of you took the time to come here for me today”

“Eh? So it’s you who invited us?”

“Yes I asked Tsubaki to take you here whenever you two had the chance”

“Geez, what are you asking her for, Ichijou? I already told you ere co here”

Ichijou finally understood what Tsubakielse I can do”

As they walked down the hallith Sakurako, chimes of “Professor Sawatari” could be heard fro by And each time, she would stop and take the time to sincerely answer their questions It was apparent that her students had both respect and affection for her

“Oh, Professor! I watched that really old Lupin movie! That Fiat really was adorable! Are you still not planning to get one yourself?”

Hearing that female student’s words, Ichijou instantly understood the reasoning behind Tsubaki’s choice in vehicle In the Lupin the 3rd anime’s feature film, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and shown in theaters over 30 years ago, the main character rode in a Fiat 500F

“H someone show et one yet The new model is pretty expensive too Well, it’s not like it was so for anyway”

Ichijou could sense Tsubaki deflating like a balloon after hearing those words and felt a bit sorry for him Sakurako then bid farewell to her student and turned back to Ichijou, who instantly responded with a smile when their eyes met

“You’ve become quite the mentor”

“If it were up to me, I’d just stay in the research lab all day Of course there’s no way I could actually do that, I have ive every week”

Being a graduate student of the Archaeology Research Laboratory, Sakurako researched ancient characters She o, the inforake Ruins proved to be extre with the Unidentified Lifefore for Sakurako as she walked in front of hiht about howthat time The fact that her ID card still displayed the surname “Sawatari” could be evidence that she still wanted to carry on her feelings from those days As Ichijou reflected over all of this, he could not help but to continue to wish that she could continue to involve herself with the research that she loved so dearly

They eventually reached the nostalgic Archaeology Research Laboratory It was a place that Ichijou often visited along with Yusuke The equipment and the computers have been replaced with newthe desk, had reed as if time had stopped in the rooht over from his trip to some country had remained as well

“A charainst not only disaster, but luck with men as well, that mask”

Sakurako smiled as she poured coffee into a siphon Ichijou returned that s amount of documents scattered about the room It appeared that the relationshi+p between shi+nano and Jounan University that started 13 years ago involving the excavated artifacts still continued, albeit at a snail’s pace Their excavation tea any new artifacts to this laboratory, with Sakurako doing most of the examination

“There are two reasons why I wanted to meet with you in person…”

Sakurako first showed Ichijou a photograph depicting the restored state of a stone monument

“What’s this? I don’t exactly have any memory of this monument”

“Yes, a couple years ago we discovered an unpublished thesis Professor Natsuation and restored the excavated frag the thesis, there was soht my attention…”

Sakurako directed Ichijou and Tsubaki towards the desk, which displayed the translation results of an inscription Towards the end of the sentence were two highlighted sections, “Coffin of Darkness” and “Coffin of Light”

“Coffin of Darkness and Coffin of Light…”

“Yes, here is how the sentence would be read ‘The Coffin of Darkness ht The Coffin of Darkness otten’”

Hearing those words, Tsubaki joined in the conversation

“Coffin of Darkness… No 0’s coffin was hidden under the great warrior Kuuga’s coffin, so wouldn’t it be telling us not to forget about that?”

“No, if I recall correctly, No 0 was sealed under the earth It had no coffin”

“Is that so…”

“That’s right After looking at this fro about the Linto word , but thereas how the word is even used when describing a building with only one room The word itself appears to be derived from their word for ‘coffin’ as well”

“So you’re saying that Kurougake Ruins itself htand there may be another coffin elsewhere…”

Sakurako gave a s

“Yes There is the possibility that theresealed”

Ichijou unconsciously rew quiet The possibility that he had been so desperately trying to deny was about to becois sealed around the Kurougake Ruins Even if it may be on a sis laying in so

“Wait, hold on”

Those words came from Tsubaki

“Back in the area where No 40 first appeared, wasn’t there evidence of a huge slaughter of Unidentified Lifeforms? What was it that you wrote in your final report for that incident again?”

“It was but mere conjecture, but i that wasn’t qualified for participating in their games”

“Taking into account No 0’s overwhelth, I suppose it would be extremely unlikely that any Unidentified Lifeforms escaped from its wrath”

“Right That would is that had not been resurrected yet”

“Do you have any idea on who that someone could be?”

“I can’t say that I don’t”

The figure of that someone floated up clearly in the back of Ichijou’s head The one whose chest had a bullet lodged in by Ichijou’s hand Unidentified Lifeform No B-1the rose-tattooed wo deep in his heart since that day was close to beco Ichijou remain in silence, Sakurako cut in hesitantly

“Sorry to butt in, but…”

“Oh, right, you said there were two reasons why you wanted us to see you”

“Yesplease come with me”

Ichijou and Tsubaki acco the Literature Departriculture Departreenhouses meant for research purposes lined up in the back Research on pesticide-free crops and hydroponic cultivation was supposedly done here Entering one of theetation, they suddenly caht The nay Research Laboratory” Sakurako disengaged the electronic lock with her ID card, and the giant doors not unlike those of a Stevenson screen opened up, revealing the giant fossilized body of Kuuga’s partner laying silently

“Gouram…”

Having not seen it for such a long ti Goura beetle, an artifact of the Linto’s advanced technology The ancient language carved on its head read:

“Co the form of a beetle, and serve as armor for the horse”

Resurrecting as if to respond to the feelings of Yusuke who had becoe raded model, Beatchaser 2000, as the “horse” and fused with the its speed, it also served as protective ara e midair combat After Yusuke had disappeared, it returned to its fossilized state and no longer gave off any signs of life After detailed scientific analyses, it was returned to Jounan University two years ago After sufficient research data was gathered from it, there were plans to donate it to a museureed to have the Gourarounds due to the history it had with it Having seen the Gouram in action, Sakurako was unable to see it as just a fossil The Goura automobile, and Sakurako’s administration tere of this ti to have it be surrounded by the srass that it loves so that it could rest peacefully

“Man, it sure has been a while since I’ve seen itI forgot how big it was”