Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

by Takehaya

“This candy isn’t all that good.”

  The fourth was much heftier than the others. As someone might guess from his appearance, he was a man of voracious appetite. Even as he ran, he was holding on to a bag of candy. It was the same kind that was being handed out to the children during the event.

  “So this is a fight!”

  The last one was a man with long hair and shades, but both his hairstyle and sunglasses seemed a little outdated. He looked like the overly-motivated teacher type that would appear in old shoujo manga.

  “They all seem to be old-fashioned characters, but I guess that’s just about right for a hero show.”

  “Did you say something, Satomi-kun?”

  “It’s nothing, Senpai. Let’s get up on stage too. You got that, Yurika?”

  “Okay.”

  “Neigh!”

  Koutarou, Harumi, and Yurika hurried back on to the stage from the crowd. If they weren’t there before the heroes made it, it could really throw off the dialogue.

  “Hooo!”

  The group of five cheered and climbed up to the stage in a theatrical fashion. Koutarou held Harumi in front of him like a human shield and taunted the arriving heroes.

  “Wahahaha, it doesn’t matter how many of you there are! There’s nothing for us to fear now that Harukaze Man has been defeated!” he blustered.

  “Noooooooo! Somebody save meeeee!” Harumi screamed out with perfect timing.

  In reality, she personally didn’t want anyone to save her, but she wasn’t going to let her personal desires get in the way of her acting. Her desperate plea for help resounded throughout the venue.

  “Curse you! Unhand that woman!”

  “Very well. It’s not my first choice to use my future wife as a hostage anyway.”

  Following the script, Koutarou put a shackle on Harumi’s ankle and bound her to a nearby pillar. Harumi then tugged on the chains repeatedly to show that she had no way of escaping.

  “But it’s not as if I, Baron Demon, need hostages in the first place! I’m the one who defeated Harukaze Man!”

  The overconfident enemy relinquishing his hostage was a necessary development for the heroes to turn things around.

  I’ll leave the rest to you, heroes!

  Now that the stage had ben set, all that was left was for the heroes to shine.

  “Go, Baron Demon! Crush this impudent bunch!”

  “Baron Demon, let us present their heads to Princess Devil!”

  “Understood!”

  Right on cue, Koutarou and Kiriha stepped forward while Theia stayed behind them and smiled arrogantly. The decisive battle was about to start.

  “All right, everyone, let’s transform!”

  “Yeah!”

  The group of five seemed to know the drill as well and began their transformation scene.

  “Oooh... So they’re going to transform here!” Sanae said, watching in admiration.

  Unlike in a TV show, transforming live on stage was a difficult task. They either needed to use a smokescreen or make clever use of their set pieces in order to switch out the actors or have a quick costume change. It took quite a bit of coordination and several people to pull off. The youth department was understaffed for this show as it was, which is why Harukaze Man was supposed to appear on stage already transformed. Despite that, these five new heroes were going for a live transformation. Sanae really was impressed.

  “Could it be real actors helping out?”

  “That might be it.”

  Also impressed, Koutarou and Kiriha stared at the group of five as they all raised their right hands.

  “Traaansfooorm!”

  They waved their right hands in the air while using their left hands to push a button on their belts. From that position, they moved both of their hands together in a large arc, finally ending up pointing to the right.

  “Oh!”

  It was a transformation pose so skillfully done that it amazed Koutarou. As someone who was considerably fond of transforming heroes, he had no complaints with their perfect posing.

  There was a sudden burst of white smoke that concealed the five heroes. Through it, only their unique silhouettes could be seen moving. And once the wind carried away the smoke, five warriors wearing round helmets appeared. Their outfits were completely different than before. It wasn’t just some clever superficial change. It looked like they’d actually changed costumes. It was a splendid transformation for a hero show. There was just one problem.

  “Red Shine!”

  “Red Shine!”

  “Red Shine!”

  “Red Shine!”

  “Red Shine!”

  “And together, we’re the Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad!”

  For some reason, the group of five heroes now posing with background music and pyrotechnics were all wearing the same color.

  “Wherever there is love, there is justice! In this world—”

  “Quit messing around!”

  The moment he saw the transformed heroes, Koutarou abandoned the script and dashed forward. His face was red with rage, and he smacked the Red Shine standing in the center right on the head.

  “Wh-What are you doing, Baron Demon-san?!”

  “I don’t care! How can you do everything so well and then screw it up at the very end?!”

  “J-Just wait a moment, Baron-san! What are you so angry about?!”

  “No way! Seriously, what’s going on here?! Do we have five more Yurikas on our hands?!”

  “What are you saying, Satomi-san?!”

  Of course, Koutarou was angry about their costumes. It was an unwritten rule, or really just common sense for a kids’ show, that each costume should be a different color. And for all five of them to show up wearing red was in such flagrant disregard for the true spirit of a hero show that Koutarou was enraged. It was an especially infuriating surprise after their transformation scene was so well done.

  “Why would you ruin all of our hard work like that?! Are you amateurs?!”

  “S-Sorry, Baron-san! I’m not really sure why you’re so angry! This is our first time, you know!”

  “As if I’d forgive you for just that!”

  “Oh no, this isn’t good! All five Sun Rangers are wearing red costumes!” Ruth announced to the crowd, still trying to do her job as the host.

  “That’s it, Kenichi!” the female Red Shine whispered to the leader Red Shine. “Baron-san is angry about these suits!”

  “I see!”

  Thanks to Ruth’s narration, they finally understood why Koutarou had gotten mad. The kids in the audience felt the same way and were now watching the Sun Rangers rather skeptically.

  “Sensei, why are those Sun Rangers all red?”

  “Which one is which?”

  “Maybe there’s only one real one and the rest are fakes?”

  “It’s just the worst when you end up wearing the same thing as someone else.”

  There was a growing criticism rumbling in the crowd, and the Sun Rangers were quickly losing their support.

  “What do we do, Koutarou? The show’s turning into a mess.”

  “How should I know? If you have any complaints, let these idiots have it!”

  Koutarou was still incensed. Having grown up a fan of hero shows on TV, he couldn’t forgive them for cutting corners(?) on such a critical part of the show. He knew some sacrifices had to be made to pull off a live performance, but the hero costumes certainly shouldn’t be one of them. He couldn’t accept five red Sun Rangers.

  “...Despite everything you say, you’re quite picky when it comes to cosplay, Satomi-san...”

  Yurika gave Koutarou a dirty look from inside the paper mâché horse, but it was short-lived and soon faded into a smile.

  “It looks like Satomi-san might cosplay together with us if it’s from a hero show. I have to tell everyone in the cosclub!”

  Yurika’s relationship with the cosclub had been improving recently. In order to graduate from high school, she had to keep her ident
ity as a magical girl hidden. And after the initial trauma of it all, it wasn’t like she hated cosplaying, so she’d finally started to warm up to the idea of it.

  “It looks like we should be tempting him with an ancient hero!”

  Despite everyone around her being confused, Yurika was having fun now.

  “Get lost! I can’t fight with failures like you!”

  “Whaaat?! Y-You won’t even fight us?!”

  Koutarou’s harsh words shook the five Sun Rangers.

  “I don’t even want to talk to you! Scram!”

  Shaking with anger, Koutarou turned a cold shoulder on the heroes as he scolded them. When he turned away, the leader Red Shine desperately tried to stop him.

  “P-Please wait, Baron-san! We only formed a year ago, and this is our first sortie! If there’s anything wrong, we’ll work hard to fix it!”

  “Then go home and fix your suits! Only the leader should be red! I have my pride as a villain, you know! I’m not going to stoop to fighting some loser group like you!”

  “But we can’t fix our suits right now!”

  With the drama unfolding on stage, a few giggles could be heard in the audience. It soon caught on and the whole crowd erupted into laughter.

  “Sun Rangers, hurry up and change! With the wedding looming, Baron Demon is getting impatient!”

  Sensing the change in the crowd, Ruth decided to try and play the whole thing off comically. Her quick thinking helped get the crowd fired up again.

  “Everyone! Let’s cheer for the Sun Rangers! It’s only a matter of time before Baron Demon loses his temper completely!”

  “You can do it, Sun Rangers!”

  “Hurry up and change!”

  “I don’t know which one’s the old man with sunglasses anymore, but you can do it, old man!”

  “Can it, kid! Who are you calling an old man?! I’m only twenty!”

  A Red Shine reminiscent of the long-haired man in shades started shouting at a child who began crying loudly in response.

  “Waaaaah! M-Meanie Sun Rangers!”

  “Oh, that’s not good, Sun Rangers! A hero can’t argue with a child!”

  “You idiot!”

  Koutarou swung his fist at the tall Red Shine who made the child cry.

  “You guys don’t understand anything! You’re scum worse than third-rate heroes! How dare you make a kid cry?! You’re ruining their dreams! You don’t have the right to call yourselves heroes!”

  Koutarou reached his limit with the heroes that were ignoring every convention of heroism. It was a nostalgic sore spot for him. Recalling his own childhood admiration for heroes, he couldn’t forgive the Sun Rangers for their completely lacking hero act.

  “Baron-san, please wait!”

  “Jeez, it’s all your fault he got so angry again, old man.”

  “I’m not an old man, Koutaro!”

  “Wonderful, Baron Demon-sama! Just wonderful!”

  “It looks like Megu-chan’s illness is kicking in again, you guys.”

  Seeing the Sun Rangers struggling so hard, Yurika slowly began to feel a sense of closeness with them.

  I wonder what this feeling is...

  After being yelled at by Koutarou and making kids cry, the Sun Rangers no longer had any heroic dignity left to speak of. Yurika related with the disheartened aura they were now projecting, but since she’d been growing more positive as of late, she didn’t realize it was because that’s what it felt like to be a loser.

  “Children in the crowd, answer me this! Are these the heroes you wanted?! Or is there someone else?!”

  Koutarou’s mantle fluttered behind him as he turned and shouted to the children in the audience.

  “Is this all that justice has to offer?! Tell me, children! Who should I be fighting?!”

  A small child stood up in answer to Koutarou.

  “Harukaze Maaan! Help us, Harukaze Maaan!”

  In spite of his small size, the young child shouted with all his might. The other children took heart at his courage and began to cheer too.

  “Harukaze Man!”

  “Hurry up and save that lady! Please, Harukaze Man!”

  “The Sun Rangers are no good, Harukaze Man!”

  Their cries flooded the venue, and as if their prayers were answered, fireworks exploded on the stage. Two silhouettes appeared through the white smoke and struck poses to introduce themselves.

  “Courage! The power of hope within you!”

  “Love! The indestructible heart that supports courage!”

  “We are soldiers of courage and love!”

  The breeze carried away the remaining smoke, fully revealing the two figures.

  “Harukaze Man!”

  “Kisshou Lady!”

  “Evil will never prosper while we still stand!”

  Two heroes, a man and a woman, appeared in suits that were quite obviously handmade. The costumes put together by the youth department were of visibly lower quality than those of the Sun Rangers.

  “Harukaze Maaan! Harukaze Maaan!”

  Nevertheless, the children cheered for them at the top of their lungs. They were screaming several times louder than when the Sun Rangers had appeared. Even they knew there was more to a true hero than just a costume.

  “It looks like you’ve been having your way, Baron Demon!”

  “Wahahaha! Have you come to get done in again, Harukaze Man?!”

  And with arrival of a true hero, evil could shine. Koutarou composed himself and got back to the script.

  “I have returned from hell to defeat you! This time, you’ll be going there!”

  “Wahahaha! Telling a demon to go to hell is a funny joke! It seems that you’ve at least gotten funnier after reviving, Harukaze Man!”

  Now that Harukaze Man and Kisshou Lady had arrived, the show could go on as planned. By the end, it was a complete success.

  “Thank you, Harukaze Man! Kisshou Lady!”

  Carried away by her parents, the last child waved her hand as she left. Shizuka and the man playing Harukaze Man waved back and saw the child off.

  “Well, this was a huge success thanks to all of you, Kiriha-san, Koutarou-kun.”

  Once the children were all gone, the neighborhood association member in charge of the show walked over to Koutarou and the others. Most of them had taken off their costumes and makeup by now, so they had stayed backstage until the coast was clear.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t sure what would happen when Harukaze Man couldn’t show up on time, but you managed to keep things going. You were a huge help.”

  “What took so long anyway?”

  “It’s a bit embarrassing, but the suits being handmade worked against us. When it was almost our time to come out, we realized one of them was torn.”

  The man who played Harukaze Man slumped his shoulders. He then removed his chest piece and showed the back of his suit to Koutarou. The hole had been taped up and covered with the armor—a desperate solution to say the least. They’d caught it just before they went on stage, which was what had delayed their appearance.

  “I see,” said Kiriha, who was standing next to Koutarou and saw the tear too. She smiled and nodded, then said, “But really, it wasn’t us. It was all thanks to the substitutes you sent out.”

  “Yeah. Those Sun Rangers were a big help.”

  Koutarou nodded in agreement with Kiriha. The only reason they’d been able to buy enough time for Harukaze Man to appear was thanks to the Sun Rangers. In the end, Koutarou and the others were amateurs, and they weren’t confident that they would have been able to fill that much time on their own.

  “Huh?” The man playing Harukaze Man looked dumbfounded.

  “Weren’t the Sun Rangers your friends?”

  “What?”

  “We were certain you got some of your friends to come help.”

  “Didn’t the neighborhood association recruit them?”

  Koutarou and the rep from the neighborhood association each seemed to think the other wa
s responsible for calling in the Sun Rangers. Koutarou and the others assumed that the neighborhood association had prepared stand-ins in case of an emergency, but the neighborhood association assumed that Koutarou and the others had asked more of their friends to help out. It left everyone wondering where they had really come from.

  “What does this mean?”

  “Your Highness, wouldn’t it be best if we asked them directly?”

  “That’s true.”

  Koutarou and the others went looking for the Sun Rangers, but they were nowhere to be found on set.

  “Mackenzie, do you know where they went?”

  Once Harukaze Man appeared, Kenji’s character had practically nothing to do, so Koutarou was hoping he might have seen where the Sun Rangers had gone. However, Kenji just shook his head.

  “The last time I saw them, they were sneaking off the stage so they wouldn’t get in the way of the fight with Harukaze Man and Kisshou Lady. I don’t know where they went after that.”

  After his role was finished, Kenji had enjoyed the hero show alongside the children.

  “What about you, Sakuraba-senpai?”

  “I don’t know either. Sorry.”

  Harumi shook her head too while blushing slightly. She was staring at Koutarou for the entire fight scene, so she hadn’t paid any attention to the Sun Rangers.

  “Just who were those people?”

  Kiriha finally asked what everyone was wondering, but it left them all scratching their heads.

  Meanwhile, the Sun Rangers in question were in the middle of an evaluation meeting. They were trying to sort out the problems they’d encountered during their mission.

  “First off, I believe the biggest failure this time was blindly trusting a kindergartener.”

  An old man with a white beard and lab coat wrote what he had just said on a whiteboard. The whiteboard had been borrowed and brought into the small office for their meeting, which the old man seemed to be leading. There were five other people present, each sitting at a desk and watching the old man at the whiteboard with a serious expression on their face. These were, of course, the Sun Rangers.

  “As a result, we ended up intruding on a hero show that had nothing to do with the underground people.”

  The old man circled the words “hero show” with a red marker.