Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

by Takehaya

  “Thaht’s rhight.”

  “Mind your manners, Koutarou.”

  “Ith’s fhine aht thimes lhike thish.”

  Kiriha took a bite of her candy apple.

  “Heehee, thath’s thrue.”

  And just as Koutarou and Kiriha were laughing at each other...

  “I found you, underground people!”

  A familiar voice echoed through the area.

  “What?”

  “Koutarou, over there!”

  Koutarou looked up from his yakisoba, and right in front of him was a lone man wearing a red outfit.

  “Fate brought us together here today! This time—”

  The man in red was in the middle of his speech, but he stopped halfway through. Koutarou’s eyes met the man’s through the visor of his helmet.

  “Wait a minute, aren’t you...?”

  “Oh? You’re that guy from the other day...”

  They were practically talking over each other.

  “Baron Demon-san and Black Rose-san?”

  “You’re a Sun Ranger, right?”

  The Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad were the five-man hero group Koutarou and the others met at the Harukaze Man hero show last week.

  “I am terribly sorry for intruding on your hero show last weekend!”

  After recognizing Koutarou, Red Shine bowed deeply. Remembering how angry he’d made Koutarou on stage, Red Shine used this chance to formally apologize.

  “No, no, you were hardly intruding!”

  Compelled by the man’s gentlemanly and proper apology, Koutarou and Kiriha hurriedly stood up and bowed their heads respectfully back.

  “At the time, Harukaze Man had gotten into some trouble, so you guys appearing and buying time really helped us out. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad to hear it, but I’m still sorry for leaving without apologizing then.”

  Having both been raised to be respectful and polite, Koutarou and Red Shine made a connection and smiled at each other.

  “By the way, Baron-san and Black Rose-san, based on the way you’re dressed, are you two enjoying some private time?”

  “Yes. We wanted to talk some things out.”

  Koutarou and Kiriha were in casual streetwear now. Seeing that, Red Shine assumed that they had come to the zoo for fun.

  “And are you in the middle of work?”

  “Hahaha, I’m afraid so.”

  Red Shine was wearing his red suit. Seeing that, Koutarou assumed they were holding a hero show somewhere at the zoo.

  “But it seems this mission was for naught.”

  Red Shine smiled dryly as he shook and smacked a small device that looked like a handheld console of some kind.

  “I see.”

  I guess the show was a bust.

  Based on what Red Shine said, Koutarou assumed that he meant they’d had a show that didn’t go well.

  “Well, if underground people really were to appear, that would be a problem too, you know? Ahahaha!”

  “That’s just how it is for heroes.”

  Red Shine and Koutarou had a good laugh together. Neither one of them seemed to realize they weren’t on the same page.

  Did he say underground people? And that device... The group that showed up last week mentioned something about underground people too. Could it be...?

  Only Kiriha picked up on what Red Shine had said, and her expression grew serious as she thought about it.

  “Kenichi!

  “Kenichi-kun!”

  But before long, two more Sun Rangers appeared from behind an animal cage: a woman and a fat man. Koutarou remembered seeing them at the show too.

  “Oh! They’ve...!”

  Seeing the other two rangers emerge, Koutarou’s eyes began sparkling.

  “Hey, Red Shine!”

  “That’s right, Baron-san!” Red Shine boasted proudly as he saw Koutarou getting excited. “Behold Pink and Yellow! They’re properly colored now!”

  The two Sun Rangers running up to them, unlike last time, were not also Red Shines. Their suits were colored pink and yellow, making them Pink Shine and Yellow Shine respectively.

  “See? You can do it if you try, Sun Rangers!”

  Getting worked up, Koutarou forgot his manners and began slipping into Baron Demon’s character as he slapped Red Shine on the back.

  “That’s right! We took what you said into account and got different colors to make it easier for the kids to tell us apart!”

  Pink for the girl, and yellow for the curry lover. Their colors fit their personalities perfectly.

  “Yeah, that’s more like it! Now I’m sorry for being so hard on you last week, Sun Rangers!”

  “No, this is all thanks to your guidance, Baron-san!”

  “Damn, I wish I had an outfit too!”

  Yes, this is it! This is how heroes should be!

  Compared to last week, the Sun Rangers were starting to look like real heroes. Even Koutarou was getting more excited for them.

  “Wait, no way! Daisaku-kun, isn’t that Baron-sama?!”

  “Looks like it. Oh, is that girl next to him holding some yakisoba? I want to eat some too...”

  When Pink and Yellow noticed Koutarou and Kiriha, they picked up the pace as they ran over.

  “Baron-sama! It’s been a while!”

  “Kenichi! Kenichi!”

  Pink ran straight up to Koutarou, while Yellow ran over to Red. They then each started talking before they’d caught their breath.

  “Look, Baron-sama! I’ve gotten cuter, right?!”

  Pink spun around in front of Koutarou and showed off her suit. Seeing that, Koutarou complimented her like he thought a villain might.

  “Wahahaha, you’re looking a lot more like a hero now, Pink Shine. However, all that’s changed is your appearance. Without your allies, you will only fall prey to my powers!”

  “How wonderful! I’m prepared for anything you’ll do to me!”

  Pink’s pupils turned into hearts as she wiggled with giddy excitement. Normally, Yellow would tell her to not be so shameless, but he was too occupied to notice her.

  “Kenichi! I want some yakisoba too!”

  “Yakisoba?”

  “Yeah! That girl is holding some, see? They must be selling it around here somewhere!”

  Yellow pressed himself up against Red as he eagerly pointed at Kiriha, who was holding Koutarou’s yakisoba for him. Red answered Yellow while pushing back his gigantic body.

  “C-Calm down, Daisaku! There don’t seem to be any enemies here, so you can go buy some if you want!”

  “Really?!”

  Hearing those words, Yellow backed off and immediately began scanning the area for stalls selling yakisoba.

  “Hahh... Jeez...”

  With Yellow off his case, Red slumped his shoulders in a sigh of relief. As Yellow looked around, he stretched his hand out in front of Red.

  “The wallet, the wallet!”

  “Here.”

  “I’ll see you later!”

  “Don’t forget to get a receipt!”

  Once Red placed the wallet he’d pulled out of his pocket into Yellow’s hand, Yellow ran off to a nearby snack shop.

  “Jeez, what a troublesome bunch...”

  Red couldn’t hide his uneasiness as he looked at Pink still wiggling in front of Koutarou, and then at Yellow as he disappeared into a snack shop.

  “Oh well. There doesn’t seem to be any threat here...”

  “Nii-chan, is it true that there are no enemies?”

  “Oh, Koutaro.”

  While Red was sighing and rubbing his shoulders, a fourth Sun Ranger came over. His suit was green. Although he didn’t stand out much because of his short stature and green outfit, he’d actually chosen the color exactly because he thought not standing out was safer.

  “So about there not being any enemies...”

  “Yes, well, I came all this way chasing a reaction on the detector, but there aren’t any underground people around. As you can
see, it’s the very definition of peaceful here.”

  “You’re right. It seems to be indicating a reaction somewhere nearby, but all I see are zoo guests.”

  Green Shine pulled out his own device and looked at the screen while scratching his head. It was definitely showing a reaction to the technology the underground people used, but the enemies they were looking for were nowhere to be seen.

  “Surprisingly, the only ones I found were Baron Demon-san and Black Rose-san. They have today off and came to have some fun.”

  “What good will finding the underground people from a hero show do us?”

  The only people at the location the detector had indicated were Koutarou, Kiriha, and several other visiting families.

  So that really is what’s going on...

  Watching Red and Green, Kiriha understood the situation. This Sun Squad wasn’t staging hero shows for children; they were actually a real combat squad. On top of that, they were working to prevent a surface invasion by the underground dwellers. And it even seemed like they had a device capable of detecting their spiritual energy technology.

  Maybe I should test them now...

  Kiriha’s demeanor suddenly changed to that of a leader of the People of the Earth, and she made a swift decision.

  She looked down slightly, hiding her face from the Sun Rangers and whispered, “Karama, Korama, Class II Stealth Mode.”

  “Ho! Understood, ho!”

  “Roger!”

  She got an immediate response from the two cloaked haniwas next to her. They whispered back quietly enough that only Kiriha could hear them.

  Normally what Karama and Korama used to conceal themselves was a function called Class I Stealth Mode. This obscured electromagnetic radiation and visible light, making them invisible to radar and the naked eye.

  Compared to that, the Class II Stealth Mode that Kiriha had just ordered additionally concealed their auras. By doing that, the haniwas disguised the spiritual energy their generators were emitting, making it so that they could no longer be tracked by spiritual energy sensors. Such precaution was usually only required when fighting against other People of the Earth, so Kiriha had never had the occasion to use it until now. In Class II Stealth Mode, Karama and Korama’s performance dropped dramatically, so Class I Stealth Mode was usually preferable.

  “Ah, it vanished, Nii-chan.”

  “Same here.”

  It seemed that when Karama and Korama changed their stealth mode, the devices Red and Green were using stopped reacting to them.

  “I’m starting to doubt whether or not this thing actually works.”

  “It was a little dubious from the start.”

  As I suspected, they were detecting spiritual energy. Has our technology been leaked somehow? No, the accuracy of their detectors is too poor for that. Maybe they’ve produced their own spiritual energy technology, or perhaps they analyzed and reproduced ours. It’s probably one of the two...

  Kiriha was able to read the situation based on how Red and Green reacted. The technology they were using was vastly inferior to what Kiriha and the underground dwellers used. Even though they were using Class II Stealth Mode, not being able to detect Karama and Korama from this distance made that much pretty obvious. Regardless of whether they’d developed the technology on their own or managed to reproduce it, they were still only taking their first steps into spiritual energy technology.

  But even so, Kiriha couldn’t let her guard down. If they’d managed to analyze and reproduce the People of the Earth’s technology, that could be problematic. It would mean that the Sun Rangers, or some other part of their organization, had come into contact and engaged in combat with the People of the Earth.

  I just hope the radical faction hasn’t accelerated their plan...

  What Kiriha worried about the most was the faction of the People of the Earth that wanted to invade the surface using force. It wasn’t too hard to believe they may have appeared on the surface to pick a fight. In the worst case scenario, they may have even leaked spiritual energy technology to the surface by doing so. If they had been branded as combatants by the surface dwellers and compromised their proprietary technology in the process, Kiriha’s plan for a peaceful invasion was in jeopardy.

  “Oh, hey, where’s Hayato?”

  “He’s still not here? He left chasing after the reaction before I did.”

  No, I’m just overthinking it... I’ve been a bit too suspicious lately...

  In the end, Kiriha decided that she was worrying too much. Seeing how casually the Sun Rangers were acting, she couldn’t imagine they really felt like they were in danger.

  Suddenly, a man’s voice rang out from above Koutarou and the others.

  “Sorry for keeping you waiting, Kenichiii!”

  It was a cool, deep voice coming from the top of a nearby cage.

  “Of course Hayato-niichan climbed up to a place like that...”

  “That idiot. What’s he doing up there?”

  On top of that cage stood a lone man.

  “Is he one of your friends?”

  “That’s right, Baron-sama! Hayato loves to stand out!”

  Koutarou couldn’t really make out the color of his suit because of the sun shining in his eyes, but based on the silhouette, he was almost certain it was another Sun Ranger.

  “Haaa!”

  The man then leaped off the cage towards Koutarou and the others. The suit gave him amazing leg strength, allowing him to jump close to ten meters in the blink of an eye. He landed right in front of everyone, all while maintaining perfect posture.

  “The heavens call! The earth calls! The people call! They all call for me to protect the planet!”

  He then swung his arm around and posed.

  “I am the son of the sun! I am flame incarnate!”

  He thrust his hands overhead as if to grasp the sun. It was a move he must have practiced countless times, but he looked manly and powerful doing it.

  “Reeeeed Shiiiiiiiine!”

  As he shouted his name, his red suit caught the light of the sun.

  “Quit messing around!”

  However, Koutarou’s axe kick was far more powerful than his pose.

  “Agh, ugh...”

  Eating the vicious kick from Koutarou, the second Red Shine slammed into the asphalt of the zoo grounds before bouncing back up and finally landing on his back.

  “O-Ow, just what... Why...”

  “No whats or whys! Damn it, it was going so well too! Why would you ruin it at the very end?!”

  “Huh?! Baron-san?!”

  “Don’t ‘Huh?! Baron-san?!’ me! Do you understand what you just did, you bastard?!”

  Now that he was angrily shouting at him, the second Red Shine finally noticed Koutarou. Although he was wincing at being berated, he got up and desperately tried to plead his case.

  “Now just hang on a minute! Why are you so angry this time, Baron-san? We colored ourselves after our roles, just like you suggested!”

  “Then why are there two Reds?!”

  “Please calm down, Baron-san!”

  Still rather worked up, Koutarou was about to axe kick the second Red Shine once more, but the first Red Shine was quick to stop him. Little did they realize there was another scene unfolding right behind Koutarou.

  “That ferocious and intense voice! Immense power that would be unstoppable if it wasn’t for this suit! Those fiery, evil eyes! Kyaaaaah, I want him to turn that scorching glare my way!”

  “Calm down, Megumi-neechan!”

  Seeing Koutarou burning with rage, Pink Shine’s excitement was reaching new heights. Green Shine was frantically trying to keep her from approaching Koutarou. If Pink got involved, she would only fan the flames of Koutarou’s anger even more. Green knew better.

  “Daisaku-niichan, help me stop Nee-chan!” Green shouted, turning to Yellow for help.

  “Hmm? Okay. I’m almost done eating this yakisoba, Koutaro-kun.”

  “Baron-sama, your Pin
k is over here!”

  “Wh-What am I supposed to do in the meantime?!”

  However, reality was unkind. Without any backup in his hour of need, Pink dragged Green along with her as she walked over to Koutarou.

  This is bad! Baron-san is going to kill us!

  Green cast a worried glance in Koutarou’s direction. He was still visibly furious.

  “Are you guys doing this on purpose?! Is it fun to make me this mad?!”

  “You’re wrong! That’s not what we’re trying to do! Please calm down!”

  “As if I could!”

  “We still haven’t officially decided on who’s the leader, so we decided to keep the two candidates in red!”

  “Quit messing around! There can only be one leader! The only time there could ever be two leaders would be in the movies, or around episode 26 when the leader changes!”

  “S-So that really is true...”

  “What was that?! You knew and you did this anyway?!”

  “Oh crap!”

  “Hayato, you idiot! You just had to go say something stupid, didn’t you?!”

  “Baaaron-samaaa! Unleash your powerful fists on me!”

  “Nee-chan, nooo!”

  “Mm... This yakisoba is delicious. I’ll get some more on our way home.”

  Being a secret, elite government task force, the Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad were quite strong. They were well trained, and their suits provided extra power and protection.

  “Dieeeee! Pay for you sins with your lives!”

  However, the enraged Koutarou was still stronger than all five of them combined.

  Reminiscence (Part 2)

  Sunday, December 20th

  Sunday, the following day.

  Koutarou and Kiriha were going out for the second time this weekend. Koutarou and Kiriha were taking the same train they had yesterday, but their destination this time was the amusement park.

  “Damn those Sun Rangers... Yesterday was a mess...”

  Koutarou grimaced as the zoo came into view through the train window. It was still a good distance away, but the closer they got, the more vividly Koutarou recalled the day before, and the worse his mood grew.

  “I’m sorry, Koutarou,” Kiriha said with a weak smile and an apologetic look on her face.