…In the end, they never found that man.
They found some traces of blood in the nearby forest, but they had no way of knowing if it was really his, and the guards also gave up.
They imposed a gag order on the implausible idea of a person transforming into a monster armor beast, and the incident in the children’s home was buried like it never happened.
Yuugo and the others were also free to go after a simple questioning, and returned to their normal lives the next day.
Yuugo was now receiving the new Blaster from his little brother.
“Uoh! You’re already done with the power up!? Awesome! You really are great, Phi!”
“It wasn’t a big deal. I increased the number of metal particles that make up the armor, increased the speed and maximum value of repairs, and added a weapon generation ability.”
“Wait! What did you say!? Weapon generation ability!?”
“Ah, yes… If you grab something with your left hand and attach metal particles, it transforms it into the shape of a weapon that’s already been input. That’s all. I entered the information of a sword, so you can generate one if you grab something similar to that.”
“Oh… My… God…! It’s what I saw on TV and always wanted! That’s my little brother! You make all of your big brother’s wishes come true!!”
“I-it really isn’t that big of a deal… It just takes the shape of a sword, so it’s nothing like Garandil…”
“Yuugo doesn’t care about performance or anything like that, he’s just thankful to you. You should just accept your big brother’s words of gratitude, right?”
Phi had some thoughts about Yuugo hurting his fists during his fight with the crab kaijin and continuing to fight anyway.
He increased the self-repair speed of the armor, and looked for a different method to fight monsters that were not suitable to be fought with fists alone. And when Yuugo took the magic item that was strengthened to the point of being able to be called Blaster Ver.II, he ran around all excited after hearing about how it was powered up.
It was not that drastic of an improvement, but Yuugo was excited to the point where Phi could not help but smile awkwardly, when Melt threw him a question.
“Hey, I was just thinking… Did you make the weapon shape a sword because you were thinking about how to better coordinate with me?”
“Ah, yes… You can always make weapons if you’re with him, so I figured it would be better that way…”
“Wah! Thank you!! Such a thoughtful little brother is a good thing for me too!!”
“Wapuh!? Mogo, mogogo…!”
Phi was hugged tightly by Melt, and struggled to breathe with his face in her plump chest.
Someone watching might feel jealous, but from Phi’s point of view, his life was in danger, and he tapped Melt’s shoulder while writhing to try to breathe. And in the meantime, someone else appeared on the scene.
“How are your fists, my rival Yuugo Clay? I, Marcos Bolg, have come to see how you’re doing!”
“Ooh! Just in time too! Check this out! The new Blaster reworked by my most dearest little brother! Isn’t it great!? Cool, right!?”
“Hmph. So you got a new power…! Interesting! If my rival reaches higher, it is my duty to go further ahead! Don’t get even a little careless, Yuugo Clay!”
“Ou! Anyway, I need to train to get used to using this new function! If you’re not busy, join me!”
“…Like… Those two have become strangely friendly.”
“Buha! Y-yes, you’re right…”
Whispered Melt and Phi, a little exasperated as they saw a conversation that seemed to match and not match at the same time, but turned into an actual conversation between Yuugo and Marcos.
That agreement to never get close to them again seemed to have been completely forgotten, as after the incident in the children’s home, Marcos started to walk up to Yuugo and engage him in conversation. Melt and Phi were exasperated by the drastic change in his attitude, but thought it was not a bad one, so accepted him along with Yuugo, and never really verbally jabbed at his antics.
As for Marcos, he spoke as if he saw Yuugo as an enemy, and his haughty words stayed the same, but… It was clear that he accepted him and treated him as a friend.
No one pointed that out, because Marcos would just get angry and say something like ‘who’d be friends with this guy’, but as they saw Marcos’ attitude soften and him becoming friendlier with Yuugo, they could not help but be a little jealous.
“That’s nice, a male friend… I guess it really is easier to form a bond of friendship like that…”
“Yes… Fighting together, taking classes together… It’s nice..”
Whether it was gender, age, ability to fight, or something else, Melt and Phi felt there were some walls between them and Yuugo. And they felt jealous of Marcos, since those things did not matter to him and he could close the distance.
They shared that feeling, since Marcos easily jumped over the distance they were slowly crossing, and looked at each other.
“We can’t let him win. Let’s do our best, Phi!”
“Yes…! We can’t lose…!!”
Both nodded after confirming how the other felt, and silently set up a common front.
And as they felt the feelings of opposition against the Marcos that suddenly popped up by Yuugo’s side burning within them, he walked over to them and spoke.
“Hey, you two.”
“Wawah!? W-w-w-what is it…?”
“We’re not having a secret conversation or anything! Right!?”
Both prepared themselves, thinking that he must have heard what they were talking about, but Marcos was not there to talk about that.
He took a deep breath… And bowed deeply to Phi and Melt.
“…Phi Clay, Melt Epee, I’m apologizing here for my rude attitude the other day, as well as for hurting you. I’m sorry.”
“Eh…?”
“Uh…?”
“…That’s it. Tell Yuugo this. We’ll leave our duel for when he’s all better. And he can’t stay here in this weather-beaten place forever, so if he needs to, Marcos Bolg here will get him a room in the dormitory. That’s all.”
Phi and Melt were not expecting that, so they looked at Marcos with blank expressions on their faces.
They knew he was apologizing for using one as a hostage to threaten Yuugo, and mocking the other as a girl that was nothing but a face and a body, but to think the proud Marcos would actually lower his head… Both were surprised, and since he said all he wanted to say, he turned his back to them and walked away.
“…He’s changed. I guess the crab molted.”
Melt felt that Marcos had grown to the point where it felt like he literally shed his skin, and Phi nodded in agreement.
Then they turned their eyes to Yuugo, who activated Blaster and ran around happily, and continued talking with smiles on their faces.
“Maybe it’s because of Yuugo? A lot was said, but… I think smiles just bloom around Yuugo.”
“I think so too. I’ve always loved my big brother, but I feel like recently, I’ve been liking him more.”
Marcos probably grew after seeing Yuugo try so hard.
His expression was like if an evil spirit possessing him had been exorcised. And as they watched the one who drew that out of him with warm eyes, they thought and said the same things.
“I hope more people get to see Yuugo’s good qualities…”
“…Yes.”
As they thought about Yuugo’s strange charm, that turned even Marcos from an enemy to a friend, they wondered if maybe that was the true quality of a hero.
If those peaceful days continued and more people learned of Yuugo’s human qualities, they would surely spend their days in happiness.
And as they pictured peaceful days in the academy without duels or incidents, they imagined Yuugo and themselves at the center of it all, smiling. They hoped that would become reality, but…
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‘New’ Yuugo may cause a different kind of bad reputation for his old family. Like Phi mused about; if people start thinking that maybe being freed of that sword and duty is what so nigh-instantly allowed him to turn around and go full Kamen Rider, they may conclude he’d been constrained or made to act that way.
Quotes of the day
I don’t get it? So is this saying if you’re truly a hero you wouldn’t try to “be a hero” by only performing and ticking boxes? This sentence kinda feels like it also discourages people striving to do better and become closer to the ideal. I know that’s not what is meant but I’m sorta confused