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Chapter Text

For sixteen years of his life, Yuta Hibiki always thought his life was normal. Well, normal for someone with red hair, that is.

He would wake up, force himself to go to his high school (which, funnily enough, was named after some overrated anime), spend eight hours doing absolutely nothing, and then, force himself back to his apartment.

It might have been boring, but in a way, it was comforting. There would be no unexpected turn of events, nothing out of the ordinary would ever occur. It had been like this for all of his life, and it was never going to change.

Or, that’s what he thought, before fainting in the middle of a crowded street on his way home from school.

 The first thing that Yuta heard once he opened his eyes, was someone softly singing. Upon further listening, he could tell that it was the voice of a girl, but not one he was familiar with.

The red haired boy rose from a couch which he had been sleeping on, turning his head in order to look around the unfamiliar room he was in. A few plants were scattered around the room, along with cabinets filled with white cups and bowls.

To Yuta’s right, was a black haired girl sitting at a white clothed table, singing to herself while browsing her laptop. She wore a white jacket, along with a orange scrunchie, to compliment her blueish-purple eyes.

 She looked towards Yuta, and gave a small smile.

“Oh, you’re awake!”, she exclaimed, as Yuta groggily clutched his forehead.

“Hi… who are you?”, Yuta asked, removing the blanket that was covering his legs.

“You don’t know who I am? I’m Rikka, Rikka Takarada. You already knew that, right?”

In response to this, Yuta shook his head.

“No. I don’t remember ever knowing your name, or you, for that matter.”

“Wait, does that mean you don’t know who you are?”, Rikka inquired.

“No, I know who I am. Yuta Hibiki. It’s just that I don’t know who you are. Are we friends?”

“Not really, this is the longest we’ve ever talked before.”, Rikka replied, standing up and walking
closer to Yuta.

“Rikka, is something wrong?”

“I think I should take you to the hospital.” Rikka bluntly said. “The fact you passed out near my house is reason enough, but you not knowing who I am kind of makes me think you have amnesia.”

Before Rikka could continue, Yuta clutched his forehead once more, not due to pain, but something he couldn’t explain.

Suddenly, a mysterious voice spoke in his head.

“Yuta…”

Yuta gasped, looking around for anyone else other than Rikka, who tilted her head in mild confusion.

“Did someone call my name?”, Yuta asked, confused over the voice.

“No? I’m the only one in the house other than you.”

“Then, who could it have been?”

“Yuta, go through the door.”, the voice said, seemingly wanting Yuta to follow its command.

“Rikka, I heard the voice again, it wants me to go through that door.”, Yuta explained, pointing to the door leading to another room.

“The voice wants you to go through my mom’s storage room? Are you sure you’re not a burglar or something?” Rikka joked, though her tone suggested that she was serious.

“What? No! Of course not!”, Yuta stammered. “But if that voice wants me to go into your mom’s storage room, wouldn’t you let me?”

“Fine, on one condition though. We’re definitely going to the hospital after this. You hearing voices isn’t normal.”

“And you having a store right next to your house is ‘normal’?”

“...Touché.”

After a brief tour of Rikka’s house, Yuta and Rikka made the small trek to the store part of the house. The storage was surprisingly in plain sight, filled with old items either too damaged to fix, or simply there to look at. In the middle of the storage, however, was a white and bulky computer. The buttons all seemed to have the repeating color scheme of Red, Green, and Yellow, complete with a red siren on top of the monitor. Finishing off the look was a screen with an orange tint to it.

“Woah!”, Yuta beamed, as he stared at the old computer in awe. “Is this yours?”

“Well,”. Rikka began. “It’s not my computer, it’s just kind of… there. My mom likes keeping it around because of “nostalgia” or something. She calls it ‘Junk’.”

“Junk? That’s a weird name to give to a computer…”

“Yuta, I am glad you are here…”. The voice rang in Yuta’s head once more, as the computer monitor turned on by itself.

There was a humanoid figure on the screen, in futuristic armor. The armor shined blue, with purple and white highlights around the body. The robot stared at Yuta with yellow eyes, with a blue ball of light on its forehead.

“Rikka, are you seeing this?”, Yuta turned to face Rikka, who shook her head.

“There’s nothing on the screen.”

“Huh?!”

“Ah, so she cannot see me? I shall rectify that”. The figure spoke through the computer. As soon as the words were said, a beam of light burst through the computer screen, and struck Rikka.

Before Yuta had time to react to what had just happened, Rikka let out a gasp.

"Yuta, I can see it too.”

“Splendid!”. The robot cheered. “Now that both of you can properly see me, I can explain why I called you to me. Simply put, I am a Hyper Agent known as Gridman. There is much that I need to say, but know this, I am not your enemy, but your ally.”

“Okay? What are you doing in my mom’s old computer, Gridman?”. Rikka asked, her voice filled with confusion and concern.

“I wish I knew that answer, but I don't.”. Gridman glumly replied. “The only thing I know relating to either of you, is that Yuta must remember his calling.”

“I have a ‘calling’?”, Yuta asked.

“This is just odd to me. But, as much as I’d love to chat with you, I have to take Yuta here to the hospital.”, Rikka declared.

“Very well, but do come back.”

“Yeah, yeah.”, Rikka muttered, as she and Yuta walked from ‘Junk’. On their way out of the store, Yuta saw a red haired woman sitting nearby, with an eye earring on her left ear. If he had to guess, he would think that she was Rikka’s mother, and after Rikka waved to the woman, he felt confident about his guess.

 Stepping outside of the shop, the two teens felt a hint of unfamiliarity around them. The town of Tsutsujidai looked exactly the same as it was before, but something felt off, inhuman. It didn’t help that most of the town was slightly covered in fog.

“Rikka, is it always this foggy?”

“Not really, but I guess it happens.”, Rikka replied, as Yuta started walking ahead of her in the direction of the hospital. Following close behind, Rikka couldn’t help but feel conflicted over what she just saw.

“Yuta, aren’t you kind of worried about what that guy in the computer said?”

“No, not really. Maybe it just hasn’t set in that there’s a futuristic robot in your mom’s computer. Even thinking about it out loud sounds weird.”, Yuta replied, lowering his head in slight annoyance.

“We promised him that we would talk to him again, what does he want with us?”

“He said that I have to ‘remember my calling’, but I have no clue about what this calling may… be. What the hell is that?!”

Yuta stopped in his tracks, glancing up to the sky. Rikka, initially confused, looked up as well, and gasped in shock.

There seemed to be multiple kaiju looming over the city, all of them as still as a statue, unnoticed by anyone. Anyone, that is, except for Rikka and Yuta.

“I’m guessing nobody else can see them, but where did all of these Kaiju come from?!” Yuta hysterically asked.

“I have no idea. They don’t look like they’re moving, so maybe we’ll be okay?”

“Rikka, there are Kaiju everywhere, and you’re not scared! How?!”

“I know, I know,” Rikka began. “I just don’t know what to think right now.”

She sighed, before walking once more down the road, with Yuta hesitantly followed not too far behind.

“Let’s just… focus on getting you checked out by the hospital, okay?”

“O-okay.”

As Rikka stood outside of the hospital, she began thinking about everything she had seen. From the robot in the computer, to the strangely thick fog, to the kaiju surrounding the town. It scared her how the town she thought was so boringly normal, was actual more strange and mysterious then she ever knew. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, it even terrified her.

Just as she was about the think about it further, Rikka heard the hospital doors open, as Yuta exited the building.

“So, how was it?”, Rikka asked

“Why did I have to get amnesia on the day I find out there are Kaiju everywhere?”, Yuta lamented. “Maybe then, I’d be able to tell you what’s going on.”

“Well,”. Rikka began. “We both don’t know what’s going on. And, for the record, would you mind keeping this a secret from everyone? I don’t want to freak anyone out.”

“Even if we tried to tell everyone, I don’t think they’d believe us. Maybe the only reason we’re seeing all these thing is because we can see Gridman?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, you should probably get home. You know the way, right?”, Rikka inquired.

“Surprisingly, yeah. For having amnesia, it sure is fragmented.”

“Then, I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow, if a kaiju doesn’t destroy the town by then.”

“Rikka!”, Yuta yelled in offense.

“Kidding, kidding. See you around."

With that, Rikka left Yuta by himself, staring at a faraway kaiju statue in the distance. Whatever was going on, it sure wasn’t clear to him.

“...So much for this town being normal.”

End of Chapter

Chapter Text

"Yuta... for the sake of this world, you must remember your calling. And you must hurry, it is almost here. Its name, is Ghoulghilas."

The familiar vibrations of Yuta's phone shot him up, waking him in a very sudden manner.

He looked around his bedroom, letting his eyes get used to the sunlight. Gridman's words from the boy's dream still echoed in his mind, as he replayed the last sentence over and over in his head.

"Ghoulghilas. Who the hell is that? Is that a kaiju?", Yuta asked himself, knowing that his question would most likely not be answered.

"Hey! Open the door!"

It was then, that Yuta realized that he had been ignoring a knocking sound coming from his front door. Sighing to himself, Yuta got up, quickly went to the bathroom, and walked over to the front door.

He felt a bit unnerved that he was the only one in the apartment, as his parents were on a business trip, and wouldn't be back for another 3 months. At the very least, they were away from all of the confusing things Yuta endured to previous day.

Yuta opened the front door, to reveal a boy clad in black glasses and dark blue hair. He was a bit taller than Yuta, and had a slight scowl on his face.

"It's about time, I was knocking on your door for the past five minutes.", the boy huffed, while putting his hands in his pants pockets.

"Oh, sorry.", Yuta began, as he scratched the backside of his head. "I was asleep. A lot happened yesterday."

"I can tell. Rikka told me to pick you up on my way to school, so that's why I'm here."

"Oh! You're friends with Rikka?"

"You could say that... just in case you don't remember who I am, the name's Sho Utsumi.", Sho replied, with a small smile on his face.

"I don't remember anyone by that name", Yuta glumly stated. "But, it's nice to meet you though."

"Ugh, so Rikka wasn't kidding. You really don't know who I am."

"No, sorry..."

Upon finding out that Yuta didn't have any idea where his school was, Sho led the duo on the path to the school, with Yuta following behind. The silence between the two was unbearable, and Yuta desperately wanted to invoke some sort of conversation with this new person who claimed to know him.

 "So,". Yuta began. "When did we become friends?"

"April, I think. Don't worry about remembering any of our conversations, it's all good." Sho sighed to himself, as he turned his head slightly to Yuta.

"Are you mad at me for not remembering you?"

"No, I'm not mad, I'm just kinda bummed out that I have to get to know you again. We had a good bond before today."

"Speaking of which, what was I like before I got amnesia?"

"Well, you were nice. Nothing too special, but an obvious good guy.", Sho explained, giving a thumbs up to Yuta.

"Thanks for the compliment, Sho.", Yuta deadpanned.

"No, I'm serious! You didn't stand out too much, but I could see that you were a good person."

"So, I just have to act nice to everyone?", Yuta guessed. "That's kinda simple."

"Probably.", Sho nonchalantly answered.

"Oh, right!", Yuta exclaimed, remembering something seemingly important. "Do you know anything about someone named 'Gridman'?"

"Who? That kinda sounds like a Super Sentai show. Is it good?", Sho asked, apparently interested.

"That's not... ugh. Nevermind."

After talking for a few minutes, they had finally reached their destination; Neon Genesis High School. It was apparently named after a successful anime back in the day, much to Yuta's chagrin. The school was relatively big, and had all types of students.

However, Yuta couldn't explore the whole school, as Sho reminded him that they had to go to their class. Breathing in and out, Yuta approached the door which housed his classroom, and went in.

Inside the classroom was an assortment of students, including one face who Yuta recognized; Rikka. 

She was sitting at her desk, conversing with two other girls. One had short, brown hair and a red jacket on her skirt, while the other had a darker shade of blue, a green scrunchie along her hair, and face mask covering her nose and mouth.

"There he is!", the brown haired girl exclaimed. "There's the guy you were talking about!"

"Namiko, knock it off. He's just a friend, okay?", Rikka chided.

"Maybe so, but you can't deny that he looks cute!", the girl with the face mask responded, letting out a tiny laugh.

"C-cute? I mean, he looks okay, but I wouldn't say he looks cute, Hass."

Yuta lowered his head in embarrassment, as Yuta stared at Sho, who seemed to know what Yuta wanted to know.

"Your desk's back there, by Akane.", Sho pointed, without moving his head.

"Who?"

"Akane Shinjo? One of the most popular girls at this school? You don't just forget about a girl like her, even with amnesia.", Sho explained.

"She sounds like a Mary-Sue to me."

"Ouch, that's gotta sting. Don't tell that to her face, though.", the blue haired boy warned. "She might be nice, but she can apparently be pretty brutal when she needs to be."

"She sounds like even more of a Mary-Sue now...", Yuta quipped.

"Dude, cut it out. Just treat her with respect, okay?", Sho advised, as Yuta nodded with a resigned sigh and walked to his desk. Next to him was Akane, who was being complemented, though it seemed like she didn't want to be.

"She looks... uncomfortable."

Hours later, and it was lunchtime. the only time when the students didn't have to listen to a teacher talk about essentially nothing. Everyone in Yuta's classroom began to socialize with each-other, leaving Yuta to sit at his desk by himself. In the corner of the classroom was a brown haired girl, talking with her friends while bouncing her volleyball around the room.

Seeing that Yuta was by himself, Sho walked over to Yuta, and slightly bent his knees.

"Hey, let's eat lunch together.", Sho proposed.

"Thanks for the offer, Sho, but...", Yuta hesitantly began.

"Let me guess, you didn't pack anything because of your amnesia, right?"

 "Yeah, sorry."

"Then, would it be okay to give you this?"

Hearing an unfamiliar, yet friendly voice, Yuta turned his head to the left. The voice belonged to Akane, who was still sitting at her desk. She was holding what appeared to be a wrapped hot dog, with white shreds of cheese, cucumbers, basil, lettuce, and a cooked egg to finish the look.

"Akane, right? What's that you're holding?", Yuta asked.

"Thanks for remembering my name!", Akane beamed, as she put the hot dog on Yuta's desk. "It's called a 'Special Dog'! I have two, so you can have this one."

"Oh, thanks! That's really nice of you.", Yuta said, as he picked up the Special Dog, took the wrapper off, and bit into it. His face glowed, as he took another bite.

"Well? What do you think?", Akane nervous asked, shifting around in her seat.

"It's good! I never thought this combination of food would be so delicious!"

"I'm so glad!", Akane chirped, smiling as Yuta took more bites of the Special Dog.

"Well,". Sho began. "If we're giving stuff to you, I might as well give you something to wash it down. Here."

In Sho's hand was a strawberry flavored Ramune bottle, its red liquid shining brightly against the sunlight.

"Aww! The soda's the same color as Yuta's hair! So cute!", Akane gushed.

"Thanks, Sho. How did you know strawberry was my favorite?"

"You have amnesia, but you still remember your favorite soda flavor?", Sho pondered.

"Hey, what can I say? There are some things I can remember even with amnesia."

"And yet, you didn't remember Akane's name until I told you. Right."

As Yuta laughed slightly at the quip, a girl's voice rang out.

"Heads up!"

There was little anyone could do, before a volleyball knocked the Ramune bottle onto the ground, shattering into pieces. Yuta peered down at the bottle with mild concern, Akane winced due to the noise, and Sho looked as if he was going to cry. The silence after that was unbearable, nobody talked, even when an announcement over the school's intercom played.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!", The girl with the volleyball cried, as she pressed her hands together is a placating manner. "Yuta, are you okay?"

"Yeah, no damage done."

"Sakiru!", Akane scolded the girl. "Go do that outside!"

Sho simply slumped onto the ground in disappointment, as his soda meant to be for Yuta was no more. 

"Great, just great. Now, I gotta clean it up..."

Don't worry! I'll help you!", Akane offered, smiling once more.

"Oh, uh, thanks?"

At that same time, far away from the school, was a black colored mansion. Inside, was a black clothed figure, chains along his shoulders, and blue fire burning from his head. He was tirelessly carving a human sized statue of what appeared to be a Kaiju, mumbling to himself as he painstakingly put the finishing touches on his creation.

"Ah! It is finally complete!", The figure bellowed. "I'm certain that this one will do lots of damage to that wretched city."

The figure seemed to glide around the room as he turned to face the statue, clearly proud of what he built.

"Ghoulghilas, my beautiful creation! When the time is right, you shall wreck havoc on the city of Tsutsujidai!", The figure stared directly into the statue's eyes, as he began to maniacally laugh.

Hours later, it was the end of the school day. Sho offered to walk Yuta to his apartment, just so that the red haired boy wouldn't get lost. The two discussed various things with each-other, and the conversation somehow turned to Akane.

"Man, today was pretty rough.", Sho complained. 

"I guess, but Akane was pretty nice!"

"Dude, there's a difference between being nice, and taking pity on someone."

"I guess, I just feel like taking pity on me would be uncalled for, even for Akane.", Yuta admitted, looking up at the sky to see a humongous kaiju statue.

"Forget about her for now, I wanna see Gridman!", Sho exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh, him. I don't know."

Yuta seemed to be so much in focus on the gigantic kaiju statue, that he didn't notice when Sho told him to look out for someone, bumping into Akane.

"Akane! I'm sorry! I didn't know where I was looking!", Yuta desperately apologized.

"It's okay! No harm done!", Akane assured the boy, smiling as usual. "Oh, I heard your friend talk about some show named Gridman? Is it a good Sentai?"

"Well, I was only gonna go with Yuta, but if you wanna tag along, then why not?", Sho answered.

"Well,". Yuta began. "The thing about that, is that it's not a show, but a program, I think. Also, it's at Rikka's house."

Just then, the three saw Rikka walked towards them, with her nonchalantly waving to them as she removed her earplugs.

"Rikka, I know you told me not to tell anyone else, but Sho and Akane were too interested to take no for an answer. Sorry."

"You... told them about Gridman, didn't you?', Rikka rhetorically asked. "Honestly, I saw this coming a mile away, so I'm not really mad about it, if that's what you were expecting."

Rikka then placed her palm on Yuta's cheek, and lightly tapped it. "There's your slap for telling them. Like I said, it's no big deal."

"Rikka, you have Gridman at your house?", Akane curiously asked.

"Yeah, I'll take you guys to the shop, but I'll tell you this; don't laugh the first you see Yuta and I talk to him."

With that, the quartet made their way to Rikka's store, named the "Junk Shop". Inside the store, was Rikka's mother, standing behind the counter.

"Welcome to the Junk Shop, how can I-", Ms. Takarada stopped, upon seeing that it wasn't a customer at her door, but her daughter. "Rikka, how many times have I told you not to use the front door? I thought you were a customer."

"About that,". Rikka started. "I brought three of them with me."

The black haired girl stepped into the store, as Yuta, Sho, and Akane entered a few seconds later.

"Oh, it's that boy from yesterday. Still kind of woozy?", Ms. Takarada asked.

"Yeah, but I'm doing better.", Yuta replied, as Sho and Akane curiously looked around the store for Gridman.

"Rikka, I need you to watch the shop, I have to do a few errands."

"Okay, fine, but it's not like anyone's going to visit the store while you're out."

"What was that I heard? You're getting cold tofu for dinner."

"Mama!"

Yuta laughed gently at the banter, as Ms. Takarada waved goodbye to Rikka, and left the store.

"Yuta?", Akane began. "Which computer has Gridman on it?"

"That one, over there.", Yuta pointed to Junk, the bulkiest and oldest computer by far.

"Damn, this is an old computer! It kinda looks cobbled together out of junk.", Sho blunty said.

"What a coincidence, it's called Junk.", Yuta sarcastically replied.

The computer switched on, as Gridman appeared on the screen.

"I am a Hyper Agent known as Grid-"

"Yeah, I know that already, you told me this yesterday."

"Yuta, you have to hurry. A humongous threat is almost upon you."

"What do you mean?", Rikka asked, while Sho and Akane looked at the other two in confusion.

"Rikka, Yuta, who are you talking to?", Sho inquired.

"Can you not see him?", Yuta wondered. "Oh, right, you guys haven't been shot at by the light beam."

"Light... beam?". Akane seemed to have no clue what Yuta meant. Just then, two beams of light shot from the computer, and onto Sho and Akane. Their gasps of shock swiftly told Yuta and Rikka that they could see Gridman.

"Is that him? He looks so futuristic!", Sho gushed, while Akane stared at Gridman in silent awe.

"I appreciate your flattery, but there is no more time left. The threat is almost upon you all, so you must hurry."

Back at the mansion, the black clothed figure hummed to himself, as he approached his kaiju statue once more.

"The time has come to prove just how powerful you are, Ghoulghilas! I wish you good luck!", he spoke, as he stared at the statue directly. His eyes shined a shade of bright red, as the entire room was engulfed in the same light.

"Instance Abreaction!"

An electrical shock suddenly pricked Yuta, as he began to have a sinking feeling that something was wrong. Very  wrong.

"Is something wrong?", Akane asked, concerned about the electrical shock the three others saw occurring on Yuta's wrist.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but I think this is related to what Gridman was talking about.", Yuta ominously announced.

That was when Yuta heard it, the unmistakable roar of a Kaiju.

"I think a Kaiju is nearby!"

This bold statement was met by silence.

"Rikka, you think we should take Yuta back to the hospital-"

Before Sho had a chance to say anything else, an intense earthquake rocked the store, sending unpinned objects flying around the shop.

On instinct alone, Yuta swiftly ran out of the store, followed by Rikka, Sho, and Akane. When he looked up, he saw a humongous Kaiju's mouth shooting fireballs are random parts of the city, along with stomping through busy roads. Smoke filled the air, as the citizens of the city fled.

"Is that... what I think it is?!", Sho exclaimed, as he ran towards the monster.

"Sho, wait!", Akane called out, eventually running after him.

The four ran closer and closer towards the massive creature. Its color scheme seemed to mainly consist of blue and pink. Despite its candy-esque color scheme, it was not a friendly creature. Rather, it was something which craved destruction. Its neck was far too long, bits of pink and purple scales falling from the massive creature onto the ground. It was truly a sight to behold.

It was the Kaiju of which Gridman warned about.

Akane stared up at the Kaiju, as her expression of numb fear failed to become anything else. Sho simply looked up at the monster with concern, as did Rikka. Yuta's expression was a combination of shock, horror, and fear.

"What is that?! where did it come from?!", Akane nervously asked.

"I... know. I know who it is.", Yuta hesitantly replied, his nose burning due to the smell of smoke.

"Who?!", Sho started. "Who the hell is this thing?!

"Ghoulghilas..."

  

End of Chapter

Chapter Text

Sakiru Tonkawa felt a tinge of guilt, sitting by the stairs leading to the the school’s gym. She had told her volleyball teammates that she had to use the restroom, but it was a lie.

Instead, she had decided to take a break and watch videos on her phone while the sun set. She knew that she was missing out on what she liked to do best, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty for what transpired earlier that day.

During the school’s lunch hour, the brown haired girl had been playing with her volleyball while in her classroom. She got careless, however, and accidentally knocked over a classmate’s soda bottle, which apparently was meant to be a gift to another student.

Sakiru had never seen Akane that stern before, and it terrified her that she might’ve gotten her angry. Before that incident, she hadn’t even thought Akane could get mad.

The red clad girl sighed to herself, still watching random videos on her phone.

A bright flash of light shined from above, as Sakiru looked up to see something orange colored, and heading straight towards her. It almost seemed like… a fireball.

It was the last thing she ever saw, before the fireball obliterated the school.

The impact was immediate. Yuta, Sho, Rikka, and Akane watched in horror, as a fireball from Ghoulghilas’ mouth flew towards their school, and utterly destroyed it.

“Oh god…” Sho gawked. “It just blew up our school…”

As the four children kept watching Ghoulghilas’ rampage unfold, Yuta thought he heard something, someone, trying to talk to him in his head.

“Yuta. Yuta!”

Yuta gasped in realization; Gridman was calling him back to Junk.

“We need to go back! Gridman’s calling me!” Yuta exclaimed, before running off in the opposite direct, much to the others’ confusion. Seeing no other options, the remaining three hurriedly followed Yuta, as the Kaiju’s destruction reigned on.

As the four ran to their destination, Yuta couldn’t help but pity the cars which were thrown like toys into buildings. Ghoulghilas needed to be stopped, no matter what.

Out of breath, Yuta ran into the Junk Shop, stopping when he faced Junk.

“Gridman, I’m here.” Yuta announced, as Gridman’s form appeared on the old computer’s screen.

“Good. You and I must now awaken!”

“But, what do you mean by-”

“I shall explain later! We must hurry!”

Before Yuta could say another word, he felt himself getting pulled into the computer, surrounded by blue light. He let out a scream, as Sho, Rikka, and Akane ran in to see Yuta’s body being dragged into Junk.

Their looks of shock did not falter.

“Did… did Yuta just get sucked into Junk?” Sho asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“Who knew that old computers were so… terrifying?” Rikka added.

Bright pink lights shined from all sides, as Yuta stared at the entity known as Gridman, who appeared to be the exact same size as the boy. They stared into one another's eyes, a look of resolve exhibited by Yuta's face and, presumably, Gridman as well, considering the effort he went through to beckon Yuta to him. However per the limitations of his biology, Gridman lacked the ability to depict his emotions facially, relying upon his body language and his voice tonality to do the work for him. Accompanying the staring was an exchange of... something between the two, flat rectangles, bearing slight curvature, flew from their respective heads, pouring whatever the contents of these curved white flying rectangles be, into the head of the other individual.

Outside of the computer, the remaining trio looked at the scene unfolding on Junk.

“What the hell are they doing?” Sho started. “Did Gridman pull him in just to have a staring contest?”

“Oh! This is just like the Ultra series! Yuta might be transforming!” Akane beamed., but her expression darkened a bit after her sentence. “But, I just hope it’s not painful.”

“Transforming?” Rikka wondered. “Transforming into who?”

“Who do you think?!” Sho began “He’s probably gonna become Gridman!”

Somewhere in the sky, a green light shined form above, as a purple and blue robot dropped from the mysterious light, causing the ground to shake and debris to fall. Towering over most of the buildings in the city, Gridman stared at the rampaging Kaiju known as Ghoulghilas, as he sported a confrontational position to his form.

Miles away at the Junk Shop, Gridman’s impact had beckoned Sho, Rikka, and Akane to peek out of the store, with Sho using his binoculars in an attempt to get a closer look.

“No way…” Rikka whispered. “It’s a giant robot!”

“It must be the ‘Gridman’ person we saw on the screen!” Akane excitedly gushed, doing her best not to squee in awe.

“Well, whoever it is, we can’t make out anything from this far away!” Sho complained, due to the various buildings and street poles blocking out any chance for a clear view of the ensuing battle.

“I know what I must do! This Kaiju has to be stopped!” A voice suddenly exclaimed, its compressed quality sounding as if it came out of a computer. The trio looked back at Junk, to suddenly see what appeared to be a streetside view of Gridman, towering most of the city.

“I think Yuta’s voice just came out of Junk!” Sho pointed out, as the three children watched intensely at the screen.

On the screen, and outside, a renewed burst of vigor pulsated throughout Gridman's body. He readied his combat stance, his right arm outwards, with a minor bend in elbow. His fingers pointed towards Ghoulghilas, and his palm slanted. His right arm beared a deeper bend in his elbow, and his palms faced purely sideways, his fingers pointed towards the monstrosity, before swiftly running forward. The ensuing run caused debris from all sides to fall to the ground. Almost as if being controlled, Ghoulghilas charged at Gridman, but it was not enough to land the first attack, as Gridman managed to get to the Kaiju first. The giant grabbed onto the Kaiju’s horns, pounding its neck with his elbow, before kicking the neck with his left knee. Ghoulghilas retaliated harshly, by slamming its long neck towards Gridman, pushing him into a building. The building caved in due to the giant robot’s weight, as the Kaiju seized the opportunity to attack. Lifting its head up, the Kaiju fired 5 fireballs at Gridman, all of them hitting the robot, along with utterly destroying some of the streets below. Cars were engulfed in depris, as streets melted, paving way for the formation of hemisphere indentations soon to be forged by the blazing girth of Ghoulghilas's spherical fireballs.

Rikka, Sho, and Akane bore witness to the events unfolding upon Junk's screen, and in the nervous silence, a conclusion was conjured forth by their minds, and whilst the specifics of these individual conclusions varied, the one thing bore in common by them all... Yuta had become Gridman, or more specifically... merged with him, and to say the least, was losing this strife. Badly. Adorned upon Junk's Screen was Gridman, his attempts to regain combative footing in vain as his body failed to comply. The cyan dot upon his forehead began to pulsate rapidly, fading into and out of illumination hastily. Whilst unsure of what the blinking and beeping entailed exactly, using contextual clues a conclusion was born. Should the beeping run out, Gridman and Yuta... would be no more.

The red alarm situated on top of Junk suddenly started to ring, as sparks flew from the old computer, causing the three teens to hastily flinch back.

“Damn! I didn’t know computers could be so flashy…” Sho said, shielding his eyes from Junk.

“Wait, what if Junk’s telling us that Gridman’s in trouble?” Akane theorized, as she turned to look at the old computer, still sounding out an alarm.

“So, you think that Junk and Gridman could be connected?” Rikka replied, looking beside her to see Sho sigh to himself.

“Ugh! If only this was the Ultra series!” Sho complained. “Maybe then that monster would have a weakness!”

Rikka and Akane could only look upon Junk with a fervid nervousness, brought upon by, of course, the possibility that their friend's death would be imminent. Meanwhile the blaring and pulsatile lighthead of Junk continued to rage onward.

“I can’t move!” Yuta shouted from the computer, the screen showing perspectives of Gridman, the kaiju, and the giant robot’s forehead light. Sho narrowed his eyes, noticing pink fragments falling from Ghoulghilas’ body… specifically, its neck.

“The neck! It must be the weak point!” Sho exclaimed, startling Akane and Rikka.

“Then we need to tell Yuta that, right?” Akane stated. “But, how can we reach him from here?”

Just then, the screen showed another perspective, one of the burning remains of the school.

“The school’s on fire!” Yuta exclaimed, his voice still coming from Junk.

“We can hear him, but he can’t hear us… how are we supposed to reach him?’ Rikka worriedly asked.

“If he can’t hear us through talking, then…” Akane started. “We could try the computer!”

Rikka gave a look of determination in response to Akane’s suggestion, and she sat near Junk, and placed her fingers on the archaic keyboard.

“It could work. Sho, tell me what I should type, and I’ll send it to Yuta.” Rikka commanded, Sho giving a nod in approval. Sho did his best to condense what he needed Rikka to type, as she quickly managed to type out the message. Sho and Akane could only stare in amazement.

“She’s fast…” Akane admitted, as Rikka continued to type as fast as she could.

With a newfound resolve, Gridman raised his head, as newfound power surged through his metallic body.

“I… I hear you.” Yuta uttered, standing up to face Ghoulghilas once more. “I hear you all! Rikka! Sho! Akane!”

“I hear you!” Gridman bellowed, as he sported a powerful stance. Filled with energy, Girdman began to run once more, as Ghoulghilas fired a fireball in an attempt to stop him from reaching the Kaiju any further. The giant robot only stared at the fireball for a moment, before punching it, sending a streak of light away from both the Kaiju and Gridman. Grabbing onto Ghoulghilas’ neck, Gridman made one swift cut with his hand, beheading the creature. Sparks kept flying out of the creature, as red, green, and yellow wires could be seen both within the beheaded Kaiju, and its head. Ghoulghilas’ head flew forward, near the school it had mercilessly destroyed. Its body, however, was still moving, albeit at a very slow rate. Turning to face the beheaded creature, Gridman jumped into the air, flipped through the sky, and drop-kicked Ghoulghilas, demobilizing it. The Junk Shop was roaring in cheers from all three teens, as it was very clear that Gridman was about to win the battle.

“Go, Gridman!” Akane cheered.

“Take ‘em down!” Sho beamed.

Energy began to emerge from Gridman’s chest, as he concentrated the energy into his left wrist.

“Grid… Beam!” Gridman bellowed, as he fired an enormous yellow beam from his wrist. The beam obliterated nearby cars and buildings, as it flew towards it target. Finally, the beam hit Ghoulghilas, exploding its body. The Kaiju had finally been defeated.

At the Junk Shop, Sho, Rikka, and Akane cheered, as a bright light suddenly came out of the computer and into the shop. It was a dazed and confused Yuta. He was suddenly surrounded by his three classmates, who helped him up, while barraging him with questions about what he had just been through.

“Hey, you okay?” Sho asked, trying to hold in his excitement.

“I… think so?” Yuta replied, his eyes still getting used to the light in the shop.

“That. Was. Amazing!” Akane gushed. “You fought a Kaiju and won!”

“Yeah! We saw the whole thing, it was awesome!” Sho excitedly added.

“Yuta…”

All four teens turned to look at Gridman, who had returned to Junk’s screen.

“Yuta, you must complete your mission.”

“But…” Yuta began. “I thought I just did!”

“This battle, was only the beginning…”

The screen shut off after Gridman’s ominous answer, as Sho began excitingly gushing about that battle, followed by Akane.

“The four of us and Gridman all beat up that Kaiju! That makes us a team right?!” Sho exclaimed.

“Oh! In that case, what should our team be called?” Akane inquired, thinking to herself.

“How about… ‘The Gridman Allianc-’.” Before Sho could continue, he was stopped by a tired Rikka, clutching her forehead as she tried to process what had just happened.

“I know a lot just happened, but I’m finished for today...” Rikka sighed. “Everything’s so confusing. I still don’t even know who or what Gridman is, and I can’t even think straight without knowing if my mom or friends are okay.”

“Oh. I get that…” Sho lamented. “Yuta, Akane, think we should go?”

The two others nodded, with Sho giving a worried glance to Rikka.

“Rikka?!”

It was Ms. Takarada, who had ran into the Junk Shop. She turned to look at the four children, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, you kids are okay!” She began. “But would it have killed you to answer your phone?”

“Huh?” Rikka asked, as she raised her head to see her mother checking the cafe area of the store.

“Don’t ‘huh’ me! I was worried!” Ms. Takarada sharply replied, with worry in her voice.

“Yeah… we should probably go.” Sho awkwardly said, to the unanimous agreement of Yuta and Akane. Before the three teens left, Yuta stared at the screen of Junk, silently wondering what would become of this new revelation.

Far away, the black figure responsible for sending the now-dead Kaiju felt a tinge of anger. He had worked so hard on perfecting Ghoulghilas, and now his creation was dead. He stood longingly in his sculpting room, thinking to himself.

“What a pity. Perhaps with this guest, things will be more difficult…"

It was the next morning, when Yuta, Sho, and Rikka were staring at something seemingly unbelievable. None of them dared to speak, until Akane walked by.

“Hi!” Akane began, but frowned upon seeing the three’s blank expressions.. “What’s going on?”

“L-Look.’ Yuta muttered, pointing to something in front of him. Akane stared in Yuta’s pointed direction. To her shock, it was Neon Genesis High School. But it wasn’t the school itself that shocked her.

It was that it wasn’t destroyed… as if, no rampage occurred.

“What the hell’s going on around here?” Sho asked. Nobody could give an answer.

Chapter Text

For Yuta Hibiki, things usually made sense to him. There always had to be a reason for anything that happened in the world, and for a long time, it was always kept that way. However, he couldn’t explain as to why Neon Genesis High School, the school which was destroyed due to Ghoulghilas’ rampage the previous day, was fully restored.

Everything felt unreal, like a dream. However, it certainly wasn’t a dream. It felt too real to be a dream, the previous day engulfed the teens in the stench of flames fed by flesh permeating the air. Even from the confines of the Junk Shop, the tears, the piercing knifelike shrieks of those to be brought to death's door by Ghoulghilas, could never have been dreamt. Regardless, even as these thoughts bounced within the minds of Yuta, Sho, Rikka, and Akane, they began the walk to their classroom, a silence painted by horror and disbelief silenced the communication between them.

“Guys,” Rikka began, as she turned her head to face the others. “Didn’t you all see the school get hazed yesterday?”

“Nope, you’re not the only one.” Sho replied, glumly putting his hands in his pockets. “We saw the school get wrecked yesterday, and now, it’s like that kaiju never touched a thing!”

"Maybe Gridman fixed the school for us? I mean it's kinda a stretch, sure, but the school did get firebombed by a Godzillan expy....” Akane theorized.

“As crazy as that sounds, I have a bad feeling that you might be right...” Yuta admitted.

“Doesn’t that sound like a cop-out?” Rikka pointed out, sporting a confused look on her face while looking at Akane.

"I mean, who else could've fixed the school? It's either Gridman, or the very nature of our reality is a lie, and that's a possibility I really don't wanna entertain.” Sho nervously replied.

“Hey, I’m only going off of what I know from the Ultra series… but I don’t think there was anything about Kaiju with wires in them.” Akane lamented, as the four students had reached their class, which was filled with students talking about various subjects.

“Huh, guess our classmates aren’t that shaken up about what happened yesterday.” Sho turned to Yuta with a nervous smile. “You think we should ask Gridman about it after school, just in case?”

“I guess.” Yuta sighed, clutching his head in pure bewilderment by the apparent bravery these other students showed. One would expect them to evacuate to another city entirely, not to stay and wait it out.

Getting an idea, both Rikka and Akane both pulled out their phones, and looked at the latest news. To their shock, there was no reports of anything relating to a Kaiju.

“I don’t understand!” Rikka exclaimed, gripping her phone in shock. Her faith in reality had begun to crack, as it was impossible for nobody to have info about the rampage. “There’s nothing! No news reports, no videos, no evidence of there being a rampage at all. “It’s like… it’s like everyone just up and forgot yesterday!”

“Rikka, don’t be silly! Someone has to remember, right?” Akane said, still looking at her phone.

“Y’know, I just noticed something. Aren’t we missing a few desks?” Sho pondered.

“Okay, now you’re starting to freak me out.” Yuta lamented.

“Wait, you’re right. Sakiru and her volleyball team’s desks are missing…” Rikka realized.

Seeing no other options, the four students had decided to sit at their respective seats in order to process this information. The news had no reports on Ghoulghilas, nobody knew about the rampage yesterday, and the Volleyball Club’s desks were gone. Just then, Namiko and Hass had walked into the classroom, happily greeting Rikka.

“Ooh! Still surrounded by boys, I see.” Namiko teased.

“Oh, cut it out!” Rikka scolded the two. “Anyways, do you guys know where Sakiru and her friends’ desks are?”

“...Sakiru?” Hass inquired.

“Sakiru Tonkawa, captain of the Volleyball Club?” Rikka said annoyedly. If this was a joke, this wasn't a funny one.

“Uh, Rikka, hate to break it to you, but nobody in our class plays Volleyball. We don’t even have a Volleyball Club.”

“W-We don’t?!” Rikka worriedly sat back down at her desk, as Akane walked towards Rikka to comfort her. This was becoming more troublesome. Not only were there fewer desks, but nobody had remembered Sakiru at all. Rikka couldn’t help but worry for the girl.

Her thoughts were halted as she saw the Homeroom teacher walk into the classroom to take attendance, with Namiko jokingly telling the teacher that Rikka had started making imaginary friends.

Hours passed, and just as seemingly quickly as class started, it was the lunch hour. As everyone hurriedly left the classroom to get food, Yuta, Sho, Rikka, and Akane tried their best to follow their classmates to the Lunchroom, while still in shock over what they had just learned. Sakiru wasn’t known by anyone, and there was indeed no Volleyball Club. It was almost as if she, her friends, and the club, had never existed. The four teens had been so caught up in the new revelations, that they had failed to notice a dark cyan clothed figure following them, only stopping when the four had reached the Lunchroom.

The classmates had decided to have lunch on the school’s rooftop, as they knew that nobody else usually sat there. Sitting on the concrete ground of the rooftop, the four silently picked at their lunch, each of them trying to figure out what to say in order to make the silence less awkward than it was.

That was when a fifth student walked through the glass door onto the school roof. The four others swiftly stared at this mysterious new student. He was considerably taller than them, wearing a dark cyan uniform, his jeans and shoes almost exactly matching the coloring. He wore black fingerless gloves, with gold tips around them. Finishing his look was leathery cyan hair, dark cyan eyes, and a mysterious metal mask, cloaking the bottom part of his face, along with, seemingly, his body. Everyone stared, silently wondering why this tall and bulky person was here.

“I assume that one of you four must be a ‘Yuta Hibiki’, correct?” The masked figure spoke, a deep voice bellowing from his mask.

“Um.” Yuta stuttered, as he stood up. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Ah, I see. In that case, I hope you do not mind me asking a question.”

“Okay, what’s the question?”

“...Are you Gridman, by any chance?”

Terrified silence engulfed the four students, as their blank faces almost confirmed the masked student’s suspicions. The group hadn’t been around for a day yet, but their cover was seemingly blown.

“What?! What are you talking about?! I-I’m not Gridman!” Yuta attempted to step back, anticipating an attack from the taller student.

“You and your friends’ expressions tell me otherwise. Do not be alarmed though, I won’t hurt you.” The masked one said, as he sported a placating gesture towards the younger students.

“Then, who are you? How do you even know that Yuta’s Gridman? Are you a spy or something?” Rikka asked, suspicion in her voice.

“I am known as Max, and I am a Senior at this school. A pleasure to meet you all.” Max began, slightly bowing as he introduced himself. “As for why I know so much, it’s sort of hard to explain. A Kaiju went on a rampage yesterday, but nobody seemed to remember it ever happening. That is, until I… eavesdropped on your conversation.

“Stalker, much?” Akane deadpanned.

“I assure you. I am not a stalker. All I simply know is that Gridman defeated the Kaiju, and that we five are the only ones who remember those events.”

“But, I know for a fact that nobody like you talked with Gridman yesterday. So, how the hell do you even know about what happened?” Sho wondered.

“It’s a reason I don’t really know about. After all that had happened, I was visited in a dream by someone who claimed to be named Gridman. He had given me a gift of sorts… which I have no idea what said ‘gift’ is, and left. I retained my memories when I woke up the next day…”

“A gift? That never happened when we met Gridman.” Yuta started. “The only thing that happened was a weird laser thing that popped out of Junk and into my friends. Apparently, getting hit by a laser means that you can see the Kaiju and remember what happened yesterday, but if you’re telling the truth and Gridman just gave you that power, who’s to say that others couldn’t have received a ‘gift’?”

“Erm… ‘Junk’?” Max confusedly asked. “What exactly is that?”

“It’s an old computer that’s at my mom’s thrift store, she calls it the ‘Junk Shop’ for whatever reason.” Rikka answered, before seemingly remembering something. “I was actually planning to go hang out with Namiko and Hass today, so the shop wouldn’t have been open today. But since this guy over here wants to know about Gridman, I guess I have no choice but to cancel my plans with them.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to hang out with your friends some other time.” Sho assured Rikka, with a grin on his face. “Besides, the Gridman Alliance has some work to do!”

“Oh god…” Rikka exasperatedly sighed. “You were serious about that name…”

“That aside, you’ll be able to let me see Gridman?” Max inferred.

“We don’t have any choice, do we? I mean, a guy like you waltzing in and claiming you’re in cahoots with Gridman is definitely strange.” Yuta expressed, with a sigh. “Wait, does this mean that Max is a part of the ‘Gridman Alliance’ now?”

“Hey, at least we have an older kid protecting us from danger.” Akane pointed out, much to Max’s apparent embarrassment.

“I guess that settles it, then.” Rikka started. “After school, the five of us are gonna have to go to the Junk Shop. My mom’s gonna kill me when she sees a Senior with us though…”

With a reluctant, but unanimous agreement between the five students, they continued to discuss the crisis at hand, the four younger students making sure to tell Max everything they knew about what had happened involving Gridman, Ghoulghilas, and the restored school.

Elsewhere, the black figure was putting the finishing touches on his newest Kaiju statue, still in shock and anger over his previous creation’s defeat.

“How sad it was to see Ghoulghilas get torn apart by that cursed ‘guest’. But, no matter. I think this new one shall be considerably better at tearing that city apart. Isn’t that right… Devadadan?”

Chapter Text

Rikka Takarada loudly sighed to herself, leading Akane, Sho, Yuta, and Max through the city streets. For someone who hadn't spent their whole life in a city, navigating the twists and turns and the general homogeneity of a city would be quite the daunting task. Luckily, Rikka was quite equipped for such. Their destination was the Junk Shop, a place Rikka hadn’t planned on going to until much later. On a regular day, she would've stalled after class, hanging with Namiko and Hass, talking about fashion, gossiping about boys, typical "girl" things. However, today was far from an average day, considering everything that had currently transpired.

From Sakiru Tonkawa's alleged erasure from history, to Ghoulghilas’ rampage from yesterday, to having all of the damage from said kaiju battle just... disappear. Not to mention, someone managed to recognize Gridman in Yuta. That certain someone, Max, had decided to tag along with the rest of the group in order to see Junk for himself. Rikka, for her part, was a bit disappointed over not getting to hang out with her other friends, but instead having to lead this intimidating looking fellow to her mom’s store. Fun.

Within a few minutes, the five teens had arrived at the Junk Shop. Max seemed to stand still, as he observed the antiques within the store, so much so that he barely noticed Ms. Takarada walking through the storage room into the front.

“Hi, Rikka! And hello to you too… stranger.” She awkwardly began, as she eyed the tall, masculine figure. “Are you a senior student or something?”

“Yes. I am Max, I hope you do not mind me accompanying these students.” Max pleasantly said, as Rikka blushed in sheer embarrassment. “Actually, I did have a question. How much is that figure over there?”

He pointed to a die-cast Ultraman figure, as Ms. Takarada smirked. Rikka knew exactly what her mother would do here; The woman had been trying to sell the figurine for ages, but nobody seemed to be interested in it.  Her revenge? Raise the price so high that it'd be nothing more than a novelty.

“You know, I could sell it to you for a measly… 70,000 yen..” Ms. Takarada replied, with a hint of desperation in her voice. Max quietly let out a noise of shock, sighing in defeat.

“Perhaps, another time.” Max defeatedly said. “Anyway, your daughter and her friends are simply showing me around the store for now, I hope that is okay with you.”

“If you say so. The store’s closed today, so I’ll be resting upstairs. Call me if you need anything.”

The dark red haired woman walked back into the storage room, but not before giving Max an ‘I’m watching you’ stare. With that conversation over, the five teens stepped over to Junk, as the old computer’s screen lit up, showing Gridman.  

“Yo.” Gridman said. For being a robotic warrior, he seemingly had caught on to modern speaking habits.

“Uh, Hey.” Yuta awkwardly replied, the unease making itself clearly apparent in his voice, had his body not done the work to convey as such.

“Yuta,” Gridman began. “You have a mission to complete. All five of you do. After all, it’s for the sake of the world.”

“Wait, did he say ‘five’?” Sho asked, as Max hesitantly walked towards Junk, facing the screen.

“It’s you…” Max quietly exclaimed, as if he was reunited with an old friend.

“Hello, Max. It’s good to you you again.” Gridman remarked, nodding his head.

“Ooh! Max can see Gridman without being hit by that weird laser thing!” Akane beamed.

“If that’s the case, that just raises a lot more questions.” Rikka pointed out, as Akane sighed in response. For the moment, Max seemed to be inspecting Junk, not liking what he saw.

“If the fate of this world rests on you, Gridman, then would you mind if I optimized Junk?” Max suggested, as he bent down to examine the parts of Junk under the desk it laid on.

“Uh, sorry to bother you, but that computer’s actually for sale…” Rikka blunty revealed, crossing her arms in mild bewilderment.

“Apologies,” Max started. “But, if Gridman is telling the truth, then I need to make some adjustments to this computer.”

Whatever Max was doing to optimize Junk, the four other teens couldn’t see. Max paid no attention to their confused faces, continuing his task. Several parts of the computer could be heard being assembled, taken apart, or simply left alone. Within a few seconds, he was finished, and stood back up.

“Huh, that was fast.” Yuta declared to himself.

“I feel much stronger now!” Gridman exclaimed, feeling a wave of power surging within him. “You have my thanks, Max.”

“It was my pleasure. That engineering class in my Junior year certainly paid off, I suppose.” Max modestly replied. “Though, I do have to ask. Why exactly did you contact me through means different from the younger ones?”

“It’s simple,” Gridman responded. “I have appointed you as an ‘Assist Weapon’.”

“Assist… Weapon?”

“I’ll explain more about it when the time is right.” Gridman vaguely answered. “For now, you must all prepare for any danger that may threaten this town, so if you have something that you need to do, then now is the time for it.”

“In that case…” Sho began, as he dug into his shirt pocket, and took out a small piece of paper. “We should probably investigate the five missing students.”

“Wait, how?” Yuta asked.

“Simple! I dug up the girls’ addresses during 6th period using our school’s secret weapon; the telephone directory!” Sho exclaimed, as he showed off the piece of paper in question, which contained various phone numbers and addresses. Rikka could only facepalm.

“Forget Max, you’re the real stalkery person here.” Akane quietly deadpanned.

“Shady plans aside, I guess we have no choice but to find Sakiru’s place.” Rikka decided, as she suddenly began walking towards the front door.

“She seems concerned about this ‘Sakiru’ girl, isn’t she?” Max observed, asking the question to nobody in particular.

After saying their goodbyes to Gridman, the five teen set off to Sakiru’s address, hoping to get answers. It was impossible for nobody to have known about Sakiru, her volleyball teammates, or anything regarding the Volleyball Club. Whatever the answer was, whatever conclusion to the problem could be made, it would certainly solve everything… or so the students hoped.

It had taken longer than needed to get to the place where Sakiru was said to live. The group had to pass through various neighborhoods, across a blue steel bridge, and down some stairs, but they had finally made it.

Out of breath, the group looked down at the sign above the establishment, reading “Ryuutei; Chinese Food”. If this was the right address, it appeared that Sakiru’s family owned a restaurant. Knowing that standing outside would only attract more attention, the students walked through the door.

They were greeted by the aroma of various Chinese Cuisines, as they heard a dry voice welcome them to the restaurant. Turning to their left, they saw a middle aged man helping some of the other customers. Judging from his outfit, he definitely seemed like the owner.

“Excuse me, sir?” Rikka started, getting the attention of the owner. “I’m looking for a friend, ‘Sakiru Tonkawa’. I’m Rikka, from her high school.”

As soon as the black haired girl mentioned Sakiru’s name, the owner sported a painful, yet stern expression.

“From her high school? What are you all trying to do here?” He questioned, anger building up in his tone, as Rikka stared at him in mild confusion

“We aren’t here to disturb you, sir. We’re only here because she wasn’t in her class today.” Max said, trying to placate the older man.

“Of course she wasn’t... “ The owner began. “My daughter died when she was in middle school, due to an accident.”

Shock ran through all five of the students, as they all uttered “Middle School?” in usion.

“But, sir!” Sho exclaimed. “She was in our high school class just yesterday!”

The owner turned to look at Sho and the others, anger filling his eyes.

“Now, listen here you little-”

After being kicked out of the restaurant by the owner, the five teens decided to try to locate another Volleyball Club member’s home. However, the story was the same there, along with the three others. The five members of the Volleyball Club had all apparently died due to accidents when they were in middle school. But, this couldn’t be so at all, Yuta had physically seen Sakiru alive the previous day. Which only meant one horrifying conclusion.

Ghoulghilas’ rampage, in whatever it was done, made it so that Sakiru and her club teammates, never existed in the current timeline.

This was the conclusion that Yuta and the others had attempted to reach, this was the answer. No matter how implausible it seemed, Sakiru was dead . She would never come back.

And for one of the five investigating students, it was far too much for her.

Yuta, Sho, Rikka, Akane, and Max were all silent, as they walked from the last address from the list. No one spoke, as there was far too much on their minds. However, this silence would be interrupted by a noise.

A sob.

Akane stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, her face covered in tears. The other four hadn’t even noticed, so turning their heads to see Akane, covering her face while she wept, was a saddening sight to behold.

“Akane…?” Rikka hesitantly began. What’s wrong?”

“Everything…”

“What?”

“Everything!” Akane yelled. “Everything is wrong! Sakiru’s dead! She’s gone! And it’s all my fault!”

“Akane, that’s ridiculous, how could it be your fault?” Rikka questioned the girl.

“If I hadn’t yelled at her, then maybe she wouldn’t have been at the school! Me and my big mouth just had to yell at her for playing inside the classroom. It’s not fair! It’s not fair at all!”

Akane crouched down, still covering her wet face. She turned to Rikka, and uttered a few words with a soulless stare.

“It… it should’ve been me. I should’ve been the one to die.”

With that, she continued to sob, as Rikka stared at the pink haired girl with empathy. She silently put a hand on Akane’s shoulder, with Yuta, Max, and Sho helpless to do anything but watch.

This was not a good day. At all.