❛ 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 ❜ ✓

34

          RAIN POURED DOWN ——— heavily against my car's windshield, creating a constant, rhythmic drumming that made it difficult to see through the blurred glass. The wipers struggled to keep up, sweeping back and forth in a vain attempt to clear the downpour.

My fingers tapped impatiently against the steering wheel, my molars sinking into the side of my cheek as I tried to steady my shaking leg from underneath the dashboard. The congested traffic was adding to my mounting anxiety, and I could feel my heartbeat quickening with every passing minute.

I decided to leave the house after half an hour of pacing back and forth, unable to calm the grappling anxiety that filled me when Mr. Sato followed after Ken.

I couldn't stay there not knowing what was happening, so I got into my car and drove in the direction I guessed that they went, driving alongside the highway near the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ken, or Mr. Sato, or Emi—anything.

Even though there was a chance that they had gotten too far for me to reach, I couldn't remain at the house, paralyzed by uncertainty.

I threw my head against the headrest, letting out a frustrated groan and slipping out a few curse words as the traffic failed to move forward the past five minutes. What exactly was going on out there?!

Just as I tilted my head toward the passenger side of the car to see what was going on, something crashed in front of the cars that were ahead of me. Something big.

The ground trembled underneath the car, and I gasped, gripping the steering wheel as the car rocked slightly from the impact. Debris and dust clouded the air, making it hard to see through the rain-soaked windshield.

A pair of glowing eyes emerged from the haze.

"Ken?" I stammered out, recognizing the familiar face of Ultraman. As the dust cleared, Emi was flying right beside him, making a moment of relief spread across my face.

People started to get out of their cars to take a look, and I followed in suit, waving my arm at them with a hand cupped over my mouth, "Ken! Emi!" The rain poured over my head, rolling down the sides of my face and soaking my clothes.

Emi turned her head and glanced at me, her face immediately brightening up. She let out a happy chirp before flying over to me and pressing her cheek against the palm of my hand, her wings flapping back and forth, creating a gust of wind that blew my hair.

"Hey, girl," I said softly, ignoring the crazed looks from bystanders, "I'm so glad you're okay,"

She chirped again, nuzzling her face closer.

"[name]?" Ken asked, peering at me closer with his giant masked face, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find you," I told him, yelling so he could hear me properly.

He shook his head but I could sense a smile on his face, "Come on, Emi, we'll come back to mommy later," Ken urged her, turning back around and sprinting forward.

Emi chittered in response, waving goodbye to me before grabbing—more like pulling out—a streetlamp, swinging it around like a baseball bat before flying after Ken.

"[name] Hamada? Is that you?"

I turned around to see a familiar short black-haired woman with glasses, looking at me with a shocked expression through her window.

"Ami Wakita," I marveled, walking over to her car with a small limp.

"Did Ultraman just call you mommy?" A little girl with an Ultraman mask over her head peered up from behind the driver's seat, trying to climb over it with an older woman trying to pull her back. "How do you know Ultraman? Are you his mommy? Are you friends with that Kaiju?"

"Chiho!" Ami scolded through clenched teeth as I sweated nervously, "Sit back!"

Chiho pouted but obeyed, settling back into her seat. Ami turned to me with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about that. She's very curious and a big fan of Ultraman."

"It's okay," I assured her before turning to the child, "You can say that I'm sort of friends with Ultraman,"

Chiho's eyes sparkled with amazement, "Really?!"

I nodded, "Mmhm!"

She turned to her grandma, her excitement barely contained. "Grandma, Ultraman's friend is right here! That's so cool! Do you think I meet Ultraman too?"

My attention averted to Ami who spoke to me quietly, "Do you know what's going on?"

I shook my head, but only slightly, before giving her a teasing smile, "I'll get back to you with that,"

Ami raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued but understanding the hint of humor. "Alright, I'll be waiting for the details," she said with a small smile, "Just like how I'm gonna be needing those details about you and Ken Sato," she winked at me.

"Maybe later," I waved her off with my hand with a shy smile.

All of a sudden, a bright light engulfed the road and the surrounding area. I turned around to glance at the sea, seeing a blue beam cutting through the darkness and the storm, followed by a pink one, and then a green one, all of which were hitting the same spot—a faint red dot which I concluded was something that bonged to the KDF.

The combined energy blasts converged on what looked like a giant robot thing, where it had a shield up to protect itself from the blasts. However, it was too strong, and the robot was starting to get pushed back.

With one final push, the robot stumbled backward, rolling in the water.

The red dot faded away and the rain started to simmer down.

I felt myself relaxing and the anxiety washing away.

The people watching from the road didn't know how to react—some were cheering, some were booing, others were silent, pondering on what they should think. The two things that protected the people from the kaiju were against each other with one side being assisted with their own sworn enemy.

News reporters rushed to the front, running from the side of the street because of the traffic that hadn't moved since Ken crashed into the road.

"Excuse me, miss," a man called out from beside me, "What were the thoughts running through your head with Ultraman siding with two kaiju and fighting against the KDF?"

"No comment," I spoke into his microphone, before gently pushing it away.

"Please, miss," he persisted, shoving the mic back into my face, "An—"

He was interrupted by a sudden gust of strong wind. And another. And another...

My hair blew back and my clothes fluttered in the wind. The light sprinkle of rain came into my eyes, making me put up a hand to shield them.

They came in pulses from the sea, where they fought, a gust of wind coming every other second. Everyone tried to move forward to see what was happening—to catch a glimpse until they all gasped.

Confused, I rushed forward, pushing through people to see what was happening. I tiptoed onto my feet, looking over people's shoulders until I finally made my way to the front.

"Is that Ultraman?"

There was a bright blue barrier around the robot that had been defeated, and I wondered what it was.

"What is he doing?"

My eyes went wide.

The figure outside of the barrier was definitely shorter, meaning that it was Mr. Sato, and Gigantron was there and Emi, too, but where was...

"Why did he put a barrier around himself?"

"What's happening?"

My heart dropped.

I clenched my hands into fists, trembling slightly from the anxiety washing up again. I felt my eyes nervously glancing around my breath getting quick I could feel the sweat mixing in with the rainwater dripping down my back, and the way that I started to feel lightheaded.

There was a moment of silence.

And then an explosion.

I felt my lunch coming up my throat.