Ultraman Legend of the Light Chaser

TLT Japan's third base, Freedom Castle.

In the empty conference room, only one person sat in the middle.

"Administrator Matsunaga."

A projection appeared behind him, showing Kira Sawa Yu smiling with his hands behind his back.

“You did not foresee the new giant,” Matsunaga Yoichiro said.

Kirasawa walked up to him with a smile: "He wasn't in the 'observation' range before, so I didn't notice him. Now that he's appeared on his own, the foresight will also include him."

"Then..." The calm, aged eyes behind the glasses looked at the son of Prometheus, who was dressed in pure white.

“If we rush things, we won’t see anything of value,” Kirasawa Yu said. “Like the first Titan, we must first ascertain his position.”

Chapter Seven: Family

Memory Police (MP) office building.

Who will go on the field mission this time and who will be responsible for the filing?

Jun Sakuma, Hiroyuki Misawa, and Shintaro Hirata looked at each other in confusion.

The three of them finally decided to use the old method: rock-paper-scissors to solve everything.

With Ultraman cheating, Jun Sakuma remained unperturbed.

Hiroyuki Misawa stared blankly at his "cloth," which was then respectfully pushed into the pile of files by Shintaro Hirata, who held up "scissors."

“Then I will go with Commander Shudo to carry out the mission,” Shintaro Hirata said with a bow. “Thank you for your help, Misawa-senpai.”

“Ah, ah…” Hiroyuki Misawa looked to Jun Sakuma for help.

The latter, as if he hadn't seen anything, tidied his desk and said, "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"Saku..."

"I have to pick up Hanako after school!"

bump!

The door closed, leaving Hiroyuki Misawa's remaining words trapped in the office.

……

The next day was the weekend.

"Karin, what would you like to see next?"

Jun Sakuma was in a good mood after regaining control of his body. He was finally able to pinch his daughter's cheeks with his own hands: "Eat less sugar, or your teeth will hurt."

"Wow—I want to see a family of giraffes!" Huali's cheeks were being pulled, and her speech started to slur.

"Go easy on me," Samuel reminded him within his consciousness space.

"What business is it of yours if I rub my daughter's face?" The jealous father let go of her hand and took the glass candy that Huali was clutching.

"Dad!" Huali jumped up and tried to grab it.

The elderly father held the candy up to a position that looked like she could reach it with a jump, but she always just missed it, and smiled brightly.

"Hmph." Samuel began to think that he couldn't just randomly choose a human host in the future, especially that scoundrel who played with children all the time...

“I’m going to rest for a while. Call me if you need anything,” Samuel said.

"Oh, everything's calm today, nothing serious should happen, so please rest."

Jun Sakuma switched the candy to his other hand and took a can of cola out of his bag: "Karin, are you thirsty?"

"You just told her to be careful of her toothache, and you gave her this to drink." It was Samuel's voice.

“Weren’t you going to rest? Go rest now, go quickly,” Jun Sakuma snapped open a can of cola, waved it in front of Karin, and then put it away: “Kids will get tooth decay from drinking this.”

"Ugh!" Karin stomped her feet.

The old father tilted his head back and gulped down his soda.

Karin jumped up and scratched at Jun Sakuma's clothes. She stretched out her delicate fingers, grabbed the hem, and pulled it down, muttering, "I can't just watch you drink! Daddy! Buy some soda!"

"Hahahaha..." Jun Sakuma bent down and stuffed the glass candy back into Karin's hand, then led her toward the cold drink stall.

Not far away is the giraffe viewing area.

Kazuki Komon was taking advantage of a rare moment of free time to quietly watch Riko finish her graduation project with her drawing board.

Battles against inhuman monsters at night. Gunfire, the howls of alien beasts, and the cries of the victims mingled together, the smell of gun oil mixed with the stench of monsters.

Spending the day with loved ones. At the zoo, the laughter of children and parents danced in the sunlight, while Riko's charcoal pencils rustled in her hand, weaving a lingering sense of happiness.

The contrast between cruelty and tranquility made this young night raider cherish the peace he had all the more.

“All of Riko’s drawings are of the family.” He leaned closer, his charcoal pencil sketching the delicate curve of the baby giraffe’s jaw.

Riko turned the drawing board slightly toward him, and her hand holding the charcoal pencil unconsciously tensed up.

Kazuki Komon's gaze followed the easel outwards, where two giraffes, one large and one small, nestled together. Beside the railing, two figures, one large and one small, walked side-by-side.

"Ah, it was back then..."

Kazuki Komon recognized the little girl he had rescued inside the factory.

Huali held the soda with satisfaction, feeling its cool temperature. The bubbles inside the transparent glass bottle rose with a soft hiss, just like her current joyful mood.

She turned her head and saw Komon Kazuki, who was also looking at her.

The people who protected Rina during the earthquake!

"Oh my! It's a gentle older brother!" Karin ran away from Sakuma Jun, instantly triggering her father's radar.

Komon Kazuki smiled and caught Karin, who bounced into his arms. Riko also put down her paintbrush and looked at her.

"Are you my older brother's girlfriend, sister?"

The child's directness made Riko unconsciously lower her head, unsure of where to put her hands holding the drawing board.

"Ahem!" The old father's cough finally drew the attention of the three guys who ignored everyone else.

Although most of their meetings involved exchanging information about survivors who had encountered alien beasts, Kazuki Komon clearly remembered Jun Sakuma.

He ran into a colleague there, greeted him, but didn't know how to continue the conversation—he didn't want Riko to know that he was doing some secret and dangerous work.

"Long time no see, Komon," Jun Sakuma said, adopting the air of an elder. "Is this your girlfriend? She's a very nice girl."

Riko turned her gaze to Kazuki Komon: "Your senior?"

"Ah... um, that... rescue, work, Sakuma-senpai," Komon Kazuki stammered as he introduced himself.

Jun Sakuma laughed inwardly.

What an inexperienced kid! It reminded him of when he was pursuing his wife back then.

However, I was much smarter than this kid back in the day. Considering he saved my daughter, I'll let the old man lend you a hand.

“You should cherish such a good girl, Komon,” Jun Sakuma said. “We were all worried about you because you were so engrossed in your work. Seeing that you had the time to come to the zoo with your girlfriend, I’m relieved.”

The old man was full of nonsense.

"Huh?" Komon Kazuki met Riko's bright eyes.

"Does Komon-kun work very hard?"

“That’s right, a rare diligent newcomer with a bright future. My boss even praised him in a meeting.” Jun Sakuma gave Kazuki Komon a thumbs-up, indicating that he didn’t need to thank him.

"He has great respect for his superiors."

Kazuki Komon thought about his argument with Nagi Saijo.

"They are also very skilled in their work."

Komon Kazuki seemed to have returned to the shooting range where he was reprimanded by Hiraki Shiori.

"Among the newcomers in his cohort, he is the most outstanding one!"

He was the only newcomer in Team A of the Night Raid.

Jun Sakuma showered the person involved with compliments, leaving them completely stunned. Satisfied, he ended the conversation, secretly boasting about his excellent support for his junior's romance: "Anyway, he's a very nice young man. You two continue your date, I won't bother you anymore. Karin, what would you like to see next?"

"Huh? We haven't seen the giraffe yet..."

Sakuma Jun pinched Karin's cheek and whispered, "Let's go, let's go, don't bother your big brother here."

“Oh,” the child’s interest came and went quickly, and Karin pointed to the predator enclosure: “Then I want to see the lions!”

"Chun, don't stray too far from them. I want to observe them for a while longer."

One of the guys who claimed he was going to rest suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, interrupting young people on their dates is bad for your character,” Jun Sakuma said. “What are you observing?”

"There's something wrong with that Riko."

"what?"

“I am indeed very tired, but with something like that around, I can’t sleep well at all,” Samuel’s voice was full of vigilance: “Can’t you feel it? A repulsive aura.”

“How could such a nice girl be so repulsive?” Jun Sakuma muttered, then suddenly realized, “A monster? Could she have been parasitized by a monster?”

"No, although I don't know what it is, it's not a monster... Maybe, it's not human at all."