Star Rangers Assemble!

[*starfruits*]

An old television set flashed into life in the dim window of Sonica's Electrics although the early morning fog had not yet cleared in the Yorokobe city suburbs.

On the screen, a pretty young broadcaster, wearing a downy pair of earmuffs and an enormously fluffy coat turned her well-trained, dramatic look of worry towards the general public as she addressed them with both her concern and flawless good looks, "There have been many strange incidents like the defacing of the Yorokobe temple since the start of winter," she turned a sweeping, marshmallowy arm to the slapdash graffiti and strewn offerings behind her that littered the mouth of the shrine, full lips pursed in genuine upset, "Yorokobe shrine was erected before many settled in Yorokobe... and many locals believe that the ideals of our city that are based in fellowship and hard work were founded on the soil of this very temple." Turning back to the camera, Hinamura Minako-chan, Yorokobe News cutest and most rating-boosting presenter continued her report, "legends have been passed down through many of our residents upuntil this day, ya know, and many are shocked at the sudden rise of criminal activity in the city..."

The camera panned across the mess of litter and paint before situating on the image of a man in his late thirties, thumbing his collar to loosen the tie that had been forced too tautly around his thick, tanned neck, clearly out of his element as he glared every other way but the camera lens, sweating up a storm. The grizzled guy looked like he wanted to be everywhere but where he was.
"Here with me is Inspector Tsukada Kenji--"

"Guh..Genji, ma'am..."

"-oopsie! Sorry, sorry! Newly-appointed head of the Yorokobe MET Police investigations at Yorokobe Police," Minako turned to him, tilting her head and clutching her microphone to her bountiful blouse, "Mr Inspector... have you any leads?"

"Um...Is this working?" Genji murmured, flicking the tiny mic on his dark jacket like some weird insect, before a few joining whispers had his dark eyes bulging and catching the camera glare, "UH! Uhhh, yeah! Yes, uh... although we don't have anything set in stone as yet-" he rounded on the camera, suddenly finding stage, "We have a good few leads! We are going to want to speak to the Yorokobe High school kids, a few gangs that have been hanging around lately...any suspicious folks who've been loitering around the shrine for longer than your usual prayer--!" Tsukada reeled the list of 'suspects' off on several thick, hairy fingers, unaware of the little old man behind him clad in a red and
white ceremonial robe, whose bald head had taken the first rays of the morning sun and ran away with them, blinding all in his wake.

Before more could be said by either inspector or reports-girly, the old-timer had torn between the two, tiny eyes shining behind spectacles thick as bottle-bottoms, pruned face red with incredulous rage as he outright shrieked at the bewildered detective, "You are 100 years too early to understand the Black Dragon's evil whims! The children, OUR children of Yorokobe are good! Hard-working! PURE!"

It was right. Although it had its problems like most up-and-coming towns, Yorokobe had not had a huge problem with crime, law-breakers or even natural disasters. It was an excellent exporting village to start with, producing an unbelivable amount of raw materials, natural herbs and remedies, and its hard working and happy idiom was one that the people of Yorokobe had embodied for decades - which meant that despite how diminutive the place was, the city-folk took benefit from a heck of a lot of amenities - social and everyday leisure enrichments as collective reward for the hard grind that they put in. So little acts of vandalism, theft and such really was a shock...

Which could almost be a valid reason for the grumpy old fellow's rage.

Almost.

"The kids in this town for generations have been brought up right! They know right from wrong! Learnt it at their elders' knee! Or from over it!! They don't need paper-pushing, know-nothing city-boy lawyer-types coming here to grind them down into the dust!" stout Tsukada valiantly shielded Minako-chan from the wrinkled cleric's spittle-companied outburst, stopping himself short at grabbing for his pistol - not bothering to point out that he had nothing like a lawyer's degree nor a lawyer's salary as the squat little priest snarled and shrieked at him like a crotchety wolverine that he'd accidentally stood on.

"Gonna have to ask ya to check yourself, sir. You're disturbing the peace," cheeks flushing, the rough fella scratched a rarely-shaved cheek, darting his gaze away from Minako-chan whom he was busily shielding, "A-and yer in front of a lady..."

The beautiful young reporter cupped her hands to her cheeks and let out a well-rehearsed swoon, though this only forced the priest into further livid motions. His fury not yet sated, liver-spotted hands had already plucked a lithe, yet thumb-thick switch from the winter-wrought cherry blossom tree that enveloped the shrine, just behind the two huge red pillars that served at its entrance, "Just you wait! I'll show you what our town is made of! Wait 'til you feel the bite of this switch on that lazy city bum of yours!"

The camera shook around as chase was given, and soon Minako-chan came back into view, not at all fazed by the excitement behind her.

"Sir!! What the h--! OOAWUTCH!! DAMN IT!! Assaulting an o--officer is a damned felony--!!" despite the accusation, as if to save the old-timer from doing yet more time, that rough old detective was slowly backing up against the camera, Minako-chan moving politely out of the way, of course, big ass taking up the screen and jiggling the already unfocused view.

Minako-chan smiled for her adoring city public and waved them off, "Thank you, Inspector Tsukada!" She turned and waved at both the incredulous guy and switch-waving priest in turn, before looking back, "You heard it here first, everyone! The Yorokobe Police Force will keep our city safe, so please keep your faith strong and healthy!" She pointed to a flexing arm, pouting with bravado, "Make sure to follow Yorokobe City News also, working hard to keep you Happy and Hard-working! Minako out!"

And then it was all weather and politics.

The shadow that had been loitering at the front of Sonica Electricals, blocking the shimmer of early morning light, moved away. It seemed to almost glide as it removed itself from enveloping the gathered throng of free-viewers in its silent, towering frame.

Amongst the crowd of onlookers busily gawping at the new skantily-clad pop-sensations now gracing the tv screen was a young man, whose head had turned slightly when the dark body had moved. His dark eyes were piercing as he looked into the sea of commuters, glaring fixedly from beneath auburn hair, his black high-school jacket pulled taut over strong shoulders that were tensed - broad but lean like a new bridge. On edge.

After a moment, the handsome young man stalked away from the crowd, oblivious to the flustered stares from the group of highschool girls in his wake, exchanging swoons and squeals with eachother, "Iyaaa, Daisuke-kun was so close!"

"Uh huh...~!"

"He's so hot..."

"He smelled so manly~!"

"The back of his hand touched my skirt~!"

"LUCKY!"

The aged clock atop the central tower of Yorokobe High chimed dully, forcing stray sparrows from their perches, as it called upon its students to attend morning classes. The corridors were just starting to see the early circulation of blithe young bodies ready to chat and learn and grow, when a group of third years huddled in a tight semi-circle beside Class 3b's homeroom door.

"Weird... are those supposed to be wings? It's tail looks like a snake," one girl mulled out loud, arms folded across tight-clad thighs.

"It's so cuuute!" Another girl sporting a large lilac ribbon and bow in her long hair cooed.

"What is it...?" A quiet youth in pig-tails ventured, softly.

"A bear-lizard? Lion...unicorn?" another offered, uncertain.

"It's not a unicorn, dummy!"

"It's outside Class 3b, right?" another girl, more level than the rest put forth. The others looked to her like an oracle, "Maybe it's a mascot? Should give it back to the class..."

An almost timed chorus of gasps took place, before all eyes fell on the quiet one of the group, "Yumi-chan! You should give it to Daisuke-kun!"

The quiet girl almost instantly turned red to white and back again, waving her arms around in a flushed panic, "M-m-m-m-mm-me?? Nu-n-n-n-n-n...n..!"

All the while, nervous fingers squeezed and twisted and poked at what looked to be a cute little lion, winged, scaled manticore 'plush', before a glinting something in its jaws caught the group of gals combined eyes.

"What's that in its mouth? It's...jewellery?"

Surely enough, there was something there. Wrought in gold, a small knot of decorated gold encased around a dull jewel situated in its centre, was clasped tight within the doll's mouth.

As petite hands reached out, somehow, the gold-encrusted broach seemed to have retreated further back and deeper into the plush lion-thing's maw... but that couldn't have happened... could it?

Still, small hands were still going for the small golden trinket, and the what seemed lifeless plush almost seemed to sweat as they drew ever closer...

The door of Homeroom 3b suddenly swung open, and standing there, a huge chunk of melon bread stuffed into his mouth like a muzzle, was a tall, lightly-tanned and bespectacled hunk. His short, spiked hair was navy-blue, deep but vibrant like a lagoon, and before he was able to adjust his almost comically-large glasses one could see that his eyes were a bright, ethereal blue-green.

Forgetting the plush and its treasure, the Yorokobe students looked to the hot hunk, completely bewildered, "Aoidachi-sensei! When did you get here? We came in early, and didn't see you anywhere..." the tallest of the girls demanded, her class's prez, looking around sceptically.

The big fella scratched the back of his head, still munching on his sweet wheaty treat, trying not to draw attention to the gaping, three-storey high window to the classroom that had just been used as a door.