2023-01-09: Crusader and Hyper Agent

• Cast: Gai Kurenai, [[Character::Yuta Hibiki]]
• Where: Tsutsujidai - Kamesan Park
• Date: U.C. 0097 01 09
• Summary: The awakened Gridman meets Gai Kurenai and the two bond over his music, and Gai reiterates a longstanding principle of his in regards to the fight against Alexis Kerib: To win without sacrificing a single life.

---

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

The sense of stability that pervades Kamesan Park even in this crisis period for Tsutsujidai is a natural draw for many of the civilians as well as the heroes trapped within, trying to drag it out of its slide into the spiritual abyss. The sound of a harmonica issues forth, echoing through the nearby streets, declaring the presence of Gai Kurenai to anyone approaching.

In the wake of a long day on the Rescue Team, lifting boulders and rebar, he's sitting on a park bench, surrounded by a handful of children gazing up at him in awe as he performs for them.

((Gai's Orbnica))

The song comes to an end, and Gai tucks the Orbnica back into his coat pocket. "Mister, Mister!" One of the kids entreats. "Play another one!"

Gai chuckles. "I'm sorry, I only know that one song." He picks up the ball next to the speaking child. "How about we play instead?" He pulls his arm back, and sends the ball hurtling across the park to the opposite corner with preternatural strength.

The kids gape open-mouthed until Gai claps his hands. "Go on then! Whoever brings the ball back gets to hear a secret!"

They immediately explode into motion after the arc of his throw.

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

A short distance away from Gai's performance, another crowd gathers. Though these Tsutsujidai denizens have four legs, rather than two, they seem every bit as excited for their visitor.

"Mraa!" One particularly large cat cries, trotting happily toward a lanky samurai pushing a wheelchair.

"W--wait your turn. There's enough for everyone." Calibur says to the gathering cats, who promptly ignore this and circle him, meowing urgently.

An umbrella stands tall, connected to one of the handles of the wheelchair. The 'young man' sitting within it holds a full bag of cat food -- where this has been found in the ruined city is a mystery. Maybe Calibur simply had /that/ much catfood stocked up for a rainy day?

Calibur brings the wheelchair to a halt and applies the brakes, leaving Gridman vulnerable to the cats' attention. They begin to climb his legs, one bold kitten biting at the bag full of kibble. A little, stilted laugh escapes the redhead's throat.

"Ha. Ha-ha!" Gridman looks back at Calibur, offering the cat food. "Calibur, if you don't hurry, I think they'll eat me, instead."

"I--I'm on it." Carefully stepping around the gathering cats, Calibur places a half-dozen bowls on the ground. The bag of cat food is hefted into the samurai's arms, then hurled into the air.

Bending low, Calibur unsheathes and sheathes his katana in the blink of an eye. An even six columns of cat food fall down, perfectly filling every bowl. Gridman applauds.

"I guess everyone has to practice somewhere." Quickly abandoned by the kitten on his lap, Gridman watches the cats frantically devour the provided kibble.

Over the din of meowing and chewing, the sound of Gai's Orbnica drifts across the park. Gridman raises his head, listening with a curious expression on his face. Why is that so familiar..?

"Calibur, do we know that man?" He asks, gesturing to Gai.

A ball goes soaring across the park, chased quickly by a dozen children.

"M--max does." Calibur says, simply.

"I see. I think I'll go talk to him." Gridman decides, switching his brakes off. "I'll call if I need you. Take all the time you want with the cats."

Wheeling over to Gai, Gridman settles next to the bench. He turns to his fellow Hyper Agent, yellow eyes placid and his face unemotional. There's a soft "clang" of metal as Gridman's wheelchair bumps into a sign -- but nothing seems damaged.

"Hello. I hope you don't mind me joining you." Gridman says, raising a hand in a little wave. "My name is Gridman. My comrade told me you know Max, and you were so sweet with the children.. May I ask your name? Forgive me if this is a strange thing to say, but there's something familiar about your song."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

Watching the kids play, Gai calls "don't get too rough!" then turns to face the approaching redhead. His eyes flick past him to the hunched man with too many swords, and he recognises Calibur's suit. Nodding to himself, he returns his attention to the boy in the wheelchair.

"I'm Gai. I played that song for you in the hospital while you were recovering." He smiles a little. "I'm pleased to see you're conscious..." Deep brown eyes meet a glassy gold pair, and Gai's brow furrows. "... I take it young Hibiki doesn't fare so well."

He sits forward a little, folding his hands in front of him. "Regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you, Gridman."

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"Thank you. For playing for me." Gridman manages a little there-and-gone smile. It's genuine, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Your song is beautiful. It's no wonder the children were so captivated by it. I think, as I was waking up... there was this light, I couldn't identify..."

At the mention of Hibiki, Gridman looks away, his gaze settling on the cats across the way. "...no. It's complicated, and painful. I discovered Yuta Hibiki was never 'here', and the boy I thought was Yuta was simply a shard of myself. I still bear all his... my... memories. But I can't find the sense of things, to act how he acted."

"It's caused no end of distress among my friends." Gridman sighs, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly. Working up his courage, those yellow eyes return to meet Gai's gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Gai. I'm sorry you're trapped in Tsutsujidai, but I'm pleased to have you by our sides in this fight."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

Gai's brow furrows deeper in concern as Gridman explains what happened to him. "That's... unusual. How far back do your memories go now?"

As Gridman apologises for Gai being trapped here, the wanderer shakes his head. "You needn't apologise. A place like this is a very complex psychic scream, I was always going to come here once I sensed it and commit to trying to resolve its problems. Diving into the fray is..." He adopts a wry, self-deprecating smile for a moment. "... a tendency of mine."

"How is your physical recovery coming along, though?"

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"Just under a year. I can remember flashes of a battle with Alexis Kerib, then falling, and then waking up in Yuta Hibiki's body. Everything I experienced as myself, and as 'Yuta', exists here in my mind. Like two volumes of a book. It's difficult to 'read' both at once."

Calibur crouches low on the ground as the cats start to finish their meal, petting them gently. It's clear the little creatures are fond of him, and vice versa. The brave kitten from before clambers up the samurai's suit leg, mewing for more attention.

"You can hear such a thing?" Gridman asks, about the psychic scream, tilting his head slightly. "That's remarkable. You have so much experience, I find myself a little envious! As for my physical recovery... I'm capable of walking short distances on my own power. I'm keeping up my physical therapy exercises. The pain lingers, but the wound has closed nicely. And Sky Vitter told me romantic partners find scars attractive." It's an attempt at a joke, or at least a light-hearted statement. "So there are worse things."

"What of yourself? Do you have somewhere safe and warm to stay?"

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

"Over a year? ... After a grievous wound battling Kerib. I see." Gai frowns. "It's my understanding that other Ultramen have the ability to bond to a mortal host and grant them power, and I know that preference tends to be towards those who are at death's door after taking a great risk to do good. I don't think I've ever heard of one of us being injured to prompt the bond, but it may have been an emergency survival instinct. Leaving the host asleep for the duration, though... Very strange."

"I have a lot of experience with fighting, but not so much healing." He shrugs. "I can get people out of trouble but Rescue Team work is about keeping others alive enough for medical specialists to step in, not providing the care on the ground."

He nods over to the children playing with the ball, having become caught up in passing it to each other and chasing after it, completely forgetting about his promise to spill a secret. "If one of those boys or girls were terrified by a monster attack and screamed, I could hear it no matter where in the city I am. It's more than just sound, it's a telepathic cry for help. This place, made by carving pieces off Akane Shinjo's heart, and with people living inside it who in turn can cry for help - it could be overwhelming to the untrained mind."

"As for me, I'm crashing at Junk Shop Aya when I'm not busy with this place's Rescue Team. It suits me."

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"Yes. The Devil has an enormous spear, and he stabbed me through with it. So much so that I split apart, part of my soul residing in Junk, and part taking Yuta Hibiki as a host. While he is a good and true young man, he was not at death's door." Gridman furrows his brow. "If what I've done is truly unique, what does that mean for Yuta Hibiki's future? He'll have to carry the wound Akane Shinjo gave him, of course, but -- will there be lasting damage, or changes, beyond that?"

Gridman takes a breath. It's clear he's trying to control his anxieties over his host. "If I may ask, what is the situation with you and your own host? Have you reached an arrangement? I've recently come to the conclusion that I... don't want to leave Tsutsujidai, and the companions I've made here. But Yuta Hibki's preferences must come first."

Gai mentions the Rescue Team, and Gridman manages another there-and-gone smile. "You've been working with Rikka, then. She's a truly remarkable young lady. Thank you for assisting her, and keeping her safe. I'm sure you've made an enormous difference."

Yellow eyes trail over to watch the children, a certain fondness appearing on Gridman's still face. "That's truly remarkable, Gai. Your aid is more of a gift than I even realized. What are your opinions on Akane Shinjo, as she is now? Do you intend to try and defeat her?"

"Junk Shop Aya." Gridman shakes his head, his eyes going back to Calibur. "It's been host to many Hyper Agents by now. A good choice."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

"I wish I could say. I'm not an expert in the precise nature of a spirit of Light and how bonding with a mortal works." Gai considers, then leans closer to Gridman, letting him in on a secret. "I've never done it myself, you see; I am still the man I was before the Light touched me. Ultraman Orb is Gai Kurenai; Gai Kurenai is Ultraman Orb."

Leaning back again, he shakes his head. "The problem is Alexis Kerib, a being who has forgotten much about life. I plan to help save Akane Shinjo and help stop him. Well, I say 'plan'; I intend to mostly feel my way through it and let my heart guide me."

"One thing I can say for certain, though: I will ensure we win without sacrificing a single life."

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

Gridman, likewise, leans in. Is this the secret Gai was going to share with the children? Yellow eyes take in the news seriously, interest sparking in those placid depths. "That's incredible! I had no idea such a thing was possible. Not that I'm any sort of expert, in this state. It must make things far simpler..."

"Thank goodness." Gridman's voice, as ever, has a metallic echo to it. It's almost like two voices layered onto each other. But as he talks about Akane, they seem to have an extra sense of harmony. "I'm in full agreement. Akane is a victim here, she deserves to be saved. Alexis Kerib..."

"Do you think he can truly be stopped without killing him?" Gridman hesitates, then decides to share a secret of his own. "My partner has told me there's an ability I've forgotten that I desperately need to remember. Do you know how this could be accomplished?"

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

"There was a story on my home planet," Gai explains, "About a mountain called Crusader's Peak. The legend told that anyone who made it to the top would be granted the power of the 'Crusader of Light'. A long, long time ago, my partner and I competed for that blessing. He made it up the mountain first, but I was chosen." He looks wistful for a moment. "It was a ring of Light suspended over the peak, and I reached in and then I changed."

"Even if Alexis can't be saved, I don't plan on giving up on him. He was an old friend, once. Long before he came here and started doing this." It seems foolhardy to declare something so impossible as saving someone who can't be saved. "He needs to be stopped, but he deserves mercy." He frowns. "Once, I lost faith in myself and sealed my true power away so that it couldn't bring harm to innocent life. Without it, I was forced to depend on the powers of Ultramen who had fought before, but my true self, once I regained confidence, was much stronger, as well as easier to control."

"Perhaps your injury from Kerib was even more severe than you're aware of."

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

"How did your partner take his loss?" Gridman asks, voice soft. "It seems like it'd be a heavy blow, winning a contest but not being granted the prize."

Gai looks so wistful... Maybe it's not a happy story. Internally, Gridman wonders if he should've asked at all.

"You knew him?!" A burst of emotion. Gridman's gaze is wide, and he practically shouts the question. Calibur, across the park, looks up with worry. Blushing with embarrassment, Gridman waves at the samurai, showing him that everything is fine.

"S--sorry about that. I just can't believe... What was he like? I can't imagine him being anything but what he is now." Alexis Kerib, who hurt so many people. Most of them dear to Gridman. How could he have ever been anything but a Devil? "If... he's truly dear to you, I'll do my utmost to ensure he's not killed. I trust when you say he deserves mercy. I'd like to believe that everyone does."

Perhaps there's a common idea in Gai sealing away his power and Gridman being unable to access his own. The redhead thinks on this, eyes going faraway for a long moment. "How did you unseal your power, when you decided to fight once again?"

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

"Well... It's been millennia across multiple realities, and we still haven't yet really repaired our relationship. At this point, it feels almost as though it is what it is." He sighs. "Still. I know he's here in Tsutsujidai. Perhaps I can be the one to show up and surprise him for once, and we can work things out from there."

"Perhaps the problem was we saw it as a contest and the reward as something finite." He shrugs. "I've been thinking about it for a long time."

He nods as Gridman shouts in surprise. "He didn't call himself Alexis Kerib back then, or wear that form. He was no less intense, though - his flair for melodrama is something I identified as still present. Even so he's... a much darker spirit than I remember him."

"To get my power back, I had to be reminded that refusing to act at my full strength when needed would bring more harm unintentionally to the people I was supposed to protect, and that no matter how uncontrollable my power seemed there would always be a part of me that would instinctively move to protect others. I had to accept the risks inherent to fighting as an Ultraman, rather than avoid them wholly, and trust myself again."

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

Yellow eyes blink. Once, twice. "Millennia." Is that normal? Or is it just Gai's own experience? Gridman stares at him. Gai doesn't /look/ like he's been around for millennia. But it doesn't seem like Gai could be lying about it, either.

"Er." There was more to that sentence. "I'm sorry. That must be truly painful. I can't imagine losing a dear friend for so long. But -- he's here? That's remarkable. Is there anything I can do to help? I'm not sure what I could do, but, if there /is/ something. Please call on my comrades and I!"

"It certainly didn't become something finite." Gridman murmurs. "To think such a prize existed on a simple mountaintop... It's a little irresponsible."

Gridman tries to imagine a smaller Alexis Kerib. "...did he still have the fire, and the cape?" It's impossible to think of the entity without those things. Gridman laughs a little stilted laugh at Gai's description of Alexis' 'melodrama', though he grows serious once again. "Yes. I've spoken with him personally once before, and he was both intense and dark. And fond of hearing his own voice."

"I see." Listening to Gai seriously, Gridman closes his eyes. Refusing to act at full strength when needed will bring more harm to the people of Tsutsujidai. Accept the risks. Trust yourself.

...

Nothing appears to change. Gridman peeks one eye open, then the other, and sighs.

"I'm thankful you found your answer, Gai. Trusting yourself that much is absolutely vital, for more than combat, I'm sure."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

"I think whatever happens between Juggler and myself, it has to be between us. Thankyou for volunteering your aid, though." Gai smiles warmly. "Some things can only be resolved one-on-one, after all."

"Yes, the flame and the cape. And the red pointy sunglasses." He rolls his eyes. "His melodrama was more... absurd and bombastic, though."

"I know others have been blessed with the Crusader's Peak's light since I became Orb, but I've never met them. It is good to know that other champions with that light exist, though." He thinks. "Perhaps it does seem irresponsible, but it was perfectly capable of turning away the unworthy. Even before we started our climb, I was sure he would be chosen..." He shrugs, as if to say nobody could have foreseen things transpiring that way.

Gridman tries to follow Gai's advice, to seemingly no avail. Gai places a hand on the Hyper Agent's host body's shoulder, squeezing. "I'm sure your answer will come to you in time, Gridman. Don't give up, okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.

Gridman nods. "Of course. I'll be wishing you the very best. Fight bravely!"

Hearing about young Alexis brings out another laugh, in the same "Ha. Ha-ha!" pattern. It's easier to imagine Alexis ever being a good person by imagining him as a child -- even if that's not truly accurate.

"It must be difficult for you to see what Alexis Kerib has become. I can't imagine seeing one of my own friends twisted into a cruel joke of what they once were. The fact that you can face him at all is very brave of you, Gai."

Oh, if the light can deny people... "That's not so bad. It'd be a problem if the gift was automatic." Gridman softly tilts his head as Gai doubts his own worthiness. Since Gridman hasn't met this Juggler, he doesn't feel qualified to comment, but... In what world would Gai not be considered heroic enough for the blessing of the light?

Gai is given a there-and-gone smile when he squeezes Gridman's shoulder. "Thank you. I'm a long way from giving up, don't worry. I'm sure when I need it most, the power will come to me."

<Pose Tracker> Gai Kurenai has posed.

Gai looks like he's about to say more, but they're interrupted by the children suddenly returning. "Mister! Mister!" A girl calls out, holding up the ball triumphantly. "You said you'd tell us a secreeeeeeeet!"

Gai takes the ball from her, tossing it up into the air gently and catching it. "I did, did I?" He feigns ignorance then grins. "Alright. A big secret for a bunch of good kids."

Moving off the bench, he crouches down to get eye level with the kids. "If ever you're in trouble, just scream as loud as you can, and I'll be there to save you. Promise!" He hands the ball back to its original owner. "Now then. I'm sure curfew's coming. You all look out for each other on the way home, understood?"

With a chorus of affirmations, the children begin to trudge homeward. Gai's smile as he watches them go is tremendous and warm. "It's our duty to make sure their future shines as bright as the lights we bear within our breast."

He shares the smile with Gridman. "I should probably get back to Aya myself. Wouldn't do to go missing for too long."