Basement—-
The whole room went quiet as Omariro stepped forward, his piercing gaze on Kana and Kaoru.
"W—wait, sir!" Kaoru pleaded.
"Yes!" Kana agreed. "Please let us explain!"
Omariro paused, letting his staff rest on the ground. "Speak clear, girl."
Kana and Kaoru shared a look before Kaoru stepped forward. "Okay."
Six years ago—-
A young Kaoru was busy practicing touching dead flowers in her backyard, causing them to straighten up and fix themselves in place.
"Hmm," she thought. "Getting better with my Jugen, but I wanna get my second Skill!"
She saw a bee flying around, and she threw out her hand. "Jugen-Kaiseisha: Shinkei Fūji!"
The bee froze in place, falling to the ground. Kaoru examined it, noticing it was still alive. "I'm still just freezing up their nerves. I want to learn something new, so I can be a Kaidanchō!"
Kazuki approached her, his hair falling in his face. "Ah. Sis. What's the deal?"
"Hi, Big Bro! Just learning how to use my Jugen properly. Why?"
"So you want to be a Kaitansha."
Kaoru nodded.
"I could help with that."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You'll just have to do everything I say."
She stood up. "Okay. I trust you."
She followed him inside, and he led her to his room. Before she could process what was happening, Kazuki locked the door.
"Huh? Brother, what are you—-?"
He put a hand on her shoulder as she began to tremble. "Don't worry, Sis. It'll all be okay."
Later that day, Kaoru was sitting on the couch, crying. Kana approached her, an ice pack on her eye. "Little Sis, are you okay?"
"No! Kazuki! He…he…"
Kana hugged her as Kaoru broke down. "Shhh, I know."
Karou noticed her appearance, and the fact that she was crying as well. "Did he…?"
"Worse," Kana replied. "It's been going on for weeks now."
Months later, Kaoru began to avoid Kazuki, crawling past him when he was in the kitchen and locking her room door when he walked past.
"Please…" Kaoru begged. "Just let this end!"
She tried to exit her room whenever he wasn't home, but time after time, he caught her and Kana, and they began to fall deeper into despair.
Four years later, a 17-year-old Kaoru was watching past highlights of Omariro on the news. She saw the headline.
"Will We See The Return of the Legend?"
She clutched her teddy bear, wiping tears from her face. "I wish you were here, Sir Omariro. You could solve this effortlessly. I'm just a rookie Kaitansha now…but you…"
Kazuki knocked on the door, and Kaoru peeped through the peephole. "What do you want?"
"Hey. Someone's here for you."
"No. Go away. You're not tricking me again. We're not family."
Her mother appeared at the door. "Dear, it's true! Director Hayate is here!"
Kaoru hesitantly unlocked the door before exiting, making sure to stay far away from Kazuki. She opened the front door, where Hayate was waiting. "Sir?"
"Ah. Kaoru," he greeted. "How are you these days?"
She put on a bright smile for him. "Great! What about you?"
"I've got…tragedy to report. Your Kaidanchō, Mimi, passed away during the last dungeon raid."
Kaoru gasped. "What?"
"Yes. Your fellow peers wanted to nominate you to take her place, and she left this will for you."
Hayate handed her a letter, and she read it.
"Dear Kaoru, I deeply apologize that I won't be able to bring you this myself, but in the event that any harm comes to me, I would like you to lead Kōkaidan in my place. Your talent and kind heart are pivotal to the future of this organization, and I hope you'll accept my offer."
Kaoru began to cry. "She's really…gone?"
Hayate nodded. "I'm sorry. I'll give you time to think it over."
He left, leaving Kaoru with her mother. "Where did he go?"
"To his room," Karin answered.
"Can I talk to you, Mom?"
"Of course."
They sat on the couch, and Kaoru lowered her voice. "Mom. I accept."
"Really? But it could be dangerous being a Kaidanchō!"
"Yes, but I can't stay here anymore. I can't take it."
"What do you mean, dear?" Karin asked.
"Kazuki. The things he's been doing to Kana and me, day after day, for years. The horrible things he's done. I don't want to be here anymore."
Karin's eyes widened. "Dear, you don't mean…"
"Yes. He's a monster, Mom."
Karin stood up. "I will kick him out of this house right now! Don't worry, dear! This won't go on any longer!"
"He'll just find a way, Mom. He always does."
Kaoru went to her room and sat on her bed, watching more film of Omariro. "But you…you could stop this. You're a legend…the world's greatest hero."
She began to blush, staring at Omariro with a smile, when suddenly, Kazuki placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Little Sis. That's enough TV for today."
"Get off me!"
"Relax. Not like I'm gonna hurt you. Just that today's been a long day at work, and I was thinking…"
He stroked her back. "You and me should chill tonight."
Kaoru's eyes began to glow. "I said, get OFF!"
She kicked him away. "I'm tired of you, bastard! This ends tonight!"
Kazuki snapped his fingers, laughing as his body grew even larger than before, turning into a muscle man. "Silly girl. Did you forget that I'm the strongest Jugen user in this house?"
"Not anymore."
"Jugen-Henshōsha: Seismic Shift!"
With his new body fully grown, he charged at her, slamming her into the wall. "How are you gonna paralyze me without your hands, eh?"
"I've got more than one skill, you asshole! Jugen-Kaiseisha: Muryokuka Chōsei!"
His body began to shake, and soon enough, he was covering his eyes, as Kaoru spun around his body and used her legs to slam him into the wall before touching him.
"Jugen-Kaiseisha: Shinkei Fūji!"
His body collapsed to the ground as he continued to hold his eyes. "What did you do to me?"
"I used my second skill. It cripples your body functions. In this case, your eyes. Then I paralyzed you. And now, I'm going to make sure you can never hurt anyone again."
Bone spikes impaled Kazuki's arms and legs as Kana entered the room.
"I'll help," she declared.
"Kana! What are you doing here?"
"Helping my sister put away a monster."
Kaoru and Kana stared at the wounded man before sharing a look. "We can't just kill him. That would be a killer to my new Kaidanchō status!"
"Then let's lock him away where no one can find him. And since Mom and Dad know what happened, we can pretend he died."
"Good idea."
They hoisted the man up and dragged him out of the house and to the shed during the cover of the night.
A few weeks later, Kaoru was on a stage as Hayate introduced her to a large crowd, which included Atsushi, Yuka, Kōichi, and Gakuto.
"I'd like you all to meet the newest Kaidanchō: Kaoru Tsukishima!"
Kaoru gave a cute wave as the crowd embraced her. Atsushi shrugged. "She looks fragile."
"The fragile ones have the most potential," Yuka pointed out. "Omariro was fragile before his retirement. He still gave us all a taste of the gap."
"I say we cheer for the girl!" Gakuto bellowed. "She looks amazing up there!"
"Meh," Kōichi scoffed.
As she took in the cheers, she saw a face in the crowd that resembled her brother, and she briefly tensed up. "No, Kaoru. He's not here. He can't hurt you anymore. It's time to begin the new chapter…"
"…and no one can know."
Present Day—-
Kaoru and Kana stared at Omariro, tears in their eyes.
"See, sir?" Kaoru pleaded. "We didn't want to do any of this!"
Kana pointed at Kazuki. "He forced us!"
"Oh, calm down," Kazuki scoffed. "You take everything too seriously."
The two tried to charge him, but Omariro tapped his staff, halting them. "No. Not right way."
"W—what?" Kaoru questioned. "Sir, please don't let him go!"
"Man cannot stay trapped here any longer. Girl swap in one crime for another."
"I dunno what's going on here," Han admitted. "But I think Sir is right. If anything, the legal team should handle this, not you guys—-"
"No!" Kana insisted. "They never handle anything! They'll just let him go free to do it again because they're scared of his power!"
Omariro stared at them, and they both tensed up. "I shall deal with Man. You will stop."
Kana opened her mouth to plead, but Kaoru shut it down. "Let's just…do what he says."
"But—-!"
"Kana."
Kana hung her head. "Fine. He's yours, sir."
Omariro grabbed Kazuki, who laughed. "Heh. I get escorted by a Legend? You lose, sisters! Life is good!"
They both disappeared as Kana and Kaoru began to hold each other, crying. Han, Sōshin, and Emeru watched.
"Should we help Friends?" Sōshin wondered.
"I think this is something only Master can fix," Han admitted. "They did just try to kidnap us, after all."
"I wanna eat them," Emeru groaned. "But Mr. Omariro won't let me!"
She jumped up and down, pouting.
Omariro soon returned, calm as ever.
"W—where is he?" Kaoru asked.
"Man in cell with Huntress," he stated. "Will face justice. As for girls…"
They both clung to each other.
"Wait, please, sir!" Kana begged. "You aren't going to do the same to us, right?"
"We were scared, and angry!" Kaoru explained. "We made a mistake, we're sorry! I'll never lie to you again!"
Omariro watched as they shivered, before tapping his staff on the ground. "Stand."
They both did.
"Girls have made mistake. Girls must repent. But girls will not suffer today."
They both looked at him. "Really?"
He pointed at Kana. "Join sister. Become Kaitansha. Save people."
Then he turned his attention to Kaoru. "You. City needs you. Quitting is form of weakness."
He put a hand on Kaoru's shoulder. "Girl is not weak. Atone for crime by proving worth."
The two girls stared at each other for a moment before hugging him tightly. "Thank you, sir!"
Kaoru pulled back, wiping her tears. "I didn't want to come back, but if you want me to, I will. But how can I face the city when I'm responsible for so much death?"
"Death is not to blame. Kohaku fault. Not Kaoru's. Kaoru must do what she can."
Omariro patted her on the head. "Not what she can't."
Kaoru looked at him for a long time, a sparkling look in her eye. "Okay, sir. I trust you."
Meanwhile—-
Zaria and the others followed Zeku into a subway, where multiple monsters were gathered together, munching on the flesh of human corpses.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Nonoka gagged.
"All those people…" Zaria muttered. "These monsters have to pay!"
In the center was a large slime, munching on a pile of bodies. "More! Bring me more! If I want to end Nyugawa and save my sister, I need all my strength!"
"They want Mr. Omariro?" Rei worried. "We have to do something!"
"We are," Zaria ordered. "Move, people!"
Zeku watched as the girls jumped deeper into the subway, laughing. "So reckless. Should have been expected."
The slime finished consuming more bodies when he noticed the girls approaching, getting into combat stances.
He shifted into a more humanoid form. "Kaitansha? Where'd you come from?"
"None of your business, that's what," Nonoka mocked.
"Real question is, who are you?" Zaria wondered.
He trampled over the bodies, standing before them. "Me? The name is Emerald. One of the top ranks of the Mujinsha Elite."
The girls' eyes widened as Emerald began to form dark green goo armor around his body. "Tell me where Nyugawa is, and I shall spare your lives."
"Never!" Zaria spat.
Emerald looked around the room. "And you all share this opinion?"
The girls nodded as he slowly cracked his neck. "I see. Brave."
A mace of solid goo formed in his hand. "But foolish."
He slammed the mace, bringing down the entire subway as Zeku hurried to escape.
BOOM.
——