Holding Out For A Hero
Title: Holding Out For A Hero
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Sawada Shin (Gokusen)/Takada Gan (Yatterman)
Summary: Sawada Shin only had room for one pure-hearted superhero in his life, and even if Yankumi wore a bright red tracksuit instead of a cape and tights when she fought stereotypical bad guys, it was more than enough.
Notes/Warnings: Written for Jun's birthday contest at sakumoto.
Sawada Shin only had room for one pure-hearted superhero in his life, and even if Yankumi wore a bright red tracksuit instead of a cape and tights when she fought stereotypical bad guys, it was more than enough.
So when the skull-shaped puff of smoke appeared in the Tokyo skies that day, Shin had made the smart choice and walked in the opposite direction. He'd only been getting some groceries. A college student had to eat, and the fulfillment of his basic needs definitely outweighed the chance of seeing a fight between good and evil.
It had started a few months after he'd graduated high school. The Dorombo gang had come to town, hellbent on taking over with a legion of robotic critters. Their leader was a striking blonde woman in a skin-tight costume, most likely a sociopath. The police and the self-defense force hadn't known what to do, and Shin had rolled his eyes at every newscast - burning buildings, screaming civilians. His father was a policeman, and like usual, he washed his hands of it. Somebody had to do something already.
But the answer hadn't come in the form of the police or the self-defense force. The answer hadn't even come in the form of his tracksuit-clad high school teacher. Instead the robotic critters were pushed back by some giant robotic dog-mecha controlled by another costumed nutjob in a mask and his costumed nutjob of a girlfriend. Yatterman, the papers were calling him. Yatterman had come to save the day.
Unfortunately, he never managed to save the day for long because the Dorombo gang was more resilient than a class full of troublemakers at Shirokin High School could ever be. It was happening every other week now. The blonde woman, Doronjo, would send some robotic grasshoppers or robotic cockroaches or robotic deer running loose in the middle of the city, and the idiot with the dog-mecha would come plowing through the streets, overturning cars and knocking over grannies. Sure, he'd turn back the Dorombo assault, but Tokyo was undergoing some serious structural damage.
But nobody seemed to see things Shin's way. People were just happy that someone was fighting back, and so what if he took down a few power lines in the process? It really just confirmed what Sawada Shin had known for most of his life - people were idiots.
As he headed down the street for his building, people went running in the other direction. "I wonder what Doronjo's got planned today!" they were squealing amongst themselves. "Who cares? Yatterman'll give her what for!" Idiots! Why run towards danger?
Shin unlocked his door, bringing his grocery bags inside. He turned on the TV, and they had news helicopters and reporters and crowds of onlookers swarming at the scene. Even now Yatterman and his pink jumpsuited companion, only known by the name Yatterman Number Two, were knocking down robotic frogs. The girl was at least halfway intelligent for a masked weirdo, smacking at the robo-frogs with some odd electrified stick. But Yatterman fought with a little kid's toy - who ever thought a kendama was an ideal weapon for fighting bad guys?
Then again, Shin was used to fighting with his fists. He didn't need robots and weapons to make his point.
"Looks like Yatterman's in a big pinch now!" the reporter was shrieking, and he turned the TV off in a huff. Shin had studying to do.
He'd made it halfway through a set of equations when he heard the explosion. He'd thought that the fighting was miles away, if that cloud of smoke had been anything to go by. But there was another explosion, and then a cacophony of robotic ribbiting. The frogs. The robo-frogs. They'd made it to his block.
And then the ribbiting was drowned out by the howling "aaoooooooooooo" of that damned dog-mecha.
"Not here," Shin growled, hurriedly picking up his textbooks and diving behind his couch. "Not here not here not here!"
"Aoooooooo!"
Bang! The brick wall of his building caved in, sending dust all over his apartment as the stupid dog-mecha crashed right into his living room. Shin poked his head up over the edge of the couch, seeing Yatterman himself leaping into the air after the robo-frogs that were now climbing up the drain pipe of the building on the other side of the street.
This Yatterman jerk had just used Shin's building, Shin's apartment for that matter, as a parking spot. Shin had dealt with the inconveniences for weeks now, and he'd had enough.
Dumping his textbooks to the ground, he hurried out of the gaping hole in his wall. Even now he could hear the crowds outside, marveling at the damage. Shin wondered if insurance covered something like this - damage via superhero. He clambered down the mechanical dog, which had apparently been powered down by its owner.
There were still a few robo-frogs on their way up to the building's roof just opposite him, and Shin hopped down off of the dog-mecha's giant paw, charging across the street and through the door. Even now some of the residents were (smartly) fleeing, and Shin jammed his finger on the button for the elevator, pacing back and forth in irritation until it arrived.
He rode it all the way to the top floor. The elevator dinged and let him off, and he could hear Yatterman's shouts up on the roof above. "I'll get you now, froggie!" and other assorted cheesy lines that sounded more like a manga for kids than the words of a psychotic costumed freak.
Shin took the stairs up to the roof, slamming open the door to take in the final stages of the fight. Yatterman Number Two was just shocking the last few frogs with her electric stick while Yatterman had used his kendama to tie around the larger "boss" robo-frog. He was currently gloating over their victory, beaming with a goofy smile straight out of a toothpaste commercial.
"Looks like it's back to the lily pad with you, friend!"
The robo-frogs seemingly subdued and the noisy ribbiting having quieted down, Shin crossed his arms and cleared his throat. The two superheroes, pink and white-jumpsuited respectively, turned around and caught sight of him.
Yatterman tugged on his kendama, the string splitting the robo-frog's head from its body in a spray of sparks, and he sheathed it in a holster at his side. He tilted up his cap and stared at Shin through the eye holes of his mask.
"Fear not, citizen," Yatterman said. "Tokyo is once again safe from Doronjo and her thugs!"
To reaffirm her partner's point, Yatterman Number Two zapped her stick against the empty metal frogs beside her, eliciting a sad "ribbit" from the broken little machines.
"Yeah, that's great," Shin said, sneering at the both of them. "Now which one of you idiots is going to repair my wall?"
"Your wall?" Yatterman Number Two asked.
"My wall," Shin repeated, thumbing over his shoulder in the direction of his own apartment building. "You just crashed your dog into it."
Yatterman looked confused. "But...but we saved the city?"
"That's great," Shin pointed out. "But it still leaves me without a wall, and now I have nowhere to sleep."
Yatterman wandered over to the edge of the building, examining where he'd parked his dog-mecha. His shoulders slumped in embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix my wall," Shin told him. "But money surely will."
"Gan-chan," Yatterman Number Two whispered. So this weirdo in the mask had a name. "You have to do something!"
Yatterman turned, hands on his hips. Shin waited to see where he kept his bank book or a credit card on him. "I know precisely how to solve your problem, citizen."
--
"Well, I think it's very generous of him to offer," Yankumi insisted, pouring tea first for her grandfather and then for Shin.
"Generous?" Shin complained. He was never able to speak frankly or honestly with his family, but in Yankumi's home, even with her family's circumstances, he felt that he could. "What's generous about some costumed vigilante inviting me to come live with him?"
"I think it shows real kindness," Yankumi's grandfather said, the gentlest man Shin had ever encountered. Again, despite the family's circumstances. "He could have put you up in a hotel while your building gets fixed or he could have just bolted, leaving you out in the cold."
To Yatterman Number Two's dismay, Yatterman Number One had not coughed up the funds to fix Shin's wall - instead he had cheerfully invited Shin to just come live with the two of them instead. Shin had thought to get the police involved, but then surely his father would find out about him being pretty much homeless and that would be a one way ticket back to living with them.
So for now Shin had packed a bag and come across town to Yankumi's house, telling Yatterman that he'd "think about it."
"This is a guy who fights robotic crime for a living," Shin said to them. "You don't just...move in and become roommates with them."
Yankumi smiled. Because she was kind of insane from time to time. She sipped her tea, hearts in her eyes. Of course someone who believed so firmly in justice and doing the right thing like Yankumi would be head over heels for someone like Yatterman. "But just think about it, Sawada," she murmured. "You can see the man behind the mask. Can cheer him on in battle."
"In battle against robots," Shin grumbled.
"All these weeks that Yatterman has been saving Tokyo..." Yankumi mused while her grandfather watched her with kind eyes. "Oh, I wish I could have been there to help him. Of course, the students at my new high school take up most of my time lately..."
Shin was quickly realizing how hopeless this situation was. Yankumi, who had always been his biggest supporter, should have been insisting on him staying with her family. They surely had a guest room to spare, and Shin had never really judged them despite their line of work. But Shin hated to ask for favors, especially after all Yankumi had already done for him. He couldn't afford a hotel, and it was going to take at least a month for his building to be back to normal.
He was stuck with Yatterman.
Yankumi walked him to the door, poking him on the cheek when he opened the front gate. "Now Sawada, you have my phone number. If Yatterman ever needs my help and I'm not protecting my students..."
"...yeah, yeah, I'll be sure and call you," he complained, allowing his former teacher to ruffle his hair affectionately.
"And be a polite houseguest. Say please and thank you!"
"I'm not five years old, Yankumi."
She smiled. "I know, Sawada. Have a good night."
"Yeah, bye."
--
Yatterman's lady friend had had a pen on her for some reason at the scene of the crime fighting, so Yatterman had scribbled down an address where Shin could reach him. It was pretty stupid of him to do that when he didn't know Shin at all. If Shin was a real jerk (which he wasn't), he could have gone looking for that Doronjo woman and handed it to her.
He came to the building, an old-looking toy shop, and knocked on the door. A short brunette girl with a frown opened the door. "Oh, it's you," she said.
Shin had a feeling that in another situation, in another lifetime, he would have probably gotten along with Yatterman Number Two. He inclined his head. "I've decided to stay with you. Temporarily."
She introduced herself as Kaminari Ai, walking him through the closed shop full of dangerous looking trinkets and gadgets to the backroom. Which wasn't so much a backroom as an elaborate workshop. Even now Shin could see that stupid dog-mecha parked into a large recess in the high wall, and Yatterman himself tinkering with something at his workbench.
"Gan-chan, the guy is here," Ai-chan said.
The guy, Shin thought. Well, it was true. He hadn't introduced himself. "Sawada," he said quietly. "Sawada Shin."
Yatterman, or "Gan-chan" he supposed, got up from his workbench quickly. Instead of his obnoxious white jumpsuit and red mask, at home he just wore some baggy blue denim cover-alls and a gray cap. But he still had that toothy smile.
"Sawada-san, welcome!" he said, holding out his hand for Shin to shake. "I'm Yatterman."
Shin stared at the outstretched hand skeptically.
"Okay," Yatterman said, taking his hand back and scratching his head. "Okay, I guess since you're in my house you can know my real name. It's Takada Gan, but everyone just calls me Gan-chan."
"Takada-san then," Shin said immediately, if only because it was in his nature to be difficult.
Takada's smile wavered a bit as he moved past Shin. "Alright, well this is the workshop. We've got lots of pointy stuff in here, so please be careful." Shin followed him back into the toy shop, leading him upstairs. "That's Ai-chan's room, the bathroom, the kitchen, my room, and then here..."
Takada slid open a door at the end of the hallway. It had been cleaned recently, and an old but decent looking futon had been rolled out on the floor. Shin suspected that the female in the house had done most of the work in here.
"Kinda small, but we feel really bad about what happened," Takada said. "So please make yourself at home."
Shin set down his bag. A few changes of clothes, his textbooks, and toiletries. Everything else was still back in his apartment, a large plastic tarp covering up the empty space where the wall had once been. His landlord had assured him that nobody would steal his stuff while he was gone, not that Shin had too much anyhow as a college student.
He'd never been good at small talk, but Takada wasn't leaving him alone, still watching him with his ever-present smile. "So..." Shin said, "you and Ai-chan then...?"
"Me and Ai-chan what?" Takada asked, genuinely curious. And apparently oblivious to the way his companion looked at him. What a moron.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Are you dating?"
"I...what?"
"Never mind," Shin said. "Do you have a key for me? Because I need to go to class during the day. I'm in college."
Takada shook his head. "No, we just leave the back door unlocked."
Shin blinked at him. "You're not worried about burglars? Or your enemies?"
Takada looked at him like Shin was an idiot. "Not really. So just let yourself in and out. And if we're not home, well, then you can imagine where we've gone."
"Right."
The two young men stared each other down for a few moments longer, Yatterman with his innocent, carefree smile and Shin with his skeptical, irritating scowl.
"I'll...leave you alone then, Sawada-san."
--
The first two weeks passed in a quieter fashion than even Shin had expected. Since the Dorombo gang apparently had no idea that Takada Toys was the home of Yattermans One and Two, the neighborhood was quiet and robot-free. During dinner one evening, Ai-chan filled Shin in on the enemy - Doronjo was rather self-centered, so she had a tendency to attack busier neighborhoods in hopes of drawing Gan-chan out.
It was obvious to Shin that Yatterman's greatest enemy also seemed to have a crush on him. Which Shin thought was pretty dumb. Why go to the trouble of creating chaos throughout Tokyo and inconveniencing thousands? Why not just tell Yatterman you had feelings for him? Ai-chan didn't seem to get it either, which made her far more likable in Shin's eyes.
As for Takada himself, he spent long hours in the workshop making his own crimefighting gadgets and repairing whatever things he'd managed to break in each battle. Shin got tired quickly of the tiny room he'd been sequestered in. He moved from doing homework at the kitchen table and into the workshop. A little clamor didn't hurt his concentration - it was useless chatter that threw him off.
So Ai-chan set up a table for Shin at the rear of the workshop, and while she and Takada used blowtorches and hammers, he did his equations. He could just imagine Yankumi now, watching over all three of them with a twinkle in her eye. She'd launch into some speech about everyone working together and being friends and getting along, and while Shin would probably want to puke at the sentimentality of it, he'd probably agree in principle.
And so lost was he in the thought of his teacher's happiness at his growing tolerance for Takada Gan, he didn't notice that the hammering had ceased and Takada had parked himself on the stool opposite him. Shin jumped at the sight of him.
"Takada," he mumbled, stretching a bit to try and turn his frightened action into a casual, intentional movement.
"Sawada-san," Takada said cheerfully. He was always cheerful, even after long hours in the shop or in battle. Even though he was still a colossal moron who eagerly rode off into battle atop a dumb dog-mecha, he wasn't actually a bad person to be around. "It's after midnight."
Shin blinked at his watch. It certainly was. He'd been down here in the workshop with the two idiot superheroes for nearly six hours. He glanced down at his workbook - he barely even remembered having solved the last four equations, but the pages of his book were covered in his handwriting.
"Exam tomorrow?" Takada asked. "I hope I wasn't too loud in here. Ai-chan went to bed already, but she said to leave you...but since I was going to close up for the night..."
Shin gathered up his things, getting off the stool. "Yeah, exam tomorrow."
They took the stairs together, Takada's footsteps bouncing casually up the steps while Shin trudged up behind him. They walked a little more quietly through the rooms above the toy shop and Takada walked him to his bedroom door like they were on a date or something, which weirded Shin out.
He turned around after sliding the door open. "You're creepy."
But Takada only smiled at him. "I just wanted to give you this."
He held out his hand, gesturing for Shin to take the metallic Y pendant he'd strung on a thin silver chain. "Jewelry?" Shin asked in confusion.
"Well, Sawada-san," Takada said, lowering his head so his eyes were hidden by the brim of his hat. "I do feel awful guilty about what happened to your house. And since you've been here with me and Ai-chan, it's been pretty cool. You help clean up and all, even though you're a guest. So I just wanted to...welcome you to the team is all."
Shin accepted the pendant, feeling an odd sort of twist in his gut at the way Takada was clearly blushing in embarrassment under his hat. Well, Shin thought, it certainly explained a lot about why the guy didn't seem to notice that his female roommate and his female nemesis were head over heels for him. "I'm not going to fight crime with you," Shin pointed out.
"I...I wasn't asking you to..."
He punched Takada in the shoulder, staggering him a bit. "Thanks."
He slid the bedroom door shut before Takada could say anything, turning the little Y over in his palm. It was cool to the touch and finely crafted. Wearing it, Shin knew, would probably mean something. It would mean that he condoned what Takada did in his free time - destroying robots and half of Tokyo in the process while dressed up in a stupid jumpsuit and a mask.
And it might also mean, Shin thought with his heart pounding a bit wildly, that Yatterman kind of liked him. Takada Gan, who was really good with a wrench, kind to everyone, and willing to take in a complete stranger. Takada Gan, who had gentle eyes behind his mask. Takada Gan, who probably smiled more in a day than Shin had in his entire life...
The guy destroyed your house, Shin thought angrily, flinging the pendant and chain onto the floor. He turned out the light and dropped his books in a huff, changing out of his clothes and getting into the futon.
Well, let Takada like him then. Shin didn't have to like him back or anything.
--
Since Takada Toys was on the opposite side of the city from Shin's apartment, it now took three different trains to get to campus. While it gave him extra time to think or study on the commute now, it wasn't good when his train got delayed due to a robot attack.
"Due to trouble on the line, the next stop will be Kayabacho. Kayabacho will be the next stop. All passengers must exit the train at Kayabacho. We regret this inconvenience."
And it especially wasn't good when his train got delayed due to a robot attack when he had the most important exam of the term to take in less than an hour.
He scowled as the train ground to a halt at the next stop, leaving Shin almost a dozen stations away from where he needed to go. He followed the other passengers out of the car, taking the escalators up and out of the station. Everyone seemed really excited by the delay - already Shin could hear them murmuring about the Dorombo gang and what they might be up to this time.
Shin exited the station, taking a look around. He'd never make it on foot in time, didn't have the money for a taxi, and if the trains weren't running in the neighborhood he knew the buses definitely weren't. He found himself kicking at a trash bin in frustration, earning a warning look from people wandering their way out of the station. Yeah, his temper never had done him too many favors.
"This is all your fault," he grumbled to himself, imagining Takada back at the toy shop gearing up Yatterwan (yeah, the stupid dog-mecha had a name) for battle with Ai-chan at his side. Shin fumbled around in his pocket, finding the Y pendant. He'd only put it in his jeans pocket that morning because he didn't need Ai-chan finding it if she cleaned his room, that was all.
The crowd seemed to move Shin along, and he decided that since transportation was a no-go, he'd just have to be late for the exam instead of missing it entirely. He set off on foot, crossing the street and hoping that he could at least escape the throng of onlookers so he could jog most of the way there and save some time.
But when he turned the next corner, he bumped right into someone. Or more like a group of three people - a blonde woman in skin-tight leather, a rat-looking guy, and a pig-looking guy. Before he could throw a punch, the blonde woman sprayed him in the face with some kind of aerosol.
Shin tried to kick at them, but whatever Doronjo had gotten him with worked quickly. And though Shin had gotten into his fair share of trouble the past few years, his first thoughts had usually been of Yankumi, hoping she'd come running up in her stupid jumpsuit to help him fight his way out.
But as his thoughts grew more muddled and he fell to the ground, bookbag barely cushioning his fall, all he could think of was that stupid dog-mecha and how badly he needed it to be on its way.
--
She slapped him awake insistently, and Shin groggily woke up. He'd definitely missed his exam now, and boy, was he pissed off. Did getting abducted by a criminal crew count as a decent-enough excuse? The exam was half his grade for the term after all.
He scowled at her, seeing her dark red lips pouting at him. "What do you idiots want with me?"
The chubby pig-guy looked ready to throttle him. "Don't talk to Doronjo-sama that way!"
"It's okay," Doronjo said, sneering at him. "He won't be around much longer."
They'd hauled up to the roof of one of the buildings in the neighborhood, not far from the train station. Shin struggled against the ropes they'd used to tie him to a metal post, and part of it was poking him in the back. He couldn't get to his cell phone at all, so unless Yankumi was in one of the police helicopters circling around, there'd be no help from her.
He could hear the chirping noises of some of Doronjo's little robots down in the street, could hear the cops shouting for people to stand back instead of shooting at the damn things. Did they really have to leave everything up to Yatterman? Really?
"You've just made things so awful for me!" Doronjo screamed at him, hands on her shapely hips. She'd be pretty if she wasn't psychotic. "Yatterman doesn't even come after me now! He just destroys all my little toys and leaves! He doesn't stay for my chest! He doesn't stay for my witty banter! He just runs back to his little house, wherever that is!"
Shin rolled his eyes. "So?"
"So we figured out that you must be the reason! Because Yatterman's always following you around!"
"He what?" Shin cried.
The pig guy looked angry. "All the anguish Doronjo-sama has gone through! It's all your fault!"
"We should just kill him right now!" the rat cried.
Doronjo just shook her head. "You...you go to some...school or whatever. And no matter how alluring or beautiful I am, Yatterman just hides in the back of the class or watches you through the windows and it's terrible! He can't even give me the time of day! Just who the heck are you, huh?"
Shin knew the stupid Y pendant was in his pocket next to his phone. Was Takada really stalking him? Wasn't he supposed to be in his workshop every day? Or fighting crime? The guy had some explaining to do...
"Aoooooo!!!!"
Well, it looked like Shin would get his answer soon enough. The building shook with the impact as Yatterwan came crashing through the streets and into the concrete. Shin could even hear Yatterman giving Ai-chan orders to take care of the little mechas on the street. And then he was there, leaping off of the top of the dog-mecha's head to land on the roof in his black boots and lame red mask.
"Let him go, Doronjo!" Yatterman cried, kendama at the ready, and Sawada Shin had probably never felt more embarrassed in his life. He was now just a damsel in distress, needing to be rescued by a white jumpsuited dork with a kendama. Sure, he'd gotten himself in tons of fights and Yankumi had come to save him before, but it had never been as shameful as this.
"Never!" Doronjo shouted back. She turned to her associates. "Boyacky! Tonzra! Destroy him!"
Yatterman held his kendama aloft. "Bring it on!"
Shin could only watch helplessly as Yatterman sprang into action, leaping into the air and lashing out with his kendama. Try as they might, Doronjo's two henchmen were ridiculously incompetent, and they ended up crashing into each other before they could get to Yatterman - knocking themselves both out in the process before a minute had gone by.
Finding herself alone, Doronjo stood between Shin and Yatterman, doing her best to stand her ground even though she had no weapons aside from the little bots that were down in the street. Yatterman wound his kendama up and holstered it at his side.
"You've lost again, Doronjo. It's time for you to turn yourself in," Yatterman said, as Shin knew he said every damn time they battled one another. It was on the news all the time.
But this time Doronjo had something Yatterman wanted, and Shin was a little confused as to how he felt about it. Because in most stories, the damsel came to love and worship the superhero who saved them - but Shin had only been staying with the guy for half a month, his wall still wasn't fixed, and he wasn't entirely sure what he thought about Yatterman that didn't revolve around how silly he looked in his jumpsuit.
But his eyes were pure and true behind his mask, and there was nothing but determination written on his admittedly handsome features. So maybe Yatterman genuinely liked him - it was always the pure types who fell in love quickly. At least in all the manga Shin had read. And putting so much time and effort into school hadn't given Shin much time for a personal life lately - the happiest he'd been in months were the hours he'd spent studying in Takada's workshop, listening to the man diligently working. Not that he'd ever say as much to Takada himself.
So maybe Shin could grow to like Takada. It was less of a hopeless case than having a crush on your yakuza high school teacher.
Since Doronjo had her back to him, this allowed Shin to at least help Yatterman to save him. He tilted his head, gesturing at the aerosol can Doronjo had used to knock him out earlier, and Yatterman caught on, pulling out his kendama again.
"You wouldn't...you wouldn't attack a woman, would you?" Doronjo asked, pouting, but then off the kendama went, the string wrapping around the can and tugging it into Yatterman's outstretched hand.
Within seconds, Yatterman had sprayed his rival in the face, catching her in his arms and easing her to the ground. He looked up at Shin expectantly.
"Well?" Shin asked, struggling in the ropes. "Shouldn't you have the cops come arrest her?"
Yatterman got to his feet, walking up to Shin with a smile. "Nah, I think she's learned her lesson this time."
Shin highly doubted that.
"Well, then shouldn't you help Ai-chan?"
But then Yatterwan let out another "aooooo!!!" and Ai-chan came clambering up the metal dog's form, leaping onto the roof to find Doronjo and her knocked out henchmen and Yatterman preparing to untie Shin. Shin had to admit that he felt bad for Ai-chan, just as pure and kind as her partner - it was just bad luck for her that Takada only had eyes for guys.
"All of the creatures in the streets have been destroyed," she reported obediently, holding her electrified stick at the ready in case any of the villains moved a muscle.
Shin was grateful to be freed, Yatterman quickly untying the ropes to let him go. "Our work here is done," Yatterman said, looking like he was about to make some creepy love confession right then and there.
It was then that Shin remembered his exam. "Wait, what time is it?"
"About 11:00 AM," Ai-chan said.
He'd only missed the first hour of the exam - there were still two left so he could get some sort of credit at least. He gave Yatterman a shove roughly. "I need you to get me to school. Right now before I fail my class, idiot."
Shin felt like a big loser riding around on Yatterwan, holding on to the dog-mecha's tail in fright as Yatterman Number One and Yatterman Number Two held on to the mecha's sides. He could just imagine how jealous Yankumi would be if she could see him now, barreling through the streets of Tokyo on top of Yatterman's stupid dog.
He made it to campus, and of course because Takada was a terrible driver, he parked Yatterwan in the middle of the quad - it was enough to send his professor and the students in the classroom next door running to the windows to look out. Shin hurried inside, apologizing and grabbing an exam booklet.
"Take all the time you need," his professor said with shiny eyes. She was looking out the window, seeing Yatterman waving happily. Damn, did everyone have that reaction to him? "All the time you need, Sawada-kun."
--
After the exam, he headed back to Takada Toys. He'd gotten a call on his phone from his landlord while he was otherwise tied up - his apartment building had been completely fixed ahead of schedule. Whenever he was ready to move back in, his apartment was ready and had four walls again.
Ai-chan had gone out shopping, or else she was smart enough to realize that maybe Shin and Takada had to have a "moment" of some sort now that Takada had saved his life. Shin headed into the workshop, finding Takada sweeping up some mess he'd made on the floor.
"Hey."
Takada looked up, nearly dropping the broom. "Oh, hey Sawada-san."
"My apartment's fixed, so I can move back at any time. So I'm leaving."
Takada had the most honest face Shin had ever seen, maybe even more than Yankumi's. It was kind of gross and endearing just like Yankumi's face too. For now, Takada looked ready to cry at the thought of Shin leaving. It had only been two weeks! What an idiot.
"Might be dangerous," Takada said, tugging his cap down low over his eyes. "I mean, now that Doronjo knows who you are. And I'm sorry about that."
"Oh yeah," Shin remembered, walking over to the workbench and getting close enough to Takada to send the vigilante weirdo back a few steps. "Something she mentioned. That you've been stalking me."
Takada's face turned red. "I just...it's not stalking if I was just trying to ensure your safety. And it was only a few times. I...I wanted to get to know you a little, Sawada-san, since you were living here and you don't talk about yourself at all. So I just wanted to see your school. I swear, that's all."
"Well, because you're a creep, now I've got a target on my back, and I don't like it," Shin told him, yanking the Y pendant and chain from his pocket to hold in his hand. "However, I did get to take my exam with the full time even though I was late. So thanks."
He leaned forward, pushing Takada back against the workbench, hearing his little squeak in surprise. Shin pushed the guy's hat back, looming right in his face.
"I bet you want me to kiss you," Shin said. "You know, in gratitude for rescuing me."
Takada wasn't so tough without his mask and his kendama, and he positively froze at Shin's words.
"Well, that's too bad," Shin said, stepping back. He put the necklace on, tugging it over his head and tucking it inside his shirt. "I'm moving back home, but I'll take this with me. Just so I don't forget who ruined my apartment in the first place."
"Sawada..."
Shin found himself smiling. "You know where I live. And next time you pay me a visit, leave the dog at home. See you later, Gan-chan."
And with that Shin turned around, snickering to himself as Yatterman spluttered in confusion behind him. He packed his bag and headed home, feeling just a little safer with the pendant around his neck.
--
Of course over the next few months, Shin had a hard time getting to class - Doronjo was kind of relentless, and he got himself kidnapped more than a dozen times. But every time, no matter how difficult the battle, a certain weirdo in a white jumpsuit managed to save his life.
"This is the fifteenth time I've saved you," Yatterman said, beaming from ear to ear as he hung suspended in the air, having had to jump down in a harness into the deep well that Doronjo had trapped Shin in.
"Fifteen, huh?"
"Yep! Oh, and sorry for the inconvenience."
"I missed class, you know."
"I'm really sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
So since it was kind of dark and he was kind of grateful, Shin got to his feet, grabbing hold of the vigilante on his wire. He slid the mask away from Takada's eyes and kissed him quick before shoving him back, hearing the guy go 'ouch!' against the brick walls of the well.
Shin laughed. "My hero."
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Sawada Shin (Gokusen)/Takada Gan (Yatterman)
Summary: Sawada Shin only had room for one pure-hearted superhero in his life, and even if Yankumi wore a bright red tracksuit instead of a cape and tights when she fought stereotypical bad guys, it was more than enough.
Notes/Warnings: Written for Jun's birthday contest at sakumoto.
Sawada Shin only had room for one pure-hearted superhero in his life, and even if Yankumi wore a bright red tracksuit instead of a cape and tights when she fought stereotypical bad guys, it was more than enough.
So when the skull-shaped puff of smoke appeared in the Tokyo skies that day, Shin had made the smart choice and walked in the opposite direction. He'd only been getting some groceries. A college student had to eat, and the fulfillment of his basic needs definitely outweighed the chance of seeing a fight between good and evil.
It had started a few months after he'd graduated high school. The Dorombo gang had come to town, hellbent on taking over with a legion of robotic critters. Their leader was a striking blonde woman in a skin-tight costume, most likely a sociopath. The police and the self-defense force hadn't known what to do, and Shin had rolled his eyes at every newscast - burning buildings, screaming civilians. His father was a policeman, and like usual, he washed his hands of it. Somebody had to do something already.
But the answer hadn't come in the form of the police or the self-defense force. The answer hadn't even come in the form of his tracksuit-clad high school teacher. Instead the robotic critters were pushed back by some giant robotic dog-mecha controlled by another costumed nutjob in a mask and his costumed nutjob of a girlfriend. Yatterman, the papers were calling him. Yatterman had come to save the day.
Unfortunately, he never managed to save the day for long because the Dorombo gang was more resilient than a class full of troublemakers at Shirokin High School could ever be. It was happening every other week now. The blonde woman, Doronjo, would send some robotic grasshoppers or robotic cockroaches or robotic deer running loose in the middle of the city, and the idiot with the dog-mecha would come plowing through the streets, overturning cars and knocking over grannies. Sure, he'd turn back the Dorombo assault, but Tokyo was undergoing some serious structural damage.
But nobody seemed to see things Shin's way. People were just happy that someone was fighting back, and so what if he took down a few power lines in the process? It really just confirmed what Sawada Shin had known for most of his life - people were idiots.
As he headed down the street for his building, people went running in the other direction. "I wonder what Doronjo's got planned today!" they were squealing amongst themselves. "Who cares? Yatterman'll give her what for!" Idiots! Why run towards danger?
Shin unlocked his door, bringing his grocery bags inside. He turned on the TV, and they had news helicopters and reporters and crowds of onlookers swarming at the scene. Even now Yatterman and his pink jumpsuited companion, only known by the name Yatterman Number Two, were knocking down robotic frogs. The girl was at least halfway intelligent for a masked weirdo, smacking at the robo-frogs with some odd electrified stick. But Yatterman fought with a little kid's toy - who ever thought a kendama was an ideal weapon for fighting bad guys?
Then again, Shin was used to fighting with his fists. He didn't need robots and weapons to make his point.
"Looks like Yatterman's in a big pinch now!" the reporter was shrieking, and he turned the TV off in a huff. Shin had studying to do.
He'd made it halfway through a set of equations when he heard the explosion. He'd thought that the fighting was miles away, if that cloud of smoke had been anything to go by. But there was another explosion, and then a cacophony of robotic ribbiting. The frogs. The robo-frogs. They'd made it to his block.
And then the ribbiting was drowned out by the howling "aaoooooooooooo" of that damned dog-mecha.
"Not here," Shin growled, hurriedly picking up his textbooks and diving behind his couch. "Not here not here not here!"
"Aoooooooo!"
Bang! The brick wall of his building caved in, sending dust all over his apartment as the stupid dog-mecha crashed right into his living room. Shin poked his head up over the edge of the couch, seeing Yatterman himself leaping into the air after the robo-frogs that were now climbing up the drain pipe of the building on the other side of the street.
This Yatterman jerk had just used Shin's building, Shin's apartment for that matter, as a parking spot. Shin had dealt with the inconveniences for weeks now, and he'd had enough.
Dumping his textbooks to the ground, he hurried out of the gaping hole in his wall. Even now he could hear the crowds outside, marveling at the damage. Shin wondered if insurance covered something like this - damage via superhero. He clambered down the mechanical dog, which had apparently been powered down by its owner.
There were still a few robo-frogs on their way up to the building's roof just opposite him, and Shin hopped down off of the dog-mecha's giant paw, charging across the street and through the door. Even now some of the residents were (smartly) fleeing, and Shin jammed his finger on the button for the elevator, pacing back and forth in irritation until it arrived.
He rode it all the way to the top floor. The elevator dinged and let him off, and he could hear Yatterman's shouts up on the roof above. "I'll get you now, froggie!" and other assorted cheesy lines that sounded more like a manga for kids than the words of a psychotic costumed freak.
Shin took the stairs up to the roof, slamming open the door to take in the final stages of the fight. Yatterman Number Two was just shocking the last few frogs with her electric stick while Yatterman had used his kendama to tie around the larger "boss" robo-frog. He was currently gloating over their victory, beaming with a goofy smile straight out of a toothpaste commercial.
"Looks like it's back to the lily pad with you, friend!"
The robo-frogs seemingly subdued and the noisy ribbiting having quieted down, Shin crossed his arms and cleared his throat. The two superheroes, pink and white-jumpsuited respectively, turned around and caught sight of him.
Yatterman tugged on his kendama, the string splitting the robo-frog's head from its body in a spray of sparks, and he sheathed it in a holster at his side. He tilted up his cap and stared at Shin through the eye holes of his mask.
"Fear not, citizen," Yatterman said. "Tokyo is once again safe from Doronjo and her thugs!"
To reaffirm her partner's point, Yatterman Number Two zapped her stick against the empty metal frogs beside her, eliciting a sad "ribbit" from the broken little machines.
"Yeah, that's great," Shin said, sneering at the both of them. "Now which one of you idiots is going to repair my wall?"
"Your wall?" Yatterman Number Two asked.
"My wall," Shin repeated, thumbing over his shoulder in the direction of his own apartment building. "You just crashed your dog into it."
Yatterman looked confused. "But...but we saved the city?"
"That's great," Shin pointed out. "But it still leaves me without a wall, and now I have nowhere to sleep."
Yatterman wandered over to the edge of the building, examining where he'd parked his dog-mecha. His shoulders slumped in embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix my wall," Shin told him. "But money surely will."
"Gan-chan," Yatterman Number Two whispered. So this weirdo in the mask had a name. "You have to do something!"
Yatterman turned, hands on his hips. Shin waited to see where he kept his bank book or a credit card on him. "I know precisely how to solve your problem, citizen."
--
"Well, I think it's very generous of him to offer," Yankumi insisted, pouring tea first for her grandfather and then for Shin.
"Generous?" Shin complained. He was never able to speak frankly or honestly with his family, but in Yankumi's home, even with her family's circumstances, he felt that he could. "What's generous about some costumed vigilante inviting me to come live with him?"
"I think it shows real kindness," Yankumi's grandfather said, the gentlest man Shin had ever encountered. Again, despite the family's circumstances. "He could have put you up in a hotel while your building gets fixed or he could have just bolted, leaving you out in the cold."
To Yatterman Number Two's dismay, Yatterman Number One had not coughed up the funds to fix Shin's wall - instead he had cheerfully invited Shin to just come live with the two of them instead. Shin had thought to get the police involved, but then surely his father would find out about him being pretty much homeless and that would be a one way ticket back to living with them.
So for now Shin had packed a bag and come across town to Yankumi's house, telling Yatterman that he'd "think about it."
"This is a guy who fights robotic crime for a living," Shin said to them. "You don't just...move in and become roommates with them."
Yankumi smiled. Because she was kind of insane from time to time. She sipped her tea, hearts in her eyes. Of course someone who believed so firmly in justice and doing the right thing like Yankumi would be head over heels for someone like Yatterman. "But just think about it, Sawada," she murmured. "You can see the man behind the mask. Can cheer him on in battle."
"In battle against robots," Shin grumbled.
"All these weeks that Yatterman has been saving Tokyo..." Yankumi mused while her grandfather watched her with kind eyes. "Oh, I wish I could have been there to help him. Of course, the students at my new high school take up most of my time lately..."
Shin was quickly realizing how hopeless this situation was. Yankumi, who had always been his biggest supporter, should have been insisting on him staying with her family. They surely had a guest room to spare, and Shin had never really judged them despite their line of work. But Shin hated to ask for favors, especially after all Yankumi had already done for him. He couldn't afford a hotel, and it was going to take at least a month for his building to be back to normal.
He was stuck with Yatterman.
Yankumi walked him to the door, poking him on the cheek when he opened the front gate. "Now Sawada, you have my phone number. If Yatterman ever needs my help and I'm not protecting my students..."
"...yeah, yeah, I'll be sure and call you," he complained, allowing his former teacher to ruffle his hair affectionately.
"And be a polite houseguest. Say please and thank you!"
"I'm not five years old, Yankumi."
She smiled. "I know, Sawada. Have a good night."
"Yeah, bye."
--
Yatterman's lady friend had had a pen on her for some reason at the scene of the crime fighting, so Yatterman had scribbled down an address where Shin could reach him. It was pretty stupid of him to do that when he didn't know Shin at all. If Shin was a real jerk (which he wasn't), he could have gone looking for that Doronjo woman and handed it to her.
He came to the building, an old-looking toy shop, and knocked on the door. A short brunette girl with a frown opened the door. "Oh, it's you," she said.
Shin had a feeling that in another situation, in another lifetime, he would have probably gotten along with Yatterman Number Two. He inclined his head. "I've decided to stay with you. Temporarily."
She introduced herself as Kaminari Ai, walking him through the closed shop full of dangerous looking trinkets and gadgets to the backroom. Which wasn't so much a backroom as an elaborate workshop. Even now Shin could see that stupid dog-mecha parked into a large recess in the high wall, and Yatterman himself tinkering with something at his workbench.
"Gan-chan, the guy is here," Ai-chan said.
The guy, Shin thought. Well, it was true. He hadn't introduced himself. "Sawada," he said quietly. "Sawada Shin."
Yatterman, or "Gan-chan" he supposed, got up from his workbench quickly. Instead of his obnoxious white jumpsuit and red mask, at home he just wore some baggy blue denim cover-alls and a gray cap. But he still had that toothy smile.
"Sawada-san, welcome!" he said, holding out his hand for Shin to shake. "I'm Yatterman."
Shin stared at the outstretched hand skeptically.
"Okay," Yatterman said, taking his hand back and scratching his head. "Okay, I guess since you're in my house you can know my real name. It's Takada Gan, but everyone just calls me Gan-chan."
"Takada-san then," Shin said immediately, if only because it was in his nature to be difficult.
Takada's smile wavered a bit as he moved past Shin. "Alright, well this is the workshop. We've got lots of pointy stuff in here, so please be careful." Shin followed him back into the toy shop, leading him upstairs. "That's Ai-chan's room, the bathroom, the kitchen, my room, and then here..."
Takada slid open a door at the end of the hallway. It had been cleaned recently, and an old but decent looking futon had been rolled out on the floor. Shin suspected that the female in the house had done most of the work in here.
"Kinda small, but we feel really bad about what happened," Takada said. "So please make yourself at home."
Shin set down his bag. A few changes of clothes, his textbooks, and toiletries. Everything else was still back in his apartment, a large plastic tarp covering up the empty space where the wall had once been. His landlord had assured him that nobody would steal his stuff while he was gone, not that Shin had too much anyhow as a college student.
He'd never been good at small talk, but Takada wasn't leaving him alone, still watching him with his ever-present smile. "So..." Shin said, "you and Ai-chan then...?"
"Me and Ai-chan what?" Takada asked, genuinely curious. And apparently oblivious to the way his companion looked at him. What a moron.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Are you dating?"
"I...what?"
"Never mind," Shin said. "Do you have a key for me? Because I need to go to class during the day. I'm in college."
Takada shook his head. "No, we just leave the back door unlocked."
Shin blinked at him. "You're not worried about burglars? Or your enemies?"
Takada looked at him like Shin was an idiot. "Not really. So just let yourself in and out. And if we're not home, well, then you can imagine where we've gone."
"Right."
The two young men stared each other down for a few moments longer, Yatterman with his innocent, carefree smile and Shin with his skeptical, irritating scowl.
"I'll...leave you alone then, Sawada-san."
--
The first two weeks passed in a quieter fashion than even Shin had expected. Since the Dorombo gang apparently had no idea that Takada Toys was the home of Yattermans One and Two, the neighborhood was quiet and robot-free. During dinner one evening, Ai-chan filled Shin in on the enemy - Doronjo was rather self-centered, so she had a tendency to attack busier neighborhoods in hopes of drawing Gan-chan out.
It was obvious to Shin that Yatterman's greatest enemy also seemed to have a crush on him. Which Shin thought was pretty dumb. Why go to the trouble of creating chaos throughout Tokyo and inconveniencing thousands? Why not just tell Yatterman you had feelings for him? Ai-chan didn't seem to get it either, which made her far more likable in Shin's eyes.
As for Takada himself, he spent long hours in the workshop making his own crimefighting gadgets and repairing whatever things he'd managed to break in each battle. Shin got tired quickly of the tiny room he'd been sequestered in. He moved from doing homework at the kitchen table and into the workshop. A little clamor didn't hurt his concentration - it was useless chatter that threw him off.
So Ai-chan set up a table for Shin at the rear of the workshop, and while she and Takada used blowtorches and hammers, he did his equations. He could just imagine Yankumi now, watching over all three of them with a twinkle in her eye. She'd launch into some speech about everyone working together and being friends and getting along, and while Shin would probably want to puke at the sentimentality of it, he'd probably agree in principle.
And so lost was he in the thought of his teacher's happiness at his growing tolerance for Takada Gan, he didn't notice that the hammering had ceased and Takada had parked himself on the stool opposite him. Shin jumped at the sight of him.
"Takada," he mumbled, stretching a bit to try and turn his frightened action into a casual, intentional movement.
"Sawada-san," Takada said cheerfully. He was always cheerful, even after long hours in the shop or in battle. Even though he was still a colossal moron who eagerly rode off into battle atop a dumb dog-mecha, he wasn't actually a bad person to be around. "It's after midnight."
Shin blinked at his watch. It certainly was. He'd been down here in the workshop with the two idiot superheroes for nearly six hours. He glanced down at his workbook - he barely even remembered having solved the last four equations, but the pages of his book were covered in his handwriting.
"Exam tomorrow?" Takada asked. "I hope I wasn't too loud in here. Ai-chan went to bed already, but she said to leave you...but since I was going to close up for the night..."
Shin gathered up his things, getting off the stool. "Yeah, exam tomorrow."
They took the stairs together, Takada's footsteps bouncing casually up the steps while Shin trudged up behind him. They walked a little more quietly through the rooms above the toy shop and Takada walked him to his bedroom door like they were on a date or something, which weirded Shin out.
He turned around after sliding the door open. "You're creepy."
But Takada only smiled at him. "I just wanted to give you this."
He held out his hand, gesturing for Shin to take the metallic Y pendant he'd strung on a thin silver chain. "Jewelry?" Shin asked in confusion.
"Well, Sawada-san," Takada said, lowering his head so his eyes were hidden by the brim of his hat. "I do feel awful guilty about what happened to your house. And since you've been here with me and Ai-chan, it's been pretty cool. You help clean up and all, even though you're a guest. So I just wanted to...welcome you to the team is all."
Shin accepted the pendant, feeling an odd sort of twist in his gut at the way Takada was clearly blushing in embarrassment under his hat. Well, Shin thought, it certainly explained a lot about why the guy didn't seem to notice that his female roommate and his female nemesis were head over heels for him. "I'm not going to fight crime with you," Shin pointed out.
"I...I wasn't asking you to..."
He punched Takada in the shoulder, staggering him a bit. "Thanks."
He slid the bedroom door shut before Takada could say anything, turning the little Y over in his palm. It was cool to the touch and finely crafted. Wearing it, Shin knew, would probably mean something. It would mean that he condoned what Takada did in his free time - destroying robots and half of Tokyo in the process while dressed up in a stupid jumpsuit and a mask.
And it might also mean, Shin thought with his heart pounding a bit wildly, that Yatterman kind of liked him. Takada Gan, who was really good with a wrench, kind to everyone, and willing to take in a complete stranger. Takada Gan, who had gentle eyes behind his mask. Takada Gan, who probably smiled more in a day than Shin had in his entire life...
The guy destroyed your house, Shin thought angrily, flinging the pendant and chain onto the floor. He turned out the light and dropped his books in a huff, changing out of his clothes and getting into the futon.
Well, let Takada like him then. Shin didn't have to like him back or anything.
--
Since Takada Toys was on the opposite side of the city from Shin's apartment, it now took three different trains to get to campus. While it gave him extra time to think or study on the commute now, it wasn't good when his train got delayed due to a robot attack.
"Due to trouble on the line, the next stop will be Kayabacho. Kayabacho will be the next stop. All passengers must exit the train at Kayabacho. We regret this inconvenience."
And it especially wasn't good when his train got delayed due to a robot attack when he had the most important exam of the term to take in less than an hour.
He scowled as the train ground to a halt at the next stop, leaving Shin almost a dozen stations away from where he needed to go. He followed the other passengers out of the car, taking the escalators up and out of the station. Everyone seemed really excited by the delay - already Shin could hear them murmuring about the Dorombo gang and what they might be up to this time.
Shin exited the station, taking a look around. He'd never make it on foot in time, didn't have the money for a taxi, and if the trains weren't running in the neighborhood he knew the buses definitely weren't. He found himself kicking at a trash bin in frustration, earning a warning look from people wandering their way out of the station. Yeah, his temper never had done him too many favors.
"This is all your fault," he grumbled to himself, imagining Takada back at the toy shop gearing up Yatterwan (yeah, the stupid dog-mecha had a name) for battle with Ai-chan at his side. Shin fumbled around in his pocket, finding the Y pendant. He'd only put it in his jeans pocket that morning because he didn't need Ai-chan finding it if she cleaned his room, that was all.
The crowd seemed to move Shin along, and he decided that since transportation was a no-go, he'd just have to be late for the exam instead of missing it entirely. He set off on foot, crossing the street and hoping that he could at least escape the throng of onlookers so he could jog most of the way there and save some time.
But when he turned the next corner, he bumped right into someone. Or more like a group of three people - a blonde woman in skin-tight leather, a rat-looking guy, and a pig-looking guy. Before he could throw a punch, the blonde woman sprayed him in the face with some kind of aerosol.
Shin tried to kick at them, but whatever Doronjo had gotten him with worked quickly. And though Shin had gotten into his fair share of trouble the past few years, his first thoughts had usually been of Yankumi, hoping she'd come running up in her stupid jumpsuit to help him fight his way out.
But as his thoughts grew more muddled and he fell to the ground, bookbag barely cushioning his fall, all he could think of was that stupid dog-mecha and how badly he needed it to be on its way.
--
She slapped him awake insistently, and Shin groggily woke up. He'd definitely missed his exam now, and boy, was he pissed off. Did getting abducted by a criminal crew count as a decent-enough excuse? The exam was half his grade for the term after all.
He scowled at her, seeing her dark red lips pouting at him. "What do you idiots want with me?"
The chubby pig-guy looked ready to throttle him. "Don't talk to Doronjo-sama that way!"
"It's okay," Doronjo said, sneering at him. "He won't be around much longer."
They'd hauled up to the roof of one of the buildings in the neighborhood, not far from the train station. Shin struggled against the ropes they'd used to tie him to a metal post, and part of it was poking him in the back. He couldn't get to his cell phone at all, so unless Yankumi was in one of the police helicopters circling around, there'd be no help from her.
He could hear the chirping noises of some of Doronjo's little robots down in the street, could hear the cops shouting for people to stand back instead of shooting at the damn things. Did they really have to leave everything up to Yatterman? Really?
"You've just made things so awful for me!" Doronjo screamed at him, hands on her shapely hips. She'd be pretty if she wasn't psychotic. "Yatterman doesn't even come after me now! He just destroys all my little toys and leaves! He doesn't stay for my chest! He doesn't stay for my witty banter! He just runs back to his little house, wherever that is!"
Shin rolled his eyes. "So?"
"So we figured out that you must be the reason! Because Yatterman's always following you around!"
"He what?" Shin cried.
The pig guy looked angry. "All the anguish Doronjo-sama has gone through! It's all your fault!"
"We should just kill him right now!" the rat cried.
Doronjo just shook her head. "You...you go to some...school or whatever. And no matter how alluring or beautiful I am, Yatterman just hides in the back of the class or watches you through the windows and it's terrible! He can't even give me the time of day! Just who the heck are you, huh?"
Shin knew the stupid Y pendant was in his pocket next to his phone. Was Takada really stalking him? Wasn't he supposed to be in his workshop every day? Or fighting crime? The guy had some explaining to do...
"Aoooooo!!!!"
Well, it looked like Shin would get his answer soon enough. The building shook with the impact as Yatterwan came crashing through the streets and into the concrete. Shin could even hear Yatterman giving Ai-chan orders to take care of the little mechas on the street. And then he was there, leaping off of the top of the dog-mecha's head to land on the roof in his black boots and lame red mask.
"Let him go, Doronjo!" Yatterman cried, kendama at the ready, and Sawada Shin had probably never felt more embarrassed in his life. He was now just a damsel in distress, needing to be rescued by a white jumpsuited dork with a kendama. Sure, he'd gotten himself in tons of fights and Yankumi had come to save him before, but it had never been as shameful as this.
"Never!" Doronjo shouted back. She turned to her associates. "Boyacky! Tonzra! Destroy him!"
Yatterman held his kendama aloft. "Bring it on!"
Shin could only watch helplessly as Yatterman sprang into action, leaping into the air and lashing out with his kendama. Try as they might, Doronjo's two henchmen were ridiculously incompetent, and they ended up crashing into each other before they could get to Yatterman - knocking themselves both out in the process before a minute had gone by.
Finding herself alone, Doronjo stood between Shin and Yatterman, doing her best to stand her ground even though she had no weapons aside from the little bots that were down in the street. Yatterman wound his kendama up and holstered it at his side.
"You've lost again, Doronjo. It's time for you to turn yourself in," Yatterman said, as Shin knew he said every damn time they battled one another. It was on the news all the time.
But this time Doronjo had something Yatterman wanted, and Shin was a little confused as to how he felt about it. Because in most stories, the damsel came to love and worship the superhero who saved them - but Shin had only been staying with the guy for half a month, his wall still wasn't fixed, and he wasn't entirely sure what he thought about Yatterman that didn't revolve around how silly he looked in his jumpsuit.
But his eyes were pure and true behind his mask, and there was nothing but determination written on his admittedly handsome features. So maybe Yatterman genuinely liked him - it was always the pure types who fell in love quickly. At least in all the manga Shin had read. And putting so much time and effort into school hadn't given Shin much time for a personal life lately - the happiest he'd been in months were the hours he'd spent studying in Takada's workshop, listening to the man diligently working. Not that he'd ever say as much to Takada himself.
So maybe Shin could grow to like Takada. It was less of a hopeless case than having a crush on your yakuza high school teacher.
Since Doronjo had her back to him, this allowed Shin to at least help Yatterman to save him. He tilted his head, gesturing at the aerosol can Doronjo had used to knock him out earlier, and Yatterman caught on, pulling out his kendama again.
"You wouldn't...you wouldn't attack a woman, would you?" Doronjo asked, pouting, but then off the kendama went, the string wrapping around the can and tugging it into Yatterman's outstretched hand.
Within seconds, Yatterman had sprayed his rival in the face, catching her in his arms and easing her to the ground. He looked up at Shin expectantly.
"Well?" Shin asked, struggling in the ropes. "Shouldn't you have the cops come arrest her?"
Yatterman got to his feet, walking up to Shin with a smile. "Nah, I think she's learned her lesson this time."
Shin highly doubted that.
"Well, then shouldn't you help Ai-chan?"
But then Yatterwan let out another "aooooo!!!" and Ai-chan came clambering up the metal dog's form, leaping onto the roof to find Doronjo and her knocked out henchmen and Yatterman preparing to untie Shin. Shin had to admit that he felt bad for Ai-chan, just as pure and kind as her partner - it was just bad luck for her that Takada only had eyes for guys.
"All of the creatures in the streets have been destroyed," she reported obediently, holding her electrified stick at the ready in case any of the villains moved a muscle.
Shin was grateful to be freed, Yatterman quickly untying the ropes to let him go. "Our work here is done," Yatterman said, looking like he was about to make some creepy love confession right then and there.
It was then that Shin remembered his exam. "Wait, what time is it?"
"About 11:00 AM," Ai-chan said.
He'd only missed the first hour of the exam - there were still two left so he could get some sort of credit at least. He gave Yatterman a shove roughly. "I need you to get me to school. Right now before I fail my class, idiot."
Shin felt like a big loser riding around on Yatterwan, holding on to the dog-mecha's tail in fright as Yatterman Number One and Yatterman Number Two held on to the mecha's sides. He could just imagine how jealous Yankumi would be if she could see him now, barreling through the streets of Tokyo on top of Yatterman's stupid dog.
He made it to campus, and of course because Takada was a terrible driver, he parked Yatterwan in the middle of the quad - it was enough to send his professor and the students in the classroom next door running to the windows to look out. Shin hurried inside, apologizing and grabbing an exam booklet.
"Take all the time you need," his professor said with shiny eyes. She was looking out the window, seeing Yatterman waving happily. Damn, did everyone have that reaction to him? "All the time you need, Sawada-kun."
--
After the exam, he headed back to Takada Toys. He'd gotten a call on his phone from his landlord while he was otherwise tied up - his apartment building had been completely fixed ahead of schedule. Whenever he was ready to move back in, his apartment was ready and had four walls again.
Ai-chan had gone out shopping, or else she was smart enough to realize that maybe Shin and Takada had to have a "moment" of some sort now that Takada had saved his life. Shin headed into the workshop, finding Takada sweeping up some mess he'd made on the floor.
"Hey."
Takada looked up, nearly dropping the broom. "Oh, hey Sawada-san."
"My apartment's fixed, so I can move back at any time. So I'm leaving."
Takada had the most honest face Shin had ever seen, maybe even more than Yankumi's. It was kind of gross and endearing just like Yankumi's face too. For now, Takada looked ready to cry at the thought of Shin leaving. It had only been two weeks! What an idiot.
"Might be dangerous," Takada said, tugging his cap down low over his eyes. "I mean, now that Doronjo knows who you are. And I'm sorry about that."
"Oh yeah," Shin remembered, walking over to the workbench and getting close enough to Takada to send the vigilante weirdo back a few steps. "Something she mentioned. That you've been stalking me."
Takada's face turned red. "I just...it's not stalking if I was just trying to ensure your safety. And it was only a few times. I...I wanted to get to know you a little, Sawada-san, since you were living here and you don't talk about yourself at all. So I just wanted to see your school. I swear, that's all."
"Well, because you're a creep, now I've got a target on my back, and I don't like it," Shin told him, yanking the Y pendant and chain from his pocket to hold in his hand. "However, I did get to take my exam with the full time even though I was late. So thanks."
He leaned forward, pushing Takada back against the workbench, hearing his little squeak in surprise. Shin pushed the guy's hat back, looming right in his face.
"I bet you want me to kiss you," Shin said. "You know, in gratitude for rescuing me."
Takada wasn't so tough without his mask and his kendama, and he positively froze at Shin's words.
"Well, that's too bad," Shin said, stepping back. He put the necklace on, tugging it over his head and tucking it inside his shirt. "I'm moving back home, but I'll take this with me. Just so I don't forget who ruined my apartment in the first place."
"Sawada..."
Shin found himself smiling. "You know where I live. And next time you pay me a visit, leave the dog at home. See you later, Gan-chan."
And with that Shin turned around, snickering to himself as Yatterman spluttered in confusion behind him. He packed his bag and headed home, feeling just a little safer with the pendant around his neck.
--
Of course over the next few months, Shin had a hard time getting to class - Doronjo was kind of relentless, and he got himself kidnapped more than a dozen times. But every time, no matter how difficult the battle, a certain weirdo in a white jumpsuit managed to save his life.
"This is the fifteenth time I've saved you," Yatterman said, beaming from ear to ear as he hung suspended in the air, having had to jump down in a harness into the deep well that Doronjo had trapped Shin in.
"Fifteen, huh?"
"Yep! Oh, and sorry for the inconvenience."
"I missed class, you know."
"I'm really sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
So since it was kind of dark and he was kind of grateful, Shin got to his feet, grabbing hold of the vigilante on his wire. He slid the mask away from Takada's eyes and kissed him quick before shoving him back, hearing the guy go 'ouch!' against the brick walls of the well.
Shin laughed. "My hero."