seven the youth (ultraseven for adults) #08 targeted town

#08 targeted town

Once upon a time, Kotobuki-cho, a small block in the small city 
in the south of the prefecture in the north of Kanto Region, FUJIU,
an old penny candy shop, was full of little children.
At the back of the shop, there were a few arcade game machins
such as Space Invaders, which were also used as tables
where kids ate yakisoba, or fried noodles Auntie cooked.
Such a shop used to be seen here and there
all over the city, and almost all cities in Japan.

When some kids enjoyed drawing lots,
they heard sudden blake and deafening collision sound.
Rushing out, they found a taxi break into the next house.
A woman got out of the car and ran away, a taxi driver running after her. She was caught several meters short of the crossroads and beaten by him.
Then, a patrol car arriving, the police seized him by the shoulders. 
The momemt, the driver passed out. 
The children was at a loss what to do.

"It's about time, Yu-chan." 

AMABE called one of the kids by name.
He visited his hometown to mourn his uncle
because of the accident the other day.
And the other Youth members attended the funeral. 
MOROBOSHI heard some attendees talking about the accident.

(How the hell did his bus fall from the bridge down into the river?)
(Poor forty passengers!)
(The people living in this town often these days
fill the papers of newspaper, don't they?)

FURUDA and SOMA were taking a walk near the station hotel.
They crossed thd river where the bus accident had happened,
looking down from the Naka Bridge,
and walked on the bank along the Watarase River.
FURUDA bought a box of cigarette from vending machine
at a liquor shop in Tori 2 chome,
when he heard gunshot sound around the diagonal intersection.

The man was pointing his rifle at the public like a hunter
in front of the bookstore and igoring the police attempt to stop him.
FURUDA, good at athletics,
tried for a chance to throw himself at the hunter, but he had his left arm shot.
SOMA fired his ray-gun, hitting its beam at the rifle.
The momemt the hunter flinched,
the police held him down to the ground,
so he fainted just like a taxi driver.

The hunter was examined at the police station
across from the city hall, SOMA and DAN standing
by during the investigation.

"I do not at all remember anything."

"Don't you?  You shot Mr. FURUDA, the Youth."

"Recollect what you've been doing since morning."

"I'm off today, so was gonna see the movie, but had some time until it started,
so went to the game center downstairs and the bookstore nearby. 
Well, bought a newspaper and a cigarette box,
talking at model shop Yamazaki with the shopkeeper,
who showed me his rifle."

"Where did you get newspaper?"

"Okazaki bookstore."

"Cigarette?"

"Vending machine, Yoshida liquor shop."

FURUDA was in bed at Red Cross Hospital at the foot of Orihime-yama.
When the Youth members assembled in the hospital entrance hall,
FURUDA and SOMA lit cigars to smoke.

"You must not smoke in the hospital,"
YURI said, when they made a lunge with queer voice at her suddenly,
but she stepped aside and KIRIYA and MOROBOSHI subdued two beasts. 
They were transported to the very hospital.

AMABE picked up the cigar butt and looked into it,
when he found some poppy seeds-like inside.

"It's probably due to these matters."

"Where did they get the cigarette?"
However, they could not answer now.

"AMABE senpai, let's visit your uncle."

"He was rather a heavy smoker, " his wife said.

"Do you know where he often got it?"

"Variety, depended on the time, I think."

"Mom, I know where dad got it."

"Really, Yu-chan?   Where did he?"

"Vending machine, Yoshida liquor shop."

"Yoshida liquor shop!   That is it!  Let's go, MOROBOSHI."

It was cloudless on a clear afternoon. 
To the west, Mt Akagi covered with snow could be seen. 
This small town was blessed with nature,
mountains and rivers, famous for the beautiful sunset.

"Sold out!"

"It will be supplied sooner or later, so wait and see."

"It's frightening to mix the matter into cigarette
to make everyone around an enemy."

"The number of smokers has been decreasing,
but a number of people still smoke."

"Now, Yakko-san has just come."
That fellow in black speedily got out the wagon,
and deftly supply the things to the vendor, and hurriedly left the place.

"Chase!"

MOROBOSHI asked KIRIYA to tell the public not to smoke a tobacco
bought at the liquor shop machine.
The sun was going down.
The wagon passed under Tobu-sen Station and up Mt Sengen,
stopping in front of an old apartment house on the hillside.

"I will go, AMABE sen-pai.  Wait here, Please."

"OK.  Should anything happen, call me."

MOROBOSHI entered the wooden two-story house 
and sneaked on the corridor,
both sides of which had three doors on each one.
The radio heard somewhere, but no sign of life.
The end of the hall, there was a staircase upstairs.
ET radar was responding to the second floor.
The momemt he got there, he was pulled into one room.

old apartment house

[[[ Welcome, SEVEN.  We've been waiting. ]]]

"What?"
Alien METRON sat cross-legged on the tatami at the chabudai,
or a low dining table.

[[[ If you don't mind, how about calling AMAGI? ]]]

DAN also sat with his legs crossed across the table.
"We know your plan.  So DO give it up."

[[[ HA-HA-HA-HA.  We"ve done our experiment well enough. ]]]

"Experiment?"

[[[ Yes.  We found the matter effective
enough to make human brains crazy. 
Let me tell you. 
We placed our eyes on humans keeping their own rules
and trusting each other. 
When attacking the Earth,
we don't have to use the violence
but have only to make them lose each other's trust. 
They will begin to regard each other as an enemy
and, in time, will destroy themselves. 
What do you think about that? 
Good idea, isn't it? ]]]

"The Youth cannot let you do that."

[[[ The Youth?  It's only you, SEVEN, that we're afraid of. 
So, we'll have you go home,
because you're a nuisance.  HA-HA-HA-HA. ]]]

The alien with black sunglasses stepped back,
opening the fusuma, or Japanese sliding doors,
which directly linked inside its spacecraft.
MOROBOSHI got into the ship, too.

The mountaintop glowing in the setting sun
slowly split into two  and made a big hole,
from which the spaceship was floating up into the orange sky.

AMABE informed KIRIYA of the situation.

"What?  Spaceship above the mountain?  DAN aboard?"

KIRIYA transformed HAWK 1 into a jet mode.
The jet HAWK 1 flew near to the ship, when it divided itself into two.
HAWK shot one down, in which he put on red glasses.

The Watarase Riverbed, the sun had lost the light and gaind the color again. One, red glasses, and the other, black sunglasses
were standing face to face with a beautiful sunset behind.
Both things crossed each other a few times at the speed
that could not be seen.

Since alien METRON knew that it could not beat SEVEN one on one,
it abruptly flew away from him.
But faster than its speed,
his flash knife cut its body into two, which fell down into the river.

HAWK 1, which had already shot the other ship down,
landed on the riverbed.
Beetle AMABE drove arrived at MOROBOSHI.
HAWK 3 took the other three members there.
The Youth reunited, and the problem was solved.

Watarase-bashi Bridge

AMABE pointed over Watarase-bashi, saying.
"How are  you looking at the sun?  Out of this world?"

"This is the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen,"
YURI sighed.

(That was the most formidable INVADE I'd ever seen. 
It knew about my secret.)

The INVADE has come to such an end.
But this story is what it used to be long, long time ago.  Why?   
Because this town is not so bustling now.

#08 the end

to Jissoji, Akio, my respect
and Ashikaga, my hometown