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Episode 24: "Drums and Lightning"
As Oboro programs away, Mugensai is deep in his own thoughts. "Is the Shurikenger in truth that man?" And then
it occurs to him that this person might be whoever Gozen is. The man in the last episode who spoke to the trio, that he'll
always be there to
play with them, and then took off in his Tenkujin. Mugensai
puffs out his cheeks as he thinks and worries. "He came to give us a boost. He'll push them."
On the Centipede, Furabijo shows Satorakura his score sheet. "Be more careful. You're minus twenty points." In a huff
he tears it from her fingers and scrunches it up. Wendinu gasps.
Furabijo just looks rather stunned. When he tosses it over his shoulder, snickers and heads away, she is on the verge
of tears and turns to Wendinu for comfort. Wendinu obligingly gives her a brief hug. Satorakura giggles to
himself, "What type of ninja should I call, and what type of plan should I use next?" While they commisserate,
Sargain watches Satorakura go away. On the other side, Manmaruba is still busy at his altar, weaving a web of power.
Sargain pleads with Tao Zanto to head an attack and it is approved.
In a grassy clearing there is a man in blue yukata (Ryuichiro Nishioka/Go Red from "GoGoFive"). He twirls drumsticks with a flourish and starts a
strong beat on the large drum in front of him. But then the skies fill with dark clouds. It startles the man and he
pauses to look up. "Hey, what's this? The weather
report called for clear skies," he grumbles. Golden lightning streams strikes the park
and terrified people run off screaming. Terrified people are trapped inside a pavillion. The Hurricanger
arrive at the doors at about the same time as the civilians do, and help facilitate mothers and children escaping. Once
they get those people clear they stop and gaze up at the darkened skies with worried eyes. Kouta comments how strange this
lightning is, and Nanami responds that it's as though the lightning is controlled and, woudln't that be the Goraijer?
The skies clear as she makes that statement. Yousuke frets if the Goraijer could be up to their old tricks.
"Hey you!!" someone snarls. And they turn to find the
Goraijer standing glowering at them, while the people just rescued race off down a path. Isshu snarls, "You blame this
on Ikazuchi Way?!" The Hurricanger didn't mean it. Yousuke and Isshu do a little eye to
eye staredown, but Ikkou arrogantly ignores them and says they might if they were practicing.
Nanami, startled and indignant, says "What kind of practicing is this?!" But then Kouta spots something and shouts,
"Look over there!" pointing up. Atop a nearby building is a Jakanja monster called Unadaiko the Thunder Ninja.
He pounds gleefully on his drums, laughing about the terrified, fleeing people. The Goraijer seem to identify him as
one of Sargain's, and the five race into battle, not noticing the man standing at the top of the stairs behind them.
The drummer is watching all this in quite bewildered surprise.
"The lightning came from that thing," he logically
realizes. Unadaiko is hit by a blast then struck multiple times by speeding blurs.
The Goraijer, who are most annoyed with having someone invade their field. When they challenge him, he pounds on his drums
and hits them with lightning bolts that knock them for a loop. Ikkou clutches at his chest. But while Unadaigo stands there
gloating, the Hurricanger arrive and call his attention to them. They strike him
with their blades and he responds with a backlash of powerful lightning. They all fall down.
The watchers on the Centipede are delighted. Furabijo gleefully marks the scores while Wendinu praises a very delighted
Sargain. He is quite pleased with himself for sending down something that could compete with the Goraijer's lightning.
Unadaiko gets the Hurricanger with his drumlet staff. Ikkou and Isshu race to the rescue.
But when they hurtle towards the distracted enemy, someone in a heavy, brown robe steps between them. They skid to a halt in
surprise. He is Manmaruba, he drops his cloak. They go against him, but he is devastatingly fast. He gets in cruel strikes,
one blow almost crippling Isshu. The Hurricanger are faring no better against Unadaiko, who gets above and rains down
lightning bolts on them. The Goraijer see them fall and intend to go help, but Manmaruba distracts them. With ninja magic
he changes form. He turns into fireball towards them, slighting showing his first form within this attack. Ikkou is hit hard and
rebounds off a freight car. Isshu is left fighting alone, and Manmaruba beats him painfully down. With a snarl of fury,
Ikkou starts up to take revenge when the piercing pain returns. When he hits
the cement he is no longer in armor, and he writhes, rolling in agony. "Brother!" Isshu cries, and scrambles up and to his
side. He helps him into a sitting position asking frantically what's the matter.
Ikkou, drenched in sweat and still unable
to straighten up, stares at Manmaruba, who tells him, "The god of death in your body is getting big."
Manmaruba takes off with his cloak. Ikkou tries to leap to his feet but utters a strangled cry of agony,
fall back on his brother's arms keeping him from bashing his head on the ground.
The commotion has attracted the Hurricanger, who race to them. Nanami cries Ikkou's name, while Yousuke asks frantically
if he's okay. But there is no time to dwell, because Unadaiko tells them he will attack with ninja thunder.
This prompts a snarl of total outrage from Ikkou, who launches himself into battle despite the agony he's in.
As soon as he gets too close, he is hit by lightning shhocks him until it fails and he falls limp.
The others race to him, calling his name frantically. Isshu holds him tight, while the Hurricanger make their fighting stance.
But to Unadaiko's surprise, they drop smoke bombs and vanish away.
But when they land in a clear part of the park, the Goraijer are not with them. They look around in concerned surprise.
Kouta murmurs that something strange is going on with Ikkou. Yousuke remarks it must have to do with Manmaruba and the
god of death. His train of thought is cut off by someone calling them. "Hey!" The drummer runs to them,
leaping over the barrier
of a staircase and approaching them calmly. He scolds them as he approaches. "You guys sure need more practice," he
scolds and makes a few points that they hesitantly murmur responses to, looking rather confused. He continues,
telling them they've got to learn to hold on. Why, he could beat that monster! As he makes a final point, a voice
behind calls happily in English, "Thank you!" Startled, he turns. Shurikenger lands
in front of him and says something to the effect of he'll be using that. He snaps his fingers in front of the
man's face, sparks fly, and the man's eyes close and he stands motionless. "Goodnight, boy," Shurikenger says
softly, and tenderly settles him down on the cement while the Hurricanger watch in confusion. Shurikenger
stands and closes his arms in front of his face. When he parts them, he is the image of the man he's just left
unconscious. The Hurricanger gape in delight. "Okay, I'll take it from here. See you later, boys and girls!"
He trots off and they gape at him.
In a dark cave, Isshu is preparing something in a pot over a fire. Ikkou is elsewhere in the area, pulling his shirt off
of his shoulders. Isshu keeps giving worried glances over his shoulder as he stirs the contents of his pot. Ikkou sits
lotus, shirtless and oh so well-defined muscles. He performs a little ninja magic, focused on the large Rhinocerous
Beetle he holds in his left hand. It glows golden and he puts it in his mouth. The glow travels down his esophogas
and we can see his nervous system and skeleton, the dark mass of his heart. So can he in his mind's eye. But to the
right of his heart, there is another dark mass, smaller... he cranes his neck to see with his body's eyes. "It's...
it's an egg!" He stiffens in horror, eyes wide and frightened. For a moment he looks very young. For memory is strong
of when Manmaruba first struck him, and he knows then the egg was implanted inside him. He remembers Manmaruba saying
that the god of death in his body would get big. Determined, he clenches his lips and puts his jacket back on. Isshu is
nearby and waiting for him with a cup he's made, avoiding Ikkou's eyes as he says, "Big Brother, here's some medicine."
When he utters a worried comment, his brother refuses the cup of medicine saying it won't help. And his next comment puts
Isshu in a panic. Ikkou is being stoic, but also furious. He intends that the two of them will show the Jakanja what the
Goraijer can do.
Sargain paces behind the cloaked Manmaruba, who has told them what he's doing. Wendinu knows now that the egg is inside Kabutoraiger. This seems to gross out Furabijo, but it gets Tao Zanto's proud approval. He can continue with his plan. He bows to his lord. Then we hear Satorakura behind them. "Hello?" Startled, they turn. He has a cellphone to his ear and is speaking happily into it. "Vampirean! Hey, you coming to this star or what?" The exchange becomes giggles then a suprised, "What? You're busy this week?"
Drums beating. Skies filled with dark storm clouds. Lightning skittering. Unadaigo stands on a hill overlooking the city. Lightning grounds on him, adding to his strength, dancing along the small drums that ring his shoulders. He starts drumming happily again, drunk on power, when there comes a distant, echoing shout. He turns in surprise. There is a human running towards his lookout point. "Undaigo-sensei!" the human calls. Bewildered, the Jakanja turns his back and wonders, "A human is seeking me?" Thus he does not see the teleportation as the man in blue yukata arrives. The Jakanja gets disoriented when the man pops from one side of him to another, telling him how wonderful his playing is. Startled and flattered by the praise, the Jakanja doesn't quite keep up with the sudden disappearances and appearances, this time the man appears, kneeling. "Teach me how to play like you," he begs. Unadaigo is thrown and amazed. "Me? Teach a human?"
Thus, when the Hurricanger finally close in, they find the drumbeats they hear are the sound of the man they know to be Shurikenger in disguise, pounding Unadaigo's drums. "That's NO good!" snaps Unadaigo suddenly. He whacks the man a couple of times on the behind to emphasize his displeasure, but his student is determined and waits for correction without complaint. The issue is, it seems, stance, and our man resettles his position to one that gives his blows to the drums greater resonance. Oboro watches all this through her monitors. She is reasonably sure what the Shurikenger is up to, and with her father waits. But now Unadaigo tells his student to wait, to watch and see him call down the lightning. Starting with a rapid beat on the frame of his main drum, he then goes into the deep pounding. Arms folded, his student watches thoughtfully, sharply. Watches the electricity crackle from drumlet to drumlet. Listens as the skies answer the drumming with thunder. And suddenly those eyes blink and sharpen. There is a place on Unadaigo's shoulder, wherein the lightning collects and focuses. He swallows, lips thinning. But Unadaigo has finished and says encouragingly, "Like that, you get it?" Appreciative, his student kneels and applauds with his drumsticks. Then he straightens up, "You taught me a lot. Thank you." With a grin, he snatches a green and gold orb from the folds of his Yukata. "What is that?" asks Unadaigo. And the man grins back at him with friendly mischief. "This?" He turns, tossing it in his hand. "Why, this is the Shuriken Ball. I'm gonna use it on you." He whirls and activates it. Ninja of Ninja. Green Sky Ninja. And in his armor he tells the startled Jakanja that he knows now his weak point. The spot where the lightning charges him, and points at it. That place on Unadaigo's shoulder. And now he attacks, striking for it. But he is not fast enough, and Unadaigo catches his blade and then strikes him full in the chest with lightning, forcing him back and he utters a cry of pain. The Hurricanger have been waiting, but now they leap to help out. Into their armor they change as they race forward.
Ikkou uses water to put out the fire beneath their cooking pot. He looks gravely up at his brother. "Let's go now, Isshu. We'll show the Goraijer's hand." He starts to get up, but doesn't make it as searing pain rips through his guts. Clutching his stomach, he bites his lip and sags back onto the stone he'd been sitting on. Isshu leaps frantically to catch him. The pain is too much, and Ikkou's head falls. Aching for him, Isshu says urgently, "We can't do this alone, big brother. We've got to go the Hayate Way for help!" His pain-weakened brother only shakes his head determinedly, the pain too much to let him speak. "Then I'll go myself. They'll help us, I'll get them to help for you!" as he starts towards the mouth of the cave, Ikkou manages to bite out an agonized "STOP!" and Isshu does. Unable to speak, Ikkou thinks through the pain. This egg... his life... I don't know... but he fights to control the agony, which slowly dies down to a manageable level. He looks at the still-steaming pot of medicine Isshu'd made for him. He can speak at last and looks up. "Five hundred years ago we of Ikazuchi way went into the darkness. Hayate way went into the light." He gets to his feet and joins Isshu, staring out the mouth of the cave at the sky. "I can't just throw all that away." Hoarsely Isshu protests, "Brother...." But Ikkou continues, "Now the darkness and light together fight to protect the Earth." Thinking he's delirious, Isshu grabs his shoulders to shake him. "Big brother!" Maybe he is, for Ikkou's gaze is fevered. Outside, lightning flashes and thunder crashes. Ikkou pats Isshu's shoulder, and then turns and walks out of the cave, head held high.
The four are still fighting Unadaigo, unable to get through his guard. Knowing his weak point, they cannot get to it. He slashes them down, then leaps to a high cliff and laughs. They are quite furious with their failure to stop him, and he is fully charged. The lightning he pounds out strikes down at them, setting the world aflame. This time when they fall the Hurricanger are out of armor, though Shurikenger is still in his, all clutched around the burning pain in their bodies. Breathless with pain, Yousuke looks up at the backlit monster, its eyes glowing red. Undaigo intends to deliver the final blow, but before he can start pounding, another pounding fills the air. Other drums are beating.
Startled by the even, doubled beating, he whirls. The Hurricanger, getting their breath back, turn too. And what they see startles and fills them with admiration. Two huge drums have been set up on the cliff across the way. Black banners flap in the breeze. Two men stand, one with long hair tied back firmly. They wear light tunics, hold drumsticks and beat in a unified rythym filled with special strength and courage. Isshu and Ikkou. As they beat, the drumbs crackle with blue electricity. They stop, and straighten up, eyes burning at Unadaigo. Challenge they issue, for lightning belongs to the Ikazuchi way. And he gladly takes them up on it, pounding his drums. The two beats clash, chosen patterns do not match, as both sides summon power in their drumbeats. "Ikkou!" gasps Nanami. "Isshu!" gasps Kouta. The four are stuck watching the contest, unsure what they should do. But Shurikenger is gleefully proud.
Black clouds roil in the sky above, answering the call of the drums. The Goraijer's blue lightning and Unadaigo's golden strike and negate each other above the valley. The continuing strong beats reach an unconscious man, and call him awake. "That sound!" he says, and gets to his feet. In the midst of the drumming, piercing agony again tears through Ikkou and he doubles over, clutching at his heart. Isshu drops his drumsticks to reach for his fallen brother, and Unadaigo takes advantage of their lull and pounds more fiercely on his own. The other four see and Nanami cries out, "Oh no! Ikkou's condition --" they start to race towards the pair. "Stop, Hurricanger!" Shurikenger says urgently. Unadaigo sees the trio and snarls, "Always getting in the way!" and thus they are the focus of his lightning strike rather than the Goraijer. They fall with cries of pain. Ikkou and Isshu see this, and it only makes them more determined. Ikkou's eyes burn with resolve as he tells his brother to keep pounding. Ikkou tosses his tunic, Isshu frees his right shoulder, and he starts the primary beat, then Ikkou joins in. Startled to find himself outpaced, Unadaigo goes back to this battle. And the Ikazuchi banners wave in the wind. Our young non-combatant has made it to the field and gazes up in amazement. "Fantastic," he whispers, watching the brothers drum from far below. He waxes poetic in admiration of the heart they're putting into this. I'll just bask in admiration of Ikkou's bare, sweaty chest. Unadaigo's drums crackle with electricity. So do the Goraijer's. Bolts from the heavens come dowan and charge their drums with silver-blue light. Detonation. The bolts hurtle out towards Unadaigo, who retaliates with his own. Both sets meet in the air between the two points. But the Goraijer's has more power behind it, and slams through Unadaigo's to hit him and send him flying. He lands below in pain, and the Goraijer change into their armor to take the battle down. Isshu gets in the first hit, flipping their enemy, and Ikkou hits with a lightning-charged Ikazuchi Maru. But a crowd of Magerappa come racing in. The Goraijer turn, but the Hurricanger are there and Yousuke calls the brothers to leave these guys to them. The trio changes into their armor. The Magerappa held off by Hurricanger and Shurikenger, the Goraijer use their Double Gadget to deliver the final blow to Unadaigo. He is destroyed. The other four sing their praises, even the watching civilian who hears Shurikenger say "Fantastic!" in English and snarls indignantly, "That guy!!"
But it's not over, for the copy giant arrives and reassembles Unadaigo in large form. The young man is nearly stomped on and, as it is, falls unconscious. But the five heroes call in their Shinobi Machines to fight. Sempujin and Goraijin face their giant enemy. Goraijin starts the battle, but in the midst of a killing strike, Ikkou is hit by the pain again and loses control of his half of the machine. They are helpless to strike back, while Isshu calls out frantically to his brother, Unadaigo takes the chance to beat them. Ikkou cannot move to take the controls, and thus only Sempujin's Sword Slasher is there to come between Unadaigo's blade and Goraijin. They force him back, and Yousuke looks around. "Are you okay, Ikkou?" he calls frantically. The attack waning, he is answered, "Yeah, I'm all right." But their distraction costs them, for Unadaigo strikes with lightning, hitting both robots hard. But Shurikenger arrives with his Tenkujin and calls to the Goraijer. He sends them a Shinobi medal that appears in Ikkou's receiving bay. Though confused, he takes the medal, reads the symbols and sends it out. The Karakuri Ball is purple, numbered 11, and out of it comes the Kabuto Spear. This one is based on a Horseshoe Crab design. The body is the hilt, the tail is the spear. Oboro is quite stunned to find Shurikenger has ball 11. Mugensai is fretting when he hears his cellphone ring. He goes to answer it. It is a familiar person calling and Mugensai quickly uses this chance to ask about the Shurikenger. But we don't know what or even if there is an answer, for we are back to the fight.
Shurikenger tells them to have at it, and Isshu thanks him for the present. Ikkou happily directs the fight. They slice and dice the enemy, then spear him through. Up into the sky and he blows violently apart. On the Centipede, an angry Furabijo marks him off as one of the dead. All this was ignored by Satorakura, who is getting off the phone with his friend, telling him he'll be waiting.
And on the rocky valley floor, our stray drummer wakes up again. He looks around in surprise to find it is all over, and no signs of the battle anywhere. "Oh, well, so. And he starts off talking to himself about what he'd seen. For he had recognized the Ikazuchi Way symbols, and their legendary control of the lightning. Legends alive in his time. But then a black-clad hand falls on his shoulder and he turns in surprise. There is a being dressed in black, one of Oboro's robots. It lifts its veil to flash his memory away, when a green-clad hand stops it and shoves it away. "Hi!" cheerfully says Shurikenger. The man backpedals away from him, finger pointing accusingly, then leaps forward angrily but Shurikenger snaps his fingers before his eyes and again the man's body stops, he stands eyes closed. "Everything you saw, you forget." He lifts the man a few inches into the air by his belt, then passes him off to the robot with a cheerful, "It's been a pleasure. Bye!" and the confused robot watches him run off.
Ikkou is in bad shape. He falls, clenching a railing for support and ends sitting on stairs. Isshu watches him anxiously as he fights the pain, coiling around it, then looks up. The Hurricanger are approaching at a delighted run. Kouta heads the group. "That was SO great! Ikazuchi Way is fantastic with the drums!" Isshu turns from them to hide his worry, as Nanami also sings their praises, and Ikkou looks somewhat stern as he hides his pain and stares at them. But his face is white. Yousuke sets his hands concernedly on Ikkou's shoulders. "Are you really all right?" he worries. Hiding the pain in an expression of annoyance, Ikkou brushes his hands off. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired, that's all." He manages to straighten to his feet as though he's fine, but Isshu watches him intently. Ikkou manages to issue a scolding for the Hurricanger's early wrong assumption, and Yousuke lowers his head in shame. Absently glaring at them as he moves from their midst, another comment that this time sets Yousuke off, making him grab Ikkou's shoulder. "Damn you, we were worried about those people!!" Ikkou slaps his hand away with a furious glare. "SHUT UP! This is just like the Hayate Way. Well, then the end of the world is near, isn't it?" he snaps and turns away from them. Yousuke loses his temper at that and launches himself after Ikkou. The others barely manage to catch him and haul him back even as his right hand snatches the tall man's shoulder. As they pin Yousuke, Kouta says frantically, "And we're worried about you, too!" Ikkou gets a really funny look on his face, but they don't know it as his back is to them. "I never asked you to." He turns now, in control, and glowers furiously. But Isshu has been listening, watching, allowing the Hurricanger to speak his fears for him. He remembers the conversation in the cave, and begins to accept his brother's costing pride in the Ikazuchi Way. And it hurts. And so Isshu helps him escape their concerned trio. Taking his arms he pulls his brother away, helping him walk without collapsing as the frantic Hurricanger call after them, Yousuke's voice loudest for he has invested a chunk of his heart in the oldest Kasumi brother. They realize that even now they cannot stop the Goraijer. Whatever fate has in store, the pair will meet it on their own terms. And Yousuke hangs his head in confusion and grief for a moment, before lifting his gaze to memorize their courage with his friends.
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