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"Now I understand why the seniors of Team TAC regarded Ultraman as a god." Araki said to himself.
They are almost omnipotent, and more importantly, they are so friendly to humans.
Isn’t this what humans expect from gods?
The ZAT team, which advocates science, cannot have religious beliefs, unless they believe in Gaia.
Araki clapped his hands twice and put them together. Then he turned around and saw Nishida doing the same thing.
The next day, at ZAT headquarters, Captain Asahina excitedly walked into the command room.
"Everyone, put aside what you are doing and come over here. Let me introduce you to our new team member, Higashi Kotaro."
Kotaro followed behind Captain Asahina and greeted everyone.
Except for the vice-captain Araki who had heard about it beforehand, no one else knew that ZAT was recruiting new members.
"Because monsters have appeared again, and there may be more in the future. So the military gave us quotas for expanding ZAT. Kotaro is a brave young man."
"It's you!" Nishida said in surprise, looking at the familiar person.
"Yes, I'm Tokotaro. Thank you for your care yesterday."
"You are so impulsive. I didn't see you later and thought you were in danger. I couldn't find you anywhere."
At that time, Nishida wanted to lead the monster away, but Kotaro also fired a shot. Nishida was not conscious for a while after being injured, and Kotaro was not seen since then.
"It was Ultraman Taro who saved me."
"Tairo? Oh, you mean the new one? Why is he called that?"
Taro (Taro) should mean the eldest son.
That’s not the first Ultraman. There are Jiro, Saburo, and if they are ranked like this, the one coming now should be called Rokuro.
"But his name is Taro, he told me."
"When, when I rescued you?"
Kotaro could only nod.
Captain Asahina looked at Kotaro with a strange look. Those players who had called out Ultraman's name directly in the past... Hehe, that's interesting.
"By the way, Kotaro, you don't have a place to live yet, right?"
"Ah? Yes, that's right."
The only place he had to live was his sleeping bag, which he had thrown on the beach after encountering the monster yesterday, and it was gone when he went to look for it later.
"Although we have dormitories in ZAT, they are for temporary rest during duty and are not suitable for long-term stay. So, come with me and I will arrange a place for you to live."
"Eh? Is this convenient?"
"It's not inconvenient, it's better than finding a messy place. Do you think you can rent a decent house in Tokyo with your salary?"
The salary of the ZAT team is high, but the housing prices in Tokyo are even higher. After paying the rent and living expenses, most of the salary is gone.
“Young man, save more money, it will be useful in the future.”
Captain Asahina took Kotaro to the house of his father's friend.
There is a small Western-style building in downtown Tokyo, surrounded by many Western-style houses, which is considered a wealthy area.
"Captain White Bird is my father's friend, he is like a father to me. But he doesn't have a son as old as me, haha."
"There are two children in the Shiratori family. The older one is a girl named Saori, who is currently studying at university. The younger one is a boy named Kenichi, who just started junior high school this year. He is a very naughty guy."
Kotaro looked up at the two-story house with a small garden. It must be a wealthy family. He had never dealt with such a family before.
Just as I was about to refuse, Asahina rang the doorbell.
"Who is it? Wait a minute, I'll be right there."
The voice that answered the door sounded familiar, and before Kotaro could think about it, the door opened.
"captain?"
"Hey, Kotaro-kun!"
The person who opened the door was the captain of the cruise ship who had taken Kotaro in on his trip around the world.
"Look at the clothes you're wearing, you've joined the ZAT team. Really, I've lost a good crew member." Captain Shiratori joked half-seriously.
"What, do you know each other?" Captain Asahina also thought it was a coincidence, he really didn't know it beforehand.
"Kotaro, I heard that you saved my cruise ship. I was thinking about how to thank you, but I couldn't find you. Do you want to stay here? That's great. It doesn't matter how long you stay."
When Shiratori heard Asahina say that someone wanted to stay with him, he was a little hesitant, not knowing what the other person's character was like. After all, he had a girl who had just come of age at home.
I didn't expect it to be Kotaro, but that's okay.
"I will be going out to sea again soon, and this time it will take about a year. I'll leave the two children at home in your care, Kotaro."
At this point, Kotaro had no reason to refuse.
The boy Kenichi was a little shy at first, but soon became familiar with Kotaro. Because his father often went out to sea, he and his sister were the only ones at home. His sister was a girl, and boys and girls of this age could not play together.
It was rare for an older brother to come home, so Kenichi felt a little curious.
Saori is a very polite girl who often blushes. She is very pretty, not a beauty, but the kind of girl next door who is very attractive.
The house was large enough to accommodate enough guests. Kotaro was not picky and chose one at random. For him, who could sleep well in the wild, any room was fine.
"Brother Kotaro, let me tell you, there's a TV star living next door to our house."
While Kotaro was still tidying up his room, Kenichi couldn't wait to start chatting with him.
"Have you seen Cardcaptor Sakura? Sakura lives next door to my house."
Kotaro has never seen Cardcaptor. He has been at sea for the past few years, and it sounds like a show for children.
This is a wealthy area, where the upper class, such as ship captains and university professors, live. It is not surprising that there are TV stars here. Having said that, because Kenichi said so, Kotaro still looked in the direction pointed by the window.
This glance made Kotaro see someone he didn't expect.
Hey, it’s that girl… No, it’s Gaia!
She was the one who gave him the badge before, so why is she here?
Could she be a TV star? TV star Gaia, haha, Kotaro was amused by his own thoughts, how could it be possible.
Kinomotoke
In early winter, Xiaoying's father, Tenglong, swept the fallen leaves in the small garden in front of the door. The yellow leaves piled up. Although they looked few, they formed a small hill. He lit the pile of dead leaves with a match, and the smoke rose.
“Can you really eat food if you bury it in the dirt?”
Sakura was a little unsure. Ling had buried some sweet potatoes in the dirt before, right under the burning pile of dead leaves. But isn't the dirt very dirty?
"Haven't you ever had it before, Sakura? Roasted sweet potatoes are delicious."
Having said that, Ling had never eaten sweet potatoes roasted like this before, she had only heard of it. The sweet potatoes were brought from the Oshima Manor, and she also brought some chestnuts picked from the forest of the manor.
Chestnuts can be boiled, or they can be roasted directly.
"When the fire is smaller, you can throw chestnuts into the fire," Tenglong said, "but you need to stand farther away when roasting them, because chestnuts will make crackling sounds like firecrackers."
"Like a firecracker? Really?"
Sure enough, after a while, crackling sounds came from the fire, just like the New Year. Tenglong carefully used tongs to place the crackling chestnuts on the edge of the fire, letting the residual heat slowly roast them.
Everyone was looking at the fire, but Tomoyo noticed that Reiya's eyes were not there.
"what happened?"
"Nothing, I saw someone unexpected."
Ling looked over at the gaze she had sensed just now, and to her surprise it was Kotaro, who was on the next floor.
Seeing this, Sakura thought that Rei was curious about the neighbor next door.
"That's the White Bird's house. It's the captain uncle who lives there, with a boy who's a little older than us. And his sister, who's already in college."
Although Xiaoying's family and the family next door don't often visit each other, they are not strangers. They will say hello when they meet outside.
Kotaro unexpectedly met Gaia, but he had no intention of going to meet her. To be honest, he was a little dissatisfied with the Ultra Warrior who gave him Taro's Transformer and helped him in the last battle.
This is certainly not hostility. How should I put it? I just feel that I am always under the other party's control.
He appeared mysteriously and disappeared mysteriously. Even in battle, he kept saying some "amazing" things.
And he was like a puppet.
If it was his mother, it would be fine, he was used to listening to his mother, but that was Gaia, they had never even met before.
However, even though Kotaro didn't want to see the other person, the doorbell of Shiratori's house still rang.
"Oh, it's the Kinomoto family. You are so polite."
Upstairs, Kotaro vaguely heard Captain Shiratori's voice.
"Kenichi, Saori, Kotaro, all of you come down."
After hearing the captain's shout, Kotaro had no choice but to go downstairs reluctantly.
"This is the kid from the Kinomoto family next door, and her friend, who brought roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts."
"Because we grilled a lot, we wanted to invite everyone to eat together." Sakura said.
Polite children are always welcome.
Saori not only welcomed him, but her eyes also sparkled.
"Sakura, Tomoyo, and Freya! They're all here!"
Kotaro didn't know what Saori was talking about, but Kenichi knew. Really, it was the Cardcaptors, and they were all together.
In the TV show, Freya clearly went back to Northern Europe in the end. Of course, Kenichi knew that was just a plot. But seeing the three of them together again at this time always made him feel moved in a different way.
So, Gaia is really a TV star?
Kotaro felt a little confused.
What made him even more confused was what Lingya conveyed to him through his thoughts.
[Mother of Ultra asked me to train you to become a qualified Ultra Warrior. Come to me if you are ready.]
train?