InaDan: Flower of Courage

Let's Walk Together

Afternoon came by sooner than expected. They were put into groups by the adults to either gather sticks for a fire, drawing water to cook and drink, catch fish from the lake, or gather fruits from the trees.

Tenma and Shinsuke didn't have to wait long before they got a bite, but their problem started when the fish began pulling back. Ikaros Force and Ikaros Zero flew in, grabbing on to the stick and helping them reel it in.

The two watched in awe as the LBXs flew to their owners' sides, who were also holding soccer balls each. Ban grinned. "Good thing we came when we did."

The two could only smile. "Yeah!"

Meanwhile, not too far away, Eva watched warily as Kimiko pulled out a blaster out of her boot. The latter gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Saru trained me for weeks. And I won't be using bullets this time."

Eva blinked at the claws she put on. "A grapple?"

"Yup! I have all kinds of different tools that I could install into this. Could you please move that bucket over to my right?" She did. "Thanks. Now, you might want to stand back."

Eva witnessed in awe as she reeled in multiple fish at a time. It didn't take long for the small bucket to be full of fish. "I think that's enough for everyone." She then blinked. "Or actually, hang on. I think we should release the smaller ones back into the water."

Kimiko looked down and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. They wouldn't make much of a meal anyway. I'll go get another-"

"Here." Before she could go anywhere, Tsurugi appeared, holding out another bucket to her. There was an even larger can cradled in his other arm. He must've poured the water from the bucket into it already. "You need it more than I do, and I owed you for earlier."

Her eyes lit up. As always, you're so attentive and kind... "Thanks! You don't owe me anything, though." He gave her a shrug before leaving. She and Eva quickly separated the fishes before heading back to the campsite.

~~~~~

"And well..." Kimiko made a rather exasperated face. "I flew off the bike and landed inside the box."

"That must've hurt..." Aoi grimaced.

Akane nodded. "It's a good thing nothing was broken."

"The professor sure could do with better timing, though." She sighed before turning to the other blonde next to her. "What about you, Eva? What were you doing before he dragged you into the box?"

"Oh, I was..." Her eyes darted to the alternate timeline versions of her friends. "We were heading out to the arcade to play. Takuya-san gave us the day off because we've been helping a bit too much with the clean-up after the latest incident." Then she her face fell. "Although, I think they might've cancelled it when I disappeared."

Kimiko blinked before realizing the same thing. "Shoot, I forgot. Fei's probably going nuts. Hope he won't make too big a deal about it, much-less tell Masato-nii... or Shuuya-nii..."

Tsurugi turned to her. "Shuuya? As in-"

"Gouenji Shuuya, yeah. He's my foster cousin." She ignored the surprised looks the soccer children gave her, mainly because she's gone through this before and would prefer not to again.

"Which is why I had taken the liberty to let them all know where you've gone!" A familiar laugh interrupted their conversation. The space-time professor appeared, smiling wide. "This is for Kimiko." He handed her a letter. "And Eva, can you hold out your um... phone, please?" He held up a strange device.

"You mean my CCM? Sure." She took it out and almost immediately, it beeped. A video message? She'll have to check it later.

"Thanks, professor!" Kimiko smiled, already opening hers. It was a single piece of paper with multiple hand writings scribbled on it.