January 12, 2003.
China.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
"...Due to a major typhoon, the flight from Taiwan to Tokyo has been temporarily canceled. We sincerely apologize. Please rest in the terminal and wait for notification. If you have any requirements, please contact the service desk staff. Thank you. …”
After hearing the announcement on the radio, Ryusuke Higashino had no choice but to return to the hall.
This typhoon came so suddenly that even the meteorological department could not predict it before today.
The center point of the typhoon is approximately Yonaguni Island, and its affected areas include Okinawa to Kyoto, Japan, and the vicinity of Taiwan.
Fortunately, the typhoon was approaching the Japanese archipelago, and it just rained heavily here in Taiwan.
But Ryusuke Higashino knew that this was not just a typhoon. He cast his gaze into the deep night through the glass window of the terminal. The hairs on his body stood up unconsciously, and the precognitive ability of the spirit stone was constantly stimulated. Just remind him that there is danger.
He could clearly sense the center of the typhoon thousands of kilometers away, and there was something so powerful that he couldn't help but feel scared.
The power of darkness is about to awaken...
…
A few days later.
The sudden typhoon suddenly subsided, and flights finally took off normally.
It's another evening at New Tokyo International Airport.
Ryusuke Higashino walked out of the airport with his luggage on his back, and returned here again after two years.
Every step forward was steady, and he was ready for his final story in this world.
However, as soon as he walked out of the airport, Ryusuke Higashino heard a girl crying.
Following the sound, I saw that it was a little girl about ten years old, standing on the roadside crying helplessly, covering her eyes with her hands because of fear.
"Are you lost with your parents?" Dongye paused, then turned and walked towards the girl.
Situations like this are common in airports, and he has encountered many of them in the past two years of traveling with Godai Yusuke. He could almost tell at a glance why the girl was crying.
But before he could get closer, a family also stopped in front of the little girl. They were a pair of parents with a boy who looked to be fifteen years old.
The boy took out a few white juggling balls from his mother's bag and said seriously to the crying girl in front of him: "Don't cry. A big brother once said that people who can still smile in difficult times are It's amazing. I've been separated from my parents before, but that's nothing..."
When he saw those white juggling balls, Higashino Ryusuke couldn't help but smile, because he recognized that those balls were clearly the ones commonly used by Fifth Generation.
And every time he used his acrobatics to make others smile during his travels, Godai gave those juggling balls to others. From this point of view, this little boy was also the person whom the fifth generation had helped.
The boy's persuasion stabilized the little girl's mood a lot, but he failed when he tried to imitate Godai's ball-throwing acrobatics.
At this time, Ryusuke had already walked to the boy's side. After nodding to the boy's parents, he lowered his head and looked at the boy and chuckled: "Let me try, okay?"
He took the juggling balls from the boys and performed acrobatic tossing in front of them.
He learned this from Godai during his travels. Today, he happened to be able to perform with the props that Godai had used. It must be a kind of fate.
The white ball was thrown up, and when it fell, another ball had already taken its place, so the three balls took turns to take off in an orderly manner.
Ryusuke Higashino's performance won the boy's cheers, his parents also applauded, and the little girl was finally no longer afraid to smile.
Soon after, the little girl’s parents, led by the airport patrol, came over.
The little boy still looked at him with admiration and gave him a thumbs up: "How awesome. You are as awesome as the big brother I met before!"
"Maybe I also know your big brother. Goodbye." After returning the juggling ball to the little boy and saying goodbye to his parents, Higashino Ryusuke carried his luggage and set off again.
Next, where should we go first?
…
A few hours later.
It was almost nine o'clock in the evening when we arrived at Bunkyo District. After walking such a long way, even Higashino Ryusuke's forehead was sweating slightly.
At this time, he missed his motorcycle very much. It was much more convenient than walking. But before he left, he left him with his father.
Although I thought about taking a taxi on the way, the taxi fee is not cheap, and if a Kamen Rider takes a taxi, is it still a "knight"?
Well, in fact, I am too poor to afford it.
Turn left at the Otsuka-1-chome intersection, and you will see several universities on the corner. Seongnan University is also there, but Sakurako may not be there at this late hour, so we'll talk about visiting her tomorrow.
Continuing towards the residential area, we reach the neighborhood where polepole is located.
The familiar sights along the way gradually evoked a nostalgic feeling in his heart.
When Ryusuke Higashino took a break and was about to continue moving, a picture suddenly flashed through his mind - a simple boy in uniform passed by a big tree in the school playground, and a strange man wearing a long red scarf who looked like a leopard suddenly appeared from behind the tree. After making strange gestures with his hands, he launched an attack on the boy.
His Holiness? !
Has the story of Yajida begun...
But I didn't expect that by such a coincidence, I would encounter a murder incident as soon as I arrived.
Higashino Ryusuke did not hesitate and quickly turned around and ran in that direction.
Bunkyo Ward Oba Junior High School.
Since it happened to be in Bunkyo District, the distance was not far. Even if he was just jogging, it only took Higashino Ryusuke less than five minutes to get to the scene.
But the middle school student had already lost his life. His neck was broken and buried in the trunk of the big tree. Only one arm hung from the branch.
There was still not enough time. The killing process of Lord Leopard probably only took less than a minute. In such a short time, there was nothing he could do.
It's just that it's really annoying to encounter something like this when I first came here. Higashino Ryusuke suppressed his anger and stopped the yellow-skinned leopard before he left.
"Stop! Do you want to leave after killing someone?"
The sudden situation made Lord Leopard freeze on the spot, looking at the person who suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Aren't you Yajituo?"
"It doesn't matter whether you are Yagituo or not, but you will definitely not survive today." Ryusuke put down his luggage on the roadside and said coldly. When he stood up, Yaguru's belt instantly condensed around his waist.
"Transform!"
"Keng——"
The Yamadam spiritual stone bloomed with red brilliance, transforming his body into a white newborn emptiness.
"Are you empty of me?!"
In surprise, Lord Leopard had stopped thinking of underestimating the enemy, and then he rushed over first and kicked Higashino Ryusuke with a sharp kick.
He is a smart guy. His strong foot strength is the advantage of this Yellow Leopard Venerable. He can maximize this advantage by using distance.
But for Higashino Ryusuke, the Leopard Master's ability is very similar to that of the former No. 5 Gurungi Leopard Girl, and such unreserved attacks are also full of flaws.
The moment Lord Leopard rushed forward, Dongye quickly turned around and raised one arm to catch the kick from the side. Then he clenched his other fist and punched Lord Leopard in the waist and abdomen, before the energy could spread. Kai hit the same spot with another punch, and a huge dent suddenly spread on Lord Leopard's weird yellow skin.
When he was about to swing his fist for the third time, Lord Leopard finally pulled away, staggering back while avoiding Ryusuke's attack range.
"Kuuga, why do you have such a level of power?" Lord Leopard covered the painful part and looked at the white figure in front of him in shock and anger. In his impression, the white color was only Kuuga's weakest posture.
After realizing that he seemed to be no match, he immediately turned around and wanted to leave, but the injuries from the violent attack had obviously affected his speed.
"Want to run?"
Higashino Ryusuke moved his steps and lowered his weight, his eyes locked on Lord Leopard who wanted to take the opportunity to escape. Heat surged from the belt, using the sealed energy for the first time in a long time.
With his eyes fixed, he suddenly stepped forward and jumped up. After a sprint, he jumped up with his feet together on the ground.
"Scared!"
Transferring power from his shoulders, waist and hips, Higashino Ryusuke turned over in the air and used a somersault knight kick again. The toes of his right leg were covered with a layer of substance-like flames and he kicked the Leopard Master violently.
"boom!"
"Uh-huh!"
Lord Leopard hit the fence of the playground like a comet landing. He struggled to get up in pain. He looked at the floating and burning marks on his body. A white light ball lit up above his head. Before he could get scared, he exploded with a bang.
"Huh——" Ryusuke Higashino followed and fell back to the ground smoothly, and the smoke rising under his feet was blown away by the airflow from the explosion.
"Hey, what's going on? Who's over there?" There was a shout not far away. It was a passing patrolman who heard the explosion and came here.
Ryusuke Higashino glanced at the direction where the sound came from, and with enhanced vision, he saw an old patrolman riding a bicycle swaying forward, and the light of the flashlight in his hand also swayed.
He immediately turned around to get his luggage, and when the flashlight's light reached him, he quickly jumped onto a nearby roof and left.
The old patrolman caught a glimpse of the suspicious figure at the last moment by the light of his flashlight, and was immediately startled by its inhuman appearance.
"Wait, that was...Number 1 just now!"
…
Ten minutes later.
Ryusuke Higashino finally came to the door with "ポレ, ポレ" written on it. The store was still located there as it was two years ago, but a recruitment advertisement was hung on the door.
[Polepole, which has an oriental flavor, is specifically recruiting a waiter. Anyone who is interested...]
"The boss is hiring again." Ryusuke Higashino smoothed the folded corners of the advertisement, and then walked towards the door of the store. Although there was a "Closed Today" sign, the door was open. of.
With the swaying of the wind chimes, the aroma of Oriental-style curry suddenly hit your nostrils.
"Sorry, we will be closing soon." The middle-aged man on the counter was cleaning the coffee pot. When he raised his head, he was immediately stunned.
"Hey, Ryusuke!"
Higashino Ryusuke smiled and waved: "Doumo, long time no see, boss. Are we still hiring here?"
