Chapter Nine: Da Gu's Resolute Heart

Without bothering about Daigu, who wandered back in a daze, Xie Jing finally strolled out, comforted Asuka who had been waiting nearby, wrapped his arm around her slender waist once more, and went off to watch a movie.

Daigu didn’t head to the operations room; instead, he returned to his own quarters.

It was as though nothing had happened. Besides Daigu occasionally losing himself in thought when he saw Xie Jing, the other team members simply carried on with their duties.

Humans are peculiar creatures. If only one Ultraman appeared in this world, the human host would undoubtedly draw unprecedented attention. But once there were two, or even when it became known that Ultra Warriors from the ancient past roamed everywhere, people seemed to care far less.

Xie Jing left, dragging Asuka along with him.

While everyone else was busy with TPC’s restructuring, Xie Jing had already asked Captain Juno for leave, and together with Asuka, the two of them simply slipped away from the base. They took a car and began to wander aimlessly around Japan.

For someone who barely did his job and loved to use the big screen in the operations room to watch movies, Juno could only throw up her hands. If he wanted to go out, she wholeheartedly agreed—as long as he could be reached at any time, there was no issue.

As for whether anyone feared Xie Jing might stir up trouble in Japan, TPC had never really considered it. After all, if he wanted to cause trouble, there would be no stopping him anyway.

Asuka had been dragged out of the research institute by Xie Jing. She was a renowned materials scientist, hard at work at the time when Xie Jing barged into her laboratory, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her off.

TPC was powerless to intervene, but fortunately, the research project wasn’t entirely dependent on her, so they simply let her go.

Japan, though small in territory, is the most prosperous country in Asia, boasting many delightful sights. The locals’ strong sense of preservation means that many areas retain their natural beauty.

It didn’t take them long by car to arrive in the Nagoya region.

Both were Japanese, but the original owner of Xie Jing’s body had been so passionate about science and research from a young age that even his childhood sweetheart had been left behind, let alone taking time to explore his own country.

As for Asuka, she had kept pace with his studies, working equally hard. Because the original owner wasn’t interested in going out and she lacked friends, she never had a chance to travel either.

So, eschewing any tour groups, they simply drove wherever the mood took them, stopping to take photos whenever they found a beautiful scene.

At Atsuta Shrine, a place of great significance in Japan and legendary home to the Kusanagi Sword—one of the three imperial treasures—Xie Jing was curious to see these famed artifacts. However, in Japan, only successive emperors are allowed to pay their respects to such relics.

Not that Xie Jing cared to worship these so-called treasures; he was simply curious.

Inside the shrine, monks could be seen moving about in solitude, and many tourists chatted quietly. Xie Jing noticed quite a few visitors from China, politely queuing and snapping photos of every scenic spot.

Evidently, those unruly tourists were a rare minority after all.

Xie Jing had little interest in making small talk. Pulled along by Asuka, he knelt before several oddly shaped statues—representations of local deities worshipped in Japan, such as Amaterasu.

Asuka pressed her palms together and prayed quietly. Xie Jing, however, looked at the statues with a provocative expression. Given the form he assumed when transformed, he too would have been counted as a god in ancient times.

After a while, Asuka opened her eyes to find Xie Jing staring unblinkingly at her.

“What wish did you make?” he asked.

“I’m not telling you!” Asuka replied, slowly rising. As she turned, her fragrant hair brushed across Xie Jing’s face, and his heart gave a sudden jolt, a shiver rushing through him.

He reached out and caught her fair hand in his palm, suppressing the echo of “beast—beast—” that resounded in his mind, and gently kissed her lips.

Their touch was brief. Xie Jing, thick-skinned, was unfazed, but Asuka’s face flushed crimson, almost steaming.

She darted a glance around. Many elderly onlookers smiled at them, and unable to contain her shyness, she spun around and buried her face in Xie Jing’s chest.

“Hurry, let’s go—you’re blocking me…” Her voice was flustered.

Laughing, Xie Jing paid no mind to the angry monk hurrying over and called out loudly, “Oh! Yoshi yoshi, sumida!” Then he quickened his pace.

…

In stark contrast to Xie Jing’s leisurely outing, things at TPC were utterly hectic. All leaves had been canceled because a monster was discovered on Kurayoshi Island in western Japan.

This was the beginning of the second episode of Tiga: at a quarry, workers and TPC investigators were being turned to stone by a monster.

But unlike the original storyline, with Golza, Melba, and two giants having appeared, the Falcon of the Victory Team had already been upgraded for combat, so there was no need for them to fly off in a plane armed only with signal flares.

Back at the base, Daigu and Yano reopened the time machine. Yuli appeared; as always, Yano could only hear static in the last sentence, while Daigu heard clearly the phrase, “Daigu, become light.”

Sending Yano away, Daigu looked at Yuli’s manifesting figure and asked in confusion, “You said there’s only one way to awaken the giant—by me becoming light! But why can Fujii Yuta become a giant too?!”

“Because you are… zzz… Tiga Ultraman...” Yuli’s image flickered, her voice growing increasingly indistinct.

“Insufficient analysis… time-space… error…”

Daigu stared dumbly at Yuli, pulled out the Spark Lens, and threw it to the ground.

“This thing! I don’t want it!”

“Daigu… zzz… you carry the gene of light… zzz… you are a hero…”

“Gene?” Daigu gave a hollow laugh. “That’s just what the writers came up with, right? We’re nothing but a TV show, after all. Gene, setting—just part of my character! Who exactly is Fujii Yuta? Why can he see my whole life in his dreams?!”

“Zzz… insufficient analysis…” Yuli still couldn’t answer him.

Taking a long breath, Daigu silently picked up the Spark Lens, gazed at the now blurred image of Yuli, and said,

“But this world is so vivid, so real. I am Daigu, not an actor. I am Daigu of the Victory Team! If I am to become Tiga Ultraman…”

He returned the Spark Lens to his pocket.

“Then I will do my best!”

His gaze grew resolute.

“Even if, to others, this is only a television show, it is still the world I live in! I will never let monsters destroy it!”

The light within Daigu’s heart grew brighter. No longer despondent, confidence returned to his face.

Beep beep beep!

Captain Juno’s voice came over the communicator: “All units assemble, a monster has appeared! All units assemble, a monster has appeared!”