Chapter 6 – The Shadow's Claim
The television blared in the Nohara living room, chaotic images flashing across the screen.Shinchan seriously saw the TV and felt very disappointed in himself. Ai-chan stood near the door, lifting her shopping bag.
"I'll go to the supermarket before it gets worse."
Shinchan's head popped up immediately. "No way, Ai-chan. I'll go. You stay home with Shinta. Grocery shopping is my… heroic duty!"
Ai-chan tilted her head. "Heroic duty? You just don't want to babysit."
"Exactly!" Shinchan puffed out his chest like a champion. Marching to the door, he announced, "Fear not! Kasukabe will have both shimla mirch and green vegetables—thanks to me!"
Ai-chan sighed, though a smile tugged at her lips. "Just don't come back with chocochips instead of vegetables."
"Eh? Chocochips are vegetables. They grow on trees!" Shinchan declared, vanishing outside in triumph.
The house fell quiet—until Shiro growled. His pups yipped nervously, ears pinned back.
The front door rattled. Then it exploded inward.
Thornfang's vines whipped through the frame, crushing furniture to splinters. Voltazo's sparks shot across the ceiling, plunging the room into flickering shadows. Glacira's breath iced the floor with crackling frost. Jokerbane's laughter echoed as a card burst into fire and splinters. And at the center, Lord Umbra entered, his black cloak spilling across the room like liquid night.
When Misae and Hiroshi saw this, they remembered that they were those monsters who had suddenly appeared in Kasukabe.
Misae was the first to move. She grabbed her frying pan, raising it like a shield. "Get out of my house, you monsters!"
Hiroshi snatched a broom and planted himself beside her. "This is Kasukabe, not your playground!"
Voltazo flicked his hand. A crackling bolt struck Hiroshi, hurling him into the wall. Glacira's icy gust sent Misae crashing to the floor, her pan clattering away.
From the hallway came small footsteps. Ai-chan emerged, holding little Shinta in her arms. The boy rubbed his eyes, his voice soft but serious:"Shhh… my sister's sleeping."
Ai-chan froze when she saw the villains filling her home. Her voice shook. "Who… who are you?"
Lord Umbra's eyes fixed on her, glowing faintly red. His voice rumbled low. "Who are you?"
Ai-chan tightened her hold on Shinta. "I'm Ai-chan. Shinchan's wife."
Umbra's smile curved sharp and dangerous. "Then you… are mine."
"No!" Ai-chan snapped, defiance flashing in her eyes.
He reached for her wrist. Shinta kicked at his cloak, his tiny fists flailing. "Mama! Don't touch Mama!"
Shiro and his pups lunged at Umbra's legs, snarling and biting. Umbra snarled back, shadows whipping outward. Glacira raised her hand, and a frost wave blasted the dogs aside with pained yelps.
Umbra gripped Ai-chan's arm firmly. "Tell Shinchan—if he wants his wife back, he must meet me tomorrow. At the place of our first battle." Shadows wrapped around them, and in an instant, they were gone.
The house lay in ruins. Misae groaned, clutching her shoulder. Hiroshi struggled to rise, coughing. Shinta sobbed into Misae's arms. Shiro whimpered, dragging himself across the floor.
Just then, the door creaked open. Shinchan stepped in, proudly holding two grocery bags. "Mission accomplished! Green vegetables and shimla mirch, secured! What's—" His grin faded as his eyes swept the wreckage: broken walls, scattered cookware, Hiroshi wincing in pain, Misae pale and trembling, Shiro limping.
Misae's voice cracked. "Shinchan… Umbra came. He—he took Ai-chan."
The grocery bags fell from his hands. Tomatoes rolled under the couch. Shinchan dropped to his knees, the shock hollowing his chest. His smile was gone, replaced by a silent fury.
"Why… why is he after you?" Misae whispered.
Shinchan looked down, his voice stripped of any mischief. "Because twenty years ago… I ended him. Back then, we were chosen by five heroes, given powers to defend Kasukabe. We fought, and I delivered the final blow. Umbra swore revenge. The heroes warned us our powers would vanish until the world needed them again. Now… he's back. And this time, he wants to crush me."
Misae's hand gripped his sleeve. "Shinchan…"
But he was already pulling out his phone. His voice was steady. "Kazama. Nene. Bo-chan. Masao. We're meeting tonight. Ai-chan's been kidnapped."
🌌 The Secret Meeting
That night, in a dusty warehouse, the five childhood friends sat around their old round table. Shadows from a swaying bulb cut across their adult faces, now marked by worry and resolve.
Kazama adjusted his glasses, his voice low. "So Umbra has Ai-chan. He's forcing you into a fight."
Nene folded her arms. "He's after you, Shinchan. Why?"
Shinchan leaned forward, eyes unflinching. "Because last time, I struck the final blow. He hasn't forgotten. He doesn't just want to take Kasukabe… he wants to destroy me."
Silence thickened.
Masao slammed his fist against the table. His voice boomed, brave and certain: "Then we fight! Powers or not—we can't let him win!"
Nene's jaw tightened, then she nodded. "If we don't act, Kasukabe falls."
Bo-chan's eyes lowered, his tone quiet but firm. "…And Ai-chan stays gone."
Everyone turned to Shinchan. He rose, his shoulders squared, his gaze burning.
"We don't have powers now," he said, voice steady, stripped of all playfulness. "But we still have each other. Kasukabe isn't just a city—it's our home. And no one takes it from us."
His usual grin was gone. What remained was something harder, sharper.He whispered, "Ai-chan, I will save you. So please wait for me. Tomorrow is ends of this villains."