"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"
With three shots raised and fired, three plumes of smoke appeared on the ground around the girl.
"You have ten seconds to get the hell back." His voice turned gloomy, seemingly laden with rage, as though something even darker would burst forth from it the very next second.
"I'm starting the countdown."
"10."
"No! Y-you, if you've got the guts, then just kill me!"
Perhaps it was her genuine love and support for Yell, perhaps she was simply fearless in her ignorance, but in any case, although her legs had trembled and cold sweat had streamed down her back at the sound of gunfire, she remained where she was. She even trembled her way forward, step by step, toward Time Fire and Cure Yell.
"Stop." The man's voice sank even lower.
"This is an order!"
"I won't!!!"
How could she? How could she let this unreasonable person look down on her in front of Yell?
Drawing courage from her own actions, her steps stopped trembling. Her cautious advance quickly became a desperate sprint.
In the end, she stood between Time Fire and Nono Hana, spreading her arms at Ash.
"If you want to hurt Yell, you'll have to get past me first!!!"
What answered her resolve was the icy barrel of Time Fire's gun pressed against her forehead.
"Then~ is it fine if I kill you?"
"D-do whatever you want!!!!!"
Though her legs shook with fear, the girl did not retreat. She closed her eyes and shouted as if she were ready to die.
"..."
Everyone fell silent. The people hiding inside the buildings wore ashamed expressions as they stared unblinkingly at the girl confronting Time Fire.
Time Fire looked down at her. No one knew what expression lay beneath his mask, while Nono Hana struggled to raise her head, disbelief filling her eyes.
"You..."
"Yell, before, before this, you were always the one protecting us. Now, now I'll protect you!!"
It was as if time itself had stopped at that moment.
Clap, clap, clap—
The girl waiting for death did not meet it.
Applause rang out through the silent city.
It was Time Fire applauding.
"95 points."
Your courage deserved that score.
"Y-you, what is this..." This time, it was the girl who could not make sense of things.
"As you can see, I'm applauding you."
He turned and walked toward where the Doomsday Monster had died, picking up the piece of "wreckage" from the ground.
"Looks like I need to revise my opinion of you people. Not everyone is a bastard who only knows how to run. At least, you aren't."
"You should be grateful to her, Yell. You got to keep your life."
After tossing the compressed Doomsday Monster into a special oval storage container, Ash raised the controller on his wrist to the silver lips on his mask.
"V-REX, time to go."
"ROAR!!!!"
A roar that shook the sky rang out, and the people whose nerves had only just begun to relax tensed up once more.
Involuntarily, everyone looked toward the source of the sound.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the city. The earth itself seemed to tremble as a gigantic steel body blocked out the sun, casting an enormous shadow over everyone.
The girl who had shown such courage before Time Fire moments ago suddenly went weak at the knees and collapsed to the ground. Her lips parted slightly, but she could not make a sound.
Crimson stripes added a splash of color to the steel fortress. Carrying a massive cannon on its back, the steel dinosaur charged through the city streets.
This was not something that should exist in this era. A steel behemoth like this could never appear in this age. It was something completely beyond everyone's imagination.
The being named V-REX was the "bonus gift" Ash had received along with Time Fire.
Ash charged up and leaped, landing atop the dragon's head dozens of meters above the ground.
"Today's story was fairly satisfying, but—"
"Think things over carefully when you get back, Yell. You really do have an excellent 'fan club.' I just wonder how much longer the current you can protect them."
"And then."
Ash, crouching on the dinosaur's forehead, could not help shaking his head.
"If you want to fight me, wait until you've recovered from your injuries first."
Taking a step forward, V-REX ran into a light gate that had appeared in the distance at some unknown point, under everyone's stunned gazes.
It entered the gate as though by magic, and then that figure could no longer be seen.
Everyone was still immersed in the shock brought by the giant beast. Only after a long while did the girl kneeling on the ground recover her senses.
"Yell..."
She remembered Yell, who was still lying on the ground, and instinctively turned around.
Behind her, there was nothing left.
Extra Case File 6: An Improper Doctor and an Improper Patient
The newly appeared mysterious warrior calling himself Time Fire had set the entire Nursery City internet ablaze.
No one knew which brave soul had uploaded footage of Time Fire's battle, but the three-minute video had, by the next day, successfully knocked renowned pianist Aisaki Emiru's new performance—which had dominated the charts for two months—out of first place on the trending list.
Besides that, second, third, fourth, and fifth place went respectively to videos titled "Time Fire Attacks Yell and the Surrounding Onlookers," "Time Fire Confronts a Female Middle School Student," "Time Fire Humiliates Yell and the Crowd," and the video of him summoning V-REX before disappearing into a gate of light.
One person occupied the entire top five, an unprecedented achievement. This sparked heated debate and countless differing opinions not only across Nursery City, but throughout the entire internet.
Under the first four videos, most people were furious over Time Fire's contempt toward Yell and the public, as well as his attacks on others. They praised the girl who had stepped forward, and occasionally someone would share their own experience, ashamed that they had been present but lacked the courage to stand up.
These comments made up the overwhelming majority. The tiny handful of posts saying Time Fire was cool and manly were either cursed into oblivion before being slaughtered by Yell's online support group, or quickly drowned out by mainstream opinion.
As for the fifth video, the comments generally expressed fear of the giant mechanical dinosaur and concern over whether Yell could defeat it.
Of course, neither of the two people involved had any mood to surf the internet.
They both had other, more important things to do.
"Mm, this should do."
Looking at the sign hanging over the clinic, Ash put on a white coat bearing the words Seito Hospital, hung a gifted stethoscope around his neck, and walked into his newly opened shop looking the part of a doctor.
While one person was pleased, another was worried. The other person was nowhere near as relaxed as he was.
"Dad, Kotori, I'm really fine. Let me through already. I'm going to be late for work." Looking at her younger sister and parents, who stood sternly blocking her doorway, Nono Hana rubbed her dark circles. After confirming that she was not hallucinating from exhaustion, she clasped her hands together and pleaded with the three people before her.
"No!!" Nono Kotori, who also had a pair of panda eyes, spoke first. She had replayed the middle school girl's heroic act of standing before Yell all night. Just thinking about it had kept her too excited to sleep, especially after recognizing that the girl was a junior from her former school. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was Time Fire applauding.
But it was precisely because of that that she noticed what had happened last night, leading to the scene at the Nono family entrance today.
"Hana, tell me honestly. How is your body really doing right now?" Nono Moritaro crossed his arms. His eldest daughter's attempt to play dumb was completely useless in front of him.
"Huh? I'm not really dealing with anything?"
"Then why did Kotori hear you saying it hurt all night last night?"
"Uh, well... how should I put this?" Nono Hana's gaze awkwardly drifted elsewhere as her fingers unconsciously scratched at her hair.
"I had a nightmare last night..."
She was not exactly lying. She really had had a nightmare yesterday, one about flames, dinosaurs, and demons.
"You're lying, Sis. I also heard the lights turn on and someone going downstairs. Don't tell me you're already a working adult and still sleepwalking?" With displeasure written all over her face, Nono Kotori exposed Nono Hana's utterly clumsy lie.
"Ah, well..."
"Hana, tell us. What exactly happened to you?"
"This..."
Nono Hana lowered her head and remained silent. Not only could she not tell her family the truth, but the pain in her waist also forced her to devote considerable effort to suppressing it.
It seemed she had been hit in the waist by that punch from the Doomsday Monster yesterday, along with the consequences of crashing through several buildings. Even now, her side and stomach hurt. The same had happened last night. After waking from the nightmare, she had tossed and turned without being able to sleep. She had even used up all her painkillers and sleeping pills, yet she still could not sleep until dawn.
So sleepy...
"If you won't tell us, then don't even think about leaving the house today, Sis. I'm ready to take the day off and stay here with you all day—hey, Sis!"
"Huh?!" Her sister's shout woke Nono Hana from her drowsy state. A cold, hard sensation came from the right side of her body. Turning her head, she realized she had already slumped against the wall.
"Hana, you should go have a doctor take a look. Everyone is worried about you when you look like this." Nono Sumire helped Hana's limp body upright, looking worriedly at her daughter's pale, extremely weak face.
"I..."
"If you're worried about money, Mom will give you some. You should still go to the hospital and get checked properly." A thick bundle was stuffed into Nono Hana's hand. Looking down, she saw a thick stack of cash in an envelope, at least two hundred thousand by her estimate.
Warmth welled up in Nono Hana's heart.
"...Okay, Mom."
Without refusing, Nono Hana nodded and tucked the money into her pocket.
"We'll go with you."
"No, I'll go by myself." Shaking her head to refuse her family's kindness, Nono Hana threw on her coat and hurried out the door.
Naturally, she would not go to a hospital for an examination. She knew just how bad her condition was. The free full-body examination arranged by the hospital would expose everything she had hidden for so many years.
When that happened...
No. She could not think about it anymore. Nono Hana, you cannot take any more shocks.
Shaking her head, Nono Hana gritted her teeth and headed in the opposite direction from the hospital. She needed to find a small clinic, preferably one with incomplete equipment and no free full-body examinations. It would be even better if the doctor were not very responsible. That way, the doctor would not keep fussing over things and would simply write her a certificate. She could use that certificate to buy painkillers at the hospital, and then she could hold on for quite a while longer. Cure Yell could return to action normally as well.
For all these years, she had always gotten by like this. She did not think this time would be any different.
The only troublesome part was that she had to switch to a new clinic every two or three visits. After all, if they saw her condition getting worse and worse, even a lazy, unethical clinic doctor would directly call the hospital.
This was one of the rare times when she hoped doctors would not be so responsible.
A new private clinic... There shouldn't be one around here, right? Could she really find one?
Nono Hana wandered around Nursery City as the pain in her waist grew more severe. Cold sweat seeped from her forehead, and her sickly face grew hotter and hotter.
Every step she took required several times more energy than before, yet her legs still staggered forward. A clammy sweat had already covered her entire face.
If she could not find one soon, she would probably collapse right there on the ground. A kind passerby would call an ambulance, she would be taken to the hospital, and the secret she had concealed for years would vanish into thin air.
"A clinic, a clinic... There!" She inspected the shop signs one by one, until the iconic white clinic symbol lifted Nono Hana's spirits.
It definitely hadn't been here yesterday... Eh! Whatever!
This was a clinic, and one she had never visited before!
TOMORROW RESEARCH. That was the clinic's name.
Without thinking too much, Nono Hana tightly clutched her waist and slowly walked inside.
It had to be a newly opened clinic. Still, rather than a clinic, it looked more like a small hospital.
Looking at the various medical instruments inside—advanced-looking equipment that could only be found in hospitals, and that even Nursery City Hospital did not seem to have—Nono Hana felt that something was very wrong.
"I hope there won't be any unnecessary examinations."
Praying like that, she walked toward the ticket machine. It looked like she was the first patient of the day. Holding a ticket marked with the number 1, she slowly entered the examination room with a lucky expression on her face.
Before you continue