"Ah crap!"
Yuzhou landed hard on his bed, spat out of the spatial vortex. He smacked his forehead as realization struck.
I forgot to tell Daichi something.
In the original story, X didn't stay gone for long. He returned to Daichi, only to head out on a mission into space to investigate… something—an alien? A monster? Yuzhou couldn't recall clearly. Either way, X fell into a trap, got sucked into a wormhole, and later turned up in the Ultraman Orb movie as a crystal statue.
Yuzhou exhaled. "Eh, whatever. Orb handled it fine in the end. No tragedy there."
He reached for his charging phone and checked the time. Only an hour had passed since he'd left.
"So it's fixed at an hour, huh?" Yuzhou muttered. After several jumps, he was starting to piece together the rules: no matter how long he stayed in another world, only an hour ticked by in his own.
From the pile of clothes on his chair, he retrieved a Spark Lens. Then, patting his chest, he pulled out another one.
Two Spark Lenses. Identical.
"I've got a pair now," he murmured, holding one in each hand.
Not that it changed anything. One was enough to transform.
Curious, he opened the Venton doctor's storage bracelet and bathed one Lens in blue light. Nothing happened.
"…Did it break?"
He tested it with a pen. The bracelet swallowed the pen instantly.
"…So the Spark Lens can't be stored. Makes sense—it's a special item."
Yuzhou leaned back, thinking about the girl in the red dress. She said my ultimate task was to save this world. But when? And from what? No details, no warnings. Just cryptic hints.
"Well, I'll just roll with it," he muttered.
The following days fell back into routine. Yuzhou studied Japanese diligently and rewatched Ultraman shows to sharpen his knowledge.
The translation earpiece was handy, but he still preferred being able to actually speak the language.
"Hey, which department are you in, anyway?" A girl sitting next to him asked during his Japanese elective. She leaned her cheek against her hand, smiling slyly.
Yuzhou recognized her—same girl who'd asked him last month.
"I'm from the—"
"Don't say Milky Way," she interrupted, scrunching her nose. "And don't you dare say Solar System either."
"…" Yuzhou was silent. Damn, I was just about to say Solar System.
"Fine. M78 Nebula," he deadpanned.
The girl snorted. "M78 Nebula? What are you, an Ultraman?"
"Yes," Yuzhou said, expression flat. His tone carried a faint smirk.
Just not from there.
"Your name's Yuzhou, right?" she asked.
He blinked. "Yeah. How do you know?"
She pointed at his open textbook. His name was scribbled neatly on the cover.
Before he could respond, the teacher on the podium called him out. "You there. Translate this sentence."
Yuzhou sighed and stood. He could make out half the line, but the rest? Blank. He hadn't worn the translation earpiece—and it wouldn't help with written text anyway.
He recited the first half aloud, then stalled.
"The rest is 'The moonlight is like hope filling the world…'" the girl whispered quickly.
Catching her prompt, Yuzhou continued aloud. "The moonlight is like hope filling the world."
The teacher's gaze sharpened. "You two—names, after class."
Yuzhou winced and sat down. "Sorry. Got you in trouble."
"It's fine," she said breezily. "Just a few points. Let him deduct them."
Yuzhou nodded. True, it wasn't serious. Still, he buried himself in his book.
"Yuzhou-kun, aren't you going to ask my name?" she pressed.
"…Huh?" He stared blankly. Wait, people… request to be asked?
"Go on, ask."
"Uh… what's your name?"
The girl grinned. "Li. Just Li Na."
Yuzhou froze. His eyes widened. "Wait… what did you say?"
"Li Na," she repeated.
His mind buzzed. Li Na? As in… Captain Victory Team Li Na?
"Do your parents… watch Ultraman Tiga?" he asked cautiously.
The girl laughed. "Of course. They loved it since they were young. That's why they named me after her."
"…" Yuzhou's face twisted. What kind of parents name their daughter after a tokusatsu heroine?
"Another question," he said slowly. "What's your father's surname?"
"…Li?" she replied, blinking. "Same as mine?"
"And his full name?"
At that, her cheeks flushed. She looked away, fidgeting. "W-why are you asking my dad's name already? Isn't that too fast?"
"???" Yuzhou stared. Lady, I'm not proposing marriage. I'm just curious!
"…Well, since you want to know… his name is Li Ke."
Yuzhou nearly choked. Naming talent runs in the family.
He forced a stiff smile and ducked back into his book. Enough social landmines for one day.
When the bell rang, Li Na skipped happily out of the room, practically glowing. After nearly two months, she'd finally had a proper conversation with him—and even got his WeChat.
Yuzhou shook his head with a wry smile. She's way too lively.
The month slipped by. Again, he dreamed of the red-dress girl. This time, she offered nothing but vague encouragement before fading away.
No hints about monsters. No word on whether I can revisit other worlds. Not even a timeline.
Yuzhou sighed. I wanted to go back to X's world and raid the doctor for more gadgets…
But no. She vanished as always, leaving him in the dark.
The next morning, Yuzhou woke early. No way was he repeating last time's mistake of leaving his Spark Lens behind. He packed essentials into the storage bracelet, checked twice, then waited.
Right on cue, the twisted spatial vortex opened in his cramped apartment. Yuzhou tightened his grip on his gear and stepped inside.