Chapter Text
Sosuke couldn’t stop shaking his legs as Ren went over and marked the practice test he had just completed.
It was a week until the test, and he and his teammates were waiting to see the results of the weeks of studying. The Blue Ranger’s face had been inscrutable as he went over it.
Finally, he finished.
“So, how did I do?”
Ren’s face remained opaque as he looked at Sosuke.
“Well, as you know, it takes 60 to pass.”
“Okay, and what was my score?”
“Remember, this is just practice, to see what you know and what we need to work on-“
“C’mon Ren just tell me how I di-“
“You got a 39.”
Sosuke was silent, his face blank for a moment.
Then, his lip started to tremble - he lowered his face, which became subsumed with sorrow, so as to avoid looking at his teammates, not wanting to see the disappointment, or worse, pity, he was sure was in them.
He suddenly found it difficult to breathe through his nose, and realized he was sniffling. Just as he thought it couldn’t be worse, he felt a tear run down his cheek.
Finally, his eyes flashed with anger, and he uttered an angry groan as he got up and stomped off into the Ginjiro.
“Sosuke, wait!” said Miu, who got up and followed him.
“Stupid. Stupid!” repeated Sosuke as he paced around. “This was a stupid idea from the start!”
“Sosuke, you shouldn’t be upset, this is what the practice test is for, so we know what you need to work on-“
“Forget it! I’m stupid! I know I’m stupid, I’ve always known, so why the hell should I do all this work just so the government can send me something making it official!?”
“You’re overreacting, I know it’s not the result we were hoping for but that’s no reason to just quit-“
“No! I can fight the Gaiark and I can drive fast, and I don’t have to be smart to do either of those, and if the others have a problem with that then they can make Hiroto the leader!”
“Is that what you think this is all about, that we don’t respect you? You know who the people Ani and I went to school with were? Arrogant, greedy date rapists who went on to make fortunes making the world a worse place to live. You could have dropped out in kindergarten and Hiroto and I would still respect you a thousand times more than them!
“I did this because I thought it was something you wanted and I wanted to support you and show that I believed you could do it! Just because you had a hard time learning doesn’t make you stupid! You know, Hiroto had troubles in school too, the only difference between you two might just be that he was able to get help and you weren’t!”
“Well it’s too late for that now, isn’t it!? I’m an idiot, and nothing can change that!”
With that, he turned away from Miu.
“Would Speedor have chosen an idiot to be his partner?”
Sosuke stopped.
“And what about us? You’re the leader of the Go-Ongers. Saki, Ren, Gunpei, Hant - do think they would follow an idiot? Even Hiroto and I, don’t we follow your lead in battle? We trust our lives to you! Do you think we would trust our lives to an idiot? Do you think Hiroto would entrust my life to an idiot!?”
“I’m not doing it!”
“Sosuke, this isn’t like you! You don’t give up, no matter what! Ani and I don’t accept you guys and you keep at it until we’re forced to. You lose your change soul and you attack a Banki Beast with a rock!”
“That’s different!” he yelled at her.
The intensity in his voice startled Miu, and Sosuke forced himself to calm down.
“You don’t know what it’s like, being the dumbest one in the class, never getting a question right, always getting the lowest score…I’m not going through that again!”
“Sosuke…”
Miu walked over and took his hand.
“I understand, this is a different type of scary than fighting the Gaiark, but I wouldn’t have done all this if I didn’t think you could do it!”
Sosuke remained rigid and didn’t look at her. She sighed.
“Look, if you really don’t want to take the test, I promise you won’t hear another word about it from Hiroto or me. But I think you’ll regret it if you do…”
With that, Miu turned and headed outside.
“Miu…”
The Silver Ranger turned back. Sosuke was looking down, but managed to raise his head and face her.
“You think we could go over the test and what I got wrong?”
Miu smiled and nodded, and the two headed back out.
~~~
Sosuke felt his legs wobble as he stood outside the youth center where the test was about to be held.
He looked at his teammates, all smiling - if they had any doubts, they hid it well.
Miu came to him, putting her hands on his shoulders.
“Remember, take your time, there’s no need to finish it at mach speed. Good luck, we all believe in you!”
Sosuke smiled and tried his best to project confidence.
“Don’t worry guys, I’ll handle that test like I handle the Banki Beasts!”
With that, the Red Ranger went inside.
The plan had been to go hang out at the youth center’s juice bar while Sosuke took the test. But just as they were about to leave, Miu felt a sensation in her head as she saw a woman entering accidentally drop her note cards. She looked at Hiroto, who nodded his head that he felt it too.
Immediately thereafter, the Go-Ongers’ Go-Phones beeped.
“Guys, Gaiark detected boomboom!”
“They would have to spoil today…” said Saki sadly.
“Let’s take care of it quickly so we can greet Sosuke when he’s finished” said Gunpei.
“Right!” said Ren, and they rushed off.
Unaware of the danger his teammates were heading to confront, Sosuke walked into the room where the test would be held and took a seat.
He had managed to keep his anxiety under wraps, but now, with the test upon him, he felt… well, there was no other word for it but afraid. Afraid of being proven a fool, of letting the others down…
He took out his lucky coin and flipped it, thinking it might give him an indicator of how he would do.
He didn’t have the nerve to remove his hand see which side it landed on.
~~~
The workers of Nakano Chemical Works fled for their lives as a squat robotic being ran amok.
It resembled a potbelly stove in humanoid form, its main body consisting of a black sphere, with a large vent door in the upper half, and a smaller one on the bottom, standing on interlocked girders for legs and possessing hydraulic tubes for arms, with a chimney stack sticking out, on top of which were a pair of eyes.
Stove Banki jovially laughed as he shook his belly, reveling in the chaos.
“Banki Beast!”
The combined Go-On teams arrived, all in battle stance.
“Ah, Go-Ongers, what took you so long? I was getting worried you were too scared to show up” said Stove Banki.
He opened up his vent door and sent a fireball at the Rangers.
They dodged to get out of the way, unleashing a stream of flame.
The Rangers leapt out of its path, but the heat was palpable even through their suits.
“This isn’t good” said Hiroto. “If he gets to some of the more dangerous chemicals and sets them aflame, it could result in a cloud of death spreading wherever the wind takes it!”
“Then we’ll be sure not to let that happen” said Gunpei, taking out his Mantan gun. “Let’s go!”
The Rangers charged their foe. Hant swung the Bridge Axe at the Banki Beast, but he ducked and dodged it, giving the Green Ranger a blast of flame on the rebound.
As Gunpei ran to the young Ranger’s aid, Saki and Miu leapt up and fired at their opponent with their Mantan Gun and Wing Booster. But Stove Banki opened his “mouth” at the top of the stack, and released black smoke that engulfed the two girls, who dropped as they gasped for air.
Ren and Gunpei took him on next, both wielding their Mantan guns in rod mode as they struck the Banki Beast. Stove Banki reached out and grabbed them, and the Rangers were forced to let go as they became too hot to hold. The Banki Beast then struck them with their own weapons, forcing them back with the others.
Hiroto leapt forward.
“Flaming Dagger!” called out the Gold Ranger, and flame came out of the Jet Dagger he wielded.
Stove Banki opened his vent, and the two streams of flame met in the middle.
The other Rangers watched anxiously as the streams moved back and forth, both Hiroto and the Banki Beast straining to gain the upper hand.
Finally, Stove Banki’s stream surged and overtook Hiroto’s, who fell back as the flames hit him.
“Ani!” cried Miu, who ran to her brother.
“Lol, better stay off the internet, cause you can’t handle flame wars it seems!”
The Rangers regrouped, but before they could launch a counterattack, the Banki Bast opened his lower vent.
“Hey hey, come on man there are ladies present” said Hant.
Stove Banki ignored him, and out came a torrent of hot ash that dusted the Go-On teams, burning and blinding them.
Gunpei growled and took out what looked like a small tire.
“Go, GoRoader GT!” he called as he tossed it.
The tire grew and changed into a humanoid robot, and leapt at Stove Banki. The Banki Beast reached out and grabbed its fists and locked hands with it, the two grappling for a time, before he pulled it close and opened his vent, releasing tremendous flames that enveloped the robot. Its exterior was protected, but inside, circuits and small parts melted. When the inferno had ceased, the robot sputtered out and collapsed.
The Banki Beast laughed.
“Are these the mighty Go-Ongers that have caused so much grief for the Gaiark race?”
He unleashed another fireball hitting an air tank and creating a massive explosion that sent the Rangers flying into the air.
~~~
Sosuke chewed on the end of his pencil as he tried to figure out the question he was on.
He was fairly certain he was doing better than he had on the practice test - indeed, he had come across several questions he had gotten wrong on it - but he wasn’t sure it was better enough for success. His confidence in how he was doing fluctuated with each question.
He looked around. Most had finished, and he was now one of only a few remaining.
He looked at the proctor; he tried to tell himself it was just his nerves that made him think the man had a look of impatience on his face.
He wiped the sweat off his brow as he saw he still had some way to go.
He sighed, wondering if perhaps he should give up, that he was just wasting his and the proctor’s time.
But then he remembered how Miu believed in him, how hard she and the others worked to help him study. He owed it to them to see this through - he couldn’t - he wouldn’t - let them down…
~~~
The battle was not going well.
As Stove Banki calmly strode through the plant unchallenged, the Go-On teams now huddled together, trying to think of a way to turn the battle around. It was becoming hard to breathe, smoke was hampering visibility, and the heat was becoming unbearable.
“Ohh, did I play too rough with you guys?” asked Stove Banki mockingly. “Well it’s okay, I’ll just have fun playing with some dangerous chemicals.”
Ren sighed.
“Guys, I don’t think we have a choice - we need to call Sosuke if we’re going to beat this guy.”
“No!” said Miu.
“Miu” said Hiroto, putting his hand on her shoulder, “I know, we all feel the same, but fighting the Gaiark comes first - Sosuke wouldn’t want anyone to be harmed on his account.
“NO!” she screamed as she ran out.
“Miu!” Hiroto called after his sister, but she ignored him, rushing to confront their foe.
“BANKI BEAST!”
Stove Banki froze, taken aback by the passion in her voice.
“How dare you!? Sosuke worked hard to study to earn his Certificate! He deserves the chance to get it, and I won’t let you ruin it!” she said as the others appeared behind her.
“Huh?” said Stove Banki, trying to remember whether that was part of the plot. He thought Kitaneidas described it as a simple wreak havoc job, but maybe he hadn’t been paying attention? Well, he figured he’d might as well roll with it.
“Haha, yes that’s right. Go-On Red will never pass his driving test!”
“Certificate” called out Hant.
“Yeah, that.”
Miu raised her fists as she shook with anger.
“You…I’ll never forgive you!”
She drew out her Jet Dagger.
“Rocket Dagger!” she cried out, and she yelled as she took off.
Stove Banki fired a series of fireballs at her, each of which she swatted aside with her Jet Dagger. The Banki Beast barely had time to consider whether he had made a mistake when Miu made impact, sending him straight into the wall.
Groaning, he managed to pull himself up when Miu came at him again, striking him with her Jet Dagger repeatedly, never giving the Banki Beast an opportunity to fight back.
The others stood motionlessly, having never seen her fight with such ferocity.
She delivered a sharp kick to the Banki Beast’s rear end, then thrusted out her Jet Dagger.
“Freezing Dagger!”
A mist of frost came out from the blade, which coated the Banki Beast in ice. Seconds later, the ice broke off and Stove Banki screamed in pain - the cold of the attack and his heated inside caused thermal stress, rupturing his body - his vents blew off, his stack was now hanging bent, and overall was left in a dreadful state.
Miu turned to the others.
“Now guys!”
The others quickly took out their weapons, Miu joining her brother as they aimed their Wing Boosters.
“Wing Boosters! Boost Up!”
“Junction Rifle!”
“Garage Launcher!”
“Speeding Bullet!”
They all fired their weapons at the Banki Beast, and hit not only him but the steam boiler behind him, which exploded.
“Despite everything, I still support adult educatiooooonnnn…” he cried out before the explosion incinerated him entirely, including the canister of Bikkurium within.
Moments later, Sosuke got up and turned in his fully completed test.
~~~
A month later, the Sutous hurriedly arrived at the Ginjiro.
Earlier, Saki had called to tell them the results of Sosuke’s test had arrived in the mail that day; the pair had asked to be informed when they did so they could come over and they could all find out together.
They found the Go-Ongers hanging around outside. When they saw the Wings, Sosuke put on a face of his usual cockiness, but Miu could tell he was filled with anxiety within.
They all sat down at the table, a Manila envelope in the center.
Sosuke sighed.
“Well…I guess there’s no point putting it off any further-“
“Just a moment” said Hiroto. “Before you open that, I want to say something.”
Sosuke was slightly taken aback, but waited for the Gold Ranger’s words.
“I admit, at the start of this, I was skeptical that you would actually take this seriously. But you worked hard and put your all into this. Whatever the result is, we’re all proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself.”
Sosuke was even more surprised than before, but managed to smile and nod his head in appreciation.
Then, after a moment’s pause, he picked up the envelope.
As he held it, his hands shook, the rest of him seeming to freeze up.
“Oh, I can’t do it!”
He held out the packet.
“Ren, you open it!”
Ren took the packet and, taking what to the others felt like an eternity, opened and took out the paper within.
The others waited with bated breath. Seeing how nervous the Red Ranger looked, Miu took his hand and squeezed it.
Finally, Ren looked up. Everyone looked at his face to guess what the result was, but as before it was unreadable.
“You got a 63. Congratulations, Sosuke - you passed.”
Sosuke was still, his face unchanged from the moment before.
Then, slowly, as if he were afraid it wasn’t true, he cracked a smile that gradually grew wider.
“I passed. I passed!”
As after the practice test, tears came out of the Red Ranger’s eyes, but this time, of happiness.
The others all crowded around him, everyone animated by a palpable sense of joy.
“Excellent work, Sosuke” said Gunpei.
“Congratulations my friend” said Hiroto, putting his hand on Sosuke’s shoulder.
“Congrats, Sosuke!” said Saki as she hugged the Red Ranger.
“I knew you’d do it, partner!” said Speedor.
“Way to go, Sosuke!” said Hant.
“It’s all thanks to you Hant, I think those questions about the planets and dark energy are what put me over the line.”
~~~
Sosuke hung the framed diploma on his wall.
He stood back and proudly looked at it, hanging between his JAF Domestic A License and a framed picture of a boy being held by a woman at Tokyo Disneyland, both looking noticeably somber for such a happy location.
“See, I was right all along. You passed.”
Sosuke turned to see Miu.
“I did, didn’t I? I mean, you and Hiroto didn’t pay them off to get me a passing grade, did you?”
Miu shook her head.
“No, this is all you.”
Sosuke chuckled at that.
“You know that’s not true. I never would have managed this if it weren’t for the rest of you guys. Hell, I never would have made the attempt if it weren’t for you.”
He looked down and scratched his head, then wrapped his arms around the Silver Ranger.
“Thanks Miu, for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”
Miu internally swooned, praying this wasn’t a dream. Once the inevitable happened and he pulled away, though, she had a question.
“You know, I’m curious: what made you want to try and earn your Certificate now, after all this time?”
Sosuke chuckled.
“Actually, it’s because of you-“
Miu’s smile grew.
“-and your brother.”
Miu’s smile slightly shrank.
“Ever since you guys arrived and started showing us up, I feel like I should be improving myself, be the best Sosuke I can be.”
Miu blushed.
“I…I mean, Ani and I, will be so happy to hear that. But just remember, you’ve always shined right from the start.”
The two stood silent for a moment, before a nervous Sosuke cleared his throat.
“Besides, I’m Go-On Red, the children’s most beloved hero!” he said, sounding like his usual cocky self. “I need to set a good example for them all, after all.”
Miu good naturally rolled her eyes at that.
“Well, I guess the children’s education is safe for another day. Now come on - when you graduate, you have to go out and celebrate!”
She grabbed his arm and dragged him out.
“Let’s go, Mr. Children’s Most Beloved Hero.”
~~~
Miu and Hiroto felt exhausted as they arrived home.
The two had taken their friends and teammates out to dinner, then a night out in the town to celebrate Sosuke passing. Hiroto plopped down on a red Oxford chair.
“I know I’ve told you this many times, Miu, but I truly admire your compassionate spirit. Helping Sosuke like that was a very selfless thing to do.”
“Oh, I can’t say it was completely selfless.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You know mom and dad, Ani. How do you think they were going to react when I brought home a guy who didn’t graduate high school?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right - wait, what?”
“Now, the next thing to do is get him into college” she said, taking out a bunch of brochures. “Of course I know we’ll have to wait till we beat the Gaiark for good, but there’s no reason we can’t start looking now. I know his score wasn’t outstanding, but if we pull some strings we should be able to get him in.”
“Miu, I think-“
“This one is close-by, but this one has one of dad’s friends on its admissions board, but then this has a mechanics course - oh, Sosuke would look so handsome in the school uniform for this one-!”
Hiroto could only watch as his sister got lost in her own little world. As for himself, he could only imagine again going through the last month but for four years.
He sighed. Hopefully the Gaiark had some fight left in them yet…