Post by lawrenceliberty on Jun 8, 2017 18:03:08 GMT
Global Guardians: Truth Goodness Beauty
By lawrenceliberty
The Ace Archer of Japan finds a sidekick and starts a new team!
1
1988
While it has been said that people do not run in Tokyo, a teenager named Amaya Ito found herself as the exception to that rule one night as she raced by the majestic and normally serene Meiiji Shrine toward the distant but bright lights of the Jingo Bridge. She fought the habits of a lifetime and resisted the urge to mutter apologies as she shoved through a crowd of garishly clad pedestrians. She lowered her head and fought through the thickening crowd in her quest to reach the wider streets that branched off from the narrow walkway.
“I may be giving the college running clubs a bad name! I guess this crowd assumes that I belong to such a circle! After all, Tokyo is not known for its joggers like some American cities!” she thought.
She also resisted her desire to glance back over her shoulders. Looking backward would only slow her down and she realized once more that more lives than her own depended upon her speed this dark night.
She grimaced as she thought, “High heeled boots! Why did I decide that I needed high heels to complete my costume?”
She took a deep breath and raced across a busy street seconds before the automated high pitched chimes that announced it was safe for pedestrians to cross the intersection rang out. She dodged a small car by diving forward out of its path.
“Made it! Now if I can just reach Harajuku Station before the train departs!” she mused.
As she drew closer to the busy station on the Yamanote Line, the other pedestrians became younger and their clothing became increasingly eccentric by the conservative standard of the typical salaryman or office lady.
Amaya wore heavy mascara and a black wig with neatly trimmed bangs that covered her own shorter hair. She was dressed in a black dress with a bodice decorated with elaborate braiding. A long sleeved open short jacket of matching fabric accented the dress with its short bubble skirt that stopped around two inches above her knees. She wore black high heeled boots to complete an ensemble that had made her proud in the hours prior to the events that hurled her into peril and placed her by the side of one of Japan’s greatest heroes.
The young fashionista’s own outfit attracted a number of appreciative glances and while the aspiring designer would normally have relished such admiration from the discerning and dynamic Harajuku kids, she had no time to pause except in memory as the black clad girl recalled the events that had motivated her desperate race!
2
1976
When Amaya Ito was six years old, she and her parents first made the long journey from their Tokyo home to the Shimane Prefecture city of Matsue with its beautiful Lake Shinji and the historical Matsue Castle.
“Will we see dolphins or even whales?” she had asked her father as they walked out of the train station.
Katsuo Ito frowned and he gazed down at his daughter with a puzzled look on his face. He adjusted his thick glasses and slowly began to speak.
“Amaya-chan, I fear I do not understand your question? We will see my father and some of your cousins but I do not imagine we will see aquatic life forms unless we visit the Art Museum and see them in paintings or sculptures!” he said as he held her small hand.
Amaya’s mother Sakura giggled as she turned to her husband and explained their child’s eager question.
“She heard me refer to Matsue as the Water City. She thought I meant that water breathers lived there! It is called Water City because it is close to so many lakes and bodies of water. Many people make their living through fishing or commerce by boat.”
While Amaya had always remembered that brief exchange with her parents before they reached the home of her grandfather, it was the man himself who dominated every other memory she had of her annual visits to his small but wonderful country home.
Hiro Ito, her grandfather or Ojiisan, lived in a strange home that delighted Amaya from the moment she first caught sight of it. The little house was compact but it sat in a small field above the sudden steep drop that led to one of the area’s many small beaches. The field was carefully shielded from casual gazes by several fences that formed a small private garden area. A storage shed leaned crookedly nearby.
“What is in that funny house?” she asked.
A lean man with white hair and a kindly expression came into view and looked at the family with a slight smile on his wrinkled face.
“It is a funny house that belongs to a funny old man, eh? Amaya-chan, I am your Sofu Ito. You are most welcome here and in time I will share with you the many secrets of this funny home!” he said.
Katsuo bowed low to his father and he clasped his hand as he drew closer.
“Father, you are looking well. It has been far too long since our last visit. Little Amaya was not yet born when last I returned to our old homeplace!” he said.
The elder Ito stooped down to greet the child and Amaya smelled the pungent scene of a powdery substance that was ingrained in the old man’s powerful hands.
Later, Amaya had silently slipped away from the small bedroom her Grandfather Ito had given to the visitors and she had made her way outside to the weird little shed. Small lanterns gleamed a pale white light that cast an odd light over the old building.
Amaya hesitated as the storage shed loomed up in front of her but she was a brave child and she had never truly known any reason to feel insecure since her home was a loving one. She peered inside the shed’s one small window and frowned as she saw rows of wooden objects stacked against one wall near carefully covered objects that hung from pegs that lines the other walls.
“You have the curiosity of a tea votery!”
The proverbial expression referred to the fact that in tea ceremonies customary greetings consisted of a series of personal questions. The words came from Amaya’s Grandfather who seemed to emerge from the shadows.
She gasped as the old man stepped forward and silently extended one hand.
“Come, child. I will show you inside my shed. You should learn a bit of our family legacy. I suppose this very night is not too soon to begin such lessons!” he said.
As the old man raised his lantern, Amaya saw the covered objects were strangely shaped devices made of polished wood and string.
Grandfather Ito touched one and smiled as he glanced down at the little girl.
“This is a bow or yumi. The string is called a tsuru. I will tell you what these items mean to me…to our family. I will begin with what may seem to you to be a fairy story or legend from a time long ago!”
Amaya whispered, “When you were my age?”
He laughed and said, “No, little one. Long before I was born….long before my own grandsire knew life, brave men defended the helpless and lived by a rigid code of honor and sacrifice. These men were called samurai and while today we often see them depicted in the movies and in the anime many people read on the trains with large swords and fierce expressions. In truth for more than three hundred years from 1185-1568, it was the Kyujutsi – the art of archery that was more vital than even swordsmanship!”
“The warriors relied upon the bow and arrow and learned more than how to master the way of the arrow. In achieving true shooting and certain hitting or seisha hiccu they also learned of the higher ideas of life: truth, goodness, and beauty. This goal was called shin zen bi!”
Amaya said, “Were you a samurai?”
Hiro smiled and said, “I devoted my life to perfecting such skills when I was not working as a fisherman. I suppose I have known more batsi or misses than I have known maru or hits but I did acquire some humble skills! Would you believe that this old man once excelled at Kyuba nomich or the way of the horse and the bow? I could perform full draw or the kai while riding a galloping horse.”
“It was my wish to teach others to follow the path that gave me much joy …much fulfillment; however, that was not to be. Your esteemed father ‘s poor vision made it impossible for him to master my lessons. This was made doubly sad since in 1949 many of the old skills became enshrined in a popular modernization known as Kyudo. A Federation of 132,000 members was formed and what was once a code of life became a sport.”
Amaya gently fingered one large bow and said, “Could you act as a teacher or sensei for others who played that game?”
He shook his head and said, “It was not a game. It was a sacred way of life that was commercialized but never truly embraced in its original meaning. I did teach someone but he was unworthy of my efforts. He is not to be spoken of again. Had he been my own son, I would now consider him as one removed from the family register. His name is not to be mentioned. I only tell you this so you will understand that these lessons are not to be trivialized.”
He muttered, “ Jiu jitsu arrows, bah!”
Every year after that first visit, Amaya returned to stay each summer with the old man and he taught her the skills he cherished so dearly. While many Japanese customs denigrated women or relegated them to a lesser sphere of activity, Hiro’s beloved Kyujutsi was open to both genders and he showed the girl the way women archers wore a muneate or chest protector when they practiced their art. When Amaya was fourteen she saw her beloved grandfather lose his temper for the only time she could recall.
She was watching his small television and excitedly called him inside to see a news bulletin about Shashu the Ace Archer of Japan! The masked hero was a master archer in a green and red costume who patterned his heroic identity after the American Green Arrow. He had become a beloved hero because of his skill, courage, and good looks.
“Grandfather, he must also be a master of the way of the arrow!” she cried.
Hiro Ito glared at the small screen in disgust and abruptly stormed out of the room.
Amaya looked up in shock. She had never known the kindly old man to act in such an emotional manner.
Years later, after the old man’s death, Amaya had questioned her own father about the odd occurrence.
Mr. Ito had only said, “My father was a proud man. I disappointed him because of my poor vision but he loved me and never showed this sorrow. He trained another man in the old ways and this pupil hurt him deeply by taking those ancient skills and grafting what some would call Western gimmicks over them.”
“You are speaking of the Ace Archer! I just know it! To think my own Sofu taught the greatest hero of all Japan! Why did his heroic deeds sadden Grandfather?”
Mr. Ito said, “He took what my father held sacred turned it into something sensational and cheap. It was akin to taking the most beautiful of women and turning her pristine beauty into the gaudy allure of a woman from the water trade!”
Amaya said nothing but she vowed to learn more about the masked hero.
“I still think grandfather should have felt honored by all his noble pupil has achieved. Why he has worked with the famous Batman as well as the esteemed Green Arrow!” she thought.
That interest in super heroes was to lead the girl down a strange and dangerous path all her own!
3
As time passed, Amaya continued to practice the archery techniques her grandfather had taught her but she had also found herself drawn to two other pursuits. She began to love fashion and costume design and spent many hours happily looking through fashion magazines and sketching her own designs. She soon found other students with the same passion and her fashion circle became a second family to her.
By the time she enrolled at Jissen Women’s University with a concentration in fashion design and fabric she was a popular member of a college fashion circle and she relished the group’s regular meetings. Each week the eager kids would gather near the college and show off their latest designs or thumb through the glossy magazines that fuelled their passion.
Amaya was particularly interested in developing a new style that combined Gothic themes with aspects of a romanticized Western 19th century style. She perfected a black dress and wig that combined several of her pet ideas. As she posed before the mirror in her dormitory, she smiled with pleasure.
“The others will love this one. I may even finally impress that snooty Kimiko!” she thought.
Amaya made her way out into the street and started to walk toward the open park where she and her friends usually met. As she passed by one of the school buildings, she saw a frightening sight. Three men were carrying a prone female toward a waiting car.
Amaya’s keen vision enabled her to immediately recognize the still figure as Norrie Yamaguchi. Norrie was a shy girl who came from a very wealthy family. She was a prime target for any would be abductor seeking ransom money from her prominent father.
Amaya was not sure what to do but she raced forward and shouted at the men but they merely quickly hurried into their waiting car with their captive and drove off.
Amaya glanced around but for once the campus seemed almost deserted. Club or circle activities often took students off campus during the afternoon hours and this day was no exception. She jammed her hand into her jacket pocket only to realize she did not have her phone card. She couldn’t call for help on one of the many public phones without such a card. She started to return to her own room and seek help when a different idea came to her mind.
She had had two obsessions since her beloved grandfather’s death. One was her passion for clothing and design as well represented by her “Gothic Lolita” outfit. The second consuming interest was a bit more eccentric. She had vowed to learn all she could about the Ace Archer.
“He was my Ojiisan’s pupil. He is a great hero. I must meet him. I must talk to him about what I have learned about the way of the bow!”
She had found a small faded clipping in her grandfather’s old tansu. It described a national Kyudo competition in which the winner was a young man named Takeo Hiroshi. He had scored a remarkable number of hits and was said to have displayed the Zaiteki skill level in which the arrow was said to exist within the target so perfect was the man’s aim!
“He’s Ace Archer! I just know it! There are no other records of a man by that name competing in the competitions. He stopped entering the games when he left to become the Ace Archer! He hurt grandfather terribly by emulating the American Green Arrow!”
Amaya managed to play detective rather well in the months that followed. She knew how amazingly thorough Japanese family heritage records were and it was a simple matter to locate Hiroshi.
“He is now Lt. Hiroshi of the Harajuku Police Station. How fitting that a crime fighter would choose to serve the public in other role as well!” she thought
Now, in the present, the black garbed girl decided to find Lt. Hiroshi. She knew his base was nearby.
“The Ace Archer will rescue Norrie!” she vowed.
She managed to reach the train and as she stood silently in the crowded car, she tried to think of the words to say to the hero. She had seen him more than once. She had deliberately visited his koban or “police house” where he was stationed along with five other police officers. The small stations were located throughout the country and were particularly useful in urban areas where services ranging from giving out directions and maps or performing address searches alternated with more perilous police duties.
“He will help me. I am sure of it. He will prove to be much more effective than any ordinary police officer!” she mused.
She emerged from the train when it reached the station and hurried across the narrow street to where the Harajuku Koban was located.
She took a deep breath and hurried inside. The Koban was like all the other police stations in Japan. It was small and rather compact but it also resembled an American post office in some ways. She had read that urban American police stations were far more like offices with cubicles and computer terminals.
“Pardon me for interrupting you in your important duties but I wish to ask for an interview with Lt. Hiroshi!” she said as a pleasant looking man approached her.
“One moment please and I will inform him of your arrival. Please be seated and he will be with you shortly,” replied the balding officer.
Amaya sat down and nervously adjusted the lace and braiding on her dress. She had prided herself on creating not only a daringly original look for her fashion circle costume but she had imagined an entire backstory for her persona. She was a “Gothic Lolita” from some fantasy based Victorian era. Now, as she sat in the police koban she wondered if the design might not have been the best idea!
“Will they take my claim seriously? I know many older people look down on my friends and our more daring fashion statements!” she mused.
A handsome man with dark hair and the athletic build of one who engages in regular vigorous activity emerged from the rear of the building and bowed slightly as he waited for her to begin.
“I am Lt. Hiroshi. How may I assist you? Do you need directions to some location?” he asked.
Amaya said, “I am Amaya Ito. I am a student at Jissan College. My friend and fellow pupil Norrie Yamaguchi was abducted from our campus. I saw it but was unable to stop the crime. I wanted you to help find her!”
Lt. Hiroshi said, “This is most serious. Please tell me more. The campus in is this prefecture but would it not have been simpler to merely call us?”
She whispered, “I wanted only to find you personally. You see, I know you can find her. I know who you are. My esteemed grandfather was Hiro Ito your former teacher. I know you are the Ace Archer!”
Lt. Hiroshi’s eyes widened in surprise as he glanced both left and right. No one had heard the girl’s whisper.
“Your grandfather was my friend. He was my teacher but surely you do not believe a humble person like myself could truly be..! “
He met her determined and intelligent gaze and stopped speaking.
He nodded abruptly and said, “Come with me, Amaya-chan!”
He led her out of the main reception area to a smaller room and he shut the door behind her.
“I will trust the heir of Ito. You must not speak of what you know again. I need my secret in order to do what needs to be done. We will certainly talk more. Things were left …broken… between your grandfather and myself. I have many regrets. Now, as for Miss Yamaguchi, I do not believe she was kidnapped because of her father’s wealth. I believe she was taken because of his profession as one of the leading scientists at the Kawabuski Institite. A number of other disappearances have recently occurred. The victims have one thing in common. All of them are related to senior officials at that same lab. I fear the abductor wants more than common currency. The labs at the Institute contain many advanced creations that would be best left in proper hands!”
Amaya fought her conflicting emotions. She was concerned for Norrie. She was thrilled that her suspicions about Hiroshi were correct and that she might eventually learn more about her beloved grandfather from this man who meant so much to him. She was also trying to contain another wild idea that raced through her mind.
“ I could be his partner! As the Green Arrow had Speedy so could Ace Archer be my mentor!”
4
Lt. Hiroshi was known for his calm and rational manner but he kept his role as Ace Archer to himself. The costumed role allowed him to exhibit the more dynamic aspects of his personality without jeopardizing his status as the calm and conservative police man. He was certainly not the kind of man to admit his deepest secret to a rather wild looking girl… and yet he had done so! He had not denied her claim’s accuracy because he truly did feel some kind of guilt over how he had hurt her grandsire. He felt that he had a personal debt to the old man’s family. He had failed to make things right with him during his lifetime and now all he could do was honor his debt by treating this young woman with the respect he owed to her late relation.
“I will investigate the labs. I think there is some secret within their interior. No demands have been made for the return of the victims. This villain wants more than money. He wants what these brilliant men do not wish to make public. He wants the fruit of their intellectual labors! If I learn what they hide within their labs, I may learn who holds their loved ones including your young friend!” he said.
He said, “I will seek answers as Ace Archer. I will tell you what I find. We shall talk more!”
Amaya shook her head and said, “Take me with you! I want to work with you. My grandfather taught me all he taught you. I know how to shoot with certainty.”
Hiroshi said, “That is out of the question. I will not put you at risk!”
She said, “You will take me with you or I will tell your colleagues who you are!”
She was bluffing. She would never betray a hero like the Archer but she was betting he could not take that chance. She saw working by his side as some way of honoring her grandfather and also repairing the relationship that had once meant so much to the proud old man.
“I could link both the old ways and the new!” she thought.
Hiroshi sighed and said, “Very well. Do as I say. We will waste no precious time in discussion. We will go to the labs and find out the truth!”
Later, as Amaya rode on the back of a sleek motorcycle driven by the now costumed Archer, she thrilled to the idea that for now at least she was living a dream she had never truly dared to acknowledge before this night.
She wore a black domino mask across her eyes and couldn’t help but think that it went rather well with her Gothic Lolita creation!
“Gosurori, stay close to me. I would not willingly see you harmed and yet your stubbornness has forced me to lead you into what may truly be dangerous!” he said.
“Gosurori- Gothic Loli! I like it!” she said.
He parked near an impressive structure that loomed above them. It was a large skyscraper and it contained the celebrated “brain trust” of Kawabuski Institue!” The Archer knew that the brilliant staff were rumored to have designed weapons that could truly change the world but he also knew that such whispers were often based more on myth than fact.
He said, “We will enter from the side. I have a device that will temporarily cloud our presence!”
He held up an arrow with a strange tip and swiftly fired it into the air. It released a cloud of inky blackness that shrouded the immediate area into total darkness.
The Archer led Gosurori across the well-tended grounds of the facility and they emerged within a narrow hallway.
“You will notice that even an advanced lab has an old fashioned door with a lock that can be manipulated. The door leads to the custodian’s storage room. Such adherence to the old ways makes their more sophisticated defenses rather pointless!” he said.
“You used a trick arrow to open the door in the darkness?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“That would be pointless. I merely used a simple lock pick and the skills I have mastered over the years!”
They made their way down the hall and up a winding staircase of gleaming metal and chrome.
As they crossed a wider passageway and approached a computer lab, he said, “While they are all gifted men, they can’t escape the mentality of the salaryman. All their work will be documented in some manner as to account for the cost of each study or process!”
She nodded and looked around as he swiftly worked on the computer.
“You are amazing! Can even the Green Arrow do that?” she asked.
“I spent some time with a technological expert! Computers are both the way of the future and a certain guide to the data that reveals all!”
He frowned as the doors swung open to reveal two dramatic female figures.
The first woman was a beautiful Japanese woman with a stunning face and form …and some very eccentric accessories. She had long blonde hair and wore a pink gown.
“You will please step away from the terminal!” she said in a high pitched and child-like voice.
“Plastic Cinderella!” said the Ace Archer as he recognized the android heroine!
Arashi, her creator, was equally well-known to the hero. The taller woman wore a famous costume that consisted of a gleaming black costume that covered her from head to toe. The fabric looked like leather but had the durability of steel. She wore a helmet that covered her head and concealed her features. The one way len in her helmet allowed her to see out but no one could see behind it. Her voice was modified by a device in the armor. No one would ever learn Arashi’s true identity from the way she spoke.
“Ace Archer. You would be wise to obey Plastic Cinderella. She is more patient than I am and you recall that I can be rather deadly when enraged!”
As the Archer nodded and raised his hands, he thought, “When we were lovers, you were quite often enraged, Arashi-san!”
5
The Ace Archer said, “Arashi, we are here because of a mysterious abduction. There is no need for combat!”
Gosurori had heard of the technological daredevil known as Arashi but she was not familiar with the exotic blonde in the flowing ball gown.
“She looks like something out of the Anime!” she thought.
Plastic Cinderella said, “I believe him. He has a nice smile!”
Arashi shook her head and thought, “When I built her I should never have allowed father to give her the personality of a Kawaii! Her innocence can be annoying at times!”
Arashi said, “Plastic Cinderella’s girlish instincts are correct. My helmet sensors detect no charge in your respiration. You are speaking the truth this time!”
Ace Archer could feel the sarcasm in her manner in spite of the fact that her helmet rendered her voice devoid of emotion.
He ignored the sentiment and said, “Several scientists who work here have suffered recent losses. Their loved ones have been taken by unknown men.”
Arashi said, “The victims are here. I can detect them within this facility. My armor scanned the genetic composition of the some of the parents and the program indicates progeny within the complex!”
At that moment the adjacent door opened and six men rushed into the room.
Gosurori recognized two of them from the scene on campus!
“They are the men who took my friend!” she said.
Ace Archer said, “There is no need for discussion. We will simply subdue them!”
He swiftly brought his large bow around and released a stylized arrow. The head opened to release a net which expanded to snare two of the thugs.
Gosurori realized to her surprise that she was nearly as fast with her own shooting as was the famous hero.
She wished she had her own equipment with her. As it was, she could only watch as the Archer displayed the technique her grandfather had instilled within him during their time together.
She sidestepped a lounge from a burly bald man and neatly knocked his legs out from under him with a deft side kick.
“Grandfather taught us both well!” she thought.
Plastic Cinderella swept forward and smiled demurely as she grabbed two other thugs and almost delicately tossed them across the room. She whispered, “I am sorry for your bruises!”
Arashi spun around and connected with a kick that floored the final man.
As the heroes closed in on the beaten thugs a weird transformation occurred. All six men turned to a near liquid state and oozed together into a large puddle which swelled up into a humanoid form which had chalk white skin tone and a wide grin on its face.
“That was most exciting. May we play some more?” it said in a gurgling tone of voice.
An elderly man stepped out of the shadows even as Arashi’s sensors detected him.
“Nuppepp meant no harm. He has the high spirits of an infant!” he said.
Ace Archer said, “You are Dr. Niobi. I have seen your photograph in the paper!”
The famous scientist nodded slightly and said, “As I have noticed your own image, honored sir! I must explain. I am to blame for your distress. Nuppeppi here is my creation. He is a being composed entirely of protoplasm. He may assume any shape and as you noticed he may separate into several different beings at the same time. He is childlike and he is empathic. He accidentally absorbed or duplicated the emotions my colleagues here at the labs feel for their respective families. The innocent creature replicated into the forms of typical men of the city and brought these loved ones here out of a mistaken sense that he loved them and wanted them near because they were loved and needed by those who truly were their parents or spouses. “
Arashi said, “Fascinating! He developed the same feelings for them as his creators had!”
The white figure seemed to wilt sheepishly as they watched him.
“I am sorry!” he said in a plaintive tone of voice.
Dr. Niobi said, “I found his captives in an unused lab nearby and he explained what he had done. Your arrival prevented us from correcting his error. I have explained why his actions were improper!”
Nuppepp said, “May I accompany you? I would learn much from heroes like you!”
Plastic Cinderella flounced over and caressed the blob as she said, “I like him! May I have him?”
Arashi said, “This is all a bit bizarre. We could certainly use someone with such powers and studying him would appeal to the scientist in me!”
Nupepp squealed, “Then I may join your team? “
Ace Archer said, “We are not exactly a team.”
Arashi said, “We always worked well together. I think as professionals we could function as a team of heroes.”
Gosurori said, “I would like to work with you all. “
Ace Archer smiled at the girl and said, “You and I have much to discuss as I said before; however, I have admired your courage and your skill. Perhaps, I will allow you to become my pupil!”
Gosurori smiled and said, “It would be as if you were carrying on a family tradition!”
Plastic Cinderella giggled and she said, “We could enlist Sora and Hikari as well as other local heroes like Rising Sun and Starshine!”
There were details to work out and old hurts to be resolved but it was also the birth of the first team of super heroes Japan had ever known!
By lawrenceliberty
The Ace Archer of Japan finds a sidekick and starts a new team!
1
1988
While it has been said that people do not run in Tokyo, a teenager named Amaya Ito found herself as the exception to that rule one night as she raced by the majestic and normally serene Meiiji Shrine toward the distant but bright lights of the Jingo Bridge. She fought the habits of a lifetime and resisted the urge to mutter apologies as she shoved through a crowd of garishly clad pedestrians. She lowered her head and fought through the thickening crowd in her quest to reach the wider streets that branched off from the narrow walkway.
“I may be giving the college running clubs a bad name! I guess this crowd assumes that I belong to such a circle! After all, Tokyo is not known for its joggers like some American cities!” she thought.
She also resisted her desire to glance back over her shoulders. Looking backward would only slow her down and she realized once more that more lives than her own depended upon her speed this dark night.
She grimaced as she thought, “High heeled boots! Why did I decide that I needed high heels to complete my costume?”
She took a deep breath and raced across a busy street seconds before the automated high pitched chimes that announced it was safe for pedestrians to cross the intersection rang out. She dodged a small car by diving forward out of its path.
“Made it! Now if I can just reach Harajuku Station before the train departs!” she mused.
As she drew closer to the busy station on the Yamanote Line, the other pedestrians became younger and their clothing became increasingly eccentric by the conservative standard of the typical salaryman or office lady.
Amaya wore heavy mascara and a black wig with neatly trimmed bangs that covered her own shorter hair. She was dressed in a black dress with a bodice decorated with elaborate braiding. A long sleeved open short jacket of matching fabric accented the dress with its short bubble skirt that stopped around two inches above her knees. She wore black high heeled boots to complete an ensemble that had made her proud in the hours prior to the events that hurled her into peril and placed her by the side of one of Japan’s greatest heroes.
The young fashionista’s own outfit attracted a number of appreciative glances and while the aspiring designer would normally have relished such admiration from the discerning and dynamic Harajuku kids, she had no time to pause except in memory as the black clad girl recalled the events that had motivated her desperate race!
2
1976
When Amaya Ito was six years old, she and her parents first made the long journey from their Tokyo home to the Shimane Prefecture city of Matsue with its beautiful Lake Shinji and the historical Matsue Castle.
“Will we see dolphins or even whales?” she had asked her father as they walked out of the train station.
Katsuo Ito frowned and he gazed down at his daughter with a puzzled look on his face. He adjusted his thick glasses and slowly began to speak.
“Amaya-chan, I fear I do not understand your question? We will see my father and some of your cousins but I do not imagine we will see aquatic life forms unless we visit the Art Museum and see them in paintings or sculptures!” he said as he held her small hand.
Amaya’s mother Sakura giggled as she turned to her husband and explained their child’s eager question.
“She heard me refer to Matsue as the Water City. She thought I meant that water breathers lived there! It is called Water City because it is close to so many lakes and bodies of water. Many people make their living through fishing or commerce by boat.”
While Amaya had always remembered that brief exchange with her parents before they reached the home of her grandfather, it was the man himself who dominated every other memory she had of her annual visits to his small but wonderful country home.
Hiro Ito, her grandfather or Ojiisan, lived in a strange home that delighted Amaya from the moment she first caught sight of it. The little house was compact but it sat in a small field above the sudden steep drop that led to one of the area’s many small beaches. The field was carefully shielded from casual gazes by several fences that formed a small private garden area. A storage shed leaned crookedly nearby.
“What is in that funny house?” she asked.
A lean man with white hair and a kindly expression came into view and looked at the family with a slight smile on his wrinkled face.
“It is a funny house that belongs to a funny old man, eh? Amaya-chan, I am your Sofu Ito. You are most welcome here and in time I will share with you the many secrets of this funny home!” he said.
Katsuo bowed low to his father and he clasped his hand as he drew closer.
“Father, you are looking well. It has been far too long since our last visit. Little Amaya was not yet born when last I returned to our old homeplace!” he said.
The elder Ito stooped down to greet the child and Amaya smelled the pungent scene of a powdery substance that was ingrained in the old man’s powerful hands.
Later, Amaya had silently slipped away from the small bedroom her Grandfather Ito had given to the visitors and she had made her way outside to the weird little shed. Small lanterns gleamed a pale white light that cast an odd light over the old building.
Amaya hesitated as the storage shed loomed up in front of her but she was a brave child and she had never truly known any reason to feel insecure since her home was a loving one. She peered inside the shed’s one small window and frowned as she saw rows of wooden objects stacked against one wall near carefully covered objects that hung from pegs that lines the other walls.
“You have the curiosity of a tea votery!”
The proverbial expression referred to the fact that in tea ceremonies customary greetings consisted of a series of personal questions. The words came from Amaya’s Grandfather who seemed to emerge from the shadows.
She gasped as the old man stepped forward and silently extended one hand.
“Come, child. I will show you inside my shed. You should learn a bit of our family legacy. I suppose this very night is not too soon to begin such lessons!” he said.
As the old man raised his lantern, Amaya saw the covered objects were strangely shaped devices made of polished wood and string.
Grandfather Ito touched one and smiled as he glanced down at the little girl.
“This is a bow or yumi. The string is called a tsuru. I will tell you what these items mean to me…to our family. I will begin with what may seem to you to be a fairy story or legend from a time long ago!”
Amaya whispered, “When you were my age?”
He laughed and said, “No, little one. Long before I was born….long before my own grandsire knew life, brave men defended the helpless and lived by a rigid code of honor and sacrifice. These men were called samurai and while today we often see them depicted in the movies and in the anime many people read on the trains with large swords and fierce expressions. In truth for more than three hundred years from 1185-1568, it was the Kyujutsi – the art of archery that was more vital than even swordsmanship!”
“The warriors relied upon the bow and arrow and learned more than how to master the way of the arrow. In achieving true shooting and certain hitting or seisha hiccu they also learned of the higher ideas of life: truth, goodness, and beauty. This goal was called shin zen bi!”
Amaya said, “Were you a samurai?”
Hiro smiled and said, “I devoted my life to perfecting such skills when I was not working as a fisherman. I suppose I have known more batsi or misses than I have known maru or hits but I did acquire some humble skills! Would you believe that this old man once excelled at Kyuba nomich or the way of the horse and the bow? I could perform full draw or the kai while riding a galloping horse.”
“It was my wish to teach others to follow the path that gave me much joy …much fulfillment; however, that was not to be. Your esteemed father ‘s poor vision made it impossible for him to master my lessons. This was made doubly sad since in 1949 many of the old skills became enshrined in a popular modernization known as Kyudo. A Federation of 132,000 members was formed and what was once a code of life became a sport.”
Amaya gently fingered one large bow and said, “Could you act as a teacher or sensei for others who played that game?”
He shook his head and said, “It was not a game. It was a sacred way of life that was commercialized but never truly embraced in its original meaning. I did teach someone but he was unworthy of my efforts. He is not to be spoken of again. Had he been my own son, I would now consider him as one removed from the family register. His name is not to be mentioned. I only tell you this so you will understand that these lessons are not to be trivialized.”
He muttered, “ Jiu jitsu arrows, bah!”
Every year after that first visit, Amaya returned to stay each summer with the old man and he taught her the skills he cherished so dearly. While many Japanese customs denigrated women or relegated them to a lesser sphere of activity, Hiro’s beloved Kyujutsi was open to both genders and he showed the girl the way women archers wore a muneate or chest protector when they practiced their art. When Amaya was fourteen she saw her beloved grandfather lose his temper for the only time she could recall.
She was watching his small television and excitedly called him inside to see a news bulletin about Shashu the Ace Archer of Japan! The masked hero was a master archer in a green and red costume who patterned his heroic identity after the American Green Arrow. He had become a beloved hero because of his skill, courage, and good looks.
“Grandfather, he must also be a master of the way of the arrow!” she cried.
Hiro Ito glared at the small screen in disgust and abruptly stormed out of the room.
Amaya looked up in shock. She had never known the kindly old man to act in such an emotional manner.
Years later, after the old man’s death, Amaya had questioned her own father about the odd occurrence.
Mr. Ito had only said, “My father was a proud man. I disappointed him because of my poor vision but he loved me and never showed this sorrow. He trained another man in the old ways and this pupil hurt him deeply by taking those ancient skills and grafting what some would call Western gimmicks over them.”
“You are speaking of the Ace Archer! I just know it! To think my own Sofu taught the greatest hero of all Japan! Why did his heroic deeds sadden Grandfather?”
Mr. Ito said, “He took what my father held sacred turned it into something sensational and cheap. It was akin to taking the most beautiful of women and turning her pristine beauty into the gaudy allure of a woman from the water trade!”
Amaya said nothing but she vowed to learn more about the masked hero.
“I still think grandfather should have felt honored by all his noble pupil has achieved. Why he has worked with the famous Batman as well as the esteemed Green Arrow!” she thought.
That interest in super heroes was to lead the girl down a strange and dangerous path all her own!
3
As time passed, Amaya continued to practice the archery techniques her grandfather had taught her but she had also found herself drawn to two other pursuits. She began to love fashion and costume design and spent many hours happily looking through fashion magazines and sketching her own designs. She soon found other students with the same passion and her fashion circle became a second family to her.
By the time she enrolled at Jissen Women’s University with a concentration in fashion design and fabric she was a popular member of a college fashion circle and she relished the group’s regular meetings. Each week the eager kids would gather near the college and show off their latest designs or thumb through the glossy magazines that fuelled their passion.
Amaya was particularly interested in developing a new style that combined Gothic themes with aspects of a romanticized Western 19th century style. She perfected a black dress and wig that combined several of her pet ideas. As she posed before the mirror in her dormitory, she smiled with pleasure.
“The others will love this one. I may even finally impress that snooty Kimiko!” she thought.
Amaya made her way out into the street and started to walk toward the open park where she and her friends usually met. As she passed by one of the school buildings, she saw a frightening sight. Three men were carrying a prone female toward a waiting car.
Amaya’s keen vision enabled her to immediately recognize the still figure as Norrie Yamaguchi. Norrie was a shy girl who came from a very wealthy family. She was a prime target for any would be abductor seeking ransom money from her prominent father.
Amaya was not sure what to do but she raced forward and shouted at the men but they merely quickly hurried into their waiting car with their captive and drove off.
Amaya glanced around but for once the campus seemed almost deserted. Club or circle activities often took students off campus during the afternoon hours and this day was no exception. She jammed her hand into her jacket pocket only to realize she did not have her phone card. She couldn’t call for help on one of the many public phones without such a card. She started to return to her own room and seek help when a different idea came to her mind.
She had had two obsessions since her beloved grandfather’s death. One was her passion for clothing and design as well represented by her “Gothic Lolita” outfit. The second consuming interest was a bit more eccentric. She had vowed to learn all she could about the Ace Archer.
“He was my Ojiisan’s pupil. He is a great hero. I must meet him. I must talk to him about what I have learned about the way of the bow!”
She had found a small faded clipping in her grandfather’s old tansu. It described a national Kyudo competition in which the winner was a young man named Takeo Hiroshi. He had scored a remarkable number of hits and was said to have displayed the Zaiteki skill level in which the arrow was said to exist within the target so perfect was the man’s aim!
“He’s Ace Archer! I just know it! There are no other records of a man by that name competing in the competitions. He stopped entering the games when he left to become the Ace Archer! He hurt grandfather terribly by emulating the American Green Arrow!”
Amaya managed to play detective rather well in the months that followed. She knew how amazingly thorough Japanese family heritage records were and it was a simple matter to locate Hiroshi.
“He is now Lt. Hiroshi of the Harajuku Police Station. How fitting that a crime fighter would choose to serve the public in other role as well!” she thought
Now, in the present, the black garbed girl decided to find Lt. Hiroshi. She knew his base was nearby.
“The Ace Archer will rescue Norrie!” she vowed.
She managed to reach the train and as she stood silently in the crowded car, she tried to think of the words to say to the hero. She had seen him more than once. She had deliberately visited his koban or “police house” where he was stationed along with five other police officers. The small stations were located throughout the country and were particularly useful in urban areas where services ranging from giving out directions and maps or performing address searches alternated with more perilous police duties.
“He will help me. I am sure of it. He will prove to be much more effective than any ordinary police officer!” she mused.
She emerged from the train when it reached the station and hurried across the narrow street to where the Harajuku Koban was located.
She took a deep breath and hurried inside. The Koban was like all the other police stations in Japan. It was small and rather compact but it also resembled an American post office in some ways. She had read that urban American police stations were far more like offices with cubicles and computer terminals.
“Pardon me for interrupting you in your important duties but I wish to ask for an interview with Lt. Hiroshi!” she said as a pleasant looking man approached her.
“One moment please and I will inform him of your arrival. Please be seated and he will be with you shortly,” replied the balding officer.
Amaya sat down and nervously adjusted the lace and braiding on her dress. She had prided herself on creating not only a daringly original look for her fashion circle costume but she had imagined an entire backstory for her persona. She was a “Gothic Lolita” from some fantasy based Victorian era. Now, as she sat in the police koban she wondered if the design might not have been the best idea!
“Will they take my claim seriously? I know many older people look down on my friends and our more daring fashion statements!” she mused.
A handsome man with dark hair and the athletic build of one who engages in regular vigorous activity emerged from the rear of the building and bowed slightly as he waited for her to begin.
“I am Lt. Hiroshi. How may I assist you? Do you need directions to some location?” he asked.
Amaya said, “I am Amaya Ito. I am a student at Jissan College. My friend and fellow pupil Norrie Yamaguchi was abducted from our campus. I saw it but was unable to stop the crime. I wanted you to help find her!”
Lt. Hiroshi said, “This is most serious. Please tell me more. The campus in is this prefecture but would it not have been simpler to merely call us?”
She whispered, “I wanted only to find you personally. You see, I know you can find her. I know who you are. My esteemed grandfather was Hiro Ito your former teacher. I know you are the Ace Archer!”
Lt. Hiroshi’s eyes widened in surprise as he glanced both left and right. No one had heard the girl’s whisper.
“Your grandfather was my friend. He was my teacher but surely you do not believe a humble person like myself could truly be..! “
He met her determined and intelligent gaze and stopped speaking.
He nodded abruptly and said, “Come with me, Amaya-chan!”
He led her out of the main reception area to a smaller room and he shut the door behind her.
“I will trust the heir of Ito. You must not speak of what you know again. I need my secret in order to do what needs to be done. We will certainly talk more. Things were left …broken… between your grandfather and myself. I have many regrets. Now, as for Miss Yamaguchi, I do not believe she was kidnapped because of her father’s wealth. I believe she was taken because of his profession as one of the leading scientists at the Kawabuski Institite. A number of other disappearances have recently occurred. The victims have one thing in common. All of them are related to senior officials at that same lab. I fear the abductor wants more than common currency. The labs at the Institute contain many advanced creations that would be best left in proper hands!”
Amaya fought her conflicting emotions. She was concerned for Norrie. She was thrilled that her suspicions about Hiroshi were correct and that she might eventually learn more about her beloved grandfather from this man who meant so much to him. She was also trying to contain another wild idea that raced through her mind.
“ I could be his partner! As the Green Arrow had Speedy so could Ace Archer be my mentor!”
4
Lt. Hiroshi was known for his calm and rational manner but he kept his role as Ace Archer to himself. The costumed role allowed him to exhibit the more dynamic aspects of his personality without jeopardizing his status as the calm and conservative police man. He was certainly not the kind of man to admit his deepest secret to a rather wild looking girl… and yet he had done so! He had not denied her claim’s accuracy because he truly did feel some kind of guilt over how he had hurt her grandsire. He felt that he had a personal debt to the old man’s family. He had failed to make things right with him during his lifetime and now all he could do was honor his debt by treating this young woman with the respect he owed to her late relation.
“I will investigate the labs. I think there is some secret within their interior. No demands have been made for the return of the victims. This villain wants more than money. He wants what these brilliant men do not wish to make public. He wants the fruit of their intellectual labors! If I learn what they hide within their labs, I may learn who holds their loved ones including your young friend!” he said.
He said, “I will seek answers as Ace Archer. I will tell you what I find. We shall talk more!”
Amaya shook her head and said, “Take me with you! I want to work with you. My grandfather taught me all he taught you. I know how to shoot with certainty.”
Hiroshi said, “That is out of the question. I will not put you at risk!”
She said, “You will take me with you or I will tell your colleagues who you are!”
She was bluffing. She would never betray a hero like the Archer but she was betting he could not take that chance. She saw working by his side as some way of honoring her grandfather and also repairing the relationship that had once meant so much to the proud old man.
“I could link both the old ways and the new!” she thought.
Hiroshi sighed and said, “Very well. Do as I say. We will waste no precious time in discussion. We will go to the labs and find out the truth!”
Later, as Amaya rode on the back of a sleek motorcycle driven by the now costumed Archer, she thrilled to the idea that for now at least she was living a dream she had never truly dared to acknowledge before this night.
She wore a black domino mask across her eyes and couldn’t help but think that it went rather well with her Gothic Lolita creation!
“Gosurori, stay close to me. I would not willingly see you harmed and yet your stubbornness has forced me to lead you into what may truly be dangerous!” he said.
“Gosurori- Gothic Loli! I like it!” she said.
He parked near an impressive structure that loomed above them. It was a large skyscraper and it contained the celebrated “brain trust” of Kawabuski Institue!” The Archer knew that the brilliant staff were rumored to have designed weapons that could truly change the world but he also knew that such whispers were often based more on myth than fact.
He said, “We will enter from the side. I have a device that will temporarily cloud our presence!”
He held up an arrow with a strange tip and swiftly fired it into the air. It released a cloud of inky blackness that shrouded the immediate area into total darkness.
The Archer led Gosurori across the well-tended grounds of the facility and they emerged within a narrow hallway.
“You will notice that even an advanced lab has an old fashioned door with a lock that can be manipulated. The door leads to the custodian’s storage room. Such adherence to the old ways makes their more sophisticated defenses rather pointless!” he said.
“You used a trick arrow to open the door in the darkness?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“That would be pointless. I merely used a simple lock pick and the skills I have mastered over the years!”
They made their way down the hall and up a winding staircase of gleaming metal and chrome.
As they crossed a wider passageway and approached a computer lab, he said, “While they are all gifted men, they can’t escape the mentality of the salaryman. All their work will be documented in some manner as to account for the cost of each study or process!”
She nodded and looked around as he swiftly worked on the computer.
“You are amazing! Can even the Green Arrow do that?” she asked.
“I spent some time with a technological expert! Computers are both the way of the future and a certain guide to the data that reveals all!”
He frowned as the doors swung open to reveal two dramatic female figures.
The first woman was a beautiful Japanese woman with a stunning face and form …and some very eccentric accessories. She had long blonde hair and wore a pink gown.
“You will please step away from the terminal!” she said in a high pitched and child-like voice.
“Plastic Cinderella!” said the Ace Archer as he recognized the android heroine!
Arashi, her creator, was equally well-known to the hero. The taller woman wore a famous costume that consisted of a gleaming black costume that covered her from head to toe. The fabric looked like leather but had the durability of steel. She wore a helmet that covered her head and concealed her features. The one way len in her helmet allowed her to see out but no one could see behind it. Her voice was modified by a device in the armor. No one would ever learn Arashi’s true identity from the way she spoke.
“Ace Archer. You would be wise to obey Plastic Cinderella. She is more patient than I am and you recall that I can be rather deadly when enraged!”
As the Archer nodded and raised his hands, he thought, “When we were lovers, you were quite often enraged, Arashi-san!”
5
The Ace Archer said, “Arashi, we are here because of a mysterious abduction. There is no need for combat!”
Gosurori had heard of the technological daredevil known as Arashi but she was not familiar with the exotic blonde in the flowing ball gown.
“She looks like something out of the Anime!” she thought.
Plastic Cinderella said, “I believe him. He has a nice smile!”
Arashi shook her head and thought, “When I built her I should never have allowed father to give her the personality of a Kawaii! Her innocence can be annoying at times!”
Arashi said, “Plastic Cinderella’s girlish instincts are correct. My helmet sensors detect no charge in your respiration. You are speaking the truth this time!”
Ace Archer could feel the sarcasm in her manner in spite of the fact that her helmet rendered her voice devoid of emotion.
He ignored the sentiment and said, “Several scientists who work here have suffered recent losses. Their loved ones have been taken by unknown men.”
Arashi said, “The victims are here. I can detect them within this facility. My armor scanned the genetic composition of the some of the parents and the program indicates progeny within the complex!”
At that moment the adjacent door opened and six men rushed into the room.
Gosurori recognized two of them from the scene on campus!
“They are the men who took my friend!” she said.
Ace Archer said, “There is no need for discussion. We will simply subdue them!”
He swiftly brought his large bow around and released a stylized arrow. The head opened to release a net which expanded to snare two of the thugs.
Gosurori realized to her surprise that she was nearly as fast with her own shooting as was the famous hero.
She wished she had her own equipment with her. As it was, she could only watch as the Archer displayed the technique her grandfather had instilled within him during their time together.
She sidestepped a lounge from a burly bald man and neatly knocked his legs out from under him with a deft side kick.
“Grandfather taught us both well!” she thought.
Plastic Cinderella swept forward and smiled demurely as she grabbed two other thugs and almost delicately tossed them across the room. She whispered, “I am sorry for your bruises!”
Arashi spun around and connected with a kick that floored the final man.
As the heroes closed in on the beaten thugs a weird transformation occurred. All six men turned to a near liquid state and oozed together into a large puddle which swelled up into a humanoid form which had chalk white skin tone and a wide grin on its face.
“That was most exciting. May we play some more?” it said in a gurgling tone of voice.
An elderly man stepped out of the shadows even as Arashi’s sensors detected him.
“Nuppepp meant no harm. He has the high spirits of an infant!” he said.
Ace Archer said, “You are Dr. Niobi. I have seen your photograph in the paper!”
The famous scientist nodded slightly and said, “As I have noticed your own image, honored sir! I must explain. I am to blame for your distress. Nuppeppi here is my creation. He is a being composed entirely of protoplasm. He may assume any shape and as you noticed he may separate into several different beings at the same time. He is childlike and he is empathic. He accidentally absorbed or duplicated the emotions my colleagues here at the labs feel for their respective families. The innocent creature replicated into the forms of typical men of the city and brought these loved ones here out of a mistaken sense that he loved them and wanted them near because they were loved and needed by those who truly were their parents or spouses. “
Arashi said, “Fascinating! He developed the same feelings for them as his creators had!”
The white figure seemed to wilt sheepishly as they watched him.
“I am sorry!” he said in a plaintive tone of voice.
Dr. Niobi said, “I found his captives in an unused lab nearby and he explained what he had done. Your arrival prevented us from correcting his error. I have explained why his actions were improper!”
Nuppepp said, “May I accompany you? I would learn much from heroes like you!”
Plastic Cinderella flounced over and caressed the blob as she said, “I like him! May I have him?”
Arashi said, “This is all a bit bizarre. We could certainly use someone with such powers and studying him would appeal to the scientist in me!”
Nupepp squealed, “Then I may join your team? “
Ace Archer said, “We are not exactly a team.”
Arashi said, “We always worked well together. I think as professionals we could function as a team of heroes.”
Gosurori said, “I would like to work with you all. “
Ace Archer smiled at the girl and said, “You and I have much to discuss as I said before; however, I have admired your courage and your skill. Perhaps, I will allow you to become my pupil!”
Gosurori smiled and said, “It would be as if you were carrying on a family tradition!”
Plastic Cinderella giggled and she said, “We could enlist Sora and Hikari as well as other local heroes like Rising Sun and Starshine!”
There were details to work out and old hurts to be resolved but it was also the birth of the first team of super heroes Japan had ever known!