Chapter 19: Fortunately, Ryu Aihara Couldn’t See This

I had never seen Gaia’s human form, so the two of them didn’t recognize each other at all.

But that wasn’t much of a problem. The Takayama family’s courtyard was open-style, and with the door now open, anyone approaching would be visible at a glance.

As he chatted with Mrs. Takayama, Jojo was also keeping an eye out to see whether Gaia would arrive.

“Lately on TV, they’ve been saying there are monsters in the K1 district—it’s near Gaia’s school, so at first I was worried about him,” Mrs. Takayama said.

“This child, still hasn’t called home even now,” she continued, her face showing both concern and mild reproach for Gaia.

Though this lady was getting on in years, she still carried a charming air, a unique elegance that set her apart.

At first, she thought Jojo might be like Gaia, perhaps not good at communicating, given that people with similar personalities tend to gather together. She still remembered how Gaia was as a child.

But after a brief conversation, she realized Jojo was different, and soon began speaking of family matters.

Even though Mrs. Takayama and her husband took a hands-off approach to Gaia’s upbringing, what parents don’t worry about their child?

“Gaia just joined XIG. Maybe he’s busy adapting,” Jojo replied, his eyes still flicking toward the gate as he spoke to Mrs. Takayama.

She sighed. “Busy or not, he should at least call. Neither his father nor I know anything.”

“I’ve heard XIG’s members have to deal with monsters invading Earth. That’s so dangerous.”

Listening to Gaia’s mother, Jojo couldn’t help but mutter inwardly. Indeed, Gaia was too dangerous.

His first transformation and battle left a huge crater in the city—thank goodness Ryu Aihara wasn’t on this planet, or else he’d surely have raged at Gaia.

What exactly did you protect.jpg

Of course, the reason Gaia’s first transformation stirred up tens of meters of earth and stone was because the planet itself was welcoming Gaia.

As he dealt with Mrs. Takayama’s rambling, Jojo realized something. Most likely, this lady was usually alone at home, with little company or conversation.

Gaia went to school elsewhere, her husband worked during the day, so Mrs. Takayama was a housewife, spending most days by herself.

Now that she had someone to talk to, she couldn’t help but share more.

Fortunately, Jojo had no ill intentions, nor any plans to pursue married women, otherwise there would be plenty of ways to make Gaia call him something else in the future.

If Gaia were present at this moment, Jojo would’ve remarked, “Gaia, your mother misses you.”

Silently musing to himself, Jojo continued chatting with Mrs. Takayama.

Just then, at the spot he’d been watching from the corner of his eye, Gaia appeared.

“Hey! Gaia!” Jojo called out, feigning surprise as he stood.

Before Mrs. Takayama could turn around, he strode forward in a few large steps. “Finally, you’re back.”

As he spoke, he reached out, draping an arm around Gaia’s shoulder and pulling him close, so that both of them now had their backs to Mrs. Takayama.

“You joined XIG without telling me. Aren’t we friends?”

The sudden gesture left Gaia bewildered—he didn’t know what was happening, and besides, he didn’t know this person.

Feeling uncomfortable with a stranger’s arm on his shoulder, Gaia was about to question him when something caught his eye.

Jojo’s transformation device appeared on his wrist, and Gaia stared in surprise.

That familiar glow, the Y-shaped red emblem on the device—it all reminded Gaia of something.

He turned to look at Jojo, his eyes wide with shock.

He was about to ask, but Mrs. Takayama walked over just then, her tone reproachful. “Gaia, how can you ignore your friend like that?”

“Huh? Mom.” Gaia jumped in surprise at his mother’s approach, instinctively glancing at Jojo’s wrist, only to find the device gone.

But he was sure he hadn’t imagined it.

Mrs. Takayama saw Gaia’s reaction and felt her son was being rude. “You joined XIG and didn’t tell Mr. Jojo, making him search everywhere for you these past few days.”

“I…” Gaia was momentarily at a loss for words.

He wanted to say he didn’t know Jojo, but the transformation device had revealed Jojo’s identity, so in a way, he did know him.

Looking at Mrs. Takayama, Gaia could only say to Jojo, “Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“No worries.”

Jojo acted magnanimous.

Seeing this, Gaia was internally speechless, silently complaining, “Now it seems like I’m the one at fault.”

Though it was their first meeting, Gaia knew not to expose Jojo’s identity, so he simply accepted the situation.

With Gaia’s intelligence, he naturally guessed why Jojo had come—he must have discovered Gaia was Gaia.

Which was just as well, since Gaia also wanted to find Jojo.

Mrs. Takayama didn’t linger on the subject. Seeing that the two young men clearly had something to discuss, she said, “Mr. Jojo, stay for lunch. I’ll go buy groceries.”

“Thank you,” Jojo replied, not refusing.

“It’s no trouble,” Mrs. Takayama said, heading inside to grab her purse before wheeling her bicycle out.

Before leaving, she instructed Gaia, “Gaia, be sure to take good care of Mr. Jojo.”

“Mom, I know,” Gaia replied awkwardly, glancing at Jojo.

‘I wonder what he said to Mom—why do they seem so familiar?’

Mrs. Takayama pushed her bike out of the yard and rode off toward the market.

Once she was gone, Jojo withdrew his arm from Gaia’s shoulder and walked toward the coastal fence at the edge of the yard.

His easygoing façade vanished, and with his back to Gaia, he said, “Gaia Ultraman—it really wasn’t easy to find you.”

“So you do know,” Gaia replied, stepping up. “Looks like you’re Jojo Ultraman!”

Jojo didn’t deny it.

The two walked to the fence, where Jojo gazed out at the distant sea. “I came to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Gaia asked, curiosity evident.

He was actually quite interested in how Jojo had gained Ultraman powers, but seeing Jojo had something important to say, he set that question aside for now.

“There’s another person on Earth who has gained the power of the ocean and become Agul Ultraman.”

Knowing the story, Jojo certainly wouldn’t sit back and let Fujimiya do as he pleased.

But he couldn’t find where Fujimiya was, so he had to seek out Gaia first.

“There’s another Ultraman!?” Gaia exclaimed, his face filled with shock, then pressed, “Who is he? Do you know him?”

Jojo glanced at Gaia, not keeping him in suspense. “Hiroya Fujimiya—once a member of Alchemy Star. You know him.”

“It’s actually him!” Gaia immediately recalled past events.

He hadn’t finished processing it when Jojo continued, “Surprised? But you should be prepared—he’s planning to eliminate most of humanity.”

Jojo’s words were calm, but they gave Gaia a sudden jolt.

“What do you mean? Isn’t Fujimiya an Ultraman? Why would he eradicate humanity?”