The Ideal Romantic Hero

I got off at my usual stop near the school, but this time I needed to walk straight on the sidewalk for a few blocks. Before I knew it, the humble little café shop came into view.

Just like a lot of businesses adjoining Roppongi High, The Escapist Lounge had an ornate landscape of various trees and bushes growing on the borders of the street block it occupied. But the owner's took the landscaping to an even higher level and cultivated plant life into little pots that stood behind the open panes of glass that formed the storefront.

Perhaps in a bid to attract the local youth, they would host themed months for the café several times a year. Because a large chunk of students spent time with their friends or romantic partners, the typical customers during those months were typically single students or friend groups with nerdy hobbies like anime and video games.

Students like me, basically.

I don't say this to be insulting, of course. If I was, I'd never bring Fumiko here myself.

I crossed the threshold of the store, the old-fashioned chime ringing as I stepped inside.

"Welcome to The Escapist Lo-"

The older woman in her mid-to-late twenties with a bob haircut stopped short when she recognized who I was.

"Kenta, is that you? It's been forever since I've seen the hardest working junior varsity basketball player. The owner really missed you. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. Tell Mr. Sakamoto he has nothing to worry about. I'm here for the foreseeable future, maybe."

"So what's the occasion for coming back?"

"Um, I guess I have a date here."

"Oh, alright. This older lady won't pry anymore. Enjoy your stay, and someone will be right with you to take your order!"

"Thank you very much."

I sat down in the usual space in the café. I sat in the middle of the wall where a majority of the tables were placed, to get just the right amount of sun. I didn't want the lighting to be too depressing, but I also didn't want to be overpowered by the sun's hostile rays.

I was impressed by how powerful I felt in the ornate iron-wrought chair that I sat in, the most flamboyant detail being the spikes that protruded from each side of the headrest. I really felt like one of the evil emperors in the Ravagers tv show. Usually, themed cafés would phone it in and just paste a bunch of anime wallpaper on the walls and hand you some themed coffee mugs and call it a day.

It was almost too convenient that they were hosting a sentai theme this month, but I guess that's why the idea came into my head. If this idea didn't pan out, I still had another in my back pocket, but I was in no pressure to use it yet.

I read the time on my phone. 4:15 p.m..

She was running a bit late, but I guess I could be a little patient.

My expectations were mostly in check.

Everything didn't have to be perfect, at least not right away.

I chuckled under my breath when I remembered her message.

She promised she wouldn't be late, but she was already fifteen minutes late.

As the extra minutes began to stack on top of the original fifteen minutes, I began to have some thoughts as my eyes wandered around the posters of the sentai heroes plastered on the walls of the café.

What were her expectations for this date? For me?

Was her litmus for a good date all the other boys from her multiple first dates, or was it Hiro, the boy that disappeared from her life all those years ago? Or maybe, because she’s technically never felt love, there was no expectation, but then the expectation looming over me became that more nerve-wracking.

Was this even a real date, or was it just a date between friends?

At this point, even I didn't have the answer to that. I said we were doing this as friends, but the info from the day before changed everything. It colored our relationship with an overbearing light that I was forced to stare into.

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, causing my head to swivel on my neck in surprise.

"I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"

My anxious train of thought was put to a halt at the sight before me.

***

Fumiko was dressed in a winter blue spaghetti strap dress, the collar decorated with white frills. The cut was a bit lower than the clothing she usually wore, but the dress was secure enough that any shifting didn't reveal too much.

Her white-blue hair was tied into a cute ponytail, which exposed her ear accessories. Her light blue dress was accompanied with a set of white pumps and white ball earrings that covered about a third of her earlobes.

I discovered the dress remained secure because there was a white sash with a small emblem buckle that was an exact replica of the Ravager sigil found on their belt was snugly tied around her ribcage.

I almost couldn't believe that she put an outfit this well-put together all by herself.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Fumiko said.

Only twenty minutes, but who's counting really? Anyway, most of my anxiety was pretty much gone anyway, so my annoyance was a moot point. More importantly, I couldn't take my eyes off this version of Fumiko.

"Erm, I actually just got here 5 minutes ago," I said, chuckling.

"Oh, thank goodness," She said, exhaling as she chose the seat closest to me and began scooting towards me.

She flashed a disarming smile as she giggled under her breath. Her eyes were fixated on me in the same way she analyzed me when we first met. I wasn't expecting a return from her terminator side. Why was she focusing so intently, anyway? What was there to analyze from this situation?

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have something in my backpack for you," I said, taking off my backpack and unzipping to grab the plastic bag with my gift inside.

I handed her the bag. Her eyes scanned over the title of the paperback light novel several times over, trying to confirm if what her eyes were registering was the truth.

"The White Ravager: The First Romantic Ranger? Where did you find this," She asked while cradling the light novel to her chest as she squeed in delight.

"Haha, I entered a bit of a bidding war to get it, but I eventually got it."

"Oh, my apologies to your wallet."

"I actually got it for 2,600 yen, so no big deal."

"Oh, is that so? That's relieving-- and somehow a little underwhelming at the same time."

"Oof, yeah I know. So I've been meaning to ask. I've only been to your room a couple times, but I noticed that you basically have a shrine dedicated to the Super Sentai Ravager franchise. Is there a story behind that?"

She looked fondly at the cover and admired the glossiness of the copy.

She gave her answer without lifting her eyes.

"You know, Kenta, I was a big fan of heroes as a kid. They helped me make sense of the justice of the world as a kid, and served as the basis for my knowledge of writing about love."

"Wow. I'm impressed that the show had that big of an impact on you. How did you remember enough about the show to make use of the source material?"

"Well, I certainly had a couple of memories that solidified the show in my mind. Back then, my Papa was a rising star that was ready to take the literary world by storm. Naturally, he became the first hero that I looked up to, but as he told me as a kid, there are always larger dreams that matter more."

I see. So her old man was more practical then I gave him credit for. But it certainly wasn't for nothing. I'm sure whenever he sees Fumiko, her father's heart wells with pride.

"Around the time my father decided to step away from his career as an author in the literary world, and sacrificed his dream for the sake of the family he wanted to see grow and prosper, I felt a little guilt that I was the reason he brushed it all aside. I thought to myself, 'What cause was worth sacrificing your dreams?'"

Perhaps unintentionally, she glimpsed down at the Ravager's insignia on her dress's sash.

"Then one day, a certain sentai show about a group of reluctant teenagers facing off against an unknown evil in the galaxy debuted on Japanese television," she said, exhaling with jubilance.

"One thing that I appreciated about the series was that it cared about the problems of the common person just as much as the larger alien threat. Whenever they fought for the safety of earth, the show convinced me that they were fighting everyone's battles, not just their own," I said.

"I knew you'd understand the brilliance of Ravagers," she said with a smug childish smirk.

"Well, I just thought it was a shame the show didn't get a third season, is all."

"Yup, you represent the ideal of a romantic hero perfectly, Kenta," she said, her cheeks rosy.

"Wait, what," I asked.

I was taken off guard by such an unexpectedly dreamy line.

"Do you understand why I chose to date you at this point, Kenta?"

"Not a single iota. I don't think the subject ever came up, really."

"I don't have any real romantic experiences, Kenta. Nothing that I could take with me after just one date. All I have, as a writer, are the ideals I've built up since I became a Ravagers fan. But the funny thing is, I don’t think I can easily model you after any of the Ravagers.”

“If I’m not one of the Ravager members, then who am I?”
“Well, there was this one hero, brash, initially resistant to love..”

“Hmm, yeah?”

“But he was an ally of love, all the same. Of course, I don’t want to box you into a category you don’t want to be in,” she said, dismissively waving her hands.

She clutched the Ravagers prequel even closer to her chest, finally lifting her eyes to meet my gaze again.

The ideal romantic hero, huh. I haven't done nearly enough to justify that description.

Not yet.

***

A server broke the miasmic atmosphere with his presence. He was dressed head to toe in a red ranger suit and dramatically posed in front of us, the choreography in perfect lock step as if he had done it with the other members of the Ravagers.

"Halt, evildoers, you haven't told me what you wanted to order," he said, pointing at us.

We both scrambled to look at the menu, not realizing that we've talked for several minutes without ordering anything.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll take the Chalice of the Stolen Heart beverage and a Vengeance burger with fries," I said, handing the ranger server my menu.

"I'll have the Goblet of Envy and Conqueror's Steak basket, also with fries," Fumiko said.

I was tempted to say how much food that looked like, but I resisted the urge to say something smart that would result in even more painful smarts.

The server had one more performance before he left our table with the menus.

"When I return, you will be vanquished, evildoer!"

He threw his fist within a few inches of my face. Yup, that was very convincing. For a brief moment, I almost believed that I lost my bladder control. When he left, I could subtly hear the sound of muffled chuckling behind a mask.

When the flamboyant red ranger left to tend to another customer, I suddenly felt the presence of a final enemy greater than any evil emperor. The casual ambience of the date had melted away to give way to introspection I'd rather not have today. But Fumiko unexpectedly broke the silence before any more awkwardness could build.

"Hey, Kenta. I know you don't want to spend most of the date answering random questions about each other, so I have a solution."

"And what's that Fumiko-san?"

"We'll do a speed round, like what we would do during a speed date, but then the date keeps going. Whaddya say?"

The curious metallic glint returned to her sharp blue eyes once again, her playful smile belying her more questionable intentions.