"Uncle Dan! Uncle Hiro! You made it!"

Everyone blinked as they turned to see the two SRS members walking in. SRS Dan had his hands in his hoodie pockets, while SRS Hiro was carrying Gammamon like usual.

"Of course we did. Who do you take us for?" SRS Gulus snarked, popping up in Hologram Ghost form.

"Plus, we have to give your Dan this anyway," SRS Hiro said. From their jacket, the demiboy got out a box and handed it to Dan, who blinked as he opened it up to see a black agate.

"In our place, well in special cases, really, we can harness gems in order to form BakuCores and trigger evos," SRS Dan explained. "The present Leader, not ours because they're a bit scatterbrained, told us to get this for ya."

"A stone for acceptance," SRS Drago added. "We heard from Wuliang about what happened, and Fic says he's sorry for that."

Dan blinked again. "I... Guess it's fine? But to them, it's a story, so-"

"It's more than that," SRS Gammamon said. "To Fic-Fic, you guys matter a lot too, so they do want to keep angst to a minimum. It just... Sometimes it kinda lets loose?"

Gammamon looked a bit fascinated at the way he was speaking, and so was Hiro. He hadn't realised just how... Mature this Gammamon sounded.

"Anyway, I think the good old trial and error should help you with using that, so let's get to the real reason we're here. Can't stay for too long or Ben will chew me out about vacations," SRS Dan joked. "I thought that the only story we have that could connect ever so slightly to this case would be that one case."

Upon noticing the others' questioning glances, Wuliang explained, "Uncle Dan and Uncle Hiro helped me a lot with their own experiences when I was starting out under their mentorship. They've been TMing for 11 years and probably more so I thought that if anyone could help Dan-nii right now, it would be them."

"Actually, a lot longer."

"For as long as anyone can remember."

"I heard from my Mom and Dad that when I was, like 4, I nearly got hit by a car. Three consecutive times, I think."

"And when I was around.... 5? The woman Dad accidentally married nearly tried to kill me."

"WHAT?!" Ichita gasped.

"HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?" Mei seemed very much in denial. And she thought HIRO AND UJU WERE BAD. "And wait, your Hokuto is actually okay!?"

"TMing," Both chorused.

"And hey, we're not as extreme as the others," SRS Hiro joked. "Yes, Mei, Dad is just a very dumb person at times. But he cares a lot and he's not evil."

"No, you top them a lot it's not even funny," SRS Gulus drily cut in. "As for Hokuto, he lost a boyfriend to Agatha Harkniss and all that so you can excuse his detachment."

The two sheepishly smiled, with Mei still processing this with Haneul and the rest before SRS Drago reminded, "The story?"

"Ah right! Sorry!" SRS Dan laughed. "It's a pretty funny story, so kick back and relax. No water drinking."

"Why no water drinking?" Shin Ayumi asked curiously.

"Choking on it when you're laughing. Trust me, cases with us are almost always guaranteed to cause laughter."

"Anyway, we had already graduated from university, you see, and were starting out with work. I was working as a freelance programmer and Dan was starting to work as a teacher in Wuliang's school," SRS Hiro began.

"I still can't believe both got degrees. Our TMs have brain cells in the OD, and I am disturbed by how impressed I am," Blues muttered.

The two sweatdropped at that as Hiro pouted.

"I suffered for the years until my graduation, but my teachers helped me out a lot." SRS Dan smiled. "Either way, we were both struggling with work when we got a case assigned to us. A serial murder one."

"A haunted house serial murder case?"

"An attraction at an amusement park in Emu-san's town," Hiro explained. "Shinnosuke-nii wanted us to help out with this case."

"Not the others?"

"Other cases and also personal responsibilities. Ryuuichi is gonna take over for your Brawling class and BE Mag for the general class. George is going to stay over with BE Mag."

"Huh, alright," Dan said while getting his belt out and adjusting it. "You bringing any weapons?"

"Kiyo-nii's making talismans and seals as we speak. He'll send them over via teleportation later."

"Wait, Kiyoshiro can MAKE talismans?" Angoramon asked, accidentally interrupting. 

"He's a magical programmer where we are," SRS Hiro explained. "And our Ruri is an Aura coach/musician. She is great with guns and sports equipment, though."

"Everyone on the team needs a physical weapon to combat with, even if you have partners because of the TM thing," SRS Dan added. "It's why HiHi has his mop and I have my moonstone which I can turn into a saber. The moonstone gives me access to some magic even if my magic reserves are low."

"Huh, that's good," Haneul remarked. "... A mop though?"

"Our Duri has a kitchen knife. Our Uju has a solar gun. Our Keita uses a paper fan. And you have no clue how versatile the thing is," SRS Hiro corrected. "The team adjusted it to work for combat purposes."

Uju blinked. She had a counterpart as well?

"Have you seen Uncle Chan with a billiard stick? Seriously he's great at using weird stuff to fight," Wuliang agreed.

"A BILLIARD STICK?!" Benton was... Very concerned now. "Is your luck that bad?"

"It is what it is. But that's our team. Can we continue the story?"

They all sheepishly smiled while Jang murmured, "A mop to bonk people in the head. That sounds oddly tempting."

"Alright," Dan said while grabbing out her SRS jacket. "Let's get going."

Teleportation-wise, the two didn't have to wait very long because they teleported right to the park, where the telltale yellow tape was strapped to both ends of the entrance.

"Dan, Hiro!" Shinnosuke waved while jogging over. The former Rider looked pretty worried as he said, "Another body was found. They're doing the check-overs, but..."

"What are the chances of it being supernatural?" Hiro asked.

"Pretty high. This amusement park is open to all, but there is a strange rumor about it. Emu guessed it was not his usual issue from that rumour, and I can guess the same. Meaning it's something up your alley."

"Well, true, but we're only here cause the others are busy. Plus, hasn't the Special Investigation Unit opened up to a lot more supernatural cases in recent years?"

"Yeah, but we're still new. That's why I suggesting bringing you two in. You were recommended for the case."

"I swear I will find whoever did that and make them pay,” Hiro grumbled.

"You were recommended?" Shin Tasuku seemed intrigued. "By who?"

"Who else but if not the team?" SRS Dan drily answered.

"To be specific, our Lia and Wynton told him, and I quote, 'Dan and Hiro have been TMing for so long, it's worse than the original SRS' luck. So they're perfect for dealing with chaos,'" SRS Drago said with amusement in his tone.

"How are you so used to this? I don't think I'll ever get used to the backlash of the TM tradition," Drago asked.

"Actually, no, how do you not die?" Hiro added.

"The team's highest bet? A mix of both good and bad luck." SRS Dan shrugged while drinking some sweet tea.

"The second highest bet? We somehow don't die,” SRS Hiro joked.

"But Helios mentioned you weren't dream demons? He said that you were the only non demon in the AB," Alec spoke up.

He was greeted with their blank faces as they chorused, "EXACTLY."

"That's the point of the entire joke." Winnie snorted. "Normally dream demons have crazy bad luck. Goggleheads have it bad. But these two break the scale of what it truly means to be one."

"You're overexaggerating. No one can beat our TMs," Tim said while crossing his arms.

"Kuzuhamon herself said after our battle that both of us combined meant that if she had tried to purify us, quote unquote, she would be struck with the strongest case of karma ever found," SRS Hiro chortled.

The GG group gaped at that.

"KUZUHAMON DID?" Kiyoshiro was down right flabbergasted.

"Trust me, it was HILARIOUS to tell the others." SRS Gulus laughed. "I couldn't stop teasing Hokuto for how unlucky his kid was, and Hokuto began losing it. Heck, I think he squawked at the point of the story when we unlocked Siriusmon. This was before the multiversal erasure thing."

"Your world was affected too?" Ranma looked surprised, but Yuga went silent a bit. He had heard from Wuliang after he had confronted Fic about Takahiro Amia, so he was half aware of what they were referring to.

"It was," SRS Hiro confirmed. "Not pleasant at all. We were in agony cause we visited the nonfictioner world at the time."

The others blinked, but Wuliang rubbed his neck. That vague sense of pain from that day... May not fade yet. But he was going to try.

"Either way, yeah, we were not amused and called Lia and Wynton right after." SRS Dan decided to return to the narrative to avoid getting too dark. "They conveniently were with Shun and Ajit and they had tons of fun teasing the crap out of me."

"Too much fun," SRS Hiro snorted. "That was after the entire case which took days, mind you."

"Days? Why would a case take days?" Mei asked.

"It's... Complicated. You guys only have a limited amount of things to consider when looking at a supernatural case, but we have millions of stuff and they keep growing. Staying on top of stuff despite this constant growth is not easy," Wuliang explained.

"Only gets worse as the years go by," Glasssweeper agreed. "Imagination is really insane, I can tell you that."

The two shrugged upon the shocked looks from the others.

"How?" Jinhyuk asked.

"Experience, a bit of fortune and a lot of connections."

"Just be glad that your scope is only around here, but ours goes here and more-"

"That sounds scary," Noboru shivered.

"Let's not get into that debate," SRS Drago joked. "If anything, during that case, Dan and Hiro were real idiots."

"How so?" Koutarou blinked.

"You'll see," SRS Betel chortled while sitting down beside Gulus with Kaus and Wezen. "Anyway..."

Shinnosuke smiled a bit, although he asked, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Are you guys okay?"

"Whatcha mean?" Dan asked.

"I don't know. You guys seem... Detached from each other?" The detective seemed hesitant as he said that. "Kinda like there's tension between you tw-"

"Who, us?" Hiro burst out laughing. "No way! You know us, Shinno-nii. We're fine!"

"But-"

"We're totally fine!" Dan agreed, forcing a smile. "Leave this case to us okay? You have your kids to take care of at home right?"

"Kiriko is more than capable of-"

"Welp, looks like the autopsy is out! See ya!" Hiro waved before they ran off, ignoring his shout.

Walking up to him was Tenkuji Takeru, fresh from inside the house as he barely dodged the two. "Woahhhh! What's going on here? Was that Hiro-kun and Dan-kun?"

"Yeah. Am I the only one thinking they have something to hide?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Dan-kun would never run into a haunted house willingly," Takeru pointed out as the brown-haired shaman sighed. "The others have been worried, huh? Akinori-kun mentioned that they seemed a bit too distant from each other in the last meet-up."

"That's the worrying thing," He agreed. "Something is up with those two and I sure wish I could help but..."

"It's their relationship and they should figure it out on their own?" Takeru guessed.

"Yeah. We can't really do anything."

Takeru sighed, even as a smile formed slightly. "I think they'll be fine. It's Dan-kun and Hiro-kun."

Shinnosuke laughed a bit. "Point taken! Anyway, let's get some coffee. Taking care of the temple must be hard, isn't it?"

"I'll take tea if we're doing this, the-"

There it was.

Takeru froze, looking back quickly just to see a silhouette slide somewhere and disappear.

What... What was that malice? That... Hatred he had sensed?

"Takeru?" Shinnosuke waved his hand in front of his face. "You okay?"

"That was... No, it can't be..." The ghost hunter murmured. Not even against Geno Labite or Mabel had he sensed...

Just... What was that?

venusaura I'll be trying to take my time with this!