Sixth Nin - Project Kurenai!

Sixth Nin - Project Kurenai! is the sixth episode of Hero Retold: Kamen Rider Shinobi. It is also the first of the side story episodes that focus on the other characters in the series. This episode explores the backstory of Rekka Ayano prior to her first appearance in Third Nin - A Shinobi Memory...

Plot
At a local hospital, Rekka has herself checked out by a doctor after the encounter with the protesters last night, which became a large Nin-Ju incident. She remembers getting slammed to the ground by Kamen Rider Shinobi, feeling that she let herself get caught off-guard. The physician tells her that she fractured her right shoulder, though her injury isn’t as serious. She leaves the hospital with a sling on, just as she sees the promotions from the Konjo Group’s upcoming event.

Back at the Tokyo MPD precinct, Rekka hands her Scarlet Hyoutan back to Chief Takajo, the latter remarking that tuning the bottle would take much longer due to the volume of Sanzu waters collected. He then notes that she could use the time to fully recover from her injury, but Rekka assures him that she could still work despite being in a sling. Just then, Hayase enters the office, reporting that the protesters they rescued last night have been released from custody, while the others are also getting treated at different hospitals. Chief Takajo compliments both Rekka and Hayase for their job last night and gives the two the day off. Rekka initially objects to this, but Hayase gently pulls Rekka away from the office, thanking their chief along the way. Rain starts to pour just as Hayase is about to leave the precinct. He pauses to look at the sky, only for Rekka to open her umbrella and jokingly say that this is just ordinary rain, not another Blood Storm. Hayase replies that he forgot to bring an umbrella himself, Making Rekka share her umbrella with him up to his car. In turn, Hayase offers her a ride to her home, a deal that Rekka accepts.

While driving, Hayase remarks that it is actually fun to work alongside a Rider once again, only for Rekka to cut him off and note how he’s been in the force for over a decade now. Hayase tells her that being a police officer is his true calling and that he wouldn't want anything else, despite not being a ninja himself. When Rekka asks if not being a ninja is a burden, he simply repeats what Rekka said in the briefing about how it is the police’s duty to protect people, not just catch criminals. As long as he could fulfill these roles, he won’t need ninja abilities, even saying that it may even become a burden to him, simply because he wouldn’t know how to handle all that power. As the rain stops and the skies became clear, Hayase smiles and tells Rekka to buckle up as he tries to show off his slick driving skills that his friend taught him. Hayase floors it, just as his car speeds off, scaring Rekka.

Inside a holding cell, Yabe suddenly wakes up only to see Chief Takajo visiting him. He shows him of the leaked briefing about the Nin-Ju, joking that the reporter’s video makes explaining it much easier, before deleting it. A repentant Yabe kneels in grief, not only because of the woman’s death but also because he had also hurt more people as a Nin-Ju. He asks to be put down before he harms more people, but Chief Takajo tells him that his waters were already sealed, and he won’t become a Nin-Ju, or in fact a ninja, ever again. As for his crime, Chief Takajo tells Yabe to repent by serving in the police force once more, this time as a learned officer that people can trust. Chief Takajo leaves a repentant Yabe as he answers a call from his phone.

Back at the Konjo Group, Isamichi files some of his paperwork in his office when Ayame enters, saying that the issues with the protesters have already been settled, as well as the control to the media attention it drew. She also tosses the Gold Hyoutan which Isamichi caught, saying that he caught the short-end of the stick last night since his Hyoutan wasn’t as full as she thought, despite the number of Nin-Ju in the area. Icchy simply brushes off the remark, saying that it wasn’t a contest between them. Ayame does note that the tuning took less time than before, but Icchy simply dismisses her for a job well done just as he calls someone, revealed to be Chief Takajo.

A haggard Rekka finally arrives at her home and as Hayase drops her off, he tells her to rest up fast, because an important task was given to them in exchange for this day-off, before driving away. In her home, Rekka lies on her bed, sling on, browsing pictures from her tablet from her time as a kunoichi graduate, until her admission to the Tokyo MPD. As she reminisces, she also recalls the very first time she met Chief Takajo:

Years ago, in L.A., Rekka was in the middle of a hostage situation, where a group of kidnappers holds a teenage girl for ransom. The abductors demand 10 million dollars be delivered at the specific premises, with Rekka being assigned to deliver the money. As Rekka enters the open space, she sees the young girl unconscious on the ground. As she tries to radio in back-up, she gets caught in a trap, where the kidnappers remove their disguise to reveal that they are Dustards. The young girl also transforms into the Yaminin and tries to catch Rekka, only for her to fight him back. She then tries to engage all the Dustards but their numbers become too much for her to handle alone.

Suddenly, the Kurogane Retsutaka flies past the area, attacking and destroying some of the Dustards before dropping the Scarlet Hyoutan to her. Not knowing what to do, Rekka instead unloads the waters inside the Hyoutan to the ground, though it forms the DaiKunais, which she uses to destroy the rest of the Dustards just as the Yaminin escapes. As she clears out the rest of the Nin-Ju, Chief Takajo approaches her, saying that she just wasted the Sanzu Waters inside and it would take time to tune the Hyoutan once again. Rekka initially goes on the defensive but the chief introduces himself just as the back-up from Interpol arrives.

Rekka suddenly wakes up, having slept the entire time, as a sharp pain hits her right shoulder. As she tries to massage it in place, she suddenly remembers Shinobi slamming her to the ground once again, before recalling that Rentaro also pinned her to ground the same day. She looks through the pictures they had as teenagers until their graduation as ninjas before smiling, dismissing the idea altogether.

Fan Casting

 * Rekka Ayano: Kazusa Okuyama
 * Chief Takajo: Masahiro Takashima
 * Akira Hayase: Yukihiro Takiguchi
 * Isamichi Konjo: Takuma Zaiki
 * Ayame Suzumi: Kana Oya
 * Yabe: Yohei Komatsu
 * Yaminin: Masashi Ebara (voice)

Guest Cast

 * Physician: Yuria Haga (cameo)
 * Young Girl: Aya Marsh (cameo)

Suit Actors

 * Yaminin: Yasuhiko Imai