#gatrikephone

[barber100dr]

Kamen Rider Saber: DX Gatrikephone #toyphotography #kamenrider #kamenriderseries #kamenridersaber #gatrikephone #ridegatriker #swordoflogos #toumakamiyama #rintaroshindo #meisudo #roleplaytoys #仮面ライダー #仮面ライダーセイバー #ガトライクフォン #石ノ森章太郎 (at Wonder World) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnH0gu7sIWx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kawaiilizzie]

Every Rider needs a trustworthy ally, and this girl is that to Lobera. Look below the tab for more information on Shion, Kaede’s co-worker and closest ally.

Name: Shion Akamatsu

Kanji: 赤松 姫媛

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Ally Type: Civilian

Occupation: College Student, Waitress

Affiliation: Touma Kamiyama’s team, Magi Manga Cafe

Homeworld: Earth

Talents/Abilities: Dancing, Bilingual (Japanese and English), Very agile

Equipment: Smart Phone (Uses its camera to take pictures of Megid activity and send them to the Riders), Book Gate Wonder Ride Book (Uses it as a transporter to inform the Riders of Megid activity faster), Gatrikephone (Temporary borrowed from Kaede)

Description: Shion Akamatsu is a co-worker of Kaede’s at Magi Manga Cafe and a close ally of hers. A lover of fantasy and fairytale endings as well as an eye for fashion, Shion is always willing to hear someone out if it seems like something is bothering them. Being one who wants to help in any way she can, she can come across as stubborn sometimes but isn't afraid to step out onto the battlefield to provide emotional support to the Riders.

Notes: Her ideal actress is Noel Hayase from the J-Pop group FRUITS ZIPPER, and she has many different outfits

[rosegrl18]

Day Twelve - First “I love you”s

Fandom: Kamen Rider Saber

Pairing(s): Mei Sudo x Rintaro Shindo

Prompt: Day Twelve - First “I love you”s

Notes:

She'd let her guard down again. Now she was, once again, in the clutches of Storious and his Megid. She didn't even want to think about what Storious had in mind for her because she knew it was nothing good. With his strong grip on her neck, he held her in place as he ordered his Megid to put her into a deep sleep. Ah, now things made sense to Mei. The Megid must have been from a Wonder Ride Book based on "Sleeping Beauty". If the Megid was going to put her into a deep sleep, she was sure even the Megid's defeat wouldn't wake her up. Mei closed her eyes and prepared for the Megid's attack.

The Megid launched her attack, engulfing Mei in mystical energy that put her into a deep sleep. Storious released his grip on Mei and sent her unconscious body dropping to the ground. He smirked and told his Megid to retreat for the time being. The two Megid retreated back to their headquarters, leaving Team Saber to tend to the unconscious Mei. Touma held Rintaro back from charging Storious, stating that coming up with a plan to save Mei was more important than reckless revenge.

Ryo scooped Mei into his arms and made his way toward Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama. Once in the bookstore, the plan was that Team Saber would walk through the Book Gate to Northern Base and consult with Sophia on what the next course of action should be in order to save Mei. A plan would also be made to defeat the Megid. Kento and Ren looked at Rintaro and noticed that he looked just as he had after Zooous had finished gloating about killing his master, Nagamine-sensei. He wasn't his typical calm, cool, and collected self anymore, and that was concerning.

After what seemed like forever, Team Saber finally reached Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama. Everyone filed in and headed for the Book Gate at the back of the store. Opening up the door, Rintaro was the first one through. Touma ran after him, just to make sure he didn't do anything too reckless. Kento and Ren were next, with Ryo bringing up the rear with Mei. The quintet of swordsmen ran into the large library that served many functions for the Sword of Logos' members.

"Sophia-san, we need your help! Mei's in trouble!" Touma pleaded.

"Please calm down and tell me what happened."

"Storious created a Megid who puts her victims to sleep. I'm not sure exactly how she does it, but when Mei was hit, I noticed an energy output."

"The Megid must be using a type of sleep energy to put her victims into a sleep state. Do we have any idea how deep the sleep state is?"

"We don't, but if we could figure out which story the Megid is from, it'll help us out a lot."

Touma turned to Kento.

"You're right. That would help us out a lot. Knowing which story the Megid came from would help us devise a plan to defeat her and wake her victims up. Our clues are "fairy tale", "sleep", and "energy". Does anyone have any ideas?"

Everyone thought hard for a few moments, then, Kento's head shot up.

"Could it be possible for the Megid to be based on "Sleeping Beauty"? It's a fairy tale, the heroine is put to sleep, and there're magic elements in the story. Touma, you said you noticed an energy output after the Megid attacked. Could that energy output have been some sort of sleep magic?"

"It had to be. If she's a Megid created from the "Sleeping Beauty" Wonder Ride Book, then yes, she most likely attacks her victims with sleep magic. If we can defeat her, all of her victims should wake up."

"I'll go with you, Touma. You can't defeat her alone."

"I wanna go with Kento too!"

"I'll be there too!"

Ren just grinned like an idiot at Touma.

"We will all go."

The grin slid off of Ren's face as the tone suddenly shifted.

"No, Rintaro. I'll go. You stay here with Sophia, Tetsuo-kun, and Mei. I'm sure your face is the first thing Mei will want to see upon waking up."

He handed Mei off to Rintaro and joined Touma, Kento, and Ren in preparation to fight the Megid.

"Alright, let's go. The quicker we defeat her, the quicker her victims will wake up and no one else can be targeted." The four swordsmen left Northern Base.

"Rintaro, please place her here." Sophia motioned to a table off to the side, with various monitors hooked up to it. "We need to track her vitals."

Rintaro placed Mei on the table and Tetsuo hooked up the various monitors to Mei, watching as her vital signs came up on the screens.

"It would seem as though the Megid placed her in a state of a deep sleep, deeper than we initially believed."

"What does that mean, Sophia-san?"

"It means that even if the Megid is defeated, Mei still may not wake up."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I don't have those answers for you, Rintaro. There's still a chance that defeating the Megid will cause her to awaken, but the fact that she was placed into a deep sleep state doesn't make that likely. There may be another method we need to employ to awaken her."

"What method would that be?"

"Tell me, Rintaro. Have you ever read the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale?"

"No, I have not. What is it about?"

"A beautiful, young woman is placed into a deep sleep state by an evil witch and she is only awoken by the power of true love's kiss."

"Mei and I have not been a couple for very long. We have not even kissed or told each other "I love you"."

"It doesn't matter how long you've been together, Rintaro. If your love is true, then your kiss will awaken her."

Just then, Tetsuo's Gatrikephone rang. It was Touma calling him to say they had defeated the Megid, and all of her victims near them had woken up. Tetsuo had to tell him that Mei was the only victim that hadn't woken up yet.

"Rintaro, I think you know what you have to do."

"Yes, Sophia-san. May we have a moment alone, please?"

"Of course." Sophia and Tetsuo left the room, leaving Rintaro alone with Mei.

"Mei, I am terrified at this moment. I am terrified that I am going to lose the kind, sweet, bubbly girl lying in front of me. I never want to lose you. I never want to experience the heartbreak of spending one more moment of my life without you. I swear on Suiseiken Nagare that, I, Rintaro Shindo, love you, Mei Sudo."

He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. He felt as though he'd violated her, but knew it was a necessary step in waking her up. He stepped back from the table and waited, watching to see what happened next. A few seconds passed, and then what seemed like minutes. Nothing was happening and Rintaro wondered if she didn't feel the same way. He looked down at the floor as if there was something more interesting there than what was right in front of him. The machines began beeping loudly and Rintaro thought he was going to lose the love of his life. However, when he looked up at the table, he noticed Mei had her eyes open. She was awake!

"Mei? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

Mei yawned a bit, still slightly tired from her ordeal. She was also very confused. One minute, she was being held and nearly strangled by Storious, and the next, she was asleep. She couldn't remember anything after that.

"I'm fine, Rintaro. I'm just a bit tired and very confused."

"A Megid put you into a deep sleep state. The Megid was from "Sleeping Beauty"."

"I actually had that worked out before she put me to sleep. Did defeating her wake me up?"

"Not exactly. From what I could hear Touma say over the phone, the rest of her victims woke up immediately following her defeat. However, you were in a deeper state of sleep than they were, so it took longer for you to awaken."

"I also remember the fairy tale having something to do with "true love's kiss"? At the end of the story, she's awoken by a kiss from the prince!"

"I cannot recall, but I do not think that is what originally happened."

Mei pouted and pulled herself off the table, unhooking the machines as she went.

"So, how exactly did you wake me up, Rintaro?"

He looked down at the ground, attempting to avoid eye contact with his girlfriend. He shuffled his feet a little and was dreading answering her question. His cheeks and tips of his ears were burning and he was afraid of what she might say if she knew.

"Would you believe me if I told you that you eventually woke up on your own?"

"No."

"I woke you up with "true love's kiss"."

"I thought that only worked in fairy tales!"

"Now we know that it also works to dispel a Megid's magical powers derived from a fairy tale."

"Right. Fairy tale Megid, fairy tale abilities, fairy tale way of dispelling the magic."

Rintaro smiled a bit as his girlfriend worked things out.

"I wish to tell you something, Mei."

"What is it, Rintaro?"

"When you were attacked by Storious and his Megid, I was terrified. I was terrified because I thought I was going to lose you. You are kind, sweet, caring, bubbly, and the list continues. However, one thing will never change and that is the fact that I never want to experience the heartbreak of spending one more moment of my life without you. I have already lost my master and I do not wish to lose you too. I swear on my holy blade, Suiseiken Nagare, that I, Rintaro Shindo, love you, Mei Sudo and I will always protect you, no matter what."

Mei was stunned. This was the first time Rintaro told her "I love you". Granted, it was in his own sweet, dorky way, but it was a confession nonetheless. She smiled a bit and launched herself into his arms, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"I assume that your reaction means you love me too?"

"Yes, you sweet, sweet, adorable dork. I love you too, Rintaro."

[kawaiilizzie]

I created this character a while back and shared it to some buddies on Discord, creating an interesting lore in the process. So, I decided to bring this character over here. Look below the tab for more information on Kaede Shinaki aka Kamen Rider Lobera, the Swordswoman of Ice.

Name: Kaede Shinaki

Kanji: 心秋 楓

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Aliases: Kae-chan (かえちゃん) (By Shion), Swordswoman of Ice (雪の剣士, Yuki no Kenshi)

Motif: Yuki-onna, Knightess, Crystals, Ice/Snow, Princess, Journals

Rider Type: Hero

Occupation: College Student, Waitress

Affiliation: Sword of Logos, Touma Kamiyama’s team, Magi Manga Cafe

Homeworld: Earth

Talents/Abilities: Singing, Dancing, Takes advantage of her surroundings, Skilled with elemental magic

Powers: Ice, water, wind, and sound manipulation, Water and wind magic siphoning

Equipment: Sessouken Fubuki (雪霜剣吹雪, lit. Snow Frost Sword Blizzard) (Transformation device and personal weapon), Wonder Ride Books (Transformation trinkets), Sword of Logos Buckle (Belt and energy source), Sword of Logos Holder (Carrying straps for Wonder Ride Books), Gatrikephone (Communication device), Diagospeedy (Lobera’s Rider Machine)

Description: Kaede Shinaki is the younger sister of the previous Swordswoman of Ice, Ayaka, who sacrificed herself for her sake in battle 15 years ago. Working as a waitress at Magi Manga Cafe, she is as sweet as candy and willing to reach out to ‘outsiders’ like her, but don’t let that and her cutesy fashion sense fool you, she is willing to fight if it means unveiling the truth no matter how grim it is. Working with her co-worker Shion, Kaede is willing to work with others to protect both the real world and Wonder World.

Notes: Her ideal actress is Yui Sakurai from the J-Pop group FRUITS ZIPPER, the Sessouken Fubuki is based on a sabre and its henshin activation is based on the ForceRiser from Zero-One

[rosegrl18]

Day Twenty-Four - Matching outfits/C noticing A and B have matching lock screens

Fandom: Kamen Rider Saber

Pairing(s): Mei Sudo x Rintaro Shindo

Prompt: Day Twenty-Four - Matching outfits/C noticing A and B have matching lock screens

Notes:

Mei was swiping through various photos on her phone when she noticed Touma looking over her shoulder. She quickly put her phone to sleep, though it accidentally woke when she raised it a little bit. Touma got a brief look at her lock screen, a picture of her and Rintaro. He swore up and down to himself that he'd seen that picture somewhere else before, though he couldn't recall where. At first.

"You and Rintaro have matching lock screens."

"What?"

"On your phones. You and Rintaro have matching lock screens," Touma repeated.

She had no idea Rintaro used that photo for his lock screen on his Gatrikephone. After it was taken, she'd sent it to him, but she had no idea what he did with it afterward.

"Is having matching lock screens a bad thing?"

"No, I actually think it's kind of cute the way you two match like that."

"You make it seem like we're sickeningly sweet."

"You are. You're the only couple among our circle of friends and when you think none of us are looking, you're always off whispering stuff to each other, hugging, or cuddling up to each other."

"How do you know we aren't discussing something important?"

"If you were discussing something important, you'd wait until you were alone, not whisper and take the chance of someone overhearing you."

She couldn't dispute his words.

Touma smiled and laughed as he gently patted Mei on the head.

"It's cute, Mei, so don't worry about it."

She wasn't sure if he was referring to the matching lock screens, their affectionate behaviors in front of the others, or all of the above.

[rosegrl18]

Day Twenty - A leaving cute voicemails for B while they’re away

Fandom: Kamen Rider Saber

Pairing(s): Mei Sudo x Rintaro Shindo

Prompt: Day Twenty - A leaving cute voicemails for B while they’re away

Notes:

Mei just dropped off Touma's latest manuscript with the editor-in-chief, her boss, and now it was time for lunch. She pulled out her phone, opened up her list of contacts, and tapped on Rintaro's name. She listened to her phone ring and ring and ring some more. There was no answer. After four or five rings, the Gatrikephone's voicemail picked up and instructed her to leave a message.

"Hey, Rintaro! You must be busy, but I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet me for lunch somewhere. Please return this call whenever you get it. I'll call you later."

She hung up, wondering what he was doing. If he was free to do things with her, he would. Was there a Megid attack she didn't know about? She quickly opened Inster and filtered for "soap bubbles", "witnesses", and "appearance", the same search terms she used while she and Rintaro were in the alley doing research as the others defeated the Piranha Megid school. She didn't come up with any relevant results, but she knew that didn't mean the Megid weren't attacking.

She pulled up his contact information again and redialed his number. She received the same results as before.

"It's just me again! Don't worry about meeting me for lunch. Just let me know where you are and I'll bring lunch to you. See you later!"

Maybe he was at Northern Base? Even if he was at the base, he would still call her and answer her calls. If he still wasn't answering, maybe he was training? He'd likely be hungry after that, so Mei went off in search of lunch. Walking into the grocery store, she bought a little bit of just about everything so there would be choices and everyone could find something to their tastes. She pulled out her phone and dialed Touma. Unlike Rintaro, Touma picked up almost immediately.

"Hello, Mei."

"Have you seen Rintaro? I've been trying to call him, but he isn't picking up."

"We're all at Northern Base. Rintaro is training in Liberation with a couple of the others, which is why he isn't picking up his phone."

"I'm bringing lunch over."

"Sounds good, Mei. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The two hung up and Mei made her way back to the bookstore. She walked in and strode over to the doorway that would take her to Northern Base. She walked through the Book Gate, bags of food in hand, and walked down the hallway. Stopping at the large doors leading to the library, she set down her bags and opened the door. She picked up the bags and entered the library. Touma, Sora, and Ryo were standing there, waiting for the others to get done training.

"Mei, let me help you with those." Touma took a couple of bags and set them down.

"I'll help too." Ryo took the rest of the bags and set them down next to the other ones.

"Sora, do you think you can help me unpack all of this food?"

Sora nodded, "Of course!"

Ryo walked over to the door leading to Liberation and knocked on it.

"Mei's here and she brought lunch for everyone. Come eat."

Rintaro, Ren, Kento, and Tetsuo filed out of Liberation, tired and covered in a layer of sweat. They must have been training for hours. Ren, Kento, and Tetsuo went over to the food and Rintaro went over to Mei. He tried to hug her and give her a kiss on the cheek, but she was having none of it.

"You're sweaty and you didn't pick up the phone when I tried to call. I left you two voicemails."

"My apologies. Let me check my Gatrikephone."

He pulled his Gatrikephone out of his pocket and saw that there was, indeed, two voicemails from Mei. He opened the first one and listened to it.

Hey, Rintaro! You must be busy, but I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet me for lunch somewhere. Please return this call whenever you get it. I'll call you later.

He opened the second one.

It's just me again! Don't worry about meeting me for lunch. Just let me know where you are and I'll bring lunch to you. See you later!

"Thank you for lunch. I would have loved to have met you somewhere, but we did not want to fall behind in our training."

"I understand, Rintaro." Mei smiled.

He quickly kissed her cheek.

"I apologize for not answering my phone. I should have taken a break."

"I was going to leave you a third voicemail, asking you where you were, but I didn't want to sound obsessive or creepy."

"It was rather cute of you to care about whether I ate."

"Of course I'm going to care about whether you've eaten. Food is important, especially after training hard for hours."

"You had no idea I was training."

"The thought crossed my mind, which was why I was also wondering if you'd eaten anything."

"The next time you call me, I promise to answer my phone. Although, I would not mind hearing your sweet voice deliver me another voicemail message." He smiled at her and she smiled back at him.

[rosegrl18]

Day Seventeen - Drawing each other

Fandom: Kamen Rider Saber

Pairing(s): Mei Sudo x Rintaro Shindo

Prompt: Day Seventeen - Drawing each other

Notes:

Touma had already submitted his latest manuscript, which meant Mei couldn't hound him. It was safe to say that Mei Sudo was bored out of her mind. She pulled out her phone and began scrolling through "Inster" as if searching for something. There was nothing. No news, at least none that mattered, no nothing. There was simply nothing to research.

"I'm so bored. If you have any more ideas, feel free to write out a brand new manuscript."

Touma didn't have any new ideas churning around in his head at the moment.

"If you're bored, why don't you try writing?"

"I'm an editor, not a writer."

Mei huffed and left the bookstore, obviously getting as much out of Touma as she was going to get for the time being. She returned to her apartment and flopped down on her couch. Why did she have to be the editor to a writer that only had a good idea, seemingly, once in a blue moon? Then, her thoughts turned to Rintaro. What was he doing? Was he training? Was he fighting a Megid that appeared in the city? She didn't think it was likely he was fighting a Megid, as that meant Touma would've gone out to join the battle. Maybe he was at Northern Base? The apartment was lonely and quiet without him. She thought about calling him on his Gatrikephone, but if he was busy, he wouldn't pick up. She thought about visiting Northern Base, but maybe he wouldn't want her there?

She stood up from her couch and found a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. She sat back down on the couch and began sketching an amateur portrait of Rintaro, though it wasn't the best. She snorted to herself. There was no way she was going to be a professional artist. When the portrait was finished, she laid it on the couch. Having the portrait of him sitting next to her made things a bit less lonely, but Portrait!Rintaro couldn't compare to the real thing. She sighed and sank back into the couch, pulling out her phone again. She began scrolling through "Inster" again, just in case something had been posted since she last looked. There was nothing. Were the Megid just taking time off? She'd have to bring it up with Rintaro when she saw him.

About an hour later, Rintaro walked through the apartment door and found Mei sitting on the couch, asleep. One arm was down at her side, her phone loosely gripped in her hand. She must have fallen asleep while scrolling through her phone. He pulled her phone out of her loose grip, locked it, and plugged the charger cable into it, setting it on the table next to the couch. It was then that he noticed the piece of paper sitting next to her. It was a drawing of him. Why did she have a drawing of him? If they weren't in a relationship, he would've thought that was a bit creepy. As they were, he thought it was endearing. He found some paper and a pencil and decided to attempt a sketch of Mei while she slept. He tried his best, but Portrait!Mei didn't do the real Mei justice.

It was clear that neither of them were artists. One was a book editor and the other was a swordsman and Kamen Rider. Their art wouldn't be winning any "Artist of the Year" awards, but that was alright. Rintaro didn't care if his art did or didn't win any awards and he was sure Mei felt the same. The quality of the art wasn't important. It was the sense of being together even when apart that the art brought them that was truly important.

"Mei, I have returned home," Rintaro said, quietly, gently shaking her awake.

"Mmm," she stretched and moaned softly. "Welcome home."

It was clear to him that she wasn't fully awake yet. She didn't even seem to register his presence in the room. However, a few minutes later, as if someone lit a fire underneath her, Mei shot up like a rocket.

"Rintaro! You're home."

"You were asleep, but I already told you I had returned home. You replied, 'Welcome home.'"

"I must have been really out of it."

"I think you may have just been half asleep."

"I'm awake now. Where did you go? Was there a Megid attack? There's no new news on "Inster" about monster attacks, so have the Megid just been taking time off?"

"To answer all of your questions in order, I was at Northern Base. We had a brief meeting and I did some training. There was no Megid attack that I know of. If the Megid are taking time away from their attacks, it is because they are likely planning something large-scale. What that would be, I have no ideas. What is with the drawing?"

"I didn't know where you were, I was bored, and I got lonely. I visited Touma, but he had no new ideas for a new manuscript. After I returned home, I found a piece of paper and decided to make a sketch of you to keep me company. It's not the best, but Portrait!Rintaro still kept me company enough until you came home."

"It does not need to be perfect. As long as your art fulfills the purpose you created it for, it is alright."

Mei smiled and noticed his amateur portrait of her.

"I see you drew a picture of me too."

"I noticed yours and thought it might need a partner."

Mei laughed. His dorky nature was quickly rubbing off on her.

[rosegrl18]

Day Eleven - Deciding on “their song”

Fandom: Kamen Rider Saber

Pairing(s): Mei Sudo x Rintaro Shindo

Prompt: Day Eleven - Deciding on “their song”

Notes:

Mei was out, having a girls' day with her friends. She often wished she had more time to spend with her friends, but with work and constantly having to remind Touma of his deadlines, having girls' days like this seemed near-impossible. She sipped on her drink as she listened to one of her friends gush about her boyfriend and how he was the greatest thing to have ever happened to her.

"...And, we finally found a song that represents our relationship! I'm so happy!" Her friend squealed.

Mei was happy for her friend, that she found happiness, even as short-lived as it might be. Then, her friends turned to her.

"Mei-chan, do you have a boyfriend?"

Of course, her friends didn't know she had a boyfriend. She hadn't told them yet. She had no idea what she was waiting for. They'd be happy for her, and a bit nosy, but happy nonetheless.

"I do. He's kind and sweet, but also kind of shy and awkward. He's relatively new to town, but we became good friends pretty fast. He's strong and protective too!" She couldn't tell them Rintaro was a Kamen Rider, or that he was a member of the Sword of Logos, or even that he wasn't from Earth.

"When do we get to meet him, Mei-chan?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. Rintaro is so busy with his work and I don't want to bother him. His work is very important and he works very hard."

"What exactly does he do?"

"He works at Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama, the bookstore owned by Touma Kamiyama, the novelist whose books I edit."

"Mei-chan, if he works in a bookstore, how hard can he be working?"

Her friends were really way too smart for their own goods. They were dissecting her story and picking it apart.

"He works very hard at making sales." That sounded very weak, even to her as it rolled off her tongue.

"Mei-chan, what are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything!"

Of course, she was hiding something. She was hiding the true nature of her boyfriend's job.

"Ok, I'm hiding something. But, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say!"

Her friends nodded, though she could tell they were still somewhat skeptical. She lowered her voice before speaking.

"My boyfriend does work very hard at making sales at Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama, but that's only his paying job. He also works as a Kamen Rider for the Sword of Logos. He's Kamen Rider Blades and wields the Sword of Water in battle. Its name is Nagare."

Her friends blinked a few times, trying to process her story.

"Mei-chan, have you been writing any fantasy novels yourself?" The comment wasn't meant to be mean-spirited, but it almost seemed to come off that way.

"You don't believe me? I know it's a lot to process, but everything I've said is the truth."

"Yes, everything she said has been the truth." Mei smiled, then realized there was someone else agreeing with her.

Her friends looked slack-jawed at the person standing behind her. Who was it? Was it Desast again, interrupting another conversation? Of course, had it been Desast, her friends, and everyone else, would be screaming in terror, not trying to pick their jaws up off the floor. Mei turned around and noticed Rintaro standing there.

"Rintaro, how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long. Just long enough to hear you tell your friends that I am Kamen Rider Blades and am in the service of the Sword of Logos. Mei, that was supposed to stay as a secret."

"I told them they can't tell anyone!"

"We won't tell anyone. Besides, even if we did, who's going to believe us?"

The girl had a point. Anyone who wasn't in on the secret would just think it was another fantasy story.

"So," Mei's friends looked at Rintaro with wide smiles on their faces, "Mei-chan was telling us all about her boyfriend. It's so nice to finally meet the boy she's been gushing about!"

Rintaro looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but there. His eyes glanced at the exit, wondering if they'd notice if he left.

"It is a pleasure meeting you too. However, I have work to do, so I need to be going."

"Wait! Can't the book sales wait? Mei hasn't even told us how you two met."

"My apologies." With that, Rintaro left without saying another word.

"I told you, he's kind of shy and awkward in social situations. He's book-smart, but not quite people-smart. He's still learning."

The girls looked down.

"We're sorry, Mei-chan. We shouldn't have put him on the spot like that."

"I'll give him your apologies."

Things were quiet for a bit, and then one of her friends spoke up.

"So, Mei-chan, he's cute! Do you two have a special song?"

"We just started dating! We haven't had time to figure out what our special song is!"

"Ooh, ooh, I have the perfect one! It's by an American musician, Enrique Iglesias. The name of the song is "Hero". Given that he's your own personal hero, Mei-chan, I think it fits!"

"Isn't "your song" the song you're supposed to decide on as a couple?" Mei asked. "We haven't decided on anything yet, let alone what song represents us as a couple."

Mei pulled out her phone to check the time. When she noticed what time it was, she shot up out of her seat.

"I have to go!" She set down enough money for her drink on the table and rushed out.

She opened up her call app and tapped on Rintaro's contact.

His Gatrikephone chimed from within his pocket, signaling an incoming call. He picked up immediately, noticing it was Mei.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, but I need to talk to you."

"I will meet you outside of the shop where you are meeting with your friends."

"I'll wait outside for you." She didn't need to tell him that she told her friends she needed to leave.

The two hung up and Mei waited for her boyfriend to arrive back at the shop. She wondered what he was going to say when she told him about what her friends had said. After about ten minutes, Rintaro arrived back at the shop.

"Thank you for meeting me, Rintaro."

"Of course. Are you sure there is nothing wrong?"

"I'm sure."

She hesitated for a few seconds.

"Mei, you know you can tell me anything."

"Yes, I know."

"Why are you not saying what you wish to say?"

"Please don't freak out when you hear what I'm about to tell you. My friends and I were talking earlier and the topic became about "couple songs". My friend and her boyfriend have "their song" and my friends were wondering if we had one. They were suggesting songs. I told them that is something that we needed to discuss as a couple. What do you think about "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias? He's an American singer. My friends suggested it after they learned who you were. You're my hero, Rintaro."

"I do not know much about "couple songs", but if you want us to have one, I think "Hero" sounds like a good song."

"You haven't even heard the lyrics."

"The title tells me everything I need to know."