#kamijo cross

[count-von-kit]

Model: Myself Photographer: JB Photography

[chaosmax]

SPITS OUT TEA Goha Corp did wHAt

[toothpastecanyon]

Human Again, Chapter 10 of 10

Sayaka Miki was worse than dead. She was lost forever, adrift, drowning in a sea of her darkest emotions... until she wasn't. She was a witch, and then she was waking up in Kyoko's apartment. This timeline is doomed, and for what? Sayaka has to find that out for herself.

A timeline where Madoka was able to trade her soul for Sayaka's in episode nine. TW for suicidal ideation and self harm.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

On the outskirts of Mikihara Town, in an apartment block down by the rail lines, there is the sound of a piano. It’s a quiet sound, drowned out as a freight train rumbles past, but when the noise dies down, it comes to life again. It’s coming from the upper floors, where the first rays of soft morning sun alight upon two windows, and spill into the room beyond.

Daylight dapples the folds of an unmade bed, plays upon a small clump of clothes piled next to it on the floor. It streams over a small stove and a countertop, and a dirty bowl in the sink. It shines bright on a figure sitting before a keyboard on her desk, and her fingers seem to glow as they slide across the keys.

And she makes the piano sing.

A songbook is on the stand in front of her, but she isn’t playing anything in particular. Her fingers wander this way and that, playing something slow and somber - then they pause for a moment, and switch to something different, something a little faster, and then slow again. They ebb and flow like waves crashing on the shore; each iteration a little different, yet all a part of something larger. Like a voice in a chorus… a violin in an orchestra.

The figure hangs her head, and plays on. If someone were listening in, they’d wonder why such a beautiful song brought a strange chill to their soul, made them want to turn away, to cover their ears. No matter how the music changes, there’s something strangely disquieting to it, and as she plays louder, as her fingers fall harder on each key, there’s an anger, a twisting, raging fury that comes alive in the music, and the figure shudders from the weight of it… and then it goes quiet again. Quiet, and cold.

And in the midst of that quiet, an alarm rings. The figure takes a moment to react… but after a moment, Sayaka Miki sighs, turns off her piano, picks up her phone, and silences it. She looks up at the brightening sky, and takes a slow breath.

A new day.

Rising to her feet, she picks a hair off her work uniform, then grabs her bag and heads for the door.

______________________________________________________________

“You’re late.”

“I’m not-” Sayaka checks her phone. “-that late! Come on, two minutes?”

Her manager, standing by the counter with arms crossed, rolls his eyes and walks into the back. Her coworker snorts.

“You’re in trou-ble.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She shrugs off her bag. “I’ll put this away and come right out.”

“Dude, no rush. No one even comes in until lunch.”

“But I thought you heard, two minutes late is an emergency!” Sayaka hears a grunt from the back, and they both snicker. “Alright, give me a second.”

The radio plays classical music, and Sayaka hums along as she works. She arranges a stand of headphones, and then she walks along the aisle of albums, sorting all the ones put back out of place. One is sold out; her hand lingers on the empty space, on the name printed on the price tag:

By Kyosuke Kamijo

Sayaka sighs, and gives a little smile. Of course it’s sold out - it’s some of his best work yet.

She should reach out.

The thought takes her by surprise; a blink, then she frowns. No, no, not to Kyouske… but she does take out her phone, and scroll down, down to her texts with Hitomi. Sayaka wished her a happy birthday a couple months ago, and she said thanks… Maybe it was time to reach out again. They could go out to lunch, or just do a call-

“What are you doing?”

Sayaka jumps and turns around. Her manager is standing there, glaring down at her.

“You’re on the clock,” he says, and watches her stuff her phone back into her pocket. “I don’t pay you to text all day.”

“I haven’t been texting all day! I just took it out for a second, I-”

“You shouldn’t take it out at all.” He eyes the ground. “Sweep if you’re looking for something to do. This floor is disgusting.”

Then he shuffles away, leaving Sayaka to glare at the space where he’d been. She feels her phone in her pocket, then rolls her eyes and goes to get a broom.

Maybe she’ll text her later, if she remembers.

______________________________________________________________

“Hey, beautiful. Haven’t seen you around before.”

The world is rushing past the train, and Sayaka sits forwards, glaring at a guy leering over a girl a few rows in front.

“Uhm…” The girl gives a nervous laugh. She has a Mitakihara school uniform on, Sayaka notices, and her lip curls. “Th-thank you? I-”

“You’re so welcome! Hey, what’s your name? What stop you getting off at?” The man chuckles. “What’s the matter? Don’t look so scared - I’m just making friendly conversation! What’s wrong with that?”

“I-I… Nothing, I didn’t mean to-”

“Leave her alone.” Sayaka says, and all eyes turn to her. “She doesn’t want to talk to some creep on the train.”

The man narrows his eyes. “Creep?” He says, and stalks down the aisle. “You calling me a creep, miss?”

He towers over her, silhouetted by the overhead lights but for the dangerous glint in his eyes and the teeth in his smile. He leans forwards, trapping her in her row of seats, but she doesn’t draw back.

“You heard me,” her voice is quiet, collected. “Now leave her alone.”

A laugh. “Oh, yeah? Or what?”

There’s a melody in her head as she looks at the man. A melody like the one she played this morning, like the one that raged in her soul as she buried two useless men by the side of a rail line.

He’s just like them, she thinks. There are people out there as bad as witches, people that no one would mourn, people that the world is better off without… and he’s one of them. He’s going to wander this city, making life worse for everyone he meets, just begging for someone to put him out of his misery.

Sayaka stares through the man without a word, and a shiver seems to pass over him. He takes a step back, then scowls and throws up his hands.

“Whatever, I don’t need this drama. I was just joking around, but I forgot, that’s a crime these days…”

He walks off muttering, and after a moment, Sayaka turns her eyes back to the front. The girl looks over, and gives her a shy smile.

“Thanks,” She says. “Thanks for, um… thanks.”

Sayaka returns her smile, but she doesn’t feel like talking. That melody is still echoing in her mind, and she stares out of the window, watching the world go by, looking for the beauty in it again… it doesn’t take as long as it used to.

The sun is setting, yet still shining over Mitakihara City. The sky is awash with bright yellow fading into a deep blue, dappled with rich orange clouds that play on the seamless panes of the skyscrapers and the river cutting between them. The sun ducks between buildings, its reddened light falling softly on the inside of the train, and upon her face.

She can feel its gentle warmth, and she smiles.

______________________________________________________________

The sun has already set as Sayaka steps off the train and makes her way home. It’s not a long walk from the station, but she’s been on her feet all day. God, they ache, but she’s nearly there, nearly to her bed. She thinks of sinking into it, and it carries her forward.

As she makes it to her building, though, there’s a sound from the alley that makes her stop. A small, plaintive meow, and she watches a little black cat pad into the streetlight.

Sayaka grins, and leans down. “There you are,” she says, and sticks out her hand, lets it sniff her. “You had me worried this morning. Where were you?”

The cat pushes its face into Sayaka’s fingers, then looks up at her shoulder. Its tail swishes, and Sayaka stands up before she can jump.

“Oh, no, you can’t come up.” The cat meows at her and presses into her legs, and she laughs. “I know, I know, I’m sorry. But if you fall asleep on me, I might just take you home, and I can’t have pets in my apartment!” Grinning, she digs in her purse. “But I know something that’ll cheer you up. Since you didn’t show this morning, I’ve been carting this around all day!”

Sayaka takes out a bag of treats and snorts as the cat’s eyes go wide. She spends a little time feeding them to it, stroking its fur and feeling the purr rumble deep in its chest. She hasn’t named the cat, though - if you name something, it becomes a pet, and she can’t have a pet right now, okay?

Her smile dims a bit, and she rises to her feet. The cat looks up at her with wide eyes, and she waves goodbye.

“Well, I’ll see you around. I’ll have more food for you tomorrow, okay?”

Then she turns and swipes her keycard, and as she heads inside, she remembers how tired she is. Her steps fall heavy on the way to the elevator; she presses a button, then leans back, trying to take the weight off her feet. There’s a ding, and as the doors open she trudges down the hall, digging in her purse for her key.

There it is. She pushes the door open, slips off her purse on the way to the bedroom, and flops onto her bed. What a day… after a moment, she draws out her phone to check the time. The first thing that comes up when it opens is her texts with Hitomi - oh, yeah, she was going to text her.

Sayaka hesitates, and then closes it and sits up. It’s too late in the day, she’ll do it later. And as much as she’d love to go to sleep right now, she’s got exam prep to do.

Her stomach growls as she gets to her feet. And dinner - ugh, she has to think about dinner. Are those leftovers from the weekend still good? Or maybe she can see what she has in the pantry…

______________________________________________________________

“And I told your father not to cheap out on the contractors, but you know him.”

Sayaka sits across from her mother at a restaurant, picking at her food. “Mhm.”

“So now our bathroom’s not going to be usable for months while we get the new team to look over the plans, and not to mention any new permits!”

“Uh huh.”

“It’s really such a hassle when we could have just paid them in the first place!”

“Yeah,” Sayaka put down her chopsticks. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. I mean, I love Dad, but every time we meet you’ve got a story like this.”

“Oh, it’s not every time-“

“It’s pretty much every time, yeah. I’m kind of sick of it.”

The silence hangs, there, and she looks up to see her mother’s raised eyebrows. With a wince, Sayaka clears her throat.

“Sorry, that was- I didn’t mean to be rude. Sorry.”

“It’s okay-“

“No, that was…” She rubs her eyes. “It’s just, ah, classes are kind of a lot right now. And we got this new manager at my job who’s being such a jerk about my exam dates.”

“About your exams? He knows you’re a-“

“College student, yeah, it’s ridiculous!” She stabs her chicken. “It’s like, fire me if you want, I’m not showing up next Friday, okay!”

“He’s not going to fire you, dear.”

“He likes to say he will. We’ll see, I guess.” She makes a face. “Ugh, maybe it’s time to start looking somewhere else. It just sucks, because I really liked that place before he showed up.”

“That’s a shame.” Her mother tries for a smile. “You’re always welcome back home, you know.”

“Yeah…”

“I mean, you’re so young to be living on your own,” she continues, and the worried shine in her eye has Sayaka stuffing her face so she doesn’t have to respond. “All of my friends were so shocked to hear about it - none of their daughters moved out for college!”

“Mhm.”

“I just can’t help but worry. All this stress with the job - for one, what must it be doing to your grades?”

She tries not to roll her eyes. “They’re fine, Mom.”

“You’re such a smart girl, they should be more than fine! The daughter I raised would be top of the class if it weren’t for all this unnecessary-“

“Mom-“

“Look, I’m sorry if we gave you a hard time about your major. We were just concerned, but we won’t-“

“It’s not that, Mom.”

“Then what is it?” She looks at Sayaka with pleading eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Sayaka cringes. “Nothing’s wrong, I like living on my own. I just… I need to do this for myself, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, I just… I need to know I can…”

She pauses, wordlessly trying to grapple with the tangled mess of reasons in her head - and then she feels something on her hand. Her mother’s hand, stretched across the table, squeezing gently. Her mother’s face, trying so hard to smile - but she can’t hide that old terror.

That terror, the first thing that greeted her when she came back to her parents in the storm shelter all those years ago. It was that terror that made their hugs squeeze so tight, that terror that had them peeking through her bedroom door when they thought she was asleep. It was that terror that held back tears when they asked questions she couldn’t answer, and even after all these years, even as they’ve got better at hiding it, at smiling through it… it’s that same terror that stares back at her now.

Her mother’s hand squeezes a bit too tight, and Sayaka pulls back. “I just, I just need to do this for myself, that’s all.”

“Sayaka-“

“It’s fine, Mom, my grades are fine, I’m fine, everything’s fine-“

“But it’s not fine, why can’t you ever just tell me what’s wrong so I can help you!”

Sayaka stiffens, and now it’s her mother’s words that weigh heavy in the silence. Her mother instantly knows that’s too loud, too real; she struggles to correct.

“I-I mean, I just… why didn’t you tell me what was wrong with- with your job?” She seizes on that point and leans forward. “You don’t have to, to put up with that… you know, my friend owns a company near you, they’re looking for a secretary, if you wanted to…?”

She trails off, her hands anxiously gripping the tablecloth, talking more to herself than anyone else. With a sigh, Sayaka rubs her neck.

“Yeah,” she says. “Sure, Mom, I’ll, I’ll take a look. Thanks.”

“Of course, dear.” Her mother looks down at her dinner, and takes a bite. “Oh, this is, delicious! Is yours alright?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Mine’s great.”

“Mine too. You know, it was that friend who told me about this place, she said it’s so good, and, and she was right, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, she was. It’s nice.”

Her mother looks up, and they smile at each other like two soldiers across a battlefield, all the hurt and love and secrets strewn like mines between them. And as long as they stay at their stations, as long as they let those shells rot in the ground…

They can pretend they don’t have to squint.

“This is nice.”

______________________________________________________________

“Can I sit here?”

Sayaka’s looking at her phone when she hears the voice; glancing up, it’s the schoolgirl again. She looks nervous, sounds nervous, and Sayaka can’t help but spot a figure lingering at the far end of the train car, standing with empty seats all around him.

So Sayaka puts on a big smile. “Oh, hey sis!” She says loudly, and scoots over. “Of course you can, it’s great to see you!”

The schoolgirl looks a bit taken aback for a moment, but she cottons on. “O-oh, uh, yeah, it’s great to see you too! How are you doing?”

“Great, great. I’m just meeting up with my boyfriend - he’s gonna be getting on the train in a second!” From the corner of her eye, Sayaka watches the dark figure start to slink off. She lets her voice soften. “You had a follower, huh?”

“Uh, yeah.” The girl fiddles with the strap of her bag. “S-sorry, Miss, I didn’t want to bother you, I just-“

“No, no, that’s smart. Bother me all you want, okay?” Her smile twists a bit. “Sorry you had to.”

“I don’t know why this keeps happening.” She tugs at her skirt. “Is it, is it something I’m doing? I feel like I’m giving them the wrong idea, or-”

“You’re not giving anyone the wrong idea. You’re in a school uniform. They know what they’re doing.”

“Oh.”

And there didn’t seem to be much to say after that; Sayaka tries, she wracks her brain to think of something else, something a bit more encouraging… but that’s it, isn’t it? That’s the world they live in.

What else is there to say but “Oh”?

The train’s slowing now, coming up to a platform. Sayaka lets the deceleration push her against the seat. She feels a tap on her shoulder, and looks over at the girl.

“Do you want me to move?” Says the girl. “So your boyfriend can sit here?”

“My…?” A blink, and then with a chuckle she remembers. “Oh, hah! No, no, it’s fine. I made up the boyfriend part to scare him off.”

“Oh - haha, oh, that makes sense!”

They both laugh at that.

______________________________________________________________

Exam week. Sayaka wakes up every day with her heart fluttering in her chest; she sets twice as many alarms, dresses twice as quickly, and runs out the door in a flash. She doesn’t take breakfast; she’s too nervous to eat. She doesn’t even stop when the cat in the alley comes out tail-up to greet her - just a quick “Sorry, gotta go!” over her shoulder.

Every night, she comes back drained. Every night, she slumps a little lower on the train - she’s found herself dozing off, finding herself jolting awake at the sound of her station and hurrying to the doors before they close.

It’s a bone-tiredness, these nights, but there’s also a kind of satisfaction to it. Commiserating texts with her classmates as she heats up dinner, reading up one more time on the material until her eyes can’t stay open… and then, for these rare nights, falling asleep as soon as she hits the mattress. There’s not a moment of lying awake in the dark, not a thought in her head, not even a dream.

It’s lovely, Sayaka thinks, and as she rides the train home this Friday night, she can’t help but think about what a relief it’s going to be. Another semester survived, and even though she’s going to be on pins and needles waiting for the results… she actually feels pretty good about this.

A smile sets into her face as she stares out into the darkness.

She’s doing alright for herself, isn’t she? She’s out here in the world, and she’s doing alright for herself.

It seems like such a small thing, but for so long, when Sayaka imagined the future… it was never something that had her in it. For so long she never imagined she’d make it past high school. It wasn’t always that she thought she’d kill herself; it persisted for years after she stopped actively wanting to, this kind of dull certainty that for one reason or another, she just wouldn’t be around much longer. It wasn’t a scary thought, it just was - the sky was blue, and the future was a void.

But now, when she looks to the future, she doesn’t see a void. She’s already signed up for next semester, and a classmate was asking if anyone wanted to rent with her - they were talking about it. She went to the dentist the other week, and they asked her if she’d like to book next year’s appointment - she said yes.

It’s kind of boring, isn’t it?

Doing okay, it’s boring, and maybe there’s a part of her that misses when things were life and death, when she was a hero or a monster, when she felt like she could give herself to saving the world. It’s such a nebulous concept now, saving the world - what does that mean, putting the recycling out? Holding the door for someone? Voting?

There was something so comforting about the certainty she used to see the world in, even when it was a certainty that she was broken inside and nothing was ever going to get better for her. It’s that certainty she misses, that sense that there’s always a right thing to do. But this new life she has, in all its messiness - it’s one she can finally see herself living in.

A smile, slight and tired and jaded… but also genuine.

She’s glad. She’s glad she can finally see that.

Her phone buzzes then; it’s from a group chat she’s in, asking if anyone wants to go out tomorrow to celebrate. That sounds fun; she sits up a bit, and starts texting as the train slows down. The announcement washes over her without really registering; her stop isn’t for a while, so she hardly notices as the doors open, as someone steps on board.

The figure brushes past her, and Sayaka doesn’t connect it at first.

Why does she - fuck, why does she suddenly feel sick? She puts a hand to her mouth and realises her fingers are trembling, the hairs are raised up in goosebumps all down her arms. Her heart is pounding in her chest, screaming in her ears; she’s breathing hard, like she wants to run.

Run. Run.

The doors close, and suddenly she feels trapped. Gripping the seat with white knuckles, Sayaka glances up and down the train; what’s going on? There’s nothing wrong, it’s just…

It’s just the schoolgirl, and

Oh no.

And there. On her shoulder.

Oh, please, no.

Those eyes. Those red eyes.

It’s him.

Kyubey perches innocently on the schoolgirl’s shoulder as she takes a seat, his tail slowly swishing from side to side. For a moment, Sayaka can only stare on in speechless horror, and he doesn’t meet her eyes, doesn’t give any indication he sees her at all. He just sits there, and cleans his paws, and it takes everything Sayaka has not to throw up on the floor.

She - how… what does - oh god. Oh, god, oh god oh god.

She has to say something.

Forcing her shaking legs under her, Sayaka stands up - and then immediately stumbles as the train lurches to a start.

“Whoa! Are you okay, Miss?”

“I’m-“ Sayaka sees she’s stood up as well, sees him on her shoulder as she steps closer, and struggles not to back away. “I- you’ve got to-“

“Miss?”

Sayaka’s looking at the outstretched hand. There’s a ring on it.

There’s a ring on it, with a little blue gem. Only a shade greener than her own once was, and her heart sinks.

The schoolgirl stands in front of her, worry etched on her face, and all the words in the world dry up on Sayaka’s tongue. What’s there to say?

It’s already too late.

“I…” Sayaka clears her throat, looks anywhere but her face. “I just… uh, I just thought I saw something.”

“Saw what?”

“Just… something.” She glances at Kyubey, and swallows hard. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Uh… okay?”

Sayaka leaves the schoolgirl standing there as she quickly shuffles away and sits back down; the girl lingers a second longer, and then seems to back away and take her seat again. Sayaka can feel her questioning gaze burning into the back of her head; she can hear a faint little whispering, and then, like nails on a chalkboard, she can hear his reply echo in her mind.

“I don’t know,” he says, so innocently, and Sayaka digs her fingers into the sides of her legs. “It’s certainly interesting if she did, but she’s not a magical girl. She’d just think you’re crazy if you tried to tell her about this, so it’s best not to.”

Sayaka couldn’t stand to hear his voice a second longer; she grabbed her bag and headed for the next carriage.

“Anyway, she’s no one important. Are you ready for tonight? Good.”

She runs through three carriages before his voice finally fades from her mind. It’s more populated up here, and she hides herself in the corner, her hand clamped over her mouth, begging her blurry eyes to hold on until she’s back home. It feels like an eternity, this train ride, and she can see through every sideways glance that she isn’t fooling anyone. Finally they come to her stop, and she squeezes through the opening doors and sprints away.

There’s no holding it back once she’s off the train. By the time she makes it to her house, she’s a sobbing wreck, shaking like a leaf as she pats herself down for her keycard.

Meow?

“N-not now,” Sayaka shakes her head, shakes her head. She feels something soft brush against her leg and she jerks back. “I-I said not now! Agh, shit!”

Her keycard drops to the ground, and it takes a couple tries to scoop it up again. Her trembling fingers struggle to swipe it, and then she opens the door and slams it behind her like Kyubey himself is still hot on her heels. She doesn’t take the elevator - she can’t stand to wait another second - but instead rushes up the stairs two steps at a time, makes it to her room, shuts it hard and locks it twice. Drawing the chain into place, she steps back, back again, her heart pounding in her neck, her breath getting faster and fasterand fasterandfasteruntil she can’t

she can’t

breathe

she can’t

take

a breath, her

her head

light

vision swimming

she can’t

she can’t

she can’t, she

can’t, she can’t,

she can’t, she can’t,

she can’t, she can’t, she can’t, she can’t…

…

Breathe in. Crouched against the bed, Sayaka takes a single shuddering breath. It feels like drowning to hold it, but she manages a moment, and lets it burst out. Her heart feels like a jackhammer.

Breathe in. Her whole body is fighting it. She feels the fear like a vice tightening on her chest, but she holds it. She holds it, and she lets it out, and she waits a moment.

Breathe in. The bed covers, hanging, hanging over. She grips them. Feels the softness. It’s soft. Breathe out.

…

Breathe in. The ground is, the ground is cold. Because it’s wood.

It’s dark in here. She should turn on a light.

Breathe out.

With a hard swallow, Sayaka puts her hand on her chest, feeling her heart slowly, slowly reel back to baseline. She takes another breath in, and lets it out with a long sigh.

Hoooly shit. It’s been a while since she had a bad one, huh? She did not miss doing that.

The slightest chuckle. No - no, she did not.

Haha, hah… oh, jesus. That poor girl.

She sits there for a good while until it feels like she can stand again. And once she’s up, all she wants to do is go to sleep. She hasn’t eaten in hours, but her stomach twists at the thought of dinner.

No, no. She needs to be done with today.

Collapsing into bed, Sayaka closes her heavy eyes, and prays for all the thoughts swirling around her head to be quiet, to please just hold off until tomorrow…

She prays, and the god of this world is listening. With a soft pulse of light, a pink figure appears in the room. The figure floats forward until she’s standing right over Sayaka’s bed, reaches down, and brushes the hair from her eyes. Sayaka’s frown eases, and she rolls onto her side and drifts away.

The figure stands there for a moment, smiling softly down on her. Then she kneels down, and takes her hand.

Sayaka Miki has a strange dream that night.

______________________________________________________________

They’re tuning the instruments. Sayaka can hear them on stage, the little flourishes of violins, the tooting of clarinets, a bang of the drums. The show is starting soon.

Sayaka looks around, and frowns.

The show is starting soon, but… all the seats around her are empty. Down beneath the balcony, too; there’s no one there. And - huh, even though she can hear the instruments, there’s no sign of the orchestra. The stage is utterly empty.

What’s going on? Where is she? Why is-

“Please don’t be scared.”

A warm hand clasps over her own, and Sayaka looks over to see a face she’s missed for almost seven years now. No way. No way.

Madoka Kaname smiles. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought this would be a nice place to talk.”

“Ma- Ma-“ Sayaka can’t get the words out. She shakes her head. “I’m dreaming. This can’t be- it’s you!”

“I missed you too, Sayaka.” Her smile crumples a little. “I missed you so much.”

Sayaka hears that voice, sees that smile, and it’s all so familiar it feels like an ache in her heart. This can’t be a dream; she doesn’t dream like this. But if this is real, that means, that means…!

She doesn’t waste another second. Throwing her arms around Madoka, she wraps her up in a hug and squeezes like she’s never going to let go. She feels Madoka squeeze right back, and the world around them shrinks to fit this one embrace, this reunion where for just a moment, the holes they left in each other’s hearts are filled, and nothing at all is wrong.

Just one, perfect, joyful moment. But as all things do, it fades, and Sayaka pulls back, wiping her eyes.

“I-I don’t, I don’t understand.” She gives a shaky laugh. “How are you here? Did… Did Homura do it? Did she really save you?”

Madoka’s smile twists. “She tried so hard to,” she said, and her words put a pit in Sayaka’s stomach. “But she did something even better. She helped me realise what I really wanted with my wish.” A laugh. “And I was going to waste it on cake, remember?”

“No…”

“It’s okay, Sayaka. Really, it is.” She took her hands. “I wished to erase all witches from this world, so no one has to suffer for making their wishes. So no one feels like everything they did was for nothing, you know?” A smile. “So that’s what I am, now. I go to every magical girl in every timeline that’s ever existed, and I don’t let them fall into despair. I can’t think of any wish more meaningful than that.”

“But…” Sayaka struggles for words. “Madoka…”

A gentle squeeze on her hands. “Y’know, it’s funny, though,” Madoka says, softly, and frowns. “I’m not sure how I’m able to be here, with you. I already saved you, didn’t I?”

“You did, you did.” A lump forms in her throat. “And I never got to say thank you. Thank you, Madoka. Thank you so much.”

“And you’re all grown up,” Madoka says, smiling up at her - smiling up. Her hands are warm, but small.

Sayaka looks at her, and for a split second, she doesn’t see her friend. She sees that schoolgirl on the train.

She’s only fourteen years old.

“Yeah,” Sayaka says, softly. “I’m twenty-one.” A pause, then she tries to shake herself out of that with a laugh. “Don’t, uh, really feel that grown up though, hah!”

Madoka leans against her. “What’s that like?” She asks, and there’s a little anxiousness to it. “Did you ever… make things up with Hitomi?”

Hitomi - god. Sayaka puts an arm around her, and sighs. “Uh, yeah, sort of. We still hung out at school… but I ended up missing a lot of days.”

“Why?”

Oh boy, why indeed. “I, uh, had a lot to work through,” she says, giving a hard swallow as she thought of those days. “It wasn’t easy with everyone asking me what happened - especially Hitomi. I never knew what to say to her.”

“You aren’t friends anymore?”

“No, no, we’re still friends! Kind of. We meet up once or twice a year, it’s… nice.”

“Once or twice a year?” Madoka looks up at her with wide eyes. “That’s awful, we used to hang out every day!”

“Yeah… yeah.” Sayaka grimaces. “It’s… things change, I guess. She’s doing well, though.”

“What about your Mom and Dad? You made it back to them, right?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. And we meet up much more often, like every week or so.” She chuckles a little. “They’d never have let me move out if I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you just stay with them?”

“Huh?”

“My Mom always said I could stay with them as long as I want.” There’s a shakiness to her voice now; Sayaka watched her wipe her face. “I-I really miss her, Sayaka. I miss everyone!”

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay-“

“And it’s so lonely now,” she says, and as Sayaka draws her into a hug she collapses against her chest. “This is, th-this is what I want, b-but what if it isn’t? What if I made a huge mistake a-and I c-can’t go back?”

“Madoka-“

“What i-if I’m not even saving anyone?”

“Don’t be silly. You saved me, oka-”

“I didn’t save you at all!”

Madoka collapsed, sobbing, in her arms. Blinking, Sayaka holds her tight, struggling for words.

“What do you… what do you mean?”

“I can see it,” she says, barely above a whisper. “I can see your pain. Ever since I made that wish for you, you’ve been in so much pain, and that’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I can only visit witches - I-I wouldn’t be here if you were happy!” Madoka buries herself in Sayaka’s shoulder, her face crumpling. “Your life seems so sad now. You don’t talk to Hitomi, you live all alone, and you’re still so… still so hurt and it’s all my fault for bringing you back! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

Holding her close with a lump in her throat, Sayaka couldn’t help but find this so familiar. She’s had this conversation before, hasn’t she? In a field of rubble, under weeping clouds, Madoka had said this all before.

It used to keep Sayaka awake, what she should have said that day. What she could have said, and maybe Madoka would still be with her, maybe everything would’ve turned out alright, maybe maybe maybe. She’d learned you could drown in maybes.

But Madoka is here now, and she’s so much smaller than the hero Sayaka remembers. She’s here now, asking for help, and this time, Sayaka doesn’t find herself so speechless.

“Madoka… you did save me,” she said, and when Madoka opens her mouth: “You did. I promise you, there’s not a day that goes by now where I’m not grateful for what you did for me.”

“But you’re not happy.”

“I am happy, Madoka. Really, I am.” Sayaka gazes up at a sky full of stars, and sighs. “For the longest time, I didn’t think I’d ever even feel okay again. I kept thinking about how… how different everything was, how different I was. But that’s just it, you know? Everything changes, Madoka. It would’ve changed even if none of this had happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t know how different our lives would have been if Kyubey never came for us. I don’t know if Hitomi and I would have always drifted away, but… I was never going to stay the same person I was before this all happened. Witch or no.” She sighs. “I used to think I wasn’t capable of happiness anymore… and maybe, for just a little bit of time, I wasn’t. Maybe I was a witch, once. But I changed - I grew up. And you know, I’m kinda starting to like the person I grew into, and I like her a little more every year.”

Madoka looks up at her with wide, shining eyes, and Sayaka strokes the hair from her face.

“And you gave me this, Madoka. You gave me the gift of growing up. And I hope you never doubt that you’ve helped people so much… because you’ve helped me. You’ve saved me, and I… I can never thank you enough.” Her smile shakes a bit. “I love you, Madoka Kaname.”

“I love you too,” Madoka says, and wipes her eyes. She doesn’t say anything else for a moment, but she stares up at the stars, and Sayaka can see them twinkling in her eyes. “I miss you. I miss how things used to be. I… I know it’s awful, but part of me wishes I could go back. This wish… it’s the right thing to do, and I believe in it so much, but… it’s so hard sometimes. Is that selfish of me?”

“It’s not selfish. It’s not selfish. This was never supposed to be our problem to fix.” She holds Madoka tighter. “We were kids - we were supposed to go to school, and do dumb stuff, and we were supposed to grow up together. Why did we need to save the world?”

“Sayaka?”

“I’m proud of you.” Sayaka says, and gives a sad laugh. “Of course you’d be the one to save all the witches. You’re the bravest, the kindest, the strongest person I know, and I… I just wish I could save you like you saved me. It’s… it’s not fair. It’s not fair!”

“Yeah… I guess it isn’t.” Madoka looks down for a moment. Then she looks back up, and there’s a faint smile on her face. “You know, you don’t sound so different. You’ve still gotta stick up for me, huh?”

“Hah. Always.” She hesitates for a moment, then with a little grin she squeezes tighter. “You might be all heroic and junk now, but you’re still mine, Madoka, all mine!”

They both giggle at that; Sayaka grabs her shoulders and pulls her down to the floor with her, and they lie under the stars together, hand in hand, laughter ringing out… and then, slowly, fading.

Madoka gives one last giggle, and then lets it out with a sigh… and silence, now. Silence as they both wonder the same question.

It’s Madoka who says it first.

“I guess… I should be going now, huh?”

Sayaka knows she’s looking at her, but she keeps her eyes up at the stars. “I’m not gonna see you again, am I?” She says, and blinks hard. The stars are blurry now as she feels Madoka’s gentle squeeze.

“I can’t stay. That’s not my purpose.” A pause. “But… thank you, Sayaka. It’s funny - I was supposed to be the one comforting you, but I don’t think I did much of that, huh?”

“You do it for everyone else. I’m glad that just once, someone could do it for you.” She feels Madoka rest her head against her shoulder. “You take care of yourself, okay? You promise?”

“I promise.”

And for a while, they lay there together under the stars. Sayaka wasn’t sure how long they stayed like this, but she can see a brightening on the horizon. The light grows, and grows, and soon it’s enveloping her; she turns her head to the side, but all she sees is light, and it feels like she’s fading, like she’s waking up…

She squeezes her hand, and for the last time in this world, Madoka squeezes back.

______________________________________________________________

It’s blinding, the light. Sayaka opens her eyes, and finds the sun gazing through her windows. She looks up at the ceiling, and sees dust caught in golden sunbeams, tracing an intricate dance just above her head. She breathes out, and watches the dance shift, watches it continue on altered, yet exactly the same.

Different, but exactly the same.

Sayaka sits up slowly, and rubs the dried tears from her eyes. She finds she’s holding something in her hand; looking down, she opens her palm, and finds curled around her fingers a simple, pink ribbon.

A smile as she holds it up to the light. She never doubted it was more than a dream, but it’s a relief to know for sure. Madoka - that really was her. She really saw her again! And she was…

The smile falls. She clasps the ribbon gently to her chest, and takes a sharp breath in. She holds it for a moment, then lets it out in a deep sigh, and gets to her feet.

There’s a scratching sound in the silence. Sayaka takes a moment to notice it, to frown at a little shadow flickering against the back wall; she looks to the window, and gives a little snort.

Walks over, and grins at the little cat pawing at the glass.

“Well, would you look at that?” She sees the cat stop to stare up at her with wide eyes, and snorts. “You’re up kinda high, huh? You wanna come in?”

The cat’s tail swishes as she reaches over and unlatches the window. It swings open, and with one foot, and then the other, it steps onto the desk.

“Mind the keyboard- whoa!” It nuzzles up against her, and she chuckles. “It’s like you’re worried about me or something. Or maybe just hungry - is that it?”

She pets the cat, and the ribbon she’s holding drapes over its ears for a moment before it's flicked away. Sayaka stands there for a moment, her grin softening as she listens to the purr.

“Heh,” she says, and moves to close the window. “Well, let me get you something to eat. I’ve got those treats you like - you want some of those? Come on.”

Sayaka makes her way to the kitchen, and the cat follows, stepping over the piano keys and leaving them still and silent on her desk, glowing in the light of a new day.

[mangolon]

Seasons of Kamen Rider Where a Rider’s Actor Sang a Song

1971

Hiroshi Fujioka (Takeshi Hongo) sings the first opening for Kamen Rider - Let’s Go! Rider Kick!

1973

Hiroshi Miyauchi (Shiro Kazami) sings the opening for Kamen Rider V3 - Tatakae! Kamen Rider V3

1980

Shunsuke Takasugi (Kazuya Oki) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Super-1 - Kamen Rider Super-1

Shunsuke Takasugi (Kazuya Oki) sings the first ending song for Kamen Rider Super-1 - Hi o Fuke Rider Ken

1987

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Black - Kamen Rider Black

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Black: Hurry to Onigashima -  Ore no Seishun

1988

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Black RX - Kuroi Yuusha

2002

Satoshi Matsuda (Ren Akiyama) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Lonely Soldier

Ryohei Odai (Shuichi Kitaoka) duets with Tomohisa Yuge (Goro Yura) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Dear Friend

Ryohei Odai (Shuichi Kitaoka) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Kienai Niji

Takashi Hagino (Takeshi Asakura) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Spinnin’ Around

2003

Masayuki Izumi (Yuji Kiba) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Cross a river

Mitsuru Karahashi (Naoya Kaido) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Yume No Kakera ~ Romantico

Yuria Haga (Smart Queen) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - I wish

Yuria Haga (Smart Queen) duets with Yoshika Kato for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Taiyou no Kage Tsuki no Yoru

Ken Mizorogi (Keitaro Kikuchi) sings an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Hang on

In 2018, Kento Handa (Takumi Inui) and Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sing a cover of the opening for Kamen Rider Faiz - Justifaiz

In 2020, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sings a cover of an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Existence ~KAIXA-nized dice

In 2020, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sings a cover of an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Red Rock

In 2023, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) duets with Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) for a cover of the opening for Kamen Rider Faiz - Jusitfaiz - Kaixa Day Ver.

2004

Kousei Amano (Sakuya Tachibana) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Rebirth

Ryoji Morimoto (Hajime Aikawa) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Take it A Try

Takayuki Tsubaki (Kazuma Kenzaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Wanna Be Strong

Takayuki Tsubaki (Kazuma Kenzaki) duets with Terunosuke Takezai for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Shout it Out

Takahiro Hojo (Mutsuki Kamijo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Hero

2006

Yuki Sato (Arata Kagami) sings alongside RIDER CHIPS for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kabuto - LORD OF THE SPEED

2007

Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros), Koji Yusa (Urataros), Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros) and Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) all sing the second opening for Kamen Rider Den-O - Climax JUMP Den-LINER Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Sword Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Koji Yusa (Urataros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O -  Double-Action Rod Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O -  Double-Action Ax Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O -  Double-Action Gun Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Shin-ichiro Miki (Sieg) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Wing Form

Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros), Koji Yusa (Urataros), Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros), Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) and Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Climax Form

Dori Sakurada (Kotaro Nogami) duets with Daisuke Ono (Teddy) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Strike Form

Hiroyuki Watanabe (Gaoh) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore Tanjou! - Double-Action Gaoh Form

Yuuichi Nakamura (Yuto Sakurai) duets with Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) for an insert theme from Kamen Rider Den-O - Action-ZERO

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Real-Action

In 2010, Yuuichi Nakamura (Yuto Sakurai) duets with Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) for the opening for Chou Den-O Episode Red: Zero no Star Twinkle - Action-ZERO 2010

2008

The band TETRA-FANG is created to create music for Kamen Rider Kiva, with Koji Seto (Wataru Kurenai) on vocals

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Destiny’s Play

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Individual-System

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Shout in the Moonlight

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Innocent Trap

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Supernova

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Roots of the King

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Silent Shout

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Message

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Rainy Rose

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Exterminate Time

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen RIder Kiva - Eternity Blood

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - No Matter Who You Are

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Prayer~Message 2

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Beginning~Message 3

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Mind Garden

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Lightning to Heaven

Koji Seto (Wataru Kurenai) is a featuring artist with Crimson-Fang, singing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - With you

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Fight for Justice

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Don’t Lose Yourself

Kouhei Takeda (Otoya Kurenai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - This love never ends

Yu Takahashi (Yuri Aso) duets with Nana Yanagisawa (Megumi Aso) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Feel the same

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - IXA-cise

Kenji Matsuda (Jiro) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Keep alive

Yu Takahashi (Yuri Aso), Kouhei Takeda (Otoya Kurenai), Nana Yanagisawa (Megumi Aso) and Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Inherited-System

2009

Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Decade - Ride the Wind

Kimito Totani (Daiki Kaito) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Decade - Treasure Sniper

In 2021, Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) covers the opening of Kamen Rider Decade - Journey Through the Decade

In 2021, Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) duets with So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) on the ending theme of Rider Time: Kamen Rider Decade vs. Zi-O - Decade Mansion’s Death Game - INSIDE-OUT Decade ver.

Koji Kikkawa (Sokichi Narumi) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider W - Nobody’s Perfect

Renn Kiriyama (Shotaro Hidari) and Masaki Suda (Philip) perform an in-universe cover of an insert theme for Kamen Rider W - Finger on the Trigger

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate - W

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Eternal - cod E ~E no Angou

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) with Koji Kikkawa (Sokichi Narumi) for the chorus sings the ending theme for Fuuto PI - Tsumi to Batsu to Underground

2010

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings alongside Maki Oguro for the opening for Kamen Rider OOO - Anything Goes! Special Edit

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Regret Nothing ~ Tighten Up

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Got to Keep It Real

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Ride On Right Time

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Sun Goes Up

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Time Judged All

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Shout Out

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Akira Kushida for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Power to Tearer

Hiroaki Iwanaga (Akira Date) duets with Asaya Kimijima (Shintaro Goto) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Reverse/Re:birth

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) and Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) sing alongside Ken Matsudaira for the ending theme of Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: the Shogun and 21 Core Medals - Ole! Te wo Tsunagou

In 2019, Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Final: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders - Time Judged All ~ 8 Years Later

2013

Gaku Sano (Kouta Kazuraba) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Rise Up Your Flag

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings an insert theme of Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Baron - Unperfected World

Mahiro Takasugi (Mitsuzane Kureshima) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Point of No Return

Gaku Sano (Kouta Kazuraba) duets with Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Ranbu Escalation

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings alongside Gaku Matsuda (Zack) and Saku Momose (Peko) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gaim - Never Surrender

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings alongside Gaku Matsuda (Zack) and Saku Momose (Peko) for an insert theme for Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Knuckle - Dance With Me

2014

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Drive - SURPRISE-DRIVE

Ryoma Takeuchi (Shinnosuke Tomari) sings alonside Yuu Inaba (Go Shijima) and Taiko Katono (Chase) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Drive - Spinning Wheel

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for D-Video Special: Kamen Rider Yongo - time

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future - re-ray

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Chaser - good bye little moon

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Mach and Kamen Rider Heart - eternity (~from SURPRISE-DRIVE)

2016

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - Pinple Pell

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - PEOPLE GAME

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings the ending song for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending - Para-DX and Poppy - Real Heart

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - JUSTICE

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - Wish in the dark

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings the theme song for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending - Genm vs. Lazer - Believer

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings the theme song for Kamen Rider Genms - The Presidents - GAME CHANGER

2018

ISSA (SOUGO) is a featuring artist on Shuta Shueyoshi of AAA, singing the opening for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Over “Quartzer”

So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Zi-O, Toki no Ouja

Gaku Oshida (Geiz Myokoin) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - FUTURE GUARDIAN

Keisuke Watanabe (Woz/White Woz) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Black&White

Shieri Ohata (Alpina Tsukuyomi) sings alongside Kamen Rider Girls an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Tsuki no Michiru Toki

Hideya Tawada (Rentaro Kagura) sings alongside Sakuramen for the opening for Rider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi - IZANAGI

ISSA (SOUGO) sings alongside Masayuki Tanaka, Shinichi Ishihara, Rica Matsumoto, Nanase Aikawa, Akira Fuse, YU-KI, AAA, Tourbillon, Gackt, Aya Kamiki, Takuya, Maki Oguro, Anna Tsuchiya, Shou Kiryuuin, Shonen no Kaze, Mitsuru Matsuoka, Kishidan, Daichi Miura and Beverly for the opening for Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever Medley D.A. Re-Build Mix

In 2021, So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) duets with Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Zi-O vs. Decade - 7 of Zi-O! - INSIDE-OUT Zi-O ver.

2019

Manyard and Blaise Plant (MetsubouJinrai), the lead singers of MONKEY MAJIK, sing the ending theme of Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai - S.O.S.

Manyard and Blaise Plant (MetsubouJinrai), the lead singers of MONKEY MAJIK, sing the ending theme of Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider Vulcan and Valkyrie - Frontier

2020

Syuichiro Naito (Touma Kamiyama), Takaya Yamaguchi (Rintaro Shindo) and Ryo Aoki (Kento Fukamiya) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Rewrite the Story

Rina Chinen (Sophia) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Story never ends

Syuichiro Naito (Touma Kamiyama), Takaya Yamaguchi (Rintaro Shindo) and Ryo Aoki (Kento Fukamiya) sing alongside Asuka Kawazu for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Saber: Trio of Deep Sin - Bittersweet

Robin Furuya (Storious) sings alongside Kairu Takano and Koji Saikawa for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Rock Scissors Paper

2021

Subaru Kimura (Vice) is a featuring artist on Da-iCE, singing the opening for Kamen Rider Revice - liveDevil

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi), Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi) and Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi) with backing vocals by Subaru Kimura (Vice) sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - Go with the flo

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) and Subaru Kimura (Vice) sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - VOLCANO

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) duets with Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Revice the Mystery - Without You

Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice: Dear GAGA - Without You Dear GAGA ver.

Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Revice - Mirage Mirror

Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi) duets with Miku Ito (Lovekov) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Revice - Cherry-ish!

Subaru Kimura (Vice) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - #GekiyaVice

Hikari Kabashima (Hana Natsuki) sings the ending theme of Kamen Rider Jeanne and Kamen Rider Aguilera With Girls Remix - Riot in bloom

Subaru Kimura (Vice) is a featuring artist on Da-iCE, singing the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice: Battle Familia - Dance Dance

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - George Karizaki’s Rider System

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - George Karizaki’s Rider System Dark ver.

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - Kimi wa Sono Mama de

Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou) duets with Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) for the opening theme for Kamen Rider Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons - Come alive

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi), Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou), Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi), Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota), Hayata Seki (Olteca), Kurodo Hachijoin (Go Tamaki), Hikari Kabashima (Hana Natsuki) and Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) all sing the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons - Love yourself

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) duets with Hayata Seki (Olteca) for an ending theme for Kamen Rider Juuga VS Kamen Rider Olteca - Itoshi no Frenemy

2022

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Star of the Stars of the Stars

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - I Peace

Yuna Hoshino (Neon Kurama) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Beat of My Life

Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Undead Fire

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo) duets with Fuku Suzuki (Ziin) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Live for the moment

Weather Hearts, which has Tsubasa Sakiyama (Win Hareruya) and Kaname Futaba (Hiroki Amamiya) on vocals, performs an insert theme for Geats Extra: Kamen Rider PunkJack - ROLLIN’ ROLLIN’ PUNK KING

Ryo Kitamura (Niram) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Non-fiction

Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma), Ayaka Namiki (Beroba), Dai Goto (Daichi Isuzu) and Shihou Harumi all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Odds n’ Ends

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) duets with Hideya Tawada (Rentaro Kagura) for the opening theme for Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Tycoon Meets Kamen Rider Shinobi - IZANAGI Geats ver.

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - IZANAGI - Ballad Version

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo), Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai), Yuna Hoshino (Neon Kurama) and Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma) all sing alongside Kokoro Aoshima for the opening theme for Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awakening - CREATORs

2023

Junsei Motojima (Houtarou Ichinose), Reiyo Matsumoto (Rinne Kudo/Mercurin), Yasunari Fujibayashi (Spanner Kurogane/Jupitta), Oto Abe (Kinkiravina), Rikia Tomizono (Sabimaru Tsuruhara/Televi), Alisa Sakamaki (Lachesis/Buglesia), Kanon Miyahara (Clotho/Vanfenrir), Rikuto Kumaki (Minato/Sayzombie) and Amon Kabe (Firemars) sing alongside Saki Fukuda and BACK-ON for the opening of Kamen Rider Gotchard - CHEMY × STORY - Gotcha Version

Jyutaro Yamanaka (Zukyumpire) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Kimi ni Zukkyun

Seiichiro Nagata (Houou Kaguya Quartz) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Living Legend

Junsei Motojima (Houtarou Ichinose), Reiyo Matsumoto (Rinne Kudo/Mercurin), Rikiya Tomizono (Sabimaru Tsuruhara/Televi) and Oto Abe (Kinkiravina) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Gotcha! Let’s Go!

Yasunari Fujibayashi (Spanner Kurogane/Jupitta) sings alongside Saki Fukuda for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Blaze up

Rikuto Kumaki (Minato/Sayzombie) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - One Hint

Junsei Motojima (Houtarou Ichinose) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Dream Hoper

Alisa Sakamaki (Lachesis/Buglesia) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Sunao ni I love you O

Kanji Ishimaru (Fuuga Kudo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Kaze no Shugousha

Itono Okita (Atropos), Kanon Miyahara (Clotho/Vanfenrir) and Alisa Sakamaki (Lachesis/Buglesia) sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - CRY SIS

Kenta Kamakiri (Geryon) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - God’s Rain

[dabigothic]

1rst part of my Mercari order!!

- Gothic Noir Princess headdress by BBTSB in lavander, I love this release and when i found the headdress in my preferred colourway i jumped now i’m on the hunt for the apron <3

-Rose Lace Cross Jsk by MmM in black x blue, i cried when i opened this i’ve been wanting any version of Moitier’s cross dresses for years now and I’m so happy I finally have my hands on one especially one with the iconic moitier blue!!

-GLB vol.13, one of my fave volumes with loads of pictures of mana, an interview with Kamijo and some behind the scenes stuff about Kamikaze Girls!!!! the cover is beautiful and this one was unopened and still has the patterns inside!! I can’t wait to make some of the stuff in there!!!

-MA skirt, i couldn’t find the name of this piece :( but i’m pretty sure this is pretty old because the tag has their old logo! I love the colours so much!!!

-Toys Drop skirt by AP in pink, this is for my partner so i left it in the bag it came in hihi but I found it for a really good price brand new with tags!

[vkeidriptournament]

Visual Kei Drip Tournament: Full Ranking - WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST

------------------------------------ ★ finals ★

1. kozi (malice mizer) - 61.9%

2. ryonai (blam honey) - 38.1%

--------------------------------------------

★ runner ups ★

3. hide (x japan) - 60.6%

4. kaya (schwarz stein) - 39.4%

--------------------------------------------

round 5

5. arisu (missalina rei) - 48.3%

6. shinya (dir en grey) - 42.4%

7. emiru (lareine) - 41%

8. zin-francois angelique (madame edwarda) - 18.5%

--------------------------------------------

round 4

9. kazuki (raphael) - 47.6%

10. mana (malice mizer) - 47.1%

11. kami (malice mizer) - 47.5%

12. inoran (luna sea) - 47.5%

13. yu~ki (malice mizer) - 40.2%

14. izam (shazna) - 33.3%

15. kyouka (aliene ma'riage) - 25.6%

16. ken (l'arc en ciel) - 17.3%

--------------------------------------------

round 3

17. lucifer luscious violenoue (gille loves, fiction) - 47.5%

18. jyou (exist trace) - 47.5%

19. tara-chan (kilhi ice) - 47.2%

20. hakuei (penicillin) - 46.9%

21. bou (an cafe) - 45.5%

22. toshiya (dir en grey) - 43.2%

23. kamijo (lariene, versailles) - 40.8%

24. kazushi (rouage) - 38.9%

25. hizaki (jupiter, versailles) - 36%

26. ryutaro (plastic tree) - 31.7%

27. kon (la'mule) - 31.4%

28. hyde (l'arc en ciel) - 30.9%

29. ray (aliene ma'riage) - 28.6%

30. sena (jilkua) - 27.6%

31. yoshiki (x japan) - 17.6%

32. kaoru (dir en grey) - 15.9%

--------------------------------------------

round 2

33. mikoto (zigzag) - 48.2%

34. kyo (dir en grey) - 47.5%

35. mayu (lareine) - 47.5%

36. issay (der zibet) - 47.3%

37. ken morioka (soft ballet) - 46.7%

38. kiwamu (blood, gpkism) - 46.5%

39. isshi (kagrra) - 44.8%

40. die (dir en grey) - 44.6%

41. boogie (jiluka) - 42.6%

42. atsushi sakurai (buck-tick) - 42.4%

43. jasmine you (versailles) - 42.2%

44. sugizo (luna sea) - 41.7%

45. gackt (malice mizer) - 40.8%

46. ruki (the gazette) - 40.7%

47. wataru (liphlich) - 40.4%

48. kiyoharu (kuroyume) - 38.9%

49. klaha (malice mizer) - 36.8%

50. ayaha (dazzlingbad) - 35.8%

51. daisuke (kagerou) - 34%

52. ryoichi endo (soft ballet) - 33.3%

53. iT (dazzlingbad) - 31.3%

54. kazuma (merry go round) - 30.4%

55. gothique prince ken (gpkism) - 29.8%

56. kyuho (madmans esprit) - 28.9%

57. kei (eliphas levi) - 28.4%

58. hora (schwarz stein) - 27.5%

59. ryuichi (luna sea) - 25%

60. tetsu (malice mizer) - 24.1%

61. hiro (la'cryma christi) - 18.5%

62. yura (psycho le cemu) - 14.3%

63. aisaku (deviloof) - 10.5%

64. reita (the gazette) - 9.6%

--------------------------------------------

round 1

65. yukari (baiser) - 49.4%

66. full (guniw tools) - 49.4%

67. j (luna sea) - 47.6%

68. asagi (D) - 47.2%

69. aoi (the gazette) - 45.8%

70. kujou takemasa (kiryu) - 45.8%

71. dynamite tommy (color) - 44.4%

72. sakura (l'arc en ciel) - 44.3%

73. imai hisashi (buck-tick) - 44.2%

74. juka (moi dix mois) - 44.1%

75. miko (exist trace) - 44.1%

76. ai (gulu gulu) - 44%

77. yoshiatsu (dadaroma) - 43.8%

78. yagami toll (buck-tick) - 42.2%

79. yasu (janne da arc, acid black cherry) - 41.9%

80. teru (versailles) - 41.9%

81. uruha (the gazette) - 41.5%

82. hazuki (lynch) - 41.4%

83. chiaki (dezert) - 41.3%

84. juho (madmans esprit) - 40.7%

85. tsuzuku (mejibray) - 39.9%

86. maya (LM.C) - 39.6%

87. mia (mejibray) - 39.6%

88. lime (kizu) - 38.9%

89. aya (psycho le cemu) - 38.6%

90. miyavi (due le quartz) - 38.5%

91. jojo (the gallo) - 38.2%

92. takashi (dadaroma) - 38.1%

93. machi (lareine) - 37.7%

94. hidehiko hoshino (buck-tick) - 36.6%

95. kyonosuke (kizu) - 36.2%

96. taka (la'cryma christi) - 35.9%

97. tetsu (l'arc en ciel) - 35.7%

98. meto (mejibray) - 35.1%

99. t.m. revolution (luis-mary) - 34.4%

100. maria cross - 34.4%

101. kengo (noir fleurir) - 34.3%

102. dada (velvet eden) - 33.9%

103. morrie (dead end) - 33.3%

104. tsutomu ishizuki (fanatic crisis) - 31.9%

105. aki (laputa) - 30.9%

106. koichi (mejibray) - 30.1%

107. heath (x japan) - 29.5%

108. shou kiryuuin (golden bomber) - 29.5%

109. miko (exist trace) - 28.4%

110. yukihiro (l'arc en ciel) - 26.5%

111. mast (aliene ma'riage) - 25.5%

112. tatsuro (mucc) - 23.6%

113. aki (arlequin) - 22.3%

114. gisho (penicillin) - 21.4%

115. yutaka higuchi (buck-tick) - 21.4%

116. kyohei (das:vasser) - 21.1%

117. seek (psycho le cemu) - 21.1%

118. kirito (pierrot) - 18.9%

119. darvish kenji (golden bomber) - 18.8%

120. kisaki (phantasmagoria, mirage, la:sadies) - 18.6%

121. tsune-hito (D) - 16.1%

122. kai (the gazette) - 15.5%

123. mako (deadman) - 14.9%

124. yune (the gazette) - 14.1%

125. shun (deshabillez) - 13.9%

126. tusk (zi-kill) - 12.7%

127. chill (kane to juusei) - 12.3%

128. yohio (disreign) - 11.3%

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (April 10th)

Acht (BlazBlue)

Yayoi Isumi (Muv-Luv)

Haruna Kamijo (THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls)

Kazuo Yoshida (Tokyo Ghoul)

Kate (Pop’n Music)

Ur (Pop’n Music)

Oshare-Zukin (Pop’n Music)

Katsuo Kurogoma (Gintama)

Edgar Chang Martin (D.Gray-man)

Hayato Uno (World Trigger)

Kouichirou Tanba (Diamond no Ace)

Hachibei Takaya (Gintama)

Ryoma Terasaka (Assassination Classroom)

kana (IDOLY PRIDE)

Lower (Pop’n Music)

Rosa (Seven Deadly Sins)

Naoya Shirokawa (Maid-sama!)

Seiya Makishima (Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan)

Shari (Animal Crossing)

Takeru Shinoda (Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan)

Seisa Mikagura (Mikagura School Suite)

Mayo Amakasu (Majikoi!)

[miraivelgear]

So, with The Luge and Mirai firmly cemented as my Go Rush ship, it was time for my Sevens descendent Mira to get a re-design! Now she looks like the multiple greats granddaughter of Mirai and Luge's daughter Glacia that she is.

And with this re-design, she is FINALLY getting some lore! Mira lost her home and parents to a terrible house fire when she was one year old. She made it out alive, but with a nasty scar going diagonally across her face which never healed(can't show that with picrew). She lived in an orphanage since, with nobody wanting to adopt her because of her scar. The burn crossed her left eye, and as a result damaged her vision in that eye. Fortunately, it was correctable with glasses. She ends up going to Goha Elementary, in Yuga and co's class.

Because Mira was so young at the time, she has no memory of her parents at all. The person running the orphanage wasn't told anything about them either. As a result, Mira has no idea who she really is or where she came from. She wants to know, so she saves up money and has an ancestry test done. The test shows a lot of her family tree, going all the way back to The Luge and Mirai. She sees her multiple greats grandmother, Glacia, but wait. She had a twin brother- Lucian! Mira follows Lucian's lineage down and finds, to her shock, a face she recognizes at her own generational level. A boy from her class, Luke Kamijo. She's not alone anymore! She has a distant cousin! Two even, the tree shows Luke has an older sister as well!

Mira is overjoyed by this, and wants to meet the family she's found she has, but is afraid they won't want her like every other adult who has come to the orphanage. She decides she'll say hi to Luke first and see what happens.

Mira finds Luke with Yuga and his group. They recognize her from class, but she's usually so quiet that they're surprised she wants to talk. Mira shows Luke and his friends the family tree she printed up and explains everything. The group is shocked, then Luke hugs Mira with a loud 'Cousin!'. Mira is thrilled he's so happy. Then the group asks about Mira's family, and she explains she's been living in the orphanage since she was a year old, having lost her parents and home in a nasty fire, which is also where the scar on her face -which she is surprised none of them have commented on- came from. Nobody wanted her because of the scar.

The group immediately welcomes her, and is not at all bothered by her scar. Kaizo goes on his girls with glasses routine, to which Yuga facepalms, but Mira just giggles finding it cute. Luke decides 'no cousin of mine is going back to the orphanage' and takes her to the Kamijo mansion with him. He explains to Tiger, Mira shows the family tree to her as well, and after being shocked to learn she has a cousin Tiger agrees Mira isn't going back to the orphanage when they have so much room in their mansion. She's their family now.

Mira was holding it back since Luke accepted her, but finally breaks down crying. She can't believe she finally has a family. A real family who wants her. The Kamijo siblings both hug her.

[itsuki-minamy]

"CRUSH ON BABY" (PROLOGUE)

NOVEL: REI RAIRAKU (GORA) / ILLUSTRATION: HIROKO UTSUMI

TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN

* List of Chapters

As he was approaching Shimokitazawa Station, he heard the sound of a piano carried by the wind.

Kamijo Yozora stopped the bike and looked at where the sound was coming from. A straight piano that anyone could play freely, located in a place in front of the station square. A young man sat in front of the woodgrain piano, his fingers dancing happily on the keyboard.

Although he had a certain level of technique, while he played majestically at that busy time, the rhythm was too free and the sound flow was chaotic.

Yozora, who was used to listening to professional music, found the performance quite unsatisfying, but many people in the plaza were drawn to the sound of the piano and stopped to listen.

Yozora looked at the pianist.

He seemed to be enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart, and he was making animated sounds. He surely was someone who really liked playing the piano. You could tell he was rough around the edges, but the pianist's fun carried over into the sound and energized the performance, drawing listeners in.

Feeling the pain deep in his chest, Yozora moved away from the young man who was playing the piano and started the bike again.

Heading to his own little castle, leaving behind the sound of the piano.

Yozora's Castle... the small bar run by Yozora, is located on the second floor of a multi-tenant building on the corner of the first street. Thanks to the help of the owner of the store where he had worked until two years ago, he was able to rent an empty space at a low price, so he opened his own store there.

He parked his bike in the bike rack at the side of the building, he walked up the narrow stairs and saw a door with a metal sign with "Nox" etched in a thin typeface. When the door is opened, you can see an authentic bar with an atmosphere that is contrary to the worn appearance of the building. Yozora turned on the light of a small, but fully attached bar, and rolled up his sleeves to start cooking.

The snacks that are served at the bar are dehydrated foods such as nuts, cheese, olives. In addition to items like prosciutto ham and other items that are always in stock, it offers a slightly changing daily special. At the time, he was planning to make a special butter chicken curry.

For daily side dishes, caprese, ratatouille, various stir-fries, salads, pate de campagne, etc. are prepared. Depending on his mood of the day, and the curry is usually prepared the day before.

That day he decided to make a terrine, so he organized the ingredients he bought over the counter.

While he boiled the asparagus, baby corn, red and yellow peppers, and shrimp, he made a bouillon soup and dissolved gelatin in it. He stuffed the terrine mold with the liquid bouillon gelatin and the vegetables little by little, taking into account that the color of the cross section will be beautiful.

"...Good."

He arranged it neatly in a mold as if he were making a work of art, he nodded, and put it in the fridge to cool and harden. He put the prepared curry on the fire, checked the taste and adjusted the spices.

After he finished cooking, he polished the bar counter and the small table with a single seat, and cleaned the floor.

In his spare time, he spends time checking the sake inventory, polishing glasses, and looking at magazines while taking a break.

At 6:00 PM, he flips the input label to OPEN. The shop opens at six, but the bar customers are late. He thought he would be free for a while, but the doorbell rang a few minutes after he opened the store.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yozora-kun."

A familiar face appeared.

A young man with a slender body, tall and well-proportioned, with an affable and kind face with slightly drooping eyes. He wore a dolman-sleeved bra top over a black turtleneck, loose-fitting pants, and the combined style of the top with the loose-fitting pants was simple but well-balanced.

He seemed to frequent the city's overflowing thrift shops, both as a buyer and a seller. That day he also had a shopper from a second-hand clothing store in his hand.

"Minase. Come to think of it, the store was closed today."

"Yes. I didn't have anything planned, so I thought I'd take a walk around town and do some light shopping, see Yozora-kun's face, and go home."

After saying that with a smile, Minase sat in his usual seat at the counter.

"Gin fizz, please."

When he asked that in a polite tone, Yozora gave a light look and placed the shaker and the main cup next to each other. He quickly measured the gin and lemon juice into a measuring cup, added the syrup, stirred in the shaker, and used a bar spoon to drip a drop onto the back of his hand to taste. He added ice to the shaker and shook. The cool sound of ice crackling in a shaker rang out on a small bass.

Minase watched the series of movements with sweet eyes.

"Yozora-kun, I love how you make cocktails. It seems to flow smoothly, it's beautiful."

As soon as he lowered the shaker, Minase told him that.

"...Thank you."

He hid his embarrassment and responded, pouring the shaker's contents into a glass filled with ice. Carbonated and gently stirred, he added a lemon wedge and placed it in front of Minase.

Minase slowly tipped his glass and said, "It's delicious." Yozora breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gin fizz is a simple cocktail and hard to balance. The taste differs from shop to shop. I've researched how to make it myself, but get a little nervous when asked to make it."

"That's right... Yozora-kun, you're already a professional bartender."

Minase said so reluctantly.

Slowly, the lower part of his chest ached again.

The image of the person he had just seen playing the street piano happily flashed through his mind.

But that little memory soon faded away, and Yozora laughed and looked at Minase.

"Even you, Minase, are a very good professional stylist."

"No, I'm still a kid. I finally graduated as an assistant and just got to cut clients' hair."

"And you're a model too. I bought a magazine you were in the other day. It's great."

Minase smiled sheepishly.

"Did you buy it? Until my salary as a hairdresser goes up a bit more, I keep thinking about it, but I'm really not fit to be photographed that much. Hibiki knows how to handle himself better in that realm."

Yozora shrugged at the name Hibiki that came out of Minase's mouth.

"Hibiki is too assertive about his existence, so he's not suitable to be a fashion model, right? His face is loud."

"Loud face."

Minase repeated Yozora's words and they laughed out loud.

The doorbell rang almost at the same time.

Yozora raised his eyebrows at the young man who opened the door after shouting "Welcome!"

"If you spread rumors..."

"What? Were you talking about me?"

Hibiki Aisaka, a young man who entered the bar, raised the corners of his mouth and slid into the seat next to Minase.

Hibiki is a handsome young man with a strong presence and aura. The sharp and slant eyes that make you think of a cat are impressive, and people's eyes are drawn to his face. It seemed to him that the role of model, whose role is to make readers project themselves in such a way that they want to wear the clothes he was wearing, would not really be suitable.

Also, his fashion sense is strangely unique, and it's hard to imagine him wearing the clothes that they have sent him.That day, Hibiki was wearing a T-shirt with a design that mixed English, Japanese, and Chinese characters, and it was strong enough to embarrass him.

"I told him that Hibiki wasn't suitable to be a model."

When Yozora spoke, Hibiki pouted.

"What's that, you bastard?"

"Don't say bad words."

"Eh?"

"No, no, what Yozora-kun is trying to say is that you have too much presence, so those clothes are only suitable for a mannequin-like model displaying clothes. He'd rather praise you."

"Minase."

He said his name as if to criticize him, but Minase kept smiling softly, and as expected, Hibiki leaned forward with a smile.

"Are you acknowledging my charisma?"

"Don't be put off."

"I'll ask you while you're in a good mood, but don't you feel like doing a song for me soon?"

"No. More importantly, what is your order?"

He asked in a weird way on purpose, but Hibiki said with a smile, "Give me curry."

"I have practice after this, so I'll drink water. A big helping of curry."

"It's not the kind of place where hungry people come to eat curry with water."

With a sigh, he immediately reheated the pot of curry. If someone tells him, "Yozora's curry is delicious," he doesn't feel bad.

"How about you, Minase? What snack do you want?"

"What's today's menu?"

"I made a prawn and vegetable terrine."

"How nice. Give me that, please."

Yozora nodded and took the hardened terrine out of the fridge and cut it. He put the brightly colored vegetables on it and held the small plate in front of Minase.

Meanwhile, he served the freshly heated curry. A creamy curry with large vegetables. The spice mix is changed little by little through trial and error each time.

When ordered as a side dish or after dinner, rice is served less, but the order came from someone misinterpreting the bar as a restaurant. The rice was also generously served and, in response to the request for a large serving, he poured a lot of roux over it.

Minase and Hibiki's eating habits were in contrast. Minase looked at the served terrine with a smile as if he enjoyed it with his eyes, then carefully cut a bite with a fork and brought it to his mouth. Hibiki, on the other hand, raised the spoon as soon as he put on the curry bowl and began to eat with refreshing speed.

But equally, both of them expressed their satisfaction with the taste with all their faces.

"It looks beautiful and fun, and the jelly is really delicious."

Minase smiled and said that.

"In Shimokita, a fierce battlefield for curry, I feel like eating Yozora's curry, so it's amazing."

Hibiki said that while he ate curry.

He was really happy when people thought the food and sake he made was delicious.

As Minase said, Yozora is a "professional bartender" who is attached to his bar and takes pride in the sake and food he prepares.

He doesn't think he regrets the future he didn't choose.

But...

As Yozora polished his glass, he watched Hibiki's face as he moved the curry spoon.

Even when Hibiki looked up at the wrong moment, his eyes met perfectly. Hibiki narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"We have a live performance this weekend, so come see us, Yozora. Then maybe you'll get the inspiration for the songs you write."

"You're persistent. That's why you say you don't write songs, right?"

"Again. Even if you're willing to. Do you hide your shame?"

"No, you're annoying..."

"Hibiki, I think it's bad to speak without sincerity like that."

Minase looked at Hibiki with a laugh mixed with exasperation. Yozora let out a deep breath.

"Minase, you should choose your friends. Don't go the wrong way by hanging out with this dumb guy."

"Wait, Yozora-kun. Stop treating me like a weird kid."

Minase made a sour face, and shrugged slightly. Since the time they spent together as children was longer than the time since their meeting, Yozora tended to act like an older brother to Minase.

It's been about half a year since he saw Minase again, and met Hibiki. However, partly because they often come to Yozora's bar, it felt natural for the three of them to spend time together like this.

― "Finally I found you!"

He remembered the first time Hibiki came to the bar with Minase.

With cat eyes shining, Hibiki said to Yozora.

― "Do you remember ten years ago? I started listening to music that day. Make me a song."

Ten years ago, Yozora was fifteen years old. Known as a child prodigy, he composed his own music while taking piano lessons and giving informal concerts in restaurants and other venues when requested. Hibiki must have heard Yozora's music somewhere.

He doesn't remember, but it wasn't that he wasn't happy.

― "I'm sorry, but I've given up on music."

Still, that was the only answer Yozora could give, and it hasn't changed even now. For some reason, without hesitation, Hibiki kept coming to Yozora and asking him to compose a song jokingly.

Yozora looked back at Hibiki's face.

Having his own store in that town, he was able to live in peace. After Hibiki appeared, Yozora felt the ripples rising higher in his heart and muttered, "I won't make it.".

[arkadiaasks]

That’s the thing, though; she could just gatekeep being Duel King behind being a respectable person, couldn’t she? If he does something stupid, take away his Duel Hexagon and deck until he spends a week shaping up as a person. Or if she wants to perform positive reinforcement, she could give him a duel with a person of his choice every time he accomplishes something good for the family. It’s not hard to turn his interests against him for the greater good.

The Kamijos seem to practice "Do what you want unless it hurts the family name".

That was the line he crossed.

Also, Tiger has no interest in being a top Duelist, she wants to be an excellent martial artist (and seemingly musician). The entire issue is her brother being such a dipshit publicly it causes the family name harm.

Also, we're kind of shown the only reinforcement Luke responds to is negative reinforcement?

[violetganache42]

Lemme get this straight: the cheap galactic furniture store is struck with recessions, raids, and other financial problems, so in order to make ends meet, Zaion/The☆Providence resorts to demanding orders to their customers set at unprofitable prices, and if those orders are refused, he won't hesitate to turn innocent bystanding aliens into furniture as a threat? WHAT???

Okay, it sucks for a store or business to face any form of financial decline. I understand that. But why resort to making customers complete their orders that are priced unreasonably high? That tactic alone is doomed to fail from the get go because—as we saw with an ancient generation of the Kamijo family—they're obviously gonna refuse it. What Zaion is doing is scummy enough, but him threatening them to comply by targeting aliens they cross paths with, turning them into furniture, and shipping them to their customers along with a higher price-gouging order is low. There's already other possible solutions to help out the financial problems like asking for donations to help pay the bills and repair the raid damages, implement stronger security measures to prevent any more raids, or give your customers the option to do payments set at a reasonable monthly price rate over a period of time instead of paying it all at once. Regardless if he had already done any of these or not, expecting his customers to comply with his unprofitable price orders by any means necessary only paints himself as money-hungry and his furniture store as corrupt. Even if some of them did ultimately comply, I highly doubt they will want to shop there again because of the measures he took to get those orders completed.

Of course, none of that won't matter because he is going to be instantly forgiven by the protagonists after the Duel is over thanks to his sob story. And those at Bridge working on GO RUSH!! know that is more important than him threating Epoch to comply to his order of producing the gears en masse. 😓 I swear to God, having a "tragic" backstory may explain a villain or antagonist's motivation, but it doesn't mean their actions should be excused or automatically forgiven! You failed to understand that with the Ryugu brothers and I'm certain you'll fail to understand that with Zaion!

Another "bad guy is actually good/has tragic backstory" honestly, I don't care who wins nor do I think it will matter much (kinda like ep 69) so maybe Zaion/Zion aka the☆Providence will win this. is it sad I want Yudias to lose?

[chaosmax]

Ah shit, here we go again

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

[imasqrcodes]

Snow Wings fusion outfit of Haruna and Uzuki QR Code

[scalpelandrose]

🥀 Vampire AU Concept (Trafalgar Law x Self-Insert OC)🥀

A/N: From my last year’s Halloween story, I decided to branch off into an official tale. (am slowly uploading all my moodboards and concepts). This was made in conjunction with a discussion of individual Vampire AUs with @the-phoenix-and-the-witch, @conchasweetheart, @lariflames —and theirs will be coming up soon! I am very passionate about many things, and vampires rank in the top 3, so developing this was like home-coming to me. Along with my other WIPs, I’ll expand upon this with both art & stories when I have the chance 🌹

Inspirations: History of Vlad Tepes | various occult/supernatural/vampire manuals, books, lore, etc. I’ve consumed over the years | instrumentals by Adrian Von Ziegler, the Fietcher Brothers, Nox Arcana, and Brunuhville (I have many playlists and songs crafted over the years) | Dracula: Love Kills Hidden Object Game

Setting: 1850s/1860s (2nd/3rd Phase of Victorian Era), begins in London, England for Michelle’s story & Targoviste, Wallachia, Romania for Law’s story. Proceeds to travel across the European continent

Opening Song: Killing My Dreams by Elysion | Ending Song: Persona Grata by Kamijo | Couple Theme: Everlasting Star by Adrian von Ziegler

Concept Outline (1st POV):

Vampires had kept the country of Wallachia safe from invasion for centuries since the rise of Vlad Tepes (1400s) but over time, a rift between humans and vampires grew as certain humans could not reconcile the fact that something so unnatural—so unholy—could be their saving grace and grew hostile, while some haughty vampires forgot their scion’s allegiance to the Order of the Dragon and began demanding payment for their services. Over time, their antics and hostilities culminated into the birth of the Vampyre Hunters’ Guild and malign lower-class bloodthirsty goblin-vampires to be created. It was essential that every human in the region of Targoviste wore a silver cross on them, imbued with Underworld minerals to protect them from possible attacks. At times, regular vampires & dhampirs help exterminate and protect from the goblin-vampires, imps, bandits, and other unsavory characters that lurk within the outer roads and the woods; however more often than not, they are met with ungratefulness and hunters are called on them.

Being a rather quiet and lonely child without many friends, I grew up trying to learn anything & everything that I could to occupy myself. I had a fascination with the supernatural as it made me think that maybe in that world, where there were also misunderstood creatures, I could find a friend there someday. But for some reason, vampires captured my attention, and I learned all I could, from their hierarchies, strengths/weaknesses, historical records, etc. and this allowed me to respect them, because like humans, there are good amongst the bad. Among the records of Vlad Tepes, I was especially drawn to entries about Trafalgar Law, one of his loyal retainers who aided him in identifying traitors in his court, devised a plan to counter the Turkish envoy’s trap, and stood by him at the last stand.

One day, my class was made to walk from the school to the local church for the week before Easter, but unfortunately, a heavy downpour graced the town that day, and all the other students took the available umbrellas. No one wanted to share, so I used my binders and hardcover books to cover myself. I started falling behind a little in the line, feeling my frock becoming soaked. But when we reached the Post & Literature Quarter in town, raindrops stopped hitting me, once I passed by a vampiric carriage on the street & I looked up to see a tall darkly-clad silver eyed man holding an umbrella over me, “How can human schools expect their students to succeed, if they don’t even properly look after them?” he would gravely remark with concern.

I would give a small nod acknowledging his words, silently studying his familiar features before it clicks, “Thank you…Trafalgar Law.” I couldn’t believe he was still alive since his last stand with Vlad Tepes, but I was happy that we encountered each other. It was like meeting a childhood hero. I looked up to him with a smile; however when we locked eyes, a wave of dangerous sanguine need washed over him, as the one greatest satisfaction a vampire could have, is drinking the blood of their fated mate. It was then Law realized he found his other half, as he felt inexplicably drawn to the smell of my blood, but seeing that I was still young and being a vampire of excellent self-control, he was able to control his fangs from emerging.

Law would widen his eyes in shock that I recognized him, as many people were not versed in the origins of vampires nor remembered his name. He lived in solitude after the death of his lord, so it surprised him that this young girl knew who he was and smiled at him without hesitation. It was a long time since anyone smiled at him that way. He noticed that one of my soaked books was a biography about him, which brought a foreign warmth in his heart, “Here, you need this more than I do,” he would say handing me his umbrella, “The next time we meet, you can return it to me.”

I was at first confused at a ‘next time,’ but nevertheless was ecstatic at the hope of meeting him again. The next day a package came for me with a fresh copy of his biography, along with books I’ve never seen before about the vampyre world that also had magic imbued in them so I can see the illustrations play out before me, some of his 1st hand accounts of his experiences, and a locket. Thankfully, the books had a false cover to not raise suspicions among my parents & they dissolved into the true tome once I was alone. Law also left me a note giving instructions on how I could communicate with him, and that’s how our secret rendezvous began. Every night, I would put a hand over the locket he gave me—crafted from a piece of his early armor from his first battle—that contained the symbol of The Order of the Dragon made from his own blood within it, along with an inscription written in a vampiric language I was not familiar with. When I did this and called to him, he would appear before me in an instant & we would spend time talking about his history, our different planes of existences, and sharing things we made or did within the week. I soon learned about his estate, how he is also a doctor, and the beings that served him, like Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin, and I found myself becoming more comfortable speaking to others in general because of Law. At heart, I was glad that I found the supernatural friend I always hoped for who I felt safe sharing my inner world with.

I was 16 when Law offered to show me a special place to him & took me to a private garden within scattered ruins that his mother originally made possible. Being a gothic-romantic at heart, I ran around the structures with glee, letting myself be carefree, spinning around every arched gateway and caressing any flower or branch I passed by. Law looked on with a curl to his lips at this new side of me and began telling me the significance of the place, while offering me a deep red rose. Just as we left the sanctuary and made our way down the road, we were attacked by a vampire from the Counsel holding suspicions that Law held an affection for a mere human & thought that I would be a key to his destruction. After some fighting, a vampire hunter inconveniently appears, making things more difficult, but Law was able to momentarily stun them with a telepathic pulse as a patriarch vampire to grab me and materialize us away into a thousand bats. Afterwards, with my consent, he made an imprint on me with a part of his soul essence, so others knew not to disturb nor come after me.

Many events followed, where I made an effort to argue my case about vampire-human relations to both sides, stand up for myself at an inquest accusing me of opening the town to a wraith attack, learning how to wield a sword with Law, moving in with him after being placed on the list of individuals of interest to the Vampire Hunters, accompanying and aiding him on his outings, etc. On Law’s end, he had to put the other Counsel vampires in their place for any underhanded actions—which causes them to turn against him. Eventually, a war started to brew between those vampires, who were thirsty for absolute power beyond the vampiric realm, and the hunters who indiscriminately hunted vampires, believing they had the moral high ground (with some wanting to loot vampiric treasures or kill vampires out of sadism). The human and vampiric worlds started to heavily blur here, but not in a good way, with each side infringing on the other’s right to peace.

After some deliberation and research, Law & I set out to collect all the relics from the original Order of the Dragon to stop this chaos once and for all, which takes us across the continent. Our love grew with each adventure, event, and intimate time spent. A certain event in London while looking for a relic King Henry V was given by the Order, left Law injured in a clock tower leading to the 1st time he drank my blood. The sensation was slightly painful, intense, sending a heat through me that almost made me delirious, but it was then I knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere else, but with him. At the same time, tasting my blood was almost a home-coming to him, making him feel complete and wanting more of this sacred intimateness. With that conviction in mind, during a masquerade ball at a Hungarian estate to purloin a relic from a baron, I ask him to turn me & he does, and it leads to us consummating our relationship.

Ultimately, we achieve our quest, put an end to the brewing war, improve human-vampire relations, and can live in peaceful solitude as eternal lovers with our family in a life of love and undeath.

-> Tagging: @undercoverweeeb, @gabrielasalazar18, @jazminetoad, @simp4ace

[noviceaoiryusei]

「 KAMEN RIDER'S CROSS TALK_02 」 Yamaguchi Takaya × Aoki Ryo × Naito Shuichiro interview

The three who portrayed as Kamen Riders, fought as swordsmen and supported each other as friends. Looking back on their days of working hard as actors (in this) "friends" tripartite talk. They talk about their experiences while working diligently with their roles on "Kamen Rider Saber" in a course of a year.

「 KAMEN RIDER'S CROSS TALK_02 」

Three swordsmen's encounter and the other side

→ What was the relationship between the three of you when you first met?

Naito: All I heard was about Yamaguchi-kun's personal life. When I heard that he was doing muscle training, I asked him how he worked out and such. That's how I started muscle training.

Yamaguchi: I had less work experience than Naito-kun, so I relied on him for many things.

Aoki: Takaya seemed serious and I thought he must be very solid, but he was really absentminded. The gap made me laugh.

Yamaguchi: Within the four of us, including Kawazu (Asuka)-san, who will be in charge? Aoki-kun was taking the lead so I thought, "Oh, it's okay to have this person turn it around". However, I didn't know what or how much to say, so I was a bit idle. (everyone laughed)

→ What are the most memorable on-set episodes of the three of you worked together?

Aoki: For me, it was the scene wherein Kento fights Calibur, Kamijo-san (played by Hirayama Hiroyuki) and is beaten to pulp, the scene wherein Touma is holding him (Kento) in his arms. The scene was supposed to be about Kento dying, but instead of gently holding him in the lining... what are you thinking that you just blasted it off? (everyone laughed) I was so surprised that I wondered if we were really going to do this.

Naito: No, that was my stance and also my lack of muscle strength... When I saw it on the video, I totally messed up.

Aoki: That was the finishing blow, huh.

Naito: Kento's expression became like "tightly".

Aoki: It was an act that I was supposed to be dying. (laughs) It's really hard.

Yamaguchi: What left an impression to me was when Kento and Touma we're working face to face, for some reason, I remembered that they laughed on my face.

Aoki: Well, that... (laughs) It's because your eyes move so much! When I'm talking to you one-on-one, your eyes immediately go "choro, choro" (wandering around). (T/N: the original expression used was 「チョロッ、チョロッ」 and there's no direct translation for it so probably it could mean "wandering around" because they are talking how Yamaguchi's eyes move quite a lot but reading the next sentence, it could really mean so.)

Naito: Indeed! (laughs) It looks at the different parts of my face.

Yamaguchi: No, I get embarrassed when I stare at them. Besides, you two are tall, so your gazes are different from mine!

Aoki: Ah, so that's how it was!!

Yamaguchi: If I looked forward normally, I wouldn't be able to look at them. Since the camera was shooting from the side, looking up would be a bit unnatural. So, I tried to look at their chin.

Aoki: That was very interesting. Although we were usually friendly, the atmosphere changed completely once filming starts. Everyone was a good rival. Everyone, including Kawazu-san is working earnestly during the shoot.

In a drama where relationships change

→ What was your impression of Kawazu-san who played the role of Mei?

Yamaguchi: At the scene, she can swing around and play a character like that. She's a great mood maker. We were attracted by her cheerfulness, it means a lot (to us).

Naito: Because we're men, sometimes things get stiff. There are even times that we're bachi bachi (sputtering) during shooting. (T/N: the expression used was 「バチバチ」 meaning crackling, sparking. I just used the other synonymous meaning that I read on google.)

Aoki: Yes, we clash in a good way. Each of us has our own work that we desire to do. However, when Mei-chan comes in at such times, it makes me feel a little more at ease.

→ By the way, when did Rintaro became aware of Mei-chan?

Yamaguchi: It was around episode 7 where I appeared as Blades and carried her like a princess. If anything, the first one was Sophia-san who is more like a mother that raised me so, I have an image of her as a cherished woman.

Naito: Really!

Yamaguchi: So when Sophia-san would say "Blades", it made me feel in my heart that I should do my best. However, when he is at odds with Touma, a word from Mei-chan shakes him up a bit and he gradually starts to....... So, around the time I fought the Neko Megido, I thought that "Maybe I can fight for this person". With that in mind, I decided to put it out in the act. Kawazu-san and I used to discuss, "Which one do you prefer?" He might feel that Mei-chan is significant, but then I thought maybe she's like this with everyone.

Aoki: There wasn't even a clear depiction. You didn't use the word "like".

Yamaguchi: It's reserved at the end.

Naito: That's romantic!

→ What about the time that Kento left the show halfway?

Aoki: To be honest, I was surprised when I first received the script, but I was convinced "Just as I've thought". Up until now, I had been running alone, overcoming the restraints of my friends, and I knew that I would be sanctioned at some point.

Naito: From the beginning we had talked that we're so many so we have (already) thought someone would be gone. Who did you expect?

Aoki: Would it be Ren? I had it in my thoughts though.

Naito: I also thought so.

Aoki: I thought maybe he'd get killed one day.

Naito: When I read the script, I thought it was fast. I honestly thought it was too hasty for Kento to disappear while Touma was occupied with himself.

Aoki: Everyone except me thought "Isn't it a little too early?" but, I knew that it's definitely coming. Well that's fun.

Yamaguchi: I never imagined that you would disappear in front of everyone.

Aoki: You know, it's nice to die while being taken cared of by everyone. (everyone laughed)

“The three of us felt like there wasn't much difference between the roles and ourselves which was nice. After a year, it will resemble each other more and more.” (Aoki)

→ After that, Kento returned with a bit dangerous aura.

Aoki: I had a lot of discussions with Director Kamihoriuchi (Kazuya) about that part. All the ideas I had were rejected (laughs).

Yamaguchi: Yeah. (laughs) I just happened to be see it, what Aoki-kun had made was completely covered.

Aoki: It was all useless. However, the director came up with a lot of ideas, and I performed it all for a number of times so that I could compare them....... I was told "Uhm, no" "Well, that's not right". It took me a lot of time, it was a really important (part of the) filming.

Naito: Did you finally convinced them?

Aoki: Of course!

Naito: Director Kamihoriuchi's ideas exceeded our imagination. At the beginning, we could only come up with something mundane. The first time I shoot a PR video, I prepared everything.

Yamaguchi: That's how it was!

Naito: But the director wanted more than that. Everything I've brought was fixed.

Aoki: But those things are important, isn't it? It's frustrating, but (at the same time) it's also interesting. The director's point of view is outside of our own, and it makes us realize that this way of thinking exists. The words from the director is really important. (T/N: the phrase is actually written as 「ものすごく重いんですよ」 which literally meant as "something really heavy", I just rephrased it.)

Naito: But the last part was something I brought myself. If the director gave me instructions that were different, I would say, "I can't do that".

Aoki: Ohh, that's impressive! (everyone laughed)

→ Is that a sign that you have understood the character better than anyone else in your performance?

Naito: After all, I've been close to the role for a year. The director changes every time, so I thought that I am the one who understands the role the best.

→ Well then, at what point do you feel like you've grab each of the characters?

Yamaguchi: For me, it was around episode 29 to 32 when I transformed into Tategami (Kamen Rider Blades Tategami Hyouju Senki). It was the time that I had faced on Rintaro for such a long time, and this is when I started to feel that I should be confident with him. Also, I think it was around that time that I was able to convince the audience of what I thought Rintaro was like.

Naito: When I was alone and split out with everyone else. Until then, there were no episodes depicting the firmness of Touma so I think there was a part of me and Touma that did not match. But after being separated from everyone else, I started to think and act as if I were in the other person's shoes in order to fight together with them again. That's when I began to realize that Touma is that kind of person. (T/N: the word used was 'backbone' figuratively meaning 'firmness'.)

Aoki: I don't have a clear timing. Since I had disappeared, my character had changed once, and it didn't feel like it fits, but rather that I was getting more and more comfortable with it as I went along.

→ The scene with the 3 of you, the Momotaro in episode 39 was impressive.

Yamaguchi: The time Rintaro portrayed a dog with a monkey for Kento. (laughs) (T/N: this is quite a play of Japanese words.)

Aoki: Indeed. In that scene, the once-sullen Kento gradually returns to his former Kento self. It is a trivial scene, but I felt that I've finally came to their side. Kento has accumulated so many things that he gets tired from the weight of it all during the work. It was gone in that scene. From that point on, it became easier to act.

Naito: Yeah, I had a lot of fun doing it.

Aoki: It is also a meaningful scene because it brings in Mei-chan and Rintaro as his new friends in that fantasy. There's also Touma's line "Hey! Don't change the story!" and it was also a scene that had many implications for Kento's new step forward.

A year in which the three of us grew together as heroes.

→ After the transformation, you all pass the baton to the suit actors, but how do you interact with them?

Yamaguchi: I was with the action department quite a lot. I was with Eitoku-san all the time and imitated him. Whether he was talking or walking...... even the way he eat.

Aoki: (laughs)

Yamaguchi: I consulted him about the portrayal, especially in episodes 29 to 32, it's created together by the two of us. We both said to each other, "We'll do what we want to show, and then we'll pick up the rest together". I think we were able to achieve it and for that I can only be grateful.

Aoki: When I first met Nakata (Yuji)-san, he never looked people in the eye (laughs), and I thought that "He must be shy". I tried to get into his pocket, but he just won't look me in the eye.

Yamaguchi: Is that so!?!?!

Aoki: That's what I really like about Nakata-san, he's modest and humble. When he teaches me something, he takes it very seriously, but very sensitively. He says "I do it like this, I would do it like this, I do it in this manner...... Can you do it?".

Yamaguchi, Naito: (laughs)

Aoki: Since it was a little difficult for me I would say, "No, it's still a little difficult". Later, he would carefully teach me, but that was just Nakata-san's humility.

Naito: My impression of Asai (Kousuke)-san has changed a lot since when I first met him. At first, he was too kind and gentle that it's hard for me to say "This is what I want to do". But Asai-san said, "That's not good enough! I'm just going to imitate Naito-kun's Touma, so just tell me anything". But Asai-san was also very competitive and doesn't want to loose, so he gradually said, "I think this way, but what about Touma?" (and) "I'm thinking of doing it this way, so take a look one more time". Ah, I could tell that he was self-motivated and a passionate person. Whenever we were together, we would talk about Kamen Rider. Seeing him like that really motivated me in portraying Kamiyama Touma.

→ Asai-san is always serious.

Naito: No, he surprisingly fools around but, the way he jokes is serious. At first, didn't even know how much I could tease him. (laughs)

“For me, I felt most relaxed and at ease when it was the four of us, including Kawazu-san.” (Yamaguchi)

→ What was the most exciting part of the transformation scene?

Naito: It is still the scene of the simultaneous transformation by the three of us. Episode 10, directed by Koichi Sakamoto.

Yamaguchi: The duck (episode)!

Naito: It was the first time for all of us to do a lot of action, but each of us looked so cool, and the transformation at that moment made me think, "This is Kamen Rider!".

Aoki: For me it's the part wherein Kento comes back from his dark fall and the three of us fought Master Logos in the woods. Is that the second transformation of the cross saber?

Naito: (You've got to) Remember it!

Aoki: The simultaneous transformation of the three of us in that scene really got me excited! For me, that was the first time we had transformed at the same time after Kento came back, so it left a deep impression on me.

Naito: It is when the three of us said「物語の結末は俺“たち”が決める！ 」("We" will decide how the story ends!)

Yamaguchi: In terms of simultaneous transformations, I would have to say the 10 simultaneous transformations we did in episode 45, I think that was very valuable. It was a miracle that the timing was right for all of us. They said, "Well in the next cut I'll have you all say 'henshin' at the same time", "Se no (ready)" and without any shouts of "Yoi, Hai! (alright, cue!)" we all said "Henshin!" and we're all at the same time.

Aoki: I (even) wonder(ed) how we did it all together, huh?

Naito: I've never been able to fit in with everyone else, so I know that everyone's trying to adapt with me. (everyone laughed)

Aoki: Since Touma is in the forefront, he can't watch from the back, so we have to look behind him and adjust the timing.

Yamaguchi: Everyone fits in with him, and if we get covered by his movements, everyone avoids it.

Naito: That was the easiest (part).

Aoki: In a good way, you don't care about what's behind you at all. Does that mean you have a strong core of your own.

Yamaguchi: There's splendid feeling that makes me feel like I should go follow you from behind.

Naito: It's not selfish, I think it is important to stand in front and make a firm decision.

Yamaguchi: And everyone supports it.

Naito: If it was about simultaneous transformations, when Kento and I transformed at the same time in the collaboration episode with "Kamen Rider Revice" ("Kamen Rider Saber" extra issue), it was the first time we put the book in the belt without looking. I don't have to do that because I usually do it with cuts, but I was impressed to be able to do a simultaneous no-look transformation for the first time. Director Ishida told us, "Give it a try, guys!" and he let us do it...... We did it in one shot.

Aoki: I thought I might do it for a few times. (laughs)

Yamaguchi: I was surprised that it was done in one shot.

Aoki: On the contrary, I was worried (and thought) "Eh, would it be alright?".

Naito: But I've been doing that for a year, so I've been able to do it.

“When I was about to disappear in the last chapter, I could feel the relief in their expressions and their hands supporting me.” (Naito)

→ What do you feel now after a year of performing as trio?

Naito: Anyway, "I'm glad that it was the three of us". When I was about to disappear in the last chapter, I could feel a relief in their expressions and their hands supporting me. I felt that it was because of the two of them that I was able to feel the way I do now. I felt that I could disappear with peace of mind. Nothing special about it.

Aoki: It will be conveyed. I understand.

Yamaguchi: Yes, I can't put it into words. I was lonely when Kento disappeared and even when Touma is about to disappear. It's like we are a family now. For me, I felt most relaxed and at ease when it was the four of us, including Kawazu-san

Aoki: There are a lot of people, so there are a lot of emotions. So it can feel frustrating in the midst of it all. But more than that, "like" is stronger. Moreover, I feel that Touma and Naito Shuichiro, Rintaro and Yamaguchi Takaya, Kento and I...... the 3 of us felt like there wasn't much difference between our roles and ourselves which was nice. After a year, it will resemble each other more and more. It's not that we are getting closer to either one, but both the role and myself are getting closer to each other.

Naito: Yeah, there's that!