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Who Gave These Guys a Group Chat??? Chapter 2
I wasn't planning on doing this but I had some time and felt like doing something so I grabbed and old draft and here we are.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35667571/chapters/154167352
Mighty Action: today I have gotten a very special gift from Rhythm Bugster Poppy!
Cyan: ...Mighty. What did you do?
Mighty Action: don't assume that I did anything that I wasn't supposed to!
Muteki: Muteki finds that hard to believe.
Mighty Action: I was given it fair and square! It was a gift.
The Best Bonker: Alright, I'll bite. What was it?
Mighty Action: I have... a cupcake!
Mighty Action: or well, I had a cupcake. then I ate it because
The Cool Doc: mighty logic
Mighty Action: Yeah!
The First: Aw, sounds yummy...
The Crazy Doc: Excuse you, why didn't I, the Greatest and Smartest of All Mightys, not receive a cupcake?
The Crazy Doc: And why is my name this?
The Cool Doc: because you suck
The Best Bonker: That's the answer to both questions, by the way
Cyan: Guys... play nice, remember? Mighty Action: Playing nice is boring! Cyan: We don't want to upset Emu do we? Or Rhythm Bugster Poppy! The Best Bonker: You always ruin all the fun, Cyan Cyan: More like keeping peace... The First: Does anyone actually want to deal with Black when he's... you know...? The Cool Doc: no, 'cause he sucks The Crazy Doc: You withdraw what you've said about the Greatest and Smartest of All Mightys, Black! The Cool Doc: no The Best Bonker: No Mighty Action: No. Muteki: What squabbles. Muteki would never get into such- Mighty Action: ! The Cool Doc: ! The First: Oh god. The Best Bonker: Ha! Now he's done it Cyan: ... is... is Muteki... The Best Bonker: Totally wrecking Black's ****? You bet! The Best Bonker: Hey, why can't I say ****??? The First: Profanity censor. All Gemn games rated for children under sixteen have them. Cyan: Figures it would effect us. The Best Bonker: Mighty's the only one who even has a published game! Why can't I swear!? **** **** **** **** god ******* **** it Cyan: Orange, chill out. The Cool Doc: uh... Mighty Action: Yeah, that's maybe a bit much... The First: Did anyone just see Black get thrown out a window by Muteki? Should we be concerned? Cyan: He should be fine. I don't think we can really... die or anything.
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Blur the Line (Chapter 4)
Chapter 4: Who's the Real Reaper?
Medic modifies Roidmudes to "aid" Shin's duties. Shin is less than thrilled about this. And when Shin is injured, some painful truths come out.
Hello, hi, it's me. Back after⌠*checks watch* uh⌠almost two years exactly. Whoops. I've been working on this chapter off and on since I finished the previous chapter, but finally managed to get it finished in time to post something for Drive's 1oth anniversary. There's like, no way I'll finish this fic before the end of the year, even if that would be cool, but that's fine. We've got this at least, I think it's the longest chapter so far. Hope it was worth the wait!
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42588966/chapters/153164719
âMr. Heart, Shin,â Medic called, âI have something wonderful to share with you.â
Shin plopped a milk candy in his mouth before looking over, while Heart turned his attention much quicker. âI recall you were working on something new, Medic,â Heart said.
The smile on Medicâs face was⌠strange. Off. Shin didnât like it. âYes, Iâve modified Roidmudes to create the Reaper Legion â they can take over Shinâs job, much more easily going after rogue Roidmudes, as there are more of them.â She seemed incredibly proud of her creation.
Heart seemed interested. Shin was not. Shin was⌠upset, he decided that was the proper word. âYou want to replace me?â He asked, his voice sharper than usual.
âNot at all,â Heart was quick to reassure, âThink of it this way, a job is easier the more people you have doing it.â
âYou both just donât want me fighting,â No matter how much either tried to say, Shin was not going to believe that the creation of these modified Roidmudes werenât simply just to keep him from fighting â or at least get him to fight less. âSo, youâre trying to get them to take my place.â
âShin,â Medic began, her voice almost loving, âYou know we care about you; we want you to be safe.â
He crossed his arms, âYouâre trying to coddle me.â Like he was still some child. âIâm not that- that small and helpless anymore.â
That version of him was long gone, burned away with everything else, that night. Even before that, it had been slowly replaced, piece by piece, but whatever was left burned when the world froze. He wasnât a helpless child who sobbed and hid behind Heart. He wasnât a helpless anything and he didnât need Heart or Medic to protect him.
---
Of course, Masanori showed up while both of the âKyusâ were present. He stands in the doorway, staring at the two with confusion, lips turning slowly into a frown. âWhy⌠are there two⌠Saijos?â
Both of the Kyus stare at him, startled. His question is answered by Gou, though, âOne of âemâs a Roidmude, we just donât know which.â
âOhâŚâ Masanori looks between the two. âWell, they both seem like Kyu, so the Roidmudeâs⌠probably⌠decently friendly?â
âWhat kind of deduction is that?â Gou huffed, âObviously the Roidmudeâs just acting, honestly big bro, youâd be terrible at this detective work.â
Kiriko sighed, âSorry, Masanori, but itâs probably better you come back later.â
He doesnât respond right away, seemingly in thought. She could see the ideas turning and spinning in his mind, though she wasnât sure what they were about. Finally, he pulled Kiriko aside, âHave you considered testing to see which is more athletic?â
âWhat?â
âI mean, we both know Saijo doesnât really⌠exercise, but a Roidmude would be naturally quicker. So then all youâd have to do is give them the right motivation⌠er, Saijo really likes that one anime, maybe something from that but a bit fragile, so they have reason to go after it.â Listening to Masanoriâs idea, Kiriko found that it seemed⌠good enough. But sheâd also feel bad if something got broken.
In the end, she uses Colorful Commercial to make a hologram of a Murmur Mansion plate, then dropped it. She hoped that Masanori was right about this. One of the Kyus, the one in white, leaped forward and caught the plate, while the other dawdled behind.
Masanori smiled, âI think that answers it for you,â
Gou looked between the Kyu in white, Masanori, and Kiriko, âOkay, so maybe I stand corrected and youâre decent at this, Nori.â
âSuch a vote of confidence,â Masanori mumbled.
Now that they know which is the real Kyu and which was the Roidmude, 072 got a scared expression before running off. Worried and defeated, Kyu explained how he and 072 met. Chase had stayed just long enough to hear that story before hurrying off to go after 072. Masanori left right after himself, saying that he should probably leave them to their jobs.
---
When Shin finds 072, he also finds Proto Zero, though thankfully untransformed. 072 was explaining to Proto Zero as to what had happened earlier, ending by begging to get to stay with Saijo.
He had a human he also wanted to stay with, Shin felt⌠something about that. Something kind of nice, he thinks. No matter what Proto Zero and Krim chose to do, he was going to make sure that 072 survived this â though that wouldnât really let him continue to be with Saijo, but that was a different problem.
To Shinâs surprise, Proto Zero seemed to be considering letting 072 go. Then, to Shinâs further surprise, though he probably shouldnât have been, Medic arrives, with her legion of replacements, but neither 072 or Proto Zero saw her.
The moment she went to attack 072 â and she was surely going to try to kill him â Shin rushed forward, blocking her attack. Now, surely both of their presences were known.
âT-The Grim Reaper?â 072 hurried to hide behind Proto Zero.
âShin,â
âShin! Why did you do that?â Medic frowned, âThat was dangerous, you could have been hurt.â
Taking a slow breath, Shin asked, âWhy were you trying to kill 072?â
Carefully, she answered, âYou know what your and the Reaper Legionâs duties are. To deal with rogue Roidmudes,â she looked past Shin, over his shoulder and back at Proto Zero and 072. He didnât like having his back to Proto Zero, but for this, heâd take the chance.
âLast I checked, my duty was to bring rogue Roidmudes back so they could be reprogrammed,â He said, voice firm, âNot killed.â
âThatâs because you canât destroy their cores,â
âThatâs not my point! Are you trying to tell me 072 deserves to die for- for being friends with a human?â He keeps his tone sharp, glaring at her, âIf thatâs his crime, then arenât I guilty of it too?â
Something in Medicâs expression wavered, her determination to go through with this. She studied Shin, like she was trying to determine if he was really going through with this. At what point would he give up, decide that this wasnât worth it?
Except Shin didnât think that point existed. If it was truly so wrong to be friends with a human, then he should be punished too. He kept his glare steady, waiting for Medic to make her move.
âFine,â she sighed. âBut weâre going to talk about this later.â âweâ certainly included Heart in that matter.
But Shin felt good at her agreeing, he had kept 072 both free of being reset or dead. Able to have the chance to be Saijo more, with his friend. He smiled, before Medic left, leaving him with just 072 and Proto Zero.
He turned to face them as 072 spoke, âYou- you saved me?â
âYes,â Shin said, âYou seem surprised.â
âYouâre the Grim Reaper. You donât- save Roidmudes.â 072 creeps out from behind Proto Zero, âAre you really friends with a human?â
In that moment, Shin thought of Kirikoâs smile, nodding, âOf course,â
Proto Zero takes a step forward, âThat is why you donât go out of your way to attack humans, correct?â
âNo, I just donât see the point in fighting people who arenât involved.â
âThen what about Kiriko? When she stood in your way, you stopped yourself from attacking her.â He takes another step towards Shin.
âShe wasnât a part of the fight,â Shin answered quickly, âSo even though she put herself in the way, I wasnât going to hurt someone just because of it.â He turned, quickly leaving.
---
It had been decided that 072 would continue aiding the SIU as he had been under the guise of Kyu previously. Gou⌠didnât like that, much â in his eyes working with Chase had obviously been bad enough, but now having another, he was pretty annoyed. When he heard he got all silent, and Kiriko was surprised he didnât leave the room right then and there.
âWhat do you know about Shin?â Krim asked, while they were in the Drive Pit and Rinna was doing some tests to see if there was anything strange about 072. Though they didnât think there was anything unusual, it was a good way to see if it was possible that 072 was somehow unique compared to other Roidmudes. Kiriko just thought that he was further proof that humans and Roidmudes could get along.
âHeâs Heart and Medicâs favorite, for one,â 072 answered, âthatâs why he was tasked to be the Grim Reaper â he wanted to help but they donât want him too near to danger. So they let him deal with Rogue Roidmudes or something, though now heâs obviously fighting you guys.â
Gou rolled his eyes, âSo whyâd he keep Medic from scrapping you?â
Chase answered that one, âHe said that he was friends with a human too, and that if it was reason enough to kill 072 then he should be punished too.â
âLike I said, heâs treated differently. Heâs⌠special, more human than the rest of us can ever be.â
âSo still not very?â Gou commented. âYouâre machines, you canât be humans.â
âGou,â Kiriko scolded, though he was unbothered.
---
âHeâs getting in the way again,â Shin overheard Brain say as he approached the room that Heart, Brain, and Medic were in. âHeart, you need to keep him under control.â
âHeâs not getting in the way, Brain,â Medic hissed, âHeâs just⌠been misguided by that human.â
Thatâs when Shin reached the room, entering. He looks between the three, waiting for one of them to say something. Itâs Heart who speaks first, âShin⌠I believe we need to discuss recent events.â
With confidence, Shin said, â072 doesnât deserve to die just for being friends with a human.â
âHumans just get in the way of our plans, they donât care about us,â Brain scowled.
âThen what about me?â Shin scowled back, âDo you think I should die for being friends with a human?â
Brain pushed his glasses up, causing a chill to run down Shinâs spine, âPerhaps we should do something about that. You have been rather rebellious lately, maybe we should finally reset you.â Shinâs eyes widen in disbelief at Brainâs suggestion, the room suddenly a lot colder.
Medic turned to Brain, âAbsolutely not!â
âWhy? Sooner or later, heâll stop listening to either of you entirely!â
That wasnât true. They were his family, just because Shin didnât always agree with them didnât mean he wouldnât ever listen to them. It hurt that Brain would even dare to suggest that he might leave them.
Heart steps between the two, âNo such measures need to be taken,â he looks at Shin, âthough I will have to ask that you not do something like this again, Shin. 072 may not be much of a threat to us, even if he joins the humans, but the same may not be true in the future.â
While Medicâs quick defense of him and Heart keeping Brain from pushing the thought of resetting him further made Shin feel a little better, something didnât feel quite right after that suggestion. He takes a step back, feeling almost overwhelmed by a feeling of⌠fear. Numbly, he responded, âYeah, sure,â before turning and hurrying off.
They wouldnât reset him, right? They- if they did, he could get seriously damaged, right? So they wouldnât- Heart and Medic wouldnât risk something happening to him. Right? Right? He didnât like feeling this scared for his life, again, it brought back too many painful memoriesâŚ
âStay away! Please- please donât hurt meâŚâ Shin cowered against the wall of the room he was in â some kind of lab filled with all sorts of machinery and tools. There was a table in the center. Shin knew the table was bad â that the last time heâd been on it had hurt so much. He didnât want to go back there, so when the monster with the numbers 004 on its chest tried to place him there, he hurried away.
Besides 004 was the man who hurt him, appearing completely human but Shin had only seen people so terrible in books and on TV and movies. There werenât many things Shin knew about the man, but one of them was that he was quick to anger â he saw, earlier, as he hurt 002, how he was so angry. He doesnât even think 002 had done anything to really make the man angry. He just⌠hurt him.
As 0014 reached for Shin, he screamed again, but it didnât matter.
Shin wouldnât be so afraid again, he wouldnât let himself be. It was bad, that fear let him be hurt and he wouldnât be hurt again. Heart and Medic wouldnât let Brain try to reset him, and Medic would never do so herself. He was safe. Safe. Thatâs what Heart always tells him.
And Shin refuses to believe that Heart is wrong.
---
Medic had some plan, sheâd begun to modify her Reaper Legions even more. Shin still didnât really see the point to their existence, but he âpolitelyâ tagged along. He had no intention of helping â if Medic was going to complain about him fighting and try to replace him with a bunch of other Roidmudes, then he wasnât going to fight. Mostly, he just wanted to watch and see as these garbage replacements would surely get overwhelmed by Drive and Mach.
Slowly, sheâs been capturing the little cars that aid Drive, the Shift Cars. He didnât really get why she was, but they were at least cute, a little neat. Medicâs already tampered with them, taking control over them, but he still idly poked one â who angrily honked something to the effect of âhey stop poking meâ.
When finally, the Riders appear, Medic asks Heart to keep Mach occupied while she has one of her Reapers deal with Drive. Without the Shift Cars, the slowdown effected Kiriko, though Proto Zero, as a Roidmude himself, was unaffected. Two of the Shift Cars end up with them, though, which allowed freedom from the slowdown, and Proto Zero the power to transform. He and the Reaper fight for a bit, until the Reaper pulls out something new.
A stronger slowdown, clearly slowing Drive down, despite being transformed. Shin was too far to risk being affected by it, but he could see it. Suddenly he was concerned for Kiriko again â having a Shift Car wasnât enough, now, this slowdown was too strong. He resolves to keep an eye on her to make sure she stays safe.
Mach arrives using Deadheat, which seems to have given him just enough speed to traverse the stronger slowdown. He passes the power off the Drive, though begrudgingly. Still, that wasnât enough, the Reaper was still too strong.
Then from somewhere some new power came, another Shift Car. A new form. Shin groaned to himself â Drive just keeps becoming more of a pain. As he hurries to defeat the Reaper â at least for now â the Reaper still succeeds in one last attack. It misses Drive, but itâs headed straight for the still slowed Kiriko.
Before Shin can even think of what heâs doing, heâs running towards her.
---
Kiriko isnât entirely sure what happened, at first. There was an even stronger slowdown, one that their Shift Cars couldnât nullify, but everything else is happening too fast. At least, until sheâs in someoneâs arms and suddenly the world is moving at the correct speed again.
All she sees is black armor, just like before (it feels warm and cold at the same time, a hum under the armor, and a rhythm like a heartbeat). He holds her in his arms, tumbling to the ground and clearly trying to protect her from it. When he finally stops, he gently lets her down, careful. By the time she looks upâŚ
Shin. The one who saved her was Shin. His black and red armor disappeared, thereâs a terrible gash across his side and⌠she knows that face. Sheâd never seen Shin up close before, never quite could make out his face when he was in his human form.
His face was the same as Masanoriâs.
âKiriko? Are you okay?â Even though he was injured, he still asked if she was okay. Even though he had Masanoriâs face â no, that wasnât it. He was Masanori. He had always been, hadnât he? Thatâs why Masanori was so strange â because he was a Roidmude.
But Roidmudes didnât grow like sheâd seen Masanori had. Heâd gotten taller â but how?
He seemed worried by her silence, taking her hand carefully, âKiriko?â
Then Gou called, âKiriko!â And next thing she knows Shinâs been shoved to the side, yelping. âGet away from her!â
âYou seriously think Iâm going to try to hurt her?â Shin hissed, pulling himself up. âWhy the hell would I hurt Kiriko?â
For a moment, Gou stared at him, before realization came upon his face. He takes a step back, âNo way⌠Masanori?â
Briefly, for a mere fraction of a second, something soft came to Shinâs face. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and he turns away. âSee, Kiriko. I told you. You didnât really mean it.â
Before either of them can do much else, he takes off. Angrily, Gou called after him, âYouâre running away like a coward!â
âHeâs injured, Gou,â Kiriko said, and she felt so terribly sad. Like her heart had been torn in two. Masanori was her friend, but how much of that had been a lie? Had they ever really been friends at all? âLet him be.â
âHe lied to you, Kiriko!â Gou growled, âHeâs just one of those monsters, too!â
Kiriko stands abruptly, âHeâs not a monster, Gou!â
âYes he is,â He said, âHeâs just been using you.â
âFor ten years?â She turns towards the direction Shin went. âI donât believe that.â She begins to follow after him.
Gou called after her, âYouâre not seriously going after him, are you?â When he doesnât get a response, he tries again, âBig sis, he could kill you!â
Kiriko doesnât care. She knows, deep in her heart, that Shin would never do that. So she was going to see if she could find him â his injury was pretty bad, and while he was able to walk away, how long would that be true? Where had Medic gone and would she find him in time? The rational part of her told her he would be fine, that if 072 was right, Shin was perfectly safe and sound.
After a while, she stops to catch her breath. Maybe there was no point of this, Shin was all okay and she was just wasting her time. A noise in an alleyway catches her attention and she warily creeps over. A person, it was too dark out now to make out much more, but a person, certainly.
Carefully, she called out, âAre you okay?â The person looks up, and just barely she can make out Shinâs face. âShin?â
He looked away, and now she can see his hand clutching his side, where heâd been injured. âIâm fine, go away.â
âYouâre still injured,â
âMedic will fix me,â
âThen where is she?â His shoulders slump at her question.
Slowly, he answered, âShe just⌠hasnât⌠found me, yet.â He sounded very tired, in that moment. âSo⌠so⌠go awayâŚâ He slid to the side, before falling to the ground.
Hurrying over, Kiriko finds that heâs passed out. Given his injuries, it seemed like a terrible idea to leave him here, but she wasnât sure what she could do. Was taking care of the injuries of a Roidmude like taking care of a humans? When Chase was injured, usually Rinna took care of it.
She drags him back to her apartment, doing her best to at least stop his bleeding, though unsure if it would do much in the long term. Maybe she can get Mad Doctorâs help, it wouldnât be the most pleasant experience, but it would be better than bleeding out. Than dying.
Shin bled â and she knew that Chase, at least, bled, but there was something about Shin that made it feel⌠different. Heâd been more injured than sheâd originally thought â more scrapes and bruises, probably from hitting the ground, and the gash was bigger than it had seemed before. Still, she refused to let that deter her and did her best to take care of it.
There were scars on his chest, more than a few. She wondered too if Roidmudes scarred. Again, she wasnât sure if Chase could get scars, sheâd never really paid attention to that. But now that she was looking at Shin⌠for some reason those scars stood out to her.
In the end, she gets Mad Doctorâs help â asking him to not tell Chase or Krim, not yet, at least. She isnât sure if he actually agreed, but he went about helping fix Shin, anyway. He endured the treatment with little sound, despite the pain he was surely in.
Itâs then that Kiriko has calmed herself enough to question if she really should have brought Shin back to her apartment. It wouldnât be the first time that Shin had been there â though the previous times were few. But this felt⌠different â as sure as she was that Shin wouldnât hurt her, there was some part of her that still⌠worried.
Maybe that worry was just for Shinâs wellbeing.
---
When Shin wakes up, he hurts, greeted with a ceiling he doesnât think heâs seen before. He stares and stares at it, until he finally sighs and gathers the energy to sit up. His side hurts â he had a gash there, right, the injury was probably still a bit present â even Medic couldnât always fix all of it.
When he sits up, he can see more of the room heâs in, though itâs dark, and thatâs when he realized that he was in Kirikoâs apartment. That⌠wasnât right. His heart jumps into his chest and quickly stumbles off the couch heâd been lying on. Why was he here?
If he was here, then someone had to bring him here. Someone â Kiriko? And they were the one who bandaged his injury â his jacket and shirt had been torn by the Reaperâs attack, so he could clearly see his bandaged side. But why? Why had she taken him back here? Why take care of his injury?
âMasanori?â He looks to the side, where Kiriko stands, looking tired. It was the middle of the night, he reminded himself. After a moment, she seems to realize that heâs awake. âAre you okay?â
âYouâŚâ Looking around the room once more, he can only feel confusion. âWhy?â
She seems to contemplate for a moment â why, shouldnât she know the answer? Or was she only debating as to whether or not to tell him? âYou were hurt because you protected me, and I wasnât going to take the chance as to whether or not Medic would find you in time.â
He was a Roidmude to her, why would she care? She knew that Roidmudes could always come back, as long as their core wasnât destroyed, and as far as she knew the same applied to him. That he could just be given a new body. That didnât mean it was true, but as far as she knew, it was. None of his injuries should really have mattered to her, certainly not now that she knew he wasnât human.
Looking away from her, he scoffed, âIâm a Roidmude. It doesnât matter what happens to our bodies, so long as our core survives.â
âMaybe so butâŚâ
âIt doesnât matter. I should go.â He stumbles towards the door, internally cursing at how unsteady he was. âMedic will take care of me.â
Grabbing ahold of his jacket, Kiriko tugged him back, âMasanori, wait,â
Spinning back to face her and throwing himself off balance, Shin snapped, âThatâs not my name!â his sudden change in balance and unstable movement causes him to fall into her, the two of them supported by back of the couch. He braced his hands against the back, sticking Kiriko between the couch and him. âMasanori was never real, Iâm Shin. Iâm the Grim Reaper.â
Seeming startled by his outburst, Kiriko said with wide eyes, âThat couldnât all have been an act.â
âWho lies for ten years, Kiriko? No one you should want to be around, that much is certain.â Shin pushes himself off of her, away from the couch.
âThen why did you spend time with me for so long? What would Shin, the Grim Reaper, gain from being around a human like that?â He canât help but hear desperation in her voice, pleading for answers.
Maybe he did owe her those answers, but⌠he couldnât give them here and now. The swirling storm of emotions that he canât chase out of his chest were making it impossible to sort through his thoughts properly. To try explain to her why that night ten years ago, she became the only good human in his eyes, for reasons he couldnât entirely even understand.
Good human or not, it didnât matter. Heâd surely lost her now, she shouldnât want anything to do with him. A Roidmude, her enemy. Whatever friendship they had would be gone now, as much as it seemed to tear at Shinâs very being, to the point he could feel it in his core. Maybe this was why Heart, Medic, and Brain hadnât wanted him to be friends with her. Because sooner or later sheâd find out the truth and it would hurt, would cut through him worse than any injury heâd ever had, than the terrible pain of what that man had put him through.
 He turned around again, walking towards the door once more.
âShin! Please!â
Despite his better judgement, Shin takes one last look back at Kiriko. She stared back at him with pleading eyes. He shouldnât just leave her like this, should give her something. Or maybe he should just put an end to it all now. âKirikoâŚâ
âYou saved me, ten years ago, didnât you? Was that why you kept seeing me?â
âI did save you, that night. Because I didnât want more people getting hurt. After that⌠it doesnât matter after that.â Shin saw no reason to try to explain the feelings he didnât understand. It would only complicate things, anyway. With that, he finally looks away and leaves.
From there he stumbles from Kirikoâs apartment, intent on making his way back to Heart and Medic. Once he was there, Medic could take care of the rest of his injuries, though somehow Kiriko had done quite a lot for them already â he knew they should have been far worse and he really isnât sure how she managed to pull that off. But it was enough that he should be able to make it back without trouble, and the likelihood of him running into anyone who might cause some, such as Proto Zero or Gou were low.
He doesnât make it far, though, barely out of the building before he spots what he knows without a doubt will be trouble. They might not have noticed him yet, but there were Proto Zero and Krim Steinbelt. What were they doing here at this time of night? Surely not to see Kiriko, it was too late for that.
Though he tries to quietly duck away so they canât see him, he stumbles and knocks into the wall, causing a loud enough sound to catch Proto Zeroâs attention. Shin cursed to himself, knowing there was enough light that even his dark clothes wouldnât be enough to hide him from Proto Zeroâs notice or recognition. As he and Krim Steinbelt approached, Shin catches sight of one of their little cars on Proto Zeroâs shoulder, as well. Was that why they were here?
The Shift Car, looking like an ambulance, honked. âSee, heâs here,â it said, âshe had me fix him.â
Oh, this was why Shinâs injuries were as healed as they were. It must have been the power of this Shift Car. And then itâd gone and tattled on it to Proto Zero and Krim Steinbelt.
âIt seems Mad Doctor was correct,â Krim Steinbelt noted, âKiriko did aid Shin.â
Grimacing, Shin asked, âWhat, are you here to finish the job that the Reaper started? Ready to kill me and get it over with?â
âMad Doctor reported that Kiriko requested his aid in repairing you,â Proto Zero answered.
âYou didnât answer the question,â
Proto Zeroâs gaze raked over him, before his eyes settled on Shinâs injury. Though it was healed to the point it no longer bled, the evidence of what had happened before was still visible, more on Shinâs tattered clothes. There were scars there, too, though they likely werenât as visible in the low lighting. Then again, he wasnât familiar with the extent of Proto Zeroâs vision.
Finally, Proto Zero said, âYou were smaller, once. And you have scars.â
âDonât have a number, either,â Shin responded, his heart thrumming in his chest an ever constant reminder that he wasnât a real Roidmude, not like the others. Not even like Proto Zero.
Something akin to a curious look came to Proto Zero â not that he was capable of emotions. âYou lack a number?â
âClearly, 072 didnât tell you much about me.â
âHe told us you were Heart and Medicâs favorite,â Krim Steinbelt said.
Any Roidmude knew that. Then again, 072 likely didnât know much more â he was far from important, and Shinâs true nature was kept secret from most. Only Heart, Medic, Brain, and a few of the Roidmudes that acted as that manâs lackies knew. Thus, there was no way that Proto Zero or Krim Steinbelt could learn about it. But that didnât stop them from putting two and two together.
They and Kiriko were the only ones whoâd seen him during the Global Freeze. They clearly had figured out heâd grown â something no ordinary Roidmude should be capable of. The only thing that might truly tip them off as to what was up with him was if they saw his true Roidmude form. He had no intention of letting them see that.
Krim Steinbelt continued, âBut we can gather that you are unlike most Roidmudes, even without knowing your number or your power.â
Shin let out a bitter laugh, âIâve already let you in on a secret, like I said, I donât have a number. I never have.â He took a step, wincing. Despite the Shift Carâs effort, his injury still pained him. It likely would until he could get Medic to take care of it. âWhat are you after? Like this, I wouldnât be much of a fight.â He was giving them the opportunity. They could easily kill him and shatter his core.
âThe Roidmudes canât be allowed to reach the Promised Number,â Krim Steinbelt declared in a matter of fact tone. âThat means no Roidmude can be left behind.â
âI donât really count towards that,â Shin took another step. Maybe he could get pretty far just by keeping them busy. Though he doubted theyâd let him go, not without a fight. âAnd what about Proto Zero, heâs a Roidmude too?â
Krim Steinbeltâs face switched to a frown, âChase knows his purpose,â
Unable to help himself, Shin slammed his fist against the wall he leaned against, âYou mean to play dutiful soldier until heâs the only one left? And then what? Youâll probably shut him off, dismantle him, destroy his core too. Right? Because the Roidmudes are the problem.â He spat his words, anger palpable in each one. âSomehow, even our creatorâs flaws are our sins.â
âThat isnât true,â Obviously, his words struck a nerve in Krim Steinbelt, as he spoke with a simmering anger.
âI donât believe the words of someone like you.â
Proto Zero took a step towards him, speaking, âHow did you grow?â
He knows better than to say what heâs thinking, but at this point he doesnât really care. Heâs not even entirely sure if heâll make it out of this encounter, even after the work Kiriko did to help him. Not without catching them off guard, at least. So, despite his better judgement, he says what he thinks, âThatâs what children do.â
âChildren?â Proto Zero intoned.
âRoidmudes canât be children,â Krim Steinbelt said, again in that confident and certain tone.
It seems heâd truly forgotten about what had happened to Shin. âWho said I was always a Roidmude?â
He stumbled away, leaving the two in something like a stunned silence.
---
It was always fascinating, in a morbid way, to watch Medicâs power heal him, to fill and meld the damages to the parts of him that were metal, to stitch back together the synthetic skin that had replaced most of his original skin. Though she had a less easy time repairing the damages to the parts of Shin that were still organic, though thankfully much of that damage appeared to have been repaired by the Shift Car earlier.
âThat was reckless of you,â Medic said, concern audibly lacing her voice.
His chest heaved a heavy breath, âI couldnât let Kiriko be hurt.â
âIf she hadnât found a way to heal you, you would have died. If the still human parts of your body fail, I canât fix that.â She sets a hand gently over where heâd been injured, her gloves too thin to block out of sensation of how cold her hands were. âNo human is worth your life.â
He looked away, some terrible feeling hanging heavily over him. Maybe she was right â after all, now that she knew what he was, he doubted Kiriko really, truly, wanted anything to do with him. Still, she was the one good human, and even if she hated him, he wanted to keep her safe. And⌠she had saved him, too. Heâs sure that Krim Steinbelt would not let her off easy for helping him.
Out of his vision, he hears the door open, and who heâs certain is Heart come in. As if to confirm that, he hears Heart speak, âHow is he, Medic?â
âHeâll be alright,â She said, though there was a clear hint of frustration in her voice. âThe human used one of Driveâs Shift Cars to heal the worst of the damage, particularly to his human organs.â
Heart hummed, âHow curious⌠a human showing a Roidmude kindness.â
Shin turned his gaze over towards Heart, whom Medic had joined the side of. âSheâs a good human. Better than the others.â
âSo you keep saying, yet I have to wonder what she thinks of you now?â Heart mused. Shin knew that he wasnât being malicious, but it was another attempt at convincing him to abandon Kiriko. Even now, it wouldnât work.
It didnât matter what happened, what Kiriko thought of him⌠even if he could never see her again, never see her smile⌠heâd protect her. No one made him feel the same strange feeling she did.
He leaned back, letting out a breath. âI donât intend to find out.â
âGet some rest, Shin,â Medic tells him, âYouâll feel better once your human parts have finished recovering.â
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As From the One, All Things Are Born (Chapter 1)
Chapter 1: Goodbye Gold, Graduate to Grasshopper
Ten years ago, Geryon betrayed the Alchemist Association, taking off with the work of another alchemist and the one hundred Chemies in the Association's possession at the time. Now, ten years later, the Chemies have appeared again, and so has the Gotchadriver, in the hands of three dolls created by Geryon. The situation is far from ideal, but Fuga Kudo has no choice but to place some trust in the creations of his former associate. With another trio seeking out the Chemies and after the Gotchadriver, it's more important than ever to find the Chemies. What really happened ten years ago? Who are Mary, Anselm, and Agatho, the three after the Chemy cards, and why?
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59460031/chapters/151640380
Grey skies, as usual â the weather here, in the Ouroboros Realm, could be nothing else, the snake in the sky consuming its own tail, darkness seeping out to darken the sky. It was a bold place to hide, especially for so long, below the door that sealed the darkness away. But there were few places they could go that they would not be easily found and this was the best, ultimately. Lachesis had grown bored of this world, really, but she wouldnât leave her master or her sisters, either.
On the other side of the warehouse they had transformed into their home, for the time, Master Geryon and Atropos worked, their voices quiet and unending. They would regularly talk for hours at a time on their work, tinkering with that silly Driver that theyâd taken when they fled ten years ago, alongside the Chemies. Truthfully, Lachesis had never known for certain what Atroposâ purpose was, but if she had to guess, sheâd say to be Master Geryonâs assistant. Though it wouldnât explain why he chose to make her look like a child.
Between the three of them, Clotho sparred with Wrestler-G â she didnât tend to fight in the style of wrestling, but he was one of the Chemies that she would spar with. Practice, she would always say, to make sure she stayed ready for whenever they were found again. They had been here for a while, years having passed since theyâd last been found⌠still, no one trusted that to last.
âCloverâŚ?â From Lachesisâ lap, Happyclover peered up, clearly aware she was losing herself in her thoughts. Happyclover was one of the Chemies that Lachesis had always preferred the company of, not that she was particularly fond of most of them. They were why they were hiding here, after all. Why they were always skirting dangerâŚ
Lachesis shook her head, âItâs nothing,â She said quietly, making some attempt to not catch her sistersâ or creatorâs attention. Clotho continued her spar, and Master Geryon and Atropos continued their work, so they must not have heard her.
Thereâs a certain clinking sound that Lachesis knows is Master Geryon cleaning up, meaning he and Atropos must be done with their experiments. That was quick, Lachesis was fairly certain they had only been at it a few hours, at most. Usually, they spent most of the day working, or at least, the Ouroboros Realmâs equivalent of the day.
âI believe we have finished our adjustments,â Master Geryon said, handing the Gotchadriver to Atropos. Of course, they had finished their adjustments more than once before, over the past ten years. But Master Geryon spoke with a certain confidence, every time, that Lachesis could never help but believe him. In all reality, theyâd probably be back at it in a day or two.
Atropos returns the Gotchadriver to where they kept it, kept close in case they were found and had to make a quick exit. One day, Lachesis would hold the Gotchadriver for herself, become the one to use it⌠but that day, at this rate, wouldnât be for a long time, and Lachesis didnât mind.
Somewhere in the distance, Lachesis thinks she hears the crackle of fire.
---
Fuga always looked forward to when his students arrived at the Alchemist Academy. He found great fulfillment in nurturing the future of alchemy, even if there was there was always⌠challenges. Not always bad challenges, but challenges nevertheless. And given the small nature of the Furasu branch â at present, there were only two students â it allowed him to make sure his students got the help they needed.
Despite being on two very different ends of a personality spectrum, Icho and Tsuruhara got along swimmingly. Icho could be loud, often boisterous and excited about her alchemy. Tsuruhara, on the other hand, was quiet, often relying on his tablet to talk, though he too could get quite excitable when it came to alchemy, and especially Chemies.
They were fairly good students, occasionally they got into some shenanigans, but rarely did they ever really find trouble. Of course, nowadays, trouble was hard to find, especially at a school this small. The worst that could really happen was a transmutation gone wrong.
Today though⌠something was off. It wasnât his students, it was something in Fugaâs gut that told him that something wasnât right. But everything seemed to be in order at both schools, and Icho and Tsuruhara were both accounted for. So then, what was it? Or perhaps Fuga was just becoming paranoid.
âYâknow,â he hears Icho say to Tsuruhara, her voice hushed, like she was trying to be subtle. âI always wondered why someone like Mr. Kudo ended up teaching.â
Tsuruhara glanced at her, then back to his alchemy, âDoes it matter?â He responded in his usual whisper.
âAnd at a tiny little school like this,â Icho continued, almost like Tsuruhara had said nothing at all. âArenât cha a little curious?â
âRengeâŚâ
Fuga figured it was a good time to get their attention, âIcho, Tsuruhara, how has your assignment been going?â
Icho answered first, a little sheepish, âWell⌠itâs gettinâ there.â Which Fuga knew by now was Icho for she had hit a slight roadblock and didnât quite want to admit it yet.
---
âI heard something,â Clotho said, ceasing her movements. As soon as she spoke, the Chemies all fled.
Master Geryon quickly retrieved the Gotchadriver, handing it to Lachesis, to her surprise. âLachesis, itâs time.â
She looked down at it, âIs it⌠really ready to face him?â
âIt will have to be,â He responded, pushing Atropos behind himself. âI suspect our time of running has come to an end.â
Swiftly, a young woman dressed in black and white landed beside Clotho, swinging her leg up and kicking Clotho in the chest. âHeâs right.â She said, eyes still locked on Clotho.
A moment later, black flames erupt around Lachesis, prompting her to hold the Gotchadriver close. âJust hand over the belt and make this easy,â A man dressed in black and purple with a frightening, almost mechanical looking mask, emerged, his hand engulfed in the same black flames.
Then in came a young man, dressed in teal and black, with goggles covering his eyes, though failing to hide the bandages over his left eye. He looked around, seeming just a bit unsure of what to do. His gaze landed on Master Geryon and Atropos.
These three were⌠new. In the ten years theyâd been on the run, theyâd never seen them before.
The young woman called out, âAgatho, help Anselm get the Gotchadriver!â
âRight!â The young man, Agatho, responded, hurrying over to Anselm and Lachesis.
Heâs cut off by a golden rod speeding past him, between him and the other two. Master Geryon was rushing over now, attempting to intervene. Atropos stayed where she stood, out of the way of the fight. Agatho seemed surprised by the sudden disruption, before reaching his hand out and transmuting a staff out of a nearby poll.
Lachesis dodged out of Anselmâs grasp once more, ducking beneath his arms and braving the flames and rushing through them. They burnt at the ends of her clothes, and she could feel the heat against her skin, but better on the other side of them than stuck in the ring with Anselm. She fought better with a weapon, after all, and the Chemies were too far away for her to use the Gotchadriver.
The young woman pushed Clotho back, causing her to stumble beside Lachesis. Theyâd never seen someone who could match Clothoâs bare strength, was these three really alchemists? Agatho must be, or at least capable of alchemy, but these flames and that woman⌠it was hard to say what they were.
Agathoâs staff broke under the force of a swing from Master Geryonâs own. Master Geryon began to swing again, this time nothing to stop his attack from hitting Agatho, when flames erupted around him, Anselm turning his attention to Master Geryon.
The woman hurried over, âAgatho, are you alright?â
âI- Iâm fine, Mary.â He seemed to glance at the broken pieces of pipe that had once been his staff, âI guess I still need to work on-â
âLater,â Anselm hissed, then turned his head over to Lachesis and Clotho, âHand over the Gotchadriver or your creator will burn.â The flames seemed to encroach closer to Master Geryon.
âTake it and run,â Master Geryon called, âAtropos, set the Chemies loose.â
Freeing the Chemies now, theyâd flee to who knows where, open a gate to the real world⌠but better they be scattered than in the hands of these three, certainly. Atropos eyed the ever-closer flames, âMaster GeryonâŚâ
âIâm entrusting this to you three,â
Mary frowned, watching as Atropos hurried off, surely to where the Chemies were kept so that they could be freed. Her eyes narrowed, and not taking her eyes off of Atropos she said, âAnselm, make the traitor burn.â
Seeming surprised by that, Agatho looked at her, âWait, weâre not really going to-â
The flames were on Master Geryon now. He didnât scream, not quite, but the sounds of his pain would stay in Lachesisâ mind for a long time. Mary and Anselm seemed unphased, but Agatho, even with his eyes obscured, had this distinct look of horror on his face.
âMaster Geryon,â Lachesis took a step towards him, before Clotho grabbed her arm, tightly.
âYou know what we have to do,â She said, then began pulled Lachesis away. âWe have to protect that belt and the Chemies. Thatâs what Master Geryon wants.â
Pushing past Agatho, Mary began to run towards them, her arm already pulled back in a punch. Before she could hit either of them, she was stopped by a shimmering fog. That was Atropos, returned from freeing the Chemies.
âAtropos!â Clotho called, âYou can get us to the human world, right?â
âI can, butâŚâ She glanced over at Master Geryon, a brief moment of seeming distress on her face before she turned her back to them, and a portal to the human world appeared.
Hurrying forward now, still gripping Lachesisâ arm, Clotho grabs Atroposâ wrist and rushes them through the portal. Atropos spares one last glanced at the black flames, which had now consumed Master Geryon.
It had been ten years since the sisters had been in the human world. The portal had brought them out on a rooftop, from there they could still see Chemies fleeing the Ouroboros Realm. Chaos. The alchemists would hate how much Chemies were being seen right now. The sisters would need to find the Chemies first, make sure there was no way for them or the Gotchadriver to fall into the wrong hands.
âWe need to find the Chemies,â Clotho said. Despite all that had happened, she still seemed to remain calm.
Relaxing her grip on the Gotchadriver, Lachesis responded, âThatâs easier said than done. The alchemists will notice this soon, tooâŚâ
âLachesis,â Atropos turned to face them. In one hand, she held two Chemy Cards, in the other, she held a golden cube. It had been Master Geryonâs, but she must have picked up at some point during the commotion. Atropos holds the Chemy Cards out to Lachesis, âThese will allow you to use the Gotchadriver.â
Lachesis took them, staring intently at the two Chemies. Hopper-1 and Steamliner, two Chemies she wasnât the most familiar with, but sheâd take Atroposâ word that theyâd allow her to use the Gotchadriver. They seemed⌠less than thrilled about her, but most Chemies felt that way with her and her sisters, at first. They knew they werenât human, but something far worse, for a Chemy at least.
âLetâs head there,â Clotho gestured to nearby, where a commotion was obvious. âThereâs clearly a lot of Chemies there. Lachesis and I will deal with any Malgams that might appear, but letâs focus on trying to gather as many Chemies as we can.â
Despite it being Clotho who had made the suggestion, Lachesis took the lead. She was a Kamen Rider now, after all, the fate of the Chemies and who knows what else in her hands. She couldnât let her younger sister show her up. If there was a Malgam⌠it was Lachesisâ responsibility, even if Clotho might help.
Most of the humans had run far away by the time the three sisters arrived. Most of the Chemies had left, too. They were too slow, it seemed, despite the commotion just a couple minutes before. Still, something didnât feel quite right⌠It was eerily quiet and empty, too much so.
Then footsteps, and out from behind a pillar comes Mary. âWe wonât let you get away with the Gotchadriver so easily,â She appears to be alone, right now.
Scowling at her, Clotho called, âThen why did you come alone?â
âBecause now, I have this,â Mary holds up a Chemy Card, the cries of Kamantis ringing out. The Alchemist Ring on her hand glowed, engulfing the Chemy, and then her. The monster that emerged wasnât a Malgam though â while there was certainly malice, that wasnât what had taken over the Chemy. That was alchemy. Mary had transmuted herself and the Chemy.
Perhaps she was human after all.
Taking a step forward, Lachesis placed the Gotchadriver around her waist, a belt appearing from it so it could secure itself. She then held up Hopper-1 and Steamlinerâs Chemy Cards, giving each a quick kiss before slotting them into the Driver.
Hopper-1! Steamliner! Gotchanko! Steamhopper!
The two Chemies emerged from the Driver, appearing around her. While Lachesis had experienced the power of Chemies before⌠it was never like this. This was different, not filled with malice or any other dark emotions. Instead, there was this new⌠hot and bubbly feeling. Lachesis didnât know what it was, but it felt like it burned within her. Maybe it was Steamlinerâs steam.
This armor that formed around her�� this was Kamen Rider Gotchard.
âThis is the power of the GotchadriverâŚâ Mary seemed to examine her closely, for a moment, âIt doesnât matter. Iâll take it.â She then rushed forward, swinging her bladed arm.
Lachesis dodged to the side, Clotho doing the same to stay away from the attack. Clotho then ran and punched Mary, though she was unphased. Atropos, it seemed, had the mind to get away from the fight, though Lachesis couldnât see where she had gone.
It was time to find out just what Gotchard could do.
---
âMr. Kudo, look!â Tsuruhara called, voice ringing out from his tablet, Issac. He did something, and then on one of the screens in the classroom, a video appeared. A portal in the sky, on the other side another world could be seen, with hanging flasks and a snake eating its own tail in the sky. And from that portal, one after another, came out Chemies.
After ten years, the Chemies had appeared again. Something told Fuga that Geryon hadnât let them go for no reason.
With all the Chemies out now, presumably, that meant there were suddenly a hundred Chemies loose in the city. It would be a doozy to clean up all the memories of this, but worse would be the chance of a Malgam. That was something his students certainly werenât prepared to handle, yet.
âTsuruhara, Icho, stay here.â He turned towards the door, âIâll investigate.â Without a word more, he hurried out. They needed to get a handle on the Chemies before someone got hurt. Before there was suddenly a Malgam loose in the city and not enough trained alchemists around to safely deal with it.
If only Geryon hadnât taken off with the Gotchadriver too⌠and who knew where that could be now. Still in his hands? Or in someone elses? There were too many things they didnât know yet.
He managed to seal a few Chemies, erasing the memories of any civilians he found who had saw them, along the way. Then he hears the sound of a fight, leading him to a plaza. Below him, there was a fight â someone using the Gotchadriver, accompanied by a woman in black and gold, fought what must have been a Malgam, though from here Fuga couldnât sense any malice. That might have just meant that the Malgam wasnât very strong.
To see the Gotchadriver in action â to finally, after all these years see Kamen Rider Gotchard, was⌠something, certainly. A powerful alchemy, and he didnât even know who was using it.
Thereâs movement beside him, and then a young voice, âSuch amazing alchemy. To think this is only a fraction of what the Gotchadriver is capable of.â Now standing beside him was a girl, with short black hair and a black and gold dress. There was something⌠familiar about her.
She looked up at him, and then he realized. This girl⌠she was one of Geryonâs dolls, the first he thinks, despite her young appearance. Surprised, he said, âAtropos?â
âItâs been a while, Fuga Kudo,â She responded. She held a gold cube in one hand, Fuga recognized it as being Geryonâs. Why did she have it and not him? She looked back out on the fight, âArenât my sisters doing well? Even with that girl having become such a strange MalgamâŚâ
He followed her gaze back to the fight. âStrange Malgam?â From here, he couldnât find anything too unusual about it.
âIt wasnât malice that created it⌠no, it was alchemy, Iâm sure of it.â She rotated the cube in her hands, piece by piece. Since all the sides were gold, the rotations made little difference in its appearance. âItâs almost a match for my sisters.â
A Malgam created from alchemy and not malice? It wasnât impossible, certainly, but few alchemists would choose to transmute themselves and a Chemy like this.
Now that Atropos has identified Gotchard and the woman as her sisters, Fuga can determine the woman is Clotho, based on what he can see of her appearance. That meant Gotchard must be Lachesis. Heâd admit, he didnât know much about them, having rarely interacted with any of the three, back before Geryon betrayed the Alchemist Association.
Gotchard jumps into the air and kicks the Malgam. It separates the Chemy, which Fuga quickly seals. It brings the two sisters and the young woman who had once been the Malgamâs attention towards him. Seeming annoyed, though, the young woman ran off and disappeared. Lachesis and Clotho ran up the stairs.
âAtropos!â Clotho called out, then glared at Fuga as sheâd gotten closer, âStay away from her.â
Fuga held up his hands, still holding Kamantisâ Chemy Card in one hand. âI donât intend to hurt the three of you.â
âWeâll see about that,â Clotho didnât take her eyes off him as Atropos walked over to join her sisters.
Once sheâd returned to her sisters, Atropos said, âYou remember Kudo.â Less so a question and more a statement. As though theyâd surely remember him.
Lachesis, taking the Driver off her waist and holding it up, responded, âHe made this, ten years ago.â
âI did,â Fuga confirmed, though he knew it was unnecessary. âWhereâs Geryon?â
That caused a strange reaction in the sisters. A dour expression on Atroposâ usually neutral face, a stiffening and slight frown from Lachesis. Clotho remained the most neutral, answering, âHeâs dead. That girl, Mary, and the two others that had been with her killed him.â
âTheyâll pay for it,â Atropos added, more than a hint of anger lacing her voice.
âBut,â Lachesis added, âOur first priority is to keep this and the Chemies as far away from the three as possible.â
The three had been hidden for ten years, along with Geryon. But the Association knew them and would likely interfere if they found them. Fuga didnât know how much he trusted Geryon and the sisters, but he knew in this instance, he trusted the Association not to misuse Gotchardâs power even less. Even with three of them, gathering all of the Chemies would be difficult, on their own.
But with help⌠âLet me help you,â Fuga said, âYou can come join the academy, and we can help you find all the Chemies.â
That elicited suspicious looks, the three sistersâ attention on him once more.
Pursing her lips, Lachesis asked, âWhy should we trust you? Youâre an alchemist, and perhaps youâve forgotten, but our master betrayed you.â
âI worked with Geryon, ten years ago. And while I cannot deny the evidence that was found against him⌠I also doubt that his âbetrayalâ was what it was made out to be. He had no reason to abandon his research.â And if Fuga were being honest, he had always held out hope that he and Geryon might be able to work together again, towards a future where Chemies and humans could live together in peace. That had never quite been Geryonâs goal, to Fugaâs knowledge, but they goals had aligned close enough that it made sense to work together before. He never wanted to believe that things had changed that much.
Still, the sisters didnât seem convinced, Clothoâs hands tightened into fists, Lachesis bringing the Driver back down towards her waist. But again, it was Atropos who approached him. âI assume, then, that neither you nor your students would tell the Alchemist Association about us?â
Neither Tsuruhara nor Icho would have any reason to think they should, but even if they realized what the sisters were, Fuga was confident he could convince them not to report it. âItâs a small class, they wouldnât. And I wouldnât be offering if I intended to report you to the Association.â
âSisters,â Atropos looked back at Clotho and Lachesis, âI believe that the aid of Kudo and his students would greatly increase our ability to gather the Chemies.â
Lachesis looked between Atropos and Fuga, clearly contemplating. âWell, if Atropos thinks soâŚâ
Clotho moved closer to him, still glaring, âDonât try anything.â
âOf course not,â Fuga agreed, giving them a warm smile, âI have no intention of tricking or harming you.â
âLead the way, then.â Lachesis responded, âItâs better than standing around here.â
---
âThat Kamen Rider is strong,â Mary said.
âBut not stronger than you, right?â Agatho replied, his goggles now pulled up, though his right eye was still bandaged.
Mary frowned, âI wasnât prepared for her, this time, but⌠weâll see.â She glanced to where Anselm worked, tinkering away at something they couldnât see. âI might need Anselm and his flames, next time.â
Anselm grunted, âThe sooner we can get that Driver, the easier it will be to gather the Chemies.â
âOf course,â Mary agreed.
Quietly, Agatho added, âI wonder what will happen thenâŚ?â
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A couple bits of my Kamen Rider Gotchard Roleswap AU
To see the Gotchadriver in action â to finally, after all these years see Kamen Rider Gotchard, was⌠something, certainly. A powerful alchemy, and he didnât even know who was using it.
Thereâs movement beside him, and then a young voice, âSuch amazing alchemy. To think this is only a fraction of what the Gotchadriver is capable of.â Now standing beside him was a girl, with short black hair and a black and gold dress. There was something⌠familiar about her.
She looked up at him, and then he realized. This girl⌠she was one of Geryonâs dolls, the first he thinks, despite her young appearance. Surprised, he said, âAtropos?â
âItâs been a while, Fuga Kudo,â She responded. She held a gold cube in one hand, Fuga recognized it as being Geryonâs. Why did she have it and not him? She looked back out on the fight, âArenât my sisters doing well? Even with that girl having become such a strange MalgamâŚâ
He followed her gaze back to the fight. âStrange Malgam?â From here, he couldnât find anything too unusual about it.
âIt wasnât malice that created it⌠no, it was alchemy, Iâm sure of it.â She rotated the cube in her hands, piece by piece. Since all the sides were gold, the rotations made little difference in its appearance. âItâs almost a match for my sisters.â
A Malgam created from alchemy and not malice? It wasnât impossible, certainly, but few alchemists would choose to transmute themselves and a Chemy like this.
Now that Atropos has identified Gotchard and the woman as her sisters, Fuga can determine the woman is Clotho, based on what he can see of her appearance. That meant Gotchard must be Lachesis. Heâd admit, he didnât know much about them, having rarely interacted with any of the three, back before Geryon betrayed the Alchemist Association.
---
âThat Kamen Rider is strong,â Mary said.
âBut not stronger than you, right?â Agatho replied, his goggles now pulled up, though his right eye was still bandaged.
Mary frowned, âI wasnât prepared for her, this time, but⌠weâll see.â She glanced to where Anselm worked, tinkering away at something they couldnât see. âI might need Anselm and his flames, next time.â
Anselm grunted, âThe sooner we can get that Driver, the easier it will be to gather the Chemies.â
âOf course,â Mary agreed.
Quietly, Agatho added, âI wonder what will happen thenâŚ?â
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Apparently I made this blog five years ago. Man time flies.
In other news, I finished Gotchard! Or well, the series proper (ignore where I failed to keep up with it after March, I didn't have the motivation, I am not surprised by this). I'm not going to bore anyone with any real opinions on it, you can find those all over Tumblr. The main thing is I overall enjoyed it, even if I wasn't super into it for like, half the show.
And I already have a Roleswap AU started (as you can all see, I seem to have a favorite genre). Still working out the details, but I'll probably post a snippet of the first chapter soonish.
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The Wind Will Take You Along (Chapter 1)
Chapter 1: The W Search/Two Detectives in One
Having recently taken over her father's detective agency, Akiko Narumi finds herself with a lot to worry about. Her best friend, Shoutaro, who doesn't even know of her father's fate, the mysterious boy she now has to protect, Phillip, who aids her on her cases, and the ever looming threat of Dopants and the organization that creates them. Will Akiko be able to make her father proud and not only solve her cases, but protect the city of Fuuto as it's Kamen Rider too? Or will she find herself crumpling under the pressure and the circumstances? As everything changes too much and too fast, Akiko can only hope to keep up.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57870910/chapters/147303886
Her father falls to the ground and thereâs blood, a wound in his shoulder as he tumbles. Above him floats that horrible monster, appearing almost like a woman, but with not quite. To her side is another monster, black and purple, equally inhuman. The one that was responsible for the wound in her fatherâs shoulder.
Uncaring of the monsters still in sight, Akiko rushed to her fatherâs side on the ground, forgetting all about the boy theyâd come here to save. âDad!â she can see blood staining his white suit jacket, all she can think in that moment is that itâll never come out.
âAkiko,â her father said, and she stopped just short of touching him. As much as she wants to, she knows she canât, and it makes this all worse. He doesnât touch her, either. âprotect the boyâŚâ The boy. The damned boy.
Even while dying, his priority was still on his case. Normally, that determination to see things through was something Akiko could at least understand, but now⌠now Akiko hated it. His dying breaths and all heâll do is give her a task, not a word of love or anything else. âIâŚâ
Weakly, he reached up, taking ahold of his hat, placing it on Akikoâs own head. Itâs lopsided, not quite in the right spot, but she doesnât bother fixing it. âBecomes someone fit to wear it.â
As his hand falls, Akikoâs heart dropped, âDad!â wailing, she throws caution to the wind, grabbing her father.
Nothing happened.
He was dead. Never coming back. Again, Akiko wailed, tears in her eyes as she cried and cried, the world around her unimportant.
Then sheâs pulled away from her fatherâs body and suddenly itâs all there again. The people with guns, the monsters, the boy and the briefcase. He was the one who pulled her away, briefcase still in hand.
âLet me ask you a question,â he began, unclasping the briefcase and opening it, once more revealing the strange device and USB sticks within. âare you ready to ride with the devil?â
Later, Akiko would attribute the decision in part to shock over her fatherâs death, but in the moment⌠she could only nod and take the device and three of the USBs, while the boy took the other three. Placing the device on her waist, another identical one appeared on the boyâs.
He clicked the button on one of the USBs, and Akiko did the same.
Cyclone!
Joker!
He slots the USB into the right slot of the device on his waist. Then it appears in the same spot on Akikoâs, and she decides not to question it in the moment. She follows suit with the USB in her hand and the other slot, then pushes the two sides of the device apart. Wind whips around them, spinning, as Akikoâs overcome with a strange feeling, like electricity in her veins and the boy falls to the ground unconscious.
Even as strange green and black armor appears on Akikoâs body and she becomes aware of this other presence in her mind, the wind around them doesnât die down. If anything, it only becomes stronger until it lifts them off the ground.
âAkiko,â a familiar voice snapped Akiko out of her memories, bringing her back to the present. âAre you staring off into space again?â Standing in the front of her fatherâs â her desk, was Shoutaro Hidari, Akikoâs close friend, and he had been for most of the now two years sheâd been in Fuuto. He leaned over, bracing a hand against the desk, watching her.
âI⌠was just thinking,â She couldnât tell him that she was remembering that night, nearly a year ago, when her father died. Shoutaro didnât even know Sokichi Narumi was dead, let alone any of the details of how it happened. Akiko felt a bit bad about it, she wanted to tell Shoutaro, he was probably as close to her father as sheâd been, maybe even closer, but⌠She didnât want to risk dragging him into the world she was now in, he was in danger enough with his job with the police putting him near Dopant attacks. âAnd anyway, Iâm out of cases, found the last lost dog like an hour ago.â Never mind that the dog had tried to bite her.
Shoutaro shook his head, âA detective who makes a living off of looking for lost petsâŚâ His gaze wandered, landing on the shelf still filled with her fatherâs old detective books, their pages worn. Akiko had skimmed through a few, she always wondered if they were where her father got his idea of what a detective was from, an idea that Shoutaro picked up, even if he wasnât so good at being.
âIt pays the bills,â Akiko said as she stood up, picking up the casefiles from the day to file away. âBesides, we take other cases. Itâs just that lost pets are more common than much else.â
Hands on his hips, Shoutaro considered it for a moment, âWell, Iâm sure the boss will be proud of you either way, when he gets back.â
Things like that werenât uncommon to hear, since so few people really knew that her father was dead. It didnât make them hurt any less, though. She knew Shoutaro meant well, but the words still made her hurt, made the guilt bubble up again. But she had to keep it together, she couldnât bring herself to break the news still.
âSo!â Akiko wanted to change the subject, anything but Sokichi, âAnything interesting happen today?â
Sighing, Shoutaro answered, âNot yet.â Then, looking a little more hopeful, he added, âBut thereâs still time left in the day, who knows.â
The last thing a police officer should really be hopeful for is a case. But Akiko knew Shoutaro, he didnât feel that way out of some desire for thrill or fame, he felt that way because he wanted crimes to be reported to the police, so their perpetrators could be found and dealt with accordingly. He wanted nothing more than to protect Fuuto, even from the things he could do little about directly, like Dopants.
No, the only one who was capable of fighting back against Dopants was the Kamen Rider. A pair Akiko was intimately familiar with. It wasnât even really that big of a secret that Akiko somehow knew him, Shoutaro and others on the police force she worked with, like Jinno and Maki, knew that well. If you needed the Kamen Rider, or to get a message to him, then you could probably tell Akiko and sheâd find a way.
Yet the only thing the police could reasonably do against the Dopants was to arrest the users of the Memories after the fact. Unless they could somehow track down and arrest the members of the organization that was responsible for making and distributing the Gaia Memories, but Akiko didnât think that was likely. She had more to work with than they did, and she and Phillip still hadnât learned much more than theyâd known a year ago.
âI wouldnât get your hopes up,â Akiko shook her head, âwe havenât even had much of interest here, and usually people bring some interesting cases.â
âNot with you,â Shoutaro countered, âYou spend more time chasing lost pets. And you donât have the same reputation that Boss did, so that probably doesnât help either.â
Frowning, Akiko countered, âWe still get interesting cases,â Then, she gestured towards the door, âI bet one will come in before you leave!â
Shoutaro rolled his eyes, âSure it will, just face it Akiko, youâre still working up to being a detective like-â
The door opened, and in walked a woman.
Glancing between her and Shoutaro, Akiko noted an odd expression on his face. Then he seemed to smile and said, âOh, Marina! Itâs been a while.â
The woman appeared surprised, âShoutaro? I didnât think Iâd see you here, I heard youâd join the police.â She, Marina, paused in the doorway.
âI did,â Shoutaro grinned a little, âBut Akiko hereâs a friend so I like to stop by the agency and see how sheâs doing.â
âAnd because youâre bored,â Akiko grumbled beneath her breath, before brightening up and turning her attention to Marina, âSo, what can the Narumi Detective Agency do for you?â
âAh, yes, you see⌠Iâm worried about my boyfriend,â Marina said, any happiness at seeing Shoutaro fading away. âHe seems to be missing.â
A missing boyfriend. Not the most unusual, but certainly far more interesting than a missing dog. âAlright, do you know if something happened that might have caused him to disappear? Any strange behavior or big occurrences?â There were a few things theyâd have to figure out before she started her investigation.
âHold on,â Shoutaro interjected, âIf your boyfriend is missing, Marina, shouldnât you bring this to the police?â
She shook her head, âI have, but Iâm not sure that theyâll be of much use⌠Iâd rather have even one more pair of eyes looking for him.â
Glancing at Akiko, Shoutaro frowned, âI suppose so, butâŚâ
Marina continued, âI donât know much. Heâd recently been fired, but I only learned that after he disappeared. He had been going to work that day, I think it might have been when he found out? I havenât seen him since the day before.â
âDo you know where he was last seen?â That would be where Akiko investigated first. Narrowing down the start would make it a lot easier.
They discussed the case for a little while longer, Marina doing her best to answer Akikoâs questions. Shoutaro assured Marina that the police were surely doing their best to find her boyfriend, which Akiko knew meant that heâd be digging around a bit in his free time. Since he was a part of the unit that dealt with Dopant attacks, he wouldnât otherwise be anywhere near a missing personâs case. Unless it was thought to be connected, but as it was, there didnât seem to be a Dopant active currently.
The three part ways, Shoutaro likely to go back the police station, Marina to wherever, and Akiko to begin her investigation. Sheâd picked up a fair amount from her dad in the year or so that sheâd been working with him at the agency, and since the night that sheâd met Phillip, sheâd only learned more. It made no guarantee that sheâd find any clues, but it at least made her a bit more confident in the endeavor.
She missed investigating with her father. It felt so⌠isolating, being alone. She doesnât know how he did it for so long. Though sheâd never tell Shoutaro, she appreciated being able to investigate with him, if only because it made her feel a bit like her father was still around. Of course, Shoutaro didnât usually try to correct what she was doing like her father did, and though he tried to emulate the hard-boiled image her father put up, Shoutaro cared too much, no matter how much he tried to pretend he didnât. Though she often wasnât working on a case alone, she did the footwork by herself, especially when she wasnât receiving help from one of her informants or Shoutaro.
Marinaâs boyfriend used to work at Windscale, a mid-end clothing store that Akiko was mostly familiar with because Shoutaro liked to frequent it when he needed new clothes. She didnât really see the appeal, even with some of her attempts to emulate her fatherâs style of dress. Still, it would be good to ask around with the employees, see if they knew anything further about Marinaâs boyfriend.
That drummed up something of a lead. The employee she was talking to told her that Marinaâs boyfriend had been pretty angry about being fired. While that didnât point her towards any answers, it could be a reason. His disappearance could have something to do with the anger, but that alone wasnât quite enough. She needed more, though she wasnât entirely sure yet where to look.
Sheâd go back to the agency, then, and see if Phillip could be of any use. Provided she could get him to pay attention and stop being absorbed in whatever newest topic had taken up his attention. Sighing, she got on the Hardboiler and pulled her helmet on. If someone had told her, a year ago, sheâd be riding a motorcycle around Fuuto, sheâd have probably called them crazy. But a lot had changed. She had changed, at least she liked to think so.
It's not even halfway back to the agency when sheâs forced to stop, several police cars blocking off the road just at an overpass. And with good reason, she figures, given the smoke she can see. Hopping off the Hardboiler, she pulled her helmet off and placed her fedora on her head. Having gotten a bit closer, she can see Shoutaro, Jinno, and Maki, which meant that whatever happened here was no accident.
âA Dopant?â She called to them.
âBright, glowy, and hot,â Answered Jinno, âBurned a hole straight through the overpass.â He gestured to a clearly still hot and smoking piece of rubble. She could already tell whatever Dopant had caused this was going to be causing a lot more property damage.
Still, the location was kind of odd. Was it destruction for destructionâs sake or something else? âWhy the overpass though?â
Shoutaro crossed his arms, âWe chased it here. It had been attacking a Windscale store.â
Windscale? She knew there were several locations in the city, but it certainly was an odd time⌠The question then being, was it a coincidence or not? Thatâs what Akiko had to figure out, and while she could probably make an educated guess, sheâd feel a lot better if she could consult Phillip about it. The last thing she needed was to come to the wrong conclusion.
âWeâll be keeping an eye on other Windscale stores,â Jinno said, âIn case it strikes again.â
âAnd when it does,â Maki added, âWeâll be ready to show it why you donât mess with the Fuuto PD!â
They all knew that the police couldnât really fight a Dopant. Guns werenât usually all that effective, and even Maki knew that. But Akiko couldnât blame him for hoping they could. Nothing was worse than feeling like you were helpless, and the Dopants brought that to the people of Fuuto more than she liked.
âWhen did you find it?â She asked. It was possible it was still nearby, or at least the Memoryâs user.
âAbout fifteen minutes ago is when we lost track of it,â Shoutaro answered, obviously knowing what Akiko was thinking. Sometimes, he knew her too well and she worried she wouldnât be able to keep from him the things she needed to.
Was that a recent enough time to be worth it to try to hunt it down? It was presumably on foot in some capacity and likely had only lost the police because of the damage it had caused. On the Hardboiler, she might be able to catch up with it, depending on just how fast it was. It would be better to stop it now than give it another chance to cause damage. But it wasnât impossible that whoever was using the Memory had already stopped and was laying low.
She frowned, before turning and heading back to the Hardboiler, âIâm heading back to the agency, I have some leads to look over.â She took her hat off and pulled her helmet on, âYou know where to find me.â
It was mostly true, she was going to go back to the agency. It was just also true that she was going to see if she could find anymore sign of the Dopant first. If she was lucky, she could find it and stop it from destroying anything else. She wasnât looking particularly hard, going at a slower speed and looking around at her surroundings. Just seeing if she could find it, and if she could, she could deal with it, if not, sheâd just head back to the agency. Simple.
Down at the end of an alley, she sees something glowing, and even from here she can tell it was orange and hot. Just like the debris sheâd seen earlier. The Dopant had definitely been here, though how recently was hard to say. She parked the Hardboiler, taking of her helmet and went to investigate. Upon getting closer, she could more easily tell that the burning chuck of cement was nestled in an intersection between two alleys. Even closer, and she could tell this molten cement must be recent, given how strong the heat is, keeping her from getting too much closer, even with its small size. Still, she stood in the middle of not one, but two alley ways, and that left her unsure just which direction the sudden thudding sound was coming from.
With back, forward, left, and right out of the question, as she could tell by how much louder the sound was becoming that she didnât have time to determine the soundâs location, that only left up. Pulling up her sleeve, she pointed her arm up and let the SpiderWatch launch its grappling hook out and pull her up. It was never the most pleasant experience to be pulled up by something attached only to her arm, but sheâd learned how to get used to it for a short while. Long enough that she can get high above and dodge the Dopant that charged through where sheâd once been, leaving a trail of molten lava behind it.
Glowing bright orange, hot, and molten, this had to be the same Dopant that the police had encountered earlier. It didnât double back, thankfully, so it must not have realized that she had gone up and either thought it had bowled her over and likely burnt her or that sheâd somehow run off without it noticing. Which it thought didnât matter, only that sheâd managed to keep herself out of harm.
Still, as she lowered herself back to the ground, she found it odd that it seemed to set a trap like that. Why go through the trouble? And just who or what was it hoping to lure in? The police? She certainly didnât look like a police officer, though she couldnât rule out that it was simply hoping to just find someone to hurt.
Well, with more knowledge of the Dopant, it was probably better to head back to the agency and see if Phillip could give her any information that would help with fighting it. And, of course, she still had Marinaâs missing boyfriend to worry about, though something told her these two things were more connected than they at first seemed.
Upon her return to the agency, she bypassed hanging up her hat and instead pulled the door that the hat rack sat upon open, climbing down the stairs to the garage. Most didnât know the room existed, and sheâd only been in there a few times when her father had still been alive. Heâd told her that there was usually someone in there who liked their privacy, so she could only ever go when he knew that person was gone. And there was rarely even really a reason for her to go in, heâd mostly just asked her to go and clean up on those rare occasions. Since her fatherâs death, she hadnât found anyone in there other than Phillip, like this mysterious person left with her father, or never existed to begin with.
Now, the garage was Phillipâs place. The entire upper railing was covered in whiteboards that were usually covered in his notes about whatever his newest interest was. As she reached the end of the steps, Akiko could see him, pacing across the railing, whiteboard marker in hand as he muttered to himself. Despite his movement, heâd simply memorized the layout of the railing and was, in reality, lost within his thoughts and probably entirely unaware of what was going on.
âPhillip,â She called, and when that didnât elicit any response, she tried again, âHey, Phillip!â
Finally, that seemed to break him out of his thoughts, âAh, Akiko, perfect timing. Did you know that Mount Fuji-â
She waved her hand, âIâm sure itâs very interesting, but I need your help with something, so you can come back to that.â
âAh, but-â
âI need you to look some things up for me. Weâve got another Dopant running around.â She placed a hand on her hip, âI think I have a pretty good idea as to whatâs going on, but I want to make sure.â
Though Phillip frowned for a moment, he closed his eyes, âVery well.â
Something about him seemed to shift, a breeze ruffled his hair and his clothes as lights almost seemed to shine on him, giving him some strange, inhuman feel. Akiko was long used to it and about every other odd thing about Phillip. âWindscale,â she began, â[Marinaâs boyfriendâs name].â
Phillip hummed, and then a moment later said, âThe Magma Memory. Angry at being fired, Yousuke began to attack Windscale locations using the Magma Memory.â
âI figured as much,â Akiko frowned, âI donât look forward to telling our client about this⌠but thatâs for later.â She turned around, beginning back up the stairs.
Though she couldnât see it, Phillip rolled his eyes, before turning back to the whiteboards. âNow where was IâŚ?â
She makes her way back to the Windscale location sheâd been at earlier. It was a surprise that Yousuke hadnât attacked there first, since it was where heâd been fired from. Regardless, heâd surely make it there eventually, and she was confident it would be soon.
Sure enough, it doesnât take much searching around the store to find a man who matched the picture Marina had given her. âYou know,â She said, âIâm not the biggest fan of Windscale either, but trying to turn them all into molten lava isnât exactly the greatest plan.â
âThat isnât what this is about,â Yousuke said, pulling out a USB stick. Without another hesitation, he pressed the button and inserted it into the port that appeared on his arm.
Magma!
Akiko dodged out of the way of the glob of magma that was hurled at her, the top of her fedora just barely getting singled. She frowned, knowing there was no getting around a fight. Sheâd known from the start, but some part of her had been hoping.
âFine then,â She pulled out the W Driver, placing it on her waist. âTwo can play at that game.â Feeling the connection to Phillip begin, she pulled out the Joker Memory.She knows, back at the garage, Phillip does the same with his own Memory.
Cyclone!
Joker!
The Cyclone Memory appeared in its slot in the Driver and she quickly add her own Joker Memory into itâs own. Then, activating the Driver, she can hear Phillip echo her own words, though spoken at the same time. âTransform.â
Wind whipped around her, lights and circuits forming around her body into green and black armor. It settled against her, the weight and tingling feeling long since having become a second skin to her, even when it bites at her. Another mind sat next to her own, a presence that wouldnât go away as long as they were like this. She was used to him, too.
Pointing at the Magma Dopant, she and Phillip both said, âNow, count up your sins.â
This is when the battle really starts. Theyâve got plenty of practice at this point, after having been the Kamen Rider for nearly a year, and having fought plenty of Dopants. This one would be no different, even if it may be constantly molten hot. They could work around that. They dodge out of the way of a hurdling glob of magma.
âMay I suggest a change?â Phillip intoned. Though he had control over a part of her body, he it was a struggle to make it do anything she really didnât want him to. Even now, she wasnât always the most comfortable with someone else having any say over what she physically did, but sheâd grown used to the nagging influence of Phillip. In a fight, at least, she didnât always have the attention to try to stop him, and it usually worked out well enough.
As her right hand removed the Cyclone Memory from the right side of the Driver, she asked, âYou got something in mind?â
The Cyclone Memory was quickly switched out for the Luna Memory, as Phillip answered, âGetting close is dangerous, obviously the Dopant is quite hot. Likewise, Heat isnât likely to be of much use.â
Akikoâs left hand, the one she had complete control over, pulled the Joker Memory out of its slot, replacing it with the Trigger Memory, âI see what you mean. Donât get hit and attack from a distance.â
Where previously her right half had been green with yellow accents, and her left half black with purple accents, each side had now changed. Her right half was now yellow, and her left half blue. Using Lunaâs ability to extend the limbs on her right side, Phillip guided them out of the way of the Magma Dopantâs attacks. With her left hand, Akiko did her best to aim her gun.
The flaw in using the Trigger Memory with a Memory like Luna, one that kept her right hand preoccupied, was that Akiko was right-handed. And even with the practice sheâs had as Kamen Rider, her aim with her left hand still left much to be desired. Add in the constant swinging and yanking that her right arm was doing, and it was going to be a miracle if any of her shots even landed close to the Magma Dopant.
âIâm finding a flaw in your plan,â She grumbled as they landed across from the Magma Dopant once more. For the moment, at least, they were holding still, and she had time to actually aim.
Finally, she managed to get a few good shots in on the Dopant. âIs it a flaw?â Phillip asked in that somewhat smug tone he often used when he knew that he was right.
As she slotted the Luna Memory into its slot, she responded, âThereâs no way you could have planned for this.â
Just as she was about to fire, the ground shook, then opened up beneath the Magma Dopant. Out came jaws, which swallowed up the Magma Dopant.
Akiko couldnât help but stare at where the Magma Dopant once was. âSo⌠thereâs another Dopant.â
And still no clue as to who was making all of the Gaia Memories in the first place.
---
Settled into his apartment for the evening, Shoutaro pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he called so much, it was on speed dial.
The phone rang once, then twice, and then a voice answered, âShoutaro,â in a fond tone, âI canât tell you how nice it is to hear you after today.â
âItâs been a long day, then?â
The voice on the other end scoffed, âItâs been more than long. All day, preparing for the wedding. And heâs so annoying.â
âHeâs not a bad person,â
Though he couldnât see her, he knew she rolled her eyes, âGood people donât get involved with us.â
A frown came to Shoutaroâs face, âWhat about me, then?â
âYouâre the exception, not the rule.â
âIt wonât be for long-â
âI know.â She laughed a little, âYou may both care about the city, but you have something he doesnât. Thatâs why I like you so much.â
Sheepishly, Shoutaro responded, âWellâŚâ
âNow enough about my day, how was yours?â
He shrugged, even though he knew she couldnât see it. âFine. We had a Dopant case, but it got wrapped up pretty quicklyâŚâ
âI suppose if you can give him one thing,â She said, âitâs that the Kamen Rider has gotten quite good at dealing with weak Dopants.â
âIt keeps people from getting hurt,â Shoutaro said.
âOf course.â
He sighed, âBetter something than nothing.â
âI know,â She sounded sympathetic, âI just⌠donât think thereâs much he can do in the grand scheme of things. Maybe there isnât really anything for him to do.â
Frowning again, Shoutaro said, âI donât believe that.â
âI know you donât.â Again, it was spoken with a fond tone. âIâd love to keep talking, but Iâm afraid I have to go.â
The frown lessened, more into something neutral, âIâll listen to you tomorrow.â âMy number one fan,â She said in response.
#kamen rider w#kamen rider#roleswap#akiko narumi#my writing#the wind will take you along#the kamen riders the detectives and the princess
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Linking With the Only One Called You (Chapter 1)
Amanogawa High School was for those who wanted to reach the stars. Ryuusei Sakuta wanted to be anywhere but, yet he finds himself transferring there anyway. After a whirlwind of a first day, Ryuusei finds himself as a member of the newly formed Kamen Rider Club, as Kamen Rider Fourze. As the Club gains new members and investigate the Zodiart appearances at the school, it becomes clear that not everyone at Amanogawa are what they seem, and even fellow students may turn out to be their enemy. Can friendship really endure when most of the Club has no interest in it?
And just what is the space loving Yuuki Jojima always up to?
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56095588/chapters/142483234
Everything about Amanogawa High School was too bright; its students, its faculty, even its uniform, with its bright blues and reds. Amanogawa was where you went when you wanted a bright future â when you wanted to go to the stars. In that regard, Ryuusei Sakuta was horribly out of place, he had no desire to go to the stars, and his new uniform felt more like a prison compared to his old, dull, uniform back at Subaruboshi. Though heâd shed Subaruboshiâs brown uniform for Amanogawaâs bright blue and red, he wasnât happy about it.
Amanogawa was a step towards the stars, and Ryuusei wanted nothing more than to stay on Earth.
Where Jirou was.
As he walked past the gate of Amanogawa, his new school, he checked his watch. He still had plenty of time, but he couldnât help but feel a bit anxious. His parents thought that a change of scenery would be good for him, leave behind his problems at Subaruboshi. Ryuusei begged to differ, though, as now he had to start at a new school and deal with the fact that his best friend was in the hospital showing no signs of waking up.
âMake sure to make a few friends,â his mother had told him when sheâd seen him off that morning. The last thing Ryuusei wanted to do was make friends, at Amanogawa of all places. Not when he was more worried about the friend he already had.
The homeroom teacher of class 2B seemed nice enough, Ms. Sonoda. He didnât get to talk with her much, before class, not that he particularly cared to. He wanted the next year or so to go as quickly as possible, so he could go back to Subaruboshi. The bell rang and the class began to quiet down.
âEveryone, we have a new student, through the exchange program with Subaruboshi High School.â Ms. Sonoda introduced Ryuusei, and now all eyes were on him.
It was fortunate, or unfortunate for Ryuusei, that Subaruboshi had recently begun an exchange program with Amanogawa. That program was the only reason heâd found himself at a different school, now. He had the grades for it, but it was his parents whoâd practically forced him to apply. It was just his luck that Ryuusei was the one chosen.
âIâm Ryuusei Sakuta,â He hated that he had to be here. âLetâs get along.â
âYou can take the empty seat there in front of Utahoshi.â It wasnât like Ryuusei knew who that was, but it was easy to tell where she was referring to. There was only one open seat in the classroom, after all. He supposed that made the grouchy looking boy behind it Utahoshi. Not that it mattered much, Ryuusei figures as he heads to sit down. Heâs not here to make friends.
The girl beside him smiles, âIâm Yuuki Jojima,â she seems too friendly for Ryuuseiâs liking. Ms. Sonoda begins to talk, though Jojima doesnât seem to pay her much mind. âI can show you around-â
âPlease pay attention, Jojima,â Ms. Sonoda called out. Jojima winced a little, but turned her attention towards the front with a small frown.
The next few hours went by quickly enough, Ryuusei let the instruction hold his attention more than much else. It was still far too long for his taste, and he was relieved when lunch finally came. He had intended to make a beeline for the cafeteria, but was stopped by Jojima.
âLet me show you around,â Jojima insisted.
Ryuusei hid his grimace with a polite smile, âNo thank you, Iâll be alright.â
She frowned just a little, before that smile returned, âAmanogawaâs got some interesting groups, youâre new here, so youâre probably not going to fit in with anyoneâŚâ
âIâm not too worried about that,â Friendship isnât needed here anyway.
âCome on,â Jojima grabbed his wrist and began to drag him out of the classroom, barely giving him any time to protest further. He sighed, deciding it would probably be best to let her do what she wanted.
At the very least, she waited until he had gotten lunch to launch onto her explanation of Amanogawaâs cliques. âYouâve got the popular kids, the football jocks, the nerds, the delinquents, the occult gothsâŚâ She listed, gesturing to each group. âAnd then youâve got groups like them. I donât even know what their deal is. Just that Utahoshi probably spends more time in the nurseâs office than in classâŚâ She gestured to where Utahoshi sat with another girl, who appeared to be something of a goth.
âAll schools have their in groups of some kind,â Ryuusei responded. That was true even of Subaruboshi, though perhaps not as noticeably as here. Amanogawa appeared to allow a lot more leeway in their dress code. Well, Ryuusei had read the handbook, he knew for a fact their dress code was very lenient, not even requiring the school uniform. His parents had simply insisted he had to wear it, to his own dismay.
âMaybeâŚâ She frowned a little again, before looking at the time. âAh! Sorry, I have to go, Iâm supposed to meet with someone!â
Ryuusei shrugged, âItâs fine.â He wants her gone, anyway. Something about her smile was starting to get on his nerves. She was way too earnest.
Oh, and that odd pair of Utahoshi and the goth had disappeared. They, like Yuuki, must have had somewhere else theyâd rather be. Then again, so did Ryuusei, unfortunately for him, he just couldnât go to where heâd rather be.
The rest of the day passed at about the same speed as earlier. Ryuusei didnât mind per se, the lectures and assignments were a distraction from his worry. Still, he was relieved when the final bell rang for the day. He needed to try to figure out more about what happened to Jirou, he doubted Amanogawa had any information. He would head back to Subaruboshi to investigate further.
Along the way, he passed by where the football team was practicing, and he heard a commotion. It sounded⌠an awful lot like a fight, but not any kind of fight he was familiar with. He ducked behind a building and looking around the corner, he saw some monster attacking the football players. What the hell was that?
He might not care for the football players, but he couldnât allow them to simply be attacked. Tossing his bag aside, he ran at the monster, kicking it away from one of the players. When his feet land back on the ground, he focuses. He has plenty of practice for this, and while the monster was clearly not all that hurt by his kick, he could be enough to hold it off until the all the players were able to escape.
As Ryuusei fought off the monster, he noted it had a weird pattern on it. Something about the locations and arrangement of the circles and lines felt⌠familiar, though he couldnât place where.
His fist fight with the monster was interrupted by a bright yellow blur, knocking it away and sending Ryuusei awkwardly tumbling to the ground to avoid the blur. He blinked, and then he could see that the blur that had knocked the monster away was some kind of robot.
âCareful, Utahoshi,â A voice called out, âYouâll hit your new classmate.â Ryuusei glanced in the direction of the voice, finding the goth girl who had been with Utahoshi at lunch as the source.
From the yellow robot came a scoff, the only response to the goth girlâs observation. Frankly, Ryuusei would appreciate it if he â presumably Utahoshi in there â showed a little more concern about not hurting him. There were a lot of questions on Ryuuseiâs mind, but he pulled himself up and hurried off to hide behind the corner of a building. He watched as the robot fought the monster, the goth girl watching as well.
She spoke again, âThat seems to be the Orion Zodiart,â She glanced at the pages of a book, though Ryuusei couldnât say as to what the book was about. âA hunter⌠and he seems to be hunting the students.â
âNowâs not the time for theories,â From the yellow robot came a voice, presumably Utahoshiâs. He sounded strained and out of breath.
It seemed piloting that robot took its toll on Utahoshi, as his movements became more sluggish, and soon the monster was able to get away. Out from the robot came Utahoshi, looking exhausted.
The goth girl hurried over to him, âUtahoshi,â She didnât seem surprised, but certainly concerned. âDid you overdo it again?â
Utahoshi shook his head, âIâm fine.â Still, he was out of breath, and the goth girl didnât even seem to believe him.
âLetâs get the Dizer back, then you can get some rest at the Hutch.â The goth girl helped him up.
âYes⌠whereâd that Sakuta go?â Utahoshi looked around, prompting Ryuusei to duck out of sight, hidden behind the building. He could still faintly hear the two.
Thereâs a moment of silence, and then the goth girl responded, âHe ran off. Probably far away from here.â
âIf heâs smart,â Utahoshiâs voice sounded almost dismissive. âBut then again, he tried to fight a Zodiart, Nozama, I doubt heâs that bright.â
The goth girl, presumably Nozama, said, âLetâs just get going. Itâs better not to linger here.â
Ryuusei waited a bit, until the sound of footsteps and machinery was fading. Utahoshi and Nozama obviously knew something about that monster â a Zodiart, Utahoshi had called it â and Ryuusei wanted to know more. He couldnât be sure, but it wasnât impossible that this monster, and by proxy Utahoshi and Nozama, were connected to that night with JirouâŚ
Heâd know for sure if he saw one of those switches.
Carefully, he followed Utahoshi and Nozama. They stored the robot machine, the Dizer, away, and then reentered the school. This part of the school didnât seem like it was often used, especially given the storage room that the pair had entered. When Ryuusei caught up, he found the storage room empty, no sign of Utahoshi and Nozama.
He investigated the room, though it wasnât big. There wasnât really anywhere for anyone to hide, save for a locker. And a locker wouldnât be big enough for two people to comfortably, if fit at all. Still, there could be a sign of them in there, maybe their bags or somethingâŚ
When Ryuusei opened the locker, he was met with a bright, blinding white light.
What was this?
He then realized that the white light appeared to be some kind of hallway. He thinks, at the very end, he can see some kind of door. Taking a breath, he stepped in, tightly holding the strap of his bag, and he shut the door of the locker behind him. Step by step, he traversed through the tunnel, seeming to be endlessly white in every direction, save for in front of and behind him.
Finally, he reached the door. It wasnât like the locker door, or even a regular door. This one was metal, seeming almost like a hatch. Reaching out, he grabbed the handle and turned it, opened the door.
On the other side, the first thing Ryuusei registers is a lot of white. Not as blindingly as the tunnel, but certainly white. He could spy some English text on walls and machinery, but he doesnât get a chance to try to make out what it says. Instead, he feels the eyes of Utahoshi and Nozama on him.
âWhat are you doing here?â Utahoshi is quick to ask, standing up from the table, where his briefcase was opened.
Ryuusei turned his attention to them, for now. âI followed you,â He answered plainly.
âFollowed usâŚ?â Nozama mumbled, a book clutched to her chest, her fingers covering the lower part of her face.
âThat monster, what was it?â He leaned against the wall beside the door, eyes still trained on Utahoshi and Nozama.
âThatâs none of your business,â Utahoshi answered, almost as soon as Ryuusei had finished his question. Obviously, he wouldnât be all that forthcoming with answers. Still, Ryuusei wouldnât give up so easily.
He frowned, âYou know what it is, I heard the two of you talking about it.â
âItâs none of your business,â Utahoshi repeated, this time more forcefully.
Nozama watched them, carefully and curiously. She seemed mostly willing to let this conversation stay between Ryuusei and Utahoshi, and Ryuusei was fine with that. Utahoshi likely had more answers, based on what Ryuusei had seen so far. Though she obviously knew something about what was going on.
Recalling that fateful night, Ryuusei remembered the device in Jirouâs hand⌠âDoes it have something to do with⌠switches?â That was the best way to describe the device.
That elicited a slight change in expression from Utahoshi, âHow did youâŚ?â
âIâve seen it before, Utahoshi. And it wasnât here.â While it wasnât entirely true, Utahoshiâs reaction said enough that his hunch that the incident with Jirou and this monster at Amanogawa were somehow connected.
That statement seemed concern Utahoshi, who took a step back and paced just a little, in thought. âI hadnât thought any Zodiarts had appeared outside of AmanogawaâŚâ
âMaybe,â Nozama spoke up, taking a few steps closer to Ryuusei, examining him, âthis is a sign, a fate that brought Sakuta to this school. Drawn to the Zodiarts.â
Her statement was⌠odd. Ryuusei wasnât entirely sure what to make of it, though judging by Utahoshiâs expression, he was somewhat used to it, though still not particularly thrilled. âI doubt thatâs the caseâŚâ He then turned his attention to Ryuusei, âYou need to forget about all of this. It under control.â
âIâm not so sure about that,â Ryuusei had seen their solution for that, hitting the monster â Zodiart â with that mech. It wasnât an awful solution, but it clearly wasnât the most effective, especially seeing how awful it left Utahoshi. He seemed better now, but it was obvious that piloting that thing left him very drained. It couldnât be the most viable solution.
âLike you would know,â Utahoshi scoffed.
Looking between Ryuusei and Utahoshi, Nozama wonder aloud, âMaybe heâs the one who could useâŚâ Her gaze then wanders over to a desk, where a strange belt sat.
âNo,â Utahoshi shut down that thought before Nozama could elaborate any further. Ryuusei got the impression that, despite the amount of time that they spent together, Utahoshi and Nozama didnât appear to be all that friendly with each other. âWe donât need anyone-â
Ryuusei decides he canât upset Utahoshi any more quickly, so he asked, âJust what is that?â
âYou ask too many questions,â Utahoshi snapped. âLeave.â
Now that Ryuusei knew the way into their little base, there was no harm in waiting until they were gone to take a closer look. It might even let him get a closer look at that odd belt. As it was, it didnât seem likely heâd get any more answers from Utahoshi and Nozama, at least with how annoyed Utahoshi seemed.
âFine then,â He shifted his bag on his shoulder and then turned and left. Heâd come back later, when they were gone.
Once back at the school proper, Ryuusei situates himself in a nook by the hallway leading to the storage room, from here, he should be able to see Utahoshi and Nozama leave. Now it was just a matter of killing time, waiting until they finally left. Hopefully, it would be before it got too late, though Ryuusei could always tell his parents he was practicing, surely theyâd believe at least one familiar routine was good for him.
Even if, truthfully, heâd kept her practice to places where he was alone and out of the way. He felt too uneasy practicing around others, since that night. A repeat wouldnât even hurt that much, he just⌠couldnât shake the feeling. The memory of that night stays with him, and all Ryuusei can hope to do is find a way to fix what happened. To wake Jirou.
His gaze fell to the watch that Jirou had given him, now a reminder of why he had to find a way to save him. And if that meant figuring out what was going on at this school with Utahoshi, Nozama, and these Zodiart creatures, then so be it. He wasnât certain there was any connection with what happened to Jirou, but Utahoshiâs reaction gave him the most evidence heâd had yet, and he wasnât letting go of a lead this easily.
His opportunity arose quick enough, as only about half an hour or so later, Nozama and Utahoshi appeared out of the storage room. Much like after fighting that monster before, Utahoshi looked worse for wear, Nozama helping him along. He can just barely hear Nozama mumbled, âYou really are prince of the nurseâs office,â as they pass by. Based on that comment and Jojimaâs earlier one at lunch, Ryuusei gets the suspicion that Utahoshiâs poor health was a repeating occurrence.
Regardless of the regularity, as soon as the two were out of the hallway, Ryuusei had a chance to examine their little base more closely. He slips out of his hiding spot and back to the storage room. With no hesitation this time, he opens up the locker and enters the white tunnel. Wherever this led, it certainly wasnât in the school, he could gather that much even from his first visit. That, and the odd white tunnel certainly helped that theory.
On the other side of the door in that tunnel was where heâd previously spoken with Utahoshi and Nozama. Now that they werenât here and he could get a closer look, he could see the words âRabbit Hutchâ written on the wall in English. The machinery that was present along the walls appeared very scientific, not something youâd find in an average high school â or even one like Amanogawa. Something about it seemed very⌠science fiction, in a way. The sort of thing you only saw in regard to space and such.
He didnât know how much time he had, though. Nozama may come back once sheâd gotten Utahoshi to the nurseâs office. Heâd have to either be out of this place by then or find somewhere to hide away and avoid notice. So he turned his sights to the belt from earlier. Whatever it was, Utahoshi was adamant that it wouldnât involve Ryuusei, and frankly, Ryuusei wasnât sure why Nozama would even suggest that it might.
The belt was⌠odd. It looked a bit like a kidâs toy, in a way, a light blue color with a lever on the left side. There were four slots, two on each side of some kind of display that maybe showed the silhouette of a person, but it was hard to tell with the screen dark. He picked up the belt, and though it appeared light, there was a certain weight to it that half surprised Ryuusei. It was no kidâs toy, that was for sure.
No, there was this certain⌠sensation pulsing through it. The casing blocked a lot of it, but every few seconds, Ryuusei felt a tingle, a little jolt as if it was trying to tell him something in it was more than just a strange device. In some ways, it made him want to drop it, end any and all contact with it, but in others⌠in other ways, he felt like it was trying to tell him something. Trying to reach out andâŚ
The door opened, snapping Ryuusei out of his thoughts. In walked Nozama, who didnât show it if she was surprised to see him. âSakuta.â
âNozama,â He said, quickly setting the belt back down, the odd sensation ceasing. A phantom of the feeling still lingered on his fingertips.
She regarded him for a moment, her gaze once again covering him, searching him, like she was trying to find something. It made Ryuusei uneasy, prompting him to cross his arms. Her lips curved into a smile, âWelcome to the Rabbit Hutch, Sakuta. Something has brought you here.â
âSomething has brought me here?â He was unsure what she meant.
âYes⌠a cosmic fate, I believe, has brought you here. Your seeking answers, and the moon surely holds them.â She responded, showing him the cover of her book. The title read Astral Moon, the cover depicting a moon surrounded by odd symbols. It appeared to be some kind of fiction book, though knowing so little about Nozama it was hard to say much more. He was beginning to think she fell under the category of occult goth, though.
He blinked, realizing that she was just exaggerating. Of course she was, there was no way she could know anything about why he was so interested in this all or anything about a⌠a âcosmic fateâ. Amanogawa High School is full of characters, it seems.
âThatâsâŚâ He struggled to find the words to respond to her with.
She walked over to a lever, âLet me show you where we really are.â She pulled it up, and the shutters that previously covered the windows along the top of the ceiling pulled up, revealing the outside. The very dark and star filled outside â and most notably, the Earth.
He could see the Earth.
ââŚWhat the hell?â If he could see the Earth, then he wasnât on the Earth. The Rabbit Hutch was not on Earth. How? How could two high schools students be hanging out on something in space?
Nozama had an amused smile, âThe Rabbit Hutch is a moon base,â She said, âUtahoshiâs father used to work here.â
âUtahoshiâs father?â
She nodded, âHe was a scientist. He created that device,â She pointed at the belt heâd been holding, âThe Fourze Driver.â
That explained why Utahoshi reacted so oddly. He was probably protective of his fatherâs work. But just what even was this⌠Fourze Driver? He looked between the window and Nozama, âWhy are you telling me about all this?â
âNeither Utahoshi nor I can use the Fourze Driver, he says it must take a certain personâŚâ Her smile faded, just a little, forming into a small frown.
âAnd you think I might be that person?â Ryuusei couldnât imagine why sheâd think that. Theyâd just met and have interacted only twice now. He hadnât even really known about the Zodiarts until an hour or so ago.
Nodding again, Nozama said, âYour arrival is a sign from the stars-â
He shook his head, âI really donât think thatâs the case.â The stars were sending no signs, and certainly not about him. Sheâs way too into that occult stuff.
âAnd yet⌠youâre one of the few to know about the Zodiarts, and on your first dayâŚâ While he might have been one of the few to know what they were called, he doubted so few else had seen them. Even the one earlier would have been seen by the whole football team, and if there had been more of them before, they certainly would have been seen by at least a few more people.
Before they could continue the conversation further, one of the computers beeped, pulling both of their attentions. The screen turned on, displaying that Zodiart from before, seemingly attacking students again.
âThe Orion Zodiart,â Nozama observed, eyes darting between the screen, Ryuusei, and the Fourze Driver.
It didnât seem to be outside this time, so it must be a different attack, one occurring now. âThatâs the schoolâs hallwaysâŚâ He said, then dashed out the door. Utahoshiâs mech wouldnât be able to fight inside, and it seemed he didnât exactly have a plan for that. If it took a certain kind of person to use the Fourze Driver, then they were better off just finding another way to deal with the Zodiart.
And maybe it knew something about what happened to Jirou.
âSakuta!â Nozama called out, but Ryuusei was already out the door. He was wasting no time in finding where that Zodiart was.
He ran through the halls of Amanogawa, searching for the one from the video. That, and for the fleeing students. Whatever direction they were going, he knew Orion must be in the opposite. When he finally found Orion, he kept behind a corner, watching. It seemed like Orion was after something â maybe the football team? Or his previous attack on them could have been coincidental. It was hard to say yet, but figuring it out might give an advantage against Orion.
While he was watching Orion, Nozama caught up to him, holding the Fourze Driver. âSakuta,â Her voice was quiet, clearly aware that it was possible for Orion to hear them. âIf you can use the Fourze Driver, youâll be able to fight Orion.â
âIf itâs so picky, then it probably wonât like me either,â He responded, looking away from over the corner and over at Nozama.
She held the Fourze Driver out to him anyway, âThereâs only one way to know for sure.â There were devices slotted into the holes now, seeming like some kind of switches, but different from the one heâd seen Jirou with. Orange, blue, yellow, and black. She practically shoved it in his hands. âFlip the switches in the belt, then pull the lever. If it doesnât work, nothing will happen.â
He takes it, begrudgingly, âAnd if it does?â
âYouâll know,â She smiled, taking several steps back.
Ryuusei sighed, but she wouldnât be happy until he gave it a try. He placed the belt on his waist, straps coming out and locking around him, fitting perfectly. Then, going across, he activated each switch.
3âŚ
2âŚ
1âŚ
It was quite noisy, a glance around the corner shows that it caught Orionâs attention. âNozama,â He said, hurriedly.
She smiled, almost disturbingly, âItâs working. Pull the lever and say transform.â
âWhat?â
âDo it!â
With little else to do other than run, Ryuusei complies. He reached down for the lever and pulled it, âTransform.â
And a sudden burst of steam appeared from the Driver, obscuring him. Then armor appeared, most of what Ryuusei can make out is white. Somehow⌠it seemed Nozama was right, the Fourze Driver did work for him, though how she knew that was beyond him. It must have been a coincidence.
âSo this is FourzeâŚâ Nozama breathed, amazed.
He glanced back at her, âFourze?â
She nodded, âYes, Kamen Rider Fourze!â There was an unusual excitement in her voice.
Kamen Rider Fourze, huh? Well, Ryuusei could work with that. If what Nozama and Utahoshi had implied was right, then he should be able to deal with Orion easy. The armor still felt strange on him, pulsing and jolting just as the Fourze Driver had, but he could ignore it. He had a Zodiart to deal with, after all.
âRight, then,â He turned his attention to Orion, âThis is between you and me.â
Ryuusei ran at Orion. Fighting wasnât a new thing to Ryuusei, but this was different than anything before. Spars werenât intended to be full out fights, werenât intended to be stopping someone from hurting others. This was a fight, between Fourze and Orion, one that Ryuusei wouldnât lose. The armor might be new, but the movements needed werenât, they were practiced, like second nature to him.
His first order of business was to get Orion out of the halls and into somewhere more open. That would be tricky, even with windows, heâd still have to get Orion throughâŚ
âFighting in here will be too hard,â Nozama called out, âUse the Rocket Switch to get him outside!â
She said that like he had anyway of knowing which of the Switches in the belt was which. âA little more description would be useful!â He called back, blocking a swing from Orion.
âThe one on the far right,â He ducked to the side and flipped the Switch she said to.
Rocket on!
Out from the Switch came a bright orange rocket that attached itself to Ryuuseiâs right arm. âIs this actually-â Before he can finish his question, the rocketâs thrusters activate. Though it took him a moment to get it under control enough, the rocket gave him enough force he could grab on to Orion and let the rocket take them through the ceiling and out of the building.
They land roughly on the ground, the rocket still blaring. The momentum keeps pushing Ryuusei, forcing him to keep moving around. Maybe he could use it to help him fight, though. After weaving through a few attempts at attacking him, he manages to land a hit on Orion and gets a moment to turn off the Switch. His arm hurt from having a rocket on it, even if the effect was lessened by the suit.
He and Orion resumed their fight. While the rocket was helpful and all, Ryuusei was far more comfortable using his fists, itâs what he knew best. They trade blows until they push each other back, giving some space, and the Switch on the far left began to flash and beep. He wasnât sure what it was, but he flipped it on anyway.
Radar on!
From his left arm came a panel and a satellite dish. Out came an annoyed voice, âUse the other Switches, for goodness sake.â
âUtahoshi?â Sure enough, that was Utahoshiâs voice, and on the screen was him, seemingly in the Rabbit Hutch once more. He must have hurried there when he realized Orion had appeared.
âYes,â He said, still sounding annoyed, âIf you use Radar, this Switch, together with Launcher, the one on the middle right, youâll be able to aim missiles at Orion.â
Utahoshi would probably know how these Switches work best, and given this is a fight, Ryuusei figured it would be best to listen to him. âIâll take your word for it.â He reached and flipped the blue Switch on the middle right.
Launcher on!
He pointed the dish on his arm towards Orion, watching as the screen changed until it seemed to have found its target. He planted his right leg down and the blue apparatus that had attached itself there fired missiles at Orion. Each landed on him, just as Utahoshi said they would.
âGood,â Utahoshi said, âNow you can go back to close combat. Change the Launcher Switch for the other one you have.â
âThe otherâŚâ Sure enough, he found a Switch of a lighter blue than the Launcher Switch. âAlright, then.â Again, heâd have to take Utahoshiâs word on it. It flipped off the Launcher Switch and swapped it out for the lighter blue one, activating it.
Chainsaw on!
Replacing the launcher on his right leg, now a light blue chainsaw appeared. At this point, it wasnât even a surprise. It wasnât exactly Ryuuseiâs style, but he could make it work. Now his kicks with that leg would simply⌠have a bit extra blade to them. Though he attempts to kick Orion, Orion blasts at him, keeping him from getting close.
What a pain. He deactivated the Chainsaw Switch, it wouldnât do him any good if he couldnât get close. Well, heâd just have to be fasterâŚ
Rocket on!
With the Rocket Switch, he had both more speed, as well as the ability to take to the sky, allowing him to weave between Orionâs blasts. Now how to deal with Orion⌠he recalls the one Switch he hasnât used yet, the yellow one. âLetâs see what this one does.â
Drill on!
From the Radar, Utahoshi called out, âWhat are you doing? Donât-â but Ryuusei just rolled his eyes and flipped the Switch off. Utahoshiâs advice was helpful, sure, but Ryuusei could handle it from here. He knew what each of the five Switches he had did, now it was just a matter of using them to defeat Orion.
âLetâs end this fight,â Using the rocket to speedily propel him towards Orion, Ryuusei held the foot that the drill was on out into a kick. He flew through Orion, causing an explosion as the drill dug itself into the ground.
Turning to look at where Orion once stood, he couldnât see anything. Maybe the Zodiarts werenât related to that switch Jirou hadâŚ
âYou did it!â He heard Nozama call out, finally catching up to him. âThe first Zodiart defeated by Kamen Rider FourzeâŚâ
Ryuusei sighed, âI guess⌠what even is a Kamen Rider?â
âWell, urban legends but⌠theyâre heroes who fight for justice!â Nozama quickly pulled something up on a tablet she held, showing him videos of various masked and armored people fighting monsters.
âHeroes who fight for justiceâŚâ Well that was not how Ryuusei would describe himself at all. Then again, it seemed likely Nozama had given Fourze that title herself.
Before their conversation could proceed, along came Utahoshi in his mech, âRyuusei Sakuta.â He said, voice dripping in anger.
It seems Ryuusei had really pissed him off. Not that he thought it took a whole lot to get on Utahoshiâs nerves. âUtahoshi, it seems weâll be working together from here-â
Utahoshi cut him off with a vicious âNo,â and grabbed him by the waist, lifting him up.
âUtahoshi!â Nozama called out, obviously not pleased by this turn on events.
âIâm not working with you, nor am I letting you be Fourze.â Utahoshi said, the mech yanking the Fourze Driver off of Ryuusei as it set him on the ground. Ryuusei stumbled, but was thankful Utahoshi at least wasnât trying to hurt him. With that mech he certainly could.
Talk about grouchy.
As the mech took off, Nozama called out Utahoshiâs name again, but he obviously wasnât listening. Her frustration with his actions was evident.
Ryuusei turned and began to walk away. Heâd figure something out, he knew how to get to the Rabbit Hutch, after all. Utahoshi would have a hard time keeping him from the Fourze Driver, and Ryuusei didnât really care all that much what he thought of him.
What an exciting first day at his new school.
---
âSo Fourze has appeared at my school,â A man with red eyes sat in a dark room, pondering the most recent events. Mitsuaki Gamou was a patient man, his plan had been in motion for eighteen years, he could wait a while longer. Especially as Fourzeâs appearance would surely usher his plan along faster than he could ever otherwise dream of.
And, of course, he had his Horoscopes to aid him. Leo, Virgo, and Libra stood waiting for instruction. And though Scorpio had yet to be graced with his presence, he was being instructed by Libra. There was another he had high hopes for, but the time hadnât come to give her a Switch, yetâŚ
Yes, his plan was coming along wonderfully.
#kamen rider fourze#roleswap#kamen rider#my writing#linking with the only one called you#eternity will never fade in our hearts carry on
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Though none of these are the ones I ended up going with, have some of the ideas I threw around for a Fourze Roleswap AU.
First:
We've got Gentaro as the scientist, Kengo as Fourze, Yuuki as Meteor, and Ryuusei as the person who's helping Gentaro at the start.
This one would have required some personality changes to really work, and it felt a bit... boring.
Second:
Gentaro in Kengo's role
Kengo in Yuuki's
Yuuki in Gentaro's
Miu in JK's
JK's in Miu's
Shun in Tomoko's
Tomoko in Ryuusei's
Ryuusei in Shun's
This one could have worked, but definitely would have been complicated. Though it would have been cool having both the Riders as women.
Third:
This is just the first one but with everyone, so.
Gentaro in Kengo's
Kengo in Gentaro's
Yuuki in Ryuusei's
Ryuusei in Yuuki's
Miu in Shun's
Shun in Miu's
Tomoko in JK's
JK in Tomoko's
Honestly, this one just didn't vibe with me as much as I'd have like. It was hard to find an idea that wasn't too different but also still really worked.
Fourth and final:
Just swap Gentaro and Ryuusei.
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Here's a little bit of my W roleswap AU
âAkiko,â a familiar voice snapped Akiko out of her memories, bringing her back to the present. âAre you staring off into space again?â Standing in the front of her fatherâs â her desk, was Shoutaro Hidari, Akikoâs close friend, and he had been for most of the now two years sheâd been in Fuuto. He leaned over, bracing a hand against the desk, watching her.
âI⌠was just thinking,â She couldnât tell him that she was remembering that night, nearly a year ago, when her father died. Shoutaro didnât even know Sokichi Narumi was dead, let alone any of the details of how it happened. Akiko felt a bit bad about it, she wanted to tell Shoutaro, he was probably as close to her father as sheâd been, maybe even closer, but⌠She didnât want to risk dragging him into the world she was now in, he was in danger enough with his job with the police putting him near Dopant attacks. âAnd anyway, Iâm out of cases, found the last lost dog like an hour ago.â Never mind that the dog had tried to bite her.
Shoutaro shook his head, âA detective who makes a living off of looking for lost petsâŚâ His gaze wandered, landing on the shelf still filled with her fatherâs old detective books, their pages worn. Akiko had skimmed through a few, she always wondered if they were where her father got his idea of what a detective was from, an idea that Shoutaro picked up, even if he wasnât so good at being.
âIt pays the bills,â Akiko said as she stood up, picking up the casefiles from the day to file away. âBesides, we take other cases. Itâs just that lost pets are more common than much else.â
Hands on his hips, Shoutaro considered it for a moment, âWell, Iâm sure the boss will be proud of you either way, when he gets back.â
Things like that werenât uncommon to hear, since so few people really knew that her father was dead. It didnât make them hurt any less, though. She knew Shoutaro meant well, but the words still made her hurt, made the guilt bubble up again. But she had to keep it together, she couldnât bring herself to break the news still.
âSo!â Akiko wanted to change the subject, anything but Sokichi, âAnything interesting happen today?â
Sighing, Shoutaro answered, âNot yet.â Then, looking a little more hopeful, he added, âBut thereâs still time left in the day, who knows.â
The last thing a police officer should really be hopeful for is a case. But Akiko knew Shoutaro, he didnât feel that way out of some desire for thrill or fame, he felt that way because he wanted crimes to be reported to the police, so their perpetrators could be found and dealt with accordingly. He wanted nothing more than to protect Fuuto, even from the things he could do little about directly, like Dopants.
No, the only one who was capable of fighting back against Dopants was the Kamen Rider. A pair Akiko was intimately familiar with. It wasnât even really that big of a secret that Akiko somehow knew him, Shoutaro and others on the police force she worked with, like Jinno and Maki, knew that well. If you needed the Kamen Rider, or to get a message to him, then you could probably tell Akiko and sheâd find a way.
Yet the only thing the police could reasonably do against the Dopants was to arrest the users of the Memories after the fact. Unless they could somehow track down and arrest the members of the organization that was responsible for making and distributing the Gaia Memories, but Akiko didnât think that was likely. She had more to work with than they did, and she and Phillip still hadnât learned much more than theyâd known a year ago.
#the wind will take you along#kamen rider w#kamen rider#my writing#the detectives the kamen riders the princess#roleswap au
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I can't believe I have to be Normal about my DND character for like. Two weeks. I can't. I don't think I'd be able to keep normal about her for one week, after last session.
#the talking paper ghost#dnd#verna tealeaf#<- my character a halfling cleric#who uh just found out she's Undead through our paladin using Turn Undead
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I think I'm going to give a little snippet each of my two other Rider roleswap AUs. This is the Fourze one, since I want to maybe get a bit more of the W one before I show anything.
Everything about Amanogawa High School was too bright; its students, its faculty, even its uniform, with its bright blues and reds. Amanogawa was where you went when you wanted a bright future â when you wanted to go to the stars. In that regard, Ryuusei Sakuta was horribly out of place, he had no desire to go to the stars, and his new uniform felt more like a prison compared to his old, dull, uniform back at Subaruboshi. Though heâd shed Subaruboshiâs brown uniform for Amanogawaâs bright blue and red, he wasnât happy about it.
Amanogawa was a step towards the stars, and Ryuusei wanted nothing more than to stay on Earth.
Where Jirou was.
As he walked past the gate of Amanogawa, his new school, he checked his watch. He still had plenty of time, but he couldnât help but feel a bit anxious. His parents thought that a change of scenery would be good for him, leave behind his problems at Subaruboshi. Ryuusei begged to differ, though, as now he had to start at a new school and deal with the fact that his best friend was in the hospital showing no signs of waking up.
âMake sure to make a few friends,â his mother had told him when sheâd seen him off that morning. The last thing Ryuusei wanted to do was make friends, at Amanogawa of all places. Not when he was more worried about the friend he already had.
The homeroom teacher of class 2B seemed nice enough, Ms. Sonoda. He didnât get to talk with her much, before class, not that he particularly cared to. He wanted the next year or so to go as quickly as possible, so he could go back to Subaruboshi. The bell rang and the class began to quiet down.
âEveryone, we have a new student, through the exchange program with Subaruboshi High School.â Ms. Sonoda introduced Ryuusei, and now all eyes were on him.
It was fortunate, or unfortunate for Ryuusei, that Subaruboshi had recently begun an exchange program with Amanogawa. That program was the only reason heâd found himself at a different school, now. He had the grades for it, but it was his parents whoâd practically forced him to apply. It was just his luck that Ryuusei was the one chosen.
âIâm Ryuusei Sakuta,â He hated that he had to be here. âLetâs get along.â
âYou can take the empty seat there in front of Utahoshi.â It wasnât like Ryuusei knew who that was, but it was easy to tell where she was referring to. There was only one open seat in the classroom, after all. He supposed that made the grouchy looking boy behind it Utahoshi. Not that it mattered much, Ryuusei figures as he heads to sit down. Heâs not here to make friends.
The girl beside him smiles, âIâm Yuuki Jojima,â she seems too friendly for Ryuuseiâs liking. Ms. Sonoda begins to talk, though Jojima doesnât seem to pay her much mind. âI can show you around-â
âPlease pay attention, Jojima,â Ms. Sonoda called out. Jojima winced a little, but turned her attention towards the front with a small frown.
The next few hours went by quickly enough, Ryuusei let the instruction hold his attention more than much else. It was still far too long for his taste, and he was relieved when lunch finally came. He had intended to make a beeline for the cafeteria, but was stopped by Jojima.
âLet me show you around,â Jojima insisted.
Ryuusei hid his grimace with a polite smile, âNo thank you, Iâll be alright.â
She frowned just a little, before that smile returned, âAmanogawaâs got some interesting groups, youâre new here, so youâre probably not going to fit in with anyoneâŚâ
âIâm not too worried about that,â Friendship isnât needed here anyway.
âCome on,â Jojima grabbed his wrist and began to drag him out of the classroom, barely giving him any time to protest further. He sighed, deciding it would probably be best to let her do what she wanted.
At the very least, she waited until he had gotten lunch to launch onto her explanation of Amanogawaâs cliques. âYouâve got the popular kids, the football jocks, the nerds, the delinquents, the occult gothsâŚâ She listed, gesturing to each group. âAnd then youâve got groups like them. I donât even know what theyâre deal is.â She gestured to where Utahoshi sat with another girl, who appeared to be something of a goth.
âAll schools have their in groups of some kind,â Ryuusei responded. That was true even of Subaruboshi, though perhaps not as noticeably as here. Amanogawa appeared to allow a lot more leeway in their dress code. Well, Ryuusei had read the handbook, he knew for a fact their dress code was very lenient, not even requiring the school uniform. His parents had simply insisted he had to wear it, to his own dismay.
âMaybeâŚâ She frowned a little again, before looking at the time. âAh! Sorry, I have to go, Iâm supposed to meet with someone!â
Ryuusei shrugged, âItâs fine.â He wants her gone, anyway. Something about her smile was starting to get on his nerves. She was way too earnest.
Oh, and that odd pair of Utahoshi and the goth had disappeared. They, like Yuuki, must have had somewhere else theyâd rather be. Then again, so did Ryuusei, unfortunately for him, he just couldnât go to where heâd rather be.
#kamen rider fourze#linking with the only one called you#Eternity Will Never Fade in Our Hearts Carry On#roleswap au#my writing#kamen rider
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Without You (Chapter 30)
Chapter 30: Memories, the Past is Here!
Ikki remembers.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/139608148
There were flames everywhere, fire consuming what was supposed to be a home. A home. Ikki lived here, it was the only home heâd ever known. Heâd been sleeping, but then it was too hot. Fire. Their home was burning.
He was scared, of course, but he had to be brave. For Daiji and Sakura. Because he was their big brother and big brothers were brave. He carefully hurries to his parents room. His parents would make sure they were safe.
When he enters, he finds this is where the fire is the worst. Fire fire fire. His mamaâs on the ground, maybe she was still asleep? But his papaâs standing, over her almost. Maybe he was trying to wake her up? Yeah, papa was waking mama up.
Papa turns his gaze over to Ikki, clearly having seen him. Papa doesnât seem right. No. No, papa wasnât right. Was this even papa?
âPa⌠papa?â Ikki called out. He wanted it to be his papa. He wanted to be imagining things. The fire kept burning. It was too hot. He was scared.
His papa spoke, but it didnât seem like papa. âJunpei⌠has a child?â
That wasnât his papa.
Ikki was scared.
Then, a voice speaks to him, faint and distant, but hopeful. âI can make the scary monster go away.â
He doesnât know where the voice comes from, but he responds anyway. âThatâs papa.â
âItâs actually a monster pretending to be your papa.â
âYouâll make it go away and make papa come back?â
Not papa scowled, âWho are you talking to?â
The voice answered, âOf course.â
Ikki, scared little Ikki, only four when he was seeing his home burn, a monster that looks like his papa standing over his mama, does the only thing he can do, in that moment. Ikki agrees. âOkay.â
Heâs overcome with this strange feeling, as something great and terrible bursts out of him, this blue phantasm swirling around him, like a storm that shielded him from the fire and the monster that pretended to be his father. The blue then goes towards not papa.
That was the last thing Ikki could recall, of that day. Prior to encountering Kamen Rider Vail, Ikki couldnât remember that much. That was the day he made a contract with Vice. But more importantly⌠the monster that was masquerading as his father that day, was the same as Vail.
How?
Ikki, huddled in his room, sat on the floor, back against the side of his bed, couldnât help but shake. The memories were so much, something heâd forgotten about for years and years, suddenly came back and overwhelming him. Heâd been terrified, then, and even now the memories shook him with a fear he hadnât realized heâd had for anything other than Akaishi, the man whoâd forced himself into the role of father.
Vice sat at his side, a hand on Ikkiâs shoulder, watching him carefully as Ikki let out a shuddering breath. âHeâs a demon, a big scary one,â Vice said, his own voice sounding somewhat fearful. âBack then, he was weak, stuck in your dadâs body. Weak enough that the burst from making a deal with me was enough to chase him back. I dunno if I could take him on now, since heâs got that Driver.â
That wasnât very reassuring, but Ikki appreciated the effort. âDad has a demon.â
âYeahâŚâ
âIs that why youâŚ? Even before the things they did to us here?â Kagerou and Lovekov hadnât appeared until after Akaishi had gotten ahold of them, given them to those people who poked and prodded them. For a while, when Kagerou kept a low profile and Sakura still managed to hide Lovekov from him and Daiji, Ikki was the only one with a demon. Until Vice had managed to take a physical form himself, Ikki had thought he was imagining Vice.
Hesitantly, Vice nodded, âI think so. I bet Kage and Lovey would have appeared on their own, sooner or later, even without what was done to you guys.â
Another shaky breath, âWhat are we going to doâŚ?â He wasnât sure if Sakura was worried about Vail yet. She probably was. He needed to be able to reassure her, to make sure that Vail couldnât hurt her or anyone else. They had to figure out how to stop Vail. Would Revi and Vice be enough, if they could challenge Vail without having fought prior? Would Jeanne, Aguilera, and Papillion lend enough power? Vail was strong, but surely not stronger than multiple Riders, multiple Giftexes?
âWeâll just have to fight him and stop him â kick him out of dad!â Vice excitedly said, âI mean, between all of us, we can probably pull that off.â
Despite Viceâs confidence, Ikki was less convinced, âWithout hurting dad?â
Vice wilted a little at that, âEr, well, I guess that would be harderâŚâ
âI wonât hurt dad,â Ikki said, âWeâll have to figure out how to get Vail out some other way.â And hopefully the sight of him wouldnât send Ikki into such a state again. He hoped it was just from rememberingâŚ
Again, trying to cheer and reassure Ikki, Vice said, âIâm sure Sakura will come up with some plan â sheâs not gonna want to hurt him either, since heâs Hanaâs dad.â
âI hope soâŚâ
---
Makoto drags himself to Happy Spa, unsurprised to find Yukimi doing the evening chores. No sign of Genta, probably for the best. Tamaki likely went back to Fenix, first, so it would hopefully be just them. Now was probably a good time to talk to her about the past and what just happened with Genta. With Vail. He suspects she isnât going to want to, but it needed to happen.
She smiles when she sees him, though it falters for a moment when she sees the state heâs in, âMakoto, are you alright?â
âIâm fine, mama,â He assured.
âIf you say so⌠did Genta mention going out to do anything today? He left and I havenât seen him.â She at least gave him a good transition into what he wanted to talk about. She wasnât going to like it, though.
He shook his head, âNo, but I saw him not that long ago. Or, well, I saw Vail.â
At the name, she tensed, slowly looking towards him again. ââŚVail?â The name was said with a certain fear, though an obvious hope that he was wrong.
âVail. Thatâs the name of papaâs demon, isnât it? Of the Rider that he was, back when he was Junpei Shiranami?â Although it begged the question as to why Vail attacked Revi and Jeanne, but Makoto had⌠suspicions. Suspicions that he still needed a bit more evidence for and certainly wouldnât bring up to Yukimi, yet, or anyone else for that matter.
A frown settles on Yukimiâs face as she sets the rag she was holding down on the table. Slowly, she pulls the chair out and sits down, âHow do you know about that?â
Makoto wasnât entirely sure what he wanted to tell her. Sheâd briefly encountered Masumi Karizaki, though not enough to be particularly familiar with him, if she remembered him at all, at least by Karizakiâs recount of the story. And he suspected that, for now, it would be best to keep Weekend a secret. Which didnât leave him a lot of options to explain how he knew about what had happened.
âIâve heard, here and there,â he said, âMostly, Iâm just worried about papa.â
âYou say you saw VailâŚ?â
Nodding, Makoto braced his hands on the back of the other chair, leaning back against it, âHe tried to attack Jeanne and Revi. Ha- Aguilera and I stopped him, barely, but we didnât want to hurt him, since he was using papaâs body.â
âJeanne and Revi... I donât understand why Vail would go after themâŚ?â Yukimi seemed in thought. âGenta doesnât even know them, so Vail shouldnât have anything against themâŚâ
The golden question. There were⌠a few possible answers, though Makoto didnât want to consider some of them too much. The most likely answer, of course, was the one he honestly liked the least. Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura; those were names Makoto, Tamaki, and Hana had heard long before meeting the Akaishi siblings. Long before they met Revi, Evil, and Jeanne. Theyâd learned those names early on in their stay at Happy Spa, even before they were really taken in. When Yukimi let them spend the winter, and Makoto worked so hard to make it up to her.
Tamaki, once, had glanced at the shrine, at the picture of the happy boy and his two little siblings, and softly, Tamaki had asked if they were Genta and Yukimiâs children. Yukimi had smiled, soft but sad, and told them the story. Of Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura, their beloved children who had been taken from them in the night, after Happy Spa had caught ablaze. It had been years since then, even at that point, but it was clear that it still hurt. How could it not? Even Makoto understood that some people loved their children.
When the three were inevitably adopted, properly, and their stay at Happy Spa was undeniably permanent, the three had all came to an agreement. They would be the children Genta and Yukimi had lost, the best that they could be. Not that theyâd ever be a good replacement, not that they ever really could replace them. But it was... the least they could do. To try to ease their pain just a little, as repayment for all the good that the two had done for them.
So, the Occamâs Razor said that the most obvious answer is the correct one â meaning, that Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura being the name of both the missing Igarashi siblings and Akaishi siblings, and Vail targeting Jeanne and Revi, were not coincidences. That the two sets of siblings, were, in fact, one and the same.
Makoto hated that idea.
He kept those thoughts to himself, âI donât know, mama. Itâs as much of a mystery to me as it is to you.â A lie, at least in part, but he wouldnât tell her about his speculation. Especially since he technically had little proof that wasnât circumstantial. And there was no way he was going to play with her feelings like that.
âMakoto⌠I know you wonât have a choice about fighting him, but please⌠please donât hurt Genta. Heâs⌠heâs a good man, you and I both know he is.â Itâs then, that Makoto realized that Yukimi was scared. The woman whoâd cared so much for him, Tamaki, and Hana, the woman who took them in and who always seemed to keep their family together, was scared. They both knew, in this situation, Vail would have to be fought. But since he was using Gentaâs body, it would be easy for Genta to be hurt in the fight.
Sheâd already lost her children, it must be terrifying to consider that she might lose her husband, too. She loved him so dearly, surely as dearly as she loved her children. It would break her heart to lose him, too. Makoto knew it, without needing any other thought.
If something happened to Genta, something might happen to Yukimi too. And that was a thought that chilled Makoto to the bone. So badly, so strongly, that he found himself hesitating. He didnât want to hurt Genta, but would that be in his control?
âMama, IâŚâ All he had to do was say heâd make sure Genta wouldnât be hurt. Or at least that he wouldnât hurt Genta, and then just hope that Tamaki or anyone else wouldnât do something to hurt him. But instead of any words coming out, his throat only seems to tighten.
Why was this the thing that he was struggling to lie about?
âLies are our bread and butter, and yet here you are. Failing to lie,â His demon said, âAll you have to do is say you wonât hurt Genta. If someone else did, thereâs hardly anything you can do about it.â
Makoto screwed his eyes shut, willing with all his might for his demon to shut up. Now was not the time for that. He had to reassure Yukimi, even if it he was struggling. âI⌠Iâll do my best, mama, not to hurt papa. ButâŚâ He opened his eyes, again met with the sight of a scared Yukimi. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. âBut Vail is⌠is a monster, as far as Iâve seen.â
In some ways, that assurance seemed to relieve her. A little bit of that fear seemed to melt away, though clearly not all. It was the best he could give her, though, even though he knew that sheâd be more reassured if he could just promise to not hurt him.
Yet Yukimi seemed⌠happy enough with his answer. âI donât want you to be hurt, either, Makoto.â
âYou wonât,â He said, and that he was certain wouldnât be a lie. He wouldnât let her see him hurt, even if he was. That was always the role, as the oldest child. His hurt was best hid away, out of sight and out of mind, somewhere it couldnât cause any trouble. It was a skill heâd learned well, in his childhood.
That got him a small smile from her, âIâm glad to hear that.â
Thereâs a lot more he should say. Tell her how much he knows. About Genta and his past, about Vail, about Tamaki and about Hana. About his demon, lurking in the back of his mind, seeming almost as volatile as Vail. She deserves the truth, for all sheâs done for him, for all the kindness sheâs shown him. Yet if she knew the truth⌠sheâd know what monster he was. Even knowing that she could love Genta, knowing what heâd done, Makoto didnât think sheâd be able to love him. Makoto wasnât worth that love.
He should tell her the truth, let her know all those things.
But he couldnât, even if he wanted to. Not a word would come out, when he slowly opened his mouth. He canât say a thing, not the truth, not a reassurance. Not even a lie. All he could do was shake his head and turn away.
With a deep breath, he finally managed to say, âIâm going to head to bed.â With that, he left, heading towards his room.
---
Karizakiâs lab was tense. Both he and Tabuchi had seen the most recent fight. Both of the Igarashi brothers against Jeanne, Revi, and Aguilera. None of the audio was particularly understandable, a stray attack having messed up the camera. But theyâd seen when Makoto had gotten in the way of Tamakiâs attack, when some argument seemed to break out between them and Aguilera, and when a man with an appearance matching Genta Igarashi appeared, before transforming into a Rider and attacking Jeanne and Revi.
There was a lot about that fight that bothered Tabuchi.
âSeems Tamaki Igarashiâs temper has come out,â Karizaki said, tone mostly observational, but there was something of an accusation in it.
Tamakiâs training was more in the hands of Hiromi and Captain Akaishi than Tabuchiâs â theyâd only met now, when Tabuchi had taken over the twoâs position. Though Tabuchi knew Hiromi well, knew heâd have impressed trying to keep a level head on Tamaki, he knew Captain Akaishi more by reputation. The directorâs cold son, level headed, almost to the point of making him seem like he didnât feel at all.
They knew now, that wasnât true, as plenty had seen Evilâs bombastic display of emotions.
Perhaps some of that could have rubbed off on Tamaki. Or perhaps Tamaki was simply young, heâd only been at Fenix for a couple years, at most, and had only begun to see proper combat with the completion of Karizakiâs Driver. Inexperience could easily be an answer for the outburst. Or perhaps he simply had a temper. Without being able to even hear what it was about, it was hard to say, though his target was clear. And it was no secret that the civilian that Jeanne had poisoned was someone Tamaki once knew.
âThough what Iâm more interested in,â Karizaki continued, now sounding more annoyed. âis that man who looks like Genta Igarashi.â
Then there was him. The mysterious Rider who seemed to have some strange focus on Jeanne and Revi. Tabuchi frowned, âWeâll have to hear Igarashiâs report.â
âIf heâs in the mood. He left before the fight was even over,â Karizaki groused, before returning to his work, as he often did when he was annoyed. And Karizaki had pointed out another problem â Tamaki shouldnât have left while the fight was still occurring, he couldnât just quit like that. Heâd have to talk to him about it.
Yet Tamaki Igarashi never appeared at Fenix â oh, sure, his report was written and turned in, but there wasnât a sign of Igarashi. Though perhaps that was for the best, at least right now. Give him a chance to calm down, as heâd clearly still been upset when heâd left the fight. Still, theyâd have to have quite a talk â this was new behavior, Tabuchi knows that Hiromi would have reported if Igarashi was acting out of line. Though he couldnât be certain the cause, it was likely from Captain Akaishi revealing himself as Evil, and more likely, Hiromiâs⌠disappearance. Even now, Tabuchi was hesitant to admit that Hiromi might be dead.
It's not until the next day that Igarashi shows up. He looks tired, certainly, his hair more of a mess and obvious exhaustion. It was unfortunate that it wasnât likely heâd get any less tired, today.
Karizaki was quick to point at Igarashi and ask, âIgarashi, that Rider, who is he?â
Looking up, clearly uncomfortable, Igarashi opened his mouth, though few words came out. âHeâŚâ His ears twitched, his tail raising in a way that easily conveyed his discomfort. Perhaps the manâs similarities to Genta Igarashi were not a coincidence.
In his report, Igarashi referred to the man as simply as âthe man whom Makoto Igarashi referred to as âVailâ.â Given how all reacted to the appearance of the man, Tabuchi doubted that was entirely true. Igarashi might not have lied, but he likely wasnât being entirely truthful.
âCome on, Igarashi, out with it,â Karizaki snapped, âHe looks like your father, and whoever he was, he sure seemed to shake more than a few of you.â
âThatâs becauseâŚâ Igarashi shook his head, a visible action of him clearing his thoughts. âHe⌠sort of is? Maybe? He didnât talk much. But Makoto seemed convincedâŚâ He stopped, frowning, clearly uncertain. He was second guessing his words.
Tabuchi added, âIn your report, you said your brother called him âVailâ.â
He bit his lip before responding, âMakoto seemed convinced that he was papaâs demon. Thatâs all he said.â
Karizaki scoffed, âWhat would your brother know about demons? Whoâs to say your father didnât just snap?â
âHe didnât snap!â Igarashi growled, âPapa isnât- isnât like that! And I donât know why Makoto thought that, I donât. But that man looked like papa, but he sure wasnât him.â
Rolling his eyes, Karizaki seemed unbothered by the outburst, âAnd then thereâs that Driver and Vistamp⌠I canât figure out where they came from. It appeared like the Demons Driver, but it definitely wasnât. Similar⌠so maybe daddyâs work?â
Obviously, Igarashi had little he could supply to possibly answer that. Though Karizaki clearly wasnât looking for an actual answer, as he quickly went back to his work, choosing to ignore Tabuchi and Igarashi. With a sigh, Tabuchi figured that was the last of Karizakiâs questions for Igarashi, which meant he was all his. And they had⌠a fair amount of discussion to have.
âIgarashi,â He began, âIâd like to talk with you.â
Igarashi looked over, clearly aware that this probably wasnât going to be a conversation heâd enjoy. âYes, sir.â
Tabuchi leads him out of Karizakiâs lab to a more suitable place to speak, Igarashi quietly following the whole way. He didnât intend on being too harsh on Igarashi, but the conversation need to happen, just to make sure everything was clear.
âWhat happened between you and your brother, yesterday?â He finally asked.
There was a moment where Igarashi clearly contemplated what to say. Whatever it was, it probably wasnât something he wanted to talk about. But it was important to know, as he didnât write about it in his report, and it had clearly caused trouble. Finally, Igarashi frowned, âHe stopped me when I was fighting Jeanne.â
âAnd why did he stop you? It seems to have contributed to your argument after.â
He clenched his jaw, before begrudgingly answering, âHe thought I was too angry.â
It was true that Igarashi appeared quite irritated, something that obviously was not helped by being interrupted by his brother. âYou appeared quite agitated in the footage. Did it have something to do with the civilian Jeanne had poisoned?â
Igarashi looked away, âYosuke⌠no, it didnât.â
Somehow, Tabuchi didnât think that was true. This wasnât likely to cease being an issue just from being ignored, even if Igarashi was likely far less inclined to listen to him than if he was Hiromi. Though at this point, he suspected Igarashi wasnât much in the mood for listening.
âDonât allow your feelings to cloud your judgement,â He said, causing Igarashi to glance back at him. âItâs hard, but ultimately, allowing yourself to focus on your anger will only cause others to be hurt.â
âOf course,â Though Igarashi agreed, through almost gritted teeth, Tabuchi didnât think he really did. But there really wasnât much else he could do, other than try to take measures to ensure that even if Igarashi did lose his temper, it wouldnât cause trouble. Heâd have to talk to Igarashiâs brother, it seems.
---
A knock on Ikkiâs door catches both his and Viceâs attention. Warily, Vice disappears, once again becoming a specter only Ikki can see. If it were Sakura, him being out wouldnât be a problem, but if it were anyone else⌠it was better if Vice was just out of sight, for now at least.
Whoever was knocking didnât even wait for a response, instead waiting only a couple of moments before opening the door. Hana peeked in, appearing curious and concerned. âHey, Ikki, how are you doing?â
âIâm⌠fine. I should be asking you that, Iâm sure seeing your dad like⌠that, isnât easy.â Ikki knew far too well how hard it was, but he couldnât tell her that. Letting her know could be dangerous. So he could only pretend things werenât as bad as they were.
Hana rolled her eyes, sitting beside Ikki on the bed, âI saw how you reacted â not to mention the fact youâve hid away. Sakuraâs worried, but I figured Iâd volunteer to come see you. And, anyway, itâs not like you donât know papa.â
Despite his best efforts, they obviously noticed something was wrong. Ikki wasnât really sure how to explain that. Heâd have to be careful, too, that their father doesnât realize he remembered. Doesnât realize something is up. Who knew what heâd do then, and Ikki really didnât want to find out.
âI dunno, maybe you should just tell her. Itâs kind of a miracle she hasnât figured it out yet.â Vice suggested, âI mean, sooner or later, her or one of her brothers will figure it out.â
Ikki didnât want to tell her the truth, didnât want to put Hana in that danger. But, maybe Vice was right, to some extent. Maybe he could tell Hana a bit of the truth. Certainly not all of it, nothing that might make her think that he has any connection to the Igarashi family â not more than she already did, at least. âItâs just⌠something about what happened⌠made me remember something, from when I was really young. And I guess Iâm having a hard time processing it.â
âSo thatâs why youâve been hiding away,â Hana hummed.
âI just⌠needed some time to process itâŚâ
âNo, no,â She said, âI get it. Obviously, whatever you remembered was⌠bad. And those things take time. Hell, do you know how long it took Koto not to be afraid of mama and papa? Or really any of us to actually trust them? When bad things happen when youâre a kid, sometimes it takes a really long time to shake it. And thatâs when you remember it. Remembering it after having not⌠I canât imagine what thatâs like.â
Hana wasnât looking at him, staring at the wall, more than anything. But her words said enough â she understood, to some degree. Ikki doesnât know why he thought she wouldnât, he knew enough about how she and her brothers got adopted to know that none of them had the greatest lives before. How much she understood was⌠harder to say, but it wasnât like he was trying to talk to Sakura or Daiji about it. While their father had hurt them in many ways, they couldnât remember before. They couldnât remember their parents.
Looking over at him, Hana sighed, before hugging him. It surprised Ikki, Hana was affectionate, sure, but mostly it was with her brothers, Sakura, and Hikaru. He and Daiji were rarely, if ever, on the receiving end. But in a way⌠it was comforting. It was nothing like his momâs hugs, not quite so warm and loving, but it was⌠something. Nice. âYouâll be okay, Ikki,â She said, âEventually. Just take your time, and youâll be okay.â
Ikki hugged her back. He hadnât realized how much he needed it. Taking a deep breath, he responded, âI know,â and he did. He knew, in theory, that it would all pass. But in reality, it was more a matter of what lasted longer. Him, or the pain? Maybe, next time, Vail achieves his goal, seemingly to get rid of his hostâs children. Maybe, then, Ikki dies and thatâs that. But he doesnât want to think on those things, not with Hana right here, lest she somehow sense his thoughts.
They stayed there for a few moments, before she pulled away, âGreat,â She stood and walked towards the door, âBy the way, I made curry.â
Hanaâs very spicy curry, that Sakura enjoyed so she refused to put less spice in? Ikki didnât like the sound of that, âIâm not hungry.â
âSure you arenât.â
âIâll make something for myself, I⌠uh, donât feel like curry right now.â Anything to get out of this conversation without eating curry or annoying Hana too much.
Again, she rolled her eyes, âWhatever you say, just donât forget to eat.â With that, she left.
---
Sakura greeted Hana with a smile, âHow was Ikki?â
âOkay enough, he says seeing Vail somehow reminded him of something that happened when he was young,â She sits down at the table, between Sakura and Hikaru, a plate of curry already ready. Hikaru was eying his own plate with unease. âHe seemed to still be a bit shaken. I reminded him not to forget to eat, he said he wasnât really hungry for curry.â
âWe can remind him to eat again later, then.â Sakura responded, taking a bite of curry. âUnfortunately, our plans canât stop just because Ikkiâs remembered something bad.â
Hikaru frowned, âAre you sure? Especially given what the current plan isâŚâ
A frown curled on Sakuraâs lips, âFather desires Giffâs stamp, not his coffin. And father insists this is the best way.â
âMaybe your father doesnât know best,â Hana scoffed.
âCertainly not,â She agreed, âBut youâve seen only a little of what he can do.â
Moving around the curry on his plate, Hikaru added, âPresumably what he can do if he doesnât get what he wants?â
âExactly.â
âJoy,â Hana sighed heavily. âMakoto and Tamaki will be suspicious from the get-go. Makoto might not say anything, but thereâs no telling what Tamaki will do.â
âI believe in you,â Sakura said, âand Iâm sure he wouldnât be willing to get you in trouble. I donât think heâs willing to admit that you might be acting of your own accord, even now.â
âMaybe so.â
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It's occurred to me that, since I don't think I'll ever actually write much for I'll Be Who You Were and I'll Be Even More I could just... do art for it. I'll admit, at this point, I only really have some Ichigou designs and then like, one and a quarter animatics for this AU (the animatic boogeyman really possesses me when it comes to this AU). But maybe I'll draw some more and convey the story through those, in some capacity. (because I totally need more projects)
Also, the AU I'm talking about: https://www.tumblr.com/writingpaperghost/731488788099055616/im-talking-about-the-aforementioned-revice-au?source=share
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Without You (Chapter 29)
Chapter 29: Demon Released, Monster in the Belt
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/138750334
Catching a glance of his mother working on dinner, Makoto canât help but recall what Karizaki had told him. About Junpei Shiranami â about his father Genta Igarashi â and his demon. Yukimi knew what happened, sheâd been there, and Mr. Buu knew too â it would at least explain why he was so close to the family, and why he was sometimes a bit⌠odd and they never learned what his job was. But to think, that once upon a time that Genta was a Rider too⌠it seemed impossible.
Genta was goofy, silly, and really a bit⌠incompetent, sometimes. Yet the man Karizaki described, at least, the one he described as Junpei Shiranami, was very different. Of course, Karizaki didnât know all the details, in fact, a lot of what heâd learned had been gleaned after the fact. But heâd still had a hand in it all.
Makoto wasnât sure how to feel about that.
For years⌠for twenty-five years, Yukimi had kept what happened between her, Genta, and Mr. Buu. Karizaki didnât know just what happened to cause the change in character between Junpei and Genta, so Makoto hadnât a clue either, but if he had to guess, it was likely somehow connected to him being a Rider, or at least having his demon sealed away. Perhaps that had some effect on him, causing the shift in personality.
Makoto wasnât sure how he felt about Gentaâs demon being trapped in the Demons Driver, either.
He didnât think that George Karizaki knew â he might have known that there was a chance of something like that, that there was something up with the Driver, but Makoto thinks thereâs evidence enough to say that if he did know there was a demon in there, he did a good job of hiding it. Makoto wasnât even sure if Karizaki had a way of knowing there was a demon in the Driver. Regardless, it would explain the strange feeling the Driver gave off, though, as perhaps somehow that was the demon leaking through.
Everything that he had been told by Masumi Karizaki only left him confused on how to process it. He had reason enough to believe it to be true, as wild and outlandish it felt, but what did that mean about everything else? Was it coincidence that Makoto and his siblings stumbled upon the Igarashi family? That they were taken in by them? Were they wrapped up in some kind of inescapable connection to demons â to Giff? Was Gentaâs past a part of why his and Yukimiâs children were taken, eighteen years ago? That, perhaps, was the question that haunted Makoto the most. Three children, the oldest only four, taken away from their family, perhaps because someone thought they might have carried the remnants of the experiments done to Genta. Someone able to know who Junpei Shiranami had become, know where to find him, and be heartless enough to take those children.
Was the fire an accident, like the police decided, or was it on purpose? Was it taken advantage of as an opportunity to kidnap three children, or was it intentionally cause to create that opportunity? Just what happened to the missing children afterwards? The worst Makotoâs mind could conjure up would be for them to be used in experiments, just as their father had been (just as Tamaki, Hana, and himself had been, but far younger). The best he could think of was that they ended up with a different family, but were otherwise happy. The most likely answer was that they were dead.
Genta and Yukimi kept up hope that, one day, their children would return. Makoto never knew these children, and while heâd love for it to happen, if only for his parentsâ happiness, he knows itâs unlikely. He doesnât believe it would happen. Even if it did, he doubts that theyâd come back unchanged, and at the young age they were taken, theyâd be entirely different people, now.
With a sigh, Makotoâs gaze landed on a family portrait. Their parents, smiling, Makotoâs own lips curved into just a small smile, Tamaki and Hana smiling with real happiness. That only made him frown further. Hana was with the Deadmans, now their enemy, and Tamaki still thought too highly of Fenix. Now there were so many players, too, Fenix, the Deadmans, and Weekend. What were any of them really after? How honest were they about their intentions?
When had their lives become so complicated?
Sitting down, Makoto leaned back. He wished to go back to before this all, to before there were Riders and demons and everything. When things were easier and less dangerous. Then again, he had no reason to think it was possible to avoid all of this. Not so long as they were a part of the Igarashi family, if it was true that the connection ran as deep as Gentaâs past.
It was hard to say for certain if Karizaki was telling the truth, but his words never wouldnât leave Makotoâs mind. If it was true, it made everything very different. And if it wasnât⌠then it was quite the story, at least.
âAre you okay, Makoto?â Gentaâs voice snapped Makoto out of his thoughts.
Opening his eyes, he sees Genta standing beside him, smiling warmly. Something in Makoto felt warm, Genta had always had that sort of effect on Makoto. Maybe it was because heâd never had a father before Genta, all Makoto really knew that he enjoyed the feeling. Yet that feeling was also in conflict with his own thoughts.
Was Gentaâs warmth real? Or just a façade to hide the coldness that Karizaki had spoken of? It seemed impossible to know the truth so easily. The Genta he knew wouldnât have been capable of acting so cold, or even convincingly hide that behavior. But if it was fake, then who was to say that the Genta he knew was real at all.
He sighed, âIâm⌠fine. Iâm just⌠tired, I guess.â
âAh, you and Tamaki have been working so hard recently, not to mention your sicknessâŚâ Genta frowned for a moment, before smiling again, âDonât over do it, though. I know youâre always trying to protect your siblings, but you shouldnât hurt yourself while doing so.â
Makoto glanced away, âIâll be alright. Iâll just be glad for⌠whenever the hell itâs over.â There wasnât much of an end in sight. The Deadmans seemed to never give up, the demons never ending, and even what end could be thought of, getting rid of Giff, was fairly unattainable. They couldnât beat Jeanne, Evil, or Revi yet, not consistently, they had no chance of being able to defeat Giff if he woke up.
Genta gave him a pat on the back, âI know you two will be able to make it.â
âPapaâŚâ Makoto glanced away, âHow did you and mama meet?â
âHuh?â Genta tilted his head, frowning. âOh, well⌠to be honest, I donât really remember. I had an accident not long after we got married and I lost my memories. They never really came back.â
That left two options. Either it was all a coincidence and Genta had no connection to Junpei Shiranami or⌠or Karizaki was telling the truth, and the reason why Genta acted so different from Junpei was because of whatever this âaccidentâ was that caused Genta to have amnesia. Makoto hoped it was the former, but he couldnât deny that his gut feeling pointed more towards the latter.
âI guess Iâll have to ask mama, then.â
âWhy did you ask?â
Makoto shrugged, âI donât know. I guess I was just curious.â No need to bring up any bit of the real reason. Especially if Genta really didnât remember. Besides, no point in bothering him with ghosts and near unbelievable stories.
Dinner feels a bit awkward. Tamaki is back from work, but itâs obvious that heâs still upset about Makoto lying to him about the Smilodon Vistampâs origin. He was quieter than usual, more focused on his food. It was also likely some of it was bleed over from everything at Fenix, with Mr. Kadota gone and Daiji being Evil â although most didnât know the exact details and simply that Daiji was the mole â it left Tamaki much more alone. And while Tabuchi was better than nothing, he didnât make up that support that Mr. Kadota had, or even Daiji had.
Tamaki, of course, insisted that he was fine and that everything was fine. Makoto knew better than to try to argue with him about it, especially right now when Tamaki wasnât exactly pleased with him. But the lies were necessary, for now at least. Tamaki would surely tell Karizaki that his father was alive, and that would probably be trouble. Heâs pretty sure Tamaki would understand â will understand, when the time comes and he learns the truth.
âOr hate us, like everyone else.â His demon chirped.
Makoto held in a groan. His demon was very, very annoying. But heâd need to ignore it, for his own sanity. He gave his food more focus than perhaps was needed, but it allowed him to more easily ignore his demon.
The rest of dinner passes, still uneventful. Tamaki disappeared into his room and Makoto insisted on helping Yukimi clean up. Genta had wandered off elsewhere, probably to work on a video for his Bytube channel. It was probably for the best, it allowed Makoto to further push the matter of Gentaâs past without risking Genta learning anything that maybe he shouldnât.
ââŚMama,â Makoto began, taking a deep breath, âHow did you and papa meet?â
His gaze glanced over at her, though he didnât turn his head to face her. She frowned, for a moment, her washing of the dishes stalling. âWhy do you ask?â
âOh, no real reason. I guess Iâm just curious.â
Yukimi thought for a little longer, then answered, âWell, it was a normal day, and there was this⌠monster attack. I found your father in the rubble afterwards and brought him back here.â
A monster? Well, according to Karizaki, in 1996, there would at least have been the runaway demons that had been caused by his previous failed experiments. Which meant it was unlikely that either Karizaki or Yukimi were lying about that. But beyond that⌠Karizaki had said that Junpei had gotten left behind after a fight and somehow ended up with a woman, so that could also be true⌠but she was being vague about the details.
He frowned, unsure of just what to make of the answer. âWhat did you⌠think of him?â
âI thought he needed a family. His parents had died, and mine had too, so we were both aloneâŚâ A loving look came to her face, âI know you understand that feeling.â
Makoto understood being alone terribly well. And he understood the Igarashi belief of giving a family to those who seemed to need it. Even if he thought that Yukimi wielded that belief too wildly, far too cavalier. âSo how long were you two together before you got married?â He was genuinely curious, at that point, even if it had no real connection to the story that Karizaki had told.
Again, Yukimi hesitated, to Makotoâs surprise. She seemed to debate with herself for several moments, before she came to her answer. âNot very long, really. We got married very quickly.â
More reason that Yukimi perhaps was too bold in her kindness. âPapa says he doesnât remember how you two met, that there was an accident. What happened?â
âOh, one of those monster attacks⌠It was terrifying, but I was so relieved that he made it out okay, even if he couldnât remember.â She smiled again, âWe got to fall in love all over.â
For all the things Makoto felt for his parents, sometimes, they could be unbearably mushy. Like right now.
âAh, okay, thanksâŚâ
Yukimi turned to him with a smile, âI know you said you were just curious, but do you have some other reason,â There was a strangely knowing look, though Makoto could figure out what it was knowing of. âMaybe youâve found yourself with feelings for someone?â
At that, Makoto went stalk still, shoulders tensing as he tried very hard to keep his grip on the plate in his hand. âW-what? No, no itâs nothing like that at all!â
His words didnât seem to do much to convince Yukimi, âYou know weâre happy for you, whoever they are.â
âI do not have feelings for someone!â
---
The Demons Driver was a curious belt, George found. Heâd never had much of a chance to examine it too closely, his time working at Fenix focused instead on making his own Drivers. But if it really had such negative effects on Kadota, then it was worth taking a look, before he was forced to give it to someone else.
At the top of the list of things that were odd or strange that heâd chalked up to simply being because it was an old piece of technology, was that instead of simply harnessing power from the Vistamp, that power also seemed to be going inside the belt itself. Like the Driver was consuming it â and more power, if George had to guess. It was probably what caused what happened to Kadota.
So then, the question was: where was this energy going? How was the Driver consuming it?
To find those answers, George would have to do more digging.
---
The next day is drawing to a close when the Deadmans make their appearance. Jeanne, no sign of Aguilera or Papillion in sight, with only Revi at her side. It doesnât take long for Tamaki and Makoto to arrive, finding the two on a set of steps. Jeanne sits, legs crossed, leaning back, bracing herself with her arm against the step she sat on. Revi stood, looking around warily, then watching Tamaki and Makoto when they arrived.
âAnd the Riderâs arrive,â Jeanne said, standing. Her gaze ran across both of them, pausing for a few moments on each. She beckons Revi closer, âWeâre evenly numbered, at least.â
âEvil decide he was too good to fight us?â Tamaki growled, âWe havenât seen him sinceâŚâ
Dismissively, Jeanne waved him off, âThe two of us will certainly be too much of a fight for the two of you.â
Makotoâs hand reached into his pocket, feeling the cold Anomalocaris Vistamp. The elder Karizaki seemed confident that so long as he used it at the same time as Tamaki used the Smilodon Vistamp, both wouldnât face the freezing and burning they usually felt. He could only hope that would actually be the case, otherwise this fight could be more trouble. Especially since Makoto really still wasnât supposed to have the Anomalocaris Vistamp.
Jeanne pulled out the Cobra Vistamp, prompting Revi to take out the Revice Driver and T-Rex Vistamp. In response, Tamaki is quick to pull out his own Driver and, though perhaps with some hesitation, the Smilodon Vistamp. Not long behind Tamaki, Makoto does the same, fairly confident that Tamaki wouldnât notice the Anomalocaris Vistamp until it was activated and he was already transformed.
âThis time, Jeanne wonât poison us.â His demon said, sounding too confident.
Tamaki transformed, lunging at Jeanne, as she stamped herself and became the Cobra Deadman. Following suit, Revi takes a few steps to the side, keeping himself from the fight between Tamaki and Jeanne. He activated his Vistamp and stamped his Driver.
Theyâre working together this time.
Fire and ice donât always go well together, right?
Maybe theyâll blow each other up!
I wouldnât get my hopes up. BesidesâŚ
Together, we both know theyâll be more of a threat.
Youâre no funâŚ
Since Tamaki seemed so focused on Jeanne, probably still pretty upset about what happened to Yusuke last time they fought, that left Makoto to deal with Revi and Vice. Two on one wasnât the greatest odd, but the Anomalocaris Vistamp was strong, so long as his body didnât reach its limit. He threw his spear at Vice, then ran at Revi, swinging his fist.
He tried to focus on the fight, really, he did, but all he could do was worry about Tamaki. That kind of anger that he was directing at Jeanne was dangerous, the same sort of anger that resulted in Yusuke getting injured, and in turn made Tamaki even more angry. A terrible cycle, feeding on itself, and sooner or later it would have to come to an end. Makoto worried that the end would be Tamaki becoming so focused on his anger, he gets himself killed, or worse, hurts someone in some irrevocable way that heâll have to live with.
To do what Makoto himself had done in anger to his father.
In his wandering thoughts and distraction, Makotoâs control slipped, his demon easily taking control of parts of his body. He only realized when his attention came back to the fight, and he realized his body was moving, except he wasnât the one doing it.
âFights arenât the place for distractions. Unless you want to end up like daddy dearest.â His demon commented, not giving up control in the slightest.
âStop that.â Makoto hissed, âLet me fight.â
Sounding almost gleeful, his demon answered, âNo,â
Keeping track of both Revi and Vice was hard, and though Makoto was still very much trying to wrestle back control, something that he was having little luck with, his mind had returned to the fight at least, away from his wandering thoughts. Even without control of his own body, he could at least try to keep an eye on Revi and Vice. Not that his demon seemed to be having half as much trouble â as a whole, he seemed much more accustomed to fighting than he was.
âIâm a demon, of course I am.â His demon responded, tone indicating that he considered this an obvious fact. Makoto hated that the demon knew what he was thinking so well. Then again, it lived in his head, so of course it did.
His demon jabbed their spear at Revi, who caught it, only for ice to quickly travel from his hands and up his arms. Pulling the spear free, Makotoâs demon then swung it at Vice, who had been coming up to help Revi. Vice dodged it, though barely and in a clumsy way. With a huff of frustration, his demon stabbed the spear at Vice, this time managing to hit him, ice again sprawling from the spear tip onto Vice.
Not too far from them, Makoto can see Tamakiâs fight with Jeanne. Tamaki was up close to Jeanne, swinging his daggers, his anger evident. Jeanne dodged each swing, appearing unbothered. She was likely aware of the extent of Tamakiâs anger, and how it would make him a lot more careless.
Makotoâs demon ran turned towards the two, then hurled his spear, hitting Jeanne in the shoulder, ice blossoming from the spot. She hissed, trying to shake the ice off, gaze turning towards Makoto for a moment, before returning to Tamaki, grabbing the blade of Tamakiâs incoming dagger.
Her mouth opens, and Tamakiâs forced to the side in order to dodge her venom. In the process, she pulls the dagger out of Tamakiâs hand, still gripping the blade. She flips it in her hand, flames still licking the blade, and she holds the blade up to the ice on her shoulder, melting it. âNice try, but fire and ice donât mix, remember?â The melted ice dripped to the floor, âYouâll just end up with water.â
She kicks at Tamaki, stunning him for a moment while she throws his dagger at Makoto. Easily, his demon dodged out of the way, though Revi and Vice had broken free of their ice in the meantime. Vice came at him first, and his demon grabbed him, shoving him out of the way, then kicking Revi back. He quickly crouched to the ground, picking up Tamakiâs dagger. Taking only a moment to get a feel for it, he then swung at Revi, the flames of the dagger feeling nicely warm against the cold of the Anomalocaris Vistamp.
âWhat a pain,â his demon grumbled, âI wish these guys would hurry up and lose.â
Again pushing against the demons control, Makoto responded, âMaybe you should get better at this, then.â
âLike you could do any better, always held back by the fear of hurting someone.â Vice came at them, and Makotoâs demon practically snarled, before harshly kicking him back.
His demon reached for his Vistamp, âIâm getting tired of this,â he said, his voice harsh and annoyed. It was Makotoâs voice â his demon always used his voice, but it was different when they were talking among themselves. To anyone who heard him, it would sound like it was Makoto talking, not some monstrous demon that lurks inside him.
Activating his finisher, he jumps into the air and kicks at Revi and Vice, ice exploding around them. He didnât really care if it fully stopped them or not, he just wanted them out of the way long enough to help with Jeanne, so this fight could be considered more effort to win then it was worth.
Looking back over at Tamaki and Jeanne, he was surprised to see that any progress had been made. Though Tamaki was angry and now down to only one dagger, Jeanne was appearing worse for wear. Still, Tamakiâs anger hadnât much subsided, that much was obvious.
âCareful wolf,â Jeanne hissed, âSnake arenât very friendly-â
âNeither are wolves,â Tamaki growled, âAnd you hurt-!â
âYour dear friend? Donât get me wrong, I was threatening him, sure,â She punched at him, to which he responded by swinging his dagger. âBut he was the one who got in the way of my venom. And to protect you. Such a wonderful friend you have.â
Tamaki kicks, flames licking his leg, beginning to swirl around him. âStop talking about him!â
Jeanne seemed a lot less bothered by the flames than she ever had Makotoâs ice. Then again, snakes didnât like the cold, and it was obvious from the get go Makotoâs ice was far too cold for her. The fire, then, must be a welcome difference, if only because it wasnât cold.
Makotoâs demon approached Jeanne and Tamaki, taking a place at Tamakiâs side, âYour dagger, Tama.â He tossed the dagger to Tamaki, who seemed a bit surprised, though by the action or the different nickname, Makoto wasnât sure. Still, he caught the dagger, and the fire began to swirl around it more.
Picking up his own spear, Makotoâs demon quickly adjusted his grip on it until it was comfortable in his hands. Before he has a chance to do much more, Tamaki activates his finisher, lunging at Jeanne, fire spiraling around him, so hot that even with the ice to cool them, it seemed too hot for Makoto and his demon. âDamn fire.â His demon hissed.
As Tamaki slashed his daggers at Jeanneâs raised arms, the fire focused there, before exploding outwards, creating a fiery circle for several yards around them. Feeling his demonâs control of him lessen, Makoto winced, a little surprised when his body actually responded. Being in control made both the aches of his body from the fight, and the sweltering heat of the flames all the more obvious.
Jeanne staggered, stumbling to the ground, reaching a hand down to steady herself. Even she couldnât withstand the full force of Tamakiâs attack, it seemed, and it certainly didnât help that Tamaki had worn her down. Growling, though, Tamaki did not appear to be done with her. âYou hurt Yosuke! He had nothing to do with any of this and-â
âAnd he protected you,â Jeanne said, voice clipped and strained, âAre you really angry at me, or are you just angry at yourself? You two seemed to be having quite the heart to heart-â
âShut up!â Tamaki snapped, kicking at her and finally knocking away her transformation. Jeanne hissed, her clothes burned in spots, and Makoto was willing to bet she had at least a few burns on her skins.
She had clearly lost the fight. And Tamaki kept going. He raised his daggers again, it quickly becoming clear that he was going to attack Jeanne again. As he began to swing them, Makoto threw his spear, purposely aiming more towards Tamaki than Jeanne, but not hitting him.
A cloud of ice and freezing mist exploded from the spear, extinguishing Tamakiâs flames and knocking him down. Jeanne still had her arms raised, previously in an attempt to protect herself from Tamaki, now shielding her head just a bit from the ice.
Revi had gotten out of the ice, his transformation gone as he hurried to Jeanneâs side. Quickly, he helped her up, casting a somewhat confused, but grateful look at Makoto. Tamaki looked over at Makoto, easily spotting his spear in the ground.
Standing up, he growled. âMakoto! What the hell?!â
âYou were getting a bit overkill, Tamaki. The last thing you want is to kill her.â He crossed his arms. So long as Tamaki was transformed, he wasnât going to risk dropping the transformation.
Itâs impossible to miss how Tamaki seemed to tighten his grip on his daggers. âWhat do you know about what I want?â
Makoto wasnât sure he was willing to test his odds against fire, but it really wouldnât be up to him. âI know youâre angry, and I know youâre taking it out on her-â
âBecause sheâs the one who hurt Yosuke!â
âAnd Yosuke will be okay, heâll survive. You canât go back from killing someone.â
âI donât care!â
Over by Revi and Jeanne, Hana appeared, glancing at Jeanne with worry, then over at Makoto and Tamaki. She frowned, âWhat the hell happened?â She asked. Her gaze stays on the two, eyes dashing back and forth between Tamaki and Makoto. âWhatâs going on with them?â
âYour brother,â Jeanne began, âis upset I poisoned his friend.â
Narrowing her eyes at Tamaki, Hana huffed, âSeriously?â She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her upper arm, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. âI canât believe him.â
Tamaki, clearly having had enough of Makoto trying to argue with him, lunged forward, daggers raise, flames licking forth at the air. Makoto braced himself, raising his spear to try to block the attack, ice at his feet, trying to anchor him. Hana rolled her eyes, pulling out the Bee Vistamp and quickly stamping herself. She ran forward and intercepted Tamakiâs attack with her kunai. The force of it alone was enough to send her back into Makoto a little, and she suspects her fuzz has been a bit singed from the fire.
âHana!â Tamaki growled, âGet the hell out of my way!â
âMake me!â Hana spat back, âWhatâs gotten into you, anyway? Or have you given up on trying to be the hero so much that youâve decided to go and attack your own goddamn brother? Who, might I remind, is on your side!â
Taking a step closer to Hana, Tamaki said, âYouâre one to talk.â
Before Hana can respond, Revi called out, âUh, hey, Ha- Aguilera, I think we should get going.â
She glanced over at him, âWhat? Why?â
âWellâŚâ He pointed off to the side, and her gaze followed. Over by the stairs, where Revi and Jeanne had once been, there was an approaching figure. One that was rather familiar.
Hana startled, âIs that⌠papa?â
Looking over, Makoto confirmed. It did appear to be Genta, but what was he doing here? Moreso, he appeared to have a Driver â it looked like the Demons Driver, but the colors were wrong.
In a flash, he recalled what Masumi Karizaki had told him. All those years ago, about the man Genta was before. Junpei Shiranami was a Kamen Rider, and Makoto was willing to bet the belt that Genta wore now was the same one that Junpei used. Both it and the Demons Driver were made by the elder Karizaki, after all, so it would explain them both appearing very similar. The question was, then, what was going on?
It wasnât out of the question that the Driver had remained in Gentaâs possession, one way or another, all these years. But why dig it out now? What was Genta even trying to do?
And then Genta activated a Vistamp, stamping it to the Driver. And thatâs when Makoto realized something. Whoever this was, this wasnât Genta Igarashi. Perhaps some remnant of Junpei Shiranami, or perhaps something else. His demon, even if it was supposed to be locked away in the Demons Driver. Enough possibilities, all Makoto could say for certain was that this man wasnât the Genta they knew.
Perhaps it was because they were closer, or perhaps it was for some other reason, but the Rider, Vail, targets Revi and Jeanne. Quickly, Revi ensures that Jeanne is behind him, having the misfortunate of having to take a punch without the power of any Vistamp to protect him. He grunts and clearly reaches for his Vistamp, but doesnât get the chance to reach it before Vail punches again.
Seeing this, Hana shoved Tamaki to the side and rushed towards the three, slashing at Vail with her kunai. It did little, seeming not to bother Vail at all. Makoto shook off his surprise, tried to set aside the way his brain was swirling and whirring for a plan. Now wasnât the time for a plan. He takes his spear and throws it at Vail, hitting him in the front of his shoulder, causing ice to blossom. Quickly, he hurries towards them, pulling his spear free and pushing Vail back with a kick, taking a place next to Hana.
Her voice audibly distressed, Hana wondered, âWhat is papa doingâŚ?â
Makoto shook his head and responded, âThat isnât papa.â
âThen who is it?â
Pursing his lips, narrowing his eyes and focusing on Vail as he came closer again, Makoto answered, âHis demon.â Here, so close to Vail, he could feel it. The same dark presence that came from the Demons Driver. Exactly the same, but stronger. This had to be Gentaâs demon, somehow controlling him.
They had to find a way to get him to leave, but without hurting Genta too much. The last thing Makoto wanted to do was be responsible for killing his father again hurting Genta. This wasnât Genta acting, it was his demon.
Did that make Makoto any less responsible for knocking Mr. Kadota off the cliff? Or for nearly trying to kill Hana? No.
Makoto had ice on his side, a wonderful immobilizer. Perhaps, even, it might be cold enough to shock the demon out of control. Or something. Makoto wasnât sure and really didnât have the time to contemplate the pros or cons, beyond the fact that it seemed the least likely to hurt Genta, since he had the suit to protect him from the worst of the cold.
He lets the ice gather on his spear, his best bet of being able to spread it further onto Vail. All he has to do is hit Vail with it, and then it would spread, like before, but hopefully he could get it to spread more. Should he aim for the legs, to try to keep him still? Yes, that should be good. Effective. Makoto could use effectiveness right now. He takes a deep breath, then jabs at the ground at Vailâs feet, dodging another punch in the process. No more time to think, heâd just have to hope his half baked plan would work.
Ice spreads on the ground, then quickly begins to creep up Vailâs legs. Makoto canât keep the spear there long, he has to pull it out and put some distance from Vail. But he also has to keep Vail in place, until he can get a stronger layer of ice. So quickly, he runs back in, this time occupying Vailâs arms with his spear, and kicked at his legs. Ice spread onto both, but quickly shatter and fall off Vailâs arms, as he easily knocks Makoto back.
Hana seemed to sense enough of his plan, hurrying forward to slash at Vail with her kunai. Good, that would keep him occupied for a few moments. He jabs his spear at Vailâs midsection, able to hold it there long enough for the ice to spread even further. Makoto isnât sure how much longer he can keep this up, with all the fighting before, his limbs ached terrible, his lungs strained to keep up with his exertion, and the cold was seeping into his bones.
Vail shoved the two back, Makoto tumbling to the ground, transformation disappearing and Vistamp clattering. Ice cracked and shattered, not thick enough to keep Vail in place. Makotoâs heart dropped.
âUh oh.â His demon intoned, almost mockingly. âIf only you were stronger. If only you had more of a demonâs power to draw on⌠I could help with that.â
âGo to hell,â Makoto spat back in his mind with barely any thought.
His demon cackled, âI think youâll be the one going there, soon enough.â
He could hear as Hana tried to hold Vail off, but she was no match, and he soon heard a thud as she too hit the ground. They werenât strong enough, especially after already fighting. What could they do? They were going to die andâŚ
And Tamaki hadnât helped them. Was he so caught up in his own anger that heâd let his brother and sister die? Some hero. But then again, Makoto didnât think Fenix employed heroes. He thinks they employed pawns.
Nothing came, though, and soon staggering footsteps leads Vail away from them, disappearing off somewhere. Maybe theyâd done enough. Or maybe something else. Hana manages to pull herself up, breathing heavily.
âWe⌠should go. Recover.â She said.
It was smart. There was no fighting left to be done here. He moved his head, looking towards where Tamaki was. He was gone.
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I'm a bit surprised I'm going to say this, given I'm only 8 episodes into Faiz, but. I am mildly obsessed with the characters in Faiz.
Like, Takumi and Yuji both having no dream and having a hard time to understand people with dreams? But Takumi choosing to fight to protect dreams, because at least he can do that, and Yuji doing it because he wouldn't let a repeat happen of what happened to Kaidou?
The Orphenochs making their own little group, unsure of wanting to make more Orphenochs, but still looking out for each other. Yuka ignoring Keitaro and Kaidou tossing his guitar away, removing the things that tethered them to their dreams (their "curse" as Kaidou described it), and in a way, a part of their remaining humanity. Yuji clinging to the idea that he's still human, that he doesn't want to be a monster. And how Yuka and Kaidou were miserable before dying, but becoming an Orphenoch has taken that misery away, or at least lessened it. But Yuji had been happy, and if that accident hadn't happened, if he hadn't been in a coma for two years... maybe he still would be. His parents would still be dead, but maybe things would be okay. But that's not what happened, and he lost his life both literally and figuratively. And he's vocal about the regret he feels over getting revenge, unlike Yuka who, if she feels any regret, doesn't voice it at all.
...Okay, so maybe it's just Takumi and the Orphenochs right now, but still. No one told me Inoue was actually a competent writer, ya'll were giving me the impression he just wrote wild shit that was fun to watch, not like... good in any technical manner.
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Given I suspect Mari's bag is likely a bit heavier than Takumi's, it is impressive that he managed to get them confused not once, but twice. I don't know what I was expecting from him (given my only exposure to him was Kamen Rider 4) but this was not it.
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