Foreword(Please read):
I'd like to point out this is the first of the first few rewritten chapters of Kamen Rider W: NEVER Stratos. I made some changes to the NEVER portion of the story because I felt that I didn't do as well as I could have for writing out their parts. They lacked some character development and the whole thing seemed rushed. It also seemed direction-less. That is why I am remaking It is only for the first few NEVER Chapters. After that, everything will flow the same path as I originally planned it to.
Now, Let's start the show.
Kamen Rider W: NEVER Stratos
Darkness…
That is all the young child could see. His own labored breathing was the only sound he could hear in the enclosed metal room. The door was obviously locked from the outside, and there wasn't even a window to help illuminate the place, although it would be hard to tell due to the blindfold wrapped around his eyes. He had been kidnapped from his own home as he was watching television, and taken into an abandoned warehouse. But not before being knocked out cold, and brutally assaulted when he resisted.
Such is the misfortune of being the younger brother to one of the strongest IS users in the world: Chifuyu Orimura.
A 10 year old Ichika Orimura was bound to a metal pole with rope tied around his wrists and arms in an empty room being held hostage. His captors were from a corporation that did not wish for his sister to win this year's Mondo Grosso. Because of this, they chose to kidnap Chifuyu's little brother, and hold him for ransom in exchange for her to forfeit, or he will be killed. His twin sister was also taken, but he wasn't sure if she was with him or someplace else.
However, when Chifuyu was sent the live video feed of the ransom, Ichika told his sister not to worry about him and just win the competition, much to his captors' rage.
"Man, what are the chances of this even happening?" he mused. His eye was black and throbbing from being punched in the eye courtesy of one of his captors. The metallic stench of blood filled his nostrils as another one of the thugs bruised it. A dull pain plagued his arms and legs as they were the receiving end of being beaten by a metal pipe and baseball bat. And another threw a knife near his leg to stop him from escaping when he saw a chance to run away earlier, nicking it in the process.
All in all, it was a pretty rough morning.
However, after getting beaten up and on the verge of losing consciousness, he managed to listen to some of the words his captor spoke to one of his goons.
"Alright, now that we have the brat, contact Orimura Chifuyu. Tell her that either she forfeits the Mondo Grosso, or we kill her little same could be said for her sister as well." The assumed leader ordered, gesturing to the beaten form of Ichika.
"Yes sir!" the man said as he left. Unable to retain consciousness any longer, Ichika went out like a light.
"I got to get out of here. Otherwise Chifuyu-nee will fall right into their hands." He grunted as he yanked the rope that bound his wrists. "There's gotta be something to get these things off me. I just hope Madoka is alright."
The 10 year old boy felt around him for anything, anything useful. His finger felt something cut him. By the feeling he was getting, it seemed to be broken piece of metal with the edge still sharp.
Wasn't that convenient?
He dragged the metal fragment closer to him with his fingers and slowly picked it up. This was no garbage…it was a tool. He silently used the metal fragment to cut the rope. The coarse edge of it also cut into his palm, but he just bit the inside of his mouth to suppress a yelp of pain. It took a while, but he managed to cut enough to break through the rope with strength alone.
He heard one man mentioned they must leave soon and he will prepare their car. He heard the sound of door closing as the first man left.
After few moments another man whispered he need to use the bath room and went outside.
Now it was the perfect chance. He can hear the last man letting out a cough as sound of the man sitting down on a couch was heard. He heard the sound of a TV being turned on. Now was truly the last chance.
Ichika slowly removed the rope from his arm with his bloody hand. He was taught how to fight from his sister and the Shinonono dojo with his childhood friend Houki. After she left he continued to train furiously and managed to beat several older kids in a different dojo, and secretly from his older sister, some bullies in the street.
He silently stood up, ignoring the screaming pain in his arms and legs, and undid the blindfold that kept his vision in the dark. Upon regaining his sight, he observed that he was in a rather spacious yet dimly lit room, about 25 feet by 20 feet, filled with old metal crates and pipes. He assumed this was just a storage room. As he looked up as he saw where the only source of light peeked through, he could see that there was a window right above him. He would've been able to escape through it, but it was too high up to reach. In his hand was a rather bloody and rusty, yet still sharp shard of metal. It was about 8 inches long and about 2 inches wide.
As Ichika scanned the room for anyone else, he could see that he was the only one here. He was searching for his twin sister, Madoka Orimura. He remembered that she was kidnapped along with him.
'I know we were both taken, but where is she?' Ichika mentally voiced.
Meanwhile…In another area….
The ten year old girl struggled against her bonds. She was tied to a metal pole with rope binding her wrists. A thick blindfold was wrapped around her eyes, blacking out her vision.
"I can't believe our 'big mission' is to capture some brat." A female voice said. She appeared to be in her early twenties with long black hair that had yellow highlights.
"Shut up. It's not like we don't get anything out of it. If we bring her back alive, we'll be promoted. We may even get out own IS units." Another feminine voice said. The speaker was a a woman in her twenties as well. She had shoulder length brown hair tied in a pony-tail with purple highlights.
"That may be." a monstrous voice sounded. The two women looked up to see their accomplice. It was masculine in stature and reptilian in appearance. It has scaly skin bulked up to resemble armor. A spiked tail grew from the top of its head. On his hands were the top half of a jaw to act as gauntlets. His head resembled an alligator's wit its massive set of jaws. The being pulled out a rectangle device from his shoulder and the transformation was undone, reverting him back to a man in his early thirties. "But don't forget what you have to do for me."
"We know, we pay you to help us take the girl back to out HQ." The brown haired woman said.
"Hold it right there...Daimaru Okaido." the trio stopped and turned around. They came face to face with a middle aged man wearing a white suit and fedora.
"Oh? and who are you?" Daimaru mockingly asked.
"You are wanted for freelance crimes."
"Hah! I don't care if you are a detective, cop, or whatever. I'll erase you right here!" He pulled out the device, which was a flash drive with a rib cage-like casing and the letter A on front that was fashioned like an Alligator. He pressed the button.
"ALLIGATOR!"
He then inserted it into his shoulder to regain his mutated form. He then turned to the other two women
"Heh, glad we have these." The women then took out their own devices. They were Gaia Memories with the letter B on them fashioned like a Bat.
"BAT!" The silhouettes of the women were devoured in a mass of energy before subsiding. In their place were ashen gray creatures with pointed ears, a fur collar, and an open fanged mouth.
"It is time for you all to count up your crimes." The man stated, taking a new device from inside his jacket.
In the midst of the battle, Madoka was able to get her blindfold off. But the alligator dopant swung its tail to strike the detective, only for it to hit the girl in the process. Her head smacked against a metal crate. Her vision was blurry, but when she looked up, she could've sworn she saw a man in black armor with a silver skull mask wearing a white fedora.
But before she would even understand what she was seeing, she passed out.
Later...
The fight was over in a short span of time. The Alligator Dopant was now back in human form with a broken Gaia Memory next to him and the two Bat Dopants were pinned underneath a petroleum truck, and a fire is coming in close to the tank.
"Help...us..." they struggled underneath the massive weight of the vehicle. The fire was soon closing in on it.
"Sorry...can't." Skull turned around and walked away, the fuel truck exploding behind him and reducing the Dopants to cinders.
He made his way over to there Madoka lay unconscious. He could tell she was breathing, which was a good sign. But she also had a few broken bones and a large bruise on the head. As soon as the police arrived to arrest Okaido, Sokichi took the girl to the hospital.
With Ichika...
He turned his head and saw the door, which had some light pouring from underneath it. And the sounds heard from the other side can be determined that a television set was on. He quietly opened the door and saw a man sitting on a couch with his back turned watching TV. He slowly approached the man from the back, treading lightly on the stone floor.
He was just a foot behind the careless man. He was watching a IS tournament that his sister was at.
He quickly grabbed a medium sized piece of rubble that lay nearby and lifted it with all his strength. His body was burning in pain from its weight, but he did his best to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. In a few quiet steps, he slammed the broken concrete on top of the man's head, effectively knocking him out, along with some blood tricking down his face.
"That's one…" Ichika wasn't sure if the man was dead or not, so he just assumed that he only knocked him out. He then began to search the man for anything that would be useful. After rummaging through the man's coat, he found a semi-automatic pistol, a combat, and unusually, a metal baseball bat. Seeing as the latter two may be useful since he had no experience in using firearms, he carefully placed the knife concealed in its sheathe through a belt loop in his pants, and carried the bat on his shoulder, putting the pistol aside.
He heard the sound of toilet being flushed. It would take the second man about 30 seconds to be here. Ichika made the unconscious man look as if he was still awake watching TV. He even had time to draw eyes over the man's eyelids. In this dimly lit warehouse, it was hard to tell anyway.
He ran back into the room that detained him, but only opened it by a crack to peer through. The second man walked in.
"Oi! The boss told us to get out. The ride's ready. Grab the brat too." The second man wasn't even looking at the guy on the couch. The man was looking at his phone as he walked. "This boring ass job for the bitch is over man. Let's go back already." He walked to the dead man. "You alright man?" In the midst of the man's distraction, he was ignorant of the 10 year old boy sneaking up behind him, metal bat raised above his head.
Crack!
A sickening crack echoed throughout the warehouse as the man fell face first onto the stone floor unconscious.
"Huff, huff, huff,…t…two…down…" he coughed and stood up. His body was still shaking like a leaf from both excitement and fear from the experience. A look of absolute terror was evident in his eyes. He also struggled to stop himself from vomiting. He looked at the open door of the warehouse.
"One left…" he muttered.
However, the sound of a knife being swung snapped to his attention.
"Gah!" screamed Ichika as he held his right side of his face, covering his cheek where the blade had struck. If Ichika hadn't reacted quick enough, he would've lost an eye.
"You killed my subordinates! I am fucking going to kill you for that brat!" The last man walked in with a bloody knife in hand.
He was taller than the other two. He was in a black suit as well, but he had a scar on his left eyes. His hair was black and short with a goatee with a handlebar mustache and his face had a frightening expression.
"Fuck order from the cold bitch! I am going to kill so slowly. So slowly that you wish you were dead. After this I am going ask for a job to get that sister of yours. I am going fuck'n rape her smug sexy ass and turn her into a common slut. Then I am going slice her to a million fuck'n pieces and feed her to the dogs!"
The moment he heard the man threaten his sister, his blood went cold. His pain and fear faded and was replaced with raging, utter fury. He muttered something
"Huh?...what you said you little shit." The mustache guy questioned, not really caring for the answer.
"I said…I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Ichika struggled like a berserk beast. With his bloody face and eyes he jumped on top of the man in a blur. He man fell down in surprise, but quickly tried to over-power the boy. Ichika's mind was filled with single thoughts "Hell…hell…"
His eye went wide. "GO TO HELL!"
His little body filled with rage and power he smashed his fingers into man's eye sockets.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGGGHHHHHHHH…..!" he screamed.
"For threatening my sister, you are going to die!" shouted Ichika as he hoisted up the bat once more and proceeded to pound the man into the asphalt. The man struggled in an attempt to try and over-power Ichika, but the boy wouldn't budge, but instead just slammed the metal bat down harder, shattering the man's arms, shoulders, and ribs. The young Orimura then smacked the bat against the man's throat, crushing his windpipe. Still in a frenzied state, Ichika decided to end this. So he picked up the combat knife and stabbed the man right between the eyes, then yanked it back out ignoring the blood and gray matter, and sliced the man's throat clean through to the opposite side.
The warehouse was silent…besides the sound of sobbing.
The young Orimura had experienced his first kill at a young age of 10 years.
Ichika's body shook like leaf as the surge of adrenaline and strength he gained from rage slowly left him. He killed him…he killed a man…A living person. Although this was his first time in doing so, he can't help but feel some sort of nostaliga.
He remembered when his sister taught him with a real sword. "It's heavy isn't? Ichika that is a weight of a weapon that can end a life. Remember it." But another set of memories briefly flooded his mind in nothing more than flashes. It involved five other girls teaching him various combat skills.
"You are wrong Nee-san…weight of a life…is too light." The boy whispered somberly, his body still trembling from the experience. Tears of fear were pouring from his eyes like a waterfall. He soon doubled over as he pressed a hand against his mouth in a attempt to keep down the vomit, but he threw up anyway.
Tick tock! Tick tock! Tick tock! Tick tock! Tick tock!
He didn't realized how long he stood there all bloody, tired, and smelled like bile.
"I am so tired…pain…I can't feel it either…"
Ichika stared into blank space as he held a rather dull look in his eyes.
"Nee chan…Where are you?"
He wandered around the area, not paying attention to his surroundings.
"I…killed someone…I killed someone…Chifuyu-nee."
If Ichika hadn't still been shocked from his first kill, he would've noticed the thug he knocked out with the baseball bat reach into his coat pocket and pull out a device which looked to be a detonator. He pressed the button and activate a series of plastic explosives attached to the walls and support beams. The bombs activated, with a timer that started to count down from 1 minute. He then tried to escape the warehouse before the entire building went up in smoke, but not before killing the brat that killed his boss. So he slowly crept up to him, grabbing a metal pipe leaning against the wall, and raised it in an attempt to brain the boy. However, despite how quiet the man was, Ichika still heard him, as he picked up the gun that he had tossed away earlier, took the safety off, and made sure it was loaded. It was.
Just as the man was right above Ichika, he spun around, surprising the man as he aimed the pistol at the man's heart and pulled the trigger.
BANG! The bullet made impact, but the recoil from the firearm forced it away from its target. So Ichika fired again and again, ignoring the pain in his arms from each recoil. The man spasmed as his body was soon riddled with bullets, before he collapsed onto the ground bleeding.
Ichika killed for the second time.
In yet, another period of shock and horror as he threw the gun away, and curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth on the ground crying.
CRASH!
He heard a sound of wall falling as a feminine figure enters the warehouse through the recently made hole in the wall. "That shape…an IS?" mumbled Ichika.
"Ichika! Where are you!?" shouted his sister.
"I'm over here!" he cried, getting her attention as she turned toward him. Despite the fact he was covered in blood and holding bloody weapons, Chifuyu was just glad he was safe, she'll just have to chew him out for answers later.
Just as Ichika tried to run toward his sister, the C-4 explosives continued to reach down to zero, with only 4 seconds left on the timer.
00:03...
00:02...
00:01...
KA-BOOM!
The bombs set off all at once, unleashing a chain reaction of explosions.
The force of the explosion caused the ceiling and some sections of the walls to break apart and collapse. The young Orimura tried to outrun the falling debris, but he was too slow as a large section of the ceiling fell on top of him, burying him alive in rubble.
"ICHIKA!"
As the smoke subsided, the entire warehouse was in ruins. Chifuyu quickly moved away any rubble that might've collapsed onto Ichika. A few minutes of unearthing her brother, she could hear breathing, although it is very shallow. She pulled away the last piece of broken concrete, but the sight before her sank her spirits to despair and anguish.
Ichika was in one piece, but that was the only good news. Each of his limbs were pinned down by broken support beams, effectively crushing them. Some broken glass and debris embedded themselves into his shoulder and ribcage, just missing his vital organs. However, there was a chance some of his internal organs had ruptured from the impact. There was a huge gash on his forehead from where a piece of rubble had struck, leaving him with a heavy concussion. The only clue that showed he was still alive was his shallow breathing. It was a miracle he didn't die, but he was hanging on the edge.
"Ichika! Ichika! Are you alright?"
At the sound of her voice, the 10 year old boy stirred slightly in response, "…Ch-Chifuyu…nee?"
"Ichika! Don't worry; I'll get you to the hospital. Just hang on!" With that said, she pulled away the remaining rubble that pinned down her brother and carried him in her arms. She flew him to the nearest hospital as fast as her IS could allow. In short, they arrived in the hospital within 2 minutes.
It had been a week since the event at the warehouse, and to say Chifuyu was worried would be an understatement.
Ichika had been strapped to life support and sent to the emergency room in an attempt to save his life. It had been a whole 8 hours during the time he was in the E.R., and have shown no indication that he would leave yet.
While she may not show it, the eldest Orimura was extremely anxious about the fate of her younger brother. After she had left their parents and took him with her, he is the only family she has. Chifuyu had phoned her friend Shinonono Tabane, the genius who was the inventor of the IS, of the incident just yesterday, and she answered that she will arrive as fast as she could with something that will help.
She was also worried about her little sister, Madoka. She was kidnapped the same time Ichika was, but her assailants were different. The Brunhilde was thankful that Sokichi Narumi saved her as his case led right to her captors, which coincidentally were the same people he was assigned to investigate.
The moment the doctor came out of the emergency room, Chifuyu immediately walked up to the woman to get an answer.
"Doctor, are they going to be alright?" she asked with a calm persona, but her eyes showed a large amount of worry and anxiety.
"…I'm sorry. While your little sister's case was bad due to a few broken bones as well as experiencing some blunt force trauma to the head, so it wouldn't be surprising that she woke up with some memory loss. But your brother's case is more severe. We did all we could, but we cannot be certain. His limbs were crushed to the point the bone fragments embedded themselves in the muscle tissue, and the same could be said for his internal organs. He had suffered blunt force trauma to the cranium, and if it were any harder, then he would've been dead for sure. It wouldn't be a surprise if he woke up with amnesia, or at least some memory loss."
"But there is a chance he'll be alright?" Chifuyu asked, her calm façade betrayed by the slight tone of desperation in her voice.
"There is. However, it is a low chance. I am sorry, but there is nothing more we can do at the moment. We can only hope he can regain consciousness. But it may not be for a few days." The doctor said solemnly as she walked away, leaving Chifuyu to her thoughts.
'Screw this! If there is even a chance of him surviving, then he'll make it. I just know he will. Madoka is the same.' Chifuyu thought. She was then told that the hospital would be closing soon, so she decided to leave.
When Chifuyu visited the next day, she immediately went up to her brother's hospital room. As soon as she opened the door, she took a sharp intake of breath in surprise. She merely stared as she saw her brother was induced with morphine and had wires crawling out of his body leading to various machines on his bedside.
After about half an hour, a woman walked inside the room. She was around in her mid thirties and her with along black hair tied up in a bun.
"Hello, I was assigned to be Ichika-san's nurse. I'll be watching over him for now. So please, don't worry." she politely replied.
Chifuyu merely nodded and said, "Arigatou." Deciding she needed some fresh air, Chifuyu excused herself from the room. Not long after, the nurse's cellphone begun to ring.
"Moshi moshi? Yes...I've been assigned to watch over him...yes. He may not survive given the extent of his injuries...Don't worry, I have the necessary materials. I just require the distraction, and then you can make the switch. Are you sure this is the one you want?"
"..."
"Alright. We'll get right on it...Katsumi."
"Are you sure this is the one you want?" The voice from the phone asked.
"Yes. From what we've seen, he has the potential that we would need if we want to be accepted by Foundation X. With some training, we are bound to be accepted." The figure replied.
"Alright. We'll get right on it...Katsumi."
"Bye Mother." The figure turned his cell phone off. He picked up the tote bag laying by his feet and slung it over his shoulder.
Chifuyu decided to go outside for some fresh air. She simply sat on the bench by the entrance and stared at the afternoon sky, the sun slowly descending on the horizon. She felt relatively calm in this moment of peace. She had been doing the same routine since yesterday since she had no control over the condition of her brother, all she could do was wait and hope for the best. The cool evening air brushed on her skin, slightly easing the tension that she had in mind.
However, the moment came to an end when a large object can be seen plummeting down from the sky right towards her. Taking the best course of action, she moved away from its direction of landing, avoiding being hit. The object crashed into the ground, kicking up dust and some pieces of concrete from the sidewalk. Upon closer examination, the metal object appeared to be a large metal carrot about 8 feet tall. And Chifuyu had a good idea who was inside. When it came to entrances like this, only one person came to mind.
"Chi-chan!" A young woman jumped out of the carrot as it split open. She was wearing a frilly light blue dress, and a pair of mechanical bunny ears that seemed to match her violet colored hair. She made an attempt to hug Chifuyu, only to get a smack to the head.
"Mou~! Is that the greeting I get for not seeing you in so long?" she whined.
"Tabane, enough! We don't have time for this kind of nonsense. You said you would be able to help right?" Chifuyu demanded.
Tabane's usually cheerful expression was replaced by a completely serious one. "Hai, just lead me to where he is. I have something that may help." She answered, as she lifted metal briefcase that was the size of an office desk. It would've been heavy to carry, especially what was inside if it weren't for the wheels.
"So are you sure that this will help him?" she gestured to the case Tabane held.
"Of course! You are talking about the great genius Shinonono Tabane after all!" she smiled. She unlocked the case and opened it, revealing to be a chamber-like device that is able to hold small person. There were various wires and lights covering the outer layer of the device. There was what appeared to be a monitor on the side, designed to show a person's BMI, blood sugar levels, bone density, nutrition levels, heart rate, breathing, hydration levels, cell activity, brain activity, and level of injuries.
"...Alright, I give up. What exactly is it?"
"It is a Life Support Chamber. I designed it to be capable of recording a person's biological data and condition of health. It also stimulates the body's cells to become more active and accelerate the body's healing process. I've also added doses of adrenaline in case the patient's heart rate is reduced below regular activity. It is also air tight and waterproof so there is no risk of either it or the patient from being damaged. "
Before Chifuyu could question more of the device, a single sound interrupted the conversation.
[BOOM!]
The ground shook as an explosion erupted from the hospital. It originated from the 6th floor in the east wing.
'A terrorist attack? But wait...that floor and wing…That's where Ichika is!' Chifuyu realized.
"Tabane, come on!" Chifuyu ordered as she ran back inside the building.
"Hai!" Tabane immediately followed, dragging the metal case behind her. However, the sheer weight of it slowed her down drastically.
A few minutes ago, in a certain hospital room.
The white walls of the room's interior seemed to glow brighter from the fluorescent lights. The smell of disinfectant still lingered in the area, and the only sounds that can be heard were monitors and machines beeping, and a patient's breathing. The patient was strapped down onto a mechanical bed with numerous tubes and wires attached to him, in attempt to keep his condition stable. The patient had just regained consciousness a few moments ago.
The young Orimura was resting quietly on the bed. But his mind was racing in anxiety and confusion. He was just bandaged up gotten out from surgery. However, that does not mean it is guaranteed he will survive on account of the severity of his injuries. His eyes were open, but instead of having a glow of life, they were empty, dark, and hollow. His mind is no longer in the realms of consciousness.
(Ichika's Mind scape)
"…Where am I?" Ichika's eyes opened, but he couldn't see anything. Just pitch black darkness surrounding him. He tried to move, but he found that he didn't have any strength to even twitch.
"Am I…falling?" He experienced a peculiar sensation, as though he was free falling. But there was no air whooshing past him, all he felt was the coldness of the darkness, slowly and steadily freezing him as he fell.
And so he fell, deeper and deeper into the black abyss, not knowing when he would reach the bottom.
The beat of his heart monitor was gradually slowing down. With each passing moment, the span of time between each beep extended.
*SPLASH*
Ichika's body fell into a body of black water. But, instead of sinking, Ichika began to float on the surface, moving along with the flow of the current.
"…Where am I now?" He still couldn't see anything. He didn't hear anything but his own voice, his other senses did not help him in the very least, as he smelled nothing, didn't hear anything besides his own voice, and the only thing he could feel was the cold wetness of the water beneath him.
In the real world, his eyelids became heavier as they slowly drooped more and more and his breathing became shallower. As this occurred, only one thought passed through his mind 'Wh...who am...I?'
BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard nearby by all except for him, as the sound of his heart monitor was now reduced to a long, drawn out beep. With that Ichika Orimura, who had his past erased, had already passed from this world.
"Ichika!" Chifuyu shouted as she ran up the stairs to her younger brother's room. The elevator was malfunctioning due to the explosion and it wasn't worth the risk to take. And she couldn't use her IS without destroying even more of the building. However, as they ascended up the stairs, more explosions, albeit smaller ones continued to shake the hospital.
"Chi-chan~! Hold on, this case is hard to carry up the stairs!" Tabane cried as she was lugging the large metal case behind her, while still climbing the stairs at slower pace.
"No time! Who knows what happened to Ichika? He could be dying right now! Just hurry up!"
"Hai! But are you sure Maddochi is alright?"
"She is. Last I checked, she is asleep in recovery on the second floor."
About several seconds later of running at full speed, or in Tabane's case moderately fast, both women finally reached the sixth floor. However, what they saw was a sorry sight.
The entire floor was broken apart and in flames. Smoke, dirt, and dust clouded the air, making it difficult to breathe. She ripped off a piece of cloth from the sleeve of her shirt and pressed it against her mouth to help filter the smoke. She then ran across the corridor until she was in front of her brother's room "Ichika!" she cried, only to get no response. Alarmed by the lack of an answer, she broke the door down, only to see a large portion of the room to be charred and broken apart, and Ichika's body unhooked from the machines lying on the cold tile floor unmoving.
(Ichika's Mind scape)
"...My name is...I...I...Ichi...ka..." Ichika was slowly starting to find it harder and harder to remember anything. He could no longer recall the names of his friends. The red-haired boy and girl, the twin-tailed brunette girl, the kendo girl with a ponytail, her eccentric older sister, his twin sister, and his elder sister. He was even beginning to forget details like his name, age and birthday. And so, he kept repeating his name to himself over and over, so that he wouldn't forget. But that only delayed the inevitable. Even after repeating his name over a dozen times like a mantra, it was beginning to slip away. It seemed as thought the moving current of the body of water slowly took a piece of his memory with each passing second.
All of it, being forever lost in the dark current.
Even so, there was just a small handful of memories, which soon faded until it consisted of the two most important people to him that he held onto with incredible tenacity, even after beginning to forget everything else.
"...Chifuyu-nee...Madoka..."
Holding on to that precious memory, Ichika's body continued to sail down the body of water he had fallen into.
"I...Ichika...no...NO!" Chifuyu dropped to the ground and cradled her younger brother's motionless body.
"Ikkun!" Tabane cried as she ran into the room and saw the young child's condition. Throwing the metal case aside, she knelt beside her friend. Tears pouring out from her eyes as she noticed Ichika was not moving, not even breathing.
"Is…is he…?"
"No! Ichika you better not die on me!...Not now dammit!" Chifuyu screamed her voice cracked slightly from emotion as she hugged her little brother's body. There was no pain worse than losing a loved one, especially one of the two only family you have left.
A few moments passed, but nothing happened. Both women looked down in complete sorrow and despair, until a small movement in her arms snapped Chifuyu back into the world.
"...Chi...fuyu...nee?" the young boy attempted to speak as his eyes cracked open.
"I-Ichika? She stuttered, surprised by these turn of events, tears of joy running down her face.
"Ikkun! You're alive!" Tabane cried, now crying tears of joy as she wrapped her arms around the young Orimura in a suffocating death hug.
"N...nice to see you a-again T-Tabane-san...Can't... breathe!" He choked out.
"Tabane, get off of him! You're going to kill him."
"But I was just happy he was alive!" she retorted. In short, the two were locked in an argument, which made the younger Orimura to sweat drop in confusion.
However, unbeknownst to the two, the young Ichika had what appeared to be a serial code and an oddly shaped tattoo imprinted on the back of his neck, concealed by his hair.
Eventually he stopped drifting across the dark sea and washed up on an immaculately white sandy bank. Weakly, he pulled himself onto his feet and began to walk forward. The scene slowly changed as the dark blackness slowly, but surely faded until everything was completely white. He did not stop himself from his advancement. In fact, he seemed to be in a trance because of it. It wasn't long until he had finally let go of the final precious memory and allowed it to fade away in the white background.
After what seemed to be an eternity, he stopped. He waited, as if expecting something to happen, but his thoughts didn't match his actions. "Why did I stop?" His dull eyes scanned the blank terrain, seeking any type of clue for an answer. But he found nothing.
Instead, his knees grew weaker until he fell on top of them. "Who am I...?"
Then suddenly, he caught a pitch black shadow out of the corner of his eye. He thought it to be strange and out of place in the bright, white setting.
"Who...?" However, he saw nothing more from the murky void. Only an invisible figure walking up to him. He could only see the silhouette's outline. Its hand slowly reaching closer and closer to the boy.
A Few Minutes ago. Unknown POV
"Looks like the 'terrorist attack' was a success. Now where was that boy located? She said it was room 506." A voice mused to himself. His appearance was concealed by the uplifted smoke, but it was evident that he had a metal crate that was large enough to hold a child next to him. He opened the door to the boy's room and saw that the child's heart monitor was in a steady flat line and that his breathing had stopped. The child was already dead.
"Well, I guess this saves the trouble of retrieving your corpse. It's hard to believe that children as young as you are taken by death." He mused. He unhooked the body from the numerous machines that crawled from the machines and lifted the boy from the bed.
"Now to leave this here." He said as he opened the metal crate, revealing a young boy with messy black hair that looked to be around 10 years old. If he had opened his eyes, dark brown irises would've been seen. In short, it was an exact replica of the recently deceased Ichika Orimura. He laid the replica onto the floor and set a small plastic device on the far end of the room. He set the time for 5 minutes and activated it. As the timer counted down, he placed the body of the original into the crate, closed the lid, locked it, and pulled it out of the room. Seeing as he was pressed for time, he decided to go through the express route. Making sure there were no witnesses, he opened one of the windows that faced the backside of the hospital as the police would most likely be towards the front.
He did something that no sane man would do when they are on the sixth floor of a building. He jumped while the holding the metal case with him. a loud explosion sounded behind him, signifying the bomb timer counted to zero.
As soon as he hit the ground, he tucked and rolled onto his knees and got back up quickly. The metal crate clanged as it impacted on the concrete. Although, it was remarkable that the casing was undamaged except for a small scratch. Upon normal circumstances, a person would have their legs broken and sustain even greater damage such as an injured spinal cord. But he appeared to be just fine without a single scratch.
He casually grabbed the crate and made his way over to a blue convertible car that was parked behind a few storage crates. He opened up the trunk and placed the crate holding the boy's body inside. He then walked over to the driver seat, started the car, and drove off.
The clear figure's hand was just in front of Ichika's face. The boy made no indication of resisting as he stood still in resignation. The silhouette rested its hand on the boy's forehead before bringing it down, closing his eyelids. From there, the child can only see black once more.
An hour after the events that took place in the hospital room, the child's eyes snapped open. He felt the soft fabric of a blanket, and the softness of a thin cushion below him. A pillow supported his head. He came to realization that he was lying on a flat operation table. He sat up and cautiously observed his surroundings. "Where...am I?" His eyes scanned the room he was placed in. A set of tall, tinted windows were paneled in the wall beside him, hovering above the small metal table that had chemistry supplies neatly arranged. The color of the walls were a dull white, that seemed to be of a grayish shade due to the lack of lighting, the only source of illumination being the light above the table he sat on. The raven haired boy them noticed even more chemistry supplies, ranging from test tubes, beakers, microscopes, analyzers, and various liquids and solids scattered on a few more tables on the other side of the room. In addition, he observed the various machines and computer monitors set by the walls; he was unable to determine what the unfamiliar devices were used for.
"What was I...doing?" The soft click of a door knob captured his attention as he saw the door swing open, revealing two new figures walking in. The one on the right was a male, presumably in his early twenties. His attire consisted of a a black leather jacket, a dark sleeveless t-shirt, and worn, denim jeans. His brown hair was messily combed and swept away from his eyes in opposite directions. Around his neck was a silver cross. Each of his ears held a silver earring. His dark brown eyes met the questioning and curious gaze of the young boy's.
The woman next to him was older, but had similar features to the first person. Her dark brown, wavy hair was tied in a neat pony tail and her dark colored eyes held a sense of kindness, but with a small hint of uncertainty. She wore light colored clothing consisting of a striped buttoned shirt and a skirt that fell an inch past her knees. Her pristine, white lab coat glowed even brighter once she stood directly beneath the only active light source.
"Who are you?" The pastless child asked.
"My name is Katsumi. And this is my mother, Maria Daido." Katsumi answered.
"Um...Nii-san. Do you know who I am?" The boy asked. His while his tone tried to remain calm, it was futile as his eyes had shown his desperation for answers. Maria remained silent as she didn't know how to break to news to him. But Katsumi stepped up and said it straight to him.
"You don't have a name. You lost it when you lost your memories. As of now, your identity does not exist." His tone seemed cold, but it was mostly due to the harsh truth. "Your memories and identity were erased upon your death. You were legally dead for an hour. But fate deemed it a chance to allow us to bring you back."
"No way...But...how? Shouldn't I stay dead if I was legally dead for that long? What is the point of reviving if everything is just lost!? ...Living without sense of self and having lost precious memories...Am I doomed to remain existing as an empty shell?" The child was a step away from crying, represented by the beads of tears in his eyes.
"No, I will give you a name." Katsumi's interruption ceased the emotional uproar from happening. The boy quieted down and looked at the older man.
"Your name shall be...Shiro. Shiro Daido."
"Why?"
"The color white is the absence of all colors of the spectrum and it denotes emptiness. Which relates to you as you have no memories." Katsumi explained.
"...Shiro...Shiro...I like it." The boy, now identified as Shiro, repeated the name a few times to himself to get a feel for it. "Thank you, brother."
Katsumi only nodded to him before turning away. However upon closer inspection, such as what Maria had done, the man held a small smile on his face.
It had been 5 days after the terrorist bombing at the hospital, and a young girl was still sound asleep. Casts were wrapped around her left arm, right leg, and bandages were wrapped around her torso and head.
Next to her bed was a worried Chifuyu,and Ichika in a wheelchair. The man that saved Madoka's life was leaning against the door frame. The young girl had begun to stir awake, catching the eldest orimura's attention.
"Madoka! Madoka! Are you awake?" Chifuyu asked as she gently moved her little sister.
Soon, madoka's eye fluttered open. Her blurred vision begun to adjust until the image was clear. She turned her head to the side to face her older sister and brother, who wore relieved smiles on their faces.
"Chifuyu-nee? Ichika-nii?" She asked groggily. "Ow... my head." She pressed a hand to her temple to try and ease the ache.
"The doctor said you hit your head around the time you were kidnapped. Can you remember anything?" Chifuyu asked.
"Well, I can remember you guys and my friends. I can also remember what happened in that warehouse...but it's kind of blurry. But other than that, nothing." She replied honestly.
While Chifuyu was shocked by this news, she was internally relieved that her younger sister does not remember the past events with the rest of their family.
"How did I get here?" Madoka asked.
"This man brought you to the hospital." Ichika said, gesturing past his twin sister. The girl turned her head to face the man clad in white. He tipped his fedora in greeting.
"Are you the one...who saved me?" She asked, trying to prop herself on the hospital bed.
Sokichi nodded in response.
"But...how did you find me?"
"There was a crime involving a man who would perform any job if the price was right. Recently, his activities begun to escalate. I was assigned to look into it. Eventually, I found him, his accomplices, and you. I learned later that he made a deal with a particular group who wanted a specific person to be captured and sent to them. I would guess that it would be you."
Madoka remembered what took place. She witnessed her captors turn into vicious monsters, but Sokichi dispatched them without even breaking a sweat. He was composed and determined. The display of those qualities from before sparked a feeling of admiration in Madoka. This man had investigated numerous criminals, whether normal or those who use advanced weapons and brought them to justice, accepting the responsibility of his actions and knowing full well what he was up against. Madoka wished to be like that as well.
"Please take me as your student!" She begged. The sudden request surprised both Chifuyu and Ichika, but Sokichi remained indifferent.
"Being a detective isn't easy...child. There are many dangers and hard decisions one must take. But I must ask...why do you want to learn from me?"
"First, I'm not a kid, I'm turning 11 this year. And second, you were able to take down those guys without even flinching. You were calm and composed in the face of danger. Plus you brought criminals like them to justice. I wish to be as strong as you sir."
"Well child, I like your determination. As long as it is alright with your sister, I'll accept your proposal." he gave a shadow of a smile.
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes:
As I have said previously, I have decided to rewrite this story..again. But with good reason. As I realized the first two felt rushed and showed a severe lacking of character development for the NEVER team.
I am sorry if I made Madoka too OOC, but I'm trying to make her a protagonist and not the operative of Phantom Task.
And if you guys think that cloning with is cliche and impossible, need I remind you that this world had futuristic military weapons used only by women, technology that can bring the dead back to life, and devices that utilize the power of Earth's memories.