Chapter 1
To hold the pen in your hand, and inspiration in your heart.
We begin the journey over endless blank terrain
The rattling of the train carriage jostled the pen from the page, causing a hard black line to carve its way across the lined leather notebook.
"DAMMIT!" The mans lips released the outrage, annoyed that his work-in-progress story became marred. The few people staring at the outburst watched as he the put away the writing implements into his green, black and white shoulder bag and stared at the passing world go by, the endless shades of green and brown had been smeared together by the long streams of water cascading along the pane of glass.
"huff, I need to get my own form of transport," The train gave another shudder. "or at least use one that doesn't interrupt my creative streak." The nameless man remarked to himself, propping his arm and head on the table zoning out watching the endless rainfall, his Irish ink black eyes catching the brief cracks of light through the sky.
He kept gazing until the feminine intercom voice announced they were nearing for his destination of Nottingham. Shouldering the bag from earlier on he awaited until he could meet with his destined appointment.
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The flash of lightning illuminated the silhouette of a monstrous being stranding on the large building blanketed by water. His ragged blue coat mimicking storming seas along side the white sail of a cape, the comically large sea captains hat partially concealing the barnacle encrusted face. The neck was nonexistent as it only lead to a pillar of wood with a thick beam supporting the coat and sail. The glittering of a gold doubloon nailed in the center on his chest shined with the next bolt from the sky, as did the edge of a harpoon in the cannon replacing what would have been his left hand.
"Yea, foolish mortals, Noah's flood has not yet subsided; two-thirds of the fair world it yet covers, but it shall be compared to a puddle for what I will achieve." He raised the right hand towards the sky, the head of a small white whale poked out from the ragged blue sleeve and letting loose the voiceless command to unleash more rain.
"I do hope you enjoy yourself captain." stated a slim rakish man underneath his black umbrella modelling a complete black suit. His face concealed from prying eyes by the shadow of a top hat with only the charming aloft smile piercing the darkness.
The truly distinguishing feature was a dull grey tie knotted together around his neck as a noose, standing out from the stark white dress shirt. "But remember, you must fulfill your part of the agreement." His calming voice drifted smoothly like a fragment perfume,masking his venomous intent.
"Do not fret my generous benefactor, you shall receive your imagination in due course. But my shackles are finally banished for the first time in decades, no longer bound to the confines of my prison." Satisfied with the heavier storm, he walked closer to the edge, the clanking of a wooden leg echoed on concrete slabs, the stub of wood poked out from one the rope embalmed legs and waist. He stared out at the countless shifting flowers of umbrellas among the city streets. A demented grin cracked along the monsters face until he leapt over the side. "A fine day it be for hunting."
The man in black glanced upwards to the heavens, the lightning still couldn't break through the ever looming shade concealing his face and the continuing thunder failed to compare in resonance to the nameless mans chuckle. "What will you do now, Librarian?"
He disintegrated it mist, slipping into the nearby shadows.
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"Ah, Matthew-san, you came!" an aged but cheerful Asian man of short stature greeted the nameless traveler behind the hard oak desk. The shop bell tingled above the door as a man of six feet with normal build strolled into the shop, the dirty but loved white shoes stepping softly on the wooden flooring, leaving a soft sqeeck and watery print. He removed the sodden grey raincoat to showcase the dark green turtle neck jumper and the black long sleeve shirt underneath.
A shake of his shaggy black hair removed the last droplets of rain that landed on his lightly tanned skin. A toothy grin broke across his face at the sight of his friend.
"You really think a little water is going to stop me Shisho? Why 'Mr Miyagi' you insult me."
He received the award of a hit in the head by a long wooden ruler Shisho usually keeps as a walking stick.
"That is a Stupid nickname, and don't quote idiotic movie references. Now 'use head for something other than target'." Shisho gave a throaty laugh at this, stroking the white mustache and beard out of habit. His tanned weather-beaten face mapped with wrinkles and many happy moments made the cheerful expression more natural, that is until he began to cough into a white handkerchief which echoed over the array of books, comics and writing equipment, all perched on their wooden shelves.
The happiness left Matthews face only being replaced with worry. "You okay Shi?"
He was hit in the head by the same ruler.
"Oh hush Matthew. My hair may be white, but I'm as fit as a man half my age-"
"A hundred year old? Really?" This earned another ruler to the cranium. "Stop HITTING ME?!"
"I WILL! As soon as I get no cheek from you. It's just a cold from the weather, nothing to worry over. Besides, I would think you if all people to be more worried about your own health with that white eyebrow of yours, your turning to an old man faster than I am." That was true, Matthew inherited his fathers genes as he had a thick white line of hair above his left eye, mirroring its black counterpart on the other side. "Now on to business. Your here for those stupid comic books you ordered right?"
Matthew nodded, keeping quiet about Shishos insult out of fear of another hit from the dreaded tool of evil. Shisho reached behind the desk and pulled out a cluster of Manga including Naruto, DBZ, and Gurren Lagaan.
Matthew also noted a nameless red cover with a large blue oval dominating the center on both sides. His normal eyebrow lifted comically to show his confusion. "What's with the thing at the bottom?" He flipped it open to a random page only to unveal the crisp blank contents.
Shisho simply stated "A gift to my most cherished customer. It was jammed in the back between some old boxes and I thought about throwing it out, but you can have it for free. You may find it useful one day Matthew-san." Matthew was going to probe further into his unexpected prize until the shopkeeper strutted out into the back. "Now I have tasks much more interesting than you to attend to. Enjoy the weather."
Acceptance accompanied the confusion on Matthews face as he shrugged his shoulders and walked back out into the torrential downpour. "Yeah, before I drown in it."
With the second chiming of the doorbell Shisho heaved a sigh, pulling out a small leather bound tome along with a bloodied handkerchief from an inside pocket of his jacket. He flipped to the last few pages, his eyes skimming over the tiny text. "Matthew-san, I am truly sorry about this turn of events, but this chapter is to reach its climatic point very soon."
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Matthew strolled through the rain, his hood bouncing in step as he went through the side street, darkened by the looming storm clouds. "So much for inspiration. I can't become inspired to write in this sort of weather!" He plucked the strange book from the carrier bag and pondered over his present. "Shisho could have just given me a discount, this thing is pretty much useless."
He kicked at a stray can, which bounced into a connecting side street. Suddenly a man sprinted out between the buildings as though hells' hounds gave chase. He froze in mid-step, a giant metal barb jutting out his ribcage and splintering off small chips of bone. The rope behind lost its slack, reeling the man into the awaiting jaws of a small whale head for a hand, the rest its body hoarded away beneath a blue sleeve. Casting off the shadows exposed the monstrosity that stalked from the high roofs.
"Good day my dearest sir. Such divine weather for a feast as delicious as he, is it not?"
""W-what the...what are you?" The shaky response Matthew whispered elected a faceless grin from the thing.
"Call me Ishmael." he tightened the mouth of the white whale, the jaws still clamped around the mans windpipe. A wisp of pale blue mist seeped out from the eyes, the nose, the ears and mouth. Amongst the vapour, ghostly shapes and words galloped eerily through like deer on the autumn moorlands. The last of the lettering vanished beyond the teeth of the whale limb, leaving the man to go limp from his frantic spasms, hanging as though but a doll.
"You may call him thy unsatisfactory morsel, he had little if any type of imagination." He dropped the now unfortunate corpse like a stringless puppet, the sound too chilling to bare thought as it waded to nothing, leaving nothing to trace its existence. "YOU will make up for the shortcomings of that pitiful waste of a life!"
He lifted the cannon high and fired away, the massive steel spear sailed through the air with the rope following behind. Matthew had enough sense to move to the side and avoided being a kebab. He didn't know it would circle round and wrap him in the thick salt crusted rope. "At last, a person with a bit of fight in them. I really hoped you would, so I can enjoy this."The whale head gripped the long braided strand and started tugging.
Matthew tried fatally to keep away from the monster by routing his feet into the concrete, but the rain made it difficult to get proper grip. There was no way for him escaping his fate, but Matthew was as sure as shit not simply going to accept it, even if the ropes began to squeeze and electing a pained grunt.
He wanted to live!
SLASH!
The rope bindings fell away in heavy clumps, the nightmare toppling backwards into an undignified heap. Matthew looked up to his savior, a man of short height barbed in a cloak fashioned of aging book pages all intricate written in shifting words, medieval armour of deepest black drifted into view gripping some oversized pencil as a spear or staff.
"Matthew-san, use the book." The voice was all too familiar to him, and no-one else would use the Japanese honorific.
"Eh?! Shisho? What the fuck is going on! What's-"
"Quiet boy. Open that gift I gave you to the first page and follow the instructions. I shall fend off this fiend til then." The old man leaped into the fray, combating against his recovered opponent with intricate and deadly strikes ranging from thrusts, slashes and parries. He almost made it appear as a form of dance with how elegant Shisho maneuvered.
Acknowledging the order he opened the first page. There, in stylish flowing black script out matching many other calligraphers stood five simple lines.
Place book at the waist.
Flip open the book.
Cry out "Henshin".
Follow instincts.
Survive.
The last word elicited a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, but Matthew pushed past this and obeyed what was wrote before him. With the red and blue book at his trousers, a strip of velvet red like so many bookmarks coiled its way around and clamping to the other side, producing a secure belt. He fanned the pages open with a swipe of the hand, giving the battle cry extra flare to banish whatever fear that still gripped him.
"Henshin!"
Pale yellow pages stormed out, twisting around him in a miniature cyclone. As they ebbed away and vanished in blue wispy flames, what remained in place would startle any passing onlookers.
There stood a man in a black full body suit, his chest and shoulders shingled in pale yellow pages full of unfocused words that emphasized his pecks. Elbow long gauntlets and knee-high boots were of the same style with a large page encircling his forearm and shins, clasped together with a long thin black kanji. The book-buckle remained the same crisp white but the red bookmark had slithered around the stomach and pelvis, finishing as a sash fluttering with silk tendrils down the left of his waist.
And the face concealed behind an open red book cover that molded to the skin, the corners veering off at the jaw and atop of the head, the top being reminiscent to horns and the book spine flowing like a seam from his chin to the middle of his forehead, mirrored by a pair of jewel compound eyes of clearest blue marking where his eyes would normally be.
"Whoa...Shi... What is all this?"
"just help-" Shisho didn't finish his demand, as the backhanded from the whale knocked him to the side and colliding with the brick wall.
"It appears I must withhold this expedition for another time, two librarians were not expected." An unfamiliar black mist blanketed Ishmael. Shisho threw the spear into the abyss only for it to bury itself into the opposite wall and dispersing the oily blackness, failing its connect to the target.
"huff, huff... He escaped." Shisho was in mid rise when he gripped frantically over his armour, his expression becoming ghostly and collapsing once again to the floor. The armour fluttered away in blue flames, steaming against the soaked ground.
"Shi, what's going on?" No answer. "Shisho?" Shaking the shoulders didn't work either. "SHISHO!"
His cries echoed amongst the lightning and thunder.
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Next chapter of Karen Rider Manga
"Alright Shi, what's the plot for this story?"
"Perhaps a test for this new Librarian?"
"huff, tell me Matthew-san, what do you know of imagination?"
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Yo, everyone, this is 1Troublesomeguy, and I really am achieving my namesake these past couple of months without any updates, that's due to my laptop being busted, gaining/losing/gaining a job and all that malarkey. But I found a way around it.
Anyway, this idea came to me in a dream many months ago when I started watching Karen Rider for the first time (ooo still remains my favourite) and it was only a month ago that someone beat me to the punch with the same general idea. That story is named Kamen Rider Quin by hikari ino, and I do recommend reading it as it is beautifully written and shows a lot of potential. This is my variation with a different medium and plot ideas, so don't think this is some carbon copy as I tried to differentiate it as much as possible.
This rider is heavily based on both novels. If you have a favourite story then put it in the comments section and I will try to include it as soon as. So donate a review to help keep a story going thisconning winter.