Kamen Rider Oni
By Brittany Alter
and John Hunterback
Case 1: A Broken Heart
The acidic smell of smoke filled her nostrils. Everything seemed all a blur and dark but the only sounds she could hear around her were metal clashing and screaming. She looked up slowly seeing a man in blue jeans and a black jacket but she couldn't get a good glimpse of his face.
'Are you okay?' the figure asked.
A young girl, only about to be in her mid twenties with long brunette hair, shot up in her bed, sweating and panting. She looked around her, finding herself in her room and gave a sigh. That dream had been occurring to her for many years.
This young woman was Sakura Iryu, a local waitress at the Hime Tea House just over three miles away from her apartment. She enjoyed her job, yes, but more likely she needed to money so she can achieve her dream - to go to an art school and become a painter.
Her artwork was appreciated by her family and friends, but her artwork was mostly of angels. Either just one or some flying in the sky into the sunset or just one on top of a church in the moonlight, everyone loved her work. Only a few have bought her work and some even wanted to make her a millionaire but she declined that offer.
She got up from her bed, straightening her long pink nightgown and headed to her closet to get her uniform for work which only consisted of a white buttoned up shirt and black dress pants and little black sneakers and a green apron. After getting herself ready, her long red hair now in a nice bun and stylish make up just right she headed down on her three mile walk to work.
Upon arriving at the tea house, she got the key to the shop out of her purse and unlocked the front door and started to set up shop just before customers were about to pour in for their early morning coffee or tea or maybe a simple madrilène, a simple bread cookie used to dip in coffee or just eat by itself.
But she felt something was very odd. Her boss would come and say hi to her whenever she would come in and help her clean. But he wasn't anywhere in the shop. After cleaning a couple glasses and putting them away she decided to go to his office. He may have fallen asleep at his desk after a long night.
But as she got to the door, she found it locked. But how could this be? He never locked his door unless he left for the night. "Mr. Myato?" Sakura asked knocking on the door. "Are you there?"
She dug in her purse for her keys again. Her boss had given her a spare key to his office just in case she got there before he did. Upon unlocking the door and opening it, the room reeked of blood and almost the scent of charcoal. "Ugh! Mr. Myato, did you let your incense burn overnight again?" Sakura asked holding her nose. But to her horror she found her boss on the floor. Did he have a heart attack?
"Mr. Myato?" She asked again kneeling to his side and went to turn him over to his back. His eyes were still wide open and his body was cold and pale. "Oh my God! Mr. Myato!" Sakura cried.
About an hour and a half later, police and Crime Scene Investigators had arrived at the tea shop and had confirmed Sakura's fears. Her boss was dead. But how? It didn't seem like it was forced entry to the shop, so how could Mr. Myato die with no way to get in?
"So now what?" Sakura asked. "No one broke in the night before! How can we figure this out?"
"We'll have to call in the expert," a cop said.
"Expert? Who?"
"He only goes by the name Hiro. No one knows who he really is or where he came from. But he's an expert when it comes to solving these types of cases," another cop said.
"He should be here shortly," the first cop said.
At a local detective office, a young man with short blond hair and blue eyes was in his office working on some paper work when his phone rang. "Hiro Detective agency, how can I…?" he answered in the receiver. He listened closely jotting down some notes and asked a few questions before hanging up.
"Boy?" he called. The young man grabbed his coat and headed out of the door.
It took only a few minutes for Hiro to arrive along with his young assistant, Tai Johnson. "Alright, what do we got?" Hiro asked.
Sakura looked up seeing the two young men walk into the room. The taller man wearing the black jacket seemed so familiar. Could this be the man from her dream?
"Atoya Myato, 35, found dead. The estimated time of death was at one o'clock this morning. There was no sign of forced entry. What we have appears to be a closed-room murder. We only got one witness - one of the girls who walked in and found him," the cop said watching the young assistant write in the notepad.
"Let me have a look," Hiro said, going to the body and kneeling down to it seeing a hole in the man's chest. He put on a glove from his pocket and ran his finger along the edges of the wound and sniffed it, almost making his assistant cringe. "…his heart is missing," Hiro said after a while.
"Missing?" Tai repeated.
"Like someone had ripped it out," Hiro said.
"Impossible!" a cop grunted in disagreement.
Hiro looked up from the body, spotting the boss' cup and took off the used glove taking another from his assistant. He took the cup and sniffed the inside of it. "His tea was laced with some sort of sedative," he said, setting the cup down. "I need a list of who worked here."
"Here," a detective said handing it to him. "We got very few suspects from questioning the employees. Only three of them are on that list you got. But the first one called in sick."
Hiro flipped through the list of the first two employees but upon seeing the name and picture of Sakura, he almost froze up. Why does she look so familiar?
But that's when he noticed something on the body's clothing. Looking at the wound, he saw a strand of hair along with some lipstick on the collar and the smell of cheap perfume on his neck.
He also saw on the boss' left hand a tan line of a ring. He carefully dug in the body's pockets and took out the ring, which was dirty on the outside and had lost its shine. But the inside seemed like it was well polished. He set the ring aside and got a pair of tweezers and ever so gently took the hair from the body and examined it closely.
"It seems he had been having an affair," Hiro said. "The hair seems to have come from…a brunette."
Everyone looked over at the young waitress outside the room. Could she have been the one to kill her own boss? If so, why and what was her motive? She looked up in fear, seeing a cop come over with some cuffs. "Okay, lady, you're coming with us!" the cop said going to take her wrist. Just as he did, Hiro took the cop's wrist, glaring at him.
"When I say to arrest someone, you do so," Hiro growled. "Otherwise, leave her the hell alone."
Sakura was stunned. Hiro, protecting her? But why? She had no intentions of killing her own boss, not in a million years! "But how can you be so sure?" the cop said with a glare.
"She needs to be taken into questioning just for safekeeping," a voice said. Everyone turned seeing two men, both with black hair and in suits and one having blue eyes, the other a darker brown. The older man reached into his pocket pulling out his badge which looked like a feather with a halo over it. "Nago Yura, Angel's Grace head member," he said. Nago turned to the man next to him and said, "This is my partner, Jiro Udo."
"Angel's Grace?" Sakura repeated.
"It's an organization bent on keeping this city safe from Angeli," Tai explained.
"Angeli? What are they?" Sakura asked again.
"You ask too many questions," Tai snorted.
"Boy, easy!" Hiro said. "She needs to know." He turned to her, a serious look in his eyes. "They're monsters…not like the ones that hid under your bed or in your closet as a kid. Since Angel's Grace is here, we'll need to take you into protective custody."
"Protective custody?" Sakura said. "But I didn't do anything!'
"Is there an echo in here?" Hiro asked. "We know you didn't do it. We just want to ask you some questions on what happened here."
Inside one of the deadpan gray interrogation rooms to Angel's Grace, Sakura sat alone, wondering why she needed to be questioned about a murder which she didn't even do. There were many questions that needed to be answered for her, like who are the Angeli, really? Why are they here? What is Angel's Grace? And what is their purpose?
She looked up to see Hiro walk in with a folder in his hand with Sakura's profile inside. He smiled at her as he closed the door. "Sorry for the wait!" he said.
"I still don't understand why I'm here. I did nothing wrong!" Sakura cried.
Hiro then sat down across from her opening the folder and reading it. "Sorry, just need to ask you a few questions," he said. "You're name is Sakura Iryu, correct?"
"Yeah."
"How long have your worked at the Hime Tea house?" Hiro asked closing the folder.
"About five months."
"How long have you known Mr. Myato?"
"Only three months. He transferred from another tea shop not long ago."
"I see," Hiro said looking at the folder again. "Have you had any problems with him?"
"None."
"Have you noticed anything different about him? Anything strange?"
"Well…on some nights he would leave someone in charge to close while he was out. I did see him with a girl on my walk home a few nights ago."
Hiro pulled out a notepad and pen. "A girl, huh? What can you tell me about her?" he asked.
"I think she had long black hair…almost like a models body, or someone from a strip club," Sakura said. "She wore a long red dress and red high heels. Her eyes were brown. And…I believe they almost had a red tint to them."
Hiro seemed startled by the color of the eyes but kept his cool as he took down his notes. "A red tint? Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"And long black hair?"
"I think so...it was kinda dark out."
Hiro closed the notebook, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Can you tell me what you were doing last night?" he asked.
"I was at my house after work. I came home early due to a slow day and was working on my artwork," Sakura said.
Hiro looked her over, studying her body language carefully. "Artwork? What kind do you do?"
Sakura started to shift in her seat, nervously. Why was he looking at her like that? "I-I paint."
"What kind of paintings?"
"I do angels. It's my specialty."
Hiro raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Drawing angels, huh? "Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts last night?"
"Only one. One of the workers who called in sick. I called to check on her and she said she was fine."
"Why are they sick, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Usual. Flu bug it seems. I got lucky and never got it."
"Can you tell me what happened this morning? And please, don't leave out any details," Hiro said.
"I woke up five minutes before my alarm went off, due to a dream I had been having for years," Sakura explained. "I got up and got myself dressed and walked down the street to work. I got to the tea house and used a spare key Mr. Myato gave me and unlocked the door to set up shop. I noticed then Mr. Myato didn't come out to help me or say hello, so I went to check on him to his office and knocked on his door. He always locked it when he left for the night, and just in case, I had a spare key to the office door. The minute I walked in, I could smell blood throughout the room and that's when I saw his body by his desk."
"Okay," Hiro said. "Before we let you go, any questions?"
"Just two," Sakura said. "Who and what are the Angeli? And what is Angel's Grace?"
Hiro winced slightly at the questions. Boy, did she ask too much! "Whoa, talk about loaded questions! I can't answer those questions without getting in trouble! Just know as of right now, the less you know, the better." He reached into his pocket and handed Sakura his card. "Here's my card. You can call me at that number. I'm Hiro."
"Hold on!" Sakura asked just as Hiro put his hand on the door.
"Yes? Is something wrong, Ms. Iryu?" he asked.
"Have we…met before?" Sakura asked.
A look of shock and surprise flashed over Hiro's face, but the young detective managed to smile. "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"I just…feel like we have somehow."
"Don't worry," Hiro said with a chuckle. "I get that a lot. Please don't leave town, Ms. Iryu!"
"Wait!" Sakura said, seeing him try to leave again.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe you'd…like to see my work?" Sakura asked.
"I'd love to!" Hiro said, lighting up. "Tomorrow at 2:30 sound good?"
"Sounds great!"
"Then it's a date! I'll see you then!" Hiro said leaving the room. This still left Sakura to ponder…she knew she had seen him before, but…where…?
Hiro closed the door behind him, giving a soft sigh. Boy, that girl was a tough nut to crack, but he knew she couldn't be the suspect. Yet, she needed to be on close observation. After all, that's the job of any government of the law or any law enforcement program.
"Hiro?" Nago called out walking by. "So…is she the suspect?"
"No," Hiro said looking in the window at the young girl. "But to be safe, let's keep an eye on her."
"So…what now?" Nago asked.
"I'll look around," Hiro said, hands in his pockets. "But we did get a description of the girl the victim was with."
"Really?"
"Possible long black hair, brown eyes with a red tint to them, and she wore long red dress and red high heels."
"Good. See what you can find out too. But be careful."
"But…I'll admit that this woman could be influenced by an Angeli," Hiro said with seriousness in his eyes. "Let her go. I'll stop by her place tomorrow."
"Alright. But like I said, be careful."
The next day, Sakura was busy in her art study painting a picture, with all of her other pictures surrounding her on walls or by the door. Even thought she was let go from the Angel's Grace Headquarters last night, she still had many questions to ask. But why weren't they telling her anything?
She looked up hearing the door knock and set down her paintbrush on the paint can and rolled up her sleeves to her smock to open the door. "Oh! Hiro! Hey!" she said with a smile and looked at her clock. "You're early!"
"Well, I felt like being early if that's okay," Hiro said with a smile walking in.
"Sorry for the mess," Sakura said heading into the craft room of her home. When Hiro walked inside, he seemed so much in awe of her art work.
"Look…I still have some questions," Sakura said, turning to face Hiro. "Questions you never answered."
"And they'll just be the same answers for now," Hiro said.
"What do you mean for now?"
"There's a lot of things in this world you don't need to know. Trust me."
"You're not making any sense, Hiro," Sakura said setting her paint brush aside. "I will try to get answers out of you, even if I have to go to your boss and ask him personally!"
Hiro only laughed. "You think Nago is my boss?"
"Yeah! And I'll have to talk to him for more information if you don't give me what I want!"
"You still have my card?" Hiro asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah. Why?" Sakura asked raising a brow.
"Read it."
Sakura went over to her kitchen and took out her wallet, pulling out the card. On it, it had the professional look to it, the name of the agency, Hiro's and his assistants' name, address, phone number, facebook, e-mails and his MySpace page.
"Well?" Hiro said, arms folded and leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, smiling. "Does it say 'Angel's Grace' on it?"
Sakura double checked. "No," she said, confused.
"That's because I don't work for them. The local police and Angel's Grace call me in for cases like the one you're involved in," Hiro said putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against the counter top. "Of course, with Angel's Grace being the leader of the anti-angeli movement, they control what I tell you."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "How many times must I tell you? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Hiro sighed shaking his head. "And how many times do I have to ask 'is there an echo in here?' We know you didn't." He gave a little grin at her, looking at her work. "Besides, I'm not here about the case," he said. "I'm here because I heard that you do artwork on angels, which I'm a secret fan of. Mind if I admire your work?"
"I guess it couldn't hurt," Sakura said with some annoyance in her voice. Hiro nodded looking around the room and at her artwork, very impressed with it. Soon, he took a glance at one piece of work. It was what looked like a man, hands crossed over his chest and black wings almost enveloping his body but only the tips of the wings above his feet weren't done yet.
"Impressive," Hiro said looking at it.
"Thanks. I call it 'Lucifer's Fall," Sakura said grabbing her brush again. Hiro then sat down next to her to watch her work on the rest of the painting. He couldn't help but be in awe with her work. It's like she was…touched by an angel that gave her the magical touch of Picaso!
"And…voila! " Sakura said signing her name in black paint.
"That's beautiful…" Hiro said in awe.
"Thanks," Sakura giggled shyly.
"Do you have a showroom to show off your work?" Hiro asked.
"I'm afraid not…" Sakura said.
"Why not?"
"I don't think my artwork is good enough to be in one…"
Hiro laughed again. "Not good enough?" he said. "They would make the art masters jealous!"
"You really think so?" Sakura said with a blush.
Hiro chuckled a little. "Are you selling any?" he asked. "I would be honored to have a piece of your work in my office."
"Oh…I don't know…" Sakura said looking down.
"Please?"
Sakura thought for a moment and smiled. "Which one did you have in mind?"
Hiro took a look at the now finished painting. "What's the name of this painting again?" he asked.
"Lucifer's Fall."
"That one," Hiro said with a smile. "Your latest masterpiece, which is better than the others!"
"I don't know what it is," Sakura said. "I seem to have a knack for painting."
"An angels touch, I'd say!" Hiro joked.
"Fitting," Sakura said, smiling at the joke. "Coming from a detective like you. Okay! I'll sell it."
"It doesn't feel right to put a price on a masterpiece like this," Hiro said looking at the painting. "But if you're willing, how much?"
"I'll take whatever you pay me if that's okay," Sakura said,
After discussing and settling on the price of the painting, Sakura asked, "I guess you'll be on your way now, huh?"
"You know, whenever I meet an artist, I always have this urge to ask a question," Hiro said with a smile.
"Oh? Then ask away," Sakura said.
"Why?"
"Why do I paint angels?" Sakura asked. "Honestly…I really don't know…it just happens…"
"I see," Hiro said with a slight frown. "You don't have a reason yet. But you have an amazing gift! I hope you find your reason soon! Till then, have faith!"
"Thanks, Hiro, that means a lot," Sakura said with a smile.
"Don't mention it!" Hiro said with a chuckle. "Now, about that painting, could you send it to my office?"
"Sure!" Sakura said.
"Thanks," Hiro said going to the door. He turned to her smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to get back to. Ciao!"
"Bye, Hiro!" Sakura said waving and watching him go.
A couple nights later, an owner of a ramen cart was walking by to his post after grabbing a bite to eat. As he got to his cart, he saw a fairly young woman looking at what seemed to be a man's battered body. She was covered from chest to her legs in blood, and her eyes were covered by her hair.
The owner was concerned. Had she witnessed a murder? Or was she the one who caused it?
"Miss? Are you alright?" the man asked walking to her. The woman looked up at him, eyes almost soulless, like someone just…wasn't home. Then a shadowy form of a monster leaped out of the woman's body, knocking over the cart and the man, who gave a loud scream.
The next day at Hiro's office, which was like a 17th century French workshop and study. Curtains as red as the blood in ones veins. Wood flooring so defined that one would ask where they can find a tree so old. White sheets covering ceiling high book shelves full of dusty tombs of ancient past. Large, elegant stone tables covered in schematics of odd gizmos, a chemistry set that would make a mad scientist blush, and unfinished projects. Even a special statue of an angel, hidden in the far back corner of the place, that mysteriously has the face of Hiro, but...the wings were missing, like they were broken off.
On a raised level in the back of the office sits a desk made of stone, with a curved top of treated glass. Upon this glass, the desktop of a computer can be seen, with a built in keyboard and touch pad to interact with it. Behind this desk sits Hiro, in what looks like a golden replica of the throne of the English kings, reading his favorite 1905 copy of The Once and Future King. On a separate desk, Tai was going through some paper work when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Hiro said.
The door opened revealing the young girl with the painting in her arms "Ah, Mrs. Iryu!" Hiro smiled setting the book aside.
"Whoa, what's that?" Tai asked.
"Just a little something for your boss," Sakura said.
Hiro took the panting from her hands so gently and glanced at it. Deep down he knew why he truly wanted this painting...but he couldn't tell anyone...
"Interesting work...did you do this?" Tai asked.
"Yeah."
"I'll find a space in here if you don't mind," Hiro said.
But Sakura couldn't help herself as she looked over at the statue...it looked so much like Hiro...but why? And why were the wings broken?
"Something wrong?" Hiro asked looking at her.
Sakura almost jumped, startled by his voice. "Oh it's just...I'm curious of this statue...and why the wings are broken..." she said putting a hand on it.
Hiro smiled and walked over to the statue, hands in his pockets, and placed a hand on one of the broken wings. "The Morningstar," he said. "That's the name of the piece. It shows what happened after Lucifer's fall from grace, 'where his wings break and crumble, to be cursed to walk the earth and the depths of Hades.'"
"But...he looks so much like you," Sakura said looking at him.
"That's because I pissed off the artist!" Hiro said with a laugh.
"How? Accidentally getting in his way?" Sakura asked.
"She was my ex," Hiro said.
"Oh? You had a girlfriend with an artist touch too, huh?"
"I'm just a real cassino-"
Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the door. A couple more louder ones until the door was broken off its hinges and a group of people dressed similar to a SWAT team rushed in surrounding the group.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hiro yelled. He looked over seeing Nago walk over to them as well. "There's been another murder, Hiro," Nago said. "Two victims this time. We lost track of Miss. Iryu's whereabouts for a while last night. It's the same m.o."
"I told you I had nothing to do with this!" Sakura said.
"We know," said Hiro, calming down. "There was the possibility that the murders were somehow related to you. That's why I asked for them to keep an eye on you." He then turns to Nago as Jiro and a woman in a trim, professional suit and brunette hair with blond highlights come in through the door. "Yuri," Hiro said with a calm manner.
"Hiro," Yuri Kaito said in disgust.
"Who's she?" Sakura asked looking at Tai.
"Oh, that's Yuki Kaito. She's with Angel's Grace," Tai explained.
"But why did she look disgusted by Hiro?" Sakura asked.
"It's uh...a long story..." Tai said with a nervous chuckle.
"It's cause of him I wouldn't be in a predicament like the three of you are in," Yuri said glaring at Hiro.
"Yuki! I know that you don't like Hiro, but now is not the time!"Nago shouted.
"It's okay, Nago. Now, tell me what you know of the victims," Hiro said calmly.
Yuki only folded her arms in disgust, rolling her eyes. "All we know is their names, Akira Misato and Toshi Hutora," Nago said. "One was a ramen vendor just near by and the other was a travel agent."
"Oh my god..." Sakura said. "I know them..."
"What?" Tai said.
"How do you know these two?" Hiro asked with a curious look on his face.
"I used to be in the community home economics class with them," Sakura said. "They were my friends..."
"Hmm...I see," Hiro said putting a finger and thumb to his chin. "Was your late boss, Mr. Myato, a part of this too?"
"Hiro! I thought you weren't one to jump to conclusions!" Nago shouted.
"I have to cover all angles, Nago. you know that," Hiro said before turning to Sakura. "Was he?"
"Yeah. He would go to the ramen vendor sometimes with that hooker. Just before he was murdered, he talked with Toshi about getting a trip overseas," Sakura said.
"Oh? Where too?" Hiro asked.
"Hawaii, I believe," Sakura replied.
Hiro thought for a moment before turning to Nago. "Have someone question the members of the class," he said. "Also, have someone look into the transaction for the trip." He grabbed his black jacket from a table putting it over his right shoulder. "Now take me to the crime scene," he said heading for the door, but then stopped and turned back to them, a hand raised. "Miss. Iryu will stay under my watch. You will not touch her."
Nago raised a brow, confused at this. "Why are you so protective of this young girl?" he asked.
"So we can do what you failed to do: keep an eye on her," Hiro said as he turned to Yuki. "Yuki, please go to Miss. Iryu's place and get a few days supplies and clothing packed up for her and leave them here. We want her as comfortable as possible." He turned back to Nago with a serious look in his eyes.
"Let's go," He said leaving with Nago following.
Once at the crime scene, the two detectives looked over the bodies which were covered by sheets by the surrounding CSI units. Hiro knelt down to one of the fallen victims and uncovered the sheet, finding the same exact wound that was left on Mr. Myato back at the coffee shop-a large hole in the chest with the heart missing.
"Same wound as the cafe boss..." Hiro muttered.
"Hiro, the other victim has the same wound," Nago said.
"I see," Hiro said, running a gloved hand on the edges of the wound.
"Why are you so protective of the suspect, Hiro?" Nago asked. "What is she to you?"
Hiro sighed looking at the body. "She's my client, Nago. I need to find who's making this look like its her work," he said looking at him. "Even you know she is connected somehow! I just asked the question 'why', now I need the answer..."
"Even so, she's still a suspect," Nago said, arms folded.
"Let me keep an eye on her for now," Hiro said, rubbing the ridge of his nose. "If she's the one, I'll know. If a murder happens while she's with me, Sakura Iryu will no longer be a suspect."
Nago gave a sigh, a hand to his forehead. "Sometimes I don't understand you, Hiro," he said. "But...lets hope you're right..."
Hiro only laughed, patting Nago on the back. "How about this: if I'm wrong, we get sake? On me?"
"Deal," Nago said with a smile.
"But if I'm right, you're paying!"
"Ha! We'll see," Nago said.
Back at the office, Sakura was looking out the window to the starry sky, thinking of all that had happened. She knew she wasn't the suspect in all of this...but why keep her in custody? This was troublesome to her but, deep down, she felt like Hiro was familiar to her...could he be...?
She then jumped hearing a knock on the door. "um...who is it?" she asked.
"It's me," Yuki said.
"Oh. come in," Sakura said. The door opened and Yuki walked in with a suitcase and put it by the desk. "I can't believe you're here...with Hiro, I mean," Yuki said with annoyance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked. "He's just protecting me."
"He can't be trusted. I did once," Yuki said.
"Really? What makes you think he can't be?"
"He let my brother die!"
"Which is what I'm sorry for, Yuki," Hiro said materializing behind Yuki.
"Hiro!" Sakura said with a smile.
With a smile, Hiro headed to a portion of wall near the statue and pressed a secret button. Suddenly, the statue moved aside to reveal a hidden stair case going up. "If you will follow me, Miss. Iryu," Hiro said, grabbing the suitcase. "I will show you to your room."
"Sure!" Sakura said smiling as she followed him up the stairs with Yuki folding her arms and glaring.
Once inside, the guest room had all the high end things a rich person could ever ask for, like a French door leading out to a balcony with maroon velvet curtains, a four poster bed with silk maroon sheets and a golden chandelier high on the ceiling.
"Wow...this room feels like a palace!" Sakura said in awe.
"And you'll be staying in it for a while," Hiro said as he placed her suitcase on the bed before turning to her. "The boy and my rooms are just down the hall. Your bathroom is there," he added as he pointed to the second door in the room. "Now, is there anything else you need?"
"Well...I am kind of hungry..." Sakura said with a light blush.
"Ah, of course," Hiro said with a grin. "Tell you what, why don't you freshen up a little? After that, just take the stairs up one level. I'll whip you up something there! How does that sound?"
"Sounds great!" Sakura said.
"Then its settled!" Hiro said. He turned to leave but stopped again and looked back at her. "Dinner is at 8:00. We'll save some if you're late," he said. "If you want, you can take a bath and relax a bit, seeing as its only 5:00."
"Um...okay...?" Sakura said watching him go. She walked in the bathroom finding it just as fancy as the bedroom, with feet on the legs of the bathtub, which was full and scented bubbles and rose petals in it as well, a marble counter with a golden faucet, everything seemed so perfect and in its place.
Without a moments hesitation, Sakura took off her clothes and eased herself in the tub and relaxed, thinking of all that had happened. She still had questions and no one had answers...what weren't they telling her?
"Mrs. Iryu," Hiro's voice said over the intercom, almost making Sakura jump. "Dinner is ready whenever you are."
Hearing that, Sakura got up out of the tub, feeling relaxed and much calmer than before. After drying off and getting dressed, she headed up the stairs. Once there, she saw a large mahogany table, not too long like in the olden days of kings and queens, but simple and not as fancy.
She looked over seeing Hiro standing by a chair holding a silver platter with a matching lid over it. "Ah, welcome, Miss. Iryu," Hiro said with a smile setting down the platter as she walked over. He pulled out the chair for her letting her sit before pushing it back in. "I trust you had a relaxing bath?"
"Oh, it was wonderful..." Sakura said with a smile. She looked at the platter as Hiro went to lift up the lid. Under it was a plate of fresh lobster over steamed rice with a side of butter and a tossed salad drizzled in a balsamic vinaigrette.
"Oh wow...Hiro, did you make this?" Sakura said in awe. Tai then laughed sitting across from her. "What's so funny?" Sakura said raising a brow.
"Hiro is a talented chef," Tai said. "When others keep their suspects in custody, we give ours a good treatment. Believe me, you'll eat good here!"
"But this looks so good not to eat!" Sakura said with a giggle.
"If you would like, I can make you something else," Hiro said.
"Oh no no, this is perfect!" Sakura said going to take a bite of her dinner.
Later that night, Sakura laid in her bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She had questions plaguing her mind and couldn't get them out.
I can't stay here... she thought getting up and packing her bags. Once packed, she headed downstairs pressing a button to open the the hidden door and started to head out after looking around, finding no one around as she headed to the front door of the office.
"Going somewhere, Miss Iryu?" a voice said. Sakura turned to see Hiro sitting on his throne with a smile on his face.
"Oh! Hiro!" Sakura said startled.
"Having trouble sleeping, I see?" Hiro asked.
"Um...yeah, I guess..." Sakura said shyly.
"You were looking for a place to relax, right?"
"Yeah."
Hiro smiled standing up. "Why don't I make you some caramel tea?" he asked.
"I could use it..."
"Head back upstairs to your room. I'll bring it to you."
Sakura nodded and headed upstairs and sat on her bed. So much for trying, huh? Everything was making her head feel heavy, but not in a sick way.
She looked up seeing Hiro walk in with a coffee mug full of tea and handing it to her. "Here you go," Hiro said.
"Thanks," Sakura said taking a sip of the tea.
"Is something wrong?" Hiro said sitting on the bed beside her.
"Oh, it's nothing,"Sakura said holding the warm mug in her hands.
Hiro smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me."
Sakura looked down shyly, feeling an overwhelming sense like...she really wanted to tell him the truth...so what could be stopping her now? "Well...I have been having this dream for quite some time..." she said after a while.
"Oh? What about?" Hiro asked.
"...It's hard to explain..." Sakura said. "All I remember is the sounds of metal clanging and screaming...and this man approaches me asking me if I'm okay..."
"What did he look like?" Hiro asked.
"Blue jeans and a black jacket," Sakura said. "But I couldn't see his face..."
This made Hiro pause. "Has something ever happened to you in the past?" he asked with a serious look in his eyes.
"...As a child I was kidnapped," Sakura said. "No one ever found out who it was."
Hiro put a hand to his chin thinking a moment. "It could be a young hero trying to save you. You want me to look into it?"
"I wouldn't mind," Sakura said.
"Okay, I'll do that and find the one who tried to kidnap you," he said with a smile. "Anything else?"
"Well...I still have questions..."
"About the Angeli, huh?"
"Well...seeing you're a member of-"
"Whoa whoa! I told you, I'm not a part of Angel's Grace. They hire me," Hiro said.
"But...who are the Angeli?"
"Let's say...they're creatures that can give children nightmares."
"I see..."
Hiro patted her back gently. "Why don't you get some sleep?"
"I could use it..." she said setting the mug aside and watching him go. "Wait, Hiro!"
"Yeah?"
"...are you sure we haven't met before? You seem so familiar to me..."
"...To be honest, you're familiar to me too...but I've had so many cases I don't keep track of the past."
"I see..."
"Good night."
"Night."
The next morning, Hiro was in his office looking over the last cases when he heard a knock on the door. He got up form his desk and walked over opening the door, reveling Nago and his assistants.
"Ah, hello, Nago," Hiro said. "I'm surprised you didn't knock down my door this time."
"Cut the wise crack, Hiro," Nago said. "There's been another murder."
"Same m.o?"
"Yup."
Hiro stepped aside letting his friend and his assistants in the office before closing the door. "Miss Iryu has been here all night," he said.
"How can you be sure?" Nago said.
"I haven't slept a wink just so I could watch her," Hiro said.
"Oh? Really?"
"I have my ways," Hiro said. Nago then handed Hiro folders from the case with pictures of the crime scene and the victim with the same wound. "You want me to figure out what you couldn't?" Hiro asked, taking them.
"The murder happened at the Ojii Tea House," Nago said. "I hate to admit it, but...I think you were right."
"Saki later, after this is solved," Hiro said turning to a table in which Tai cleared off for him as Hiro spread all the open folders out. "Was he a part of that class Miss Iryu is a part of?" he asked.
"From the records, yeah," Nago replied.
"And, the list of members?" Hiro said holding out his hand as he took the folder from Nago and opened it, crossing off names of the victims. "I'll look over the evidence and get you the perp," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me..." he waved his hand shooing Nago and the others out.
"Any idea who it is?" Tai asked.
"I don't know yet," Hiro said with a sigh. "I'm going to look at the evidence."
"Good luck!" Tai said with a smile.
Hiro sighed again, closing his eyes and breathing slowly. Soon, he opened his eyes and started waving his hands around.
"Hiro, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.
"He's looking at the evidence," Tai whispered, smiling. "Its a gift of his, to be able to analyze stuff by detaching his mind form reality. That is why he's so good at what he does! He just needs silence."
"Ohh."
In Hiro's mind, with a cloud of darkness surrounding him, Hiro moves his hands to open screens with pieces of evidence that had been gathered in the recent days of murders.
Who did this? Hiro thought as he looked at the evidence. Who would have the nerve to do this?
After thinking this, Hiro spun all of the screens until no light shown. Suddenly, from the darkness came three numbers lit by fire: 130.
Hiro then blinked a few times, letting his eyes focus. "I think that'll do," he said going over to a book shelf covered by a tarp which he pulled off.
"You got the code?" Tai asked.
Hiro pulled out a book in particular and started flipping through it. After a while, he stopped on a page and began to read it. "...Thought so," he said after a while.
"Who is it?" Tai asked.
"Definitely fits her m.o," Hiro said as he closed the book and laid it down. "I know when and where the next murder will take place. Boy, stay here. I'll go." he walked over and took his coat heading for the door.
Tai stood up and followed him to the door. "Wait, Hiro!" he said stopping him. "Let me go with you! You'll need me!"
"No," Hiro said turning to him.
"Why not?"
"Remember the Laymen incident?"
"I said I was sorry!" Tai exclaimed, wincing.
"No. You will stay by Miss Iryu's side to keep her safe. From what I deduced, if I fail, she will be next."
Tai folded his arms in annoyance.
"Who's the next victim?" Sakura asked.
"Enjii Choji, owner of Ducky's biker bar," Hiro said.
"Oh my..." Sakura said blushing a little. "Let me come with you!"
"Why? It's too dangerous!" Hiro said.
"He was in my class," Sakura said. "He was the shy guy in the class so he could run his father's bar better."
"And how will you help?" Hiro asked folding his arms.
"He knows me and...well he's very calm around me too," Sakura said.
"That could help," Tai said. "And I can protect her if anything happens."
Hiro then gave a soft sigh. "Fine. Come. But don't say I didn't warn you!"
Soon, the three arrived just near the bar after closing hours. Hiro walked over to the door finding it locked. "Miss Iryu, have you ever been here before?" he asked.
"Yeah, there's a door in the back," Sakura said. The group head over to the back door, also finding it locked.
"Wait here," Hiro said, going to the door and turned his head away. After a while, Tai took Sakura's arm and turned her away from the door. "Miss Iryu, please turn this way," he said. "The less witnesses, the better."
"What is that...?" Sakura said trying to look back, seeing Hiro reach for the door knob.
"He won't open it with you looking," Tai said. "He's picky like that." Sakura nodded and looked away.
After making sure she wasn't looking, Hiro turned his attention to the doorknob. He pointed two fingers at the lock and, with a flick of his wrists, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard. He entered and headed upstairs to the office on the second floor.
He got there just in time to see the hooker getting close to the one she was after, and, giving a smirk, started whistling an eerie tune. He walked in making sure he got her attention.
"Well, well...someone else to join in on the fun," the hooker smirked with a sly smile.
Hiro stopped whistling, right hand in his pocket and left pointing at her. "Of course...Quezul!"
The hooker growled low. "So you figured it out, didn't you?"
"It was easy to see you reverted to your jaguar god routine," Hiro said. "Only problem is they aren't like the Aztecs! Wanna' let her go, Quezul, or do we have to do this the hard way?"
The hooker growled and as before, the dark figure jumped out of the hooker's body and lunged at Hiro, both went through a wall.
Back outside, Tai was leaning against the wall of the bar, arms folded.
"Oh how long will it take, Tai?" Sakura said.
"Who knows?" Tai shrugged. "He does things his way, just try to relax..."
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as Hiro came falling down from a second story window and landing onto a pile of wooden crates. "Hiro!" Sakura cried going to run over to him.
"Miss Iryu, stay back!" Tai cried holding her back.
The Angeli floated down to the wreckage and looked over at the two and smirked. "Well, well...two more meals!" As she went to move towards them, a bucket hit her in the head. She stopped and turned around, growling.
"What?" Hiro asked with a wide smirk. "You're gonna insult your appetizers by just staring at them, yet not tasting them? Boy, the driver!"
"Oh, right!" Tai cried pulling out a small briefcase and ran to Hiro, but tripped and dropped the briefcase, it sliding to Quezul's feet.
"Boy, watch it!" Hiro groaned.
"Oh what are you gonna do with that thing?" Quezul asked with a sly smile.
"No!" Tai cried tackling the Angeli. With the monster distracted, Hiro walked over and picked up the briefcase and opened it, pulling out a belt buckle and tossed the case aside.
"You pathetic human!" the Angeli cried.
"Boy, move," Hiro said, left hand over his left eye and his right hand holding the winged belt buckle while Tai ran off to Sakura's side. "Let's get this over with quickly," he said. "You're starting to piss me off!"
He uncrossed his arms and placed the buckle on his waist, from which a belt was formed surrounding him. He lifted up a lever and pulled out a gold disk with a star on it holding it between his thumb and forefinger, splitting it to reveal a key pad. He dialed 135 and closed the pad, placing it in the buckle.
Standing by
He closed the lever and glaring at the Angeli, he raised his left arm out next to his face, his right hand on the lever. "Henshin!" he cried, closing the lever. Hiro reared his head back, giving a loud roar as a red ghost-like oni mask appeared and flew to his face. A bright light suddenly surrounded him. When the light died out, Hiro was gone. In his place stood an armored man, with clawed shoulder pads, a red chest plate that held a red stone in the center of it, red shoes, and clawed gloved hands All of that had gold trim. His helmet was gold, with large red eyes and golden wings spreading over the eyes.
The angeli jumped back. "Oni!" Quezul hissed out of fear.
Oni lowered his head and his eyes flashed for a second, as if they had an internal fire. He gestured around his eyes, then motioned for the angeli to make the first move. Quezul charged him, swinging a right hook. Oni blocked it, only to return the favor by walking forward and delivering a straight punch to her chest. After being knocked back, the angeli tried again, only to end with the same result. She then backed off and launched black barbs at Oni, who only sidestepped to dodge them. Oni continued walking forward, and pulled out the disk again. He dialed 173 and replaced the disk, dropping the lever.
Trick
Suddenly, Oni appeared to split into three and surrounded Quezul. The angeli shot barbs at all three Oni, only to have them vanish. "Where are you?" shouted Quezul.
Quezul then felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, Oni was standing behind her. He waved then punched her, sending the angeli flying. After she landed, Oni pulled out the disk again, dialed 001, replaced the disk, dropping the lever.
Rider Finisher: Oni Kick
As Oni crouched, a red aura surrounded him. The aura suddenly was absorbed by his feet, in which he jumped high into the air. Oni came down, foot first, screaming as he executed a rider kick. When he reached the angeli, he went through Quezul as if she wasn't there. After he landed on the other side of her, Quezul froze and turned to dust, leaving an orb of light. Oni turned around and the light entered his driver. These words were seen in front of the belt:
130
Sword Form
Oni started to glow, then the glow shattered, revealing Hiro. As Tai ran towards Hiro, Sakura looked on, not believing what she saw. Hiro looked at her, saw her disbelieving look, smiled, and shouted, "Oy! Sakura! Are you okay?"
This ran a chill down Sakura's spine. The very question from her dream! In the same voice, she was sure of it! That could only mean one thing:
Hiro was the man from her dream.