Set some time after Saraba Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown Movie.
Night time. Though in reality you could not really distinguish the difference while living on the DenLiner. The train seemed to have a time of its own.
In one of the bunkroom cars, wrapped up in a blanket and hidden by the lack of artificial lights, Momotaros twisted in his sleep. Rather the lack thereof.
The maroon Imagin could not shut out the wandering thoughts and scarce dreams of the only normal human that resided on the train.
After all that had happened in the last week, Ryotaro had decided to just stay the night on the Denliner. All his Imagin were thrilled to have him so physically close. It had been a while since his last visit and they all missed him. Momo did not have quite the same excited reaction as the others. Instead he had chosen to remain with his back turned, pretending to play with whatever new toy he had discovered.
The Imagin and his contractor had been distant. Their connection which ran so deeply, had been strained from past battles. Having been severed once already, the bond felt more fragile than ever.
Fear would be the proper word for it. Momo feared losing the connection. Losing his existence and time that he shared with the boy. Never would he admit to such an emotion, however.
The Imagin grumbled and flipped to his other side.
Another flash of memory danced in his mind.
Not his memory, but it felt real enough. A reflection of himself, sand bleeding from the damage dealt by the one closest to him. A sharp electric shock flooded his chest and his stomach felt like it had been punched.
Being within such proximity seemed to have strengthened the mental link causing the Imagin to share his contractors emotions.
Finally he had had enough. Momotaros threw the blanket against the wall and slid down from the top bunk.
From the bed underneath, Urataros turned to watch his sempai stalk away. He smiled to himself. On the other side of the room, Kintaros snored loudly while Ryu-chan slept nearly upside down with his head hanging off the side of the top bunk.
'
Now wide awake, Ryotaro sat quietly in the cafe car. With a blanket draped over his shoulders, he sat in one of the booths, his head bowed.
The door slid open, revealing a rather imposing figure. The occasional light that passed through the windows highlighted Momo's red form.
Both stared at each other for several minutes. Both already knowing why the other was there.
Momo moved from the door to slide sideways into the seat behind Ryotaro . He remained silent while the boy returned his gaze to the table.
"I'm sorry." The boy finally spoke up. His voice barely raised above a whisper but could still be heard easily in the empty car. Momo did not give any reaction.
Time stretched on and Ryotaro 's shoulders drooped even worse as his lack of sleep caught up to him and the feeling of guilt intensified.
"Don't say sorry to me... just..." Momo's resonating voice trailed off.
Ryotaro looked in his direction, waiting for him to continue. Without anything further to say, Momo huffed and sat back against the wall.
His contractor slid out of his booth and got to his feet. He moved to stand before the Imajin, blanket still wrapped around him.
"Maybe it's better if I don't stay the night any more.. Since you can't sleep-" "That's not what I meant." The Imagin jerked his head up, his intense gaze keeping the boy in place.
"I meant you shouldn't be sorry about any of it..." Momo looked away, choosing to study the scuffs in the seat rather than the deep brown eyes that held so much remorse and sadness.
His voice softened as he continued. "I meant... maybe you.. we need to stick together.. more... like we used to."
Ryotaro had not moved. The gentle sway of the trains movement made the ends of his blanket bend to gravity. His dark untamed hair hung in his face, hiding his eyes.
Momo looked up finally to catch the shine of tears streaking the boys face. He immediately sat up, startled, one hand gripping the back of the seat.
Tentatively, he lifted the other to push away the dark strands and wipe away the tears.
Ryotaro couldn't hold it in any more.
Without warning he fell forward, arms just open enough to wrap around the Imagin's neck. The sudden movement left Momo stunned for a second, his hand still outstretched. Slowly he let it rest on the boys back. Dark hair brushed the side of his face. The blanket had fallen to the boy's waist.
Ryotaro clinged, fingers gripping for anything to hold on to. The out pour of emotion and need could not be verbalized. Instead, the few words he could think of got stuck in his throat making it almost painful to breath.
The Imagin soaked it all in, letting the human reconnect in his own way. The lack of rebonding had taken its toll on both of them.
In the back of his mind, Momo wondered if his Imagin brothers could sense what was happening. At that point however, he really did not care.
Finding their current position rather awkward and growing uncomfortable, Momotaros grabbed Ryotaro by the arms and pulled him back with him so that he leaned against the wall again. The boy finally peeled his fingers away long enough to reposition him so he laid sideways against the Imagin's chest.
Momo gently tugged the blanket up over his contractors shoulders.
With some mental stress relieved, and the wonderful feeling of acceptance and safety surrounding him, Ryutaro finally drifted to a dreamless sleep.
Momotaros never did return to sleep. He spent the remainder of the night counting every hair on the boy's head.
'
Back in the bunk car, Urataros had since sat up, carefully sensing how things had developed. When he felt Momos demeanor calm, he felt relieved. Before returning to bed, he gently lifted Ryu-chan's head and pushed him back onto his cot.
Kintaros stopped snoring long enough to quietly call Urataros name. They shared knowing looks.
Though they had lost each other more than once, in the outcome, their bonds had grown stronger.