Cherry Picking

Author: Green Phantom Queen

Rated: M

Summary: Taking place after the end of "Forbidden Fruit", while Lovely bides time after learning that she only has 72 more hours of 'limited peace', the after-effects of the deliveries she makes start to spread, adding more and more fuel to the fire.

Note: Takes place afer "Forbidden Fruit", but still has the same warnings (ie slash, non-consual sex, etc.)

I: Black Hearts Day

"Cherry picking – to pick out the best from a group."

-Idiom

"Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with anything suddenly there's shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You've got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that's real."

-Amy Grant

April 28th, 2012

10:30 PM (Kazuraba Residence)

Kota Katzuraba laid in his bed, looking at the Orange Lockseed in his hand. A part of him was amazed at what he was able to do with it, another part of him was worried. He remembered fighting the first Invase after finding the Sengoku Driver, but even after the battles, the other Armored Riders and the numerous Lockseeds he's acquired, learning of Yggdrasil's true plan for him and so forth, he hasn't found anything in regards to the whereabouts of Yuya. Just where did he go?

Aside from that, he also was working ragged at Charmant. Despite the owner's...hatred for his birthday (what was wrong with being an Aquarius?), Kota was able to obtain a job that could help his older sister with rent. Not to mention that Oren was kind enough to offer him some pastries to Akira once he learned about how Kota's older sister had quite the sweet tooth. On the other hand, Mai pretty much couldn't get it through her head about Oren's...eccentricities.

Someone knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts. Kota got out of bed and opened the door, feeling arms wrap around him tight. He looked down, seeing Mitsuzane on the verge of tears, his body trembling.

"Kota-san," Mitsuzane hiccuped. "Y...you have to help me...I found out...something horrible."

"What is it, Micchy?" asked Kota, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders. Micchy wiped the tears out of his eyes and sniffled. "What did you find out?"

"It's...it's too horrible for words," Mitsuzane replied. "It's...it's about..."

"Yes? What is it?"

Mitsuzane continued to cry as he leaned close to Kota, Kota running a hand down his friend's back. Then, Mitsuzane licked the tips of his fangs and bit deep into Kota's neck.

Kota looked in shock as his vision began to blur, some sort of strange poison flooding his blood stream. He fell to his knees, only to be caught by Micchy's purple snake tail wrapping around his waist. Micchy licked his thumb before rubbing it across Kota's cheek, squirming with thoughts of how the plan was such a success.

"Mitsuzane," a voice echoed in his mind. Micchy closed his eyes and placed a finger to his temple, shuddering at hearing his older brother's voice in his head.

"I'm here, nii-san," he answered back with a hiss. "Target is acquired and ready for conversion."

"And what about his sister?"

"She's unconscious. She'll have no memory of this night, nor will she have any memory of having a little brother named Kota Kazuraba." Mitsuzane smirked, and opened his serpent-like eyes. Looking at Kota's sleeping figure, he ran a hand through his friend's hair. "For all she knows, she's been an only child all her life."

"Excellent. Professor Ryoma is ready and waiting. Get here as soon as possible."

"Understood, nii-san."

"One last thing, Mitsuzane. Why does Kota call you 'Micchy'?"

Mitsuzane blushed, embarrassed at how his brother said the nickname he used with the other Team Gaim members. He could hear his brother chuckle.

"I think that sounds adorable, don't you think Micchy?" Takatora teased. "Come, we must get ready. Professor Ryoma is waiting for us."

"Right." Micchy watched as Kota's eyes flickered, trying to stay open but just couldn't. He smiled as he leapt into the air, a portal of Cosmic Energy emerging from the ground, swallowing him and Kota whole.

0-0-0-0-0

April 28th, 2012

10:37 PM (Charmant)

Lovely was silent even after the strange fortune-teller made her exit. Something about that hooded figure made her shiver in fear. She hadn't felt type of feeling since—forever. It made her feel sick inside. Whatever those three tarot cards fortold, she couldn't tell, but she knew that in two days things would take a turn for the worst.

Kiyojiro narrowed his eyes where the fortune-teller sat, almost willing the chair to combust with his gaze. Oren just dusted his arms, sighing in relief that the patissiere wasn't damaged in the slightest. He placed a hand on Lovely's shoulder.

"Do not fret, my petite oisseau," he reassured her. "That woman is no longer allowed here, I'll make sure of that. Now, why don't we sit down to macarons?"

"I'm...I'm not all that hungry now," Lovely replied, hugging her knees close to her chest. "This wasn't how I pictured my birthday to be. I mean...I just want a normal life, nothing involving war, accusations of eating children, having to see my friends and family die..." Lovely began to tug on her hair in rage. "I just want this nightmare to end..."

"You have three days until that 'prophecy'," Oren placed that word in air quotes. "Right now, focus on what's in front of you. Now eat up; I made your favorite."

Oren pushed the platter of macarons toward Lovely. Lovely pouted and plucked a white macaron dusted with rose petals into her mouth. Despite the taste of rose water in her mouth, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was just wrong. Seeing Kiyojiro and Oren smiling—whether the smiles were genuine or they were just there to make her stop feeling upset, she couldn't tell—helped her out a tiny bit. She would have to think about this in the morning. The fortune was just going into her head...that was all.

Still, it was making her wonder...just who else knew about the secret? Who knew so much about her? Or better yet, did the fortune-teller tell anyone else? More and more questions, but there were little to no answers.

Brushing the thought aside, Lovely took another macaron to her mouth and reminded herself of what she accomplished today. She helped make deliveries and helped a few of the citizens find consolence in each other, that's right. Focusing on the delicious visions of love, the thought of the strange fortune-teller just faded away.

0-0-0-0-0

April 29th, 2012

1:01 AM (Yggdrasil Lab)

Kota groaned as a bright light shone on him. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to stretch his arms...only to find himself bound to a chair with lots of rope. He struggled, but he wouldn't budge.

"W...where am I?" he asked, looking around. He was only met with silence. He tried to move, but his arms were bound by the rope behind his back. His legs were also bound, each leg tied to one of the legs of the chair. He tried standing up, but his body felt so drowzy, and he found himself sitting down once more. "Hey, can someone hear me?! Help!"

"I'm sorry," said a voice. Kota surmirsed that it came from a speaker. "But you won't be going anywhere, Kota Kazuraba-kun."

The wall in front of Kota flickered, revealing the face of one strange man in a white labcoat with a long white bang of hair that stood out amongst the black. He was fiddling with a strange Lockseed with a lemon on the front in some sort of strange laboratory where many unripe Lockseeds laid scattered on a table. The man in the labcoat smiled, like a cat who was beginning to toy with his prey.

"Good evening, Armored Rider Gaim," he announced. "I am Professor Ryoma, and I am the inventor of the Sengoku Driver you have used in the past couple of weeks."

"You made those?" asked Kota., recalling finding his Sengoku driver in the Helheim forest. "Then...why does it spout out that whole 'Path of the Blossoms' stuff? Or with Baron and that 'Knight of Spear' jingle?"

"Ah, it's just a little guilty pleasure of mine," Ryoma grinned. "Now, as I continue, you have been specifically chosen by Yggdrasil in helping its plans."

"How the hell was I chosen to help you, after hearing how you have been treating us as guinea pigs?!" Kota roared, struggling to escape his bindings. "Like hell I'd work with you."

"On the contrary," Ryoma chuckled. "You have been so beneficial to our cause. After all, it was you who brought everything to fruition, if you pardon the pun. Exhibit A..."

The screen changed to reveal Armored Rider Gaim fighting off an Invase monster. It culminated with Gaim summoning a fiery orange that incinerated the strange creature, and the Armored Rider standing tall. Memories flashed in Kota's mind, remember how he transformed into Gaim for the first time, and of meeting the strange girl that resembled Mai. This was the moment that his life changed forever.

"Of course I remember it," Kota answered. "I stopped that Invase from causing trouble."

The video of the fight vanished, and Professor Ryoma returned with that cat-like smile on his face. If Kota could free himself from the ropes, he would certainly find the professor's lab and punch that stupid, smug smile off of that bastard's sneering face.

"You did," Ryoma replied. "But answer this, Kota Kazuraba. Did it ever even occur to you just how the Invase came to be?"

Kota looked in confusion, but that confusion was replaced with horror when he saw the next clip. He recognized the boy's platinum blond hair, blue jacket, and Sengoku Driver in hand. What he couldn't believe was how the same boy had one of the fruits of Helheim in hand.

Kota shook his head as he saw Yuya Sumii, the same one he and Mai had been searching for weeks, eat the fruit in hand and transform into the very same monster that Kota, no, Armored Rider Gaim, killed off. He could only shake his head in disbelief...this wasn't real...this wasn't happening!

"No..." he whispered. "No...I...it can't be...I...I didn't mean to...!"

Yuya screamed in terror as his body mutated into the Byakko Invase that Kota would eventually slay. The video feed turned black as Kota stayed silent. He did this...he killed Yuya and brought the fate of the Armored Riders onto Zaname city because of it. The girl was warning him of what he was about to accomplish...and he completely ignored it.

"Yuya..." Kota sobbed. "I...I killed him. How could I do such a thing?"

"You said you wanted power, and power is what you gained," Ryoma hissed, returning onto the screen. "And being an Armored Rider means that you have to slay the monsters that could cause havoc to our fair city, right? That is what it means by 'justice'."

"But..." Kota felt like he was going to throw up. All of this was just a dream, that's all it was. He couldn't have done such a thing...he didn't kill people, just monsters. Yet Yuya became a monster and...

"Oh dear," said Ryoma, shaking his head. "I think we're going to need a bit of help on this one. Micchy, can you be a dear and give him some of your medicine?"

"Micchy...?" Kota repeated. "Wait...you don't mean..."

"Hello, Kota-san," Micchy hissed, opening the door that lead him into the dark room, slithering toward his friend. Kota looked down at the dark purple tail that replaced Mitsuzane's legs and screamed, trying to escape. Micchy just let out a low hiss as he circled around the Team Gaim leader.

"No, don't come near me!" Kota yelled. "What happened to you? Why are you..."

"I have been blessed by someone of a higher power, and I will help Yggdrasil with their goals. I want you to join me, Kota..." Micchy licked his lips and kissed Kota on the lips. "In more ways than one."

Kota didn't understand what was going on when he felt his friend bite his neck once more. In a few seconds, he passed out once more.