Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:
It was too late. The green-skinned monsters already caught Yui. The captured girl desperately tried to extend her arms to Hiro until she was totally dragged into the darkness.
"Hiro!"
Episode 2: The Ghostly Rider Transforms! Start of the Test!
Sakaguchi Family House – 6:58 a.m.
"Yui!" Hiro exclaimed, breathing rapidly as he woke up from a terrible nightmare. He looked around, and found himself in his own bedroom. He asked himself, "A dream?"
He got out of his bed, walked toward a large mirror hanging on the wall, and stared at his shirtless self. The scratch marks and bruises all over his scrawny face and body proved that what happened wasn't just a dream. He noticed the strange black markings written around his waist like a tattooed belt. At the center of this "belt," around his navel, were two concentric circles of similar markings.
At that moment, flashes of yesternight's events occurred to his mind:
"Do you accept the soul binder as a tool to lease your body to an Illusori?"
"W-what?"
"Just say yes!"
"Yes!"
"Do you accept Valtere as the Illusori who will merge with you using the soul binder?"
"Yes!"
"Then, let the binding begin!"
The bind! Hiro thought. If what happened last night was indeed true, then some spirit named Valtere was fused into his body. Without thinking, Hiro whispered in the air, half-expecting someone to answer him. "Are you there?"
There was no response, apart from the sound of the ticking clock on the desk. He repeated, this time louder, "Are you there? Your name's Valtere, right?"
There still was no answer. Hiro called for the spirit again and again, until he was convinced that "Valtere" wasn't really there and he was just making a fool of himself.
He then took a bath.
Sakaguchi Family House (Dining Room) – 7:23 a.m.
Dressed in his gakuran*, Sakaguchi Hiro went down the dining room to see his elder sister Natsumi who was preparing their breakfast.
"Ohayou, nee-chan," he greeted.
"Ohayou, Hiro-kun!" replied Natsumi gleefully, "Are your wounds healed already?"
"Still hurts a bit... But I'm okay, really," He said, seeing his onee-chan doing that overly-worried face again, which he thought looked cute and stupid.
"Ah, I see. You really had me up all night! Say, have you been on a fight? But I know Hiro-kun wouldn't involve himself with such stuff…"
"I, uh... I went to a classmate for a group project. I fell off my bike," Hiro lied, nodding briskly.
"That badly?" his sister sounds unconvinced. "So you weren't with Yui-chan, then?"
"Uh, Yui-chan?" Hiro's eyes widened. Did onee-chan know? He thought.
"Yui's parents called yesterday. They said she still hasn't returned home after going to a classmate's house…" Natsumi explained, "Which reminds me, maybe I should call their house today to ask if she was already there. I'm really worried for her…"
His sister said more things, but Hiro wasn't listening anymore. His mind was fully occupied with a very horrible thought about Yui's fate.
"Yui…" he suddenly muttered. At once, he stood up from his chair and took his bag. "Onee-chan, I have to go now!"
"But you still haven't finished your meal!" cried Natsumi, "Oi, Hiro!"
"I'm full!" Hiro answered and left their house immediately.
Yukai Soba Restaurant – 7:42 a.m.
Yukai Soba was a very popular eatery around that place, because it didn't just serve the most delicious soba recipe in town, but it also emanates happiness – the joy of living – to its customers.
But today it would be different, Hiro said to himself. There was an ambiance of melancholy over the still unopened eatery. Pictures of the restaurant owners, Yui's parents, crying for their missing daughter flooded his thoughts. Hiro blamed himself for what happened. Thus he stood there, in front of the restaurant's door, waiting for someone to come out so he could apologize deeply. After a few minutes, the door opened. he lowered his head at once.
"GOMENASAI!"
"What are you doing, Hiro-kun?" came a girl's voice in front of Hiro. He knew that voice very well. Hiro looked up and saw Yui trying hard not to burst out laughing.
"Yui!" Hiro exclaimed. He couldn't contain his happiness that he almost dived onto Yui trying to embrace the girl. One powerful smack landed on Hiro's cheeks that sent him face down on the ground. "Pervert!" shouted Yui. It took several seconds before Yui realized just how destructive her punch was.
"Uhm... Hiro-kun, are you okay?" asked Yui, while helping Hiro stand up.
"Never better," he answered smiling. The girl noticed the wounds on his arms and face. "Oh my god… did I just do that?"
"No, I got it from last night, remember?" replied Hiro, trying to cover his bruises. Yui seemed puzzled, "Last night? I don't know – I had to sleep early because I was not feeling well. What happened to you?"
"What did you say?" it was now Hiro who looked puzzled. She slept early? That's impossible! He was very sure that it was Yui who went together with him last night! Just what is happening?
"Hiro-kun, are you okay?"
"Are you sure you don't remember anything, Yui-chan?"
"What should I remember?" she combed her long hair using her fingers.
"Last night, we went to school to look for the bike-riding ghost! Remember, the pillar? The…" Hiro was about to say "the monsters" but the image of Yui being taken by those creatures resurfaced in his memory.
"The what?" Yui looked troubled, "Are you sure you're okay, Hiro-kun?"
Tennotsukai Academy – Class 3-A – 8:19 a.m.
Hiro's wounds were the third years' center of attention that day. They all know that Hiro wouldn't ever pick up a fight against anyone. Sure he was a bit nerdy, but no one had ever dared bully him, perhaps because he was a member of the well-known Sakaguchi family.
"Say, was it Kazama's gang from Akadou High?" asked Kanzaki Anna, Hiro and Yui's classmate and fellow staff member of the Angel's VOICE newspaper club.
"No, they're not," answered Hiro halfheartedly, because he noticed her asking half-heartedly too.
"The Tora Bikers?" said another student behind him.
"Not either." Hiro shook his head.
"Alright! Our next issue's headline is decided: Juvenile delinquents harass Sakaguchi-dono!" announced Kagami Keisuke, another VOICE member, "How 'bout that, Suzuki-chan?"
"Don't decide that for yourself, Keisuke-kun," answered Yui, looking sternly at the spiky-head photographer. She then turned to Hiro "Who did that to you then?"
"I wasn't attacked by anyone! I just… fell off my bike," Hiro lied, saying the same reason that he gave to his sister earlier. He doesn't have any choice; the only supposed witness could not remember anything. The other two VOICE members, meanwhile, did not know about the investigation because it was a top secret between him and Yui.
There was a few seconds of silence, until Keisuke rebutted, "That could be a better title! Sakaguchi-dono hurt in nasty bike crash!"
"Keisuke!" snapped Yui, gesturing him to stop because Hiro's mood is starting to get really bad.
Tennotsukai Academy – Class 3-A – 9:03 a.m.
Class 3-A's history teacher, Sugita-sensei, was as boring as usual. He was the major reason why most of Tennotsukai students find every school day a torture – to think that it was just the first subject. One particular person did not expect school to be this dreary.
"You have to sit for hours to listen to this old geezer? Oh come on!"
Hiro was taken aback. He knew that voice. It was that same voice that talked to him last night. "Valtere." or whoever that was, was here! He turned his head around the room; no one but him seemed to have noticed the voice – except perhaps Sugita-sensei, who stopped reading his book for a couple of seconds before he resumed – but Hiro couldn't be so sure.
"Why, boy? You looking for me?"
At that moment Hiro spoke, "Where are you?" He didn't realize that his voice was loud enough for the whole class to hear it.
"What's the matter, Sakaguchi-kun?" said Sugita-sensei, adjusting his reading glasses.
"Uh, n-nothing, sensei." Hiro answered. Their teacher continued reading the book. Yui, who was sitting to his left, whispered, "What's wrong, Hiro-kun?"
"N-nothing." he answered firmly. Then again, he heard the familiar voice snigger.
"Are you making fun of me?" Hiro shouted. The whole class looked at him. Sugita-sensei called loudly, "Sakaguchi!"
"Uh, I… um... excuse me Sensei. I have to go to the clinic," Hiro stood up, holding the wounds in his arms and pretending that it is hurting.
The teacher accepted his excuse."You should have said that earlier. Off you go then,"
"Thank you, Sensei." Hiro bowed. He walked past his still perplexed classmates, and ran out of the room. Yui, Anna, and Keisuke looked bothered. Sugita-sensei, however, seemed thrilled.
"Very well... Good luck Sakaguchi-kun... and Valtere-san," whispered the old teacher.
Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:12 a.m.
The rooftop: the quietest place in all Japanese high schools. It is a perfect place to cut classes and sleep, to be involved in some student brawling, to confess someone's love to another, and perhaps to do more than that. To Hiro, however, this place is perfect to let go the embarrassment he had felt from speaking to someone in thin air, right in the middle of a class.
"HWAAAAAAAAAH!"
The mysterious voice spoke once more, "Releasing stress, boy?"
"This is all your fault!" Hiro clenched his fists, even though he knew that it was impossible to hit someone he couldn't even see.
"Why? I didn't do anything!" the voice defended.
"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING IN MY HEAD!" Hiro barked. Fortunately, no one else was in the rooftop at that time.
"But I ain't talking in your head," defended Valtere, "I'm right here."
Hiro looked around, and found a translucent figure standing at his back.
"Yo."
Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:16 a.m.
Valtere was a tall man, with long, silvery hair that reaches his shoulders, even though he looked no older than Hiro's big sister, Natsumi. He wore a black leather jacket, pants and boots, adorned with chains. In fact, Hiro thought Valtere looked like a character in a popular game he had played before.
"Took you so long to reveal yourself," Hiro said, still irated at the ghost.
"Look, boy, sorry. I should've appeared to you early in the morning." explained Valtere.
"Morning?" Hiro asked, "You mean, you've been watching over me since I woke up?"
"No, I'm not watching over you!" cleared Valtere, "I was within you."
"Within me?"
"Ever since we binded. Remember the Soul Binder?" Valtere pulled up his jacket to reveal a belt-like tattoo around his waist similar to Hiro's.
"This," Hiro said, feeling his own tattoo with his hand, "is the soul binder?"
"Yup." Valtere nodded.
"But I… I don't understand! Why did you merge your soul with me? What do you want? Who are those monsters before? Why doesn't Yui remember anything? How did I –"
"Oi, oi. I said, don't ask all your questions at once!" interrupted Valtere, "For one, I think the one who's responsible for your – well, friend's – memory loss is the Grave Maiden."
"The Grave... Maiden?"
"Yeah. She's also the one who conjured those – as you call them – monsters."
"I... uh... Who is this Grave Maiden? What does she want?"
"That I can't answer for now," replied Valtere, giving a wink, "I really don't know her personally; we only meet every new moon."
"I still don't understand…"
"Don't worry kiddo. Take your time to digest the bizarreness of it all."
Hiro paused for a while, then asked again, "How about you, Valtere? Why did you bind with me? Where did you come from?"
"Well it'll take hours before I can tell you my story in full, for now all I can say is that I came from that obelisk –"
"I don't care! I can't trust you until you say who you really are. Tell me –" Hiro's badgering was disrupted by a bluish ball of energy that almost crashed right down to where Hiro and Valtere were.
"What was that?" a terrified Hiro asked the lucid man.
"To your left!" Valtere yelled. Hiro dodged another energy ball, thanks to Valtere. The crash left a huge crater that went straight down the rooftop and into the rooms below.
"Oh my god… The students! The teachers!" Hiro was aghast. Could they have been killed? How about Yui? His other friends?
"Don't worry, boy! We're in the Maiden's territory!" told Valtere, "Everything'll be back to normal after we finish that monster!"
"What do you mean?" Hiro looked up to where Valtere was pointing. He saw a large, blue, flying creature. Its head had large, sharp jaws that resemble that of a crocodile, and its broad wings had sharp metal edges like a knife. Its hands and feet weren't less dangerous, because it has claws that looked the same as its fangs. He noticed that the monster also bears the same glowing markings (an inverted triangle with a circle at each side) like the green-skinned monsters last night.
"We'll defeat that thing?"
"Switch with me, boy! I'll be able to handle this!"
"But how?"
"Close your eyes!"
Hiro did as Valtere instructed. He felt something cold enter his body through his abdomen.
Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:22 a.m.
"You there!" said Hiro's body, which is now occupied by Valtere's spirit, "Try not to get hit by the energy balls! It can also deal fatal blows to spirits!"
"Understood," Hiro answered, now a translucent ghost floating away from his own body and the blue monster, "Take care of my body! It still hasn't recovered from last night!"
"Will do that! This is both ours now!" replied Valtere.
H-Valtere raised his arm, closing his fists except the index and middle fingers. He waved his hand, and glowing symbols came out from the fingers, which travelled to where the belt tattoo is. The inscriptions on the tattoo reacted to the symbols, which materialized into a tangible belt. It was the same belt, with the rotating insignia at its center, which appeared when Hiro first accepted the pact with Valtere last night.
"Let's get this started then."
"HEN…" Valtere scrunched both his fists (Hiro: Do you really have to do that weird pose?), "SHIN!"
A large glowing version of the circular emblem in H-Valtere's belt appeared to where he was standing. Purple flames then crept out of the circle until it covered all of Hiro's body. A second later, a fast swish quenched the flame, revealing a masked, armored figure.
The warrior's purple helmet has reddish oval eyepieces that looked like insect's eyes. He wore a purple breastplate with streaks of red and black. He also had a dark blue cape that he used earlier to banish the purple flame (thus the swishing sound). Overall, Hiro (the spirit)'s weird imagination suggested that it looked like a humanoid, purple, hybrid between a bat and a scorpion.
"Now, little birdie! Come to daddy!" the transformed Valtere mocked the flying monster, who seemed to have understood his words, because it suddenly flew down and charged toward him.
"Look out!" cried Hiro's spirit. Valtere leapt and dodged the scurrying monster, flipping in the process like he was just showing off.
"Is that all youuuuu got, eh?"
The monster launched three more energy balls, which again Valtere evaded gracefully. "You're not as strong as I thought! Now it's my turn!"
Valtere swiveled the emblem on his belt: a little clockwise turn on the outer circle; a half-revolution, counterclockwise turn on the inner circle; and another clockwise turn on the fat cross until the west arrow now pointed north. A strange female voice came out of the belt: "ECRAND." Valtere pulled something out of the belt - a long javelin - to Hiro's amazement.
"Did you see that, boy!" Valtere boasted to the spirit of his host. He pointed to his belt, "I have more weapons here! 'm gonna show them to you next –"
"Watch out!" warned Hiro.
Valtere was not very lucky this time. He was hit by the creature's flapping wings, throwing him far away from the rooftop and down the building.
"Valtere!"
(To be continued)
Next time: Will Valtere be able to defeat the flying monster? What is a Territory? Why did the Grave Maiden erase Yui's memory?
Stay tuned for Kamen Rider Valtere Episode 3: Valtere's Fighting Spirit! The Rider's Mission is Revealed!
Notes:
* Traditional Japanese male school uniform.
A/N: Okay, that was it! Chapter 2, done! Please do review! I'll really appreciate it. Anyway, just to aid you in imagining how the characters in this story look like, Valtere's ghost form resembles that of FF7's Sephiroth. In the KRV world, those video games actually exist. :D
As for his Illusori/Rider form, I'm actually imagining this rider to be a fusion of Knight (in Ryuki) and Sasword (in Kabuto) with my own additional touches to make it more mythical-looking rather than futuristic. I'll try to upload visualizations soon, but mind you, I can't draw well! Why purple? Why not? :P
