CHAPTER TWO: BEGINS NIGHT.
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
On a beautiful March spring afternoon, Orimura Ichika felt something no normal teenager should have:
Terror.
Pure abject, unadulterated terror.
Its form a large eighteen wheeler tumbling down a cross-street; colors flashing in the noon sun. Frozen in place, the fifteen year-old's mind was racing at the thought of his impending death.
Will I die? Will I live? Who will come for me? Who will know who I am?
Questions such as those quickly were swept away when the endorphins flooded his brain . The sweet rapture of adrenaline brought time to a standstill. The happy laugh of dopamine echoed through his skull. Memories of a short fifteen year life flashed alongside images of reality in all of its perceived glory.
A truck tumbled ever closer in its intended motion.
The final image was of his sister Chifuyu. It was during his tenth birthday. The eighteen year-old sister had taken time off training for the Mondo Grosso to bake a cake for the young boy. And in the light of the ten candles cast upon the two, in that moment, despite having no mother and father in his life, Orimura Ichika felt all the love and affection a child could ever need.
"Happy tenth birthday Ichika," she said, ruffling his hair as she did so.
"Thanks Chifuyu-nee! I love you lots!" beamed the child.
He could feel the cold of the steel closer to his face. Ichika's heart skipped a beat in onset for his leave. His final thoughts?
"Hey Chifuyu-Onee-san, sorry that I couldn't say goo-"
Or what would have been anyway, if not for a red blur attached to a gloved hand which seized him by the collar and heaved him with a grunt. The next parts were unknown to Ichika's waking mind, but on reflection later on it would have to be described as pain.
pain pain pain painpain painpain painpainpain PainPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPPAIN….
Darkness.
Silence.
Peace
And in the darkness there was peace.
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
When Orimura Ichika opened his eyes he was surprised at how heaven looked like, because at that moment it suspiciously seemed like it was a riverbank. In fact it was a riverbank, albeit one slightly marred by a burning tree and sprawled motorcycle.
Blinking again, Ichika took in the whole situation for the first time. Sitting on the soil of the riverbank, there was a tree set on fire, its yet-to-bloom buds aflame with a fervor. There was a red Honda motorcycle, sprawled haphazardly on the dirt, long winding gouges where the tires had lost control. Most important of all, other than the crowd of onlookers who rushed to the scene, was the tall man in the black jacket, red helmet, palm raised and ready to-
SLAP!
"O-Ow, that hurt," claimed Ichika still in his lethargy.
The man removed his helmet after that. The adolescent's gaze found its way to a young man with messy dyed hair and piercing eyes. Those same eyes had turned onto Ichika himself.
The frown faded into exasperation. With a vexed tone he spoke.
"This is going to be one of those days isn't it?"
Why yes. Yes it would.
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
Ichika disembarked his seat on his savior's red Honda. "Thanks Inui-san! Sorry for the trouble," he waved at the rider. Waving back, he left with the growl of the engine.
Ichika made his way up the steps of the hall, determination to pass a test which he had originally set out to conquer permeated his psyche, and thus he went onwards with the confidence of a man. Yet unfortunately his future actions would only serve to entangle others in his wake.
His savior didn't know that however. He was at a coffee shop waiting in line for a vanilla latte.
Checking an old clunky flip phone from a bygone era, the rider scrolled down to an old text which he had been sent.
"Hey nekojita, I have some good news and bad news.
Good news is, Mihara and Rina are getting married in half a year (no surprise there actually). They plan to hold it at the local catholic church near the orphanage. Keitaro has gotten some venture capitalists to fund his hotel cleaning business, and he opened up a central plant near that cool island academy. You really should see him. I remember your face when you gave him Yuka's phone and… Let's just leave it at that. Just know that you should see him. He'll be happy as well.
As for the bad news, suffice to say that a new Orphenoch has been sired. This wouldn't be as alarming save for who he was pre-death. His name is Himejima Shinn. I hear he's been featured on the evening news as of late. You know the rest. Find him, eliminate him, and send his remains to me. Again, I'm sorry that you of all people had to do this, but I don't trust anyone else.
I'll be at CalTech for a few more months. Unfortunately the new project requires active silence, so I can't talk to you while it's in progress. Don't worry, when I'm back, we'll get some coffee. I'll blow it cool for you. I promise.
From the nekojita's best friend,
Mari"
Closing the device he made it halfway to his table before dropping the hot beverage he bought. Clutching his chest he stumbled his way into the public bathrooms. Locking himself in an empty stall, he brought a trembling hand into his coat pocket and brought out a metal syringe. Three prongs broke skin as it was plunged into his thigh.
To a normal person, the various chemicals and compounds that were present in the drug cocktail would have reduced them to a snivelling, seizuring mess.
Then again, Inui Takumi couldn't be anything remotely close to normal.
When the pain subsided Takumi gazed at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.
"Kiba I… I can't possibly live like this."
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
Night had fallen onto the city. Speckled lights of the red-light district twinkled as the crickets made their presence known to man. The serenity was broken up by the sounds of battle.
A gray vulture only in likeness. In actuality it was the size of a large man, seven-foot two in height. Two pairs of wings spanned its back, whilst its legs were of the avian kind, talons and reversed knees in all. Adorned with skulls and feathers of its kind, the final deformity was a small vultures head and neck which resided in one of its eye sockets, which bobbed up and down as it did in its nature.
And the grotesque thing was running. Running from something smaller in size, yet had inspired dread in the hearts of its kind.
"Faiz," he said softly with voice quivering. It didn't say the words. Rather, it was an ephemeral image, a shadow, of a man with haggard features, an expression of terror on the shadow's face. "Faiz!"it intoned once more, louder and more worried. Spreading its wings the monstrosity made its way into the only cover available: an abandoned school hall. It didn't look back towards the hunter.
He stood there in armor of steel, night, and fresh blood. Donned in pitch black armor broken with segments of red and metal, the warrior walked towards his prey. The dark helmet, with two eyes shining in the darkness, shadowed the keen teeth on the bottom of the helm. Taking out a simple handle, he watched the bird run away while a crimson blade extended from the free end.
The warrior gave chase. A run became a sprint, and sprint became dash. Eyes glowing in the darkness the red knight pursued the enemy.
Seven rooms. There, that one.
He kicked the door. It was an empty auditorium with flickering fluorescent lights. In the middle a large object, taller than he was and covered in a sheet of canvas. He disregarded it, his attention was on finding the enemy.
Creak. Creak. The sound came from above.
Flexing his legs the knight prepared for movement. Crunch went the floorboards as he jettisoned towards the rafters. At the apogee of his flight, he swung his sword. The red energy made contact with gray flesh, and a wing fell to the Earth.
"Ahhh!" screamed the monster. Like its former wing, it lost control and crashed to the ground.
When the dust cleared, instead of a seven foot monstrosity was a wasting man, bone showing through pale skin. His eyes were locked onto the red knight.
"P-Please, f-f-forgive m-me," he bowed in fear. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"
"Ryuugajou Makio…" interrupted the man in red.
"Y-Yes?"
"Who made you?" was his question.
"Wha-what," Makio stuttered. He was confused. What was Faiz talking about?
"DON'T PLAY STUPID WITH ME! YOU WERE SIRED! NOW WHO! MADE! YOU!" Makio was thrown into an adjacent wall.
Makio scrambled to attention. 'I gotta kill him, I have to kill Faiz!' his mind cried. Reverting back to his monstrous form, the remaining wing he possessed was aimed at his killer. Feathers sharp as swords assaulted Faiz.
"YOU BAST-ARGHH!"
The red armor dissipated when it struck his belt. The phone which served as the buckle was sent careening next to the covered object in the middle of the room. Unarmored, the bloody form of Inui Takumi crawled on the floor.
"YES, YES FILTHY HUMAN! YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR POWER! I'LL KILL YOU, SLOWLY! YOU'D WISH FOR DEATH WHEN I'LL BE ONLY A FOURTH-WAYS DONE WITH YOU."
"Shut. The . YOU CHICKEN BASTARD!"
It sneered.
The monster sent another volley of razors his way. Takumi grit his teeth as he rolled behind the covered mystery in the auditorium.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The vulture ended his assault to walk over to his hiding enemy. An ephemeral image overlayed his shadow yet again as it spoke.
"Isn't this amusing Faiz? The hunter has become the prey. Now what say you?"
Behind his cover Takumi replied, "That's such a bad cliche and you know it."
"WELL THEN," it snarled. "I'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE IT INTERESTING FOR YOU!"
Arms the size of small trees pierced through the clothed cover, perhaps intended to spear Takumi through. Yet he didn't wait for the claws to run him; he dove to retrieve his phone on the side.
The cover slipped off the mystery at that moment. A behemoth of steel and technology was revealed, towering even the transformed Makio.
"MULTIPLE THREATS DETECTED. ACTIVATE DEFENSE PROTOCOLS. ALERTING HANDLERS. AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS."
The steel behemoth stood from its kneeling form in a ray of green light. Two shields manifested in front of it. The vulture was in awe over the piece of high technology. It was enough time for Takumi to don his armor again.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
"STANDING BY…"
"HENSHIN"
"COMPLETE."
The red light flooded the room. Crimson streams of Photon Blood snaked around his body. Another flash, and the Sol foam and Sol Metal covered all of his body. Armored again, Inui Takumi had assumed the mantle of Faiz once more. He bent his legs into a familiar position, and flicked his right hand. His left drew from his belt a knuckle-duster, and slipped it on the other.
"Come on yakitori, don't think you can handle it?" Takumi taunted.
"I'LL EAT YOU!"
The mad beast rushed in for a tackle. Takumi stepped to the side, and momentum carried his assailant into the drywall.
"RARGHHH!"
Again the beast rushed towards him, this time sending artillery in the form of his feathers. Not wasting a chance, Takumi jumped behind the shields of the statue. He accidentally brushed the inside of the cockpit seat. The monster was above him now poised to strike. Takumi slipped a small piece of the phone on his belt and-
"HUMANS WILL NEVER DEFEAT THE ORPHEN-"
"ERROR! ERROR! ANOMALY DETECTED! ERROR!"
-placing it into the weapon on his fist he-
"ANOMALY PROCESSED. REPAIRED. NEW USER RECOGNIZED."
-jumped into the air. Sailing upwards he ducked under the monster's outstretched talons.
"ENEMY DETECTED! USER SURVIVAL PRIORITY PROGRAM 001-B ACTIVATE! ENGAGING ENEMY!"
Ready to charge his fist for the final blow, a green blur was in the way between him and his enemy.
"Wha-"
The shield of the metal titan impacted against the monsters face. It sent him falling yet again.
"EXCEED CHARGE"
"ORYAHHH!"
Takumi had reached the ceiling and used it as a springboard for attack. When his fist met flesh, it glew with power. The force had driven the hammer of his blow all the way into the ground. Cracking the floor, Takumi's enemy had dissolved into dust and blue flame. All that was left was a fading symbol: a crimson Phi.
Takumi had removed his armor. The steel and fabric returned to the light it came from. The battle went a lot longer than he had believed, and he was on the verge of collapse.
Attempting to escape without issue had been a struggle. Takumi's leaden legs wouldn't step forward. Memories, painful memories, were dredged up by the pain.
"Almost there. Almost there. Almo-"
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
He was dreaming before he opened his eyes. Lying down on a grassy hill surrounded by comrades past and present was Takumi. The closest was a girl with a princess cut and a boy with spiky hair. It was Takumi who spoke first.
"You know guys... I've finally found a dream."
"Really? What kind of dream?" said the girl.
"Yeah, tell us Tak-kun." supplanted the other boy.
Takumi didn't reply to them. His attention was on the sky.
"Is there something wrong Tak-kun?"
"No. Nothing at all."
"So then, what's your dream Takumi?"
"My dream," he began. "My dream is to make the world's laundry pure white. To make… To make everyone in the world happy."
"Well then Takumi-" said a new voice. Turning his head the world faded into white without any person, or thing, except Takumi and the male who spoke to him. Takumi's eyes went wide when he saw his identity.
"Why are you still here then."
"KIBA! I-you…"
"Sorry, but this isn't the place you should be in."
"Goodbye Inui Takumi."
Takumi's eyes were flooded in light. He was in a hospital, judging from his new gown. Similarities ended there when it became clear there were armed guards who were… women? There was a another in a professional suit sitting with her legs crossed in a chair next to the bed. It was clear that she was the authority figure of the group.
The woman walked over to the end of his bed and reached for a clipboard hanging from the bed end. Quickly flipping through the pages she found what she was looking for.
"Inui Takumi…"
"Uh… Yeah?"
"... born June 4, 1984 in the Kobe province of Japan, then subsequently raised in the City of Ashiya in the Hyougo prefecture. Went to St. Marie Elementary, and was known as one of their most promising students. However you along with your parents were caught up in a traffic accident which took their and the other driver's lives. You were the only survivor. After that you were passed around from relative to relative in the hopes of finding a suitable guardian. However after turning fourteen you dove into delinquency, most likely due to the trauma of losing your parents. And on the eve of your sixteenth birthday you spent your money on a motorcycle and left to parts unknown."
She set down the clipboard and walked to the right side of his head.
It was three years later that you would appear again, this time working at the Kikuchi Dry Cleaning Shop. Again you left after two years in order to complete your higher education on American school. After completing your degree in three years, you resumed your travels once more. South America, Europe, Asia, Africa. The only continents you have yet to be in are Antarctica and Australia."
"All of that I can take. All of that makes sense. But tell me… HOW THE HELL CAN YOU ACTIVATE AN I.S!?"
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
IS: ΩΨΟΔΧɸΦɸΧΔΟΨΩ :EC
Authors Note:
Alright guys, here is my new pet project, my first fic actually! I always loved Kamen Rider, 555 especially, and I was saddened by the lack of good material out there, so I wrote my own! Actually I had a bitch of a time typing this out. Typing has always been the bane of my existence, and this was no different. Oh well, the Vaporwave (my new genre btw) helped immensely.
Anyways this takes place ten years after the events of 555. Takumi's age here is 28 only because I can't find his real age and his actor age was good enough. If there are canon inconsistencies let it be known that I kinda rely on the wiki for assistance until I find the time to finish 50 episodes. Anyways I'm done here for the night.
Read and review please, those are better than crack. Also if there are little errors here and there, I appreciate help in knowing them.
-Tethriot