Horseshoes and Hand-grenades
VII: 8-1-14-4-13-1-9-4-5-14
"Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity."
-Chuck Jones
Ryusei walked toward an alley, far from the city and stopped. Turning around, he saw Virgo Zodiarts slowly approaching him, axe in hand. He immediately dropped to his knees in servitude toward her.
"Master," he hissed. "What is your will?"
"Rise, Ryusei Sakuta," said the Zodiarts of the Maiden. "Take my hand."
Ryusei reached toward his master's hand and found himself teleported into an abandoned warehouse. He saw the Zodiarts transform into its original form of Tachibana and slowly nodded his head.
"No one followed me here," he answered. "And the Kamen Rider Club is too busy with their little problems to care about me. My identity is still a secret."
"Excellent," said Tachibana, nodding his head. "And how are you doing with the Cosmic Energy injections?"
"Fine," Ryusei answered simply, staring at his left hand. "I'm itching to fight someone though."
"You'll get your chance, Ryusei. Now, it's time for the next step." Tachibana waved his hand in the air as a crystal in the shape of a star materialized. "This power will let you harness the Cosmic Energy inside you, shaping it to whatever you desire."
Ryusei smiled darkly as he felt the crystal enter into his heart. He gasped and fell onto his knees, feeling the power coursing through his veins. His eyes began to glow as Cosmic Energy formed in his hands.
"Yes," he hissed. "I feel this power surging through me, calling for blood!" Ryusei grinned. "It's calling me to the ultimate ring! The ring of death! It tells me to destroy everything that I see and burn it all into the ground!"
Bolts of red electricity wrapped around his body and the energy in his hands transformed into two daggers made from the same electricity. Ryusei spotted a small pyramid of empty oil barrels and tossed his dagger toward them. When the dagger struck the first barrel, the two exploded in a burst of flame. This made Ryusei's grin grow wider.
"I'll leave you to practice with your new skills," said Tachibana. "I have some important things to look after."
"As you will, Master Tachibana."
"Please, call me Father."
"As you will...Father," Ryusei answered as his nails grew into sharp electrical talons. "I can't wait for that field trip to Kyoto."
0-0-0-0-0-0
There were two conditions for someone to enter the DenLiner. First, only people with a Rider Pass who enter through any door could board passage. Second, the time that they enter must all be the same (such as 3:03:03 or 12:12:12) for it to work. According to the watches on Naomi's wrist, it would be 6:06:06 in 3...2...1...
The door to the dining cart opened, revealing Owner and a parade of people entering for the first time. Naomi smiled and waved back while everyone else looked in awe.
"Welcome to the DenLiner!" She announced. "Please make yourselves comfortable while I get accommodations for everyone."
As she began to brew her special coffee and prepare plates of fried rice and pudding for all, the Kamen Rider Club sat down. The Imagins were still possessing their hosts—Urataros for Shun, Momotaros for Motoyama, Kintaros for Chosuke and Ryutaros for JK—as Owner began to speak.
"I assume you all have lots of questions to ask me, don't you?" He began. "Very well, you may ask."
"Is it true that the Imagins can become Kamen Riders?" asked Tomoko. "I mean...it's not an urban legend or anything, right?"
"I assure you they can. Usually, these four would need Singularity Points to activate their powers, but now they are able to access their forms whenever they need to. Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros and Ryutaros represent the four beings that become Kamen Rider Den-O, defender of the time-line and the rogue Imagins that could destroy the past should they be let loose."
"That's amazing!" said Ohsugi. "And here I thought Kamen Riders were all just a bunch of hocus pocus."
"JK said that too even though we did this exhibition at the Cultural Festival!" said Yuki. "I couldn't show off my Riderman costume because X didn't want to join!" She glared at Ryutaros-possessed JK who was currently playing with a bubble gun and blowing bubbles into the air.
"Aside from all this talk about Kamen Riders," said Miu. "You said that Gentaro was still alive, Owner. Is that correct?"
"Yes and no," Owner answered.
"What do you mean 'yes and no?'" asked Ohsugi. "If you're dead, you're dead! You don't come back to life and-"
"The Gentaro Kisaragi you knew has died," Owner interrupted. "But his soul was resurrected with the power of a being known as Ophiuchus."
"Ophiuchus?!" Yuki exclaimed. "The serpent-bearer? The legendary 13th Astrological Sign?"
"The one and the same. Ophiuchus wishes to gain enough Cosmic Energy to flood the world in darkness, and chose Gentaro as his Vessel because of his pure heart. The friend you know is gone for good."
"He can always stay here in the DenLiner once you kill him and-" Momotaros immediately slapped Ryutaros across the face before the Purple Imagin could finish. "OW! That hurt!"
"What the hell are you trying to do?!" Momotaros exclaimed. "That's the last thing these kids need to hear!"
"We have to kill Gentaro?" asked Miu. "But that's impossible! We-"
"If Gentaro was here, he'd ask you to do so," said Owner. "I'm sure he'd want you all to live your lives to the fullest—he would want you to do this."
"This is too much to take in," said Erin, shaking her head. "First the principal is a monster called a Zodiarts, then I'm forced to become one just like him, there's these demons-"
"IMAGIN!" Momotaros interrupted, slamming his hands on a table.
"Imagin," Erin corrected. "These Imagin are possessing people and causing mayhem in Amanogawa High, and now there's a giant serpent possessing Gentaro's dead body? This is just...outlandish!"
"It's more than that," said Owner. "Ophiuchus will use Gentaro to search for other people to worship him and gather more and more servants. These servants will amplify his power and prepare him for his next stage of attack. You must keep an eye on those who can easily be manipulated."
"Kengo..." Yuki whispered. She turned to the others and said, "I saw Kengo sneaking around the school campus all dressed up in some skirt and golden snake necklace. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but then Yukina started to chase me around campus."
"I'm afraid we're too late, then. Your friend is now a permanent slave to the serpent, until you kill Gentaro. Killing Gentaro Kisaragi is the only cure to free a brainwashed worshiper of the Serpent-bearer."
"Death shouldn't be the answer to solving this!" said Miu, slamming her hands on the table. "The whole situation started because Ryusei killed Gentaro! Are you saying that this madness ends when Gentaro dies again?!""
"As long as Gentaro's soul is bound to Ophiuchus, the serpent will continue to wreak his havoc, Kazashiro. As the Chairman to the Kamen Rider Club, you must lead your friends into battle and end this tragedy once and for all."
"She's not doing this alone, though," said Ohsugi. "I'll start looking around and gather people to help us out. I'm sure there are a few people that would love to fight against this evil."
Owner smiled as he saw the teacher standing up and looking proud. He then saw Naomi pulling out plates of fried rice and pudding for everyone, along with some coffee for the Imagins.
"Coffee's ready!" She exclaimed, passing out coffee to the Imagins.
"Yay!" said Ryutaros, hopping out of JK's body to grab the coffee. "Naomi-chan makes the best coffee!"
Urataros, Kintaros and Momotaros followed suite, sitting near Hana and grabbing the mugs from Naomi's tray. Shun, Chosuke and Motoyama shook their heads and looked at their surroundings in confusion.
"What am I doing here?" asked Motoyama. "And why do I have an urge to eat pudding?"
"My head," said Chosuke. He looked at the Imagins and asked, "What the hell are these things?!"
"You!" said Shun, seeing Urataros drinking his coffee. "What do you think you were doing using my body like that?!"
"I just wanted to meet up with some of the pretty ladies at the campus," Urataos answered. "And to sweet-talk your little Princess at the same time."
Before Miu had a chance to exclaim, "I'm not a princess!", Hana came with a giant paper fan and slapped Urataros with it.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Toshiya Miura walked toward his house, looking through all the photos he took that day. Ever since Gentaro freed him from the powers of the Zodiarts Switch, life couldn't have been better. He and Mari took everyone's photograph and Mari was also working at the Journalist club where she could now put cute and funny captions for her photos. All in all, everything was fine.
Just as he was about to knock on the door and say, "I'm home!", he stopped. Miura felt someone watching him. He slowly turned around and gasped. Standing behind him was Virgo Zodiarts.
"Y-you!" he exclaimed. "You work with that Scorpion!"
"I used to," Virgo Zodiarts answered back. "But Scorpio has been...indisposed. Now, you'e coming along with me. My master needs you for a specific purpose!"
"Never! I won't into one of those monsters again! You can't make me."
"I won't."
Virgo Zodiarts grabbed onto Miura's arm and raised the Rhodia axe into the air. Miura didn't know what happened next, except he found himself in a room with the chairman in front of him, sitting on his chair as if he was a king on his throne. The chairman smiled, a Zodiarts Switch in hand.
"You..." Miura gasped out. "You're allied with the Zodiarts?"
"Allied?" Gamou laughed as he stood up, leaned toward Miura's face and sneered at the shorter teen. "I created them."
Before Miura had a chance to escape, Virgo Zodiarts slammed her axe onto his back. He fell onto his stomach and felt a hand pull on to his head, forcing him to look into the chairman's deep red eyes.
"Being a Zodiarts is an honor, Miura," Gamou continued. "These beings do not have to worry about the oxygen-empty void known as space. They could survive and see the beauty of the stars and planets surrounding them. Your will is also strong, Miura. You stood up against the scorpion before it could counterattack and poison you. Be glad about that."
"No..." Miura whispered, trying to close his eyes. Virgo Zodiarts noticed this and tugged on Miura's hair harder. Miura let out a scream as Gamou placed a hand on his chin. The red eyes were now all he could see.
"Yes, Miura. You are serving a greater purpose by being a Zodiarts. You'll be a hero; you'll be respected. And all you need to do is activate the switch once more."
Miura felt his mind and conscious thought disappear on him. The last thing he remembered was his hands reaching toward the switch and the words it echoed as he pressed on its red button.
Last One
0-0-0-0-0-0-
Daisuke was lucky that he had the Gigi Armlet on him. The armlet was capable of healing all of the wounds that Leo Zodiarts gave during their very brief encounter. Joji, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Being a human with no machinery or magic to heal him, he was bandaging himself up before placing his white coat over his body. Once that was done, he stood up.
"We need to return to the others in the DenLiner," he said. "We need to tell the others what happened."
"Cockroach and Lion are dangerous," Daisuke agreed. "We must stop them before it's too late."
"We need to find an expert that deals with these Zodiarts or something that involves space. The Kamen Rider Club might have a clue as to who we can talk to."
"Kamen Rider Club and Amazon will be friends." Daisuke locked his fingers together to create his sign of friendship. "Will get along very well."
Joji smiled. Even after fighting against the forces of evil, Daisuke was still the same person who made friends with people. He only wished that Amazon would keep that positive attitude in the upcoming days. Everyone was going to need something to lift their spirits up.
Just then, the sound of a whistle was heard. Daisuke went to the doors that lead to the auditorium and opened them. Instead of a path that would lead them to the campus, he saw a red and black train coming to a complete stop.
"Giant train arrive!" he gasped. "It's huge!"
Joji turned around as the door to the train opened. Stepping out was a man who looked exactly like Owner, except he was wearing a white train conductor's suit. He had a big smile on his face as he bowed toward the Kamen Riders.
"Hello, Daisuke and Joji," said the man. "I am the Station Master, and I'm here to pick you two up."
"You look just like Owner," Daisuke noted, looking at the new man with curious eyes. "You related?"
"Everyone says that, but we're not." Station Master laughed. "Now come, we have much to discuss. I also have a surprise for you two."
"All right," said Joji, carrying the bag that contained his Riderman weapons and helmet. "Let's see what awaits us."
0-0-0-0-0-
The Kamen Rider Club, and Ohsugi, explained the situation to Chosuke and Motoyama. The leader of the delinquents looked in horror, but Motoyama nodded his head. He knew what it was like transforming into a creature of darkness and hatred; he knew what it was like to not be himself.
"And that's why we have to stop them!" Yuki finished. "Please help!"
"...I really don't know what to say," said Chosuke. "It's still, what's that word, confusing."
"We can't leave them now, Chosuke-san." said Motoyama. "We've been chosen to help save the world. These Imagins need us."
"Damn right we do!" said Momotaros, standing up. He placed a hand on Motoyama's shoulder. "I'm going to train you well, just like I trained Ryotaro. You're going to be one hell of a fighter."
"Hmph," Kintaros had his arms folded against his chest. "Chosuke-san, I see you have great leadership skills and strength with your gang. With the two of us together, we'll-" He soon fell asleep once more, head face first onto the table. Everyone stayed silent and turned to Hana.
"Kintaros is always like that," Hana explained. "Just like Momotaros is still an idiot, Ryutaros is still a child and Urataros is still a flirt."
"Hana-chan is mean!" said Ryutaros, squirting bubbles into the air. "That hurt you know!"
Tomoko turned her attention to Chosuke and Motoyama, clasping her hands together.
"Will you lend us your hands?" She asked. "We're begging you. Please help us stop this madness!"
"You're asking a lot out of us, though," said Motoyama. "I mean, I'm just a painter and Chosuke is a delin-" Chosuke shot a glare at Motoyama. "I mean, great leader. We're powerless against a giant snake!"
"There have been ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. For example, I heard of a place called Angel Grove where a rebellion took place."
She showed them her Ipad, revealing a video of a bunch of citizens all ragged and in fear of people dressed in black and silver. The people were afraid to fight back, because they had no special powers and no way of defending themselves from the attacks that were to come. One of them spoke.
"I...am the Blue Ranger!" he cried.
Another person stepped forward, a hand on the first man's shoulder.
"And I'm the Black Ranger!" that person said.
Other soon followed, calling themselves Power Rangers and standing up against these intergalactic mercenaries who couldn't care less about these people. Yet, as the video played on, these people stood up for what they believed in. The citizens rallied together as five beings—Power Rangers as they were called—began to take back their city from the heartless monsters.
"Power Rangers?" asked Ohsugi, turning to Owner. Owner nodded his head, carefully scooping a spoonful of pudding in front of him.
"They are heroes who fight across the ocean," He explained. He placed the spoon near his mouth and swallowed the pudding. "No matter where one lives, there are villains and heroes. There are the villains that wish to make life miserable, and there are the heroes who stand up for what is right. People who do the right things can become heroes, no matter who they are and what they do."
"That's...such an amazing speech," Ohsugi wiped a tear from his eye. "It was beautiful."
When the video finished, Tomoko placed her Ipad back into her bag. She looked into the eyes of the awed Chosuke and Motoyama and nodded her head.
"We can make a difference in this world," she said. "All you have to do is accept. The Imagins won't hurt you at all—they wish to help fight off the darkness. Please..." she fell to her knees. "Make the world believe there is hope."
"Tomoko..." JK whispered, recalling her look of worry as Ryusei left with Aries Zodiarts. Out of all the people who were hit the hardest when his identity was revealed, Tomoko Nozama, the girl who named the Kamen Rider Club, was hurt the most. She was the one who believed that all Kamen Riders were protectors of justice, the one who was saved by Ryusei and Meteor whenever a Zodiarts would go after her. She had her heart crushed by the very same man she called a hero.
"Listen," Chosuke began. "I still don't understand what's going on, or how it got to this point, but..." He stood up and went to Kintaros and slightly shook him awake. The bear-like Imagin snorted awake and looked at the hand. "I can agree to be partners with a sleeping guy like you."
Kintaros looked at the hand and stared at it. Then, to the shock of everyone, he began to cry.
"The strength of these bonds is enough to make me cry!" He exclaimed, pulling out a tissue. "This is wonderful!"
"Kuma-chan is happy, and I'm happy also!" Ryutaros cried. He turned to JK and said, "I'm going to teach you all that I know. We'll dance, find cute animals, shoot people in the face and so much more!"
"You'll benefit with my ability to lure people out, Daimonji," said Urataros, a hand on Shun's shoulder. "The two of us will bring all the beautiful women onto their knees and we'll fight in a defensive style that no one would be able to land a single blow. A man like you should not use his body to become a living spear."
Everyone on the train began to talk to one another, bringing up ideas on how to work together against these dark times. For that moment, no one was worried about what Gentaro and Ophiuchus was planning - they were being friends with one another, which was what the true Gentaro Kisaragi would want. Yuki smiled and stood up.
"This calls for a commemorative photo," she said. "Does anyone have a camera?"
"Over here!" said Naomi, tossing a digital camera to the student. Yuki caught it in her hands and held it up, a bright smile on her face.
"All right everyone!" She said. "Let's take a group shot!"
"We're all friends now," said Erin. "And friends stick together through and through."
"And since everyone here is a member of the Kamen Rider Club, it's my duty as Club Chairman to initiate everyone in," said Miu extended her hands out to the Imagin. "Here."
She quickly administered the initiation handshake for the club to the Imagins, to Owner, to Naomi, to Chosuke, and then to Erin. The space otaku soon gathered everyone to the back so she could all take their picture.
"Say, Kamen Rider Club Kita everyone!" said Yuki. "Se-no!"
"Kamen Rider Club...KITA!" Everyone replied, posing in various ways.
Just as the flash of the camera was about to appear, the whistle of another train caught everyone off-guard. The train began to shake as Yuki dropped to her knees, and the picture was taken at an awkward angle.
"Are we under attack?!" said JK. "Is someone trying to kill us?!"
Hana looked through a window and said, "Joji-san and Daisuke-san are here!"
Everyone went to the windows, seeing another train and two motorcyclists riding amongst the train tracks. But these weren't ordinary motorcyclists; Tomoko was the first to name them.
"R-Riderman and Kamen Rider Amazon?!" She exclaimed, her eyes filled with awe. "T-they're here! I'm actually seeing them in person...on their bikes! And...and..."
Tomoko Nozama, the psychic goth girl and Kamen Rider fan, fainted in sheer delight.
0-0-0-0-0-0-
After getting everyone back to their homes—and having to wake Tomoko up with smelling salts to prevent her from fainting again—Ohsugi stayed behind to talk to the Kamen Riders, Station Master and Owner on the KingLiner. Unlike everyone else who were amazed to see real life Kamen Riders, the teacher just nodded his head and bowed in respect.
"Do not be formal," said Daisuke. "There is no need."
"I know, but I was told to respect my elders," said Ohsugi. "I thank you for coming out here and helping the kids out."
"It's no trouble at all," said Joji. "They are our future—they will save the world from this evil."
"Which leads me to this question...I know that I'm just a lowly Geography teacher and faculty adviser for the Club, but if there's anything you guys can do to help me out..." Ohsugi dropped to his knees and bowed. "Then will you give it to me?"
Station Master and Owner were at a table, a large place of fried rice in between them. The two were currently in a match to see who could eat the most rice without having the flag in the middle collapse.
"Heroes are not born and are not made," said Station Master, taking a spoonful of fried rice into his mouth. Once he swallowed, he continued. "Heroes are tested to see whether they can continue fighting or not. Chuta Ohsugi, even though you are a High School teacher, you decided to jump into the fray for your students. That takes courage."
"Indeed," said Owner, taking his scoop of fried rice. "Most people would cower and hide away from such leadership. You wish to tackle it head on. I commend you for your self-sacrifice."
"Do you think it's possible that we-"
"Yes, we should."
"But we haven't done this in-"
"There's always a first time for everything."
Ohsugi just watched as the Station Master and Owner continued their little duel of fried rice eating and chatter. The flag in the middle of the plate stood tall as more and more rice was devoured. Daisuke looked on in curiosity and Joji polished his weapons as the two continued to eat. Just as there was barely any rice left, Ohsugi slammed his hands on the table. The vibrations caused the flag to wobble and fall on its side. Owner and Station Master raised their hands close their face in shock.
"Will you listen to me?!" Ohsugi screamed. "There are students who are in trouble and all you're doing is eating fried rice! Are you the ones who protect the timeline from Imagin or not?!"
"He's right," said Owner. He stood up and pulled out something from his jacket. "Perhaps it's time to obtain another conductor for the Liners."
Ohsugi was given a white train pass with the image of the Kamen Rider Club on the front and a blue starry background on the back. It began to glow and seemed to cover Ohsugi with a brilliant light.
"Teacher becomes light bulb," said Daisuke. "Light very pretty."
"Let's see where this goes," Joji noted. "This should be interesting."
When the light dimmed down, Ohsugi opened his eyes. He looked down at his feet, his hands, and felt his face. He was the same. Nothing changed.
"What was that?" he asked Owner and Station Master. The two of them just smiled.
"You'll learn in time," Owner answered. "Now, why don't you prepare for your lecture and your field trip? Everything will go according to plan soon enough."
"A-all right then," Ohsugi pocketed the pass into his pocket. "I just hope that Kazashiro's plan falls through, though."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Kouhei Hayami arrived home and collapsed on his bed. He felt sick; the venom from the bite was making everything dizzy. Even though he was detached from most of his body, he still felt the sensations. Everything was a giant blur and his vision was being muddled. He could still hear that stupid snake in his ear.
"Just submit, Zodiarts of the Scales," The serpent hissed. "Then, everything will be better. You wouldn't have to worry about those nasty people making fun of you. Your mind will only hear the whispers and wonder of the Serpent-bearer and Master Ophiuchus."
"Doubt it," Hayami huffed in his mind. His arm lifted his left hand into the air. He saw the snake bite on his left hand mocking him for his stupidity. How he wished he could've just walked off without falling into Gentaro's mind trick. To think that someone as smart as he were to fall for just a few simple words, the sheer thought just furiated him.
"Jack of all trades, master of none. Better than being a master of one."
He was not a master of one! He was a skilled martial artist and strategist. He was the one who taught Sarina Sonada how to fight and made her become the Scorpion Zodiarts. He was the one who sent Kijima into the Dark Nebula! That serpent knew nothing about him at all! The serpent was just lying!
"Will you just leave me alone?!" Hayami screamed just as he felt the serpent about to speak. "GO AWAY!"
There was some silence as he looked around his bedroom. There was no one there...he was all alone.
The principal let out a sigh of relief. He was glad that serpent was quiet, but he knew that it wouldn't be the last time that would happen. The serpent still had a long way to go in order to break him down and submit. He didn't hear any hissing sound for a few seconds. He slowly lowered his hand, finally able to move his body after being a puppet all day. He won the battle...for now.
The principal felt his eyes grow heavy, probably due to the fact that he traveled to JAXA on foot and the ensuing fight with the Kamen Riders. Perhaps it wouldn't be bad to close his eyes for a minute or two. He closed his eyelids and let sleep take over, oblivious to the figure that entered his room through the shadows. While Hayami slept peacefully, he didn't feel the hand on his forehead and the voice whispering in his ear.
"Horologium," It said.
Hayami just turned his head to the side, his subconscious mind hearing the sound of a grandfather's clock slowly ticking away.
0-0-0-0-0-
The next day at Amanogawa High, Haruka Utsugi was at her desk, dining on a bento she made by herself for lunch. That was where Chuta Ohsugi saw her. He went to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around.
"Ah, Ohsugi-sensei," said Haruka. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine," Ohsugi answered. "It's just that, I need a favor from you. It's very important to me and my friends." He got on one knee and took her hands into his own. "Will you...sign me up for martial art classes?"
"Eh?" Haruka shook her head in order to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "What did you just say?"
"Gentaro came back to life and is now brainwashed by an ancient serpent thing! I'm asking you to help me fight against it. My fellow Kamen Rider Club members are going to go out there, but it won't be enough. Please take me under your wing, Haruka-sensei! Help me save the world from destruction!"
Haruka stared at the older teacher—this was unlike the Chuta Ohsugi she knew. For one thing, she thought that Ohsugi hated Gentaro and his friends. The second thing she noted was that his personality was never like this.
"Are you sure that's correct?" she asked the geography teacher. "Gentaro is alive?"
"Well, yes and no, but that's not the point!" Ohsugi grabbed onto her arms. "I need to learn how to fight! Will you at least give me the basics today?"
"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on," Haruka pulled her hand away from Ohsugi and folded her arms against her chest. "Explain everything from the beginning."
"All right," said Ohsugi. "Here goes..."
The Geography Teacher spent the next ten to fifteen minutes explaining what he learned yesterday to Haruka, even pulling out the train pass that Owner gave him. Haruka nodded her head every now and then, slowly understanding the series of events that took place. Once Ohsugi finished the story and panted for breath, that was when she responded.
"Gentaro told me he was going down the straight and narrow," she recalled. "I advised him to not hit any curves along the way. He needs to be put back on the path he wishes to proceed. He helped me go down the straight and narrow and now it's my turn. Ohsugi," She took the teacher's hand into her own. "Meet me at the Hibiki Gym at 5:00. We're going to get you in shape."
"Thank you!" Ohsugi cried, hugging Haruka. "You don't know how much this means to me! I'm so happy right now!"
Please get off of me...She thought thought, slowly pushing the Geography Teacher off of her.
0-0-0-0-0-0-
Yuki had a strange day at school. Kengo was back at his normal seat in class, but he didn't say anything at all; he was too busy staring off into space to notice. Ryusei was also there, but he was now stoic, quiet and somewhat robotic. Lunch didn't agree with her either—despite her parents making her an amazing lunch (it was omelet rice with a side of cream crab croquettes and fried shrimp), she also had to deal with Yukina rattling question after question about Gentaro.
"If you were to give him a yukata, what color would it be?" asked Yukina.
"Red," Yuki answered, taking a bite out of a croquette. Not even looking at the person asking the questions, she added, "His yukata would also have golden flames decorating it."
"If you could make him a lunch, what would and would not be in it?"
"It would contain oyakadon, tonkatsu ramen and all types of onigiri, preferably those stuffed with tuna mixed with mayonnaise or pieces of tempura. He doesn't like boiled pumpkin though."
"If you could give him the lunch and yukata on his birthday, when would that be?"
"November 30th." Yuki took her pair of chopsticks and plucked out a fried shrimp. At this point, she was glad that Yukina wasn't asking about whether Gentaro was a dog/cat lover or whether he liked green tea ice cream or mochi.
"And if you wanted to ask him his sign, that sign would be...Scorpio, right?"
"No, he'd be an Ophi-" Yuki nearly dropped the fried shrimp onto her lap as it hit her. She quickly packed up her lunch, in a rocket shaped bento-box no less, and said, "I-I have to do something important. See you later!"
"But wait..." Yukina had no time to react as Yuki raced out of the cafeteria. She wasn't going to take this sitting down. She finished the last of her lunch, put it in her school bag, and began to chase after the otaku.
0-0-0-0-0-
Mari Yamamoto was worried. When she met up with Miura the next morning, he changed. He started to rip up all the photos that he created, and his eyes looked so...empty. It reminded her of the time Miura was suffering from Zodiarts Switch withdrawal—it was too horrible for words.
She was currently following him toward the Chairman's office. She wanted to go to Miura and ask why he was going there, but she shook her head. She might've been caught snooping around other people's business. Instead, she quietly trailed watched him opened the door to the principal's office. She quickly brought out her camera and took a few shots of Miura walking around, glad that the camera she had didn't make too much noise when the shutter went off.
Miura stepped into a cabinet at the far corner of the office, the door closing behind him. Mari went toward the cabinet and placed her ear against the door. She could hear people talking, but that would've been impossible since the cabinet should only fit one person—Miura himself. She wanted to knock on the door, but that would've alerted someone to her presence. Instead, she slowly opened the cabinet just a bit to hear bits of conversation.
"First Switcher...find the others...bring them...Last One...Yes, Master..."
Mari gasped when she heard that voice; it was Miura's. Somehow he got himself involved with the Zodiarts once more and without anyone to save him. She wasn't going to stand for this. She raised the camera toward her face, and pressed the shutter for record mode. She kept a steady hand as the camera took a good view of Virgo Zodiarts, Miura and the Chairman of Amanogawa High. She kept listening to more and more of their plans, oblivious to someone walking toward her. As she saw the rose-haired Zodiarts raise her axe in the air, she heard the sound of something cracking under pressure.
"Who-" Mari turned around and gasped. She saw Ko Tatsugami, Gamou's bodyguard, leering at her. She tried to crawl out of the way, but Tatsugami grabbed her arm.
"You'll be our next subject," Tatsugami said with a maniacal grin. "Isn't that wonderful?"
"NO!" Mari screamed, kicking and flailing her arms about. She whacked him on the side of the face with her camera, slightly loosening his grip for just a second. That was for Mari Yamamoto to high-tail it out of there. She didn't look back until she made it back to the photography club where it was safe.
"Tch." Tatsugami growled, crushing walnuts in his hand. "She'll come back for her boyfriend. She has no other choice."
0-0-0-0-0-
JK was adjusting to having Ryutaros mentor him on firing guns and using his break-dancing skills in battle. Since Hana wouldn't allow Ryutaros to hold onto any real ammunition (heaven forbid he went crazy trying to arrest people due to looks alone), she gave them rubber bullets for them to use on some soda cans and bottles. JK was getting used to firing at a single soda can, while Ryutaros danced around, guns in both of his hands.
"I'm trying to concentrate!" JK exclaimed, a hand covering one ear. "Be quiet!"
"But this is fun!" Ryutaros laughed. He pretended to fire the guns at JK. "I'm like a western star! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Ignore him..." JK thought to himself, firing a bullet at the can. The bullet struck through the can, and knocked it down. Seeing this, JK began to fire a few more rounds, some of them hitting, some of them missing. Still, he was having so much fun once he was able to block out Ryutaro's exclamations of joy.
"I wish Tori-san was here to see this," Ryutaros sighed. "Then it'll be more fun."
"Tori? As in Torizaki?" asked JK, reloading his practice gun with bullets.
"No, he's a Swan-based Imagin who can become Kamen Rider Den-O like Momotaros, Kame-chan, and Kuma-chan. And when we all combine, we become the Climax Form!"
"Sounds cool. Say, what happens when we transform into Den-O?"
"Can't hear you! I'm having fun!" Ryutaros fired some rounds at a couple of glass bottles, shattering them into shards. "Yay!"
JK smiled as he continued his target practice until it was time to head for class. When he was done, he had completely fired and destroyed 13 out of 20 soda cans. Not bad for his first day with a firearm.
0-0-0-0-0-
"Hey, is that her?"
"The swan bitch that ran the cult? Yeah."
"I heard she had to be dropped out of the production of Giselle because of it. She had the lead role and everything!"
Misa Torizaki ignored all of them rumors and gossip everyone said as she walked to the corner of the school. Ever since she caused Cygnus Zodiarts to be unleashed—to the point that her Ugly Duckling cult pinned down fellow member Norio Eguchi—she had been blamed for causing trouble. Someone leaked about her bitchiness to the ballet instructor, and now she was the butt of every joke that pertained to the "Ugly Ducklings". She hated it. All she wanted to do was bring her hero to life! She didn't deserve this at all!
"Stupid Eguchi, stupid Gentaro!" she exclaimed. "How dare they do this! They separated me from my beloved Cygnus and me a total laughing stock!"
"Is he so beloved that you touch yourself in naughty places in that skimpy leotard you're wearing underneath your uniform?" asked a purring voice.
Misa turned around and found someone place a damp cloth over her nose and mouth. Before she could even understand what happened to her, everything went black and she fell limp into someone's arms.
Kuma-chan "Bear"
Tori-san "Bird" (note: "Chan" is an honorific for talking to people younger than you, but for Ryutaros, it's a sign of his youthfulness. 'San' indicates someone older than you)
Oyakadon-"Known as 'Parent and child' dish, this is a bowl of rice topped with scrambled egg and chicken
