SHARD 10: One Freaky Day

"Come on, stay with me!" pleaded Ryo desperately as he held Tazuka in his arms. Yui was already calling for an ambulance.

"Sorry…Ryo-kun…" Tazuka said as he smiled up at his younger adopted brother.

"No, don't apologize! I should be sorry!" said Ryo. "I couldn't save you!"

Tazuka then raised a hand to Ryo and opened his palm to reveal a bright silver dollar. "Take this…" Tazuka said weakly as he dropped the coin. It fell in Ryo's lap. Tazuka then closed his eyes.

"Nii-san?" asked Ryo as he shook Tazuka. "Wake up! Open your eyes!" No response came from Tazuka. "Come back…Nii-san…" Tears fell from Ryo's eyes. "NII-SAN!!!"

"Tazuka-niisan, you died so I could live…" said Ryo slowly as he stood on the roof. In his hand was a Japanese protection charm containing a silver dollar. It was the same silver dollar used by Tazuka in his fortune telling and a precious memento. Since his death Ryo had always made sure to keep it close. It was the only thing he had to remember the fallen Rider by. "Unfortunately, I wasn't the one that defeated Asakura…" He heard footsteps and turned to see Jinx walking towards him. "Jinx…"

Ryo had dropped the '-san' suffix from Jinx's name at her request. She wanted to be close to him. He only did it to be polite but now that they were dating, such formalities were unnecessary.

"I guess the thing between you and Asakura is over," stated Jinx. After the Riders had returned from the Mirror World, Ryo and Takada told them about the new Rider, who was confirmed to be Slade, and how both of them betrayed and killed Asakura.

"Yes, so only Ryuuga is left," answered Ryo. He felt her hand going to his and they intertwined their fingers. She then saw the protective charm.

"What's that?" asked Jinx.

"A good luck charm," he told her. "Inside is Tazuka-niisan's silver dollar. He would always flip it to see the future."

"He flipped a coin to predict the future?" Jinx asked skeptically.

"He had many methods of predicting the future, but the power he gained when he became a Zodiac Rider made his visions accurate…too accurate." Ryo frowned.

"Come inside," Jinx beckoned as she pulled him towards the roof entrance. "It's late. You need to rest."

"I know…"

Naoko too was deep in thought. Slade, who she'd come to respect as her new mentor was now a Rider. This had indeed complicated things. Now, he was just another obstacle in winning the Rider War. She couldn't trust him anymore. He was just another enemy.

However, it still didn't change the fact that she did trust him and respected him. He acknowledged her, unlike her parents who showered their attention on Ryo. Why was life so unfair? Why was it that when she finally found a sense of happiness it had to be taken away?

Maybe it was karma?

"So what are Slade's abilities as Abyss?" Robin asked as he and the Titans sat around the table. The only ones missing were Raven and Desmond who were still in Tokyo and Takada who said he was going to recover with some TLC from his new lady friend. Of course, that left Ryo to be grilled by Robin.

"He has a Sword Vent, and a Strike Vent," Ryo answered. "The sword is rather long and the Strike Vent shoots highly pressurized water through the air. It hurts a lot."

"And what about his contract monster?" asked Robin.

"That's the weird thing," Ryo frowned. "They're called the Abysshammer and Abysslasher, but…he has two. When he uses his Final Vent, it turns into one big monster shark. I've never seen anything like that happening before."

"And how does the Final Vent work?" asked Beast Boy. "I mean, if it took out that Genocider monster, it must be bad."

"Slade leaps onto the monster's head and it shoots at his target before slashing at it with a chainsaw blade which extends from its nose," Ryo answered. "It cut Genocider like butter. I've never seen anyone damage Genocider beyond just knocking him over."

As far as Ryo knew, Genocider was one of the strongest Mirror Monsters that existed. With it destroyed by Slade's Abyss Shark, it proved that even a powerful monster could be destroyed.

"Damn, and I thought Slade was bad before," grimaced Terra.

"And he's a Rider now which makes him even more dangerous," added Robin. The Riders could travel through mirrors. That meant Slade/Abyss could attack from anywhere at anytime.

"Actually, he has a weakness now," said Jinx. "If we take his Advent Deck and destroy it then his monsters will just turn on him."

"Easier said than done. We could barely touch him when we fought and now that he has Rider Powers he's gonna be tougher to take down," argued Cyborg.

"Why would Onii-chan make him a Rider?" Yui asked.

"It was for the sake of motivation," a new voice answered and all eyes turned towards the direction of the voice to see…

"SHIRO KENZAKI!" Ryo cried.

"Onii-chan!" Yui cried out as well.

Shiro smiled fondly at his sister before focusing his eyes upon the Titans. This would be their first official meeting and he was going to give them a firm warning regarding their involvement.

"Slade was selected to be a Rider to motivate you all," Kenzaki continued. "It is simple enough to guess what his wish will be, should he win. Can you sit by and let him win, 2nd?"

"No," Ryo frowned as he stood up. "I will fight him. I'll fight both him and Ryuuga at the same time if I have to. Neither of them will win!"

"Then I chose a good motivator," Kenzaki nodded.

"This is enough!" Robin frowned. He leaped from the table and landed in front of Kenzaki. "How long are you going to let this petty game continue? People are DYING! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"Petty? PETTY!?" Kenzaki growled, around him, the reflective surfaces came to life with angry Mirror Monsters. Even the Titans could see them clearly with Kenzaki in the room. "You can't understand the reason for this war! My reasons are anything but petty!"

The snarling Mirror Monsters began to slip out of the reflections, causing Ryo to pull out his deck. Kenzaki held up his arm and the Mirror Monsters slipped back into the reflections and vanished.

"You have no place in my war," Kenzaki warned. "Be sure to know your place or else you will run afoul of the denizens of the Mirror World."

Robin clenched his fists and rebutted, "You don't scare me."

"You should, because you can't touch me," Kenzaki said smugly.

Robin quickly threw a fist but then stumbled and fell when he passed right through Shiro Kenzaki, like he wasn't there. He whirled around and attacked with a kick only for it to pass Kenzaki, like he was a ghost.

"Pitiful," Kenzaki snorted. "Let this be a warning to you all. This war will come to an end but only on my terms." With that he vanished in a blink of an eye.

"Robin, are you alright?" Starfire asked her boyfriend and leader.

"I'm fine," Robin insisted.

"It's a waste of energy to try and fight Kenzaki," spoke Ryo.

"We saw," observed Cyborg. "Is he a ghost or something?"

"I don't know," Ryo said with a shake of his head. "All I know is that he's right and that we need to fight harder."

On various screens images of the Zodiac Riders were playing. They were depicted using their cards to summon their weapons, contract beast, and finally execute their finisher moves. On display were Zoldat using End of the World, Ryuuki using his Dragon Rider Kick, Shadow using his Hishozan.

"They are so cool!" the largely built figure in the chair squealed. When the light shone on his face…it revealed him to be…CONTROL FREAK! "Real Tokusatsu heroes in this city! I just gotta meet them!" He rubbed his hands together. "And I know exactly how to do it." He let loose a loud laugh and even snorted while he did.

"Hmmm, I gotta say, you might have been late, but you sure made up for it," Blackfire purred as she and Takada reclined on her bed after some…TLC.

"Hey, I was part of a big fight," Takada shrugged. "It couldn't be helped."

"Excuses," Blackfire smirked as she laid her head on his chest. "I was sure I tired you out before you left the club. I guess I must be slipping if you have the energy to get in a fight and then come back here for more."

"It was all adrenaline," Takada laughed.

As one might guess, Takada had come running after the fight with Abyss and Ohja's death. The elimination of the 7th wasn't going to cost him any sleep and Blackfire was definitely worth risking Robin's ire for skipping the debriefing. Girls like her didn't come by everyday. Heck, Blackfire was from an entirely different planet.

She didn't know about his condition and mentioning it would kill the mood. He was only lucky that the symptoms hadn't shown while he was with her. Maybe she was good for his health?

"I'm ready for another round…" Blackfire said sultrily as she drew circles on his chest.

"Robin, are you asleep?" Starfire asked as she entered his room. He was bent over his table and on it was various papers and some had fallen onto the floor. Starfire shook her head and softly floated over to him. He was fast asleep. Obviously, he was vexed over this whole deal with the Rider War. She gently stroked his hair.

She and Robin were an official couple, but even then they had to keep their personal and professional lives separate. On the field he was the leader and she was a member of his team. In private and on dates they were a couple and would enjoy each other's company. They'd begun as good friends, best friends even, and grew into something more. It just took time for them to realize it and the kiss in Tokyo had started their new relationship.

"Oh, Robin. You care so much for others that you do not take care of yourself," she said sadly. "I know that we're heroes, but can't we be normal?" That was out of the question. None of them was normal. She gently kissed his forehead and then carried him over to his bed. When she was about to pull the blanket over him, she got a rather mischievous idea. She slipped into bed next to him and pulled the covers over the two of them.

Ryo was sleeping soundly, but it wasn't in a bed. He was asleep on the couch in the living room. Having been shaken up by Shiro Kenzaki's appearance, he decided to watch TV to get his mind off the incident. Jinx of course took the opportunity to have him rest his head in her lap, which he took after a moment of blushing. Eventually, he managed to fall asleep. Of course, Jinx didn't mind it in the least. Maybe finally having Ohja gone lifted some of the weight on his shoulders.

Of course, now there was Ryuuga to deal with. Obviously Abyss and Ryuuga were working together and that was complicating things. Ryuuga also took the life of someone precious to Ryo and could not be forgiven.

Ryo still loved Miho. She remained in his heart. Jinx just wished that maybe she could fill his heart like the late female Rider had done. From what she'd learnt, she and Miho weren't so different. They were opportunistic and former criminals. Only after meeting Ryo had they gone straight.

What scared Jinx was that Ryo could die in this war. Already a new Rider had taken the place of Ohja and it was Slade of all people. Slade had scared her and now that he had the powers of a Zodiac Rider he could appear from anywhere, using reflective surfaces as portals. Not to mention his contract beasts were also formidable, especially combined.

Jinx looked at his sleeping face. He seemed to be at peace now. Still, she knew he was deeply troubled. Time was slowly running out. In less than a month the Rider War needed to be concluded. That would mean that Ryo would have to take the lives of the other Riders or that in the end Ryo himself would lose his life.

Jinx had learned a lot about Ryo in this short time. He was a Rider simply because he wanted to protect people. He was an idealist. He believed in good and justice. Not many people like him existed and even after suffering so much he still held firmly to his ideals. She admired him for that.

So many times he'd fought the Mirror Monsters and the other Zodiac Riders and so many times he'd nearly lost his life. He'd lost one too many friends in this war and unwilling to let it repeat itself. Reliving the events because of Odyn had merely strengthened his resolve. He was going to stop this war in his own way. He wasn't sure how, but he would end it without anymore loss of life.

Several days later, Beast Boy dragged everyone along with him to en event he deemed too important to miss. It was being held at the local convention centre. When the T-Car, the R-Cycle and Desmond, Takada and Ryo's bikes pulled up at the parking lot, they soon found out what it was. A huge banner read "MANGACON 09" on the front.

"A comic book convention?" Terra deadpanned.

"No, a JAPANESE comic book convention, also known as Manga!" announced Beast Boy.

"And I came back for this?" Desmond commented as he stared at all the otaku. He and Raven had returned yesterday from their trip.

"Hey, if we gotta suffer, so do you," said Cyborg. Desmond just frowned in response.

Starfire, on the other hand, was amazed at all the costumes some of the people were wearing. "Why is everyone dressed in such costumes?"

"Cosplayers," Takada answered.

"Cosplayers?" Starfire questioned, unfamiliar with the term. "What is that?"

"It's short for 'costume players' and they are just a bunch of people who come to these events dressed like their favorite manga characters," he explained. "I think you guys will fit right in." He was referring to the Titans' uniforms. "People are just gonna think you're all people in costume instead of the real thing."

"Guess that counts us out," said Ryo. He and the other Riders wore civilian clothing when they weren't fighting. The armor was only for combat and nothing more, at least in Desmond's opinion.

"Might as well fit in," said Takada as he locked his Advent Deck inside his belt buckle. "Henshin!" In an instant he'd transformed into Zoldat. "Come on, guys, join the party."

Smiling, Ryo took out his Advent Deck. Desmond grimaced but instead of arguing he decided to go along with it.

"Henshin!"

"Henshin!"

As soon as the Titans and Riders entered, some otaku started to ask if they could take pictures of these 'cosplayers', not knowing that they were really the city's heroes. Zoldat, did a few poses with his gun and then Ryuuki got into an action and went into a pose, the same pose he did when performing his Dragon Rider Kick Final Vent. Shadow just crossed his arms and stepped away from his two fellow Riders. Did they have no shame?

"Isn't this cool?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not the word I'd use for it," said Raven.

"You're no fun." Beast Boy stuck out his tongue at her.

"Have I ever been fun?" she retorted dryly.

Yui smiled. Even with the Rider War going on, her friends could still find some time to relax. Still, her smile turned to a frown when she thought about her brother. What reason did he have for starting this whole thing in the first place?

"Friend Yui? Friend Yui, what's wrong?" Starfire asked in concern. Yui had barely heard her, so deep in her thoughts she was.

"Nothing's wrong," said Yui. "I'm just thinking about my brother, Shiro. I just don't understand him anymore."

Starfire could understand. Her relationship with her sister was strained at best. "Sometimes our own siblings will do things that do not make sense."

"I can agree to that," replied Yui. "So, what else can we do here?"

"Ummm," Starfire blinked as she looked around. "Oh! I see many things for sale over there! We must go! It is like the Mall of shopping!" Grabbing Yui's hand, the excitable Tamaranian pulled her over to the dealers to see what she could buy.

Shadow grumbled as more people took photos of himself and his fellow Riders. The otaku there thought their 'costumes' and 'acting' were just perfect. A lot of them suggested that they enter the costume contests, but Ryuuki thought that would be cheating. Zoldat was a little more willing when he heard cash was involved. Shadow thought this whole outing was ridiculous. Why were people doing this?

"Oh! I don't have this one!" Beast Boy grinned as he mooned over several manga for sale. "Or this one either! This one's new!"

"You'd better calm down, Beast Boy," Robin tried to speak to his friend. The green changeling wasn't listening though.

"Hey, BB's in his zone man," Cyborg laughed. "An odd zone, but it's his zone."

"Personally, I think all this is a waste of time and money," commented Shadow, irritated by the blasted otaku still taking pictures of him.

"I'd rather curl up on the couch with a good book," added Raven.

"And away from this attention," said Shadow.

"Weren't you guys like big heroes in Tokyo?" asked Cyborg.

"Urban legends, really," said Shadow. "Stuff for tabloids, even if we were considered heroes by the people we saved." He felt someone tapping his belt. "Hm?" He looked down to see a little kid. "What do you want?"

"Mister, are you supposed to be Batman?" the kid asked.

Shadow scowled under his helmet as Cyborg resisted the urge to chuckle. "No, I'm NOT Batman," stated Shadow.

"Oh, OK." The kid then ran off.

"I'm guessing you get that a lot," said Raven.

"Yes," Shadow replied.

"Well, you do look like him," said Cyborg.

"I know, but I can't help what my armor looks like. When I made that contract with Darkwing I never expected to look like a medieval version of Batman," remarked Shadow as he crossed his arms.

"Well, you don't look much like him without your cape," Cyborg pointed out. Shadow stared at Cyborg.

"You do realize that my cape is really my contract monster, right? Besides, I only use it in combat," said Shadow.

Starfire was looking at a collection of dolls with Yui. The dolls resembled famous female anime characters in various poses, costumes, and even states of undress. Also on display were costumes like Asuka's plug suit or Sailor Moon's uniform.

"Should I purchase one of these ensembles?" Starfire asked her human friend.

"Well, I suppose," said Yui. She giggled. "You may end up getting a nose bleed though." She glanced at Jinx and Ryuuki. Jinx said something and Ryuuki, despite the helmet covering his face, looked flustered, "I think Jinx has the idea, though."

"Hm, they all look so good," said Starfire, "but would they suit me?"

"Well, from where I stand anything would look good on you," said Yui. "Ever thought of being a fashion model?"

"Me? A model like on the television?" Starfire asked.

"Well, you do have the looks and the height," Yui said as she gave Starfire the once over. "I bet you could become famous too."

"But I am already famous."

"A famous superhero, but I think there's more to life like super heroics. I mean, take a look at my friends." Yui gestured to the Riders. "Even they have time for fun and to enjoy civilian life…until a Mirror Monster shows up."

"I may consider that, Friend Yui," said Starfire, smiling.

Yui smiled but felt an odd tingling sensation. She raised her hand and gasped when she saw particles rising up.

"What's wrong?" Starfire asked.

Yui looked to Starfire then back at her hand to see that it was back to normal. Yui let out a breath of relief. "Nothing. Maybe I just need a drink of water or something. I'm parched."

"Superheroes at a Comic Book Convention," said Naoko as she stared at the screens. "The irony is just there."

"You may call it irony, my young apprentice, but I call it a waste of time," said Slade.

Naoko looked towards Slade. While she considered Slade a father figure since he treated her well, his new identity as a Rider still kept her on her toes. In Kenzaki's game, only one Rider would remain. Despite their allegiance right now, sooner or later she and Slade may fight for their wishes.

Working with another Rider wasn't new to her. She had worked alongside the 11th before the yakuza boss' demise. Now she was working for the 14th. They were working towards eliminating both the Titans and the other Riders. That was why they had destroyed Asakura. He was too much of a loose cannon to allowed to live and may ruin her plans.

While she and Asakura had several similarities, the only difference was that Naoko was more focused on her goals. She wanted to destroy her brother and rewrite history to give her the happy life she deserved. Frankly, she didn't care about anything else anymore and it was too late to turn back. They had less than a month to end the war.

"So, should we attack?" Naoko asked.

"No," Slade shook his head. "Just monitor them. I suspect a different criminal will strike the Titans."

"Oh?"

"There they are, there they are!" a pudgy and pale geek grinned wickedly. "Oh you think you're so clever, blending into plain sight. But I'm onto you. I see through your trickery!"

Hiding behind a shelf of DVDs, the pudgy villain known as Control Freak pulled out his universal remote. He had made an upgrade since his last tussle with the Titans. Now he could create digital hard-light constructs based off data from any kind of media. What he planned to do would be a battle for the ages!

"Come to me, my anime villains!" Control Freak laughed as he began pressing buttons. "Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

The manga ethuthiasts, cosplayers and otakus all suddenly cried out in shock and fear when all of a sudden the most well-known manga/anime villains started to appear out of thin-air. I won't bother saying what they look like or mention their names or anything, but let's just say these dudes are bad news.

"What's going on!?" Ryuuki shouted in shock.

"Control Freak!" Robin shouted.

"That's right, Titans! I'm back and this time I'm gonna finish you all off for good with my new army! You like them?" Control Freak chuckled.

"OK, who's the fatso?" Zoldat asked.

"Control Freak. He doesn't have any superpowers. All he has is that tricked out remote of his," said Cyborg.

"So, get rid of the remote and he's easy pickings?" Zoldat said as he gripped his gun.

Cyborg nodded, "Pretty much."

"Don't think it'll be easy to take me down this time, Titans. Even your new friends won't be a match for me," Control Freak boasted.

"We'll see about that," said Zoldat as he shut his card chamber after slotting a card inside. Ryuuki was doing the same.

"Shoot Vent!"

"Strike Vent!"

Zoldat was immediately armed with his shoulder-mounted Giga Cannons as the Drag Claw equipped itself to Ryuuki.

"Wow! Cool!" Control Freak admitted, earning odd looks from the Riders.

"He's a fanboy," Raven deadpanned.

"Oh," Shadow nodded. "Well, that explains it. He's an extreme otaku then. Pathetic."

Control Freak snapped, "I heard that! Get them, my army!!!"

"And now it begins," Shadow sighed as he drew his sword.

"Don't use those things in here!" Robin warned Zoldat and Ryuuki.

"So, what do you expect us to use?" the green Rider snapped.

Ryuuki actually agreed with Robin and banished his Strike Vent before drawing a new card which depicted his Sword Vent.

"We do this old school style," Said Ryuuki.

"Sword Vent!"

"Ugh, fine!" Zoldat grunted as he banished his Giga Cannons and slotted a new card into his gun.

"Strike Vent!"

A green gauntlet covered Zoldat's right forearm. It also had a pair of bull horns attached to the front and a gun barrel.

"Happy?" Zoldat remarked.

"Very," answered Robin. "Now…TITANS GO!"

"GET THEM!!!" Control Freak shouted as assorted Anime/Manga villains charged at the Titans and Riders.

"Sword Vent!"

Armed with both his Dark-Visor and Wing Lancer, Shadow slashed and stabbed at the villains around him. They dropped like flies and despite their impressive powers, they weren't any match for him.

Zoldat was bashing their faces in along with Cyborg and Beast Boy who was in gorilla form. Jinx was using her hexes to give the villains bad luck as Starfire tangled with a few fliers along with Raven and Terra, using their own powers to take them down. Ryuuki and Robin were trying to make their way towards Control Freak, fighting through the horde.

"So, if we get the remote this will all stop?" questioned Ryuuki as he slashed a villain in half.

"Yup," Robin confirmed.

"Easy enough!" Ryuuki passed his sword into his left hand and opened up his Drag-Visor's chamber. He drew a card. "Get that remote, boy!" He slotted the card in and closed the chamber.

"Attack Vent!"

From a window Dragredder roared as it flew out and breathed fire upon some of the flying Anime/Manga villains. It then set its sight on Control Freak and flew at the fat villain.

"HEY! NO FAIR!" Control Freak cried as he flew from the dragon who was trying to barbeque it. Seeing this, Shadow activated his own contract.

"Attack Vent!"

"Oh, come on!!!" Control Freak shouted as a mechanical bat suddenly swooped down and tried to grab his remote. He had studied the Riders and thought he could handle them. He was wrong.

"OK, time to finish this!" said Zoldat as he drew out his Final Vent but felt a hand grab his wrist. Looking up, he saw Cyborg shaking his head at him. "Not indoors?" Cyborg nodded. "Dang it."

"GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" Control Freak screamed as he swung his arms about to fight off the bat (Darkwing) and the dragon (Dragredder) Zoldat saw the remote in the criminal's hand and grinned.

Zoldat aimed his gun but Beast Boy asked, "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"Don't worry, little buddy, I'm just gonna shoot that remote out of his hand," said Zoldat calmly.

"But what if you miss?"

"I never miss," Zoldat replied sternly.

BANG!

The bullet knocked the remote out of Control Freak's hand. "HEY!" However, he was too late to do anything as Dragredder opened up its mouth and swallowed it. "Oh…dang it…"

The Anime and Manga villains vanished and Control Freak gulped as he saw the Titans glaring at him. He tried to make a run for it but Ryuuki conjured a ring of fire around him to keep him in place. "OUCH! That's hot!" Control Freak exclaimed.

"Stay nice and warm for the police, Control Freak," said Ryuuki. Dragredder hovered by his side and Ryuuki scratched his monster under its chin. "Good job, Dragredder."

It was probably the biggest event in the history of the convention. Actual superheroes had come to attend and even fought off a super villain in the process. Everyone was impressed and dozens of the attendees were asking for autographs and pictures. Some of the Titans were more than willing to go through with it. Others…not so willing.

"I can't believe you convinced me to pose," Shadow grumbled.

"Hey, the girl was little, she loves us!" Zoldat argued. "Even you couldn't say no to her!"

"Can you believe she mistook me for Batman?" Shadow huffed.

"I feel used," Raven deadpanned.

The group was back at Titan Tower, reclining after their day. Starfire was enjoying her cosplay outfits which she bought and Beast Boy was stashing his new books with his collection. Robin was getting something to eat while fighting off the blue fungus while Cyborg ordered pizza since it seemed the Boy Wonder was losing against the mold.

"So, since the convention was a bust, what else should we do?" asked Ryo once his armor was gone.

"Stay here and wait for a Mirror Monster to emerge," said Desmond nonchalantly as he read the newspaper.

"Or, we could just end this war right here and right now," challenged Takada. Everyone went silent at that statement before Takada broke into a grin. "Hey, I'm kidding!" The Titans all let out sighs of relief, but Desmond's eyes narrowed upon Takada.

Meanwhile, Yui was in her room, counting the days. Her birthday was less than a month away. Of course, did she have a reason to celebrate? She wasn't sure but she knew her birthday was going to be a tragic one. Not only that, she wanted to know what her brother was planning with the Rider War. What was he to gain by giving power to 14 people and making them Zodiac Riders?

"You seem vexed, Yui," she heard. Spinning around, she saw her brother.

"Onii-chan!" She wanted answers. "Onii-chan, why did you create the Riders? Why?"

"It was the only way," he answered vaguely.

"The only way? What does that mean?" she demanded. She showed him the drawings. "What do these mean!?"

"I'm sorry, Yui, but I can't tell you," he said, shaking his head sadly.

"People have died because of this, Onii-chan!" she shouted. "Good people too!" She was referring to Miho and Tazuka. "You tricked them by using their fears and desires! Why!? The Onii-chan I knew would never do such things!"

"I'm sorry, but it's for the best," he said.

"Best? For whom? You?" She yelled, "Then make me a Rider! I'll fight to end this!"

"I can't do that, Yui," answered Shiro. He faded away. "I can't…"

"OK, hold that pose," said Ryo as he held up the camera. Jinx was sitting on a rock across from him with the ocean and sky acting as the backdrop. It seemed like a good idea to take some pictures of her today.

The camera he was holding. Ever since Miho's death he hadn't picked it up. Now, it was back in his hands. It was strange, though. When he scrolled through the previous photos, he found a picture of him and Miho, one of the last pictures he'd taken with the girl. He then gave a sigh at the memory. Miho wouldn't have wanted him to be depressed. He had to move on…and avenge her.

Jinx let her hair down and smiled at the camera. To Ryo she was a work of art. She had a slender figure and that dress of hers hugger her slim body to reveal every curves. Also, her hair was done and flowed down like a curtain. It took his breath away. Her pink, cat-like eyes sparkled.

It took a long time for him to admit that he was falling for this girl. After having his heart broken by Miho's death he wasn't sure if he was ready for another relationship, ever. The Rider War had already taken the lives of people he cared for and he didn't want to add Jinx's name to the list of casualties. However, acting all depressed wasn't going to help matters. Both Tazuka and Miho would want him to be happy.

Ryo snapped a picture of Jinx. She asked, "So, do I make a good model?" He gave her a thumbs up and she smiled at him.

"BLARGH!!!"

Takada emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet before flushing it down. Another symptom of his cancer was nausea and with it vomiting. Not exactly attractive. He was lucky those symptoms never turned up while he was with Blackfire.

"Damn it…" he cursed as he stood up, wobbly at first. He balanced himself against the wall. Was Kenzaki right? Was he running out of time?

"Kidnap Yui Kenzaki?" Naoko asked Slade. "Whatever for?"

"She must know something," Slade said. "She is Shiro Kenzaki's sister."

"I hardly think she does. All she can do is sense Mirror Monsters and see the Mirror World," snorted Naoko. "Other than that she's just a powerless human."

"Be that as it may, she's also with the Titans," said Slade.

"You plan on using her as bait," Naoko guessed.

"Yes, and with her in our grasp we can coerce the 1st, 2nd and 4th into a fight and eliminate them all in one fell swoop."

"You can have the bat and the ox, but the red dragon is mine," said Naoko firmly.

"Oh, but of course. I will never interfere in family matters."