Tears to Shed
X: 2-5-20-23-9-24-20
"Between two evils, I always picked the one I never tried before."
-Mae West
Gentaro didn't know what was worse: it was either fighting two Kamer Riders all by his lonesome self, or the fact that they wouldn't stay down.
No matter what he tried with the blades mounted on his wrists, the Kamen Riders of Axe Den-O and Wing Den-O just wouldn't give up. Clearly, on the defensive side, these two definitely outmatched JK and his Gun Den-O form, and Gentaro knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be on the receiving end of a loss. Despite eating so much to ensure that his body would not decompose, it didn't mean anything if he got his ass kicked in his first real battle after being resurrected.
"Gentaro," said Axe Den-O. "Why are you fighting us? You are a Kamen Rider just like us! You are a defender of justice!"
"I was," Gentaro snarled. "However, there's been a chance of plans. I am the Serpent-bearer, and I am only loyal to my master. You cannot change my mind!"
"You're in there, Gentaro!" said Wing Den-O. "The person who wants to befriend Amanogawa High rests inside you! He knows that being under Ophiuchus's will is wrong!"
"No, you are in the wrong, Norio Eguchi!" Gentaro exclaimed. "That man was nothing more than a fool than to trust that pathetic club to save his ass! You should know that feeling! Where were your so-called friends when they made you Cygnus? Where was Misa Torizaki when she dropped to her knees like she was a high priestess? Can you answer that, Norio? How can you say things like that when you were in the wrong? They left you to become a shell of your former self, just like how my friends," The word was said with biterness. "Did the same with me. So stop comparing yourself to me because you are NOTHING!"
The anger building up inside Gentaro caused his body to mutate. His body was covered in black and red scales, and a pair of demoinc wings unfurled from his back.
"We must do something!" said Wing Den-O. "He'll be too strong for us if we don't act now!"
"I'll take care of this!" Axe Den-O pushed his partner out of the way, scanning a Liner Pass over his belt. The pass was charged with yellow electricity.
"You must be dealt with," said Kintaros. "Gentaro Kisaragi, you must let us pass!"
Full Charge
Tossing the Liner Pass away, Axe Den-O charged toward Gentaro. Gentaro replied with the same, preparing to say the magic words that would let him extend his blade deep into the gold Kamen Rider's heart. However, Gentaro did not expect Kintaros to push his hands to the side before the mighty Axe Den-O jumped into the air, bringing the axe down and nearly cleaving Gentaro in half. An explosion covered him as Axe Den-O walked away.
"Dynamic Chop," were the last words Gentaro heard before everything faded into darkness.
0-0-0-0-0-0
When Gentaro opened his eyes, he found himself in total darkness. He frowned—this wouldn't have been the first time that happened.
"Son of a bitch," he cursed. "When I get my hands on those Kamen Riders, they'll rue the day that they messed with me." He narrowed his eyes. "Why am I here in the first place?"
"Gentaro? Gentaro, is that you?"
Gentaro turned around as two figures emerged from a beam of light. When the light dimmed down, he stepped back. Standing in front of him was his parents.
"Mom...dad..." he whispered. "How are you here? Why are you here?"
"We came to see you," said Gentaro's mother. She smiled and approached her son, wrapping him in warm hug. "We've missed you so much."
"Mom..." Gentaro slowly wrapped his arms around his mother's neck. He hadn't done this in such a long time. The last time he did this was when she and his father picked him up from a friend's house. That was just half an hour away from the car accident that took them away forever. "You feel so cold..."
"That's what happens when you're dead..." Gentaro's mother placed a kiss on her son's forehead. "You're such a big boy now...and I bet you made lots of friends, didn't you?"
"Friends..." That word sounded so familiar when spoken by his mother. When spoken by himself or by Ophiuchus, it was filled with malice and hate. When Gentaro heard it from his mother, it sounded so...sweet and warm. It sounded like someone showered him with love.
"I did..." Gentaro answered. "But..." He frowned. "They left me in the end. They left me to die. Dad..." Gentaro released himself from the hug and saw his father standing before him. "Didn't you say that if I made lots of friends, they'd save me when I fell? Where are they now?"
"They did their best," said his father. "How were they supposed to know about your friend's betrayal?"
"They could've at least done something instead of standing there like complete idiots!" Gentaro snarled. "No...the Kamen Rider Club is my enemy! They need to DIE!"
"Please Gentaro," cried his mother. "Get rid of this anger in your heart! It is killing you! Please..." she hugged him and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Let your soul be at ease and come with us. Let us be a family once more..."
"No..." Gentaro stepped back. "No! I can't! I...I..." He dropped to his knees and felt tears falling down his face. "I don't know what to do..."
"Perhaps I can answer that..." said a dark, sibilant voice. Gentaro turned as he saw the serpentine form of Ophiuchus emerge from the darkness, his red eyes staring deep into his soul. "My dear Serpent-bearer, are these people causing so much trouble?"
"You!" said Gentaro's father, pointing at the dark serpent. "It can't be! What have you done to my son?!"
"Something that you wished for me as you died..." Ophiuchus chuckled. "Wasn't it you who called for my name just as you collided with that drunken 'son of a bitch' as you called it? You wished for your son's protection from the icy grips of death, and I came. I can't say the same for you..."
"Master," said Gentaro. "What is going on? What am I?"
"You're very special, Serpent-bearer. Right now, that's all you need to know. I've come to bring you back to the land of the living. We still have much to accomplish in such a short amount of time."
"Gentaro!" cried Gentaro's mother. "Don't listen to this vile serpent! He's deceiving you! He's..."
"No, mother," Gentaro interrupted. His eyes began to burn with a dark fire. "You were the ones who deceieved me. I believed in your words that friendship would save me, and what did that lead me? Here! My friends all abandoned me and were complete cowards! Ophiuchus saved me from eternal death and blessed me with the power to enact my vengeance over my so-called 'friends'. I'm sorry, but my loyalty lies with my Master."
"No!" Gentaro's father grabbed onto his son's arm. His face was twisted in fury that Gentaro never saw before. "Listen to me, Gentaro Kisaragi! No son of mine is going to get involved with that creature of darkness! Do you hear me?"
SLAP!
The sound of Gentaro slapping his father across the face echoed in the darkness. The older man placed a hand on his cheek where his son slapped him, while Gentaro walked back toward Ophiuchus. He raised his hand into the air as the dark serpent opened his mouth to swallow him whole. Gentaro smiled as his parents looked on in horror.
"Goodbye forever," he stated. "Rest in peace, mother and father."
Ophiuchus swallowed his serpent-bearer whole, all with an evil glint in his red eyes.
0-0-0-0-0-0-
Gentaro slowly opened his eyes and placed a hand near his neck He felt his master's presence slip inside of him, filling him with energy that spread throughout his entire body.
"Thank you master," he whispered. "I knew that you would always be there for me."
"Forever and ever..." Ophiuchus replied. "Come, Serpent-bearer. I believe that both Apep and Serpent of Obsidian Knives have someone new for us to play with."
Gentaro nodded his head and stood up. Muttering a spell under his breath, he spat out the head of a snake, ready for its purpose into resurrecting the dead. Feeling his master's presence deep within his own body, the Serpent-bearer knew what he was doing. He was on the right path, and no one, not even his own parents, could prevent him from enacting his vengeance toward those who deserved it.
After letting himself become engulfed in sorrow the night before, Gentaro Kisaragi had no more tears to shed.
And with that, Tears to Shed has finished. I had lots of fun writing these stories and I wish I could continue, but here, this is where everything comes to place. Gentaro is no longer Gentaro Kisaragi, and he will never return to the person he once was. All we can do now is watch as he makes his descent into the darkness.
But the story doesn't end here. In a few weeks, I shall be hosting my own version of Tears to Shed with the characters in Horseshoes and Hand-grenades. How are they recuperating after the events in Kyoto? For one day in their lives, we shall see what makes them who they are, and how they struggle in this oncoming war.
Coming Soon: "Lay to Rest"