It was still fairly early in the morning for Aozora City. One young man was taking a walk along the coastline, taking in the ocean air.
"This place really is beautiful." Sougo Tokiwa said. "I'm really glad I took that exchange student trip offer."
He was a bit sad that his friends couldn't come on the trip. Geiz was in another judo tournament in a different town, and Tsukuyomi went with him to keep him in check, in case his injury acted up again. Though, he wasn't completely alone.
"Indeed, my Demon King." Woz said, holding his scarf over his head to shield himself from the harsh sunlight. "Though, I would have much preferred to have taken a walk where there was more shade."
"Come on, Woz." Sougo said. "Sometimes you need to man up to the heat."
"As much as I'd like to accompany you, I'd rather not get heatstroke, my Demon King." Woz said.
"You're overreacting, Woz. If you want, you can go back to the ice cream shop that had the air conditioning" Sougo said, before he looked down to the boardwalk. "Hmm?"
Past several of the concession stands and carnival games, he saw a lone girl with pink hair sitting on the edge of the dock, her legs dangling over the side. Curiosity got the better of him, as he walked towards her. Woz stayed back, narrowing his eyes.
"There's something odd about her…" He said quietly.
Sougo approached the girl, as he heard her muttering to herself… or to what looked like a pink seal plushie she was holding.
"I still can't believe I sank like a rock. I'm a great swimmer! Stupid legs…"
"Is something wrong?" Sougo asked her.
The girl turned around with a yelp, almost falling into the ocean. Thankfully, Sougo grabbed her shoulder before she could slip.
"That was a close one." He said.
"Y-Yeah, thanks." She said.
"I'm Sougo Tokiwa." He introduced himself.
Realizing that she'd have to say her name in response, the girl put on a proud smile. "I'm Laura La Mer."
"That's a nice name." Sougo said, though he wondered. Was the girl a foreigner? The name didn't sound Japanese. "I noticed that you were talking to yourself. Are you alright?"
"Well… if you must know, I'm going to be queen one day." Laura said.
She honestly expected a confused expression from Sougo, considering that was how almost everyone aside from her friends reacted. But to her surprise, Sougo's eyes brightened and his smile grew wider.
"Really?!" He said. "That's awesome!"
Laura was a bit shocked at this. This boy suddenly gave Manatsu a run for her money with that reaction. "Why are you so happy for me?"
"Because my dream is to be a king one day!" Sougo said, pointing at himself.
"Ehhh?!" Laura couldn't help but smile. Was this really happening? She found someone with an identical dream to hers? She never thought this day would come. "Tell me more!"
Sougo sat down next to her, explaining about his desire to be a king. While petting Kururun, Laura listened intently as Sougo went on. She was impressed at just how much detail he was going through.
"-and with that, I decided; I'd become the greatest, kindest, Demon King." Sougo finished.
"Demon King?" Laura asked, with a bit of caution in her voice.
"The greatest, kindest, Demon King." Sougo said. "I'd be all powerful, like a demon, but I'd be the kindest; protecting my people and friends."
"Amazing…" Laura said.
"Thanks." Sougo said. "You're one of the few people that doesn't think my dream is foolish. But anyways, what about you?"
"Well, I want to be queen, but…"
"But?"
"I'm a great swimmer. The best."
Sougo raised an eyebrow, confused at where this was going.
"And I joined the Swim Club, only to fail miserably on the first day." She sighed, remembering how she had flailed around like fish out of water.
...probably not the best analogy, but it did work for irony.
"I'm just not used to using these yet." She said, patting her leg. "If I was in my normal form, I'd be the best."
Sougo was still very confused, trying to make sense of this. She said she was a great swimmer, but she failed really badly? Not used to using her legs? That didn't make sense… but normal form? That got him thinking. Maybe she was like Geiz; she used to be really good at something, but she couldn't after getting an injury?
That must be the problem, yeah. She was recovering, but she wasn't in the best shape. She's just not confident in herself at the moment because she's out of practice. He stood up, as Laura looked up at him.
"You shouldn't let something small like that put you down, Laura." Sougo said.
"Sougo?"
"I know that you can become a great swimmer again." He told her with a smile. "And when you do, I know that you'll become a great queen next!"
Laura was stunned at the encouragement, before smiling. It was as if Manatsu was a boy. "You bet. And when you become king, we should have conferences together."
"Ooh, that sounds great!" Sougo grinned.
"Kururun!" Kururun happily cheered.
"Ehhh?!" Sougo took a few steps back. "That seal can talk?!"
Laura couldn't help but laugh at the sudden freakout from Sougo. The face he made was hilarious.
BWOOM
There was a large boom behind the two, as the boardwalk shook. Kururun quickly jumped into the water. Sougo and Laura looked around, seeing people lying about, looking exhausted and unmotivated.
"What the-?!" Sougo said, before quickly thinking. Another Rider?
"They lost their Motivation Power." Laura said. "That can only mean…"
"Yaraneeda!"
The two looked up to see…
"...is that a popcorn machine monster?!" Sougo yelled.
Laura grit her teeth, as she looked over the monster to see a familiar face.
"A sea slug monster?!" Sougo yelled.
"Numeri…" Laura said. "What are you doing?!"
"Oh, you're here, mermaid." Numeri said. "Well, I'm sure you know what I'm after."
Laura quickly looked and saw her friends running up the boardwalk.
"Mermaid?" Sougo asked Laura. "What is she talking about?"
"And your friend here, well, he has quite a lot of Motivation Power." Numeri added. "I hope you don't mind."
Laura's eyes were shadowed by her hair. "...sorry about this, Sougo."
"Sorry about what-?"
She shoved him off the boardwalk, into the ocean below. It was a bit rough and not her style, but at least he was further away, and he'd get the hint to run. He was safe. The giant Popcorn Machine Zenzen Yaraneeda fired several huge popcorn flakes at her, but she quickly ran and rolled underneath it to her friends.
Normally, Sougo would have fallen into the water with a splash, but a black scarf grabbed him, and set him down behind a concession stand.
"That was a close one, my Demon King." Woz said. "Though, the tip of my scarf did get a bit wet."
"We can't just stand here, Woz." Sougo said. "We should go help-!"
"Just a moment, my Demon King." Woz said, holding up a hand. "Watch them for a moment."
"Eh?" Sougo peeked out from behind the concession stand. "What are you talking about-?"
He saw the girls all hold up what appeared to be a compact, as well as heart-shaped rings. Laura's was slightly different in appearance.
"Pretty Cure Tropical Change!"
Their outfits started to glow, before they put the rings into a slot on the compacts, opening them up.
"Let's makeup! Bling!"
They pressed a brush onto the compact.
"Cheeks!"
They dabbed it onto their cheeks, creating star-shaped markings.
"Eyes!"
They ran the brush across their eyelashes, causing them to change in color, giving them eyeliner.
"Hair!"
The brush ran across their hair as they flipped it, transforming into a different color and shape to an insane degree.
"Lips!"
The brush went across their lips, giving their lips color like their eyes.
Laura took a different approach, as she tapped her compact once.
"Face!"
In an instant, her cheeks, eyes, hair and lips were done.
"Nails!"
She ran the brush across her fingers and toes, giving them all a tropical blue color.
"Dress!"
They all drew different shapes with the brushes, as their dresses transformed into something more complete, and colorful. Tropical, if you would.
"Joyful everlasting summer! Cure Summer!"
"Glittering jewels! Cure Coral!"
"Sparkling fruits! Cure Papaya!"
"Fluttering wings! Cure Flamingo!"
"Swaying ocean! Cure La Mer!"
"The five of us are…"
They all struck dynamic poses.
"Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure!"
They all landed, getting ready to fight the Zenzen Yaraneeda. Woz had a knowing smirk on his face.
"As I thought; something was amiss. They're quite the showy bunch as well." He said, looking through the Advent Calendar.
Sougo's jaw had dropped quite far, as he saw the girls dodge the flying popcorn. "W-Woz? Who are they?"
Woz flipped through the Advent Calendar, looking at the information. "Those girls are known as "Cures," young girls with the ability to transform into legendary magical warriors. Several of them have met with Kamen Riders before. Kiva met Cure Dream, while Ex-Aid and Build met Cure Whip."
Sougo continued to watch as the girls fought the Zenzen Yaraneeda.
"Yaraneeda!"
It shot out the giant flakes of popcorn at the girls again, preventing them from getting close. Cure Summer took a big hit to the stomach, knocking her down.
"It's not letting us close in for a stunning hit!" Cure Flamingo yelled.
"Well, free popcorn!" Cure Summer said, biting into the popcorn with a grin, before suddenly spitting it out. "Salty!"
"It's only natural that the salinity would increase massively with size." Cure Papaya said.
"Less science lessons, Papaya!" Cure Coral said, creating an X-shaped barrier. It barely held, and the popcorn was still going everywhere. Cure La Mer was kicking away at the popcorn, but it was slowly starting to overwhelm her.
"It seems they're losing, my Demon King." Woz said. "Perhaps now you-"
Ziku-Driver!
Woz just watched as Sougo ran forward, his Driver already equipped. He sighed. "An impulsive Demon King as always."
Numeri smiled, seeing how powerful her creation had become. Just as a large popcorn piece broke through Cure Coral's barrier, Sougo quickly picked her up and jumped to the side, dodging.
"Whew, close one." Sougo said, putting Cure Coral down.
"Eh? Who are you?" Cure Coral asked.
"A civilian?" Cure Flamingo said.
"Sougo?!" Cure La Mer shouted. "Erm, I mean, what are you doing here, citizen!? You should run-!"
"You can drop the act, Laura." Sougo said with a smile. "I know it's you."
"...okay, but what are you doing back here?" She asked. "It's not safe!"
"Well, I have a little secret as well, Laura." Sougo said, holding up a black and white stopwatch-like device, turning the dial before pressing the switch.
Zi-O!
He slid it onto a slot on his Driver, pressing a switch on it and loosening the front dial. He got into a pose, as clock-designs appeared behind him.
"Henshin!"
He pushed down on the front belt, causing the front to spin like a clock and chime.
Rider Time! Kamen Rider~! Zi-O~!
Sougo was surrounded by silver watch bands, as he became a black and silver watch themed warrior with pink highlights, with the Japanese katakana for "Rider" as a visor.
This time, it was the Pretty Cures' time to be shocked "Ehhhhhhhhh?!"
"Iwae!"
The girls and Numeri looked around at the sudden voice, before seeing Woz standing on top of the concession stand, holding his book and raising an arm.
"Another civilian?" Cure Flamingo asked.
"Why is he telling us to rejoice?" Cure Papaya said, confused.
"The one to inherit all Rider powers, the King of Time who will rule over the past and the future! His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O!" Woz announced.
"Kamen Rider…?" Cure Summer asked.
"Zi-O…?" Cure Coral finished.
Who is this man? Numeri thought. He has quite a lot of Motivation Power as well. I'll take it after I'm done with the Pretty Cures.
"...he's ahead of me." Cure La Mer muttered to herself. "He already has a herald."
"Don't worry." Zi-O said to them, before drawing an odd sword. "I've got a feeling this will work out!"
With a shout, he charged at the Zenzen Yaraneeda alone.
"Yaraneeda!"
It fired more popcorn at Zi-O, who was slashing them apart with his sword. He jumped and rolled to avoid the ones he couldn't slash.
"He's strong..." Cure Flamingo said.
"And fast…" Cure Coral said.
Soon enough, Zi-O had gotten past the popcorn barrage.
"Hyah!"
With a shout, he slashed at the Zenzen Yaraneeda's leg…
Ting
"...eh?"
...only for it to do nothing.
"You've got to be kidding-!"
"Yaraneeda!"
A burst of popcorn launched Zi-O straight back to the Pretty Cures.
"Wow, and you were looking so cool too." Cure La Mer said.
"Don't rub it in, Laura." Zi-O said, sitting back up and rubbing his head. "But this big guy is tough."
"We just need to hit it hard enough once, then Laura can get back the Motivation Power!" Cure Summer said, holding up a rod and twisting it. "Heart Rouge Rod!"
She kissed the tip, and blew a heart-shaped bubble that turned into a miniature sun. She flipped after it, tightly gripping her weapon.
"Pretty Cure Sunny Summer Strike!"
It incinerated a good chunk of the popcorn, and flamed the monster, stunning it briefly before it continued its popcorn assault.
"Oh, I get it!" Zi-O said, pulling out an orange and white Ridewatch. He turned to Cures Coral, Papaya and Flamingo. "Follow my lead, you three!"
He held up the Ridewatch and pressed it.
Fourze!
He pushed it into his belt's other slot, and loosened the dial again, before he pushed down, letting the front spin and chime.
Rider Time! Kamen Rider~! Zi-O~!
White and orange rocket-like armor appeared and flew around him, before separating and clasping onto his body as epic orchestral music played.
Armor Time! 3, 2, 1! Fourze~!
Zi-O had taken a more bulky form of white and orange, with the katakana for "Fourze" as the visor. While they were surprised at the transformation, Woz spoke once more.
"Iwae!" Woz announced. "The one to inherit all Rider powers, the King of Time who will rule over the past and the future! His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O! FourzeArmor!"
"Wow, he's really good at this." Cure La Mer said. "I need to get a herald when I become queen."
"I'm going to Space!" Zi-O said, raising his arms. Lowering them, he turned back to the stunned cures. "Right behind me, girls!"
He pressed the watch buttons on his belt.
Finish Time!
He jumped into the air as a rocket, the girls flying in right behind him.
Fourze! Limit Time Break!
Spinning around, Zi-O delivered a corkscrew kick with magenta energy, breaking through all the popcorn and slamming right into the Zenzen Yaraneeda. After a brief stun, he rocketed out of the way so Cures Coral, Papaya and Flamingo could each deliver kicks of their own.
"La Mer!" Cure Summer said.
"All right!" Cure La Mer said, holding up a blue device. "Mermaid Aqua Pot! Search!"
She pressed the top, as the device analyzed the Zenzen Yaraneeda, before locking in on one location.
"Magenta! Motivation Power, come back!" She held up the Aqua Pot, which glew before she pressed the top a few times, before the Motivation Power was sucked out of the Zenzen Yaraneeda and into the Aqua Pot. Feeling the loss of its power, the Zenzen Yaraneeda roared and started spinning around like crazy, shooting popcorn everywhere.
"Yaraneeda!"
"I suppose that's how the cookie crumbles." Numeri sighed, slinking back into the water and dodging popcorn. "This was too exhausting."
"We need to finish this!" Cure La Mer said. "But it won't sit still!"
"I've got an idea!" Zi-O said, pulling off the white and orange Ridewatch for a blue and red one. "Get ready to finish it off!"
He held up the Ridewatch and pressed the button.
Build!
He slid it into the now empty slot, and repeated the same motion as earlier.
Rider Time! Kamen Rider~! Zi-O~!
A bottle-like container summoned blue and red armor, which clasped onto Zi-O as electronic rock music played.
Armor Time! Best Match! Build~!
This form was sleeker than the last one, and was part blue, part red, with two bottles on the shoulders and a yellow drill weapon. The katakana for "Build" made up the pink visor.
"Iwae!" Woz announced. "The one to inherit all Rider powers, the King of Time who will rule over the past and the future! His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O! BuildArmor!"
"He's really good at this." Cure La Mer commented.
Zi-O used his drill to bash away at some of the popcorn, before he pressed the watch buttons on his belt again.
Finish Time!
A white chart line wrapped around the Zenzen Yaraneeda, rooting it in place and stopping it from shooting more popcorn. As this happened, the Pretty Cures noticed that several sentences were floating around, scattered about.
Learned in First Grade. Nothing but Numbers. Part I don't understand. Alphabet. Some difficult numbers. Lucky number x Lucky number. And that was only a few of them.
"What the…?" Cure Flamingo said.
"That… doesn't seem quite right." Cure Coral said.
"This is the worst." Cure Papaya sighed.
"I understand his pain." Cure Summer said with a smile.
"I had a feeling you would." Cure La Mer said, rolling her eyes.
"The laws of victory have been set!" Zi-O shouted, moving his hand back and forth, and grabbing their attention. "Let's go, everyone!"
"Right!"
They all jumped into the air.
"Haaaaaaaa-yah!"
Build! Vortex Time Break!
With shouts, they all delivered diving kicks, using the chart's line as a guide. Six feet slammed right into the Zenzen Yaraneeda, piercing right through it. They all landed on the other side.
"Victory!"
They all struck a cool pose as the Zenzen Yaraneeda blew up, finishing the battle.
"That was so cool!" Cure Summer said to Zi-O. "You were like a superhero! Like us!"
"Who are you though?" Cure Papaya asked. "And how do you know La Mer?"
"Ah, well that's a little bit of a story." Zi-O said, as he watched La Mer give the Motivation Power back to the people it was stolen from.
Woz walked up to them, arms wide. "Impressive as always, my Demon King."
"Demon King?!" The Cures all exclaimed.
"Let him explain!" Cure La Mer yelled.
They had all sat down at a table outside the ice cream shop Sougo had mentioned earlier, enjoying the sweet treats. Laura had given Sougo all of their names (Manatsu Natsuumi, Sango Suzumura, Minori Ichinose and Asuka Takizawa) and introduced them to him. Kururun was back in her arms.
"So you're really a mermaid?" Sougo said, surprised. "So that's what you meant by the whole walking thing."
"Yeah." Laura said.
"And you're something called a Kamen Rider?" Minori asked. "A masked hero that protects the weak?"
"Yeah." Sougo said.
"That's so cool!" Manatsu said in awe. "You really are a superhero!"
"Kururun!"
"And a high school student too." Asuka commented. "It's like the ones you see in manga."
"And this man is your herald from the future?" Sango askes, looking at Woz. "You really do become a king?"
"I live to serve my Demon King." Woz said with a humble bow. "As not just his herald, but also, Kamen Rider Woz."
"...wait, why didn't you help us?" Sougo asked.
"I believed you were more than capable of defeating your foe, my Demon King." Woz said. "My belief held true. Besides, you didn't ask me to help."
"That would have made things so much easier though…" Sougo groaned.
"The future and time travel…" Asuka said, marvelling at the idea. "But then again, with all the stuff we've been through, that doesn't sound too far-fetched."
"But why Demon King?" Manatsu asked. "Do you become evil in the future or something?"
Sougo and Woz briefly froze up. They really didn't want to explain how in the previous timeline that Sougo became a tyrant that wiped out half of the planet's population, or all the events that caused Sougo to create a new timeline in the first place. Telling the story to middle schoolers? That would be in poor taste.
"It's because he'll be the greatest, kindest, Demon King." Laura explained. "He would be all powerful, like a demon, but he'd also be the kindest; protecting his people and friends."
"Yeah, exactly that!" Sougo said, glad for the save.
"That's so noble and cool!" Manatsu said, smiling.
"It is cool." Sango said.
"It sounds straight out of a fairy tale." Minori said. "But that might be why it's so cool."
"A king in a new age, huh?" Asuka said. "That is pretty cool.
"Kururun!" Kururun clapped.
"While I appreciate you praising my Demon King, please don't take my job away from me." Woz said, crossing his arms as the girls laughed. Sougo looked at his watch.
"Oh, I'd better get going." He said. "It was great meeting you all."
"You too!" Manatsu said.
"I'll be in the city for a few more weeks." Sougo said. "If you need any help, I'll come running. And even when I leave, I'll make sure that other Kamen Riders can come and help if you need it."
"We appreciate it." Sango said, briefly bowing her head.
"And Laura?" Sougo said.
"Yeah?"
He held out a fist. "Don't give up on becoming queen."
She smiled at that, though she didn't know what he was doing.
"Um, tap his fist with yours." Manatsu said.
"O-Oh!"
She returned the fistbump a little awkwardly, causing Sougo to chuckle.
"A-Ahem!" Laura cleared her throat. "And I fully expect that you will become king as well. I will be looking forward to that day."
"Right back at you." Sougo said, before turning and waving. "Bye!"
He walked down the street with Woz, as the girls waved bye to him until they couldn't see him anymore.
"And he's gone…" Laura sighed. "I wish we could have talked more. I finally found someone with a dream like mine."
"Oh ho?" Manatsu had a smirk on her face. "Does Laura have a crush~?"
"Wh-Wha-?!" Laura blushed furiously. "I most certainly do not!"
"Laura likes Sougo~! Laura likes Sougo~!" Manatsu teasingly sang as Laura's face kept getting redder.
"Come on now…" Sango said with a sigh.
"It's not nice to make fun of someone's crush." Minori said.
"Yeah, exactly-wait, I don't have a crush on him!" Laura yelled.
"Come on, it's a little fun to tease." Asuka smirked.
"You too, Asuka-senpai?" Sango asked.
"What?" Asuka asked in a jokingly defensive tone. "And I think it's kind of cute Laura's experiencing human love."
"Oh, it really is like The Little Mermaid." Minori realized.
"That's too perfect!" Manatsu laughed.
"Kururun!" Kururun cheered.
"I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!"
"Their teasing is all based on baseless claims." Woz said, walking into view with the scene frozen behind him, his Advent Calendar book open. "But, I suppose there is a bit of merit to having fun when you have little to work with."
He walked a few steps backwards and turned, observing the group.
"Though I do feel that perhaps Laura La Mer does have feelings for someone within her main circle of friends." Woz said. "Who is that someone? Well, we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves. This is one future that isn't set in stone."
He walked forward, flipping through the pages of his book.
"But today was another meeting between the Pretty Cures and the Kamen Riders." Woz said. "This will not only be an important event for the history of Kamen Riders, but for my Demon King as well."
He closed the book shut.
"There are always surprises, and that's to be expected as I fill out this new Advent Calendar of my Demon King's life, but seeing them happen is always interesting." Woz said, looking up.
"And thus, ends the tale of the Future Mermaid Kind and my Future Demon King. Will they ever meet again? Well, as my Demon King once said; "The hands of the clock only move toward the future. They may look like they're returning to where they began, but they're headed towards the future." As long as evil exists, the Kamen Riders and Pretty Cures will fight together."
A/N: This idea just sprang into my mind because Laura talking about how she's going to be the queen all the time reminded me of Sougo wanting to be king all the time.
I wrote this even there are only 18 episodes of Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure (as of this writing). That and I've seen only a few episodes of Kamen Rider Zi-O.
I don't plan on expanding it more, but this was still really fun to write.
And to add to the feel, I'm making it look like a Kamen Rider Wiki Page:
*Continuity and Placement:
-Kamen Rider Zi-O: After the events of "Rider Time: Kamen Rider Zi-O VS Decade -7 of Zi-O!-", as Sougo has his memories from the past timeline.
-Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure: After Episode 18, as Laura has only recently gained her legs and mentions the events of the episode.
*The Rider Armors used in this episode relate to the Pretty Cure Franchise.
-FourzeArmor: Kamen Rider Fourze is a season based around friendship, which is highly frequent in Pretty Cure. Gentarou himself is quite similar to a lot of Pretty Cure protagonists.
-BuildArmor: The Rider lineup of four reflects how a lot of Pretty Cure seasons have initial lineups of four as well. Kamen Rider Build has also met Cure Whip on one occasion.