Reviews:
Dragon Rider 66: Well, it's hard to put music and choreography into a written into a story. It'd just slow it down.
Darthwolf: Well, let's hope.
Mas. Akbarzamroni: Oh err...I haven't listened to 'Rewrite The Story', but I like Zero-One's themes.
Ushindi: 1: Gai's going to frigging BURN! 2: *facepalm* No, the Purple Rider is Horobi. KR MBJR isn't even a factor in this story. 3: Probably red, that way we know he's controlled by Ark.
Toa Solaric: Yeah, the confrontation between Izu and Horobi was fun to write.
Spidey Viewer: Yeah, we only saw 'Flying Impact' in the Zi-O movie, it needed more screen time.
KRNexus: Yeah, he is. But it's just the first step for Fuwa.
Here are some reviews answered by our own GreyKing46:
KRNexus: He is referring to Horobi as a fake Kamen Rider.
Spidey Viewer: Well Aruto met Horobi around the same time in cannon.
Toa Solaric: Yeah. Bit hard to match that in written format.
Drawman98: They didn't fight. Horobi drew his sword and was fancy and Izu slapped him
Ushindi:
1- we said. A. Million. Bloody. Times. Literally at least. Once. Every. Chapter.
2- no, it's Kamen Rider Horobi!
3- Metal Cluster's accents are YELLOW. They are highlighter yellow like base Zero One!
... It did look better, at least Berserk, with red. But I understand why they didn't do that.
Dragon Rider 66: That is the difference between a written medium and a visual medium. The show has the advantage of camera angles, music and so much more that we can only TRY and replicate.
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Kamen Rider Zero-One Revised
Chapter 7: Thunder and Fire, very, very frightening Mangaka
Co-Writer GreyKing46
We do not own these characters. All rights belong to Shotaro Ishinomori, Ishimori Productions and Toei Company
It was a couple of days later, Aruto had seen the footage of Mr Sakurai and the destruction of DayBreak...he was a hero. Aruto wanted to posthumously honour him, give him the recognition that was deserved for his bravery.
He was currently at his home, his small apartment.
He was getting ready for another day at Hiden Intelligence. Putting on his black suit over his hoodie.
"Are you prepared, President Aruto?" Izu asked.
"Yes, Izu." He nodded, taking the USB with him for safety. "Ready for another day."
"Excellent." She responded. "We have an important delivery today."
He nodded calmly, although inside he still found this... Awkward. Living with an attractive woman. He gulped as he still had to come to terms with this as they entered the limo that always picked them up. "S-So. Who's the client today? I'm guessing there's not just one." He joked lightly. He had been noticing more and more recently, especially when he picked Izu up the other day, of her attire and the materials it was made of. How it accented her look and style.
"Our client today is Mr Choichiro Ishizumi; creator of the popular manga-"
"Perfuman?!" Aruto gasped as he heard that and almost cheered. "I read the manga every week!" He smiled.
"I... See." She blinked at his excitement.
"Oh man, I hope he'll sign an autograph. I mean...I'm a huge fan!" Aruto explained. "Perfuman Tsurugi is amazing!"
"Perhaps I should keep a close look on your internet history."
"No! No, no, no! Please, don't!" Aruto panicked as she made that suggestion.
"Why not?" She tilted her head making Aruto blush.
"B-Because. It's...private. And. not...not appropriate for a lady." Aruto admitted.
"I am not a lady though, President Aruto. I am a HumaGear."
"Y-Yeah. But...Um. A-anyway, Mr Ishizumi. What HumaGear has he ordered?" Aruto asked, quickly deflecting the comment.
"An artistic assistant."
*At AIMS*
"Yaiba. Here." Fuwa stated, holding the dull yellow Zetsumarise Key.
Yua took the Key from his hand and her eyes widned. "How? Where did you-?"
"MetsuBou Jinrai. DayBreak." Fuwa answered. "You wanted to get data on them; right?"
"Yes, of course. But...this is huge." Yua commented.
"Be glad it's only just the once it'll be used." Fuwa responded as he pulled out the Punching Kong key, gripping it tightly "This was a big help." He stated.
"Good. And good work not ripping it." Yaiba asked as she saw the Key.
"Yeah...'not' ripping it." Fuwa rolled his eyes before he walked off.
Yua looked at the Thylacine Key and sighed as Fuwa walked off; it was good that he got a Key and wounded MetsuBou JinRai...But there were still many questions that needed answering. 'I wonder...will he find this Key useful?'
She left the AIMs building, entering her car. She almost threw her bag onto the passenger chair, the key set simply within the bag.
Tapping her car's dash she activated the call function, a logo appearing quickly.
"ZAIA" was written across the screen as she put on her seatbelt.
"What do you have to report, Yaiba?"
"Fuwa has found evidence that it was MetsuBou JinRai that caused the DayBreak Incident, Sir. And he has also brought with him one of the Keys that the Magia have been using." Yua responded too a calm and methodical voice.
"Excellent. Everything is progressing appropriately. Hurry."
"Thank you, Sir. I'm delivering the Key to ZAIA now." Yua spoke.
"Good."
Yua hung up and drove off to ZAIA's HQ, it was where they had their ShotRisers commissioned and the place where they got their weapons to defend the city from rogue HumaGear. The place she truly worked for. 'It's just a job.' She told herself. 'All part of the job.'
ZAIA Enterprise. It was a massive building that seemed to dwarf the size of Hiden Intelligence's building. But seemed to be a change in perspective, considering that ZAIA had branches all over the world.
She entered as calmly as she could, flashing her security card as she did.
"Ms Yaiba." The front desk receptionist spoke as they saw Yua passing and carrying her purse.
She gave a respectful nod as she continued to walk forwards and into the elevator. She pushed the button to the CEO's floor. The elevator moved quite quickly and efficiently as it soon came to a crawl to the CEO's floor.
Door Opening.
Yua walked out and took a deep breath as she saw the white double doors of the CEO and emblazoned on a golden plate was the name 'Gai Amatsu'.
Knock, knock.
"Come in." A voice responded.
"President Amatsu." she bowed as she entered, pulling the Zetsumarise Key from her jacket.
The CEO's room was bleached white. The screens of the windows were tinted white so no more than any required light was allowed through, the desk was a snowed-whited glass desk with golden legs, a white framed computer and a white glass table with golden frame and coasters.
Sitting in a white leather swivel chair was a young man, short black hair, brown eyes, wearing a pure white jacket and shirt, perfectly creased in the right places, black buttons on the jacket, cream-white trousers and egg-shell white shoes. "Thank you, Yaiba. This is a great find." He took the Key from her. He raised the key high into the air, reading it and looking it over "A Zetsumarise Key... fascinating. This shall improve our experiments 1000%."
"Yes, Sir." She nodded. "And it has also given us some insight into how MetsuBou JinRai is making them."
"Yes, yes. Of course." President Amatsu waved off. "The Research Department will take it from here."
He walked over and opened a compartment in his desk, slotting the Zetsumarise Key into it. It was a large silver connector-like device which and four slots within it, each slot looking similar to the hip holsters on Zero One's belt. With the Zetsumarise Key in place he then closed the compartment, a glass screen over the compartment.
His screen began to flash with images, as data from the key was extracted.
"Fascinating." he smirked "Three more keys and my system will be perfect." reaching into his pocket he removed a yellow Key and handed it to her "Here, a reward for your fine work."
On the Key's screen was a yellow inverted picture of a hornet. And the Ability name 'Thunder'.
*With Aruto*
"Okay, so this is the place. Right?" Aruto asked as he pushed a large brown crate.
"Yes, president Aruto." Izu informed as they turned a corner and saw a large plain white mansion, a long walkway and a gate at the front, some water features and a large garden.
"Whoa~! Amazing!" Aruto looked on with stars in his eyes. "I always wanted to... and now... alright!"
Izu noted this and smiled as they entered after using the intercom. They travelled up the path to the mansion and soon arrived at the red doors.
knock, knock
"Oh, boy. Do I look okay, Izu?" Aruto asked, trying to tidy himself up.
"You look fine, President Aruto." She nodded with a smile.
The door soon opened and revealed a hefty man, wearing a white vest a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts and indoor sandals with a fan in his hand. "Ah, you're here to deliver my new HumaGear?" The man asked.
"Yes, Sir. Mister Ishizumi!" Aruto responded, holding back the fanboy within himself.
"Through here." He spoke, walking through. "We're currently working on the latest chapters."
"Sweet!" Aruto grinned, holding out his hand "President Aruto Hiden!"
"Choichiro Ishizumi." Mr Ishizumi responded, not shaking Aruto's hand and continued to walk, looking...bored.
Aruto blinked, and almost chased after him as he pushed the box "Hey! Wait up!"
"Through here. It's my office and workspace." Mr Ishizumi spoke, opening a door.
"O-okay. Right." Aruto answered, pushing the box through...and saw a group of eight HumaGears working on the manga with digital tablets and computers, with a large desk at the top, where small figures and books were stacked. "Wow!" he blinked.
"Here you go, Mr Ishizumi." Izu said, holding out a clipboard.
Mr Ishizumi looked at the clipboard, and it showed that he wanted an Illustrator Model HumaGear. "Yep. Looks good." He remarked as Aruto opened the box.
Inside was a yet to be turned on HumaGear, wearing a grey waistcoat, white shirt, a black beret, black trousers and the trademark blue headphones of being a HumaGear. "Here we go." Aruto spoke, activating him.
Take Off Toward A Dream
Aruto smiled at that noise, at his grandfather's catchphrase.
"The standard package, as requested. The transaction has been confirmed. We just require you to name this HumaGear and sign." Izu explained.
"G-Pen." Mr Ishizumi spoke up. "Morifude G-Pen."
The HumaGear turned around and acknowledged the name. "Hello, I'm Morifude G-Pen. Thank you, Mr Ishizumi." The newly named G-Pen bowed respectfully to him.
"Good." he nodded, pointing to a station near the other HumaGear. "That's your workstation."
"Yes, Sir." G-Pen answered, going to the empty station, getting data and was quickly up to speed with the other HumaGear who were there.
"They-these HumaGear are your artists?" Aruto asked as he saw them.
"Yeah." The man nodded, using his backscratcher.
Aruto looked at the HumaGears, seeing them do such detailed work that would take more minutes than humans...but it looked kind of like an assembly line. "I...I guess it's tough being the writer and artist of a manga. Having this many staff working." He tried to put a brave face on.
"Yeah...but the Manga has an algorithm that makes each chapter and arc now." Mr Ishizumi responded.
"An algorithm?" Aruto asked.
"Yeah." Mr Ishizumi responded, sitting in his chair. "I had trouble coming with ideas after the 'Fifty Swords' Arc, so...I used an algorithm. It's been good."
Aruto realised that it must've been...at least five years since Perfuman Tsurugi had been using the algorithm. It was also around the same time the artwork looked sharper. But also the stories lost their... Their heart. "I...see." Aruto frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "To be honest...I loved the older works. They were rougher but they felt alive."
"Alive?" Izu asked.
"What did you say?" Mr Ishizumi leaned forwards, sounding angered.
"Your manga, the characters, the artwork, back when I was a kid, I could feel that the characters were leaping out of the pages, you were in the battle with Tsurugi." Aruto answered. passionately...but trying to restrain himself. "And the stories had twists I never saw coming. Used plot details from dozens of chapters before, tiny details that I barely remembered, in amazing and creative ways. The panel layout was awe-inspiring and made the story flow easily."
Mr Ishizumi had gotten up and almost stomped towards Aruto with a growing scowl. "Do you know what it takes for a Mangaka to do a weekly series, President Hiden?"
"H-Huh?" Aruto blinked.
Mr Ishizumi gripped his backscratcher's handle roughly in his grasp. "It's twenty hours a day, seven days a week staying conscious. Pencilling, planning, inking, speech balloons, sound and special effects! Colour editions, heavy research and body modelling, new characters, power creep management! A Mangaka must take all that into consideration! And that's just the first ten hours! You have to work in cramped, claustrophobia-inducing offices that smell of unwashed clothes, rotten ramen and broken utensils!" He wasn't going to hit Aruto, but the memories of that life weighed heavy on his mind. "And then, you have to go through editors! Some of whom don't even like or outright hate the current chapter!"
"But what are you even doing now?" Aruto asked. "You just sit at your desk. Letting an algorithm come up with everything and have your HumaGear work force do the art. Where is the passion?! And with how little you are doing, can you even call it your work? Are you proud of this?"
Mr Ishizumi froze as he was backed up like this. He wasn't violent, he was angry. He had suffered for Perfuman Tsurugi to be his magnum opus, his life's work...didn't he deserve this rest? Reap the benefits of his hard work and have AI doing it?
Suddenly something shocking happened as one of the HumaGear artists fell over.
"Oh, no. Not again." Mr Ishizumi frowned as he went to the HumaGear and saw that it was overworked and out of power.
"'Again'? This happens more than once?" Aruto asked in shock.
"It happens due to time constraints." He answered, pulling the HumaGear away from the computer. "This is what happens in Manga. No sleep, no rest, pure adrenaline."
"And you're doing the same thing here then!" Aruto answered.
"President." Izu commented.
Aruto looked back at her and sadly nodded, seeing that he had stepped over a line.
"Get out. Now." Mr Ishizumi strained as he wanted to be left alone.
"I'm sorry, Mr Ishizumi. We'll take our leave." Aruto apologised. "But...We can take your HumaGear back for repairs."
"Whatever."
Izu held Aruto's hand as she guided him outside, feeling ashamed by what's happened.
*Elsewhere*
Horobi was rapping his fingers against the desk of the computer, making another Progrise Key.
Jin, meanwhile, was sat there ashamed. Due to the loss of the Thylacine Key and the loss of the data in the computer in the ruins, Horobi was disappointed in him. There was some animosity and anger in the room right now. "Ho-"
"Be quiet." Horobi stated simply.
Jin flinched as he was told to. What now? What could he do?
"Here." Horobi stated, almost throwing the Key to him.
Jin awkwardly caught the Key in his hands as Horobi flung that at him. "G-got- it! I got it."
"Good. Hurry up. As Ark wills it." Horobi stated calmly.
"Okay. I'll...I'll be back later." Jin answered nervously and walked out, carefully holding the Key on his person. "Bye Horobi."
Horobi looked at Jin and simply nodded, seeing Jin leave. 'He needs to be better.' He thought to himself while a look of guilt crossed his features for a moment.
*With Aruto*
Aruto was sitting in the office again, thinking about what happened at Mr Ishizumi's mansion. How could he treat those HumaGear so poorly? Even though...it was what normally happened in this economy.
PUNCH!
"President Aruto." Izu frowned as she saw him this wound up.
"I-I'm sorry, Izu. I just...How can anyone put people through this? I know that there's the whole 'company hierarchy' system...but it's cruel." Aruto frowned. "They are living beings!"
Izu could see the frustration in Aruto's demeanour and the shaking in his voice. Since Aruto continued to work as President, he has tried to make sure that everyone in the company, human and HumaGear were treated equally. It did make her happy in a way, the way he saw them all as equals.
"Izu...I don't know what to do." He frowned as he admitted it.
"I'm sorry?"
"Mr Ishizumi has become a bully. He's overworking his HumaGear employees." Aruto answered. "He's...He's lost his way."
"I may not fully understand what possessed Mr Ishizumi to do the things he has done, I am sure that you will be able to help change his mind." Izu reassured him. "You are very good at it."
Aruto looked at Izu, the reassurance in him was refreshing. And...it would help relations between HumaGears and humans. "Thank you, Izu." He smiled.
"Of course, President Aruto." She bowed.
*Elsewhere*
In one of Hiden Intelligence's rooms, Mr Fukuzoe was looking out at the city where Shesta had just informed him about Aruto's latest delivery. "That is terrible!" He frowned.
"Yes, Sir. And with Mr Ishizumi's standing in the manga industry, we might lose contracts with future artists." Shesta agreed, looking at the pragmatic side of things. "However, this is also the fifth HumaGear in the past two weeks that has short-circuited from overwork."
Mr Fukuzoe sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "Clients like this...Even though they're designed for what they needed..."
"So, I can understand the President's anger." Shesta finished his statement.
"Exactly." He sighed and nodded. "I hope that he makes the right decision with the client." He frowned; a bit unsure what to do himself. However, he knew what he would need to do if the company was hurt in any way. 'Korenosuke...' He thought to himself sadly and looked out of the window again.
*elsewhere*
Jin was walking towards the city, he was looking for another HumaGear to give The Zetsumeriser to. He had two of them in hand, walking around with his head dropped down. 'What am I going to do?' He thought to himself. 'Horobi's going to be mad at me if I fail and even if I succeed.' He felt like whatever he did, it wasn't worth more than an 'as expected'. "What am I going to do?" He muttered to himself, before coming across a mansion. "Huh? What's this place?" He wondered, tilting his head and saw a HumaGear walking out. He blinked... And grinned!
"Of course, Sir." G-Pen spoke as he walked out carrying an empty bag as he and his co-worker walked out.
"Mr Ishizumi is quite demanding; isn't he?" G-Pen asked his fellow HumaGear.
"It had been trying with him. But Perfuman Tsurugi is popular with people." The co-worker answered.
"I suppose." G-Pen nodded. "Excuse me, who are you?" He turned and saw Jin.
"Hi! I'm Jin!" He giggled.
"Hello, Mr Jin...Is there something we can do?" The second HumaGear asked.
"Yep! Help Metsubou Jinrai!" He smiled, attaching the Zetsumariser.
The senior HumaGear grunted as the Zetsumeriser sparked and attached as its mind was joining the hazardous and toxic dot net connection.
"Senior!" G-Pen gasped.
"MetsuBou JinRai dot Net C0nn3ct10n 35t4bl15ed." The Senior HumaGear glitched out and spoke darkly.
Jin giggled, handing out a Zetsumarise Key...
"What's going on out here?!" A certain mangaka snapped as he left his mansion.
Jin passed over a Magia Key over to the senior artist HumaGear and he gripped it tight. "Mr 1sh1zum1...Y0u w1ll p4y!"
VICARYA
SLAM!
He slotted the Key into his attache belt and pushed the button on the side. "RAAAAARGH!"
ZETSUMIRISE!
G-Pen rushed back and away as the dark cybernetic DNA transformed around his senior artist and destroyed his outer shell and turned into a black body suited and pale-yellow strap-wired silver metal strapped Magia with three cone-shells on its body. Two on its hands and one for its head. The cone-shells had spikes and were alternated with brown and orange stripes, a light brown/tan chest-piece with a snail's eyes protruding outwards, its head was a plain silver with two large lengthy octagonal eye visors.
"What the hell?" Mr Ishizumi gasped in shock as they saw the HumaGear turn into a Magia.
"Y0u w1ll p4y f0r wh4t y0u'v3 d0n3!" The Vicarya Magia pointed its cone shell arm at him and rushed forwards angrily.
Tonk!
Suddenly, a shoe flew through the air and bashed the Magia atop the head,
"Huh?" The Magia turned and looked at the shoe. "Wh4t?"
Standing there were Aruto and Izu.
"Stay away from him!" He called out.
"A-Aruto." Jin whispered as he saw him.
JUMP!
"President Hiden?"
"I won't let you hurt Mr Ishizumi!" Aruto called out and scanned the Key onto his Driver.
AUTHORISE!
"HENSHIN!" Aruto rushed forwards and slotted his Key into his Driver.
G-Pen looked in wonder as the transformation happened, light surrounding Aruto as he changed and morphed into Kamen Rider Zero One.
TO BIA-GA RISE! RISING HOPPER!
Aruto leapt into the air and began to fight the Vicarya Magia, rolling onto the ground as he had to get it away from G-Pen and Mr Ishizumi. "Mr Ishizumi! G-Pen! Run! Get inside!" He called out, punching the Magia in the stomach...and had sparks coming from him as the cone's spikes slashed and speared him. "Gah!"
"President Aruto!" Izu gasped before she opened the suitcase that she had with her. She pulled out a Progrise Key and tossed it to him, hoping that it would do more than the Hopper Key.
"That's mine!" Jin yelled as he jumped high, trying to grab the key.
"Hey!" Aruto called out as he saw Jin leap into the air before he was slashed by the Vicarya Magia and thrown to the ground.
Jin caught the Key in his left hand and smiled...and the Key was Pink. "Oh wow! It looks so cool!" She squealed.
"Give Tori back!" Aruto called out, punching the Vicarya Magia and tried to get to Jin again.
Wow!" Jin yelled, dropping the key and stumbling back.
Aruto saw the Key fall to the ground, he rolled forward and picked it up in the smooth motion and back to his feet.
WING!
"Hey! No fair!" Jin complained.
AUTHORISE!
Aruto scanned the Key over his belt and removed his Hopper Key. "HENSHIN!" And replaced it with the Falcon Key.
PROGRISE!
A beam of pink energy came down and a pink energy-filled, metallic falcon came down and struck the Vicarya Magia slashing at him before enveloping and digitizing Aruto.
FLY TO THE SKY!
FLYING FALCON!
Aruto took a running start and grabbed the Magia lifting it up into the air.
Spread Your Wings And Prepare For A Force
Jin looked up at Aruto and his eyes widened as he saw this new form as Aruto was flying with the Magia. "Let's go for a flyby!" Aruto commented.
"L3t m3 g0, Z3r0-0n3!" The Magia threatened as it struggled against Aruto.
"If you say so!" Aruto responded, loop-de-looping before throwing the Magia to the road.
VRRRR~!
"Huh?" Jin and Izu blinked, looking and seeing the AIM's tuck arrive.
"Damn, another Magia." Fuwa glared angrily.
BULLET!
DASH!
"Let's get to work." Yua nodded.
CRASH!
The Vicarya Magia grunted as it was pinned down to the road and concrete picked up. "K4m3n. R1d3r5!" It hissed, seeing them before his arms lashed out.
"Hnn! Zero-One! Get out of here!" Fuwa grunted, forcing the Key open.
AUTHORISE!
"Right!" Aruto nodded as he grabbed the manga artist and G-Pen before flying off. As he did, he made sure to pass Izu, who jumped up and gripped him around the neck.
KAMEN! RIDER! KAMEN! RIDER!
"Let's go, Fuwa." Yua ordered
"Right." Fuwa answered, ripping his Shotriser off his belt and aimed it like a gun while Yua had hers around her waist.
"HENSHIN!" The two proclaimed.
SHOTRISE!
Bullets shot through the air as both Fuwa and Yua were covered in their Rider forms.
SHOOTING WOLF! RUSHING CHEETAH!
"HRARGH!" Yua ran forward silently as Fuwa roared, giving her covering fire.
The Elevation Increases As The Bullet Is Fired!
Try To Outrun This Demon To Get Left In The Dust!
The Vicarya Magia grunted as it was shot and struck by Vulcan and Valkyrie, the duo working well together while it was alone.
...
It would have to fix that.
Wires emerged from its back and rushed inside, into the mansion, where the other artists were working...
The HumaGears looked at the wires before they were attacked, sparking and changing as they were infected by the Magia and connected to MetsuBou JinRai. They yelled as their existence was removed completely, the mindless soldiers of the extinction thunderclap taking form. They had become the faceless Trilobyte Magia as they smashed their way out of the house and rushed outside to assist the Vicarya Magia and crashing the doors of the mansion.
"Damn it! They multiplied!" Fuwa grunted.
*With Aruto*
Aruto was currently flying with three people in his grip. Luckily, he was able to lift them with ease...for the most part. "Wh-whoa! Let me down! Put me down! What's going on!?"
"Mr Ishizumi, don't move! I can't keep a grip!" Aruto called out as they were tens of feet above the ground.
"How're you flying? What's happening?" He continued to panic.
"Mr Ishizumi, if you do not stop this, you will fall to the ground and become injured or dead." Izu warned him as they flew closer to the ground near Hiden Intelligence.
Mr Ishizumi nodded quickly, almost losing his head as they landed safely.
"Is everyone okay?" Aruto asked, letting go of G-Pen and Mr Ishizumi in his arms and carefully put Izu on her feet and he detransformed at the same moment.
"I'm fine. Thank you, President Aruto." G-Pen and Izu answered.
"Wh-what just happened? My assistant. He just- He turned into a monster!" Mr Ishizumi panicked.
"Do you not watch the news, Mr Ishizumi? President Aruto has been informing the people about the threat of MetsuBou JinRai and Magia." Izu informed.
"I've been busy." He grumbled.
"With all due respect, Sir. You have not been busy, leaving your work to your assistants." Izu responded.
Mr Ishizumi grumbled as he got back to his feet, albeit shakily.
"Mr Ishizumi, please come inside. We'll be alright with AIMS on the job." Aruto offered as he entered the small warehouse he had escaped to.
"Where are we?" Mr Ishizumi asked.
"One of our warehouses. Somewhere we can talk." Aruto answered. "We should be fine."
"If you say so..." He mumbled, having lost his fan and was shaking in this new location, despite it being safe... and the man fell to his knees.
"Sir?" G-Pen asked.
"It's all over." He muttered "They are probably destroying my house. Destroying everything I've worked for. All that hard work, the years and years of sleepless nights. Those characters... My children..."
"Mr Ishizumi." Izu looked at him in shock as he said that.
"You still care." Aruto whispered. "You didn't just push them away."
"Your children?" G-Pen blinked as he walked towards the artist "What are you talking about sir, you are unmarried and have no children."
"That is not what I mean!" Mr Izhisumi yelled his eyes clenched shut "I am talking about the characters!"
"The... characters... sir?" G-Pen blinked.
Mr Ishizumi nodded as he looked at G-Pen. "Tsurugi, Hachiko, Mori...I made them...They're my children. From the first time that I put ink and pencil to paper, the moment. I wanted to give life and form to them. For years I've seen them grow, change alongside with me." He looked at his hands, tears dripping down his face "My heart... my very soul went into every chapter. Every page! I gave them the happiest times of their lives, but I also put them through hell, I hurt them... as is the nature of stories. Because I knew them, I was proud of them! Because I was making nothing. They decided how the story went, they decided how to answer every situation. And every victory... I felt so proud and happy. Each chapter filled my soul with joy to finish, excitement to work on what was next and it made me eager to see how people would respond to what I had for the future."
"But... they are just characters?" G-Pen asked.
"You're wrong!" Mr Ishizumi yelled, but not in anger "They are not alive... but they are not just characters! I... I-I understand them better than some people. I know them so deeply. My children... my family. I worked hard to tell their tale, for their true selves to shine brightly for all to see. Their wants, their dislikes, to see them grow. I wanted others to watch them, and to be as proud of them as I was! It... it hurts every time they nearly died, they were put through such terrible things. But it is what the story demanded... and they overcame those struggles. Because of who they are."
"Mr Ishizumi..." G-Pen blinked.
"But now... now it's all gone." Mr Ishizumi cried "My house, my home... It is all probably gone now. Destroyed. The original chapters, the scripts, the concept art and drafts. My diaries... And... and this is probably the end of their adventures too! We've lost all progress on the next chapters, all the plans and layouts! We won't be able to meet the next deadline! And it will take time to catch back up! The... the publication might not take us back! Their story... my kids... they... they might be gone forever!"
"Mr Ishizumi, they're not gone. They won't be." Aruto answered reassuringly.
"H-Huh?"
"Your fans, the people who you've inspired all these years with your manga. They remember." Aruto answered. "They always will. Because they are your fans. And have fallen in love with your creations, with your story."
"But...the drafts. My original works." Mr Ishizumi whispered before G-Pen reached out.
"We can recover what is left." He assured, "I doubt they destroyed the house, not too much."
"I hope that you're right." He answered.
"President Aruto. I will contact Zea for a solution against the Magia and upload Mr Ishizumi's home data to a specific cloud." Izu offered.
"You can do that?!" Mr Ishizumi gasped.
"Do not doubt the capabilities of Hiden Intelligence." Izu smiled.
G-Pen looked at this and slowly began to understand. 'Characters...are children. Mangaka...are parents.' He thought as he began to process it...And he clearly gained confidence "Sir!"
"What is it, G-Pen?" He asked, looking at him.
"I will help you!" He said happily.
"You'll help?" He asked in shock. "You work for me though..."
"I know." He nodded. "But I am beginning to understand what it means to be a Mangaka."
Mr Ishizumi sniffed and got to his knees. "Alright, but...I'm going to teach you. Drill all the stuff I know into that head of yours." He answered.
"Father... Children?" A voice mumbled, the group turning to see Jin standing there with the Magia.
"Y-You!" G-Pen looked in shock, seeing his senior standing there with other Magia.
The Magia roared, its drills spiralling.
AUTHORISE!
The sound of a Progrise Key sounded, alerting Jin and the Magia to Aruto. "Huh?"
"HENSHIN!" Aruto called out, slotting his Key into the Driver.
TO BIA-GA RISE! RISING HOPPER!
"HA!" Aruto leapt into the air and kicked the Magia in the head. "I won't let you hurt them!" Aruto stated confidently.
"K4m3n R1d3r. W1ll d13!" The Magia spoke angrily, slashing down at him, while he blocked with his arms.
*outside*
Outside the warehouse, Valkyrie and Vulcan were battling hard against a seemingly endless army of Trilobite Magia.
"Fuwa!" Valkyrie called as she kicked a Magia in the face. "Activate your Fever! It will summon something!"
"Fine." He grunted and slotted his ShotRiser into his belt. A Trilobite hissed as it rushed at Fuwa, trying to slash with its dagger, but he just backhanded it away. With the ShotRiser docked he clicked the trigger of his weapon/driver.
FEVER!
Suddenly a blue light shot out of his belt, zigzagging around and taking a familiar shape! When the light died down if revealed... A suitcase?!
ATTACHESHOTGUN!
"What?" he blinked in shock as he grabbed the black and blue suitcase. "The hell is this?"
"A new weapon! You'll need it!" She answered as she gave another mighty kick to a Trilobite.
"You copied this from the president's designs?" Fuwa frowned as he unfolded the weapon and then rotated it at the halfway mark, making a large L shaped shotgun weapon.
SHOTGUNRISE!
"It. It's not copying if there isn't a patent." She responded.
'You tell yourself that.' He thought and fired on the Trilobite Magia.
...
And he was sent flying back, screaming.
CRASH!
"...Watch out for the kickback." Yua deadpanned.
"DOY!" Fuwa groaned and pulled out his second Key.
POWER!
He tried to stand tall, before falling and dropping the keys "Damn it." He grumbled "That... That hurt!" He hissed.
"Fine then. Let me." Yua sighed as she pulled out her new key.
"Huh?"
THUNDER!
She immediately replaced the Cheetah Key with this new one into her ShotRiser.
AUTHORISE!
KAMEN! RIDER!
KAMEN! RIDER!
"HENSHIN!" She called out, pressing the trigger and shot out a lightning yellow bullet that surrounded her and struck the Magia, turning into a large glowing yellow energy metal hornet.
SHOTRISE!
LIGHTNING HORNET!
Her amour's outer appearance had changed. No longer was it a cheetah-based armour, was now yellow honeycomb armour with blue bases. The tops of her feet had four elongated hexagon shapes on her white boots with blue protection: honeycomb thigh-guards, a hornet's head impression on her chest with blue 'eyes' covering her chest along with the hexagon clasps, yellow spiked shoulder-guards, blue bracers with yellow honeycomb extensions. And her mask's outline turned blue with yellow antennae and jaw-guard.
Piercing Needle With Incredible Force!
"Whoa." Fuwa gasped as he saw that.
"Let us take this for a test drive." She commented, grinding her right heel into the ground for a moment before four glowing blue energy wings emerged from her back.
"She can fly?" Fuwa gasped as he saw this, seeing her buzz around like a hornet and shot with precision from her ShotRiser.
"Ha!" She called, blasting away.
*With Aruto*
BLADERISE!
SHIELDRISE!
Aruto looked like a Grasshopper Knight of sorts, a shield and sword together as he defended and attacked with all his might. Izu had run off to the main building and hoped that the new Key would help in this.
The AttachéShield was doing its job, it's black and pink metal being scrapped at by the metal drills but holding strong. The AttachéCalibur, while useless against the blades, was able to do SOME damage in the limbs.
"D4mn Sh13ld!" The Magia grunted angrily.
"Hehe. Don't be so defensive!" Aruto joked, kicking the Magia back.
Over by the side, Jin began to chuckle as he was snapped out of the fight by Aruto's joke.
'Th-that was a good one.' He thought to himself and looked at them. "Wait...where's Izu?" He wondered.
"President Aruto!" Both Aruto and Jin looked in her direction, seeing that Izu had returned and carried something.
"Mine!" Jin called out, running to her.
"Jin!" Aruto called out angrily, slashing at the Vicarya Magia and leapt over.
"Here!" She called out, throwing the Key at an optimal spot where Aruto could catch it and out of the hands of Jin.
"Hey!" Jin frowned as he saw the Key fly from Izu's hand.
Aruto reached out and caught the Key rolling to the ground, dropping the AttacheShield from his hand. "Oh! Cool!" In his hand was a red screened Key with the impression of a Tiger on the front and the words 'FLAMING TIGER' and 'ABILITY: FIRE' on the front. "Let's try it out!" As he removed his Hopper Key.
FIRE!
AUTHORISE!
A beam of burning red light came down from Zea's eye, as a metal tiger appeared outside the building and roared, as fires surrounded it. "Tora-Chan!" And slotted the Key into his Driver.
PROGRISE!
GIGANT FLARE!
The tiger roared, racing around Aruto as his armour shifted around his body before it digitized and formed over him. Aruto's boot armour shifted to the outside of his feet, his chest guard opened up and moved to the sides of his chest, his shoulders were half-covered by the yellow of his base armour and his mask plate split and slid down to become bracers on his arms. The tiger's red metal turned into 'stripe styled' thigh guards, red gloves, stripe styled shoulder guards and chest plate; and finally, his mask which took the visage of a tiger's face, blue eyes for his visor, and pointed ears for his 'antennae'.
FLAMING TIGER~!
Explosive Power Of One-Hundred Bombs!
"Whoa!" Aruto gasped as he looked at his armour, all the while Mr Ishizumi was looking on in shock and awe from a safe distance. "This kitty is clawsome!"
Jin grunted before he could laugh again. "The joke. These jokes!"
Mr Ishizumi looked at Aruto, seeing him stand there in his new form as he fought the Magia...and something inside him stirred. Something he thought he had lost. His passion too draw. "G-Pen! G-Pen!" he called, tapping his student's arms.
"Yes, Sir?" He asked, unsure about the tapping but looked at him and then Aruto.
"Paper! Paper! Pen! Now!" he urged.
"Yes, sir!" He answered, bringing out a pen and paper that he had on his person...and Mr Ishizumi began to sketch the fight.
G-Pen was doing the same, grinning softly.
"Ha! Hrah!" Aruto fought him, looking at his hands...and shot out flames at his face. "AH! Hot-hot-hot!"
"H0T!" the Magia yelled as its drills were super-heated.
"Don't like it too much?" Aruto responded, before punching him hard and flung him to the floor.
Izu had rushed by and grabbed both the AttacheShield and AttacheCalibur, the two weapons in their suitcase modes once more as she waited on the sidelines.
Aruto continued to fight the Magia, getting into a crouching position as he slashed the heated cone weapons, causing sparks to fly off, some of them flying past Aruto's head.
"Take this down, take this down!" Mr Ishizumi pointed and continued to draw, getting a good sketch of this form.
Aruto summoned a large ball of flames before slamming his palms into the Magia's chest, sending him flying.
CRASH!
The Magia burst through the wall of the warehouse behind them.
"Whoa...!" Both Jin and Mr Ishizumi gasped in shock.
Outside, we see Fuwa and Yaiba continue their fight. Well, we say Fuwa. He was still seeing Yaiba kick butt.
She was flying through the air, blasting out a barrage of robotic wasps from her armour. On the outside, she looked calm and collected, doing her job efficiently. But on the inside, she was having some level of fun, after all, she was flying!
A childhood dream that even she couldn't deny!
She aimed her robot hornets to strike down at the Magia down below, causing sparks and small explosions as she flew above them.
"President!" She blinked as she saw him rushing out the building, blasting at the Magia. Her yellow eyes flashing and glowing as it took in the details of his new form "Taking my cat theme?" She asked as she zoomed through the battlefield, her buzzing wings slashing apart a lot of the Trilobite Magia.
"Well, it looks like you are trying out my insect styles." He shot back with a laugh "... Are those little booties?"
"U-Um. Yes." She answered, before getting back into the fight. "I didn't design this suit." She mumbled.
"Huh. Thank you, Fuwa." She nodded, reaching down to tap her key.
THUNDER!
Yaiba flew into the air clicking the trigger of her ShotRiser and produced several yellow hornet needles to shoot out and strike the Magia below.
L! I! G! H! T! N! I! N! G! B! L! A! S! T!
The Magia down below were pinned down and struck by the barrage of pins.
Meanwhile, Yaiba flew high into the air, spinning a bit and causing a small blue twister for a moment, before she pointed her gun down and fired once more.
A large glowing blue stinger shot from the weapon and rushed down like a drill, sparking with electricity. At the last moment, it exploded, becoming hundreds of needles which stabbed down and turned the Magia below into Swiss cheese.
LIGHTNING BLAST!
Aruto and Fuwa looked on in shock at this, leaving the Vicarya Magia all on its own, seeing the skills Yaiba had with this new form.
"... Talk about shocking!" Aruto blinked.
Fuwa seemed to grunt as he was forcing himself up from the ground, somehow a bit more than normal as Aruto said that. "Gah! My turn!" He stood tall and pumped the shotgun, taking aim.
"Wait, isn't that-?" Aruto asked in shock.
"Fuwa, wait!" Yaiba called out, remembering the last time this happened.
BANG!
CRASH!
"4rgh!" The Magia grunted as they were shot back as Fuwa's shotgun flung him back into the wall as well as the Rider.
"Grr..." Fuwa hissed "Pr... President! D... Damn it, finish this!"
"Got it!" Aruto nodded, pushing his Tiger Key into the Driver.
FLAMING IMPACT!
The Magia struggled to get to its feet as it saw him, defenceless and about to be destroyed.
F!
L!
A!
M!
I!
N!
G!
I!
M!
P!
A!
C!
T!
"HAAA!" Aruto called out, summoning a ring of fire from his hands, shooting it forwards and, with his burning claws, lunged and slashed repeatedly.
FLAMING! IMPACT!
KABOOM!
Izu stood to the side and smiled, seeing Aruto fight his hardest and challenge the Magia. It was a sight she was learning to enjoy.
Jin, however, saw this as a failure and began to back away. There was no way he was going to fight three Kamen Riders. "Oh." he pouted. 'Another friend gone.' He thought as he left. But he had to wait, for a while. He had to get the key.
"Let me help." Aruto asked, extending a helping hand to Fuwa.
"...Thanks." He took Aruto's hand and was pulled up.
The three ended their transformations, their Driver's deactivating.
"Tch! Ah! Hnn! That kickback...Hnn." Fuwa grunted.
"Next time, use a different Key, before using a weapon." Yaiba commented as she took the AttacheShotGun from him "Although you DO need to be using the Wolf Key to summon it if you don't want to be dragging it around with you."
Fuwa grumbled in response since she had a very good point. "Is the Mangaka okay?"
"Yeah, I think so." Aruto nodded.
"Good. Because there's going to be questions about this." Fuwa answered.
"Like what?" Aruto questioned.
"For one, how did the HumaGear get turned so quickly? And where's that damn corrupting belt?" Fuwa responded.
"... You're right." Aruto frowned.
"We're not blaming you. We're just worried because of the amount of HumaGear being corrupted by MetsuBou JinRai." Yaiba reassured him.
"We have been looking the info over." He assured with a nod. "But without a... an accurate reading we can't work on any anti-viruses."
"Meaning the more we destroy, we can't get the means to fix it." Yaiba sighed.
"Well, I ain't taking any prisoners." Fuwa grumbled.
"I didn't think you would." Aruto frowned.
"President Hiden!" Mr Ishizumi called out, grabbing their attention.
"Ah, sir!" Aruto smiled.
"That fight...that skill and those techniques. That was simply amazing. Like a manga made real." He responded, holding pages of figures fighting.
It was a stylised image of a blazing tiger warrior, performing the same finishing attack that Aruto had.
"That-!" Aruto's eyes widened in shock and awe as he beheld his visage on paper.
"IS SO COOL!" Jin cheered.
"Huh?" The Riders turned as they saw Jin.
"YOU!" Fuwa growled, reaching for his ShotRiser, but dropped it due to his weakened hands.
"MEEP!" Jin yelled before rushing away again.
"Jin!" Aruto called out, seeing him run. "Dang it."
"Sir?" G-Pen asked, approaching the manga artist while holding his own picture.
"Whoa. That's pretty good." Aruto commented.
"Wait, is that-?" Fuwa asked, looking at the picture and saw the similar art style they both had.
On the picture was a grasshopper-like Knight, holding a wasp-like princess, as a werewolf man was attacking some skeletal monsters.
The three Riders looked at the designs and were in awe. "Very nice, Sir." Yaiba spoke, looking away for a moment.
"...That's Perfuman's old style." Fuwa realised.
...
"You read Perfuman?!" Aruto yelled in shock but with a grin.
"I...might've had a passing fascination with it." Fuwa grumbled, trying to act cool...while rubbing his ear from Aruto's cheer.
"Awesome!" Aruto grinned.
"If you're okay with it; can we use those transformations as a basis for these characters?" Mr Ishizumi asked.
"S-Sir!" G-Pen gasped "You... you want to use my character designs? In-In Perfuman?"
"No, G-Pen." Mr Ishizumi shook his head with a smile. "I want you to use your character and mine. I want you to make your own Manga. I shall teach and support you. I shall be there to help craft your own story, your own characters! Your own legacy and children! I can see it in your eyes. The love for art, for writing and drawing. The love I've been ignoring for years. And so... I want to help it flourish."
Aruto saw this and smiled as he heard that. "Of course, you can!" Aruto smiled. "As long as it's this style and not one to Zero-One." He joked
"Snrt!" Fuwa grunted and coughed. "F-Fine with me. Just...Don't hurt my guy too much."
"As long as she isn't a damsel in distress, you can use Valkyrie." Yua mumbled.
"Of course, I will treat this trio with the utmost respect." G-Pen bowed respectively to the Trio.
*time skip*
It was a couple of days later, Hiden Intelligence had replaced the Mangaka HumaGear that Mr Ishizumi had lost due to the attack, but he had refused. He wanted to focus again, he wanted to get back into the passion of writing and drawing his manga as he worked towards its well-deserved ending. Luckily his home was barely damaged; all his old material was safe and secure.
Mr Ishizumi and G-Pen were working together on Perfuman, while the old mangaka was helping G-Pen construct the world for his own manga behind the scenes. According to reports G-Pen's manga, the first manga to be written by a HumaGear, was set to be released in half a year.
"What a week, Izu." Aruto spoke with a satisfied comment as he arrived back in his house, landing on his bed.
"It has been a difficult and unusual week, President Aruto." Izu responded, sitting on the chair in his room.
"Yeah." he grinned, pulling out a volume of Perfuman. The first volume "You know, this makes me feel nostalgic." he stated.
"You mean, meeting Mr Ishizumi and reliving the memories of the manga he has produced. I see." Izu responded.
"Yeah." he smiled. "It reminds me of my dad and growing up...it always made me smile."
Aruto suddenly say up, passing the manga to Izu "Why don't you read it? You might like it!"
"Of course, President Aruto." she nodded and took the book. She noted how it was beaten and battered, some of the pages were slightly drooped and degraded. It was rather easy to tell he had the issue for a long time and looked after it.
Aruto grabbed a small package by the door and stretched "Just need to grab something from the corner store, be back in a moment!" he groaned.
"Are you sure you do not need my assistance, President Aruto?" Izu asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Aruto smiled "Just enjoy the manga."
"Okay." she nodded, sitting down and opening the manga.
Aruto left his apartment and heading out to a nearby alleyway... "Hey, here you go." Aruto stated as he opened his bag and set down a small plastic package before he walked away.
Emerging from the alleyway... was Jin!
He grabbed the package to reveal the first volume of the Perfuman manga! This volume was brand new, still wrapped in its plastic packaging!
"Hiden..." He muttered, looking at Aruto's retreating form.
To be continued
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