Hello Fanfiction readers! Ashbel Longhart here to bring you the next chapter of my Ryuki story! So, so sorry I haven't been able to update, my only excuse is that life is a bitch. But I'm back and I hope you all are ready to enjoy another wonderful time with me and my stories. Cue disclaimer!
(Disclaimer: I do not own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Kamen Rider Ryuki. They both belong to their respective owners. Any songs or anything familiar also belong to their respective owners. I just own this story and my OC's. Please enjoy.)
Last time, Haru and the others finally learned about the Rider War and Alex and Kyoko met Yuma. And if you people have read Oriko Magica, then you know the girl will make an appearance soon enough. Not only that, but Renji and Sayaka ran into none other than the Magical Girl Assassin, Suzune who had just finished killing Chisato before her friends showed up. What will happen now that these two stories have crossed? Let's find out! If you do not fight, you will not survive!
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
ADVENT
"Telepathy"
"Relfection"
Wish 8: Remorse/Fight to Survive!
(Last Time)
"It's dubbed the Rider War. And it's a war where Riders fight one another to obtain the ultimate prize: A Wish."
"Make a face like that and nobody will ever help you out."
"I said some things and I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I never should have said those things to you."
"…Apology accepted."
"A Magical Girl…"
"Chi…Chisato?"
"If you mean this person, she's already dead."
"DON'T MESS WITH MEEEEEEEE!"
'Su-Suzune-chan!?'
"You can call me Kamen Rider Knight."
(Now)
Silence filled the night as the girls looked at Renji, now Knight, in surprise at his transformation and after what he had announced. Finally, the silence was broken.
"Kamen…?" Haruka began.
"Rider…?" Matsuri continued.
"Knight?" Arisa finished.
"Uh, Renji-kun?" Sayaka spoke up. "Just because you look like a knight doesn't mean you have to name yourself Knight."
"Hey! I wasn't the one who named myself! Zero told me that's what my title was in this armor!" Renji exclaimed before he, without looking, grabbed his Dark Visor and drew it, blocking an attack from Suzune who had used the distraction only to be surprised by the Rider's block.
'Without looking!?' Suzune thought in surprise.
"Oi," Suzune and everyone blinked when Renji's voice gained a serious tone. "Tell me something: why did you kill that girl?"
Suzune said nothing as she tried to overpower Renji, but his hold on his Dark Visor was stronger than she expected.
"No answer, huh? Alright then, don't talk. I'll just beat you up right now!" Renji said before faster than Suzune could react, she was kicked by Renji, his leg striking her side as she was pushed away and crashed into one of the neighborhood walls. Twirling his sword to wield it the right way, Renji wastes no time rushing towards Suzune, aiming for a stab for her head, but the Magical Girl moves her head out of the way and jumps back. Removing his sword from the wall, Renji goes and rushes Suzune with a flurry of stabs, his stance that of a fencer as his stabs are quick and fast.
'He's fast.' Suzune comments in her mind as she is barely keeping up with Renji, having never fought a fencer before as multiple scratches appeared on her before she jumps back to gain some distance. Holding her sword with both hands, she swings upward as Renji goes for another stab, but Suzune's swing was faster as her blade neared Renji's chin until, to her surprise, Renji stopped her sword by pulling his attack back and stopped the blade with the guard of the Dark Visor before he goes and punches her right in the face.
Renji then goes and twirls his Dark Visor again to hold it upside-down before he pulls the end up, revealing a hidden slot, before he goes and draws a card from his Deck and inserts it into the Visor before closing it.
SWORD VENT
As Suzune was getting back up, wiping some blood from her mouth, her sword shined before suddenly, something flew out of it and into Renji's hand. Sheathing his Dark Visor, Renji wields the giant lance that somewhat resembled Darkwing's tail.
"Did that just come out of Suzune-chan's sword?" Matsuri asked.
"Oi!" Arisa turned to Sayaka who jumped when she was being addressed. "What the hell us your boyfriend!? He's no Magical Girl!"
"B-Boyfriend!?" Sayaka blushed as she exclaimed, "Renji-kun isn't my b-boyfriend!"
"Then what is he?" Arisa asked again.
"We would like to know that as well." Haruka said as she and Matsuri turned to Sayaka.
"Um, that's kind of hard to explain right now." Sayaka said as she turned back to Renji's fight with Suzune.
Both weapons clashes, throwing sparks around as both fighters tried to overpower the other, but Renji quicklt raised a foot to kick Suzune in the chest, pushing her back before Renji charged forward, trusting his lance forward, but Suzune quickly dodged within a hairs breath before she placed a hand on Renji's chest. This confused him until he felt his chest heating up a bit before she was pushed back when a torrent of flames shot out from Suzune's hand and struck Renji at pointed blank range, sending the Rider flying back.
"Renji-kun!" Sayaka cried out in worry.
Suzune jumped towards Renji, sword raised to finish him off, but Renji acted quickly by drawing another card from his deck and inserted it into his Visor.
TRICK VENT
Renji quickly rolls out of the way, avoiding Suzune's sword before she had to raise her sword to block two swings of Renji's lance.
'Wait, two?' Suzune thought before she blinked in surprise for before her were two Renji's!
"What the!? He multiplied!?" Arisa exclaimed in surprise.
The surprise didn't stop there as from the two Renji's even more copies of him appeared until there were a total of eight Renji's surrounding Suzune.
'Are these illusions? Or physical copies?' Suzune thought before she jumped to avoid two lances thrust at her before deflecting another attack from a third attacker until a forth Renji appeared from behind and kicked her back to the ground.
'So they're physical copies.' Suzune thought as she quickly rolled out of the way of a lance stabbing the ground before quickly getting up, ducking under a swinging lance before striking the clone with her sword. To her surprise, the clone she struck broke like glass after her hit. 'So they disappear after getting hit once.'
With that knowledge in mind, Suzune spreads hee arms out and right before everyone's eyes, sword made entirely out of flames appeared above her before they shot forward towards the clones like bullets. Six out of seven swords struck their targets as only one rolled out of the way of an incoming sword. Identifying the survivor as the real Renji, Suzune rushed towards the Rider, attacking before he could react as her sword stabbed right through the Rider...and he broke like glass.
'Nani(What)!?' Suzune's eyes widen in surprise as she quickly looked around for the real Renji, but found no sign of him.
"Hey! Up here!" A voice called out from above and everyone looked up to see Renji in the sky with Darkwing on his back, giving him wings to fly.
'How did he-!?'
FINAL VENT
Suzune's thoughts were interrupted when Renji's Dark Visor spoke out and Renji dived right towards the Magical Girl killer. Right before everyone's eyes, Darkwing on Renji's back becomes a cape before Renji positions his lance, the Wing Lancer, in a piercing position and right leg in a kicking position before his cape wraps around himself mid-attack as Rider and Monster start to descend in the form of a spinning cloth-like drill at great speeds.
"Hishouzan(Flying Slash)!" Renji shouts he name of his finisher.
Suzune goes to jump back until she remembers that the other Magical Girls were right behind her. Just as Renji neared closer to her, a ball of black fire appears from the side and hits Renji, canceling his finisher as he cries out in surprise and pain before crashing down to a pile of nearby trash bags and bins.
"Renji-kun!" Sayaka quickly runs over to his side, helping him up to his feet. "Daijōbu ka(Are you alright)?"
"I'm fine." Renji groaned.
"Who's there?" Haruka shouted out as everyone looked around to see who had saved the Magical Girl killer.
"Amano Suzune," Everyone's eyes widen before they turn to see none other than Homura next to Suzune who jumps in surprise at her sudden appearance.
"What the!? The hell did she come from!?" Arisa voiced her surprise, having not sensed the girl.
"Akemi-san!?" Sayaka exclaimed in surprise as she and Renji looked at the Magical Girl in surprise. What was she doing here?
"You know her?" Haruka asked.
"Yeah." Sayaka nodded.
"Amano Suzune," Homura spoke up. "You'll be coming with me."
"...And if I refuse?" Suzune asked, staring at Homura in suspicion.
"You don't have a choice in the matter." Homura said as she glances at Magical Girls and Rider. Suzune saw this too and reluctantly nodded.
"Hold it!" Arisa shouted as she charged towards the two, scythe raised. "Don't think we'll let you two walk away! That bitch needs to pay!"
Homura looked at Arisa, her face stoic and calm as always which seemed to piss off Arisa as the expression was just like Suzune's. Arisa swung her scythe with no hesitation, but her arm jerked back when her scythe did not swing down. Looking behind her, holding her scythe back was none other than Ryuga.
"Who the hell are-!" Arisa never got to say more as she was pulled before Ryuga went and delivered a devastating punch to her gut, making her spat out saliva and some blood as she drops to her knees and held her stomach.
"Arisa!" Matsuri cried out in worry as she ran to her friend.
"Matsuri, wait! Don't get to close!" Haruka said as she reached out to grab the Magical Girl when Ryuga went and kicked Arisa towards them. Quickly, Matsuri spread her arms out and successfully caught her friend, falling down on her butt in the process.
"Let's go." Ryuga said, turning to Homura and Suzune.
"Matte(Hold it)!" Renji said as he charged towards Ryuga. "Where do you think you're going!?"
Ryuga said nothing as he simply took a step back to dodge Renji's lance before he went and kicked Renji back, sending him stumbling back a little before Ryuga went and backhanded him in the face.
"Renji-kun! Why you-!" Sayaka gripped her sword tightly before she attacked the black Rider.
Again, Ryuga remained silent as he easily dodged Sayaka's swings, not even once putting his guard up until he went and blocked her sword with his black Drag Visor before punching her right in the face. Renji soon came back in, attacking from behind, but Ryuga spun around, avoiding the Rider's lance before he elbowed the bat-themed Rider from behind, sending him stumbling forward before Ryuga turned and kick his back, sending him down to the ground.
'This mother-! He's toying with us!' Renji thought as he got back up and turned to face Ryuga when to his and Sayaka's surprise that said Rider and the two stoic expressed Magical Girl were nowhere to be seen. "What!? Where did they go!?"
"They vanished!" Sayaka said as the second she blinked, they were gone. Sayaka scratched her head in frustration. "Dammit, just what is that girl's magic anyway?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Renji said as he removed his Advent Deck from the V-Buckle and said buckle plus his armor vanished. Sayaka did the same as her body glowed and she was back in her uniform.
"Oi!" Both Renji and Sayaka turned to see Arisa, she and the others out of their Magical Girl outfits and in their uniforms, stomping up towards them. "What the hell was all that!? Who the hell were those two!? And who the hell are you two!?"
"Calm down." Renji said.
"Those uniforms," Haruka noted, looking at the uniforms Renji and Sayaka were wearing. "That's the uniform for the Mitakihara Middle School."
"Mitakihara? You mean the school Shou goes to?" Matsuri asked.
"Talk! Now!" Arisa demanded as she pointed at the two.
"Uh, well, um..." Sayaka scratched the back of her head. "Where do we even begin?"
(Insert: Connect by ClariS)
(Kawashita yakusoku wasurenai yo me) The song starts with the camera rising up to show two figures, a boy and a girl as they were surrounded by glistening mirrors.
(Wo toji tashikameru) The boy and girl turned out to be none other than Haru Yamamoto and Madoka Kaname back to back.
(Oshiyoseta yami furiharatte susumu yo) Madoka's hair shadowed over her eyes as she looked like she was trying to hold back tears while Haru tightly but gently held one of her hands in comfort while the other hand was holding onto Ryuki's Deck Box. In the mirrors their reflections differ from themselves as Madoka's reflections showed her in her Magical Girl outfit while Haru's reflection was that of Kamen Rider Ryuki. Suddenly, the mirrors shatter into pieces as the title appeared.
(Itsu ni nattara nakushita mirai wo) Haru along with Renji, Alex, and Takeru all wake up to start the day, still a bit groggy, but got up nonetheless.
(Watashi koko de mata miru koto dekiru no?) The four boys brushed their teeth side by side before the scene fast forwards to them finishing putting on their school uniform before rushing out the door.
(Afuredashita fuan no kage wo) The boys are seen running as fast as they can as to not be late for school when Haru notices something up ahead. Up ahead, Madoka along with Sayaka and Hitomi were seen smiling at the approaching group.
(Nando demo saite kono sekai ayun de kou) The four slowed down to a stop and walked with the girls to school. Not too far from them, Mami is seen walking by herself to school, Kyoko was nearby eating as always, and Homura was walking from a distance, looking at the group, but more specifically, Madoka. While the rest of the group talked with one another, Haru and Madoka glanced at one another smiled.
(Tomedonaku kizamareta) The scene changes to show Madoka with Kyoko and Mami to her right and Sayaka and Homura to her left all transforming into their Magical Girl outfits before they go to fight a Witch.
(Toki ha ima hajimari tsuge) Haru and the boys try to run up to them, but are stopped by mirrors. They bang on the mirrors to get the girls, but they didn't hear or notice them as they were too busy fighting.
(Kawaranai omoi wo nose) The boys bang and bang on the mirrors stopping them before Haru had
enough and punched the thing, surprised to see that he had formed a crack. He continues to punch and punch the mirror in front of him, forming cracks as the others followed his lead, getting the same results.
(Tozasareta tobira akeyou) They throw punch after punch before finally, they all throw one single punch that brakes the mirrors right in front of them before they dash through as when they passed, they all had transformed; Ryuki for Haru, Knight for Renji, Zolda for Alex, and Raia for Takeru.
(Mezameta kokoro ha hashiridashita mirai wo egaku tame) Just when Sayaka was about to get hit, Knight swoops in and saves her just in time, holding Sayaka in a bridal position as his Contract Monster, Darkwing providing him wings to fly. Mami jumps back to avoid an attack when a whip wraps around her waist and pulls her to safety as the culprit was none other than Raia who caught her in his arms while they rode on his Contract Monster, Evildiver. An arm was about to grab Kyoko when it was shot. Looking behind her, Kyoko saw that it was Zolda who had shot the arm as his Contract Monster, Magnugiga stood behind him.
(Muzukashii michi de tachidomatte mo sora ha) Multiple hands went to grab both Madoka and Homura when suddenly flames burned the hands away as appearing from the flame were both Ryuki and Ryuga as the red Rider stood in front of Madoka protectively while the black Rider did the same for Homura as both Riders had their Contract Monsters, Dragreder and Dragblacker float next to them, ready for battle.
(Kirei na aosa de itsumo mattete kureru) All the Riders prepare to execute their Final Vents while the girls prepare to use their strongest attacks on the Witch.
(Dakara kowakunai) Suddenly, in Haru's eyes, he sees the shadow images of the other Riders participating in the Rider War before he jumps up with Dragreder coiling around him.
(Mou nani ga atte mo kujikenai) In quick shots, all the Riders unleash their Final Vents with the girls unleash their great attacks before the scene changes to a puddle where all five Rider Decks laid on as the reflection showed the girls' Soul Gems. Ryuga's reflected Homura's, Raia's reflected Mami's, Zolda reflected Kyoko's, Knight reflected Sayaka's, and Ryuki's reflected Madoka's as the song comes to an end.
(The Next Day)
"I'm back." Alex called out as he entered the apartment room with a bag of groceries.
"About time you got here." Kyoko said as she sat at the table, a pocky stick in her mouth.
"Sorry, took a while to find this place." Alex said as he looked around the room. It was decently sized. The kitchen and dining room were connected. A small TV stood at the side of a corner. Two doors led to two different room. One was the bathroom and the other was the bedroom which had a balcony.
"Do I even want to know how you got this place?" Alex asked as he set the bag down on the table. "Where's Yuma?"
"She's still sleeping." Kyoko said, gesturing with her head to the bedroom door.
"I see. Well, better wake her up. I left the guys early to come here so I gotta get to school soon." Alex said as he walked towards the door.
"Oi," Alex stopped when Kyoko suddenly raised her voice. We he turned to the red head, he was met with a serious expression on her face. "We need to talk."
Alex raised an eyebrow, having never seen Kyoko like this before he walked over to the table and sat across from Kyoko.
"What happened?" Alex asked, guessing something must have happened to make Kyoko this serious.
"I found out something about Yuma while you were at school and work yesterday." Kyoko said as she quickly ate the pocky stick in her mouth before explaining what had happened.
(Flashback)
It was night time as both Kyoko and Yuma were at the park. Alex's work kept him working for most of the night so the only time he could help Kyoko take care of Yuma was during mornings and weekends. Kyoko wasn't complaining. It just meant more time for her and Yuma to be alone. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she was starting to grow fond of the little girl.
Back to the situation at hand, Kyoko and Yuma were at the park for one reason only. To hunt Witches. Yuma had expressed her desire to be a Magical Girl like Kyoko when said red headed girl and Alex had saved her that night and of course, Kyoko and Alex voiced their displeasure. The reason Kyoko had brought the girl was to show her just how dangerous being a Magical Girl was and hopefully convince her to change her mind.
"Yuma, this is dangerous, so get back and hide." Kyoko said, garbed in her Magical Girl outfit as the two had just entered a Witch's Barrier.
"Okay. Be careful." Yuma said as he went to hide. Once Yuma was in a good hiding place, away from danger, Kyoko faced the Witch she was about to fight.
The Witch was small in comparison to other Witches Kyoko has fought before. The Witch was about her size and even had the body and shape of a human. It was dressed in a formal vest with a small skirt and its sleeves flared out in the end. Its head, which looked like some big shiny marble, was wrapped around a hood. This is the Toy Witch, Rosasharn.
Rosasharn's Familiars looked like they could be related to Mr. Game and Watch. Their bodies were very cartoonish and their heads were that of cartoon bears with no eyes.
"You're smaller than most Witches I've faced, but you're still gonna die either way." Kyoko said as she twirled her spear.
Whether she understood her not, the Witch sent her Familiars at the red haired Magical Girl. Kyoko didn't concern herself with the cartoonish looking Familiars as she batted them away with her spear and kick them back to the Witch who sprouted large hands from her sleeves, said hands hitting her Familiars and sending them all over the place, before sending her hands to squash Kyoko, but the experienced Magical Girl easily sliced through the hand and advanced towards the Witch. Pulling its hands back, the Witch dashed away, attempting to escape but Kyoko was faster and easily caught up.
"I ain't letting you get away!" Kyoko said as she jumped up, spun her spear before shooting down at the Witch and sliced the Witch clean in half. "Heh, too easy."
'Sugoi(Amazing)…' Yuma thought as she looked at Kyoko in amazement at how easily she finished off the Witch. 'If only I could things like that…'
"Hm?" Suddenly, Kyoko noticed something and her eyes widen in surprise. "Yuma, look out!"
"Eh?" Yuma said until a shadow came over her and she looked up to see the top half of Rosasharn. From around its head, pincers had sprouted and they were all aimed at Yuma. Yuma stayed frozen solid, unable to move as the pincers came closer and closer to claim her life if it wasn't for Kyoko's spear striking right through the Witch's head, killing it and sending it away from the young girl as the blood of the Witch splattered all over Yuma who could only stare in shock.
"Yuma, are you alright!?" Kyoko asked as she quickly went up to the girl and checked to see if she was alright while wiping away the blood off of the young girl.
"Y-Yeah, I'm okay…" Yuma said, still in a bit of shock.
Kyoko sighed in relief and continued to wipe the blood off the girl. 'Hopefully now this will change Yuma's mind of being a Magical Girl…Hm?' Kyoko furrowed her brow when she brushed aside Yuma's hair to reveal wounds all over the girl's head. 'These wounds didn't come from the Witch. These look more like…burns from a cigarette.' Kyoko quickly deduced where these wounds came from as the Witch's Barrier disappeared and she returned to wearing her normal clothes. "…Did one of your parents…?"
Yuma knew what Kyoko was asking as she looked up at Kyoko before looking back down and started trembling, bad memories invading her mind.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask." Kyoko said.
Yuma stayed silent for about a minute or two before she spoke up. "I…actually didn't like my mommy and daddy that much." Kyoko remained silent, allowing Yuma to pause in between her speaking as she allowed the girl to voice her thoughts. "They'd fight all the time…daddy was hardly ever home…and mommy would pick on me. She said the reason daddy didn't come home…the reason…that daddy was always out somewhere playing around…was because Yuma wasn't a sweet enough girl."
'Bullshit.' Kyoko thought. Yuma was one of the sweetest girl's she's met.
"Then mommy…she'd do things to me that hurt."
'No doubt taking out her anger on her.' Kyoko thought before saying. "The world isn't a place, huh? You know…I can't say I've never felt betrayed by a parent before." The memories of that one night invaded her mind until she forced it back down. She didn't like thinking about. "I had something like that happen to me too."
Yuma looked at Kyoko in surprise. Her mind raced at what she wanted to say to the experienced Magical Girl as she came to a decision. Gripping her clothes, Yuma spoke. "I…I want…I want to be strong like you!"
Kyoko remained silent, frowning at Yuma had said. Looks like her plan to change the girl's mind had failed.
"Hey, Kyoko! Why do you fight Witches?" Yuma asked.
"'Cos I got no other choice. That's why." Kyoko simply said.
"Is the reason you're strong because you're a Magical Girl?" Yuma asked as her mind started to produce dark thoughts.
'The reason mommy would pick on…is because I'm weak. Someday…Kyoko will…Alex will…they'll leave me lonely too.' With those thoughts in Yuma's mind, she started bothering Kyoko with a barrage of questions.
"Hey! Where are your friends!? Why don't you go to school like Alex!? What is he anyway!? Are there other Magical Girls around!?"
"Oi! Cut the questi-!"
"There are many." Kyoko was interrupted by a sudden third voice. "There are quite a large number of Magical Girls. And just like Oriko said, you seem to have the qualities to that make for a Magical Girl as well, Yuma."
Both Kyoko and Yuma turned to see none other than Kyubey and at the first sight of him, Yuma smiled like the child she was ran up to Kyubey.
"Wow! A stuff animal talked to me!"
"I'm not a stuffed animal. I'm Kyubey, nice to meet you, Yuma." Kyubey said before was picked up by said girl was given one of the hardest hugs he's ever felt.
'Him? Why?' Kyoko thought, wondering about Kyubey's reasons to approach Yuma. 'Not to mention, who's this 'Oriko?'
"As I just said, you have the ability to become a Magical Girl." Kyubey said to Yuma who had stopped giving him a death hug.
"Really!?" Yuma brightened up at Kyubey's words. "You mean I can become a Magical Girl!? Just like Kyoko!?"
"Of course. If you become a Magical girl-!"
"Oi," Kyoko went and stopped Kyubey from speaking further by grabbing one of his eats and gave him a glare that could kill. "Don't you dare go telling the kid any fancy stories!"
Kyubey went and used his other ear to slap Kyok's hand away from him to free himself. "Now that's an odd reaction from you, Kyoko."
"Urusai(Shut up)." Kyoko said as she pulled Yuma closer to her. "I've got a question for you, Kyubey."
"And what would that be?"
"This city is huge. I expected more Magical Girls to be running around, but all I've met so far are Mami-san, the rookie, and that mystery girl. Where did all the other Magical Girls go?"
"Ah, that. It seems they've all been defeated." Kyubey said.
"Defeated? You mean killed by Witches?"
"No. It seems it was another Magical Girl."
"Huh?" Kyoko raised a brow at Kyubey in confusion.
"It's the truth." Kyubey said, his face unchanging as always.
Kyoko looked at the unknown being in suspicion. If there was one thing she hated about Kyubey, it was his face. She could never figure what the creature was thinking. "So? What kind of person is this girl?"
"I can't say because I don't quite know myself." Kyubey said. "Still, there is a limited amount of Grief Seeds so an outcome like this isn't inconceivable. I think you should be on your guard as well, Kyoko. But if worse comes to worse, I can add her," Kyubey points at Yuma. "To the ranks."
"Oi!" Kyoko glared at Kyubey again.
"Hai, hai(All right, All right)…" Kyubye said before taking his leave, disappearing into the shadows.
"He's as shifty as always." Kyoko commented.
"Kyoko…?" Yuma looked up at Kyoko who placed a hand on top of her head.
"Yuma, don't ever think about becoming a Magical Girl." Kyoko said before she takes Yuma's hand and the two walk back to the apartment Kyoko had gotten through some…means.
'I need to tell Alex this.' Kyoko thought. She didn't like the Rider, but he was in charge of taking care of Yuma too so he had a right to know.
(Flashback End)
Alex stared down at the sleeping form of Yuma who was snoring softly. Gently, Alex brushed aside Yuma's hair and saw the burn marks all over Yuma's head.
"Bastards…" Alex muttered, a dark part of him glad that Yuma's parents were gone before he brushed away the negative thoughts and turned to Kyoko who was leaning against the wall. "And Kyubey said that she can become a Magical Girl?"
Kyoko just nodded as she thought, 'Kyubey, why are you targeting Yuma? And who is this 'Oriko' person? I've got a bad feeling about this 'Magical Girl Hunter' thing too. This all seems pretty fishy.'
"…I knew it." Kyoko sighed as she thought back to Kyubey's words of adding Yuma to the ranks of Magical Girls. "It was a bad idea to get this girl involved."
"Are you just gonna abandon her?" Alex threw Kyoko and questioning glare.
"Of course not. I'm not that low."
"Says the girl who said that she'll allow Familiars to eat other humans in order to become Witches as a way to harvest Grief Seeds."
"Oh shut up." Kyoko said before Yuma started to stir. "Oh great, now look what you made me do."
"Hey, I'm not at fault here!" Alex said before turning to Yuma and gave the girl a small smile. "Morning, Yuma. Sleep well?"
Yuma nodded as she rubbed her eyes cutely. The three went to the dining room where Alex had already cooked breakfast; a simple bowl of rice, miso soup, and a big fish for everyone to share.
"Itadakimasu(Thank you for the food)!" All three of them said before they went and ate, Alex eating at a faster pace for he had to go to school soon.
"Hey, Alex?" Alex looked up at Yuma. "What are you?"
Alex blinked at Yuma's blunt question before he swallowed his food and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are you? You're not a Magical Girl like Kyoko and you had that really strange armor and that scary robot cow."
"It's a bull." Alex felt an eye twitch as Kyoko resisted the urge to laugh. She had food in her mouth and she wasn't going to waste it by spit taking. "And to answer your question, I'm a Kamen Rider. I told you this when me and Kyoko saved you that night."
"What is a Kamen Rider?" Yuma asked. "Are you some sort of male Magical Girl?"
"Um, kind of?" Alex said as the similarities between a Rider and a Magical Girl was plain to see. Both make contracts in order to gain powers so they could fight monsters so that nothing bad will happen them. In a Rider's case, it's making sure their Contract Monster doesn't betray them and eat them.
"Then could I be a Kamen Rider?" Yuma's question made Alex and Kyoko drop their utensils.
"Oi!" Kyoko got up. "I told you to not think about being a Magical Girl so now you're trying to be whatever this Kamen Rider is!?"
"But I want to be strong like you and Alex!" Yuma shouted back, slamming her hands on the table before turning to Alex. "Alex, how did you become a Kamen Rider? Tell me!"
"…I won't." Alex said as he picked up his utensils and continued eating.
"Why not!?"
"Because you don't understand the dangers of having this power." Alex said as he finished up and looked at Yuma. "Like Kyoko, I'm putting my foot down here." After saying that, Alex gets up, grabs his bag and goes to leave for school. "I'm going now. Look after her while I'm gone. I'm gonna try and see if I can convince my boss to let me out earlier."
"Don't try too hard, take your time." Kyoko waved off Alex as the Rider left through the door.
'I don't get it.' Yuma thought as she looked down. 'Why doesn't Kyoko let me become a Magical Girl? Why doesn't Alex let me be a Kamen Rider? Why…?'
You can't do anything right, can you!?
You stupid brat!
You're useless!
Yuma's eyes widen in terror as the painful memories of her mother beating her up invaded her mind.
'Does Kyoko and Alex think that Yuma is a useless brat too!?'
As Yuma was having these negative thoughts, Kyoko looked at the green haired girl in a bit of worry. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Kyoko went to see who it was. She guessed it was Alex who may have forgotten something, but what she didn't expect to see when she opened the door was an old man dressed in a butler suit.
The old man was fairly tall. Age had covered his face with small wrinkles as a small pair of glasses sat on his nose and over his light blue eyes as his faded white hair was combed back nice and neat. His suit was finely tailored and steamed and iron to perfection as white gloves covered his hands and black dress shoes that reflected the light of the nearby light bulbs covered his feet.
"Kyoko-sama, if I presume?" The old man spoke.
"Um…yes?" Kyoko said, not expecting the old man to say her name with '-sama.' "Who are you?"
The old man placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Kyoko-sama. I am Inagaki Yuri, faithful and loyal butler to Alexander-sama. The young master sent me here to help aid you in looking after Yuma-sama."
"…Did you just say butler?" Was the first thing Kyoko asked.
(School, Rooftop)
"So let me guess this straight." Mami began as she and the others had been told what had happened last night from Renji and Sayaka. "You two ran into a Magical Girl who had just killed another Magical Girl, the killed Magical Girl's friends later appeared and you all fought the killer until Akemi-san and Ryuga appeared and helped the killer escape?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Renji said.
"But why would Homura-chan and Ryuga help a killer?" Madoka asked, horrified that someone had been killed last night and Renji and Sayaka were there to see it.
"Who knows? That girl and her Rider friend are total mysteries." Sayaka said before turning to Mami. "Mami-san, do you think that this killer is the one going around killing other Magical Girls?"
"You said her weapon was a sword, right?" Sayaka nodded. "Then I think there's a pretty good chance that that girl is our killer."
"What are you girls talking about?" Takeru asked as and the other boys were looking at the girls with confusion and suspicion.
"Right, we never told you." Mami said before she explained. "When Yamamoto-san and Takeru-kun were following Kagamine-san, the girls and I found a Magical Girl who had been killed."
"Killed!?" Haru exclaimed in surprise with the other boys looking surmised as well.
Mami nodded and continued. "Judging from her wounds, whoever the killer was used a sharp object like a knife or sword. And from what Miki-san here said, the killer she ran into may be our suspect."
"I heard about this 'Magical Girl Hunter' from Kyoko." Alex said before he glanced at Kyubey who was currently in Madoka's arms. "Oi, is this girl our killer?"
"Who knows? She may be." Kyubey said when suddenly he was ripped away from Madoka arms and found his head in Alex's hand.
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Alex said as he began crushing Kyubey's head in his hands.
"Alex-san, what are you doing!?" Madoka said as she grabbed his arms to stop him from crushing Kyubey.
"Alex, calm down." Haru joined in as he grabbed Alex's shoulder.
Alex looked between the two before he threw a glare Kyubey before letting him go.
"Whew! I thought I was about to be crushed there for a second." Kyubey breathed out.
"Alex, what the hell? Why are you so angry at Kyubey?" Renji asked as Alex sat back down.
"Because this thing here tried to make Yuma into a Magical Girl."
"You mean that girl you and Sakura-san are taking care of?" Mami asked and Alex nodded. "She has the potential to be a Magical Girl?"
"That's right." Kyubey confirmed.
"Oi, Alex here told us that this Chitose-chan is no older than 8 and you want her to be a Magical Girl?" Takeru asked as he now understood why Alex was so angry at the creature.
"If a girl has the potential, she can become a Magical Girl no matter what age they are." Kyubey said.
"That…That's just…wrong." Haru said as everyone here knew the dangers of being a Magical Girl if the near death experience with Mami told them anything.
"It's just how I do things." Kyubey said before he started walking away.
"And where do you think you're going?" Alex asked, his tone threatening.
"I'm just going to see how those other Magical Girls are doing." Kyubey said, talking about Arisa and the others. "You people aren't the only group I hang around with. As the one who has contracted with many girls, it is my duty to see how they are doing. Although this group is the more interesting one so I'll be back shortly." And with that, Kyubey disappeared.
"Tch!" Alex clicked his tongue before he grabbed his lunch and continued to eat.
"It sure is a surprise to know that there are other Magical Girls around the city." Sayaka commented as she followed Alex's example and ate her lunch.
"True. It's even more surprising to hear that they're working together." Mami said as Magical Girls working with one another was rare. "For now, let's be extra careful when we go out to hunt Witches, Miki-san." Sayaka nodded before Mami turned to Madoka. "And I think it's best if you no longer accompany us, Kaname-san."
"Eh?"
"Mami-san's right." Sayaka said. "This is a murderer we're talking about, Madoka. If Mami-san and I were to run into her, she could take you hostage so it's better if you stay away."
"But…" Madoka wasn't so keen to leave her friends running around where the chances of them running into the Magical Girl killer could happen.
"We'll be fine, Kaname-san." Mami assured the pink haired girl.
Madoka lowered her head, still not keen to leaving the two girls alone.
"If it'll make you feel better, I can go with them." Takeru suggested.
"Eh?" All the girls looked at the fortune teller.
"I don't have anything going on so I'm free to help." Takeru said. "Plus, this will help me too since Contract Monsters can apparently eat Grief Seeds."
"That…would put my mind at ease a little." Madoka said before looking at the girls to see if they were okay with this.
"I don't see any problems with Takeru-kun coming with us." Mami said as she mentally cheered in joy that Takeru was coming with her.
"I guess it's fine." Sayaka said with a shrug.
"Then it's decided." Takeru said as he picked up his lunch and ate.
"If Takeru's going, then I'm going too." Renji suddenly said.
"Huh?" Madoka said. "But don't you have work?"
"My boss said I earned myself some time off so I'm free for the next few days." Renji said. "Besides, if we run into the girl, then Akemi-san and Ryuga might be with her and I still gotta a score to settle with Ryuga."
"Lucky you, getting an extended day off." Alex commented. "Maybe I should request a day off. Maybe then I'll be able to take care of Yuma more."
"Why don't you just send your butler, Yuri-san, over to them? I bet he'd be a big help." Renji suggested.
"I already did." Alex said.
Seeing that everyone was telling what they were planning to do, Haru turned to Madoka and he gulped. He steadily calmed his breathing and calmed himself down before he addressed his crush. "M-Madoka-chan?"
"Hm? Hai(Yes)?" Said girl turned to face Haru.
"Um, since everyone seems to be busy, do you…um, do you want to…hang out after school?"
Madoka blinked a few times at Haru words. "Hang out?" Haru nodded. "As in…just the two of us?" Haru nodded again. Madoka slowly processed this knowledge before her face grew slightly pink and her mind went into overdrive.
'H-H-Hang out! He wants to hang out! Just the t-t-t-two of us! Ah, doushio(What should I do)!?' Madoka's mind was a blazing mess as she looked towards her friends Sayaka for help. The blue haired girl simply gave her a thumbs up with said: 'Go for it!'
"Um…" Madoka spoke up. "S-Sure, I would love to h-hang out with you, Haru-kun."
"Really!?" Haru asked and Madoka just nodded. "G-Great! Then I'll see you after school!" In his mind, streams of confetti exploded in his mind as he cheered loudly.
Meanwhile, the others watched with amused smiles before the bell rang, signaling that lunch break is now over.
(Meanwhile, at Akanegasaki)
The entire school was filled with grief that day as students were gathered at the auditorium to hear the horrific news that one of their own had been killed.
"As you might already know, a student of our school, Shion Chisato, was…killed last night." The Principal spoke through the mic as various reactions spreads throughout the students through the common one was grief and sadness as tears were shed. "That you had to be a part of this fashion is truly regrettable, but from now on, classes will end shortly today and all students are advised to quickly make their way home and to not wander off into the night. We can only hope that the criminal responsible for this tragedy is found as soon as possible."
After that, the students returned to their classes as among them, Haruka walked alone, thinking about the events of last night.
'Even though I was there that night, I couldn't save Chisato.' Haruka thought as she walked through the halls of her school to her class when suddenly, she saw a familiar shade of silver hair tied in a ponytail with by a familiar bell and pouch pendant. 'That is…!' Gritting her teeth, Haruka sped up to the girl, grabbed her shoulders, and turned her around to come face to face with Chisato's killer, Amano Suzune, her face still stoic.
"You have to be really carefree to be able to come to school like this." Haruka said, glaring at the Magical Girl killer who remained silent. "Don't play dumb. You killed my friend, no need to keep quiet. Around a month ago you transferred here, just when those incidents started happening."
The Ripper Girl incident. That was what Haruka was talking about. According to rumor and gossip, if a girl were to walk alone to a vacant place, she would suddenly hear the sound of bells. A girl in a coat would then appear and ask you for your name. After answering, the girl would then cut the other in shreds, killing them. But in reality…
"All those victims were Magical Girls." Haruka said. "I know that territory conflicts happen among Magical Girls, but do you seriously need to purposely kill for that?"
"I told you. You're better off not knowing." Suzune said.
"Do you…" Haruka's hand shook as she tightened her grip on Suzune's shoulder. "Do you think I would be satisfied with this explanation!? If you plan to keep on hiding, I will-!"
"You will what?" Suzune interrupted the blond. "Report me to the teachers? Run to the police? You think the adults will believe your ravings?"
"That's-!"
"I'm doing the right thing." Suzune said as she slapped Haruka's hand off of her.
"You're saying it's right to kill people!?" Haruka exclaimed loudly.
"Sometimes, yes." Suzune said before turned to leave.
"Stop." Haruka said.
Suzune did stop, but it was to tell Haruka one last thing.
"You didn't feel it at least once? Hating someone so much that you want to kill them?"
Haruka's eyes widen as face of a person appeared in her mind, a face only she remembers.
"I…"
"If you can't answer me, then you aren't qualified to stop me." Suzune said before she walked away. "Don't get in my way."
(After School)
"Tadaima(I'm home)." Suzune said once she entered Yunagi Newspaper, the place she's staying at.
"Oh, Suzune-chan. Okairi(Welcome back)." Yunagi, a dark haired woman and owner of the building greeted Suzune. "A friend of yours came over. She's waiting in your room so you better hurry up."
"A friend?" Suzune raised an eyebrow in confusion before she goes to her room. Opening the door, she finds sitting on her bed was none other than…
"Okairi, Suzune-chan." Matsuri greeted.
"Hinata Matsuri." Suzune addressed the girl with caution. "What do you want? Did you come to get revenge?"
"T-That's not it! Wait a moment…" Matsuri said as she quickly dug into her bag and pulled out a print-out and handed it to Suzune. "Here you go."
"A print-out?"
"The math homework." Matsuri explained. "You went home during the middle of class today, right? If you forget them, the teacher will be mad."
"…Why?" Suzune asked as she looked up at the girl. "Why are you still nice to me? I…killed one of your friends."
"That's right. That I can't meet Chisato anymore makes me really sad. I think Haruka and Arisa feel the same way." Matsuri said as she looked down in sadness before looking back up at Suzune. "But, you know, I can't really explain it, but I don't think you enjoy killing people. You have your reasons or some sort of conviction."
"You don't think that I might kill you here and now?" Suzune asked as she summoned her Soul Gem behind her back.
"Well, that's…" Matsuri placed a hand on her chest before speaking. "No, I don't think you would. It's just a feeling though. And if you actually wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have listened to me, right?"
Suzune stared at Matsuri for a while before she sent her Soul Gem away.
"So, I…if it's possible, I don't want to fight y-!"
"Go home." Suzune interrupted Matsuri.
Matsuri looked down in sadness and disappointment before she grabbed her bag and took her leave. "I'm going then."
"The next time we'll meet, I'll kill you." Suzune said as Matsuri walked past her.
"Me too." Matsuri said. "If you try to kill someone again, I will stop you with all my might."
"…Oi," Suzune spoke up just as Matsuri was about to leave through the door.
"What is it?" Matsuri asked.
"Something from those people that helped me last night." Suzune said. "There's another Magical Girl killer out there."
"Another one!?" Matsuri looked at Suzune in surprise and a bit of disbelief.
"You can believe it if you want. I just thought I tell you before you go make any false accusations to those I haven't killed." Suzune said.
Matsuri looked at Suzune in surprise before a smiling at the girl and then took her leave. Once gone, Suzune went and sat on her bed, taking out from her breast pocket a slip of paper that had Chisato's name on it. She then removed the bell and pouch tied around her hair and placed the slip of paper into the pouch where it joined the other names of girls she's killed in the past. Tying it back up, she looked at the bell and pouch, thinking back to the one who gave this to her.
"Hey, Tsubaki…I'm not wrong…right?"
(Back with Haru)
Haru stood at the front of the school, his whole body nervous as he waited for Madoka to appear. Everyone else had left already to do their own thing which left him alone waiting for Madoka.
'Okay, calm down, Yamamoto Haru. You're just hanging out with Madoka-chan, the girl who you've had a crush on since you first met her. No pressure. You've dealt with Witches and Mirror Monsters before so something like this will be a cake walk!'
"Sorry for the wait!" Haru jolted up as he saw Madoka making her way to him.
"I-It's okay." Haru said as he and Madoka looked at each other nervously.
'Okay Kaname Madoka, calm your heart down. I'm just going to hang out with Haru-kun, the boy who've I had a crush on since I first met him. It'll be just us two…alone…together…but it's not a d-d-d-date! No! It's just us spending time with one another as…friends. Yes! That's it!'
"So," Haru decide to break the ice as Madoka jolted up. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know." Madoka said. "What do you usually do after school?"
"Well, since I don't a job, I usually just walk around the city and see what I can find." Haru said while mentally cursing himself that he hadn't prepared beforehand.
"Then why don't we just walk around?" Madoka suggested. "Maybe we'll find something to do along the way?"
"S-Sure." Haru said while mentally cursing himself again. 'Dammit! I am a man! Why am I not taking the lead!?'
'Oh no, did I mess things up? I heard men are usually the one to take the lead in these situations.' Madoka thought as the two of them walked together.
'Calm down, Haru. Think, what places does Madoka-chan like to go to?' Haru thought as the two of them walk around the city.
'Oh this is so nerve wracking!' Madoka thought. 'Calm down, Madoka. Haru-kun's the one who invited you to hang out so keep calm and let him take the lead. Although, Mama told me that girls shouldn't just follow everything a guy tells them to so maybe I should speak up about my own things?'
"Madoka-chan!" Haru suddenly spoke up.
"H-Hai(Yes)?" Madoka jumped in surprise a little before calming down.
"I just had an idea." Haru said. "Why don't we go check out the place where I found my Deck?"
"Your Deck?"
Haru nodded as he took out his Advent Deck. "Yeah. You see, I kind of find it strange that something this important was just lying around on the ground. I mean, this is used for a war, of sorts."
"Don't you think that maybe the previous owner wanted nothing to do with the war and simply got rid of it?" Madoka said as she didn't want to think that the previous owner may have been killed. If that was the case, then she had second thoughts about Haru carrying the Deck. It could be cursed!
"Maybe…" Haru said as he looked down at the deck in his hand. He did find the deck which wasn't contracted to any monster so maybe that was the case. "It still worth a look. It's right next to this antique shop. We could stop by the café near it too. I hear they make some of the best hot chocolates."
"I bet they're not as good as Papa's." Madoka said, smiling.
"Maybe." Haru said, smiling too as the both of them were glad that the nervous mood around them was gone…for now. "Well, let's go. It's not that far from here."
"Okay." Madoka said as Haru led the way to the place where he found the Advent Deck only to come across a surprising sight.
"What the…?" Both Haru and Madoka came to a stop when they saw a few polices cars and a crowd of people standing in front of 'Keep Out' tapes that surrounded an antique store. In fact, it was the same antique store Haru was talking about.
Curious as to what was going on, Haru and Madoka walked up to a person from the crowd and asked, "What happened?"
"Don't know." The man said as he looked back to the antique shot. Now that Haru and Madoka were closer, they saw that the windows were smashed, the door looked to be ripped open, and the inside of the shop was a complete mess.
"Someone called the police, saying that they heard noises from the shop and found it like this with the owner nowhere to be found. Talk about scary. I hope the owner's okay."
Haru looked back at the trashed store before he and Madoka walked away from the crowd.
"Well, so much for coming over here." Haru said.
"That's too bad. I kind of wanted to see what that store had." Madoka admitted to being curious.
"Oh well. Shall we go to that café?" Haru asked and Madoka nodded. "Then let's-!"
*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!*
Haru came to a stop as the ringing in his ear came to him.
"Haru-kun?" Madoka looked at the boy who had stopped and looked around. "What's wrong?"
Haru didn't answer at first, trying to find the source of the ringing when he found it. Inside the antique store was mirror. And inside said mirror was none other than Scissor's Contract Monster, Volcancer.
"It's him!" Haru said as he quickly ran off to find a place where he can transform.
"Haru-kun?" Madoka said as she quickly followed after the Rider. "What's going on?"
"It's Scissor's Contract Monster! It's attacking someone again!" Haru said as the two turned and corner and found a perfect place for Haru to transform. "I need to take care of this. Wait for me!"
Haru ran up to a window and brought out his Advent Deck, presenting it to his reflection as the V-Buckle soon appeared around his waist. "Henshin!" Wasting no time, Haru inserted the deck and became Ryuki in a matter of seconds. He breathed in before he pumped himself up. "Yosha(Alright)!"
"Haru-kun!" Before Haru could jump in, Madoka ran up to him and said, "Please, be careful."
"I will, don't worry." Haru assured the pink haired girl before he turned and jumped into the reflective surface. Madoka looked into the window and on the other side, she saw Haru driving off in one of the RideShooters. Quickly, she gave chase.
(Meanwhile, with Arisa)
There was a knock on the door, but Arisa didn't answer it. Her mind was too busy thinking about her dead friend, Chisato.
She thought back to how when she used to be bullied. She didn't know the reason why she was bullied, but she figured it was because she was weak and people saw this and took advantage of this. Then that all changed when she ran into the mysterious being known as Kyubey. She was told that he could grant her wish in exchange for her to become a Magical Girl and fight Witches. She accepted quickly, wishing for power. Her wish came true the next day when she almost crushed a bully's hand. After that, things were looking up for her. People stopped bullying her and in fact, feared her. She felt like she was at the top of the food chain, until she met Chisato. After learning that she too was a Magical Girl like her, they fought and she lost. After losing, she expressed her inner grief, her desire to want friends. She thought if she got strong, that would change, but it didn't. Until Chisato offered her the chance to make friends. She cried tears of joy that day and later met Haruka and Matsuri. She was no longer alone and the days no longer felt…empty.
'But now she's gone.' Arisa thought as she stared blankly up at her bedroom ceiling.
There was more knocking on the door before Arisa's mother spoke up. "Arisa, dinner's ready."
Arisa remained silent as she turned over in her bed. "…Don't want any."
Arisa's mother looks down, knowing why her daughter was like this. 'She's been like this since this morning, though it's only natural.' With those thoughts, she left her daughter to her privacy and mourning.
"…Chisato…" Arisa grips her pillow tightly as her thoughts wander to Chisato's murderer. 'That bitch…! I swear, I'll kill her!' Her thoughts were interrupted with more knocking from the door. "I said I don't want any dinner!"
"Arisa, it's me." The voice that came from the other side was not her mother's, but Takahiro's.
"Hiro-kun?" Arisa, using the nickname she gave Takahiro, quickly scrambles around for she was dressed in nothing, but a t-shirt and her underwear. "W-Wait a minute! Don't come in!"
"It's fine, I just want to talk." Takahiro said as Arisa paused in putting on some pants. "I came by to see how you were doing. I didn't see you at school today."
"…How do you think I'm doing?" Arisa mutters bitterly as she throws her pants aside and lies back down on her bed.
"There was an assembly today." Takahiro said as he stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up again. "Is Chisato…really dead?"
"…Yeah." Arisa admitted albeit reluctantly as she bit her lips and held back the tears.
"…Arisa, I know what you're going through and you know what I mean." Takahiro said as Arisa didn't rebuke him for she did know what he was talking about. "Just know that the others and I are here for you…especially me."
"…Baka(Idiot)," Arisa said, slightly blushing. "People are gonna get the wrong idea if you say stuff like that."
"I know, it's just…lately, I can't help but feel like you and the girls are hiding something from me."
'And for good reason.' Arisa thought. She had met the boy sometime after she had become friends with the girls and unlike those who were afraid of her because of her new strength, he didn't show one ounce of fear towards her. Quite the opposite as he was nice to her when they first met. She was surprised at how easily they got along and she later introduced him to the others. Unlike the girls, Takahiro was her only 'normal' friend. He didn't have anything to do with Witches and Magical Girls and she liked it to stay that way.
"I gotta go. I need to tell Shou the news and about tomorrow's funeral. I'll see you then." Takahiro said before the sound of his footsteps slowly became quitter and quitter until they were gone.
"Hiro-kun…" Arisa looks at the door before she gets up and looks out her bedroom window to see the boy walk away from her house. "…Arigato(Thank you)."
(Back with Haru)
Haru slows his RideShooter down to a stop before he gets out of it. He had driven quite some ways away from where he entered and has stopped to a warehouse near the rivers of the city.
"I know I saw that Monster run here. And if it's here, then so is Scissors." Haru said as he looked around cautiously. That's when he saw it. A broken mirror on the ground that used to be a part of a much bigger mirror. The surface of the mirror was wavy like a screen gone staticy and moved around like waves. Curious, he walked up to it where he saw, "Zero!?"
Indeed, it was Zero himself, his face still hidden behind his glasses and fedora.
"Congratulations!" Zero spoke loudly as if he was addressing a crowd.
"Eh?" Haru tilted his head a bit in confusion.
"To all you Riders out there, I commend you for surviving this war for so long! You have truly fought in order to survive. But the time has come, in the end there can only be one Rider remaining." Zero said before with a wave of his hands, 14 different symbols, including Haru's and the other boy's, appeared before him. Besides Haru's and the boys and the one's he's already seen, there was a symbol of a rhino, a cobra, a chameleon, a shark, a swan, a gazelle, and what looked to be a phoenix.
"To all Riders out there, including yourself, there are only 14 Riders remaining in the entire world!" Zero announced.
Haru's eyes widen in shock. "O-Only…fourteen!?" Including himself, there were only 14 Riders left in this entire world!?
"To reward those who have survived for this long, I shall now give you all a new ability." Zero said before with a wave of his hands, light shot out form the mirror and struck Haru's Advent Deck.
"Nani!?" Haru stepped back in surprise as his Advent Deck glowed red for a moment before the glow faded. "What the-? What did you just do!?"
"For those wondering what I just did to their Decks, allow me to explain." Zero said. "I have taken away the need to return to the entrance you came from in order to entire the Mirror World. From now on, you Riders can enter and exit from anywhere so long as it's a mirror or it's a reflective surface. Now then, keep on fighting, Riders, for if you don't fight, you will not survive." After that, the mirror once again became wavy and soon returned to normal as Zero was no longer there.
"Wait!" Haru quickly runs and kneels down to the mirror, grabbing to and shaking it as if it were a TV. "What do you mean there are only 14 Riders left!? How many Riders were there before!?"
*SNAP!*
Hearing something snap, Haru looks up to see a crate which had been suspended by some rope drop down upon him. Quickly, Haru rolls and avoids the crate in time as the crate breaks and its contents spills out. But Haru wasn't worried about that. Looking behind him, Haru comes face to face with Kamen Rider Scissors."
"We meet again, Ryuki." Scissors said.
"Hey! What's your problem!? That could have killed me!" Haru exclaimed.
"That's the point!" Scissors said before he raised his shear-like Visor and attacked the dragon-themed Rider.
"W-Wait a minute!" Haru said as he ducks under a swing from Scissors and moves back to gain some distance. "I don't want to fight you!"
"If you don't want to fight then just die for me!" Scissors said as he attacks Haru again.
Haru ducks under Scissors attack again and backs away, but Scissors surprises him by kicking out, hitting him in the chest as he stumbles back. This gives Scissors a chance to strike him across the chest two times before he sends the dragon-themed Rider back by punching forward, the shears of his Scissors Visor stabbing Haru's chest as the Rider was sent back rolling on the ground.
Haru groans as he pushes himself up and looks up at the crab-themed Rider. "Oi, you can't be serious…Are you seriously trying to kill me!?"
"That question again?" Scissors said as he opened his Visor before drawing a card from his Deck. "Newsflash, we're Riders and this is a War. If we have to kill each other to gain the ultimate prize, a Wish, then fuck it I'll do it."
"Is getting that Wish really so important to you?" Haru asked as he got back up on his feet.
"You wouldn't understand. You've probably had a very good life, having friends, living in a nice home." Scissors said as he inserted the card into his Visor. "But you should know that not everyone has that kind of life."
STRIKE VENT
"And one more thing," Scissors said as he stuck his right hand out and the Scissors Pincer appeared over his hand. "Like many other Riders, or what's left of them that is, I play to win!"
With that said, Scissors leaps into the air, Haru following his movement, before the crab-themed Rider comes down upon Haru, claw first. Quickly, Haru raises his arms to block, but stumbles back when the pincer hits his arms, pushing him back. Regaining his footing, Haru turns only to be struck across the chest by the Scissors Pincer, sending him stumbling back again as he trips over a piece of debris and falls over. Scissors jumps towards him, going to stab him with his shears, but Haru quickly rolls out of the way in time and gets back up. Removing his shears from the ground, Scissors raises his Pincers again and attacks Haru who just continues to dodge and block.
"I! Said! I! Don't! Want! To! Fight!" Haru barely manages to say as he dodges and blocks Scissors attacks.
"Then just die already!" Scissors said, swinging his Scissors Pincer upward and striking Haru across the chest again as the Rider was sent flying and rolling on the ground. "If you didn't come to fight me, then why the hell did you even come here?"
Haru slowly pushes himself up and as he looks over to the crab-themed Rider. "I saw your Contract Monster earlier, at the antique shop."
"Oh, you saw him?"
"What was your Monster doing there?" Haru asks as he gets up to his knees.
"All these questions, I had my doubts, but it really looks like you are a newbie to this." Scissors said. "Alright, then allow me to tell you the one rule of the Rider War."
"Rule?" Haru repeated in confusion. Since when does war have a rule?
"There is only one rule we Riders must follow." Scissors said. "If a non-Rider happens to see you transform, then they must not be allowed to live."
"Nani!?"
"We can't have anyone knowing our secret, or so that Zero guy says." Scissors said. "The reason Volcancer was at that store was because the owner there saw me transform and well, I can't have him go reporting to the police."
"Y-You…" Haru grips his hands into fists. "Why would you do that?"
"Like I said, Zero doesn't want anyone who isn't a non-Rider to know about us."
"Haru-kun!" Both Riders turn their heads to a broken mirror lying against the wall. On the other side was Madoka, looking worriedly at the scene before her.
"Madoka-chan!"
"Hoh? She can see through the mirror. She must be another Rider then." Scissors guessed.
"She's not! Madoka-chan's not a Rider!" Haru said before he gasps and covers the place where his mouth would be at, but it was already too late.
"So she isn't a Rider, huh?" Scissors said before he glances over to Madoka and raises his Pincers. "Well, rules are rules."
"Don't you dare touch her!" Haru shouted in a threatening tone.
"Oh yeah? And what are you-?" Scissor never got to finish as he was suddenly kicked back by Haru who had gotten up quickly and kicked the crab-themed Rider away. "Oh now you want to fight!?"
"I won't let you touch her!" Haru said before he charges towards Scissors.
Scissors swings his Pincer at Haru, but the dragon-themed Rider blocks it with his visor before punching Scissors right in the face, making him stumble back in surprise. This gave Haru the chance to spin around and kick Scissors right in the chest, sending down to the ground. Getting up and growling angrily, Scissors swings his Pincer down and around, trying to hit Haru, but the Rider dodges each time before he goes and grabs the Pincer, wrapping his arms around it before elbowing Scissors right in the face, making him let go of his Pincers and stumble back. Throwing the Pincers away, Haru runs up to Scissors and punches him in the chest two before delivering a hard punch to his gut, making the crab-themed Rider bend over as Haru pulled his fist back and punched Scissors right in the face, sending him flying and crashing into some crates.
"Teme(You bastard), you were holding back this much when you were letting me hit you earlier!?" Scissors said, feeling humiliated until he saw Hard draw a card and insert it into his Drag Visor.
STRIKE VENT
Quickly in response, Scissors draws a card and inserts it into his Scissors Visor.
GUARD VENT
Crashing through the roof of the building, DragReder appeared besides his contracted Rider who had just caught the Drag Claws. Meanwhile, Scissors summoned forth a shield to protect him that resembled Volcancer's shell and held it up in defense.
Pulling his arm back, DragReder coils around Haru once before he goes and fires a fireball while at the same time, Haru thrusts the Drag Claw forward as another fireball shoots out from it, combining with DragReder's fire and the combined fireball struck Scissors' shield, sending him flying and crashing through the wall and to outside. Seeing this, Haru quickly runs out of the building and runs over to the spot where Scissors was blasted out, but all he found was the hole he and Dragreder made as the crab-theme Rider was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone." Haru mutters as DragReder comes to his side, roaring. "Uh, sorry but no food for you today." DragReder roars angrily. "Oh don't give me that. I'll get you something next time." After that, he looked at his Drag Claw. "On another note, since when could this fire fireball? Ah, well I'll worry about it later. Better get back to Madoka-chan."
'We have to kill those who know our secret?' Haru thought as he thought back to what Scissor told him. 'If that's true, then how come Ryuga didn't do anything to Madoka-chan?' Haru scratched his helmet in frustration. 'Ah, all of this is so frustrating! But if what Scissors said is true, then I gotta make sure Madoka-chan remains safe. I've already lost too many. I can't lose anymore!'
With thoughts of determination, Haru jumped through one of the windows of the warehouse to return to the real world.
And done! I feel like I could add more, but I'll stop right here for I'm finally out of school! Freedom! Expect faster updates from now on, readers. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter, not much besides fighting and other stuff. Next time, though, is when I finally introduce Oriko to the story! Look forward to that people! Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. Until the next ride!