Kamen Rider Alterum
Author's Notes: Illustrations of some of Kamen Rider Alterum's Armors have been released! Check them out on KAMEN RIDER ALTERUM's wiki page of Kamen Rider Fanfiction Wiki !
Episode 2: The Faint Truth Behind the Kamen Riders
Somewhere in Thailand, 2020.
A handsome Asian boy in a military uniform was seen sitting on the edge of a cliff with his legs hanging down and dangling. A cap was shadowing his face. He had a pair of binoculars in his hands, which he used to look at a city in the distance.
"How boring…" he said to himself and leaned back to lie down, putting the binoculars on the ground.
Under the bright sunlight… the scars on his pale skin were revealed, alongside his purple eyes.
"Oi, Dae-Hyun, found anything special?"
Reiji Yamashita walked up to the young man, whose name was Dae-Hyun.
"Nope… everything is very ordinary…" Dae-Hyun complained.
"It's for the better. Keep up the good work," the man leaned down to give a can of coffee to the boy.
"How is it good, Yamashita-senpai?" the boy whined as he sat up to open the can.
Yamashita flicked Dae-Hyun's forehead, for which the latter uttered an "argh". "Be serious, man. Peace is the best. Nothing's better than peace… Even heaven is worthless without peace."
"It sounds like something Karizaki-san would say."
Reiji opened his own can and took a sip of coffee. "Crap, it's too hot!"
"Senpai, I heard you came across interesting people in Neo-Bangkok."
"What about it?" Reiji didn't show interest in the conversation.
"Please, senpai, tell me about them!"
"They aren't that interesting," Reiji blew his breath into the can to cool the coffee. "Also, that information is confidential."
"Sen~pai! Aren't we teammates? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
"Please give me a break… oh, they are coming."
At that moment, a giant flying vehicle appeared over the two.
"Oh, there they are!" Dae-Hyun exclaimed. "They may bring new missions for us, Yamashita-senpai."
Reiji looked like he accidentally went inside the ladies' restroom. Whenever someone from the headquarters visits them, they bring nothing but trouble, and he knows that. But thankfully, this time was different. They got good news…
"Yamashita! Oi!" Hearing that voice, the two on the cliff looked up.
"Takahashi-san?!" Dae-Hyun shouted. "Tachibana-san! I mean, Takahashi-san!"
Yamashita smacked Dae-Hyun's back in a comedic manner. "Don't intentionally get his name wrong!"
"What's the harm, senpai?" "Shut up!"
Takahashi in the vehicle above them smiled at the friendly quarrel of senpai and kouhai.
(Here, Takahashi and Yamashita are both Japanese, and Dae-Hyun, who apparently is Korean, calls Yamashita senpai which is a Japanese word. Kouhai is quite the opposite of senpai, the former representing someone with less experience and the latter meaning someone with more experience in a particular workplace or anything else.)
A while later. Dae-Hyun was still on the hill, with his binoculars regularly watching over the town in the distance. Not far away from him on his back were a few tents. In the largest tents, Yamashita and Takahashi were talking about a relatively important matter.
Takahashi was actually the scientist who was acquainted with Karizaki.
"So is everything going okay on your end, Takahashi-san?" Said Yamashita.
Takahashi lifted a metal case onto the table and quickly undid the locks to open the box.
"Power-up items are ready… Sorry for making you wait 5 years."
There was a piece of paper in the box above the other contents. The warning on the paper read:
"Prototype, still testing. Possible Berserker."
Takahashi lost his composure and snatched the paper, tearing it in half. He then regained his self-control before speaking.
"Well, don't mind the message. I am pretty sure you can use this. Especially you, Yamashita. I am hoping for a lot from you."
Reiji smiled back and nodded, feeling uneasy. He looked back at the box… to see a couple of small color-painted cards with symbols or words. The number was 13 to be exact.
"Alright, from now on, this is in your team's possession," Takahashi said and patted Yamashita's shoulder. "Use it well."
"Thanks, Takahashi-san," Reiji replied, closing the metal case.
When the scientist was about to leave, Reiji stopped him. "Um, I have something to tell you."
"Yeah?"
"I met someone who could create a Rider system, and a Kamen Rider who isn't on our list."
Takahashi thought for a moment, then grinned. "Yamashita…"
"Hai."
"Tell me about them, I wanna hear more."
And so Reiji Yamashita reported to Takahashi on the matter related to the stranger who transformed into the Kamen Rider Alterum and the Asian girl who invented the Alterum system.
"Interesting…" Takahashi grinned, excited to hear about Eunice and Hiroki. "Guess our rivals aren't just the Chinese and aliens. Alright, Yamashita."
"Hai, Takahashi-san," Reiji replied in a respectful manner.
"Tell me if you get more info about them," the scientist said, nudging Reji's shoulder. "I am returning to Tokyo for now."
"As you wish, sir. Please say thanks to Karizaki-san on my behalf, as well."
"Don't worry, Yamashita…"
As Takahashi left, Yamashita reopened the case and took a particular card out of the box.
SABERTOOTH TIGER
DATA KEY
ZEDGEAR
"I've been waiting for you, Sabertooth," Reiji whispered, grasping the card tightly.
No sooner had Takahashi exited the tent… than a phone ring was heard from a pocket in his lab coat.
"Oh, phone ringing," he hastily took his phone (?) out of his pocket. It was actually a thick smartphone-like communication device that seemed to be heavily modified.
"Oi! Takahashi!" Karizaki's angry yell could be heard from the phone. "Did you bring those upgrade cards without my permission?!"
"Better if we rush things, isn't it, Karizaki?" Takahashi said in an enthusiastic tone.
"You fool!"
"Don't act so annoying, Karizaki. Most importantly, Yamashita told me about interesting people. Wanna hear about them?"
— — — —
"Eunice-san… is fashion really important?"
I asked her as my reflection in the mirror looked really stupid. Like, come on, this is an apocalyptic era. I am fairly certain that it's not time for partying. So if anything, I look like a fool in an all-green outfit— plus a pair of black boots that are polished to shine brightly for no reason.
"Cool… This is what a Kamen Rider candidate should look like," she responded, acting all excited as her eyes sparkled at the sight of my ridiculous fashion. How did it come down to this?
Long story short, Eunice persisted that I needed a new outfit seriously, bringing up how my clothes weren't washed in three days. As much as I hate to agree with her, she was right. After we had conversed on that matter, she insisted she would choose my costume. I am not sure how it happened… But back then when the Omnitrix glowed, the clothes on my body were switched with this ridiculous outfit.
Despite all that said, I don't particularly dislike the color green.
"Alright, I won't change into another outfit so please stop staring at me," I sighed and sat down on the metal bench. "Um, I have a question, Eunice. What is the Rising? The one Yamashita-san is leading…"
Eunice changed her expression to a serious face when I mentioned Yamashita's name.
"Tennyson Hiroki-kun, have you ever been to Japan after the zombie outbreaks?"
Come to think of it, I haven't. Considering Japan is off-land from Mainland Asia, it is impossible to get there. Heck, I never traveled to Hong Kong and the Northern regions of China.
"No, why?"
"Japan has become the most powerful independent nation in this era, unlike other countries that need to ally among themselves to form factions and strengthen their military. It is also partly because of new technology— oops, it isn't that new at this point. Anyway, that technology is called Zedgear."
"Z-gear?"
"Ze-do-jiaa!" She pronounced it in a Japanese accent. "That technology was the key to giving birth to a futuristic tech, called the Rider System, which the Japanese were proud of!"
I twitched my brows. At this point, I don't wanna ask if she happens to hate Japan. She nodded her chin at me with a piercing glare, waiting for me to follow up.
"... Whoa, so Japan really… improved their technology?"
"However, the Rider system was expensive and rare so they couldn't just employ many Kamen Riders. Most industries had shut down so it was tough to get the materials needed to create the Rider System. That's why they only deployed a few select Japanese soldiers who met the conditions, as Kamen Riders."
So that's what a Kamen Rider is.
"The Rising is also… one of the elite squads that house top-tier soldiers. However, due to Yamashita Reiji's request, it was not just formed with the Japanese. Their squad is unique, no, each member of the Rising is a unique one."
"Aw…" I could imagine Yamashita-san requesting something like that even though I hadn't known him well.
"All their teammates are Kamen Rider candidates, but only Yamashita and a Korean boy named Dae-Hyun were chosen to be Kamen Riders."
"One more question?" I interrupted. "Why do you know this much about the Rising?"
Eunice closed her eyes as if she were working her mechanical brain.
"I created the Alterum system based on the Zedgear technology," she admitted. "However, the system I created was far more superior."
Hard to judge since I've not met other Kamen Riders but I'd not be surprised if Eunice was just bluffing.
"... I also investigated the Rising and Japan's elite soldier squads," she continued. "I hoped I could find a suitable candidate for my Rider System there. Yamashita Reiji was also one of the potential candidates."
"Aw…" this reminds me that there is a lot I still don't know about Eunice's past.
"That aside…" she crossed her arms. "That Yamashita… arresting us like this. And you, why didn't you resist arrest?"
I remembered we were confined in a cell. We were actually in temporary imprisonment in the Rising's base. Somewhere in Thailand.
"It's too much work. I don't wanna go up against the government organizations and I wanna know what Japan is thinking. It's just that."
Eunice didn't reply, but she showed visible annoyance at my decision. She didn't want to act on her own as well. For my part, I am powerless without her, so if she plans something else, I have to more or less stick with her, whether I like it or not. At least she followed my decision.
As I sat back to relax, Yamashita Reiji came to our cell. Eunice quickly showed her aggression.
"What do you want, Yamashita Reiji?! How dare you arrest us like this?!"
"I didn't arrest you though," Yamashita said with an unfaltering seriousness.
Yes, he didn't say he arrested us.
"I wanted to ask you two a few questions. That's why I told you to stay."
"Understandable," I replied. "You need to confirm whether we are a threat or not, right?"
Yamashita seemed to be surprised before he nodded. "Then why not have an intellectual conversation—"
"Sir!" Shouting in horror, a soldier came running to our cell. "It's Zombies! Zombies are attacking… our base!"
I calmly watched the soldier catch his breath as Yamashita Reiji-san panicked. Tell me about good timing.
"What?!" Yamashita exclaimed and looked back at us. "Don't go anywhere. I will defend the base."
I decided to offer a hand. "Actually we can lend our—"
"No, Tennyson Hiroki-kun," Eunice interrupted me. "They should take care of their own mess."
I was confused. She wasn't helping them because she wanted them to stand on their own feet. But considering their number, I thought the Rising would be strong enough to counteract the situation.
"She's right. This is our problem," Yamashita said and nodded to the soldier to leave. "There are no civilians involved. So we must take care of our own shit this time."
He ran out of the cell and slammed the metal door close.
"What should we do, Eunice?"
Eunice blankly stared at me for a moment. Her eyes reminded me again that she wasn't a human— she was an artificial living being, and her eyes were as lifeless as they could be, almost to the point they frightened me for such a brief moment.
Then her eyes glowed green again and turned more natural.
"Ahem, you, Tennyson Hiroki-kun."
"Yeah?" I shook off the uneasy feelings, thinking she was going to scold me.
"You should not leave all the decision-making to other people, you know," she said. "Even though I said it myself, I actually wanted you to have some guts to stand for what you think."
Her hand quickly moved to my face, with her finger flicking my forehead. Argh, it hurts! Why would she do that?!
"Have some guts, Tennyson Hiroki-kun," she had her hands on her hips. "I am the one who chose you, but you are the one who owns me, the only one who gets to use me. You are basically the worthy hero who drew out Excalibur. No, wait, hmm, the worthy hero who lifted Mjolnir might be a better example…"
I was conflicted and speechless for a moment. Perhaps my impression of her was wrong… Come on, everyone would misunderstand the situation, too, considering how she treated me on several occasions.
"The question is… What do you want to do? Tennyson Hiroki-kun."
I chuckled. "Let's get outta here, first."
We exited the cell and found our way out of the prison facility.
"Don't let them get you!" I heard Yamashita-san shouting. He didn't seem to be aware of us coming out.
The world outside was in total chaos. It was almost like the world was ending— the soldiers were shooting the zombies invading the camping area and a giant rogue was on a rampage on the outskirts.
"This is where I say "f(censored), right?" I muttered.
"Certainly," Eunice looked stressed, gazing at me blankly. "At least learn more curse words, baka."
This "baka" couldn't be cuter.
"Fall back!" Yamashita-san commanded his soldiers as the giant rogue advanced into the tents. "I will fight him."
The giant rogue was quadrupedal, with leopard-like spots on its dark brown skin with bruises. We could see some bare bones there. How the heck is a human going to fight a giant rogue?!
"Eunice!"
"Wait…" she said, nodding her chin at Yamashita-san. "Wait for him."
"Huh? But…"
At that moment, Yamashita-san threw his rifle at a subordinate, put on a belt, and inserted a card-like device into the large buckle. It all happened too fast…
"...what?" I muttered to myself.
"Hen… shin!" he called out.
"SUIT UP! FURIOUS TIGER!
G-G-G-GER!
I AM A KAMEN RIDER."
— A male voice announced in a Japanese accent.
What just happened…
Engulfed in golden light for a brief moment, Yamashita-san transformed… into a KAMEN RIDER?!
Over the black bodysuit, his armor was orange, with black stripes. His gauntlets bore long black claw-like blades while fang-like spikes were sticking out of the mouthpiece. His visor eyes were red with black outlines. There was a glowing purple jewel embedded in the forehead of the helmet.
"Back me up!" He commanded, charging in.
"Understood, sir," the soldiers near him started blasting the giant leopard rogue while the other soldiers were repelling the undead.
"Leave the rogue to him," Eunice suggested. "We should fight the zombies, first."
Seeing the zombies outnumbering the soldiers, I nodded at Eunice who then fused with the Omnitrix to form the Alterum Driver on my waist.
"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
I hastily inserted the Kickin Hawk key and rotated it right away.
"Henshin!"
"RECOGNIZED. KICKIN HAWK."
— Transformation Announcement.
As soon as the light engulfed my body was replaced with the Kickin Hawk armor, I dashed toward the soldiers to help them.
"Help others!" I requested them. Despite me not being their commander, they actually listened to me and retreated to other groups to repel the hordes of zombies incoming from different directions.
I kicked, punched, and kicked one zombie after another in hopes of quickly taking them down.
"Damn, it isn't ending anytime soon!"
"Maybe there is another rogue commanding them," Eunice suggested. "Uncontrolled zombies would rather roam blindly than charge into the same place."
Now that I think of it, all the zombies are trying to advance into the camp area. Normally, they will be triggered by the smell or blood of their prey in a few-meter radius. Their sense of smell is better than humans but they can't really sense anything beyond a few meters.
"FULL POWER! CLAW SLASH!"
— Finisher Announcement.
Hearing that voice, I kicked a front-row zombie in the chest, making it crash into the zombies behind, and looked back at Yamashita-san.
"Grrrr!" He let out a tiger-like roar and leaped into the air, with the claws of his gauntlets glowing. He then flew toward the giant cheetah rogue and slashed it, again and again, making it leak some disgusting. Yamashita-san was totally like a furious tiger.
I felt relieved seeing him dealing damage to the rogue. So I spun around and performed a swipe-kick at the face of the zombie, killing it instantly.
"Yamashita-senpai!" I predicted it was a younger soldier's voice and sensed someone approaching me.
"Huh? You are not Yamashita-senpai? Who are you?!"
I looked up at the source of the voice and freaked out. "A… a… rogue! It's a rogue!"
I quickly regained my composure and entered the fighting stance to beat the crap out of said Rogue, who looked like a 19-year-old Korean flower boy. His pretty face kinda pissed me off.
"Hold on, human," Eunice intervened. "He's Dae-Hyun. I believe I've told ya about him."
Oh, that Dae-Hyun… a member of the Rising under Yamashita-san… If my memory serves, he is also a Kamen Rider, right?
"Hmm, are you that Kamen Rider Yamashita-senpai encountered?"
Embarrassed by my hasty actions, I retracted my clenched hands and instead punched the zombies.
"Yep, I guess—"
"Arghhhh!" Yamashita-san's scream interrupted our conversation.
"Crap!" I cursed and started running. I was wrong!
I hurled myself at the flying Yamashita who was thrown away and forced to detransform, and caught him mid-air before landing carefully.
"... Ha… you…" Yamashita-san widened his eyes upon seeing me (in Rider armor). "I told you to stay in your cell—"
He was stubborn, still trying to rotate the card in his Driver.
"You should give it a rest—"
"Give him a chance," said Eunice. It was rather surprising for me because she sounded so out of character. "But the cheetah is running away. We need to chase it down."
It's true. The giant rogue is running away and considering its size and cheetah speed, it would get to Neo-Bangkok really fast.
I put down Yamashita-san on the ground and quickly used the Tenn-speed object key to summon my bike, which was modified into a Tenn-speed motorcycle.
"Lend him your bike."
"What? How are we following the rogue then?!"
"Another key has been finished…"
There was a key that had a blue running figure engraved on the head.
Fasttrack GDSEL Key — holographic monitor readings.
Fasttrack… A form that is… fast? Sounds like a good addition to my arsenal.
"Yamashita-san…" I turned my gaze to him who was helped up by Dae-Hyun. "Use my motorcycle."
"... thanks, Tennyson."
He again inserted his orange card, which had a key-blade-like attachment, into the slit on the side of his Driver and rotated it.
"Henshin!"
"SUIT UP! FURIOUS TIGER!
G-G-G-GER!
I AM A KAMEN RIDER."
— Transformation Announcement.
As he transformed, I replaced the Kickin Hawk key with the Fasttrack key, turning it right away.
"RECOGNIZED. FASTTRACK."
— Transformation Announcement.
My armor turned blue, with spikes emerging out of the forearms in a blade-like arrangement.
"Brace yourself," said Eunice monotonously.
"Wha– What the heck?!"
Suddenly, everything around me appeared slow, like, hella slow to me. Even the bullets shot out of the barrels and the leaves flying in the air were moving in slow-motion. Heck, I am witnessing the detailed time-lapse of Dae-Hyun's astonished reaction!
"I see… so the ability of this form is… speed?"
"Bingo. Took you too long to realize that."
"Oh… there is something here…" I noticed a new monitor among the hologram in front of me. Said monitor showed time… Hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds which were being counted several times slower.
"This form has a poor sense of time. It's better to keep track of time, right?"
"Well…" I was speechless, seeing how much slower the world was.
"Alright, let's chase after the cheetah!"
I started running in the direction I saw the cheetah rogue. It was fast, considering the distance it reached in a few minutes. However…
As Fasttrack, I was several times faster than the rogue!
573 m/s — Holographic speedometer readings.
"Oh, I think I can run all day!" I said, quickly keeping up with the cheetah rogue.
"I enhanced your stamina as well but I don't think you can run all day."
I laughed at her comment and hurled myself into the air. Remembering the spiked blades on my forearm armor, I decided to use them as weapons and slashed the neck of the giant cheetah.
Similar to other giant rogues, its durability was off the charts of zombies.
"Eunice… Don't you think we are too fast?"
I remarked looking at the running rogue who appeared just like a statue to me. I started feeling tired and my breathing became faster.
"Wha… uh shit."
I slashed the legs of the cheetah again and again until they were completely damaged. But my exhaustion surfaced as time went on.
"The faster you go, the more power you need to use. That's why you are tired," explained Eunice.
"Then do something!" I said, panting as I jumped and slashed its neck again.
"Wanna adjust the speed?"
"Yeah!" I landed on the ground and looked up at all the wounds I did on the rogue's body. The values in the speedometer and the time monitor slowly decreased until I became slower than the speed of sound. "It was a good ride but I guess I need to get used to it."
As the cheetah slowly lifted its front leg to attack me, I turned the key again to enhance my rider form.
"FASTTRACK ENHANCED!"
— Power-up Announcement.
The spikes on my forearms grew larger and tougher and I gained a little speed buff. Oh, there were spikes growing out of the back of my boots
I easily dodged its attack and jumped into the air, kicking its head to propel myself in the process. Then I took a dive at its neck again and cut off its head with my blades before it could even notice.
"Poor creature…" I mumbled to myself. "Let me finish you."
"FINISHING MOVE! FASTTRACK!
ONE, TWO, THREE… READY."
— Finisher Announcement.
I jumped into the air and spun myself around, slashing the rogue's body with the blades on my boots.
"Grrr! Rider Kick!"
It manifested the illusion of a large spike blade penetrating the rogue's body and then exploded it into dust.
I landed on the ground, panting.
"CANCELLED."
— Cancellation Announcement.
"Keep an eye out, Tennyson Hiroki-kun," said Eunice, reforming herself. "There still might be a rogue around…"
"Yep…" It was really tiring to use the Fasttrack key. The side effects were more obvious after detransformation.
"Vroom!" Yamashita-san in his Rider form arrived, riding my motorcycle.
"Where is the rogue?" He asked. Catching my breath, I pointed at the purple crystal on the ground.
"It's done… sorry."
"For the better…" he sighed and reverted to his human form. "I guess my Rider power isn't even close to your power, Tennyson."
"Not mine," I jokingly replied. "Tell that to her."
Eunice crossed her arms and glared daggers at me.
"Yamashita Reiji-kun, there might still be a rogue around. So be careful."
"O-oh…"
I internally laughed at the interaction between the two.
— — — —
And so we were on alert all that evening.
Yamashita-san ordered his soldiers to patrol the area in order to find the rogue. As time went on but we couldn't find the rogue, we all felt concerned. Eunice and I were outsiders so we didn't show much concern.
"Tennyson-san, how do you become a Kamen Rider? What is your rider name? How many forms do you have? What kind of weapons do you use? What—"
This was just Dae-Hyun asking me a whole lot of questions.
"Give it a rest, Dae-Hyun," said Yamashita in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, senpai…"
I looked at him with a disinterested expression and gestured at Eunice who responded by softly slapping my back.
"You guys use belt things called Drivers to transform, right?" (Me)
"Y-yeah…"
"She is that, technically," I pointed at Eunice with my thumb. "I was… sort of chosen to use her."
Yamashita widened his eyes as if he didn't expect that. Dae-Hyun was just "wow"ing in awe.
"So she is the Driver," Dae-Hyun eyes Eunice from head to toe. "That explains why she wasn't there when you were Kamen Rider."
"I created the Alterum Driver, that's it. I am part of the Driver… and I am not human," she narrowed her eyes and glared at the duo. "But if you happen to spill about me to someone,... you will regret it."
She then dropped her fist on a nearby table, breaking it into halves. Yamashita-san twitched his brow and gulped. His junior walked toward the broken table just to see how conveniently the not-human girl broke it.
"Dae-Hyun…" said the leader.
"H-Hai…"
"Call Takahashi-san and tell him to not send us low-quality products…"
"She is just strong, senpai. Please admit it," Dae-Hyun replied. "Eunice-san, if you are not human, are you an Amazon?"
"Yes, I am, technically," she calmly answered. This time, it was me who was surprised to hear that.
"Wha— hold up, what even is an Amazon? You mean, Native Americans?"
"Your world is too small, Tennyson," Yamashita-san said, clenching and unclenching his fists out of nervousness. "Amazon… Amazon… Amazons are scary…"
Why are you suddenly insulting me?
"Have you not ever heard about Amazons, Tennyson-san?" Dae-Hyun said.
"No, first time hearing about them…"
"They are a human-like race," Reiji Yamashita-san leaned forward and narrated with a serious face. "They have been among us all this time. But we could never tell them apart from humans. The other things different from us are the durability of their skin and their brute strength. Say, we can't really stab people to know if they are amazon, after all. They are very scary, too."
"Plus, Amazons are all women," Dae-Hyun added.
"Why?"
"They kill the males at birth."
Feeling uncomfortable, I turned to face Eunice who weirdly grinned at me.
"Are you really one of them?" I questioned.
She leaned toward me and winked before whispering into my ear. "I said technically. I just copied their DNA."
"Senpai, we should call it a day already. I am really tired," Dae-Hyun said.
"Hmm, you were on stand-by duty all day after all… Alright, you can go take a rest for tonight."
Yamashita-san sounds like a good leader who looks out for his teammate.
"Thanks… Oh, Tennyson-san…"
"Huh?"
He giggled and said, "your outfit. It looks ridiculous."
And so Dae-Hyun left. A glance at the scars on his face reminded me…
"Yamashita-san… it might be too late to ask but… What exactly is he?"
"I believe your partner knows better in this kinda stuff," he answered, leaning back in his chair.
Eunice proudly grinned with her hands on her hips. "You finally understand that I am superior to you, Yamashita Reiji-kun."
Are you making fun of him now? Yamashita-san rotated his chair away from us, with an annoyed expression on his face, but said nothing.
"Ahem, he is a hybrid."
"A hybrid?"
Minute by minute, I had to learn about more and more weird things in this world.
"Basically a half-human and half-zombie—"
"Would that make him…a rogue—"
"No," Eunice corrected me. "A hybrid is different from a rogue. They both are half-human, yes, but Hybrids retain more of their human side, despite their appearance. They are infected humans who failed to mutate into zombies."
Amazons… Hybrids… what? Why? As someone who had been traveling across the continent, the information was large to take in at once. I was surprised and frustrated by the fact that I never knew.
"Uh, thanks for clearing things up," I laughed awkwardly out of disappointment. "I guess the world is bigger than I thought."
Rogues and hybrids… I must be careful not accidentally to hurt the wrong person.
Come to think of it, didn't a crow rogue say to not regard every rogue as an enemy? This is going to give me a headache.
"Also, what are you and your soldiers doing here?"
Yamashita-san turned to face me and moved his chair toward his work table.
"I've been wondering for a while…" I continued. "Japan has changed in the last few years. What's their intention?"
I wouldn't want to find some political mess. But I needed answers.
"We don't trust the governments…" Yamashita-san looked up at me with a serious face.
"... We don't trust any government… after what they did a decade ago. Asian, European, African, American… not even the Japanese government," he added. "These soldiers joined the army to protect people they love and those they don't. In this era, it's the responsibility of the ones with the power to defend the ones without it, from all sorts of disasters. So if the government doesn't look after its people, we won't follow its orders, we will overthrow it."
"Your point is…"
"We are here to protect the ones without the power…" he walked toward me and nudged my shoulder. "Have faith in these soldiers. I believe you think the same. You also want to protect lives, right?"
Do I even want to protect lives? I guess I do… but I don't have faith in my own desires and wants.
"Yamashita-san… please excuse us," I thought I needed more time to think about it.
"Um, oh… okay."
I dragged Eunice out of Yamashita's tent.
"You need to get used to it, Tennyson Hiroki-kun."
"Yep…" I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my all-green pants. "I guess."
"I guess again…" she giggled quietly.
"What?"
"You should make it clear. You are smart, right?" She was walking backward! "Then just be yourself. Make your ambitions clear to yourself. And you better be more, and more honest!"
"I am actually pretty honest," I gently shook my head. "I don't have… I don't really have ambitions, either."
"That's not my point…" she sighed and looked up at the sky. The moon was there. The stars were up there. "When you are confused, say you are confused. When you are clueless, admit it! If you don't have ambition, then quickly have one."
What nonsense is she talking about…
"... Just because your family is gone, it doesn't mean your life has ended. Say, don't just live for others. Live for yourself, too."
Living for myself, huh… I feel like I would even be emptier if I lived for myself. I am such a boring person…
"Thanks to you, I had one long day, Eunice-san."
"I thought it would be another normal day for you…"
I suddenly recalled how Dae-Hyun mocked me for my outfit. "I think I need to change first thing we arrive there."
— — — —
I woke up to the sunlight invading the cell through the window. Eunice was sitting on the sofa, with a blank expression and closed eyes. Is she… sleeping? Does she even need to sleep?
Then there's me, still lying down on the bed with a confused expression on my face. Suddenly, my stomach growled reminding me of my hunger. Crap, I didn't eat dinner last night.
"Oi, Eunice, wake up..." I waved my hand in front of her eyes. She didn't move. "Damn! Wake up, damn it!"
As if she felt my frustration at her slumber, she slowly opened her eyes.
"What's up, Tennyson Hiroki-kun?" She asked in a monotonous voice.
"I'm hungry," I replied. "Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
I was startled by Eunice's response. I sat up and looked at her. Her expression wasn't angry, just sort of deadpan.
"By the way, what do you even eat?" I questioned.
She glared at me and left the cell without an answer.
"Oh, Tennyson-san and Eunice-san, Ohayo."
Dae-Hyun was seen with a navy backpack and a pair of binoculars in his hands.
"Oh, Ohayo, Dae-Hyun," I yawned. "... We are going back to Bangkok for breakfast. I left my stuff there."
"It's a long trip, Tennyson-san…"
Hmm, he's right. It's about 60 kilometers from here to New Bangkok.
"... Let's head to the canteen, Tennyson-san, and Eunice-san…"
Watching him walk toward the canteen of the base, my stomach growled again. My eyes met Eunice's, who was on the verge of breaking down into laughter.
In the canteen, Dae-Hyun was the one who prepared breakfast for us two. Though, I am still wondering if Eunice eats anything.
"Wow… that aroma is… alluring," I whispered to Eunice, inhaling the strong smell from the kitchen. It just makes my stomach grumble more.
"It's here…" Dae-Hyun brought a steel tray with two plates of cooked rice and other dishes on it. "Please enjoy…"
"Oh, thank you," I stabbed the chunk of smoking rice with a spoon. "Itadakimasu."
Just as I poured the broth on the rice, I caught Eunice licking her lips but said nothing. Will she eat? Will she just consume everything at once like a giant gourmet? I didn't know the answer for sure.
Wow… This flavor… The taste just lives up to its smell! My tongue wrapped around the chunk of rice in my mouth, slowly crushing it as it absorbed the rich flavor of the broth. Eunice suddenly walked to the basin and washed her hands thoroughly before returning to our table. As I stuffed another round of rice-in-broth in my mouth, she grabbed all her rice and dropped them in the bowl of broth, like a brute!
"Oi…" I paused to chew quickly before talking. "It will ruin the flavor! What are you doing, you moron?!"
She also put the fried egg into the broth-soaked rice, which made both me and Dae-Hyun widen our eyes in horror.
"Gulp…"
She then ate the entire bowl in one shot.
"Can I have seconds?" she asked with a nonchalant face, making Dae-Hyun blink.
"... No,... Uh, I mean, of course, yeah!"
Dae-Hyun was such a good chef. After breakfast, we parted ways with him.
"I have to watch over from the cliff…"
"... oh, see ya then."
Dae-Hyun walked away into the forest. I was still wondering if Eunice was built differently— maybe she had enough room for three bowls of rice in her belly. The chef in charge of the kitchen might wanna have a word with her.
"Eunice-san… we should also look around this area."
"Hm-mm."
The RIsing's base campsite was as large as a village. The area was filled with temporary campsites and tents. I have seen the canteen and prison… Speaking of prison, there isn't any other prisoner than us there. We are not even prisoners. It just makes me wonder who they are going to arrest.
People, who defy the government? Unlikely. Hmm, in this apocalyptic era, some would get desperate enough to rob other people of their properties. They would make good prisoners as well. TF I am thinking…
"Eunice, I think I ate too much…" I stopped and rubbed my belly. "It's a stomach ache."
She stared at me as if I was the unreasonable one here. "But you only had one-fourth of my breakfast."
She ate four entire bowls, though.
"Uh, anyway, I need to…!" I started walking really fast to look for the restroom.
"Hey, human! Hang on! We need to stick together!" She yelled after me.
"Not in the damn toilet!"
The restroom. It feels like a quiet and private place. It is a small room that gives you a break from social tension, right? Well, it would have been better without the girl waiting for me in front of the stalls. Thanks to the gap between the door and the floor, I could see her legs, which made me nervous instead of giving me security.
"Eunice-san…" "Nani?"
"Is it possible to protect everyone?"
She kicked the door. "What a weird question to ask while you are p—ping."
"I am struggling here, ya know!" "Struggling to p—p?"
"Cute girls shouldn't say such vulgar words!"
It's only a few minutes that I'm done solving my stomach issues.
"I'm beat…"
Eunice looked disappointed, seeing me bathed in sweats. "Ha, you are so—"
"BOOOMM!"
"An explosion?!" I exclaimed hearing a loud boom, coming from the center of the campsites. It was then accompanied by the gray smoke curling upwards from the site.
"Eunice…" I muttered her name, seeing all the chaos.
She nodded at me. "Let's go!"
"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
— Activation Announcement.
And so the second episode is wrapped up. Thanks for reading, everyone.
As I've said before the chapter, illustrations are out now. So please check them out on the Kamen Rider Alterum's page on the Kamen Rider fanfiction wiki.
Cover art will be done in a few days and I will announce its release in the next chapter. Thanks.
Christopher Paradox Chronos