「Date A Live is a Japanese Light Novel series that was written by Koushi Tachibana, illustrated by Tsunako, published by Fujimi Shobo under the label Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, and is source of the whereabouts and background of this story originates.」
「Kamen Rider is a series of manga, television shows, and films originally created by Shotaro Ishinimori. Currently, the television shows are run and owned by Toei Company, and have been ongoing for over 49 years. The entry utilized for this crossover story, Ex-Aid, was written and scripted by Yuya Takahashi.」
「This story will, and is intended to, have original elements of it's own based on ideas set into side/film stories that are from both series.」
"I tried to call you earlier, ya know. Not pickin' up despite me calling 12 times like that frickin' scares me."
"I know, I know. But, don't worry. I'm in the front of the line for that early release I told you about before, you remember, right?!"
"Oh, that? It's today? Oh, well. Don't waste all your money, ok? Your allowance isn't exactly some health bar I can just heal up with some kinda item, alright?"
"Yeah, I hear ya, but this time it's free, I promise!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't come crying back to me when you realize you don't have enough money in your wallet for it."
"I won't."
A male had been on the phone. He would yawn a bit as he had come out of his green tent, which had been tattered with small designs that had varied, showing several different game titles.
Inside of the tent, there had been a makeshift futon made to fit within its interior along with a pillow with the word Mighty in pink across it, with a small circular figure with spiky hair on the side drawn to be leaping off the pillow. On top of the pillow in the center had been a handheld console which had GENMCON across the bottom. Around the joysticks had been the letters G, E, N, and M in either direction. While the D-Pad below the left joystick had the letters C, O, R, and P in a similar fashion.
The boy who had left from the tent had a mop of black hair over his head, unkempt at the front as the curls would swallow his forehead in its shadow as it threatened to cover over his eyebrows as well, though just barely.
Around his neck had been a pair of headphones that had been pink with lime green aesthetics, which hung neatly within the collar of the black blazer he wore that had been trimmed with white aesthetics. On the right side of the blazer, there had been a downward pointed, red pentagon logo that's most notable feature was the large golden R. His sleeves had been rolled up to meet just below his forearms, revealing that his arms had the same light toned skin over it as his face and neck had, wearing a watch on his right wrist and a set of arm bands on the other, each having different colors. Under the blazer had been a white t-shirt with a Genm Corporation logo in the center, with game titles, including Mighty Ninth, Taddle Quest, BANG-BANG Shooting, and Bakusou Bike tattered all about, briefly seen due to his blazer covering over the majority of the shirt. His pants were a hot pink, leaning toward red, sloping over his legs before they had briefly met with the top of his shoes, which had been a pair of vans sneakers that both had a checkered design over the sides and back, while covered over the top in black, though both shoe had an individuality as one had been red while the other was blue.
What his attention was focused on was the building not too far from him. It had been the Genm Corporation main building, headquarters of the largest trending game company in Japan currently. For this day was the day he could get a sneak peek on the game that Genm Corporation had been teasing for 5 years, Mighty Action X, the latest-to-be title in the Mighty franchise.
From what he could remember, it was also announced that this game was going to have a new mechanic that the Mighty Games before it didn't have, and it was also supposed to reintroduce the classic boss Salty back into the franchise after his apparent doom in Mighty the Second, as well as incorporate many of the previous games. The very sound of this had gotten the boy in high spirits, as he had cheered internally while looking around.
"Huh.. I figured they'd open right about now.. It's already been 10 hours since I set up camp.." He would then lower his attention to his arm, rolling up his sleeve to show that he also carried a watch underneath. He would raise a brow as he had shrugged, stretching his arms out as he would yawn.
However, unlike him, those in the massively long line behind him had all been crying out in annoyance to the hold up.
Looking back toward them, he would blink, before turning his head back toward the door.
"I think.. This'll get ugly soon."
The boy had retreated into his tent, zipping it up behind him as he had heard the masses beginning to shout to one another. Once it began to pick up in noise, the teen would simply lift his headphones, placing them over his ears as he would pick up the handheld console from the pillow, beginning to play on it, awaiting for the noise to die down.
...
After a few minutes, the male would exit the tent, looking to his surroundings. Once he did, his jaw dropped. He had pulled his headphones down from his ears and had slowly turned his attention to his left, his eyes slowly widening as he did so.
"Oh.. No.. They... THEY OPENED WITHOUT MEEEEEEEE!"
He would plunge forward, heading straight for the doorway to the establishment, although flinching slightly when he was halted by two larger men in suits, who both looked to him with their arms crossed.
"Hm? What's some kid doing here..?"
"Don't know. Well. Either way..." The one on the right looked toward the boy, who had placed his hands together.
"Please! Ya gotta let me in! I was the first in line to get into there. I've waited all night, so could ya please do me a solid and let me in?!"
"I'm sorry. But we've been given specific orders to ensure that once these doors closed, they wouldn't open again until the conference was over."
"Ah-" He would try to remark, however lacked a response. The raven haired boy had simply slumped his shoulders, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked away, the guards nodding in contempt with this decision. Though, the boy had groaned, walking over to his tent. Once reaching his destination, he would crouch, reaching inside and packing the pillow and handheld into his backpack, slinging both it and his schoolbag next to it onto his back, the latter hanging loosely over his shoulder. Once completing this task, he would stand, propping up the tent and carrying the
"Man.. If only I didn't lose my spot in the line.. I surely would've gotten a spot.. I think."
He would then stop, looking to his pants as he had felt a ringing coming from his pocket. Blinking, he reached down to his pocket with his free hand, excavating the object within from his pants' right cavern, retrieving his cell phone, which would nearly flip out of his hand, as he spent a moment to catch it before it had escaped the territory of his hand.
"..oh. Hey bro. What's up?"
"I forgot to mention something to ya."
Outside the Seito University Hospital, another male with a similar figure to the previous, however with straight black hair combed to the right, all being tucked toward under his right ear. His outfit consisted of a spotless white coat that hung down to his mid-thighs, underneath the lab coat being a pink hood that hung over a white dress shirt, which had been cleanly tucked into his pants, with a red tie tied at the color with yellow stripes. Underneath this being a pair of black slacks accompanied by a pair of neat black dress shoes.
"Listen, Hiro, I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna be working all night today, so I'm asking that you make sure you get to school tomorrow. You went straight to that line of yours after we introduced you to your principal, ya know."
"I know. I know. I promise I'll go to school."
"You better. Video games aren't the only thing you've got in life you know."
"You keep saying stuff I already know!"
The older male holding his phone to his ear would chuckle, smiling. "Well, I'd better go get started on the hard stuff. Maybe I'll be home before morning."
"Well, good luck on that, Sho."
"Thanks." He would chuckle again, lowering the phone from his ear and tapping a button, having ended the call as he would return the phone to his pocket.
Though, his moment of peace had been interrupted by the pain he felt as a hand tightly gripped onto his ear, pulling him aside as he had only cried out "Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" as the one responsible would lift him closer toward her, a grin that clearly hid some ill will behind it imprinted on her face.
"O-Oh, Ginko-sempai-"
"Takahashi~sen~sei~.. It's time for your rounds!"
Sho would then pull himself out from her grip, rubbing at his ear as he would then stop, blinking before looking away with widened eyes.
"Oh crap, you're right! I'm so sorry!" He would then look to her with a nod, "I'm going now!"
Seeing her nod in response, he had rushed forward, Ginko turning with a smile, though her satisfaction quickly turned to dismay as she would look down to see that Sho had fallen. She would then quickly run to his side, crouching as she would place her hands at his shoulders, helping him to stand.
"If the doctor gets hurt, who's going to help him?" She would sigh, shaking her head, "Get your act together, intern!"
"Sorry.."
"Let's go."
He would nod, the two making their way toward the hospital.
Inside of the Genm Corporation first floor, all those present would be gathered in a large black walled room that had been tattered with game titles, much like that of Hiro's t-shirt. In the center of this room had been a large stage, on which a middle-aged man with noticeably auburn hair, who wore a similarly noticeable suit that approached silver in color, had been smiling as he watched the masses gather and take their seats all around the stage.
"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! As you all surely know, I am Hiroyuki Sato, current president of Genm Corporation. First off, I would like to thank you all for coming here today. We have a brand new project that we'll be needing testers for." The man would begin his announcement, everyone in the crowd's attention now pinned on him as he would raise his hand, the lights around the room dimming as the large black curtains were pulled apart to reveal a large monitor behind them that paralleled the stage in width and length.
As the television began to play, another male in a similar suit would approach Hiroyuki, who would turn with a brow raised after being tapped on the shoulder lightly.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Sato-taichou, sir, it would seem that one of the Consoles are missing."
"Missing, you say?" Hiroyuki would turn toward him, his brow further raised.
"Yes. I believe it was the Player 1 console." Upon hearing his response, Hiroyuki would turn, sighing.
"I see.. Notify them immediately. Ensure no one hears you as you do."
The male would nod, turning and walking off toward the distance.
In the alleyway nearby the Genm Corporation building, a slender, though curvy, girl had stood firm, a bag on her side that hung in the center between her arm and side.
Her hair had been dark brown in color, it spreading over her back to guard over her back, the edges of her hair being a hot pink in color, bridged from the brown by a yellow bow that had been small in size, it briefly paralleling her hair in width. Over her face, the strands of hair would briefly pass over her forehead in the form of short bangs, which separated into smaller segments of one another as it would cover over the right side of her forehead over her lime green eyes. Her attire consisted of a black Gothic dress-esque shirt, which briefly overlapped the skirt just below it, wore a pair of hot pink leggings beneath, it covering over her legs until they reached her ankles, which had been further shielded by a pair of black high heels.
Inside of the bag had been a silver case. Over the case had been a round square symbol, the letters over it spelling out GENM CORP.
"Phew.. I got it.." She would sigh in relief. "Soon.. I'll be able to do it.." She would grin, looking to the bag with a determination in her eyes.
"..I'll be the one to beat this game.."
『 G. A. L. : GAME ALL LIFE
(G. A. L. ： ゲームオールライフ) 』
【 Level 1 : I Think.. I'll Play This Game.
(レベル1 : おもう... このゲームをやります。) 】
『 B.G.M. Cue: SMILE「Shoji Meguro」』
"Fwaaaahh..."
Raising his arms, a male in similar clothing to Hiro would release a yawn. However, his hair had been a blueberry color as it would hang over his leg, reaching about halfway down his neck. His eyes an amber brown as they would be looking upward. His mind seemed to be cluttered as he had lifted his hand, placing his fingers on his lips as he would look downward.
After a moment had passed, a blush had hued over his cheeks.
"... That's messed up, dude. Shido, what are you doing?"
"!"
Upon the sound of another's voice, Shido would throw his head toward the direction where the sound originated, it returning to its original position as his eyes went wide, the boy jumping a bit. Before him was a fellow male teenager with swept back black hair that had been arranged in a mass of spikes, while his eyes had been a much darker gray color as opposed to Shido's lighter caramel eye color.
"T-Tonomachi?! If you're there, you should give more presence, man!"
Tpnomachi would place a hand on his side, sighing as Shido had lowered his defense.
"I did. Quite a normal amount of times, in fact. I even called out to you. If you let me get lonely, I'll die ya know."
While he spoke, Tonomachi would straddle the open desk in front of Shido, resting his elbows atop Shido's, the latter making a deadpan face.
"No, Tonomachi, I didn't know that. Anyway, get back to your own seat, homeroom'll start pretty soon."
To Shido's remark, Tonomachi would only shrug, "Eh. It's fine. Tama-chan's going to be a bit late anyways."
"She's still our teacher, ya know. You should quit with that nickname, it makes her sound like some cat. Or even a seal."
"Aw, it's cute, though, so I think it's fine. There may be an age gap, but she's still in my strike zone."
"Then why not go propose to her? I doubt she wouldn't accept."
"Wha-"
Without warning, the classroom door would soon slam open, a rattling sound emitting from it that would captivate the attention of all the students that were present, Shido included.
On the other side of the door had been a young woman with short, silvery white hair arranged in a bob-cut, on the right side having three black hairpins evenly divided along it, matched with two large blue beady eyes that had been scanning over the room. The most notable feature was the bandages that had covered over all of the parts of her body that would ordinarily be exposed.
Upon seeing the bandages, Shido had briefly lost his breath.
'Sh.. Shouldn't the Realizer have immediately healed all her all her injuries..? It's been three days and.. She's still got that many bandages.. Those must be pretty bad..'
Without putting any attention on the others that surrounding her, who all had their focus pinned on her every move, one of which being the girl from before, with the addition of the same R logo blazer as Shido over her regular attire, she walked forward, her eyes pinned on Shido, who felt an uncertainty at each step, until she had been but a few feet apart from him.
"Oh- Uh- H-Hey, Tobiichi.. I'm glad that you're doing we-"
Before he could finish, he would widen his eyes, seeing that Origami had become a blur before him, following the blur with his eyes to see that she had been locked in a deep bowing position.
"W-Wh-? Tobiichi-!?"
Shido's next words were voiced by the students around them, who would make noise about how out of character this was for the girl well known as Tobiichi Origami.
However, the girl in question would remain in her bow, speaking out when Shido had failed to finish.
"I'm sorry. Although.. I am fully aware that it isn't something I can simply apologize for.."
Shido would be taken aback, alongside the rest of the classroom, over this turn of events. Though, he expressed knowledge over what the topic she was referring to as he had soon regained his previous posture.
"Hey.. Itsuka.. Did you do something to Tobiichi..?"
Shido would then rotate his head toward his right, looking toward Tonomachi with a frown, "No I didn't do something to her! Don't you think I'd be apologizing if that were the case?"
Tonomachi's glare had not been released, the suspicion within it remaining as well. Noticing this, Shido had simply sighed and looked back to Origami.
"I-I forgive, you alright? So, raise your head.."
Though, to Shido's surprise, with another blur, Origami had straightened her posture as told.
"Bu-"
Before he could make his next comment, he would look down, seeing that in just the same amount of speed, the base of his necktie had been in the girl's clutches. His eyes widening to this as he would look to her face, seeing that her cold expression hadn't changed in the slightest either, as she would lean closer to Shido.
"No cheating."
That was all she said.
"..Huh?"
In a pattern that had started with Shido, all of the students present within the classroom had blinked, their eyes seeming to become dots, except for the girl in the corner who sat alone, turning her attention away from the two and out the window, as the chime of the school bell had brought her attention away from them. The rest, in contrast, all kept their attention on Shido and Origami, gossiping to one another as they all returned to their seats, expressing interest in their conversation.
Though, for Shido, the situation had a certain intensity, as Origami's gaze had not wavered, and her cold expression only made him feel tense.
The tensity would soon cease as a voice could be heard upon a new entry leaping in from the opened door.
"Good morning, everyooooooonnnnnnneeee! Homeroom's gonna start soo-" The homeroom teacher of the class, Tamae, had then stopped, as her eyes had inevitably fallen upon the situation between Shido and Origami, as she would blink. "T-Tobiichi-san..? What are you doing..?"
Origami had lacked a response, silently glancing toward Tamae as her grip on Shido's tie had ceased, the girl walking over to her seat...
... Right next to him. Already being well versed with this information, Shido's tense feeling would soon return.
"Ok! Is everyone ready to begin?"
The cheerful tone the teacher gave was.. Rather unfitting for the atmosphere. Noticing this, she would tap her chin for a moment, seeming to be compiling a plan, before she would raise out her hand, slamming the other atop it, a small "Aha!" escaping from her lips, showing that she had figured something out.
"That's right! Before take attendance today, everyone, I have a surprise! Come on in!"
As if calling a cue, she would throw her hands toward the door she herself had just entered through.
"Mm."
From what could assumed to be a response, would be a pair of voices that were projected in sync, but were too different to have proper union. Two had entered, a boy and girl, one of which being Hiro, who had been this time wearing a yellow shirt with a pixelated 87 on the front, though the most noting thing about their presence was..
They caused Shido and Origami's jaws to drop.
"Well, I think I'll go first. I'll be transferring into this class starting today. My name is Tohka Yatogami, pleased to be in your care."
The first to speak had been the girl, who had long purple hair that would hang over her torso, reaching toward her thighs, despite being held up by a large red ribbon that had matched her head in width. Her purple eyes both being soft with her pupils seeming to have a white glow to them, the girl having a large smile on her face.
Her appearance had given off a radiance that nearly blinded the students in the room, which had caused them to become rowdy.
Though, that had not been what Tohka had been focused on, as she would spin around, grabbing onto a piece of chalk, beginning to write over the blackboard. After a moment, though written poorly, it would have the word "TOHKA" written over it. Upon succeeding to do this, the girl would smile again, this time brimmed with satisfaction. Then, she turned her attention toward the other transfer student, looking back to the board with a blink.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I took up a lot of the board."
"Oh, no, it's alright."
Hiro would wave it off, turning his attention toward the rest in the classroom, smiling.
"Well, starting today I'll be transferring here as well. It's nice to meet you all, my name's Hiroki Takahashi. I'm really enjoying the sound of getting to know you all."
He would bow lightly, before fixing his posture, something Tohka had breathed out in a wonder over.
"Was I supposed to do that, too..?"
"Oh, no, ya didn't have to, I just did that because it felt appropriate."
"Oh, ok."
Tohka would then smile, turning toward the class as she would then imitate what Hiro had just done, bowing to the rest of the class in the same manner.
Though, when her head raised back up, her attention was pinned on a certain blue-haired boy in the center of the classroom.
Purple eyes met brown.
"Why.. Are you.. ?"
While Shido had attempted to collect his thoughts, Tohka's body began to emit a brighter shine than before, though it had been invisible to those around her as she had leapt forward, in a blur standing in the exact spot Origami had previously been.
"Oh! Shidou! I missed you!"
Within the next moment, the girl would pull the boy into an embrace, one which caught the eye of all in the classroom. While Hiroki only chuckled, the majority of the class had begun to murmur over what they saw occur, linking it with what had just moments ago occurred between Shido and Origami. The brunette had simply looked toward Hiro, who only observed Tohka and Shido with a smile, before turning her attention away.
A bead of sweat had formed over Shido's head as he looked to her. Hiro blinking as he looked to the teacher, who had simply told him to take a seat wherever he saw one open, seeing that there had indeed been one behind Shido and next to the brunette. Taking this opportunity, Hiro would make his way over there, not being able to help but overhear their conversation.
"Tohka.. What are you doing here?"
"Nn, the examinations and such had all finished- Turns out, over 99% of my power had disappeared."
Shido would raise a brow to this. Though, after remembering back, his brow would lower.
Tohka would then continue, "Well- it ended up good for me. I no longer cause the world to cry just by exising.. Then, well, your sister did a bunch of stuff."
"And.. Your family name..?"
"Oh, that sleepy woman gave it to me, oh, what was her name..?"
"Jeez.." Shido had groaned, scratching the side of his head before laying over his desk.
Hiro, behind the two, would blink, raising a brow. 'What are they talking about..? Is it some kind of game..? Must be, right..? Ooh. Maybe I'll ask them to let me play sooner of later.'
Seeing Shido's state, an innocent smile would spread over Tohka's face as she tilted her head a bit.
"What's wrong, Shido? You look down. ... Ah- Could it be? Were you lonely when I was gone?"
Everyone in the room had caught that quickly, especially Hiro. Despite her discretion with the conversation prior, the last statement she had just made was loud enough for someone walking by the classroom could hear from outside, regardless of the door being closed or not. As if on cue, the loud chatter from the students around would begin again, which Tohka had been oblivious to. Though, Shido hadn't, and he felt a great deal of embarrassment from it.
"Wh- Don't say something weird like that.."
"Hmph. How cold of you." Tohka would recoil, placing her hands on the sides of her cheeks and made an expression of embarrassment, "Even though you were chasing after me so wildly back then.."
Shido had gawked, feeling overwhelmed by the speed of the atmosphere in the room changing. In the shadows of their desks, students would shuffle around messages, forming an informational chain that would spread throughout the classroom, and without a doubt, Shido understood that it would spread over the entire school.
He felt his only option was to attempt to express his issues to her once more, albeit louder this time.
"N-no, Tohka! Saying it like that will cause a misunderstanding!"
"Nu? Are you saying that it was a misunderstanding..? Even though it was my first time.."
"GAK-?!"
Hearing the words come from Tohka's mouth, Tamae could no longer stop the students from going through a rampage, the volume of the classroom's chatter skyrocketing.
Hiroki would drop his jaw for a moment upon hearing the conversation, before he shook his head and regained his composure, opening his mouth to speak to Shido.
"Ehehe, Shido.. I didn't know you had a girlfrie-"
Upon his attempt to speak a certain word, he would be left gawking again at what would transpire after.
Tohka would then stop, moving her head to the right. "Eh..?"
Shido's jaw once again fell, his eyes paling as they failed to track the pen that flew past him at speeds beyond his comprehension. Hiro, too, had no response to the occurrence except for his jaw dropping. The two would then turn their head slowly, tracing back to the source direction, seeing, still in the posture as if she had just thrown the pen, Origami, who pinned a cold glare on Tohka, who would only respond in kind.
"Nu.. Why the hell are you here?!"
"That's a question much more appropriate for yourself."
The intensity of the area between them had increased exponentially, as it would seem like two auras have come into combat. Although, the two would not follow suit, as they simply glared toward one another, Tohka having a growl to emphasize her disapproval of Origami's presence.
"O-Okay! That's enough! Don't fight now!" Tamae would plunge between the two, raising her arms to barrier the two from one another, which had signaled the two to end their argument there. Tamae would then sigh in relief as she would then tap her chin, looking around.
"Ok, then. Yatogami-san's seat will be.."
"There's no need for that." She would then walk over to see the seat on the opposing side of Shido, parallel to Origami's seat, glaring down toward the female student sitting within it. "Move."
The simple pressure that emit from the sharp look would cause the student to fall out of her seat with an "Eep!", which caused Tohka's smile to return.
"Nn, thank you." Tohka would nod to the girl, who had moved away in order to escape what could be the former's wrath. The purple haired girl would then calmly settle into the seat that had just been opened, shifting her gaze to Shido, though, she expressed dissatisfaction at the fact it had been Origami's gaze her eyes met, not Shido's, through a click of her teeth in annoyance.
The two would silently stare at each other as class had begun.
Though, caught dead center in the middle.. Had been Shido, who would only hold his head and grown from being the receiver of the pressure from their eyes' battle.
Hiro, however, would turn his attention to the girl next to him, who he noticed was staring toward him for a brief moment. Though, noticing that he had looked back to her, she had widened her eyes a bit, before shifting her attention back toward the window.
Hiro would respond with a blink, then slump his shoulders with a sigh.
『 B.G.M. END 』
【1 - 1】
"I didn't find any abnormalities in your exam."
Sho would turn, once again sitting in his office. Inside of the room had been a child and his mother, the former sitting upon the bed behind his desk. "My guess on your sudden loss of appetite would have to be.." He would tap his chin lightly for a moment, before smiling to him. "..because you've been snacking too much?"
The child in question would blink, before directing his head toward his mouth. "No, I haven't~" He would chime sheepishly, to which his mother had huffed a bit, Sho only giving a light chuckle.
"I was wondering where all the snacks had gone!" She would walk forward, lightly placing her hand on the top of the smaller boy's head, upon her doing so, the boy only sticking out his tongue in response lightly.
『 B.G.M. Cue: Reason For Wobbling「ATS-, Takehito Shimizu, Toru Watanabe」』
On a rooftop, an individual who wore a large black trench coat that hung over his legs, alluding to the rest of the black outfit he wore, the only abnormality in this being the orange sleeves that matched with the orange visor he had that had aligned with the lining that spread over the black mask, matching his shoes and gloves.
"It's infected."
The figure would turn, another who had been green in it's majority with it's body seeming to be fitted with many different sets of explorer's gear, most of it torn except for the goggles and cap over his head.
"Very soon, it will multiply into a new comrade.." Over his wrist, had been what resembled a purple handheld console, which had two large circular buttons on either side of the screen, which presented a mass of ever-changing golden numbers that would slide across the screen in all directions.
"Say, Graphite.." Through his mask, the first figure's voice had been distorted, though resembled that of a young man's. "Doesn't having this wide of a field to play a game in.." He would turn back toward the city before him, spreading out his arms. "..make your heart skip a beat?"
『 B.G.M. END 』
"Genius Gamer [...]/(Blank)... Real name unknown.. Tournament record impeccable.." Looking through a file had been a male who wore a neatly fit black suit, which had an orange spotted black tie to give a sense of individuality to his attire. On his desk had been a sign that would spell out Deputy-Director General in kanji.
He was the Deputy-Director General of the Ministry of Health, Kyotaro Hinata.
Before him would a be a female in a similar attire, though her getup lacked a tie.
"I believe a gaming genius would be a perfect candidate for the Gamer Driver.."
Hinata would lower his hand, letting down the file of papers that had been before him, kept over a clipboard, the top sheet reading out Bugster Virus Infectious Disease Resources at the center, and Top Secret in the corner in kanji. "We have a compatible doctor who will be arriving in Japan soon.." He would then look up from the paper to her. "Unless, of course, you have a problem with him?"
The woman present would hold her breath briefly, before shaking her head. "No. I don't..."
He would then stand from his seat, turning toward the window. "We cannot allow the tragedy from 5 years to make a second coming." He would then look down. "You had reported that a Gamer Driver had been stolen, yes?"
"Uh-" She would then stop, looking to him before slowly nodding. "That's correct, sir.."
"..then we can only hope it has not fallen into the wrong hands.." He would turn toward her, determination flared in his eyes. "The future of humanity depends on this matter. I would like you to restore CR as soon as you can, Asuna-kun."
The woman he spoke to, Ministry of Health Personnel, Asuna Karino, would nod. "Yes, sir!"
Back at the school, Shido, Origami, Tohka, and Hiro had all been sitting at the same collection of desks at their corner of the classroom, the two girls glaring at each other, while Hiro had been speaking with Shido.
"So, it's been about.. 5 years, huh?"
"Yeah, I'd say so."
Shido would then look down a bit, before looking up toward him with a sheepish chuckle. "You guys left shortly after the Tengu City Fire, and after.. That. So, I guess I could understand."
"..yeah.." Hiro had chuckled sheepishly alongside him, the two looking away from one another for a moment, before looking up and realizing that the two girls had their attentions pinned on them.
"You. What is your relation to Shido?"
"Shido. Who's this guy to you, huh? He was supposed to be my new friend!"
"Oh, uh, well, in a way, you can say we're childhood friends." Shido had provided the answer they sought.
"Yep. Shido had been adopted into the Itsuka family, which had been an old friend of my mom's for a while. So, without a doubt, I ended up meeting him and his sister. By the way, how is Kotori-chan?" He would pause his explanation to look to Shido, a question of his own tied in.
"Ah.." He would chuckle a bit. "..she's doing better than you'd hope." A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his head, though Hiro had only smiled.
"That's great."
"Ah, well, I'm sure you've met Tohka." The purple haired girl would be eating a piece of Kinako bread. Though, she did give a slight nod to him, along with her ribbon seeming to wag, which wasn't hard for Hiro to notice. "And this is Origami Tobiichi." The snow haired girl would nod her head toward Hiro, herself eating a grain of rice from her bento.
Turning his head toward the distance, Hiro would notice that the girl sitting in the desk next to his own had still been staring out the window, lacking a lunchbox of her own. He would then blink, turning toward her.
"Hey.. Are you gonna be alright..? You don't seem to have a lunchbox of your own.."
The girl had glanced toward him for a brief moment, before returning her attention to the window. Hiro would sigh at this, Shido chuckling next to him, causing the boy to turn with a scowl.
"Oh, uh, sorry." Shido would wave his hand, "It's just, no one ever tries to talk to Ruka, so her not saying a word to you wasn't all that surprising."
"Ruka..?" Tohka and Hiro looked to Shido, before Origami had spoke up.
"Yes. Ruka Iwanaga. Not very much is known about her, though most speculate that she lacks social skill a-"
They would then turn, hearing the slam on her desk as Ruka turned her attention toward Origami. "Ya know, it's rude to talk about someone behind their back." The two girls would lock eyes on one another, the tensity that had previously been between Origami and Tohka now shifting to the former and Ruka.
"Ah.. Well, now that we've got your attention, it's nice to meet yo-" It would seem at the moment Hiro spoke, the scene would revert to its previous state. He would then sigh, slumping his shoulders as Shido had sweatdropped.
'I.. Feel like I'm watching myself before Kotori's training..'
【 1 - 2 】
Sho would walk toward a patient room which had a large blue robot sticker on the front of it and on the side of it being the number 302. In his hand had been a notebook which he had quickly skimmed through, before turning toward the door and opening it slowly.
"Souta-kun-"
He had been abruptly interrupted by the surprise of his vision being completely clouded by the sheet that had flown over his face, quickly cloaking over it.
Ginko and the small boy before her, Souta, had looked to him as he struggled, before their attention returned to one another, Ginko making a stern face.
"Da~me! You don't have permission to go out. Change your clothes!"
She would hand the boy his scrubs, which he would frown to.
"Why do I have to stay in the hospital?!" With a cry of frustration, he would grab the scrubs and throw them forward, covering over Ginko's face.
"Agh-!" As she had been hit by them, she had fallen backwards, her foot landing on Sho's, which caused him to cry in pain as he would hop to the bed next to Souta, holding onto it as he regained his balance with a low grunt.
Once recovering, he would look toward the boy with a smile, "Souta-kun.. You're in the hospital so I can figure out why you've gotten so dizzy.."
Though, Souta's reaction would not be satisfactory to either of them, as he would quickly point toward him with his brows furrowed. "I don't like this doctor." What he had been pointing toward.. Was the tissue balled up to plug his left nostril. "He's got a bloody nose. Nothing but a half-baked intern!"
After this statement, Sho would quickly turn away, pulling the makeshift plug from his nose with a pop, rubbing his nose as he would turn back with a smile. Though, the smile would quickly drop as he noticed..
Souta was gone.
"..eh?"
Ginko would lower the scrubs from her, widening her eyes as she would look around her to see if he had been hiding anywhere, looking out toward the door as Sho did.
With a slight breeze passing by, Ginko would then swing her head toward Sho, "Hey! Go after him already! You're his attending physician!"
Sho would recoil at this, turning toward the door and quickly taking off toward the distance with a "Yes, ma'am!".
Upon reaching the outside of the hospital, he would turn his attention to his right, seeing that Souta had been walking across the street, looking down toward the white lines his feet had been traversing.
"Stop!"
Souta would turn his head to see that Sho had been running toward him, and decided to quickly make a run for it.
"Souta-kun, wait!" Sho would continue to pursue him.
After classes, the final bell had rung, the majority of the class leaving the room to all attend to their daily extracurricular activities. In the classroom, still, had been Hiro, who had been clicking away at the buttons on his handheld, playing a game of Mighty Action X with great precision, having the entirety of his focus pinned on the machine as he had made sure to go for the doughnut goal at the end of the goal, bringing the playable character of the game, Mighty, to the end of the stage, as a large sign of GAME CLEAR appearing after doing so.
"Yosha!"
Unbeknownst to him due to his attention being pinned on the game he was playing, the brunette from before had been watching behind him. Focusing her attention on how Hiro had not made a single misstep.
"How?"
"Huh?" Hiro would then swing his head around, following the sound of the voice to its source, nearly jumping when he saw the girl behind her. However, he managed to keep his composure well, the only distortion being his eyes widening. "Oh, uh, hey. You, uh.. Finally said something."
"How did you do that?"
"Do.. What?" Hiro tilted his head, noticing that she would slowly shift her attention towards her bag.
"The best players of Mighty Action X have all at least made one mistake, but you made zero."
Hiro would shrug, "Well, I've just been playing all of the Mighty games for the longest time now."
"Uh.. Huh.." She would narrow her eyes, her gaze remaining on the bag sitting in her seat that had fell over slightly, hitting the desk in front of it with a thud, which caught Hiro's attention.
"What.. Was that?" Hiro blinked, getting up from his seat to investigate the cause of the sound, before the girl had quickly rushed over to the seat, grabbing her back and running toward the door all in a swift motion.
Hiro, for a moment, had blinked, watching her do this as she would stop, turning toward him.
"What's up all of a sudden..?"
Hiro would step forward, setting down his handheld. At the sound of the console touching the desk, the girl would turn away, rushing off toward the distance.
"Uh- Hold on-" It had been a futile effort for him to call out, though part of him thought it would work. Although he was well aware of the fact that he wasn't going to succeed, he was still dissatisfied with that reality, slumping his shoulders.
Though, after a moment, he would then stop, noticing that he had been alone in the room and blinked.
"W.. Wait a minute!" Hiro would then quickly pick up his stuff, stuffing it into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder, taking off to run toward the same direction.
"Souta-kun!" Sho had continued running down the street, still pursuing the boy, who had made a quick left turn, to which Sho would sigh to.
"You shouldn't do this, Souta-kun! Where are you even going?!"
Though, upon his turn, he would be met with a delivery man who had been carrying a cart of boxes, which he instinctively jumped on without thinking, knocking some of the boxes over and making the intern lose his balance. Swinging his arms in the air with a cry of shock, his hands would soon slam onto the bar, throwing the delivery man aside as it had seemed to be the push needed to send it down the slope in the road ahead of him.
"I'm sooooorrrryyyyy!"
He would then look forward, seeing that Ruka had been running toward where the cart was racing toward, seeing crashing as an inevitability at this rate, shouting loudly.
Ruka would then quickly stop, seeing the male racing toward her and simply jumped back as the cart would tip upon reaching the end of the slope, this exerting enough force to send Sho flying off of it and into the air as he would wave his arms during his descent.
With the sound of a bonk, the crash would be made, Ruka wincing a bit as she saw it, raising her bag a bit before she had regained her posture, turning to dash again, though Sho's shoe had rained down from the sky, putting her plans to a halt when it struck on the head, causing her to fall, the suit case dropping out of her bag and popping open, two objects being flung out.
The first had been lime-green, it presented itself to seemingly take the shape of a video game console with two slots on its top left side, while there had been a lever across it's front that had been a hot pink. Next to it on the ground had been pink trinket that resembled a game cartridge, on the front of it had been a picture that carried a circular creature with a pink torso and green gloves and shoes, over its head reading Mighty Action X.
This would be the first thing that Souta noticed upon picking the second item up. "Isn't this Mighty Action X..? What's it doing here..?"
Ruka would then quickly get up, swiping the cartridge from Souta's hands.
"Ah- That's the new game that just came out today, isn't it? Lemme play, will you? Please!" Souta would place his hands together as she had returned the two items back to the suitcase, "Just for a little bit!"
"Absolutely not! This is no ordinary game!" Ruka would slam the box close, looking to Souta with a stern look in her eyes, though soon falling silent, seeing Asuna arriving to the scene from the corner of her eye.
"Is.. That..?" Asuna would run toward the scene, stopping as she turned her attention toward the boy and intern.
Souta had looked down, frowning as Sho had recovered from his fall, having walked over to the boy after returning his shoe to its proper place on his foot.
"Ugh.. You shouldn't do that, Souta-kun.." He would grasp his wrist softly. "Let's go back to the hospital.." He would attempt to lead him back, though Souta had pulled his arm out of his grasp.
"I.. Shouldn't..?"
Hiro, who had been in pursuit of Ruka, had stopped, looking to the scene with surprise as he saw the boy grumble, grasping his head as he winced in pain, falling down toward the ground in a short moment after.
"Souta-kun!"
Asuna and Hiro would soon close in on the scene, while Ruka had simply been placing the suitcase inside of her bag. Sho would try shaking him again.
"Souta-kun!" Though, what he saw next had caused him to stop, widening his eyes.
Small orange spore-like objects had begun to spread over his neck, popping like bubbles as small orange pixels oozed out from them.
Upon seeing them, Asuna would widen her eyes, while Ruka had taken off toward the distance, Hiro turning toward her and following after.
"What.. Was that just now..?"
He would then be pushed to the side as Asuna crouched down, carrying a stethoscope which she quickly plugged into her ears as she raised it up toward the boy, clicking a button on the side. It would soon make a projection of what she saw before her, though with a star icon hanging over Souta's head.
"These symptoms.."
Sho would soon get up from the ground, looking to the projection as well and raising a brow upon seeing the icon. "A.. Star?"
Sho would once again be pushed to the side as Asuna pulled the stethoscope out of her arms and rose all in the same motion.
【 1 - 3 】
Shido had rubbed the back of his head as before him stood an entire apartment complex that had not been there the previous day.
"..did you guys seriously have to make an apartment building this close to my house..? I think people are gonna notice an entire building suddenly appearing out of nowhere."
He would look to his left, seeing a girl with red eyes and hair with the same color, though in a lighter shade, tied into pigtails, held up by a pair of black ribbons with red highlights to them. She wore a red shirt that covered over the majority of her torso, the collar being black in color that fit alongside the black sleeves that shielded the skin of her arms with a ruffle of fabric at the end of the sleeves, making it seem like black flowers were blooming from it. On her bottom was an ordinary pair of blue jean shorts, though they seemed to make a tight fit on her as it barely reached below her thighs. The last piece to her attire being the black shoes she wore that had red highlights to them.
"It couldn't be avoided." She would respond, placing a hand on her hip. "The spirits needed a place to stay that wasn't too far from you, considering that their love for you is what'll be keeping them in their restrained state, making them able to live as regular human beings."
This had been Kotori Itsuka, Shido's little sister.
"Yeah, so how is anywhere reasonably more distant than right next to our apartment too far?" Shido looked to her, a brow raised.
"Remember what I said about their emotional stability, right? Well, it was a major factor in this decision. We've all figured as a team that if they wake up in the morning without the guarantee that they'll see you, their emotional levels may decline. So, making their living arrangements close to yours so that they'll always be guaranteed to see you throughout the day, was the best solution." Kotori smirked.
"..I feel like you and I never see eye-to-eye.."
"Wh- Shido! It's a great plan, admit it!" She would pout, crossing her arms, the stick from the lolipop in her mouth hanging upward to represent her dissatisfaction with his response.
"Yeah, yeah.. Well, anyway.. Where'd Tohka go?"
"Oh. The team mentioned that she overheard something about a new game title being released and went to go find out what it was out of curiosity."
"Ah.. That sounds like Tohka." Shido would nod, smiling a bit.
"Though, I would say it's not a bad idea to go check on her. If something goes wrong, you know how she may react."
"..yeah.." Shido had groaned, turning toward the distance and taking off. "Well, I'll be back!"
Kotori's smirk would return as she watched him run off, lowering her hands to her hips. "Hmhmhm.. I think he's beginning to understand his job better now."
Pushing forward a yellow and white carrier-bed mix through the halls of the hospital, Asuna had a stern look on her face, while Sho looked to her with a brow raised.
"Are you staff at this hospital?"
Asuna would turn as they were entering the elevator, pulling it in carefully as Sho continued pressing onward with his questions.
"Where are you taking Souta-kun?!"
Asuna would continue to ignore him, walking toward the buttons and pressing the B1 button twice, the 1 button twice, and then the botom two buttons at once.
Once doing so, the monitor above the buttons would drop from 1 to B1, before the sign began to spin while the down icon below tripled in number.
"Huh..? How far down are we going..?"
The sign would soon cease in its rotation, revealing that it had been reformed to read CR.
While Sho had taken a moment to sink this new information in, he would quickly spin around, stubbing his toe, seeing that the elevator door soon came to open. He would grumble to himself a bit as the two began to push the cart out of the elevator, looking around.
"I.. Don't remember this part of the hospital.."
Before them had been a man with a stern look on his face. He wore a white coat similar to Hiro's own, underneath it being what would make a neat formal dress, a clean white shirt that had been neatly tucked into the black slacks over his legs, that met with the top of his sleek black tap shoes. To top it off, he wore a plaid red tie that had sloped into his collar evenly.
"..Director..?" Sho would tilt his head.
For a brief moment, the cold gaze remained.
However, with a single look upward, his face would turn into a wide smile. "Asuna-san~ I've been waiting for you!" He would then make his way to the other side of the cart, beginning to push it. "Come on."
"Thank you. Leave the rest to us." Asuna would look to Sho for a moment, before focusing her attention on her front.
"Wait a moment! I saw it!" Sho would push against the cart, bringing it to a stop as he got their attention, him standing straight as he would look to Souta. "There was something weird writhing on Souta-kun's body!"
The Seito University Hospital Director, Hanamaru Uchikawa, had looked to him, blinking. "You saw the Bugste-"
"Director."
"Right." He would then give Sho a stern face. "You saw nothing. Stay out of this."
"I can't. I'm this boy's attending physician."
"Director's orders!" He would then turn to Asuna, his smile returning. "Let's go."
The two would then push the cart away, Sho having a look of obvious disappointment on his face, watching them go. Then, with a furrow of his brows, he would ball his hand into a fist.
Ruka would be breathing heavily, stopping as she had felt her legs becoming sore from her running, now simply standing nearby the alleyway she had been before, though having discarded her blazer during her attempt to escape her pursuer.
"Are.." She would then turn, seeing that Hiro had managed to catch up to her, gritting her teeth as she knew that she had lacked the stamina to continue the chase. "You done running..?"
"Why are you following me..?" She would reply back, huffing as much as he had.
"Well.. At first.." He would stand upright, throwing his head back as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead. His blazer had been tied around his waist at this point and his pants rolled up slightly. "I was.. Admittedly lonely.."
Her brow would shoot up to this, to which Hiro had not been surprised.
"The other reason was.." He looked toward her, breathing in. "That boy.. Something came out of his neck. Since you ran off, I figured you knew something about it.. Chased after you.. And now, I'm asking you about it.."
"..I suppose.. You would want to know.." Ruka would look to him, Hiro nodding. "Well.. Before I continue.. I'd first like to know.. You know what computer viruses are, right..?"
To this, Hiro would quirk a brow. "Of course I know what computer virsuses ar-"
"Well.. Someone has taken a computer virus that was originally only present within the game server that Genm Corporation utilized to make their games.. And infected living people with it."
"..eh?" Hiro would not lower his brow, even more confused as to her statement.
"Before long, it will start multiplying within his body, to the point that it takes over his body entirely."
"Wha- You're not serious, are you!?" He would look to her, eyes widened.
"Dead."
"Then.. Is that boy..?"
"Not yet. There's still a chance. If there isn't an outbreak, then there's a chance he may make it out." Ruka would then look to her bag. "In the case of that.."
Hiro would raise a brow. "What's that for?"
He received no response, just her grabbing the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
"Oi! Answer me!"
【 1 - 4 】
Hanamaru had been sitting on a table, which had been placed dead center in a white room that had not been lit. He had a smile on his face as in his hands was a coffee mug, that had been filled to the brim.
Asuna had been on the opposing side of the room, now fitted in a nurse attire, tapping her chin lightly. 'What I saw earlier.. Could it have been..?' She would recall back to the items that had been on Ruka's inventory, remembering them in great detail. "..could she be [...]/(Blank)..?"
"Hm? What's wrong, Asuna-san?" Hanamaru would turn his attention toward Asuna, who had shaken her head.
"It's nothing." She would then turn her attention toward Hanamaru. "Has Uchikawa-Sensei arrived yet?"
"Toshiki..? No. He should be arriving at the airport as we speak." Hanamaru would give a smile.
Asuna would then look down, before clutching her fist and heading toward the elevator.
"Asuna-san? Where are you going?"
"To find the gaming genius." She would reply as the door to elevator would close soon after.
"Ah.. Good luck." Hanamaru would chuckle a bit, raising his glass as he would take a sip from the cup, soon throwing his head to either side afterword. "..it's bitter."
Sho had walked toward the closed door to the room that Souta had been inside, scanning over what had been before him.
At the top of the door had been a sign that read...
"Computer.. Rescue..?"
He would then look to the side of him, seeing that on the key panel next to him, there had been a widget that had said OPEN, which caught Sho's attention quickly.
"Then.." He would raise his hand, pressing it lightly, looking forward as he saw the door slide open. "Souta-k-"
A blur had came past him, the male turning as he saw that once again, Souta was on the run.
"E- Wait, Souta-kun-"
Sho had then stopped, hearing a click as he made his step to go after, looking toward the source of the sound.
"Is this.." He would kneel down, picking up the small trinket he found beneath his foot from the ground, examining it, it had seemed to be the same as the character on the cartridge trinket Ruka carried in the Genm suitcase. "Ah.. It is.. Mighty, huh.." He would then turn toward the direction Sho ran off to.
"Then.. I know where he's going." He would quickly dash off.
Hiroyuki had breathed a sigh. He would then straighten his tie as he looked forward, seeing the many dozens of guests to the Genm Corporation's personal convention hall.
"I apologize for the wait.." He would raise his hand, smiling to the crowd. "Though.. After 5 long years.. The legendary game you've all been waiting for.." He would then bring his hand toward the large monitor behind him. "Mighty Action X, is completed!"
On the screen, the image character, Mighty, would spin in the air, dropping a hammer down on the vast amount of black in the background, shattering it to reveal the symbol of Mighty Action X beneath it, posing next to it.
Surrounding the stage had been several different console setups, to which their had been many lines of people waiting to get a turn playing the newest game.
Asuna would soon arrive, looking around as she saw the many different experiences each player had whilst playing the game before them.
"The gaming genius has to be here.." She would then look over, her eyelids spreading wide as she saw her current patient, Souta Suyama, in line to play. After a gasp, she would rush over, grabbing onto his hand.
"Souta-kun. What're you doing here..?"
"I'm here to play. Let go." Souta would pull against her.
"You can't, Souta. You need to be treated fir-"
Souta would soon pull his arm out of her grasp, gritting his teeth. "Leave me alone! It's almost my turn to play!"
Sho would soon arrive on the scene, breathing heavily as he would turn toward the center of the hall with widened eyes, seeing that Souta had thrown Asuna aside, his body had once again been writing with orange pixels that would emulate over his body, him screaming out loudly as his eyes would flash red,
Soon after, with another cry out, his body would explode in an orange aura, it growing much larger in size as replacing his original form, seeming to mimic the form of a meatballs, it's arms linked together by two strands that formed a double-helix, slamming it's fist around the area with a screech.
"Oh no.." Asuna would look toward it with wide eyes.
"Look out!" Sho would quickly rush forward, tackling Asuna to push her out of the way from an incoming Mighty Action X sign that fell from the ceiling.
"What.. Is that..?"
"It's an outbreak."
"Huh?!"
The two would then quickly rush outward to escape from the next incoming attack, as it had a light that shifted from it's right arm to it's left, the former appendage growing smaller while the latter grew larger, enhancing the force behind it.
"Oi!"
Hiro had been following Ruka once again, who had been hurriedly walking toward the convention hall, a scowl over her face as the bag had hung over her arm.
"Oi!"
She would continue to ignore him, having sighed as she had looked to her phone, tapping at the keyboard lightly before returning it to her bag, continuing.
"Ah mou!" Hiro would finally pick up the pace, surpassing her speed and stopping in front of her, a stern look on his face as their eyes had come to meet, her having no choice but to stop before a collision.
"Answer my question."
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because!"
Ruka and Hiro would narrow their eyes toward one another, before the former had breathed out a sigh, seeing no change in his resolve.
"Fine."
She would then kneel down, lowering her bag from her arm as she would set it onto the ground, retrieving the Genm suitcase inside. Once she did, she would get to opening it, revealing the console and cartridge inside.
Upon seeing it, Hiro would soon widen his eyes, thinking back.
"Ah.. I'm gonna be late.. Ugh.." A slightly younger Hiro had groaned, looking at the scene around him. He had currently stood at a bus station, in hopes of avoiding the rain that poured over the city around him, many cars racing by.
"Sho will definitely chew me out this time.." He had sighed, taking a seat. "..hmm.. I think I heard Sho saying something about going back to Tengu.. Huh.. Haven't been there since right after Mom died.." He would lean forward, looking down toward his hands, which he would clasp together.
"..mysterious illness.. They say that's what killed her.." He would breathe out a sigh. "Well.. The only one there at the time was Dad.. And he hasn't been around for years, so.. Sho's really all I've got now.." He would sit back, placing his hands at the back of his head. As he brought his attention forward, he would be able to make out something standing on the line between the two lanes.
"..huh?" He would blink, lowering his hands as he stood from his chair, taking a closer look.
He did, in fact, see a figure. It had been a figure in a suit entirely black, though fitted with purple highlights all over with a pair of purple sneaker-like boots, arm braces, and goggles over his red cartoon-esque eyes, all of the same purple color, rims in the goggle's case. As it looked toward him, he would be able to see that it seemed to have black hair over it's head, it being slicked to the side in a way that made it seem like it had been standing nearly straight up. Over it's chest was what seemed to be a red HUD that would show a few signs he couldn't see from his distance over what looked to be a health bar, and on the opposing side had been four circles that seemed to mimic a D-Pad, being red, yellow, blue, and green in color.
Though, what Sho noticed the most was the lime green console that had been the buckle of his belt, the lever being thrown open as underneath had been a screen that he couldn't quite make out what had been on it, though from what he could tell, it hadn't shown that much. On the left side, there had been a pair of slots that had seemed to be a tight fit from what he could tell, as a slim purple object had been occupying the first, while in his hand he held a trinket of the same shape, though it was the same lime green as the belt in color.
"Who.. Is that..?" He would try to step out of the roofed station to see them closer, though was stopped by the fact that when the next car passed by, the figure had been gone. "..wha..?"
Hiro's eyes widened. "Those are.."
"A Gamer Driver and Rider Gashat. I managed to get my hands on both of these." Ruka tightened her grip on them. "I believe.. The one who's spreading the Bugster Virus right now has a set of his own as well.."
"What?" Hiro raised a brow.
Ruka would nod. "..so.. With these.. I'll be able to put a stop to them.. And.. Amount to something more than just.." The last part had been a mumble that Hiro's attention had not been focused on, as he turned away toward the distance behind him as he saw that the creature Souta became had sprung out from the Convention Hall, climbing up the incline next to it.
"Gah- What is that?!" Hiro would blink, watching it go as Ruka would spring her head up, seeing it as well.
"Tch.. You remember that virus I told you about?"
"Yeah..?"
"Well.. It would seem that the Bugster has begun to take over that boy's body.."
Hiro would widen his eyes. Then he would look forward, falling to his knees.
"Then.. Is he.. Already..?" As he hung his head low, he would grit his teeth, before stopping, a ring going through his mind.
"..there's a way to save him."
His head would soon swing around quickly, the boy quickly looking to her with desperation in his eyes. "Tell me how!"
Ruka would then nudge her head toward the objects in her hand.
"These.. Are created solely to deal with such cases.. To combat the Bugsters.."
Hiro would look to them, his eyes widening. "You can combat Bugsters with that..?"
"If you can become a Kamen Rider, yes."
"..Kamen.. Rider..?"
She would then step forward, placing it onto her waist. As she did so, springing from it had been a strap that would buckle around the entirety of her waist's circumference, it becoming a belt.
"Don't worry.. I'll take care of it."
She would raise the Gashat in her hand, pressing her thumb against the button.
【 1 - 5 】
However, on the other side, Tohka had been continuing to play her game, oblivious to the situation around her.
"Ooh.. This is fun!"
Though, as she nearly reached the stage goal, she would stop.
The station before her had been smashed by a fragment of one of the beams overhead. She had dropped the controller as she looked with her eyes widened.
"The.. The game died.."
She would look down toward it, falling to her knees.
"It.. It was so young.."
She would reach toward the remnant pieces of what had been before her, though jumping back when she saw sparks emit from it, her ribbon springing upward afterward.
"Oh. Right. Electricity. Shido did tell me about that.."
She would lower her guard, rising from the ground as she would look around her, witnessing at firsthand the destruction that had been caused.
"What's.. Going on..?"
Tohka would only be met by the screeches of the creature that Souta became, her eyes widening as she had just now noticed it, blinking.
"..I really have lost most of my power.. Well.. It is irrelevant."
She would then raise her hand, narrowing her eyes as her body would soon be submerged in purple light, which would spread to reveal that her clothing had been augmented. Her skirt now a gradient of pink-to-white, which would extend slightly to cover over her legs more, closing more of the gap between it and her stockings, which had become a purple color. The shirt underneath her blazer had become that of a black corset, which had a feather-like rim that matched the skirt in color, the collar remaining, though unattached from the rest of the shirt, now having the same translucent gradient, and the bow tied onto it.
She would then lower her hand toward the ground, a bright light emerging from it as a hilt would spring from it, the girl grasping onto it and drawing out a broadsword that had been silver with golden aesthetics and translucent blue lining spread over the blade.
"I don't know what you are.. Meatball creature.. But. I will avenge the game!" She pointed her sword toward it, to which it had responded rashly, charging forward and throwing forward its fist, Tohka dodging swiftly with a quick jump for the air above.
Then, with a swift motion, she would throw her arm downward, striking at the creature with force. Though, to her surprise, the blade had not pierced it. While making this observation mentally, she would jump away from the creature, gritting her teeth.
"An enemy Sandalphon can't cut..? This is definitely someon-"
She would then be forced to guard as she would be thrown out the wall through the force of its enlarged fist, grunting a bit as she had flown through the air briefly, stopping herself in the air, gradually floating downwards as she moved back from the area she had been in, looking to it with a frown as she saw that it had broken through the wall, rushing toward her.
"Tohka!"
The girl would then turn, seeing Shido running toward her.
"Stay back, Shido!"
"Eh- ?"
He would then stop, seeing the creature heading toward them with wide eyes.
"What is-"
"I don't know! It's too dangerous for you here, Shido, go!"
Shido would then grab at Tohka's hand. "Not without you."
"Shido! Now isn't the time! Run!"
"Tohka, come on!" Shido would begin pulling the girl toward him, who would only pull back with more force, resulting in a tug of war whilst the Bugster had rushed toward them. The two would then soon stop, looking wide eyed as it would raise it's fist to strike down toward them, Tohka quickly getting to Shido's front and raising her sword to guard.
《Let's Game! Meccha Game! Muccha Game! Whatcha Name?!》
Tohka and Shido would soon turn, seeing a figure that had seemed to be a life sized Chibi. The majority of its body had been made of plates of white armor layered over a black bodysuit. On the left of the chestplate had been a blue HUD, having a health bar on the left that had two icons over it, a hammer and a foot. On the right, what seemed to be a D-Pad of four buttons in either direction, yellow, red, green, and blue respectively. Over it's face seemed to be a large pair of goggles which underneath had been a pair of half beady orange eyes in a that seemed narrowed, underneath a pluff of magenta that seemed to mimic hair that had been seemingly brushed to the side at the front while the rest had been combed over the helmet smoothly.
《I'm A Kamen Rider!》
"..eh?" Shido would raise a brow.
"Kamen Rider..?" Tohka tilted her head. "But it looks like a marshmallow.."
Sho would look to Asuna with his eyes widened.
"Souta-kun.." He would then look up toward where the Bugster climbed, raising a brow as he had seen a bright pink light emulating over it.
"Eh..?" Sho would slowly stand, the two rushing up the stairs to find the source of the light.
Once reaching the top, they would both widen their eyes at the result of what came out of it.
"Is that.. A Kamen Rider?"
Sho would look toward Asuna with a brow raised. "Kamen Rider? What's that?"
"Kamen Riders are those who use the Gamer Driver and Rider Gashats in order to play the games the Bugsters inhabit and defeat them, saving those infected."
"Then.." Sho would look forward. "They'll save Souta-kun..?"
【 1 - 6 】
Ruka had placed the console on her waist, a strap soon springing out from the left side, sliding across her waist and buckling into the other side, making a belt.
"Don't worry.. I'll take care of it."
She said calmly, pressing at the button on the side of the cartridge in her hand with her thumb.
...
Nothing had occurred.
"What..?" She would look to the trinket with a brow raised, attempting to do so again. Same result. "Work!" She would click at it again. "WORK!" Same result.
"Uh.. Was.. Something supposed to happen..?"
"No.. NO!" She would grit her teeth. "It's.. It's supposed to start the game! Why hasn't it started?!"
『 B.G.M. Cue: Will of the Heart「Shiro Sagisu」』
"..game..?" Hiro would look to the item in her hand, a brow raised.
"Video games again..? Hiro. You should be packing. We're leaving tomorrow, ya know." Sho would sigh, seeing that Hiro had been playing a game on his laptop, the boy turning his head to meet with his older brother's, a sheepish grin carried on it.
"Come on, now.. You're about to be in highschool, ya know.. It's best you focus on where you want to go in life."
"Eh?" He would then turn toward him. "Well, then how about I make games for a living?"
"Eh? Why that?" Sho raised a brow, leaning against the doorway to the room.
"Because. I think games can help people, ya know?"
"Oh? Is that right?" Sho would smirk, crossing his arms. "Well then. Let's see, then. Who'll help the most people. You or me. Game or Doctor."
"Hehe.." Sho would hop up from his bed, walking over to his brother with a smirk.
Soon, his eyes would widen as he looked up toward the stairs next to her, standing from the ground slowly.
"..it's on."
『 B.G.M. Change: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Level 1 - I'm A Kamen Rider「ATS-, Takehito Shimizu, Toru Watanabe」』
She would then look toward him, his eyes meeting with hers once again, though briefly time as he would quickly rush forward, grabbing the Gamer Driver and Gashat from her and racing up toward where the Bugster had been.
"Eh-" She would blink for a moment, registering what had just happened before following after. "Wait! You couldn't possibly play that game!" She would growl a bit as he had been ignoring her. "Hold on!"
"Relax."
Once reaching the top, she would see that he had been examining the Gamer Driver in his hand, placing it onto his waist. He would then look to the Gashat, scanning over it for a moment before clicking the button on it, the translucent end of it glowing a bright pink upon him doing so.
《MIGHTY ACTION X!》
Appearing behind him had been a rectangular projection, which inside of it had the image that had been on the cartridge in his hand, though enlargened to the point of clear visibility from afar. Emerging from it had been a vast pink light that had spread over the entire area around him, causing it to briefly become pixelated. As a small jingle had played from the trinket, his hair would fling back as his lips curled into a smirk.
"It.. Activated..?" Ruka would widen her eyes. "How..?"
"I think.. I'll beat this game easily." Hiro would focus his attention forward.
"That isn't an ordinary game, you know!"
"Don't worry." The first to change would be Hiro's face, which had shifted from a confident smirk to a stern frown. "I think.. I'm gonna change that boy's fate!" He would then thrust his right arm forward, leaning it toward the left, before throwing both of his hands over to his right side, his right arm bent upward in a 90 degree angle and his left bent inward to the right, also in a 90 degree ankle.
"Henshin!" He would then spin the Gashat downward in his right hand, grasping it in his left as he would then throw his left hand upward. Lowering his right arm though leaving it as far out as it was, he would slam down the cartridge, sliding it into the slot on the belt with little effort.
《GASHATTO!》
Hiro would then blink as appearing around him had been a neon pink ring that would spin around him, showing icons of six different faces, while one had been only a silhouette with a ? over them. He would carefully examine each one that passed over his field of vision before choosing the one that had matched the colors of the items he had carried, it flipping backwards as it would read Character Selected! in front of him.
《 Let's Game! MECCHA Game! MUCCHA Game! WHATCHA Name?! 》
Soon, a pink light would flash over Hiro's entire body, cowling his eyesight as after a brief moment, the light would dissolve into pixels, the male now seeing the world around him in a much higher quality than his eyes could before, looking around as it had almost been like he was wearing a VR Headset. He would then look down to his hands, noticing that.. His arms looked shorter than he remembered.
"..eh?" He would blink within his helmet as he had realized his form had been that of a white armored chibi. "What the..?" He would look around him, seeing that surrounding him had been a mass of chocolate boxes that had all been suspended in the places they were, even in mid-air. "Woah.."
《I'm A Kamen Rider!》
"He.. Transformed.." Ruka had watched him in awe, but only for a moment. "Hey! Get focused on the task at hand!"
"Eh- Oh, right." He would look toward the Bugster, which had only looked toward him with a tilt of it's head. Though, after it had ceased to access the situation, which hadn't taken long, it would raise it's arm, slamming down toward the Rider, who would jump back, dodging the attack gracefully, spinning in the air briefly before making a landing a few feet back.
"Yosha!" He would grin, dashing toward the Bugster, it ready for him as it prepared its next attack. As it came down, Hiro went up, dodging the attack again, spinning as he did so as he would bounce off of the Bugster's head, using it to trampoline himself. Once his self rotation ended, he would land atop a Chocolate Box, looking around, jumping from box to box as he would dodge the attacks of the creature with precision.
"Hmm.. It's not in any of these.." He would quickly jump again to dodge the next attack, coming down toward the Bugster as he would once again jump off it's head, somersaulting in air to perfect his landing, looking around once doing so.
"What are you doing?!" Ruka would question. "The Bugsters behind you!"
"Ah mou.. No wonder you couldn't play this game." Hiro would sigh, jumping over the Bugster's attack yet again. "You see, in order to even the odds, Mighty eats to get stronger." He would then then jump upward, rising his fist upwards to strike the Chocolate Box above him, revealing that inside had been a Hammer Icon that would follow him as he fell downward, ringing around him for a moment before it would flash with a bright light, the icon becoming the object it represented.
《Gashacon BREAKER!》
Hiro would examine the item he found, grinning under his helmet. "Ha ha! Weapon Collected!" He would then turn toward the Bugster, holding it forward. It had been a white in color that would match with his attire, the top of the hammer being a pink color that would match that of his "hair", with two buttons, A and B, which would also fit with the Gamer Driver's colors. The end of the hammer pointed forward also being a darker shade of green, though still bright.
"Come on at me!"
He would spin it in his hand briefly before rushing forward, smacking back the arm that would rain down toward him with a swift pair of swings. Hearing the sound of a snap, he would turn his head, seeing that the arm he knocked back had struck at one of the Chocolate Boxes, revealing that underneath had been a circular item that had been mainly yellow in color, with the image on it being that of a man running forward.
"Ah! Perfect!" He would rush over to it, jumping over the leg of the Bugster as it tried to stomp on him, landing in the area where the item was, as it would float upward and rotate around the Rider to avoid being crushed, soon colliding with him and imbuing him with a yellow light.
《Kousoku-ka!》
"Youssh!" He would then kick off the ground, speeding around in the fashion of a bullet as he would ricochet off of the remaining Chocolate Boxes surrounding the Bugster, striking it from all directions, before jumping off of the last brick he flew to, somersaulting in mid-air as he came closer to the Bugster, before uncoiling his body, slamming his arm down on the last rotation to mash the hammer against it's head, it flattening down before springing upwards, sending Hiro into the air.
『 B.G.M. END 』
The Rider would soon swiftly land on a Chocolate block, posing for his victory as the large creature would soon disperse into double helixes that would fly outward, simulating a massive gush of blood, as Souta had fallen down toward the ground.
The Rider would quickly turn, aiming to jump down to catch the boy, though that task had already been done for him.
"Souta-kun!"
He would see that with a flick of his white coat in the wind behind him, Sho would use one of the chocolate boxes as a leverage to jump forward and catch the falling boy.
However, to the both of their surprises, the boy had become a translucent golden.
"Eh-"
"The game's not over yet!" Ruka and Asuna would call out in sync, the two looking to one another once realizing this had been the case, both widening their eyes.
"Ah- Why are you here-"
"Wait, if you're there, then who's-"
The splatter of molecules that had spread over the area would soon float into the air, shimmering for a brief moment, before flashing gold and soon amassing over the opposing side of the field, materializing as a blue creature and a mass of orange headed figures that were dressed like chefs.
"Salty, huh..?" The Rider would soon jump, somersaulting in the air as he landed on the ground, standing in front of Sho and the boy to stand at the ready to fight the army before him. Though, he would blink as he turned, seeing an event he hadn't expected.
Shido and Tohka had both watched in awe what had just occurred before them.
"The marshmallow man did it.. He avenged it."
Shido looked to Tohka, tilting his head. "..what?"
"Heh?" The both of them would quickly bring their attention to the forefront as they saw strands gathering over the area in front of them, colliding with one another and forming one blue creature who was backed up by a multitude of others, who all wore chef uniforms.
"A- It's the ghosts of the food wanderers, Shido! Get behind me, I'll defend you!"
"Tohka, what are you talking about?"
"The game I played told me that there was ancient race of people who worshipped candy during their life time, but were haunted by that guy in blue, Salty, and were turned into wanderers by his cursed salt!"
"..that.. Actually sounds like a video game plot." A bead of sweat would trickle down the back of Shido's head.
"They're coming!" Tohka would ready her blade, pointing it toward the chefs that would charge toward them.
"Eh- Ah- Tohka-" Shido had not exactly known what to do in this situation, as the two would soon be swarmed over.
"Hyah!" Tohka would let out a cry before swinging her sword downward, the very ground around her being imbued with a blue light which would follow in the movements of the sword and fly forward in the form of a slash wave, wiping through the majority of the foot soldiers that surrounded Salty, though they had all returned from whence they came soon after.
"Eh- Are they immortal?!"
"Hmm.. So it would seem I am faced with a dilemma.. At this rate I won't reach completion.." Salty would tap what would be his chin, if not for the large machine around his neck. He would then raise a hand toward Shido and Tohka, a few of the chefs all carrying a large pot over toward them and dropping it onto the ground, the water inside of it all spreading across the ground, barely missing splashing all over them and not simply their feet.
However, this had been enough for what Salty had in mind, as he would crouch down slightly, lowering his left hand, which carried a snail-like gauntlet that had emitted electricity from it, which he would utilize to spread it across the water that had been under them, the salt particles spread across the water that would act as the conductors to pass the electricity onward over the liquid.
Tohka would go to grasp for Shido's arm, making to jump away, however the electricity reached them first as she concocted her plan, the both of them receiving shock, which had only come to be enhanced by the sword Tohka carried.
The girl would soon fall to a knee, grunting, though not taking long to rise up.
Shido, however, had fallen gracefully with a dumbfounded expression on his face, smoke puffing out of his ears and mouth.
"..ugh.."
"Shido." She would turn her attention toward Salty, who had no longer been worried about them, as his attention was on his forefront, to which she looked.
"Is that.. Tohka..?" He quipped a brow under his helmet. "No.. Couldn't be."
"You should get away now! You aren't able to control that any further!"
"What're you talking about?" Hiro blinked, looking at the belt, examining the new feature added since his transformation. "You didn't give me a manual, so of course I'll have to figure it out." He had then looked to the lever in the center of the buckle, placing his hand over it. "Wonder what this does.." He would then pull it open, looking up quickly as he saw a pink light being projected forward.
《GATSHAA! Level~ Up!》
He would tilt his head slightly as he saw what seemed to be a card floating in front of him. He would then walk toward it, being careful as he did, watching it. "What.. Is this..?" He would then reach forward, poking his finger at the projection, it flashing a bright pink as it would soon begin to move toward him, to which he backed away.
"E-Eh? Eh? Hold on!" Before he could do anything else, it would cover over him, shrouding his body in a pink light once more, though it had become a magenta color as Hiro would blink, tilting his head. "I think.. I get it now."
《Mighty JUMP!》
Hiro would jump upwards, throwing his arm into the air as a sparkle would appear above his fist.
《Mighty KICK!》
He would then somersault in mid-air, kicking forward as a sparkle would appear over his leg, it would also be apparent that the armor seemed to become much looser.
《Mighty, Mighty Action.. X!》
He would then spin in the air again, the chibi body shattering, seeming to only leave the helmet crashing down toward the ground. Though, just before the landed, the rest of Hiro's body would emerge from within the head, revealing that he had been in a much slimmer suit, matching his body-type much closer. His bodysuit seeming to resemble that of a shirt and shorts unified which had been guarded over the shoulders by a pair of shoulder pads, all colored magenta, alongside black arm and leg sleeves that had been seperated from the rest of the suit by a pair of green bands at each end. The black lining on the side of the shirt would only lead up to the HUD chest-plate, which had been smaller to fit on the lower scaled mass of this version of the suit. On his feet had been a pair of boots that resembled green tennis-shoes with magenta traces down the side.
Over his knees being a silver armor plate that would align with the one that went over the center of his lower legs. Behind the green that had collared around his neck had been the mask of the previous form, though lacking the yellow in its eyes.
Appearing in Hiro's hand once again had been the Gashacon Breaker, which Hiro had smirked under his helmet once catching.
"I think.. No.. I know.." He would then pose, shifting his torso to the right as he threw his hand towards the left, flicking it outward. "I'll clear this game with no continues!"
『 B.G.M. Cue: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Level 2 - I'll Clear This Game With No Continues!「ATS-, Takehito Shimizu, Toru Watanabe」』
"He.. Leveled up..?" Ruka would widen her eyes as she watched Hiro charge out toward the Bugsters before them.
"The marshmallow man transformed?" Tohka would notice rather easily as she saw him come closer to Salty's forces. Though, she would simply shrug and continue to fight the Bugster minions that surrounded her with ease. The only problem for her being that they wouldn't stay down.
Hiro would jump over the minions before him, landing behind them as he would quickly spin around, knocking them back with the hammer in his hand, a HIT sign appearing over them each time.
"Heh. This is pretty useful."
He would then flip the hammer over his hand as the rest of the minions came after him, the Rider continuing his assault on them. Dodging one after the other's attempts to strike him with their cooking utensils, jumping onto a chocolate box and knocking them down from above.
Though, just as he had struck the last one, he had been struck at the back by Salty, who utilized his electricity ability to shock him, succeeding as it would cause Hiro jump back back a bit, rubbing at his back.
"Ack- What the-" He would then spin around, being put on the evasive as he would dodge the next few thrusts toward him. Though, before it could come any closer to his face, he would quickly raise his hands, clapping them around his wrist as he would just stop it by a hair, sighing in relief.
『 B.G.M. Change: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Level 2 - I'll Change My Patient's Fate!「ATS-, Takehito Shimizu, Toru Watanabe」』
"Don't get cocky!" The Bugster would pull his arm back, pulling Hiro along with it, swinging his arm toward him, which the latter would evade, throwing his head downwards.
He would then lean backward, jumping up and kicking off of Salty to create distance between them, landing with a flip as he had raised the Gashacon Breaker, pressing the A Button lightly. In response, the top of the hammer had opened slightly, coming out had been a small structure that been magenta in color, the magenta seeming to form spines over the main white object, which would unfold to form a sword.
《Jaa Kin~!》
"Jaa kin~!" Hiro would mimic the sound as he had gotten into a battle-ready stance. After a brief pause, he would charge toward the Bugster before him, throwing his arm forward, slashing at him with each move.
"Urgh!" After a few slashes struck, Salty would catch the blade with his left hand, the snail construct over it emitting electricity that would conduct through the sword, shocking Hiro again, before pulling him forward and punching him in the chest, which would knock Hiro back a bit.
Though, Hiro would quickly recover as he had caught onto the ground, looking around at the chocolate boxes surrounding. "Hmm.. Alright. I think this will do." He would slash through one of the boxes, it revealing that another power up had been inside, which Hiro would take. Upon it making contact with him, his body would flash with a red-violet light as he rushed forward.
《HANSHA!》
Salty's first move had been to strike Hiro with his snail gauntlet again, though failing to electrocute him as a shield shaped projection would appear in front of him, electrocuting Salty instead. Once the projection disappeared, Hiro would slash him back again, following up with a kick that would cause him to tumble back.
After completing his course of action, Hiro would drop the hammer in his hand, it fading into pink pixels as he would grasp at the Gashat in his Driver, bringing it over to the new slot added onto the left side of his belt, which would have attached to it two extra slots that could carry Gashats. Blowing into the end of the Gashat, he would slide the cartridge in hand into the uppermost slot, it letting out a 《GASHATTO!》 sound before he would then click the button beside the slot.
《Kimewaza..!》
As it had begun to ring, Hiro would take a breath, bringing his foot back as turquoise energy would begin to gather around his foot. Once having prepared himself, he would click the button again.
《Mighty... Critical Strike!》
..would appear over him as his eyes shone a bright yellow, the male grinning under his helmet as he had motioned his finger for the Bugster to come at him.
Salty, seeing this, would growl, rushing toward him. "Do not insult me, the great Salty!" He would cry out as he would then go to swipe his arm at the Rider, who would only jump to evade.
Once doing so, he would kick forward, striking at Salty's chest, before flipping backwards off of him, kicking a few more times as the pattern would cause Salty to be lifted off of the ground. Then, upon the last kick that would cause him to soar high up into the sky, Hiro would backflip, landing on the ground, as the turquoise energy would soon gather around his other foot, which he would raise at the exact timing necessary to strike the falling Salty in the chest and send him flying back a few feet.
『 B.G.M. END 』
As the Bugster would cry out in pain, it's body would explode in a mass of pixels that would scatter over the field.
《Kaishin no.. I-ppat-su~!》
Hiro would then spin around, raising his fist to the air as he placed his other hand on his hip, a smirk under his helmet. He would then stop, looking up as surrounding him had been ten panels that were shaped much like the logo on the Gashat, spinning around him for a brief moment before it stopped on the singular panel that had matched that of the illustration on the cartridge in his buckle.
《GAME CLEAR!》
He would then chuckle a bit as he looked toward Souta, Sho and Asuna, who had all been happy over the fact that the boy was no longer transparent within Sho's arms. However, he would then stop, turning as he would see the large screens on the buildings surrounding had all clicked on suddenly, showing three figures, one of which Hiro recognized.
『 B.G.M. Cue: Enemy Unseen「Shiro Sagisu」』
"Greetings, sheep of Tengu City.."
The citizens passing by had all looked up toward the screens over their heads, all bickering amongst one another.
"Who is that..?"
"What's going on?"
"Sheep?!"
"If you weren't aware.. The Genm Corporation you all hold so dear has been deceiving you. To them, you are all nothing but mindless game pieces who are all to serve as stepping stones for their successes.." Appearing on the screen had been three silhouettes, who faced different directions.
"Genm Corp?"
"Is this thing for real..?"
Standing in the crowd had been a male who wore a pair of aviators over his pitch black hair which had been combed leftward, the left lens resting comfortably over the bangs. His attire had simply consisted of a black leather jacket which had a yellow stripes down the right sleeve, while it had only been around where the elbow would be on the left sleeve. On the back of the shirt was a yellow magnifying glass shaped border around a sign that said S.I.D. on it. He had a simply grey shirt underneath with the a gray-blue stripe across the chest. His pants had been a pair of baggy black jeans that hung down to his ankles, a pair of converse shoes on his feet that had been yellow around the edges, with a white center that had been topped with black laces.
"Seems there's finally something we can look into.."
"So.. Now you are aware of this information.. Will you remain loyal to Genm Corporation..?"
Inside of a grey 2016 Toyota Supra had been a male with well combed brown hair that leaned to the left, matching well with his dark chocolate eyes. He wore a black vest over his blue dress shirt which had been neatly tucked underneath his black slacks which had fit well with his black dress shoes.
On his breast pocket, there had been an ID that had read Toshiki Uchikawa.
"..what a waste of time.."
"For those that will.. They too will fall victim to the virus we spread. What is this virus? The ministry of health you trust knows."
Inside of a destroyed building, a man had been watching from his phone, which had been plugged into a box, which had several different cables plugged into it which had led to the circuitry in the building.
He would be wearing a navy jacket with yellow target shape designs over the sleeves and on the right side of the chest. Underneath it being a black shirt that read STG across the center. Underneath these he wore a pair of camo pants that had been fitted with a pair of black combat boots. Over his head had been a mass of dirty blonde hair that brushed over his forehead that ended with iced tips.
The man would look behind him, setting the phone down next to him, seeing two men on the ground who had been crawling toward him. He would then rise up from his seat, reaching over to his back pocket, revealing that there were two objects in the pouch that hung over the back of his leg, a knife, and what seemed to be a navy colored Gashat, from which he grabbed the former. Slowly drawing the weapon, he would spin it in his hand and then quickly throw it down, stabbing through the man's neck.
"Well.. That bastard's finally making their move.."
He would then look upward, standing up from his crouch position as he would then sigh, hearing a snicker behind him as he would turn, seeing a girl walking out from the shadows. The girl wore a dress made of red and black frills, it being matched with an ornate, translucent veil choker, alongside a pair of puffy, black sleeves over her forearms which hung down to the center of her hands, her thumbs sticking out lightly from them as she would look toward the male with a smirk.
"Hmhmhm.. What are you going to do..?"
"Hmph. What I have to."
He would avert her gaze, simply walking past her, as she would let out a small giggle.
"We are the ones who were born from the sins of Genm Corporation- No. Of Hiroyuki Sato. Genm Corpse. We will bring ruin to their false glory, and those that stand with it."
The broadcast would end, each of the monitors they were on cutting out.
『 B.G.M. END 』
Hiro, seeing this had then blinked, slowly turning back toward Sho and Poppy, who would both look to the screen, then to him.
"..uh-"
"GO!" Ruka would quickly rush forward, grabbing at the transformed boy's hand and pulling him off toward the distance, Sho quipping a brow as he watched them go off, wanting to shout for them, but his attention was more on Souta, who he looked to with a smile.
"Well.. For now.. You're safe, Souta-kun."
"Eh- Shido, let's go!" Tohka would pick up Shido from the ground, Shido still having the dumbfounded expression on his face as he was pulled along.
"But.." Asuna would stand, raising a brow. "They almost looked identical.."
In the Genm Corp building, Hiroyuki had been sitting back at his desk, watching the video from a monitor which sat on the right side of the desk, which had been cluttered with products that varied from toys to game copies.
"Genm Corpse, hm.." He would tap his chin as he had chuckled. "They may affect sales.. Though. If I make the right use of this development.."
He would then turn his attention forward, his assistant from the early release conference having been the one to arrive in his office.
"You called for me, sir..?"
"Yes. I would like to you to call Iwanaga here."
The assistant would nod to Hiroyuki's request, turning and stepping out the door, retrieving his phone from his pocket shortly after. The latter would soon turn in his chair, his attention being brought to the window view behind him.
"It would seem that there is someone after me directly.." He would frown, looking down for a moment. Though, once his head raised, his attention would be over the vast city of Tengu below. "How amusing."
Ruka had pulled Hiro to an alleyway, where which the armored boy hadn't the slightest clue as to why he was.
"Eh? What did you do that for..?"
Ruka would then turn toward him, crossing her arms.
"I should be the one asking you that question. You suddenly took the Gamer Driver like that and fought those Bugsters. You know how dangerous that is, right?"
Hiro would shake his head lightly, pushing the lever back over the belt's front, retrieving the Gashat from the slot. Once doing so, his body would emit a pink light, which the suit would soon fade into the light, revealing Hiro's form underneath.
"It didn't seem all that bad to me. Play the game, save the infected." He would spin the cartridge in his hand. "Right?"
She would sigh, crossing her arms. "No. It isn't that simple. Did you not see what's likely been broadcast throughout the city?" She would walk over to him upon seeing him nod, swiping the Gashat from his hand. "You're now likely a suspect in what caused that boy to gain the Bugster virus."
"Eh?! But I didn't even know what it was until just about an hour ago!" Hiro would slump his shoulders.
"Well, they don't know that until they hear your testimony. In court." Ruka would cross her arms.
"..oh. That's.." Hiro would turn his head away slightly.
"As I thought. You getting caught would be a problem for the both of us." She sighed. "I don't know how, but you're capable of transforming into a Rider. That means that in order to achieve my goal, I need you."
Hiro would then sigh. "Man.. Why have all the fun video games been turned into something so serious.." He then began to walk away. "This is an absolute stress.." Hiro would then raise his hand, placing it over his head.
"Hey. Pay attention. There's something we need to focus on!" She would remark, smiling a bit as she saw him stop. "Thank you. Now, as I was sayi-" As she walked forward to face him at his front, she would be able to see why it was he had come to a stop.
"..marshmallow man was.. Hiroki?" Tohka had dropped her jaw, her hairtie flapping briefly.
"Hi..ro..?" Shido had been next to her, also carrying a shocked expression as he had winced a bit, an object in his ear vibrating.
"Oh.. Crap." Ruka and Hiro stated in unison.
〖See You Next Game...〗
【In the Next Game...】
『 B.G.M. Cue: EXCITE -Instrumental-「Kanata Okajima」』
「Do you know what you've picked up?!」
"You know.. I have nothing to be called while transformed." Hiro had dismissed his Rider transformation, turning toward Ruka, who had shook her head with a huff, before walking over to Hiro and pulling the Gamer Driver off of his waist.
"What does that matter?"
"It matters a lot!"
Sho had been walking down the hallway, turning his head to see that Toshiki had been walking by, a small box of cake in hand. He would then turn toward him. "So that's the Director's son.."
In the CR Room, Hanamaru had looked to Toshiki, who sat on the table, biting into a piece of the cake before him softly. "So Toshiki, to brief you on the situatio-"
"Not now." Toshiki would turn toward Hanamaru, a small bit of frosting on his cheek. "I am in the middle of relishing in this cake."
Asuna would then puff her cheeks, crossing her arms. "Ah mou.. You're not taking this seriously!"
「Brothers on two sides of the same front..」
The transformed Hiro would be in the middle of combat with a new Bugster, which had been completely red in white, though with some black coloring underneath its mainly present coloration, with a checker-like pattern over its right leg. In it's hand would be a red quarter staff that had carried a ruby atop of it, which had a bright glow as he slammed it down toward the ground, a circle of light appearing under it, which would soon cause a pillar of flame to emerge from the ground under Hiro, who had been flying upward toward a chocolate box, smashing through it as he had bumped into a power up, his body becoming a hard silver before he crashed down toward the ground.
As a fireball flew toward Ex-Aid, it had been stopped by a wave of blue mist, which would cause it to disperse just before striking the Rider. When he turned, he would see another Rider, who had a blue color to them and seemed to resemble that of a European knight, holding onto the sword in his hand tightly, which had resembled a flame.
"Another.. Rider..?"
The two would soon rush forward toward the Bugster, both raising their arms to attack.
Hiro would be the first to strike, slashing at the Bugster before him, who had backed slightly in response. However, upon the other Rider's arm moving downward, it would strike Hiro, rather than the Bugster, knocking him back slightly.
"Eh- What was that for?!"
"You're the one distributing the virus, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about?!"
「Collide..?」
"With this.. I can save them.." Sho would look in his hand, staring down at a sky blue Gashat, that's image had been two swords on either side of the Taddle Quest title, the side of a castle being the background. He would then raise his head, looking forward as he would narrow his eyes. "I'll do it.." He would then raise his hand, pressing his thumb against the button.
"Henshin!"
The blue Rider Ex-Aid encountered would be standing in the center of a church, spreading their arms out from their center as several Bugster minions dressed like mages would charge toward him.
「Though.. Who is the true enemy..?」
Both Ex-Aid and the blue Rider would be struck at their chests, dust picking up from where they were as they flew back, tumbling as they touched the ground.
When they looked to the source, they would both raise their heads as they saw that the black Rider who resembled Ex-Aid had emerged, equipped with the console-like armament Graphite carried over his wrist.
"Were you.. The culprit?!"
「Who hails this game?」
"I got a name!" Hiro would pop his head out from his tent, which would be inside of a large box-like room, which he had been over a second floor that stopped midway through the halfway point of the building, the other three, Tohka, Shido, and Ruka, looking to him from the bottom with a brow raised.
"You're still on about that..?"
【 Level 2 : A Life Bet On Brave.
(レベル2 : ブレイブに賭ける人生。)】
『 B.G.M. END 』