Hello Fanfiction readers! Ashbel Longhart here back with another Second Verse chapter! And I must say, the last chapter garnered a lot of positive reviews when compared to the chapter before it. It honestly surprised me how much everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Here's hoping I can get the same reaction for this chapter. Now then, before I continue, cue disclaimer!
(Disclaimer: I do not own Senki Zesshou Symphogear G or Kamen Rider Faiz. I also don't own any songs that appear in this story either. They all belong to their respective owners. All I own is this story and my OC's. Please Enjoy.)
Now then, to recap the last chapter, things went from bad to worse. Haru got captured by Smart Brain, Kanade lost the Kaixa Gear, and Hibiki's condition has gotten worse. Things don't seem to be looking good for our heroes. Unfortunately, not much happens in today's chapter. It's mostly things that are set up for the next chapter, not sure when'll I'll be able to get that one out. But let's not talk about the future now. Instead, let's take and see how everyone is holding up. Open Your Eyes For The Next Faiz! Let's ride!
Kamen Rider Faiz: Song of Paradise
Second Verse
Song 9: Plans For The Future
(Last Time)
"It's been quite a long time since we've last seen each other, Yamamoto-san."
"Yamamoto Haru, I am Xiao Li. I've been asked by the Head President to bring you to him."
"The heck's happening to her?"
"Greetings, ladies. I'm Takuma Itsuro of the Lucky Clover."
STANDING BY
"Henshin."
"I...I transformed...!"
"Don't move."
"Forget about me! Just take those two away from here!"
"Clinical trials have shown that the higher the sync rate, the less recoil is incurred! Now that I've injected you full of LiNKER, you can sing as many Superb Songs as you want!"
"Set Harmonics!"
"Could she have...protected us? But why?"
"I'll save your friend, I promise!"
COMPLETE
"Well now, this feels nice. No wonder the president was obsessing over this."
"Dammit, they have the Kaixa Gear now! As if things weren't bad enough with Haru-san missing and Hibiki's condition."
"Just what in the world has my daughter gotten involved in?"
"Moving on, the Shénshòujìng, which is needed to break the seal on the Frontier, and the Nephilim's Heart, which is needed to activate the Frontier, are finally in our grasp."
"I want you to protect Hibiki-kun."
"You, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, harbor not the slightest trace of Finé's soul. You are simply the kind girl I've always known."
"Mom?"
"Finé's soul failed to reincarnate in any of the potential vessels. That is all."
*SHINE!*
"What...What's going on?"
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Yamamoto Haru. I am the current president of Smart Brain here, Murakami Kyouji. Please, have a seat. We have much to talk about."
(Insert masterpiece by Mami Kawada)
(Instrumental) The song starts as blurry images play at high speed appear. While some images were hard to make out, the image of a fire and ruins, the Relics, the Rider Gears, the Wolf Orphnoch's hands covered in blood, and then the caged Nephilim could be made out before the title appears.
(To aru nichijou wa parallel world ikusen mono jikan ni) The scene shows Hibiki in class, staying after school, but to her surprise, she wasn't the only on there. The camera expands outward to show that with her in the class is Tsubasa sitting next to her right, Chris sitting next to her left, and sitting in the back in the far corner is Haru looking out the window.
(Onaji mono nado nai masutaapiisu de orinasu jikuu e) We then see the hooded man leaning against a display window of a random store. He lifts his head up to reveal violet-colored eyes before the scene changes to the Crane Orphonch up on the roof a building, looking ready to jump and take flight before the scene changes again to Psyga in the air, flying around.
(Kakinagutte hakushi no shinario ni pensaki ga kooru) The scene then changes to the 2nd Division's new submarine base as everyone else worked on monitoring the data and info in front of them while Ogawa stands next to Genjuro who had the Delta Gear in a briefcase in hand.
(Originality mezase! douse kono michi o yukun dakara) The scene then changes to the hidden base of the organization, Finé. Professor Nastassja, in her wheelchair, is seen monitoring the Nephilim. Shirabe and Kirika are seen together as their Relic necklaces shine under the light. Maria is seen holding a damaged Relic piece in her hands as she thinks about her late sister and a certain boy that held a special place in a heart. Finally, Dr. Ver is seen grinning madly wielding Soloman's Cane as a shadow of the Nephilim is seen behind him.
[Shinjite] (Kakenukete) [Tooku made] Haru as Faiz and the girls in their armor are seen with their weapons drawn. Across from them is Maria and the others, donned in their armor with their weapons out and ready as behind them were the Kamen Riders Neo-Alpha, Pyron, and Seeda.
[Kanjiru] (Daichi o kette) [Daichi kette] Both groups stare off at one another before both groups move and attack.
(Nanika no tame ni kogare, ikiteru kanshoku wa kitto) Chris is seen facing off against Kirika who throws scythe blades at her while she counters with bullets from her Gatling guns. Meanwhile, Hibiki is seen facing off against Shirabe who throws saw blade at her while she punches and kicks them away.
(Darenimo makenai chikara ni Naru) Tsubasa and Maria are seen clashing weapons until they are broken apart by the sudden appearance of Orga who pushes Tsubasa back before he turns to look at Maria before clashing weapons with her as the Crane Orphnoch and Psyga are seen facing off against Dr. Ver and the Nephilim.
(Shiawase tte tabun kono shunkan onore ga shiru) [When I believed it] Haru is seen facing the three enemy Riders by himself until Kanade and Genjuro as Kaixa and Delta appear to help him, each Rider taking on another Rider.
(Kono kandou o atarashii peeji ni kizamu) [I can go to the next stage] Explosions litter the entire area as Haru was pushed back only to bump into Orga and Pysga. The three Riders look at one another before they all jump up and kick forward towards their intended targets; Haru at the enemy Riders, Orga at the Nephilim, and Pysga at Maria and her girls.
[It's only my thing, 'highest masterpiece!' hoo] Everyone looked up at the three kicking Riders as their kicking feet glow brightly, blinding everyone until the camera moves to show off the moon surrounded by a ring of the rubble of its broken piece before the song ends.
(Now)
There were a lot of things Haru wanted to do right now. One of those was to punch the man in front of him, but doing that would only get him in more trouble than he already is right now. Plus, even if he did attempt it, the man known as Murakami Kyouji would have probably caught it and fought back.
"I do hope your stay here was to your liking?" Murakami asked as the Smart Lady laid down two cups of tea right in front of them before stepping back.
"..." Haru didn't respond back, merely crossing his arms and glaring at the man before him.
"Come now, Mr. Yamamoto, why the silent treatment?" Murakami said, trying to appear polite and harmless. "Is this about how we brought you here?
"..." Haru didn't respond back again though his glare grew in intensity at the mention of how he was brought here in the first place.
"You'll have to forgive us for the rough treatment," Murakami said, taking a sip of his tea before setting it down. "But you must understand that you, my friend, have given us at Smart Brain quite the amount of trouble."
"We are not friends," Haru said, finally speaking.
"On the contrary, I like to think we are," Murakami said, gesturing to Haru and himself. "After all, we are Orphnochs, both you and I and everyone else in this room."
"And the people of this company?" Haru asked.
"A few of them are humans, but most of our staff are Orphnochs just like us." Haru held back at clicking his tongue. Looks like his plan of going wild in order to escape was a no go after all.
"I'm surprised you'd allow humans into your company considering you're trying to go to war with humanity," Haru said.
"You of all people should know that we Orphnochs are low in numbers. It is why we're trying to increase our numbers every day," Murakami said, picking up his tea to drink it again.
"All in the hopes of replacing the entirety of humanity with Orphnochs, becoming the dominant species on Earth," Haru said, blurting out the goal of the company.
"That's right," Murakami said, finishing his tea and setting down his cup on the table in front of him. "Also, it's as the saying goes: 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'"
"And what does that make me?" Haru asked with an eyebrow raised.
"That depends on how you answer my next question," Murakami said.
"And that is...?"
"I won't beat around the bush. Mr. Yamamoto, won't you join us here at Smart Brain?"
"...huh?"
(With Maria)
"Hah!"
*SLICE!*
With one swing of her spear, Maria donned in her Symphogear, destroyed the Noise in front of her. Two more Noise sped towards her like bullets, but she destroyed those as well with another swing of her Armed Gear. A group of Noise then ambushed her, trying to overwhelm her, but simple use of her cape took care of those trying to pill on her.
'We, the Receptor Children, were orphans gathered together as potential hosts for Finé's soul,' Maria thought to herself as she battled the Noise around her. 'However, the fact is that none of us, not me, Shirabe, or Kirika, were able to take on her soul...which is why Mom had me pretend to be her.'
The threat of the falling moon was a problem not known to the public. Only they knew about such a disaster happening. However, even with this knowledge, there was very little they could do. They were but a small group of children with powers that couldn't even change the situation. Not only that, but while Nastassja was a smart woman, there was only so much she could do what with her old age and her condition getting worse as time passed. Which is why they sought the aid of Dr. Ver.
'We needed that man's assistance. To do that, Mom had me pretend that Finé's soul had been reborn in me,' Maria thought. Using her cape to block incoming Noise, she raised her spear and shot a beam of light, piercing through a group fo Noise.
While the man's sanity was questionable, Dr. Ver's intellect was hard to argue against. By making him think that they had the edge in heretical technology, they brought the man to their side. While she hated to admit it, their group only got this far thanks to the doctor's aid, not to mention he was their main source of producing the LiNKER drug they used. And yet...
'Mom said I didn't need to pretend to be Finé anymore,' Maria thought, thinking back the conversation she had with her mother-figure this morning. She couldn't understand it. The woman who had told her to play the part of Finé was now telling her she could stop acting. But why? Why now? With the Shenshoujin and the Nephilim's heart in their possession, they were nearing the end of their goal. Why tell her that when now of all times was so crucial?
*BEEEEEEEEEEEP!*
Suddenly, the alarm went off, stopping Maria from finishing off another Noise in front of her as it as well as the Noise around her disappeared into data bits as the area around her transformed from an abandoned city to that of a steel room, showing that everything had just been a holographic simulation.
"Maria," Lowering her weapon, the woman turned to the one who called her and found Shirabe standing by the door of the training room.
"Shirabe," Maria canceled her transformation as she walked over to the raven-haired girl.
"Are you all right?" Shirabe asked, looking concerned. "You've been really quiet ever since Kiri-chan and I came back."
'Leave it to Shirabe to take notice,' Maria thought to herself before speaking to the girl. "I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind. I came here to clear my head a little."
"Don't push yourself too hard," Shirabe said before fidgeting a little. "He...Natsu would have wanted you to take it easy, especially during a time like this."
Maria looks at the girl in surprise before a wistful smile appears on her face.
"Yeah...that does sound like something he'd say," Maria said, thinking of the boy she fell for so long ago. Sighing, Maria looks back at Shirabe and asks, "And? What about you? How are you doing?"
Not only was Shirabe suffering from LiNKER overdose, but she also heard about the incident that happened earlier from Kirika and Shirabe.
"I'm fine now, no need to worry. The doctor said I'm no longer suffering from the overdose. Kiri-chan's okay too," Shirabe assured the former idol before she suddenly frowned and looked down. "Though..."
"Is something the matter?" Maria asked, clearly noticing the worried expression on Shirabe's face.
"I'm not sure," Shirabe said as she raised her head. "Kiri-chan's been acting weird ever since we got back. She insists she's fine, but I'm not so sure."
"Kirika?" Maria said as she thinks back. The blond had seemed fine to her, though her mind had been preoccupied with what Nastassja had said to her earlier and thus, she could have missed something.
"Well, if you think something is wrong, then just keep an eye on Kirika," Maria said after some thinking. "Just as Kirika tries to protect and support you, you, in turn, should try to support Kirika in case anything's wrong."
"Support Kiri-chan..." Shirabe repeated, thinking for a moment before nodding her head. "Okay, I understand. Thanks, Maria."
"It's no problem at all," Maria said, waving it off. They were all Receptor Children after all, they had to support each other whenever they can.
"So, is there anything else you needed from me?"
"Oh! That's right," Shirabe said, remembering why she had come to see Maria in the first place. "Mom called for you earlier. She said we're almost there."
"I see," Maria said, her face neutral. So they were almost at their destination.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll go see Mom now," Maria said. Shirabe nodded in response before walking away as Maria went a different direction, all the while still thinking about what her mother-figure had said to her and what they meant.
(2nd Division Submarine Base, Medical Room)
In the medical room, Hibiki was staying in, all the doctors and nurses have long since left after double-checking to make sure Hibiki's condition was stable. Currently, the only ones in the room right now besides Hibiki were Genjuro and the other girls. Hibiki's family was here previously, but they had left with Ogawa to get an explanation of everything going on right now. With the Tachibana's now gone, Genjuro was free to tell the girls about Hibiki's condition.
"This is a scan of Hibiki-kun's body," Genjuro said as displayed on the screen next to Hibiki's bed was the girl's current condition. "The Gungnir in her body as worked its way deeper and has multiplied to the point that it's created a new organ. This is the source of Hibiki-kun's vast power and the thing that's eating away at her life."
"So it's gotten worse..." Kanade said, not liking what she and the others were seeing.
"Ehehehe..." Hibiki suddenly laughed, albeit awkwardly. "In other words, each time I activate the Gungnir in my chest, it fuses with me. So you want me to use it as little as possible? Ehehe..."
"Enough!" Tsubasa nearly shouted, stopping Hibiki from laughing. "'As little as possible?' Don't be stupid! We're telling you that you are banned from any and all combat hereafter!"
"Tsubasa-san..."
"Don't you get it? If you keep this up, you're going to die, Tachibana!"
"That's enough!" Chris said as she separates Tsubasa from Hibiki, standing in between the two. "This dummy knows well enough."
"..." Not responding back, Tsubasa promptly takes her leave from the room.
"I should go after her," Kanade said, following after her friend, but not without giving a few words to Hibiki herself. "Don't worry, Tsubasa's just showing that she's worried about you, we all are. But I'm confident you'll pull through this."
"Kanade-san..." Hibiki looks at the redhead who just gives her a big smile before leaving the room to follow Tsubasa.
"She's right," Genjuro said, going up to Hibiki and patting her head. "Our medical team isn't completely useless. They're doing everything they can and have made good progress using the data Ryoko-kun left behind."
"Shishou..."
"They'll find a cure soon enough," Genjuro reassures the girl. "Until that happens, there's nothing wrong with taking a break. Just take it easy and rest."
"I...understand..." Hibiki said, hanging her head a little.
*BAM!*
Not too far away from Hibiki's room, Tsubasa went and punched the wall next to her as tears of frustration ran down her face.
'A sword has no need for tears. So why...can't I stop crying?' Tsubasa thought as feelings of anger and frustration welled up inside of her. 'Have I failed as a sword bound to protect my comrades?'
"You'll break your hand if you do that," A voice suddenly spoke up as Tsubasa found her fist being grabbed and pulled away. Turning, the bluenette saw Kanade standing right next to her, holding her hand.
"Kanade..."
"You're frustrated at your inability to help Hibiki," Kanade stated, knowing full well what Tsubasa was feeling. "You're worried about her, we all are, but I'm confident she'll get through this. We've all seen how tough she is."
"...and what about you?" Tsubasa asked, looking worriedly at her best friend. The injuries Kanadfe sustained had already been healed, but she was more worried about her friend mentally.
"I'm fine, for the most part," Kanade said, shrugging her shoulders before looking down and frowning. "Still kinda pissed at myself for losing the Kaixa Gear."
"It's not your fault. You were fighting one of the Lucky Clover," Tsubasa said, thinking back to her fight with Mr. J months ago. The fight had been brief, but she could clearly tell that the Crocodile Orphnoch was strong.
"That doesn't change the fact that Smart Brain now has two of our Rider Gears now," Kanade said, absentmindedly kicking the wall.
"And we still have to think of a way to rescue Haru-san," Tsubasa added in, worried for the man.
"Yeah, but we shouldn't worry too much. Haru-san's the most stubborn out of all of us. He won't roll over and croak, no matter what those guys do to him. We just need to focus on getting him out of there and taking back those Gears."
Tsubasa nodded, though the worry was still evident on her. Seeing this, Kanade hummed to herself before developing a teasing smile.
"And hey, when we do rescue him, why not ask him out on a date?"
"Yeah...wait, what!?" Tsubasa nodded her head until she realized what Kanade had said and shouted while blushing. "A d-d-d-date!?"
"Yep," Kanade, while still smiling teasingly, went and wrapped an arm around Tsubasa, bringing the bluenette closer to her. "You won't get anywhere if you just stand by and watch. You gotta take action before the other girls can make their move."
"B-Baka! It's not like that!" Tsubasa exclaimed as she pulled away from Kanade's hold. "I just really respect Yamamoto! Sure, he's a bit blunt, reckless, and foul-mouthed, and he's far from being considered an honorable warrior—"
"That's putting it lightly..." Kanade interrupted slightly, thinking back to the nutshot Haru gave to Psyga. Just thinking about it made her wince while also feeling bad for the White Rider.
"But!" Tsubasa spoke up. "Although he may be a bit crude and crass, he is a reliable ally that I feel lucky to have on our side. He has done much for both you and me, and everyone else here."
"Yeah, you're right about that," Kanade nodded in agreement, thinking about everything Haru had done since joining the 2nd Division. She wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him, not to mention all the other stuff he's done for the girls here.
"He's done a lot for us...which is why you should pay him back by inviting him on a date when we rescue him!"
"Kanade! Can you please just drop that!?"
"Never!" Kanade exclaimed before she went and grabbed her friend by her shoulder, giving her a look of reassurance. "Don't you worry, Tsubasa! This Wingman Kanade will make sure you get that date and increase your affection points!"
"This isn't a game! And will you stop calling yourself that?"
"But I like this name!"
Around the corner, Ogawa was watching the two best friends mess around with each other. He had come here to remind Tsubasa about her appointments, but after seeing this, the man decided that such things could wait for another time and left with a smile on his face.
(Later)
The time was quite late as the sun had yet to rise over the horizon. Hovering over the waters of the ocean, the ship the FIS resided in was cloaked in its usual camouflage, hidden from plain sight with only the moving waves below being an indication of their location.
"Maria, proceed," Nastassja ordered the woman.
Doing as told, Maria kept one hand on the controls as she used her other hand to press a button. Outside, a section of the ship opened up before a capsule was launched into the air. Parts of the capsule opened up and acted as helicopter blades to keep the capsule airborne while the bottom part of it extended into a reflective circle.
"Shuttle marker deployed," Maria informed.
"Cut the stealth and start gathering energy from the Shenshoujin," Nastassja instructed and Maria did as told.
Cutting off the ship's stealth, Maria drove the ship around into it's needed position as the Shenshoujin relic was activated.
"The Shenshoujin, excavated from the Nagano Prefecture's Mt. Minakami, is a mirror relic," Nastassja spoke, informing Maria and the others with her of what kind of Relic the Shenshoujin was, while also possibly trying to pass the time as the ship was charging energy. "It has the ability to warp light, blending into surrounding areas, and ancient texts speak of its power to exorcise evil."
While it was unsure how true those ancient texts were, the Shenshoujin was truly a unique relic that stood out from others. The reason being, after many experiments, is because the Shenshoujin has the power to neutralize other relics.
"With the Shenshoujin's ability to neutralize a relic's power, we can undo the seal on the Frontier," Nastassja said, about to pull the trigger that would fire the gathered energy of the Shenshoujin, only for Dr. Ver to stop her.
"Breaking the seal on the Frontier means revealing its existence," Dr. Ver said. "We can wait for our preparations to be completed, can't we?"
"There's no need to worry," Nastassja said, making Dr. Ver back off as the woman resumed her previous action. "Remover Ray, discharge."
Pulling the trigger, a purple ray of energy was fired from the ship and towards the capsule in the air. The ray was then reflected off the capsule and down towards the sea where it continued unabated. The sight alone made Dr. Ver smile in mad excitement.
"With this, the seal on the Frontier will be broken. It will break!"
Down below in the sea, the Shenshoujin's ray struck the seabed and after a while, something happened. Pockets of air came bursting out from cracks as said cracks began to spread. Seconds later, an explosion occurred as the sea soon started to bubble.
"It will break! It will...!" Just as Ver was on the verge of ranting, whatever was happening down below the sea and ceased, much to the confusion and disappointment of the doctor. "It...it didn't break? It didn't break the seal?"
Kirika and Shirabe were confused as well until Nastassja spoke up and explained.
"There isn't enough power. Even with mechanical amplification, the Shenshoujin's power cannot break the seal on the Frontier."
"Did you know this?" Dr. Ver asked, looking angrily at the woman as he noticed the tone Nastassja spoke as if she already knew this result would happen. "You're a specialist in relics. I can't for one second imagine that you failed to realize this when you first investigated this area. Did you bring us here merely to demonstrate how far we still are from unsealing the Frontier?"
"I believe we need to discuss the important details of what will come next," Nastassja said to the doctor's displeasure.
'Mom?' Maria stared at her mother-figure. Like the doctor, she too couldn't fathom why they had come here only to show how far they were from their goal. It's almost if...she did it on purpose.
(2nd Division Base)
"It's slightly off?"
"Yes," Ogawa nodded as he walked together with Genjuro who was looking down at a tablet in his hand displaying the results of the moon's orbit the others had researched. "According to the others, the results they found contradicts the data NASA publicized. And they're not good."
"This flies in the face of the US government claim that the change in the Moon's orbit caused by the Lunar Attack would not be a problem for centuries," Genjuro said, gripping the tablet slightly as he thinks back to the words Dr. Ver had said back at the Kadingir. "So the FIS made their move because they knew the Moon would fall sooner than later."
"You know, I'm starting to see why Haru-san keeps saying he doesn't trust the government so much," Ogawa commented, causing Genjuro to let out an amused huff as he agreed with the man.
"Still though, we can't be sure if the FIS has any good intentions when they say they'll try and stop the moon," Genjuro said. While it sounded good and all, the words had come out of Ver's mouth and it was clear that the mad man couldn't be trusted.
"So what should we do?" Ogawa asked.
"For now, nothing, unfortunately. We still don't have enough data to conduct a plan and having lost two of our Rider Gears to Smart Brain as well as Hibiki's condition and Haru's capture, we're low on manpower."
"We're in quite the bind," Ogawa commented, frowning.
"Yeah, and that's only most of our problems," Genjuro said as he handed the tablet to Ogawa before the two stopped in front of a door which soon opened to reveal a handcuffed Crane Orphnoch sitting at an interrogation table...and eating half of what used to be foot-long Subway sandwich.
Seeing the two men, the Crane Orphnoch paused in her eating(which confused the two men since they couldn't see a mouth on her) before she swallowed whatever was in her mouth and asked, "...is lunchtime over?"
"No, no, keep eating. Don't mind us," Genjuro said, walking over to the table and setting down a metal briefcase he had been carrying with him. Opening said briefcase, the buff commander then proceeded to put on the Delta Gear around his waist before grabbing the Delta Phone from the case.
"What's with the Gear?" The Orphnoch asked, eyeing the belt around Genjuro's waist warily before she resumed eating.
"Insurance, for myself," Genjuro said as he sat down in front of the Orphnoch while Ogawa stood to the side keeping an eye on things. "We have you handcuffed and all, but I doubt those things can even hold you for a while. This is just for my own safety."
Taking a moment to finish her sandwich, the Crane Orphnoch wiped her hands clean with a napkin before addressing the redhead.
"Rest assure, commander. I don't go around killing people unless they give me a reason to."
"Oh? And what sort of reasons make you kill?"
"When someone threatens my friends and loved ones." The way the Orphnoch had spoken so fiercely caught the two men by surprise before the Orphnoch visibly calmed down. "You and your men have done neither, so you do not have to worry about me causing a ruckus."
"Well, that's good to hear, I guess," Genjuro said, placing the Delta Phone on the table and sliding it to the side of him as a display of trust to the Orphnoch. "Now then, I think it's time you told us what we want to know."
"I have already told you everything. I saw that Haru, your friend, was in trouble and swooped in to help, but he insisted that I get those two women away from there. I didn't know where else go so I instead brought them to Lydian where I knew those girls of yours attended."
"And you knew we'd find you and take them in for safety."
"That's right," The Orphnoch nodded. "...are they...?"
"The Tachibana's are fine, rest assured. They're with Hibiki-kun right now," No doubt getting an explanation from the girl about her involvement with them. "But that's not what I'm asking here."
"You want to know more about my onii-chan and Psyga," The Orphnoch stated.
"We are both trying to stop the FIS. I do not see any reason why we have to fight," Genjuro reasoned, but the Orphnoch remained silent, telling the man that she wouldn't tell him anything about her group. Seeing this, Genjuro tried asking a different question.
"Why are you and the others trying to stop FIS? From what we've seen, there's obviously some history between you two."
"Me and Psyga are completely unrelated to the FIS. It's onii-chan who's trying to stop them."
"Your brother?"
"Maria-chan...is a very important person to onii-chan. Shirabe-chan and Kirika-chan too. Onii-chan is doing everything he can to stop them because what they're trying to do is wrong."
"They're trying to prevent the moon from falling," Genjuro pointed out.
"And they're working with a man like Ver in order to accomplish that," The Orphnoch said, bringing up the mad doctor. "It's plainly obvious that the man can't be fully trusted. But the fact that they are working with him shows that they don't trust the government you and your organization work for more. Why do you think that is?"
"What are you saying?" Ogawa asked for both him and Genjuro.
"The FIS, originally, was an organization made by Finé who you knew as Sakurai Ryoko at the time. Maria-chan and the other girls were a part of a group of orphans the organization kept locked up as they experimented to see who would become Finé's next vessel should Ryoko ever die at some point."
"And that new Finé is Maria," Genjuro said.
"Wrong," The Orphnoch shot the man's words down. "Maria-chan isn't the next rising of Finé."
"What?"
"The truth is, Finé failed to reincarnate into any of the children the FIS held. There is no new Finé. Who you're fighting against is just a small group of girls trying to save the world."
Both men looked at the Crane Orphnoch flabbergasted at the information she had just dumped on them.
"But then, why is your group opposing the FIS?" Genjuro asked, trying to wrap his head around why Orga and the others were fighting against Maria's group.
"As I said before, Psyga and I aren't in any way related to the FIS. Only onii-chan is," The Orphnoch said. "Onii-chan is only concerned about one thing: Saving Maria-chan and the others from the grip of a mad man."
(With Hibiki)
"I'm sorry!" Kanade nearly shouts as she bows towards the two elder Tachibanas.
"K-Kanade-san?" Hibiki, who had been sitting right next to her, looked at the redhead in surprise.
Meanwhile, both Yuuki and Madoka looked at the bowing girl in confusion. The Tachibana family plus Kanade was currently at a cafeteria built into the submarine base. Said cafeteria didn't really serve food as more times than not, the crew members would just bring their own food so the place acted more like a public dining room. The mentioned family had gotten hungry and Kanade who had been passing by offered to go out and get some food for them. By the time the redhead had returned, Hibiki had just gotten finished telling her family the basics of her involvement with the 2nd Division. Only after setting down the food she had brought, she had chosen to buy some Chinese, she went and suddenly bowed to the two elder Tachibana's much to everyone's surprise.
"Uh, please, raise your head. There's no need for that," Yuuki said, feeling awkward from the girl's sudden bowing. "Why are you apologizing to us?"
"Hibiki here already told you everything about her involvement with us, right?" Kanade asked, double-checking.
"We got the bare minimum from Ogawa-san earlier, and we just heard Hibiki's part in all this. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the things Hibiki's told us," Yuuki said before getting a closer look at Kanade. "You're...Amou Kanade, aren't you? From Zwei Wing?"
"That's me," Standing up straight, the former idol gave the woman a smile. "I'm surprised you know me. I stopped singing two years ago."
"Our Hibiki is a big fan of yours," Madoka said, smiling. "Even after what happened at the Concert Hall Tragedy, she went and bought every CD album she could get her hands on. There's even a poster hanging on the wall of her old room."
"Obaa-chan!" Hibiki exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment at what her grandmother had just revealed.
"The Concert Hall Tragedy..." Hearing the name of the event that happened years ago, Kanade frowned before lowering her head. "Two years ago, during the concert Hibiki attended, it was because of my carelessness that your daughter got hospitalized. She's here because of me."
"Kanade-san..." Hibiki looked at her senior, surprised to see this side of her.
"I know you may have your worries, but rest assure, Hibiki here has been a great help to us," Kanade said. "Even still, the fact is that she's here because of me. I...just thought I should apologize to you two for getting Hibiki involved in all of this."
"Kanade-san! There's no need for that," Hibiki said, trying to get the redhead to stop.
"She's right, there's no need to lower your head like that," Yuuki said, looking slightly awkward as she got the redhead to raise her head. "I'll admit that I'm still very confused about all of this, but there's no need for you to apologize. Yes, my family and I went through some tough times after the incident, but we pulled through. And if what I've heard from Hibiki is correct, she seems quite happy to be here as it allows her to help people."
"That's right!" Hibiki said as she went and grabbed Kanade's hands, surprising the redhead. "Kanade-san! It's thanks to you that I have the power to help people from the Noise! While it may have been an accident, I don't regret ever receiving this power from you!"
"Hibiki..."
"That's why there's no need for you to be sor—!"
*growl~!*
Any tension that had been built up until now was soon blown away by the sounds of Hibiki's stomach growling, much to the girl's embarrassment.
"Really!?" Hibiki looked down and shouted at her stomach as if it could talk back. That alone caused Kanade and the elder Tachibanas to start laughing, causing Hibiki to turn even more red with embarrassment. "Stop laughing!"
"Sorry, sorry," Kanade said, wiping away a tear that had formed before she smiled and picked up the food she had brought earlier. "Why don't we all start eating now?"
"That sounds lovely," Yuuki said as the Tachibana family plus Kanade all sat down and began eating. As the food was passed around, a thought came to Hibiki.
'Strange, didn't Miku say she was going to come over and talk with me about something?'
(With Miku)
"Gochisōsamadeshita(Thank you for the meal)," Miku said, wiping her mouth clean with a napkin.
"You're very welcome," Yugo responded with his usual smile, taking away the bowl that used to hold a Veggie-Packed Tropical Curry. "So? How was it? I saw this recipe in a book and I thought I try it for today's menu."
"It was very good," Miku said with complete honesty. "Not too spicy yet sweet at the same time. It was very delicious!"
"I could tell since you asked for seconds," Yugo said, smiling in amusement while Miku looked bashfully. "But thanks anyway. It's my first time cooking curry like this so having another mouth to taste test it was a big help."
"Don't mention it. I was happy to help," Miku said before thinking to herself, 'Maybe I should bring Hibiki here next time? Yeah, that sounds like a good way to relax. And after that, we can...'
"Is something the matter?"
"Huh?" Miku was brought out of her thoughts when Yugo suddenly spoke up.
"Sorry. I don't mean to pry, but you seem more quiet than usual," Yugo pointed out. "I was just wondering if anything was bothering you."
"Oh, it's nothing to be concerned about," Miku insisted. "It's just a friend of mine who has had a few...problems lately, and I was thinking about how to help her is all. It's nothing you need to worry about."
"If you say so," Yugo said before adding, "However, feel free to ask me for help. I know we barely know each other, but you're a regular here like Kirika-chan so I feel like I should lend a hand if I can. I can't do much besides cooking, but..."
"That's very kind of you, Yugo-san," Miku said, smiling at the man's kindness. "But's fine. It's nothing serious."
"If you say so," Yugo said, shrugging his shoulders before he got back to work, cooking more food in hopes of attracting more customers over.
Miku took this as her cue to leave, having already paid for her meal as she left the cook to his business.
"Help, huh..." Miku mutters to herself as she walks by her lonesome. Thinking back to Yugo's offer, she didn't feel like she needed any help. Genjuro's words about how she had to protect her best friend from further fighting were still fresh in her mind. However, with Hibiki's family now involved, this complicated matters.
"...maybe it couldn't hurt to text him," Miku said as she took out her phone and scrolled through her list of contacts. Thinking about it, it's been a while since she's lasted contacted her online friend. Eventually, she found who she wanted:
Kurenai.
Miku's Message: [Hey, it's me. How have you been? Sorry if I hadn't texted in a long while. A lot of things have been happening so I wasn't able to find a good time.]
"And send," Miku said to herself, looking down at her phone waiting for a reply.
...
...
...
...
...
*beep!*
"Ah! He responded!" Miku said, not noticing that a smile had appeared on her face as she read the message she received.
Kurenai's Message: [Hey, Hinata-chan! Long time no text! How've you been?]
Miku's Message: [I've been doing well, thank you for asking. You're not busy, are you?]
...
Kurenai's Message: [A little, but I can spare a few minutes. What's up?]
So he was busy? She better make this quick then.
Miku's Message: [My best friend has been feeling down lately, and I want to do something to cheer her up.]
...
Kurenai's Message: [I see. What ideas do you have so far?]
Miku's Message: [I was actually thinking about taking her to the Skytree.]
...
Kurenai's Message: [That sounds good. I've been there myself once and the place is great. Anything else after that?]
"Anything else...?" Miku mutters to herself, realizing that she hadn't planned for anything after the Skytree visit. A beep from her phone alerted her that Kurenai had sent another message.
Kurenai's Message: [Judging from your silence, I'm guessing you don't have any further plans. In that case, why not take her out to eat? Good food never fails to cheer someone up.]
"Take her out to eat..." Miku read the message out loud, thinking about the suggestion. That did sound like a good idea, knowing Hibiki and all. Maybe she should also invite her family? ...No, she probably shouldn't do that. There's no telling if Smart Brain was still after them or not, so it was probably best that it was just her and Hibiki. Then again...
Miku's Message: [That sounds good. I'll try that. Thanks.]
...
Kurenai's Message: [Happy to help. Anyway, I gotta go. A friend of mine needs me right now.]
Miku's Message: [I understand. Take care.]
And with that, Miku closed the messaging app and went online to buy tickets for the Tokyo Skytree.
"I wonder where I should take Hibiki to eat?" Miku wondered out loud. It didn't have to be someplace fancy, but a fast-food place was a no go.
As Miku walked with her head in her phone, she passed by an advertising board showing Smart Brain's (in)famous mascot, the Smart Lady, with her hands cupped in front of her as beautiful-looking butterflies flew out of her hands. The Smart Brain logo was situated right in front of her woman as the company's slogan was placed right under the logo for all to see.
Just seeing this made Miku pause and frown before lowering her phone.
"Is now really the time to be doing this?" Miku thought out loud to herself, looking a bit ashamed of herself. Here she was, setting up what was basically a date between her and Hibiki while the man her friend has had a crush on since middle school was in the hands of the enemy. She knows that everyone at the 2nd Division was trying to come up with a rescue plan, but that didn't change the fact that she felt so...useless.
"Is there really nothing I can do?" Miku mutters to herself before she shakes her head to get rid of such thoughts. "No! I can't think like that! I just have to trust in the others that they'll save Haru-kun."
That's right, that's all she can do. Trust the others. Right now, everyone was doing all that they can. And right now, what she can do now was try and lift her best friend's spirit—
*Boom!*
Miku's thoughts were cut short as she, along with every person in the area, jumped in surprise at the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"What the...?" Confused, Miku turns around and spots a trail of smoke rising in the distance. "That's..."
(Earlier, with Haru)
Once again, Haru found himself brought over to Murakami's office. Guards were stationed by the door while Murakami sat right across from him, enjoying a cup of tea. How he so wanted to deck the man right in his stupid face. The only good thing Haru could point out was that the Smart Lady was not here today.
"I hope you had a good night's rest, Mr. Yamamoto?" Murakami asked as he set down his teacup on the coffee table between them.
"It was...fine," Haru said. His 'cell' per se was a simple white room complete with white furniture. He couldn't help but feel like the holding cell looked more like a hospital room than a place to hold prisoners.
"That's good to hear. We at Smart Brain try to make sure that all our guests are given the minimum amount of hospitality no matter who they are," Murakami said.
"Geez, that sure nice of you," Haru said in a sarcastic tone.
"As the current president of Smart Brain, I represent our company as a whole and thus must keep up an image," Murakami said before he decided to end the small talks and got right to business. "Now, about yesterday's offer..."
"You want me to join you," Haru said, remembering just what the man in front of him had asked yesterday.
"We are all Orphnoch's here. It's only logical that we stand side by side as comrades in arms," Murakami said, trying to appeal to him. "Smart Brain was created just for that purpose."
"And what makes you think I'll join after everything I've done?" Haru said, pointing out the number of Orphnochs he's killed over the past two years since coming to this world.
"It's true that we've lost quite a lot of men because of you. You even went and killed the previous president, though it's thanks to that that I'm currently in the position that I am now, so perhaps a part of me should thank you for that."
Haru glared at the man at that, but Murakami remained unfazed and continued speaking.
"You having the Faiz Gear in your possession caused even more problems for us, not to mentioned confusing us as to how you even use the belt's powers, until recently," As Murakami spoke, the office room door opened as a woman carrying a familiar-looking briefcase walked in. Turning his head, Haru's eyes widen at who the woman was.
Black hair that reached past her shoulders. Dressed in a white dress shirt and black dress pants. The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties and, as reluctant as Haru was to admit, was quite easy on the eyes. However, Haru knew better.
"Here," The woman walked over to Murakami and handed him the briefcase she had been carrying.
"Thank you, Miss Kageyama," Murakami said as he sent down the briefcase down on the coffee table before looking back to Haru and gesturing to the woman. "Allow me to introduce my associate, Miss Kageyama Saeko."
"A pleasure," The now named Saeko gave Haru a small bow accompanied by an alluring smile.
'Kageyama Saeko...a Lucky Clover member,' Haru thought, identifying the woman's true identity and kept a wary eye on her.
"Now then, back to what I was saying," Murakami said, talking as he opened the briefcase. "You've caused quite a lot of trouble for our company, but with the revelation that you too are an Orphnoch, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones." Spinning the briefcase around, Haru saw that laying within was his Faiz Gear.
"I will ask you once again: will you not join our company as a fellow Orphnoch? In return, we're willing to give back the Gear you stole from us. We even have the perfect job for you to utilize the Faiz Gear."
"...And what job is that?" Haru asked though he had a good guess as to what this job was.
"To track down Renegade Orphnochs," Murakami said, speaking in a business-like tone. "I'm not sure if you know or not, but not every Orphnoch are willing to join us."
"Geez, I wonder why?" Haru sarcastically said, but Murakami continued without skipping a beat.
"There are still those that cling to their humanity. Should you join us, your job is to locate and try to persuade those into joining our cause."
"And if I can't?"
"I'm sure you can figure out the rest," Murakami said, pushing the Faiz Gear further forward to imply what should happen if Haru was unable to persuade those into joining Smart Brain.
Haru looks down at the Faiz Gear, his Faiz Gear presented in front of him before he looks up at Murakami.
"You already know my answer."
*GRAB!*
As fast as he could and practically flying out of his chair, Haru leaped forward in an attempt to grab the Faiz Gear, however, faster than he could blink, the man's neck was grabbed before he was pushed back and slammed into the ground hard.
"Ah ah ah~!" Taking a moment to gather his bearings, Haru saw that the one holding him down was none other than Saeko, wagging her finger in front of him as if she were looking down on a naughty child.
"I knew that would be your answer," Murakami said, practically paying no mind to Haru's current situation as he closed the briefcase containing the Faiz Gear and handed it over to one of the suited men, instructing him to take it away. "However, as a fellow Orphnoch, it's only common courtesy to allow my fellow man a chance to pick his side. It's unfortunate that you didn't choose ours."
"What should I do with him, President?" Saeko asked while Haru struggled to break free from the woman, but the Lucky Clover member's hold on him was stronger than Saeko's appearance would imply.
"He's made his choice," Murakami said, leaning back in his chair and adjusting his tie before giving out a chilling command. "Dispose of him."
"Yes sir," Still smiling, Saeko released her grip on Haru's neck only to grab a hold of his shirt, lifted the man up, and swung him around before throwing him away.
"Gah!" Haru let out a grunt when he felt his back crash against a wall before falling down. Scrambling up to his feet, Haru glared over at Saeko who just continued to smile at him.
"It's unfortunate, boy. Usually, I would send a bottle of wine to those I'm about to kill, but orders are orders," Saeko said before her form changed.
Gone was the beautiful woman and in her place was an Orphnoch bearing the characteristics of a lobster with its gauntlets and head being a dead giveaway.
"Well, sorry for you, but I don't drink," Haru said before crossing his arms and swung them out...only for nothing to happen. "What?"
"Oh? You still don't know how to transform into your Orphnoch form?" Saeko pointed out as she manifested a rapier into her right hand. "Then I guess this will be easier than I thought."
"Shit!" Haru cursed as he quickly ducked under a stab from the Orphnoch's rapier, the blade just barely missing his hair as it stabbed straight through the wall behind him as if it were butter. Haru then quickly rolls away before springing back up to his feet only to quickly move his head to avoid another stab from Saeko, just escaping with a cut on his cheek.
*Froosh-Froosh-Froosh-Froosh!*
In Haru's eyes, it was like Saeko was wielding four rapiers instead of one as her arm was a complete blur. The sharp tips all aimed for his head, forcing Haru to move his head around a lot in order to avoid getting his eyes stabbed out, escaping only with a few cuts across his face.
"Hah!" Suddenly changing her movement, Saeko swung her weapon, catching Haru by surprise. It was only through luck that Haru lost his footing and fell back, narrowingly avoiding the blade that would have sliced off his eyes. Falling down on his back, Haru quickly rolls back and gets back up to his knees, noticing a few strands of his hair fell down before he felt a trail of blood travel down his face, informing him that he had a new cut on his forehead.
"Hmm, you're surprisingly quick-footed," Saeko commented, a bit surprised that Haru had managed to dodge most of her attacks with minimum damage.
"I'm not so easy to kill as you think," Haru said, thinking fast as he rushed over to the coffee table, grabbed it, and flung it off the ground and towards the Lobster Orphnoch.
"Oh please," Scoffing at Haru's attempt to attack her, Saeko simply swung her rapier upward and sliced the coffee table in two only to reveal Haru coming at her with a flying kick, having used the table to mask his attack.
*GRAB!*
"What!?" Unfortunately for Haru, Saeko was quick to react as with her free, left hand she went and grabbed Haru's kicking foot, stopping the attack.
"Naive," Was all Saeko said before she went and threw Haru coincidently at the same wall from before, crashing into the same spot as last time.
Haru quickly tries to get up, but only gets as far as sitting up before Saeko's rapier stabbed right through his left shoulder, getting a cry of pain from the man.
"Fufufu..." Saeko laughed to herself as Haru tried to remove the blade from his shoulder using his right hand only for the Lobster Orphnoch to respond by pushing her blade further in, getting another pained growl from the man as the blade cuts his hand.
"You did your best to survive up until now, but I'm afraid our little dance comes to end here," Saeko said as she looked down at Haru who glared back at her. "Frankly, I expected a lot more from the man who defeated Mr. J. Any last words?"
Haru only growls in response as he glares at the Lobster Orphnoch...until his eyes widen, confusing the Lucky Clover member. Her confusion grew when the man began smirking.
"As a matter of act, I do," Haru said before gesturing with his head. "Look behind you."
Saeko tilted her head in confusion, wondering what the man meant and if he was trying to pull something. However, with her enhanced hearing, the Smart Brain assassin picked up something.
*fwoooooooooooosh~!*
It was a strange sound akin to when an airplane was flying through the air. Saeko noticed Haru's smirk growing bigger and this prompted her to turn her head around like Haru said before.
*CRASH!*
No sooner did Saeko turn her head around did a familiar white and cyan Rider come crashing through the window, surprising everyone as the Psi-themed Rider landed on his feet and faced everyone in the room.
"Knock, knock!" Psyga said before he raised the blasters of his Flying Attacker and opened fire.
Quickly kicking the Lobster Orphnoch away from him, which also resulted in the rapier in his shoulder removing himself, Haru threw himself to the floor just as a barrage of Photon shots flew right over his head. He could make out pained cries, no doubt from the Riotrooper men who didn't even have time to transform as they were gunned down. Soon later, the entire room was filled with dust, clouding everything in the room.
Once things had finally calmed down, Haru used his good arm to push himself up, shaking off the dust on him. Rubbing his eyes to be rid of the dust in them, Haru blinked a few times before squinting to see if he could make out anything through all the dust in the room.
"Hah!"
Not even 3 seconds later was all the dust blown away by a simple swing of Saeko's rapier, making it easier to see now. The Lobster Orphnoch then looks around to try and find any signs of Psyga—
*BANG!*
Only to get shot from behind, getting the Lucky Clover member to cry out in surprise and pain as she was sent rolling on the ground, her back slightly smoking.
Lowering his blasters, Psyga quickly makes his way over to Haru and helps him up to his feet.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine," Haru said, holding his bleeding shoulder. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you."
"We can talk later. Right now, we need to get out of—!" Psyga never got to finish as he quickly turned and kicked away and incoming stab before bringing the same leg back around and kicked forward, sending Saeko stumbling back before she recovers and brandished her rapier.
"Cyan-colored Photon Veins...I see, so you're one of those mysterious Riders that gave Xiao Li and the others trouble."
"The name's Psyga," Psyga introduced himself. "Can't say it's a pleasure to meet one of the infamous Lucky Clover. I don't suppose you can find it in your heart to let us walk away?"
"Fufufu, you're a funny one. I think you already the answer to that."
"Well, it was worth a shot," Psyga shrugged his shoulders before he quickly grabbed the handles of his Flying Attacker. Saeko saw this and rushed forward, stabbing forward in order to stop the Rider from raising his blasters again. What she didn't expect was the Rider to suddenly pulling the handles out, causing the jetpack to come off of him as the Psi-themed Rider was now armed with two tonfas called the SB-315T Psyga Tonfa Edges.
Rushing in with his new weapons, Psyga used his left tonfa to bat away Saeko's rapier before delivering a punch straight to the Orphnoch's face with his right, sending the Lucky Clover member stumbling back as she held her face. Closing in as to not give the Orphnoch time to recover, Psyga flipped his left tonfa around until it was blade out and swung it around here it struck the side of her stomach, making the Orphnoch bend over before Psyga swung his right tonfa, punching Saeko across the face, sending the Lobster Orphnoch down to the ground. Flipping his right tonfa around, Psyga punches down, intent on stabbing and finishing off the Lucky Clover Member only to receive a rapier blade to the chest, making the Psi-themed Rider stumble back, allowing Saeko to get back up.
Shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness, the Lobster Orphnoch held up her rapier as blade flames started covering the blade before she swung her weapon, sending a flaming slash towards the white and cyan Rider who crosses his arms to block the incoming attack. The result was that while Psyga did manage to block the attack, the power behind it sent him skidding backward.
With flames still covering her blade, Saeko sent two more flaming slashes towards Psyga before she dashed forward. The Rider ducked and rolled under the incoming slashes before rolling up to his feet where he raised his left tonfa to block Saeko's blade. Psyga then swung his right tonfa only for it to be blocked by the Lobster Orphnoch using her free hand as she batted aside his tonfa and proceeded to punch the Rider across the face, sending him reeling back as Saeko used this chance to throw in another stab, successfully striking the Psi-themed Rider across the chest where he flew back and landed right next to Haru.
"Oi!" Haru cried out as he helped Psyga up.
"Damn! I thought my Gear would allow me to overpower her, but I guess she isn't a part of the Lucky Clover for nothing," Psyga said as she stood back up and faced the Lobster Orphnoch.
"I can see how you gave Xiao Li and the others so much trouble now," Saeko said, running her free hand across her face as to massage it from Psyga's previous punches before her eyes wandered down to the Rider's belt. "That Gear..."
"Hey, eyes up here!" Psyga jokingly said as he charged forward to engage the Lobster Orphnoch—
*BOOM!*
"Gyah!" Only to be blindsided by a blue fireball hitting him from the side, sending the Rider flying where he crashed down onto the remains of the coffee table Haru had thrown earlier.
"What the—!?" Surprised and confused as to where that attack had come from, Haru turned to his right and saw Murakami standing there with his right hand stretched out.
"Enough of this," Murakami said, adjusting his tie as he gestures with his head for Saeko to step back. "Stand aside, Miss Kageyama. I'll deal with this intruder."
"Are you sure, President?"
"The longer this goes on, the more my office will get wrecked in the process," Murakami said. "Now step aside. Even I need to let out some steam every now and then."
"As you wish," Saeko said as she returned to her human form before stepping back.
"So, the big boss wants to join in on the fun now, huh?" Ignoring how his body was slightly smoking, Psyga shook off the wooden splinters as he pushed himself back up to his feet and faced the company president. "This is turning out to be quite the big game here."
"Game?" Murakami raised an eyebrow at Psyga's use of phrasing before deciding to ignore it and spoke. "If this is a game, then it will be a very short one."
"Heh, maybe," Psyga smirked under his helmet as he reaches down and opens up his Psyga phone, dialing: 3815.
FLYING ATTACKER TAKE FLIGHT
Suddenly, to the far left of Murakami, the Flying Attacker which Psyga had discarded earlier suddenly came to life as the trusters came to life and the jetpack took off.
"What!?" Surprised, Murakami barely managed to duck, dodging the incoming jetpack as it flew around the room at random. Saeko herself had to duck when the seemingly wild jetpack nearly took her head.
"Come on!" Using this chance, Psyga ran over to Haru, grabbed him by wrapping an arm around his waist, and proceeded to lift and carry the man under his arms as the Rider made a break for towards the window he had come crashing through.
"Hey! Wait a minute! What are you-!?"
"Hang on!" Was all Psyga said before he proceeded to throw Haru out the window before following after him. Soon after, Psyga's Flying Attacker, as if knowing its user was out of the room, soon flew out and followed after the Psi-themed Rider.
With his limbs spread out, Psyga remained silent even as he was falling from fifty stories. As the user of the 'Belt of the Skies,' there was no need for him to panic and as if backing up his belief, the Flying Attacker soon caught up with the falling Rider as it reconnected itself to the Rider's back before he reconnected his Tonfa Edges back into their slots, giving him full control of the Flying Attacker again as the Rider soon took to the skies.
Now as for Haru...
"WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA~!" He was screaming his head off which was natural as he was falling fifty stories high and had nothing to help him break his fall. Luckily for our hero, help soon arrived.
*ZOOM!*
Faster than Haru could react, he found himself being grabbed right out of the air, no longer falling to his death. Haru thought Psyga had gone and caught him, but as regathered his bearings and looked up, he found himself in the arms of none other than—
"Orga!"
"Hang on," Was all the omega-themed Rider said to him as he kept one arm around Haru while the other was used to drive and steer his Rider vehicle, flying away from Smart Brain as Psyga followed close behind.
Standing by the broken windows of his office, Murakami simply watched the two Riders escape with Haru in tow. Saeko soon joined him and asked, "What should we do now, President?"
"Contact Xiao Li. You and Mr. Takuma are to work with him and hunt down Mr. Yamamoto. He knows too much."
"Understood," Saeko said, giving the man a quick bow before taking her leave.
"Also," Murakami spoke up just as Saeko reached the door.
"Yes?"
"Please send Mr. Tatsuya to me. There are a few things I still need to ask of him."
*SCREEEEEEEEECH!*
Skidding to a stop, Orga makes sure to keeps a good hold on Haru as to make sure the man doesn't go flying off from the rough landing. Seconds later, Psyga catches up and maneuvers his jetpack to gently land.
"Whew! That was rough," Psyga said, rolling around his shoulders and neck.
"Are you all right?" Orga asked his fellow Rider after turning off the engine of his bike.
"I'm fine, just a few bruises. The armor took most of the damage," Psyga assured his partner before turning to Haru. "You should be asking him that. You okay there?"
"I'm all right," Haru said before wincing as he places a hand over his bleeding shoulder.
"We should get that bandaged up," Orga said, releasing Haru and getting off his bike before walking over to a toolshed. It was then Haru realize just where the two Riders had taken him.
A wooden cabin situated in the middle of the woods. Said wooden cabin didn't look freshly built, but it wasn't old either, telling Haru that this place was built not too long ago. To the right of it was a toolshed which Orga had just walked into to fetch something, probably a first aid kit Haru guessed.
"Where are we?" Haru couldn't help but ask as he wasn't paying attention as to where the two Riders were taking him.
"Our base of operations, kinda," Psyga said, adding that last part in at the last second. "This place isn't that far from the city, so it's convenient whenever we need to head out at a moment's notice. The place is pretty homey too so that's an added bonus."
"Uh-huh, and why did you bring me here?" Haru asked, confused as to why they had brought him here. Weren't they afraid that he would tell the 2nd Division about this place?
"I'm wondering the same thing," Psyga said, he too confused as to why his partner had decided to bring Haru here.
"There's been a change of plans," Exiting the toolshed, Orga returned with a first aid kit in his hands. "Our machines picked a huge energy spike last night. That old hag Nastassja must have tried to break the seal on the Frontier."
"So we're getting close to the climax," Psyga said.
"I wouldn't be so sure just yet," Orga said as he opened the kit in his hands and began the process of bandaging Haru's wound by starting with tearing off his shirt.
"Hey!" Haru exclaimed, feeling a bit violated.
"Relax, we got a few shirts we can spare you. Now let me see that." Orga said as he started disinfecting the wound.
Haru gritted through the process as he watched the black and gold Rider bandage up his wound, even getting some of the cuts on his face. He couldn't help but notice the amount of care the Rider was putting into when taking care of him.
"So, what do you mean we're not at the climax just yet?" Psyga asked, bringing the topic back to what Orga had said earlier.
"Right," Orga talked as he wrapped bandages around Haru. "Nastassja is a smart woman. Even with mechanical enhancement to amplify the Shenshoujin's powers, she and her group shouldn't have the power yet to awaken the Frontier."
"So the fact she tried to do it is what's confusing," Psyga guessed and got a nod from the omega-themed Rider.
"Not only that, but our bug picked up something. Apparently, Nastassja is taking Maria to the Tokyo Skytree tomorrow to meet up with some government agents from the US in order to gather more resources."
"They're meeting with government agents even though they're terrorists?" Psyga asked, raising an eyebrow under his helmet. "And they're meeting up at the Skytree? As in, the Skytree that's open to the public?"
"I know, this is too of an idiotic move from Nastassja. It makes no sense as to why she would do this," Orga said as he finished bandaging up Haru. "There, that should do it. Normally, if you were a normal human, that would take at least two weeks to heal. However, since you're an Orphnoch, you'll make a full recovery after a good night's rest."
"Geez, being an Orphnoch sure is convenient," Haru commented as he rubs his bandaged shoulder.
"Well, we are the next step in human evolution after all," Psyga commented.
"...you still haven't explained why you brought me here," Haru said, getting right to the matter.
"...after my sister, the Crane Orphnoch, flew away with the Tachibanas, she sought your allies at the 2nd Divison for their protection," Orga said. "As of right now, she's in their custody. You're gonna help me get her back."
"Oh! So I'm a bargaining chip."
"That's right." Orga bluntly said as he closed the aid kit and walked back towards the toolshed, but not before giving some instructions to Psyga. "Yugo, I'm going to confront Nastassja and Maria tomorrow at the Skytree, so I'm leaving getting Kyoko back to you."
"Roger, aibou," Psyga gave his fellow Rider a two-finger salute before the black Rider disappeared into the toolshed. Now with just the two of them, Psyga went and turned to Haru. "Now then, let's get you some new clothes to wear, or at least get you a new shirt and maybe some food in you. Or maybe you'd like a shower? I mean no offense, but you kinda smell."
"None taken," Haru said, not bothered by the Rider's comment as Smart Brain didn't exactly provide him a shower to clean up. "You're being surprisingly nice to me."
"Well, I make it my policy to give guests the utmost hospitality," Psyga said before pointing a thumb over to the toolshed. "And despite the way my partner acts, you're very important to him."
"Important?"
"Ah, I've said enough," Psyga said before Haru could dig any deeper. "Now then, I believe introductions are in order."
Reaching down to his Psyga Phone, the Rider removed it from the belt, flipped it open, and pressed 'END.' With a small beeping sound and a brief flash of light, the armor around Psyga soon disappeared, revealing to Haru the man underneath it.
Giving Haru a friendly smile, the untransformed Rider offered a hand for a handshake as he introduced himself.
"It's nice to finally meet face to face without masks covering us. The name's Yugo. Kurenai Yugo."
And...done! Well, that took a while, mostly due to how busy my classes are keeping me. Now then, onto the chapter. Personally, I think it turned out okay. It's not as exciting as the last chapter was, but it built up the groundwork for the next chapter which was I trying to go for. Haru ended up getting saved by Orga and Psyga, but Smart Brain still has the Faiz and Kaixa Gears and Haru's really nothing more than a bargaining chip so his situation hasn't changed all that much. Hibiki's family wasn't as involved as I originally planned, but they will be getting some 'screen time' next chapter, hopefully.
Anyway, not much else to say about this chapter. It set up the groundwork for the next chapter and that was mostly it. Nevertheless, I do hope you all enjoyed today's chapter. Next time, prepare to take a trip to the Tokyo Skytree as things are about to get hectic over there. But until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. Until the next ride.
