Episode 2: The Forming of a Friendship
Shinji was sitting at his desk at ORE Journal with a conflicted look on his face as he briefly brought out his advent deck. It was only that morning that he'd learned the truth about why the advent decks were made, and the reveal shook him up a bit. Why Ren attacked him after the monster was destroyed made sense now. Even now, that conversation still played clearly in Shinji's mind.
Earlier that day, at Atori Café
"Ren." Shinji said as he stared at Ren from the patron side of the bar. "I want to know why the decks were actually created. You mentioned something about a 'Rider War'. Is the deck I'm using not one that your side has?"
"Kido. You should've heard this earlier." Ren stated plainly. "If you had, then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess. It's why I told you to let me get rid of the dragon you contracted. But since you're contracted with it now, you might as well know its name."
Shinji wasted no time in bringing out his advent deck, and pulling the contract card out. It depicted the dragon, and its name was displayed above the monster's image.
"Dragreder." Shinji noted. "Pretty on-the-nose name. And now that I'm contracted with him, I can't back out of this. So, back on topic, is the deck I'm using one of the decks used by the Kamen Rider faction you're fighting?"
"This isn't a war between two factions, Kido." Ren answered. "It's a battle royale between all the Kamen Riders. In the end, there can be only one left standing."
"But why?!" Shinji demanded! "Why do we have to fight each other?! What reason could there be?!"
"A wish." Yui answered sadly. "I don't know why the wish exists, but it does. The other riders are so willing to fight, die, and kill for it. Who would be able to resist something like that? A chance to make your greatest desires come true."
"That's why I'll crush anyone who gets in my way." Ren declared as he glared at Shinji. "That means you too, Kido."
"But I don't even want the wish!" Shinji said. "I just want to protect people! Why does anyone else have to die?! Is there no way to forfeit or withdraw from the Rider War?! These rules, they. . . they just don't make any sense!"
"I'm sorry, Shinji." Yui said sadly. "But that's how the Rider War works."
"No!" Shinji snapped as he bolted up from his seat! "I don't believe that's how it has to be! No matter how hard it is, I'll try to band the riders together to defend humanity and save our world from the Mirror Monsters! Staring with you, Ren!"
Ren didn't show it, but he was quite touched to know someone besides Eri cared about him. However, his mind was still set on winning the Rider War and the wish that came with it.
"You're sure you want someone like me to be by your side, Kido?" Ren asked with a small smirk.
Shinji didn't answer, and stared silently back at Ren.
Back in the present
Ren's question still played over and over in Shinji's mind as the day went on. The more he reflected on it, the more Shinji found himself stumped. For starters, Ren had saved him when he'd first stumbled into the Mirror World. It wasn't long afterward that Shinji soon found Ren trying to kill him. Then again, Ren immediately broke off his attack when Shinji explained how he'd gotten mixed up in the Rider War. Lastly, there was the fact that Ren was being quite active in trying to minimize the number of victims left by the Mirror Monsters. Shinji would've spent more time reflecting, but Chief Okubo calling for him stole Shinji's attention.
'Ren. Just why are you fighting?' Shinji thought to himself as he headed out to run the errand Chief Okubo had given him. 'You always say you'll crush anyone in your way. But at the same time, you were willing to spare me. You asked me whether I was sure I wanted you fighting by my side. Do you really think that low of yourself?'
"So you are Ryuki." A voice called out.
Shinji froze in his tracks, and looked all around for the source of the voice. Sure enough, he found it. It was coming from a man in the reflection of a nearby window. The man had black hair, black pants and a shoes, a white dress shirt, and a trenchcoat.
"With your addition, all thirteen Kamen Riders are now present." The man said. "The Rider War can now begin."
"I'm not going to fight your war!" Shinji cried out in denial! "Just who are you anyway?!"
"If you don't fight, you don't survive." The man answered. "Defeat the other riders. Fight."
Before Shinji could say anything else, the man seemingly vanished from the reflection! Shinji rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but that didn't help convince him all that much. However, his encounters were far from done for the night. For who should Shinji happen to run into than Ren?
"Ren?" Shinji thought out loud.
Curious as to why Ren was out this late, Shinji decided to quietly follow him. As he tailed Ren, Shinji discovered that Ren was tailing someone. At least, he was until a Mirror Monster that looked like a humanoid gazelle leaped out from a window, snatched the man, and leaped back up to the window it had dived out of!
'Did Ren. . . use that guy as bait?!' Shinji thought as he saw Ren preparing to transform and follow after the monster! 'Is this why he asked me that question?'
The next day, at Atori Café, Shinji decided to drop by and ask Yui about the events of last night. Along with answering a few more questions regarding the Rider War.
"Yui. You said that your brother created the advent decks." Shinji began. "Is it safe to assume that he's orchestrating the Rider War?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Yui sighed. "Though for the life of me, I can't figure out why my brother would do something like this. It's so completely different than the Shiro I knew when I was little. Our parents were neglectful, so it was just the two of us." A fond smile spread across Yui's face as she reminisced about her childhood with Shiro.
"He was always so kind. And he promised to always be there for me." Yui said fondly before frowning. "But, we were separated shortly after one incident of neglect that nearly hospitalized me. My memories of that time are fuzzy, but I remember him screaming that he had to protect me. It was only years later after he returned from living abroad in America that we reunited. It was one of the happiest days of my life."
Yui reached over to the nearby picture frame, and showed the picture to Shinji. Shinji's eyes went wide as he caught sight of Yui's brother in the picture. It was the same man he'd met last night!
"Shinji?" Yui asked.
"Yui, I think I ran into your brother last night." Shinji answered. "But the strange thing is, he was standing in a window. That could only be possible if he was in the Mirror World, but you told me that normal people can't be in there long without dissolving. He told me that I have to defeat the other riders. And that if I didn't fight, I wouldn't survive."
"I see." Yui said sadly. "You also came by because you had another question, right?"
"Yeah." Shinji nodded. "I saw Ren last night. He was following someone before a Mirror Monster grabbed them. You've been with him longer than I have, so let me ask you: Is Ren someone that would use people as bait just to draw out Mirror Monsters?"
Yui was silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and looking at Shinji earnestly.
"No. I don't believe he would." Yui said firmly. "Though he's often said he'll crush any other rider, I know for certainly he'd rather do it in a straight fight. True, he's hunted monsters, but he's always tried to destroy them before they could snatch anyone up and devour them. Sadly, most of the time he's been unsuccessful. But, I believe in him and trust him."
"I see." Shinji said hesitantly. "Thanks Yui. And I'm sorry for assuming the worst. I don't know Ren all that well, so I could only speculate off of what I saw. His question from yesterday didn't help with that. If I ever get the chance, I'll apologize to him."
"Trust me. You put too much stock into what he said." Yui smiled. "Despite how cold he seems, I think it's just to hide how kind he really is. Honestly, I think he just asked you that question because he's not used to seeing other people care about him that much. Probably because he's a loner."
"Then I'll just have to be his first friend." Shinji said with a smile as he headed out the door.
Shinji was speeding along on his motorbike when he suddenly. . .
EEEEEeeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeEEEEE!
The ringing of the Mirror World was exceptionally loud this time! Wasting no time, Shinji used the mirror noise to guide him towards the location of the possible attack! Before long, Shinji found himself at a primary school and saw some kids playing outside. Right near a mirror. And a Zelle monster was poised to strike. Wasting no time, Shinji bolted forward and threw himself onto the Zelle right as it leaped out from the mirror!
Angered that its hunt was interrupted, the Zelle snorted and stomped its feet before fleeing through the window! Not wasting any time, Shinji slipped out of sight, and pulled out his advent deck! Holding it up to the nearest reflection! The v-buckle shimmering onto his waist as he did so!
"HENSHIN!" Shinji cried out as he threw his right arm across his chest before slotting the advent deck into the v-buckle! Mirror images of the armor span towards Shinji before colliding with him! Transforming him into Kamen Rider Ryuki!
"Yosha!" Ryuki cried out as he pumped his fist and leaped into the mirror! Mounting the Ride Shooter, Shinji sped off towards the Mirror World! Spotting the Zelle right as he exited the Ride Shooter!
"Gotta get up there!" Ryuki said as he leaped up to where the Zelle was perched! Momentarily surprised at how his armor had enhanced his physical capabilities!
The Zelle, still enraged that its hunt was interrupted, charged at Ryuki! Ryuki rolled out of the way, and pulled a card from his deck! Slotting it into the Dragvisor!
"SWORD VENT!" The visor announced as the Dragsaber descended into Ryuki's hand!
Ryuki mounted a charge of his own towards the Zelle! Slashing it repeatedly before he was sent sprawling by a vicious kick from the Zelle! Making him lose his grip on the Dragsaber! The Zelle hollered as it leaped into the air and descended with one of its feet extended in an effort to try and crush Ryuki's head! Ryuki barely dodged the impact, and got to his feet!
'I need to end this fast!' Ryuki thought as he drew another card from his deck! The new card depicted what looked like Dragreder's head. 'Didn't get a chance to study this one, but now's as good a time as any!' And with that, Ryuki slotted the card in!
"STRIKE VENT!" The Dragvisor announced as the card's weapon attached itself to Ryuki's left hand! The new weapon was a gauntlet shaped like Dragreder's head! This was the Dragclaw!
"Alirght! Let's see what you can do!" Ryuki said to himself as he pulled his arm with the Dragclaw attached back before snapping it forward! A massive stream of fire shot out from the gauntlet and hit the Zelle deadcenter! The Zelle hollering in pain as the flames licked away at it! Wanting to end the fight quickly, Ryuki dashed toward the Zelle and repeatedly punched it with the Dragclaw! Unleashing hit after fiery hit! With one final flaming punch, the Zelle exploded! Its defeat yielding an energy orb that Dragreder happily gobbled up before flying away.
Content that the threat was now eliminated, Ryuki exited the Mirror World. Removing his advent deck to dismiss his armor as he returned to the Mirror World. Unfortunately, the danger was far from over. The instant he exited, the Mirror World, Shinji heard the mirror noise ringing in his ears once more! Shinji dashed into the school building, and found Ren before a crying student! Darkwing was in the nearby window, and screeching at Ren!
Had he still had doubts from before, Shinji would have assumed Ren was going to have Darkwing devour the girl. But after his conversation with Yui, Shinji knew better than to assume that. And upon looking closer, it seemed like Ren was comforting the poor girl.
"Can you tell me where you felt something grab at you?" Ren asked softly.
The crying girl pointed towards a mirror on the upper floor.
"Thanks." Ren nodded as he stood up, and turned to leave. Needless to say, he was pretty surprised to see Shinji standing before him.
"Kido?" Ren asked in disbelief. "What're you doing here?"
"I was following the mirror noise here." Shinji answered. "I just took care of the Mirror Monster responsible. But then I heard the mirror noise go off again. Was that girl attacked?"
"Darkwing managed to scare off the Zelle." Ren answered. "But where there's one, there's likely more. Zelles move in packs. So there's got to be more around-"
"AAAAHH!" A child's scream grabbed both riders' attention!
Shinji and Ren bolted up the stairs, and saw the girl Ren was comforting earlier trying to help another girl who seemed to be struggling against some invisible force! But the force responsible was all too visible to Shinji and Ren. Another Zelle was trying to make off with the kid! Wasting no time, Shinji and Ren grabbed onto the girl and pulled as hard as they could! Yanking the girl free from the Zelle's hold!
"Go! Get somewhere safe!" Shinji cried out as he and Ren rushed the girls out of the room! Once they were alone, the two raised their advent decks to summon the v-buckles to their waists!
"HENSHIN!" Shinji and Ren cried out as they slotted in their advent decks! Transforming into Kamen Riders Ryuki and Knight respectively!
"I'll head in first." Knight declared as he jumped into the mirror!
"Right behind you!" Ryuki said as he followed suit! The two racing into the Mirror World on their Ride Shooters!
Knight wasted no time in slotting his Sword Vent card into the Darkvisor while Ryuki slotted in his Strike Vent card! The two charging at the remaining Zelle! Knight forced the Zelle back with a stab of his lance! While the Zelle was stumbling back, Ryuki thrust his arm forward! Punching the Zelle in the chest while launching simultaneously launching a fireball! With the Zelle dazed from the assault, Knight slotted his Final Vent into the Darkvisor!
"FINAL VENT!" The Darkvisor announced!
Darkwing attached to Knight's back before leaped into the air and came spiraling down like a drill! Piercing through the Zelle and causing an explosion! In the Zelle's place, an energy orb floated into the sky before being snatched up by Darkwing.
"That should take care of the Zelles." Knight said with a nod before heading for the nearest reflective surface. Ryuki following close behind him.
Back in the real world, Shinji and Ren had dismissed their armor. Just as Ren was about to leave, Shinji stopped him.
"Ren! Wait!" Shinji called out! Making Ren pause. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow. "You protected people, didn't you? Isn't that what you set out to do?"
"It's not that." Shinji shook his head. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. When you were hunting that Zelle, I thought you were using its target as bait. That you were the type of person who'd have no issue with using innocent people to draw out monsters. But, after talking with Yui, I realized I had the wrong idea. And I'm sorry that I thought the worst of you."
"You know, that type of thinking would actually do you favors, Kido." Ren said flatly. But inwardly, he was quite glad that Shinji was apologizing to him for thinking bad about him. Not too many people would give him a second thought. "Especially against the other Kamen Riders. So why so easy to forgive and trust me?"
"Because Yui trusts you and she believes in you." Shinji answered honestly. "But, it's more than that. I like to believe in the good of everyone, Ren. And from what I've seen of you, you're a good person. Or at least, you're a far better person than you think you are. So, if anyone were to beat me in the Rider War, I could accept it if it were you."
"How can you say all of this?" Ren asked. "Is it because you're a fool?"
"Because I want to be your friend, Ren." Shinji said earnestly. "And that's what friends do when there's misunderstandings. They forgive each other."
'I didn't think there was anyone else besides Eri who could think that highly of me.' Ren thought as he absentmindedly brought out the necklace he hid with his tutrtleneck, and gripped it tightly. On it were a pair of rings. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Shinji.
"What's that you've got, Ren?" Shinji asked innocently.
Ren bristled as he realized what he'd been doing, and immediately returned the necklace. Panic briefly flashing across his face before being concealed by the stoic mask Ren usually kept up.
". . . My reason to fight, Kido." Ren answered plainly. "The monsters are dead, so we're done here."
"Care to call me up if you need a helping hand?" Shinji asked.
"I never had many friends, Kido." Ren replied. "Never wanted many." And with that, Ren departed for Atori Café.
"Maybe you don't want any, but you certainly need one." Shinji muttered as he made his way to his own bike and started it up. However, the growling of his stomach forced into a quick pit stop for some food.
Shinji was able to get his meal pretty quickly, but his attention was soon gripped by a man who was telling fortunes on the street.
'Well I've seen monsters and an entire world behind every mirror.' Shinji thought to himself. 'Maybe a fortune teller who's the genuine article will be the next strange thing I encounter. Plus, I could use a little distraction from how serious things are. "Hello! I'd like my fortune told please."
"Right away." The man smiled. It was the same man who'd observed Shinji's first battle in the Mirror World. He then took a couple of coins from his pocket, and tossed them into the air. When they landed, there was a look of clarity in the man's eyes. "It says you will have many fated encounters in the future. And from them, you will grow."
"Sounds nice." Shinji chuckled. "But chances are that won't actually happen."
"My other patrons would beg to differ." The man smiled. "My predictions are never wrong."
"Really?" Shinji asked in amazement.
"Yes." The man nodded. "Often times, the patrons who received an ill prediction would come back to thank me."
"Why would they thank you for a negative prediction?" Shinji asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Because although my predictions are never wrong, they are only certain if people remain on their current path." The man replied. "That's something I inform all my customers of. And it's because of that I also get a few generous tips."
The pair shared a brief chuckle.
"This might not be serious news, but it would make for a fun little interview for Reiko." Shinji stated as he produced his contact card. "I'm Shinji Kido. Intern at ORE Journal. Contact me if you'd ever like to see yourself on the web! And it was nice meeting you!"
"Miyuki Tezuka." The man introduced himself with a handshake. "Nice to meet you as well, Shinji."
"I guess I'll see you around!" Shinji called out as he mounted his bike and took off for home.
"Something tells me we're destined to meet again." Tezuka said with a smile as he waved farewell until Shinji was out of sight.
"You won't be alone in your fight, Shinji." Tezuka said resolutely. "And I'll do my best to help prepare you what lies ahead."
AN: What's up everyone? Thought I'd start the new year right with a brand new chapter! Hope you all enjoy it and are hyped for the next one! Please read and review!