Chapter 4 - The new sun rises part 4
[3 hours since the Fallen attack]
The door to Jiro's room swings open as he stumbles inside. He nearly slams the palm of his hand against the wall as he struggles to find the light switch. After searching for a few seconds, his fingers brush against the switch. He turns the lights on, illuminating the room. His top buttons are undone, and his tie is wrapped around his neck, over the collar. His shirt is untucked, and his jacket is open. Clearly, he had a good time at his party. "Mmm, that wasn't too bad," he says, stumbling over to his chair. He removes his jacket and wraps it around the back of the chair before sitting down. "I don't know what's got me more beat, the nearly 3 hours of drinking, or riding to and from town before anyone noticed I was gone?"
There is a knock on his door. He turns his head to see Akemi standing there with a tray of two shot glasses, a glass of water, and some tablets. "From what I heard, probably being smacked down by a piece of rock probably did this to you." She enters his room, setting down the tray, "You best keep your voice down, I just helped your mother to bed, and you're talking too loud. It took a lot of work to cover for you in front of her. You know how she'd feel about this line of work." He grabs his mouth, the first time experiencing being drunk, and having a loose lip. "Sorry…wait, how do you know about the rock thing?" He asks, pushing himself back on his feet. "Officer Aikawa Genkei. He is a long-time friend of mine and my contact in the Police Department. He was the one to tip me off about the Fallen attack this evening."
Jiro makes a clear face of realization about the officer that helped him earlier, "That guy?" Akemi takes a shot glass in hand, and passes one to Jiro, "I'll tell you all about it later, for now, consider this a toast to your birthday, and to you upholding the memory of your father." The two cheer, meeting their glasses in the middle before downing their drinks. Jiro reacts with distaste, while Akemi is unfazed. She takes the glass from him and hands him the glass of water and tablets. "I'd suggest you take 2 of these before you go to sleep." She takes the tray and the shot glasses away, and walks towards the door, grabbing the handle, "You did good tonight. Everyone is buzzing about it online it seems. Good night."
Akemi closes the door as she leaves. Jiro is left alone in his room. He takes the water and the tablets and swallows them. He starts to undress when he realizes something, "Wait a minute. People are talking about me?" Jiro opens his drawer to grab his phone, turning it back on. His phone is immediately glowing with notifications from friends wishing him a happy birthday. He takes the time to thank them, before seeing an invite come up. "We're going to a bar in the quiet zone if you want to join and celebrate tomorrow. I doubt anyone would recognize you, let me know if you're in." Jiro instantly responded, accepting the invite to meet his friends.
He opens up his phone's browser, and types in 'Kamen Rider Idol' into the search engine. He falls back onto his bed, kicking off his shoes as he reads online blogs and news outlets talking about him. "A fierce battle was waged tonight in downtown Taiyōbe as Fallen, monsters this city hasn't seen in 20 minutes suddenly return, and that's not all. The long since gone hero, Kamen Rider Idol is back, and he's ready to fight for us, once again." Jiro scrolls through articles, reading the quotes from citizens. "I was hiding in a building when the Fallen were swarming the streets. And then this golden light just came in and started to fight back against those monsters." "I used to love Idol when I was a child. Heck, everyone in school did. And now he's back, continuing to fight? I haven't felt this joy in a long time." "A monster just flew past my window, and then suddenly this big ball of flames just came and blew it up!" Jiro could barely hide the joy on his face as he continues to read them, "Kamen Rider Idol if you're out there reading this. We don't know where you've been for all these years. But we're happy to have you back."
[Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city]
A bar on the quiet side of town is closing. Patrons and groups of businessmen stumble out as the last call was not too long ago. The interior of the bar is rustic, with exposed brick walls, a cabinet of different liquor is displayed behind the bar counter with wooden stools in front. Framed photos and related paintings hang on the wall. The layout of the bar has different rows of tables and booths depending on the party. The chairs and stools are all propped up on the tables and counter, except for one. A TV hangs on the wall just above the bar, and acts as the only other light source in the room, besides the lights above the bar counter.
On the TV, they are showing a late-night report on the Fallen sighting, and the reappearance of Kamen Rider Idol. "It is truly amazing to have our beloved hero back, protecting our streets. Fuuto has their heroes, the Metropolitan police had theirs, and now we're back with ours." The newscaster seems thrilled by the idea of Kamen Rider Idol. "The Fallen have been gone for nearly 20 years, and now have started to return. Thankfully, much like back then, Idol has come to stop them. It seems they are here to finish off the job."
Watching the TV screen closely, sitting on the only stool left not on the counter is a man in the dark. Hunched over the counter, they clutch a glass of ice cubes in their right hand, while their left is by their leg, gripping an idol. They take a sip of their glass, letting an ice cube fall into their mouth. They begin chewing on it as they watch the footage of the Fallen attack on screen. Beneath it is the caption 'view submitted footage'. It shows Idol using their sword to cut down the Fallen with their sword. The man in the dark lets out a grunt as he breaks the ice cube between his teeth.
A voice calls out from upstairs, "'Ay, James!" The voice is deep, but smooth at the same time. "Make sure the door's locked and the gate is down. I don't want any of those Fallen breaking in. I don't like the idea of having to dust the floor." The man stands up from the stool, grabs another ice cube from the glass, and places it in his mouth, "I'll check." He says with a muffled voice from having his mouth full of ice. He can see through the fogged glass on the door that the gate is still up. He unlocks the door, and opens it, the light from outside catches his ocean blue eyes before he quickly pulls down the gate, and slams the door shut.
End of episode 1!
