Chapter 5 - Moonlight eclipsing the sun part 1
Jiro is walking down the corridor with his face in his phone. It's a long stretch from his bedroom to the banisters, and the outside. He is in his own world, with his fingers rapidly hitting the keys on his phone to make a text, mouthing the words to his sentences. "I'll be there soon…meet me outside…Sun…down..district.." He looks up briefly to see a figure of a person standing in front of him. He stops himself short of walking into them, revealing Ama. She looks tired, although most of her appearance can be attributed to her time at the party.
"Oh, good morning, Mother," Jiro says, bowing in front of her. "Jiro, you don't need to be so formal with me. I'm your mother, but your aunt." She reaches out, and lightly flicks his forehead. "Did you enjoy the party last night?" She asks, her mind still a little hazy. "Yeah, it was pretty good for my first time drinking in formal wear." Ama laughs a little before asking her son, "Where did you go by the way? I couldn't find you at the party for a while."
Jiro became a little puzzled, in his head he was trying to work out an excuse, hiding what he did last night as Idol. "Oh, the pressure kind of got to me a little after we split up, and I needed a bit of time to cool my head. Auntie found me, gave me some more wine, and brought me back." Ama nods her head, seemingly buying the story. Before she could ask another, Jiro speaks up. "How are you feeling? Auntie said she had to tuck you in last night." Ama turns a faint shade of red before speaking, "Well, that is true. I did feel a little off this morning, so I had breakfast in bed. I think I will take it easy today."
Ama looks at Jiro's phone, "I see you're not doing the same." Jiro looks down at his phone, "Oh yeah. I'm meeting up with Iro and Pic. They want to help celebrate, and introduce me to a bar in Sundown." Ama raises an eyebrow, "Make sure you look after yourselves there. And do you have IT?" Jiro reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. Opening it, he reveals his driver's license, "Yes I do. I have my decoy ID with a fake name, Asahi Jiro." Ama nods, "Good boy. Well then, have fun. And I'll see you later." She walks away, freeing Jiro to do the same. Ama stands behind a corner of the wall, and sighs, "He's just like you Ichiro. And it scares me."
Jiro steps outside of his home, the Itosasaki mansion. He passes the rose bush in the garden when he is called out. "Jiro!" Recognizing the voice, he turns to see Akemi standing up from behind the bush, carrying a basket over her arm, with some already trimmed roses. "You're on your way to see your friends in Sundown, right?" Jiro looks at her amazed, "How did…" She cuts him off as she approaches, "I try to make it my job to know where this city's hero will be at all times." She reaches into her basket of roses and pulls out the Shinaito Driver. "The Fallen feed on the darkness of those cast aside. Sundown is filled with outcasts and loners. Be sure to protect yourself, if the need comes." Jiro takes the driver, and stuffs it into his jacket pocket, "I didn't see the idol in the lab, so I take it, you have it with you?" Jiro pulls out the lion idol, "I have it right here." Akemi nods, "Good. In any chase, have fun, and stay out of trouble." She turns on her heel and returns to tending the roses. Jiro takes this cue to leave, rushing out of the mansion gates.
[Meanwhile, in a dimly lit cellar]
Jack stands over a low-level Fallen. He loads an idol into the needle gun. He flicks his finger against the needle itself before kneeling closer towards the Fallen. He grabs its head, and pushes it, leaning it forward to get a better view of their neck. He scratches the tip of the needle against their rough skin before stabbing them with the tip. Jack pushes the needle all the way through. His finger teases the trigger before he presses down on it. He does so for a split second before letting go of the trigger and pulling out.
Jack quickly stands up straight. He takes a few steps back from the Fallen as they start to scratch at their own body. It begins to grow in size, causing pressure against its skin. The black mould of their body starts to crack as more of their interior stretches their figure. The skin bursts off the Fallen as they now have a more feral appearance. Its hands have turned to claws, with razor tips at the end of the fingers. Hair is draped all across its back and head, with a muzzle that drools a thick foam onto the floor as it snarls.
"Now that's a monster." A voice calls out from the side of the room. Kane slowly walks down the steps, clearly impressed by the sight of the new Fallen. "Ah, Kane. I was actually about to call for you." Kane stands on the same level as them as he examines the new Fallen, "It's…it's a bear," he says, running his fingers through the monster's fur. "Correct," Jack responds, pulling the idol out of the needle gun. "Where did you get it? And why not use your own idol?"
"I was going to, but then our sponsor sent us this little loan right here, so I just had to," Jack says in his elegant tone, presenting the idol in what little light they had in the room. "A loan? You mean we don't get to keep it?" Kane's disappointment is matched by Jack's, "Yeah. Sadly, he'll be back again later to pick it up, so we won't get the chance to use it again, in case we need to."
Jack looks back at Kane. "I'm guessing you were going to call me down to take this big guy out for a walk?" He asks, Jack picks up on the sarcasm in his voice, "Close enough. But that's not all I wanted you for." Jack turns around, presenting a black briefcase on the side. "As well as the loan, our sponsor was just so kind enough to give us a special present for free." Jack reaches inside and pulls out a Shinaito Driver. He turns around, and presents it with both hands to Kane, "I'm sure you'd love to be the first one of us to put it to use."
Kane's eyes light up as he is presented with such a weapon. He takes it, and holds it up to his face. "I want you to take our new friend out, and attract Kamen Rider Idol. Watch them closely, and then provide back, if it is required. I'm getting tired of losing our Fallens, I'd at least want them to die with a purpose." Kane hasn't stopped smiling since he was handed the Driver. He turns to the bear Fallen, "What do you say big guy? Want to go kill a hero?" The Fallen nods their head, drool still dripping from their teeth, "Let's."
[30 minutes later]
Jiro arrives outside of Sundown, the quiet district of Taiyōbe. The entrance has a big archway with a sign reading 'Sundown'. As he gets closer, Jiro can see his friends, Iro and Pic standing underneath the arch. They are twins, brother and sister. If not for the clothes, it would be difficult to tell them apart from each other.
They wave Jiro down as he sprints closer to the goal. He stops sort of the archway before kneeling down with his hands on his legs, panting and gasping for breath. "I told you I'd be on time…" He says, much to their grin. "I'd say you were 5 minutes off, but you said later, so I can't confirm that as a number." Iro comments, stroking the hair out of his eyes. Pic stands behind Jiro, rubbing his back in circles, "Easy now. If you're this bad just running, I'd hate to see how you are when we're inside." Jiro straightens himself out after catching his breath, "I'll be fine. I just needed some air." The twins look at each other, Iro clearly fighting back the urge to laugh, but seems to control himself by simply breathing in. "Okay then, right this way birthday boy." The two lead Jiro into Sundown. It's a quiet area in Taiyōbe, known for its bars, small restaurant stands, and seedy hotels. The alleyways are littered with drunkards, businessmen, and homeless of all walks, keeping themselves out of the sun.
"So, where are you taking me anyway?" He asks, following behind the twins. "There's a small bar down here owned by the bartender, a foreigner from England," Pic answers Jiro, gesturing towards some steps leading to a bar underground. "We haven't been here in just about a month, but last I checked, it's still open." Iro walks in first, pushing the hardwood door with frosted glass windows to open. Pic and Jiro follow close behind, Pic smiles, returning to the familiar sight. Jiro looks around the bar to see people of different walks of life sitting down in booths and at tables. The walks are exposed brickwork, with pictures and paintings related to sports hung up on them.
Pic leads Jiro towards the counter, where the bar was. They passed some near-empty stools, save for one that was occupied at the end of the bar by a man with his head resting on his arms. Jiro walks in on a conversation between Iro and the bartender. Jiro's eyes widened when they saw them. A tall black man that looked like he could be the bar's bouncer, straight down to the stereotypical bald head and large arms. "Heya Iro. How's the schooling going?" His voice is deep, but smoothing at the same time as they speak. Iro talks back casually, as if they were friends, "It's going okay. Almost finished now, so I will have more time on my hands very soon." The bartender turns their head to see Jiro approaching, and looks back to Iro, "This the guy?" He asks, to which Iro just nods. The bartender stands up straight, their height before was just from them leaning on the counter. Towering over Jiro, they crack their knuckles with just their fingers. "Welcome to the Ring Out Bar." Their tone has changed to sound sterner, and angry, "How tough are you?" Jiro immediately was put on high alert, unsure what was about to happen.
The bartender's face starts to crease, becoming crumpled up like they sucked on a lemon before they burst out with laughter. Tears stream from their eyes as they slap the table. "Ah man, I love doing that one." They look back at Jiro, still looking confused. He reaches his hand out, "Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Majors. Welcome to my bar, Jiro." Jiro feels a sudden sense of relief come over him. He meets Lee's hand in the middle and shakes it, "Hi…" The man at the end of the counter lifts their head up from the table to look at them. His eyes glare with his ocean blue eyes before putting his head back down.
"Sorry about that. It's something I like to do to newcomers in my bar. Let them know that I won't take any disrespect." Lee says, sounding proud about it as he folds his arms. "Yeah, but sometimes he breaks out into laughter before he is done saying welcome," Pic steps in, walking over to her brother.
"Yes, well..anyway. As it's your first time here, you get to try one of my draft beers on the house." As Lee says this, many of the patients turn their heads, recoiling from the idea. Before Lee could pour a drop of his crafted beer into the glass, he stops and looks back at Jiro. "Okay, before I do so. I will need to see some ID from you. Just the law." Jiro reaches into his pocket and takes out his wallet. At a table close to him, three Yakuza-looking thugs are sitting down, eyeing him up.
Jiro hands his ID to Lee, who inspects it, holding it towards the light, and checking the print. "Yep, Asahi Jiro. Aged 20. Happy late birthday by the way." Lee hands Jiro back the ID before he starts pouring the pint glass. With Lee not looking, one of the thugs grabs Jiro by the shoulder, "Hold on a minute." The thug turns Jiro around to face them, the other two yakuza stand up too, one of them carrying a bat over their shoulder. "What did you say your name was?" The rest of the patients start to tense up, even the twins begin to worry. Lee just stands there, still pouring the beer, smiling as he looks up at the empty stool by the counter.
"My name is Asahi Jiro. What does it mean to you?" He asks, his voice sounding confident as if he's been practicing the name. "Jiro? Aged 20? And you had a birthday not too long ago." The thugs start to crowd him. "Based on that information, you wouldn't happen to actually be Itosasaki Jiro, heir to the Itosasaki fortune, by any chance?" Hearing this made Lee lift his head up to look at them, now interested. Jiro clenches his fist, his heart starting to beat faster as a drop of sweat pours down his neck from nervousness, "I'm sorry. But I don't recall…"
"Don't give me that! I know who you are. And I also know how big your name is. Why not have a drink with us? I'm sure we'd be more…" The thug's vision starts to fade as a hand appears from around them and grabs their face. They lose their balance as that same hand pulls them down, slamming them on the ground. Standing over the yakuza was the man from the counter. "Another foreigner?" Iro asks. Pic elbows him in the stomach for being rude. He stares down the other two yakuza as one of them charges for him. They duck slightly and grab them by the belt. Holding their collar, they toss the member over their shoulder and into the ground.
The yakuza with the bat swings for him, aiming eye level. They grab the bat midswing, taking away the momentum of the attack before kicking them in the crotch. The man's foot hits the yakuza in the balls, making them let go of the bat. The man watches from the reflection in one of the picture frames the first guy standing back up. Grabbing the bat by the handle, they swing the bat underarm, hitting them in the balls also. With both of the thugs down, the third one gets back up, but puts their hands over their crotch for protection, lifting one up to gesture that they surrender.
Lee finally steps in, "Right. You three, you're banned. Get out of my bar, and don't come back unless it's to pay any remaining tabs." Lee turns to the man, "James, escort them out, please." The man nods, "Yes, Lee." He drops the bat and grabs the two by their collars, dragging them out of the bar with the third one following behind him. As they pass Jiro, their eyes meet, making eye contact with each other. Lee slides the pint glass to Jiro, "Not bad for your first visit. You get a free drink, and watch my new bouncer beat the crap out of some guys." Iro steps forward, "Where did you find him?" he asks. "He just moved to Japan 2 weeks ago from England and needed a job and a place to stay. I gave him both, and now I get a free show anytime someone causes trouble." Jiro continues to stare at the door, unable to shake the feeling of familiarity with the bouncer. He takes a sip of the beer, and quickly grabs their mouth, trying not to gag. "How's the taste? I try to merge a taste of home with the local supply to get the best of both with flavour." Jiro turns around, although his face looks like he had just been sucking on a lemon, he gives Lee a thumbs up, nodding his head. "Thought so. Everyone has the same reaction their first time." Trying to be nice, Jiro takes another sip of the beer. He does not react as bad this time, although the taste is still a shock to the senses. He actually drinks a good amount of it before putting the pint glass down.
"Come, let's go take a seat. We usually have the booth in the corner," Pic gestures towards one of the booths. Both she and her brother grab their glasses and walk over. "Oi," Jiro is about to follow when he is stopped by someone calling out to him. He turns around to see the bouncer standing there, his eyes narrowed. It feels like a predator's gaze is watching Jiro closely. "Uh, hey. Did I break a rule or something?" Jiro asks, confused about why the bouncer is talking to him, "It's James..right?" They just stare into Jiro's eyes. Finally, they open their mouth to speak. "That thug said your name is Itosasaki Jiro. Are you actually him?" James tilts his head, opening his eyes a little. He appears to be sizing Jiro up for something. Before any of them could say something else, Lee steps in, "James, since you're standing up, can you grab a barrel of our cider from upstairs." James looks back at Lee through the corner of his eye, "As for the name. I think that thug was just mistaken. They have been drinking since this morning." James looks like they are cooling off, "Yes, Lee." He walks past Jiro, heading towards some stairs by the side of the bar, and climbs up. "Don't let him bother you. I've only known him for so long, yet I can tell he's a good guy. Just a little...yeah." Jiro takes his glass and walks over to the twins, taking a seat beside them in their booth.
To be continued!
