Chapter 8 - Rest well, the rest fell
Jiro lays down on his back. His vision returns to him as he slowly opens his eyes. Between the silk texture of the bedsheets and the recognizable ceiling, it doesn't take him long to realize he is back home in his bed. He takes in his first conscious breath, letting out a long sigh as visions flash before his eyes. While his face remains expressionless, he is rocked by the memory of before, his encounter with Kamen Rider Fang, and his introduction to Kamen Rider Masquerade. It's not helped by the piercing pain in his head or the bruised feeling along his body. He turns his head in the direction of his nightstand, seeing a tray with a single glass of water, and two tablets.
Jiro lifts himself up, breathing in suddenly as he feels the instant sharp pain of the bruises. As his covers fall down, he is shocked to see that his shoulder to his right side torso is bandaged up. Lifting his eyes from his chest, he sees the tired figure of his mother, resting her head down on his bed. He reaches out to her, but stops himself, pulling his hand back in hesitation. He turns his attention to the tray and reaches out for that instead. His shifting of the covers rocks his mother, slowly waking her up as he puts the two tablets in his mouth, and swallows them with the warm temperature water. He puts down the empty glass when his mother finally awakens to see her son sitting up, beaten and bruised.
The two lock eyes with each other, but no one speaks a word. There is a lot to say between them, but nothing comes out. The room feels heavy and heated as if time has stopped in a sauna. Jiro looks down at his bedsheets. He tries to open his mouth, but nothing comes out except the faint sound of breathing. Finally, the silence is broken by Ama, "How long?" she says, the only thing she can ask right now. Jiro is quiet at first as if his mind is trying to come up with a bold lie, or a faint truth. "Three weeks," he replies, Ama falls silent again, processing her son's answer. It is Jiro's turn to speak, "How long?" Ama takes longer to respond before giving her answer, "I've always known," Ama pauses before she speaks again, this time an avalanche of words, "About your father, about you, about who you would become. About what I will have to live with, if," her voice starts to break the more she continues until she just stops talking, tears welling up in her eyes.
Jiro sits there in his bed silent, unsure what to say next. He looks up to see his clothes resting on a chair in the corner by his bed. "Are you going to stop me?" He asks, his voice sounding serious as he turns to look at his mother through the corner of his eye. She wipes the tear from her eye, "I don't think I can. I want what's best for you, what makes you happy. I know if I stop you, you will grow to hate me." She sounds defeated, as if she's had this conversation with herself before, and has come to terms with who Jiro is.
Without another word, Jiro throws his bedsheets off of him, and swings his legs out of his bed, much to Ama's surprise. "Jiro! What are you doing?" He tries to get out of bed, but he struggles, barely able to reach the chair before falling onto it. "I need to know what I am up against." Jiro grabs what he can from the chair, a pair of trousers, and a shirt before pushing himself back onto the bed, landing on his back, "I need to speak to Auntie. She'll know more." Jiro pulls his shirt over his head. His mouth makes unintentional grunts and moans of pain from the movements. Ama gets up from her side of the bed and walks around it to meet him face to face, "Wait. You can talk to her later, but you need to rest now. Regain your strength before.." Jiro snaps, raising his voice, "Mother!" She stops in shock. This is the first time she has seen Jiro raise his voice to her. "If you won't stop me. Then please, help me. The sooner I understand what I am facing, the more at ease I can be. Otherwise, I'll just be tossing and turning in a bed covered in bandages, racking my brain with thoughtless questions." Jiro pulls his legs through his trousers, and buttons the top, "Now, please. Take me to her."
Akemi is in the second garage under the mansion, the active secret base of Kamen Rider Idol. She stands over a workbench with a soldering iron and a pair of tweezers, currently in the middle of working on a piece of equipment. Beside her is Officer Aikawa Genkei from the Taiyōbe Police Department. He is standing in front of a large monitor typing something into the keyboard. He is working away with a memory stick in the console. "Okay, Akemi. I wasn't able to find anything on this 'Kane' guy, however, based on the description from Jiro's friends, and the camera footage, I do have the other one." The monitor displays an image from James's ID. "James Frost. Caucasian, Male, 24 years old, and comes from Liverpool, Lancashire," Genkei reads out what's on the monitor as Akemi is still at work with the equipment. "Were you able to find out anything else about them? Any social media, or online presents? Something to explain how he got his hands on a Shinaito Driver, and the Wolf idol?" She sounds frustrated in her tone, but her concentration remains face forward, with her eyes on her work. "Nothing. Either he is a private person, or he is hiding something. Don't even know who all his parents are. Just a mother's name, Elizabeth Frost." Akemi stops what she is doing, keeping her hands apart to avoid burning herself. She turns off the soldering iron and turns her attention to Genkei. "Are you sure? Liverpool, and Elizabeth Frost?" Genkei starts to look at her with suspicion, "Do those two pieces of information mean anything to you?" She goes quiet, putting down the iron, "They meant more to someone else." She straightens herself out, and returns to her professional demeanor, "Thank you, Genkei. You were a large help with getting me this information." He nods, "It's a pleasure to be reliable, I just wish I had more to give you."
"Auntie Akemi!" Both adults turn their attention to Jiro's voice as he calls out to him. Standing at the bottom of the stairs with one arm over Ama's shoulder, keeping him standing. She helps him walk closer towards the pair, "We need to talk about...," his eyes glance over to see the monitor, "...him." Akemi remains firm, "I'm afraid there isn't anything I can tell you, that isn't already on that screen. He is as much of a mystery to me, as he is to you." Persistent, he continues to push forward, almost dragging Ama with him, "Why do I recognize him?" He asks, much to the confusion of the rest in the room, "Before he became Fang, I looked him in the eye, and recognized them." They look at him as if he is crazy, "I know how it sounds, but there's something about him that's familiar." Jiro pulls his arm from his mother and holds himself against the console. He starts typing something into the keyboard. The monitor displays an image of the wolf idol.
Genkei looks at the screen, "So, aren't lions meant to be stronger than wolves? How did you lose to this guy?" Genkei is immediately silenced by a swift slap to the back of his head by Ama. "Give me a break, I was drinking, and had just got out of a fight with a frozen bear. Besides, the way he fought made up for it." The monitor starts displaying footage taken from the security cameras, showing Fang's fight with the Fallen. "He was like an animal. He tore through them like paper, and didn't even let them touch him." Akemi steps in, "Your friend Pic, said that the bartender hired him 2 weeks ago. That was around the time of the Fallen sighting increasing. So, maybe he came here to fight them. Pic also said how it looked like he was after your idol. Most likely wanting it to get stronger." Genkei, rubbing the back of his head, has one more thing to say, "But that doesn't explain how he has a driver and an idol, and for some reason, there's another guy just like him." Akemi turns off the monitor, "Hard to say. The only person that would know how to build one, besides me, was your father."
[At the Ring Out bar]
James sits at the only stool available by the counter. His hand clutching a glass of ice. "I now have his face. All that's left to do is find him, and take what's mine." Lee stands idly by behind the bar counter, cleaning a pint glass, "You know, you've been saying that since you got back from your fight. It was creepy at first when you were muttering it to yourself at the end of the counter, but now it's just getting annoying." James slams his glass down, "I've been waiting a while for this day to come." Lee shakes his head, putting down the glass to pick up another, "Yeah, I know. But you could at least be less anti-social when you're on shift." James sips his glass, dropping an ice cube into his mouth, and starts to chew on it, "I was so close too. And then that 'Kane' guy or Masquerade stepped in and got in my way." Lee just throws his hands in the air, "I'm just talking to myself now, aren't I?"
James crushes the ice cube between his teeth before standing up, the speed of which knocks his stool over. "Lee!" He turns to his boss, "I'm going into the cellar to train." Lee just looks at him dumbfounded, "What? Now?" James grabs his stool, and stacks it onto the counter with the others, "Yes. I need to be at my best for tomorrow." James goes to the door and checks the lock. "You're serious? You're planning to fight Idol again, tomorrow." James comes back around, grabbing his glass of ice, "It was hardly a fight before, this will show that I truly deserve that idol and the title." Lee just continues to clean the glass, "Personally, I think the wolf idol and the name Fang suits you better." James just shakes his head and walks towards a row of key hooks on the wall. One of the hooks is empty, "Lee? Where are the keys to the.." James turns around to see Lee swinging the keys to the cellar on his finger, "Help me tidy up, and then I will personally help you train. Deal?" James smiles, places his glass down, and grabs a tea towel from the side, "Deal."
End of episode 3
