Chapter 9 - Wolf in the Lion's den part 1
Lee comes down the stairs to their bar, towel around his waist as he uses another to dry his face. "Io, James! I don't know what time you're planning your little adventure today, but I was thinking of opening the bar early, and serving some tea." He continues to speak, although his voice is muffled by the towel, "We're going to get a lot of foot traffic from those Kamen Rider fans wanting to check out the place of rider sightings." When he finally pulls the towel from his face, he sees that all of the chairs and stools are down already, prepared for opening. He doesn't see any sign of James but does see a note on the counter beside an empty glass. Lee turns to look at the key hooks on the wall to see that one set of keys is missing. He grabs the note and opens it, reading it out loud, "Borrowing your bike, will be back later, James." Lee can't help but chuckle to himself, folding the note in his hand, "You didn't say that you'd be needing the medkit." He tosses the note back onto the counter and walks upstairs again.
[Itosasaki mansion]
Jiro is in his room. He sits in his chair by his desk in front of a touchscreen pad. He is in the middle of a long-distance call. "So that's what happened?" The voice on the other end asked. Jiro nods, before answering, "Yeah. Pic and Iro pulled me away from the fight before it could get worse for me." The voice on the other end of the call sounds feminine, and intellectual, "I see. Well, I will admit, when my mother told me what happened, I was a little concerned for my young cousin, but you seem to be in high spirits now." "Yeah. I think the roughest part was mother finding out about me being the new Idol." "I'm sure Auntie Ama only wants what's best for you. But it couldn't hurt for you to be more careful. I'll help where I can now before coming back to Japan. When I return, I should be able to put more energy into helping you fight the Fallen and this Fang guy." Jiro is quiet for a moment before speaking up, "Honestly, I don't think he is against us. He fought against the Fallen, so there's a chance we can turn him around." "We will see, little cousin." "Maybe we can seduce him when you come back?" Jiro joked although it is met by a silent response. "That's not funny." "What isn't?"
There's a sudden knock at the door. "Oh, I've got to go now. Speak to you later, Kichi," Jiro hangs up the call, and swings around on the chair to face the door, "Come in!" The door opens slowly, behind it is one of Jiro's butlers. "Master Jiro, there's a gentleman here to see you, outside. Are you expecting visitors?" Jiro is silent for the moment before answering, "Did he say a name? Can you describe him?" "Well sir, he was wearing a helmet and jacket, so I couldn't tell any features. As for a name, he didn't give me one. I think he has the wrong home, as he asked for an Asahi Jiro." Jiro lifts his head from his hand, and stands up, "Thank you, Haru. I'll be just down. I know him." Jiro reaches into his drawer, pulls out the Shinaito Driver, and lion idol before exiting the room. It takes him a while before he is down the hallway, Ama follows behind him, trying to remain unseen as he grabs the front door, and swings it open, letting the light in.
Jiro steps outside of the mansion. Waiting for him in front of his home was James, sitting on a standard Honda Shadow. Upon seeing Jiro stepping outside, James unstraps the helmet on his head before pulling it off to look him in the eye. He rests his arms on the helmet as he runs his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. The two just stare at each other. Jiro's impression of him hasn't changed, he feels the same sense of familiarity from his eyes. Ama watches the two, hiding behind the doorframe she glares daggers at the man that hurt her son, although he doesn't look too much older than him. Jiro is the first one to say something, "Nice bike," he says, looking down at it, then James. "Cheers. Lee let me borrow it to come here," he replies, Jiro follows it up with a joke, "Did you borrow the outfit from him too?" James scoffs, giving a fake smile that usually accompanies a joke like that. He looks around the garden, staring up at the mansion, "Nice place you got here. Affordable?" Jiro, not taking the bait dodges the rhetorical question, "How did you find me here?" James turns on the bike, kicking the stand up while swinging his leg over the seat to lean on the Honda. "It wasn't hard after learning your face and name. Although to be fair, it was kind of dumb of me not to come straight to 'Itosasaki mansion' to find Itosasaki Jiro." Jiro stands there in disbelief, "How do you know so much about me?" James just tilts his head, "There's a lot I know about you. A fair amount of it that links back to me."
Ama comes out of her hiding spot, and rushes out of the mansion, passing Jiro to scold James. Jiro tries to reach out, but it's too late. "What are you evening doing here? You think you can just beat up my son and then come to his home acting like your friends?" James just stares at her, watching her mouth move as she raises her voice. A small smile briefly appears on his lips before it returns to the cold neutral expression. James looks back to Jiro, "You've got a caring mother, Jiro." Ama is surprised by the seriousness of his tone, leaving her speechless, "Make sure not to take that for granted." He stands up from the bike, placing the helmet on one of the bike handles, "I'm here to at least talk." Jiro nods, moving back towards the mansion, "Come in. We have a room for that." James follows after Jiro. He gives a brief, polite nod to Ama before entering the large structure.
The pair meet in a large dining hall. They sit opposite sides of each other at the same table. Ama sits at the table beside Jiro as Akemi watches from behind a corner. The same butler from earlier brings out a tray of drinks, placing them down at the table by the occupants. He sets down two cups of tea by Jiro and Ama, "Thank you, Haru." Jiro praises before they walk over to the otherwise, placing down the third cup beside James, "Cheers, mate." The butler leaves the room, leaving the four alone. There's an awkward tension in the air as no one speaks. James continues to just stare blankly towards Jiro, while Ama glares back at him with the same energy. "So, this is civil," Jiro remarks, trying to break the tension. James doesn't respond to that, instead just takes a sip of the tea, giving an approving shrug to the taste. "So, business it is." Jiro lays his hands flat on the table before speaking, "James Frost?"
James looks up from the cup, "Yes?" he responds. "24 years old, and living in a bar, as a bouncer." Jiro tries to start the conversation, but it's just met with an awkward stare. Ama speaks up, "A bouncer from England? I didn't know they made Kamen Riders." James seems unphased by the attempt to belittle, "Anyone can be a Kamen Rider if they have the will. A doctor, a drifter, a rich kid." He looks back at Jiro when he made that last remark. "What do you want?" she replies, Jiro looking uncomfortable by her hostility, "Are you here to try and kill my son?" James shakes his head and turns to look her in the eye, "Despite how I may appear. I'm not a murderer. Fallen are one thing, but I've never taken a life." He pauses for a moment before answering her first question. "I want to destroy the Fallen. And to do so more effectively, I need the lion idol and the title of Kamen Rider Idol. Two things that I deserve." Ama takes offense to this claim, standing up from her chair, "Deserve? The only thing you deserve is.." Jiro speaks up, "Mother!" she quickly falls silent and sits back down in her chair. Jiro looks back at James, "Why? Why do you feel you deserve it?" James takes the cup and sips on the tea, "Why do you believe it belongs to you?" Jiro shrugs, as if the question was easy for him, "Because I am my father's son. Itosasaki Ichiro, the original Idol left this to me to finish what he started. In short, it's to complete my father's legacy."
At this moment, Akemi walks out of hiding, and approaches the table, taking a seat placed between the two riders. "Father's legacy?" James remarks, putting the cup down. "I never knew my father. He wasn't around during my childhood, although my Mum always said he was a good man. For a long time, I resented him for just leaving me." As he talked, Akemi just stared at his face, as if she was trying to read him. "So, in your own words, Kamen Rider Idol, belongs to your father's son?" James reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out an envelope. He places it down on the table and slides it towards Jiro. Akemi, watching the envelop slide, came to her conclusion. "Your mother's name was Elizabeth, correct?" James turns to Akemi, "That's right." Jiro opens the unsealed envelope and pulls out some papers. These papers appear to be the results of a DNA test. "James Frost has a 93% match with Itosasaki Ichiro." Ama snatches the papers out of Jiro's hands and reads them, her hand covers her mouth. Akemi just sat there, seemingly unphased, shown by her outside appearance.
James, puts down the empty cup on the table, "To make it simple. I am your older brother from a one-night stand involving my Mum, 4 years before your birth. So, using your own words against you, I deserve ownership of the title and idol." James looks out of breath after speaking, as if he had been keeping that in for so long. Jiro looks down at the table, and then to James. "No. You're not getting the idol or my name. You claim to be my father's son, but I can tell that you haven't got a shred of his spirit in you. I saw it in the way you fight. You fought those Fallen like an animal, not a true Kamen Rider." Ama stares at her son in disbelief. It was rare for her to witness an outburst from Jiro like that. Akemi, remaining calm, still has questions. "Who told you about all of this?" James sits back in his chair, "About 2 months ago, I was approached by a Japanese businessman who gave me shelter for the night, in return for hearing him out. He told me everything, showed me the paperwork, and evidence of the Fallen. I didn't believe him at first, but after seeing firsthand what the Fallen could do, I went for it. That's when he gave me this." James stands up from his chair, pulling out and slapping his Shinaito driver to his waist.
"If you're not going to give me my birthright, then I will have to take it from you. After all, I didn't lose to that bear Fallen yesterday." James attaches and twists the wolf idol to his belt, "Wolf!" the belt calls out, playing an instrumental jingle referencing a forest. Ama stands up, "Wait! This can't be true. I knew Ichiro for 3 years, I'm sure I would have known about it." James just cracks his neck, "What makes you think he knew about me?" Before Ama could reply, she is overlapped by the cry of "Lion!" from Jiro, the instrumental jungle theme clashes with the forest one. He stands up, driver ready. "By the end of this, I will show you that I am the true owner of the title of Kamen Rider Idol." The music gets more hectic as the two remain out of the suit, and the drivers are on standby. Akemi screams out to Ama, "Move!" James grabs the table, and lifts it, tossing it into the air as the two run at each other. "Henshin!"
To be continued!
