Longest Night
Kiraru gave a concerned look at the tense staring contest unfolding before him.
At one end of the table sat Matori, hands folded. It almost seemed like he didn't know there was food at the table with the way he was watching; Eyes narrowed and focused.
At the other end was Raiga Shirou, Kamen Rider Lykos as he had introduced himself earlier. He didn't seem much older than Kiraru. Scarred and coated in dust, he looked almost like a stray dog with the way he was gobbling down the measly meal. Kiraru couldn't help but be impressed despite the other boy's aggression toward him.
Yet he also couldn't help but remember how they had fought the spider monster. It was a spur of the moment event, yet they seemed to have worked together well.
"So," Matori finally broke the silence, causing Raiga to finally lift his head from his food, "what brought you here?"
Raiga seemed lost in thought for a moment, "well I was tracking that dragonfly." He glowered subtly at Kiraru and muttered, "so much for that."
Kiraru groaned internally, mindful that Matori was still sitting right next to him. He was curious about one thing though.
"What for? You already have Snowolver."
Raiga cast an incredulous look at him, then scowled.
"Oh you're so new it's not even funny," he groaned, "bettin your damn contract was an accident too!"
Kiraru tried really hard to ignore the harsh insult, yet still found himself frowning. In the corner of his eye, he saw Matori twitch slightly.
"Power," Raiga finally answered, "the stronger the monster, the stronger yours becomes when it eats them. And that dragonfly seemed pretty strong. Saw it beat back a few Zelles a couple days earlier."
Kiraru winced and rubbed his still sore shoulder. He did not need to be told that the monster was strong. He had learned that the hard way.
"And for what reason," Matori seemed tense now, "No one gathers power like that for just no reason, and it seems pretty clear you're trying to gather it quickly."
"None of your business!" Raiga growled. He flopped back in his chair with a huff, "jeez, give me a break. I'm gonna stick around for the night then I'll be outta here and outta your hair, got more monsters to fight."
Matori didn't seem to be happy with the response, but left it at that.
"Very well," he said, "there's an empty bedroom upstairs for emergencies, it's just down the hall."
Raiga made an acknowledging noise and left the table, picking up his small pack of belongings and stalking up the stairs. Kiraru rose to excuse himself as well.
"Kiraru."
He paused once again at Matori's voice.
"Mr. Morimoto I-"
His hand rose to stop him, "what's happened has happened, there's no arguing about it now." He took a deep breath, "I don't like it. I don't like any of this after all, but there's nothing I can do about it anymore."
Kiraru relaxed a bit.
"What I could do is get onto you about disobeying my orders again!"
Panic bubbled back to the surface as he recalled exactly how he got into this situation.
"But I think holding that deck will be enough punishment." He rose from his seat and began to gather up dishes, "training starts tomorrow, you're going to need it if you're going to survive as a rider."
A bit overwhelmed by what seemed to be Matori's acceptance, Kiraru nodded and turned to head up the stairs. Ready to retire for the night.
He heard the ringing first.
It was sharp and painful; piercing through his head with an agonizing sharpness. It woke him up almost immediately, bringing a hand to his head. It was an unnerving sound too, putting all his senses on edge and making his blood run cold.
Something was wrong.
He heard the sirens next.
Kiraru's blood ran even colder at that sound. The sirens only blared like this at the signs of a raid.
There were Mirror Monsters in the settlement.
He practically leapt from his bed, dashing into the hall just as Raiga burst from the spare bedroom.
"The Hell's going on!?" He growled, clearly irritated at being woken up. Kiraru shot him an incredulous look.
A green blur streaked past both of them. Matori had already donned his coat and was dashing to the door. His deck at the ready.
Raiga seemed to figure it out quickly.
"Oh yes!" He shouted in excitement, "Let's go Snowolver! Here's hoping for a good haul!"
Of course.
Kiraru yelped as he watched Raiga pull his deck from his pocket and rush down the stairs. He snatched his deck from his bedroom and ran to keep up with both; flashing it in front the only intact mirror in the building.
"HENSHIN!"
Rayza, Hypnos, and Lykos burst from the building and took in the scene before them.
Utter chaos.
It was all small monsters, but there were a lot. Shrapnel and rubble flew as the beasts rampaged. People were screaming and frantically rushing around as they tried to escape the attack. Most of the horde was made up of shining white monsters dashing around slicing up anything in their path. Kiraru recognized them immediately.
"Zebraskulls!"
Hypnos quickly drew a card.
TOSS VENT
And the Miragering flew into his hand. He sent it flying, taking out several monsters and drawing the horde's attention.
"Kiraru stay close and follow me."
Lykos rushed past both of them and vanished into a mass of monsters with a whoop.
"What about him?"
"He knows what he's doing."
Hypnos took off, dashing into battle. Any monster in his path was either batted away with his staff or sliced to bits with the ring. He dodged and weaved with the awe inspiring grace Kiraru knew him for.
Only this time Hypnos was fighting alongside him. Rayza drew a card.
SWORD VENT
As soon as the spear flipped into his hands he ran after Hypnos. He tried to mimic the staff movements the best he could, flinching at the sparks drawn as the spear's wing ornaments dragged across enemy flesh. They seemed to pour in through the hole in the wall, flowing in a near endless wave.
STRIKE VENT
Rayza jolted at the sound behind him. He turned just in time to Lykos tackle a mirror monster straight out of the air. One that would have struck Rayza from behind had it continued its course.
"You owe me double now thief!" Lykos shouted over the roaring of monsters.
"I have a name," Rayza shouted back, focused on not losing Hypnos, "it's Kiraru!"
"Kiraru huh?" He clawed down another monster, "I'll remember that!"
A hand tugged at Rayza's shoulder. He turned again to find Hypnos urging him along.
"This way!"
It took Rayza a few moments of running after Hypnos to realize they had exited the settlement.
"Where are we going?" He asked, trying to mask his worry.
"To head off this invasion," Hypnos replied, "these monsters have a leader. If we defeat it we can start picking off the others."
Rayza nodded and tried to steel himself. The leader, it was probably a powerful monster that they would have to fight. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Hypnos fling himself through a window and disappear.
"Wait-"
He wasn't able to finish, or even stop running, before he felt cold claws press against his back. He then found himself being shoved hard into the window. To his surprise however he didn't break it.
He fell through it, and found himself flopping onto the hard pavement of the street he was just running on. Taking a sharp breath, he pulled himself off the ground and surveyed the area.
The street was empty. The Mirror Monsters that had littered the streets were gone. His eyes fell on a ruined piece of a sign; the words printed upon it were reversed. There was a thinness to the air that made it hard to feel his breath though it was reaching his lungs.
And It was cold. A deep chill that seemed to freeze him straight through his suit and to the bone. An ominous foreboding that crawled up his spine and sent all of his senses on edge. He had only been told of this place before.
"Is this… The Mirror World?"
The cold claws fell onto his shoulder and Lykos peered into his field of vision.
"Indeed it is newbie," he spoke, smugness painting his voice as he passed by, "don't linger, you'll die."
The distorted screech of a mirror monster and sounds of battle echoed through the uncanny silence and broke off the conversation. Rayza and Lykos dashed off in the direction of the racket.
They rounded the corner just as Hypnos leapt back, sizing up his opponent. The supposed leader of the raiding horde.
It was a Zebraskull, but different from the ones currently swarming the settlement. It stood taller than the others, and bore sharper blades. But what was most striking was it's head crest, the iron blade glinting with wicked sharpness.
It slammed its blades together and unleashed another unearthly neigh before charging the trio of riders.
Lykos was quick to meet it, bringing his claws down and forcing the zebra to raise its blades in defense.
"Split up and we'll hit it from both sides," Hypnos directed, "while it's distracted!"
Rayza nodded, breaking off into a dash the minute he saw Hypnos move. Both closed the distance, Rayza thrusting forward with his spear and Hypnos slicing down with the Miragering.
The attacks hit true. The Zebraskull reared back with a pained screech, giving Lykos the opportunity to rake his claws down its chest.
Stumbling back, the Zebraskull flailed around in the hopes of catching its other two attackers. Hypnos leapt back out of the way. Rayza was not so lucky.
He gasped as he hit the pavement hard. The wind knocked completely out of his lungs and his head spinning. As he regained his bearings, he yelped in fear as the beast brought its blades down.
The green staff met them with a clang. Hypnos pushed with all his might, forcing the blades away from Rayza and shoving the Zebraskull back into Lykos's path.
Lykos wasted no time in tearing into the beast, nailing it with heavy punches and sharp claw strikes. Each hit drawing wicked arcs of sparks.
As the Zebra was occupied, Hypnos bent down to check on Rayza.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Rayza probably didn't sound very convincing. His wounds from his earlier fights began to sting again. Trying not to think about how close he was to being cut open, he attempted to drag himself back to his feet.
Hypnos offered him a hand, which Rayza gladly took. As soon as both were standing again, Hypnos drew a card and turned to Rayza.
"We're finishing this," he said, turning the card so Rayza could see. Getting the message, Rayza drew his own.
FINAL VENT
GuldMirage and Raydragoon both appeared and took back their weapons. Hypnos and Rayza prepared themselves as the spear and ring were tossed.
Lykos realized what was happening and shoved himself away from the Zebra. It brayed again and moved to follow before it noticed the other two riders' spectacle.
Hypnos hit first, the ring cleaving through the beast.
Rayza was next. He leapt into the air followed by Raydragoon. The dragonfly sending both spear and rider straight through the monster with a powerful flap of its wings.
The beast seized up.
And exploded, the orb of light floating up from its body.
Snowolver leapt down from a nearby building and gobbled the orb up. No one else found it worth arguing over, they had defeated plenty more before it.
Rayza was mostly content to fall to his knees, exhausted. Giving a small groan in protest as Hypnos nudged him back to his feet.
"Come on, no lingering," he sighed, sounding just as tired, "back the way we came."
The only one who didn't seem exhausted was Lykos. He whooped and laughed at his prize, probably grinning behind his mask as he patted Snowolver on the back before bounding after the two.
As soon as they exited the Mirror World, Lykos wasted no time in flashing three fingers at Rayza. His hands still adorned with his Strike Vent's claws.
"That's three now!" He proclaimed proudly, "I'm owed three times now!"
Rayza, who was now trying to both warm up from their time in the Mirror World and stay standing, was surprised he was actually able to resound.
"I only owe you twice."
"Eh? What makes you think that!?" Lykos growled, confused.
"I helped you fight the spider monster."
"I could have taken that Dispider by myself!"
"You two fought a Dispider!?" Hypnos had snapped himself out of his thoughts at that. He sounded both surprised and concerned.
Oblivious to Hypnos's tone, Lykos nodded wildly, "Hell yeah! Should have seen it, me and Snowolver took it down easily! Took off all its freaky legs!"
He cast a glance over his shoulder at Rayza, "he helped too I guess."
Rayza groaned. He was way too tired for this.
They had been walking for quite a bit, and Rayza was able to see the wall of the settlement again.
He was definitely grateful for that, his entire body felt heavy and sore. He prayed silently that they wouldn't have to fight anymore monsters tonight.
Strangely, it appeared Rayza's prayers were answered. When they reached the hole in the settlement, they found the number of monsters had greatly decreased. A few straggling beasts sped past them, clearly in retreat.
"Huh," Lykos started, "never seen them run away that fast."
"I have," Hypnos growled and picked up the pace, "only when a rider is after them."
And true to Hypnos's words, a rider stood in the center of the settlement. Their back turned to the group, as they scanned the settlement for more monsters.
He was clad in bright, white armor. The way the scavenged industrial lights shown down on him gave him the appearance of some kind of angel.
As Rayza leaned forward to get a better look, he dislodged some rubble, catching the rider's attention. They turned their head to look at him.
Rayza recognized him instantly.
The rider from earlier. The one who had watched him fight from the mirror.
"You," Rayza could barely form the word. It came out as a whisper, yet the rider clearly still heard it.
"Who?" Lykos had asked, but Rayza was already trying to head down to them. Halfway down the ruined wall however, his exhaustion finally caught up to him and he found himself slamming into the ground hard.
"Kiraru!" Hypnos was quickly at his side. The white rider watched carefully. Gaze locked onto Rayza's.
But he said nothing, and soon began to walk away. Rayza watched helplessly as the rider quickly vanished into the shadows of the night.
Hello again!
It's been a little bit. I got kind of stumped on what to do for this chapter, but I finally figured out something I thought worked.
And the white rider appears again! The mystery thickens!
As always, feel free to review! I enjoy hearing what people think, and constructive criticism is always welcome!