The conquest of all worlds by Dai-Shocker was nearing its completion. Rider after Rider fell, their worlds crumbling shortly after unless the Great Leader deemed them interesting enough or if they held anything noteworthy or of value. The Rider Multiverse was beginning to fall under Dai-Shockers order at an alarming pace.
"Great Leader!" An old man doning a scientist garb, covered with a black cape, reacted, standing straight and then bowing down to one knee just as another man, much younger than him, passed in front of him, through the dark metallic hallway.
The Great Leader was wearing a black tracksuit emblazoned with the Dai-Shocker symbol on the left part of the chest: a double-headed eagle with the letters 'DCD' on its body. He carried himself loosely, without a care in the world.
"Loosen up, Doc." He spoke at the scientist. "After all, I've told you countless times." The Great Leader approached the doctor slowly. "You're useful enough to warrant some ease."
"Great Leader!" the man repeated as he got back up on his two feet. "Thank you very much."
The young leader snickered while turning his back on the man. "This is the big week, doctor! Look alive." he then walked out of the hallway.
Just as he left, the Doctor turned around and brought out an old communicator from deep within a hidden pocket in his black cape.
'… Decade has entered the throne room.'
"Tsukasa-kun!"
The shout was heard throughout the entire street the Hikari Photo Studio was located. The passerby pedestrians did not bat an eye however. Why? Well… It happens at least four to five times a week, of course.
Ah yes, the Hikari Photo Studio… A family business, now ran by Natsumi Hikari and her grandfather Eijiro Hikari. It's a great place to get your photo taken, unless the new guy takes it… in which case, you're likely to come out as a distorted "Scream" painting in the picture. This new guy is Tsukasa Kadoya, an amnesiac Natsumi found one day laying down on the grass unconscious in the nearby local park. Out of kindness in her heart, she decided to give him a job as well as a place to stay until he gets better from his memory loss.
With a scared moan, the startled Tsukasa had been caught sleeping on the job… For the third time. This week.
Natsumi sighed desperately. "Seriously, at this rate what am I going to do with you?" she shook her head in disapproval as her long dark brown bangs swung left and right. "If you keep screwing up these pictures, we, and mostly you, are going to be in deep trouble." She showed him a set of pictures that he had taken a few hours ago.
"Ah…" the drowsy man sounded. "They came out wrong again…" Tsukasa spoke as he took the pictures.
"Yeah." Natsumi nodded rapidly. "Again. That's the problem." She added, batting her hazel, long lashed eyes angrily.
"I'm sorry." The failed photographer spoke, not even so much looking at her, taking his long black coat, from the coathanger by the door after getting up.
"Wha- Where do you think you're going?!" Natsumi spoke as if she was almost to the point of popping a vein in her forehead.
"Get inspiration." Tsukasa answered, putting on his coat over the magenta sweater he was wearing and closed the door behind him.
"Tsukasa-kun…" Natsumi trembled, building up an anger point, lifting her hand up to face level with her thumb sticking upwards and clenching her fist tightly, letting out a horrific cracking sound.
Shortly after, a customer walked in the shop as Natsumi immediately changed moods to welcome the woman into her shop.
"Welcome!" she cheered, celebrating the arrival of a customer just as Tsukasa left, meaning he wouldn't be able to spoil another photograph.
Tsukasa walked to the park where he was initially found by Natsumi. It was relatively close to the river, which made for a good spot to get fresh air and unwind. However, today was proving to be a difficult day for him.
"That dream…" Tsukasa ruffled his brown hair in frustration and took a deep breath, sitting on a bench. He observed the people around him and the environment as well. The flowers… the trees… the grass and even the waves in the river. Everything seemed so in place for him. But then, everytime he looked at himself, all of it crumbles. Tsukasa felt as if he belonged somewhere else. Not a different city or country, but… almost as if a different world.
Tsukasa looked to the river noting unusual ripples caused by the wind and then to the sky.
"… There's a strange wind today… Isn't there?"
The conflicted man sat in that bench for nearly half an hour until he decided to bring out a small pink camera from the pocket of his coat, snapping a picture of the water. The picture came out shortly after, displaying the scenery in its usual distorted fashion. Tsukasa sighed loudly, looking at the result, but shortly after, he squinted his eyes and brought the picture closer to his face. He could see a peculiar entity in the water; It seemed female, with purple skin and green almost slimy, scaley looking hair. Lowering the picture, he stared at the water intently, finding the mysterious figure wasn't there to begin with.
"This is getting weirder and weirder…" Tsukasa got up and began snapping pictures at the environment at random, in a blind hope that at least one of them would come out well, to no avail.
"Hey you!" a big, bald and rough looking man wearing a fancy white blazer approached.
Tsukasa spun on his heel and snapped a picture of the man. "Eh?" his head perked up.
"What the hell is this?!" the big man shot his hand forward, holding a picture, alledgedly of himself, polluted by stained glass.
"Ah… No good once more huh…" he took the picture into his right hand, wandering around in a circle afterwards. "But this one seems a bit more artistic doesn't it?"
"Artistic?! I'll show you artistic…!" the man winded up a punch and shot his fist forward, but Tsukasa dropped the picture by accident and ducked down in order to catch it, making the incoming punch miss completely.
"It's a shame you don't like it…" Tsukasa pouted. "But mind if I keep this one?"
Gritting his teeth, enraged, the rough man shouted once more at the photographer as another punch began making its way towards Tsukasa. "I payed for that, you moron!"
"Yeah… I know… My bad." Tsukasa side-stepped to the left, holding the picture up to the sunlight, causing the second punch to miss as well.
Back at the Hikari Photo Studio, another customer left happily with Natsumi's service as Natsumi herself was left happy with the payment. What she was unhappy about was the fact that Tsukasa hadn't returned yet. The girl gritted her teeth as a vein began to swole on her forehead once more. "Grandpa, I'm going to get Tsukasa!" she shouted at the elderly man in the back room, taking her orange beanie that matched her orange knee high socks. She also took the white sports jacket from the coathanger by the door as she slammed the door shut, shaking the paintings on the wall.
"Woah… She's mad." The old man commented, poking his head out of the room.
Natsumi marched at a rapid pace towards the park as she already knew where Tsukasa usually goes when he needs to "find inspiration". Passing through the narrow street, Natsumi felt a peculiar breeze, as she felt the windows of the houses give off a bizarre reflection. She stopped in her tracks, but ultimately shook her head and continued her trek to bring her employee back to the shop.
As she came close, she found the large man still attempting to hit Tsukasa as the latter kept dodging the incoming punches whimsically, absolutely unware he was at some physical peril. Natsumi panicked a little bit as she sprinted towards the scene, placing herself between the two individuals. She began her regular routine of apologizing to the unsatisfied customer who received a subpar service by the amnesiac man.
"Hm? Oh! Natsumikan! Something wrong?" he walked up to her side and was immediately met with a fate worse than death… Tsukasa was hit the Hikari Family Secret Technique: Laughter Point.
Natsumi shot her thumb towards her mediocre employee's neck, causing his face to struck a pained expression for a brief second before Tsukasa collapsed in an uncontrollable frenzy of endless laughter.
Creeped out by what he was witnessing, the man took a step back. "S-Screw this…" He turned around and left the two photographers alone.
Tsukasa was still laughing like a madman, however.
"What do you think this is?!" she argued, with good reason. After all, Tsukasa did just leave while he was still on the clock. Tired, the girl gave off a long sigh and sat down. "What am I going to do with you…" Natsumi shook her head.
"I—don't—know either!" Tsukasa mustered between hard laughter, that was beginning to die down, at last. He caught his breath from the intense laughing segment and turned to the girl. "I hate when you do that."
"Yeah? There's more where that came from!" she sticked her thumb up once again, in a threatening fashion, almost jumping on Tsukasa like a hungry tiger onto its prey.
"Woah! Wait, d-don't!" Tsukasa leaned back, placing his hands forward defensively.
She sighed once more, leaning her back on the bench. "Any progress?"
"Huh?" he slowly regained his posture, leaning forward sitting next to her.
"You know, the amnesia and well… the way your photos come out." She was also somewhat unable to look at him in the eye, as she, despite all the rage regarding his lousy work, also pities him a little bit. She couldn't imagine what it's like to have no one to turn to as her grandfather, Eijiro, has always been there for her. There's also the fact that Grandpa did in fact enjoy Tsukasa's company and has, in his own way, livened up the place.
"Oh…" Tsukasa looked down. "Not really… I mean, there's this weird dream, I suppose…" The man recalled the peculiar, vivid dream.
"Huh… I've had weird dreams of my own, actually." The girl admitted, leaning forward, placing her elbows on her legs and resting her face on her hands.
"That is pretty weird." Tsukasa nodded slowly, looking forward to the river, which reminded him the odd photo he took.
The wind slowly began to pick up.
…
"Say, Natsumikan… There's a strange wind blowing today isn't there?"
AN:
The chapters will probably be as short as this, falling in the 2k word or below threshold.
This chapter is very similar to the first part of the first episode. I intend to keep it close to the original but different enough, I suppose. If everything goes according to plan, it should pick up relatively soon with some of the more "drastic" changes.
In any case, thank you for the read! Let me know what you think.
-tTM