DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'Kamen Rider Fourze', nor any other 'Kamen Rider Media', nor any of their characters.
WORD COUNT: 1087
Friday, January 26th, 2018
All is quiet. The only sounds that permeate the silence are the soft beeps of the heart monitor and the murmurs and footsteps of the people outside the room, but she has learned to tune them out. All her focus is on the man lying in the bed in front of her. Nothing can move her from her vigil.
He hasn't moved in weeks. Three, to be precise. That was how long it's been since his cover was blown and he was beaten within an inch of his life. She's always known that his job is dangerous, but she's watched him battle powerful monsters and come out alive countless times. He got hurt sometimes in that first year, but never this badly.
Friday, January 5th, 2018
It wasn't supposed to go like this. Their intel had said that the Foundation X agents had left this country weeks ago. He was supposed to gather information about any Switches or Gaia Memories they'd sold while they were, track down the buyers, arrest them, and retrieve (and/or destroy) the technology.
He wasn't supposed to stumble upon a meeting between four agents and a full half-dozen members of the local crime syndicate. The other two Interpol officers who were with him on this assignment were almost immediately drawn into a shootout, while he ended up in a two-on-one fight with two of the Foundation X agents and the other two escaped. The pair who'd stayed behind had definitely been altered; the man turned into a shiny, green frog-man hybrid, while the woman became some kind of furry cat-monster.
Tomoko's parents don't understand, not really; while most of her high school classmates – and a few teachers – are fully aware of the Kamen Rider Club and their battles, her parents aren't. They don't fully understand how terrifying it is to see Ryūsei like this after watching him survive so much danger on a regular basis.
Her fellow Club members understand. They've been in and out all day. Shun and Miu arrived first; she turned pale and he punched the wall. Then JK came; he tried to keep up his usually cheerful and carefree demeanor, but she could tell how forced it was, as much as she appreciated the effort. Yūki and Kengo arrived within minutes of each other, and spent the rest of the day making sure that Tomoko and Ryūsei's family didn't have to leave his bedside for anything other than bathroom breaks (there wasn't much they could do about that, but running down to the cafeteria to get lunch and dinner for everyone was something they could handle). And when Gentarō arrived, he took one look at her and wrapped her in a huge hug, letting her cry into his jacket.
But now they're gone. She's all alone in the hospital room with her comatose boyfriend.
They were strong. They were good fighters, too. They weren't like most of the Zodiarts he'd faced, inexperienced teenagers who'd had a ton of power shoved into their hands and little idea of how to efficiently use it. They had an advantage in agility; the frog could leap and somersault high above his head, and the cat could twist and turn like she didn't have a spine. He spent more than half his time swinging and missing.
Then the cat got a lucky shot in on his back with her claws, and the frog kicked him with his powerful legs. That was enough to knock him down long enough for both of them to hit him with some sort of energy attack from their mouths, and that was enough for him to lose his Meteor transformation.
Then they left him alone with the criminals, injured and vulnerable.
Ryūsei's parents left shortly before midnight. His mother had a few things to arrange with her job before she could stay by his bedside full-time, and his father went with her. They insisted that the hospital staff consider Tomoko family, so that she would be allowed to stay in his room overnight.
It's around two in the morning when she feels his fingers twitch against hers, and she practically jumps in surprise. "Ryūsei?" she gasps.
There's no movement for several seconds, and she starts to wonder if she imagined it when it happens again. His fingers flex, just a little bit, and she can't help the tears that begin to trickle from her eyes as she calls for a doctor.
Someone was yelling in his earpiece, saying that backup was on its way, but he knew they wouldn't get there in time. The gunshots had stopped, and none of the voices drawing near him were those of his two colleagues.
It was all mostly a blur, after that.
In the days after, most of what he would remember was a flurry of fists and feet slamming into his body, and a distant feeling of disappointment that this was how he, a Kamen Rider, would go out: at the hands of ordinary humans.
What was just as disappointing was that he wouldn't get the opportunity to ask her…
Another several hours go by before Ryūsei actually wakes up. He's dazed and confused and actually falls back to sleep for a short while, only to wake up again that afternoon.
His parents have stepped out; Tomoko wasn't really paying attention to what they said in explanation. Ryūsei's still really tired, but in a lot of pain, despite the drugs he's on.
It's because of those drugs that she doesn't initially take his question seriously. But then, as she looks at him staring intently – desperately – at her, she realises that it's not the drugs talking.
"You… you really mean that?"
He smiles through his pain as well as he can. "I've already got a ring in my apartment. I was going to ask you when I got back from this assignment…" He winces, but whether it's from the pain or the thought of how badly his plans turned out, she's not sure. Then he reaches out and takes her hand. "I'll ask you again. Nozama Tomoko, will you marry me?"
It takes her a couple seconds to remember how to speak. She's not the kind of girl who spent her life dreaming of her future husband, but she has, more than once, wondered what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with this man. They had been through so much together, she couldn't imagine being with anyone else.
"Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."
The next Whumptober entry will be a 'Young Justice' story, for Prompt #29: Numb. It should be out on Saturday, September 12th.