Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I wasn't feeling motivated until I watched Drive's premiere. Anyways, the next chapter won't take so long so look forward to that.
A peaceful, quiet night had descended upon Tokyo, a rare opportunity that very few people didn't take advantage of. A local park, a popular place for young couples to be together despite the high concentration of homeless who called the park home, was abuzz with activity. Security guards patrolled the area, always on guard but enjoying the atmosphere all the same. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, and the night sky overhead was clear, showing a picturesque starry sky. It was a rare, precious moment, one free of Krimival interference, and the people who were at that park were enjoying every second as though it would be their last.
Then, carried on the wind like an innocent whisper, the singing began. It was melodic, possessing an otherworldly quality that would lead some to believe that only an angel could be singing such a beautiful song. Young couples' dates ended abruptly, the homeless stopped dreaming of better lives, and all thoughts of protecting the innocent left the minds of the park's security as something in the back of each and every person's mind began to stir, compelling them to go towards the source of the singing, to be with this magnificent songstress, and to allow themselves to be consumed by her song.
Slowly the entranced people began to walk off the paths and towards one of the more isolated areas of the park, ignoring all obstacles in their way, even each other. The beauty of the cherry blossom trees was lost on them, their scattered petals crushed underfoot. One young lady had the unfortunate luck to trip over an exposed root, the shock momentarily snapping her out of her trance. Before she could react, however, the feet of dozens of spellbound innocents fell upon her, pressing her further down into the ground. She could not even scream for help as she was trampled mercilessly, though in the end that would not even matter when one security guard's boot came down on the back of her neck. There was a small crack that went unnoticed, as the song drowned out everything else.
To them, there was nothing but the song.
"Come."
That one word, that one order, shot through the minds of everyone simultaneously, and they began to move faster in a leisurely jog. Through gaps in the trees, some of them could make out a figure standing in the center of a lake, her copper hair flowing around her as she danced on the surface of the water. Her beauty was more entrancing than her song, and as she turned her honey-colored eyes to her approaching audience, people began crying, wondering how they could possibly have lived their lives without this beauty in it. She rose a pale-skinned hand to them, giving them all a smile that made a few men – and even some women – drop to their knees as they felt the strength leave their bodies.
"Come to me," she whispered, an ethereal glow surrounding her body as she resumed singing. Her audience obeyed, hands outstretched as if they were trying to reach out and touch this lustrous goddess of song and beauty. None of them even realized that they had begun to walk into the water, too entranced they were by the woman's song and sensuous movements.
It wasn't until the first scream rang out that they all snapped out of their trances. A security guard screamed in panic as he began to slip beneath the water, alerting them all to the danger they were in. As one, they all realized what was happening, that they would drown unless they got out of the water now, and yet when they tried to stop, to turn around and escape this horrific scene, their terror compounded upon realizing they could no longer control their bodies. More screams of terror rang out, only to be drowned out by the woman's singing; it no longer sounded angelic, and it carried a sinister undertone that promised only one thing:
That they would all die here tonight.
As more and more people began to unwillingly submerge themselves in the water, the woman stopped singing so she could look at them. She took in the looks of terror on their faces, she heard their pleading cries, and she saw the bubbles of precious air appearing on the surface of the lake around her, signs that those who were trapped beneath the waters were running out of time.
She threw her head back and laughed. As the first freshly-drowned corpses began to rise to the surface of the lake, a smile that would terrify a demon split her face, revealing teeth that belonged in the mouth of a shark. Seeing the last of her victims disappear beneath the water, her body seemed to ripple as though it were made of water, revealing a monstrous appearance beneath her angelic visage. Sharp claws grew from her fingers and the talons of a bird of prey erupted from her feet.
"Time to feed," the Siren Krimival announced as she dove into the water.
By morning, there would be no traces of people having ever entered the lake.
"So, Naoki," Karin began, resting her chin in the palm of one of her bandaged hands as she stared at the Deviant Rider in front of her, "do you think you'd mind telling me who that gold Deviant Rider was?"
Naoki nearly choked on his rice at the question, and he could feel his eyes slowly start to bulge out of their sockets. "I-I don't know what you mean. What gold Deviant Rider?" Naoki asked as he chuckled nervously. He looked up at Karin, only to immediately look away when he saw how intense her glare was. He smiled weakly as he attempted to look at her from the corner of his eye. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about…"
"I saw the both of you on TV yesterday," she responded simply, pointing her free hand at the young man's face. "Granted, I'm still not sure if my fever was making me hallucinate after seeing you on that motorcycle – which you still haven't told me how you got that – but I'm positive I saw you two talking like you knew each other. Plus, with as much light as that guy was giving off, I'm pretty sure he damaged my vision a little bit. So," she leaned forwards in her seat, "are you going to tell me who he was, or are you going to be mean and keep lying, even after I made you this nice meal."
On the inside, Naoki thought that calling the meal she had served him 'nice' would be pushing it a little; even calling it a meal when it was just a bowl of rice and some noodles seemed to be a stretch. Still, wasn't it the thought that counted? Not to mention the fact that she was still injured when she'd made it, and despite its simplicity it was still nice to have a home-cooked meal for once.
Let it be known that Naoki's talents did not lie in the kitchen or in the culinary arts, and he was pretty sure that Tanaka was getting tired of paying for fire damages caused by his attempts at cooking.
Speaking of Tanaka, it was the day after the Ram Krimival's attack. After convincing Sora not to blow Jin's head off of the man's shoulders, a process that took a lot of time, patience, and a flurry of curses that made Naoki wonder just where someone could have picked up such a colorful vocabulary, he'd left to go see his boss, Mr. Tanaka. To say that his boss was pleased to see him would be a bold-faced lie, and after being sufficiently yelled at and chewed out for nearly an hour-and-a-half, Naoki found himself wandering around the streets of Tokyo, half out of desire to make sure that there were no Krimivals around, and half because he was trying to cheer himself up. Eventually, he made his way home and immediately went to bed. Upon waking up he was greeted by the meal that he was currently eating.
Still, would it be a good idea to reveal the identity of another Deviant Rider to someone? He'd already made the mistake of doing that with his own identity, and knowing Jin… Actually, Jin probably wouldn't mind if more people knew that he was Deviant Rider Satan; it would only help fuel his ego, a thought that made Naoki cringe inwardly. For a few minutes, he debated with himself over whether or not he should say anything, before finally sighing once he realized it wouldn't matter. There was no way that Karin would just let this matter drop, not after he'd seen how persistent she could be.
"I'm not entirely sure how much I can tell you, but I don't think it would matter too much if I told you his name at least, and maybe a little bit about him," Naoki finally said, causing Karin to smile in excitement. "His name's Jin Shimaki, and he's a complete egotist. He treats everyone like he's the king of the world and they're just his subjects, and he's got a really short temper when it comes to not getting what he wants." He sighed and leaned back in his seat, folding his hands behind his head. "Of course, the public won't know any of that when he's acting like as a Deviant Rider."
"So he IS another Deviant Rider like you!"
Naoki nodded. "Yeah, he's a Deviant Rider, just like me. Deviant Rider Satan, to be specific."
Karin blinked in surprise at Jin's codename, a slight chill settling over her as she repeated the name in her head a few times. "Satan… Okay, I'm not really all that sure about Christianity or any religions for that matter, but isn't Satan, well, you know…" She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Isn't Satan the Devil?"
"Yes, but please, whatever you do, never let Jin hear you say that," Naoki warned. "It's a bit of a sore spot for him, and he wouldn't stop complaining about it when they assigned it to him. If you ever meet him, don't mention the name. He will hate you for the rest of your life."
"I don't know, it just seems like it would be so tempting," Karin said, catching her unintentional joke a moment later. She chuckled lightly into her hand. "I mean, it's just such an evil sounding name for someone who's supposed to be a hero."
"And Sin isn't?" Naoki countered, joining her laughter. The two of them continued to laugh at the irony of two people who were supposed to be heroes having names with such evil meanings, though Karin, in between bouts of laughter, took time to look at Naoki, the warning she received yesterday regarding the laughing young man in front of her still fresh in her mind. She knew that Naoki was dangerous considering that he could fight Krimivals on even ground and even win, but was that really enough reason for someone to tell her to stay away from him? Naoki saved her life, and the lives of so many others, and after being around him she saw that, despite being a goofy idiot, he was a good person at heart. She still remembered that one time that he seemed to change personalities completely, but now, seeing him laughing like he was…
Karin decided, right then and there, that whoever it was that had called her was wrong. Naoki wasn't someone she needed to stay away from. He might be an idiot, but he was an idiot that gave her, and everyone else, hope against the Krimivals.
A series of loud knocks at the door broke them from their laughing fit, and Naoki stood up, motioning for Karin to stay seated. "I'm coming, hold on," he called as another series of impatient knocks rang out. Unlocking the door, he opened it to reveal a young man, younger than Naoki and possessing very boyish features, standing at the entrance. He was dressed in a blue hoodie and faded jeans. He wore fogged-up glasses, and as he looked up at Naoki, he raised a hand in greetings.
"Yo, Naoki."
"…Isamu?" Naoki looked up and down at the young man in front of him, confused as to why the young man had come to his home. "What are you doing here?" he asked warily.
"Oh, you know, just business stuff," Isamu replied casually. His eyes glanced over to Karin, who had been craning her neck to get a look at the visitor. "Hey, who's the dude with long hair over there?"
Naoki felt like slamming his face into a wall when he heard those words, already knowing that this could not end well in any way, shape, or form.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?"
No, it would not end well.
Smoke drifted lazily to the ceiling as Shou walked down a hallway lit only by candles, his footsteps echoing against the wooden floor. At the end of the hallway was a large sliding door, with two robed men sitting on either side of it. Upon seeing him approaching, both men grabbed one of the door's handles and pulled, opening it so that Shou could continue walking unimpeded. The door closed as soon as he walked through, and the man looked around the room he was in for a moment.
It was a large rectangular room, lit by candles just like the hallway had been, and it was unfurnished save for six pillows, half of which were occupied by people wearing suits like him, all in front of a raised dais that was covered by a large, semi-transparent screen that cut the dais, and an entire section of the room, off from anyone else.
"Wow, Shou," a younger voice piped up from his left. His eyes followed the voice to its source, to where a girl, only about 18 or so, sat on her knees. She was the only girl in attendance, in fact, and her hair was cut in a short bob. When their eyes met, she pouted at him. "You're the one to set up this meeting and yet you're late for it? Good job there." Shou looked down at her, his face a wall of indifference. Her pout deepened when he said nothing and continued to stare at her. "What's your problem?" she snapped.
"Rika… Isn't Rika your name?" he asked, pointing a finger at the young woman. "You're still new here, so it might take me some time to remember your name. I apologize in advance," Shou said as he walked towards his own pillow and sat down, resting on his knees like the others. Ignoring the piercing glare she sent his way, his eyes fell on the two empty seats. "Where are Torao and Nagisa?"
"I should rip your fingernails out, one by one…" Rika muttered, plucking at her own nails as she imagined what she would do to Shou.
"That's enough, Rika," an older man sitting beside her said. He was around sixty years of age, and he plucked at one of the few strands of salt and pepper colored hair on his balding head. In his hand, he held a cane to support his weakened body. "You're one of us now. This is a place for adults, so if you can't act like an adult, you should leave now." He gestured at the door with his cane for emphasis.
Shou looked towards the older man. "Goro, do you know where Torao and Nagisa are?"
The man, Goro, shrugged and reached over his shoulder with his cane. "I don't keep up with the young ones; too much trouble," he said as he scratched his back with his cane.
"Torao will not be joining us, unfortunately," a young man holding an impressively thick book said, drawing Shou's attention to himself. He was about the same age as Shou, but his appearance was immaculate when compared to the other man. His hair was cut short and precisely, as if someone had used a ruler to measure each individual strand of hair so that they would all be the same length. As he spoke, he removed a handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and began to clean his glasses. "Currently, he is attempting to calm the newly-born Sulfur Krimival, who is rampaging just outside of Tokyo. Nagisa, however, seems to have chosen to ignore the summons and is currently residing at an unknown location."
Shou nodded thoughtfully as he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "Thank you, Hideaki," he said before throwing the cigarette in his mouth, slowly starting to chew it.
"Don't mention it," Hideaki replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. "However, I would like to remind you all that I cannot spend more than thirty minutes at this meeting without it coming into direct conflict with my schedule. I have important lessons to attend that I simply cannot put off attending."
Swallowing the remains of his cigarette, Shou reached into his jacket and pulled out another one. "Don't worry. I don't plan on having this take long," he said as he lit the new cigarette and placed it between his lips. He was quiet for a while as he took in a deep drag, breathing out slowly.
Rika's eye twitched. "Well? What did you gather us here for!?" she snapped, her voice raising with every word.
"Deviant Rider Sin."
The three words hung in the air like a bad omen, each member present for the meeting immediately giving Shou all of their undivided attention. The time for idle small talk was over; with those three words, Shou had told them just how serious the nature of this meeting was.
"We've all seen the footage, the fight between Sin and the newly-born Vine Krimival. It's been spreading over the news networks and the Internet like wildfire," Shou said, his eyes scanning the room. "Just recently, an ally of his managed to bring one of our number down, which worries me immensely. Everything that has been happening as of late just confirms what our contacts within the government have been reporting all this time: that the humans finally have a weapon – no, weapons, capable of fighting a Krimival on equal grounds. From what I've seen, possibly at our own level of power as well."
"It makes you wonder just who this Sin is," Goro mused, cupping his chin with his free hand.
"He's a pain in the ass, that's what he is," Rika remarked, a slight edge to her voice. "We need to find him now and take him out. Him, and any other Deviant Rider that pokes their stupid little heads into our business."
"Unfortunately, I have no current means of discerning his identity." Hideaki sighed and pulled out a small notebook from the inside of his suit. Flipping it open, he pushed his glasses up his nose as he read the contents. "From all the footage that I've managed to compile together, it is clear that his main style of fighting is that of a boxer's. From the type of strikes to the control of his punches and the stances he takes during a fight, it all fits, yet cross-referencing his style of boxing with a list of pro boxers stemming from the past two decades to the present has yielded no interesting results. Furthermore, the deathblow he dealt to the Vine Krimival was in the form of a kick, perhaps suggesting a background in some form of martial arts; perhaps he merely prefers boxing as a way of fighting. The government has gone to extreme measures to conceal this man's identity, and even voice recognition was unable to come up with a perfect match for the man – likely he has some form of vocal modifier in the armor that he wears."
Goro sighed and ran a hand through his sparse hair as Hideaki finished. "Bah, all this information gathering you're doing… You're trying too hard to figure this out," he told the bespectacled man. "The only way to catch a big fish is to be patient. If you keep moving from pond to pond to catch it, you'll only keep finding small fry." Looking at Shou, he nodded at the man. "I'm sure you realize what I'm trying to say. We wait for Sin to come for one of us, and when he does, we kill him, simple as that. We can bother with finding out his identity later; it won't really do us much good once he's dead."
"If we wait, he'll just take out more Krimivals," Rika pointed out, jabbing a finger at Goro. "There's no point in wasting time. Either we get rid of him, that gold Deviant Rider, and any others that show up, or they'll get rid of us! We have to act now!"
"That's exactly why I called this meeting in the first place," Shou said, slowly turning to face the screen that was dividing the room, and the huge male figure sitting behind it who had been silent for the entire meeting. The young man placed his cigarette in his mouth and swallowed it before bowing down, placing his hands and forehead on the floor as a show of respect to the one behind the screen. "Boss, you have heard all that we have to say. Please, give one of us the permission to seek out and kill this Sin, and any other Deviant Riders, before they become strong enough to pose a threat to our family."
The entire world seemed to go silent as the four members all waited for their leader's response.
A deep and powerful voice broke the tension that had slowly been building as it addressed Shou from behind the screen.
"The one who shall deal with Sin…"
"Can you please stop staring at me like that?"
"Not until I figure out what was going on in your head when you did that," Naoki answered, still glaring at Isamu from the corner of his eye. The two of them were in the park, sitting on a bench, surrounded by cherry blossom trees that were in full bloom. It was actually a rather picturesque setting, not that Naoki was concerned with that for now. "What on Earth made you do that, Isamu?"
The young man threw his hands in the air and sighed. "I don't know what you're complaining about or what that old hag's problem was! All I did was poke her breasts a little, no big deal!"
Naoki sighed and placed his forehead in the palm of his hand. Really, he should have known from the moment Isamu asked if Karin was a man. That had been enough to really rile her up, and he could still hear her angry screaming in his ears. She'd calmed down soon enough, and gone into the kitchen to get herself something to drink. Then Naoki let Isamu in – an action he was still blaming on some temporary vanishing act his sense of better judgment had pulled on him – and Isamu, being Isamu, had decided there was only one surefire way to confirm that Karin was a woman.
One poke, several screams of pure outrage directed at both the offender and Naoki, and several thrown plates and dishes later, Naoki had decided discretion to be the better part of valor, and had promptly hauled ass out of the apartment with Isamu in tow until he could be sure Karin would be calm.
"You know, I'm going to have to replace all of those dishes," Naoki said, running a hand through his hair and finding a tiny plate shard resting there. Picking it out and throwing it to the ground with disdain, he fixed Isamu with a stern look. "Did you really not learn your lesson after Sora beat you within an inch of your life the last time you tried to grope her breasts?"
Isamu scowled and looked at Naoki as if the young man had just started speaking some alien language. "I'll have you know, groping is entirely different. The girl actually has to have breasts you can wrap your hand around," he explained, even going so far as to ball one hand into a fist and grip it firmly with his other hand. "Sora's breasts are bigger than my hands, the perfect size for that! That old hag, though?" He scoffed and leaned back on the bench. "She's got nothing but mosquito bites. I was just making sure she was really a woman."
"And you couldn't have just taken my word why…?" Naoki groaned inwardly, realizing that reasoning with Isamu on a point such as this would be entirely pointless. Really it was no different from all the times he'd trained with both him and Sora; the young perverted man would always manage to somehow grope Sora's breasts, who would then proceed to chase him all over the facility until Isamu would just inexplicably vanish into thin air. Sora would then give up searching for the pervert and take a nap when they were supposed to be training.
It really was a surprise that Sora hadn't just shot him already, Naoki realized.
"Still, it doesn't make any sense. Girls are supposed to get excited or really nervous whenever you touch their breasts," Isamu said, leaning forward and rolling his chin on his palm. "I know that it has to work… Maybe I just lack the proper technique to really make them excited with my fingers alone…"
"Real life isn't like one of those stupid, perverted games you play," Naoki said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"They're not games! They're perfectly realistic romance simulators!"
"Look, any hot girl – no, any girl period, isn't going to get excited when you run up to them and just grab them there. And if you do run into any girls like that, they aren't exactly the kind of girl you want to be around," Naoki tried to explain, though knowing who he was dealing with he didn't put a whole lot of heart into it. Laying back on the bench, he shrugged. "But enough about this – I want to know why you were knocking at my door. Get kicked out of your apartment because you groped the landlady? Did you actually find a girl who does enjoy getting randomly groped and realize how bad that is? Wait, I bet it's your landlady who enjoys getting groped, and since she has the keys to your place-"
"I found a Krimival."
Naoki's joking attitude died immediately, immediately turning serious at the mention of a Krimival. Not moments after Isamu told him of the Krimival did he feel a feel a shiver running up his spine: the signal that a Krimival was nearby. It was the exact same feeling he had the day he encountered the Vine Krimival. "You can feel it now, can't you?" Isamu asked, noticing how Naoki had tensed up.
"Yeah. Do you know where it is?"
"Not a clue," Isamu admitted, pressing the tips of his fingers together. "From all that I can gather, this is a really crafty one. It won't change into its Krimival Form unless it has enough victims. I heard on a rumor forum about this guy who came here to this very park one night and heard singing. Apparently he wasn't the only one, as the thread immediately got flooded with people sharing the same story. Apparently, they say that they hear a woman singing and can't help but walk towards it…"
He finished his story and looked left and right, before motioning for Naoki to lean in closer. "I decided to see if there were any police reports that might add some evidence to the story, and when I hacked the database I found that this park has had a massive increase in missing persons' reports recently, making it the highest area for missing persons in the city." Leaning back from Naoki, Isamu looked around warily. "After finding all of that, I decided to come here and immediately felt the Krimival's presence."
"So, what do you need me for?" Naoki asked. "Do you think this Krimival will show up if I transform and challenge it?"
"If it were that easy, I would have done it myself," Isamu replied a bit snappily. "No, this one doesn't really seem like it'll be the one to seek confrontation. If anything, you trying to lure it out as Sin might just frighten it off, meaning it'll just start up somewhere else. What we've got to do is wait until nighttime, when it starts to sing, and follow its victims to its hiding place. We do that, and we'll have it cornered."
"That's actually a really good plan Isamu," Naoki said, nodding in approval. He punched his hand with a fist and grinned broadly. "And once that Krimival sees two Deviant Riders have come to take it down, it's going to start begging for mercy!"
"Uh-huh, yeah, sure."
Naoki's grin vanished and he hung his head in despair as he watched a rather shapely female jogger run past them. No doubt Isamu was ogling her from head to toe, and already he was getting ready to restrain the young man beside him should he try and get to… personally know anyone.
Waiting until night would be easy. Keeping Isamu from getting arrested would be quite the challenge.
The loud cries of children and the sounds of people deciding what they should order, along with the smell of food being cooked in the kitchens, made for the perfect atmosphere for a family restaurant. In the very back, a scrawny man wearing a suit with the jacket folded up on his shoulder sat in a booth, clearly distressed. His fingers scratched at his scalp through his short black hair as his eyes scanned the papers strewn about the table in front of him, sleep deprivation turning them bloodshot. The business section of the news, articles from business magazines, even flyers and pamphlets he had collected all lay in front of him, notes scribbled on them in red ink.
"This is bad, this is very bad," Kyoya Mayuchi whispered as he grabbed a business magazine and began flipping through the articles, his eyes widening behind his reading glasses in distress. "I've been out of the game too long; too many of the rules and players have changed." He threw the magazine down and grabbed the pen laying on the table next to him. "This company looks like its stocks could rise within the next week, but I know nothing about the company's board. For all I know, the CEO could get charged with tax evasion," he mumbled to himself. "If that happens, the stocks plummet and I lose everything. Again!" In anger he slammed his hands down on the table. "If only that stupid horse hadn't gone and broken its leg on the final stretch… I could have had a small fortune if that stupid animal hadn't mucked it all up! At this rate I'm going to be forced to fight Krimivals just to have spending money…" He groaned and buried his head in his arms.
"Looking at the stocks again, Kyoya?" a familiar, haughty voice chuckled from above him. Lifting his head, Kyoya grimaced slightly when he saw Jin Shimaki standing in front of him, an attaché case dangling from one hand. Smiling, the arrogant young man took the seat opposite of Kyoya. "Really, I consider stocks and whatnot to be a waste of my talents," Jin said as he laid the briefcase on the table beside him, careful not to get it on any of the papers. "If I wanted something, why bother with money? I'd just have these peasants satisfy my needs, like any proper king. No need to waste hard-earned money on glorified gambling.
"It's not gambling if you do your work and you know what you're doing," Kyoya told Jin as he adjusted his glasses, his tone of voice rather sharp. "And believe me, I know what I'm doing… or I did, at least. It's just… so much has changed since I was imprisoned. Miss three years and suddenly the business world leaves you behind, making you race to catch up. If I just had the money, I could put it to work rebuilding my fortune."
Jin's smile broadened at those words and he immediately grabbed the attache case and slammed it down onto the table, the noise catching the attention of some patrons. Papers that had been carefully arranged were suddenly in the air, and Kyoya actually felt his heart stop at the sudden and forceful action. "What are you doing!? I needed-"
"-this."
Kyoya's angry words died on his lips as Jin opened the briefcase, revealing it to be filled with stacks of yen notes. "It's about eleven million, and it can be all yours-" Jin was cut off as Kyoya immediately reached over and grabbed the briefcase, silently counting the amount of money himself under his breath. "Like I said, it's about eleven million, give or take a few thousand."
"How'd you get this?" the greedy man asked breathlessly.
"Oh, about ten million of it came from killing a Krimival, and Tanaka decided to bring Christmas to me early this year and gave me an extra five million for killing it before Naoki could." He glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of the manager. Giving the man a wave, he smiled when he saw how the manager immediately bowed down to him. "I gave the manger here a million to make sure you and I could talk in private, and the remaining three is staying with me for personal expenses."
"…You want something from me, don't you?" Kyoya stopped counting his money and looked over the table at Jin, his eyes narrowing. Trusting Jin could definitely be a bad decision in the long term, but the money he was offering… "What is it?" he finally asked, deciding to worry about the consequences later.
"Of course I do," Jin replied. "But not right now. No, I just want you to keep in mind for the future who it was that gave you the chance to start all over. You know, for you to stand by me should anything ever happen amongst us Deviant Riders…"
Kyoya shook his head, no longer caring, and resumed counting the money. "Just got to keep myself under control. I can't blow it at the tracks like last time!" he whispered to himself. The urgency in his voice actually made it sound like his life depended on it, and Jin couldn't help but chuckle as he watched – in his eyes – a pathetic excuse for a man squirm over something as meaningless as money.
"My k-king, you grace us lowly peasants with your overwhelmingly divine presence." Both Kyoya and Jin looked to see one of the prettier waitresses standing by their booth, a notepad in her hand. She was smiling, but one could easily tell that it was fake by how she had forced herself to get the words out. In the corner of her eye, she saw her manager, who urged her on. "What may this humble… serving wench, get for his majesty?"
Jin flashed her one of his trademark grins. "A cup of coffee will suffice," he chuckled, obviously enjoying her discomfort.
The waitress bowed low. "Y-yes, my majesty," she said hurriedly. "I'll bring you our finest brewed cup as soon as possible." With that, she sped away, relieved to be out of Jin's presence for the moment.
Meanwhile, Kyoya just fixed Jin with a pointed stare. "That's where the other three million went, isn't it." It wasn't a question; just a simple statement of fact.
Jin chuckled and reclined against the seat of the booth. "I don't know what you're talking about. These peasants just know that their king is among them."
The echoing song of an angelic voice roused Naoki from his sleep, and he immediately regretted his decision to take a nap on a park bench. Wincing slightly, he saw Isamu look up from the smartphone he'd been staring at for the past several hours; apparently he'd also noticed the singing.
"This has to be the Krimival's ability," Naoki noted, standing up and rubbing his sore neck. A couple joints popped as he stretched, and he had to stifle a yawn. "It can control people with its voice."
"Not necessarily control, just make them go to it against their will. A siren's song, if you will." Standing up, Isamu pocketed his smartphone and adjusted his glasses. "And it would appear that it's already snared a few people with it. Look," he said, pointing at a small crowd of people that were disappearing into the trees.
Naoki looked, and saw a teenage girl wearing a school uniform vanish deeper into the park, more and more men and women of all ages following her. They had to be going towards the source of the voice, the effect of which was thankfully being canceled out by Isamu and Naoki's SIN Drivers. He never quite understood how that worked, and when he'd asked he'd gotten a bunch of techno-babble that only made him even more confused.
"Are you ready?" Isamu asked. Naoki didn't even bother to reply, and instead started walking towards the source of the voice, carefully pushing past people in order to get to the Krimival.
"Hey, Isamu," Naoki spoke up after a while, carefully pushing aside another high schooler, "I've been wondering about something ever since you told me there was a Krimival here."
"Yeah?" Isamu asked, pushing aside a man who was in his way in a manner that was not nearly as gentle as Naoki's. "And what would that be?"
"Why do you need my help?"
Isamu stopped dead in his tracks, and he could feel beads of sweat starting to form on his skin. "Wha-What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to sound too worried.
"Well, you're a Deviant Rider, so taking on one Krimival shouldn't be too much trouble for you, right?" Naoki reasoned, and Isamu thanked the heavens that Naoki had his back to him at the moment, otherwise he would've seen the look of panic on the young man's face.
"W-well, better safe than sorry, right?"
Naoki nodded slowly, and a smile began to form. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, having someone to watch your back. Good thinking actually," he told Isamu, completely oblivious to how nervous the young man behind him was. "Besides, having someone to fight beside you means you won't get bored or start to feel…"
That train of thought was interrupted as Naoki finally saw the source of the angelic voice, and the person responsible for luring all of these people to the lake they now found themselves at. It was a woman, only describable as beautiful, wearing a transparent white dress. She danced across the surface of the water, her feet not even making the slightest of ripples, as she sang her enchanting song, moving her legs, arm, and hips in time to the heavenly melody. Slowly but surely, her audience continued on to reach her, and they would surely drown if they didn't stop.
Naoki, however, had other ideas.
He picked up the largest rock he could find and hurled it with all his strength, catching the Krimival right in the face.
The sheer surprise made the Krimival stop singing and slip into the water with a loud splash, releasing her victims from her spell. They acted like they were just waking up, blinking rapidly and looking all about, confused as to what was going on. "Where are we? What's happening?" they asked one another.
Isamu sighed. "You know, if it had been anyone but you Naoki, I would have found that approach to be rather unexpected." Shaking his head, he strapped on a bulky wristwatch. "Such a shame she had to be the Krimival though. She was freaking gorgeous! Did you see those hips!?"
Naoki found himself chuckling at his partner's words, knowing only Isamu would be more interested in how the Krimival looked rather than the fact that it was a Krimival. Slapping the Envy Driver onto his waist, the familiar emerald-green belt formed. He looked around, concerned for the safety of the civilians, when something exploded out of the water like a rocket, making them all run for safety. Naoki and Isamu both got into a fighting stance as the Krimival landed on the surface of the lake right in front of them, revealing its true form.
It was a sharp contrast to the beautiful woman they'd seen only moments before, something of a mishmash between a bird, a fish, and a reptile of some kind. Its arms acted as wings, ending in a three-pointed talon for a hand. The legs, however, were covered in scales, and had a strange serpentine quality to them. The torso was covered by a combination of both scales and feathers, protecting its chest. The head, however, was what truly made the creature hideous, looking like a rough fusion of a fish and a bird's heads. Beady, black fish eyes focused in on Naoki and Isamu while a beak opened to deliver a loud cry of anger.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be!?" it screeched in a voice that was the complete opposite of the heavenly one it had sung with moments ago. It was bad enough that Isamu actually stuffed his fingers into his ears.
"Man, you have the worst voice in the world," he said, getting another cry of outrage in response. "And you got really ugly in a hurry. I really wish you'd stayed as hot as you were, but I guess you are a Krimival, so…" He shrugged nonchalantly.
The Siren Krimival shrieked harshly and leapt at the young men, intent on tearing them to pieces for both interrupting its meal and having the audacity to insult it like they did. Naoki, instead of getting out of the way, slapped the symbol on the SIN Driver.
"ARE YOU JEALOUS!?"
Naoki struck the side of the symbol as soon as the Driver finished announcing it had been activated, causing the symbol to spin rapidly.
"Henshin!"
"SIN OF ENVY!"
A spray of black and green liquid shot out of the Envy Driver, coating Naoki's body from head to toe and causing the Siren Krimival to stop dead in its tracks in surprise. The liquid formed the Sin armor over him within seconds. The helmet was the last piece to form, and as soon as it did, the insect-like eyes flashed bright green as Naoki punched a fist at the Krimival.
"You better start begging for mercy, Krimival!" Naoki yelled. The Krimival shrieked in anger and resumed charging, intent on tearing him to pieces, armor or no armor. "Come on, let's do this Isamu!"
"Yeah, sure, just distract the Krimival for a little bit, alright Naoki?" Isamu added as he ran away from both the Krimival and Sin, moving faster than any human should be capable of.
"Wait, what!?"
Distracted by the sudden disappearance of his ally, Naoki was distracted long enough for the Krimival to get in the first strike, ramming into him with all of its mass hard enough to send him into a nearby tree, where he fell to the ground in an undignified heap. The Krimival was definitely confused about how its enemy's ally had suddenly fled, but it was an opportunity; why waste it? It swung its talons at Naoki, only for him to block with his forearm and drive his fist into its stomach, sending it reeling back.
"Isamu! Hurry and transform!" Naoki yelled, dodging to the side to avoid another talon swipe from the Krimival. As the Krimival swiped at him again, he ducked under its arm and jumped up, delivering a swift uppercut to its chin. The monster was stunned, and Naoki kept up the assault, unleashing a flurry of punches and jabs before delivering a full strength punch that tossed the Krimival back into the lake. "What's taking so long!?"
"Calm down! You know that my transformation takes a while longer to set up, so just deal with it!" Isamu snapped back as he continued fiddling with his wristwatch. Narrowing his eyes as he looked down at his SIN Driver, he continued inputting the complex series of commands needed to activate it, all done by twisting dials and pressing buttons located on the side. With a final press of a switch located just under the clock face and a victorious smirk on his own face, the SIN Driver finally activated. There was a loud beep and the minute and hour hands began spinning rapidly.
"ARE YOU PERVERTED!?" a loud, deep, and somewhat perverted-sounding voice announced.
Pushing his glasses up his nose, Isamu lifted the wristwatch up to his face, his other hand clutching it tightly. His index finger tapped on the switch under the clock face again.
"Henshin!" he shouted, throwing his wrist in front of him.
"SIN OF LUST!" his Lust Driver announced.
The face of the watch lifted up and began spinning around, releasing a black liquid that blanketed Isamu's body, sticking to him like a second skin as it hardened into a bodysuit. Then another blanket of scarlet liquid began to spew from the wristwatch. It landed on his arms, legs, chest, and head, where it formed thick red bracelets and rings. The rest of the liquid covered his body and formed a black-and-scarlet striped armor. Isamu's transformation into Deviant Rider Vice was completed as a red and black striped helmet covered his head, the black compound eyes flashing.
Transformation finished, Isamu grabbed one of the rings on his arms and pulled on it. The ring unraveled, turning into a whip. Isamu grabbed the end of the whip and coiled it around his hand as he walked out of his hiding place. Seeing Naoki still fighting with the Siren Krimival, he smirked beneath his helmet and gave the whip a sharp crack, alerting both Deviant Rider and Krimival to his presence. "You're still a girl, right? Even beneath all that ugly?" he asked, gesturing at the Krimival with his free hand. "You were once so beautiful. I wonder… would you mind if I take a look at you?"
Naoki sighed at the comment but kept his focus, stepping over to Isamu's side and taking up a boxing stance as Isamu cracked his whip at the Krimival, never quite hitting it but getting across a clear message each time the weapon cracked the air. All the while, the Siren Krimival simply stared at the pair in shock, the expression of surprise even visible on its monstrous face.
As its fish-like eyes moved back and forth between the two Deviant Riders, it began to think. It knew that it might be able to handle one of the Deviant Riders on its own, but it wasn't a fool like the Ram Krimival it had seen on the news, who had so stupidly challenged both Sin and the golden Deviant Rider. Two Riders at once would be too much for it to face alone, so there was one appropriate course of action.
It spread its wings and took to the air, planning on escaping.
"Fuck this! I'm not done, I want to eat more humans! I'm not going to die here!" it cried as it soared higher into the air, beating its wings furiously to escape the two Riders.
Naoki watched the Krimival as it started to get further and further away before turning to face his fellow Deviant Rider. "Can you believe it, Isamu?" He playfully punched the younger man in the chest and pointed at the fleeing Krimival, childish excitement starting to build up inside of him. "It's afraid of us! A Krimival is afraid of us!"
"That's wonderful and all, but it's still getting away," Isamu noted drily, immediately killing Naoki's initial excitement. Sighing at his ally's antics, he stepped forwards, cracking his whip experimentally. "Look, I'll get it down here so you can finish it, alright? Just wait until I bring it in close."
Naoki nodded in understanding, taking up a boxing stance before slapping the emblem on his driver. Green energy began to surge through his suit, traveling across him and gathering together into his right fist until it was glowing with emerald light. Meanwhile, Isamu scanned the sky for the Krimival, picking it out even amongst the dark night's sky; with Vice's power, he could see it as if it were only a few feet away from him. Taking a moment to gauge the distance between him and the Krimival, and where it would be in the next few seconds, Isamu began to spin the whip he held in his hand.
"These eyes see everything, Krimival," he called out as he spun his weapon faster and faster. "I see all, and there's no chance of you escaping me!" The young man snapped his whip towards the Krimival, scarlet energy surging through it. The whip suddenly exploded in length and surged through the air like a bullet, rapidly approaching the Krimival.
The Siren Krimival barely heard the whistling of the whip before the weapon coiled around its right wing. It shrieked in agony as Isamu pulled the whip tight, crushing the bones in the wing with surprising ease. Wrapping the whip around his free hand, Isamu smirked before pulling back on it with all of his might. Had it not been a Krimval the whip was currently wrapped around, the unfortunate soul would be missing an arm and likely a sizable chunk of its body; as it was, the Krimival could only shriek in fear as it was torn from the sky and brought straight towards the waiting Naoki, who pulled his fist back as he saw it approach. The green energy amassed there began glowing brighter and brighter until it shown like an emerald star.
"Jealousy Rider…" Naoki whispered as he watched the approaching Krimival, which began to screech louder as it approached him.
"PUNCH!" he yelled.
The young man swung his fist forward, striking the Krimival straight in the chest. Green energy erupted from its body as the fist tore straight through its chest, until finally the Krimival gave off one final shriek and exploded into a ball of green flame. Naoki swung his arms, dispelling the fire around him, and looked down at the ashen remains of the Krimival that were piling up before him.
"Well, that was easier than I expected," Isamu noted as he and Naoki both canceled their transformations, causing a mix of red, green, and black liquid to fall to the ground and disappear. The young man watched in curiosity as Naoki knelt down and prayed in front of the Krimival's remains, a ritual that just outright confused Isamu. Why pray for such monsters?
"True," Naoki agreed as he stood back up and turned to face his partner, "but did you see it?"
Isamu rolled his eyes. "The eyes of the Vice suit let me see everything, Naoki. You know my Deviant Rider ability, or did you forget it while you were naming your attacks?"
"I'm talking about how it got scared of us!" Naoki exclaimed, pumping a fist in excitement. "It saw the two of us and took off!"
"So? That just means it knew this was a fight it couldn't win." Isamu shook his head tiredly. "I really don't get what you're saying, Naoki."
"That's just it! It knew it couldn't win because it knew what we could do! Sure, it only ran when you transformed, but what if, someday, they run just because someone says that there's a Deviant Rider around?" Naoki was practically bouncing with excitement at this point. "There won't be any more Krimival attacks if they're afraid of us! The day's coming when Japan won't have to fear them ever again!"
Isamu sighed and turned away as Naoki celebrated, once again both annoyed and intrigued by this side of Naoki's personality. He always got excited whenever the topic of stopping the Krimivals was brought up, and it annoyed his fellow Riders to no end. Yet, there was another side to him, something dark that only came out when Naoki was exhausted from fighting or when something really pissed him off. It was terrifying just how fast the young man's personality could change, and just thinking about it was enough to frighten Isamu. Casting another look over his shoulder at the excited Naoki, Isamu frowned.
"What the hell does Jin want with Naoki?"
"Rika, you shall take care of Sin. Prove your loyalty to your family by bringing us Sin's head."
With the order given, the shadow of a large man stood up from behind the screen, his mere presence enough to make the other four in the room bow their heads. It wasn't until they heard the closing of a door did they dare even cast an eye upwards.
"I swear on my life, I won't let you down, Boss," Rika whispered, the reverence in her voice conveying just how much respect she held for the man behind the screen. "I swear on my life, Sin will die by my hands." Turning to look at the three men, who were in turn looking at her, she smirked victoriously. "See that? Boss likes me enough to give me an important mission," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving them all a haughty grin. "Aw, did you think the Boss would give you the mission to kill Sin, Shou?" she mocked, turning to the man. "Are you that desperate to stay the Boss' favorite?"
Shou frowned at the young woman, taking a new cigarette out of the carton. "I don't care who kills Sin, so long as he and all the other Deviant Riders end up dead," he told her simply, lighting the cigarette as he did.
"Then you should be glad it's me and not these two," Rika said, motioning at Hideaki and Goro. "Goro would take his sweet time and probably wait until Sin was an old man before his 'perfect moment' would come around, and Hideaki would waste time planning everything down to what street he killed him on."
"Brat, you better respect your elders," Goro warned, pointing at her with his cane. "You can't just do what you want and act like you want because you feel like it, not in this family and not with a matter this important!"
"I agree with Goro," Hideaki added as he took out his notebook. "Planning beforehand can be the critical element that determines a success or a failure. If you rush into battle recklessly, you will not come out unscathed, if you come out at all. As for your comment regarding me wasting time… I estimate should I have been given the mission to kill Sin, I would have had it done by the twenty-sixth of this month!"
"Three weeks!? You'd wait three weeks!? Are you crazy or just lazy!?" Rika snapped.
"My chances of success would increase by at least twenty percent!" Hideaki responded.
"And by that time Sin may become too great a threat," Shou finished. "We need to kill Sin before he becomes a threat to our family. Three weeks is far too much time. If we want to be rid of Sin, we must act now!"
"Oh, don't worry about that sweetie…"
Shou and the other men looked to Rika to see that half of her face had been covered by a dark mist. Within it, they could all make out the outline of what looked like red diamonds forming half of a heart, with one large white diamond placed where an eye should be.
The Krimival chuckled. "Sin will die, because Rika wants him dead. Rika will get anything she wants…"
Rika grinned, and at the same time a crack in the shape of a smile appeared on the red diamond half of her face. "Because I am a Princess," she explained, turning on her heel. "And a Princess will always get what she wants!"
The Princess Krimival and Rika laughed together as they left, heading out to accomplish their mission to kill Sin, and all of the Deviant Riders.
NEXT TIME ON KAMEN RIDER SIN!
"The government and police have files on some of the well-known Krimivals…"
"What are those things!? They aren't Krimivals!"
"Some Krimivals have gathered to form a group to control Japan…"