AN: Hello all and welcome back to Kamen Rider Mythos. I don't have much to say about this one, with the Aphrodite twist I hope anyone who wasn't convinced can read this one and see as it goes more into her motives and thoughts, before dismissing it. She's planned to be a major villain for the long haul and that's not going to change. Besides that let's get to the chapter.
Kamen Rider Mythos
Myth 9: The Goddess's Serenade
The Titans sat within the temple of Zeus, Aphrodite before them as Rhea frowned, "You've kept us in wait for long enough Aphrodite, teasing us with a plan of yours and then going off somewhere for days without revealing what you were planning."
Aphrodite chuckled, "Careful now Rhea, the reason all of your plans have failed so far is due to impatience, I don't intend for it to strike mine as well." Rhea glared at her, "That is Queen Rhea, I trust you remember that. Now enough stalling and explain your plan."
Aphrodite seemed unphased by her intimidation as she continued, "I've been observing Mythos for a while, and I've seen it's not physically he can be defeated, it's mentally. He's self conscious, fragile and over relies on the ones he's close with to get him through life, cut off one of them and he loses himself mentally."
Rhea thought for a moment before nodding, "Mental warfare, I like it. But what do you propose?" Aphrodite smiled, "Simple, that girl he's always with, he's hopelessly in love with her. Get her to tear him down and you'll be rid of him." At this Prometheus cleared his throat, "We've already tried harming her and it only made him stronger. Besides she's extremely loyal to him, she'd never do anything we asked willingly."
Aphrodite chuckled again, "Oh Prometheus, foolish Prometheus, I've been watching her, she'll be easy prey." Rhea scratched her chin for a moment, "While I don't doubt your charms Aphrodite, I don't 100% trust you yet, so I want to make sure we have an assurance she will turn."
She snapped her fingers and as a new creature stepped into the temple Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at Rhea, "You dare pair me with one of these creatures?" Rhea smirked as a beautiful woman with angel-like wings walked next to Aphrodite, smirking at her, "Oh yes I forgot you don't care for siren's, consider this a test then, work with the creature you hate and prove your loyalty."
The siren smirked at Aphrodite, "I know you aren't a fan of us sirens, but please Lady Aphrodite, if the two of us combine our charms then I'm sure we can accomplish your plan." Aphrodite sighed, "Very well, if you still feel that I haven't proven my worth then I will do as you request." Aphrodite didn't like it, but it was what she needed to do to earn the Titans trust then she would work with the creature she so detested.
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Mizuki woke with a start as she quickly got out of bed, Hikaru had early classes in the morning and she knew he'd never wake up in time to get there by himself. As she raced to get downstairs, she found her mother sitting at the table, sipping some tea, "Good morning Mizuki."
Mizuki gave her a small nod as she went to grab her bag, "Good morning Mother." Her mother took a sip from her tea, "I thought you didn't have classes today?" Mizuki nodded as she grabbed a bagel from the breadbox, "I don't but you know Hikaru, he'd be late to class without me."
Her mother sighed, "I know he's your best friend but honestly that boy relies too much on you, he needs some independence, if it's not you he's leaning on it's his brother, he needs to fend for himself." Mizuki frowned, "There's nothing wrong with needing a little help Mother, Hikaru is Hikaru, he can fend for himself if he really needed to."
She got a small grunt from her mother before she spoke up again, "Have you visited your Father recently? He's been asking for you." Mizuki turned around and glared at her, "You know damn well I'm not going to visit that bastard."
Her mother frowned and sighed, "Speaking of those boys then, how long do you plan on living your life filled with spite towards your Father?" Mizuki said nothing as she walked out the door, clearly not wanting to entertain the conversation.
As she heard the door slam her mother took another sip of tea, "Honestly those two are going to find out the truth eventually." She finished her tea and got up, when did her daughter become such a handful?
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*The Opening theme begins, Colors by Flow*
Instrumentals begin as the city is first viewed before shooting upwards to reveal a floating city and Hikaru Kinami standing in front of a temple with a sun on it. The words Kamen Rider Mythos flashes on screen.
jibun wo sekai sae mo kaete shimaesou na shunkan wa itsu mo sugu soba ni
The camera flies through the city showing several temples and finally the sun before several flashes of monsters appear.
kakusenu iradachi to tachitsukusu jibun o mitsume
Hikaru is shown in several places looking withdrawn and upset in several locations including his mother's flower shop, his school and finally a busy street. Finally it flashes to him now as Mythos atop a building looking down on the city.
mayoinagara nayaminagara kuyaminagara kimereba ii sa
Taiga, Mizuki and Kiriko appear in the flower shop looking happy as Hikaru is withdrawn from them before the scene flashes to the city, Olympus with the gods flashing one by one before landing on Apollo and Ares holding their respective orbs.
kimi ga kureta kotoba hitotsu tomadoi wa kiesari
Hikaru is shown picking up the Mythos driver and placing it on himself
karappo datta boku no heya ni hikari ga sashita
Hikaru henshins as Apollo flies behind him flashing a golden light
miageta oozora ga aoku sumikitte iku
Mythos fully formed bursts into a group of foot soldiers fighting them off
tozashita mado wo hiraku koto wo kimeta
Mythos fights some monsters off as Apollo Frame before quickly changing into Hephaestus' frame, slamming his hammer down as Hephaestus overlaps with him. Kamen Rider Demi appears and fights off several enemies as Achilles overlaps with him.
jibun o sekai sae mo kaete shimaesou na
Mythos is shown riding his rider machine Machine Chariot
shunkan wa itsu mo sugu soba ni
Several flashes including Ares frame, Hephaestus frame ,Demi Achilles Frame and Cronus's coffin appear before settling on Hikaru and Apollo standing together
The music ends with the Pantheon Driver and multiple Orbs scattered on the ground with a ray of light on them.
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It was early and Mizuki had managed to get Hikaru to class on time, now she walked into the library with coffee in hand as she placed it on the table he was sitting at, "So what are you working on?"
Hikaru frowned as he turned a page of the book he was reading, "A paper on the Sengoku era, it has to be 10 pages about the three unifiers of Japan." Mizuki nodded as he took a sip of coffee, "Sounds a bit boring."
Hikaru nodded, "It's so boring even Ares doesn't seem to care. Thanks for the coffee by the way." She smiled and nodded at him before pulling some papers out of her bag, "Here I managed to get you the homework yesterday after you had to run out for Mythos stuff."
He gave her an appreciative nod and put it away in his bag, "I swear the Titans are trying to cause me to flunk college, without you I probably would've by now." Mizuki nodded at him and left him to his work, noticing a group of girls giggling from another table. Frowning, she got up and walked over to them, listening to their whispering, "He's so weird, he doesn't talk to anyone else but her." One of the other girls giggled, "I've heard him talking to himself before, I think he might be crazy."
The third girl nodded, "So like, what kind of dirt do you think he has on her that she constantly hangs out with him?" They didn't notice she was approaching until she slammed her hand down on the table, glaring at all three of them, "The conversation about him is going to stop right now, and If I hear this again from anyone in the university I'll be back to speak to you three, understand?"
All three girls nodded as Mizuki cracked a smile at them, "Good, glad we can come to an understanding." She turned and began to walk away before bumping into a young man from her criminal justice class who seemed to be looking at Hikaru.
She looked at him, their eyes meeting as Mizuki stepped in front of him, "Haven't I told you before Shioda to leave Hikaru alone?" He gave her a half cocked smile as he tried to push past her, "Oh come on Ginko, I just want to ask Kinami if he can do my homework for me, or maybe if he'll share some lunch with me."
Mizuki jabbed an elbow into his ribs, causing him to back away a bit, "How many times do I have to tell you, Hikaru is off limits to your bullying Shioda, get that through your thick skull before I do it for you."
He glared at her for a moment before scoffing, "Fine, but one of these days Ginko you won't be around to protect your precious baby boy and then him and I will finally get to have a conversation." He turned and walked away as Mizuki returned to the table, Hikaru so engrossed in his work he barely noticed her gone, "Oh hey where'd you go?"
Mizuki shrugged, "Had to go look for a book for class tomorrow." Hikaru nodded before Apollo appeared beside him, "Hikaru there's some Titan activity going on downtown!" Hikaru sighed for a moment before quickly packing up his belongings, "They have the worst timing with this, I'll see you later Mizuki."
She nodded at him and watched as he ran out of the library. She could follow him and watch him and probably Taiga fight some bad guys, but as she got up she began to hear a faint singing. As if moved by an unseen force Mizuki turned and began to walk towards the source of the voice, curious about where the beautiful singing voice was coming from.
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Aphrodite floated against a wall as she watched the siren singing; they'd merged the detestable creature with a speaker in order to boost her abilities. As much as Aphrodite hated the thing, the plan was certainly working.
The siren however stopped singing causing Aphrodite to get annoyed, "Why did you stop singing? The girl hasn't arrived yet." The siren smirked at her, "But she's heard my melody enough that she'll be drawn here, she may not be completely under our control yet but her interest has been piqued." Aphrodite crossed her arms and nodded, "Pray that you're correct or I'll throw you to Mythos myself."
The siren glared at her before sighing, "So I'm curious, why turn against the Gods and humanity? You were the only god who ever really tried saving those idiotic humans from us, seeing as you gods and demigods are immune to our songs."
Aphrodite scoffed at her question, "It's quite simple really, love is not what it once was. Humans have perverted the concept of love, they only care about mating and having a good time, no longer looking for passion or romance. They're worse than Zeus now. There are no epic love stories, no men starting wars over their lost brides, no one journeying into hell itself to rescue their love, no great sacrifices for the sake of one's marriage. Humanity has been reduced to lust and no longer love each other and even I find that sickening that I've decided they may as well be purged from this earth."
The siren smirked again, "Yeah chivalry is dead and all that, great motives there goddess. But you're no better than those humans you detest, after all how many times did you cheat on your husband?"
Aphrodite glared at her, "I'll have you know that every lover I have taken was exactly that, I loved them, besides Apollo, I was just curious there. Human love no longer trumps human desire and I believe a change is in order, humanity must be reminded what true love is and not this superficial love they all believe in now."
The siren shrugged, "Fine, justify it however you want, I'm convinced you're just mad no one kills for the chance to get into your bed anymore." Aphrodite scowled at her, "Speak again and I will have you wiped off this earth and Tartartus itself you pathetic siren."
The siren could say nothing as they heard a noise, seeing Mizuki enter into the room. Aphrodite smirked as she nodded at the siren to begin her singing again. She began to approach Mizuki who was looking around confused, "What's going on here? Where am I?"
Aphrodite walked up to her, putting a ghostly hand under her chin, "Don't worry my dear, you're right where you need to be. Now let me ask you, who do you think I am?" Aphrodite's eyes glowed a dull pink as the combination of her powers of love and the siren's song began to hit Mizuki, her eyes glazing over as she looked at Aphrodite, "you're… the most beautiful person I've ever seen."
Aphrodite nodded as Mizuki's eyes glowed pink briefly before returning to their glazed state, "Correct, now allow me to reward your honesty." Wanting to be sure of the girl's new found loyalty she leaned forward, placing a kiss on the entranced Mizuki's lips as the siren stopped singing.
Mizuki barely registered what was going on for a moment before smiling at the goddess of love, "What do you need from me, mistress?" Aphrodite smiled at the question, not having heard that in a long time; she could have almost passed out by hearing that one simple word. The mortals, she recalled, did tend to call her vain, and for good reason. "You my dear, you will be the one who brings down Mythos for me."
Mizuki nodded slowly, "Of course mistress, how would you like me to do so?" Aphrodite put a hand under her chin again, "Simple my dear, he's emotionally fragile and relies on you heavily in his day to day life, if you rip that away from him and attack his emotions he will crumble and be reduced to a depressed mess too weak to fight."
Mizuki nodded, "It will be done, mistress." Aphrodite thought for a moment before smiling, "Oh and my dear, let's see if we can try to turn those two brothers against each other as well." Mizuki nodded slowly as she turned to leave to carry out the goddess of love's bidding. Aphrodite smiled, this was certainly going to be quite the show.
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Hikaru and Taiga sat outside at a small cafe, having finished fighting a small group of Tartarians Taiga had offered to treat his little brother to lunch. As Taiga took a sip of soda he raised an eyebrow at his brother, "So when are you finally going to confess to Mizuki that you're madly in love with her?"
Hikaru nearly choked on his drink, "I'm not madly in love with her, I just like her as more than a friend, but even then she's too good for someone like me." Taiga shook his head, "You don't give yourself enough credit little bro, besides I'm pretty sure she's crazy for you. Why else would she help you out so much in your day to day life."
Hikaru shrugged, "Because she's a good friend, besides Mizuki is probably more attracted to someone confident and cool, like you." As if to make the conversation worse Apollo decided to make his presence known, appearing beside Hikaru, "You know Hikaru if you want some advice on romance let me tell you about the time me and one of my favorite lovers Coronis the princess of Thessaly."
As he began to talk, Taiga looked at his brother, "So we're just gonna ignore whatever weird stuff he says right?" Hikaru nodded, "Probably for the best, better for our sanity." Apollo stopped talking and frowned, "Oh come on you don't need to be rude about it."
Beside him, Ares appeared, "The best way to a girl's heart is with a real heart! Every time I've ever wished to woo a woman I would find a mortal and rip out their heart, giving it to her as a gift, always worked." All 3 of them looked at him in shock, "What? Do mortals not do that anymore?"
Taiga frowned and shook his head, "No, no they do not." As if the other two weren't bad enough even Hephaestus appeared out of his orb, "Why not forge her a weapon, you said she wished to be a warrior who defends peace, I could help you if you wish little brother."
Hikaru sighed, "Tempting if it wasn't for the fact that police officers can't carry around swords or hammers." Hephaestus nodded, "Fair enough, I'm just happy to offer advice." Finally even Achilles, the anti-social demi god that he was, appeared from his orb, "Have you tried spilling the blood of her enemies and then using that to gain both glory and her love? It's what we used to do all the time, make yourself the better warrior, women always want the best warrior."
Taiga put a hand on his nose and sighed, "Achilles, that's even worse than Ares' suggestion, none of you thousand year old gods have any ideas about modern romance." Hikaru frowned and took a sip of his drink, this topic was getting out of hand and he was starting to hate the attention it was getting, it felt like they were mocking him.
He cleared his throat, "Can we just move on from this conversation please? Taiga, Mom told me you have a photoshoot coming up at the beach in like a month right?"
Hearing the topic being turned towards himself Taiga eagerly nodded, forgetting about giving his brother advice as he began to talk about his modeling schedule. As the two brothers talked, little did they know they were being watched, an enthralled Mizuki stood away, quietly wondering how she would fulfill her assigned task.
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Hikaru frowned as he frantically ran into the university, he'd overslept and now he was late to class. He was so used to Mizuki waking him up or at least blowing up his phone to get him to wake up he never bothered to set an alarm and now that was biting him in the ass.
As he ran into the building he noticed getting weird looks from people, deciding to slow down and just walk. As he began to pass people in the halls he heard them whispering things, "Did you hear he still sleeps with a night light?"
He paused for a moment before continuing on but still heard people talking about him, "I heard he talks to himself, having full blown conversations and arguments when no ones looking." Hikaru raised an eyebrow, what was going on?
As he kept heading towards his class he heard even more rumors about him, "He's such a loser, apparently he's never even been on a date before, not that anyone would date a weirdo like him." Hikaru let out a sigh, they weren't exactly wrong. Beside him Apollo appeared, "Boy what's up with the rumor mill this morning? Most of these people usually ignore you but they seem to be full of gossip today."
Hikaru shrugged and whispered, "I usually prefer them ignoring me to this, I think Mizuki usually stops rumors from spreading about me." Apollo nodded, "Sounds about right, you have an aversion to standing up for yourself."
Hikaru rolled his eyes but ignored the comment as he almost reached his destination, however he found himself running into someone he vaguely recognized, the classmate smirking at him, "Yo Kinami, have a moment to talk?" Hikaru stopped and felt a pit in his stomach, he didn't like where this was going, "Oh uh Shioda right? You study criminal justiceI believe."
Shioda nodded as he placed a strong hand on his shoulder, "Yeah this is the first time we've actually gotten to talk, usually I'm stopped before I can get near you." Hikaru raised an eyebrow, "Stopped? By who?"
Shioda's grip on his shoulder tightened, "Don't worry about that, so listen I was wondering, I heard you were smart and I need some help with homework, I was hoping you'd be willing to do it for me." Hikaru frowned, trying to get out of the tightening grip, "Listen Shioda as much as I'd love to offer my help, I have enough issues with doing my own homework so I can't really help you with that."
The smirk on his face disappeared as the grip he held on Hikaru's shoulder started to get painful, "I don't think you're understanding me Kinami, you're going to do my homework for me, and if not my friends and I are going to put you in your place." Two people appeared behind Shioda as Hikaru tried breaking free from his grip, "Like I said, I can't really help you. I have my own classes to worry about."
Shioda frowned, letting go of his shoulder and moving his hand, before suddenly forming it into a fist and punching Hikaru in the stomach. Hikaru fell to his knees, the wind knocked out of him as Shioda stood over him, "I won't repeat myself Kinami, you'll be doing my homework for me from now on."
Hikaru tried to regain his breath as Ares appeared beside him, clearly annoyed, "Hikaru you can easily beat all these idiots in a fight, stand up and fight back." Apollo appeared again, nodding in agreement, "As much as I hate to agree with the straight to violence idea, these guys are annoying me."
Hikaru got up as Hephaestus appeared as well, putting a hand on both of his brothers shoulders, "Enough brothers, if he fights back it'll just make things more difficult for Hikaru." Well at least Hephaestus understood his position as he stood up, looking at Shioda.
Shioda glared at him before raising his arms in defeat, "Fine, I suppose springing this on you isn't fair to me, you got 24 hours to consider my request, after that then I won't be so nice." He motioned to his two friends and the three walked away, leaving Hikaru to simply stand there with the 3 gods.
Hephaestus looked at him with concern, "Are you alright little brother?" Hikaru let out a long sigh before shaking his head, "I need to get to class." As he arrived in class he found it already finished and his professor sitting at his desk. Hikaru walked in and his professor turned to him, glaring at him, "Late again Mr. Kinami, this is becoming quite an unfortunate habit."
Hikaru nodded, "I know I'm sorry, I swear I wasn't intending to be late, I was up late studying last night and overslept." His professor scoffed at his response, "Are you sure you weren't just up late partying with your famous brother?"
Hikaru was shocked by his response as he quickly shook his head, "What? No! Professor, I would never do something like that." His professor frowned, "Honestly Mr. Kinami I always thought you were gifted when it came to history but to hear that you're continuously skipping my class or leaving early just to go goof off with your brother was rather disappointing to hear."
Hikaru was getting even more confused as he shook his head again, "Professor I swear that's not what I'm doing, who did you even hear that from?" His professor simply looked him in the eye, "I will not betray my sources Mr. Kinami, nor will I accept whatever excuses you claim you have. Shape up or you will fail my class."
He walked out of the room as Hikaru simply nodded, "Yes sir" Hikaru left the classroom, something was wrong and he felt as if someone was just going around trying to make him feel as miserable as possible. Unfortunately for him it was working. As he reached the local coffee shop he noticed Mizuki standing there, talking to a few people.
Wondering what was going on with his best friend Hikaru quickly approached her, "Mizuki? Where have you been? You haven't been responding to any of my texts." Mizuki turned towards him and much to his shock he saw disgust on her face as she turned towards the people she was talking to, "Ugh, it's him, he's so annoying ,give me a second. What do you want, Kinami?"
Hikaru hearing her refer to him just by his last name felt a bit hurt, "What do you mean what do I want? I was worried something happened to you." Mizuki giggled a bit from his comment, "Nothing is wrong Kinami, I just decided you're a loser not worth my time anymore. Honestly it just got so annoying how reliant you are on me and how clingy you are, so I've decided that we're done, friendship over. Now get out of my face before I make you."
Hikaru frowned, feeling so betrayed by her, "But why? After all this time, why now?" Mizuki giggled again, "Honestly Kinami have some dignity and just stop, go run home to mommy. Though do me a favor and tell Taiga to call me, you'll never be as great as him and I think it's time to upgrade to the superior Kinami."
Hikaru couldn't say anything anymore, to hear what he long thought about himself, about Taiga and about her coming from her destroyed him. Holding back tears, he turned and walked away, walking fast as he could, vaguely hearing Mizuki and her friends laughing at him.
As he walked, Hephaestus who had watched the whole thing turned to his brothers, "Is anyone else sensing something off about her?" Apollo nodded, "No way to prove it though, so I guess we'll just have to see how this plays out." Hephaestus nodded in agreement as they followed Hikaru home, hoping that this truly wasn't the end of his friendship with Mizuki.
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Hikaru laid on the couch, his head in a pillow as his mother set a glass of water on the table in front of him. She crossed her arms as she went back towards the kitchen, "To think Mizuki would do such a thing? I treated that girl like a daughter, well never again."
Hikaru turned over and sighed, "Mom it's not like it's her fault, I'm just a loser, she just finally realized it." Kiriko Kinami shook her head, "You are not a loser, and besides even if she did decide she didn't want to be friends it was unnecessary of her to try and do all those things to you at school."
Hikaru sat up and shrugged, "Maybe, it doesn't change the fact that she still did it." The front door opened and Taiga strolled in, fresh from a photoshoot, "Good afternoon family, how are you today?" He looked over at Hikaru with a frown on his face and seeing Kiriko scowling and raised a finger, "So who do I have to beat up?" Hikaru shook his head quickly, "No one, you have to beat up no one." Taiga crossed his arms, "Mhmm sounds really convincing, Mom, who do I have to beat up?" Kiriko turned from what she was doing, "Mizuki ''
Taiga's eyes went wide as he nearly fell to the floor in shock, "Mizuki? As in Mizuki Ginko? Your best friend for over 10 years?" Hikaru nodded slowly, "I don't know why but she just decided I was a loser and not worth her time and lied to my professor claiming I was skipping class to hang out with you."
Taiga frowned and scoffed, "And here I was rooting for you, ok I'm not going to beat her up, I don't like to hit girls, but I will be going to your university tomorrow to give her a piece of my mind." Hikaru quickly stood up and waved his arms in protest, "Taiga you are not going to my university to start an argument with Mizuki, it's not worth it. Besides you and I both know she can kick your ass if you piss her off enough."
Taiga smiled at him and shook his head, "Sorry Hikaru but this is a matter of principle, no one messes with my little brother and gets away with it, so Mizuki will be hearing from me." Hikaru hung his head in defeat as Kiriko clapped for her eldest son, "That's right Taiga be a good big brother and show her not to mess with a Kinami."
Hikaru groaned in annoyance as Taiga winked at his brother, "See, Mom's onboard." Hikaru said nothing as he flopped down back onto the couch, his face once again in the pillow as Taiga moved into the kitchen to help Kiriko with dinner.
In the corner Hephaestus floated there with his arms crossed, thinking heavily, "You know this whole thing of a close friend insulting you and other little things to hurt you mentally reminds me of the things Aphrodite used to do to me during our marriage." Apollo raised an eyebrow, "Really? I never knew she was such a schemer, I always thought she was too busy with Ares to do anything else."
Turning towards them, Ares waved them off, "You're overthinking it brother, I'm sure whatever is going on isn't some kind of plot by you supposed evil ex-wife." Hephaestus frowned but said nothing, as much as he hated to admit it Ares was probably right. Wherever Aphrodite was she certainly wouldn't be getting in the middle of some mere mortal's friendship.
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Aphrodite cackled as Mizuki stood in front of her, reporting her success of the events that transpired during the day. Things were going too well and that fool Mythos had no idea what was going on. She knew that Mythos had low self worth but the fact that he'd been destroyed so easily was surprising even to her.
Her good mood couldn't possibly be ruined, that was until she heard a yawn. She turned around to glare at the siren, "Something wrong Siren? Is our success not pleasing you?"
The siren shrugged, "I mean all you've done is bully the kid, it's not really some devious plan to ruin him, just petty drama." Aphrodite cackled again as she crossed her arms, "I don't expect you to understand due to your low intelligence, but to break someone it's actually the smaller instances, the petty bullying as you call it that will break someone, not larger moments or grief. The smaller instances work even better when they come from a loved one."
The siren shrugged again, "I'll take your word for it, what's the next part of your oh so amazing plan." Aphrodite smirked and looked at Mizuki, "Simple, the older brother is predictable, he will confront our thrall here tomorrow and when that happens it will be time to break the brothers relationship, and if we get lucky the brother could fall under our sway too."
At this the siren perked up, "Now that, that sounds like music to my ears, it's been too long since I've managed to make an attractive specimen like Demi under my thrall."
Aphrodite smirked as she beckoned Mizuki to leave, "Then stop questioning me at every point and you may get your plaything after we eliminate Mythos." The siren thought for a moment before nodding, getting a new toy would certainly be worth not questioning the annoying goddess's plan.
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Hikaru laid in his bed, it was nearly 2 in the morning but he hadn't managed to get much sleep, too much was on his mind. He heard Apollo manifest beside him, "Penny for your thoughts partner?" Hikaru sighed, "After all these years, I don't get why Mizuki is abandoning me."
Apollo thought for a moment, "You know she annoys me constantly, I annoy her, it was our thing, but I never questioned you and her friendship, I never could've seen this coming." Hikaru looked at the ceiling, "Maybe she's right, do I rely on her too much? I mean ever since everything started I have been asking her to help me a bit more, but I never gave any thought to it."
Apollo shrugged, "I don't know really, I never paid much attention, honestly I probably don't worry as much about your personal life as maybe I should." Hikaru frowned, "Am I just needy? Do I rely too much on my only friend?"
Hephaestus appeared as well, shaking his head, "There's nothing wrong with relying on your friends, everyone needs help sometimes. Honestly, little brother, I'm jealous that you have a close friend you can rely so much on. I don't think you should take this to heart and allow it to change you too much."
Hikaru let out a sigh, "But still, if Mizuki does ever decide to forgive me, I'll have to show her I'm not entirely reliant on her." Hephaestus frowned and said nothing, obviously Hikaru wasn't going to listen to him. He could only hope things would work out as he still couldn't deny that feeling deep in his gut that something was wrong.
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Taiga walked down the street as he neared Hikaru's university, he was going to give Mizuki a piece of his mind for what he did to his brother. He had told Hikaru to stay home and relax for the day, seeing as he didn't have any classes and only would've gone to work on homework at the library.
However what he wasn't aware of was that Hikaru was following him from behind, making sure to stay far enough away that he wasn't noticed. Hikaru wanted to prevent a disaster if he could, and Taiga making a scene confronting Mizuki would certainly be a disaster.
As Hikaru followed him he had to admit, Taiga was certainly walking like a man on a mission. He felt a pit in his stomach as Taiga seemed to follow Mizuki quickly, walking towards her with fire in his eyes. Hikaru hid behind a corner, watching what was about to transpire from afar, ready to intervene if necessary.
As Taiga approached Mizuki he was shocked to see her smiling at him, "Taiga it's so good to see you, how's my favorite model doing?" Taiga glared at her, "Cut the crap Mizuki, you hurt my brother I'm here to find out why." Mizuki gave him another smile, one he swore was almost flirtatious, "Oh come on Taiga I don't want to talk about that loser, I'd rather talk about this handsome man in front of me."
Taiga scowled, "Stop this right now Mizuki, what the hell is going on that you turned on him so viciously? Better give me a good reason or I'll be angrier." Mizuki put a finger on his chest, moving it around on him, "Oh I just realized who the better brother was, Hikaru is a loser, he'd never go to war for me or to hell and back. You would, you're the whole package."
Taiga pushed her finger off of him and took a step back, "I'm not interested in the slightest Mizuki, if this is really all about you liking me then you'd know I'd never do that to Hikaru."
Mizuki tried approaching him but he stepped out of the way again, causing her to frown, "Oh come on Taiga, I pledge my undying love to you, I'd wait for you for 10 years, denying any other suitors I have in that time."
Taiga glared at her, "Ok now you're just sounding weird and I'm not sure what the hell is wrong with you at this point." At this Achilles appeared and nodded, "Honestly she sounds like someone from my time and less yours."
Mizuki frowned, she was failing her mistress and she couldn't do that. Noticing Hikaru watching from afar she smirked as she walked towards Taiga, catching him off guard and pulling him into a kiss, holding him there as he was too shocked to really stop it. She opened her eyes to see Hikaru walking away, a hurt look on his face. Pulling apart from a confused Taiga she smiled at him, "Thanks for that Taiga, that was exactly what I needed."
She winked at him and began to walk away as Taiga was still confused, "Ok what the hell is going on, something is wrong with her." Achilles nodded in agreement, "Something seems off with her, something in her eyes that seems different. I wouldn't worry about her for now, we have bigger problems."
Taiga looked at the hero, "What do you mean bigger problems?" Achilles pointed towards the corner where Hikaru had been, "Hikaru saw that kiss, he'd been following us this entire time." Taiga groaned, "Now you tell me this?" Achilles nodded, "I didn't think it was important information to relay until now."
Taiga sighed and began to run, "Considering he probably didn't hear any of the conversation and just saw that it would've been very important to tell me." He began to run home, figuring that's where Hikaru would go to be alone.
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Taiga nearly burst through the front door, finding Hikaru sitting on the couch, Hikaru shockingly glaring at him as he saw him, "I don't want to see you right now so just leave me alone." Taiga frowned and entered the room, "Hikaru I need you to listen to me, she only did that because she saw you watching us, I was arguing with her."
Hikaru scoffed at him, "Yeah sure, I should've known something like this would happen, yesterday she tells me you're better than me and then you get so desperate to see her after I tell you, sounds like you saw your shot and took it."
Taiga shook his head quickly, "Hikaru I'm telling you I do not like Mizuki like that in the slightest, besides she was talking weirdly to me the entire time, even Achilles thinks she's being weird."
Hikaru glared at him, "All I hear is you making excuses, honestly this is all my fault for being a loser." Taiga frowned and grabbed a hold of his brother's shoulders, standing him up and looking him in the eyes, "Hikaru I am telling you something is wrong with Mizuki!" Hikaru broke free from his grip and turned around, "It doesn't matter, I can't do this right now Taiga just leave me alone."
He walked towards his room and slammed the door shut, ending the conversation as Taiga stood there speechless. Taiga groaned again as Achilles appeared, "He's certainly being stubborn, that's usually your job. Honestly I'm shocked he didn't believe you."
Taiga shook his head, "Nah I get it, he's emotional right now and not thinking. He saw his older brother kissing the girl he's had a crush on for years, he's not gonna listen to reason." Achilles crossed his arms, "So what's the plan now then?" Taiga thought for a moment, "We find Mizuki and find out what the hell is going on. You said there was something weird about her, maybe something got to her."
Achilles nodded in agreement, "It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, there's only one real way to find out though." Taiga nodded, they were going to find Mizuki and get to the bottom of this mystery, Hikaru's mental state depended on it.
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Taiga seemed to have a skill for tracking people down as it didn't seem to take him long to find Mizuki. As he approached her she smiled at him, "Taiga! Did you reconsider our relationship?"
Taiga shook his head, "No, I'm pretty sure something is up with you and I'm here to get to the bottom of it." The smile on her face disappeared as she looked at the ground, "You're right Taiga something is wrong with me, I'll tell you, but it can't be here."
Taiga felt like something was off but he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, "Fine, let's go somewhere else then." Mizuki nodded, "Follow me and I'll tell you everything."
He began to follow her as she led him towards a warehouse, inviting him inside as he entered, finding two women, one extremely beautiful and the other having wings. The beautiful one smiled, "I didn't think he was stupid enough to follow her but here I am pleasantly surprised."
Taiga frowned as alarms rang out in his brain, taking out his driver, "I should've known something was up, this ends now!" Before he could do anything the other woman began to sing, causing him to drop to his knees.
As the beautiful woman approached him she giggled, "Oh silly Demi you won't be needing that, at least not for us, now please fall under my thrall." She put a ghostly hand on his chin, his eyes glazing over as Achilles tried screaming at him, "Taiga you need to resist, that thing is a siren!" His efforts were wasted as Taiga stood up already under the spell, "What are your wishes, mistress?"
Aphrodite smiled as Mizuki walked up and joined them, "Demi, summon Mythos it is time we end this, he's broken mentally, now it's time for his brother to break him physically."
Taiga nodded as Achilles watched on, unable to do anything despite being immune to the siren's songs. He could only hope Hikaru would be able to fight off Taiga when he arrived at this trap of theirs.
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Hikaru frowned as he arrived at the location Taiga had told him to meet him and Mizuki. He admitted he was a little excited that Taiga had called him and said he'd figured out what was going on with Mizuki.
Still he couldn't help but feel something was off as he entered the warehouse. As he entered he saw the siren, she began to sing but he simply stood there unaffected. Apollo appeared next to him in alarm, "Hikaru it's a siren, driver out now!"
Hikaru nodded and quickly took his driver out, slapping it onto his body, "PANTHEON DRIVER" The siren stopped singing and frowned, "Hmm you seem to be immune to my song too, must be your connection to those three gods. No matter, we prepared a plan B, Taiga if you'd be a dear."
Hikaru watched as Taiga and Mizuki appeared from around the corner, Mizuki standing with the siren as Taiga stepped in front of him, driver already on. Hikaru frowned as Taiga held up the Achilles orb, "Taiga snap out of it, I don't want to fight you."
Achilles appeared and frowned, "It's no use young Hikaru, he won't listen to you, he's too under their thrall and I cannot stop him from transforming." Taiga simply slammed the orb into his driver, "The mistress demands your death, I will provide." The driver came to life as it registered the orb, "READY FOR BATTLE!"
Taiga began to walk forward as he slammed the driver together, "HENSHIN!" Hikaru began to back up slightly as armor formed around his entranced brother, "Demi-On! Rise up! The invincible warrior (Glory over all!) Achilles Frameeeeee! Yeah!"
Demi appeared and Hikaru immediately dodged his attack, and frowned "Fine I guess we're doing this then." He removed the Apollo orb from his pocket, "Apollo, lend me your power!" Apollo appeared glowing, "Hikaru I would suggest hurrying up unless you want to feel his punches."
Hikaru nodded and scanned the orb, "APOLLO ORB!" Hikaru jumped back from another attack as the driver began to chant,
"What's beyond the chains?! Break freeeee!"
"What's beyond the chains?! Break freeeee!"
Hikaru simply slammed the button on the driver, "HENSHIN!" Light engulfed him as Demi made another attack, "Ride on! Power of the sun! (The golden god!) Apollo Frameeeee! Yeah!"
Mythos caught the punch from Demi as the armor around Hikaru finished forming, trying to quickly punch Demi in the gut before he was met with a knee from Demi, sending him backwards. Mythos recovered as he summoned his bow, "Any ideas Apollo, he's kind of invulnerable unless I can hit his weak spot."
He heard a curse in Greek in his head as Apollo sighed, "Play defense, even with Ares you can't beat him in a physical game, use the bow and hope an arrow hits his weak spot." Mythos nodded and quickly began to fire arrows at Demi, aiming for his driver as Demi batted every single one, charging at Mythos, Mythos flipping around him and trying to get across the room.
Mythos fired more arrows as he barely dodged another slash from Demi's sword, "What if I hit the siren?" The siren laughed, stopping singing for a moment, "If you do that your best friend dies." At this moment Mizuki stepped in front of the siren, 0 emotions on her face as the siren smirked. Mythos cursed as he dodged another slash, he was stuck between a hard place.
However he was running out of stamina as one of Demi's slashes finally connected, sending him across the room. Mythos got up and looked over at Mizuki, "Mizuki you need to snap out of it!"
Mizuki remained unresponsive as Demi approached Mythos, landing three slashes on him and sending him against the wall. Demi began to attack Mythos wildly, sparks flying as he tossed his brother around the room. As she watched Mizuki's hand twitched, a thought formed in her head, "Why were Hikaru and Taiga fighting?"
Mythos barely got up, he couldn't keep taking these hits as he dodged again, "Mizuki please." The siren laughed again, watching Demi close in for the kill. Feeling her head clear for the first time in days, Mizuki's eyes unglazed, turning around and kicking the siren back.
The siren went backwards but quickly recovered with her wings, her legs turning into a snake-like tail as she glared at Mizuki, "You stupid girl you broke free from my spell, no one has done that since Odysseus." Without her singing Demi stopped moving for a moment before looking at Mythos in confusion, "Hikaru? Why are we fighting?"
Mythos put a hand on his ribs and sighed, "Long story short siren controlled both of you." Demi nodded, "So I was right!" Mythos nodded as he took out Hephaestus's orb, "Yup I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Hephaestus was right too." Mizuki joined them on their side of the room away from the siren, "Hikaru I…"
Mythos held up a hand, "Let's save it for later ok? For now we gotta still beat her and I'm a little hurt so I need a little more defense from Hephaestus." He held up Hephaestus's orb, "Hephaestus lend me your power!" Hephaestus appeared behind Mythos, "You know not that I'm going to get an apology but I would just like to tell Ares I was right."
Mythos scanned the orb as it flashed to life, "HEPHAESTUS ORB!" Mythos slammed the button down on the driver, "SHINE OVER!" Magman poured over Mythos as Demi joined him by the side, "CRAFT ON! RED HOT FLAMES! FORGE AHEAD! (THE FORGING GOD) HEPHAESTUS FRAMEEEEEE YEAH!"
Mythos Hephaestus Frame appeared and summoned his hammer as the siren glared at both riders, "Fine I guess singing is out of the question, doesn't mean I can't still kill you." She summoned a rapier as Demi laughed at her claim, "You think you can kill us? We're the brothers chosen by Olympus!"
The two charged at her, Demi slashing at her and blocking a strike from her weapon as Mythos slammed his hammer down on her head, causing her to become dazed. The siren tried to slither away but Mythos opened the forge on his shoulder, magma beginning to flow out and encasing her tail, causing her to be stuck to the ground.
Mythos and Demi nodded at each other as they both activated their finishers, "HEPHAESTUS FAVOR: UOHANMA!" "ACHILLES HEROIC: KENTOTATE" Both of their weapons glowed as they ran at the siren, Demi slashing through her body and Mythos bringing down his hammer onto her, crushing her into a crater and causing her to turn to ashes.
The two brothers stood there for a moment before nodding at each other. They both untransformed as Mizuki walked over to them, "Guys there's still a problem, there was another person with the siren, she was ghostly like the other gods are." Taiga frowned and nodded, "That's true I saw her too."
Hearing a laugh Aphrodite appeared in front of three, "Well no need to draw out the reveal." Erupting in anger Hephaestus appeared, "Aphrodite I always knew you were a traitor!" Aphrodite laughed at her ex-husband, "Oh please Hephaestus, I can't betray a group I was never truly a part of. Or do you idiotic Olympians always forget that I was born from Uranus himself, I have always been a Titan."
Hephaestus says nothing as Aphrodite looked at the three before settling her gaze on Mizuki, "I do admit it's impressive that you managed to break free of the siren's control, only Odysseus has managed to do that. Oh well it doesn't matter, we'll meet again mortals, farewell." She disappeared as Hephaestus continued to glare at her, "Aphrodite I will make you regret your years of betrayal."
Beside him Apollo appeared and frowned, "You know I'm disappointed but not surprised she betrayed us, I never liked her." Further Ares appeared looking sad, "Not Aphrodite, why did it have to be Aphrodite, I actually kind of loved her." Apollo sighed and put an arm around his shoulder, "Ares you only love war and battle, besides think of it this way you get to fight her now."
Ares immediately perked up, "Alright I'm sold, fighting is a lot better than what I used to do with her." Hikaru frowned and turned towards his brother, "Taiga I'm sorry I didn't believe you and immediately got mad at you, I should've listened." Taiga smiled at him and put an arm around his shoulder, "It's alright little brother you were upset at everything going on."
Mizuki frowned, "Hikaru I'm so sorry for everything I did, I was aware of everything I was doing but it was weird, I wasn't in the driver's seat of my own body." Apollo chuckled a bit from this comment, "Yeah sirens are cruel, you're completely aware of everything but can do nothing as they kill you."
Hikaru ignored him and smiled at her, "Mizuki it's alright, but I've been thinking and I think what you said while controlled was right, I rely too much on you and I can't keep doing that if I want to be able to grow as a person." Mizuki frowned but nodded, "Hikaru I didn't mean any of that but if that's what you decided then ok."
Hikaru nodded, "I can't let myself stay hung up on past issues, if I want to grow I need to let go of the past, including past routines." He began to leave, followed by Taiga as Mizuki stood there for a moment.
Hikaru was right, if she wanted to grow too she needed to let go of past routines. Deciding there was something she needed to do she left the warehouse, going a different direction from the brothers, determined to go do something she had been putting off for years.
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Mizuki felt a pit in her stomach as she sat down in the chair, she hated visiting prisons but she couldn't back out now. Looking at the glass in front of her she watched as an older man with graying brown hair sat down, reaching for the phone and picking it up.
She picked hers up and she heard him let out a grunt as he smiled, "Well well if it isn't Mizu, what made you finally visit me?" Mizuki frowned, "Hi Father, I just thought it was time to stop putting it off."
The two talked for a bit before he finally brought up the question she was dreading, "So have you ever mentioned me to that Kinami kid you're friends with? Your Mom said you spend every moment with him." Mizuki shook her head, "No, I'll never tell him about you, it'll hurt him and his brother too much."
Her father nodded, Mizuki couldn't ever tell Hikaru about her father, if she did then their friendship would end, and she never wanted that to happen.
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The Titans stood within Zeus's temple as Aphrodite entered, Rhea looking at her in amusement, "Ah there you are Aphrodite, we were just discussing our next plan."
Prometheus smirked at her, "Tell me how did your plan using the girl went? Shall we be targeting her again next week too?" Aphrodite scoffed at him and shook her head, "The girl, Mizuki Ginko is off limits for now Prometheus."
Rhea raised an eyebrow, "Developed an interest in her I see?" Aphrodite nodded, "There is something interesting about her, she broke free from the siren's song. I will understand what that is, and once I do that girl will be the first to understand the kind of love I want to bring into this mortal world." She smiled as the Titans went back to their plans, her plan may have failed but she wasn't done, not by a long shot.
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TO BE CONTINUED!
Next time on Kamen Rider Mythos
Another God appears causing Apollo to frown
"Oh great it's Hermes, he always annoys me."
Prometheus is punching a hole in a temple
"I am tired of losing, I will defeat those pesky mortals myself!"
Finally Hermes is asking a question to the other Gods
"So does anyone know what actually happens if our orbs break?"