Chapter 2: The Twin Blades

"You don't know?" repeated Inner Moka. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Shintaro replied. "I don't know what I am."

"How can you not know what you are?" she demanded. He was frustrating her and not giving her a clear answer.

"I wasn't lying when I said I have no memories before six months ago," Shintaro reminded. "I have no recollection of my life before that time, but I've had these abilities since I can remember." He then added, "And speaking of which, how are you feeling? Did the rain hurt you?" It wounded Inner Moka's vampiric pride to be asked that. It wasn't something she would vocally admit. However, her body still felt weak from the rain and she gave a nod. "Alright, hold still." He knelt down and took Inner Moka's free hand.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. How dare he touch her?

"The same thing I did to fix your bike. Now, relax. This might tingle," Shintaro told her before he activated his power. A green glow surrounded the two of them and Inner Moka felt her strength returning to her. As the glow faded, she stared at Shintaro in bewilderment. "That ability is what sets me apart from humans." They all stood up together afterwards.

"Then are you a monster?" Mizore asked.

"I'm not even that," said Shintaro.

"So how did you transform?" Inner Moka asked.

"This told me how," said Shintaro as he showed the two girls his pocket watch. "My guardian told me that if I was in any sort of life or death emergency, I should open it. Luckily for us, it did and it showed me what to do."

"A pocket watch?" Inner Moka gazed at the item skeptically.

"That's right," said Shintaro as he pocketed his pocket watch. "Now, I need to make a phone call. Moka-chan, can you and Shirayuki-san go back to your dorms."

"I can," said Inner Moka. "Also, honor demands that I owe you a debt for protecting my other self. Keep up the good work, Mido." She hooked the cross back to her choker. Slowly, the demonic aura began to fade and weaken as her hair turned back to pink. She collapsed forward but Shintaro caught her before she fell to the ground.

"I'm guessing changing like that exhausts you," guessed Shintaro. Moka looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"It's alright. It's what I do for friends," he said. The temperature began to drop and he shivered. He looked at Mizore who had a cold look in her eyes. He then said, "Shirayuki-san, thank you for protecting Moka-chan too. I owe you." Slowly, Mizore smiled as the temperature stopped dropping.

"I did it for you, Shintaro," she said. "And please, call me Mizore."

"Mizore-chan then," he smiled and she blushed at being addressed so intimately.

One Week Later...

Shintaro stepped out of the dorm building and saw Mizore and Moka waiting for him. "Were you girls waiting long?" he asked.

"No," Moka and Mizore answered at the same before shooting each other looks.

"Come on, let's go to school," said Moka and the three of them walked together to school. It had been a week since the confrontation with Saizou and the orc hadn't been seen since. Rumors then started to spread about how and why Saizou had left. Officially, Saizou had to be sent home to recover from him injuries. According to rumors, though, he had been beaten up by someone much stronger and most assumed it to be Shintaro since he had stood up to the orc earlier that day. There were also rumors of a vampire being among them as nobody could ignore the surge of demonic aura that day.

Last week, Shintaro had also called home and asked Topper about Youkai Academy. It turned out that the man had known that Youkai Academy was a school for monsters. He had sent Shintaro there to learn how to fit in and to make friends. Shintaro wondered if Topper had been thinking clearly when he had sent that application for Shintaro to attend a school that had students and staff that were actually monsters. However, Topper assumption had been slightly correct. He had made friends. Kaze had been interested too and Shintaro told his friend that his two new friends were girls. Kaze immediately begged for pictures he could appraise. That was when he asked to speak with Topper again and ask about his pocket watch.

Topper had only told Shintaro that the pocket watch was something Shintaro needed to decide his own destiny. That statement caused Shintaro to become frustrated. His guardian was always so cryptic and speaking in riddles. However, said pocket watch had saved their lives. If Shintaro hadn't opened it, he wouldn't have learnt of his ability to transform. Although, the pocket watch still didn't tell him what he was and since that day Shintaro hadn't been able to open it again.

Guess he would need to wait for another life or death situation to present itself. Considering the nature of the school, that may come sooner rather than later.

It was lunchtime and as Shintaro exited the classroom, he came across a scene that made him stop to observe. Three male students who only wore the uniforms shirts and slacks were standing threateningly before a little girl who was dressed like a witch. She had on a dark cape and tall hat. Her uniform was different, made up of a pink top and matching corset. She wore the standard skirt for girls with thigh high white stockings. Her bowtie was yellow. She was also cute with violet eyes and chin length brown-black hair in a bob cut. She appeared to be crying and he could hear the mean things they were calling her.

Many things offended Shintaro, and the sight of a little girl being bullied by those older than her was one of those things. That, and pears. He hated pears. Damn fruit was too sour for his taste.

He had to intervene.

"Excuse me, but what's going on here?" Shintaro demanded. The leader of the trio, who wore a black band on his left arm, turned to glare at Shintaro.

"None of your business. We're just teaching this little brat a lesson in respect," he told them.

"I think she's had enough," Shintaro countered. "You should leave her alone."

"Who the hell are you?" the leader questioned.

"Shintaro Mido," Shintaro answered. "And you?"

"Tadashi Wanibuchi," he retorted.

"OK, now that we know each other, how about you now just go, Wanibuchi-san? It's not nice to make little girls cry," Shintaro said. Wanibuchi glared at Shintaro and the latter countered with his own glare. The two of them continued to glare at each other but then Wanibuchi started to sweat nervously before he turned away with a click of his tongue.

"Fine, whatever," scoffed Wanibuchi before he and his two followers walked away.

"Hmph, they'll make anyone Class Rep nowadays, it seems," Shintaro remarked in disapproval. He then turned to address the little girl in witch's attire. "Are you OK?"

"They broke my wand," she said and she showed him her wand. It was a stick that was topped with a heart and holding a star in the centre. The stick had been broken in half.

"Let me see," Shintaro offered. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. He waved his hand over the wand and the two broken halves miraculously joined back together. "See? Good as new!" Yukari's eyes widened in surprise.

"Thank you!" she hugged him tight around the waist. "Thank you! Thank you! I wouldn't have been able to do magic without it!"

"It's no problem," he said, patting her shoulder. "By the way, I never got your name."

"It's Yukari Sendou," she said.

"And why are you doing in Youkai Academy?" he asked. "I mean, how old are you? Or are you just short for your age?"

"I'm 11 and a half!" she retorted, "And I got in because I'm a genius!"

So, she had skipped a few grades. "Well, Yukari-chan, how about you join me and my friends for lunch?" he invited. "I'll even treat you to lunch."

"Really?" Yukari beamed. "Thank you!" She hugged him again.

The table, occupied by Shintaro, Mizore, Moka and now Yukari seemed to have a tense atmosphere. It was because Yukari was seated close next to Shintaro, affectionately hugging his arm.

"Shintaro-kun, who is this and why is she hugging you like that?" asked Moka.

"Can I get rid of her?" Mizore suggested icily.

"Don't do that, Mizore-chan," Shintaro said. He wasn't sure if Mizore was either kidding or serious, but he'd rather not risk it. "Her name's Yukari-chan and I helped her to deal with some bullies earlier," answered Shintaro.

"He saved me!" Yukari added.

"She's just exaggerating," Shintaro dismissed. "She was in trouble and I decided to help."

"He also fixed my wand!"

"Yeah, I did that too," Shintaro admitted. "Um, Yukari-chan, could you release my arm? I kinda need it to eat." Yukari blushed in embarrassment and released Shintaro's arm. He started to roll his shoulder to get the stiffness out. "Ah..." he sighed, "Much better."

"He fixed your wand?" Mizore asked, "So, you're a witch then."

"I think it would be obvious from how she's dressed," Shintaro pointed out. He said to Yukari, "It's kinda cute, like a Mahou Shoujo cosplay." Yukari blushed and giggled at the praise.

"And you're a wizard," she stated. Shintaro blinked.

"Me? A wizard?" he asked.

"That's how you fixed my wand," she stated. "Although, you cast wandless magic. I've heard of it, but never seen it."

"That's not...well..." Shintaro stumbled with his words. Yukari thought his abilities were magic? Looking at it from one angle, his ability to fix Moka's bicycle and Yukari's wand like that could be seen as magic. Shintaro wasn't sure if his powers were magically based. All he knew was that he could control time, to some extent. It did allow him to fix a few things while living with Topper and Kaze. "How about we just eat our lunch and get to know each other better?" he suggested to try to quell the tension.

Meanwhile, Wanibuchi was in the back of the school building, angrily complaining, "That bastard! How dare he defend that little witch!? She's just a bratty rule-breaker who doesn't know her place!"

"But boss, are you sure we can take him? He did beat Saizou," one of his two friends said. Wanibuchi had heard the rumor and scoffed.

"Just a rumor! I don't believe a word of it!" dismissed Wanibuchi. However, he would not admit that he had been intimidated by Shintaro earlier. During the staredown, he'd been forced to surrender. Shintaro's eyes were those that belonged to a cold-blooded killer. He punched his open palm. "I wanna teach him and that brat a lesson! It's against the rules to go against a superior student!"

"Excuse me, gentlemen? May I have a word?" The three male students looked to see someone approaching them. He was dressed in an immaculate white suit, even his necktie was white, with a white lab coat thrown over his ensemble. He wore a black shoes, a white fedora with a black band around it, and also wore black sunglasses. He had platinum blonde hair that was cut short and he had a pleasant smile on his face.

"What do you want?" one of Wanibuchi's friends asked.

"You don't look like a student here. Who are you?" Wanibuchi demanded.

"Just someone passing through," the Man in White answered.

"Trespassing is against the rules," warned Wanibuchi. "You're going to need to punished." Actually, Wanibuchi wanted to take his anger out on someone on the pretense of enforcing the rules.

"Well then," the Man in White said, the smile never leaving his face, "Come at me, and please shed those disguises. They really don't match your true nature." Wanibuchi complied. Even though assuming their true forms was against the rules, right now he really didn't care. Nobody else was around to see them or to report what they were doing, and all Wanibuchi was doing was showing a trespasser why they should follow the rules. In an instant, their skin turned green and scaly and they turned into more lizard-like creatures with sharp teeth, claws, and frightening yellow eyes. The Man in White, instead of being intimidated, just grinned.

"Fascinating," he said before the three lizardmen lunged at him.

Shintaro went to take a walk and get some fresh air, on his own, leaving the girls to their own devices. As much as he liked to hang out with his friends, he sometimes needed some alone time. The school had a beautiful garden in the courtyard and sometimes Shintaro couldn't help but marvel at its splendor. Sometimes, he would just sit under a tree and take a nap.

Suddenly, his musings were interrupted when he heard a groan. He spotted a girl in the middle of the indoor pathway, on her hands and knees. From his current vantage point he could see that she wore a variant of the girls' uniform. She wore white blouse with a yellow sweater vest, the same skirt as the other girls and had blue hair tied up in a ponytail with a purple ribbon.

Not one to ignore someone in trouble, Shintaro went to ask if she needed any help.

"Miss? Excuse me? Are you OK?" Shintaro asked and the girl looked up at him. He was suddenly taken aback as her face seemingly sparkled. 'Wow, she's gorgeous!' He recomposed himself and lent his hand to her. "Let me help you up." She took his hand and he helped her up to her feet, only for her to end up leaning against him, her breasts pressing up against his chest. Shintaro couldn't help but feel the softness of her breasts. Not only were they big, but they also felt soft.

"Thank you," she said softly. "You're too kind."

"What's wrong?" he said.

"It's my chest," she said. "It hurts." Shintaro gulped a bit.

"I would've thought you might have a sore back instead," he remarked absently. "Sorry," he apologized. "I'm Shintaro Mido."

"Kurumu Kurono," she introduced herself.

"I know. You're in my class," he said. Her eyes widened at that.

"Really? I thought you didn't notice me," she said.

"Well, how could I not?" he questioned.

"Well, you're always hanging out with Moka Akashiya," said Kurumu. She didn't mention Mizore.

"So, do you need my help to get to the infirmary?" asked Shintaro.

"Actually, could you look into my eyes?" she asked. Their eyes met and all of a sudden Shintaro's brain throbbed painfully. He released Kurumu and started to scream in agony, clutching his head. Kurumu was taken aback, shocked by what had occurred.

He continued to scream, collapsing to his knees, shouting,"STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MY BRAIN! IT HURTS! STOP!" Tears were streaming from his eyes. "I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE, JUST MAKE IT STOP!" Kurumu didn't know what to do. She was frozen in shock. But then, she was knocked out as a wash basin appeared out of thin air and fell on her head. After that, she was suddenly encased in a block of ice.

"Shintaro-kun!" Moka cried as she ran towards her friend, with Mizore and Yukari behind her. The boy was on the ground, clutching his head, and screaming in pain.

"IT HURTS! PLEASE, JUST MAKE IT STOP! I'M SORRY! JUST PLEASE, MAKE THE PAIN STOP!" he screamed hysterically.

"What's happening to him?" Yukari asked in panic.

"I don't know," said Moka. "Shintaro, calm down, please! We're here! Nobody's going to hurt you!" He continued to thrash on the ground, hysterically, and his pocket watch fell out from his pocket. Moka picked it up. The pocket watch suddenly snapped open and the blue glow came out in the form of bluish, sparkling powder that flew towards Shintaro. The sparkling powder then went up his nose and slowly he started to relax before slowly falling into blissful unconsciousness. "Shintaro-kun," she said as the pocket watch closed by itself.

"This girl must've done something to him," Mizore accused, pointing to the frozen Kurumu.

"Let's punish her!" urged Yukari.

"No, let's take her with Shintaro to the infirmary," said Moka. "Could someone help pick him up?"

"Allow me!" offered Yukari and she waved her wand. Shintaro levitated off the ground. "OK, let's go to the infirmary." Mizore then showed off the strength and lifted up the frozen Kurumu onto her back to carry her with them.

"Aren't you going to thaw her out?" Moka asked. Mizore just gave her a look that indicated that she did not intend to unfreeze Kurumu just yet. Moka sighed and together the group headed to the infirmary.

The mysterious figure stood before the three unconscious lizardmen who were sprawled on the ground. "Well, it looks like you three could use an upgrade." He reached into his white coat and pulled out what appeared to be a computer. However, unlike conventional computer chips, it had wires that writhed about like living tendrils. "Just stay still. This won't hurt...much." He placed the chip on Wanibuchi's head and the tendril-like wires began to dig into his flesh and he screamed. The tendrils then stretched out and shot into the arms of his two friends who started screaming in agony along with their leader. The figure then stepped back to watch with a grin on his face.

"Well, Kuro-no-Shinigami. I wonder how you will handle Freaks made from your own schoolmates," he mused out loud.

Shintaro was placed in an infirmary bed. As for Kurumu, she was sitting in a chair, shivering. Mizore was convinced by Moka to let her out of the ice to explain herself. Kurumu felt horrible. She was sneezing, her body was shivering, and her teeth were chattering. Moka, Mizore and Yukari were confronting the girl for what she had done to Shintaro.

"What did you do to Shintaro-kun?" demanded Moka.

"And why were you trying to hurt him?" added Mizore.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him!" Kurumu protested.

"That isn't what it looked like," Yukari shot back, pointing her wand at Kurumu's face. "He was screaming in agony! Now, answer! What did you do to Mido-san!?"

"I was..." Kurumu glared at Moka, "This is all your fault."

"What? Me?" Moka pointed to herself.

"Yeah, you! I wouldn't have had to do that to him if it weren't for you!" Kurumu snapped.

"Why are you accusing me of anything?" Moka questioned.

"It's because all the boys fawn over you!" Kurumu snapped, "Don't act like you don't notice! You're the No. 1 most beautiful girl among the first years!"

"Well, actually, I don't really think so..." Moka weakly denied.

"Well, it's true. Always the boys are talking about you, and not me! I mean, look at me!" Kurumu stood up and showed off herself, "Look at my curves! My big breasts! I'm every boy's sexual fantasy!" She then pointed at Moka, "But the boys just end up falling head over heels for you! And you don't even have to do anything but smile and look pretty!"

"So, why were you trying to hurt Shintaro then? To get back at Moka for taking the boys' attention away from you?" Mizore asked accusingly.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him! I was trying to seduce him!" Kurumu shouted.

"That's even worse," said Mizore as her hands turned into claws made of ice.

"Mizore-chan, stop!" Moka exclaimed. Mizore looked at Moka then backed off. Moka knew Shintaro didn't want to see anyone hurt if he could help it. She addressed Kurumu, "Seduce him? How?"

"...I'm a succubus," admitted Kurumu, "I was using my Charm on him. Normally, a succubus' Charm would cause males to be enslaved by them. However, mine caused that." She pointed at Shintaro.

"And that's not supposed to happen," guessed Yukari.

"Exactly, that's not supposed to happen," Kurumu confirmed. "One moment I was casting my Charm, and then he starts screaming bloody murder and I don't know why." She then asked, "How did you manage to get him to stop?" Moka was about to answer when they suddenly heard a series of screams coming from outside the infirmary.

"What's that!?" Yukari cried.

"That can't be good," said Mizore.

The hallway was filled with chaos as students tried to flee from danger. A fleeing male student was grabbed by the back of his blazer and violently. A girl straggling was grabbed and then stripped to her underwear by the assailant. Said assailant was a monster that none of the students had ever seen.

It was humanoid and stood at eight feet tall, with a muscular body full of power, and covered in green scales. He had a long and thick tail that was segmented with spikes surrounding a ball at the tip. Similar spikes jutted out of the shoulder blades. It also had the head of a lizard an additional head on each shoulder. Its eyes were also glowing yellow with madness and it let loose a roar as it continued to attack the students that it could get its claws on.

It was a beast called the Lizard Freak and right now it was on a terrible rampage.

Mizore, Moka, Kurumu and Yukari exited the hallway to see what was going on. They were on the second floor and they saw the Lizard Freak rampaging all over the hallway, beating up male students and ripping to shreds the clothes of the female students.

"What is that hideous thing?" Kurumu questioned.

"I don't know, but it has to be stopped," said Moka.

"Allow me," Mizore volunteered. Since Shintaro was unconscious, he wouldn't be able to do much and with Moka sealed, she didn't have the kind of power they needed.

"I'll help too!" volunteered Yukari.

"No, Yukari-chan! It's dangerous!" Moka protested but the witch stubbornly ran past Moka to follow Mizore and face the rampaging Lizard Freak in the middle of the hallway.

Yukari and Mizore went down to the hallway which was now empty as the Lizard Freak had chased the students away. Yukari gripped her wand tightly as Mizore brandished her ice claws. With a wave of her arm, Mizore conjured spikes of ice and hurled them at the Lizard Freak. However, with a swipe of its arm, the Lizard Freak smashed the ice spikes to pieces. Yukari cast a spell and started hurling random objects in the Lizard Freak's direction, but it swiped them away with ease. With a roar, it charged at the two girls like a mad beast. Suddenly, Kurumu swooped in. Bat-like wings spread out from her back and a tail with a spade-tip hung from her rear.

"What are you doing!?" Mizore cried.

"What a succubus is good at!" Kurumu exclaimed and eyes shone as she cast her Charm on the Lizard Freak. Her eyes met its and it froze. "Yatta! It worked!" However, her celebration came prematurely as the Lizard Freak spun and smashed its thick tail into Kurumu, sending her crashing into the wall. It then swiped at Mizore and sent her skidding along the floor and roared at Yukari, causing the little witch to scramble away in panic. The lizard-like Freak started moving towards Kurumu. Her entire body ached from the impact. A shadow fell over her and she stared up in horror as the three-headed lizard Lizard Freak loomed over her. Saliva dripped from its mouths as it licked its lips. Kurumu trembled, petrified, as she stared up at the Freak before her. It raised its clawed hand and brought it down. Reflexively, Kurumu shut her eyes. The impact came, but she was not the target.

She opened her eyes and saw, with his back facing her, was Shintaro Mido. Her eyes went wide as he gripped the Lizard Freak's wrists, protecting her.

"Run!" he shouted at her.

"What...?" she uttered.

"I said run!" he repeated himself as he turned to look at her. "Go and run!"

"I can't!" she protested. Her legs wouldn't obey her. Shintaro gritted his teeth and glared at the Lizard Freak whose three sets of eyes glared at him.

"Then I just have to take care of this now!" A metal belt materialized around Shintaro's waist. The buckle was closed but that wouldn't be for too long. He then uttered one single word which would cause a transformation, "Hen...shin!" The belt buckle snapped open, exposing the crystal sphere hidden inside. It unleashed a bright green flash. The lizard-like Freak roared as the light got in its eyes, blinding it. The energy then blew the Lizard Freak away, knocking it right off its feet and into the air before it landed with a crash.

Once the light faded, Shintaro was clad in his black and green armor. Kurumu and Yukari were stupefied by the sight of the armor as Shintaro-now Kai stood proudly to face the three-headed reptilian Freak. The Lizard Freak, at the sight of Kai, let loose a roar and charged at him. It swiped its claws at him but Kai blocked the strike with his forearm before retaliating with a punch to its stomach. He then performed a series of roundhouse kicks, aimed at the main head, sending the Freak staggering. The Freak recovered and tried to grab Kai but Kai grabbed it first in a bearhug. Unfortunately, that would be a mistake.

The heads on the Lizard Freak's shoulders snapped their jaws and bit down on Kai's shoulders. He let out a shout of pain as the razor sharp teeth tried to dig their way into his pauldrons. He tried to pull away, but the teeth were clenched tight and now Kai was at its mercy. The Freak continued to try and chew through Kai's armor, forcing him to his knees. He tried to endure the pain.

Meanwhile, Moka came down to help Kurumu up. "Are you OK?" Moka asked.

"Is that...is that Mido?" Kurumu pointed at the armored figure fighting the three-headed Lizard Freak. Moka gave a nod. "What is he?" Moka couldn't come up with an answer. Now even Shintaro could've come up with one when her Inner Self had asked.

Back at the fight, Kai could feel the pain increasing. He needed a way out of this! He needed a weapon! Fortunately, his prayers were answered as light shone from his hands, taking shape. He gripped the objects in his hands and realized what they were. He then thrust them forward into the Freak's gut. The Freak released Kai, howling in pain. The reason was that Kai had just stabbed it in the gut with a pair of swords. Kai withdrew the swords from the Lizard Freak, splashing crimson blood along the floor.

The twin swords were identical, without guards and the blades were made of green energy. The sword in his right hand had a blade that was three feet in length while the sword in his left hand had a blade half the length of its twin. Regardless of the difference in length, Kai wielded both swords in a reverse grip. Roaring, the Lizard Freak tried to strike with its tail but Kai dodged, leaping up into the air. He then dropped down and slashed the Freak across the chest. It roared in pain. Kai continued his assault, slashing the Freak again and again with his twin swords. He performed a backflip and then smashed his heel into the main head's chin, sending the Freak staggering backwards.

Kai then joined both swords, hilt end to hilt end. He then twirled the combined weapon around and around, the blades glowing brightly. Glaring at the weakening Lizard Freak, Kai then started to charge at it.

'Double Saber Slash!' he called in his mind. Once in range, he leapt up and landed two powerful slashes across its body before landing with his back facing it.

"Time's Up for you!" Kai declared.

"Kuro...no...Shinigami..." the Lizard Freak uttered as it pointed at Kai. Kai blinked. After that, the Freak exploded. Kai turned to face the flames and smoke and was surprised to see lying in the crater were none other than Wanibuchi and his two friends, all completely nude. The three of were severely injured, but the rise and fall of their chests indicated that they were alive. Kai also noticed something else. He leapt into the crater and picked it up. It was a damaged computer chip. Suddenly, it turned into dust in his hands.

"What was that?" Kai wondered.

"Shintaro-kun!" Moka cried and Kai turned to see Moka, Yukari, Mizore and Kurumu running towards him.

"Moka-chan," said Kai as he removed his helmet. "Mizore-chan, Yukari-chan, are you all OK?" He then noticed Kurumu. "Ah...who are you?"

"Kurumu Kurono," she answered, ashamed, "We met earlier when I tried to..."

"You gave me a headache," he remembered and she couldn't look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "That wasn't meant to happen. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Well don't do it again," he said. She nodded.

"You saved me just now," she said. "After what I did, you still saved me. Why?"

"Why not?" he replied. Kurumu's eyes began to water and she cried before putting her arms around Shintaro. Yukari, Moka and Mizore just glared but their expressions softened. Kurumu was being sincere and remorseful. Meanwhile, the Man in White was observing the scene with interest. He then walked away without another word, unnoticed and unseen.

"Can I call you 'Shintaro'?" Kurumu asked. "You can call me Kurumu."

"I guess that's OK," said Shintaro.

"What are you, Shintaro?" Kurumu asked.

"Kamen Rider."

It was Yukari who had spoken. All eyes were on her.

"Kamen Rider?" Moka repeated.

"Me?" Shintaro asked. Yukari nodded.

"My Papa did research a while ago about an urban legend in the human world, about men in masks who fought monsters. He described them as resembling insects," said Yukari. "You look like a Kamen Rider, Mido-san."

"Kamen Rider, huh?" Shintaro considered Yukari's words. "I like that. Sounds great, Yukari-chan. Oh, and please call me Shintaro. We're all friends here, right?"

Kurumu's gaze was locked on Shintaro. Her mother had told her to find her Destined One, her Mate of Fate. Kurumu had asked her mother how she would ever find her Destined One, and her mother had told her that her Destined One would be the one to save her without being Charmed to do it. Looking at Shintaro, he fit the criteria. Even though she had tried to control him, he had come to her rescue.

She had found him, her Destined One.

Author's Note: Well, whaddya think of this second action-packed chapter? As you can see, I've introduced Yukari much earlier than in canon. We're also introduced to the Man in White and his Freak Chips. I'll call the Kaijin 'Freaks' because they were made using Freak Chips. Oh, and the Freak Chips came from the first Hellsing anime. If you remember it, you know what I mean. Of course, the question is, what exactly are Freak Chips? Who made them? Why? And why did the Lizard Freak call Shintaro 'Kuro-no-Shinigami'? I guess we'll get those answers soon. Also, some of you might be wondering about the name of the Rider. 'Kai' is the pronunciation of the Greek letter 'X' that is spelled 'chi' but pronounced as 'kai'. If you don't believe me, you can go and check.