Chapter 5: Protecting Innocence
The following day, once Shintaro had recovered his strength, he went to visit their new club room and saw that the girls had decorated it in his absence. He was touched, actually, and almost shed a tear of joy. Of course, his thoughts were also focused on another matter, namely the mysterious Shiroku. Who was Shiroku and what was he planning? Why was he turning his schoolmates into these Freak monsters? And, why did he seem to know Shintaro?
Two months had passed since Shintaro started school in Youkai Academy and it was after midterms. The results had been put up on the bulletin board. A few students let out wails of mortification because they had gotten very low scores and some were indifferent. Yukari Sendou stared proudly as she was ranked 1st amongst the first years.
"Congratulations, Yukari-chan!" Moka praised and Yukari beamed.
"You didn't do too bad yourself, Moka-san," Yukari pointed. Moka was in 13th place.
"I should study harder," said Moka. Mizore was staring at the board intently. "Looking for your name?"
"I found it. I got 23rd place," said Mizore. "I found Shintaro's name," she pointed. Moka and Yukari looked to see that Shintaro's name was in 2nd place.
"Wow," said Moka. "Now that's amazing."
"Of course! Shintaro-san's smart too!" Yukari stated.
Kurumu, however, was a little depressed. She hadn't studied and goofed off before midterms, so she was amongst the people placed at the end of the list. She felt a little ashamed.
"Hey, where is Shintaro-san?" Yukari asked as she looked around for the boy in question. He was mysteriously absent. Moka, Mizore and Kurumu were wondering the same thing.
Shintaro was in the courtyard. Actually, he was up in a tree, lying on a tree branch. He was wearing a cap with soda cans attached to it and drinking through bendy straws. In his hands was a book which he was reading intently. He was also listening to music on his MP3 player, wearing wireless headphones.
He felt his phone vibrate and picked it up. Removing his headphones, he put his phone against his ear to answer.
"Moshi moshi?" he asked.
"Aloha, Shintaro!" It was Kaze's voice on the other end.
Shintaro cocked an eyebrow curiously, "Aloha? What happened to 'bonjour?"
"Oh, I'm in Hawaii, and it's spectacular!"
Now Shintaro was really curious. "What are you doing in Hawaii?"
"Oh, Papa sent me on an assignment."
Shintaro frowned in disapproval, "Sounds like you're having fun."
"No, I'm on assignment. Papa told me to pick up a cursed Tiki idol."
Shintaro nodded, "Oh, I see. Well, good luck and try not to get in trouble." He was glad that he wasn't going. Cursed items were not fun to deal with. Experience taught him that.
"Hah, no promises! Aloha!"
"Ja ne," Shintaro replied, concluding the heard someone knocking on the tree and blinked. He looked down to see Moka, Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari looking up at him. "Girls? What's up?"
"Shintaro-kun, what are you doing up there? Don't you want to look at your midterm results?" Moka asked.
"Nah, don't really care," said Shintaro, shrugging. He did well in class because that was what was expected of him. He didn't really care about his grades. If he did well, it was because the exam was easy.
"What are you wearing on your head?" Kurumu asked, looking at his hat.
"It's a soda drinking cap," he said, pointing at his cap. "It leaves my hands free for reading and I can drink my favorite beverage! It's practical and stylish!"
"It looks ridiculous!" she countered. "Now, come down from there!"
"We don't want to be late for school," said Mizore.
"Hai, hai," Shintaro nodded as he closed the book and leapt off the branch, landing on the grass. "Let's get to class."
"Take off the hat," the girls said simultaneously.
"Aw...you're no fun," he whined.
It was after school and students either went back to their dorms or gone to their respective clubs. Right now, the History and Archaeology Club was having a meeting. As the lead founding member, Shintaro was the club's president by default.
"So, I was thinking that we could all go and visit museums during summer break and...why are you all looking at me like that?" Shintaro had stopped his speech when he noticed the girls staring at him oddly. "What?"
"I'm sorry, Shintaro-kun, it's just very hard to take you seriously when you're wearing that hat," Moka pointed out. Shintaro was wearing the soda drinking hat. It was quite distracting. The others girls nodded in agreement.
"I told you all before I'm not throwing this away," Shintaro said defensively. "I mean, look at it."
"We are looking at it. That's the problem," said Mizore. "It's an eyesore that draws too much attention to you, and not in a good way."
"It's practical and fashionable," Shintaro argued defensively.
"OK, I won't argue about it being practical because you can actually drink your sodas hands free, but in what country is that fashionable?" Kurumu questioned.
"In the USA during the Super Bowl," Shintaro said. The girls gave him blanks looks. They had obviously never heard of the Super Bowl. "You know, American Football?" Still he got blank looks. "OK, sports fans wear these so they can hold their snacks! Also, gamers too! And people who love to read but can't put the book down." He asked Yukari, "Yukari-chan, you agree that this hat is good, right?"
"It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen," said Yukari honestly and bluntly. Shintaro's left eyebrow twitched. He would've said something about her hat, but he wouldn't. It looked cute on her.
The door opened and Smith-sensei entered. "Sorry I'm late, kids," he apologized. "Had some extra work to care of before I could come."
"We were just getting started, Smith-sensei," Shintaro said.
"Wow, is that a soda drinking hat? I haven't seen one in ages!" Smith-sensei said as he studied the hat.
"Sensei, you actually like that hat?" Moka asked, surprised.
"Well, it looks weird, but it's practical and part of the fashion of sports fanatics," said Smith-sensei.
"Finally, someone who understands!" exclaimed Shintaro in relief.
"You know, I wouldn't mind having one," said Smith-sensei.
"Well, I can't just give it to you," said Shintaro, "But I will trade it with you for something."
"What do you want for it?" Smith-sensei asked.
"What have you got?" Shintaro inquired.
"I actually got a fez. Is that good?" Smith-sensei offered.
"Well, can I put my soda in it and drink from it?"
"I don't believe this," said Kurumu. "They both have really bad taste in hats."
"Can we please return to the meeting?" pleaded Moka impatiently.
"Oh, right," Shintaro realized. They were in the middle of a meeting. "OK, back on topic."
"And take off the hat," she commanded. Shintaro pouted and took off his hat before putting it down under his chair. "Good." Now she didn't have to look at it.
"OK, where was I?" Shintaro asked.
"You were making plans for what we would do during summer break," reminded Mizore. "You said we were going to be visiting museums."
"Yep, museums," Shintaro confirmed.
"Sounds boring," whined Kurumu. "I wanna go to the beach."
"We can still have fun," said Shintaro. "But we're the History and Archaeology Club and we do need to do something that fits our club's objective."
"Shintaro is correct," agreed Smith-sensei. "Your club has to go to at least one museum or you'll be shutdown. School rules."
"But in the human world?" Yukari asked, looking nervous.
"What's wrong, Yukari-chan?" Shintaro asked.
"The human world is scary," said Yukari.
"Well, I won't disagree," said Shintaro. "The world can be a big and scary place," he continued before giving her a grin, "But that's what makes it fun to explore." Smith-sensei's smile also matched Shintaro's grin.
"Do you have a list of museums you wish to visit?" Smith-sensei asked.
"I'm still compiling," said Shintaro as he took out a folded sheet of paper before handing it to Smith-sensei, "But here's what I got."
Smith-sensei unfolded the sheet and checked the list. "Miskatonic University?" he asked.
"There's a branch of the school in the city where my guardian's pawn shop is," Shintaro said. "Their campus museum has a lot of interesting items on display." Smith-sensei nodded.
"OK, I like the list so far," said Smith-sensei, handing it back to Shintaro. "Provide me with a complete list in two weeks so I can make arrangements."
"Hai, sensei," Shintaro nodded.
"You know, we really need to start doing something exciting," Kurumu yawned. "I love hanging out with you guys but I thought this club would be exciting."
"Of course I won't forget that," said Shintaro. "That's why we'll be exploring the entire place this weekend." The girls looked at him.
"Exploring?" they repeated.
"Well, Youkai Academy has to have mysteries, right?" he asked. "Maybe caves that have stuff hidden in them? Secrets? Buried treasure?"
Moka smiled in amusement, "Buried treasure, really?"
"Well, it's possible," said Shintaro. "I mean this place wasn't always a school and the area surrounding campus is mostly forest, with some deserted spots. I was thinking we could take a look around."
"I will go with you," offered Mizore as she scooted in close to him.
"Good, because I've already plot a route for us," Shintaro said as he unrolled the map on the table. He grinned, "Man, this is gonna be so much fun!"
As the group headed back to the dorms, Moka asked Shintaro, "I noticed you've been spending a lot of time in the library."
"I've been studying Youkai Academy's history, and there's a lot of mentions of the Three Dark Lords who founded this place," Shintaro said. "However, none of the books tell me who they are. It's just the Three Dark Lords, over and over. No individual names or pictures." He seemed annoyed.
"I guess they wanted to remain anonymous," reasoned Moka.
"But why? Why keep their identities a secret? It's not like it'd matter since they should be long gone by now, right?" he asked.
"Maybe not," she said. "Youkai who receive the title of 'Dark Lord' are often long lived."
"Immortal?" he asked.
"Maybe," she said, "Or they have long lifespans."
"Still doesn't explain why they need their identities to be kept a secret," said Shintaro. It was a mystery and a mystery was something to be solved.
"You really do love uncovering secrets, don't you?" she asked.
"I work in a pawn shop, and the items we receive often have a lot of history tied to them. So many questions that I want answered. It's what gotten me into archaeology, I guess. I wanna major in it when I go into university," he said. "Miskatonic University, to be precise."
"Sounds like a nice dream," she admired.
"Archaeology is like an adventure," he replied, "That's why I don't like dead ends. There shouldn't be any. There should be an answer."
The following day, Shintaro's class was having PE. The teacher, Kotsubo-sensei, was watching and shouting out instructions. Of course, his gaze would often wander towards the girl who were doing stretched. As the girls wore bloomers, he could see their legs and also their tight butts. Oh, he so loved being a PE teacher. It gave him a lot of young eye candy to ogle. One girl in particular really got his attention. It was the girl with pale skin and purple hair called Mizore Shirayuki. She was a beauty.
Kotsubo was a lecher. He didn't deny it. He was lusty and that was all there was to it. Fortunately, his position allowed him to leer at all the girls he wanted and get away with it since he had to teach girls as well as boys. It also afforded him an excuse to get closer to the girls if he needed to.
Mizore Shirayuki was his target for that semester. Every semester he'd pick a girl and then decide on how best to go have fun with her. With his...skills, he could make sure he was never exposed and no one would be the wiser. Mizore being a yuki-onna would just make it much easier. Yuki-onna could only get pregnant during a certain period in their lives and Mizore wasn't there yet. That meant he could go farther than the others and never have to worry about some little brat popping out nine months later.
Getting her alone would be a little bit of a trick. She always hung out with that punk Shintaro who was fighting his way through the delinquents and trash in the school. Also the newest school idol, the runner up, and the loli were always around her too so she was rarely alone. Making it more difficult was the fact that she had an odd ability to sneak anywhere and no one was the wiser, making keeping tabs on her difficult.
But she wasn't impossible to follow.
He licked his lips as a plan came together in his mind. He then shouted back at the boys running laps on the field, "Two more laps!"
After PE...
"Oi, Shirayuki!" Kotsubo-sensei shouted to Mizore as she was headed back to the changing room with the other girls.
"I'll see you later," Mizore said to Moka and Kurumu who nodded. She jogged towards Kotsubo-sensei. "Yes, sensei?"
"The equipment shed is a mess," he said. "I need help tidying it up. Do you mind?"
"I don't mind, sensei. I'll help you," she said. Kotsubo-sensei smiled.
"Good, come with me," said Kotsubo-sensei.
Shintaro watched as Kotsubo-sensei led Mizore to the sports equipment shed. For some reason, the way Kotsubo-sensei was smiling was causing warning bells to go off in Shintaro's head. As the boys were headed back to their own changing room, he slipped away to follow.
In the sports equipment shed, Kotsubo was behind Mizore. He swiftly put his arms around her and pressed a cloth soaked in chloroform over her mouth and nose before she could scream. Whatever struggles she was attempting were subdued as she slowly lost consciousness. Kotsubo-sensei grinned as his erection pressed against her butt. "Works like a charm, as always." He then gently lay Mizore over the sports mat on the floor. He took a moment to admire his latest conquest. The way she looked, so helpless, and ready for him turned him on. Apparently, this was not his first time doing this. None of the girls he had taken advantage of had been able to report him as they had no proof.
As he took off the jacket of his tracksuit, he did not notice Shintaro standing behind him with a baseball bat over his head. Kotsubo was in the middle of pulling down his tracksuit bottoms when he finally noticed Shintaro take a swing. However, it was too late and Kotsubo-sensei had no time to react before the baseball bat connected with his skull.
THWACK!
When Mizore regained consciousness, she found herself in the infirmary, lying in one of the beds. She also saw that Shintaro was with her, sitting on the chair next to her bed.
"You're awake," he said, sounding relieved.
Mizore sat up and asked, "What happened?"
Shintaro wasn't sure what to say, but Mizore deserved to know the truth, so he confessed, "Kotsubo-sensei lured you to the sports equipment shed to take advantage of you. He knocked you out with chloroform. By the time I found you, he was about to take off his pants, so I whacked him over the head with a baseball bat and knocked him out." Mizore gasped in surprise. She had never thought Kotsubo-sensei would do such a thing, but Shintaro would never lie to her about something like this. Kotsubo-sensei had almost taken something precious for her. It was Shintaro's timely intervention which had saved her virginity.
"Where is he now?" Mizore asked.
"I left him in the shed. The only thing I cared about was getting you here and making sure you were alright," he said. He then surprised Mizore by embracing her. His arms went under hers to wrap around her torso, his hands pressed against her back as he pulled her to him. "I'm just glad I got there in time. Who knows what would've happened if I didn't go and check." Shintaro had trusted his instincts and that had saved Mizore.
Mizore put her arms around Shintaro, hugging him tight. She was falling more and more in love with this young man who had done more than just befriend her. He had saved her in a way that meant so much for her. Kotsubo-sensei could've taken something that could not be returned but Shintaro had shown up and rescued her. It was so romantic.
Shintaro didn't let go. He held Mizore, comforted by the fact she was safe. She was his friend, one of his best friends, and he was just so relieved that she was not harmed in anyway.
"What will happen to Kotsubo-sensei now?" she asked.
"I reported him to Smith-sensei. He said he would take care of it," said Shintaro. To be honest, he had wanted to kill the disgusting PE teacher. He had tried to take advantage of Mizore, violate her and steal her precious virginity. It took all of Shintaro's restraint as not to succumb to the temptation of wanting to bludgeon the man to death.
Right now, he simply wanted to continue holding this girl who meant so much to him, comforted by the fact that she was safe and sound.
John Smith-sensei found Kotsubo-sensei just as the PE teacher was regaining consciousness. The red-haired teacher had a splitting headache and turned towards the entrance of the sports equipment shed to see Smith-sensei standing there.
"You shouldn't have gone after one of my precious students," said Smith-sensei coldly, his violet eyes glowing. Kotsubo-sensei was speechless. He wanted to scream but he couldn't. He wanted to get away, but his legs would not obey. He was frozen in terror as Smith-sensei stood over him menacingly.
With Kotsubo's crime reported, an investigation would be taking place and once Kotsubo had recovered, he would be put through an intense inquiry. Speaking of Kotsubo, he was resting in the hospital so he could recover from his injuries. However, once the reason behind those injuries were learnt, not a lot of the hospital staff were willing to help him. Some of the doctors and nurses had daughters themselves so it stood to reason why they would be reluctant to give him medical help. However, they still had a duty. They didn't have to like it, but he was a patient and needed to be cared for, even if he was a disgusting pervert who preyed on young girls.
Tonight, Kotsubo would have an unscheduled visitor.
Shiroku found Kotsubo's hospital room and entered without trouble. He found the former PE teacher's bed and grinned.
"Time for some fun," said Shiroku with a grin as he held a Freak Chip over Kotsubo's forehead.
"Dinner is served," Shintaro said as he put the two plates down. On each plate was omu-rice, piping hot since he had just finished cooking over the stove. To be precise, he'd been cooking using Mizore's stove.
Mizore was back to wearing her usual clothes. After the attempted sexual assault by Kotsubo, Shintaro had decided to keep Mizore company for the night. He hadn't told the other girls. He promised himself to tell them later. Mizore, however, was excited when Shintaro told her that he would be sleeping over in her dorm room. He clarified that it would be only for one night since he wanted to make sure she would be OK. It was just fortunate that he'd saved her before Kotsubo got a chance to do anything.
Shintaro understood the kind of trauma rape could inflict on a girl. To be violated, to be mentally and emotionally scarred, and to feel dirty in and out were not feelings he wanted Mizore to endure. He'd once read an article of a girl who'd been raped. She had taken her own life since she couldn't live with the shame. Mizore was someone precious to him, and the thought of some lowlife taking advantage of her and stealing something precious to her that could never be given back horrified him completely.
He wanted to be there for his friends, to protect them. According to Yukari, those who possessed the title 'Kamen Rider' had a duty to protect the innocent and that was what he'd done. He had protected Mizore's innocence. Mizore had, much to his embarrassment, confessed that if she were to give up her innocence, it would be for him. She would save herself for the right time. Shintaro had told her, in no fewer words that, while he was flattered, that they weren't in that kind of relationship.
She had asked if they could be and Shintaro wondered if it was possible. He was friends with a group of very beautiful girls. Some of his male classmates even joked that he had a harem. Shintaro didn't think so. Moka, Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari were his friends. They were his only friends in this school since he hadn't made any other friends among the boys. Just friendly acquaintances. He once swore he would make some guy friends, but so far that hadn't happened. He was aware the girls had romantic feelings for him, but he just felt he wasn't ready.
Or was he? Mizore had asked if he would consider having her as a girlfriend. He hadn't answered, but looking at her, he realized that she was so beautiful. Moka was pretty and Kurumu was sexy with her curvy figure, but Mizore was just so beautiful. She was also his stalker. She thought he didn't notice but he did. He always felt like he was being watched by her. It really didn't creep him out when he felt a chill. That chill signified her presence.
He had been in this school for two months already and had girls who loved him. Kaze would tell him to just man up and get a girlfriend since his youth was short. Shintaro would counter that Kaze didn't have a right to tell him to get a girlfriend. From what Shintaro saw, Kaze went out with a different girl every other night. He liked to go on dates, but never had a relationship with a girl. Well, there were 'friends with benefits', but that was not the type of relationship Shintaro wanted with any girl.
He glanced at Mizore. Mizore was someone precious to him, and he would be lying if he said that hadn't considered making her his girlfriend. He had gone out on a date with her and actually had fun. But being in a relationship meant more than about having fun. Being in a relationship meant opening up to others, sharing feelings and secrets. Shintaro just wasn't ready to share his secrets. Heck, he probably had secrets he didn't even know he had.
For as long as he could remember, he had stayed with Topper. Topper seemed to know him and about his past, but left Shintaro to wonder. Topper, however, had a reason for it and Shintaro trusted him. He was just annoyed and frustrated from the lack of a straight answer. The man spoke in riddles and Kaze wasn't any better, but they were his only family. He still trusted them, even if they were obviously keeping secrets from him.
"This is good," said Mizore. As the food was hot, she used her breath to cool it down. "Very good," she said. Shintaro was her crush, but he wasn't the first crush she had. There had been another, back when she'd been young, but he'd broken her heart. It hurt, but she hadn't been deterred. As a yuki-onna, she had a responsibility to her race and also to herself to find a man who would love her, despite her abnormalities. When Shintaro had come to help her move in, without a reason to, she had fixated on him. He had accepted her friendship without hesitation in return. That made her happy and each day she found herself falling further and further in love with him.
Shintaro was a mystery to her. He admitted that he had lived in the human world but was not human. In fact, he wasn't even sure what he was. He did take on the title 'Kamen Rider' when Yukari had seen his transformation and Mizore thought that it really befitted him. She knew he had secrets. Everyone had secrets, but Shintaro didn't even know what those secrets were. Sometimes she would watch him from afar. She knew he liked to spend time in the library, so she hid herself to watch him. He would know she was there and invite her over to sit with him. She hesitantly joined but she loved his company too and he also confessed he enjoyed having her around. Correction: having her and the other girls around. The other girls, while friends, were obstacles. They also loved him, but Mizore felt that she loved Shintaro the most.
Earlier, Shintaro had saved her. Kotsubo-sensei...well after today he probably wouldn't be a teacher anymore...Kotsubo had lured her away and knocked her out with chloroform. His intent was to rape her and he hadn't wanted her to fight back. He would've taken her virginity and she wouldn't have been able to stop him. Fortunately for her, Shintaro had been there to save her. That was what he did. He saved people, but she felt that he'd saved her because he cared about her, a lot, and he did. He had taken her to the infirmary and waited for her to wake up, and then escorted her back to her dorm before offering to stay for the night to keep her company. She was touched. His presence just filled her heart with so much joy.
She had written to her mother a lot about Shintaro, and her mother had advised her to win his heart as swiftly as possible. Mizore knew that. She wanted Shintaro all to herself. However, she also knew she couldn't force him to love her. She would need to be patient and thought that by watching him, she would learn enough to win her heart. She had been able to learn that he dreamed to be an archaeologist, that he lived and worked in a pawn shop, and that he was powerful. She also learnt he was brave, passionate and also kind. He was also funny and knew how to crack jokes to make her laugh. The soda drinking hat was ridiculous and she had nearly laughed. He knew how to enjoy life.
So, how was she going to go about convincing him to make her his girlfriend? She didn't have much experience and he obviously didn't either. He was probably afraid of making the first move. He valued his friendships and didn't want to overcomplicate or ruin things as they were. Still, something had to change. Someone had to make the first move.
Someone did make a move. Someone was pounding on the door of her dorm room, causing both Shintaro and Mizore to look up from their dinner.
"Are you expecting anybody?" Shintaro asked Mizore and she shook her head. His eyes narrowed. "Stay here," he cautioned and stood up to deal with the situation. He went to stand at the door, his fingers flexing, before taking hold of the handle and giving it a twist. When the door was flung open, Shintaro received several punches to the face, knocking him down. Mizore, hearing the commotion, and swiftly went to the foyer to see a an ugly creature.
It was a hideous looking, octopus-like creature with eight tentacles for arms, each ending with a fist, a beak-like mouth set in its chest, reddish-brown skin, and a large head that looked like an exposed brain. Its eyes were red and it had trunk-like legs covered in suction cups. Shintaro was on the floor, having been knocked down. Mizore narrowed her eyes and with a wave of her arm, sent a volley of ice kunai at the Octopus Freak. The kunai hit their mark and the Octopus Freak shrieked before focusing its gaze on Mizore.
Shintaro, realizing the kind of danger this creature might pose to Mizore, immediately acted. He flipped to his feet and tackled into the creature, sending both of them out of her dorm.
"Shintaro!" Mizore cried.
"Mizore, stay here! I'll handle it!" he shouted. He then grabbed hold of the struggling Octopus Freak and leapt up and over the railing of the corridor, taking the Octopus Freak with him.
"Shintaro!" Mizore screamed and looked over the railing to watch them drop.
"Henshin!" Shintaro shouted and his belt flashed before the light engulfed him, donning him in his armor. He and his opponent crashed to the ground then broke apart after he kicked the Octopus Freak backwards. The Octopus Freak hissed then looked up at Mizore. It launched two tentacles up at her but Kai swiftly slashed at the Octopus Freak's back with his Twin Edge Chrono Blade. The Octopus Freak screeched and turned its attention back to Kai. It wrapped its tentacles around the weapon and tore it from Kai's grip before following up with a barrage of punches. Kai dodged the punches with ease, his body blurring from side to side. With his speed, the punches would've been coming at slow motion.
Quickly closing the distance, Kai executed a series of super quick kicks, his leg blurring as he hit the Octopus Freak repeatedly before blasting it backwards. The Octopus Freak recovered and shot a black ball of ink directly into Kai's face. Kai hadn't been able to dodge in time.
"ARGH! That's gross!" Kai shouted. With the black ink covering his eyes, he was blind. Blind and vulnerable. The Octopus Freak shot its tentacles at Kai, wrapping them around his limbs and torso. Kai struggled as the tentacles began to constrict tightly around him. If it squeezed any tighter, his bones would be crushed and he wouldn't be able to breathe. However, he already had a plan to get out of this. His eyes and the crystal in his belt turned blue as the rest of his armor changed color, activating his Tempest Form. Then, he activated his electrical powers, electrocuting the Octopus Freak through its tentacles. This forced the Octopus Freak to release Kai. At the same time, Kai washed the ink off his eyes.
"Now, time to send you far away!" said Kai as he shifted again, changing into his Gravity Form. The purple plates and eyes glowed as he caught the Octopus Freak in his gravitational field. Then, he sent the Octopus Freak skyward. Kai looked up and then leapt up, taking off like a rocket as he flew after the airborne Freak. Mizore witnessed him flying with her own eyes.
"He can fly," she uttered in amazement.
Meanwhile, Kai was admiring the overhead view he had. He was flying! Actually flying! It was incredible! He could see every inch of this place where Youkai Academy was located. He could see the forest, the cemetery, the blood red sea and the school itself. It was incredible, breathtaking even.
"Sugei..." Kai whispered but then he focused as his sights were locked on his target who was floating in the sky because of his gravity manipulation powers. His armored plates and eyes glowed as purple energy collected in his hands. 'Graviton Crusher!' he named the attack in his head. He cupped his hands in front of himself and fired an orb of purple energy which connected with his target. The orb then grew in size, engulfing the Octopus Freak before it started to shrink, crushing the enemy within. "It's Time's Up for you!"
The Octopus Freak exploded and Kai could see something falling from the explosion. He swooped down and was surprised by what he caught.
Mizore had gone downstairs to wait for Kai's return. She then saw him coming down in his silver-armored form, carrying something under his right arm. When he landed, she could see that it was Kotsubo, a very injured Kotsubo.
The Public Safety Commission, also commonly known as the Student Police, was in a meeting. Playing on a projector screen was Kamen Rider Kai fighting against the Sea Serpent Freak. It would appear he was the topic of their discussion. Another scene of Kai fighting the Lizard Freak was also shown.
"It seems that this person has been causing quite a stir," said Kuyou, the leader of the Student Police. He, like the rest of his members, wore a different uniform from the rest of the students. They wore black and white coats to show off their status as the Student Police. "He's undermining our authority and making us look bad."
With Shintaro/Kai obviously breaking the rules, they were trying to find a way to put him away for good. However, according to witnesses, he had only fought to protect his fellow schoolmates. Taking him away would obviously face protests from the students, so they needed to find some kind of charge to put against him. Just recently, they learnt he had assaulted Kotsubo-sensei, but John Smith-sensei had explained that Shintaro had only done so to protect a friend from being sexually assaulted by the former PE teacher.
As they pondered, the Man in White suddenly made his presence known.
"Nice conference room, but it need a little bit more lightning," Shiroku said. He had appeared out of nowhere and standing atop the table in the middle of the Student Police's conference room.
"Who are you!?" Kuyou exclaimed, startled by the stranger's appearance. "How did you get in here!?"
"Through the door," Shiroku pointed. He turned to look at the projector screen. "Ah, so I see. I guess if this is about him, it must be important."
"Do you know him?" Kuyou asked. Shiroku squatted down so he was at eye level with Kuyou.
"Oh, he and I go way back, really way back. I actually know a lot about your little subject of interest. Very interesting information," Shiroku explained.
"Such as?" Kuyou questioned, interested. Suddenly, Shiroku was behind him. They hadn't even seen him move.
"Oh, such as the fact that he's human-well used to be human," Shiroku said. That caused an uproar of outrage amongst the members of the Student Police. A human in their sacred academy? How could that be?
"SILENCE!" Kuyou commanded. He then addressed Shiroku, "What do you mean 'used to be human'?"
Shiroku had a copy of the handbook open and reading a passage, "Hm, 'any human caught on academy grounds are to be executed'. A bit extreme, in my opinion."
"For the sake of the academy, humans must be destroyed," Kuyou said resolutely. "Now, explain yourself."
"Well, he was born human, but with all the modifications he's gone through he might as well be not human anyway. At present, he's no more human than you or I," Shiroku.
"Even so, he carries the stink of humanity. He must be destroyed," Kuyou declared.
"Oh, that I must agree," said Shiroku as he put away the handbook, "But are you sure the rules would apply to a former human?"
"He is an abomination, a freak of human science. We can simply say he was a spy modified by humans to infiltrate the school, posing as one of us," Kuyou said. Shiroku smirked.
"Fantastic! I like your style!" said Shiroku. "My name is Shiroku. Here's my card." He took a business card out of his coat pocket, handing it to Kuyou, "I think you and I are going to be the best of friends." He gave a large, toothy grin.
KAMEN RIDER CHROME: And another chapter comes out for your reading pleasure! Kotsubo's a pervert and got what he deserved. However, trouble is on the horizon as Shiroku has gotten the Student Police involved. This won't be good for Shintaro. Not at all. Will he be able to survive Kuyou's wrath? And what of the girls? Will they stand by him? Well, stay tune for the final chapter of this arc, and also an explosive surprise at the very end. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.