Well, hello again! It's been a while. I profusely apologize for the wait.
Now, let me address a few things before we start, namely, the Kamen Rider series. It's come to my attenion that some people reading this story may not have any knowledge of Kamen Rider. So here is some second hand information about Kamen Rider. Instead of directing you all to the wiki like a lazy good for nothing, I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way. I won't be going over too much info at one time, just the bare bones of what you need to know or stuff that shows up in a particular chapter.
Kamen Rider is a long running series of tokusatsu (literally means 'special filming' for its considerable use of special effects) that started in 1971 and is still ongoing to this day. They're quite a hit, each individual series having a couple movies to their name. I'm not gonna get into all of them as the important ones right now are Fourze and OOO, the two series involved in this story.
Kamen Rider Fourze
Riders appearing in the series: Fourze, Meteor, Nadeshiko
Kamen Rider Fourze (pronounced Four-zeh) is themed around the ever expanding universe, switches, school, four, and anything to do with space and space exploration. This is the Kamen Rider franchise's 40th anniversary series and it shows in the title; Four-Ze = Four Zero.
The main character is a high-schooler named Gentarou Kisaragi, the friendliest guy you will probably ever meet, if he were real. The guy holds his friends to the highest level, prioritizing friendship above all else. By the time the series started, he had made over 1000 friends whom he keeps regular contact with. He will literally do anything to become your friend.
Gentarou, due to some events, becomes Kamen Rider Fourze, a space themed Kamen Rider that uses the power of Cosmic Energy, the power of the ever-expanding universe, to combat monsters called Zodiarts and the group that creates them, the Horoscopes.
Kamen Rider Fourze uses the power of Astroswitches, small devices that are powered by Cosmic Energy. There are many of them, but Fourze has access to 40 Switches, each having a different kind of item with special properties ranging from offensive items, such as a missile launcher or a chainsaw blade, to supportive, such as a shield or set of wheels, to the down right odd, like a giant faucet or a pen. The Switches attach to one of his appendages, depending on the Switch.
Kamen Rider OOO
Riders appearing in the series: OOO, Birth
This one is the series that preceded Fourze. OOO (pronounced "Ohs") takes its theme from infinite desire, medals, three, and kings. The way OOO is pronounced is the same as the Japanese way of saying 'king'; Ou. The way it's written is also the Infinite symbol with an 'O' at the end, symbolizing the limitless power of desire.
The main character is Eiji Hino, a son of a wealthy politician. However, Eiji is a wanderer, choosing to live the life of a vagabond that travels from country to country with nothing but spare underwear for tomorrow. Due to a certain event in his past, Eiji developed a unique circumstance in which he had absolutely no desire and was willing to help anyone in need, even so far as risking himself for strangers.
When he returns to Japan to fund more of his travels, he meets Ankh, a floating, red demon hand, who, after some life-threatening circumstances, gives him the OOO Driver which allows him to transform into Kamen Rider OOO. As OOO, Eiji combats the Greeed (always spelled with three 'E's'), homunculi created 800 years ago that have broken from their seal.
Eiji uses Core Medals as his power source. Core Medals are small, colored coins that hold the essences of animals. There are a total of seven full color sets of three medals each and they all have an animal motif; Green (Insects), Yellow (Felines), Red (Birds), Gray (Heavy Mammals), Blue (Marine Animals), Purple (Dinosaurs), and Orange (Reptiles). The Medals power three different sources on Eiji's body at a time, the Head, Torso, and Legs.
And that's it for now! The story resumes!
The Sister and The Wanderer
"... and that's it." Matilda finished with a deep sigh. She had just gone through explaining the details of the Familiar Summoning Ritual to the man, Eiji Hino, after some dressing up and short introductions. They all sat inside the modest two-room cottage around a small table, the children curiously peeking at them by the bedroom door. Tiffania hugged herself, apologetic eyes darting to him and back to the floor.
"So I was summoned to be her familiar...?" He pointed a shaky finger at the blonde haired girl who couldn't meet his eyes. The green haired woman nodded.
"Feh," the floating arm, Ankh, scoffed. "Only a year and you've got yourself stuck in another crazy contract."
"But at least this one was actually honest with me right from the start unlike yours," the young man deadpanned.
"Tch."
Matilda raised an eyebrow. "You two are in a familiar contract? I thought you two were friends?"
"Hell no! I ain't a damn pet!" Ankh exclaimed angrily.
"Ankh! Don't curse; there are kids here!" Eiji scolded. Ankh scoffed and turned away. Eiji turned back to the green haired woman and bowed his head apologetically. "Sorry about him. He's always like that. And no, it's not a familiar contract. The contract is... it's a long story."
"I see," Matilda said, "I won't pry, but I will expect an explanation about what exactly your friend is." She gave a slightly uncomfortable look at the floating arm. "It's not common to meet a floating, talking, monster-like appendage."
Eiji chuckled lightly. "Believe me, I was freaked out too. You'll get used to it."
"Not my fault I ended up like this," grumbled the arm.
"And actually, that's another thing, Ankh." Eiji's brows furrowed. "How are you... well..."
"Visible?" the arm finished.
The wanderer's eyes widened in confusion. "Visible? No, I was going to say alive, but what do you mean 'visible'? I thought you..." his eyes fell to the floor. "... died."
Matilda and Tiffania stared at the floating appendage in surprise.
"I did," Ankh responded bluntly, widening the two women's eyes.
"But that shouldn't be possible right? Here, look." Eiji dug into his pocket and pulled out the still broken halves of the Taka Medal, the only Medal to come out semi-intact after their final battle. "It's still broken."
"Yeah, I know." The arm hummed. "I don't know why it is that you can see me now, or why I'm even solid."
"Solid?"
Ankh flicked his wrist, a motion Eiji knew as his way of nodding. "Yeah. You were able to touch me even though I didn't have a single Cell Medal in me. Ya didn't notice?" At Eiji's shaking head, Ankh scoffed. "Still as dense as ever."
"Hey!" Eiji exclaimed with annoyance at his friend's rudeness. There was a smile on his face though; it was good to have his friend back, rudeness and all.
"Wait," Eiji said slowly, realizing something, "have you been following me this whole time?"
"I had to. You have my Medal." Ankh said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"So you're the reason why I've had this weird feeling that I was being watched the whole time." Eiji stared at Ankh with suspicion. "You didn't follow me to the bathroom did you?"
If Ankh could splutter, he would have. "What the hell, Eiji!?"
"It's a legitimate question!" Eiji stressed. "Now the past year feels weird now that I know you've been following me like a ghost..."
"And I said that I didn't have a choice!" Ankh fired back. "Even if the Taka Medal is broken, it's still me! I can't move too far from that thing! And no! I do not follow you into the bathroom! The things you humans do in there make me sick!"
Eiji narrowed his eyes and stared for a moment longer before bursting out into laughter. "I'm kidding, Ankh!"
"WHAT!?"
"Well, you set yourself up for it. I couldn't help it, I'm sorry!"
"WHY YOU-!"
"Okay, stop." Matilda said loudly, forcing the two friends to face her. "I know I said that I wouldn't pry into your past, but you two are making it very difficult." She really wanted to know more about what kind of life the two men (if the arm could be called a man) led. Especially about that arm that was apparently born from a coin. She doubted she would ever get used to its presence. But she'll quell her curiosity for later. "Let's get back to the task at hand, shall we?"
Eiji scratched the back of his head sheepishly muttering an apology as he nodded while Ankh grunted.
The green haired woman cleared her throat. "Now then, I've explained to you the familiar contract. Normally, we'd just complete it, but that was in the case of an animal or magical creature being summoned."
"And I'm not an animal," Eiji said.
Matilda nodded. "And that is the problem. You are a sentient human being. And what's more, you were taken away from wherever it is you come from unwillingly."
"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Hino." Tiffinia said softly. She was finally able to look him in the eye without flinching away, but looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"Ah, it's alright," Eiji replied placatingly. "It wasn't your fault; Miss Matilda did say that the summoning thing chooses the familiar, not the caster..."
"That's the strange thing." Ankh spoke up. "Why did it choose Eiji?" The question was asked not because he wanted to know why, he already had a good guess as to why Eiji was chosen, but it was meant to get one of the women to elaborate on the nature of the ritual.
It was the green haired woman that spoke up. "A familiar's duty is to aid their master in any way possible."
"And what do these duties amount to exactly?" the arm asked.
"Well, first and foremost, a familiar is meant to protect his master." Matilda answered.
"So a bodyguard then..." Ankh mumbled. So he was right then; what better way to be protected than by having a Kamen Rider by your side? 'However,' Ankh thought, 'Eiji can't assume the form of OOO without the Medals.' After their final battle with Maki, all of the Medals, save his own broken one, were sucked into the black hole created from the force of the Medal Vessel. 'The only time magic makes a mistake is if the caster was an idiot, and these two knew exactly what they were doing. So why did it call Eiji who is little better than a combat trained human now?'
Eiji smiled. "Protecting? That, I can do. If there's anything I'm good at, it's protecting people."
"Really?" Matilda said skeptically, "No offense, but you don't look too strong..."
Eiji only laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "I get that a lot. But don't worry, I'm a pretty good fighter. My grandpa kind of forced me into learning a bit of martial arts."
Matilda was about to ask what 'martial arts' were, but was interrupted by Ankh saying, "Anything else a familiar should be doing, woman?"
Matilda glared at the arm for calling her 'woman' before her furrowing her brow in thought. "Other duties include finding natural reagents for certain spells and potion making... which I doubt you're capable of doing, no offense," she said, looking at Eiji.
"I don't know what reagents are, but I'm good at finding edible plants and hunting small animals," the man replied. Having 'roughed it out', putting it lightly, with his grandfather in places like the Brazilian Rainforest or the Savannas, Eiji was more than capable of finding his own food when he didn't have money or when he was nowhere near a city.
"Really?" Tiffania exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That's wonderful! The orphanage is in a bit of a food crisis right now, we could use your expertise! That is if you don't mind..."
Eiji smiled at her. "Of course not, I'd be happy to help."
Tiffania beamed.
Ankh scoffed at the exchange and gestured to Matilda. "Anything else?"
"The familiars share senses with their master, meaning whatever they see, the master can see, whatever they hear, the master can hear, and so on," the green haired woman answered.
Eiji grew uncomfortable at that. "That's a bit..."
"What's wrong?" The green haired woman asked.
"Well..." Eiji started with a hint of a blush on his cheeks, "will I be able to tell when that happens and cancel it? I mean what if I'm doing something private like taking a bath or putting my clothes on...?"
The two women blushed. Tiffania resumed counting the floorboards as Matilda coughed into her hand.
"Y-yes, that is a problem," Matilda stuttered, "We'll need to establish some rules should you decide to go through the contract, but do not worry; Tiffania is not the kind of woman to-" she coughed into her hand again, "-peep. She... has never interacted with grown men before, at least for as long as you have."
"Never talked to other men before?" Eiji asked rhetorically, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. It certainly explained why she was so nervous around him, but surely she would have a few friends her age. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of expect a lot of guys would be dying to get to know you, Ms. Tiffania. You have many desirable traits that men want." He finished, doing his best to keep his eyes above the blonde's neckline.
The girl smiled. "You think so? I'd love to make new friends but..." her eyes drooped. "... i can't leave the forest..."
The traveler's brows furrowed. "Why not? Is there something wrong?"
The two females exchanged glances in a silent conversation. Matilda nodded and Tiffania bit the bottom of her lip in worry. Slowly, the two looked back at the man and arm.
"I'm a half-elf, Mr. Hino," Tiffania said, her eyes downcast as Eiji's own widened. The girl touched her ears with a hand. "My mother was an elf and my father was a nobleman."
Eiji stared for a moment before asking, "You mean you're not dressed up in an elf costume?"
"N-no." she replied, shaking her head. Is that why he didn't run away at the first sight of her when she summoned him?
"Really, Eiji? A costume?" Ankh said in a deadpan. "It was stupid obvious that she was a different kind of being. Can't you feel the magic coming off of her?"
"Ankh, I'm a human. I can't do that." The young man replied flatly causing the arm to huff. "But a half elf, huh...?" Eiji stared at the blonde girl. A good look showed how obvious it was that she was an elf; her pointed ears that looked far too real, her almost unnaturally straight blonde hair, that perfect face that models would kill to have, her incredible kindness, her huge... eyes. She was like the elves from fairy tales that his grandfather used to read to him when he was little. 'But I never knew there were elves in France...'
Tiffania's eyes avoided Eiji as she wilted under his gaze. She knew how people reacted when they saw an elf; with immense fear and great hatred. She still had nightmares of that day so many years ago... She didn't want that to happen again, not to anyone, especially not to the kids and her sister.
What if they reacted like everyone else did? She didn't want that. Eiji and Ankh were the first people she met who came from outside of the forest that weren't kids, not that she didn't enjoy the company of the children. She just wished she had someone like her sister to talk to. She had only just met them, but already she didn't want them to fear her.
Matilda glanced at her sister then back to the two men, wand gripped tight under her sleeve. Founder's traditions or not, if they were to lash out at Tiffania, then she would do everything in her power to protect her and the children. Eiji seemed nice, but everyone always changed when Elves were mentioned. The moment the react in a way that didn't sit well with her, she won't hold back.
Finally, after a tense minute, Eiji crossed his arms and smiled. "Well, uh, I've never met any elves before, but first time for everything, right Ankh?" The arm in question grunted in the affirmative.
The two women blinked. "Y-you two aren't scared of me?" Tiffania asked, her voice quivering. Could this be real? People who aren't scared of her?
Eiji's eyebrows rose and made to speak, but Ankh cut him off.
"Why would I be scared of you, girl?" Ankh said bluntly. "You don't look like you can harm an ant much less someone like me."
Eiji sighed exasperatedly, but smiled. "What Ankh means to say is that you don't look like the kind of person that would warrant people to be afraid of you," he said with honest eyes. "I mean, not only are you really beautiful-" Tiffania blushed heavily at the compliment, "-but you were also kind enough to help out two complete strangers and take in all these kids."
"M-Mr. Hino..."
"It's the kind of thing that this idiot would do." Ankh said, jabbing a thumb at the man. "You two are a bit alike, now that I think about it." He added, recalling how Eiji risked his own life to save him after having just met.
"You think so, Ankh?" Eiji asked with a raised eyebrow. When the arm just huffed and refused to elaborate, Eiji rolled his eyes and looked at the half-elf girl. "I don't mind that you're a half-elf. I've met a lot of different races and experienced a lot of different cultures, but the people weren't so different from each other. They were all kind just like you." He smiled widely.
Tiffania stared at the man and arm before slowly breaking out into a wide smile. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she said with a shaking voice, "You really don't care?" Eiji shook his head and her tears fell. "T-Thank you," she said, cupping her face with her hands as her body shook. The children immediately rushed from into the room and hugged her.
"Big-sis, don't cry! Why are you crying?" one of them, a small girl, asked.
"Because I'm so happy," she replied, her voice cracking slightly. "I think I made a new friend!"
The young man smiled at her before sighing and turning to the green haired woman. "Ms. Matilda, elves aren't treated kindly here, are they?" he asked with sad eyes.
The woman sighed sadly, hands clenching from the memories the question brought up. "Elves are considered a heretical race that stands for everything the people here are against. Usually, they are feared due to their greater proficiency with magic. However, if given the chance, they and anyone associated with them would be eliminated."
Eiji connected the dots from that last statement. "I see... so your parents..."
Matilda nodded slowly. "I'm her only family left."
Shingo and Hina popped up in the young man's mind; two other siblings who only had each other. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose your parents. For a while, they only did have each other until he, Ankh, Gotou, Date, and Chiyoko came into their lives. Of course it started out... shaky (finding out that an eight-hundred year-old homunculus was possessing your brother and was also the only reason keeping said brother alive was a tough pill to swallow), but they eventually came to care for each other as friends and later as a kind of weird extended family.
"Family..." Eiji looked at the half-elf girl and the green haired woman then to the children. These sisters made themselves a little family too. "She doesn't have just you, Ms. Matilda. She has them." He paused, internally debating his next words, but nodded his head as he came to a decision, "...and she has me and Ankh now."
Ankh scoffed, quietly mumbling, "predictable". Matilda and Tiffania stared at Eiji with wide eyes, the blonde's shining with hope. "You don't mind being Tiffania's familiar?" Matilda asked.
Eiji shook his head and looked at her with resolute eyes. "Taking care of this many kids is hard work. I know; I've helped out in orphanages before. It's even harder because there are only two older people here and one of them can't leave..." They only had one person able to work to provide for several mouths and Tiffania mentioned that they were in a food crisis. "You went through all the trouble of summoning me and I can't just leave you all alone after hearing your situation; I never abandon anyone in need of help. If I do, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
"You really, really don't mind Mr. Hino?" Tiffania asked with wonder, "What about your family? Won't they be worried?"
Eiji grimaced. "They might, but I'm not at home much anyway; I'm a traveler at heart."
"Even if that's the case, you're really sure?" Matilda added. "Being a familiar is a lifetime commitment. The moment you seal the contract, you must stay by her side as her familiar."
The young man waved her off. "If that's what it takes, then I'm fine with it. Like I said earlier, I'm already in a kind of a lifetime contract with Ankh."
The older woman looked at Eiji for any hints of doubt, but after finding nothing but resolution, she sighed. "Very well." She smiled. "Thank you, Eiji. You've no idea how much this means to us."
Eiji grinned. "It's no problem." He glanced at his floating friend. "Unless you have any objections, Ankh?"
The arm just huffed. "Feh, like I have a choice, Eiji; you have my Medal. I'm stuck with you whether I like it or not."
"Alright," Eiji chuckled. "So, how do we complete the contract, Ms. Matilda? Do I sign something or...?"
The woman shook her head. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. In order to complete the Familiar Summoning Ritual, well..." her eyes darted between her sister and the young traveler who stared at her expectantly. Matilda took a deep breath before answering. "You need to kiss her. On the lips."
A long moment of silence passed as everyone processed the information.
Ankh was the first to react with a scoff.
The children gasped then dissolved into disgusted sounds from boys and romantic cooing from the girls.
A strong blush appeared on Tiffania's cheeks as she went back to avoiding Eiji's eyes as much as possible.
Eiji shot up from his chair, eyes wide and sporting a blush almost as red as the half-elf girl's. "A k-k-kiss? T-that's how you seal the contract!?"
Matilda nodded. "I'm not too keen on it either, but it's how it's always been. It's tradition."
Eiji turned his head to Tiffania who's beauty suddenly seemed even more apparent. "I-I have to kiss her?"
Ankh gave his friend a quick flick to the head. "You heard her. Hurry up and do it Eiji."
The traveler rubbed the back of his head and exclaimed, "A-Ankh, I can't!"
"What? You gonna go back on your word?"
"No! Never!"
"Then what the hell is wrong?"
"Well..." The grown man twiddled his fingers like a schoolgirl with a crush. "I've never kissed a girl before..." Matilda put a hand to her lips to cover a giggle while Tiffania blushed even harder.
"You mean you haven't kissed your mom before?" Ankh deadpanned.
Eiji glared at his friend. "You know what I mean!"
Tiffania timidly raised a hand. "Um... If it helps, Mr. Hino, I've never kissed a boy either..."
Ankh snorted. "See? You two are in the same boat."
"That's even worse!" Eiji exclaimed, flapping his arms wide. "That means that... I'll be taking her first kiss... and I, I just can't! There has to be another way!"
"Eiji, listen to me," Ankh said, sounding strangely like a wise father teaching his son, "a kiss is just a disgusting swap of spit that you humans somehow relate to romantic crap. Just think of it like that and you won't have a problem." Before Eiji could retort, Ankh grabbed the hem of his poncho and dragged him with surprising force in front of the blonde girl. "Now finish the contract!"
The traveler stood shaking in front of the girl, looking to all the world like a nervous teenage boy asking the most popular girl in high school out. "Um..." he said intelligently.
Tiffania took a deep breath and stood up, barely coming up to Eiji's shoulders. She willed herself to look at Eiji's eyes. "I'm really sorry, um, about this."
"Ah, no, there's nothing to apologize for. You didn't know." Eiji scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "So uh, how are supposed to start?"
"It helps if you close your eyes," Matilda advised.
The two nodded and did as they were told. Then slowly, they inched their faces closer and closer. They felt each other's warm breaths tickling their faces and almost turned away, but they pressed on. The children watched with wide anticipating eyes, even the boys. Matilda gripped her sleeve and bit her lip. Ankh flexed his fingers impatiently.
Finally, only a few scant centimeters separated their lips. Eiji gulped. Tiffania blushed harder.
And then Ankh had enough. "Damn it! Hurry up!" he yelled before slapping Eiji's back, forcing the young man to balance himself by grabbing the blonde girl's shoulders, but the arm's objective was done.
Their eyes shot open as the sensation of soft warmth enveloped both their lips. Time seemed to slow down as the stood there with their lips locked.
It was... nice.
And then the moment was over. Eiji quickly pulled back in embarrassment muttering apologies to Tiffania and glaring death at Ankh. The half-elf girl touched her lips with her fingers, still shaken from the kiss as her sister put her hands on her shoulders.
"Now then," Matilda announced, looking at Eiji. "The Familiar Runes should appear on your body."
Eiji nodded as he straightened himself. "Okay, um, how will I know when they-"
Pain erupted from his chest, causing him to stumble back. Light shone through his clothes as he felt something burned into his skin. He screamed. The others rushed to him immediately. Eiji could see them yelling at him, but he couldn't make out their words or their features. The burning intensified and he screamed again.
And then darkness.
Please be kind enough to leave a review. I like to see how I'm doing, things that need to be fixed, etc.