Hello all. Been too much of a while, hm? You've waited long enough. Here it is.

The Club, the Foundation, the Portal, and the Deal - part 2

"The Kougami Foundation," JK yelled frantically, "I mean THE Kougami Foundation!? Aren't they like, one of the most powerful and influential companies in the entire world!?"

Miu gulped, "It's said that it owns a large portion of stocks from every important company around the world."

"T-they fund NASA and OSTO billions of yen every year!" Yuki added in an awed tone.

"And they still make more money than they give out," Ryuusei supplied.

"But... what could a company like that want with us?" Tomoko asked worriedly.

What indeed, Miu thought. They're just a bunch of high school students. There was no reason for one of the world's largest companies to contact them. Unless... unless they knew about what they did.

The club president turned to the woman. "... Is this about Gentarou?" Miu questioned.

Erika opened her mouth to answer when the sound of something beeping interrupted her. She deftly reached into her jacket and took out a smartphone. "Time for my lunch break," she said with a slightly higher pitch, shutting off the alarm as she calmly stepped over to the door. "I'll be back in an hour." The club members looked at her with incredulous eyes.

"H-hey! You can't just leave after dropping something this big on us!" Miu shouted after her.

Erika stopped by the door and turned her head to the side and addressed them in a bored tone, "Just read the letter. The reasons are in there." And then she walked into the hallway and to the nearest exit, mumbling something about extra spicy chicken curry.

"Hey!" The club president shouted again, but this time in vain as the woman had already left. Miu sighed, aggravated. "How could she just take off without explaining anything!?"

"Maybe she takes her breaks seriously?" Yuki offered. "I mean, she might be really busy if she works for the Kougami Foundation, so she takes every second of time off she could get..."

Ryuusei shook his head. "Whatever. What's important right now is what's in the letter."

Miu frowned but calmed down. "Right... but I think we should get Shun here too. It'll save us the trouble of explaining. JK?"

"Already on it," the party animal said, raising his phone to his ear.

"JK? What is it?" Shun asked, the sound of speeding wind slightly muffling his voice.

"Hey Shun, We need you to get back here."

"Why? Did you find Gentarou?"

"No. Something else came up. Something big."

"Zodiarts?" came the worried reply.

"No, something else. Just get back here as soon as you can."

"... Alright. See you in about thirty."

"See ya," JK finished, ending the call. He looked at the club members. "Says he'll be here in thirty."

Miu sighed tiredly. "Alright... shall we get some lunch then?"

A resounding grumble of stomachs was all the answer she needed.

"KOUGAMI!?" Shun shouted, his jaw slack.

"Yeah! We were surprised like that too!" Yuki said with a nod.

The football star sunk into a chair. "You said this was big, but I didn't think this big!"

"Yes, now quiet down." Miu said as she opened the red envelope and unfolded the clear white paper that was inside. "Okay, I'll read so gather around." After waiting a moment for the club members to pull up some chairs and sitting around her, she cleared her throat and began read aloud.

"To the Kamen Rider Club,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"It's someone's birthday today?" JK asked. "And why is that written in English and in all caps?"

Everyone shushed him.

"To our first time communicating with one another. I have baked a cake just for this special occasion. I hope it has come to you intact and is to your liking."

"Oh yeah, the cake. We totally forgot about that!" Yuki said, looking at the neglected box.

"He said he baked it himself?" Shun questioned with an incredulous look.

"We'll eat it later..." Tomoko said quietly. "Miu, please continue."

I am Kougami Kousei. I do not doubt that you have heard of me. But now, you are wondering, why is it that a man of my power and influence has hand-written a letter and sent it over to you, a group of high school students. Let's just say that you and I have a... mutual interest. Like your friend suddenly being whisked away by some strange portal, perhaps?

The club members stared at the letter and then to each other, eyes wide in shock.

"How did he know that?" Ryuusei growled, glaring at the letter with even more suspicion than before. "Has he been spying on us this whole time?"

"The man's powerful, so that couldn't be too far from the truth," the club president said worriedly.

The transfer student clenched his fists. "He knows about Fourze, the Zodiarts, and me too, probably. I wouldn't put it past him if he knew about the Rabbit Hatch and the Astroswitches as well. It wouldn't take much for his company to dig some info on us."

"If he knew then how come he didn't help us?" Tomoko pointed out, "I mean, if he knew about the Zodiarts, then he must've known how much of a threat they were to the world, right?"

The club members were hushed into silent contemplation for a moment. The goth girl had a good point. Why didn't Kougami help them?

It was Shun that spoke up first. "... Maybe he thought that it didn't concern him?"

Ryuusei shook his head. "Even when the entire world was in danger? If he were watching us the whole time, then he would have known about Gamou's goal and how it would destroy Japan."

"And yet he did nothing." Tomoko added darkly.

"He could have reasons for why he didn't help," JK said. "CEO of a worldwide company, ya know."

"Signing some papers is more important than saving the world?" Ryuusei countered with a raised eyebrow.

Miu cleared her throat. "Look, we can talk about all this later. Let's just get back to the letter."

Calming down, the Kamen Rider Club listened as their president read on.

"How I know this does not matter. What matters is that you want your friend back. And I can help. In fact, I am the only one who can help you."

"A bit arrogant, don't you think?" Miu said rhetorically.

"Maybe, maybe not." Shun replied. "He's probably the only one that knows about us that has power, so in a way, he's right."

"If you are interested in hearing me out, then please come to my main office at the address at the bottom of the page and by the time indicated next to the address. We shall discuss business with some... associates.

I hope that you will be here.

To new beginnings,

Kougami Kousei"

The signature was written in confident English cursive. Next to the name was the stamp of Kougami Kousei's official seal and the Kougami Foundation's symbol in deep red ink that reminded them of blood.

"... He wants to meet us?" JK said with disbelief. One of the most powerful men in the world wanted to meet with them?

"I don't trust this." Ryuusei frowned. "Men like him want something from us. They always do."

"I agree." Miu replied. "It's too convenient. Not a day after Gentarou disappears and we get this from a person like Kougami."

"But what if he can find G-Gentarou?" Yuki said unsurely, eyes tearing at the mention of his name. "He's offering to help, right? We're not having any luck ourselves..."

"Which is why I don't trust him," the transfer student argued. "It's like Miu said; this is too convenient. For all we know, Kougami might be working with Foundation X. This may just be a way to lure us out so he can get us to spit out what we know about the Fourze System, the Zodiarts, whatever. We're trying to save Gentarou and we can't do that if we're kidnapped or worse." His words cut deep into the normally bubbly girl, but they held truth.

"But you know, Ryuusei," Shun spoke up, "even if going along with Kougami will bite us all in the ass later, if there's a chance to find Gentarou, then I'm taking it." His fingers gripped the sides of his desk. "Gentarou... he'd do anything to save us if we were in his shoes."

Ryuusei sighed, his eyes meeting the football player's. "I agree."

Shun's eyes widened. "Then we-"

"But there are still too many risks involved," Ryuusei continued, silencing the other male. "We don't know a thing about Kougami aside from their commercial products." He sighed. "Gamou is affiliated with Foundation X. The Sonozaki family from Fuuto was in contact with them too. Both of them were influential and powerful. Who's to say that Kougami isn't in on Foundation X's dealings as well?"

"I can say with absolute certainty that the Kougami Foundation is not involved with the likes of Foundation X." Six pairs of eyes shot to the classroom door. There Erika stood with an apathetic glare leveled on Ryuusei. It would have been intimidating were it not for the bag of take-out in her hand.

Ryuusei returned her glare. "Really? Then why has the Kougami Foundation been spying on us?"

The woman straightened. "I am not at liberty to say."

"But you don't deny it."

"We have our reasons. You can bring it up with Mr. Kougami at the time of the meeting."

"If we decide to go."

"You will," the woman stated with a shrug. "In regards to Foundation X, they are an enemy of Kougami's," the woman continued as she stepped inside the room, her eyes still on the transfer student. "They have attempted to steal many of the Kougami Foundation's items and interests." She sighed. "They are always a nuisance, forcing me to work overtime." The word was said with loathing and a scowl, the most emotion she had displayed since meeting them. A second later she reverted back to her calm boredom. "But really, you need not worry; Mr. Kougami's interests are the same as yours."

Miu chewed on her lip in thought. "The letter did mention something about mutual interests... what does that mean, exactly?"

Erika turned her head to her mechanically, an eyebrow raised a fraction. "Isn't it obvious? He too has someone that was taken away by one of these portals." She ignored their gasps. "As a matter of fact, you all are at least somewhat acquainted with the man in question."

That got the club members looking at each other. Did they know anyone that was tied to Kougami?

Miu's brows furrowed. "And who would that be?"

Erika didn't answer. Instead, she dug into her jacket and pulled out a photograph held between her thumb and index finger. On it was a man wearing a brown poncho and blue jeans with a black backpack slung over his shoulder.

It took a second for the man's face to register.

"Hey..."

"That's...!"

"OOO!?" they all said in unison.

Ryuusei focused on Erika. "OOO works for the Kougami Foundation?"

The woman nodded lightly. "Hino Eiji is, or was, employed as a researcher for the Kougami Foundation. And as you all stated, he is Kamen Rider OOO. Hino-san was abducted by a portal that looked similar to the one that took Kisaragi-san."

Ryuusei stopped to think, eyes widened at the revelation like his friends'. After a few moments, he spoke, "Is him being a Kamen Rider a part of why the Kougami Foundation decided to meet with us?" He received a nod. "Does this mean that the portals were intentionally targeting Kamen Riders then?"

"Hey, yeah!" JK exclaimed. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence that two Riders got sucked into some portals, 'specially on the same day."

"Maybe Foundation X or some other organization is behind it?" Tomoko proposed.

Miu blanched. "Let's hope not; that would be the worst possible situation."

"Indeed." Ryuusei said grimly. Focusing on Erika, he asked, "Does the Kougami Foundation have any idea about who made these portals and what they're after?"

The members stared at Erika, awaiting her answer. The woman shrugged.

"Sorry, but that's it. I was directed to explain only the basics of what we know."

The Kamen Rider Club did not like that response, chairs screeching on the classroom floor as they stood up in outrage; "Oh, come on." "You can't be serious!" "This is about our friend!" "Tell us what you know!"

Erika didn't even bat an eyelash at their sudden reactions. If anything, the woman seemed to have the beginnings of a smile on her lips. "If you want to know more, then you will be at the main office at the time indicated."

Miu clicked her tongue and scowled at the woman. So this was the Kougami Foundation's game; offering them help and giving them some information to give them some hope, but withholding the truly valuable information. He was dangling a carrot in front of a bunch of rabbits just low enough for them to take. However, they didn't know if Kougami had a bigger treat for them or had a knife hiding behind his back. It was hard to trust in people with power, at least not after what Gamou revealed himself to be. The Kougami Foundation had not given them any reason to trust them; they who spied on them and chose not to aid them in their fight against the Zodiarts. The Club had no reason to trust in people like that.

However...

Gentarou was someone they didn't want to lose, no matter the risk. All of the club members, hell, all of the school students and former Zodiarts owe Gentarou a debt some of them couldn't repay. And all that goofy, stubborn guy asked in return was their friendship. Gentarou would do anything for his friends, even willingly walk into traps with a smile on his face.

And then there was Hino Eiji, AKA Kamen Rider OOO. He was taken too. Even if they didn't know him all too well, he was still Gentarou's and their friend. They also knew how many times he saved Japan and the world during his time as a Rider. He even helped them with their fight against Lem Kannagi that one time. And if he was working for the Kougami Foundation, then maybe they could be trusted on some level, right?

The club president's eyes swept over the club members, regarding each of them one by one. Worry, distrust, contemplation, resolution, and sadness stared back at her.

It was with a heavy sigh that the Kamen Rider Club's president came to a decision.

"Fine. We'll go."

The club's reactions were varied from gasping to just mere nods, but after a moment, there was only resolution in their eyes.

"Are you sure, Miu?" Ryuusei asked, who curiously didn't object. He may have already known they were going to accept the invitation, despite the risks.

Miu nodded with a grimace. "We don't have many other options. Gamou's still out there, Gentarou and Hino-san are missing, and we're probably running on limited time. Mr. Kougami's invitation may be the chance we need. This is what I have decided as club president."

Ryuusei nodded. "I understand." He turned to Erika and said harshly, "If this is a trap, then we'll be ready for it."

"I assure you that won't happen," she replied pointedly. "If that's all then, I'll take my leave. Make sure you eat the cake. Mr. Kougami likes it when people eat his cakes. They're quite good, even if I don't like cakes too much." She bowed and then turned around to leave. "Thank you for your time. See you in three hours."

Miu's eyes widened. "Wait, wait. Three hours? The meeting's today!?"

The woman turned her head back. "Yes. Didn't you read? It's ample enough time to clean yourselves up. Luckily, the drive isn't too far from here." With those words, she walked out of the classroom, waving a hand halfheartedly behind her.

The club president sighed aggravated, palming her face with a hand and rubbing her temples. "That woman... unbelievable!"

"Ya know," JK started, sliding next to Miu. "She kinda reminds me of you back when you were in your Queen phase."

A second later he was on the floor, nursing his shins that became victims of a future model's high heels.

"Alright everyone, you heard the lady," Miu announced. "Go home, take a bath, and dress nicely. We'll meet back here so Shun can pick us up and drive us. You don't mind, do you Shun?"

The football player shook his head. "Of course not."

"Good."

"Um, everyone," Yuki called, causing her fellow members to turn to her. "What do we do about this?" She asked, her hand pointing to the cake box.

"Didn't Satonaka-san say that Kougami made it?" JK said, shakily getting on his feet. "Kinda curious to know what kind of cake a CEO would make." He walked over to the box, undid the ribbons, and opened it. "Wow!"

The cake was rectangular and covered in white frosting with white dollops surrounding the edges. On the center was their club's banner redone entirely in different colors of frosting. At the top of the banner was a candy version of the red envelope, complete with a white chocolate seal, with the words 'Happy Birthday To Our First Contact' written neatly in English cursive with chocolate.

"That's pretty well done, actually," Shun said with surprise.

"Yeah..." Ryuusei grudgingly admitted.

Yuki sighed. "We should have taken this to lunch with us."

"It's... too white..." Tomoko observed.

"I'll take it home and we'll eat it later," Miu announced, closing the closing the cake box. "Now go home, get cleaned up, and come meet back here." She absently rolled a lock of her hair between her fingers. "Ugh. It's going to take at least an hour to get my hair right..."

As always, please point out any errors I may fix.

Here's to next time... which isn't long from now