~The First Stanza~
Verse 04: Children of the Flowers
Hanako Renchu. They are perhaps the most insignificant group of infidels that it has been my displeasure to deal with. They are like gnats. Purposefully annoying to our greater cause. I for one don't believe they pose much threat to our empire, but my father, the great King himself, suspects they will give us a good amount of trouble. Really, I don't share his views at all. They, like all humans, need to be crushed like the vermin they are. It's even more appaling that they have defeated not one, but two of the monsters that I had crafted from the snow itself. But that boils down to the fact that those cretains where nothing but food for the strong. I don't know who exactly defeated them, but I will have my vengence against them, regardless of the consequences.
***
"And now... Morimoto Chiharu. Present your contribution." It was the voice of one Shirayuki Kiyoshi. He was the sole chairman of the Hanako Renchu, and at the moment, he was addressing a very nervous Chiharu who had no idea what he was talking about.
"Um... what?" Behind her, Ayaka placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered gently,
"Hold out your arms Chiharu-chan." She nodded hesitantly and held out her arms. The older man touched them smoothly, being sure to handle them with care.
"Hmmmm.... Hmmmmm...." She had no idea what he was judging, but then he took out a small pin. He placed it onto her head and closed his eyes. A glow eminated from the point of contact, from which he stood for a moment. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and took the pin away, from which the glow subsided. He cleared his throat and said,
"I deem it worthy... come with me." She looked at him, quite puzzled. She turned to Ayaka for some guidance as to what to do and asked,
"Ayaka-san...?" She replied with a smiling face and nodded,
"Go ahead. It's okay." Not wanting to undermine the trust she had in Ayaka, she bowed respectfully and followed Kiyoshi through the white door, which led to the only remaining flowers on earth, his own green garden. However, someone tapped her on the shoulder and whispered into her ear,
"Hayashi-san, a Frost has been spotted..." She nodded and bowed. Before she went however, she was given a small device that resembled a circular roulette. TThe scientist bowed back and introduced himself.
"Um, My name is Yamada Daisuke... That's the Rider Roulette... Please use it." She smiled at him and nodded.
"I'm sure it'll come in handy." She ran out of the secret headquarters and headed to the coordinates of the attacking monster, with her new tech in tow.
***
It was lightly snowing over Japan, with the concentration focused in Tokyo, where several buildings began to freeze over. The people began to freeze as well, turning into ice sculptures, adding to the weird sensation the landscape gave off. It was alive... and yet lifeless at the same time. Snowflakes fluttered to the ground, breaking due to their fragile nature upon contact with the ground. Strolling through the ever freezing city was an older man. He wore a black cloak and leather gloves, and was humming a strangely hypnoctic melody. Turning a corner, he trailed his hands over the wals, seconds later encasing them in ice.
"Truly... winter is eternally beautiful." He turned as he heard a trail of footsteps and was face to face with Ayaka, who positioned herself defensively.
"Frost. Prepare to lose your life!" He laid his cheek on his hand and kept the other arm folded. He replied,
"Oh. And you are?" She took out her pin and said calmly,
"Your judge and executioner." She threw her pin in the air, which caused dozens of cherry blossoms to rain down. They encircled her waist, condensing and forming a belt. She caught the pin and inserted it, calling out,
"Henshin!" Her armor covered her instantly, which signaled her to begin the attack, beginning with a fist aimed at his face. He sighed and blocked the small attack with his hand. Squeezing her fist, he crunched it, forcing her to one knee.
"Futile. You are just an annoying gnat to me." He picked her up by the arm and began to punch her several times in the stomach, ending the assault with a kick to drive her back. She fell to the floor, breathing heavily. She tried to get up, but fell back down. She knew she probably had a broken rib or two, but she had to get up. All the while, he continued to move towards her, adjusting his gloves.
"Just give up and die." He disappeared in a flash of white light, reappearing as a monster. He resembled a knight of some kind, with a spear as his armament. He raised it high, prepared for the final strike.
***
"Um, Oji-san (used as uncle this time), why exactly did you call me...?" Kiyoshi smiled as he sat in his chair. Surronding them were walls upon walls of exotic and domestic plants, all of which having a different light source according to their preference. Chiharu, who never saw a flower before, was mystified before so many of them.
"I'm not that old yet Chiharu-chan. But... to answer your question, I wanted to make you apart of the organization." She tilted her head out of confusion.
"Why?" He sighed and continued,
"Because... that is why our organization exists." He carassed a small plant on his desk as he went on.
"Back when the Frost came, the Japanese government created this organization for one purpose. Which is to battle the Frost. Which is exactly what we have done for the past 24 years. However... we have determined to extend that objective to sanctify the flowers of the world. Your flower... your memory flower to be exact, is beautiful from what I gathered from Ayaka-san. So... I formally wanted you to join the organization to preserve that beauty..." She didn't have the slightest idea what he was saying, but just nodded all the same. He knew she didn't understand, so he half-smiled and walked her out, saying,
"Well then, it seems like Ayaka-san is busy working... would you like to wait for her?" She nodded as they traveled down, to the research department.
***
As the spear came down, Ayaka rolled out of the way and got up. She replied viciously,
"As if! I can't die now! I will destroy all of you and bring spring back!" She took the device she had been given before and placed it on the front of her belt. A mechanical voice rang out,
"RIDER ROULETTE A-GO!" She pushed both sides of it, which caused the wheel inside to spin randomly. It stopped on a blazing red and orange square and it called out,
"F-F-FLORA FLAME!" The pink on her armor was replaced with orange as she ran forward, her entire body covered in fire. The monster backed away in fright, and tripped.
"No! Stay back!" She punched him hard in the chest, causing a burn to appear on him. He pushed her off and punched her, to which she blocked and kicked him back. Another burn appeared on his chest and he rubbed it while swinging the spear. She threw a punch which broke the spear in half, riding straight to his face and knocking him down. He cringed in pain as she took out a pink disc. This time, she slid it into the device and spun it again. This time, it called out,
"S-S-SAKURA FINAL!" Instantly, the disk began to rotate severely, glowing pink. Both of them were transported to what seemed to be a swirling meadow of cherry blossoms. Ayaka pushed off the ground with both legs and was propelled into the air. She did a backflip whilst there and stopped in mid-air, amongst the storm of cherry blossoms that encircled them, carried by a fierce wind. Using the momentum of force, she dived down, extending the disk leg out into a kicking position. With a cry of,
"Ha!" She, accompanied with dozens of cherry blossoms behind her, barraged the monster. He stopped in his tracks and stumbled forward.
"My lord... forgive... me!" He shattered into hundreds of ice fragments. She undid her transformation as the city began to defrost due to the defeat of the Frost. She flicked her hair as a man from the shadows watched her. He had striking blond hair and saphhire eyes that would make anyone his hypnotic slave. He pulled his hood over his face to mask himself and disappeared, smiling twistedly.
***
Back in the headquarters of the organization, Ayaka was greeted by Chiharu, Kiyoshi and surprisingly, Daisuke. He stuttered as he asked,
"Um... d-did it help?" She nodded with a smile.
"It's amazing. Thank you Yamada-san." Hiyoshi said with appreciation,
"Good work Ayaka-san. And you should know, Chiharu-chan's initiation pulled off without a problem." She nodded to Chiharu who was smiling.
"It's true Onee-san! Oji-san made me an honorary member of the organization!" Ayaka and Daisuke smirked at the Oji-san comment, while Kiyoshi gave them the 'you better not laugh' stare as he replied,
"I already told you Chiharu-chan, I'm not that old yet."
Unorthodoxically, Ayaka is sent to the forest to investigate an old hermit who seems to have a connection with the Frost. Just what kind of secret is he hiding? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!