PRENOTES: And so it begins eh? Second chappy, new characters, introductions and everyday life only I'm araid.
Scene breakers 3 for POV change and 1 for flashback.
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"Kamen rider", Archer grunted as he saw the stranger. A vest like chest plate with no shoulders, light forearm bracers, light greaves, an armored belt and a helm with the wing-visor. Underneath all those was the same seemingly skin-tight material. Archer got up and asked, "Why did you attack me? Are you an enemy?". Their suits were definitely of similar make, why? The question haunted Archer's mind. Did this guy make them?
The stranger ignored him and set down his bike.
"I asked you a question. Who are you?", Archer demanded so forcefully that he almost fell on his face from jarring his wounds.
The stranger flipped one of his crescent semi-circle axes, and with a simple flip, turned the axe into a rifle. Archer couldn't even react as he was shot back onto the ground. All this transpiring in a second.
'What the heck?', Archer thought that this was familiar. He got back up, coughing. "If you ain't gonna tell me", he took a fighting stance, "then I guess I'll have to beat it out of you".
The wing-visored rider just reverted his rifle back to an axe and brought the other one up to bear in a stance. Without further ado, both charged forward to clash. Archer sent a right hook with full intent on smashing that wing-visor which looked as good a target as any while the stranger brought his axe down on the wounded teen. Archer took the driving step when he was in range but stretched his ribs, causing pain and maybe some damage. He missed his timing and swing where as the stranger struck true with his axe.
The blow almost knocked him down but before his knees could give in the wing-visored rider hit him with an upward strike that kept him on his feet. It didn't stop there as the wing-visored rider struck a flurry of blows at Archer. As a finale, the stranger turned both of his axes into rifles and fired blast shots right into Archer's chest. Even with the plating, Archer could still feel a lot of pain. He was on the ground now, in agony and panting. His vision was swimming between darkness and the dim moonlit alley. The last thing Archer saw before blacking out was an axe coming right down on him.
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"Gwaaagh!", Archer bolted upright on his futon. Wait, his futon? The teen looked around and saw his familiar one room apartment. He looked at himself and saw his hands and a fresh cotton shirt on him. He touched his face and felt all the familiar features, except for his glasses. No wonder everything looked blurred. He searched for his glasses. Archer was surprised when someone put them on him and his vision cleared. He looked up a bit and saw pale topaz eyes hidden behind the long bangs of a girl with chin length blonde hair. She was wearing a black long sleeve shirt that contrasted with her pale skin, a brown leather vest and a beige skirt.
"You...", Archer recognized the girl. So everything wasn't just a dream.
She watched his stunned reaction and said, "Yes, from last night."
"What happened? What about that guy? How did I get here?", Archer asked in rapidfire.
The girl was a bit overwhelmed as she knelt by his side. "One at a time please", she held up her hands in a placating manner. She was a lot more soft-spoken than he had first thought when they met in that alley. She made herself comfortable before asking, "What would you like to know first?".
Archer spoke without missing a beat. "What happened?", Archer questioned.
The girl wrung her hands and said, "You were attacked". The bedridden teen made eye contact with her, silently demanding details. She looked down, "by the one chasing me".
"Chasing you?", Archer quirked an eyebrow.
The girl looked a bit afraid when she pointed out, "Because of that". Her finger was trailed on the device beside Archer's futon.
Archer picked up the blue micro-computer in his hand and brought it before his eyes. A card fell and he recognized it as the one he inserted into the device to call on that armor. He'd understand why anyone would want it with all the power it gave him but the guy back then was way stronger than him. Seeking power from something weaker than himself didn't make sense. "Is it because of that armor?", Archer verified.
"I'm sorry but I don't know either.", she shook her head.
"I see", Archer pressed his lips into a firm line as his habit when displeased. He looked back to her again and asked, "How'd I get here then? Last I remember I was about to be split like firewood by that guy".
The girl looked at him as she remembered what happened and replied, "Actually..."
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The axe was about to come down on the transformed teen. She couldn't bear it any longer and screamed, "Stooop!".
The stranger stopped just in time before his axe made its mark. He was surprised when the girl he'd been chasing protectively covered the one who received the Transcender. If he remembered correctly, she was the former Trans' girlfriend.
"Please, don't kill him", the blonde girl cried to the masked stranger.
The stranger tightened his grip on his axe in frustration. When he was finally so close. Why did his resolve break so easily?
"Please", she pleaded as tears began to drip down her face. 'This is Kengo's legacy', she thought desperately.
The stranger suddenly tipped his head up and spun around. He rode his bike and revved it up. In less than ten seconds he was gone.
The girl watched the stranger go and regained her regular heart rate when she heard the sound of his motot no more. What was she thinking when she rushed out like that? 'It was Kengo's legacy', a voice in her head answered. She gripped the soft fabric of the transformed teen she had just saved. In a flash of light, he turned back into his injured self, burnt shirt and all. The girl sat in the empty alley, wondering what to do.
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Same Night
The stranger with the wing-shaped visor rode his sleek machine up a building and landed on the roof in a screeching spin to cushion the impact. He got off the bike as it faded in the outline of circuit lines that glowed on it. The rider undid his armor in the same manner as his bike and revealed young boy barely in his teens. He wore a brown punk shirt with a design of a guy screaming "I'll kick your ass" underneath a red, black and blue cross-lined short-sleeve polo. He wore loose jeans with black and red sneakers that scraped the cement roof. He had blood red-eyes, unruly black hair in no real style. His face told of youth set emotionless with jaded sorrow.
"What are you doing here?", the red-eyed teen asked the figure before him.
The man before the red-eyed teen looked a couple years older. The guy wore a lanky green shirt, dark jeans and black-white sneakers with the black being the main color. Over his lean shoulder hung a knapsack. The guy's hair was cut short reminiscent of a buzz cut but left alone to grow. He had a devilish mischief that seemed to surround him always. A silver bracelet wrapped around his right wrist as did a silver chain around his neck.
The guy snickered before answering, "I just wanted to see how he would fare is all".
"He's not all that strong. Why are you interested in how he does at all?", the red-eyed boy drawled.
"You really are clueless aren't you?", the guy taunted the red-eyed boy.
"I should kill you right here and now", the red-eyed boy snarled.
The elder looking of the two turned around to face his visitor. "Can you really?", he told the boy with a challenge in his eyes. He grinned and commented on the incident just then, "I see old habits die hard. You still believe in that chivalry crap huh?". he walked up to the crimson-eyed boy which showed the difference in height between them with the guy being at least two inches taller. "In this game, things like that won't save you". With that the guy walked past the shorter boy.
The crimson-eyed teen spun around but the guy had already gone. Anger was imminent on the boy's face. He didn't trust that guy at all, not then, not now. As far as he was concerned that buzz head was an enemy.
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"-so we somehow survived that night", the girl finished her recollection.
"But that doesn't explain how we got here", Archer told her.
"About that", the girl looked a bit unsure of how to say it.
Suddenly the door burst open and in stormed a girl with lightly tanned skin and dark chocolate locks. She quickly but carefully, so as not to embarass herself with her stunningly short but cute yellow one piece dress, took off her shoes to enter the apartment. "You're awake Archer-kun", the brunette hugged the injured teen.
"Urk, not you again", Archer grimaced to himself, more due to the girl hugging him rather than the physical discomfort the hold caused on his injuries.
"What happened to you? Are you alright? Was it another fight?", the brunette fussed.
Now Archer knew what the blonde must have felt when he pelted her with questions. "Geez , slow down. Why do you always have to be so damn clingy", Archer shoved the girl off of him.
The brunette looked a bit embarassed and fixed her hair, from the twin ponytails tied with omamoris to her side-bangs tied with two rune-etched wooden hairclips, and clothes to look presentable. "Sorry, but I was just so worried. You're injuries were pretty heavy", the girl began to take out a number of disinfectants and rolls of bandages.
"It's just a scratch", Archer waved it off.
"A scratch!?", the blonde female on the teen's other side gaped in shock. "You were almost killed!", she told him.
Neither seemed to mind the blonde's outburst however as the brunette said, "Well, it was just a couple of broken ribs, nothing I couldn't reset, the regular cuts and bruises and first degree burns on your chest, which should have healed by now."
"Tch!, I've been through worse", Archer sulked as the girl bade him to take his shirt off to change the bandages he could currently feel holding his ribs together and to apply some disinfectant to his wounds.
"What?", the blonde couldn't believe this.
The girl tried to keep Archer still as she took off the bandages and applied disinfectant. "I know. I saw and treated most of them after all. Concussions, stab wounds, fractures, bites, burns. The only thing left is for you to get shot.", the brunette said offhandedly but frowned when she noticed something. "It's pretty amazing how you came out of those unmarred.", the brunettte pouted enviously at Archer's smooth skin. It betrayed none of the injuries that the brunette girl listed only moments ago.
"How the hell should I know?", Archer said grumpily. He wished she would finish faster. His current situation of being injured and shirtless with two girls in close proximity wasn't exactly comfortable for him.
"Why so angry?", the brunette stuck her tongue out at him. "Here", she helped him back into the cotton shirt after working on his injuries.
Archer knew why he was angry. he just didn't want to tell anyone. His scowl met the blonde's and gave her quite a scare. The blonde misinterpreted this and mistook it as a sign that he was angry at her. "I-I-I-I'm s-s-sor-r-rry for g-g-etting you inv-v-olved i-in th-th-that f-f-fight.", the blonde apologized shakily with a bow.
"You got involved in a fight over this girl!", the brunette screamed in surprise.
"Gods! No need to shout woman. I'm not deaf", Archer glared at the brunette and gave an accusing look to the blonde for letting that info slip, he wanted to keep it secret if he could help it.
"Well, it's kind of complicated", the blonde woman started nervously. "You see..."
"It was nothing", Archer cut the blonde off before she said anything stupider. From what he gathered, the brunette knew nothing about what really happened the night before and he would love to keep it that way, though he was vexed that she knew a tiny bit of it.
"Well that was rude", the brunette crossed her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't interrupt people in the middle of their talk", she turned to the blonde and asked, "isn't that right? err...", the brunette tried to remember if she knew the girl's name.
Apparently not since the blonde said, "Oh, uh my name is Luminaria Solstice. Sorry, for-"
"Right, Lu-chan", the brunette interrupted Luminaria.
Archer's brow twitched as he said, "Don't preach if you can't practice."
The brunette squinted her eyes at them and asked accusingly, "Oh really now?".
"Yes, now if you're done then leave", Archer sighed and pointed her to the door which wasn't really all that hard to miss.
The brunette sulked and said, "And this is how you treat the person who saved your life and honored your selfish requests". The blonde woman sweatdropped as a backdrop with unforgiving waves chopping against a desolate cliff appeared with the brunette wretchedly cried at the summit while wearing a tattered kimono.
A vein popped from Archer's fore-head and exploded, "Fine! Just stop being so melodramatic."
"Win!", the brunette gave a cheeky smile as she did a victory sign with a cheeky grin.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Thundering smacks resounded against Archer's apartment door. "Dear God, not the other one.", Archer facepalmed. The day was getting worse and worse.
"Yari! Get out here!", a guy's voice muffled through the door.
Archer reluctantly tossed the covers off of him and got up from his futon to answer the door. The teen opened the door and barely dodged a punch he had expected from his visitor. "So you finally came out you coward!", Archer heard his visitor's taunt.
"Shut up and go away Kanji. I'm not in the mood.", Archer told the guy in front of his doorstep. He was Archer's classmate and unofficial rival of sorts. It's a long story but the guy's full name is Shindou Kanji. The guy looked pretty straight-laced with his well combed mop of matted down spikes for hair and plain get-up that consisted of a plain white shirt, jeans and a sweat-band on his right wrist.
"Feh, how many times have I told you to stay away from Shiki?", Shindou threatened ignoring Archer's statement.
Archer just sighed as he said, "Just how many times do I have to tell you that she's the one coming to me and not the other way around?".
"How about we settle this like men? If I win, you stay away from Shiki and if you win I won't ever bother you again.", Shindou told him.
Archer looked at him like he was an idiot. "That won't change anything", the exasperated teen tried in vain to warn the other guy.
Shindou pointed a challenging finger at Archer and declared, "Be down in the parking lot in 5 minutes if you're really a man". With that Shindou went and charged of ahead.
Archer watched him go down the stairs before going back to his apartment to put his shoes on. Luminaria saw this and asked, "Are you really going?".
"Yeah", Archer answered as he fit his feet in his sneakers.
"But you're injured", the blonde stood up in panic.
"I'm fine", Archer half-lied. True his injuries were hurting, but he'd fought with more injuries than this before and his injuries didn't hurt compared to back then. 'Is it because of that power?', he thought to himself about the strength that filled himwhen the armor covered his body. He didn't notice he had been staring at Luminaria the whole time.
"So is he gone?", came a muffled question from one of Archer's cabinets.
"He's gone Shiki", Archer sighed. That guy just couldn't leave him alone and all for the naggy woman.
"From the building", the brunette got out from the cabinet.
"He will be soon", Archer exited his apartment.
"Will he be okay?", Luminaria asked the brunette worriedly as she took hold of the transformation device.
"Archer? Don't worry, he'll be fine", the brunette dusted herself off.
"I hope so", Luminaria looked down thoughtfully.
"He won't last five minutes", Shiki said quite happily.
"What?", Luminaria exclaimed once more.
Shiki looked at the blonde and came to a realization, "Oh right, you didn't know but there's no way for Archer to win, even under normal circumstances. I mean they've fought before and he's never won. The difference in skill is just too high".
"Aren't you worried with his injuries then?", Luminaria asked in a panic.
The brunette actually had a slight frown when she said, "I'm actually glad he has those injuries, with those he shouldn't be able to push himself so far. that way the fight won't get too long and his injuries will be kept to a minimum."
"Wha-what do you mean?", the blonde asked curiously.
Shiki thought a bit before answering as she gathered the medical supplies she used. "You see", she began, "Shindou and Archer have always been fighting for a long time now. Almost everyday, Shindou would come over and challenge Archer to a duel like you saw earlier. Archer never won though, Shindou is a trained fighter after all". Shiki smiled sadly as she remembered how Archer was after every fight, "He would fight till all he could do was crawl and bleed. Not giving up until one of them collapsed and couldn't move. It never got that bad though since Shindou would stop. With those injuries, I'm hoping that the fight will end before it reaches that stage."
Luminaria didn't know what to say to that. This person, Archer, who was entrusted with Kengo's legacy. Just what went on in his head to put himself in these situations? Looking for that monster, going into a fight that he'll never win while injured.
"Hey", Shiki's voice cut into Luminaria's thoughts.
"Yes?", the blonde asked in reply.
"Wanna see how the fight goes?", Shiki gave the blonde a cheeky smile. She held up the bag of 1st aid suplies and explained, "We're gonna have to patch him up again after all".
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In the underground parking area of Archer's apartment waited Shindou. The smell of exhaust heavy in the air, left by the cars that parked in it. It was rather dim but the lights were enough to actually see. No one was there so the fight would hopefully be uninterrupted. Shindoue heard footsteps and looked in that direction.
"You actually showed", Shindou commented as Archer walked in, showing no signs of injuries whatsoever.
"I'm not exactly gonna let a chance to get away from those girls pass now.", Archer tensed all over for the fight.
"Don't act so carefree", Shindou charged in suddenly with an open palm strike that nailed Archer square in the chest and sent the injured teen on his back.
Archer hit the ground and coughed from the sharp exchange of air in his lungs. 'What the hell was that?', Archer thought as he slowly stood back up. 'it barely hurt'. The pain was already going away and Archer stood strong.
"You got a bit tougher", Shindou flexed the hand he attacked with. It felt like hitting breaking a concrete block when he hit Archer. The challenger shook the thought off though, still assured of his victory. "Ha!", he dashed forward wi th a flurry of blows.
Archer saw the attack coming and what should have been a blur of hands and feet became slow motion to him. 'Like last night', Archer thought as he ducked, jumped and weaved through every attack. On a whim, Archer caught one hand and pulled on it, dragging Shindou towards him, and sent him staggering back with a kick to the side.
'What the heck was that?', Shindou clutched his already bruising side. 'He could barely even react to my punches before and now he's dodging them like they're nothing? And what was with that kick? it was way too strong to come from him.', Shindou grit his teeth in pain.
"Hmm...", Archer examined their current position. He was injured but clearly winning from the way he stood tall and here was Shindou who was doubled over, kneeling before him as he clutched his side. "Rather unexpected huh?", Archer held Shindou up by his face.
"Freak!", was all Shindou screamed as he knocked Archer's hand away and dealt a powerful blow to the abdomen which, added unto Archer's older wounds, hurt the powered up teen. Archer's knees buckled under the damage and took a knee to the nose. His head snapped back but before he could even regain proper focus of his senses, Shindou hit him with an upwards kick to the chin which sent him to the ground. Shindou was now the one on his feet and Archer back on he ground. "Didn't huff think huff that I'd be huff forced to get serious with you", Shindou said through heavy breaths.
'Urk... That hurt alot. He never hit that fast or strong before. Wait? Fast? Strong?' "You bastard! You were holding back on me this whole time?", Archer got up with a menacing roar. "You're dead", Archer growled in indignation at the blow to his ego. he had actually believed that Shindou had been fighting him seriously all this time. Archer dashed forward and Shindou reacted by strafing off to the side but was too slow. Archer nailed him in the face with a right that sent him flying. Archer wasn't about to let Shindou off that easy though. With his now inhuman power, speed and time awareness, Archer caught Shindou's foot before he could fly-off and dragged him back only to slam him into the ground with a punch to the gut.
Shindou couldn't get a hit in, this guy was a monster. How'd he get this strong? No human can be this strong. Shindou began to lose feeling in his body as Archer began to beat him senseless, literally.
Shiki and Luminaria were terrified at the sight that greeted them when they reached the parking lot. Archer had Shindou pinned to a wall and blood was everywhere, on the walls, floors, Shindou and Archer. Shindou was bruised all over and looked to have multiple fractures. his lip was cut on three different places, his nose was broken and he was bleeding from his mouth.
"Archer!", Shiki screamed. She was expecting for Archer to be the one being pinned down by Shindou. She didn't expect him to win, not to mention half-kill the guy.
Archer noticed the two girls and looked back to an unconscious Shindou. The guy's face was so badly beaten he was almost unrecognizable now. Archer had longed to beat this annoyance as bad as he did now but realized that it was meaningless. Stronger, he had to fight something stronger. Archer tossed Shindou down and walked away. he was two paces from the exit before he passed out.
Luminaria went to check on Shindou while Shiki immediately went for Archer. Shiki took a mere three minutes before she immediately diagnosed, "He overexerted his ribs."
Luminaria on the other hand checked if Shindou was breathing properly and applying first aid. It was at this time she stared at Archer's unconscious form and questioned herself, 'was it right for me to give him the Transcender?'