Bobby and Cathy, both alone at home without their guardians, decided to drop by the Katsura residence to visit Kokoro. The three of them got along handsomely and while Kokoro had a crush on her sister's boyfriend, she admired Kat and Neko for being strong female role-models as the Kamen Riders Ryukendo and CopyKat. Of course, with the present absence of said Riders as well as her sister and Ryuji, Kokoro felt bored. At least she didn't feel lonely with Athena, Loki and Eros around the house.
Athena had vanished a while ago before coming back. The only explanation she gave Kokoro was that her sister needed some help. Kokoro wasn't sure what kind of help her sister needed but it had to be important.
Bobby and Cathy had both ranked at 25th and 24th for their midterm exams. Not too shabby for them. Though, Kat wondered how someone like Bobby could still score so well when he spent most of his time watching anime on TV. His only answer was a smug reply. He'd said, "Well, that's what you call divine intelligence."
Bobby and Cathy hated it that they couldn't go to Kyoto but what else could they do. They'd tried to sneak aboard the bus but their guardians had caught them. Bobby hated being treated like a child but there wasn't much he could do but to obey his 'Big Sis'.
Bobby remembered how they'd started as partner. It'd been a rocky road for the two of them but they soon found mutual respect for each other. Though Kat didn't like boys all that much she could make a few exceptions. Luckily for Bobby, he was among the exceptions. Plus, this meant that he was allowed to date Cathy.
Though he was a Saint Beast, he was still pretty much human in his human form. He only assumed his Saint Beast form whenever it was required like fighting the giant mechas GIN-SHOCKER would send. Now, GIN-SHOCKER was bad news. Really bad news. Luckily, they had opposition from the Kamen Riders.
Presently, out of boredom, Kokoro, Cathy and Bobby were playing Poker while using Oreo cookies as betting chips. Eros also participated.
"Raise," Bobby called as he put another cookie in the middle. "You guys in?"
"I'm out," Eros sighed, putting down his cards.
"I'm in," Cathy smiled as she put in a cookie.
"Me too!" Kokoro nodded while putting in her own cookie.
"Then show 'em," Bobby grinned as he revealed his card. "Straight!"
"Straight Flush!" Cathy grinned, revealing five hearts in order from two to six.
"Um…what is it called when I have the cards with pictures on them and they're all the same color?" asked Kokoro as she revealed her hand.
"ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH!?" Bobby and Cathy cried in shock.
"Really?" Kokoro blinked. She then smiled. "Yay! I win!" She took in her winnings happily.
"Is it just me, or is she incredibly lucky at this game?" Bobby whispered to Cathy.
"I'm more worried about what Kotonoha-neechan will think when she finds out we've been teaching Kokoro-chan how to gamble," the mutant girl responded.
Kokoro had cookies piled up in front of her. By the end of the game, they would eat their winnings. Kokoro already had a glass of cold milk to dunk her cookies in.
"Wonder what they are doing right now, though?" Kokoro questioned.
"GUARDIAN DRAGONS OF KYOTO"
It'd been a long day for Ryuji. He'd served Kotonoha on hand and foot. Basically it was his punishment for lying and breaking his promise. He hated how it made him feel. He was no better than Makoto in that regard. Right now, he just wanted to rest up. At least the day hadn't been so horrible.
Kotonoha had posed for him in a beautiful snow white kimono decorated by pink cherry blossoms. It really brought out the beauty of her eyes. She looked elegant and mature. The perfect girl for him. Then he had to buy the damn thing. Well, it was money well spent. Then, he had to buy souvenirs to bring home, spent using the money out of his pockets. He'd only planned on buying a few but Kotonoha wanted to buy a lot of stuff. He toughed it out. She would burn a hole in his wallet but he would get the money back. They did manage to have a romantic lunch date together.
While that was happening, Kat had shown Rose around Kyoto as well, seeing the sights and taking pictures. Kat was so desperate to get her 'nookie' privileges back so soon that she was willing to do anything for Rose. It didn't matter if it was performing a tea ceremony or going to Cinema Town to dress up. Now, that had been interesting…
Cinema Town was basically an open air film studio. Samurai Movies would be shot here since its setting was like a traditional Japanese town. Visitors could even purchase costumes to play dress up. Also, sometimes the actors would get the visitors to play along.
Kotonoha had dolled herself up to look just like a princess while Ryuji himself was dressed as a noble samurai. He even had his hair up in a samurai's ponytail to add to the effect.
"Sugoi," Kotonoha said in amazement, "Ryuji-kun, you look like a real samurai."
Playing along, Ryuji knelt down and bowed, "I shall serve you until my dying breath, Hime-sama." That just made her blush and some visitors took pictures as well.
At the same time, Rose was dressed as an English lady from the late 19th century, wearing a gown and hat as well as holding a parasol while Kat herself was dressed as a Shinsengumi member. She looked extremely bishonen dressed up in those clothes. Some girls even took pictures of the duo, assuming Kat was male. She didn't correct them. She was just too awed by her beloved's beauty.
"Come, noble samurai. Escort me," Rose said.
"Very well, my lady," Kat bowed. More pictures were taken.
Neko was dressed as a shrine priestess and Kenzaki put on a monk's outfit. They looked good together and Neko herself was having fun.
Basically, all of the students who came to Cinema Town dressed up. Well, most of them at least. Some just wanted to see all the people 'cosplaying'.
The couples made their way through the village, enjoying the scenery. They even acted through some scenes with the park actors. At one point, they pretended to be on a grand quest like a certain half-demon and his friends in the feudal era.
At one point, Ryuji spotted a weird character leaning against the wall of a building. He was donned in blue clothes and his face was hidden. Metal forearm guards and shin guards were adorned on him, but the spiked shoulder pad was new to him. He had an overlarge double-edged kunai in his hand too.
Ryuji had done a double take, but the guy was already gone. Still, he wasn't going to let one weird guy ruin his fun time with Kotonoha.
In a lot of ways, Kotonoha was a princess. She was wealthy, had a good heart, kind and could keep him in line. She was a good influence on him too. Years ago, he wouldn't have even thought about playing dress up. That night when he'd gone to steal the belt was the first time in a long time when he'd nearly reverted to his old ways. He wasn't going to do that anymore but the idea of the belt just lying there still bothered him. He knew he had to get it but to take it now would mean stealing. That was the dilemma and it was giving him a headache.
Ryuji's cell phone rang and he took it out of his pocket. Checking the messages, he found one Kotonoha had just sent. When he opened it up and read it, he smiled.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi was walking towards the museum but something was off about him. His stance was different and sand would fall off him at every step he took, leaving a trail. The museum's gate was crawling with police who were assigned as extra security after last night's break in. They weren't going to let anyone else in after dark after what'd happened and would continue to do so until the danger had passed. There were priceless treasures in the museum, most which were irreplaceable.
Hiroshi walked towards the gate and one of the officers pointed his flashlight at him. "Hey, kid! The museum's closed. Go home!" Hiroshi didn't listen and continued to approach the gate. "Hey, I said beat it."
"I think not," spoke Hiroshi, only it wasn't his voice. He flicked his hands and produced a pair of swords before charging at the cops. He swiped his swords in a flurry of moves and the cops never knew what hit them before they dropped to the ground. The swords vanished and Hiroshi tore the gate open before making his way into the museum.
It was easy getting in. All he had to do was to break down the door and enter. He made his way towards the one item that had any sort of meaning and was valued well above these artifacts if these fools knew what they were keeping. When he reached it, he brought up his arm and smashed his fist through the glass. Reaching inside, he grabbed it before walking away. Alarms blared and he ignored them. He was leaving anyway. Sand continued to trail behind him.
Kotonoha was in her school uniform and waiting for Ryuji at the onsen. She'd sent him a text message stating she wanted to meet him here, alone.
They had spent the entire day together and she'd been lavished by his undivided attention. That was what she wanted, really. To enjoy a fieldtrip with her boyfriend. Eating together, shopping together, seeing the sights together and finally dressing up at Cinema Town. She'd never had so much fun in ages and wanted to do more tomorrow. Tonight, however, she was going to give him a special treat. Since he was being such a good boy today, she might as well give him a reward.
A clunking sound caught her attention, making her look up. She had been hoping to see Ryuji, but instead she saw Hiroshi stumbling towards her. She frowned slightly, remembering what he tried to do when they last talked. For a moment, she was going to tell him to leave, but then she noticed that he had a familiar stone belt in his hand.
"Where did-?" Kotonoha gasped out before she found a sword with sand falling out of it at her neck.
"You will be coming with me," Hiroshi grinned. "Your samurai will be joining us shortly."
Kotonoha eyes flashed and suddenly Athena jumped out her body. "You shall do no such thing!" Drawing her sword, Athena attacked the man who tried to assault her mistress. Unfortunately, dark shapes flew out of the bushes and ambushed the female Imagin.
"Athena!" Kotonoha cried but then got punched in the stomach. She was knocked out instantly and the possessed Hiroshi took hold of her and slung her over his shoulder before leaping away as Athena was currently busy.
Ryuji was on his way to meet with Kotonoha when his watch started beeping frantically. When he saw the compass, he got the shock of his life and ran down the hallway. He ran past Kenzaki, Neko, Rose and Kat who wondered what his sudden rush was for but knowing Ryuji, they knew it had to be something important. Therefore, they decided to follow him.
A black clad figure was thrown into the water as Athena fought back with all her might. She was a proud Amazon warrior and she deemed to prove it. Throwing stars flew at her and she deflected them but several of the dark figures came at her with swords.
"Come at me!" she challenged.
"NYAO NYAO DAN!"
"GOYU KOHA!"
"RO RO DAN!"
An aura cat, wolf and lioness flew out from nowhere and started to maul the black figures. This gave Athena some time and room to breathe as she saw the four Riders who were still in civvies and Rose running towards her.
"Athena!" shouted Ryuji. "Where's Koto-chan?"
"Some bastard took her," said Athena.
After the aura beasts faded away, Ryuji recognize the black clad figures. They were all dressed in the same ninja garb he'd seen earlier that day in Cinema Town. He walked over to one of them and hauled him up to his face. "Where is Koto-chan?"
"You'll never get me to talk," the ninja spat. Ryuji could sense he wasn't talking to a human and his watch told him that this ninja was indeed an Imagin, just like all the other ninjas that were lying around in pain after the combined Gekiwaza and Ringi attack.
"You don't have to," said Ryuji. "Kat, can you read his mind?"
Kat smirked, "Just give me a minute." She strode forward and grasped the Ninja Imagin's mind in her hands. Her eyes glowed as she dove into its brain. The Ninja Imagin's eyes went wide as its mind was being violated by Kat's telepathy. Its brain was being torn apart for information. When Kat was done, she removed her hands and the Imagin dissolved to sand. "Damn, I must've overdone it."
"You didn't have to fry his brain," said Kenzaki.
"Sorry, but when I do that, it always happens," shrugged Kat. "But we do know where Kotonoha is. Follow me."
"I'm coming too," Athena volunteered.
"Not a bad idea," said Gekiryuken. "There could be more of these ruffians."
"Right," agreed Kotonoha. "But these guys are Imagin. What are we going to do with them?" No sooner after she'd said that, all the Ninja Imagin that were lying around dissolved into sand.
"Since that's been taken care of, let's go," ordered Ryuji. "I hate to think what they're doing to her right now."
Kotonoha was tied to a tree that was in an open field. She struggled but her bonds were tight but she could still glare at Hiroshi who was sitting down on a stool, waiting. Lying at his feet was the stone Rider belt.
"Let me go, Manabe-san!" Kotonoha demanded.
"Shut up." Hiroshi growled. Sand poured out of his body before forming to create the Shogun Imagin. Hiroshi just collapsed onto the ground. He was unconscious and completely unaware of what was happening. "I am doing this to bring your lover here."
"Why do you want Ryuji-kun?" Kotonoha gasped out.
"Simple." The Shogun Imagin answered as it kicked Hiroshi. "His wish was to split you two up. Convenient since Master Nanimo wants you both dead anyway."
"Nanimo," Kotonoha growled, saying the name of the person who'd caused her and her love so much pain like a curse.
A roaring noise caught the attention of the pair. Looking out in the distance, they saw two motorcycles speeding towards them. One was from the Garo-Hunter with Kenzaki and Neko riding on it. The other came from Dyno-Breaker with Ryuji and Kat on it.
"And the players arrive," the Shogun Imagin smirked as he drew his swords.
The Riders dismounted their rides with Ryuji in the lead. He wasn't happy. He saw Hiroshi's unconscious form and recognized him as one of the KLLA's new members. He was going to have a word with him later.
"Alright, teme," growled Ryuji. "Let Koto-chan go."
"I'm afraid not," said the Shogun Imagin. Ryuji was ready to make him change his mind when a sword tip was pointed at Kotonoha's throat. "Ah, ah, ah," the Shogun Imagin said. "I don't think you want this pretty girl to get hurt."
Ryuji gritted his teeth. Kotonoha was in danger and Athena was injured from her fight with the Ninja Imagin army and still recovering. The others were ready to act but with Kotonoha as a hostage, their options were limited.
"Oh, by the way, I also have this," said the Shogun Imagin as he showed them the stone belt from the museum. Ryuji and Kat's eyes widened. "Remember it? It's the belt you wanted to steal from the museum."
Kenzaki and Neko knew all about it really and weren't very happy with what Ryuji and Kat had tried to do. Still, the belt was now in the Imagin's hand.
"So…it's pretty simple, really? You can either choose the girl or the belt. I wonder what Master Nanimo will do once he gets this belt," the Shogun Imagin chuckled.
"Nanimo," growled Ryuji. "You're working for him?"
Kenzaki eyes were narrowed too. This Imagin knew Nanimo. It was a lead in the right direction.
"Yes, and he told me how defective you were as a soldier so he wanted me to kill you," the Imagin snickered. "But he also wanted to make you suffer." The blade of the sword was now resting under Kotonoha's chin and she trembled in fear. Ryuji's fists were clenched.
"Ryuji…kun…" Kotonoha said in fear.
"It's okay, Koto-chan," said Ryuji. "It's going to be okay."
"Alright, you bastard!" snarled Kat. "What do you want?"
"Oh, it's simple, really," the Imagin said as he drew a line on the grass with his other sword. "Just toss over your transformation devices and I'll let the girl go."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" asked Neko.
"You really want to risk it?" the Imagin countered.
Without any other options with Kotonoha's life on the line, the Riders one by one remove their henshin devices. Ryuji and Kenzaki tossed over their passes, Neko tossed over Gekiryuken and finally Kat tossed over her Byakko card. Without those items, they couldn't transform.
The Shogun Imagin stared at the pile and snickered. "Well, then, looks like it's time to set her free. But first…" He snapped his fingers and several Ninja Imagin jumped out of hiding. "You're all going to die!"
"Teme!" Ryuji and Kat cursed.
The Ninja Imagin surrounded the four Riders and the Shogun Imagin picked up the items, saying, "These will make great gifts for Nanimo. Trophies, really, as a reminder of your foolishness and defeat." He turned towards Kotonoha. "And now, to grant my contractor's wish, I shall split her apart." He gripped his sword, "And I mean that literally." He brought up his sword to slice her in half.
"Yamerro!" shouted Ryuji as he tried to fight his way through the Ninja Imagin, freezing them even, but he wasn't going to make it. "KOTO-CHAN!"
"RYUJI-KUN!" Kotonoha shouted as she screwed her eyes shut. Tears fell from her eyes as her life was about to end.
CLANG!
Instead of flesh meeting flesh, it was steel meeting steel. Kotonoha opened her eyes and saw a familiar warrior wearing a black skull helmet and holding a black claymore against the Shogun Imagin's katana. "Forget about me?" stated Wraith before he sent the Imagin staggering backwards with a well aimed kick to the midsection. He then used another kick to knock off the items that were in the Shogun Imagin's other hand. "Guys! Now!"
As for Kotonoha, her ropes were loosened by Athena who'd come to her aid. "Let's go," said the Imagin as she took Kotonoha away to take cover from the fight.
Among the items that were on the ground was the stone belt and Ryuji had his eyes on it. It was tempting but he knew it wasn't his no matter how much he wanted to believe it. It was museum property. Tossing a couple of frozen Ninja Imagin aside, he ran for the items and then tossed them to their owners, "Neko, Kenzaki, Kat! Catch!"
The three Riders caught their respective henshin items and then activated them.
"Henshin!" Kat and Kenzaki called out after summoning their belts and activating them.
"Gekiryu Henshin!" Neko shouted out after turning Gekiryuken into his sword form.
"HUNTER FORM!"
Instantly, their armors encased them. Now, the Ninja Imagin army and Shogun Imagin were going to feel their full wrath. Wraith and Shogun continued their deadly dance with their swords as Garoh and Ryukendo fought off the Ninja Imagin with their swords. CopyKat was using her axes to violently hack and slash at any Ninja Imagin that was in her way.
As for Ryuji, as soon as he touched the stone belt, it suddenly glowed. Once the glowing died down, he was holding in his hand a gunmetal colored belt with a square buckle that looked like jaws with golden teeth instead of one made of stone. To the right of a buckle was a set of square buttons in a vertical row. From top to bottom order, the buttons were black, red, white and blue. What more, there was a pass stuck in between the 'jaws'. It slipped out and fell at his feet. The rail pass was red in color with golden flames around the border and the symbol on it resembled the belt buckle. The symbol was a pair of sharp jaws holding an 'X' in the centre. He pocketed his own pass and picked up the new one. He gazed down at both the pass and belt and grinned. "The museum can wait," he said to himself before standing up.
Kotonoha saw what'd happened to the belt and gasped. Was Ryuji going to use it? Yes, he was and she knew he would. She couldn't fault him. It was his belt if the belt had changed from stone when he touched it.
He could see Wraith and the other Riders fighting the Imagin and they were having a hard time against the Shogun and its Ninjas. Now it was time to even the odds. He slung the belt around his waist and fastened it on. With a grin, he said, "I wonder what I'll turn into with this. Well, guess I'll find out." He pressed the black button that was at the top of the set and the belt released a piercing roar like a tiger. This caught the attention of the Riders. Also, the empty grey area between the jaws turned black with a blue 'X' in it like the one that was on the pass.
"No way!" shouted the Shogun Imagin in disbelief.
"Henshin!" Ryuji called out as he swiftly swiped the Dyno Pass over the belt buckle.
"SABRE FORM!"
Energy shards encased his body, turning into a black bodysuit with gunmetal grey torso armor with a silver stripe running down the middle, matching gauntlets and boots. A black helmet with a silver mouthplate and a train track running down the middle also formed. There were silver rings around his wrists and ankles. Then, additional armor appeared and snapped onto his torso. The chestplate was black with matching rounded shoulder armor. Finally a black 'mask' came down over his helmet and snapped onto the faceplate. The mask had horizontal slits and two sharp points at the top corners and two long points at the bottom corners to resemble fangs. His gauntlets and boots also turned black with the rings around the wrists and ankles turning silver. Attached to both sides of his belt were black bars, the DynoGasher, with two on each side. The slits of the 'mask' flashed red as blue flames encircled Ifrit, reaching up to his knees.
The new Ifrit looked up at the stunned Imagin and Riders before announcing, "Prepare for extinction!" He then summoned his Ifrit Dao and Sub-Zero Shooter in his hands before charging forward.
Several Ninja Imagin leaped at the new Ifrit, hoping to take him down. Calmly, Ifrit aimed his Shooter at them and opened fire. The closest Ninja Imagin suddenly exploded as the bullets tore through it. Undaunted, the others Ninjas charged.
"Let's go!" Ifrit roared as he charged at the enemies.
The first Ninja Imagin was cut cleanly before exploding. Ifrit continued his rampage by slashing through the remaining ones as he dashed towards the Shogun Imagin.
"I will kill you! FOR NANIMO!!" the Shogun Imagin roared as it charged with its blades.
"Urusei!" Ifrit growled as he slashed at the one who dared to threaten his love.
Using a single slash, the Shogun Imagin's swords shattered like glass and a glowing cut spread across its chest. It wasn't deep, but it certainly hurt. Ifrit banished his Shooter before he brought out his new Rider Pass.
"No one lays a hand on my Koto-chan," he growled before he brought it to his belt.
"FULL CHARGE!!"
He tossed the pass aside. Blue energy zigzagged from belt and into the hilt of his Chinese broad sword and the blade began to glow bright blue. Gripping it in both hands, he let out a roar and executed a powerful horizontal slash across the Shogun Imagin's midsection. The Shogun Imagin managed to scream out, "FOR NANIMO!!!" before its entire body froze in ice and which was followed by an explosion. Ifrit banished his sword and then turned to look at Kotonoha.
The other Riders were amazed not only by Ifrit's new transformation but by the power and speed he'd displayed while fighting the Imagin.
"Looks like my dark otouto just leveled up," smirked CopyKat.
"Sugoi," said Kotonoha as she walked over to Ifrit. She looked him over and he stared at her back. Reaching up, he removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm.
"I guess now you want me to return the belt, right?" asked Ryuji.
"A part of me does want that," said Kotonoha as she ran her hands up and down his hard chestplate. "But another part of me also likes it."
Ryuji grinned, "I hope it's a strong part."
The other Riders and Athena rolled their eyes at the affection the two were displaying before Wraith became alarmed, "Um, guys, it's not over yet!"
Sand started to fly into the air and reformed into the Shogun Imagin and his Ninja Imagin army. However, the figures them bonded together and became a large ball of sand. When the ball of sand exploded, a winged serpent with 8 heads now hovered in the air. Each of the snake heads hissed and snapped, revealing long tongues and sharp teeth. Each of the heads was a color from the rainbow except for the main one which was white. The wings were large and feathery and also the color of rainbows. Such a sight would be impressive if it wasn't a Gigandeath headed straight for Kyoto.
"Minna, you know what to do?" questioned Ifrit as he put his helmet back on. Three portals opened up, allowing train tracks to exit them along with the trains that rode them. The DynoLiner, GaroLiner and ChronoLiner were each prepped for battle. Their respective pilots then leapt up and boarded the three trains, leaving the girls and the female Imagin behind to watch as they chased after the beast.
"Damn it," grumbled CopyKat. "I knew I should've brought Bobby." She shrugged. "Oh, well."
It was true chaos in Kyoto as the Orochi Gigandeath approached. People were running and screaming. Some were dropping to their knees and praying to the kami for rescue. Others wished for Susanoo to appear and defeat it.
Behind the Gigandeath three flying trains appeared to be chasing after it. All of them had weapons deployed and were firing at the Orochi Gigandeath. The Orochi Gigandeath seemed to be anticipating the attack. Two of its heads (green and indigo) were looking backwards and shooting streams of acid (green) and ice (indigo) out of their mouths. The trains swerved to avoid being hit before returning fire with salvos of their own. Their shots managed to hit, but they didn't seem to be penetrating the hide of the beast too well.
"Jeez," Garoh grunted. "Maybe we should call down Susanoo and have him kill this thing." He punctuated his statement by shooting another salvo out from the front of his wolfish train.
"Just keep shooting!" Ifrit growled as he had his Mammoth train's tusks fired energy bolts one after the other.
"Aim for the wings!" Wraith ordered as he sent laser gunfire at his target.
Down in Kyoto it was absolute pandemonium. However, two Riders were down there to help them.
"Quickly," called Ryukendo. "Run this way!"
"Come on, hurry up!" called out CopyKat.
A-Kotonoha was carrying a child who got separated from her mother in the chaos. She was trying to locate the mother and keep her eyes open for stragglers.
High in the air, the battle grew fierce as the three Liners used the rest of the remaining artillery they had at their disposal. Laser fire, flames, bombs and missiles went flying through the air and exploded against the beast's thick hide but this only served to aggravate it further and it attacked with its fire breathing red head and hot water spewing blue head. The GaroLiner got hit by the water and nearly blown off its tracks but Garoh managed to stabilize his vehicle.
Green acidic slime was spat by the green head and was melting a hole into the ChronoLiner. If that wasn't bad enough, the yellow head was firing electricity at the train which was frying the systems.
The DynoLiner wasn't having any luck either as the Tyrano's flames and the Tricera's lasers weren't able to do any damage and the Mammoth's trunk cannon wasn't going to cut it.
"Kuso!" cursed Ifrit. "What does it take to beat this thing!?"
"It has to have a weakness somewhere," Wraith supplied. "But we don't know if it does have one at all."
Garoh's eyes were on the Orochi Gigandeath's heads and from the start of the battle, the white head hadn't attacked. It had done nothing else but…direct the body.
"Hey, you two!" Garoh called. "It's the white head. That's the weakness!"
"Aim for the white head then!"Ifrit roared as his train raced forward and firedenergy bolts at the white head which hissed in pan. The seven colored heads turned to face the train and attacked the ancient time train using fire, water, ice, acid, heat beam, darkness and electricity. Ifrit managed to make the train dive out of the way to avoid the attack before ramming his train into the beast's body.
"Keep it occupied!" shouted Ifrit.
"Roger!" nodded Wraith.
"Gotcha!"agreed Garoh. "Let's see if it likes Rock and Roll!" He punched a button with his thumb and the Kin car released powerful sonic waves at the heads causing them to thrash about. Tsume and Hageshi also fired their lasers at the heads.
"Bombs away!" shouted Wraith as his train slung round bombs at the Gigandeath. They exploded against the heads. He also continued to fire missiles at it along with laser shots.
Meanwhile, Ifrit was focusing his train's weapons on the white head which controlled the beast's entire body. Lasers, energy bolts and flames rained down on the white serpent head and it let outa hiss before firing a beam of multicolored light at the DynoLiner. It got hit and the part that received the attack exploded causing the train to trumpet, roar and bellow.
A-Kotonoha gasped when she saw this. 'Ryuji…' thought Kotonoha in fear.
"Hey, Ryuji, are you okay?" questioned Garoh as his face appeared on the screen.
"Not so much," said Ifrit as he saw that he'd taken a lot of damage. One more hit like that and his train was going to be a goner. "But I can take it."
"Maybe you can," added Wraith as his face appeared next to Garoh's, "But your train isn't in good shape right now."
"Don't even think of asking me to sit this one out," growled Ifrit. "We're taking this thing down, together." He then got a crazy idea, "And I have just the way to do it."
"You don't mean…" began Wraith.
"Yeah, we link up like we practiced," said Ifrit.
"That's crazy! The last time we linked up you got hurt!"
The three time trains known as the GaroLiner, DynoLiner and the ChronoLiner were presently racing along on their own set of tracks with the DynoLiner between the GaroLiner that was at its right and the ChronoLiner that was at its left. Piloting the GaroLiner was none other than Kenzaki while Warren and Ryuji piloted the ChronoLiner and DynoLiner respectively.
"Alright, are you guys ready for this?" asked Ryuji.
"Sure, why not?" asked Kenzaki. He was willing to do anything to gain an edge against the Imagin menace.
"Well, here it goes," said Warren before calling on his power, "Shatter!"
"Henshin!" called out Kenzaki and Ryuji.
"HUNTER FORM!"
"IFRIT FORM!"
As soon as the Riders were clad in their armors, the DynoLiner accelerated and got way in front of the other two. Their tracks converged and the GaroLiner was now behind the DynoLiner followed by the ChronoLiner.
"Now, link up!" ordered Ifrit as the front of the GaroLiner clamped onto the rear car of the DynoLiner as the ChronoLiner linked up to the rear car of the GaroLiner.
Now, they'd just created the DyGaChro Formation.
"Well, looks like that's-" began Garoh before alarms started blaring. "What the hell!?"
"Something's wrong with the formation!" Wraith shouted.
"Not the formation!" objected Ifrit. "It's my train! It's going crazy!"
The DynoLiner thrashed about, trying to toss the GaroLiner and ChronoLiner off. Both Wraith and Garoh held on for dear life as the DynoLiner went crazy. Suddenly, the clamps broke and both the GaroLiner and ChronoLiner were tossed into the air, saved by their tracks. However, the DynoLiner was eventually and violently derailed and was on its side.
"OK, that was scary," Kenzaki said as his armor dematerialized. "Warren, are you okay?"
Warren was climbing back onto the Chrono-Speeder and said to Kenzaki, "I'm fine."
"Good, now what about Ryuji?" asked Kenzaki. "Hey, Ryuji!" He wasn't getting an answer. "Ryuji! Answer! Do you copy? Ryuji!"
Ryuji was still in the DynoLiner's cockpit but he didn't look good. He was knocked out and lying on the floor with a gash in his forehead and his left arm and right leg bent at odd angles. Kenzaki's voice came out from the speakers, "RYUJI!!!"
"I know but all we need is one clear shot," said Ifrit confidently.
"I don't know about this,"Garoh sounded hesitant."Your girlfriend wasn't too happy after what happened."
"RYUJI-KUN!" Kotonoha shrieked as she ran into the room in King's Terminal Hospital. His arm and leg were covered in blue flames. The gash on his head was doing the same. The casts and bandages hid them well, but the Orphenoch healing ability was working its magic.
"He's going to be fine, Kotonoha," Warren spoke soothingly. "He just got roughed up a little bit."
"But…he's hurt so badly," Kotonoha sobbed as she grasped his free hand.
"He's recover quickly," Warren assured her. "His Orphenoch healing factor will help him get out of here fast."
"What happened?" Kotonoha asked. She'd been called by Warren and had taken the ChronoLiner to get here. The only thing on her mind was her boyfriend.
"We were trying to see if we could link up our trains," said Warren. "But…when we did the DynoLiner lost control. Kenzaki and I got out of it alright but Ryuji took a lot of damage even in his armor."
"Oh, Ryuji…" Kotonoha sniffled. Why did he have to do something so reckless? "Why did his train lose control?"
"Incompatibility," answered Kenzaki as he came in, having heard her question. "Went to the Station Master for some info and he told me because the DynoLiner is older than ours, it couldn't accept the other trains. Guess it can only accept trains similar to it."
Kotonoha looked towards her boyfriend. He'd taken a stupid and dangerous risk. He was injured now because of it. "Stupid boy," she muttered.
"He meant well. He wanted to see if we could combine our trains' power," said Kenzaki.
"I know," said Ifrit, "But I have a feeling it's going to work this time."
Both Wraith and Garoh were silent in their cockpits before finally agreeing. "Alright," said Wraith.
"Let's do this!" shouted Garoh.
"Gattai!" Ifrit commanded.
The tracks of all three trains started to converge with the DynoLiner in the lead followed by the GaroLiner and finally the ChronoLiner bringing up the rear. The clamps connected all three trains together, creating the DyGaChro formation. The last time they did this it'd been a disaster but now it was their only chance in defeating this massive-multi-headed-winged-reptilian Gigandeath.
"Alright, focus all power into the Mammoth Cannon!" instructed Ifrit as he pressed a few buttons. Wraith and Garoh did as well, transferring power from their trains into the Mammoth Cannon. The 'trunk' of the DynoLiner Mammoth uncurled as a ball of energy formed at the 'snout'. The ball grew bigger and bigger as more energy was put into it as the energy charged up. In his cockpit, Ifrit was staring at the beast through the viewing screen.
"Target: locked on," Ifrit said as the targeting system locked onto the Gigandeath. He then roared, "Now, GO EXTINCT!" He pressed the trigger.
The Mammoth Cannon fired a blast of energy which surged forward as a stream of destructive power. This was the power of all three Liners combined and it enveloped the creature. All of the Orochi Gigandeath's heads hissed out in agony as it was slowly and mercilessly being ripped to shreds by the blast. Finally, the beast was completely vaporized once the attack stopped.
"Yatta," Ifrit breathed out.
"Now that's power," whistled Wraith.
"Not too shabby,"Garoh praised.
Down in Kyoto, Ryukendo and CopyKat cheered, hugging each other, "Yatta! Yatta! Banzai! Banzai!" The two female Riders were jumping up and down victoriously. Once the danger had passed, some of the people even had time to take pictures of the combined trains before they vanished into a portal.
"Good job, Ryuji-kun," smiled Kotonoha.
Though their disappearance hadn't gone unnoticed, it was lucky that they had Warren and Rachel to cover for them. They were in the clear, thankfully.
After the battle, the three trains needed to be repaired back at the King's Terminal. It would cost a lot of credits but it was worth it since they'd defeated a Gigandeath. Plus, Ryuji got a huge reward from killing all those Imagin and destroying that Gigandeath. Still, the only question that was coming to mind was what to do with the Dyno Belt and Pass. They were still stolen museum property.
In the room where Warren and Rachel stayed in with their family, the group was seated and in the middle of the floor laid the belt and pass of the DynoLiner.
"So, what do we do with these now?" asked Neko. "They were stolen from the museum."
"A good question," Warren said as he inspected them. "Still…" he eyed Kat and Ryuji. "I can't believe you would try to steal them." He corrected himself while glancing at Kat, "OK, I'd believe if it was you." He'd heard about Kat's reputation and none of it was good. He glanced at Ryuji, "But you, kohai?"
"I just thought it'd be safer that way if I took them and secured them," said Ryuji. Warren shook his head.
"Stealing is stealing. Two wrongs don't make a right," said Warren.
"We could throw you in jail for attempted theft," said Rachel coldly. "But you did it for the right reasons."
"That's true too, but they were still selfish reasons nonetheless," said Warren.
"Unfortunately, it's not made of stone anymore," Neko pointed out. "Whatever Ryuji-chan did turn the belt and pass back to the way they were before they got fossilized. Plus, it actually works."
"Da…" Kenzaki saw the two kids and at the last second uttered, "Darn, this is confusing." He scratched his head. "Do we return them or let Ryuji keep them."
"I think we should return them," said Ryuji. This just stunned everyone who knew how much he wanted to keep them. "I know what you're all probably thinking. You're probably thinking why I am thinking of giving them back instead of keeping them since the belt and pass are clearly mine. Well, like it or not, they are museum property so one way or another they are going back to the museum." He felt Kotonoha's hand on his.
"I'm proud of you, Ryuji-kun. You're doing the right thing," smiled Kotonoha proudly as she squeezed his hand.
"One problem," Kat pointed out, "The belt and pass ain't fossilized no more."
"Yeah…" Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "That's going to be a little hard to explain."
Warren's cell phone rang before he picked it up and put it to his ear, "Hello? Oh, Ant, hi. You took care of it? What exactly? Really? You're serious. OK, I'll tell him. Bye." He put down the phone. "OK, that was unexpected."
"What?" questioned Ryuji.
"Ant said not to worry and that he took care of it. Said something about replacing what was stolen," said Warren. "Knowing him we're better off not knowing what he meant by that."
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea," smirked Ryuji. He knew he could count on Ant when he was in a pinch.
The next day was a little chaotic. Warren and Rachel got word that Hiroshi had been arrested for breaking and entering along with an assault on a police officer. They also found his fingerprints on the display case of the fossilized belt.
"HE DID WHAT?!" Ryuji's voice could be heard over Kyoto.
Maybe it was for the best that Hiroshi was being held by police at the moment.
Despite knowing that there was no way he could get to him, Ryuji still wanted to kill Hiroshi for manhandling his girl. It didn't mean that he couldn't dream about what he could do to the punk though.
BRRRRRIIINNNNG!
In the room where Kotonoha and Ryuji were madly making out until she recapped what had happened with Hiroshi to her boyfriend, Ryuji's phone rang. Grumbling incoherently, he grabbed it before letting the call through, "What?"
"How could you keep me out of the biggest Rider sighting yet?!" Miyako's voice cried over the line. "The entire fight with that Orochi thing is on YouTube! The whole world is seeing it and I missed out!"
"And?" Ryuji sighed.
"I'm heading there to Kyoto. I need an exclusive!" Miyako cried out.
Ryuji rolled his eyes. Whenever there was Rider related news, Miyako would be there. That should be her motto.
There was a new face in Kyoto and he was walking through the place, feeling confused and disoriented. He'd woken up in an alley here and was wondering where he was. He could see people in modern clothes and some in old-fashioned clothes as well. Of course, his clothing was a mixture of the two.
Ryuji was out buying some flowers when his eyes fell upon the guy. His eyes narrowed when he saw what he looked like.
He had scruffy light red hair, a short braided ponytail and dark green eyes. He was wearing a white hakama and a black sash; his white jacket was ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black. The sleeves of the jacket were rolled up. Hanging from his neck was a necklace that looked like a bottom jaw bone. He had a sword strapped to his back. He looked about seventeen and appeared to be some sort of cosplayer. He would fit in well in Cinema Town but Ryuji could see something was off about him. Then he realized it. This was no cosplayer.
'Benitora,' the guy thought to himself, 'Where have you woken up this time?' He walked into an alley and Ryuji followed after him. Benitora heard footsteps and turned around to see a guy with long black hair and cold blue eyes staring at him. 'Hey, maybe he can tell me where I am,' thought Benitora.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" Benitora asked with a thick Kansai accent.
Ryuji's eyes were on the guy and he could detect the massive amount of spiritual energy this 'cosplayer' was emitting. He'd sensed it before. Tazuka had the same signature.
"Arrancar," Ryuji whispered.
Benitora eyes widened, his sensitive ears hearing what Ryuji had said. "Huh?"
"You're an Arrancar," Ryuji said simply.
"How did you know?" Benitora remarked, surprised, before recomposing himself. "And so what if I am?"
Ryuji's answer was to wrap the Dyno Belt around his waist and fasten it on. "Then it's my job to make sure you don't eat any human souls." He took out his Rider Pass.
"Hey, hold on!" Benitora held up his hands. "I'm not trying to-"
Ryuji pressed the black button, causing his belt to release a roar. "Henshin!" Ryuji called, swiping the pass over the buckle.
"SABRE FORM!"
His armor immediately encased his body and Ifrit rushed forward, throwing a fist at Benitora's head. The Arrancar dodged the attack and shouted, "Wait! Hold on!"
Ifrit wasn't listening. He summoned his gun and opened fire on Benitora with ice bullets. Benitora tried to dodge but some of the shots managed to graze him. However, the bullets didn't seem to do any damage. Benitora looked up at Ifrit, his eyes glowing slightly. They changed from their normal green color to a menacing gold. He unzipped his jacket, revealing his chest and the hole that was positioned where his heart should be. "Tch, Aizen is sending punks like you after me now? I really hate that bastard." He drew his sword and grinned insanely. "Oh well, I might as well have fun…" He pointed his sword at Ifrit. "Rend their flesh and devour their hearts…Tigre de la Muerte!"
Ifrit was taken back by the change that overcame his began to fly all around the man, before he was completely enveloped by smoke. The smoke finally cleared revealing a very menacing individual. Benitora's appearance became feline and predatory, changing him into something much like a humanoid tiger. He took on features such as jagged teeth, clawed hands, and a tail. His clothing changed to a form-fitting armor, which appears to be dark fur covering his body in stripes. He gained long blades on each wrist, tiger stripes under his eyes, and fur lining on his sleeves and pant legs. His braid grew down to his knees and a blade similar to the ones on his wrists hung from the end. His ears also became cat-like.
"Let's dance!" the released Arrancar roared before lunging at Ifrit.
Ifrit charged at his opponent, switching his gun for a pair of Chinese broad swords known as the Ifrit Dao. He swiped at the Arrancar who managed to avoid the swing and slash the Rider across the chest with his claws. Ifrit spun on his heels and saw his opponent taunting him. Enraged, Ifrit charged straight for the Arrancar and started to swipe at him but no matter how fast he was, his opponent was faster. The Arrancar then decided to block instead of evade, causing the sparks to fly when Ifrit's blade met his opponent's body.
"Is that all?" the Arrancar taunted. "I'm getting bored." He yawned.
"Damn you!" Ifrit shouted as he banished one of his swords and took out his Pass. He swiped it over the belt.
"FULL CHARGE!"
He tossed the Rider Pass aside as the energy flowed and traveled from the belt and into his sword, energizing it. Ifrit then fired a beam of ice energy at the Arrancar to freeze him in ice before leaping high, both his hands gripping his weapon before he came down to perform a vertical overhead slash. However, before he could reach his target, the block of ice exploded and a hand reached out to catch the blade. Ifrit landed on his feet and struggled to get his sword away.
"And now…it's over," said the Arrancar before tossing Ifrit into a wall. He then made a break for it and fled.
Ifrit got out of the wall and stumbled on his feet as his armor vanished. "Kuso…that teme got away…" He was badly injured from the fight too. Next time, however, he would finish off that Arrancar.
Benitora managed to get away from that armored maniac and stumbled into some clothes that were in boxes. They were more modern looking than his current clothing. A little used but he had to blend in somehow. Stripping off his clothes, he started to change. As he removed his shirt, a tattoo came into view of all those who would look. It was the number 5 over his right shoulder blade.
"An Arrancar? Are you sure?" asked Warren when Ryuji told him what'd happened. Kotonoha was tending to his wounds.
"I saw the mask fragment, Warren. I know an Arrancar when I see one. He used his release as well," said Ryuji.
"Alright, but are you sure he's evil?" asked Warren.
"OK, I'm lost here," said Miyako who was there. After reading about the battle on the internet and seeing it on YouTube, she'd come by to Kyoto ASAP. She was desperate for a new story and this sounded like a good one. Still, she wanted to get the facts straight. "What's an Arrancar?"
Ryuji and Warren exchanged looks before sighing. Warren himself had revealed his identity to Miyako after Ryuji was sure she could be trusted. She also knew the identity of the other Riders now. "Are you gonna tell her or should I?" asked Ryuji.
"I'll do it," Warren volunteered. "OK, Ms. Serizawa, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once."
Hikari was depressed. Most of her friends were in relationships while she was all alone. "I wish some guy would just come by and sweep me off my feet!" However, she wasn't paying attention and failed to notice the truck that was about to hit her.
"Watch out!" she heard and was pulled out of the way and against a strong and lean chest. When she looked up to who'd saved her, she blushed bright red. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Hikari's throat became dry and she was speechless. This made the young man who'd saved her look at her in concern. He suspected that she was in shock. She was in fact mesmerized by the man. His hair was hidden beneath a bandana, but a short braided ponytail came out from the back, revealing it to be a light red color. He also had dark green eyes. The bandana was white with a red tiger-stripe design. He was wearing a dark red t-shirt and jeans. He wore a strange necklace that looked like a bottom jaw bone that hung around his neck. What was surprising to her was the fact that he had a sword strapped to his back.
"Yes, you're fine," she blurted out before correcting himself, "I mean I'm fine!"
"Oh, that's good," he said, relieved. "By the way, what's the name of the damsel in distress whom I just saved?"
"Hikari," she smiled.
"Well, Hikari-han, I am Benitora."
Miyako wasn't sure what to believe but since dealing with the weirdness around Ryuji up until now she was ready to believe in anything, provided there was proof of course.
"So, Hollows are evil spirits that come from human spirits who've lost their hearts. Shinigami are meant to cleanse Hollows. But an Arrancar is a Hollow that has gained Shinigami powers," Miyako summarized.
"That's what Arrancar are," nodded Warren. "Guess we need to call Ryan."
"Who?" asked Miyako.
"Another Rider," answered Ryuji, "And a specialist when it comes to dealing with these kinds of things."
While Warren and Ryuji were arranging for Ryan's arrival, Hikari and Benitora were getting to know each other. Benitora learnt a lot about his new friend. She came from a school in Tokyo called Sakakino High and was here because of a fieldtrip. She had friends here as well and wanted him to meet them. He was envious for her. He didn't have many friends back in Hueco Mundo. The only person he could consider a friend amongst the Espada was Stark. In a way, both of them were alike and understood each other. That and his room was a good place to hide from that lunatic Grimmjow.
When Hikari asked about him, he had to lie. If he told her the truth she would think he was crazy. This was a different world so different rules applied. Still, what was that armored guy and would he see him again?
He told her he went to school here in Kyoto but didn't have any friends because he was…too different. That was one way to say it. She sympathized with him and told him she knew a friend who didn't have many friends before but now she was happy with friends and a boyfriend.
"So, do you have a boyfriend?" asked Benitora.
Hikari sighed sadly, "I wish. I used to like this guy but he did something bad so I've lost all interest in him." Her crush on Taisuke was gone now. He wasn't the ideal guy for her after all. He was too much of a pervert anyway.
"So, what are you looking for in a guy?" asked Benitora.
"I guess I want a guy who's strong and brave but not afraid to show his softer side," answered Hikari. Of course she was talking about Ryuji. If he wasn't so violent most of the time then he would be the perfect boyfriend. Well, he was the perfect boyfriend for Kotonoha.
"Hey, Hikari!" waved Kat as she and Rose came towards them. "Who's your new friend?"
"Girls, this is Benitora," Hikari introduced. "Benitora, these are my friends and classmates, Kat and Rose."
"It's good to meet you," Benitora said in greeting.
"Likewise," Rose returned the greeting and she noticed Kat was silent. "Kat? Kitty-Kat? What's wrong?"
Kat was staring at Benitora and she could sense his Ki. It was not human and it made the hair at the back of her neck stand on ends. Whatever Benitora was, he was bad news.
"Kat!" Rose shouted.
"Wagh!" Kat jumped in shock and placed a palm to her chest. "Don't do that!"
"Well, you were spaced out for a bit. What's the matter?" Rose asked, worried.
"It's nothing," Kat answered, narrowing her red eyes on Benitora. "Nothing at all."
"Ant said he'll have Ryan here for us in a week, maybe two," said Warren.
"Why would he take so long? What's keeping him?" asked Ryuji curiously.
"Ryan's busy with a Hollow infestation. He'll come when he's done with that," answered Warren.
"Well, tell Ant to tell him to hurry up. There's an Arrancar here and he's pretty powerful," said Ryuji. He never stood a chance and he hated feeling weak. His pride was wounded after the way the Arrancar had beaten him before he just took off like that.
Setsuna watched as Hikari introduced the boy named Benitora to her friends. It may have been just her, but something wasn't right about the boy. He seemed to be out of touch with things or was looking over his shoulder a lot. He obviously had something on his mind and it might not be perfectly healthy. Also, he had a sword of all things strapped to his back. Was it real or fake and why did he carry it around with him? Was it a precious family heirloom or something?
Then, to add to the weirdness, were the events of last night that were something straight out of a monster movie. A giant flying Orochi had attacked Kyoto but the Riders had come to save the day. Everyone couldn't stop talking about it and a few had captured it on video. Setsuna knew who to thank for saving the city but she wasn't telling. Still, her normal life had taken a dramatic change in the last few months.
"Why do weird things have to happen to our class these days?" Setsuna sighed to herself.
ZK Chromedragozoid: Well, a new chapter and a new character. An Arrancar? That can't be good. Also, a new train formation. DyGaChro! And plus Ifrit gets a new belt. Well, pls read and review to show ur support. Bye bye!