Kenzaki was at the shoe lockers, getting his shoes on quickly so he could leave. He didn't want to spend another minute here more than he should. Being in the same building with Neko and Kat was suffocating. One was a girl who'd broken his heart and the other was a girl he hated.
"Leaving so soon?" asked Ryuji. He was leaning against the lockers as he watched Kenzaki.
"The sooner the better. Outta my way," said Kenzaki as he tried to walk past Ryuji.
"Koto-chan was hoping we could all hang out at the Radish but I'm guessing you won't be interested, right?" Ryuji questioned.
"I said move," growled Kenzaki. "The sooner I take care of Nanimo, the sooner I can leave and then we can all move on with our lives."
Ryuji snapped his fingers and ice froze Kenzaki's feet to the ground. "Not until you and I have this talk."
Kenzaki easily broke himself out of the ice. "You know you can't hold me, but if it's the only way out without force, then let's talk.
"Look, I can understand that you hate Kat. Frankly, I'm surprised that you haven't killed her yet after all the crap she's put you through. But to take this out on Neko-nee is a bit unfair," said Ryuji.
Kenzaki rebutted, "I'm not taking it out on her. I gave her a choice, she made it. That simple."
Ryuji argued, "You're being selfish and unreasonable. You were trying to make her choose between you and her own family."
Kenzaki scoffed, "Don't give me that. I know family is important to her, but it ain't the most important thing in the world."
"It is to her. When our father disappeared, all she had was family."
"Look, I don't give a damn about family. If I did, do you think I'd be hunting down my own brother?"
"I guess you're right. But, when the time comes, could you bring yourself to kill him?" Kat has had many chances to kill Ryuki in the past. She just never did because deep down she still loved him.
"If need be, I'll kill him," said Kenzaki, his voice full of conviction.
"Easier said than done. But, if family ties aren't that important to you then that means Kumiko and your Imagin are just tools to you. And that you never thought of Gou as your dad, either," countered Ryuji.
"Wrong, they aren't tools," denied Kenzaki. "They are my family and they are important, but I would never put them before Neko, and they know that."
"Everyone has different priorities. Do you know Neko nearly got herself killed fighting an Imagin when her synch with Gekiryuken failed?" Ryuji told him, surprising Kenzaki. "She's hurting. She loves you but her fondest wish is for you to love all of her. Kat is part of her. She wants you to accept her darker side."
"I do love all of her, but Kat isn't part of her, not anymore," said Kenzaki.
"That doesn't change the first 19 years of their lives. They were inseparable, literally, when they were one person. Tell me, if Neko ever merged with Kat again and Neko was the dominant personality, would you still love her?"
"Of course I would."
"Even if a little bit of Kat comes out?"
"Even then."
"You can say it so easily now, but when you see Kat on her own you hate her and yet you love Neko. They share the same face, heart and soul, but different parts of each."
"That's because they are two separate people. It's easy for me to hate Kat because she has no guilt, no shame for her actions. As far as I'm concerned, there is no difference between Kat and THAT monster."
Ryuji sighed, "Suit yourself, but if you continue to hurt Neko-nee's innocent heart like this, then you're the monster here."
"Are you honestly comparing me to Kat?" growled Kenzaki.
Ryuji pointed out, "You've both hurt Neko-nee because of your own selfish desires. I don't see much of a difference here."
"Look, Neko made HER choice. She chose a CRIMINAL over someone she claimed to love."
Ryuji countered, "Because you MADE her choose. You may tolerate Kat, barely, but what Neko wants is for you to accept Kat." Ryuji turned away. "I'm going to see Koto-chan. See you later, Garoh."
Kenzaki began to walk away. "Screw off, Ifrit. Tell Neko she can get a ride back to her universe with Kat when this is over with."
"RECONCILIATION OF HEARTS"
Kat was in the girls' bathroom at school. She'd wanted to go to Radish with her family but then her phone had rung. She'd excused herself to take this call in private.
"I thought I told you not to call me at school," said Kat to her mysterious employer.
"You are under my employ now," said Nanimo. "If you wish to receive payment, you will do things according to my schedule, not yours."
"Fine, so, what do you want me to do?" asked Kat.
"Isn't that obvious, you are to kill Kenzaki Tsukuba."
"I can't just kill him like that. He's not exactly someone I can sneak up to. He can sense me coming a mile away," explained Kat.
"When you arrive at your apartment, there will be a package there. Open it when you are sure you're alone. It will give you the rest of the plan, as well as the required materials to finish the job."
"OK. I will. Just make sure I get paid in advanced. Half now and half when I'm done."
"As we agreed."
Kat shut off the link and sighed. "Looks like I got a job to do."
"You are completely and utterly shameless, you know that?" said Ryuji without hiding his disgust as he filled up Kat's cup with coffee. She had stopped by at the Radish to see her little brother in uniform and laugh. Also, Rose, Cathy and Bobby were accompanying her as well. Both Cathy and Bobby were having ice cream sundaes while Rose herself was having a cup of tea.
"I get that a lot," said Kat nonchalantly as she drop several cubes of sugar into her coffee before adding some creamer.
Kotonoha frowned. "How can you be so uncaring about this?" asked Kotonoha.
"It's easy. I just don't mull over it," replied Kat.
"And you're still with her because of why, exactly?" Ryuji asked Rose.
"Life isn't so dull with her around," said Rose calmly. She gave Kat a look, "But even I have to agree that you've gone way too far this time, Kitty-Kat."
"Hey, it was Kenny that broke up with Neko-chan," said Kat. "That has nothing to do with me."
"That's bull and you know it," Ryuji frowned. "They wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you."
"If they really loved each other than they would've been able to work things out. Since he decided to just leave her, it just proved that he's not good enough if he's willing to throw away a relationship with her," Kat reasoned.
"You don't have any guilt or a conscience, do you?" questioned Ryuji rhetorically.
"Sure I do," Kat answered, "It just doesn't apply to Kenny."
Rose sighed and said, "Kat, your sister's been crying in her sleep since he broke up with her. Don't you have any remorse?"
"She'll get over it," said Kat as she took another sip of her coffee. "I did after Takada cheated on me."
"Well, Neko-nee isn't you," Ryuji pointed out. "You may have shared the same body for years, but she's her own person now."
"Whatever," muttered Kat.
"When I found out Makoto-kun was cheating on me," began Kotonoha. Ryuji frowned. Whenever she thought back to that time, she always looked so sad. Kotonoha took in a deep breath and repeated, "When I found out he was cheating on me, I tried to deny it." She gave Ryuji a smile, "Luckily for me I had someone help me get over it."
Kat bristled a little at those words. Sure she wanted Neko to get over Kenzaki, but at this rate, it didn't look possible.
The group turned silent as a certain sliver-haired bounty hunter entered the restaurant. One of the waitresses came up and took his order. "Coffee" he said simply as he just sat there. He looked over and noticed the group staring at him. "What?" he growled.
"Well, well, well," sneered Kat as she spun in her seat to look directly at Kenzaki. "Look at what the dog dragged in."
"Thought you weren't coming," said Ryuji, recalling his previous invitation.
"I needed some coffee. I would have it on the GaroLiner but I can't stand Kumiko's yelling or Buraki's whining," answered Kenzaki. "If you guys wanna talk, go ahead and talk, I don't care."
"I don't feel like sitting here anymore," Kat bristled as she got off her seat. "I'm outta here." She placed her money on the counter and left for the door and bumped into Sekai. "Sekai?"
"Sorry, I'm late!" Sekai apologized. She'd been at Makoto's and lost track of time.
"Hey, Kat," greeted Nanami. Present as well were Hikari, Benitora, Siera, Rina and Setsuna.
"I like your uniform," complimented Rina before she thought, 'Wonder what you look like without it?' as she undressed Ryuji with her eyes.
"You look very handsome in it," Siera said as she looked upon her fiancé with a blush on her face.
"Thanks," Ryuji said offhandedly.
"Oh, you all came," smiled Kat. "Sorry about this, but I gotta bail."
"Aren't we going to hang out?" asked Hikari hopefully.
"I remembered I had something to do," said Kat. "See ya at school tomorrow." She walked past them and went out the door.
Kenzaki couldn't take it with seeing so many familiar faces from school in Radish. So, after he finished his drink, he left money on the counter and left the place while the others hung out with Sekai, Ryuji and Kotonoha serving them.
"I'm out of here," he muttered. "It's getting too crowded for me here."
Ryuji could only watch as both Kenzaki left the restaurant right after Kat did. Kotonoha herself hoped they didn't get into a fight.
The following day, Ryuji was pissed off. As in incredibly, ready to blow up like a volcano and destroy Pompeii, pissed off. Kenzaki had broken his sister Neko's heart for the last time. OK, so Kat was responsible for the chain of events leading to that but he thought that Kenzaki was mature enough to let it go and work things out with Kat. Obviously, he was wrong.
In class, Ryuji had to rein in his temper so that he didn't attack Kenzaki whenever he laid eyes on him. Neko was sitting there, all heartbroken and with the same lifeless eyes Kotonoha had when Makoto had broken her.
It was the drawback of the Hasuma Imprint. Whenever a Hasuma fell in love, they imprinted on that person and would remain faithful. Sometimes it was fragile but other times it was firm. Hasuma's who imprint on someone who'd stolen their hearts would often grow obsessed with the object of affection and sometimes even dangerously so. It became worse when said object of affection died and the imprint still holds. It would explain how Ryuga turned evil after his Jinx's death.
Ryuji had imprinted on Kotonoha and had changed for the better. He would never break her heart or betray her, and vice versa. They were completely in love and faithful with each other.
Still, Kenzaki couldn't ignore how he was hurting Neko. Even with Gekiryuken, she was slowly breaking down. She needed and wanted him.
If words couldn't get through to Kenzaki, then maybe his fists could.
Warren was in the staff room with Ryuji standing in front of him. "You want to challenge Kenzaki to a match?"
"Today, after school, in the gym," Ryuji confirmed, "I need you to referee."
"I don't know," Warren answered as he rubbed the back of his head. "As a teacher I should put a stop to this."
"You know you can't," Ryuji narrowed his eyes. "All you can do is referee to keep things fair."
"I can set the rules, stipulations and limits, right?" Warren inquired.
"Whatever," Ryuji crossed his arms. "Just be there to referee."
"I got a lot of work, Ryuji. You know, final exams preparations," Warren reminded.
"I know, but take a few hours off your schedule to help out a few friends," requested Ryuji. "Now, I need to go."
Warren watched as Ryuji walked out the staff room and sighed. Rachel walked up to her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder. She said, "You're going to have to stop this."
"I know, but my hands are tied," Warren sighed. "I just hope those two don't end up destroying the gym. Knowing them, they would go all out and say, 'screw the rules'."
Rachel agreed, "That sounds like them."
Ryuji walked past Kenzaki in the hallway and whispered the challenge so that only Kenzaki would hear, "Gym, after school, be there."
"Fine," replied Kenzaki, accepting the challenge. They both went down their opposite ways in the hallway.
Word somehow got out about the challenge. Actually, Kat was the one who spread the word. Again she'd broken into the broadcast room and announced the fight that was going to take place in the gym. Now, Kotonoha was worried for Ryuji. Siera and Rina were also voicing their concerns. The one Rider, human girl, and two princesses were sitting on the roof having lunch. Ryuji looked completely unfazed about the upcoming fight while the three girls stared at him in worry.
"You can't go through with this!" spoke Siera worriedly.
"Yeah, I can't have my future hubby getting himself killed," added Rina, which made Kotonoha glare at the demon princess.
"It's going to be fine," said Ryuji confidently.
"But, Kenzaki-san has more experience with his JyuKen style," clarified Kotonoha. "I know you're strong, Ryuji-kun, but I think Kenzaki-san is stronger."
Ryuji snorted, "We'll see about that."
Meanwhile, Kat was profiting over the upcoming fight. She'd gone around school collecting bets and well a lot of them had confidence that Ryuji would win. Those that bet against Ryuji were member of those three fanclubs: the KLLA, SSSS and LLRB.
"Ah, money, money, money," Kat sang, "Makes the world go round, in a rich woman's world."
Rose sighed and shook her head. "What if Kenzaki wins?"
Kat frowned. She would never admit it but Kenzaki was a lot stronger than she was. Heck, he was probably stronger than Ryuji. Of course, the true purpose of this fight was to forcefully convince Kenzaki to get back together with Neko. "Well, either way, I'm gonna make some money."
"You bet on both of them, didn't you?" Rose questioned.
"Of course," nodded Kat. "How else do you think I gamble?" She chuckled.
After the final bell, all the students assembled at the gym. They were all interested to watch the match being held between Ryuji and Kenzaki. The students all stood around within the interior of the gym, waiting for both fighters to arrive. Neko was feeling anxious as she stood along with her friends. Kat too was present with Rose, Cathy and Neko. The female Saint Beast Rider was just interested to see if this match would be something fun to see and to collect her winnings once a victor was confirmed.
Soon, Kenzaki arrived, dressed in his bounty hunting clothes. He wore a pair of black jeans, a blue t-shirt, tennis shoes, and gloves. Over his body he wore a metallic silver trench coat. He eyed all the students and scowled. "I thought this was just going to be between me and Ryuji."
Kumiko, who'd entered with him said, "Word got out so everyone came to watch."
Kenzaki huffed, "Fine, as long as nobody interferes." He saw Neko and averted his eyes. 'Damn it. Why is she here?'
The KLLA, SSSS and LLRB were cheering on Kenzaki. Because they all disliked Ryuji, they decided to cheer on the opposition, much to Kenzaki's annoyance. He didn't want them cheering him on. He would prefer if nobody cheered him on at all.
The door on the opposite end of the gym opened too and Ryuji entered. He too was dressed for the occasion. He wore a black sleeveless Chinese shirt, baggy blue plants, black slippers and a white sash around his waist. His black hair was braded and he too sported gloves, though these were missing fingers. Entering along with him were his three fiancées; Siera, Rina and Kotonoha. As far as Kotonoha was concerned, she was his true fiancée but she managed to make peace with Siera and Rina…at least for now.
At the sight of him, all three fanclubs booed but then silenced when he glared at them. They had been sent to the hospital before and weren't looking forward to it again. Ryuji alone had beaten them all up without breaking a sweat or even injury.
Kotonoha, Siera and Rina all went to join the spectators as the two fighters approached each other. Ryuji and Kenzaki glared at each other before the DynoLiner's Rider spoke, "So, I see you came dressed for this fight."
"You too," stated Kenzaki. He slipped off his coat and tossed it away. He had his skin covered in special waterproof body paint to hide his abnormal skin condition. "So, when do we start?"
"This is an official match, so I asked for someone to referee for us," said Ryuji as Warren walked in between the two boys. He glanced at both before clearing his throat.
"You know, I feel that this is a bad idea," stated Warren, giving his opinion of the matter, "But, if you both really want to fight, then at least allow me to state the rules."
"I have no objections," said Kenzaki.
"Ditto for me," agreed Ryuji.
Warren nodded before he announced, "This is an official match between Ryuji Hasuma and Kenzaki Tsukuba! As referee, it is my duty to set the rules of this match! Neither competitor is allowed to use weapons or lethal force! The loser is the first one to fall unconscious, forfeit, or unable to stand after the 10 second count! Is that understood?" Kenzaki and Ryuji nodded, signalling that both understood. "Alright," Warren sighed. "Bow to your opponent," he instructed and both fighters did before going into their stances. Finally, he shouted out as he stepped back into the crowd, "Begin!"
As soon as Warren said that, the two were immediately upon each other and exchanging bone-shattering blows. The moves they were using would be lethal on normal people but neither of them was normal to begin with. Ryuji wasn't human and possessed an accelerated healing factor while Kenzaki possessed invulnerable steel skin and the inability to feel pain. However, he could still feel the pressure of Ryuji's blows as they both fought. Whenever their blows connected, the sound echoed through the gym.
The spectators were treated to a show of skill, violence, and brutality, as both Kenzaki and Ryuji fought with all they had. Kotonoha, however, felt concerned and wanted this to stop but she knew there was no way to stop this when it started. All she could do was watch.
Kenzaki's elbow met with Ryuji's solar plexus but that didn't slow the Orphenoch down. Instead, Ryuji retaliated with a direct punch to Kenzaki's chest and followed by a violent uppercut. Kenzaki recovered quickly and used a roundhouse kick that Ryuji dodged by flipping backwards but Kenzaki was faster and managed to hit Ryuji in mid-flip, striking his back with a brutal forward punch that would break anyone's spine but Ryuji was able to absorb the blow as he landed on his knees and performed a sweep kick to knock Kenzaki off balance. He then lunged at Kenzaki and performed a rapid fire punch attack that Kenzaki had trouble dodging and could only block.
Kat could sense that both were holding back their Ki and she couldn't blame them. If they released their Ki, even the normal students would sense a hint of it. Normal humans may not be sensitive to Ki, but even a large amount of it could be detected by them, especially in incredible amounts. Still, her eyes did catch a flicker of violet Fierce Ki around Kenzaki and a flicker of golden Mythical Ki around Ryuji. She clenched her fists. When was the real show going to start?
The rest of the students were awed and were cheering both fighters on. The KLLA, SSSS and LLRB were cheering on Kenzaki with Taisuke in the lead. As much as Ryuji tried to tune those idiots out, he was slowly growing annoyed and his Mythical Ki was reacting to his irritation, which made his eyes turn gold for only a second.
Kenzaki himself could feel the wolf within him growing restless. It wanted to be freed but Kenzaki wasn't going to let it. The last time it'd happened he'd turned into a beast and no matter how powerful he'd been in that form, he was not going to let it control him. He would fight as himself and win as himself.
Bone breaking blows were continuously exchanged by the two, with no mercy whatsoever. It was clear that even if both were holding back much of their potential, they weren't taking it easy on each other at all. However, the level of mastery was clearly evident. While Ryuji was a mere practitioner of the Mythical Beast-Fist, Kenzaki was almost a master of his Fierce Beast-Fist. It was only a matter of time before a winner emerged.
Kotonoha cringed as she watched the fight continue. She could see the bruises forming on Ryuji before they started to fade and also the blood on his clothes. Neko was also watching with worry as Kenzaki received all of Ryuji's attacks without flinching. Just because he couldn't feel, didn't mean he couldn't be injured. There could be internal injuries that he couldn't feel.
Kat, however, was still watching impassively and she also noticed that Benitora was watching the fight with a high degree of interest. As an Arrancar, he could detect Reiatsu, which was just another fancy word for Ki or Life Energy, but all the same he could still see it and what he saw was the Ki within Ryuji and Kenzaki being released in small amounts. It was getting hard for her to pay attention too with all the yelling the spectators were making. They didn't quite understand the amount of power both Ryuji and Kenzaki really had.
Now, things were about to go into overdrive as both ran alongside each other before jumping ten feet into the air, their limbs a blur as they struck at each other. Neither of their blows was connecting as they blocked each other. The landed on the floor, hands grappling, as they began to push with all their might. Kenzaki even cracked a smile, "I'm impressed. You're still able to fight after all this."
"That's the perks of an accelerated healing factor," replied Ryuji as he grunted, "I can just keep going and going."
"Well, this fight has to end sometime. How about releasing some more of our Ki?" suggested Kenzaki as his Violet Fierce Ki flared out. It was invisible to those who couldn't sense Ki.
Ryuji silently agreed as his Golden Mythical Ki came out in the form of a blaze that engulfed his body. Again, this was invisible to those who couldn't sense Ki. However, they could still feel a pressure being released.
Kotonoha, while a normal human being, was able to sense Ki with Athena's help. With Athena's assistance, she could see the Ki both fighters were releasing. "Ryuji-kun…"
"Woah," Rina whistled. "Now that's the kind of man I want as my husband." Kotonoha sent her a glare.
"But, I do hope he survives," added Siera worriedly.
"Heck, he'll be fine," Rina said confidently. "He can win this." She asked Kotonoha, "Isn't that right?" Kotonoha remained silent. "Kotonoha?"
"Benitora-kun, what do you see?" Hikari asked her boyfriend. She'd learnt about her boyfriend's true identity and accepted him, while also learning about his abilities. He could sense Reiatsu, which was spiritual energy, and judging by the intensity in his eyes she knew he could see something.
"A lot of Reiatsu being released by the two of them," he answered seriously.
Ryuji then fell backwards and then threw his legs upwards to smash into Kenzaki's gut, dislodging their hands and sending him flying into the ceiling. He flipped back to his feet and jumped up, fist drawn back. "You're mine!" Ryuji roared in triumph before throwing his fist.
PAP!
However, Kenzaki caught it. "Now YOU'RE mine!" Kenzaki barked back before grabbing Ryuji painfully by the shoulder. He dug his knee into Ryuji's gut, causing him to grunt, before they both plummeted to the ground.
CRASH!
The force of the crash caused the floorboards to break on impact and the two fell right through a hole in the ground. The other students watched and Kotonoha went to Warren, urging him to go check on them. "Warren-sensei! Please, see if they're alright!"
Warren looked towards the hole, the dust around it settling, before saying, "They're fine."
"Huh?"
To confirm, both Ryuji and Kenzaki leapt out of the hole and resumed their fight. Though both sported cuts and bruises, Ryuji's were slowly healing as Kenzaki only sported wounds on his face. They weren't very deep but there was blood running down his face from his hairline. Both were panting and Ryuji spat out some blood along with a tooth that had been loosened. He popped his neck from side to side and flexed his fingers. "I could do this all day."
"Don't you have a job?" asked Kenzaki as he got into a stance.
"Youko-san will understand," replied Ryuji as he too got into a stance. "If not then I'll apply for a day off."
"Well, I hope you'll get plenty of days off once I'm done with you," remarked Kenzaki.
"We'll see. I hope they free a bed at the hospital," Ryuji's eyes narrowed, "For you."
Kenzaki howled as Ryuji roared before they charged at each other.
"Aren't they getting tired?" Otome asked as she watched the fight. This was unlike anything she'd ever seen in real life. This kind of action only existed in martial arts movies.
"Both of them don't seem to know the meaning of the word," said Setsuna. She knew that the two could take far worse than this. They were Kamen Riders and fought monsters for a living.
"Still, they shouldn't be able to stand after something like that," said Makoto.
"You'd be surprised," murmured Setsuna.
Kenzaki jumped back and dusted himself off. "Hm, I guess I should get serious," said Kenzaki. He took a deep breath and the floorboards beneath him began to creak and crack.
Ryuji glared at him. "Don't screw with me!" he roared as he delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Kenzaki's head. A sickening crack was heard as he connected.
"That would be the sound of your leg breaking," said Kenzaki, completely calm. He didn't even seem bothered by the fact that Ryuji's foot was still on his grunted as he indeed felt the bones of his leg breaking and the pain was finally registering in his brain. Still, his incredible healing factor would mend the bones quickly so he could follow up with another attack. Kenzaki grabbed the foot that was in his face and gave it a twist that sent Ryuji spinning and falling flat on his face. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself back up to look over his shoulder and glare at Kenzaki. "Give it up," said Kenzaki as he popped his neck from left to right. "You can't win. The difference in our skill is wide. It's always the more experienced fighter that wins."
"We'll see," growled Ryuji as he picked himself back up and rolled his ankle, making sure it was properly healed. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them wide, revealing that his blue irises had turned gold and the pupils had narrowed into slits. He took in a deep breath and began calling on his Mythical Ki reserves. "Only one of us is going to be left standing."
"You talk big," said Kenzaki. 'Damn it, Ryuji. Just quit.' He really didn't want to hurt his friend. Though they hadn't gotten along at first, they'd developed a mutual respect for one another. He didn't want to lose that. Despite Ryuji's Orphenoch healing factor, it could only go so far, and Kenzaki didn't want to have to cripple his friend just so a point could be proven. He eyed the crowd. The only person Kenzaki wanted to fight was in the crowd and looking smug. It was Kat's fault all this was happening. It was always her fault.
OK, he had done some thinking and it was partly his fault, but it had all began with Kat nonetheless. Gripping his fists and going into a stance, he prepared himself to receive Ryuji's final blow. "Don't disappoint me," Kenzaki said.
Ryuji gave a nod and closed his eyes for a second before they snapped wide open, blazing gold as he rushed at Kenzaki. He threw punch after punch, which Kenzaki easily blocked with his forearms but Kenzaki was still being pushed back by each hit. Ryuji started to put more force into his punches, bone shattering force, in order to put down Kenzaki once and for all. The hits connected with the sound of thunder that echoed through the gym and it was starting to scare Kotonoha.
Kenzaki looked like he was starting to get annoyed. Ryuji just kept coming. Kenzaki wanted to end this fight without seriously hurting Ryuji, but it didn't look like Ryuji was giving him an option. Kenzaki lifted up his leg and kicked Ryuji in the ribs, shattering a couple of them and sending the Rider sliding backward.
Ryuji gathered all his remaining Ki in his fist, prepared to deliver a finishing blow. He charged forward and threw his fist forward, connecting with Kenzaki's face. Ryuji smirked before he grimaced and staggered backward. He looked down and saw that his stomach had caved in on itself. Kenzaki had landed a punch directly into his gut. He coughed up blood as he fell to his knees. His eyes turned back to their normal color as the golden Genki glow faded from them. "This…isn't…over…" he groaned.
"Yes, it is," said Kenzaki as his opponent fell forward and passed out.
Kotonoha, Rina and Siera were immediately at Ryuji's side, extremely concerned for his wellbeing. They all glared at Kenzaki at the same time and he turned away from their glares. Warren then sadly announced the winner, "The winner of this match, by a knockout, is Kenzaki Tsukuba."
However, Kenzaki had already gone by then, having walked out of the gym after beating Ryuji and walking through the crowd who'd departed to give him room. He was in no mood to talk to anybody. Neko watched him go and sighed sadly.
"Ken-kun, are you alright?" asked Neko, the concern in her voice obvious. Both were standing in the hallway. Neko had exited the infirmary to see Kenzaki there. Either he was worried for Ryuji or just needed to be checked out.
"I'm fine. I can't feel, remember?" stated Kenzaki.
"I know, but you may have internal injuries. Maybe you should go get them checked out," suggested Neko.
"I said I'm fine. You should check on Ryuji. After all, isn't your family more important than me?" said Kenzaki, reminding Neko about what she had said.
"I did check on him. Warren-sensei says he's doing fine. All he needs is a few days rest and not to strain himself. His healing factor got exhausted during the fight and his Ki reserves are low, but they are replenishing. And, you're important to me too, it's just…"
He finished, "It's just your family is more important."
Neko clenched her fists. "I wonder if the fact you can't feel means you can't feel anything at all," she spat. She then turned away and walked off.
"Neko…wait," said Kenzaki, but she was gone. "Damn it, why is this so hard?"
"Well, well, well, looks like you blew another chance, Kenny," taunted Kat.
Kenzaki quickly grabbed Kat by the throat, holding her in the air. "Not now, you bitch…Neko ain't here to save your ass this time so I suggest you don't piss me off!" warned Kenzaki.
Kat ported out of his grip and massaged her sore neck. "I didn't come here to be harassed. I just came to thank you for making me a very rich woman today." She then showed off some of her profit from her betting on Kenzaki. "Want some?"
"No, I just did what I had to. I don't want your filthy money. And…tell Neko that we need to talk," he said.
"She'll talk when she's ready," said Kat, smirking smugly. "Anyway, my plan to break you both up is working pretty well and ironically I have you to thank for it. She'll get over you, sooner or later, and judging by the way you treat her I'm betting sooner. In the meantime, watch out for those fanboys. They've been looking to carry you on their shoulders for defeating Ryuji." She laughed and teleported away, scattering the money in the air as it fell down around Kenzaki.
"I hate her," muttered Kenzaki as he walked away.
"KENZAKI TSUKUBA!" called out the KLLA leader.
"What?" growled Kenzaki as he turned around.
The SSSS Leader then joined in, "YOU HAVE DEFEATED RYUJI HASUMA FOR US!"
The LLRB leader finished by saying, "LET US CARRY YOU ON OUR SHOULDERS OUT OF GRATITUDE!"
Kenzaki glared at them and growled, "Touch me, and you'll wish I was Ryuji."
Meanwhile, Ryuji was in the infirmary and had just woken up, his shirt had been removed and he was bandaged all over. The commotion outside had woken him up but he was too sore to more or do anything about it.
"Ugh," Ryuji groaned. "What happened?"
His awakening alerted the three girls who immediately came upon him to check his condition.
"Ryuji-kun!" Kotonoha cried happily. "You're awake!"
"How are you feeling, darling?" asked Rina.
"Are you feeling alright?" asked Siera.
Ryuji's temple throbbed from the noise. He had sensitive hearing and their voices were giving him a migraine. He began to tune them out slightly before replying, kindly, "I'm doing fine. So, what happened?" The girls frowned. "What? Why so mum?"
"Actually…" Siera hesitated. "You lost."
The truth crashed down around Ryuji as he clenched the blanket tightly. Ryuji stared down at his bandage covered hands, arms, and body.
"He did a number on me, didn't he?" asked Ryuji.
"You're lucky to be alive," spoke Warren as he entered.
"Sensei," Siera spoke up in surprised.
"Oh, hey, Warren," greeted Ryuji.
"So, all those boys knocked out in the hallway weren't because of you?" questioned Warren as he jabbed at the door with his thumb.
"I guess they may have pissed someone else off," shrugged Ryuji. His grip on the blanket tightened. He knew who Warren was talking about. It was the KLLA, SSSS and LLRB coming to gloat over the fact that he'd lost. Well, when he got back on his feet, he'd show them the error of their ways.
"How are you feeling?" Warren asked.
"I'm fine," answered Ryuji. "You gotta love that accelerated healing factor."
"Right," agreed Warren. "Normal people would be in a body cast."
"Hey, I'll be fine," smirked Ryuji confidently. "Just need some rest and I'll be up kicking ass before you know it." He flexed his arms but groaned in pain from the action.
"I don't think so," Warren objected. "You need more than just a day of rest. As your sempai, I order you to take mandatory leave from fighting the Imagin."
"What?" Ryuji's eyes flashed gold as he got out of bed. He was in boxers which caused Siera to blush as she stared while Rina admired his physique appreciatively. "You gotta be shitting me."
"Language, Ryuji," Warren warned. "You're in the presence of ladies."
Ryuji realized Warren was right, but he was still mad about his superior denying him the right to fight Imagin. This was his world after all. He was assigned to protect it. "But I need to protect this world."
"The other ChronoLiner Riders and I can help cover for you," reminded Warren. "You, however, need to take care of yourself. Accelerated healing factor or not, you still need to rest after taking a beating like that. Which means you can't train until you have recovered completely."
"I can't train either?" Ryuji loved to train, to make himself stronger. Warren was basically neutering him.
"Nope, sorry, but those are my orders," Warren said. He strode over to Ryuji and placed a comforting hand on his junior's shoulder. "Kohai, take a break, and spend time with your girl," he looked at Siera and Rina before correcting himself, "Or girls."
"I got only one girl," said Ryuji with pure conviction and Kotonoha smiled fondly. "No one else."
"Well, just take a week off from fighting and training," Warren instructed. "I don't want one of my friends breaking down on the job."
Ryuji begrudgingly agreed, "Fine."
"Oh, and you might want to get dressed," said Warren as he pointed at Rina. "She looks like she's about to get a nosebleed."
Back at Kat's apartment, Neko was lying on her stomach in bed while staring at an old picture of herself and Kenzaki together and smiling happily at the camera. "Ken-kun…" she sobbed. Next to her was a Garoh plushie. The Kamen Riders were so popular, even stuffed toys were being made of them. Neko had quickly bought herself a Garoh one and always held it close to her, especially now.
Kat walked in and sat down on the bed. She glared at the picture in Neko's hand and was tempted to rip it to pieces.
"Oh, cheer up," said Kat snappily, pissed that Neko still hadn't gotten over that idiot yet. "The guy ain't worth crying your heart out over. There has to be someone better, right?"
"No, there isn't," sobbed Neko. "I love Ken-kun and only Ken-kun."
"But what's so good about him?" asked Kat, genuinely confused. "I mean, he tried to kill you the first time you met."
"Actually…the first time we met, he saved me," admitted Neko. Kat was surprised, as she had no idea that Kenzaki was the boy from their past, having saved them when they were kids.
"What do you mean?" questioned Kat. "How could he have saved you?"
Neko told Kat the story of how she and Kenzaki first met. How back when she was 7, the 12 year old Kenzaki had pulled her out of the way of a speeding truck.
"That was him?!" shouted Kat in utter disbelief. She wanted to deny it to be true but her sister would not lie to her about something this huge.
"He's the reason we're alive now," said Neko.
"Well…that still doesn't excuse that he put a gun to your head! You could find way better guys!" said Kat. 'Great…now I owe him our lives. Damn.' "I mean why him of all people?"
"Well…he's actually very sweet…" said Neko, remembering their first date.
"Ugh…But he's not right for you. He broke up with you. He doesn't appreciate you at all," Kat argued.
"He does appreciate me…" retorted Neko. "He just thinks that I appreciate you more."
"Well, we did share the same body for the first 19 years of our lives. We're part of each other and we're family,"Kat replied, feeling insulted that Kenzaki could think, or demand of her sister, otherwise.
"I know, but Ken-kun is important to me. I want to put him first in my heart but that would me betraying a member of my family."
"Heart…?" questioned Kat. Kat often wondered if she had a heart or it was just memories of emotions. Just like Ryuji, she was dark. She could never understand the bond Neko and Kenzaki have. "You love him that much? You're willing to do anything to be with him?"
"Hai." Neko answered honestly. "He is The One."
Kat gritted her teeth. Kenzaki was 'The One'? She didn't want to believe and a part of her wanted to believe Neko had made a mistake. She wasn't sure why she hadn't done this before but she decided to synchronise their minds. This way she could be sure that Kenzaki was the right man for her.
She closed her mind and opened the link they shared before diving into Neko's mind. Neko barely felt a thing but still stiffened like a statue with an empty look in her eyes as Kat pried and prodded her memories.
Kat saw all of Neko's memories regarding Kenzaki. She saw their first meeting, how he assisted Neko in rescuing Rose and Cathy, how he risked himself to save Neko and how he fought alongside Neko all this time. She even saw their first real date and how they became an item. She also felt Neko's emotions, all of them were related to Kenzaki. Sometimes Kenzaki would make her feel sad or even angry, but most of the time he made her happy and loved. Kat also experienced the regret Neko felt for what happened to Kenzaki's family in the past and how their blood were still on her…their hands. Kat herself couldn't make herself forget but instead hid it all within the depths of her mind like all her other unpleasant memories.
When Kat was done, she clenched her fists in agitation. She'd seen enough to prove that she was in the wrong all this time.
'Damn, damn and double damn!' Kat cursed inside her head. Why did Neko have to imprint on that stupid wolf?! It looked like all her scheming had simply ended up hurting her sister after all…Kat wanted to throw up. "Neko-chan, let me help you get him back."
"It won't matter…" Neko sobbed, the sound of which wrenched horribly at Kat's heart now that she knew Neko really wouldn't get over that Baka-Okami. Shit, she'd really, really screwed up. "Ken-kun is probably already over me…He would never listen to you anyways."
"Neko-chan, please, let me fix this, for both of you," Kat pleaded. She'd messed this up, now she had to make amends. "On my honor, I swear to make you and him an item again…I swear it." Maybe she should tell Neko about the message that Kenzaki wanted to pass on, that he wanted to talk to her.
The following morning, at school, Kenzaki was standing on the roof, waiting for Neko. He'd been given a message that told him to wait on the roof. It'd been sent by Neko but he suspected that Kat had sent it using Neko's phone. He'd hesitated a little when deciding to come here but if he wanted another shot at a relationship with Neko, he had to take it now when the opportunity came.
Kenzaki's ears picked up footsteps coming from the stairs and then the roof entrance opened. There was Neko and she looked relieved to see him still there. 'Ken-kun!'
"Hey," said Neko as she arrived on the roof. It was half an hour before the first bell rang and she had come here to talk with Kenzaki, as per Kat's information.
"I'm glad you agreed to talk to me," said Kenzaki.
She nodded, "Yes, but I'm surprised you had Nee-chan pass on the message."
"Well, if she didn't tell you I'm sure she'd say something that'd make me look like an idiot or something."
"Well, you can be an idiot, sometimes," said Neko, bitterly.
"I know," nodded Kenzaki. "So, do you know why I wanted to talk to you?"
"I hope it's about…us," said Neko hopefully.
"It is," replied Kenzaki. She stared hopefully at him and smiled a little. "You know I still care about you, right?"
"Yes, I do, but it hurts how you hate my sister," said Neko.
Kenzaki frowned, "I know. I want to stop hating her, for our sake, but every time I try she goes and does something that makes me hate her even more."
"She's like that. She's overly possessive and territorial. Since I'm part of her, she feels it's her duty to protect me, even if she goes overboard," Neko stated earnestly. "So, you want to get back together? Really?" asked Neko. She really wanted to be with him again.
"I do," answered Kenzaki. "I know things are weird right now, but well...I still want to be with you."
"But how do we make this work?" Neko shuffled her feet, "You know I can't choose anyone over family. It's in my blood, heart and soul. No matter how long we've been apart, Nee-chan and I will always be connected."
Kenzaki admitted, "I saw what our breakup did to you. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain. But…I want to be first in your heart." He looked to the ground, "But, that's impossible, isn't it?"
"Maybe first in my heart as my lover, while Nee-chan is first in my heart as family," answered Neko.
"So, even on the off chance that we do get married, I still wouldn't be considered family?" questioned Kenzaki, sadly.
"No, for now…let's take things slow and start over. When we do get married…if we do get married, you will be family," said Neko. However, she didn't realize that Kenzaki misunderstood what she meant. "I realized that, when we were living together, we became family. I just didn't realize it before. Gomen, Ken-kun." She walked in closer and placed her palms on his cheeks. "Ken-kun, you can't feel pain, right?"
"No, I can't," said Kenzaki.
"Then, what about pleasure?" she asked huskily as she leaned in close.
"I don't know anymore." said Kenzaki solemnly.
"I see…" said Neko, sadness in her voice. 'Then I'll do my best to help you, anyway I can.' Neko then noticed a commotion at the school entrance. "What's that?"
Kenzaki took a look and groaned, "Those idiots again, trying to harass your brother." He thought he'd made it clear by now.
"Well, why don't you go and teach them a lesson?" asked Neko, with a smile.
"No problem," Kenzaki cracked his knuckles.
At the gate, the KLLA, SSSS and LLRB were blocking Ryuji, Kotonoha, Siera and Rina from entering.
"You guys again?" sighed Ryuji. "OK, if you wanna go back to the hospital so much, that's fine by me."
"Ryuji-kun, remember what Warren-sensei said," reminded Kotonoha. He was still under orders to not exert himself.
"He told me not to fight the Imagin," he told her. "These guys are nothing."
"Need help, little brother?" offered Kat as she showed up.
"It's been a while, I feel like cracking some skulls," said Kenzaki as he too appeared to lend a hand, cracking his knuckles.
Kat glared at Kenzaki; still pissed that Neko had chosen him of all people. She held her tongue though... It was pointless to hurt her sister any further. She felt another spike of guilt which only fuelled her anger.
"Hey, I can handle these guys," said Ryuji, surprised to see Kat and Kenzaki together without getting into an argument. "I'm surprised to see you both here."
"Oh, we know, we know, but…I'm bored," Kat shrugged, playing it cool.
"Same here," nodded Kenzaki. "So, which one do I get?"
"Does it matter? Beat up the guys wearing armbands," Kat scoffed.
"Works for me."
The SSSS, KLLA and LLRB charged with a shout out, "RYUJI HASUMA! PREPARE TO DIE!!!"
"IKUZE!!!" roared Ryuji as he, Kat and Kenzaki ran into the hoard.
Up in the staff room, Warren watched from the window and sighed. "Just another day in Sakakino High."
When all was said and done, the three Fanclub members were all sprawled all over school ground, unconscious or in too much pain to move, twitching only a little as they groaned.
"Did you have to hit them all in the nuts?" Ryuji as Kat regarding her methods..
"Perverts deserve it," stated Kat. She enjoyed fighting dirty, but only when the other party decided to do the same. Plus, she needed to work off some of her stress that was fuelling her already foul mood.
"Huh, shouldn't we make sure they're still alive?" asked Kenzaki. He wasn't feeling concerned, but he didn't want to be responsible for killing innocent people, even if they were idiots.
Ryuji and Kat then said, in unison, "They're alive." They could hear the beating of hearts and pulses.
"Good, thought I hit a few of them too hard," said Kenzaki, relieved.
"Heh, they always come back for more," laughed Ryuji.
"Ryuji!" Rina hugged his left arm. "Come on, let's get to class before we're late."
"Yes, he'll be going to class with me!" Kotonoha insisted, grabbing his other arm.
"Piggyback!" Siera jumped onto Ryuji's back, wrapping her arms and legs around him.
"Oi! Oi!" Ryuji shouted. "Stop that, hey!"
Kat laughed and then, when she was sure her little brother was out of sight, gave Kenzaki an intense stare. Kenzaki returned the look and responded with a, "What?"
"Take good care of my sister or I will hunt you down and flay you alive," Kat said conversationally. "If you dare screw up and act that stupid again, wolf-boy; I'll slice open that steel stomach of yours with a blowtorch, and remove your guts to hang on my wall." She walked off before Kenzaki could reply. There. She'd given the damn wolf her official blessing. Hopefully Neko would be happy with that.
Later that night, Kenzaki was walking in the shopping district when he heard a voice he hated just as much as Kat and Sauron's.
"Lovely evening, isn't it?" said Topper as he walked out an alley, rolling up a contract before putting it inside his coat pocket. Obviously, he'd made another deal and taken his payment. Kenzaki narrowed his eyes hatefully at Topper. "What, no 'hello'? No 'good evening'?" Topper frowned, upset at the coldness Kenzaki was showing him.
"I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you around anymore," growled Kenzaki. He remembered what Topper had tried to make Neko do the last time. He wasn't about to let this 'devil' sink his teeth into anymore innocent and desperate people.
"I go where desperation takes me," said Topper nonchalantly.
"Well, then go somewhere else," Kenzaki commanded.
"Very well," Topper tipped his hat. "I'll be seeing you." A fog then rolled by and Topper disappeared into it. Kenzaki narrowed his eyes.
"Better keep my eye on him," Kenzaki muttered.
"You know, it's rare for someone to 'call' me twice," said Topper as he showed up at the park, sitting down on the bench Neko was occupying.
"You said you grant wishes, right?" asked Neko.
"Ojou-sama, don't do this!" warned Gekiryuken but then he found himself silenced when Topper did a 'zip it' motion with his hand. 'Ojou-sama!!!' Topper didn't like anyone interfering with his deals.
"Yes, I do," nodded Topper. "But, always for a price. What is your wish?"
"I want Ken-kun to be able to feel again," said Neko. She then explained to Topper about Kenzaki's condition.
"So, a disease stripped him of his ability to feel pain and a childhood accident gave him powerful steel covered skin," Topper summarized. "Hm, I guess I can see a problem there. So, your wish is to give him the ability to feel pain again?"
"I want him…" Neko paused, "I want him to be able to feel again." Neko kept thinking that Kenzaki was unable to feel anything because of his condition, not just pain.
"Well, then, here's the contract," said Topper, producing the sheet of paper. "Now, just sign on the dotted line." He produced a pen for Neko too.
"And Ken-kun will be normal again?" Neko asked hopefully.
"As long as you're willing to pay," Topper added.
Neko took the pain and after some reluctance signed on the dotted line.
"And now, let the show begin," said Topper.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Kenzaki knew that scream, "Neko!"
Neko was lying on the ground, holding herself in intense and agonizing pain. She let out another scream of anguish from the unbelievable pain that was plaguing her body and mind.
"You said you would be willing to pay," Topper said, shaking his head. "Just bear with it for a little while."
"What…what's happening!?" yelled out Neko as she held herself with her face contorted in pain with her tears streaming down her face as the torture continued.
"To take away one's pain also means to bear with it," explained Topper logically, "Equivalent exchange and all." He then heard someone approaching, "And, it sounds like your knight in shining armor is about to arrive."
"Ken…kun…" Neko sobbed.
Kenzaki arrived to see Topper, and Neko screaming her head off on the ground, holding herself in pain. "No…" he uttered.
"It hurts…Ken-kun, it hurts…" sobbed Neko before she screamed again.
Kenzaki glared at Topper. "Reverse it! Now!" he ordered.
"I can't do that," said Topper. "She signed a contract. She wanted to take away your steel skin and your inability to feel pain. Don't worry. She won't feel a thing after a while."
"She'll be dead by then!" roared Kenzaki.
"She was willing to bear the consequences," Topper pointed out.
"Ken-kun…need…love you!" cried Neko as she screamed out in pain. She then passed out from the intense pain that she could no longer bear.
"Ojou-sama!" cried out Gekiryuken, once he regained the ability to speak. "Ojou-sama, wake up!"
"She still loves you despite everything," said Topper. "It's touching. She really is the best that humanity has to offer. A girl willing to sacrifice her own wellbeing for the one she loves. Oh, how romantic." Kenzaki grabbed him by the lapels and got in the Infernal Merchant's face.
"Reverse what you did, now!" Kenzaki demanded.
"Only if we make a deal," answered Topper, unfazed. Kenzaki tossed Topper onto the ground.
"Well, how about I make you leave," said Kenzaki as he summoned the Garoh Belt before extending his hand. "Tenrou!" he called. The sword instantly appeared in his extended hand. Kenzaki placed his sword out in front of him, the blade facing downward. He held out his Rider Pass, positioning it at the hilt of his blade. His blade began to glow. "Lunar Henshin!!" roared Kenzaki as he slid his Rider Pass across the flat of the sword.
"LUNAR FORM!" proclaimed the Garoh Belt.
The wind began to howl as silver strands began flowed around Kenzaki. Soon, the clouds moved to reveal a large, bright full moon. The light from the moon shone down upon Kenzaki, encompassing him in its light. The silhouette of his Plat Form appeared before it glowed brightly.
When the light fell away, it revealed Garoh's Lunar Form. His chest was covered with smooth silver and black armor that didn't hinder his movements. Shoulder guards jutted outward and curved at the end. His forearms and hands were protected by silver gauntlets. He was also wearing silver boots with black trimmings. He wore a black bodysuit underneath that, with specks of silver that resembled the night sky. His helmet was also unique. It looked exactly like a ferocious wolf's head, complete with snarling fangs and dark glowing red eyes. A sliver cape cascaded from his shoulders. The only remnant of his previous forms was the Garoh Belt strapped to his waist.
Topper's eyes narrowed as he stared at Garoh donned in his Lunar Form armor. "Ah, so you want to fight. This is going to be fun," smirked the Infernal Merchant. He pulled off his hat and turned it over to reach inside it. The item he took out resembled a hi-tech knuckle duster but with a short triangular blade. Garoh tensed up as he watched the strange man put his hat back on and pull open his coat to reveal a hi-tech belt with a silver circuitry pattern and blood red diamond gem lodged inside.
He put the blade against his hand and slashed through it, covering the edge of the short blade with his blood. The device spoke in a dark demonic voice, "READY!"
"Henshin," called out Topper before sliding the blade of the device into the belt.
"BLADE IN!"
A silver cross flew out from the belt and placed itself in front of Topper's face. Of course, the cross was inverted and soon a dark suit generated from the cross and enveloped his body. Garoh's eyes widened when he saw the change. A Rider!?
The Rider form Topper took was donned in a black bodysuit decked in pitch black armor. On his chest was an inverted cross which acted as a faceplate for his helmet. The black armor was trimmed in red and covered his forearms and legs with gauntlets and boots. Hanging from his belt were flaps of armor and the belt had slots carrying ornate whistle-like objects.
"Who are you?" questioned Garoh as he gripped his sword tightly.
Topper stated his new name, "Anti-Cross," as a pair of demonic wings spread out from his back and released a demonic aura all around him which pushed Garoh back. "And now, it's time to play." He took the Knuckle-Blade off his belt and brandished it. The blade glowed red and extended as he gripped the device tightly. The demonic wings then hung down his back like a cape as his faceplate opened up in four sections to reveal blood red eyes and a black mouthguard. The faceplate's sections all reconfigured themselves with the bottom sections making their way to the sides of the helmet as the top section twisted downward to create horns.
"Now, if you want me to cancel the contract, you must last at least 5 minutes with me." He got into a stance. "It's show time," said Anti-Cross before he glided towards Garoh at inhuman speeds before striking at him with his blade.
The peace of the night would be disturbed by the clashing of blades, echoing through the silence.
Warren's head snapped up from the homework he was grading and he stood up quickly. "An Elder?" He ran out of his study and dashed towards the front door, running past Teresa. Teresa blinked as she saw her beloved run out of the apartment in a panic.
Kenzaki fell at Anti-Cross' feet as his armor vanished. Anti-Cross' armor also vanished as he removed the belt. "Hm…you did last 5 minutes. Well then," he snapped his fingers, "The contract is cancelled." He produced the parchment and it spontaneously combust into flames before the ashes fell to the ground. Neko's skin was slowly turning back to its normal color as the steel skin returned to an unconscious Kenzaki. "And that is that."
"Get away from them," threatened Warren as he appeared. He'd sensed the presence of an Elder and had come to see for himself. What he saw were two of his friends, on the ground, and unconscious. Kenzaki was all bloodied and bruised while Neko looked like she had gone through some sort of painful trauma. "Now."
"Ah, good evening," Topper tipped his hat.
"I'll warn you now," began Warren. "If you ever go near my friends again, I'll kill you myself."
Topper answered, "I'm sorry for the beat down I gave him, but he asked for it. Good night." He was about to walk past Warren.
"I'm not talking about that," growled Warren, halting the Infernal Merchant. Topper locked eyes with the Wraith. "You've gone searching for my kohai multiple times now. You stay away from him. Stay away from Neko. Stay away from all of them. If I sense even a bit of you, I will hunt you down and end your life."
Topper sighed and replied, "They were all calling out to me. Human desperation is a powerful lure. The more powerful it is, the closer I get. I provide a service for a fee. Everyone has something they want and willing to pay anything for it. It's a fact."
"Well, I'm telling you that these people WILL NOT be your customers," established Warren.
"We shall see. For now, My Lord requires my services. Good night." Topper then vanished without a trace.
"I fucking hate Elders," sighed Warren. "Such a pain in my ass." He walked over to Neko and knelt down. "Hey, Neko. Neko, wake up."
Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she groaned. Her entire body felt sore. "What…happened?" She then caught sight of an injured Kenzaki and gasped. "Ken-kun!" She crawled over to him and got on her knees, her hands covering her mouth. "Ken-kun, what happened? Ken-kun, wake up!"
'Looks like she doesn't remember the deal,' thought Warren. He knew how Topper worked. Once a contract was cancelled, ALL traces of it were removed. That included memories of the deal being made.
She sobbed as tears fell from her eyes, "Ken-kun, wake up please…" She could see his eyelids moving. "Ken-kun?"
"Neko…?" asked Kenzaki. "Are you OK?"
"Of course I'm OK! What happened!?"
"Nothing…" smiled Kenzaki. "Nothing at all…" His eyes then closed as he lost consciousness once again.
"Ken-kun!" she shouted. "Ken-kun!!!"
Warren watched as the GaroLiner appeared and Shiori exited, along with the other Imagin and Kumiko. They all helped the distraught girl carry the unconscious Rider into the train before it flew off. Warren didn't care if he wasn't noticed. He didn't want the attention anyway.
Suddenly, he felt an incredibly malevolent Reiatsu floating in the air. "It's a lively night, isn't it," he muttered, right before he teleported.
Benitora had spent the evening studying with Hikari at the library. Currently, they were on their way home. He had his arm around her as she leaned in against him. It was a warm night but Hikari appreciated the gesture nonetheless. And, it was getting warmer for a different reason.
"Want to stop by my place later, Benitora-kun?" offered Hikari.
"Of course," smiled Benitora. He loved her company as much as he loved the sweets in her family's store.
"Well, well, well," a voice that made Benitora freeze spoke. "What do we have here? Oh, it's the deserter and he's fraternizing with the humans."
He had light blue hair and eyes, which have blue/green lines below them similar to the eye markings on the Panthera genus of cats. His attire consisted of a white hakama and a black sash; his white jacket was ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black, the sleeves were rolled up, and worn open, leaving his chest revealed. What identified him as an Arrancar were the remains of his Hollow mask consisted of the right jawbone which rested on his cheek, and his hollow hole that was in his abdomen.
"Grimmjow…" Benitora looked back at Hikari. "Hikari-chan, RUN!" he shouted. Hikari however was too shocked to move.
Grimmjow grinned that sadistic smile of his. "Got yourself a little friend there eh, Rojotigre?" he asked with malicious glee.
"And you're not laying a hand on her, Grimmjow…" warned Benitora as his eyes turned gold. Rojotigre drew his Zanpakuto out of its hiding place and prepared to fight.
"I see you haven't learnt your lesson," said Grimmjow as he drew out his Zanpakuto as well. "You really are eager to die, aren't you?"
"Hikari-chan!" Rojotigre repeated, "Get out of here! Run!"
"But-" she began.
"RUN!" he shouted and she nodded before running off somewhere to take cover.
The two Arrancar, the former 5th and the present 6th Espada circled each other, gripping their swords tightly. Their eyes burned with intensity as they eyed each other without blinking. One of them had to make a move and indeed they did. They then dashed straight for each other, using Sonido, and cried out as they swung their blades.
"WAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" both Arrancar roared as they prepared to clash.
Onboard the GaroLiner, Kenzaki was in bed, resting peacefully after having his wounds treated. Neko was in the room with him, sitting in a chair as she watched over him. She had a feeling that this was her fault but she couldn't remember how or why. She only knew that it was her fault, somehow.
She also had the feeling that he'd done something incredibly noble and selfless for her sake. He'd saved her from herself and the pain in her heart. She owed him a whole lot now. She herself had caused him pain as well as pain to herself. If only she'd said 'yes' to his proposal but she didn't feel she'd been ready when he asked.
Now…was she ready? Had she redeemed herself?
"Cheer up," said Gekiryuken. "He'll be fine. He's a tough young lad."
"I know, Geki-chan," agreed Neko. "It's just…I've hurt him too."
"You were in just as much pain as he," corrected Gekiryuken.
"And we have to fix this and move on," said Neko. She leaned down to whisper into his ear, "Ken-kun, the next time you ask, I shall accept your proposal. It's because…I love you." She closed her eyes and move over to press her lips gently against his.
Unbeknownst to Neko, Kenzaki had regained consciousness. He wanted to smile at hearing there may be a future, but decided he'd get some more rest first.
Outside, Buraki had his ear pressed against the door to eavesdrop on Neko while she was with Kenzaki. Unfortunately, Kumiko found him and punished him for it later on.
"ITAI! Kumiko-chan!!!" Buraki cried out.
"Shut up and take your punishment like a man!" Kumiko growled.
"Itai!!!"
"Baka-Imoogi," snorted Okami. The others agreed too.
Benitora looked up, shocked that Grimmjow's Zanpakuto hadn't connected. What shocked him even more was seeing his teacher, blocking the blade with his own Zanpakuto. "Sensei?" muttered Benitora. Hikari ran over to the injured Arrancar and kneeled next to him.
"Benitora," began Warren, "Stand back. I'll deal with this."
"But he's an Espada," warned Benitora. "He may be the 6th but he's dangerous."
Warren smiled slightly. "Good, that means I might have to break a sweat."
"So, you want to fight me, Shinigami?" asked Grimmjow, looking slightly irked that his fight with Rojotigre had been interrupted.
"That's right, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques," answered Warren.
Meanwhile, Kat had decided to go and study over at the Katsuras' residence. Well, it was actually an excuse. She loved Loki's cookies and she was able to smell them a mile away. So, she quickly made a teleporting detour to her home, picked up her books, and ported right at their doorstep.
Right now, at the dining table, Kotonoha, Kat and Ryuji were hard at work, studying for their upcoming final exams which were going to take place in less than two weeks. Kat wasn't getting much but Kotonoha was able to explain things to her.
"I thought an evil genius like you could get all this," mocked Ryuji.
"Oh, shut up," she grumbled. "I wasn't the best at school. The only smarts I had were street smarts."
"Well, street smarts aren't going to help you now," teased Ryuji. Kat gritted her teeth. Maybe she shouldn't have come.
"Ryuji-kun, he nice," admonished Kotonoha. Ryuji obeyed.
Kat was about to make a snide comment when she felt a chill run down her spine. She wasn't the only one feeling it.
"Do you feel that?" asked Ryuji.
"You mean that Ki? It's suffocating," said Kat.
"Let's go check it out." He then smirked. "We may even get some action."
"It has been pretty boring sitting her studying," said Kat, mimicking Ryuji's smirk.
"Nani?" Kotonoha questioned, "What's going on?" She watched as the twins left the table. "Ryuji-kun! Kat-san!" They were both headed to the door and Kotonoha sighed. "Nobody tells me anything anymore."
Warren and Grimmjow were locked in deadly midair combat, with Grimmjow swinging wildly at the Rider. Warren was dodging all of Grimmjow's strikes, his Zanpakuto not even in its Shikai state yet. Ryuji and Kat showed up as the DynoLiner drops them off not too far away from the fight.
"Damn, this is bad!" cursed Ryuji
"Yeah! Sensei is hogging all the action!" whined Kat.
"You guys couldn't take Grimmjow even if you wanted to…but Sensei, he could probably take on all of the Espada at once," said Benitora in awe.
"I've seen what he can do. You're right about that," confirmed Ryuji. His eyes widened when Grimmjow threw a cero blast at Warren, but widened even further as Warren caught the cero and threw it back at Grimmjow, hitting its mark.
"OK, I'd need a lot of Rinki to catch a blast like that," said Kat
"You'd need the Rinki of ten RinJyuKen users to catch that. Five GenJyuKen masters won't have trouble" said Ryuji.
"Oh, my! This is terrible!" shouted Hikari. "They'll wreck the place! What can we do!?"
Ryuji was about to answer when he was nearly floored by an immense Reiatsu. Looking up, he saw Warren placing his hand over his face. "It's time I finished this," said Warren. Benitora's eyes widened as white fragmented energy began to gather in Warren's hand. Ryuji too was surprised as the white fragments of energy formed in a skull-like mask with black eyes, spikes on the edge of the jaw, and a pair of long, sharp horns. Warren's eyes then started to change, as his irises turned gold.
"No way…" Ryuji was stunned as well as Hikari.
This was Warren's latest secret. A little bit of Damien, his demented other personality, had influenced him to find more power, so he went to the darker side of Shinigami…
He practiced something that was considered a taboo amongst the Soul Society. He had gained the power of the Hollow and made it his own. He became…
"Let's do this," said Warren as he slid the mask over his face.
A Vizard.
Shadow Element 13: Horray! Everything is finally OK between Kenzaki and Neko. But Kat's still working with Nanimo. That's not going to end well.
ZK Chromedragozoid: A whole lot of surprises for our heroes, and it's not even summer vacation yet. Woah, Warren's a Vizard!? Who knew? How is this fight gonna end? Well, let's see next time on KAMEN RIDER IFRIT!