Part 89: Law of the Makai

All Horrors are evil. They always have been and always will be. They are demons that hate and feed on mankind. They are the devourers of humans, feeding on their negative emotions, flesh and blood. The only good Horror is a dead Horror.

Those are the fundamental truths I have learnt when I was training to become a Makai Knight. There are no exceptions. Anyone who has been possessed by a Horror must be cut down since they themselves have become Horrors and those who hold the power of Horrors must be too cut down.

I remembered at a young age when my father told me about the Living Gate. It was a being with the power to summon Horrors at will. Such a being was not meant to exist and when it is born would be killed. I agreed with him, frankly.

I never realized that one of my own cousins would be the Gate. However, despite that, I knew what I had to do.

My own cousin, for the good of all mankind, must die.

Neko Katherine Hasuma, I am coming for you.

-Saeji Takuma/Crimson Fanged Knight REDDO

Saeji stepped on the island after dismounting from his jet ski. He looked up at Titans Tower with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Saeji, are you sure about this?" asked Kurenai, Saeji's Madou ring. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Saeji nodded, frowning deeply. "For the sake of the world, the Living Gate must die."

"I just hope part of you doesn't die with her," Kurenai mumbled sadly.

Neko felt a cold chill run down her spine for some reason and sneezed. "Are you okay?" Warren asked.

"I'm fine," Neko replied. She looked at the babies and cooed, "Kawaii…" She asked Warren, "May I hold one of them?"

Warren smiled, "Sure, you can, but right now they're resting, so you need to wait a bit."

Neko pouted. Gekiryuken chuckled, "Ojou-sama, you must really love cute things."

"I do," Neko admitted. She just adored cute things like kittens and babies for instance. Cathy was also among the cute things on that list.

Warren couldn't believe how much had happened in just a week. Copycat had been split into her bad (yin) and good (yang) halves while at the same time a new Rider had joined the Titans. Warren would want to meet this person.

Raven was still on the couch with Shadow, her husband, but her attention was one Alexander and Teresa. 'Another version of me has children…' She began picturing herself with a baby in her arms and Shadow by her side. She blushed a bit and smiled.

"Luv, what are you smiling about?" Shadow asked his beloved wife. He couldn't help but catch that wistful smile that decorated her face. He could also sense that she was thinking happy thoughts particularly about them and their future. It had all started when Warren had brought in his kids with his sister.

"Nothing," she replied, returning to her normal face. Part of her was so embarrassed to be caught smiling goofily like that, but another part wanted to break out in smiles and coo for the little darlings in the stroller.

The entrance to the common room slid open as Saeji stepped inside. Shadow stood up with Raven and welcomed the Makai Knight. "Welcome, Saeji," he greeted. "If you're looking for Ryuki, he's currently in Tokyo." Neko, Rose, Cathy and Jinx had gone to Japan too to visit the home of the Dragon Knight with Renia tagging along with them. Emiko wanted a full story. Neko had returned to Jump City early in order to stand in for her brother.

Saeji was silent as he scanned the room. His eyes were locked on Neko and he strode towards her fluidly. Kenzaki came into the common room behind him, yawning a little. He'd taken a bit of a nap after a mission and right now wanted to speak with Neko about something important. He could see a guy standing in front of Neko and quirked an eyebrow.

"Who's the guy in the red coat?" Kenzaki asked.

"Neko and Ryuki's cousin, Saeji Takuma," Warren explained. He then introduced himself to the newcomer, "I'm Warren Smith."

"Kenzaki Tsukuba." The two interdimensional travelers shook hands.

"Excuse me?" Emily spoke up.

"Oh, and this is my sister, Emily," Warren introduced as Emily's glare wavered.

"Nice babies," Kenzaki complimented, "Yours?"

"Yup," Warren replied. "So, you're the new Rider in town, I presume?"

"Got that right," Kenzaki nodded. He watched as Saeji took something out of his coat pocket. It looked like a gothic lighter decorated with a demonic eye. "What's with the lighter?"

Shadow's eyes widened. The only reason a Makai Knight would take out his Madou Lighter would be too. "Oh, no…"

The lighter was flipped open, revealing a greenish flame. Saeji held it in front of Neko's face and looked like he was reading it. The Madou Flame flared and Saeji flipped the lighter close.

"You reek with Horror Energy," Saeji growled, sliding his sword out its scabbard. "Time to cut you down."

"WHAT!?" everyone shouted as Neko's eyes widened in horror.

Saeji drew his sword in a single fluid motion and swung it in an arc to slice Neko's head off. No one was fast enough to stop him.

CLANG!

The sound of metal clashing with metal echoed in the room and all eyes were on the scene.

"Never harm my ojou-sama!" Gekiryuken shouted angrily. He'd floated up to protect his wielder's neck. Saeji looked surprised at this but even more surprised as Kenzaki tackled into him, forcing him to drop his sword.

"You bastard!" Kenzaki shouted as he straddled the guy's waist and began pummeling his face with punches. The loud yelling woke up the babies and made them cry. Shadow and Warren pulled Kenzaki off Saeji, struggling since the guy was still trying to get at the Makai Knight.

Neko's eyes were wide as what had happened finally registered. She held a hand to her neck where the sword had nearly touched her. "Saeji-niisan."

Saeji, upon hearing this, got up and glared hatefully, "Do not dare and call me that, Living Gate." He went over to pick up his sword but black energy covered it and raised it up and away from him. Raven levitated the sword over to herself, eyes glowing white.

Emily and Warren were trying to calm down the twins as Shadow asked. The rest of the Titans were currently on a mission out of town, leaving only himself, Kenzaki and Raven in the Tower. With the threat of the Horrors and the Living Gate being real, they needed to personally deliver the message to all their allies and explain to them what was going on.

"Hey, she's not this Living Gate!" Kenzaki yelled. "She's your cousin!"

Saeji bristled, "I am not related to a monster." Neko winced and Kenzaki looked ready to deck him. "Besides, I have my orders."

"Orders?" Shadow asked.

"Execution orders," Saeji specified as he locked his gaze on Neko hatefully. "The council has agreed that in order to ensure the safety of humankind and the world the Living Gate must die. So, do not get in my way."

"She is not the Living Gate!" Gekiryuken insisted, "She is-"

"The Yang half separated by the Tiger Zodiac Power," Saeji interrupted. "I know. I've been informed and I also know that they are connected." Saeji finished, "I kill one half and the other half falls."

Kenzaki growled, "So, you decided to kill Neko and not the real Living Gate." He spat, "Coward."

"I'm just taking the more efficient route," Saeji stated. He demanded, "Return my sword to me."

"No," Raven declined. "No one is getting killed on my watch."

"That wasn't a request," Saeji scowled.

Kenzaki spoke up. "Well, there's no way we're letting you kill Neko because…" he trailed off as his cheeks reddened. His damn crush on Neko was acting up again, "Because if Neko dies so does my target and if that happens I won't get paid." He'd meant well but his words didn't quite help the situation.

"You're a bounty hunter," Saeji scoffed. "No wonder you care so much for this scum."

"At least I'm no lapdog," Kenzaki mocked. Saeji looked ready to exchange blows with Kenzaki. It was quickly turning into a match of professional pride.

"Hey, if you two are gonna fight, take it outside," Warren said.

Neko, after a long time, decided to speak. "Raven, give Saeji his sword back." Everyone gawked at her, except for Gekiryuken. Was she nuts? She grasped her medallion. Shadow chanced it and scanned Neko's mind to discover what she was thinking and after finding out, spoke to Raven.

"Luv, do what she asks," he said to his wife.

"Are you sure about this?" Raven asked skeptically.

"I do," Shadow nodded. 'Neko, I sure hope you know what you're doing.'

The Reddoken was returned to Saeji's hand. As he tightened his grip on his weapon, Neko muttered, "Gekiryuken, activate." The medallion glowed and then morphed into a sword that Neko held at her side. Saeji's eyes widened as he saw the weapon, especially in Neko's hand.

"The Legendary Keyblade…Gekiryuken," Saeji identified. No doubt he'd heard about it someplace in his work so there was no reason to question him on where he got his information from.

"Right," Neko nodded. "Alright, Saeji," she began, "Let's make a bet. Since you want to kill me and I don't wanna die, let's do is as warriors and settle this with a duel." She explained, "If I win, you let me live, and if you win…well, you know what you have to do."

Saeji nodded, agreeing to the terms begrudgingly, "Very well."

Kenzaki protested loudly, waking up the babies, "NO WAY! Don't do this!"

"Emily, can you take the babies someplace else?" Warren asked.

"Follow me," Raven approached, "You can use my room."

"OK, thanks," Emily nodded, carrying Teresa. "Please, can you carry Alexander?"

"Sure, no problem," Raven lifted Alexander off the stroller and he immediately quitted down. "That's strange."

"You remind him of his mother," Emily stated as Alexander began playing with Raven's hair. "Come on, let's go. The twins don't need to see this." The two young women walked out of the common room.

"So, when do we start?" Saeji asked.

"Right now," Neko smirked. "Hey, Hebi! Open the window!"

Shadow scowled, "My name is not 'hebi' (snake)." He ordered T.I.T.A.N. to open one of the windows and it slid upwards.

"Gekiryuken, ikuyo!"

"Hai, ojou-sama!"

Neko and Saeji immediately began to exchange blows, their weapons clashing as they headed towards the open window. They then jumped out. Kenzaki looked at Shadow, appalled, "You can't be serious about letting them kill each other!"

"I wonder sometimes too," mumbled Warren. "We should get down there."

"My sentiments exactly," Shadow agreed.

Neko and Saeji weren't falling, but instead running down along the surface of the Tower as they fought. The way they were running down a 90 degree angle would be considered a violation of the laws of physics but then again when you have supernatural powers, such laws were ignored. They exchanged their blows with such precision, speed and skill as they dueled.

The Soul Metal blade and Keyblade clashed as their wielders swung them at each other. Neko had learnt a thing or two about handling a sword from Slade and subsequently by an Okami possessed Kenzaki. Hopefully, all that training paid off since Saeji had been trained as a young child to wield a sword so he had the advantage in terms of skill.

The two, before they touched down, bounded off the Tower's surface and in mid-air continued to trade blows. They landed on the sandy beach of the Tower, 3 feet between them as they got into ready stances once more. Kenzaki, Warren and Shadow arrived to watch and the GaroLiner's owner was hoping to put a stop to this foolishness.

Neko and Saeji, exclaiming war-cries, charged at each other and continued their duel. Neither landed a hit on one another as sparks flew from their weapons clashing. Kenzaki felt a measure of pride as he watched Neko's movements and strikes. She was moving so fluidly that it looked like she was dancing. If only she had a better partner than the one she currently had. This dance, for a fact, was a deadly one.

Kenzaki just hoped his Neko would win.

He paused.

His Neko?

'Where did that thought come from?'

Sparks spilled off their weapons to the ground. They swiped, swung and slashed at one another but both of them either parried or dodged the fatal strikes. Neko got sloppy and soon enough the tip of Saeji's sword was tickling her throat.

Saeji spoke in triumph, "I win."

Neko's eyes narrowed and radiated with an inner fire, "Not yet!" She called out, "GEKIRYU HENSHIN!"

The Zodiac Belt magically formed around her waist as the deck locked into place. At the same time a blast of energy flew out of Gekiryuken and pushed Saeji's backwards. The blast of energy formed into a dragon and roared before flying back to Neko. The dragon fused with her before her armored formed on her body. Saeji eyes were wide with surprise and a little of contempt. The council sure hadn't mentioned this. If they did then Gekiryuken wouldn't have been a surprise.

Like any tokusatsu hero, or heroine in this case, she had a speech prepared:

"Born in the light, the dragon fang, to slay all demons in the darkness," Ryukendo began as she did her pose, "Zodiac Knight Ryukendo! Raijin!"

(Raijin: To arrive, Rising, Lightning God)

Kenzaki cheered, "Go, Neko! Kick his ass!" He received strange looks from Shadow and Warren. Warren smirked as if he knew a secret. "What? You gotta admit that is cool."

Saeji was undeterred and slashed a circle above him. The circle of light created a portal and his armor fell upon his body. The red wolf armor gleamed under the light of the setting sun.

"Makai Knight," Shadow stated simply, identifying the armor.

"Oh," Warren stared. "This might be a problem."

"99.9 seconds and counting, Saeji-niisan!" Ryukendo cried out tauntingly. "If you can't beat me in that time, then I WILL win!"

Saeji, now REDDO, had to finish this quick. He already had less than 99 seconds to maintain the armor and he needed to defeat Neko within that time. Neko's armored state now proved to be an obstacle but he knew the source of that power was the Gekiryuken. If he could get it away from her, he might have a chance.

REDDO roared as he charged at Ryukendo, swinging his blade to her head. She ducked and punched him in the gut before following up with a sweep kick that knocked him off balance. She stood up and swung her blade down but he rolled to the side and slashed at her leg, forcing her to one knee. REDDO stood back up and swung his blade down to her neck but Ryukendo's reflexes were faster and she raised her sword to parry the blow. She twisted her hand and managed to push back REDDO's blade before getting back to her feet.

REDDO had 50 seconds remaining now.

The sparks flew off their weapons as they struck at one another, killing intent radiating off them. Ryukendo didn't want to kill her cousin but unfortunately the feeling wasn't mutual. She needed to defend herself with all her might and heart in order to protect her life. She would be making a lot of people sad if she died.

Saeji, as she knew, had always been a stiff and the 'by-the-book' type. He just couldn't let go of the Makai Laws and could never find a way around them. It was always direct for him and there was no room left for interpretation or improvisation. All Horrors must die. That was one fundamental rule that Saeji had lived by almost all his life and had been drilled into his head since he could walk.

40 seconds remaining.

Saeji had no expected for this fight to go on for this long. He'd expected it to be easy since Neko had none of the dark powers of her evil half. When he'd been briefed about his mission, he expected to just kill her and be done with it. He hadn't expected her to pull out a Keyblade and don a new suit of armor.

How could she, who was connected to the Living Gate, wield a holy relic like the Keyblade? It just didn't make sense to him.

30 seconds remaining.

Shadow had known Saeji through Ryuki. Saeji's mannerism had reminded Shadow of the way he'd been after Misha's death. He was a loner, aloof and held up an emotional barrier around himself. Right now, he was seeing Saeji's determined side in order to finish a mission. Saeji was a text book case of someone suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. Everything had to be perfect.

20 seconds remaining.

Warren had known Saeji for more than two months, like he knew Tazuka. Saeji, like Tazuka, was like a brother to Ryuki. Unfortunately, said 'brother' was trying to kill Ryuki's sister. He knew if the Dragon Knight were to find out then he would go ballistic. Warren knew and understood that Saeji had a good reason for doing all this, but it just didn't feel right to him.

10 seconds remaining.

Kenzaki was hoping, wishing, that Neko would win this one. A lot was on the line. Her life was on the line! How could she even think of wagering her life like that, especially with a guy who wanted to kill her? Cousin or not, Kenzaki was going to stop this before it got out of hand. Unfortunately, Neko would never forgive him if she did. This was about her honor too and he had to respect that. Didn't mean he had to like it.

9…

REDDO was running out of time as he blocked a slash to his chest.

8…

Ryukendo was not going to die! She wanted to live! That was why she was fighting.

7…

Ryukendo managed to land a hit on REDDO's chest, forcing him to stagger back in shock.

6…

The three boys watched with rapt attention.

5…

The two armored warriors swung their swords for the kill, green flames enveloping REDDO's as a blue aura enveloped Ryukendo's.

4…

There was a huge explosion, sending sand flying everywhere.

3…

Warren, Kenzaki and Shadow had to shield their eyes from the sand that had exploded and flown everywhere. They didn't want it to get into their eyes.

2…

The sand and dust settled.

1…

Who had won?

0…

Kenzaki, Warren and Shadow could see as the silhouette of Neko and Saeji stood within the cloud of dust as it began to settle. Their armors had disengaged and now they could see who'd won.

Kenzaki hoped and prayed to the gods above that it was Neko. He prayed hard.

Shadow's eyes focused and he could see the result.

Saeji's Reddoken had its tip directly pointed at Neko's heart. However, the Gekiryuken's blade was directly aimed at Saeji's throat.

Neither had won.

It was a tie.

Saeji pulled back his sword and sheathed it. Neko let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been keeping and smiled.

"100 days," Saeji stated as Kenzaki, Warren and Shadow walked up to meet with them.

100 days?

"What do you mean 100 days?" asked Kenzaki, glaring at Saeji.

"Usually, 100 days is the amount of time that a person who's been stained by Horror blood has to live," Warren began to explain. "But this isn't the case, so why are you giving her 100 days?"

Saeji explained, "100 days is also the amount of time Neko has to live after she is being marked for death. A Makai Knight is allowed to postpone the death of the target within reason and right now there is a good reason." He hadn't expected Neko to be able to battle with him as an equal. Maybe there was more to her than he'd come to believe.

Maybe…maybe there was another way.

"But what about the Living Gate?" Shadow asked. "I thought you were going to stop it."

"I've come to realize that killing Neko is the coward's way," Saeji answered. "Even if the council has ordered me to do it, I will not follow the path of a coward."

"That wasn't what you were saying awhile ago," Kenzaki snorted. "You said it was more 'efficient'."

"Efficient is too simple for my taste," Saeji replied. His eyes hardened, "However, if in those 100 days the Living Gate becomes a threat, expect my return to finish the job."

Neko turned Gekiryuken back into a medallion and hung him around her neck. "I understand," she nodded.

Later, Saeji was walking the streets of Jump City lamenting what he had discovered earlier that day. The good of his cousin possessed the Gekiryuken while the evil side was the Living Gate.

"Quite the anomaly," Kurenai remarked.

"Very much so," Saeji nodded.

"What are you going to tell the council?" the ring asked. "When they find out that Neko has the Gekiryuken, they might send GARO after her."

"Maybe," Saeji nodded. "She just barely defeated me. GARO would destroy her, but I doubt he would go after Neko."

"You're right," Kurenai agreed. "He is much too kind for that. GARO would go after Copycat instead."

Later that night, in Steel City, Joey and Eri were currently on a date. Despite Steel City being an industrial city with a lot of factories, it was still a beautiful city, especially with the Titans East protecting it. The only problem was that a lot of criminals loved to hang out in some of the abandoned factories that littered the industrial area.

Eri was leaning into Joey as he sat down next to her. He was playing a song for her on guitar. Eri often wondered how she could get so lucky as to have Joey as a boyfriend. Her last boyfriend had been Ryuki and it had gotten complicated due to the fact that both were Knights. Joey on the other hand had been an enemy of the Titans and was a Zodiac Knight too, yet she didn't feel that anything was wrong with that. Her brother, however, did and both Pluto and Scizzors had done battle in the Mirror World. Luckily, Ryuki and herself had put a stop to it quickly. As much as she loved her brother, he could be such an idiot; even if he was a (self-proclaimed) genius.

When their mother had awakened from her coma after 4 long years, Eri had been ecstatic. She hugged and cried into her mother's chest, wishing that all this wasn't a dream. Her mother was back. She was truly happy now and no longer needed to fight as a Knight. However, as much as she wanted to give up her power as the Knight of Virgo, she couldn't do it. She'd used the power to help so many people and if the power could be used for that then she wasn't going to give it up. Now, she had a new reason to fight.

Joey had told her telepathically that all he wanted was to be able to speak again. Even the Power of the Horse couldn't repair the damage to his vocal cords and Eri couldn't heal it. Maybe it was because it was his reason for being a Knight and thus healing it would make his decision moot. Nevertheless, despite not being able to tell her directly that he loved her, he could speak into her mind and it would be special since it would be private and all for her.

As the couple basked in their love, they didn't notice someone watching them from the darkness with red eyes filled with malice, lust and hatred.

Damn it, things weren't supposed to get this complicated. The jobs were always simple, go in, get the target, and cash the paycheck. Always simple.

Then I got the job of a lifetime. Kill one girl, get 5 trillion. It was a dream come true. I could retire after that…not that I would. Even better, it was the same girl who took my family from me. This couldn't have been better…

And then things went straight to shit, and fast. I met the girl, and I couldn't bring myself to kill her, if not for lack of trying and more than a little interference. Then I found myself helping her. I helped her save those she cared about.

Damn it. It wasn't supposed to be complicated! If anything, this should have been my easiest job ever. Then, I actually found myself liking this girl. At first I tried to crush down those feelings, but it's getting harder and harder to crush down those feelings…

-Kenzaki Tsukuba/Kamen Rider Garoh

To Be Continued…

I'd like to thank Shadow Element 13 and Ten-Faced Paladin for their generous help!