We do not own Koihime Musou or Kamen Rider Gaim. They belong to their respective creators. We just thought this idea would be fun and decided to give it a try. If you like it then that's great. If you don't then we tried. Anyway, come along and let's see what you think.
Sangokuden Armored War Gods Saga: Legends of the Armored War Gods
Co-Written By: Ten-Faced Paladin and Kamen Rider Chrome
Chapter 3: Rise of the Chou Sisters
Let us shift our story to a different group for a bit. A tale of three sisters who had a dream. They had simple beginnings like every other peasant but they dreamed of great things in the future. Their dream as well as some timely intervention would help these girls rise up from their simple roots and become stars.
They were the Chou Sisters. The eldest was Chokaku who had long pink hair which she let flow freely, privately known as Tenho. The second eldest was Choho who sported blue hair tied into a side ponytail, secretly Chiiho. The youngest was Choryo who had purple hair in a pageboy cut and glasses, secretly Renho. They were each dressed in peasant yukata in their favorite colors.
The girls were performers, their act was a mix of music and magic tricks used to amaze audiences. They worked hard and tried their best but their act really wasn't going anywhere just yet. Their music, while the lyrics were nice, was just too generic while they still had work to do on their magic tricks before they could really dazzle their audiences. Although the girls could do magic tricks, they weren't quite experienced with the art to make it look truly magical. So their tricks tended to fizzle out.
So the girls tried their best, but in such hard times, it tended to fall short. The Chou Sisters began their part in this Tale turned Legend at the end of their busy day performing. Unfortunately, they had nothing to show for it. No money donations and no food donations. It was quite disheartening. They still had their savings but if no more money came in their funds would eventually dry up. They were close to being in the red as it was.
"Nothing again?" Choho huffed.
"Again," Choryo nodded.
"Muuuu! What do you think we're doing wrong?" asked Chokaku with a huff.
A soft clapping startled the girls slightly and they turned to see the source. Approaching them was a man wearing very fine dark robes. He sported glasses and dark hair which parted around his face. He had a funny marking on his forehead, but most odd of all was the glowing blue sphere on his collar. Beside him were two men, dressed in red robes, looking like kung-fu practitioners, but their faces were hidden by hoods.
"A splendid performance," the man praised. "Very enjoyable."
"Ah...thank you," Chokaku nodded. It was always nice to receive praise, but at the same time to get it from such an odd man was a little worrying.
"I did notice that you had a little trouble with your magic trick though," the man pointed out. "You know, I'm something of a magician myself. If you'd like I could give you some pointers."
"Really?" Choryo asked, skeptical.
"Of course!" the man smiled. "But you're suspicious. A wise thing to be these days. Allow me to prove myself to you." Reaching to the orb on his collar, he tapped it. It promptly turned white before flashing, blinding the Chou sisters for a moment before they got their sight back. All three of them gasped when they found themselves on an elevated stage, dressed in lovely costumes, and a whole legion of adoring fans chanting their names.
"Uwah!" Choho gasped in delight.
"Oh…" Choryo blinked.
"We...we have fans!" Chokaku cried in happiness.
As soon as the image was created, it quickly ended. The girls were back in their own outfits and in the dead of night with no adoring fans anywhere in sight. The sisters had to take a moment to get their senses back. Choryo pegged it immediately as an illusion, but Chokaku and Choho seemed to have been enchanted by the sight before they managed to come back to reality. They also noticed that the magician and his two bodyguards were gone.
"It is an illusion for now," the man's voice echoed through the night. "But I have already given you what you need to make it real."
"Gave us-?" Choryo frowned, but then she noticed that Choho had something in her hand. "Chii-chan. In your hand."
"Huh?" Choho looked at her hand and discovered a book clasped in her hand. It was entitled Crucial Keys to the Way of Peace. Also on the front were circles connected by lines like a constellation, "What is this?"
"A special spellbook which I give to you," the man's voice explained. "Use it to claim your dreams."
"Just who are you?" asked Chokaku in the night sky.
"My name is...Ukitsu," the man replied, his voice growing faint. "We will meet again."
Inspired by their shared vision, Choryo and Chokaku began to alter their clothing. Choho even bought crystals. A pink one for her elder sister, a green one for herself, and a blue one for her younger sister. A special spell in the book told her of a means of making their voices reach further. She spent a chunk of their savings to get the crystals, but it had been worth it. Even better, they learned to make special talismans which could make their instruments play by themselves so the girls could concentrate on just singing instead of doing two things at once.
So with high hopes, the Chou Sisters set up an impromptu performance by the riverside. It was just a small venue, but they were bound to make it work. So steeling themselves, they began their song and they made sure it was loud for everyone to hear. To their delight, a decent gathering of people who heard the music came down to see what was happening. With the girls able to concentrate on their singing instead of splitting their focus and thus their results, everyone was soon applauding and praising the girls for their beautiful singing voices.
The Chou Sisters managed to become a success and for the first time, their donation bowl did not remain empty.
After their first successful performance, the girls started gaining a following of fans and supporters. After that they continued to perform, receiving more and more money for their beautiful music. It allowed them to pay for better lodgings and play in better areas. Soon, they gained the attention of nobles who summoned them to perform during banquets. More and more requests came with more earnings and the girls started traveling from place to place to share their wonderful music. They performed in concerts and their fans would come to them during special events to have their autographs and the chance to shake their hands.
With more fame came more opportunity and more money rolling in with people paying a lot to watch their concerts. Finally, the girls changed their clothes and were dressed in the costumes in the dream that Ukitsu had shown them. This was their dream. They now stood upon a grand stage to share their wonderful music with the masses.
Now, let us go back to the traveling group whose adventures we have followed up until now.
The group of friends continued their journey towards Enjutsu's city so they could try to get Ryuubi's sword back from her. They were passing through a decently sized town along the way. They were considering stopping for lunch or possibly for the night since they were due for a break. Nagata among all others was a little stressed since he had been expecting the RinJyuKen to make a move, but since they tried their first attempts at Ryuubi they hadn't raised their heads again. It made the Armored War God believe they were due for an attack. Kanu understood. While they should relax there was nothing wrong with keeping their guard up in case of an attack.
As they travelled, Chouhi had begun singing one of her nonsensical songs to scare bears away even if there were no bears in a town. Kanu tried to get Chouhi to stop, considering the nonsense she sang about and how loud she did it to be embarrassing. Chouhi didn't want to stop, thinking she was keeping bears away with her singing. Nagata just knew better than to try and get involved unless someone dragged him into it. It was an old argument that didn't seem to have any sort of ending in sight.
"Ahhh!" Ryuubi suddenly cried out, causing the entire group to freeze.
"Are we being attacked by bears?" asked Chou'un as a joke concerning Kanu and Chouhi's latest squabble.
"No! It's the Three Chou Sisters!" Ryuubi exclaimed as she saw the poster.
"Hm?" Nagata looked over her shoulder at the poster. On it were three girls who to him didn't look related and were posing in flashy ways in bright and colorful clothes. It kinda reminded him of the Pop idol posters he had seen back in his time. he was a little surprised to see such a thing in the Three Kingdoms era but he learned that the land didn't strictly adhere to historical development like his world history did.
"Who are they?" Kanu asked.
"You don't know?" Ryuubi gasped, acting as if her friends had committed some sort of crime. "They're like the biggest song and dance troupe ever! They're famous! Even nobles hire them to perform!"
"Really?" Chou'un asked.
"Yeah, they're just so amazing!" Ryuubi continued to gush, going into fangirl mode. Nagata chuckled in amusement. It was kinda adorable since he wasn't the target of her admiration this time.
"I heard about them while I was out buying books. They're sisters and because of that, they are so in sync with each other. Their singing and dancing is also pristine. Their performances have a lot of special effects too which some people claim is magic. Even I'm interested in seeing them," Komei admitted.
"Let's go see them!" Ryuubi recommended eagerly, it almost sounded like an order.
"But if we do that we won't be able to see Enjutsu on time," Kanu reminded then Ryuubi got teary-eyed. It was almost like seeing Totaku's puppy dog pout again.
"You mean we're not going to see them?" Ryuubi sniffled, looking like her heart was breaking at the thought of being denied the chance to see her idols.
"I think it should be fine, Aisha," Nagata stated. "Besides, it's not every day we get to see a famous singing group perform."
"YES!" Ryuubi cheered, jumping unusually high in delight.
The group learned the location of the concert and went to attend. It was an indoor event, held inside of a large venue. When they arrived, people were already milling about and chatting excitedly about the concert. Lots of vendors were attending as well, selling all sorts of merchandise which endorsed the Three Chou Sisters. Nagata marveled at all of the items considering that they were things that one would find for sale back in his world. He saw plastic figurines, body pillows, pictures, and other odds and ends like paper fans and such. One thing that particularly stuck out was all of the yellow jackets, wristbands, and headbands for sale. For some reason, that little aspect stuck out for Nagata but he couldn't figure out why.
"Look at all this," Kanu muttered. "Dolls, pillows, everything."
"Quite the industry," Chou'un commented.
"And the fanboys," Nagata grimaced, seeing a bunch of pasty nerds drooling over some newly released merchandise they never saw before in their following. Nagata knew he was a nerd too, but the guys he saw looked more like they were NEET than nerdy.
"Look, they're selling candy!" Chouhi pointed to a stand that sold hardened candy on sticks, looking like long lollipops instead of round ones.
"Well, I could use a snack," Nagata offered, pulling out his money pouch. "Who else wants some?"
"Hai!" all of the ladies smiled. So after paying a reasonable price, Nagata handed off several orange lollipops to his friends. As they waited for the concert doors to open and allow them in, the girls delighted in their snacks. However...
'OK, this is awkward...' thought Nagata as she watched the girls eat the candy.
The candy was a long orange rod attached to a stick but the way the girls were eating them was rather suggestive and Nagata didn't know if he should comment or not. Seriously, didn't the girls know that they were practically practicing fellatio right in front of him? He also couldn't help but stare at their technique. Chou'un seemed to have the easiest time getting the most into her mouth. Ryuubi just went for the sides, running her tongue back and forth. Komei just licked the tip, which made the whole thing even more awkward to Nagata as he watched what amounted to a dunk contest.
Well, at least nobody else noticed. Still, innuendo aside it did seem odd. The world he was in was meant to be Ancient China in the era of the Three Kingdoms and yet there were such things as Pop idols. Maybe he should just accept that this was an alternate version of the history he knew and just live with it instead of arguing against it. He had already seen restaurants that had their waitresses dressed as maids. Why not Pop idols?
Finally, the doors to the venue opened and everyone poured inside. It packed quite quickly, but the group managed to snag some very nice balcony seats which gave them a nice aerial view of the stage itself. It also quickly discovered that the orange 'candy' in fact lit up in the dark like glowsticks, which made for another fan's tool to show their devotion.
"Hello everyone!" the Three Chou Sisters took the stage eliciting a roar from the audience. The one speaking was the eldest, Chokaku. "Are you ready for a show?" Another roar caused the sisters to smile, "Okay then! Let's go!"
Nagata watched the Chou Sisters perform and quite frankly they were actually the best thing he had heard since coming to this world. He had heard music, great music, but nothing like this. Again he was reminded of the Pop Idols he listened to back home so he was not surprised to see why these girls had so many fans. He glanced at Ryuubi and Chouhi who enjoyed the show immensely and smiled himself. It was always nice to see his friends happy like this.
Looking at the Chou Sisters again, he could actually see them fitting in where he came from. They would need to compete with other Pop Idols but would definitely have their own following. He could actually see them use this era's equivalent to spotlights, strobe lights, microphones, and sound amplifiers. From what he could see, they were using some kind of boxes with paper talismans attached to the front for their speakers and crystal balls generating light for their strobe effects. It was just amazing. Komei mentioned they used magic and he couldn't deny that what these girls were doing was magical.
The crowd just ate up the music, cheering their love for the Chou Sisters. They waved their glowing candy sticks back and forth, making the whole show seem like a rave in the making. Nagata had been to one or two concerts like that before, usually shows which sang the songs for Kamen Rider though. He did go to the anniversary show of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai though and lots of neon light had gone through there.
The girls danced and sang, making for a wonderful show but once the song reached its climax things started getting out of control. During a concert, it may have been some fans getting rowdy and starting a fight, but as with Nagata's luck, it turned out to be much more than that. Dozens of dark figures jumped down from the rafters onto the stage and landed in the spotlights. Standing on the edges of the stage were rows of Rinshi who pointed their palms outwards, revealing gold and black paper talismans on their hands which created a dark energy barrier.
"Wh-what's going on?!" cried Choho.
"Don't know," Choryo frowned.
"Ah...ah...ah…" Chokaku whimpered at the sight of the jiang-shi.
Another figure leaped down from above, landing with a loud slam. He was decked out in the red robes marking him as a Rinrinshi and he had a toad emblem on his forehead. One thing which separated him from the average Rinrinshi though was that he wore a yellow sash over his chest and around his waist.
"Hello," he nodded to the Three Chou Sisters, "Greetings from the RinJyuKen Akugata. I am Yamagama."
"Wh-what do you want?" asked Chokaku.
"To harvest the Rinki made from the screams of your fans as they watch their lovely idols die," Yamagama announced, causing the girls to pale in fright. "Die quickly, would you please?"
"The RinJyuKen again!" Kanu exclaimed hatefully.
"Damn," Nagata grimaced at the sight of the martial arts jiang-shi. Were they trying to spoil the concert and harvest the negative emotions that came forth as a result? Well, not on his watch. He put on his SengokuDriver and dug into his pocket for one of his Lockseeds. As the Rinrinshi advanced menacingly on the Chou Sisters with his Rinshi, the audience was being kept at bay by a barrier of Rinki, Nagata was just about to intervene when all of a sudden a voice rang.
[MISTER DANGEROUS!]
Nagata nearly fell over the railing when he heard that, "Huh?" Emerging in a flourish from backstage was a sight he never expected to see but he should've. He wore a neon green bodysuit with a silver shirt as his arms sported purple gauntlets spiked like a durian. He sported thigh armor which was the same color. His greaves were mostly green but had purple spikes decorating the edges. His head was covered by a deep green helmet with a silver face covered in spikes with two bright yellow, narrowed eyepieces, the right one having a crack on the armor around it. The deep green helmet attachment was covered in spikes with elongated ones sticking out from the sides and a blood-red mohawk on top. The Arms armor on his body was deep green and covered in spikes, including the Y-shaped plating of armor on his chest. In his hands was a pair of broadswords with serrated edges and spikes along the flat side of the blade. Strapped to his waist was a SengokuDriver with an open Lockseed that resembled a durian.
It was Kamen Rider Bravo alright. Nagata could recognize those spikes from anywhere.
"Pardon, are you trying to spoil this show? Non, non, non! This is simply unacceptable!" Bravo scolded, wagging a finger in objection. Everyone became speechless at the sight of the armored figure who could be nothing else but an Armored War God.
"Gaim-sama..." began Kanu, "Is that...?"
"Hai, it's Bravo," Nagata grimaced, "The Armored War God of Ultimate Fury."
"He's so spiky!" Chouhi stated the obvious.
"Gaim-sama, you mentioned that you and the other War Gods avoided him. Is it because of his armor?" Komei questioned. If Bravo's armor was like that, getting too close to him would be dangerous and painful. Nagata sweatdropped at the question. For such an intelligent child, Komei could ask some silly questions. Then again, perhaps she thought that Bravo was unapproachable since his armor was so spiky.
"Among other reasons," Nagata replied, not wanting to get into any details, only being able to watch alongside his friends as Bravo admonished the RinJyuKen group.
"What do you want!?" the Rinrinshi in charge of the assault demanded.
"I simply cannot tolerate people who would dare to interrupt the fine singing of these lovely angels," Bravo said with a shake of his head. "Non, non, non! It just isn't done!"
"Oh, what are you going to do about it?" challenged Yamagama.
"Oh, the answer is simple, batard," Bravo pointed his Duri Noko swords threateningly at the RinJyuKen group, "I, Armored War God Bravo, must teach you all a lesson!"
"Rinshi, destroy him!" the Rinrinshi ordered, so annoyed he didn't even bother with bad guy bantering.
"Ah, so you choose to fight me! That is fine by me!" He twirled his twin swords before holding them firmly in his grip, "Let's Rock and Roll!"
Nagata watched as Bravo fought the Rinshi. He was quite a brutal fighter as he struck the Rinshi down as he advanced, using vicious slashes which cut vital portions of the body. He didn't bother with maiming, but instead just went straight for the kill in each case. He was unusually precise about it, which made him even more intimidating since it seemed that he had previous training when it came to fighting.
And was he counting in French?
"Un!" SLASH! "Deux!" SLICE! "Trois!" CRUNCH! "Quatre!" WHOOM! "Cinq!" WHAM!
Indeed, he was counting off in groups of five, slashing down each Rinshi that went at him before moving on to another group. Slashing the last of the bunch, the Rinshi collapsed and exploded into purple flames. The only ones left were the ones maintaining the barrier, but they hadn't moved an inch. Shaking his head, Bravo strolled over to the Three Chou Sisters before he bowed to them as a gentleman should.
"My lovely angels, forgive me for this show of violence! It is unavoidable!" spoke Bravo apologetically.
"Oh, it's alright, Armored War God-sama," said Chokaku with a nervous smile. She and her sister were like every other person in China who had only heard about the Armored War Gods. There was a rumor about kingdoms being blessed by these armored warriors from Heaven but she hadn't expected this. Who would have guessed one was attending their show? Were they really so good that the Armored War Gods liked them?
"Wow, an Armored War God is protecting our concert," Choho exclaimed happily and she shouted into her microphone, "Everyone, please cheer him on! Cheer on Bravo-sama!"
The audience recovered quickly when they heard this and cheered, "BRAVO-SAMA! BRAVO-SAMA! BRAVO-SAMA!"
"Ooooh!" Bravo gasped, hands on his face. "A standing ovation for moi? Oh my dear sweet angels you shouldn't have! I suppose I shall have to make this show tres magnifique in order to be worthy of it!" Swinging his swords, he turned to face off with the Rinrinshi who was standing at the other end of the stage.
"Chii-neesan?" asked Choryo.
"Oh, let's just take advantage of this!" Choho winked innocently. She already had an idea for a new song from watching the action.
"Gambatte, Bravo-sama!" Chokaku cheered Bravo on.
"BRAVO-SAMA!" the audience roared.
Nagata was bewildered. It looked like the audience thought this was all part of the show. The looks of fear and panic on their faces seemed to have vanished as excitement and elation replaced them. Bravo was actually making things better instead of worse. Despite it being a life-or-death struggle, it seemed like everyone was watching a sort of action-packed play. It reminded Nagata of the Kamen Rider live stage shows, only with much better special effects.
"You don't know who you're dealing with!" Yamagama growled.
"Enlighten me then, monsieur," Bravo gestured to the monster.
"Feh! I'm a student of the Kōtetsu Teppeki no Shugosha Maga-Sensei! A student of the DokuRinJyuKen Akugata! I have forged the techniques of my own style! DokuRinJyu Cane Toad-Ken!" Yamagama snarled.
"Huh? Maga!?" Nagata exclaimed. "One of the Five-Venom Fists!?" They really were in the Three Kingdoms too? OK, that sounded bad. Very, very bad. If one of them existed in the alternate world, then that meant all five of them existed there. And Yamagama was a student of Maga, the Toad-Ken Master? And just what was the DokuRinJyuKen?
"You know this Rinrinshi's teacher?" asked Chou'un.
"Ah, I heard about him. He's one of the five members of the Five Venom Fists or Dogokuken if you're feeling formal, a sub-branch of the RinJyuKen Akugata. All five are masters of styles that are lethal because their Rinki is toxic," Nagata explained. "And they all have a hidden technique which is incredibly rare and difficult to reproduce. It's only been done twice out of all of the members of the RinJyuKen Akugata or other schools."
Below, on stage, Bravo was less than impressed with Yamagama's credentials, "Hmph, a toad?" Bravo scoffed. "Such an ugly creature. So, you came here to victimize these girls? These lovely swans with the voices of angels? That is unforgivable. Now you are really tempting me to end your vile existence."
"Grrrrr! You'll pay for your disrespect! Jujin Jashin Hen!" His body seemed to melt in the next few moments, revealing his Beastman form. Large green/yellow orbs grew from his shoulders covered with dark spots. His arms were the same color and had more of the spots with them. He didn't have large hands as a toad form might suggest, but he had plenty of milky white balls all over his forearms like gauntlets. More of those orbs were on his back. His chest was decorated with a toad's face. His legs were protected by long thigh armor which had more black spots on them. His face looked like a gas mask with round black eyes and two filters on either side of where his mouth would be. On top of his head was more toad-like flesh with two large spots swollen like ears.
"Ew!" gagged Choho and Chokaku. Choryo only grimaced at the sight.
"Truly, you are not only hideous on the inside but on the outside as well. However, as we are both combatants, I shall treat you with respect as a fellow fighter." Bravo gave a bow and then let out his battle cry, "Now, Let's Rock and Roll!"
The two charged at each other, beginning a warped martial arts brawl that wouldn't have been out of place in a stage show. The audience ate it up and cheered loud and long for Bravo. Yamagama swiped at Bravo, using his own momentum to try and enhance his strikes. However, Bravo was too nimble and would avoid the blows before striking at Yamagama, breaking some of the spheres on his arms or back, spilling some kind of clear liquid onto the stage.
"Hoh!" Bravo thrust, knocking Yamagama back with his sword strike. The Beastman merely snarled before shifting into one of his stances.
"DokuRinJyu Cane Toad-Ken! Ringi! Yūdoku Taido! (Toxic Tide)" The cheeks on Yamagama's toad face bulged before the mouth opened and spewed out a wave of dark liquid which did not look healthy. Bravo leaped to the side, managing to avoid the worst of it but the liquid did splash the Rinshi maintaining the barrier. All of them began to writhe in pain before their skin turned to a putrid purple shade and they collapsed, dissolving into ashes. Incidentally, it dropped the barrier surrounding the stage.
"Oh gross!" Chokaku gagged.
"I agree!" Bravo huffed, standing up. "You truly are nothing but a disgusting creature!"
"Anything it takes to win," Yamagama shrugged, wiping his toad mouth. "And I'm not disgusting! I'm toxic!"
"And that is even worse! You, monsieur, are foul"
"Ha! Just the way I like it!" Yamagama laughed. "Still, if my wide range Ringi wasn't enough to hit you then maybe it's time I go all the way! DokuRInJyu Cane Toad-Ken! Hiden Ringi! Chimei-tekina Shison! (Deadly Offspring)" Dark Rinki pulsed through his body before as one all of the milky orbs on his body exploded, sending large black tadpoles at Bravo like a flying, squirming barrage.
"Hup!" Bravo announced, slashing through the air like a madman, cutting down every tadpole that would have hit him out of the air where they exploded into small orange fireballs. The rest all splattered on the floor, squirming helplessly but just a touch of their bodies was causing discoloration in the floor, indicating a high level of toxicity in them.
"Oh, good job," Yamagama praised as the last of the flying tadpoles were cut down. "But, you missed a few."
"As if tadpoles are a threat to one such as I," Bravo scoffed.
"Are you sure about that?" the Cane Toad-Ken user snickered before snapping his fingers.
The squirming tadpoles all erupted with Rinki of their own before actually growing in size. They grew arms, legs, and even changed colors before emerging all around Bravo as almost carbon copies of Yamagama himself. The only difference was that they didn't have the thigh armor, the milky orbs, the large bulbs on their shoulders or head, and the toad face was smaller.
"Oh crap!" Nagata cursed from his perch.
"Well, I admit you have surprised me," Bravo sighed. "But if you think that this will be enough to bring down an Armored War God such as moi then you are sorely mistaken!" he reached down to his belt and grabbed the Cutting Blade.
"Get him!" Yamagama ordered his spawn as Bravo quickly hit the blade twice.
[DURIAN AU LAIT!]
"Here, a present for you!" Bravo began charging durian-shaped spheres of energy around him. He spun around on the spot, slashing at the spawn before they could even get close which launched the energy durians at them. The energy spheres would explode on contact and take them down in one blow. Rotating in a full circle, he faced Yamagama again who looked shocked.
"I-impossible! My Hiden Ringi...beaten just like that?!" he gasped.
"Oh, but that was just the appetizer! I've saved the biggest one for you, batard!" He charged up a massive spiked durian and launched it, hitting the Rinrinshi with a blast of neon green juice. Yamagama screamed as he was knocked to the floor before he exploded in orange fire, ending his threat to the Three Chou Sisters. The crowd went wild and Bravo raised his swords before giving the audience bows. "Merci. Merci. Merci."
"He's as much as a showoff as the original," Nagata blanched.
"Now, my lovely angels, please continue your performance. I shall be watching over you," said Bravo. He then ran off the stage and disappeared, cries of his name echoing in the concert hall. Of course, nobody would try to stop him and nobody wanted to be anywhere near him with his armor all covered in spikes.
"Thank you Bravo-sama!" Choho waved after him, her sisters slowly doing the same.
"...Well, that was interesting," Nagata remarked.
"He was quite powerful," Kanu agreed. "Do you think he will join up with one of the lords in the land?"
"I think he's picked where he belongs already," Nagata scratched his head. He looked at the stage which had stains caused by the poisons. Perhaps they would need to clean it up before resuming their show.
The vendors sold out after the concert with the fans buying everything they had in stock. One particular stand had homemade portraits of the Chou Sisters, either individually or as a group together. Although they were done by someone who wasn't a well-known artist he certainly had the skill as customers lined up to get one of his works. No two were alike, so everyone was leaving with a unique portrait. The man who ran the stand happily sold each portrait as a customer bought them.
"Merci, next please," he said as he handed a rolled-up portrait and accepted the money. The line was quite long and he was running out of merchandise but he really couldn't care less as he shared his art. Finally, he found a place where people could appreciate his skills. Ink, paint, and paper, not digital pixels. This was true art!
And Marcus Date was truly fortunate to be in the height of it.
Marcus stood tall and proud, wearing a white tunic with deep green sleeves. However, it was left open to reveal his bare chest which many girls in the crowd saw appreciatively. His pants were just as deep green with purple shoes of all things. His face was quite handsome with blonde hair of all things with a fringe on his right side, barely reaching his right eye and giving him a bishonen appearance which many women could appreciate. Of course, at the moment he was also wearing a painter's smock which he had yet to remove since he had been working on portraits often lately.
Marcus, despite his blonde hair, was of Japanese nationality. His father had been Japanese, but his mother had been French. He took more after her than he did his father. Despite Japan's sometimes cool attitude towards foreigners, Marcus was able to establish himself and begin to thrive. His good looks and charisma helped him win over plenty of his classmates over the years. He was also incredibly talented in painting, specifically with ink and watercolors. Plenty of art contests had been won by him, winning over even the most hardcore protesters considering he brought his previous schools glory for it.
As an aspiring art student, Marcus had been applying to numerous art schools in order to advance his craft. He wasn't having an easy time of it though. It wasn't because of a lack of skill. He had plenty of that. His problem stemmed from the fact that so many art schools preferred to work with digital media and any fine art schools were few and far between. Marcus considered it spitting on art. Digital media was fine for animation and photography but in fine art? Preposterous in his opinion.
So Marcus was working in the museum as a special favor to a friend of his mother's who worked in art restoration. Marcus was there to learn about how to fix paintings and match the styles of the masters. With his skills, he was able to take part, but only under the supervision of the professionals. Many of them were impressed by his intuition with the colors and techniques. It gave Marcus hopes that the restorers at such a prominent museum would help give him references when he tried to apply to a fine arts school.
Things turned strange when while he was heading to do some sketches on some artifacts with the director's permission, people started yelling about a thief trying to make off with something. Marcus quickly looked to see what was going on, only to nearly get barrelled over by the white-clad thief. He didn't get too far when a boy in red tackled the thief and knocked him over, breaking the mirror the thief was making off with before a flash of light blinded everyone.
The next thing Marcus knew was that he had ended up in ancient China. Rather than be discouraged, he used it to his advantage...
"Ah, this is excellent work! And so colorful!" the official beamed in delight as Marcus completed the watercolor portrait of him. "Worth every expense! I shall gladly refer you to all my friends!"
"You're too kind, monsieur," Marcus smiled. "I hope you shall one day call on me again."
"Oh I may very well do that once my wife gets a look at this," the official smiled. Reaching into his robes, he produced a small jingling pouch. "Your payment. Again, worth every expense."
"Merci!" Marcus bowed, taking the promised payment. Saying his goodbyes to the satisfied magistrate, he left the estate and walked back to the small town.
Marcus wasn't sure how he ended up in what he was positive was Ancient China, but he did keep himself from freaking out too much about it. He was a practical sort of fellow so he decided that for the time being he would have to try and get some of the local currency to help out. So after selling some of his things like his watch and sunglasses to a curiosity shop, he managed to collect enough money to buy art supplies so he could apply one of his greatest skills.
He started off small, painting still life and making portraits of people who asked for a price. He quickly gained popularity in the town he stationed himself in, claiming to be a wandering artist looking to improve his talents. Having art was a sign of status and refinement and his reasonable prices allowed everyone to have a piece of that refinement. Using those funds, he traveled around looking for anything that may be able to explain how he got where he was. Of course, he had to paint some things he saw along the way.
He managed to catch sight of an absolutely enchanting black-haired woman with glasses walking around in Go with a contingent of men. Using his photographic memory and imagination, he made a wonderfully alluring painting of her which he kept in his scrapbook. Wandering in Gi allowed him to see a pair of lovely ladies who seemed aesthetically opposites, one wearing red and the other blue, one with long black hair and the other short indigo hair. The contrast was wonderful and he couldn't resist getting quick sketches of the pair that he used to make another portrait. One time he even got a blue-haired woman in white to do a nude portrait at her insistence. She seemed oddly interested in trying it when he explained how some artists in the far west did their work. He saw more resistance from the models in his specialty classes and they did it for a living. His favorite subject since arriving was that martial arts woman Chouryo Bun'en who he met in a maid cafe. Her contrast between refined servant and the Amazonian woman was irresistible to his artist's eye.
Only one bit of confusion was pestering him. Ever since he woke up, he had in his possession a SengokuDriver and a Durian Lockseed from that Kamen Rider Gaim show. He remembered seeing a little kid drop the SengokuDriver with the Lockseed inserted when his mother pulled him away from the path of the thief, but why was Marcus himself wearing it when he woke up? He considered selling the items, but he decided not to since they were too weird for anyone's tastes in Ancient China. They worked though, but in a way, he had never expected they would, which made him prize the items whenever the odd group of bandits decided he looked like a tempting target.
"Perhaps I should see what Bun-chan is doing," Marcus pondered to himself. As stated before, she was one of his favorite subjects.
Heading through the streets, he came across the cafe where his friend and part-time portrait subject worked to raise funds for her travels. Entering, he came face to face with the subject to his search.
"Welcome Ma-kun!" Chouryou Bun'en smiled in her maid persona. However, her uniform was highly unorthodox. She wore the skirt, headpiece, sleeves, stockings, and shoes, but she had her barbed hairpiece holding her hair in a bun and had done away entirely with the blouse, leaving just her taped breasts to bounce about. Since the clientele for the maid cafe was all-male, no one saw any reason to complain. It definitely served to make Chouryou the highest-paid maid in the cafe.
"Hello, Bun-chan!" Marcus smiled back. "Table for one?"
"Right this way," Chouryo gestured him to follow. As they walked to the table, she looked over her shoulder, "Need more portraits?"
After Marcus had made his first portrait of Chouryou, a few horny boys had asked him if he had any more similar pictures. After thinking about it, he asked Chouryou if she would have liked to pose for portraits to sell for a cut of the profits. Being absolutely comfortable with her body, obvious in how she dressed, she agreed. So several portraits of Chouryou dressed in finery (borrowed from the wardrobe of the maid cafe's specialty days) were made for a decent haul of cash.
His relationship with Chouryo was an interesting one. They were close and were more than friends but they weren't exactly a couple. They were more like friends with benefits. Yes, that was exactly how it sounded. Sometimes they would get together after her shift was done, she would invite him up to her room at the local inn, and he would paint a portrait of her. Sometimes it was in the nude and well she always got a little hot afterwards and since he was the only male within her close proximity he always ended up joining her in bed.
And it was always so satisfying. He would wake up before her and when he saw how she looked so peaceful while asleep, he took out his art supplies and painted her. Her peaceful, sleeping face, with her nude body covered in a sheet, was one of his favorites.
And so many of his classmates accused him of being into Yaoi.
"No, I have a few of those left. I just got off the job," Marcus shrugged, rotating his shoulders. "Just feel like relaxing for a while."
"Ah. A shame. I liked some of those costumes," Choryo nodded. "Anyway, the usual?"
"Please do," Marcus agreed.
Choryo made the order and headed back to hand it over to the cook. Marcus turned to his pack and decided to look through his scrapbook, finding it a peaceful activity to scroll through his old portraits. He hoped to one day meet the ladies he made the portraits for, but he had a feeling they may not appreciate learning that he made pictures in such seductive poses. Fortunately, the only saving grace was that he didn't make copies and sell them.
"Maybe going back to Go is in order," Marcus pondered. There were dozens of portrait-worthy ladies there. One may mistake him as girl-crazy, but female portraits were always able to sell to the common man next to personal portraits.
Chouryou hadn't even had a chance to get his meal when screams erupted from outside. Marcus looked up with a frown, wondering if some kind of riot was going on. Considering Ensho's style of rule, that wasn't too much of a stretch with how she blew through money on frivolous projects at times. As a concerned citizen and perhaps a bit of his sense of duty, he got up and went to check it out.
Stepping outside, he saw a group of hopping men in brown and black uniforms attacking anyone who was nearby and throwing them away from the well. In the midst of the chaos though, there was one figure who seemed calm. He wore red robes with a pasty white face and a metal cap on his head. His forehead sported a metal ornament that looked like a hornet. Wrapped around his chest and his waist was a white sash that trailed in the wind.
"Hmm," the man pondered, looking down the well. "We won't get the whole city with this one, but we will get a good quarter of it before that Armored War God comes back." He lifted his hand and a barb of some kind rose up from the back of his hand which had some sort of fluid coming from it. It was obviously toxic if how it was generated wasn't a hint.
"Tsk," Marcus frowned, reaching into his shirt he retrieved his SengokuDriver before running towards the well which the monsters were preparing to pour a toxic substance into it. "Allons-y!"
"Eh?" the leader and his men looked up at the approaching young man. "Hmph! Someone playing the hero? Kill him so I can get back to work."
Marcus continued running, drawing his Durian Lockseed and clicking it to unlock. "Henshin!"
[DURIAN!]
That particular noise caused the monsters and the few civilians around to freeze. Looking back up to him, a portal to Helheim opened and dropped his spiked Durian Arms. It followed him as he ran closer, locking his Lockseed into place.
[LOCK ON!]
Marcus grabbed onto the Cutting Blade as a guitar riff ripped through the air, the Durian Arms flashing with strobe lights. He then cut it open with a flourish.
[DURIAN ARMS! MISTER DANGEROUS!]
The Durian Arms came down, landing on Marcus' head and forming his suit around his body. The Arms then unfolded with a splash of juice, forming the spiked armor his name was known for. Another splash of juice brought the Duri Noko into his hands, allowing him to clang them together.
"Now then monsieur, I will have to ask you to step away from that well," Bravo warned the Rinrinshi and his men. "We don't appreciate delinquency with the drinking water."
"An Armored War God! Here!?" the Rinrinshi exclaimed.
"Oh, did you think because the local one is absent that no one would be around to stop you? Oh, for shame. Now, I shall have to punish you!" Bravo wagged his finger at the group. "Allow me to introduce myself! I am Armored War God Bravo! Now Let's Rock and Roll!"
"K-kill him!" the Rinrinshi ordered, pushing the Rinshi towards Bravo.
Bravo hit the battle running, hopping around and striking at the Rinshi. Having learned military fighting from his uncle who served in the French military, he knew just the right spots to strike when he wanted to kill someone. Who knew his uncle's attempts 'to make a man out of a pansy artist' would come in handy?
"Un!" SLASH! "Deux!" WHAM! "Trois!" CRUNCH "Quatre!" WHOOM! "Cinq!" SQUEALCH!
He counted off his strikes, remembering the ways to move to make sure he didn't stay in one spot and make himself a target. He kept on moving and kept all the enemies he could in sight. He moved to different strikes, counting off his attacks before moving on to the next group. His precise slashes allowed him to destroy several Rinshi on the spot provided he aimed for the most vital organs or arteries like the neck. The ones who managed to avoid the worst of it went down with ripped holes in their bodies and expired soon after.
Beheading the final Rinshi with his swords used as scissors, he turned to face the Rinrinshi in charge of them all now on his own, "Next?" He wanted to challenge the Rinrinshi and punish him for his transgression.
"You son of a bitch!" the Rinrinshi roared, "You'll pay for this!"
"Oh, I am shaking in my metal boots," taunted Bravo. "Are you going to fight or are you just all talk?"
"Oh, I'll fight! As the disciple of the Jigoku no Tekazu Ō Kademu-Sensei I won't back down!" the Rinrinshi growled. "I am the master of DokuRinJyu Hornet-Ken! Suzu!" He shifted his stance. "Now face my power! Jujin Jashin Hen!"
His body shattered, revealing a new body. His shoulders were covered in gossamer wings and his forearms had yellow and black hornet abdomens with harpoon-like stingers coming out of them. His hands were underneath, covered in a black and yellow exoskeleton. His chest looked like a hornet's face, complete with antennae that rose from his collar. His legs were covered in yellow thigh armor with black greaves. His face was concealed, looking like a yellow plate on his head with a black mesh hiding his entire head like a beekeeper's mask would.
"Ew. Why can't monsters be a bit more elegant?" Bravo shuddered. "They always look like movie rejects."
"Cheh, insult me all you like because it will be the last thing you'll do!" Suzu exclaimed.
"Will it? I wonder," Bravo replied.
Suzu charged and Bravo met him before both began striking at each other over and over. Suzu's martial arts style was quick and focused on the use of precise strikes much like a hornet's stings. Unfortunately, Bravo was experienced with dual weaponry and was able to parry and work against his strikes. Their weapons clashed over and over, bringing blasts of sparks from their supernatural weaponry.
"You will have to do better than this!" Bravo grunted before kicking Suzu back and slashing him across the chest while he was distracted.
"Grr!" Suzu snarled, rubbing his chest. "Fine! DokuRinJyu Hornet-Ken! Ringi! Ichi Sen Sutingā!" (One Thousand Stingers)
Suzu's arms seemed to blur as he jabbed over and over again at Bravo. He tried a token attempt at blocking the strikes, but he only stopped a few before he was jabbed countless times in blasts of sparks on his armor and sent tumbling backwards. However, he continued crying out in pain as he felt each spot where he had been stabbed burning in pain. Needless to say, there were quite a lot of spots. Suzu so loved to hear his opponent screaming from each strike.
"Ah, the lovely scream of a victim of a hornet's venom," Suzu chuckled. "So just lay back and enjoy while I poison this whole town."
"If you think those love taps are enough to put me down then you are sorely mistaken," Bravo retorted as he stood up straight. "Shall we continue our dance?" He entered a stance, ignoring the burning pain with gritted teeth as he sweated under his helmet. The poison hurt like crazy, but he wasn't going to let a few stings beat him!
"So you want to die first, eh?" Suzu snorted. "Fine!" he charged towards Bravo with his stingers raised, ready to run Bravo through with them. Coming in close, he prepared to strike him down, but Bravo merely grabbed his Cutting Blade and pressed it once.
[DURIAN SQUASH!]
A wave of energy rose from the mohawk on Bravo's helmet. Using minimal movement, he swung his torso around and smashed the stream of energy into Suzu, sending him sailing back far from the well where he landed in the middle of the street, sparks blasting from his body as he landed.
"Guh!" Suzu coughed. His body smoked from the attack, growling as he got up to his feet. "Gah! So you want to play rough eh? Fine! I can do it that way! DokuRinJyu Hornet-Ken! Hiden Ringi! Shi Suu~ōmu!" (Death Swarm)
Suzu's shoulder wings began to buzz loudly, summoning swarms of what looked like Japanese hornets with the RInJyuKen emblem on their foreheads. It was also obvious that they were angry and looking for something to sting.
"Time to swat some bugs!" Bravo joined his Duri Noko swords at the hilt and began to twirl them furiously as the swarm came at him. Once they came close, they were knocked out of the air and fell at Bravo's feet. Sparks flew as each RinJyuKen wasp was hit and swatted out of the air before they littered the ground.
"I can make as many as I want!" Suzu retorted, generating more hornets. "Just see how long you can keep up!"
Bravo's stopped twirling his weapons, grimacing as he watched the swarm coming at him again, "Very well. But remember, you asked for this!" he hit the Cutting Blade twice to punctuate his point.
[DURIAN AU LAIT!]
The sharp points of his Duri Noko swords started to shine and form tiny spheres as if sprouting seeds. Then these 'seeds' grew and became spiked spheres similar to durians. Once they were 'ripe', Bravo spun his swords around and around, launching the multiple spheres like bullets. Explosions erupted as the wasps were caught in the blast. The barrage continued and Suzu was hit several times. Bravo then leaped into the air, forming a massive spiked energy sphere that was charged and glowing with energy.
"EAT THIS!" Bravo spiked the sphere like a volleyball and it came crashing down upon Suzu. Suzu was engulfed by an explosion that obliterated him before Bravo landed. Once the smoke and flames cleared, all that was left was a large crater. "Fin," concluded Bravo as he crossed his swords behind his back and turned to march away.
"Sorry, everyone! That was the last one! I'm completely sold out!" Marcus announced as his last satisfied customer left with a huge grin on his face. The remaining fanboys groaned and dispersed. "Whew!" Marcus sighed, sitting back in his chair. He would have a lot of painting to do before the Three Chou Sisters' next concert, but with any luck, he'd have a good supply of paintings ready before then. Hopefully, he'd have more stock to sell next time. He hated depriving the people of his art when they obviously loved it.
He was truly fitting in the age of the Three Kingdoms.
With the concert over and the RinJyuKen dealt with, the group really didn't have much of a reason to stay in that town any longer. So they packed up and headed out on their journey again. Chouhi was singing one of her traveling songs once again, but this time it was one of the songs that the Three Chou Sisters sang. Ryuubi sang alongside her as they went along their way. She stopped so she could address Nagata.
"Gaim-sama, wasn't that wonderful?" Ryuubi asked. the songs of the Chou Sisters and how they danced were so entrancing. They definitely deserved their fame with such talent.
"OK, I have to admit that was a good show," Nagata commented, "I mean, besides the attack by the RinJyuKen."
"Indeed," Komei agreed.
"They weren't bad," Kanu admitted.
"Not bad? They were amazing!" argued Ryuubi.
"Their music is quite different. You seemed used to it though Gaim-sama. Have you heard such music before?"
"They kinda remind me of the singing groups from back home," Nagata nodded.
"Really? They have something like that in Heaven?" asked Chou'un in interest.
"Yeah, and we have a lot of them. Groups come and go but their music lives on," he smiled. Plenty of famous music groups had risen and fallen, but their music was always recognizable. Usually, they had at least a few hit songs that everyone knew and that there was always someone listening to it.
"I was surprised that the one you called Bravo was an admirer of music," remarked Kanu.
"Yeah, an idol group's concert is the last place I expected to see him," Nagata shrugged. "Then again, the last I heard of him, he was a lover of the arts. Perhaps the Chou Sisters have impressed him."
"A lover of the arts?" Kanu asked.
"A fierce lover of the arts," emphasized Nagata. "I'm sure that wherever the Chou Sisters are performing, he'll be watching over them."
KRC: And Bravo makes his first ever series debut! Now, will he be a friend or foe to the other Armored War Gods? Obviously, he supports the Chou Sisters but which side will he choose during the Yellow Turban Rebellion?
TFP: And Bravo has finally appeared. It doesn't appear like he has chosen any political faction to serve. Rather he is following his own whims for the moment. How long with that last though?
Lost Scrolls of the RinJyuKen Akugata
DokuRinJyu Cane Toad-Ken: This is a style which is formed not from the regular RinJyuKen Akugata, but pioneered in the new sub-branch of DokuRinJyuKen Akugata. Derived from the style of Toad-Ken mastered by Maga, the Cane Toad-Ken goes with the movements of the poisonous toad of the same name, providing toxic attacks to victims which is a staple of the DokuRinJyuKen Akugata. It shares some weaknesses with the first Toad-Ken in that it is not the quickest or most agile style around, but it makes up for it in other ways.
Yūdoku Taido: The Toxic Tide is a widespread Ringi which spews poisonous Rinki in the form of liquid at basically everything that is in front of the user. Touching this toxic substance can cause destruction even if the subject is a Rinshi. Extreme caution is meant to be used in this technique, but such sentiment is wasted on the RinJyuKen.
Chimei-tekina Shison:The Deadly Offspring is the secret technique of the Cane Toad-Ken. In this particular case, the user generates dozens of poisonous tadpoles which are toxic to the touch. If the tadpoles fail to hit the target, they will eventually mature into clone versions of the technique's user in order to help them fight. They will not be as strong as the original and their lifespans are quite short, but in a fight they can tip the scales.
DokuRinJyu Hornet-Ken: The high speed insect-like style within the DokuRinJyuKen Akugata nurtured by the crass and reckless teachings of Kademu. This particular JyuKen is based off the terrifying and lethal Japanese hornets who hold an infamous reputation of being one of the most toxic insects in the word. The style is quick and focuses on piercing the opponents with a multitude of stingers much like a swarm of bees would when angered by an enemy.
Ichi Sen Sutingā!: This technique called One Thousand Stingers generates a veritable wave of stingers which unless one directly dodges, they will not escape from. Each stinger causes a painful burning sensation and even moving while under the influence of the venom causes pain. It is a debilitating technique which is extremely painful.
Shi Suu~ōmu: The Death Swarm is the secret technique of the Hornet-Ken. This technique generates a mad swarm of hornets which will attack and follow the target until they either catch them or are killed. This technique is made even more ominous when the target has been previously hit by a stinger technique. Those previous techniques leave traces on the victim which alerts the bees to who the enemy is and the entire swarm will home in on them to unleash their toxic stings.
Fruits of the Tree, Yggdrasil
Durian Arms: Produced by the Durian Lockseed (L.S.-12), this is Bravo's default form and considered one of the most deadliest. The armor is covered in spikes and the wielder is armed with the Duri Noko swords. As the Lockseed used to activate this Arms is an A-Class Lockseed, it is quite powerful and dangerous as well. As the spikes cover Bravo's head and torso, his entire body is too dangerous to get close to without a weapon.