NEW LIFE CHAPTER PART 2: TOKYO

Shinichi's fears had come true…the Darklings were back. One night he just this feeling of something cold and dark crawling into his mind. Alarmed, he went to check. He silently snuck out of his and his mother's home and went to see what was wrong.

By sneak out, I meant he transformed and jumped out of his window and landed on the ground. With his armor protecting him, he touched down safely. He got to his bike and mounted it before gunning the engine and heading away from the apartment complex and into the town.

To his surprise, Darklings were walking out the dark alleyways, twitching and moving like zombies.

For months he wished they wouldn't resurface, but that was highly unlikely. Darklings, and their more evolved relatives the Darkloids, fed on fear, suspicion and paranoia. As long as humans felt these emotions, these dark creatures would continue to exist.

Showa himself wondered if there would ever be an end to these things.

Recalling their aversion to light, the Rider shone his headlights on them. They screeched in pain and scrambled away to escape the light. With a smirk, Showa dismounted from his ride and lifted up the seat to reveal a storage compartment. Reaching inside, he took out a weapon resembling a sub-machine gun that looked to be made of polished silver. Stamped on the surface of the gun was his symbol, XIII.

He had actually discovered the hidden weapons storage compartment a week ago and wondered why he hadn't thought of looking under his bike seat before.

His eyes gained targeting crosshairs as he focused his attention on the Darklings. Raising his gun, he fired at them. They screamed out in pain from the shots. A few fell and faded away into nothing. Not as dramatic as them exploding, but it was just as affective.

He holstered the Showa-Blaster onto his right hip and reached into the compartment to take out a polished silver cylinder with a guard shaped like a hawk. He hated the hawk since it reminded him of GIN-SHOCKER and what they stood for.

He pressed a button between the wings of the hawk-like guard and a green beam sword extended. It was light, yet sharp enough to cut through solid steel and stone. It wasn't the Higurashi no Yaiba, but the Showa-Blade would make do against Darklings.

Darklings weren't known for their intelligence. They were, at basic, creatures of instinct. They could overpower humans, driven by their hunger, but in a fair fight they would fall easily.

With a shout he charged at the Darklings, landing one slash after another upon the creatures with fluid efficiency. His training was ingrained into his body, making him the perfect fighting/killing machine. It was this level of skill which earned him the moniker BLACK 13.

A final slash banished a Darkling to the darkness which spawned them, leaving a lone one remaining. Hefting his sword, Showa said mockingly, "This is game over for you, darkie."

As if responding to the insult, the Darkling let loose a roar as its eyes snapped wide open. This took Showa aback. Then, its body began to swell and morph as it moved erratically, roaring. Showa continued to stare as the Darkling acted strangely.

The Darkling then fell upon its hands and knees and grunted as its hands turned into large blade-like claws. Its leg then began to split apart, becoming 4 pairs of spindly and spiked covered legs like a spider's. A tail slithered out of its back, tipped with a scythe blade. Its head also split down the middle as a new head resembling an insect with multiple red eyes and horrifying mandibles emerged. Its chest resembled a ribcage and the two halves of the Darkling's original head fell to the ground before they vanished.

The Darkling had evolved into the Scorpion Darkloid.

Grimacing, Showa said, "OK, now you've just gotten uglier."

Screeching in rage, the Scorpion Darkloid rushed towards Showa and swung one of its claws at him, knocking him back and disarming him. The creature's speed was incredible. Showa hadn't expected that. It then pinned Showa down and opened its mouth wide.

"Two words: breath mints!" Showa shouted as he took his gun off his hip and fired directly into its mouth. The Scorpion Darkloid's head snapped backwards from the shots and Showa kicked it off him. "And no kissing on the first date, though I wouldn't kiss you in a million years!"

With another shriek the Scorpion Darkloid lashed out with its scythe-tipped tail, hitting Showa across the chest repeatedly and causing sparks to fly. He raised his gun but it was knocked out of his hand by the scythe. Backing away, Showa clutched his hand in pain.

Newly evolved Darkloids were powerful, but they still needed to feed on emotions like fear. It was clear that this thing wanted to make Showa fear it and then feed on that fear. Unfortunately for it, Showa was not afraid of it.

He snapped his fingers and the Showa-Racer came to life. It rushed towards the Darkloid and rammed into it, sending it flying and crashing along the road. Popping his head from side to side and cracking his knuckles, Showa prepared to finish the Darkloid off.

"Come to me, Higurashi no Yaiba!" summoned Showa.

Back in Hinamizawa, where the Furude Shrine was located, the sword heard his call. It shot out of its hiding place like a rocket and then darted towards its wielder's location.

The Scorpion Darkloid lunged towards Showa, who stood nonchalantly. The beast's claws were close to his head when all of a sudden there was a sound of metal clashing against metal.

In Showa's hand was the Higurashi no Yaiba.

"Sing!" Showa commanded and the sword obeyed, letting loose its shrill song like a swarm of cicadas. The light from the sword drove the Darkloid back and when the light faded, Showa had assumed his powered up form, Higurashi Form.

It was all over for the Darkloid now. It charged at Showa, not realizing the foolhardiness of such a move.

"RIDER CHARGE!" Showa called out as he placed his palm upon the cicada ornament on the sword's guard. The guard and the blade began to glow with power siphoned from Showa. The Darkloid came in range as Showa swung, the glowing blade singing, before it was cut viciously in half by the sword as Showa called, "HIGURASHI ZAN!" He then performed a cross slash known as…

"CROSS CLASH!"

The slashes hit the monster dead-on and instantly it let loose a loud shriek before it exploded, its remains fading into the darkness.

"End Game," Showa concluded as he hefted the sword on his shoulder. Seeing that nothing else needed to be done, Showa strode back to his bike and headed home.

"I'm heading out, Kaa-chan!" Shinichi told his mother. "Thanks for breakfast!"

"Have a good day at school!" Shiori waved as she watched him. "And say hello to Rena-chan for me!"

"Kaa-chan, I have to deliver newspapers first," he reminded.

"But you'll be heading straight to her house, won't you?" smiled Shiori knowingly.

Shinichi nodded, "Hai…" He then gave a salute, his twin ahoge bobbing up and down before he got out the door and closed it behind him.

After picking the newspapers up from the supplier, Shinichi rode his motorbike to Hinamizawa. That was his delivery route. He would drive slowly, tossing papers to the houses that subscribed to the paper he was delivering.

It was when he reached Sonozaki Manor that got him feeling apprehensive while he was delivering papers. For some reason, Mion and Shion's grandmother did not like him.

"Hey, Shin-chan!" Mion called from her mansion's huge gate.

"Oh, hey, Mion!" Shinichi smiled. "Here's the paper," he said, handing the rolled up newspaper to Mion.

"Thanks. Now, you better drive off before my family's guards see you," she warned.

With a wink, Shinichi continued on his paper route.

At the Maebara House, Keiichi opened his window to welcome the beautiful day only to be smacked in the face directly by a newspaper. Grabbing the offending object, he leaned out from his window, shouting in anger, "SHINICHI!" as he shook the paper.

"Sorry!" Shinichi apologized, while not really meaning it, as he drove off to continue his job.

Keiichi sighed and took out the elastic before unrolling the newspaper. He read the headline and nearly choked on his own saliva.

At Rika's house, where she lived with Satoko, Hanyuu and Satoshi, the young man handed the paper to the cute little shrine maidens (Hanyuu and Rika). Rika quickly took out the pages containing comics and handed them to Hanyuu who quickly laughed as she scanned through them.

"Rena's house?" Rika guessed. That was Shinichi's final stop. It was always the same every day when he went on his paper route.

"Of course!" grinned Shinichi. "See you at school!" He then drove off. Despite living with his mother who had a steady income before of her writing, Shinichi still kept his newspaper delivery job to earn his own wages.

Just one more paper left to deliver, and it was going to Rena's house, and as always the girl was waiting at the front of her house with a cup of hot coffee just for Shinichi.

He exchanged the newspaper with the coffee and smiled at his girl. "Good morning, Rena-chan!"

"Good morning to you too, Shin-kun!" the girl beamed. She wished she could take him home with her, but Shinichi now had his own mother and his own home. Still, she could just knock him over the head and kidnap him.

The thought made her drool.

Amused, Shinichi asked, "Need a napkin, Rena-chan?" He even produced a handkerchief, with the image of a cute kitten stitched into the corner. Her eyes were glued onto the little kitten.

"Kawaii!" She took the napkin and rubbed her cheek against it.

"You can keep it," Shinichi surrendered. If Rena ever found anything cute she would never let it go.

"Thank you!" she chirped cutely and pecked his lips. He returned the gesture. "I love you."

"Love you too," he replied with a wink. "Well, my route's done."

"I was just about to make breakfast," she told him. "Would you mind joining us?"

"Of course!" grinned Shinichi. He was still in love with Rena's cooking.

With Rena riding on his bike with him, they met with their friends at the watermil while they headed to school. Everyone looked serious.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Shinichi asked.

"HAVE YOU SEEN THIS!" Keiichi shouted as he showed Shinichi the front page of the paper.

"Hey, oil prices have gone up," Shinichi said as he read a small article in the corner.

BAM!

Shinichi glared. "Keiichi!" It was a good thing he was wearing his helmet.

Keiichi unrolled the paper and growled, "No, you idiot! Look!" Keiichi pointed frantically at the front page. On it was a full picture of Showa, on his bike. "Somebody took a picture!"

"I look good," Shinichi admired.

"Shin-chan, aren't you the least bit worried?" Mion asked.

Shrugging, Shinichi answered, "Not really. People have seen my Rider form before. This is the first time it's been caught on film."

"This will just mean you're no longer just an urban legend," Rika pointed out.

"Rika-chan, this isn't a problem. If it does get bad I can just reset time," Shinichi said.

"For up to 24 hours," everyone deadpanned. That was how much time he could reset at a time.

"And who would come looking for me? Gebok is gone," Shinichi said.

TOKYO was a mysterious and sinister organization. Their main goal was to manipulate the government for their own ends, no matter how many people they needed to sacrifice. Under their employ was a private army known as the Yamainu. They were the same organization who backed up and funded Takano's research in the Hinamizawa Syndrome. Since the failure of the operation, the organization had moved towards more profitable projects.

On a table were black and white photos of Kamen Rider Showa.

The conference room was filled with discussion regarding the Kamen Rider.

"The technology seems very advanced. That suit of armor is no mere costume. It is capable of enhancing a human's physical abilities well beyond their usual parameters."

"But the armor is only as good as the wearer. As we can see this individual has been trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as in the use of gun and sword."

"Indeed this is someone worth watching. For now we may observe. What we need is the identity of the wearer hiding under that mask."

And then a soft and eerie chuckling was heard. It was quite unsettling to listen to in the dark room but the members seated had grown used to it.

"Must you always laugh like that?"

"Why not? Life is funny, after all. Why not have a laugh?"

"Be serious. We brought you into the organization so that we could make use of your skills and the resources your own organization can provide for us."

"Oh, you're no fun."

"So, why not shed some light on the subject. You know something about this armoured man."

"Oh, the one you designated as UAM (Unidentified Armoured Man)? Oh, of course I know of him. He's my son!"

"He's mad."

"True, but he is highly intelligent. A certifiable genius."

"A certifiable loon if you ask me."

"There is a fine line between genius and insanity."

"Bingo! So, like I said that's my son and I'm his daddy! I know everything about him!"

"Do you at least have a name or a picture?"

"No picture, but I call him BLACK 13."

"That doesn't tell us much!"

"Well, I'm not about to have you spoil my fun by making it too easy now am I? His name is BLACK 13 and he is commonly sighted in Hinamizawa and Okinomiya."

"Those places again. Didn't we have a failed operation in Hinamizawa?"

"It never happened. However, if UAM does reside within these areas, these are the places we must look."

"Wait for nightfall and see for yourselves! My son is one of a kind!"

"We shall see, Doctor…"

Everyone dropped the matter regarding Showa's appearance in the newspaper. It didn't alarm Shinichi at all. It wasn't like it was a picture of him taking off his helmet. It was now lunch time and the club was seated together as usual with their desks arranged to put their bentos.

"So, Shin-chan," began Shion. "Is your mother working on another book?"

"As always, and I've been helping her," Shinichi answered.

"Between the two of you, you have a lot of pervy ideas," frowned Mion.

"Hey, erotica is not pervy. It's art!" Shinichi defended his mother.

"That's right!" agreed Keiichi. "Shiori-san's books illustrate the close bond two people may have, emotionally, spiritually, and physically!"

"Perverts," Mion muttered.

"Now, now, Onee," giggled Shion. "It's natural for men to be a bit perverted, especially regarding their girlfriends." She gave a sly smile to Satoshi who blushed. Shion had attempted to put into practice something she'd read.

"Older kids are weird," Satoko said. She was too young to read and understand Shiori's brand of writing, and Shion was not about to let her 'little sister' take a peak at her collection.

"We will be like that when we're older too," Rika stated.

"So, what story is she working on next?" Keiichi asked, interested.

"Well, it's something she's calling 'The Lovers of the Cursed Magatama'," Shinichi answered.

Total…Silence…

"EEEEE!" Shion squealed. "You told her about that? Ooooh! One of our adventures is going to be turned into a book! That's so exciting! I can't wait to read it for myself! This is like a dream!"

"You…told her about the Magatama?" Mion gaped. "Shin-chan! That was embarrassing enough as it is! I don't wanna find out from Shion that it turned into some kind of…of…"

"Orgy?" offered Keiichi, earning a smack upside the head. "OW!"

"Don't say that in front of little kids!" Mion snapped before she turned her attention to Shinichi. "And you! I would have thought you'd have wanted to keep that incident quiet! You and Rena embarrassed yourselves enough over it!"

"It's not like Kaa-chan is going to use our names," Shinichi sighed. "Heck, it's not even going to go like how it went for us save for a few points. Kaa-chan is creating a whole new storyline. If anything the only things which are going to parallel what happened to us is how the Magatama appear and how the couple in the story come in possession of them. Everything else, well, that's up to Kaa-chan."

"Don't give it away Shin-chan!" Shion cried, not wanting the new book to be spoiled for her before it hit the shelves.

"Mion, it's not going to be like those adult movies I saw Dr. Irie sneaking out of the video store one time," Shinichi sighed, not even thinking about what he said. "The story of the real Magatama is actually very romantic and Kaa-chan wants to capture that. There's going to be some adult situations and stuff, but the romance of the legend is still going to be there. Now, if Kaa-chan wanted an XXX story, she'd have wanted to hear about those cursed swimming trunks."

"You've got a point there," Mion grumbled, shooting a glare at Keiichi who shivered in fright. Mion had not been happy about that incident and made Keiichi into her personal errand boy for three days afterwards.

"Au, that sounds like it'll be a good story," Hanyuu sighed, remembering the legend of the Magatama when it turned out well. "Do you think I can get a copy?"

"NO!" cried the elder members of the Gaming Club.

Shinichi whispered, "I'll get you one when you're older. Promise."

They then recalled something he'd said. Shion asked, "You actually saw Dr. Irie buy adult movies?"

In his clinic, while reading a book, Dr. Irie sneezed. The book he was reading was written by Shiori Banabara. The title was 'Maid and Master: Forbidden Romance". He was getting to the good part where the maid offered to 'service' her master. Dr. Irie drooled as he imagined the scene in his mind, except he was the Master and Satoko was the maid.

Meanwhile, Chie-sensei was in the faculty office, which was small, considering she was the only teacher. Her only company was the principal. She was reading 'Spicy Curry Nights'. It was a book about the romance between a Japanese girl and a travelling curry maker from India. She was getting to a really good part. The girl in the story was licking curry powder right off the man's fingers and…

Gym class was fun, simply because Chie-sensei left the kids to their own devices. In fact, gym was fun because of the Gaming Club and the things they did during this time.

Clad in their gym clothes, the Gaming Club was having a water-gun war. It was every man/woman for themselves. Armed with water pistols, they waged war.

SPLASH!

"SHINICHI!" Mion shouted in anger as water dripped from her face.

"Sorry, Mion! But it's everyone for themselves!" he laughed. He had brought along the perfect gun for the fight. It was modeled after a rifle and had a large container for water as well as an impressive range and output.

He then felt a gun pressed against the back of his head.

"Then, you wouldn't mind if I took a shot," Shion said slyly from behind him.

With a smirk, Shinichi ducked as she pulled the trigger. The stream of water flew over him as he spun, the barrel of his gun aimed at her chest.

"Oh, shit!" Shion cursed.

"You're out!" Shinichi called as he fired, causing her white gym shirt to go wet…and stick to her chest. Shinichi was giving her an appreciative look. She took note of where he was looking and exploded in anger.

"Pervert!"

SMACK!

She stomped off in anger.

"Sore loser," muttered Shinichi. "And now to find the others." He rounded a corner and rolled out of he way as he dodged several water balloons. "Satoko, you have to try better than that! You too, Satoshi!"

Before him were Satoshi and Satoko, holding water balloons. Behind them was a kiddie pool filled with said balloons

"Ho ho ho," Satoko laughed. "With Nii-nii with me, we cannot lose. Sorry, Shinichi-san, but your dominance in this game will end. We are all allied against you."

"Hey, don't complain because I'm just that good," Shinichi winked as he aimed with his gun.

"Get him!" Satoko ordered.

"OK, Satoko!" her elder brother obeyed as they began hurling water balloons at Shinichi. Like a seasoned soldier, he rolled away from the water balloons as thy struck the ground, bursting open to release their wet contents.

Of course, he was a soldier. For ten years he was conditioned to be a weapon by GIN-SHOCKER. While he hated the things they did to him, the training he got from the organization was helping him out in this game.

Seeing a water balloon coming at him, he swung his rifle like a bat and slammed it against the projectile. Miraculously, the water balloon didn't burst. Instead it flew back towards Satoko and hit her face.

"Satoko!" Satoshi shouted in alarm and then he got hit in the side with water.

"Heh heh!" Shinichi gloated. "You're out!"

Hiding in the supply shed was Hanyuu. She trembled as she sat huddled up in a corner inside the small wooden construct. She was holding the water gun. At first it was all fun and games but it was getting really scary.

"Rika…where are you…Au…Au…" Hanyuu heard the door creak open. "Huh? No, wait! I surrender! AU!"

"Sorry, Hanyuu-chan," Shinichi apologized. He shot at her.

SPLASH!

"Sorry, Rika-chan, but you're out," said Shinichi to a dripping wet Rika.

"Compared to you, I am but a novice," said Rika humbly.

"OK, now the only ones left are Keiichi and Rena-chan," Shinichi listed. He didn't have to look far. Rena and Keiichi were already having a showdown. They were both armed with a water pistol in each hand, with an extra pair in water filled buckets. Like expert marksmen they opened fire…er water, but like experts they dodged.

As Shinichi watched, he couldn't help but admire how Rena's breasts bounced with each move she made. And then he imagined how a wet t-shirt would look on her. Suffice to say he was drooling.

"I wished I had my camera…" he murmured. He could just take them out by surprise, but he was running low on water. He needed to conserve his ammo. Then again, they were distracted with each other, and if he wanted to win he should just take this chance. "Should I wait and take out the winner, or take them both out?" he wondered aloud. "Maybe they'll take each other out."

Rena was looking very serious as she battled with Keiichi. Just like when she was on one of her treasure hunts. She was set on her goal.

"And now, to finish it!" Keiichi announced as he pulled the triggers, only to realise to his horror that he had run out. "Oh, shoot!"

"Now, Keiichi-kun! I win!" Rena announced as she took aim and fired, splashing Keiichi.

"No!" Keiichi wailed as he'd lost. It just wasn't fair.

"I win!" Rena chirped. However, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed against her back. "Huh?"

"Sorry, but your victory is simply premature," said Shinichi darkly, "My dear Rena-chan."

"Shin-kun…"

"Sorry, but I must eliminate you. Even if you are my girlfriend, I cannot allow myself to fall under another penalty game. You understand, right?"

"Rena understands, but that doesn't mean Rena will lose easily!" She spun around and knocked the barrel away with the back of her hand and took aim at Shinichi. Of course he recovered quickly and aimed at well.

"Well, all we need is a third and we've got a Mexican Standoff," Shinichi stated, amused.

Both combatants stared each other down, prepared to either shoot or dodge depending on the actions of their opponent. Both were determined not to suffer the penalty game, knowing full well what the other might make them endure for the sake of their own amusement. Shinichi and Rena were both ready to do what it took to win. Of course, Shinichi got impatient and decided to go for broke when…

FLASH!

After shooting it, BLACK 13 kicked the last of the training dummies down. This one felt a little odd, almost as if it were heavier. Perhaps it was made out of different materials. Shrugging, he was about to return to the starting point when he noticed it. A dark pool was growing from underneath the last training dummy. Curious and unheeding of Dr. Gebok's snickering, he pressed his hand against the head of the dummy. It felt odd. Finding a flap for the fabric which made up its head, BLACK 13 removed it…only to gasp in shock and stumble back.

"RINA!" he cried out.

"Kuro…kun…" the girl gasped despite the hole in her chest.

FLASH!

"Shin-kun?" Rena asked. "Shin-kun what's wrong?"

Rena had a right to become concerned. Shinichi was beginning to tremble, almost violently so. His pupils shrank and he had broken out in a cold sweat. His mouth had gone dry and he was deathly pale.

"Shin-kun! Shin-kun, talk to me!" Rena cried, dropping her water guns and knocking Shinichi's out of his hand.

"Crap, he's remembering something!" Keiichi gasped, recalling the signs when Shinichi got the package with those weird clothes in it. "Shion, do you have your tazer?"

"Yes, but it's with my clothes!" Shion nodded.

"Get it fast! You know what he's like when he remembers something Gebok did to him!" Keiichi cried out. That was all Shion needed to hear before she took off like a shot for her things.

THUMP!

"SHIN-KUN!" Rena cried out in fear.

Shinichi had dropped to the ground, curled in a fetal position. He was trembling violently with his skin as pale as ever. He was gripping his shoulders tightly and looked like he was crying even though he wasn't blinking.

"I'msorryI'msorrypleasedon'tdiepleasedon'tdieI'msorryI'msorrypleasedon'tdiepleasedn'tdie…" There was no need for the tazer this time. He was mentally exhausted and so he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

"SHIN-KUN!" Rena cried out in panic.

When Shinichi regained consciousness, he realised that he was in a bed in Dr. Irie's clinic. Looking over, he saw his friends looking concerned. The doctor had left following a house call.

"It happened again, didn't it?" asked Shinichi. The looks on their faces answered for him. "I see...so, who tazered me this time?"

"None of us did," said Shion. "You passed out yourself."

"I see..." nodded Shinichi. His eyes fell on Rena. She was the most worried about him. He turned his eyes away. "I've always thought I could forget, but I can't. There are some things I can never forget." He could never wash the blood off his hands. Rina may have forgiven him, but he wasn't ready to forgive himself.

"Shin-kun, what did you remember?" Rena asked.

"Remember when we met Gebok?" Shinichi asked. "And do you remember what he said?" Rena gasped in realization. Gebok had basically told them everything that had happened which caused Shinichi to abandon GIN-SHOCKER.

"What is it?" Mion asked.

"Mii-chan, it's something private," Rena said solemnly.

Shinichi wondered if he was being infected by the syndrome. He didn't show any symptoms of paranoia, but he did have panic attacks whenever he remembered his dark past.

The door was thrown open as Shiori frantically entered, "OH MY GOD! MY BABY! ARE YOU OKAY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Kaa-chan?" Shinichi blinked.

"Your teacher called me. What happened?" she asked.

"I...had a panic attack," answered Shinichi.

"Has this happened before?" Shiori asked.

"A few times," nodded Shinichi. He couldn't lie to her, but he still couldn't divulge his life in GIN-SHOCKER to her, knowing how emotional she could get. He was also ashamed of the things he'd done. He didn't want her mother to know because of that.

"Oh, my poor baby..." whimpered the woman as she took Shinichi into a hug to comfort him. His friends watched. Indeed, Shinichi needed this. He needed someone whose shoulder he could cry on.

'Kaa-chan, I'm so sorry…' he wanted to say but he couldn't come up with the words. Instead he settled with crying with his eyes closed as his mother held him close.

At first, Dr. Irie had feared that Shinichi had gone through Level 3 of the Hinamizawa Syndrome. However, the results he had certainly didn't fit. All it seemed was just a panic attack, just like when he'd tried to reawaken Shinichi's memories. Each time Shinichi's memories were triggered, he would react rather violently. It was as if he was being tortured by those memories and was lashing out in retaliation in order to protect himself.

Unfortunately, Dr. Kobe had vanished and Dr. Irie couldn't find anyone else he knew who could help the boy, psychologically that is. He may have studied neurology and psychosurgery, but he was in no way a psychologist. However, he could tell that the memories which sent Shinichi into these panic attacks had to be traumatic and thus the boy purposely tried to repress them to lessen the pain.

Fortunately, on the emotional side, Shinichi has his friends, especially Rena who was his girlfriend, and his mother. Dr. Irie was really surprised when he first met the woman who claimed to be Shinichi's mother. While the results of the blood test to determine if they were related were inconclusive, they did share the same blood type. They also shared several similar physical features such as hair and eye color and the twin ahoge at the top of their heads. Not to mention their similar perverted personalities. Dr. Irie just hoped Shinichi really didn't have the syndrome. He knew that the end result was death.

After spending a couple of hours under Dr. Irie's observation, Shinichi was finally released into the care of the mother. Since they were in the village, they had dinner with Rena and her father. This was actually something they often did together as Shinichi felt at home with the Ryuugus as much as he did with his mother. Rena loved having dinner with the Banabaras, simply because of Shinichi's presence. Under the table, the couple would hold hands and act romantic. To Shiori, this was a source of inspiration. To Mr. Ryuugu, however, this was a source of irritation. Rena kept trying to feed Shinichi and Shiori cooed at how cute the young couple looked. It reminded her of how and her husband had been early in their marriage.

Later that night, Shinichi snuck out of his apartment and went up to the roof of the apartment building to think. He gazed out at Okinomiya. The view was different than Hinamizawa. Still, the village was close by and he could go back whenever he wanted. His friends were there.

Shinichi yelped as he felt someone tap his shoulder and whirled around. Panting, he relaxed and snapped at the offender, "Shion!"

"I got you good, didn't I?" the verdette smirked. However, Shinichi looked her over and realized that this was not Shion but her twin, Mion.

"I know it's you, Mion," he said confidently. "You can drop the act."

Mion remarked, "You can always tell us apart, can't you?"

"You may be twins, but you're still two very different people," said Shinichi. "So, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see how you were doing. As club leader I'm responsible for the welfare of my subordinates," claimed Mion. "So, are you feeling alright?"

"Well, I had a panic attack when another memory triggered," Shinichi deadpanned.

"Want to talk about it?" asked Mion.

What could he say? He just saw himself murder a friend in his past, a friend who looked just like Rena. Aiming the water gun in her face had triggered the memory.

"Just remembered the worst thing Gebok made me do," he told her. Only Rena knew the details and she wasn't going to tell anyone. It was something private and in his past.

"Well, then you don't have to tell me," said Mion. "It's your secret."

"I thought friends aren't supposed to keep secrets from friends," Shinichi stated.

"Well, there's a difference between things you must tell, and things you don't need to tell," said Mion. "We all have excess baggage from painful pasts." Mion recalled the time she made her sister peel off her own fingernails as punishment. Mion had not wanted to do it, but as future head of the clan she had to show that she was tough. She still regretted it, however. It was still fortunate that the sisters were close in spite of it.

"I have ten years of excess baggage that only an adult would have," retorted Shinichi. He'd been kidnapped, genetically enhanced and altered, and brainwashed into becoming the perfect solider and weapon. None of his friends ever had to go through that. He then sensed something. "I have to go. There's something back at the village."

"Darkloid?" Mion guessed. He nodded.

"I'll be back. Henshin! Let's Ride: Showa!"

Showa drove up to the Onigafuchi Swamp. Onigafuchi was the original name of Hinamizawa. It was said to be the nest for demons. While the founders had originally purified the land to build the village, demons would still return. Now Showa was facing those demons, known as Darklings and Darkloids.

He pulled on the brakes and gazed at the swamp. After his encounter with Gebok, he had gained the ability to sense the energy of Darklings and Darkloids. Before it was just a matter of luck when he encountered them, but now he could actually sense and track them.

He looked to the swamp. It seemed peaceful enough. Creepy, sure, but it was still peaceful. "Where is it?" he murmured.

He dismounted his bike to investigate. In the dark his helmet's eyes glowed with an eerie green light. Anyone seeing him now would assume he was a demon of sorts. "I knew I sensed it. Where is it?"

He got his answer when all of a sudden a thick black tentacle launched itself from the murky swamp water and wrapped itself tightly around Showa before pulling him inside with a loud splash.

Struggling against the tentacle holding him, Showa could make out the shape of the creature, or at least an outline. It looked large and round with piercing red eyes. He could also make out more tentacles. Definitely something to be alarmed about. It had either captured him, thinking he was food or a threat. Showa was banking on both being the Darkloid's reasons for capturing him.

"I have no time for this!" snarled Showa. "Let's Ride: J! Jumbo Formation!"

There was a bright flash of light followed by a huge splash as a gigantic figure rose up from the swamp water. The figure was humanoid, clad in a dark green bodysuit that acted as armor. The bodysuit was trimmed in light green. His head was in a helmet with a wide white segmented strip in the middle and a pair of red eyes. The strip had mandibles in the mouth region and a pair of antennae was above the eyes.

This was Kamen Rider Showa, in the form of Kamen Rider J. J was the only Rider with the ability to assume a gigantic form.

Clutched in his hand was the Darkloid, which resembled an octopus, save for the head that resembled a human skull. It had its tentacles coiled tightly around Showa's hand.

With a hint of disgust, Showa crushed the Darkloid in his hand and then dropped the remains back into the swamp. He got out of the swamp and reassumed his normal armoured form before mounting his bike and driving off. He cast the swamp one last glance before racing back home.

Nearby, a tentacle slithered back into the swamp.

The members of TOKYO were once again in a meeting. This time they were reviewing the latest photos of Showa's display of his abilities.

"He can assume a gigantic form!"

"Indeed, this is amazing. Doctor, you never mentioned this."

"You never asked. Ah, my son has finally grown up."

"You loon, do you even realise what you have created? A weapon like this should not be in the hands of a child!"

"Oh, I know what I've created, but do you know what he is capable when mad?"

None of them wanted to know the answer to that but they got it anyway.

"Let's just say I was never the same again. His emotions were a very interesting aspect that I wanted to study. I stimulated them and finally made them explode. The results were magnificent! Sure, people died but that's the price of science!"

"Let us continue watching him. He must have a weakness. Everyone has a weakness and UAM is no different."

"And it is all linked to Hinamizawa."

"Must we mention that infernal village? The last project we had involving that place ended in failure."

"No, Takano failed. We didn't. We washed our hands of the incident and in her state of mind she can never expose us. Even if she did, no one would believe her after what she did."

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Aside from my son, I do believe the Hinamizawa Syndrome has practical applications. Just lend me your trust and I shall create a weapon that will make you all filthy rich!"

The rest of the members murmured among themselves. The Doctor, however, grinned. He knew they would agree. People with power were greedy and desired more power.

"I propose to approve the Doctor's project."

"Seconded."

"We shall now vote on this."

And the Doctor grinned.

Who is the Doctor? What is going to happen to Shinichi? What is TOKYO planning? Nothing good, I can tell you that. Nothing good at all.