SPIRITS CHAPTER PART 1: GOKUAKU

There is a myth that says when items or artefacts reach their 100th birthday (100 years of existence) they come alive and become self-aware, carrying their own souls as they are born as new life forms known as Tsukumogami. Any item that is 100 years old will become a Tsukumogami, be it a toy or sword. They are not enchanted items. Rather, they are supernatural beings. 100 year old umbrellas would become Karakasa, growing an eye and with the handle becoming a leg and foot. Another breed of Tsukumogami is the Chochinobake, which are paper lanterns. The rip will become a mouth and it too will have eyes.

Typically, Tsukumogami are harmless, but when angered they will band together to take revenge on the people who'd abandoned them.

In Hinamizawa, three such items could be characterised as Tsukumogami. However, they have yet to reveal themselves as such. They remain inert, until summoned by the warrior who has been chosen by them.

Until now…

The alarm clock rang at 4:30 and seconds later a hand came down and hit the snooze button. Shinichi groggily got out of bed, moving Rena's arm which was draped over him off him. He looked over to his girlfriend, who'd come and slept over at his place. She was as naked as a newborn and when her source of warmth had gone, she wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. Shinichi's hand gently caressed her cheek. He got out of bed and got dressed. "Gotta deliver papers…" Shinichi murmured as he rubbed his eyes. He dragged himself to the door and exited his room.

Every morning, at around this time, he would receive a stack of papers that he was supposed to deliver in the village at the front of his house. He untied the stack and one by one he rolled the papers up and tied an elastic band around them. He then put the papers in a bag and walked over to his bike. He then mounted his bike and drove off to deliver them.

This was his routine each morning. He would wake up early, deliver papers all over the village, and finally go home to have a proper bath and breakfast. He'd taken the job to earn himself some money. It was also his way of being normal. Being a Rider left him little room for a normal life. The few instances he could be normal was at home, delivering papers, going to school, the after-school game club, going on dates with Rena and having fun with his friends. He would savour each moment. However, he would not allow himself to be idle. GIN-SHOCKER was a threat and judging by the information he was getting they were close to perfecting their weaponizing of the Hinamizawa Syndrome. That was something he could not allow.

Once he finished his deliveries, he wheeled his bike back into the garage. Yawning, he went back inside to catch a couple more hours of sleep before school. As he got into bed and under the blanket, he felt Rena wrap her arms around him.

The next couple of hours were going to be weird for him…

"Hello again, Shinichi," said Kamen Rider Ichigo. He was in the green field again and standing before the first Kamen Rider in history.

"Ichigo-sempai," nodded Shinichi. "Why have you brought me here?"

"Oh, it wasn't I who brought you here," said Ichigo.

"It was me," a gruff voice said and when Shinichi saw the owner of the voice, his eyes went wide with a WTF expression on his face. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." He was tall, 7 feet to be exact, with huge muscles and green skin like the Hulk. Unlike the Hulk, however, he wore his hair in a bowl cut with small horns and pointed ears. He wore a tiger skin tunic with matching wrist bands and boots. He was holding a kanabo (a club) and was scowling.

"What the hell are you?" Shinichi asked.

"Shinichi, this is Gokuaku," Ichigo introduced, "He's the spirit within the Oni no Hone."

"Seriously?" Shinichi blurted in disbelief.

"That's right, that's me, Gokuaku!" said the Oni. He walked (stomped) over to Shinichi and flicked him in the forehead.

Shinichi snapped, "Hey!" as he rubbed his forehead.

"For a kid who can use my powers, you sure don't look much," snorted Gokuaku.

"Are you always this unpleasant?" Shinichi retorted.

"I'm an Oni, kid. I don't have time to be pleasant!"

"Ichigo-sempai, can you please tell me what this is all about?" Shinichi asked.

"He's going to be training you," Ichigo answered.

Shinichi deadpanned, "No, seriously."

"He's right," said Gokuaku, "Kid, you can use my powers but not at full strength. I'm here to show you how to really use the Oni no Hone!"

"Hey, if it helps protects my friends and the village, I'm willing to try anything," said Shinichi. Gokuaku grinned, baring his sharp teeth, and making Shinichi sweat. "I…said the wrong thing, didn't I?"

"Welcome to your first day of your new training, Shinichi," said Ichigo.

"Joy…" Shinichi uttered sarcastically. A kanabo landed at his feet. "Hey!"

"Pick that up and we can start," Gokuaku instructed. "It's time you learnt to fight like an Oni."

On the walk to school, Shinichi met up with Mion, Shion and Keiichi at their usual meeting place. Mion looked at Shinichi and asked, "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

"I did, just had a really bad dream," Shinichi answered. He had bags under his eyes and his twin ahoge hung limply.

"Shin-kun was tossing and turning like he was having a nightmare," added Rena.

"And how would you know that, Rena?" asked Shion in a teasing tone. "Did you sleep over again at your boyfriend's place?"

Shinichi and Rena blushed. Rika quickly changed the subject, "We should get to school before we're late."

"Yeah, you're right," Shinichi said quickly. He took Rena's hand. "Come on, Rena-chan!" He then ran with her to school.

"You know, I sometimes have trouble believing he's a superhero," said Keiichi.

"If you told my grandmother that, she wouldn't believe it either," added Mion.

"OK, I'm gonna teach you how to fight like an Oni," Gokuaku began his lecture as he paced in front of Shinichi. Shinichi was sitting on a rock with his kanabo at his side. It was a smaller size than the one kanabo was holding. "An Oni fights hard, and doesn't stop for anything. An Oni fights, fights and fights until he can't fight anymore. That usually happens when an Oni either gets hungry, needs to use the bathroom, or dead."

"OK, so a non-stop fighting machine," Shinichi summarised.

"More or less, kid," said Gokuaku. "Now, I want you to pick up that kanabo and fight me."

"Heh, easy," grinned Shinichi. "But first…Henshin!" He blinked. "Huh?" His belt hadn't formed and his armor didn't come after he'd called upon it.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that you can't transform," said Gokuaku as he loomed over Shinichi.

Shinichi paled and gulped.

Shinichi had trouble keeping himself awake in class. He was starting to doze off while doing his work. Rena had to stop him from completely blacking out or else he might get into trouble. He could sleep during lunch. In the meantime, he had to stay awake.

"Shinichi, why are you so tired anyway?" asked Keiichi. "I mean you never get tired."

"Yeah," Satoshi agreed. "Unlike us you don't need much sleep."

"It's just, guys, I had a really intense dream last night," Shinichi answered, trying to keep in a yawn and failing.

"Must be something ecchi," Shion accused. "Hentai."

"No, it was not something ecchi," Shinichi countered. 'At least not this time.'

"So, what was your dream about?" Mion asked.

"I was chased around by a crazy Oni who was throwing fire and lighting at me," Shinichi answered, summarizing the dream. His friends blinked. "Wasn't what you expected from me, huh?" Usually, he had nightmares, flashbacks or visions in his sleep. This was not under those categories. "I'll tell you more during lunch," he added. "Right now, let's get some work done." They were doing English. "Oh, and Keiichi, that word is both a noun and a verb."

Shinichi, once he discovered he could not transform, did the one thing he thought was sensible.

He dropped the kanabo and ran like heck. However, Gokuaku was not about to let him off that easily.

"GET BACK HERE!" Gokuaku roared as he gave chase. For a big guy, he was sure fast. Also, he had his powers.

ZAP!

A lightning bolt nearly hit Shinichi as it zipped past him. He yelled out in fright. "Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream!"

FASHOOM!

He ducked as a fireball went flying overhead.

"REALLY BAD DREAM!" Shinichi screamed as Gokuaku continued to chase him for hours. His real body was tossing and turning, nearly knocking Rena off the bed.

As the entire Gaming Club had lunch, Shinichi told them about his dream.

"So, the Oni no Hone is alive?" Keiichi questioned, not believing but still interested.

"Gokuaku claims it is," said Shinichi. "I mean, it does come to me when I call it."

"It does," confirmed Mion. "Luckily, nobody notices since it's locked in the vault."

"So, your dream wasn't a dream?" Satoko asked, scratching her head. She didn't really get it.

"I'm confused too, Satoko-chan," said Shinichi. "I mean I was already tired after Rena and I…" He cut himself off. He didn't want to give too much away. There were children around.

"After Rena and you what?" Mion asked, interested with a grin. Shinichi glanced at Rena.

"After we did our homework together!" Rena blurted out. It wasn't a complete lie. They did have homework. It was what they did after homework which was tiring. She still had goosebumps when she woke up.

"So, does this mean you can't stick around after school?" asked Mion. She really was worried for Shinichi. He had a lot on his shoulders now. He was a representative of ARMOR in their world and was entrusted to protect them from GIN-SHOCKER. That was too much for one teen but luckily he had backup. The NEO-NUMBERS were his team.

Shinichi yawned as he picked up a sausage with his chopsticks. "Looks like it, Mion. Sorry."

"Hey, you need rest," said Rena, hand on his head and giving him a few pats. He smiled at her.

"A lot of rest," Mion agreed.

"Oh, Shin-chan, when is your mother's next book coming out?" asked Shion eagerly.

"It's a work in progress," Shinichi answered. "Just needs a couple more chapters, a few illustrations, and some proofreading."

"Oh, I can't wait!" Shion smiled.

"Can't wait to try what you read on dear Satoshi?" Shinichi teased. Shion and Satoshi blushed.

"Hentai!" Shion bopped him on the head.

"Easy there, Shion! Just teasing!" Shinichi laughed as Shion glared at him. The others began to laugh as well.

Shinichi realised he had nowhere to run so he stopped and spun around, clenching his fists. "I'm a Rider, damn it! With or without armor I can still fight!" He glared at the approaching Gokuaku and shouted, "HERE I COME, GREENIE!" Gokuaku grinned as he saw Shinichi coming. The boy leapt up at him, fist drawn, only to be knocked out of the air by Gokuaku's kanabo. He tumbled along the grass and stopped face up.

"You're going to be feeling that when you wake up," said Gokuaku. He dropped a kanabo on the ground and kicked it over to Shinichi. It rolled over and stopped an inch from his hand. "Pick that up. Time you learnt to fight like an Oni." Shinichi rolled onto his stomach, hand around the kanabo's handle. He then pushed himself up onto his feet, gripping the weapon tightly. Gokuaku nodded.

Shinichi shouted and charged with the kanako. He dragged it along the ground and when in range he swung at Gokuaku.

It was after school and the Gaming Club were out for a game of Kick the Can. Only Shinichi couldn't participate. Mion ordered him to get some rest at home. He did, however, get a few words in private with her.

"Mion, how's your grandmother doing?" Shinichi asked.

"Why?" Mion asked.

"Just humour me," said Shinichi.

"Well, she's not getting any younger, but to be honest her health's been poor. Of course, she insists that she'll live a lot longer. Maybe a couple of more years," said Mion.

"That's good," Shinichi said. "So, does she have any information on the Oni no Hone?"

"They're in the family records. I can check them if you want. What do you want to know?

"All of the helmet's history," said Shinichi. "Knowledge is Power, Mion, and I intend to get it so I can protect you guys and stop GIN-SHOCKER."

"I believe in you, Shin-chan, and so does everyone else," Mion said encouragingly.

"Thanks, Mion. You're a real pal."

No sooner had Shinichi fallen asleep on the couch, he found himself in the field with Gokuaku again. "Oh, great. More training?"

"That's right!" Gokuaku gruffed.

Shinichi rubbed his temples. He was really tired and going through this again was not very restful. "Look, Gokuaku I know you mean well, but can't I take a short break? Because of you I didn't get much rest after I did my job and I really need some rest after my day at school."

Gokuaku slammed his kanabo down and growled. "That's sissy talk, kid! Now, pick up your kanabo and fight me!"

"If it'll make you shut up…" Shinichi muttered as he picked up the other kanabo. He could not call on his armor here so he had to fight as he is.

"Round two, fleshie," Gokuaku grinned, baring sharp teeth.

"I'm so gonna talk to Warren about this," Shinichi swore to himself as he prepared himself.

The names of the Three Spirits are as followed:

Gokuaku-Spirit of the Oni no Hone: He is 7 feet tall with a muscular build, green skin and wears a tiger-skin tunic with matching wrist bands and boots. He has a bowl cut, pointed ears and horns. He's a big green Oni. Quick to anger.

Zennin-Spirit of the Kage no Hoshi: He has bandages covering his entering head, only revealing one eye. He wears a ninja's uniform with a metallic vest and a sword strapped to his back. He has a mischievous personality.

Yabuki-Spirit of the Higurashi no Yaiba: He is the most human looking, with short black hair and clad in green samurai armor. He can get a bit maniacal in battle and very scary when fighting. He is the strongest in close-ranged combat.

The Three Sacred Treasures of Hinamizawa (originally Onigafuchi) have existed for centuries, so it is no wonder that they've developed a life of their own, becoming Tsukumogami. They'll be helping in Shinichi's training to master their full power.