Tears to Shed
Note: Takes place during X Tag Team of "Horseshoes and Hand-grenades
IX: 6-9-18-5-19-20-1-18-20-5-18
"Just as a candle can burn without fire, men cannot live without spiritual life."
-Buddha
Gentaro pulled the hood of his jacket over his head, masking his identity from the tourists in Kyoto. He looked just like any other teenager who wanted to be left alone while walking in a giant city. No one would bother him—he'd be hidden in plain sight.
"Excuse me mister," said a giant bipedal green dragon, handing Gentaro a purple balloon. "Want one?"
Gentaro shifted his gaze toward five mascots: a penguin, a green dragon, an owl, an elephant and a dog. Each of them held balloons of different colors in their hands—blue, purple, white, gold and red—ready to be taken by any kind and generous patron that happened to pass by. Gentaro hesitated—something wasn't right if there were five mascots staring at him.
Deciding to play it cool, Gentaro picked up the purple balloon and said, "Thank you. Have a nice day."
"Bye bye!" said the green dragon mascot, jumping up and down. "See you later!"
Gentaro waved a goodbye as he walked off, balloon in hand. When he could no longer be seen, he tied the balloon to the nearest stone lantern and muttered, "Sagitta."
A multitude of arrows rained from the heavens, popping the balloon into fragments of rubber. Gentaro narrowed his eyes as he knew what was going on. He was being followed.
"Of course you're being followed," Ophiuchus chuckled. "You just attract all sorts of attention, don't you?"
"The one day I don't want it and the world just hates me, doesn't it?" Gentaro replied, eating his sixth donut. "This will be fun, let me tell you."
Ophiuchus just laughed as Gentaro continued to meander across Kyoto, not caring for anyone or anything that just happened to pass him by. Kengo and Jiro were already on standby, waiting to meet up with him to prepare the next phase of action in regards to one Misa Torizaki, and the other serpent, Neroda as she was called, was going to be active sometime later. Until then, he had all the time in the world to do whatever he pleased.
"Tell me, Master," said Gentaro. "Should I be in the look-out for other Serpents like Renenutet?"
"Depends if they want to stick their noses into this business," Ophiuchus replied. "Like I said, the only time a Serpent interferes with another Serpent's business is if it benefits them in some particular way."
"...Will our business benefit them?"
"Minus my big sister just wanting to see things play out, none of my brethren are truly interested in my cause. We are fine the way it is."
"Good. The less interference, the better."
0-0-0-0-0-
Gentaro stood underneath the shade of an old tree as he saw Kengo and Jiro approach him, Misa Torizaki in tow. Having finished the last of his donuts—waiting made him hungry—he incinerated the donut box in a small blaze of fire as he saw both Kengo and Jiro bow to him.
"Have we kept you waiting, Serpent-bearer?" asked Kengo.
"No, I've been roaming around and seeing the sights," Gentaro replied. "You both know what to do, correct?"
"Of course!" Jiro answered. "Who the hell do you think we are? Idiots?"
"I'm just checking." Gentaro turned to Misa, smiling at how she would be an important part of the plan. "And our beloved White Swan?"
"I've never heard her be this quiet before," said Kengo. "She's more like a mouse than a swan though."
"That is to be expected—she just honks out words that make people follow her, but when the chips are down she has nothing to say." Jiro cackled as he placed a blade near Misa's throat. "Oh, what's wrong, Princess? Cat got your tongue?"
"Enough with the threats, save it for when we have to really kill her," said Gentaro, looking around. "I think someone's following us."
"We'll take care of her, Serpent-bearer," said Kengo. "What shall we do after that?"
"Trail after Principal Hayami and see to it that everything is in place with him. If you have to kill any of my former friends, do so. Leave no survivors. I'll see to it that he becomes one of us by tonight."
"As you command."
The two walked off as Gentaro stared off at the distance. He knew someone was stalking them.
"Master," he hissed. "What shall we do with the stalkers?"
"Let them think that neither Apep nor the Serpent of the Obsidian Knives are oblivious to their existence. When we have a chance, kill the information broker."
"JK? Why?"
"His connections to spread information throughout the people standing in the way of our goal will cripple us. If we nip this little problem at the bud, then we shall be one step closer to destiny. Besides," Ophiuchus emerged from the shadows, his ruby eyes shining in the darkness. "He wanted you to die first. Or do you not recall the time he snatched the Elec Switch from you for his own purposes? He deserved to be killed by the Monoceros Zodiarts for his betrayal and cowardice. Killing him now would be karma getting its due, wouldn't you think?
Gentaro slowly nodded his head, seeing his master's eyes penetrating deep into his soul. He felt his body relax at the deep red glow washing over his body. He never got tired of that feeling. It made him feel as if nothing could hurt him.
Just relax, Serpent-bearer. Said Ophiuchus. We have lots of work to do.
"Yes, master," Gentaro replied, nodding his head. "I shall personally take care of JK while you start harvesting as much Cosmic Energy for your human form. Then, we can begin to assimilate Principal Hayami into our ranks. I wonder what his serpent name shall be?"
I'll keep it a surprise. Ophiuchus laughed. Good luck on your quest, Serpent-bearer. I expect big things from you.
Gentaro nodded his head as he saw Ophiuchus vanish. Then he walked off, placing a hand over his unbeating heart as he imagined how he would enact his first kill.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Any last words?" asked Gun Den-O, placing a Liner Pass near his belt.
Gentaro snarled, feeling himself squashed by six other bodies on top of him. He didn't know how much of a threat JK actually was now that he could become a Kamen Rider. This was not how he expected his first kill to go.
Still, whether if he was a Kamen Rider or not, JK was going down.
The Serpent-bearer bowed his head and whispered, "Hercules."
He felt energy flow through his arms and legs. He slowly started to stand, feeling the dogpile on top of him trembling. With a loud roar, the dancers Gun Den-O summoned were thrown about as a red aura lined his body. He saw the purple Kamen Rider step back, bringing out his gun as a warning. Gentaro just smiled—he knew that JK wouldn't kill him.
"Me and my big mouth," Gun Den-O muttered under his breath.
"Indeed," Gentaro replied. He approached his prey and added, "Oh, and one more thing."
"W-what's that?"
"Did I mention all of those kickboxing lessons I took from Haruka-sensei?"
Gentaro clopped his feet like a horse before bringing a leg to kick Gun Den-O across the head. The Kamen Rider fell onto the ground, unable to react to the swift blow that made him drop to his knees. Seeing his prey vulnerable, Gentaro whispered, "Circinus."
Two powerful blades mounted on his wrists, each blade decorated with the designs of a king snake and coral snake respectively. Nudging Gun Den-O onto his back with a foot, Gentaro placed a blade on his neck.
"You're going to kill me, aren't you?" Gun Den-O gasped.
"How ever did you find out?" Gentaro asked with faux surprise. "No, I'm not going kill the being inside JK. And JK, if you're listening to me, hear this: 'Keep your friends close and your past even closer.'"
"Wait, what do you mean by-"
"King snake, OBLITERATE!"
The eyes of the king snake began to glow as an orb of fire flew from the blade on Gentaro's right wrist. With a scream, Gun Den-O was covered in a large cloud of smoke. When it died down, all that was left were Ryutaros and JK. Gentaro grinned as he lifted JK onto his feet, hands close to strangling his ex-friend's neck.
"W-why?" JK choked out. "Why did you betray us? We're your friends...aren't we?"
"Friends?" Gentaro laughed as he tightened his grip. "When did I ever consider you my friend, JK? I despise being in contact with cowards and slime-balls like you. I think the world will be better off without you." He lifted JK higher into the air, the blade on his left wrist beginning to glow. This was it. He would draw first blood and leave no survivors.
"Don't kill me, Gentaro!" JK pleaded. "Please...Don't do this!"
"It's too late for that, isn't it? Coral Snake: Eng-"
Axe/Wing Form
Gentaro was knocked back by two axes aimed toward him. He dropped JK onto the ground and deflected them with his wrist-mounted blades. He let out a low hiss as he saw two new Kamen Riders on the scene, preparing to attack as the axes returned to their respective owners.
"Back off," he said. "JK's my first kill!"
"Get going!" said the yellow Kamen Rider to JK. "We'll hold him off for you."
"But..." JK turned to the Kamen Riders and then to Gentaro. "Are you sure?"
"Just go!" said the white Kamen Rider. "We need to regoup now!"
Gentaro snarled as he saw Ryutaros transform into an orb of light and how the Imagin absorbed himself into JK. Gentaro then saw the gossip broker run off, tail between his legs. The Serpent-bearer was so close to killing him! Why did he have to hesitate at the last minute? His eyes began to glow black as he felt his anger pouring through his body, wishing to destroy the warriors of justice and to kill them where they stood.
"Let's do this man-to-man." Gentaro hissed.
Next chapter: Gentaro finds himself inbetween life and death once more. What was it like to revisit the scene where he was resurrected?
To be continued in, "Betwixt"