Horseshoes and Hand-grenades
IX: 14-1-13-5/20-1-8
"Must a name mean something?" Alice asked doubtfully.
"Of course it must," Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh; "My name means the shape I am – and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost."
-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There
3...2...1...
Blastoff!
The roar of a rocket heading off to space told Yuki Jojima that her alarm clock just went off. She groaned and reached out, pressing on a button that turned off the alarm. The roar died down as she got out of bed and looked at the time. It was 6:45 AM—the time that she set the clock to the night before. She looked near her bed, seeing a suitcase and her Hayabusa satellite plushie resting on top of it. That's when she remembered what today was—today was when her class was off to Kyoto.
Yuki mumbled something under her breath as she stretched her arms. Letting out a large yawn, she got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. These past few nights hadn't been easy for her—her parents tried to cheer her up by cooking some of her favorite foods, but it wasn't doing anything to lift her spirits nor make her forget the situation at hand.. Gentaro was dead, Kengo was a brainwashed slave and Ryusei...she didn't even want to know what happened to him.
"Yuki!" cried a female voice. "Breakfast is ready! Come and get it while it's still warm!"
"Coming!" Yuki replied. "I'll be there in just a second, mom!"
The space otaku turned the faucet on and splashed her face with a handful of water. She had too much to think about right now concerning what Owner told the Kamen Rider Club and the fact that her best friend was born under the sign of Ophiuchus. She wished that she could find more answers than questions, but until then, going to Kyoto and surviving the two day trip was going to be nothing short of a miracle.
After freshening up and dressing herself in her school uniform, she picked up her suitcase and plushie and went downstairs. She took a deep breath and smelled the french toast and eggs her father was cooking in the kitchen and sighed. She was going to miss their cooking and their companionship while she was gone.
"Yuki!" said her mother, wrapping the otaku with a hug. "You won't believe what's outside! Take a look!"
Yuki was dragged toward the window and looked in awe. In front of the Jojima residents was the DenLiner and the four Imagins waiting for her. Ryutaros was waving his hands in the air and jumping up and down, one of his hands accidentally hitting Momotaros in the back of the head. This soon lead to a scuffle between the two while Kintaros fell asleep and Urataros shook his head in disdain.
"What's going on?" asked Yuki. "What are they doing here?"
"They're taking you to Kyoto, sweetie!" Yuki's mother answered. "All of your friends are inside waiting for you! Now hurry up and eat your breakfast! You don't want to keep them waiting!"
"A-all right then..." Yuki went to the dinner table and sat down. She made a quick prayer before took the bowl of rice into her hands, all while her mother continued to look at the DenLiner from the living room window.
0-0-0-0-0-
Once Yuki finished eating, she said a quick goodbye to her parents and left the house. When she made it to the Imagin, she hissed, "What are you guys doing here?!"
"We're taking the DenLiner to Kyoto!" Ryutaros exclaimed. "We're picking up one more person before we all head off to our destination! Get in! Get in! Everyone else is already inside!"
"Eh?" Yuki asked as she was pushed into the train. She saw the rest of the Kamen Rider Club inside, having breakfast and talking with one another. Ohsugi was in the back, having a cup of coffee with Owner. When he saw Yuki, he motioned her to sit down.
"Sensei, what's going on?" asked Yuki. "Why is the DenLiner taking us to Kyoto?"
"Owner convinced the school to let us take a separate train," Ohsugi answered. Fastening his suspenders, he added, "It also lets us bring in the Imagin without any worry about them coming into the field trip."
"What about the groups? And how are the other members of the Club here? I thought-"
"Urataros took care as to why Miu and I are here," said Shun, biting onto a piece of toast. "He took over and convinced both my dad, Miu's parents, and the school board to let us do an extra credit report on the history of Kyoto."
"Utsugi-sensei gave us permissions slips so that Tomoko and I can join you guys," said JK, fiddling with his radio once more. "She also gave Erin permission to come along for the ride."
"Ah..." Yuki sat down and cradled her Hayabusa plushie in her arms. "By the way, who's the last person we're picking up?"
"Not sure," said Chosuke, currently in an arm wrestling match against Kintaros. "But Owner says that he'll be pretty important in our mission." His arm strained as he tried to push Kintaro's arm down. Kintaros retaliated by immediately slamming his arm onto the table, winning the match. "The more people the merrier, I say."
"Same with Abe," said Motoyama, sketching something with a piece of charcoal in hand. "He's agreed to keep the whole Imagin possession a secret and asked the other members of the Glee Club to be our eyes and ears. If they get word on what's going on, they'll call us immediately."
"Hana's traveling with Riderman and Amazon in the KingLiner," said Tomoko, her hands holding onto a bottle of centipede juice. "They're still analyzing the slime sample that Erin found on the moon yesterday. They'll meet up with us once they find out what it is and agreed to take part in Miu's plan."
"We also need to keep an eye out for the Zodiarts that might intrude on our trip," Erin added, looking at her Horoscope Switch. "They'll come looking for us and prevent us from uncovering their secret plan."
The train, which had been traveling for at least five minutes, came to a stop. The door opened, and a storm of white feathers came into view. Momotaros snarled.
"We're bringing him along?" he exclaimed. "Why?!"
"Do not be so alarmed, my friends," said a voice. "I, Sieg, have come to your aid."
"Tori-san! Tori-san!" cried Ryutaros, going to the Swan Imagin. "You made it!"
"I also brought Prince Norio Eguchi along with me," Sieg added, stepping to the side. "Here he is."
Everyone turned to Norio slowly entering the DenLiner, seating himself down next to his Imagin partner. Despite the smile on his face, he looked as if he recently went into war.
"Hi everyone," he began. "I hope I can be of some assistance."
"Welcome aboard, Norio Eguchi," said Owner, cracking a hard-boiled egg with the side of his spoon. He set the spoon down and began to peel off the egg-shell as he added, "I'm glad you were able to recover quickly."
"What happened to you?" asked Miu, inspecting the bruises on Norio's face. "Why do you look so...beaten?"
"I fought Gentaro yesterday," Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard Norio's answer. Norio nodded his head and continued. "Sieg and I became Den-O Wing Form to fight him, but he was too far gone. We were able to knock him down on the rooftop, but he overpowered us and nearly chopped my head clean off with a chainsaw. If it wasn't for Sieg, I wouldn't even be here."
"Was there anyone with him?" asked Yuki. "Who did you see?"
"I saw Kengo, another boy with red and yellow scales on his face, and Misa. Kengo called Gentaro 'Master', and Misa's legs were bleeding. Why do you ask?"
"Gentaro's got Nonomura on his side," Shun snarled. "He also brainwashed Kengo sometime back."
"What about the other boy?" asked Tomoko. "Do you have a name for him?"
"Gentaro called him the 'Serpent of Obsidian Knives', but I don't actually have a name for him at at all. I also tried to save Misa, but she rejected me."
"It's all right, Norio," said Owner. "You should be proud of what you did. You went to Gentaro and fought him, even though he could've killed you. It takes courage to do something like that."
"R-really?"
"Really, and that courage will be needed very soon," Owner set his spoon down and took a glance at the group. "In Kyoto, you will all be on your own. What you do, and what you decide not to do, will affect the world in the days to come Be careful, my young warriors. This shall be the beginning of a grand war."
"We know," said Ohsugi. He turned to everyone else. "Now, do we all know the plan?"
"It's all in here, Sensei," Miu answered, holding up a black briefcase stamped with the Kamen Rider Club's symbol. "We'll go over the plan and we'll be prepared for what the school and Gentaro have to give us. We won't bow down to anyone."
"Then, we are off," said Owner. "Let's go, Kamen Riders and Kamen Rider Club!"
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Kyoto KITA!" Yukina cried once she met up with Motoyama and Yuki. Ryusei was also there with a big smile on his face as he saw the space otaku approach him. Ohsugi was with the group with a map in his hands.
"This will be so much fun, Jojima!" said Yukina, placing Yuki in a bone-crushing hug. "We'll be the best of friends and you can tell me all about Gentaro!"
"I'd rather not..." Yuki replied, pushing Yukina off of her.
Ohsugi turned to Motoyama and winked. Motoyama nodded his head as the geography teacher began to rant.
"You guys don't know how lucky you are to have me as your guide!" he began. "I've never been the adviser of a club and never had students who respected me..." He sniffled and clutched onto his shirt. "It makes me feel so proud to be a teacher..." He turned around and saw his group had mysteriously vanished. "Oh, woe is me!" He collapsed on his knees. "WOE IS ME!"
As he continued to fake sob, he pressed onto something tucked under his shirt.
0-0-0-0-0-
"That's the cue," said Hana, a finger on the listening device in her ear. She turned to a cluster of trees. "All right, everyone. You can come out now!"
Hana was at a small balloon stand with five people in mascot costumes. There were an elephant, a penguin, a dog, a green dragon and an owl, all carrying balloons of different colors and sizes. Hana stood on a park bench and pulled out a megaphone.
"Free balloons for everyone!" she cried. "Come here and get your free balloons!"
"Don't be so loud!" said the penguin. /Urataros, currently playing the part of the penguin said, "We're trying to be as inconspicuous as possible."
"Hmph," The elephant cracked his neck in response. Kintaros, underneath the head of the elephant added, "No one is going to suspect who we are. We're just innocent balloon vendors."
"We'll be under the noses of our enemies," said Sieg, who was dressed up as the owl mascot. "That Miu is something else."
"Whee!" said the green dragon, jumping up and down. Underneath the dragon costume, Ryutaros let go of his balloons and saw them float away. "Bye bye!"
"Something just doesn't seem right," said the dog. Momotaros, beneath the dog costume noted, "I just can't shake the feeling that someone's watching us."
"It can't be that bad," Hana whispered. "Everything's going according to plan. We have nothing to fear, Momotaros. It's just a simple reconnaissance mission disguised as a field trip. Nothing bad can happen."
0-0-0-0-0-
"There's our signal," said JK, seeing a cluster of purple balloons float into the sky. "Ryutaros sent those, saying that the coast is clear."
"Right," said Chosuke, cracking his knuckles. "What's the plan?"
"Following them," Norio whispered from behind a bush. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and focused them on a group of four. He saw Kengo, Misa, Nonmura, and the third boy with red and yellow scales covering his face. Misa's face was full of fear and worry that was invisible to the people around her, due to having her eyes covered up with a blindfold. "That must be Gentaro's group, coming here to obtain some new allies or something around the lines of that."
"But where's Gentaro? I don't see him anywhere."
"We'll figure that out later," said JK, taking a quick picture of the group on his cellphone. "I'll pass this picture to the others so they can keep an eye out on these four. If Kengo crosses paths with any of the Kamen Rider Club members, then we'll be in lots of trouble."
"We need to find a way to observe them without the four noticing we're here and somehow rescue Misa before she becomes a willing prisoner to Ophiuchus. How are we going to accomplish that?"
"Look over there!" said Norio, pointing to a costume shop a short distance away. "We can probably use some disguises to blend with the rest of the crowd. Think that place rents cheap costumes?"
"That should do the trick!" Chosuke turned to JK and nodded his head. "Send the word to Erin; we're going in."
"Erin," said the gossip broker, pulling out his walkie talkie. "This is DJ Gene, reporting for duty. Can you hear me?"
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"I read you loud and clear, JK," Erin answered, a finger on the listening device in her ear. Erin was talking to Joji and Daisuke about how happy she was in seeing them. "We're just about to get the costumes and make up ready. Keep an eye on those four and report anything suspicious back to us."
"Roger," JK replied. "DJ Gene out."
"This is so exciting..." Tomoko continued, her eyes wide with excitement. "We get to pull on a stage show and I'm going to be the maiden that's going to be rescued and...and..." She nearly fainted, but Erin caught her in time. "It's a dream come true."
"All we need is a little touch-up," said Erin, pulling out a disguise kit from her bag. She set it onto the table and opened it, revealing a collection of brushes, make-up and a myriad of face paint. "It's a good thing Tomoko was able to bring all of this back at her job at the Witch's Cavern. Who would think that this paraphernalia would be perfect for the plan?"
"Powder..." said Daisuke, picking up a powder puff in the make-up kit. He started to pat his cheeks with the puff, his face slowly turning white. "It's really soft."
"Yuki should be able to bring her group to the show," said Tomoko, reading through a pamphlet to Kyoto. "If she does, then it'll also mean that we can also work on luring Ryusei to us. Right, Joji-san?"
"Correct," Joji answered, nodding his head. He began to tie a black blindfold over his eyes and added, "I'll ask him to fight me onstage and see what he's made of. We might find a clue that will me confirm my suspicions."
"Then, we'll capture him and use him for the second act of the show." Erin added. "I'll also heal him of any wounds that he might accidentally gain from the fight. Even though he is suspicious, he's still human."
"Just be careful, Erin. You may be on the side of good, but you're still a Zodiarts. You're a target to our enemies, and you'll be captured before you know it. You are an important ally to our cause, and the bad guys know that."
"I know," Erin placed a hand close to her heart. "I just hope that things will be turn out fine."
0-0-0-0-0-
Miu opened the briefcase, revealing the unactivated forms of three Foodroids—a burger, a carton of fries, and a hotdog—and a built-in laptop. She began to type on the laptop, pulling up a map to Kyoto. The map was marked with red circles, indicating the areas where each of the groups took their positions.
"Everyone's preparing for Phase 2," she told Shun. "When Urataros unleashes his balloons in the air, get going. That means that we've got Ryusei cornered."
"If Kintaros releases them, we've got a Zodiarts situation," Shun added, recalling the coding system that the group went through. "When Momotaros releases his, then we have a situation that involves everyone to meet at the rendezvous point. And when Sieg let's go of his..."
"We go into fighting mode and take down the monsters. We can't leave anything up to chance. We need to have an advantage over them and find out what the Chairman is planning. If we can even get a single word out of those Horoscopes, then it's more information we have than they do about us."
"Roger," said Shun, cracking his knuckles. "It'll be nice to punch some sense into the monsters that have made Amaongawa High a living hell."
Miu continued to type away at the laptop, trying to find anything that could be of use. She soon found another map of Kyoto, but this one was marked with the symbols of the Four Guardians and four different shapes.
"Aren't those symbols the ones that are usually on Fourze's armor?" asked Shun, pointing to them. "There's the circle for the right arm, the cross for the right leg, and I also see the triangle and square for the left leg and arm, respectively."
"This must've been the basis for the Fourze Driver," said Miu, rubbing her chin. "We need to find more information about Kengo's father and why he created it in the first place. There has to be someone that we can talk to."
"See if you can find anyone who might've worked alongside Kengo's father. Maybe there's some old data from the Rabbit Hatch connected into the laptop. Once we find it, let's contact the others and move out."
"I'll do my best. Kengo's more of the techno wizard than I am though." Miu began to type away, her fingers rapidly pressing the keys in an attempt to uncover something beneficial to the cause. "I just hope Yuki and Motoyama are surviving their little outing. Knowing Jojima, she'll be going through some trouble of her own."
0-0-0-0-0-
Kouhei Hayami looked down at the students traversing through the city. The happy looks on their faces disgusted him. Oh how he'd love to see those faces become shrouded in despair and misery, just like he caused that pathetic teacher to whimper in fear the day before.
He recalled the dream he had the night before. It was him enshrouded in the whispers and darkness of the serpent in his mind. Instead of fighting it off, the darkness embraced him and told him promises of power, obedience and might. For a moment, he almost found himself accepting the proposal...until his alarm clock rang and told him to wake up.
The darkness made him feel happy when it told him all of those promises. He was actually given a reward for his hard work, and someone was actually respecting him for once. After gaining no respect from Cancer and Aries, he had to regain his sense of dignity and power in front of the chairman. This was his last chance to prove himself.
A sound of walnuts clacking together caught his attention. Hayami turned to see Ko Tatsugami approach him, a proud smirk on the man's face. The principal stayed silent, responding to the smirk with a glare.
"Cat got your tongue?" asked Tatsugami. "That's good; a bug that doesn't buzz is one that doesn't get on my nerves so easily."
"I'm just here to keep an eye on things," Hayami replied, his gaze locked on the sites below. He narrowed his eyes. "I will do whatever it takes to follow our chairman's orders to their fullest, whatever they may be."
"It's nice that you've decided to say that so boldly after your humiliating failures against Fourze and the old geezers." Tatsugami crushed the walnuts in his hand, hearing the crunch they made as he dug his fingers deep into his palm. "You'll need my help should anything go amiss."
"I don't need your help. I can do this by myself," Hayami hissed. He curled his hands into fists. "I must do this by myself."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"This is amazing, isn't it Ryusei?" asked Motoyama, taking a photograph of a passing geisha. "What do you think?"
"..." Ryusei just turned to Motoyama with that glare still on his face. Motoyama just shuddered inside; there was something so wrong about Ryusei. He acted so alien, and he looked as if he could snap at any minute.
"Jojima," said Yukina, wrapping an arm around Yuki's shoulder. "How is Gentaro's love life?"
"Eh?" asked Yuki. "Gen-chan didn't love anyone in particular...He liked making friends with everyone he came across. Why, he made a thousand friends since I last saw him in the 3rd grade!"
"I'm not asking if Gentaro had friends or not; everyone knows how he made lots and lots of friends. I'm wondering if he ever went out with a girl or not."
"Well, there was also that time that Ritsuko Usaka and Tamae Sakuma wanted to go Prom with him. He and Miu-sempai also shared a dance together after Shun gave Gen-chan his tuxedo..."
"Did Gentaro have a girlfriend or someone he considered close? What's your relationship with him? How come you two are close?"
"The two of us have been friends since we were little kids. But if you're talking about girlfriends, there was that one time at the Culture Festival when he-"
"What was she like?! What was her name?!" Yukina interrupted, hands on the otaku's shoulders. Her face, once angelic and energetic, showed one full of jealousy and anger. "Where is she?!"
"H-her name was Nadeshiko Misaki and..." Yuki stammered as she tried to find an excuse that didn't involve how Nadeshiko was slime from outer space that duplicated the image of a girl and became infatuated with Gentaro. "It was...well...uh...um..."
"If I see her, I'll kill her!" Yukina growled, ripping her touring guide into shreds. "I'll crush her for being Gentaro's love!" She turned to Yuki and her Hayabusa plushie. "And what is this?"
"Calm down, guys," said Motoyama, trying his best to separate the squabbling girls as they both had their hands on Yuki's precious toy. "There's no need to fuss over boys and who they dated. We're here to have a nice trip in Kyoto and enjoy the sites."
"Nadeshiko isn't here anymore, Yukina," said Yuki, currently in a tug-of-war involving her Hayabusa plushie. "Give Hayabusa-kun back!"
"What's so special about this stupid toy, huh?!" Yukina snarled. "Did Gentaro give this to you?! WELL?!"
"No! I made Hayabusa-kun all by myself! If you pull the zipper on its back, you can-"
"Leave her own, Takamura," Ryusei interrupted, pushing Yukina out of the way. In his hand were two sticks of skewered meat. "Here, Jojima. Try some fried quail. It's better than hearing that bitch whining and complaining."
"Um, thank you?" asked Yuki taking the yakitori into her hands. Seeing Ryusei staring at her, she immediately took a bite and began to chew. Once she swallowed, which was accompanied by a loud gulp, she only added, "It's good. Thank you, Ryusei."
"Whatever," Ryusei replied, rolling his eyes.
0-0-0-0-0-
"Gentaro's in hiding," said Tomoko, seeing the photograph JK sent to her on her tablet. "He's playing games with us."
"If he is Mr. Hide, we shall be Mr. Seek," said Erin, hands on her hips. "We'll go looking for him...after we go through the stage show."
Tomoko placed some kohl around Daisuke's eyes, making them look more intimidating. He was dressed as a quetzal, a small bird with a red belly and a golden-green back, head, tail and chest. On top of his head was a headdress with gold-green feathers—a plus from Tomoko's job at the Witch Haven shop. He also had a long feathery cape tied around his neck, acting as the quetzal's feathery wings.
"Amazon look ferocious," said Daisuke, looking at reflection in a hand-held mirror. "Will look strong and proud!"
"That's the idea," said Joji. "I had no idea Erin was so keen on Aztec mythology. I thought she would only be knowledgeable on the Russians and American's fight to send a man onto the moon, or the story of Laika."
"When you study space, you study how other countries and civilizations saw it in the past," Erin explained. "Now all we have to do is promote the show and get people to come watch our performance! Until then, we better go through the script once more!"
"On it right now," said Tomoko, a finger on her earpiece. "Hana, do you read me?"
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"You're practicing the performance right now?" asked Hana, whispering on the walkie-talkie in hand. "Okay, I'll tell the others, and we'll start promoting the show."
The Imagin waved goodbye to some children who carried balloons in their hands. Hana stepped down from the bench and stood in front of them, pointing to the walkie-talkie in her hands.
"They've got the show set up?" asked Ryutaros. "Yay! What's it about?"
"Jojima drew a picture of it," Hana pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to the green dragon mascot. "Think you can draw a couple of posters in a an hour or two?"
"Give me some room!" Ryutaros removed the head of the mascot and nodded his head. "I'm going to need crayons, paper, some charcoal, and lots and lots of music!"
"This will be a manly show!" said Kintaros. "I'd like to see the audience gasp in awe!"
"I'll see if I can ask Daimonji to be a promoter," Urataros suggested. "We can reel in thousands of people with just the right bait and spread word about the show in a matter of minutes."
Sieg removed the head of the owl mascot and looked all around him. Momotaros did the same thing with the dog mascot.
"What's wrong?" asked Hana. "Are you two all right?"
"I sense something wrong," said Momotaros, looking at the sky. "Sieg feels it too, right?"
"I have to agree with you on that," Sieg answered. "My young prince is about to be in so much trouble."
0-0-0-0-0-
Norio, JK and Chosuke traversed through the Kyoto Movie Village, trailing after their targets. Norio was dressed as a samurai, Chosuke wore a white gi and red headband, and JK had his hair in a feathered hairstyle along with a red bird-like glove covering his right hand. To others, they would look ridiculous, but in the Movie Village, they fit right at home.
"Where could Gentaro be?" asked Norio, looking around him. "I don't see him at all."
"That's why we're searching for him while trailing his little possé," said JK, making his thumbs and second fingers into a finger camera. "We should be able to find a clue as to what they're planning. They aren't here for sight-seeing, that's for sure."
"You mean like that?" asked Chosuke, pointing to Kengo conversing to a person in a black hoodie. "That guy radiates a feeling of uneasiness inside me. It's like I'm looking at the portrait of a demon."
"This definitely screams 'suspicious'," said Norio. "We should go and-" He suddenly felt sleepy. His head began to nod off. "What's going-"
The tourists began to fall onto the ground, their bodies forced into slumber. Walking among them was a being with curled ram horns and a heavy black cloak with golden symbols. In its hand was a scepter with a rolling cylinder marked with runes. JK gasped in horror.
"Aries Zodiarts?" he asked, pointing to the Zodiarts of the Ram approaching them. "But he was destroyed when..."
"Explain later," said Chosuke, helping Norio onto his feet. "Come on! We have to get Kintaros to let go of his balloons and come to us! Then we have to split into two parties so we can also keep an eye on what Gentaro's up to."
JK nodded his head as the three went into a nearby alley, hoping to gain some distance between their newest enemy.
0-0-0-0-0-
Yukina wasn't happy as she and her field-trip group pass the Fushima Inari shrine and its thousand torii gates. The thought of Gentaro having a girlfriend infuriated her; she was supposed to be his girl! No girl loved Gentaro Kisaragi more than she did! The thought of her man kissing and hugging another girl made her sick.
"What's her story?" Motoyama asked Yuki, seeing Yukina stomp toward the branching path of torii gates. "Why is she acting so crabby?"
"She got upset when I told her about Nadeshiko," Yuki answered back. "And she thinks that I also dated him when in fact I haven't. I-"
"Jojima," said Yukina, turning to the otaku. Yuki and Motoyama stopped walking as she spoke. "Are you keeping anything from me?"
"Of course not!" Yuki answered. "I'm Gentaro's best friend! And-"
"How long have you know that he was Kamen Rider Fourze?" Yuki gasped as Yukina gave out a huff. "Just what I thought."
"W-what do you mean? What does that have to do with-"
"You caused Gentaro to die, didn't you?!" Yukina snarled and stomped toward Yuki, pushing a daydreaming Ryusei out of the way. She grabbed the otaku by her collar and screamed, "He died saving a scrawny little bitch like you, right?! RIGHT?!"
Usually, the otaku would be shivering in fear and stammering an answer to avoid a beating by some of the more vicious female students of Amanogawa High. This wasn't one of these times. Instead, she shook her head and gave Yukina a glare.
"No!" Yuki snapped, pushing Yukina off of her. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "Gen-chan died protecting people from a tyrant who treated his fellow classmates and teachers like puppets, putting them into a slumber because he could do so! Gen-chan died protecting his friends from a heartless monster, and I'm not the cause of his death!" She jabbed Yukina's chest and added, "If you knew so much about my best friend, maybe you should learn how to be nice to your fellow students before you start making stupid accusation! I won't let you insult my friendship with Gen-chan nor will I let you get away with soiling his good name, Yukina! You would never gain his hand of friendship the way you're acting!"
Once Yuki finished her rant, she panted for breath as she waited for Yukina's reaction. Yukina's face was red, her eyes brimming with tears. Her arm was trembling as she raised it into the air and snarled.
SLAP!
The sound of Yukina's hand slapping Yuki across the face caused Ryusei to turn and see what happened. Yuki was on the ground, a hand rubbing where Yukina slapped her. Motoyama was helping the otaku stand up as Yukina held Yuki's precious Hayabusa plushie in the air.
"You're a space case!" she screamed. "You think people liked your stupid Hayabusa costume or your pathetic little song back at the Queen's Festival?! Do you think people think you're so cutesy and adorable? In case you hadn't notice, you're only in Amanogawa High because Gamou had sympathy for you! He doesn't care that you want to go to space at all! So don't go screaming about how I'd never gain friends if everyone laughs at a stupid, irritating klutz like you!"
Yuki felt like crying as she saw Yukina tear the eyes off of her beloved Hayabusa. Yukina just chucked them toward the otaku's face, looking quite proud at her handiwork.
"I'm not a space case," Yuki whimpered, covering her face with her eyes. "I'm not a space case..."
"That's enough, Takamura-san," said Motoyama, grabbing onto Yukina's wrist. "You said enough for one day. Now, let's get to the shrine and..."
"Get off me!" Yukina screamed, whacking Motoyama in the face with the Hayabusa plushie. "You're defending her? She does nothing! She's not good at anything!"
"You don't know that for sure! Do you even know what Gentaro Kisaragi does outside of school? Do you know anything about his personal life? Why are you so insistent on being Gentaro's girlfriend if you barely even know him? Do you-"
"I don't have to know anything about him!" Yukina snapped. "All I have to do is be Gentaro's girlfriend in my dreams. The two of us will marry and be the most beautiful couple in all the land and I won't let any other girl in my way! If they do, I'll—"
"You'll kill them, right?" asked Ryusei, grabbing onto Yukina's wrist. "Would you?"
"O-of course!" Yukina stammered, her face showing an expression of fear and horror at the site of Ryusei staring at her. "N-no girl deserves Gentaro but me! I should be the one he loves!"
"And I should be the one who snaps that annoying little neck of yours once and for all!" Ryusei leaned close and tightened his grip. "You need to learn how to shut up every once and a while. You're giving me a goddamn headache!"
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"Never!" Ryusei snarled. "I am sick and tired of you screeching like a harpy! It's time for you to die, Yukina Takamura!"
Yukina was thrown into one of the torii gates as Ryusei grabbed her neck with his hands. He began to squeeze out all of the oxygen in her lungs, causing her to drop Yuki's eyeless Hayabusa plushie onto the ground. Yukina sputtered for breath, begging for someone to help her.
"What are you doing, Ryusei?" asked Motoyama, grabbing onto the sleeve of Ryusei's right arm. "This isn't right! You can't kill someone!"
"She wanted to crush anyone who stood inbetween her and Gentaro, right?" Ryusei retorted. "Well, let's see if she likes it when the shoe's on the other foot! Don't you agree, Motoyama?"
"No, I don't! Yukina doesn't deserve to die! Stop this, Ryusei! Stop it right-"
The sound of jingling rings caught his attention. Looking up, Motoyama saw the form of Libra Zodiarts and some Dustards approaching through the branching path of torii gates. When he looked back, he also found more and more Dustards surrounding them all. Yuki gathered her Hayabusa plushie into her arms and stood up, seeing the enemy slowly gathering all around them.
"We have to fight," said Yuki, pulling on the zipper at the back of her stuffed companion. She reached inside the stuffing of Hayabusa-kun. "Motoyama, are you ready?"
"I'm ready," Motoyama answered, pulling a belt out of his bag. He wrapped the belt around his waist, a finger hovering above one of the four colored buttons on the side. "Let's get this show on the road."
Torii are giant gates that are used to mark shrines all across Japan. The Fushinami Inari is a special temple with a thousand of these torii, and is a shrine dedicated to Inari, the Japanese God of Rice.