Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

XIV: 19-8-1-4-23-15-19/15-6/20-8-5/4-1-13-14-5-4

"Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings—always darker, emptier and simpler."

-Fredrich Nietzsche

Once everyone gathered at the theater, the DenLiner picked them up. Naomi worked hard to convert the train into an inn for everyone to sleep in and to give them privacy after what they endured during the day. Everyone needed to gather their thoughts before they met up for preparing for Day 2 of the Kyoto Field Trip...their troubles were not over yet.

In the dining cart of the DenLiner, Naomi was currently rubbing ointment down Hana's back and arms. The Imagins heard about the beatings Hana took from Yuri Kuramochi from Miu once everyone made it back to the rendezvous point, and they all looked on in horror as they saw the burns running down Hana's back, arms and legs. Kintaros, who was already finished crying for slapping Yukina across the face, was beginning to weep once more, going through at least three handfuls of tissues every time Hana let out a cry of pain.

"Hana-chan, cheer up!" said Ryutaros, showing a crayon picture to the young girl. "Look! Look! It's Hana-chan stomping on that evil snake!"

Hana slowly reached out toward the picture and took it into her hands. She slowly traced a finger over the scribbling of Ophiuchus and smiled.

"Arigato, Ryu-chan," she whispered, wincing a bit when Naomi applied more ointment.

"This just isn't right," said Momotaros, shaking his head. "I mean...there's no point in harming children through all of this. That damn snake just sunk to a new low."

"It's that 'Neroda' who did the deed to our poor princess," said Sieg. "This act proves that Ophiuchus will achieve anything in order to complete his goals...whatever they are."

"You are correct, Sieg," said Owner, taking his mug of hot tea to his lips. "Ophiuchus is an individual with immense power and the will to ensure that his plans succeed. He'll do whatever it takes to enshroud the world with darkness. If we do not stop him now, then everyone shall suffer."

"Well, he's done a damn good job on that," Momotaros muttered. The red Imagin took a glance at Urataros who had been staring at the table for the last half hour or so, something that was unlike him. "Hey, ero-kame! Why are you so silent all of a sudden?"

"..." Urataros just continued to stare at his reflection on the table, lost in his own thoughts. This annoyed Momotaros, who then proceeded to slam his hands on the table.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Momotaros snapped. "Wake up!"

"Wha-" Urataros looked up and saw everyone staring at him. He then let out a sigh and said, "I'm fine. I just...need to be alone for a while and just think about what happened with Shun and..."

"Do what you need to do," said Owner, sipping his tea once more. "We shall not disturb your meditations."

"But what do we do about Hana-chan?" asked Ryutaros, staring at Hana lying flat on her stomach. "She'll be out of commission for weeks at this rate! Don't we have any high-tech super medicine that will make the boo-boos go away faster?"

"Sorry, Ryu-chan," said Naomi, closing the first-aid kit. "The ointment is enough to alleviate the pain temporarily, but she's going to need lots of ice, rest and some food to make her better. Now, who wants fried rice topped with the Kamen Rider Club flag?"

"I do! I do!" Ryutaros cried, jumping up and down. "Then let's give some to our friends and-"

The door to the diner cart open as a female figure stepped forward. Everyone turned around, seeing Nadeshiko enter, dressed in the uniform of Subaruboshi High's female students. She gave them a sweet smile as she approached Hana.

"Ah, you must be this 'Nadeshiko' that holds a close place in Gentaro's heart," said Sieg, approaching the visitor. He fell to one knee and took her hand into his, kissing it. "For what do we owe this visitation?"

Nadeshiko pulled out her Nadeshiko Driver and flipped the switches down. After its countdown initiated, she pulled the driver's lever to transform into her Kamen Rider persona. She cracked her knuckles and sauntered over Hana's side.

"Wait," said Kintaros. "I don't think Hana needs any type of physical therapy at this moment. Her back is very tender."

Nadeshiko shook her head and pulled out a lemon yellow Astroswitch with the number 24 in front, inserting it into the far left slot on the driver. Then, she pressed on its top.

Medical On

A yellow first-aid kit mounted on her left arm, opening to reveal an assortment of medicines, bandages and other items to treat injuries. Nadeshiko picked up two small vials of medicine and handed it to Naomi who looked at it with curiosity.

"Do I put this in the hot tea?" she asked the Kamen Rider. "And if I do, how many drops do I put inside?"

Nadeshiko furiously nodded her head and held up three fingers. Naomi just replied with a quick nod and placed the instructed amount of drops into the kettle of hot water. She then dropped a few teabags and waited for the kettle to let out a loud whistle before serving Hana the tea. She quickly poured a cup for Hana and placed it into the young girl's hands. Hana was a bit wary, but Nadeshiko just nodded her head. Hana lifted the cup and poured the tea and downed it until there was no drop left. Setting the teacup aside, she let out a yawn and soon fell into slumber.

"Yay!" Ryutaros exclaimed. "Hana-chan's all better!"

"Shh, Ryu-chan!" Naomi whispered, bringing a blanket toward Hana's side. "Let Hana rest for a while. It's been a long day for all of us."

0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ko Tatsugami bowed toward Mitsuaki Gamou, waiting for his punishment. He snatched the Cancer Horoscope Switch prior to arriving in Kyoto in an attempt to fight off against the Kamen Riders that were plaguing the city. What he didn't expect were both Riderman and Amazon—who were at least twenty years his senior—outwitting him and making him lose the Switch. It was nothing more than a humiliating defeat-especially since what sealed the deal was a machine gun. Those Kamen Riders had no honor when it came to a simple fist fight.

"Forgive me, Master Gamou," said Tatsugami. "I have lost another switch and have held your plans back even further. Please forgive me for my mistakes."

Gamou just stared at his loyal bodyguard. Tatsugami had been by his side prior to Amanogawa High's construction, making sure any meddlers who stuck their noses in his business were quickly brushed aside. Plus, as the Zodiarts of the Lion, Tatsugami was still an important part of his plan; Tatsugami was still needed.

"You are forgiven, Tatsugami," Gamou began, slowly nodding his head. "I no longer have any need of both the Scorpio and Cancer Switches anyhow." He picked up the remaining Horoscope Switch and tossed it to toward Tatsugami's feet. "I found another way in order to obtain the power I need to enact the Day of Awakening."

"You have?" Tatsugami lifted his gaze toward Amanogawa High's chairman, somewhat filled with relief. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that the former Switchers told me about a missing link to the Cosmic Energy that's being left by the Zodiarts," Gamou replied with a wry smile, his eyes glowing red. "And that shall make all the difference."

0-0-0-0-0-0-

"So you're saying that Gentaro caused Misa to gut herself to death?" asked JK, turning to Norio and Chosuke. "That's…"

"Disgusting, inhuman and wrong," said Norio, shuddering at that memory. "Gentaro also told us to dig more dirt on her and you're the one who pretty much knows all of Amanogawa High's students like the back of your hand. Do you have anything?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" asked JK, rapidly typing away at his laptop. "I've looked at the recent ballet performances she's attended, her personal blog, and even hacking into the school database. Just give me a minute or two."

"Until then, we still have lots of questions," Chosuke placed a hand against the wall and bowed his head. "For example, why is Chairman Gamou making the students into Zodiarts? In fact, why did he make Amanogawa High in the first place?"

"He said it was for the children to go into space," said Motoyama, rubbing his chin. "But we know that it's just a testing zone for strange scientific experiments. The question is, how long has this been going on?"

"If Principal Hayami's journal is correct, and judging by the evidence and witnesses, our chairman has been conducting Zodiarts experiments ever since the school's founding days," JK answered, taking a potato chip into his mouth. "Sonada-sensei was a Zodiarts prior to becoming a teacher at Amanogawa, and was given a switch switch by Hayami who must've obtained a switch of his own while he was a student or normal teacher there."

"But why?" asked Norio. "What could possibly drive a man to do such horrible things?"

"Evil, hatred, pride, envy…any of those nasty thoughts inside his head would do," Chosuke answered. "That's why I warned you about Teruhiko, Kaizou. There was nothing but anger within his heart."

"Misa had that same problem too," said JK, finishing his typing. "I just hope to find some juicy info about our Priestess of Cygnus."

"Will everybody stop mentioning that?" asked Norio. "The last thing we need is to make horrible comments on what she did. She didn't mean to…there must've been something in her mind that warped her into this being of…insanity."

"Which reminds me," said Motoyama, turning toward the former Cygnus Zodiarts. "Why exactly did Misa create the Ugly Duckling cult in the first place?"

"She was attacked one day and Cygnus saved her from these thugs. That's all she's told me."

"Did said attack have something to do with being nearly raped as part of a family rental service?" asked JK, raising an eyebrow. "I found some transactions that regard to one 'Gilded Bird' and some very interesting facts about Misa's personal life."

Chosuke, Norio and Motoyama stopped what they were doing and went toward the gossip broker, hearing what JK had to say. What they found made them look in disbelief.

"Misa was born to a loving mother and father," JK began. "Tthe father died and the mother remarried when she was 7, and the step-father was one hell of a drunkard. By the time Misa turned 14, she ran away from home and found herself in some sort of 'rental service' being run by its current head, Noriko Tatsumori."

"Tatsumori…Yamada's older sister?" asked Motoyama. "What was she doing there?"

"Can't say. It goes on that this rental service is where employees could be 'rented' to perform different roles for people for monetary value. Need a girlfriend for a walk in a park? Go ahead. Want a lost son to have a dinner together? Sure. Need a replacement for a back-stabbing wife and kill her? They do that too."

"And when I, I mean Cygnus, saved her…" Norio sat down and placed a hand on his head. "Oh my god…What have I done?"

"Misa felt solace in this swan-like hero and broke off from the rental service," JK continued. "She then used her skills from the rental service to gather lots of wayward souls in Amanogawa High to create the society known as 'Ugly Ducklings'. By praising people for their good deeds, she started to feel good about herself. It started to give her the self-confidence she deserved…until word got out that she went against her contract to the service. The rentals she had to take were far more brutal. She got rented back to her parents and is currently on rent for the next six years."

"Those monsters," said Chosuke, clenching his fist. "Her step-father's going to beat her up more and her mother…she'll just keep Misa trapped like a caged bird."

"Exactly. With all of that pressure and abuse on her, coupled with what she saw were disappointing results with the cult members, it pushed her over the edge. When she grasped onto the Zodiarts Switch, all of the negative emotions it bottled just amplified the ones inside of her, giving her the name of 'Swan Bitch'." JK finished his report with a sigh. "Horrible, isn't it?"

"I don't know whether to feel sorry for her or disgusted about what she's endured," said Motoyama, folding his arms over his chest and shaking his head. "Who knew she had so much on her plate?"

"No one knew, and that's the problem." Norio stood up. "We al have our own little worlds and if someone intrudes in what is our safe haven, then they're nothing more than intruders. We want things that make us feel bad and sick gone…and that was what Misa felt. The more abuse and anger she felt from the rental service, the more she fell deeper and deeper into her role as the leader of the Ugly Ducklings and her worship toward Cygnus Zodiarts. Cygnus was a savior to a fucked-up shell of a once beautiful girl."

"What are we going to do about it though?" asked Chosuke. "Misa is dead and I highly doubt her parents are going to be happy about the news."

"We can start by telling her story to the students in Amanogawa High," said Norio "I can't remember a time where Misa poured her guts—metaphorically—toward her fellow Ducklings. She told us to tell what we were feeling and yet she lied about it…this is the least we can do.

"Tthen, maybe we can destroy that rental service so that no one could ever goes through that type of abuse again." Norio just shook his head. Misa…I'm sorry that you had to live that type of life. But I promise…I promise to make things better. Your death shall not be in vain."

"Neither was Gentaro's," JK muttered under his breath, staring at a photo of the Kamen Rider Club resting under a gazebo on his laptop. "His death wasn't in vain after all…"

0-0-0-0-0-0

A bolt of lightning fired from Libra Zodiarts' antennae, destroying the stone pillar in front of him. Two down and two to go.

The Zodiarts of the Scales pressed the top of his Horoscope Switch, reverting back to the form of Amanogawa High's Principal, Kouhei Hayami. He placed a hand on his head, feeling the snake inside his mind hissing loudly, screaming to be let loose. It was a mental struggle to even focus his powers with that annoying hissing and tick-tock sounds of the pendulum creating a symphony of discord in his brain.

"What will it take for you to stop hissing in my ear?" he snarled. "I don't want to join your stupid cult! I made my decision in following Master Gamou. Will you stop bugging me?!"

Oh, I won't stop until you belong to us... A voice hissed in his ear. Master Ophiuchus will be so nice to us if we just submit. Come, gaze into the water and see your future.

Hayami looked down at the fountain close by, seeing his reflection in the water. He stepped back when he saw the face of his reflection covered in black snake scales and his eyes were yellow, the color of the afternoon sun. The reflection rose out of the water, dressed in a black kimono with two yellow spots to resemble the markings on a cobra's hood painted on its sleeves. The reflection let out a hiss, sticking his forked tongue toward Hayami.

"Who the fuck are you?" Hayami snarled. "What do you want?"

"Afraid to see your new and improved self, Kouhei Hayami?" The reflection chuckled, mocking the Zodiarts of the Scales. "I would like to say I am 'you', but that would be false. I am the serpent that was given birth within your mind, Ecydsis."

"Ecydsis...that is the term for when invertebrates shed their skins, correct?"

"Ah, so there is a brain in that thick skull of yours after all." Hayami snarled as his reflection continued to speak. "There's so much wasted potential in you also...why are you wasting away on a man who could easily discard you once you're useless? When there are no more Horoscope Generals to be found, what happens to you? 'Master' Gamou needs the twelve Horoscope Switches to achieve his goals and you just so happen to have one of them. What will you do when it goes bye-bye?"

Hayami's arm began to tremble as he gripped onto the Horoscopes Switch in his hand. He grit his teeth as he stared into the gaze of his own reflection.

"That's none of your business," he replied. "Why don't you go back into the water and leave me alone! I don't want anything to do with you or your kin! I am Kouhei Hayami, don't forget that!"

"Why are you so quick to talking, Kouhei? Are you trying to hide the fact that you know the truth? That you know that you're just a pawn to your master's plans? Don't deny it..." Ecydsis' eyes began to glow as he grasped onto Hayami's face with his hands. "You know that it's true..."

Hayami raised his hands to punch his doppleganger, but then felt a loud GONG echoing in his head. His body became paralyzed as a slow succession of twelve bells tolled through his mind. With each knell, he felt a part of his mind shutting down and his reflections' eyes drilling deep into his skull. His whole body began to relax and he fell down on his knees as he slowly fell into slumber.

"That's it..." Ecydsis hissed. "Gamou isn't your true master...the Serpent-bearer and Ophiuchus are. They respect your talents and they wiill ensure that you keep your status as the one who creates illusions. Know in your heart that working with Mitsuaki Gamou has brought you nothing but misery and sadness in your life. How has he ever rewarded you? Has he ever showed respect for your deeds, or have you been ousted by the disrespectful teenagers who have become the newest generals?"

Hayami felt the words fill his body with peace and serenity. His hands dropped to the side as his Horoscope Switch rolled out of his grasp. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as the chiming in his head finally reached twelve.

"Tell me, Hayami...who are you?" asked Ecydsis. "No, let me rephrase that. What are you, Kouhei Hayami?"

Hayami tried to say something, but could only reply with a low gurgling in his throat. Foam started to escape his mouth and his body collapsed onto the side, convulsing and twitching in agony. Ecydsis just chuckled as he closed his eyes. Concentrating, he felt his whole body stretch until it became the body of a cobra with yellow 'eyes'. slitered toward Hayami's forehead and wrapping around it like he was a crown. Then, once he bit deep into his tail, he closed his eyes, sending its new body a series of commands that would ensure that step 2 of the transformation would be complete.

"Wait for me, Master Ophiuchus..." Ecydsis thought in his mind. "This host body will be ours to command very, very soon."

0-0-0-0-0-0-

Haruka cradled the mug of hot cocoa in her hands as she observed Ohsugi practicing his martial arts training. In front of him was Kintaros, standing still as if he was a tree in a raging storm. Kintaros suggested that what Ohsugi needed to do was train on how to 'creatively attack' the enemy. Instead of using his fists—which would easily break if he were to attack the bear-like Imagin—he needed to think outside the box. Needless to say, that was easier said than done.

"You really don't have to do this right now," said Haruka, seeing her teaching companion walking around his opponent. "There still might be some damage left from Kengo's burns around your neck."

"I'll be fine, Haruka," Ohsugi answered, staring deep into Kintaro's eyes. The Imagin had fallen asleep—again—and wouldn't respond to fingers poking him or a hand shaking him back and forth. "Kintaros knew of his narcolepsy and used it as a lesson...I have to give him that."

"At least he's no longer-"

"SHH!" Ohsugi placed a finger on his lips, turning to Haruka. "Do not say that word; he goes ballistic when someone says it!"

"You mean the word..."

"Yes! In fact, don't say anything that's synonymous to it or he'll go berserk! Trust me, that's the last thing we need."

Haruka just nodded her head as she observed Ohsugi circling the Imagin. After some silence, she spoke once more.

"I still can't believe that Amanogawa had so many problems with bullying and such," she said, taking a sip of the hot cocoa. "Why were there no therapists? Why did the teachers decide to be so cruel? Why wasn't there anyone that was helping these poor students?"

"Even I question that," Ohsugi sighed, sitting down. He lightly kicked Kintaro's knee, but knew that the Imagin wasn't going to be getting a response. "When I first came to Amanogawa High, I was young and hopeful. I didn't have a good high school life, but that didn't stop me from wanting to give the current generation something to look forward to. It was nice for a time...until Gamou threw the rule book on uniformity and everything became anarchy.

"Then things changed, and I changed in order to not fall behind. I lost my true self over the years, and fell in love with a woman that would never, ever return or reciprocate my feelings. I'm not happy with what I've done when I looked back at it, and my job as a teacher was to become strict and keep them in line, a very deep contrast to Kisaragi's philosophy of friendship. Then, when Kisaragi saved me from the Musca Zodiarts, I knew. I knew I had to change...and I did." Ohsugi stood up and walked around Kintaros and placed his foot onto the Imagin's back. With a small push, the Imagin fell onto the ground with a thud, still snoring. "And I'm glad I did."

"Gentaro did the same with me," said Haruka. "My goal is to walk down the straight and narrow path, facing all obstacles in my way. There's something special about that boy, don't you agree?"

"I agree, Haruka-sensei. What I don't agree upon is the idea of killing him. The boy's suffering enough by that Ophiuchus character."

"We don't have another choice...not yet, anyway."

"So until then, we'll do what we have to do to ensure safety and harmony all throughout Japan. That's what the previous Kamen Riders did, and now we're continuing their legacy. Isn't that cool?"

Haruka smiled and nodded her head before her eyes lit up. She stood up and began to walk toward the dining cart.

"W-wait!" said Ohsugi, following her. "Where are you going?"

"I need to ask Owner if we can take a stop by my house," Haruka answered. "There's something I need to pick up."

"Like what? Boxing gloves? A briefcase? Maybe you have a Singapore cane instead!"

"I've got something even better...I'm going to need my katana for this fight."

0-0-0-0-0-0-

Deep within the woods, Gentaro smiled at the small family that was in front of him. Jiro was tending to Kengo's unconscious body, Yuri was manipulating orbs of water in her hands, transforming them into animals like serpents and spiders, Misa was tied to a tree, wrapped by snakes and Yukina was unconscious, a blade going straight through her heart. All was turning out well.

As everyone began to rest for that evening, Gentaro pulled out a small book he carried in his jacket. He opened it to a page and began to read its contents.

November 30th, 2011.

Never in my entire life would my 17th birthday turn out so exciting. First off, Amanogawa High's School Festival was in full swing as the Kamen Rider Club dressed up as the legendary 7 Kamen Riders! Tomoko and Yuki's parents help make the costumes out of slippers and spare metal bowls and they looked so cool. Here's a list of who we dressed up as.

-Kengo as Ichigo

-Shun as Nigo

-Miu as V3

-Yuki as Riderman

-JK as X (but he didn't appear on stage!)

-Tomoko as Amazon

-Yours truly as Stronger

Unfortunately, we never got to show off our costumes since there wasn't a lot of people, and JK didn't arrive for his exhibition. So, after picking up JK from our classroom, we went outside to find someone falling from the sky. I went out and saved her from a terrible fall...and she was very, very cute. Her name was Nadeshiko Misaki and she...

Gentaro snarled, ripping out that page and two more pages before finding the one he was looking for. The page was marked with a stylized C and J colored green and purple respectively.

After fighting Foundation X-and losing Nadeshiko to them-I recovered my spirits thanks to my good friends. Then, I encountered Eiji Hino-a Kamen Rider like myself. He took me to a parking lot where I met up with two other people who also were a Kamen Rider-Kamen Rider Double. I hit it off well with Shotaro as we both were into protecting the people we love and to defeat the ones who made them cry. Philip was also interesting too-he seems to be very knowledgeable on a lot of different subjects. I should bring JK to the Narumi Detective Agency and see who would win in a knowledge quiz!

Gentaro smiled and traced the green C with a finger. The next step in his plan was going to start soon. All it would need was a small trip to the city of Futo, and an audience with the Narumi Detective Agency, to set everything right.

He closed his eyes and drew the figure of the Roman Numeral for 2 in the air. Then he whispered one word.

"Gemini."

Next time-The Kamen Rider Club Girls and both Riderman and Amazon discuss about their battles as the night continues to rage on. However, all is not right with Kengo, who is trapped in a serpent's lair with his best friend betraying him and him in the clutches of evil. Will Kengo be able to escape with his mind intact?

To be continued in XV-The Damned Don't Dance