Horseshoes and Hand-grenades
XXVIII: 18-5-1-12-13-19/15-6/20-8-5/8-1-21-14-20-9-14-7
"There is no refuge from memory and remorse in this world. The spirits of our foolish deeds haunt us, with or without repentance."
-Gilbert Parker
Philip walked across the bamboo forest, taking in the silence. With no distractions, it would be easy for him to continue his research involving the War of the Stars. Just as he was about to enter the Gaia Library, he noticed a body lying in the grass with a dagger to the forehead. Curious, he approached the body and slightly nudged it with his foot.
"Hey, are you dead?" he asked, waiting for an answer. He leaned close and placed a finger near the person's neck. There was no pulse. "Well, surprise surprise."
Philip pulled the dagger out of the forehead, noticing the lack of blood on its blade. With a red dry-erase marker in hand, he drew a line over the wound on the forehead and using a spare hand to check for other wounds. He curled his lips into a smile when he saw the person slowly wake up, the wound healing.
"Who the fuck are you?" The boy cursed, groaning as if he was suffering through a hangover.
"Let me check for a minute," Philip closed his eyes and found himself immersed within the archives of the Gaia Library. Millions of books moved out of the way as he concentrated on the face of the person he saved. Eventually, he found a single book with a red covr and a strange mark on its spine. He flipped the pages and scanned them, nodding at what he read.
"Bingo," he whispered, returning to the real world. Philip turned to the boy and smiled.
"Jiro Inseki, is it not?" he said, poking Jiro. "You should've been declared dead for three days. Your family is worried since you vanished from the hospital."
"I don't give a fuck about them," Jiro snapped, standing up. "And besides, I'm not supposed to be called that."
"Really now?" Philip tilted his head. "Well, judging from your aura, I can tell that you were blessed by Master Ophiuchus, correct?"
"I'm the Serpent of Obsidian Knives," Jiro summoned a black dagger and placed the blade near Philip's neck. "And who are you?"
"Leviathan," Philip replied, pushing Jiro's arm down and uncapping a black white-board pen. Jiro tried to punch with his left arm, but Philip drew a large line that flew toward Jiro's neck. "I have already killed someone a few hours ago, and I will not hesitate to kill you and then burn you alive if you start irritating me."
"Fine, fine," Jiro waved the black spike away as he felt his forehead. He looked around. "Where the fucking hell is he?"
"And who the 'fucking hell' is 'he'?" Philip mused, raising an eyebrow.
"My 'friend', Ryusei Sakuta." Jiro paced back and forth. "And where the hell is everyone else?"
"Perhaps they are finishing up some fights," Philip surmised. "But it wouldn't surprise me if there were other Serpents that were in the area."
"There's my beloved Apep who needs me right now," Jiro sighed. "Then we tried getting Neroda, but her connection was severed. Finally, we have those two sluts that—"
Jiro was interrupted by a powerful blast of ice pinning him to a tree. He looked up, seeing two girls descend from the sky, one of themhavinga pair of white feathery wings on her back.
"You dare call me a slut, you perveted creep?!" Yukina yelled, preparing another wave of ice in her hands. "I, Narcisse, should teach you a lesson or two about manners!"
"Narcisse?" Jiro repeated. He cackled. "Oh, that so fits a spoiled little girl like you."
"Pay him no mine," Misa grunted, landing on the ground. "Cock-sucker needs to know his place."
"Me?" Jiro scoffed. "I cuddle my sweet Apep with hugs and kisses. You're the one who seems to be unable to think without having a hand down her skirt!"
"Enough!" a voice roared, interrupting the banter. The four turned to see Gentaro approaching them, his wings spread wide. Wielding his scepter in hand, he asked, "Where are Ecydsis and Apep?"
"They're probably out fighting still," Philip shrugged. "Shall I locate them for you, Serpent-bearer?"
"I'll go to them myself," Gentaro answered, narrowing his eyes. "The four of you stay here for now. We don't want anyone else to know that we're all here."
"That bitch..." Yukina snarled. "When I get my hands on Jojima, I will slice her neck open and dip her body in liquid nitrogen before shattering it into pieces!" She stomped her foot, her foot freezing the grass around her when it landed.
"You'll get her hands on her eventually, Narcisse," Gentaro noted, crossing his hands over his chest. "For now, let us try and get along without chopping each other's heads off. You have no idea how long it takes for your bodies to regenerate after dying.
Gentaro was cocooned by his wings and vanished in a small pinpoint of light. The four Serpent vessels just glared at each other, waiting for someone to move, or even speak. After a tense minute or two, they just turned their gazes away.
"So," said Misa, after some silence and not even turning back to look at the boys. "How far have you gone with Apep?"
Jiro responded by breaking out of the ice with a dagger in hand.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Haruka panted for breath, her grip on her katana weakening. She couldn't take much more of this two-on-one beatdown. Both Kengo and Ecydsis were smiling at her while the Imagins were having trouble pulling off Lion-Tatsugami off of Ohsugi.
"Let us end your suffering, mortal," said Ecydsis. "We'll give you a painful death if you let us."
"Never," Haruka answered, feeling her legs wobble as she stood. "I won't let you kill me that easily."
"Then, we won't kill you." Kengo raised a flame wrapped hand in the air and let it touch his sword. The sword erupted in a blast of purple fire. "We'll just do this!"
He turned around as the fire leapt from the blade, heading straight for Ohsugi. The geography teacher, still struggling with the large lion that pinned him to the ground, took one quick glimpse of the fire and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, the flames were moving too fast—his invisibility spell wouldn't activate in time!
"Look out!" cried Momotaros, diving toward the flames. The other Imagins also jumped in the way as they were covered in the dark fire. Haruka looked in horror as the Imagins started to fade away into sand, each of them screaming in pain and agony. She grit her teeth as she turned to Ecydsis.
"I. will. KILL YOU!" she screamed, rushing toward the Serpent vessels. With every ounce of energy she had left in her body, she raised the sword over her head, bringing it down just as she was close enough to slice Ecydsis's head in half.
"Scutum."
A barrier of scales covered Ecydsis and Kengo from the death blow, and sent Haruka reeling back a few feet. She was lying on her back when someone stomped on her stomach. She looked up, seeing a strange winged figure standing above her.
"An angel...?" she pondered. "No...a demon..."
"Call me whatever you want," the figure replied with a sneer. "But I think I'd like it if you call me by name...Gentaro Kisaragi."
Haruka was in shock...the same boy who would go down the straight and narrow path stood on top of her, appearing as if he came down from the heavens. But the look on his face showed that he did not walk on the path of righteousness.
"I suppose you have questions," Gentaro began, as if reading his teacher's mind. "I guess that shouldn't be too surprising. Still, I can only imagine what your next thought would be, or how you'll try to stop me before I enact my master plan. I will tell you this though: I shall spare your life today. I already accomplished my mission of having the four seals destroyed—I don't need to stain my hands with unwanted blood right now."
"Serpent-bearer," said Kengo, bowing toward his lord. "What is our next plan?"
"We shall gather in the forest and leave Kyoto for home. I am both tired and hungry." Gentaro closed his eyes and placed a hand close to his unbeating heart. "And I will wait until it is time to feed again. But first..."
He shot a glance at Ecydsis, and as if the new form of the old Amanogawa High Principal could read Gentaro's thoughts, he summoned the Horoscope Switch for Libra and tossed it to Gentaro's hands. Gentaro licked his lips as he crushed the switch in his hand. A burst of Cosmic Energy enveloped him, and the back of his left hand became stamped with the Astrological sign of Libra which shimmered with three other marks that Haruka knew from reading so many horoscopes: Aries, Aquarius and Gemini.
"Much better," Gentaro replied, closing his eyes. His form began to shimmer in the light as he soon transformed into an exact copy of Ryusei Sakuta. He laughed, his voice exactly like Sakuta before transforming back to Gentaro. "This will be so useful when I go attack the school. It's so nice to have a way to pass through without having everyone wonder how I rose from the grave, or rather how I rose from the ashes."
"B...but," Haruka stammered. "The bug! It was supposed to..."
"This?" Ecydsis pulled something from the back of his neck. It was a small black dot. He crushed it into his hands and tossed the remains over his shoulder. "I knew that you were going to eavsdrop on our plans—I don't know how stupid that principal was, though. What an absolute idiot. Too busy about his own business to not even noticed how he was being suckered."
"I will admit, that pathetic suspenders wearing teacher is smart when he's not oggling that Sonada bitch," Kengo chuckled. "Speaking of teachers, what do we do with him?" He pointed to Ohsugi, grabbing onto his bleeding arm as Tatsugami continued to strike.
"Simple," Gentaro replied. He turned around, hand in the air. Surrounding his arm was a myriad of peacock feathers. "Pavo."
The feathers swirled around the silver lion, the lion snarling as it tried to bat the strange things away from him. Then, the feathers grew in size, covering him until they vanished, taking Tatsumori with them. Ohsugi laid on the ground, panting for breath, coughing up blood.
"Damn it," he cursed. He looked up as Gentaro approached him, a strange serpent-coiled staff in hand. Gentaro muttered a few words as the staff released a strange mist from the serpent's mouth. Ohsugi slightly winced, expecting to be hit by a strange poison, but he felt his body relax. The blood that covered his body began to fade away, and the pain also subsided. The teacher looked in Gentaro in confusion.
"W...why are you doing this?" he asked. "Aren't you going to kill me?"
"This is a 'thank you' for helping me with the Musca Zodiarts," Gentaro replied, his staff vanishing. "Be thankful, Ohsugi-sensei. I could've done much worse." His wings flared out, shedding white feathers. "So savor this gift—I will not give it to you again."
"Wait, Kisaragi!" Ohsugi rose to his knees, nearly stumbling. "What...what are you planning?"
"There's an old saying that goes, 'Dead men tell no tales,'" Gentaro smirked. "I think you can get what I mean."
Kengo and Ecydsis laughed as the three were encased in a cloud of Cosmic Energy. Haruka slammed her hand onto the ground, trying to sit up as she saw no trace of the enemy. She felt angry, confused, and deep down, humiliated. How could she face herself to her fellow students knowing that their high school was going to become something worse?
"Haruka," said Ohsugi, shuffling his feet toward her. "We...have to get going."
"Yeah..." Haruka sheathed her blade as Ohsugi helped her stand up. "So, Ohsugi?"
"What is it?" Ohsugi moved his arm in a circle to prevent it from being stiff.
"Golden Week is coming up...what say we do some training at the gym? I mean, we have to be in tip-top form for what's to come?"
"I'd like that," Ohsugi smiled, draping an arm around Haruka. "Come on, let's meet up with Owner and rest up in the Den-Liner. I'm sure we're going to need to listen to everyone else's stories while we drink hot chocolate by the fire."
If Haruka wasn't sore, she would've laughed at the joke. Instead, she and Ohsugi slowly walked away from the battlefield.
0-0-0-0-0
Just as Nadeshiko's Hammer Module was about to hit, a giant blue orb of light blocked her advances. It then flew into the air and knocked Nadeshiko away, the female Kamen Rider only able to be in the sky thanks to the Rocket Module on her right arm. The giant orb faded away, with Kamen Rider Meteor preparing to strike.
Saturn, ready?
Nadeshiko's eyes widened as Meteor began to fire a flurry of large purple rings at her. With the Rocket Module's help, she was able to zip through them with ease. She cursed her luck that she couldn't use any of the Switchers for her legs—having the Gatling Module at this point in time would make things easier.
Still, she wasn't going down without a fight. She zoomed down, nosediving toward Meteor while dodging two or three more rings in blinding speeds. She soon grabbed Meteor and lifted him into the sky, the tip of the Rocket Module at his stomach.
"Let go of me!" Meteor replied, struggling to escape. He briefly looked down and snarled—if Nadeshiko did let go of him, the chances of him leaving Kyoto with his body intact were equal to the chances of snow falling in the desert.
"...Okay." Nadeshiko shook Meteor off of her and watched him fall down to the ground. She then raced toward Meteor as fast as the Rocket Module could take her, her foot positioned right at his chest.
"Nadeshiko Rocket Kick!" she cried, delivering a powerful kick to Meteor's chest. The two slammed to the ground in an explosion, decimating many of trees within a ten-foot radius. The Rocket and Hammer Modules faded away as Nadeshiko panted for breath, hand on Meteor's throat.
Jupiter, ready?
Nadeshiko was hurled off of her feet when a miniature Jupiter slammed in her face. She flew back toward some of the fallen trees as Meteor approached her, unscathed. The female Kamen Rider slowly sat up as Meteor placed his foot on her chest.
"Anything you can do, I can do better," Meteor hissed, the miniature Jupiter inches away from Nadeshiko's face. "And what I do best is pummeling my enemies to the ground! So, what do you have to say?"
"..." Nadeshiko groaned as she tried to grab onto Meteor's leg, but it was useless. She was running out of energy. Meteor smirked and was about to go for the kill.
"Meteor, we are leaving."
Kamen Rider Meteor turned, seeing the Virgo Zodiarts teleport from one of her pink and black vortexes. The Zodiarts of the Maiden approached the two Kamen Riders, the Rhodia halberd in her hand.
"I'm not done beating this bitch into the ground," Meteor snarled, removing his foot before kickng Nadeshiko in the ribs. Even though Nadeshiko wasn't necessarily human, it still hurt.
"This is an order, Meteor," Virgo stated. "Do not make me repeat it."
"Fine, fine." Meteor removed the Astroswitch and transformed back into Ryusei. Ryusei sneered at Nadeshiko as he walked toward the Zodiarts. "This place was getting boring, anyway."
Virgo Zodiarts snarled as she tapped the ground with her halberd, the two disappearing through another black vortex. Nadeshiko stayed still, waiting for them to return in order to beat her up a bit more. After two minutes of quiet, she sat up, flipped the tabs of the Nadeshiko Driver up, and placed a hand on her chest. Nothing was working—it was like Ryusei just couldn't die, and she wasn't getting close to uncovering the truth about the Zodiarts.
The thought was brushed aside when she heard the sound of a train whistle coming toward her. She looked into the sky, seeing the DenLiner appear from a shimmering portal, a set of train tracks materializing in front of her eyes. When the tracks reached the ground just a few feet away from her, the train came to a screeching halt. Nadeshiko took a deep breath as the door opened. Owner stepped out, extending a hand toward her, a solemn look on his face.
"All aboard," Was all that he said.
0-0-0-0-0-0
In the DenLiner, Owner looked over the Kamen Rider Club, the Imagins, Kamen Riders, and all of the other Amanogawa High personnel that were involved in the fighting. Naomi and Hana were already bandaging people, serving them hot coffee or tea, and making sure that their spirits were up. Unfortunately, that last task was harder than usual, considering what happened.
"We couldn't protect the pillars, Gentaro has taken complete control of the principal, Ryusei's gone completely AWOL and now..." Miu looked at the giant X's she made on the whiteboard before tossing the pen in her hand on the floor. She sat herself down at one of the tables. "We've doomed the world."
"It's not all that bad..." Yuki replied, staring at her Gemini mark. Fumika was currently drawing something next to her, her focus on getting the picture just right. Motoyama sat next to the two girls, also drawing something. He took a glance at Norio and Chosuke being examined by Daisuke Yamamoto, still trying to believe how this man who lived in the jungle could quickly transform into a savage Kamen Rider who could bite and tear through his enemies like they were tissue paper. Joji was looking at an Astroswitch in hand, while also frowning at the stump of a right hand that he beared for four decades.
"It could be worse," Tomoko whispered, handing Yuri some hot tea. Erin also grasped her wrist, somewhat startled as she concentrated on the Cosmic Energy inside her, her hair dyed a bright shade of blue. After a few seconds, Erin's hair became a light brown color. "We could have been killed."
"Maybe a part of him is resisting the change?" JK suggested, hands on his lap.
"No, Ophiuchus would squash all resistance in Gentaro," Owner noted. "If Gentaro was being nice, it was to mock us."
"You can say that again," Ohsugi looked at his arm, amazed at how he was able to move it back and forth without strain. "What is Kisaragi made out of?"
"I was afraid to reveal this..." Owner answered. Everyone stopped what they were doing as Owner began to walk across the narrow path. "Gentaro has a very powerful bloodline in him, that goes back to the Ancient Greeks." He went to Miu's whiteboard, erased everything with a cloth in his pocket, and then picked up a spare whiteboard pen. "He is descended from Asclepius, who is said to be the God of Medicine. Ophiuchus was his mentor and-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Chosuke interrupted. "The gian serpent that's causing all of this taught Ascl...Asclee...Medicine man how to heal people? But why?"
"It was a kinship," Owner answered. "They wanted to help people, but there were those who did not want it." Owner drew a giant thunder cloud and a lightning bolt hitting a stick figure. "Zeus despised Asclepius for his idea to bring the dead back to life. As Asclepius laid dying, Ophiuchus was enraged. As this went on, there was a crow whose failure to help Apollo would be a guard to aid all those who held Apollo's bloodline." Someone raised their hand behind Owner's back. "And before you ask, Asclepius is Apollo's son." Said someone lowered their hand.
"But how can Gentaro be part of Asclepius's bloodline if he died?" asked Yuri, feeling so out of place amongst everyone else. "I mean, he's dead..."
"Asclepius made a contract with Ophiuchus to help tend a son his wife gave birth to for one year," Owner elaborated. "But that did not make Ophiuchus any happier—especially after Zeus sent Asclepius's soul to the heavens to make the constellation known as Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer. Ophiuchus the Serpent, knowing of the special crow from Apollo, kept searching for any of Asclepius's descendants until he found Gentaro."
"But why Gentaro?" asked Shun. "If Ophiuchus wanted a puppet, why was it Gentaro?!"
"That is what we are trying to unlock," Owner answered. "From my sources, Gentaro is the current descendant wth the guardian crow, or rather the 'White Crow of the Veil', as it is called." Owner drew a stick figure with a pompadour and a giant outline of a bird hugging him. "I believe that Ophiuchus was unable to gather as much Cosmic Energy or whatever it is that he was searching for until he found Gentaro. However..."
"However?" Everyone asked.
"...It's nothing," Owner replied, capping the pen and placing it in his pocket. "All that I can say is that things are going to get even more dangerous from here on out. With the four seals broken, the Cosmic Energy that was kept underground can be released. Ophiuchus and the Zodiarts feed off of Cosmic Energy. It is what fuels them. And now that Cosmic Energy will be drawn to The Hole in your school."
"In other words, Amanogawa High has become even more of a breeding ground," Joji muttered.
"So...what do we do now?" asked Haruka.
"Golden Week is coming," Owner answered. "I suggest that you all use that time wisely. Talk to your parents, make plans to meet up with one another, hone your skills. Do whatever you think is necessary for this war. We have only just begun."
0-0-0-0-0
Ko Tatsugami snarled, hand on his chest as he tried to drag himself toward his hotel room. He didn't now what was worse: the fact that he had to be outsmarted by a pathetic geography teacher or the fact that a teenage boy could cause him to be blown away to who knows where.
Fumbling for the key to his room, Tatsugami opened the door, only to find Ryusei and Virgo Zodiarts staringat him. Tatsugami growled, baring his fangs.
"What now?" he asked. Virgo chuckled as she held an item in her hand.
"We are in need of new recruits," Virgo replied. "And I think the solution to this is to make our own. Ryusei, make a wish upon the stars."
Ryusei took the item, a Zodiarts switch, into his hands and pressed the button. For a moment, he was surrounded by a dark cloud with a multitude of stars—the same as any other Zodiarts. Then, there was a small ball of light—a sign that showed a Zodiarts had the potential to evolve. The cloud of starry smoke faded away, and Tatsugami stared in awe at what he saw.
He was looking at a copy of the Libra Zodiarts.
"I knew that Ryusei had potential when I fought him," Virgo chuckled. "And no one will even know. Gentaro snatching Principal Hayami's powers as the Zodiarts of the Scales benefits us. Everyone will be so focused on him, that we can go snatch the last of the potential Horoscpes without them noticing."
"You sound highly confident of your plan, Virgo," Tatsugami commented, noticing how the new Zodiarts didn't move. As much as it was interesting to see a new Libra copy, at least the one Tatsugami knew could speak.
"I have taken care of every possibility for what would happen," Virgo replied. "I am highly certain that the resistance put against us Zodiarts will fall. Master Gamou's plans shall be achieved. Isn't that so, Libra?"
"Of course," Ryusei, the new Libra Zodiarts, replied. "We shall decide their fate."
0-0-0-0-0-
Gentaro watched his fellow Serpents talk to one another, sometimes glancing back at the four Horoscopes powers marked on the back of his left hand. He unfurled his wings, plucking a feather as he felt the power radiating in him. He knew about the White Crow due to his grandfather's stories, but to harness it like he could now were two different things all together.
"You seem happy," Ophiuchus hissed, approaching Gentaro in his own Gentaro form. "Are you satisfied with your results?"
"Of course," Gentaro replied, watching the feather in his hands transform into a dark snake. "I have what I need from Kyoto, and so I shall let those fools rest for the week. Even someone like me needs rest."
"We really can't rest yet," Ophiuchus chuckled. "Remember we have a little appointment at sunset. Shall we get going to that?"
"Let's." Gentaro stood up and stared at the six Serpents who immediately turned to him. He was slightly startled but brushed the feeling aside pretty quickly. "We are all heading home, to train for the next battle. I also have an appointment to attend with a certain fortuneteller."
"And we never heard of this, why?" Jiro asked.
"Because you two were making out, as usual," Misa replied, pointing to Jiro and Kengo as she said that. "Boys and their love-sickness are just disgusting."
"It's of little meaning, but I did make a promise," Gentaro replied. "We all have much to do, don't we? Now that the Cosmic Energy seal is broken, we will be more powerful than ever."
"And, if we wait a bit longer..." Ophiuchus chuckled. "I sense many of my brethren already in the area. If we can gather them all here, we can summon one of the Champions that went to war with the Zodiarts all those years ago. But for now," Ophiuchus licked his lips. "Let us feed. The day has not yet been swallowed up by night as it is."
Gentaro raised a hand in the air, concentrating on the Cosmic Energy that dwelled within him. A smile graced his lips as he thought of what was to come.
Death. Destruction. Vengeance. Annihilation.
And through it all, he would rise above everyone else.
Gentaro Kisaragi was no more. All that was left of him had become a Vessel of darkness. He wouldn't have it any other way.
This is the end of Horseshoes and Hand-grenades, but for the world in whole? It has only just begun.
There is no more to be said in this story. There are other people in other situations that must be addressed before Act II can come to attention. So for now, the curtain falls on this scene. Thank you for coming to read and learn of the trials that are present.
But there are still more troubles to come, and more dangers to face. Whether good wins will depend on them, because one mistake will lead into chaos. That is the last that they need.
So stay tuned for what the future holds. You never know what might come next.