…

I've lost my writer's mojo, and having a mental burnout.

For those waiting for me to continue my other stories, sorry for the wait, but as I said, fucking burnouts. Especially the Amazon FiM fic, I gotta adjust my stories with the canon so it won't fuck things up. Sure, what's an alternate universe or two, but for that fic, I HAVE to make it just right. I will finish them, it may take a while, but I will.

Unfortunately, thanks to the lost of my mojo, I've written nothing. HOWEVER, I been thinking lots of things…

You must be wondering why I insist on using the SIC versions of Ishinomori's heroes… Not only I think it's more badass, but I wish for more diversity. I also think it's visually interesting to see the SIC version of any of the Ishinomori Heroes, with all those teeny tiny details that made them look grittier (Amazon and ZX being my personal favorites) especially the old version; can you imagine someone cospaying as Old!SIC Kuuga in real life with the same exact details it had, or any characters from the Kikaider series?

Speaking of Kuuga, I've been pondering whether I should use the old or new Kuuga SIC for the SI-Me to transform into… Why not both? How does it work, you ask? A wizard did it. (Telling would be spoiling, after all; I'll save the reasons and expositions later)

Right then, on with the show!

As usual, SI-Me speaks English when he's alone, italics for non-Japanese sentences and bolds for one foreign word. Unless noted, of course; I know some of you don't want an all italics conversation

Episode 4: Might

A few days have passed since my first battle and transformation. Calling these past few weeks hectic would be an understatement.

The mall was being renovated, and the police were still investigating the mysterious webbings and interviewing the victims. The place is still open for public, except for the ones behind the police line, of course. My gut tells me that they would be coming for me one day, since malls do have security cameras installed everywhere; which means they will find out what happened. But the cops never came to me. Maybe the cameras were obstructed by the webbings back then?

… I hope my mom and sisters are okay.

Anyway, Kaz was nice enough to introduce me to his parents, telling them that I was a friend he met in college. I told them I was attending psychology class, since that's one thing I'm sort of good at, and I need a place to stay since I'm flat broke. Also I lost everything I own; passport, wallet, clothing, whatever. With the exceptions of my laptop and Trychaser 2000, of course.

The Mishou parents were kind enough to give me a place to stay in their observatory. In return, though unnecessary to them, I decided to help maintain this household.

Basically, I became their unofficial butler.

It's a good thing I have experiences doing chores, otherwise dinner plates aren't the only thing I broke. Anyway, this past few weeks was a blast; I managed to ride all over the town to familiarize myself with the city of… You know, I don't think they ever this place a name, the show's article on Wikipedia calls it the Land of Greenery… Midori no Sato… Midori City. Let's go with that.

Well, there's the mall, the beach, Saki's home which is also a bakery shop, that school of theirs on top of the hill, and many other places not shown in the anime; I mean, video game arcades, a movie theater, and – most surprisingly and fortunate for me – a mosque? Guess it's another way of the universe trying to compensate my appearance.

Speaking of appearances, the Grongis haven't showed their presence in a long while. The news reported of more disappearances, but oddly no mysterious deaths. This is worrisome.

Still, that means I get more time training myself; I've gotten better riding the Trychaser, so much that I'm confident enough to ask the Hyuugas to be their deliveryman. After a few trial deliveries given by Daisuke, Saki's father, he said yes. I remember reading that his breads and cakes (apparently they do make cakes, 'tis no lie!) are famous nationwide, and he got scouted by many restaurants and hotels. But as you can tell, he said no to all of them.

Right now, I'm sitting outside the Panpaka Pan Bakery shop, waiting for my lunch to be made. The Hyuugas were damn good bakers, and the first time Saki introduce me to them, however, they immediately thought I was her boyfriend (Wait, what?). Saki was blushing like mad, blabbering as she tried to tell her parents that we weren't together; tried being the keyword. The hilarity was too much for me that time, but I controlled myself and told them that I wasn't. "Besides, she already has an eye for a certain someone's big brother." I said to the parents, and Saki slapped my arm. Her little sister, Minori, took an instant liking towards me then. Guess someone who could tease her sister without fearing her wrath is alright in her book. Yup, the Hyuugas were a funny bunch.

I see Mrs. Hyuuga beckoning me to come inside. Guess my lunch is ready!

The inside is like your typical bakery, with multiple kinds of breads lined up on rectangular baskets and what they're called. Today, the shop was idling, since the news of multiple disappearances had discouraged potential costumers, but they still get one or two occasionally.

"Here you go; four layered sandwich with sprinkled butter, with no crusts! My, you sure have a big appetite, don't you? Oh, here's your glass of milk!"

Yes, you heard it right. I usually eat a sandwich of four layers. No veggies or whatever, just some butter and sprinkles/jimmies between three gaps of the layers. When I was a wee lad, my mother always makes that kind of sandwich. Of course she used a couple of layers then, when I got older, it upgraded to one more piece. Now, it's four. Anyways, I paid for the lunch and sat down on the bench near the shop, the Trychaser parked next to it. Oh, and I figured out how to change the colors! Now, it's a black/gray variant of the bike, just like in its debut.

Linto, have you ever considered changing the menu of your diet?

Hey, I do eat other things too, but like hell I'm replacing mom's sandwich! Even though the maker's different, it's still my mom's signature food! I'm eating this kind of sandwich until hell freezes over, thank you very much!

Err… Right. Anyway, I wish to discuss about the lack of Grongi activity… And your situation.

I know, I know: 'You lack determination!' you told me, that's why even though I kept training myself, I'm still stuck in Growing Form. 'Maybe you should go hunt some Grongis!' you told me, but in this day and age, doing something like that might make people suspicious of me. If they found out I'm from another universe, they might do some things to me!

…Could it be that this town is protected by a magical force? Perhaps it explains their lack of activity.

Or Daguva is actually playing it smart. For starters, why are all these people disappearing, and there's been no progress over the missing 500+ inmates since the jailbreak. Is he trying to convert them into followers or something? Could be food sources, but I don't think the Grongis even need to eat…

At any rate, we should try contacting the other Cures.

Ah, yes. Problem is that I don't know exactly where they live; their towns are fictional, and the only thing that connects the first three teams is that they live close to reach Yokohama. I saw it the first All Stars film… And I've yet to ask the girls. Plus they're busy with school.

Hmm… So what do you propose we do now, Linto?

I propose to put these things into the trash can since I've just finished it. Time go ride out of here!

I've did what I intended, and as I mount my bike, I heard footsteps just before I turned it on. It was Saki, wearing her softball uniform. Behind her were her teammates. They must've been practicing as usual… You know, her mannerism somewhat reminds me of Sakura Kasugano from the Street Fighter games. Wait, I wonder what she would look like, cosplaying as her. She already got the spunk, so I'll just need to buy the sailor fuku, get a white headband, dress her up and-

"Rasyid, hello~? Are you spacing out again?"

Yes, thanks to this wonderful imaginative power of mine, not only this kind of nonsensical thoughts plagues me, it also deprived me of normal concentration others have. I wouldn't have it in any other way.

"Oh, Saki! W-what, no. I wasn't spacing out! I was… trying to map out the city in my head; gotta do that often if I want to find and remember faster routes for my deliveries, you know?" scratching the back of my head, I bashfully answered her. She merely giggled at my absentmindedness, "Come on, now! If you keep doing that, your mind won't be at top form when you deliver things!"

"Ha! Don't you worry about it, Saki! Even though my attention span isn't that great, when things get serious I'm as focused as tiger hunting its prey!" I finished that sentence with a thumbs up. By now I've gotten used to do that, so I simply rolled with it. It was then that I noticed the other two behind Saki, "Oh, Hitomi, Yuuko! Hi there!" I waved at them, and they returned the gesture. "Hope you enjoyed yesterday's delivery!"

Itou Hitomi and Outa Yuuko. These two are the recurring minor characters of the Splash Star season; Hitomi is tall and slender, while Yuuko is shorter than her and fa—No, I refuse say it, not even in my monologue. These duo are Saki's softball teammates, while there are others, they're the ones who keep popping up in most episodes, other than Hoshino Kenta, the kid who's been childhood friends with Saki, I wonder if he ever told her that he has a crush on Saki… "Anyway, I should go. My shift's over and I got some money to spend!" I backed the bike away and proceeded to turn its engine on. Putting on my helmet, the same kind Godai used, I said my goodbyes and went on my way. Now what to buy around here?

Perhaps buy the time to investigate the mall? There may be clues to the Grongi's whereabouts.

That's the job for the police, and I doubt I could just waltz into the crime scene. I mean, there's no way I'll do that!

The Mall, 17.30 PM

I cannot believe I am doing this!

I'm back at the mall's rooftop, the same place where I fought the spider Grongi. Kinda weird that there's no officer guarding this place, to think that the bent satellite dish would be a clue of sorts. Whatever, at least I could investigate in peace.

As I walked onto the helipad, I immediately saw the charred remains of the Grongi. Seems weird since the girls' finisher isn't fire based… Huh?

A piece of Zu-Gumun-Ba's wristblades… And why are these smaller spiders surrounding it?

Whatever they want, Riku, it's an odd behavior for these things. I shooed the arachnids away and inspected the blade. Apparently, it's made out of bone. No traces of liquid on the tip, which means he's never toxic to begin with. Good.

Meh, in the end a bone's a bone. I'm no CSI, so I decided to put it back down. I held up my wristwatch and… "Whoa, eighteen PM already? I better go, don't wanna worry the Mishous." I wonder what's for dinner tonight—

Suddenly, I heard wings beating above me. Those doesn't sound like bird wings… and it was quite a big flap. Could it be… The Bat Grongi, this soon? Riku, what do you think?

I think we should get off this platform, lest you want Zu-Gooma-Gu to ambush you.

Yeah, Gooma… He's the only notable lower rank Grongi to me, surviving until the episode where he got killed off by Daguva, even though Gooma got a part of his Amadam inside him. Man, that was one scary episode. Alright, now that I'm close to the rooftop access, I'll stop this jibber-jabber, and I should really get out of—

"FREEZE!"

…Here. I did what the voice said, who shouted in Japanese, I held my hands up too. How come I didn't saw her snooping around? Then again, it is quite dark… I heard her footsteps as she slowly walked towards me. "What do you think you're doing here?" asked the lady. From the sound of her voice, she's older than me. Should I even answer her—"I could ask the same to you, officer. Quite an odd place for you to be stationed in." Wait, what the hell am I saying?!

Don't look at me, I have no control over your actions. Much.

"Ho? What makes you think I'm an officer of the law?" she asked back, her footsteps are getting louder. "Well, if you were a criminal, you wouldn't yell freeze or anything; you could just make your voice threatening to make me surrender myself or you could just shoot me. But since you didn't do both, that makes me think that you are an officer of the law." She did an 'hmm', and continued her 'interrogation', "Nice deduction, but you're not really answering my question; what are you doing here?"

"Uh… Stargazing?" Crap, crap, crap… "Look, I don't mean any trouble; I'm just exploring the place, I was bored and think that the rooftops would get me a nice view. Yes, I know there are mountains here, but I'm not going there alone!" She now stood behind me, I'm not sure what she'll do next… "Please don't arrest me…" I muttered in English.

These few seconds felt like minutes, hours even. I dare not move nor turn around… Then, I heard her giggling, which turned into laughter. Not an outright LOL, but one of those lady laughter thing. "You sure are an interesting guy!"

"Wait, you can speak English?" so surprised I immediately turned around and… and…

Oh my God, she's gorgeous. At first glance, for some reason, her face almost resembled a character from Napata's works. This brunette's a bit taller than I am, Sailor Jupiter tall. Hell, she even has the ponytail; if I didn't knew better, she IS her, with the way she acts! She wore a dark brown leather coat, just like how all those noir detectives usually wore them. Underneath them is a nice suit… Sweet Allah, she's gorgeous.

"Wow, you're pretty…" Oh, shit why the hell did I say that?! "I-I mean you're pretty tall… Oh, wait you must have get that a lot, I'm so sorry, that was probably insensitive of me, oh man…" My franticness seemed to have amused her, "Dammit, stop laughing, lady!"

"Sorry, sorry!" she had her hand cupping her mouth, her other hand palmed at me. "I'm sorry, it's just… I've never seen someone your age act like this." "Well, maybe because I'm not a normal guy; and society these days needs more weirdoes." I told her. Wait, dammit! "Gah! Seriously, who are you?" For crying out loud… Ah well, she's pretty, maybe I'll let it slide.

After she composed herself, she holstered her sidearm, and introduced herself, "My name is Agent Taki Asuka, and you're right for calling me an officer of the law, even though I outrank them…"

She waited for me to respond, but I was currently in Lala-land.

Linto, snap out of it! What's wrong this time?

Taki… that's the surname of a character from the original Kamen Rider show, Taki Kazuya. And like him, she's an FBI agent.

And what is this FBI?

You know what lawmen are? Well, the FBI are the lawmen who keep the world in order. Basically speaking.

Does this mean she is capable of activities no ordinary lawmen could?

Yes, yes she does…

"Hello~? Are you still with me, kid?" her finger snap woke me out of my trance, I subconsciously muttered, "Agent... Taki Asuka, you say?" with a gulp, I continued, "Does the name Taki Kazuya sound familiar to you?" Wait, why did I ask her that? There's no way she watched tokusatsu, let alone the early ones—

"Taki Kazuya… Hey, isn't that a character from the original Kamen Rider back in '71? Portrayed by Jiro Chiba? I think I read a manga where he wore a skull motif bike helmet… Looks cool. " Oh my, she does know her shit. "I think a young rookie asked me that before, can't believe someone would ask me that again, though. Thanks to him I became a fan. I assume you're a Kamen Rider otaku?" As I inhaled, I replied, "Well, I'm no Einstein, but my knowledge of Kamen Rider and other tokusatsu shows are quite adequate. I've been trying to search many of those old toku shows online to watch, but so far I found nothing… Oh God, please don't arrest me! I know it's bad downloading shows, but I have no choice! There's no official international marketing for many of the shows, the entertainment department of my country's government aren't interested, I can't speak, write, or read Japanese, and-and—"

"Okay, okay! Take it easy, kiddo!" she pinched my lips together, I immediately freeze. "Relax, I know how you feel. I've been searching for Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine episodes online, and I can't find DVDs of that show around here. Besides, I'm on vacation, so cool your jets, yeah?" with a wink, she patted my cheek… Is the air getting hotter around here?

"But seriously though, why are you here? Don't tell me you're investigating the mysterious attack that occurred here a few days ago?" when she asked me that, I was stunned. She's quite informed, for an FBI agent on a vacation. Then again, maybe she heard the news. Judging by her lovely looks, she read my face and figured it out, "You were there that day, weren't you?"

Suddenly, a bat screeched somewhere. For some reason, it was quite loud, almost as if a giant bat was… "Oh, shit, GET DOWN!"

As I lunged towards Asuka, shielding her from whatever was coming, I felt something slicing my back—"Argh!" Dammit! Of all the times…

"W-what the hell?! Kid, are you okay?" she pulled out her gun, some sort of revolver, I think. Not sure if it's a normal one or the Dirty Harry gun. She aimed at whatever attacked us, but since it was quite dark now-even with the rooftop lights- she couldn't see him.

As I tried to turned my back, a shadow landed a few meters in front of us… Oh, no.

Zu-Gooma-Gu… He has appeared at last. You know what must be done.

But what about Asuka, Riku? I don't remember her appearing in any of the Pretty Cure anime, nor I would expect someone completely new to appear! Gah, this is just like those MLP fanfics where they add new characters which usually make sense, but here? This is a Pretty Cure anime; a show for little girls! There's no way they would make a character who's an FBI agent or anything serious or complicated for them!

I believe you have mentioned that interfering with the people of this "fictional" universe would be bad. Do you not realize that our very existence here-not to mention Daguva's-clearly interfered their lives from the very start? And I think I have also heard you saying, "What's an alternate universe or two?" and something about rejecting a reality and substituting your own…

…Shit, you're right. This is just like those fanfics, The Interference, Sleeping with Girls, and Mass Vexations. Some events may destine to happen, but that doesn't mean I'll stand idly by in the backside! If the R.O.B. sent me here, there must be a reason for it!

Asuka fired two shots, but Gooma kept on walking. He's practically grinning at us, "Stupid Linto," he said in the Grongi tongue, "That toy of yours could never hurt me." The FBI agent dragged me as she fired another round, wouldn't the shots be heard? Bah, survival's more important now.

"Shit, is that thing bulletproof?!" Asuka said, as she picked me up, "Alright, kid, hang on to me!" Both of us ran towards the exit, only to be blocked by Gooma. He hissed at us menacingly. Asuka aimed her gun to shoot him, but he flew up and dive kicked us. The impact separated both of us, I heard her gun clanking away, and then… No.

"No, no, no, NOOOO!"

Ignoring the pain, or maybe it already healed, I quickly got on my feet and lunged at Gooma, "Get your filthy claws away from her!" I said in the Grongi tongue, it doesn't matter if she heard it, I WILL protect her. As I beat his face in, I could feel the Arcle coming out of my waist. Slowly, I transformed into Kuuga… in Growing form, what the hell?!

Gooma swiped his claw at my face, I could feel his claws slashing the visors. Then he kicked me in the gut, sending me towards Asuka. "W-what the hell?" I heard her saying; I know she wants answer, but right now…

"You are weak! I cannot believe my master sent me to slay you now, how pathetic! You are no fun, Linto… I'm leaving."

Gooma… just flew away… that bastard. "That… goddamn bastard!" I slammed my fist against the floor. What the hell?! I was fighting to protect, shouldn't it be enough to get me the red form already? Riku, what gives?!

…You are close, Rasyid. But it is not enough. Calm yourself before you do anything foolish and remember; Gooma mentioned that he was SENT by his master to attack you. Daguva has made his move, it seems, and his first agenda is to kill you.

Well, it's gonna take a lot more than him to take me out.

As I cancel my transformed state, I felt more exhausted than usual… Why? Wait, I was angry then… I remember; don't do it while being emotional, stay frosty and fight the Grongi with a just heart, least you be consumed by the rage… But for now, I should attend to Asuka.

"…Asuka, I understand you have many questions right now, and I would also understand that you won't simply trust me after this, so I suggest we find someplace safe and discuss this like proper adults—" I was interrupted by a certain someone… embracing me. "Oh my God, you're a real Kamen Rider! I can't believe you just transformed and rescued me like that!"

Huh, a fascinating reaction. Are all women of this age like this?

"A-Asuka? Are you alright?" "Alright? I just got my ass saved by a Kamen Rider! I can't believe they're real!" The seemingly adult Taki Asuka is apparently fangirling me…. ME, of all people, how the hell does this happen—I felt two soft somethings on my chest… Giggity. Wait, not now brain!

But titties!

Not like this!

She's a tall, hot, action girl; YOUR kind of girl, and you say no? What's wrong with you?

Me? Dammit, why the hell am I arguing with myself—"OW!"

Crud, I forgot my back was cut open. Asuka gasped at my reaction, "Oh my God, your back! I completely forgot about it! I'm so sorry!" Better calm her down, "Asuka, it's okay, it's merely a scratch! It will heal eventually—" No! You need medical attention." "Yeah, try explaining that a giant bat made this wound. I'm sure they won't sue Batman for this."

Whoa, I suddenly felt lighter… Wait, she's carrying me. The duffle bag carry! "A-Asuka! What are you-" Holy crap, she's stronger than she looks! "Your home is around here, isn't it? I'll take you there!" Before I have my chance to explain, she ran towards the exit. "Gah, stop squeezing my ass, lady!"

Hah. A most fascinating woman… Surely you are enjoying this?

Ah, can it, Riku.

Welp, here it is. The long awaited chapter 4.

As I said before, I lost my writer's mojo, a mental burnout, and thanks to that I've written almost nothing regarding my fanfictions.

Anyways, introducing an OC I just made on the spot, Taki Asuka. Yes, not only she's the named after Taki Kazuya, she's the Ichijou Kaoru to the SI-Me's Godai Yuusuke. Any suggestions of TV shows/movies on how FBI agents act? A documentary would be fine, too.

Who is Napata, you ask? Well… Let's just say this person's works is NSFW. Google him/her yourself. Pretty drawings aplenty.

Honestly, I don't know when will the drive to continue my stories would come back, but I assure you all, I will never ever cancel my stories. I know 6 months is a damn long time, but my life is... bah, you don't need to read my personal crap, I'll be fine.

Remember the harem hint? Asuka is one of them. What, I never said it would be just the Precure girls, did I?

And the part where SI-Me went angry? It will eventually escalate. Especially when I reached the All-Stars DX3 arc.

"I thought Mighty form would debut here, Stranger. What gives?" You ask? Well, I thought so too, but I came up with a better idea. It will in the next chapter, honest.

Anyways, read, review, and rejoice. For this Stranger has (probably) got his groove back!