Chapter 14 : An Ember Smile
Disclaimer : I do not own both Kamen Rider and RWBY as they both belong to their respective owners, except for my OC(s).
CLANG!
Two swords of the conflicting Riders clashed against each other. Kyle had proven himself capable enough from time to time during his training in Tsukasa's basement. His mentor also took notice of this as he, too, was unwilling to give in. The two were unarmored, fighting only with their garbs and gears on. The young Rider seemed to have mastered his basics of sword fighting. Tsukasa decided to twirl his disciple's sword away. Kyle countered it by using his bare hands and threw his mentor's sword away.
However, he had a bit of a trouble holding his stand when going toe-to-toe against the senior Rider. His jabs were either blocked by Tsukasa's bare hands or being dodged easily. His moves were predictable that Tsukasa could see a way through. Tsukasa then dashed behind Kyle and slammed him to the ground. He also headlocked him to prevent further resistance. It was at this point that Kyle had to acknowledge his defeat.
"Urk... never thought it'd be this hard when I got my weapon's off." Kyle commented.
"Your moves are predictable by our standards. And don't get me started on comparing it with the veterans, already." Tsukasa sternly noted, throwing a towel to his disciple.
"I know, I know... Okay, I'll try better next time."
"Why don't you ask Yusuke for hand-to-hand combat practice? I think that'll help you fare better." He suggested as he helped Kyle to get back up.
"Oh I did, his Mighty Form's the best at it." Kyle commented.
"I see. however, you're still gonna need to work on your attacks. I admit it was fast. It's just that your punches are still not focused enough, and your kicks were readable like a book." He noted.
Kyle sighed as he gripped his mentor's hand, "Affirmative... Say, how are my friends doing?"
"There they are..."
Tsukasa gestured to the other room his friends were in. They had also started their practice routine. Ruby was seen training with a red Kamen Rider. His armor was akin to that of a race car. The helmet he wore had a car spoiler-like horn, and its forehead emblazoned a sharp 'R' letter. One of the most notable features he had was a tire that was stuck on his body. It had a 'Type Speed' letter and a red line marking. He had a silver belt that displayed an 'S' letter and a bracelet with a red twirled toy car installed.
Some of his armor parts had a white line racing decal. The black parts of his armor were seemed more rigid than the red ones, especially on his rear armor that looked like a car's under mechanic. His boots had exhaust pipes that blew steams whenever he sped up by twisting his Drive Driver's switch and flipped his Shift Car three times.
SPE-SPE-SPEED!
His Shift Tire rolled as he sped up as Ruby did the same. They clashed their speeds against each other. Ruby herself was armed with her Crescent Rose already, so Drive got his Handle-Ken steer sword to back himself up. Countless clangs were heard among the room.
Jaune was also training his swordmanship with Brave as promised. Not only them, but Pyrrha was also seen spectating their spar from the sidelines. The blue knight had scheduled the training so that it wouldn't meddle with his job as a surgeon. Their swords clashed as Jaune tried to look for any openings. He found it rather harder than with Cardin and his cronies for obvious reasons, of course. Brave's strength and skills sure outclassed them. Even he had his blue shield bulked up. They fought with the same style; sword and shield, a common one that most knights used.
Brave managed to knock Jaune's shield away. He also deformed his shield to see how Jaune did with only his sword at hand. The result was quite obvious; Jaune was at a disadvantage. The blue Rider's swift moves and swordmanship defeated him without breaking a sweat. His sword was pointed right at his face.
"Your stance is wrong, Jaune. Enemies would've predicted such slight mistake and they won't hesitate to use it, and any means to kill you off. Keep that in mind." He corrected.
"Alright... I'm done for now." Jaune sighed in defeat.
"Jaune, it's okay. Just keep working on it until it's sturdy enough. I'll go get you guys some drinks." Pyrrha said.
"Thanks a ton, Pyrrha!" Jaune thanked, waving his hand while still lying in the ground.
As for the other fight, Drive quickly moved away from Ruby's speed up. He knew that Ruby was like a rhino, having a strong and powerful charge, but couldn't make a turn or stop at its track. There, he twirled the steer on his sword three times.
U-TURN!
Following the command, Drive literally made a U-turn slide using his boots and slashed Ruby away, leading to her defeat.
"No fair! You can turn fast yourself!" Ruby pouted.
"Well, 'fair' is never on Dai-Shocker's book. You should expect things like that." Drive commented.
"Ruby, a Semblance is also capable of evolving-" The belt talked, causing the Huntress to gasp.
"Waah! Oh, Mr. Belt! Sorry, I forgot you're also here. I mean, since you're a... belt?" Ruby sheepishly said.
"It's understandable. A talking belt will surely startle people. Ahem, where was I? Like the Rider system, yours must be honed with hardships and experiences." Mr. Belt said.
"Why am I remembering my younger days, now?" Drive lamented as he and Brave powered down.
"We all do, my friend. We all do." Belt assured.
NICE DRIVE!
GASSHUN!
"Fresh waters coming up!" Pyrrha offered. The heroes gathered as they had their drinks. Kyle was seen bringing his own handkerchief, wiping his sweating face. Speaking of which, it was his first time meeting the police officer and his talking belt. He then approached them.
"So, you're Kamen Rider Drive, right?" Kyle asked the man in suit and red tie.
"Shinnosuke Tomari, part of Vale's Police Bureau. Down here's my mentor, Krim Steinbelt. Mr. Belt, that is." he introduced as he pointed down to his Drive Driver.
"It's nice to meet you, Kyle Morgan. I must say your Huntsmen friends here are quite amazing. No wonder they can still hold their stand against the likes of us and Dai-Shocker." Mr. Belt said.
"Those Kaijins are tough, but we worked together!" Ruby pointed out to everyone's agreement.
"The initiation's still my favorite moment. I mean, we just met and locked in a do-or-die combat." Pyrrha smiled.
"Mine, too! It's like we're handshaking to each other, but by teamwork against the Kaijin!" Ruby added.
"Oh yeah, you should see Ruby's face whenever she sees Kyle transforming." Jaune noted.
"She loves weapons. And cookies." Kyle said, continued by Ruby's giggle.
"Uhh... no offense, but... why are you a belt?" Jaune asked.
"I used to be a human too, you know."
"Whoa, really!?" Kyle, Ruby, and Jaune shocked as Pyrrha simply widened her eyes.
"But, the Global Freeze incident forced me to transfer my consciousness into this Driver belt, hence why I need a host to transform into Drive. I could've had myself transferred into a Roidmude body before, but I got really used to this, I say." He noted.
"Global Freeze?" Pyrrha wondered.
"An incident that caused a massive heavy acceleration through almost half of the world. Belt and his host as the first Drive stopped it, but at the cost of the host himself." Kyle explained.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Mr. Belt." Pyrrha gave her condolences.
"It's fine. The Global Freeze was one of the many reasons of why I would never hand over my tech to the likes of Dai-Shocker, even Atlas. One wrong person tinker it up, It's all over." Belt told.
"And you had to seal both your tech and yourself inside the pit. Right?" Kyle guessed, remembering some of his vision fragments.
"Exactly." Belt smiled, emphasizing the word.
"Glad that the Rider League gave him a job. I can still keep in touch with him at anytime." Shinnosuke said.
"I remembered how you managed to surprise me inside my sealed pit, Tsukasa. Glad to have my tech guranteed to be used for good." Mr. Belt expressed his gratitude.
"I just want to keep our legacy going on, Belt. Kamen Riders are still needed in this brink of chaos." Tsukasa stated.
"You guys want to know who erased Remnant's records of the Kamen Riders before? He did." Hiiro pointed at the sentient belt.
"Eeeh!?" the heroes, sans the senior Riders, gasped.
"Like hacking through the servers right? I heard Atlas is the one who has it." Kyle wondered.
"I found it surprisingly easy. Their CCT servers are not that different than our world's." Belt said.
"Wait, wait, wait, erasing your records? Like... nothing at all?" Ruby gawked.
"Yep."
"No wonder why neither of my dad or my uncle told me about it." Ruby frowned.
"Ruby, during our last times with them, we had swore an oath to never tell a word about our existence to anyone. We don't want the likes of Dai-Shocker or the world council to overhear this. Though that being said, I'm afraid that there might be some others who told it to a minor group. Unlike those two." Tsukasa explained.
"Okay, I can see that. I'll go ask them whenever I had the time." Ruby said.
"Say, Ruby. Where are the others? I thought you guys are all gonna come here at once." Kyle asked.
"Well, it's not weekend and we want to avoid suspicions. So, we made our schedules in shifts of two or three people." Ruby said.
"By the way, I heard that you're chosen for Glynda's sparring class tomorrow. You should prepare." Hiiro advised.
"Will do. Besides, I was given a freedom to choose my opponent this time. that's why I asked Yusuke to train me two days prior. I had the first session and I already had a person to fight in mind."
"And who'll that be?" Tsukasa wondered as Kyle grabbed his chin in thought and smiled.
"Yang, may I have this fight?"
Most of the students, including his teammates were startled by his statement. Yang Xiao Long was one of the fiercest Huntress in Beacon. Her fighting skill was widely known among the students. She had a high fighting spirit that burned like a wildfire. The records of her losses were little to no. Even if she lost, she'd ask the person to fight her again and it usually ended up on her being the winner. You could say that she was a sore loser, indeed.
"Alright, I'm on!" The blonde brawler squealed in front of her friends.
"Good luck, you guys!" Ruby cheered.
"Have fun!" Pyrrha said.
Yang went down to the arena where Kyle stood. The sparring lesson was being held on a colliseum that was finished from its maintenance. All of the students had a clear view of the arena. Glynda also mentioned that the colliseum was a mock arena of Vytal, hence why it was made for the festival's preparation. The students gazed upon the two warriors; one whose fighting prowess was proveworthy, and the other who gave bullies a beating of the age.
"You better not hold anything back, slick." Yang grinned, readying her stance.
"Oh, I don't plan to. Even if this is just a spar." Kyle replied, putting on his Driver. However, he didn't take his weapon out like the usual.
Everyone present, including the two warriors, had their hearts beating fast as if it was the true festival already. The students awaited the professor's signal to begin. Both Kyle and Yang locked their eyes to each other. There wasn't a single hesitation in their eyes.
"Let the match... begin!"
Glynda gave the signal off and the warriors started charging at each other. The opening was a hand-to-hand combat. Kyle could still manage his hits unlike his fight with Yusuke and Tsukasa, for Yang could be categorized on the same level as his. Deciding to play along for a while, Yang didn't use her gauntlets and fought back only using her fists and legs. The two traded punches and kicks like a simple martial arts fight. Some of their hits either succeeded or missed each other. The Rider himself was glad enough to had his skills prepped before.
It was still too soon for him to rejoice, however. He was slightly caught off guard when Yang tripped him to the ground. He quickly rolled back to avoid her gauntlet punch. The brawler grinned to the Rider, giving off a signal to turn up the notch. Kyle complied by taking out his Ride Booker gun. He had also been perfecting his Gun-Fu to the point he could swat Yang's punch away and shot her in the chest, sending her a few inches away from him.
The brawler coughed as she swept the dirt on her mouth away and grinned, "Heh, you're getting a lot more nerve than I thought you used to be."
"I'm doing my best to amuse you, miss Xiao Long." Kyle answered.
"As expected from a Morgan; you're tough."
Yang dashed towards him in full speed, unleashing her Semblance right in front of her opponent. She punched Kyle who tried to block it by crossing his hands. The immense strength of her punch pushed him to the edge of the arena. Fortunately, His Aura was still full enough to suppress the force and keeping the pain away.
"Now, let's see if you can try me, this time!" her red eyes glared undividedly towards the Rider.
"Well then. I guess it finally comes to this." He said as he took out his card.
KAMEN RIDE :
"Henshin!"
DECADE!
The two continued their clash once again. They landed their hits to one another. Decade himself could feel Yang's rather stronger hits compared to how she was before. The impact her punches caused stung right through his armor as if he didn't wear it at all. No matter how many times he hit and shot her, Yang's hits grew stronger following her Semblance that brightened her long blonde hair like flames. She then pummeled him to the ground before she jumped to deliver a powerful gauntlet punch.
Decade was still wincing from his pain, but he didn't have much time to cool down. In his reflex, the Rider quickly switched to his sword and moved away for a bit. He finally had a space to deliver a slash to the brawler just as she was about to hit the ground in hopes of depleting her Aura more. Her tremendous strength caused the dust to spread around the arena and broke the ground beneath them. The students and Glynda quickly covered their eyes.
Soon, the dusts settled, revealing both Yang 's fist connected to the ground and Decade held his sword up high. They panted from exhaustion, waiting for the results of their clash. The Rider quickly rushed away from his opponent to avoid further strikes. However, he witnessed something unexpectable and probably undesirable;
Yellow strands of hair fell to the ground, and Yang herself wasn't really happy about it.
"Kyle."
"Hmm?" he suddenly felt an ominous burning aura came from the brawler, something that most students tried to avoid from happening.
"What did I say to you about my hair?" she ticked.
"Umm... your hair is pretty?"
"And?"
"It's precious?"
"And!?"
He sighed, knowing what would befall to him like the other students did. If she raised her tone...
"Don't cut it?"
Then he had entered the world of pain.
"YOU CUT MY HAIR YOU IDIOT!"
"Oh boy... she's mad!" Ruby gasped.
"Well, it finally happens." Ren spoke.
"Just by a strand of her hair? Still, what's the deal with it?" Blake asked Ruby.
"You have no idea." She sighed.
Both her expression and her movements became more fierce. Everytime she found out her hair being cut off, she became more agitated to the point that her Semblance reacted to it as well. It was never called 'rage mode' for nothing. That, and the fact that she was a sore loser made it worse. Ruby was the one who understood it well as she was her younger sister. This made the Rider wondering on why her hair was really that precious, in spite he never bothered to ask before. This must be a high time to ask her, only if he was able to get out of this alive.
"You're a dead man, Kyle..." she growled.
"Damn, she's much tougher like this!" Decade shocked by her brute strength.
The students also felt the intense emotion, as well. Decade knew that he was wrong for cutting her hair, even if it was unintentional. However, he was in a fight. Despite his faulty move at his friend, he still had to fight, even if it was just a practice. Both of their Auras were relatively low. Even so, the fight was still on.
Yang bounced from place to place. Her punches cracked most of the colliseum's walls. She also shot her Ember Celica whenever he was ou of her close attack range. The Rider was forced to resort in defensive and evasion, although the first tactic didn't work well since her punches became far more powerful. Everytime he tried to attack her, Yang's empowered Gauntlet punches always managed to disorient him. His armor was noticeably cracked from it as tiny sparks flew from it.
Decade was never given a chance to break. Every ounce of his breath was used to and focused towards the raging brawler. Knowing this, he resorted to another form of his tha was well-suited for the situation.
FORM RIDE :
"Henshin!"
GHOST NEWTON!
D-Ghost was finally armed with the gravity gloves necessary to countermeasure Yang's gauntlet attacks. The two then traded their consecutive punches against each other, deadlocking each other without any space to back away. It was very intense that the situation couldn't be described in words alone. They also let out their battle cries as they clashed.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"
In all honesty, D-Ghost always wanted to do the 'ora ora ora' thing that he found out from a certain macho-looking TV-show. He thought it was quite interesting to imply, added with the fact that he already had a form that fitted the situation, too. Despite the struggle he made, D-Ghost's gravity gloves started to break out from the brawler's enhanced strength. Her Semblance made her attacks stronger whenever she was getting hit and more importantly, enraged. The two decided to land one last blow by connecting their right fists together.
"HYAH!"
"ORAA!"
A loud crack occurred from their fists' collision. It was heard around the colliseum, causing dusts to fly around the arena. After it settled, D-Ghost was seen cringing and grunting from the pain on his punching arm. Yang didn't make any second thoughts on bashing the Rider away in front of her. He was lying in the ground and his body went limp from the fatigue. His armor was damaged enough to fly some sparks out and his parka was tattered. He checked on his Aura and it was unquestionably, undoubtedly, and critically low. 5.65%,to be exact. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, trying his best to ignore his pain.
Yang was also exhausted. Her Semblance was still on and she was still glaring at him intently. She was still pissed off and she couldn't accept what happened to her hair even if it was just a small strand. For D-Ghost himself, asking an apology in times like this would be disgraceful since they were opposing each other in this training. The Vytal Festival was coming close. He had to prepare for the best.
D-Ghost's transformation was also about to break down and left him defenseless. However, he mustered his strength and Aura to prevent it from happening. Some of his veins popped up inside. It was excrutiatingly painful to do with his injuries.
"What in tarnation are you doing, Kyle!?" Newton gasped.
"Trying to, urk... fight... back." He grunted while desperately regaining his stand. His armor was still sparking out.
"This is insane! Holding your transformation like this is the most dangerous thing to do! Your current Aura won't be able to sustain it from the damages you had!" the spirit warned.
Ignoring his warning, he spoke to the brawler, "You think...*cough* you're the only one... who hates to lose here, Yang? Well... SO DO I!"
"Ugh... very well. But, I shall never take this responsibility to my account. You are on your own, Kyle Morgan." Newton said, finishing his words.
The blonde brawler's heart throbbed; he was taunting her. It was a thing that the other students would try to avoid as much as possible whenever they engaged in a fight with her. It was a fight training of course, so tauntings are a common thing that happened in Vytal's arena.
However, she didn't take it well.
"JUST SHUT UP AND LOSE, ALREADY!"
She dashed at the Rider once again, planning to throw one last blow. Her angered glare was undivided. As for D-Ghost himself, he gathered all of his remaining Aura to his armor and overloeaded it on his own will.
"Thanks, Newt."
D-Ghost let out a roar that caused a massive energy pulse to burst out from his armor. The shockwave it caused blew the brawler away and cancelled her strike. His Aura came out in violent magenta, surprising the audience while the Aura around his body was ominously dark, not unlike the Dark Dust had. His sharp glowing green eyes stroke an immense fear towards the enraged Yang to the point that her Semblance died out and she was dropped to her knees. She was scared, simple as that.
"W-wha...?"
D-Ghost himself was still in pain, grunting and wincing as he stepped towards his opponent. His teeth was still gritting and his fists were still clenching. His voice slowly became inhuman and primal to those around him, as if he was turning into a beast himself. The arena's Aura indicator also broke down due to D-Ghost's Aura bar malfunction.
"H-hey... you gotta be kidding me right?" Jaune stuttered.
"He's gonna kill her!" a student said.
"Hell, no! He's not a person like that!" another student denied.
"How does he has that kind of power? Just who is he?" a female student wondered.
"Kyle, stop! It's just a training! You don't have to force your body like that!" Pyrrha shouted.
"Creepy..." Velvet staggered.
"Is he really gonna do something stupid!?" Weiss agitated.
"I know my sis is a sore loser! But you don't have to go that far, Kyle!" Ruby shouted.
He walked closer and closer to Yang, ignoring their remarks. His right fist was fueled by the said Aura. There was no telling what he could do with such condition. Yang herself couldn't get any words out of her mouth, nor moving away. Such tenacity had never been shown in the history of Beacon's sparring session before. The Rider swung his fist. It seemed heavy, big, and chaotic in front of the brawler.
"This is getting out of hand-"
Just in the matter of seconds before the hit connected, his violent Aura stopped bursting out. His transformation was cancelled out. The punch became dramaticly weakened, leaving only a small thud on the blonde Huntress' forehead. She was stoned, unsure of what happened. Even Glynda herself cancelled her Semblance from stopping the Rider.
"He... his Aura's out already?" she wondered.
Kyle leaned to her shoulder, mustering his remaining strength just to have a word.
"You're a Huntress... and all you worry about... is just your hair...?"
Silence filled the colliseum. Kyle's body became weaker and weaker in each seconds. He couldn't hold his stand anymore, nor his consciousness.
"Heh... hilarious."
Yang's eyes widened upon his remark. She wanted to lash out for it as a girl herself. However, her fear overwhelmed her anger more. She just simply froze on her place as Kyle's body finally fell to the ground. As he passed out, the colliseum's Aura indicator went on again, displaying Kyle's Aura that had dropped to zero. The opposite goes to the blonde Huntress.
"The winner... is Yang Xiao Long!"
Upon Glynda's announcement, the audience clapped on her victory. Some murmured about what just happened. Even the heroes were left astonished, as well. They were glad that the match had finally over, but their attention was drawn over the fallen Rider.
"What... just happened?"
Yang was still frozen, not moving in a single inch. After a few seconds, she looked at Kyle again in dread. He had never been this scary before. Perhaps, this was her first biggest fear that she had ever feel in the history.
"Fascinating... and yet, they're my enemies."
Kamen Riders are sure a tough one to crack. They had managed to overcome every odds that befall upon them. Even near deaths count. Xiphon looked through every bits of their footage, including the ones who defected from them and used its powers for their own gain. These dark Riders could prove themselves to be valuable allies, only if they are willing to co-operate, that is. The other screen of his mobile computer displayed his own armor, being tuned with various mods from time to time.
Such fascination drove him to conduct his research on whether he could apply those powers for himself or not. Moreover, the first Kamen Rider himself was created under the tutelage of the past Shocker itself. There must be a way for him to create such powerful warrior like him for the sake of Dai-Shocker's glory. His snacks and beverages were the ones that accompanied his research and kept his stamina on.
Until a Scroll call interrupted him.
"It's me." he answered.
"I must say that your last performance surprised me. You were able to devise such plan despite the failure you had before. I've heard about the news, yesterday. And, well done on bringing us some mined Dust crystals on the way." the voice said.
"That is what you always taught to me, father; failure is a delayed victory." He mused.
"Yes, my child. It is my duty to make you into a perfect warrior of Dai-Shocker. With this, we can rival the first Decade in every ways. Your pain will be worth it."
"You had been taking care of me when my parents left me alone. They deserved their demise for their own selfishness." Xiphon grimaced.
"As a man of my word, I cannot let you suffer from such monstrosity. Your destiny is to bask upon Dai-Shocker's glory. Prove yourself to everyone that you deserve the title of the Great Leader, the king of the world. And never forget this; bring yourself the head of the new Decade." The voice stated.
"With pleasure, my dear father." Xiphon grinned darkly, continuing his research after the call ended.
Kyle was finally awakened in the infirmary. His Aura was still restoring itself by healing his wounds slowly. He admitted that the fight was quite devastating, even if he was just messing around. Deep inside, he was curious on Yang's fighting prowess. She was skilled and fierce the she mostly ended up winning, with some corrections from the blonde professor, of course. He found some of his body being wrapped up in bandages due to the immense injury he had.
Taunting Yang was surely the best way to catch her focus off. She was easily ticked, not to mention if something was done to her hair. The only problem is how to beat her while trying to overcome her strength at the same time. once she set her target of rage, she would never stop, inside and outside of the ring. It was good for her to have such competitive spirit, but it would benefit her less if she hated to lose that much.
Maybe Yang would get back at him.
Maybe she would punch him in the gut.
Maybe she would lash out.
Maybe she would yell.
Maybe she would tantrum.
Maybe she would still be mad.
After all, who knows?
"Ah, you're awake." A voice called. He opened his eyes to see two of his seniors.
"Yusuke. Takeru. Hey..." he waved his hand slowly.
"Ever since I arrived here, Newton won't stop talking about your recklessness. I mean, look! What do you think you're doing by leaking out your Aura like that?" Takeru said, displaying Kyle's footage using the Condor Phone's body.
"I, uhh... just wanna mess with her?" he sheepishly answered.
"Mess with her? You scared the hell out of her. And you even risked your life doing it!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"How does that being called as risky?"
"Kyle, I know what you'd been doing back there; you used your remaining Aura to keep your transformation on despite the damage you had. I tell you, it's really, really, really dangerous. Your Rider system had already been malfunctioning and was ready to detransform for your safety. However, what you did by holding it on during the last seconds was that you deliberately putting yourself inside a death coffin." Yusuke explained.
"What he meant that the malfunctioning armor could mess with your health, either it was a slight seizure or nerve breakdown. If your transformation is about to be cancelled, just let it happen. Don't ever try to hold it longer unless it's necessary." Takeru advised.
"Err... okay. That's scary. How long I've been out?"
"It's been four hours. You had to miss the last class session, unfortunately." Yusuke answered as he looked at his watch.
"Oh well..."
"Hey Kyle!" The little red reaper greeted him in the door. Along with her was his mentor, Tsukasa.
"Oh, hey guys."
"Bought you some snacks. You better not do that again, or else I have to reschedule your training once you get well." Tsukasa said.
"Yes, siree... where's Yang now, anyways?" he turned to Ruby.
"She's in our hang out spot alone. I think you should apologize to her. She' hasn't been herself after what happened." Ruby said.
"I guess I went too far when I taunted her. Alright, I'll do it once I get well." He complied.
"Oh, you better be. Women's heart is more fragile than men. It must be cared thoroughly." Tsukasa quoted.
"Hey, I'm not weak, Tsukasa!" Ruby pouted.
"Haha, Okay, I know..." he laughed.
Somewhere outside of Vale's vicinity, a Gaimverse Rider was seen covering himself behind the walls. The mission was set on the ruins of a deserted town that turned out to be nearby to a populated village. It was the reason why Dai-Shocker set an outpost in there.
The green Rider adorned a chinese-type warrior armor. The helmet had a pair of violet visors, along with green dragon manes and a golden dragon tail ornament that resembled a ponytail. His armor part was grapish purple. Its shoulder guards had both dragon carvings on its tops and grape-like details below it. The armor also had golden accents. On his bottom was a green banner with golden flame details, accompanied with a skirt armor. He was carrying a uniquely-styled gun. It had a grape detail that formed a triangle pointing at a dragon head carving on the gun's front. Its muzzles sprout out from the dragon's jaws. A golden magazine was seen below the gun.
Ryugen shot the Combatants in front of him. Despite his warrior class as a gunslinger, he didn't hesitate to run towards the marching soldiers. He punched several of them before he tripped one and shot its head. The green Rider also elbowed a Combatant that tried to lunge him from behind and threw it to a group in front of him. Deciding to finish them off, he twisted his Driver's knife once to commence it.
BUDOU SQUASH!
Ryugen then pulled his gun's hammer, causing several purple grape-like orbs to emerge. The orbs attacked the surrounding Combatants as they fly around the Rider. After he pulled the trigger, the orbs became several Asian lungs that rampaged towards the horde, mauling them one-by-one as they exploded.
However, he didn't expect another Kaijin to attack him. The monster who suddenly stroke him had a humanoid and somewhat monstrous appearance. It was also covered in several torn, white primitive clothes and had two pairs of red menacing eyes. The Kaijin was seemingly proficient in hand-to-hand combat, despite its wild manner. Its movements were too fast for Ryugen to follow. Even if he had another form to deal with the situation, he had be away from the Tribe Kaijin's attack radius.
He had to concentrate on his blast directions by using his intuition, in which he succeeded. However, it wasn't powerful enough to weaken it due to its thick gritty skin. Ryugen resorted to his hand-to-hand combat against the Kaijin. It was proven effective enough to hold it down. He bashed its skull using his gun's back and strangled its hand to break it. the Tribe Kaijin's immense power managed to break itself free and threw the Rider away.
He kneeled to the ground and tried to get himself back up. The Kaijin was marching closer and closer... until an orange Katana was stuck on its shoulder.
"SEI HA!"
Gaim let out a battle cry as he slashed the Kaijin's abdomen with his Musou Saber. Of course, he wasn't expecting its contents to come out, otherwise he'd hurl inside his helmet. He picked his other sword and used its rear end to knock the monster away. The Samurai Rider then rushed to his friend's aid.
"Kouta, Gaim, you're back." He said.
"Long time no see eh, Micchy?" Gaim greeted.
"So your avatar worked alright. Fascinating for a clone, I say." Ryugen mused.
"A ruler's work is something not to be triffled with, my fellow Ryugen. That's when multi-tasking takes an important role, now." He commented.
"Well, what do you say? We're finishing this?"
"The old-fashioned way, indeed."
ORANGE / BUDOU SQUASH!
The two Riders threw away their weapons as their gauntlets and boots were empowered by orange and purple energies respectively. They rushed towards the Tribe Kaijin and sent flurrious attacks that slowly cracked its shell-skin. It all ended up in a double roundhouse kick that sent it flying high, exploding into a black mist.
"Wow, you're getting better, these days." Gaim complimented as the two unfolded their helmets.
"I had a great family of Riders on my side." Mitsuzane commented.
"Still, I'm glad that we've managed to get ourselves together on this act after spending years in low-profile. Dai-Shocker has emerged again and we need to stop them." Kouta mused.
"The people in the village here seem to be nice. They never bothered to call the council about our existence. I mean, they used to put a bounty on us, right?" Mitsuzane wondered.
"Thank Mr. Belt for our sheer luck. The council won't be bothering us again, this time. I hope..."
"Well, let's get back to the village. The people had been expecting us there."
"Umm... sorry, what village?"
"Wait, did you just waltz in from a portal without knowing where you are?" Mitsuzane deadpanned.
"Oh, of course I know, Micchy! Now come on, I'm hungry!" he marched away from the derelict outpost.
The green Rider could only sigh at his friend's behavior, signifying his long-known trait, "That's the Kouta I know..."
After spending hours of gathering his strength to walk in the infirmary and being discharged by its doctor, Kyle walked back to his room. He had been thinking about the recent events that had transpired. This is the second time he tangled with a female, which he thought would be much trickier compared to his childhood. No matter how many times he tried to avoid it, he would always find himself butting heads with his friends at a time, which was very unsettling for the Rider. The only thing he ever hoped for was that he could solve his problem fast.
Which seemed to come true after bumping with a certain blonde girl.
"Oh, hi Yang! I uhh..."
"I know. Apology accepted." She said, shushing the young man with her finger.
"O-kay? I'm afraid you're still feeling uneasy after what I said." He wondered.
"Look, Pyrrha and Blake gave me a three-hour lecture of anger management. I know it was all just a spar and we both went too far. Water under the bridge." She flatly replied.
"Alright, then. See you around."
"Oh, and you're gonna owe me an ice cream for what you did to my hair." She demanded, putting her face close to Kyle.
"Yeah, fine." He nodded, parting ways with the Huntress.
Kyle could only look at her flat expression in wonder. As for Yang, she was unsure about herself. There are things that she should risk losing for the sake of her victory, but her hair was far too precious for that. Despite how childish and girlish it seemed, It was like a memento to her for reasons that only she, and her sister knew well. She was also known for not sharing it with the others.
Moreover, she was Yang Xiao Long. Known for her burning fighting spirit and her fiery blows. She was the best. Winning was her first priority when it comes to one-on-one brawl or any other competition. Losing means she lost her pride. Simple as that. The only thing that people knew was that she won over Kyle, even when he had changed his form. She delivered more powerful hits than him and she knocked him out fair and square.
And yet, why did she still feeling a loss?
Days went by and so did the studies and trainings. In Beacon, he had been noticing Yang's unusual behavior over the was not as cheerful as she used to be. Her expression was mostly flat and often expressed a boredom, almost resembling Blake in a way. Somehow, Kyle could tell that there was something more to her than just being a sore loser. Sure, they had apologized each other, but what if it wasn't the main issue? He couldn't help but thinking about it all day long.
Even in his training with Yusuke, those thoughts drew his focus away from the senior Rider's upcoming hit. He barely blocked it with only his palm, resulting in it hitting his cheek instead. He waited until Yusuke came closer to trip him down, only to be caught in his leg and being thrown away, causing the young Rider to hit a wall behind him.
"You don't seem to be having your head in the game, now. Mind telling me why?" he wondered.
"I had apologized to her about what happened, but she's still gloomy all these days. She's not smiling like she used to be. Wonder why." He answered. There was no reason to avoid it.
"Perhaps there was something more about it? like that it's personal?" Yusuke guessed.
"What if she'll reject me more if I asked? I'm not the one who's bothering for people's personal reasons. In fact, I don't like nosy people either, myself."
"Well, sometimes you need more answers to solve your problem, even if it means for them to tell their own reasons. It's not being nosy, Kyle. Not only that, women tend to be dishonest with their words, so much that it deceived us from their true emotions. Not unlike us, maybe. You just need to have the initiative to make them talk." Yusuke said.
"I'm just afraid that I'll only be stepping on landmines if I do that." He lamented.
"Remember about protecting people's smiles, Kyle. Try to figure it out. You're a Rider, aren't ya?"
Enlightened, Kyle mustered his resolve once again. It was almost sunset as he found Yang sitting on one of Beacon's rooftop. She lamented it over and over again. Her other friends started to feel worried, too. Until she turned to see the young man greeting him.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You know that's not it." he rejected. His tone started to become demanding.
"Huh?"
"I wasn't born yesterday, Yang. You know that you've been hiding more reasons other than being a sore loser. Is it because of my words? Or your hair? I know I never bothered to ask you, but I can tell that you still had something in mind." He pointed out.
"And what makes you think that?" she asked.
"You won the battle against me, Yang. You're supposed to be glad about it, right? And how come you're still sulking after what happened? Even your friends could tell about it." He answered, much to her exasperation. She was silent for a moment.
"So, what's it gonna be?"
"Did you bring my ice cream?" she demanded.
"Here you go." He smiled flatly, taking out two cones of vanilla ice creams out of nowhere.
"Crap, that was fast!" she gasped.
After the two ate out their ice creams, Yang started out talking, "I'm… not quite sure how to make it out myself, Kyle."
"Eh?"
"I know I won the fight. I know I beat the hell out of you after you shred my hair. I know I overpowered you, but… I don't know why I still feel liike I'm the one who lost."
"I see."
"And about why I'm so watching over for my hair… it's because that it's a memory of someone who I loved the most; Ruby's mom. She combed my hair all the day, saying that one day I'll grow up as a beautiful woman. She even said that my hair is pretty like a sunshine. That's why I wanted to cherish it the most."
"She must be a lovely person, then." He mused.
"Yeah, she is. Until one day, she went out on a mission. She was reported missing and never came back afterwards. We thought she was dead. My dad just shut down, and… and…" the blonde Huntress started throbbing as she went on. It was surely hard for her to do so if that's what happened.
"Hey-hey, no one's forcing you to go on, okay? I understand, now. I"m sorry, and I won't pry on your hair any further. You're not like the other girls in my world who always prioritize their looks more than anything else."
"Okay... I-I just… how could you risk yourself like that just to win? It's... it's not fair. You're already lost to me… but why are you still willing to go on?"
Kyle sighed, looking for an exact answer to her querry, "You know, sometimes victory isn't all about winning in a fight. It's actually up to you whether you want to consider it a defeat or not. There are things that we have to admit as our weakness. I mean, we're not gods or anything. I know that you have a competitive spirit inside you. It's good, but sometimes... admitting defeat is a must. I think it's one of a warrior's best traits, and that's what made them cool." He chuckled.
"What do you mean cool?" she wondered.
"Heroes like us are forged by fire. Trials and errors, that is. Rome wasn't built in a single night. Edison himself took thousands of failed light bulbs to create one succesful lamp. I know it sucks to lose. But hey, at least we're still capable of learning. In short, it's called introspection."
Admitting defeat. Yes, it might be what Yang was lacking. Being a great Huntress through victory was the best way indeed, but a wise warrior knows when he or she had to be willing in accepting defeat. Even heroes were forged through failures. And yet, they strived through no matter the cost. As for her? She had been worrying much about her hair and she had a good reason of doing so. Was she even ready to throw it away to ensure her victory? Was her resolve to Kyle even alike? Those questions remained in play.
"Even accepting defeat is a sportivity." She uttered.
"I know, right? but still, I know that there are things that we don't want to lose. Not even I wanted to throw my comrades away, even if it's to ensure our victory towards Dai-Shocker."
"We all do, Kyle." She started to brighten up.
"So I'm saying that, maybe you shouldn't worry about your hair too much. You'll lose your focus. But, if you're asking me to disregard innocent bystanders, then that's another story." He advised.
She sighed, knowing that he might be right, "Hey, the last one's obvious, but... alright, I'll try."
Suddenly, Kyle's Driver blinked as their Scrolls rang. It showed a message from Ruby and Jaune that a Kaijin was wreaking havoc in the streets, and they were currently engaging it. Without any second thoughts, they resolved to head towards the said location. However, as Yang was about to go to the building's stairs inside, she was startled by Kyle who instead jumped off from the rooftop.
"Wha-hey!"
He quickly put on his Driver and summoned his Machine Decader from below. He hopped it on right as it was about to use its temporal thrusters to slow the fall and successfully landed, although it left a loud thud. Kyle gassed his bike to high speed, rushing towards the battlefield. Unfortunately, the landing was quite unpleasant for the Rider to experience.
"Oww, my crotch..." he winced.
"Heh, show off." She playfully scoffed as she also jumped from the rooftop and used her gauntlet blasts to slow her fall. She also hopped on her yellow Bumblebee and followed him suit.
The culprit was the Tribe Kaijin, only that it was a different one due to its orange accents. The monster threatened the people inside the alley. It threw a man away and was about to lunge at another people. Fortunately, it was prevented by Ruby's Scythe attack. Jaune was escorting the others to safety as Ruby relentlessly slashed the Kaijin. However, its thick armor prevented him from being grazed. She then used her Semblance to enforce her attacks, which was able to make the monster flinch from its place.
Despite such effort, it saw through Ruby's attack pattern and managed to catch her while she was speeding up towards it. The Tribe Kaijin pummeled the Huntress to the ground and prepared its fist to knock her out, only to be bashed by Jaune's shield instead. The blonde knight thrusted his shield and knocked the Kaijin a few inches away before kicking its groin. He then helped his friend to regain her stand.
"Everyone's away already, Ruby." He reported.
"Yeah, but I don't think our weapons' gonna work on this guy. Not even a single dent left on it." she groaned.
"Well, I don't think our punches and kicks would work on that either!" he wailed.
"Did somebody say punch?"
Suddenly the blonde Huntress charged through the Kaijin and punched it away with her gauntlet blast, sending it away as Kyle jumped off from his bike high to the air. The Machine Decader autonomously rammed the Tribe Kaijin and it dematerialized.
KAMEN RIDE :
"Henshin!"
DECADE!
The magenta Rider quickly delivered a flying side-kick towards the monster's head, causing it to fall to its back. He also safely rolled and landed before he and Yang checked on the other two Huntsmen.
"Present." Decade said.
"Guys, swords and guns won't dent this guy." Jaune informed.
"Then that means punches work!" Yang charged in towards the Kaijin.
"Yang, wait!" the Rider, shouted to no avail.
The brawler quickly threw dozens of gauntlet punches, managing to get on par with the Tribe Kaijin who was also proficient in hand-to-hand combat itself. It then blocked her punch without flinching and threw her away. Yang knew that the monster was just simply warming up by messing with her, meaning that it must've hold itself back at the moment. She clenched her fists harder as her Semblance was active and charged at the Kaijin again.
"Really?" Decade snorted at his friend's rash attitude.
"That's Yang for 'ya." Ruby remarked.
"Still, I don't think she'll hold on long enough. We gotta help her." Jaune informed.
"Don't worry, I got this." The Rider assured, noticing the two Huntsmen didn't have enough Auras to go on. He then rushed towards the battle.
As Yang was being punched away, Decade struck the Tribe Kaijin using his kick, which it easily guarded against. The two then traded blows, with Decade resorted to reinforcing his attacks with direct shots from his gun. It seemed to work that it almost threw tha monster off-balance. However, it quickly disarmed the Rider by swatting his holding hand, sending his gun away and left him open to the Kaijin's powerful punch to his chest. It was so strong that it caused him to cough from the pressure.
Tha Kaijin was caught by a surprise from a boulder that turned out to be thrown by Yang's sheer strength from her Semblance. It easily broke the said boulder, but Yang managed to send her enhanced gauntlet blast right to its head, causing it to fall to the ground.
"Did... did I do it?"
The Kaijin slowly regained its stand until its body was suddenly engulfed in red lights. It looked slightly fiery, which means that it had further empowered itself. The Tribe Kaijin took a step forward, only to surprise the Brawler by charging towards her all of the sudden and sending a heavy uppercut to her. It jumped to her height and smashed her to the ground, leaving a crater on its wake.
As soon as the Kaijin descended and prepared its blow, Decade stepped in and blocked the hit with his arms crossed. However, it was too powerful for him to withstand, causing him being the one who was taken down instead. The monster stomped on the Rider's helmet, cracking it a bit and half-buried it through the concrete cement ground. This triggered the blonde Huntress, of course.
"Get lost!"
Yang delivered her gauntlet punch right to the Kaijin's head, causing a powerful gush of wind to blow through the area. Ruby and Jaune covered their eyes as the dust flew away. When it was settled, they were shocked to see the Tribe Kaijin still standing despite such sheer power. The same goes for Yang, too. She was suddenly being grabbed on her arm and smacked away with full force. She was slowly attempting to regain her stand as the Kaijin slowly approached her.
Yang was exhausted after her prolonged Semblance usage. She was left with rather less energy to strike back. She was panting as It suddenly punched her gut, causing her to cough and was never given a room for breather due to the Kaijin kept striking her again and again. Flames started to erupt from the Kaijin's fists, strengthening each of its hits. The more she was attacked, the thinner her Semblance gets. The Kaijin finally delivered a powerful punch that flung her into a concrete wall and cratered it.
Witnessing the brawler being knocked out, Ruby and Jaune decided to step in.
"C'mon, we gotta go now!" Ruby commanded.
"We won't let you...!"
Their advance was halted by the Beowolves that the Kaijin summoned. The two were occupied all of the sudden. Decade himself was still mustering his strength to get back up. It would just be a few seconds before the Kaijin completely took Yang out. He had to act fast, or else he would be the next to receive the pain. His Armor might still be able to back his muscles up, although he also assumed that the reinforcements might got shot dearlier. Fortunately, it was enough to keep him in shape.
"Dammit... I can't... die here..." Yang grunted.
"Resistance is futile, Huntress." The Kaijin spoke.
"Huh?"
"I could feel such tremendous spirit of wanting to be a winner. The top position is always luxurious, indeed. However, your strength is nowhere to be near as mine. Your weakness is your doom. Face it, Huntress; you are nothing more than a pebble in front of me." he scolded.
"What... did you say...!?" she growled.
"The more you fight, the more you suffer. That is your fate, human."
The Kaijin raised its fist for one final blow. Yang closed her eyes, only to had nothing happened to her body. She slowly opened her eyes to see her fellow Rider taking the blow instead. His abdomen armor was cracked as he coughed. He kneeled to the ground, unable to hold out his pain much longer.
"K-Kyle!"
"How foolish. You're just accelerating your own demise."
"You don't get to *cough* decide our fate, Dai-Shocker. We decide it on our own."
"Kyle... get out of the way..." Yang ordered.
"Not gonna happen..." he refused.
"Why? Why are you... willing to put your life away that easy...?"
"I just *cough* want you... to smile again." He answered.
"Eh?"
"Well, then I suppose you're lucky; I have decided to take your life away first!"
The Kaijin swung his fist right towards the weakened Rider. Yang's body was still too weak to get back up. Ruby and Jaune were still being held off by the Beowolf pack. Unexpectedly, the Kaijin's blow was being held off only by Decade's palm, causing a loud audible clap. Much to the others' surprise, Decade still managed to hold his stand. His visors glew brightly and so did his Driver's arc. As he slowly stood up, he gripped the Tribe Kaijin's fist tightly, cracking its pads until the Rider punched the monster's face. The sheer power he gathered caused the Kaijin's head to slightly dislocate as it fell down. This caused Jaune and Ruby to cringe when the two saw the Kaijin's condition. The brawler was still at loss of her words.
"Yusuke always told me... to protect people's smiles. Now that I say it, a girl's smile is what colors a man's world. And as a man myself, I admit it's true. And Yang... if your hair really means so much to you... then I had made a mistake to belittle it... even in a spar." Decade firmed.
"Kyle..."
"Yang, your smile is as bright as your hair. I won't let it falter again."
A shining golden orb emerged from the Decadriver. It rejuvenated the heroes' Auras by illuminating them in its light. After a few moments, the golden orb entered the Driver belt again and its light went through towards the Ride Booker. The said gear then ejected three new cards to Decade's possession; one with Kuuga's helmet, the second was his FFR by taking a form of a golden mechanical stag beetle, and the last one being Kuuga's golden emblem.
"Whoa... we're being healed." Ruby softly squealed.
"What is this?" Jaune wondered.
"Alright, I feel like a new girl already!" Yang rejoiced.
"I see. I get it." Decade muttered to a particular thought.
The fallen Tribe Kaijin relocated its twisted head, having survived the blow. He buffed his body to let his pain through. He growled in annoyance towards Decade's newfound power. As for Decade, he turned to his friend who had been completely healed.
"Soo... are you trying to hit on me?" she cooed slyly.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"You gotta try harder than that. I'd been going out with some boys before, and they turned out to be boring as hell." Yang said as she flexed for the prep.
"Well, in that case... may I have the pleasure of showing off for a bit?" Decade proposed.
"Show me what?"
"My transformation." He answered as he inserted his Kamen Ride card.
KAMEN RIDE :
Decade put his left arm above his Driver as he stretched his right arm to its opposite. He then slowly sled his left arm to his left waist and swung his right arm back to its respective direction. The Belt's stand-by sound played continously. He slowly mustered his strength to enchant his transformation.
"Henshin!"
KUUGA!
After he closed his Driver, he advanced towards the Tribe Kaijin in front of him. Decade delivered a light jab that didn't seem to faze the enemy. However, the more he hit, the stronger he got until the Kaijin started to experience a pain, barely able to hold its stand any more. Not only that, Decade's armor slowly changed its colors and reconfigured its upper armors. He was also covered in feint heat. The Rider also kicked and kneed the monster, changing the said armors in the progress. He also delivered a hard headbutt that changed his helmet, too. Finally, he charged his punch up and swung it right to the Tribe Kaijin's chest. The force flung him into a building and cracked its wall.
As the Rider regained his composure, his armor also reconfigured to the likes of a certain legendary Rider, whose powers came from an ancient knowledge of science and magic. His torso armor changed from black carbonite to flashing red. His helmet grew its golden stag beetle horns and lit up its red visors. He now possessed the power of Kamen Rider Kuuga.
"Whoa..." the brawler could only open her mouth agape as the transformation let out its heat and steam.
"He has Yusuke's armor now!" Ruby squealed.
"Seriously, how many more will he have?" Jaune wondered.
"I have swore an oath... to protect people's smiles!"
"Well then, I shall finish you once again!"
D-Kuuga readied his stance as the Tribe Kaijin empowered his body again. Yang was standing by behind the Rider, waiting for the opportunity to strike the enemy's blind spot. The Rider and the Kaijin clashed their fists, each showed their jab, kick, and feint techniques they mastered. The monster managed to dodge his punch, but he was almost kneed to his head.
D-Kuuga's movements were getting swifter due to his system's rejuvenation, and he used the opportunity to put the original Kuuga's teachings to use. He tried several attempts to make his moves less predictable by paying attention to every possible spots he could hit. It might got blocked or dodged, but the Kaijin was still not invincible and impervous to every attacks.
Turning up the notch, he reinforced his limbs with flames to add more damage. It worked so well that it gave the Kaijin enough handicap, until D-Kuuga had enough of showing off his strength. He saw his companion became more focused towards the Kaijin's movements. Yang had been analyzing him from afar. She also thought that she already had enough willpower to strike back. Noticing this, D-Kuuga kicked the monster to her direction.
"Yang! Hit'im!"
Acknowledging the command, Yang quickly jumped into the fray. She blasted her gauntlets fiercely until she was close enough to fire a powerful one. Whenever she blocked the Kaijin's attacks with her hand, she always used her feet to counter his attacks. They traded their blows that forced Yang to resort to her Semblance, empowering her attacks until she caught his arm and slammed him to the ground.
Ruby slashed her way through the Beowolves as Jaune thrusted his shield to a Beowolf's head and crushed it. The knight noticed one hostile on his right and quickly beheaded the Grimm. Ruby shot one that was bout to lunge her companion, with him grinning in return. The two Huntsmen then went back-to-back as the Grimms surrounded them. Suddenly, a loud bike engine sound was heard from afar, which turned out to be Yusuke riding his TryChaser. He came through the alley and swept away the Beowolves by speeding them through.
"Yusuke! Man, good thing you come up with that entrance." Jaune relieved.
"No biggie. You guys okay?" he asked.
"None of us is injured. Oh, and look what Kyle just got!" Ruby said.
The senior Rider looked towards the younger Rider, to see him finally obtained his own essence. He was thrilled, of course, especially ever since he knew the fact that Tsukasa could do it during their first days. He smirked in joy, so much that he caved an oncoming Beowolf's chest.
"Ew. Err, anyways... how didyou get here?" The red reaper asked.
"I was going out patrolling Vale until I sensed the existence of another Amadam stone. Well, I must say I'm not that surprised to see him get ahold of my powers."
"Amadam?" she wondered.
"It's the stone that empowered my Arcle belt and stabilize its powers, keeping me from going berserk. The ancient Linto tribe made it using the basis of the strongest Gurongi in existence and the last one that I faced, N-Daguva-Zeba." He explained.
"You mean the gold orb that we saw earlier?" Jaune wondered while stabbing a Beowolf.
"Must be it. That thing restored our Auras, too." Ruby stated as she shot a fire Dust round at a couple of them.
"Looks like it worked. The new Decadriver generated its own Totem should he awaken it himself."
As he muttered his thoughts, he saw a Beowolf dashing towards his way. Yusuke quickly revved his bike and used its rear wheel to grind the Grimm. He dropped it to the ground until its flesh was dried out before it turned into a black smoke. He then went off from his bike as it dematerialized.
"I guess it's my turn now. Henshin!" Yusuke enchanted, tapping into his default Kuuga Mighty to back the two Huntsmen up.
The Tribe Kaijin had already been put in a pinch. His summons were no match against the heroes he intended to occupy from him, and it was also because of Kuuga's interference. As for the said Rider, he executed his finisher of flaming punch barrage, burning every Grimm that he touched. Ruby and Jaune were also seen doing well in decapitating and immobilizing them, much to the Kaijin's anger.
Even his strengthening enhancements were still not enough to outwit both D-Kuuga and Yang. The Kaijin then resorted to use the dark Dust crystal he had in possession. He rejuvenated his strength and created another copy of himself, sending it towards the other heroes who were almost done dealing with the Grimms.
"That again...!" D-Kuuga gritted his teeth.
"Hence it's the reason of this dark Dust. The Dai-Shocker had been preparing it to defeat the likes of you. Consider that as our modesty." The Kaijin said as he delivered a side-kick to D-Kuuga's head, catching him off balance before the monster turned to his other opponent.
The Tribe Kaijin clone had also strengthen itself with purple lights, unlike the original one. It also had the same strength level of the dark Dust-powered Tribe Kaijin, as demonstrated at how it easily shrug off the attacks of the three's combined forces. Jaune tried to shield himself from its punch and the sheer force pushed himself back, and he almost fell down because of it. Ruby used the Crescent Rose's shotgun mode to blast its gravity Dust round in order to slow it down and deal more damage to it. Kuuga used this opportunity to do so by throwing his punches to it.
Surprisingly, the clone charged its punch with dark energy and punched Kuuga back in the same manner as Yang's. The Rider was thrown back into a rubble, much to the Huntsmen's shock.
"Yusuke!" Ruby cried out.
"Damn! Is it really that strong!?" Jaune growled, gripping his weapons tightly.
Ruby tried to fight back with her speed Semblance to enforce her scythe attacks. It fazed the clone for a bit until the Crescent Rose's tip was caught easily only by the clone's hand. The blonde knight also bashed the clone from its right. Their attacks were proven futile as it pushed them back. Suddenly, they heard Kuuga's another enchantment.
"Cho... henshin!"
The red Rider dashed forward from the rubble. His armor was empowered with golden electricities and started to sport some golden trimmings, most visibly on his torso and gauntlets. His Arcle was also covered in a golden plating, surrounding its golden Amadam. He also sported a golden right anklet that emitted the said electricity. The Kaijin clone was left open right after it pushed the Huntsmen away, leaving it susceptible for Kuuga's shoulder bash.
"Did you just... changed your form?" Jaune asked.
"Eh?"
"Well, he still looks the same... except for those golden thingies on you. What's with those, anyway?" Ruby also asked.
"This is my Rising form, an upgrade of mine. Some sort of add-on, that is. like a power boost." Kuuga explained.
"Ooh... it's like adding parts to weapons! I get it." she acknowledged.
"Uuh, guys? That thing's still up!" Jaune warned as the clone regained its stand.
"Alright, I got this. Been a while since I used this some time ago." The Rider assured, cracking his hands and charged towards the enemy.
The Rising Mighty form enforced Kuuga's attacks with both flames and gold lightnings. Both are enough to crack its hardshell skin. Kuuga also aimed for its blind spots; the joints that weren't fully-protected by its skin. He sent both the heat and jolt to them, weakening the clone in the process. He then proceeded to slam it down, cratering the ground beneath them.
Ember Celica's gauntlet blasts were the best efforts she had in maintaining her range from the empowered Kaijin. She would sometimes resort to close-quarter combat, but his frightening reflexes would prove it to be much risky. She was aware of that, and rushing in towards the battle was the thing she's ever good at. The Tribe Kaijin's hits were only her fuel to empower her Semblance, enough to bring her on par against him.
"How...? how could a mere Huntress, as lousy as you, beat me in combat!?" he angered.
"Lousy? Hey, I didn't do all of this for nothing!" she pointed out.
"Heads up!"
Once D-Kuuga recovered, he reinforced his rather weakened movements with his armor to make it better to fight. At least for long enough until he could move on his own. He kneed the Kaijin's head from the back and throw a barrage of flaming punches once he turned to him. The monster could block some of his attacks, but the prior trainings he had with Kuuga made the Rider's movements become more unpredictable. It seemed like he had already been having a martial arts lesson in some way.
"Decade, let's bring 'em all together for one last shot!" Kuuga suggested.
"Copy that. Hey Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's do what we did before. Together." D-Kuuga suggested, preparing his FFR card.
"Oh, umm... what did you shout when you tried to hit me that time?" she asked.
"Ora Ora? What's with that?"
"It's neat! Gotta try that!" she smirked as she moved her eyebrows, as if she was gesturing on something.
"Oh? Well, I admit I always wanted to do that..."
FINAL FORM RIDE:
"And I aim to please."
KU-KU-KU-KUUGA!
The command caused D-Kuuga's armor to form the corresponding Rider's phantom, as well as reverting his form back to original. The phantom also dislocated itself, forming into the golden mechanical stag beetle as depicted on the card's picture. The FFR was designated as 'Kuuga Gouram', taking the form of Kuuga's own support sentry. It charged towards the Kaijin at breakneck speed, damaging the monster as it did so rapidly.
"Okay Ruby, you're up!" Jaune instructed.
"Two Kaijin mash comin' up!" she shouted.
Following the said command by Kuuga, the FFR Gouram grabbed the weakened Kaijin using its pincers, while Ruby dragged the clone with her scythe and sped up with her Semblance. She then threw the clone into the Kaijin-carrying Gouram, colliding them and brought them up high to the sky. The beetle mech let them go once they were high enough and bound them with golden electricities, thus giving both Decade and Yang a chance for attack.
ATTACK RIDE : CROSSATTACK!
"Alright, on my mark!"
"Ready!" she replied.
Decade merged with Gouram to become D-Kuuga once again as both of their fists were engulfed with flames. The two nodded to each other and jumped towards the Kaijins, sending flurious barrage of flaming punches.
"Now!"
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"
Roaring out their battle cries, the two heroes tore the Kaijin's armors apart in quick succession. Yang was seen enjoying it, which was noticed by D-Kuuga who was smiling under his helmet. They took a deep breath for one last roar.
"ORAAA!"
They bashed the monsters to the ground, allowing Ruby and Jaune to deliver a heavy slash. As D-Kuuga and Yang landed, the former executed his finisher, as well as Kuuga himself by charging his right boot with flame/electricity combo.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: KU-KU-KU-KUUGA!
Both of their boots were all ready for one final blow. They executed their Rider kicks, reinforced with their respective elements. Once they went through, their Rider symbols were displayed in front of the Kaijins seconds before the latter exploded into black mists. That is, without leaving one final roar,
"LONG LIVE DAI-SHOCKER!"
The Riders put their thumbs up, signifying their victory. The heroes rejoiced as they gathered up. After the ensuing fight, Kyle, helmetless, asked the blonde brawler.
"How 'ya doin'?"
"I'm refreshed. And uhh... well, apology accepted." She smiled.
"Good to hear it."
"You showed me one helluva show tonight. Consider it more than enough for me." Yang said.
"So, I take it that your training with Yusuke went well?" Ruby wondered.
"I give you an 'A'. You're still gonna need to get accustomed with my Rider system. Just because it gave you some fighting boost doesn't mean you 've fully mastered it." Yusuke, helmetless, advised.
"Got it, teach." He acknowledged.
"Anyways, how did you generate that Totem out of nowhere? I thought you need to find one to use it." Jaune wondered.
"Oh, it's a special mod installed to generate Rider Totems by drawing out my willpower. Unlike the Totems that we knew, these ones had first-gen Heisei Rider powers imbued instead, like Kuuga's." He informed.
"I see. Anyways, it's already late now. Let's get some sleep." Jaune said.
"Well, tomorrow's weekend. Waking up late won't be a much problem for us." Ruby shrugged.
"Really? You're sure gonna miss the morning snack, Ruby." Yang teased.
"Huh? No way!" she wailed.
"And some training sessions to go with." Kyle noted.
Xiphon, in his stealth camo, had been watching the ensuing fight from afar. He had also witnessed yet another fascinating view of power. It wasn't him finding another Rider Totem, but rather generating one all by himself. Another research subject had been added to his mind. He wondered if he should step up his game in order to know the Rider better. After all, it wouldn't be wise for him to step in at the moment if he wanted to continue his research.
"Hmm... I wonder what else I could do with such discovery. It seems that you're truly everything I've ever wished for, Kyle Morgan." He muttered.
The next day went by as usual. Yang went back to her cheery self, studies here and there, and it was also her schedule for special training. This time, she asked Yusuke to mentor her. Kyle was seen on his hangout spot. He had been looking and digging for the other Riders' infos. He had finished them all, and it would probably took some time for him to picture his other visions. He looked up towards the sunset, reminiscing a long way he had been. Until Yang offered him a burger.
"Got you some dibs." she asked, lending him the food.
"Thanks." He gladly accepted as the girl sat beside him.
"Don't space out too much, especially when you're alone. I say it's not healthy." She spoke.
"Guys like me need some space from the society. To make sense of everything that happened. That doesn't mean my brain's empty, though." Kyle answered.
"You sure don't talk a lot, too." Yang noted.
"Only if I need to. Say, how're you doin'?" he asked.
"What you've been seeing these days." She answered.
"Heh."
They went on to eat their foods. The usual silence filled the place as it was considered to be rude to talk while munching your food. Unfortunately, Yang didn't seem to notice it.
"Anybhays, I Wamma twell youww..."
Of course, she was halted by the Rider who had just gulped his food. He put his finger in front of her face.
"I can't hear you. Put those in first." He reminded.
She quickly gulped it, and smiled in embarrassment, "Sorry... there's something I wanna tell you. And I think you deserve to know this after what happened."
"Oh?"
"Remember what I told you about Ruby's mom?" she reminded.
"Yeah. Wait, Ruby's mom? Wasn't she yours, too?" he wondered.
"You see, we came from the same dad, but we had different moms. Ruby's was the first sight of mother figure I've ever seen. She cared about us a lot. And like I said, she just disappeared after she went on a mission. Ruby's still small, so I was the one who raised her into a girl that we know, now. So, I'm saying that this long hair of mine is my memory of her. It always reminded me how she and Ruby always cared for it. and well... now you know." She said.
"That's good to hear. And your mom...?"
"She left. Just left. No word, no clue. She left me when I was young too. I've been looking for her through places. Even I have to force a bar owner to open his mouth."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He said.
"No pressure. But still, no matter how long I'd spent my times with Ruby and how much we held ourselves up, the only thing that's still unsettling to me is that I barely even know what kind of person my mom is." Yang concluded.
Kyle was silent for a moment, "Yang, if there's anything I could help you with it... I'll gladly do it. I promise."
"Really?"
"I'm serious. Well, maybe the seniors know about her. How about if we ask them about it later? Considering they have the answers, that is." Kyle suggested.
"Okay-okay, just... try not to push it. It's still my own problem to deal with. I don't wanna drag you in to this issue I had." She said.
"Yeah, I gathered that much. Just want you to know that I'm always on your side. We're in this together." Kyle replied.
"You always do, Kyle. You always do."
(A/N)
Hello, everyone! Welcome to RWBY : DCD's 14th Chapter, and my, RWBY Vol. 5 is out now!
So yeah, apologies for the wait. my college starts to overwhelm my free time to write this fanfic. Resumes, group assignments, TESTS, yada-yada. But still, like I said before, I'll try to continue this on. Not much to say about myself, other than that, so let's carry on.
First off, here you go! Our hero, Kyle, had finally got his hands on Kuuga's power, as well as how he'll get the first-gen Heisei Totems later on. Most likely, that is. About that "Ora Ora" thing... well, let's say it's quite popular and a fitting one to apply, though. Especially, when Yang's paired with D-Kuuga's physical attack-oriented Mighty Form.
Anyways, as I said above, I'm thrilled to know that RWBY V5 is out and I'd like to see how our waifus *ahem* heroes holding up after V4. Heck, they even renew their old designs. Quite a sight to see, that is. I hope we'll be getting more insights of the characters, as well as the other things that still needed to be pointed out.
Kyle had finally reconciled with Yang and gained more infos about her. What really happened to Ruby's mom? Why Yang's mom left her? What would Xiphon do upon his discovery?
As always, please leave your comments below, and remember, BE CONSTRUCTIVE.
Until next time.