For the next several weeks, Chie noticed some changes in her younger brother's behavior. Not only that, he also started to hang out more with Ryuji and his friends. Chie, at first, thought of Ryuji as a delinquent but when she got to know Kat, she found out that Ryuji wasn't as bad as he was painted out to be. He was just misunderstood.
When Ryuji first started schooling here, he scared a lot of people. Even the upperclassmen were intimidated by him. The only friends he had were the other transfers who'd transferred out of the school but left Ryuji to stay. She wondered where they'd gone to.
Also, Ryuji was dating Kotonoha Katsura, who was quite popular in school. She was beautiful and intelligent but she wasn't popular in her first year. But, since dating Ryuji, she became confident and attracted A LOT of male attention. The KLLA just seemed so larger than life, like something from a ridiculous manga. But, they also tried to attack Ryuji and outnumber him. Chie had seen it many times and still couldn't believe Ryuji himself could defeat that many assailants without breaking a sweat.
Then, more people showed up. Warren, who'd posed as a student was revealed to be married (to Rachel), with kids (Alex and Tessa), and had a mistress (Teresa). But he was still a respected member of the faculty, teaching both World History and Japanese History. Though his lifestyle was questionable, but since neither his wife nor mistress minded, nobody else did. Of course, there were a few members of faculty who didn't approve of his lifestyle but they couldn't really make a complaint. He never did anything wrong as far as she saw and was a capable teacher and educator.
Next were Kenzaki Tsukuba, Neko and Kat Hasuma. One was just as scary as Ryuji and the other two were Ryuji's sisters, but both were drastically different despite their similar appearance.
Those were among the people who'd come to attend Sakakino High as a student or teacher.
Yuuki was also changing. At first he got pushed around but always ended up getting saved by his friend Kyouchi. Now, he got saved by Ryuji whose gaze got the bullies to back off. She was grateful for that, but she also wondered why he was protecting Yuuki when they weren't even friends.
Then, he would always come back late and looked hurt, but he never told her why. She suspected Ryuji was somehow responsible but Yuuki wasn't talking.
She wasn't the only one worried. Roka was too. She liked Yuuki. He was kind, honest and sincere, but those traits were being threatened by his continuous interaction with Ryuji Hasuma. This had to stop. She wanted her brother back and didn't want him corrupted by Ryuji. She didn't want her little brother ending up in fights because of Ryuji.
One day, after school, she spied on the two. They were standing at the gate of the school. She herself had hid behind a tree and watched. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could still see them.
Ryuji spoke, "Alright, Newb, let's go."
"Hai, sempai," obeyed Yuuki. Ryuji would never get tired of that.
Ryuji whipped out his Dyno Belt and slung it around his waist to fasten it on. As for Yuuki, he took out the Vortex Driver and placed it on his waist, allowing the belt strap to wrap around and then secure it onto him. He had a card held between his index finger and thumb. In Ryuji's hand was the Dyno Pass.
Ryuji pressed the black button on his belt, allowing it to release a roar, as Vortex pulled the handles on the sides of the buckle and the buckle twisted upwards 90 degrees clockwise.
"Henshin!" Ryuji and Yuuki called.
Chie continued to watch in shock as the two boys transformed.
"SABRE FORM!"
"MASKED RIDE: VORTEX!"
Right before her eyes her brother and Ryuji turned into the armored warriors known as Kamen Riders.
"No…no way!" she gasped.
"Let's ride," said Ifrit as his Machine Dyno-Breaker sped up in front of him, followed by the Machine Vortexer. They both mounted their vehicles and sped off. Chie ran to the gate and watched them both speed away.
"Yuuki and I are going to have a long talk about this," she swore to herself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two Riders arrived at the stasis field, which looked like a big red dome to them. It went unnoticed by normal people but they were anything but normal. They picked up speed and dashed through the barrier. Everything inside, as usual, was bathed in red light and frozen in time. Already, many people had perished and erased from existence, but now their mission was to make sure the Horrors couldn't continue.
Ifrit leapt off his bike and flung himself into the air. His hands were engulfed in blue flames that then shot into the air like meteors. Each fireball exploded against a Horror and hey became frozen solid.
Vortex himself was speeding across the ground, shooting at the Horrors with his Vortex Book in Gun Mode. In this mode the black handle under the book-like object was pulled back a bit to become a gun's grip and the nozzle at the end of the spine became a gun barrel.
With their combined help, both Riders were able to defeat the Horrors, but then there was still one thing they had to take care of. Only Nytemares could create stasis fields and if the stasis field was still up, so was the Horror.
Suddenly, several black spikes shot out from the ground under Vortex and threw him and the bike through the air. The bike skidded across the ground as Vortex tumbled along the ground.
"Found it!" Vortex called.
The Nytemare exploded out of the ground. It was a humanoid with spikes covering its entire body and beady red eyes. It then fired the spikes at Vortex who dodge rolled out of the way.
"Hyah!!!" Ifrit cried out as he charged with the Liner Cross-Rod. He swung his weapon at the Nytemare who blocked with its arms. It then struck its spike covered fists against Ifrit's chest and sent him staggering backwards.
"Sempai!" Vortex cried. He then got out a card and his belt buckle twisted upwards. He slid the card in and pushed the handles to reset his belt buckle.
"MASKED RIDE: ONI!"
Violet flames engulfed his entire body and when they dispersed he was in the form of Kamen Rider Oni. Reaching behind his back, he removed the Drum Clubs named Hibiki and gripped them tightly. He then charged at the Nytemare and smashed the clubs against it.
Ifrit himself watched as his junior fought. He had to admit that Yuuki was doing well for someone who'd become a Rider not too long ago.
Violet smashed his foot into the spike covered Nytemare and then twirled both clubs around. His belt buckle twisted up and ejected the card as it shot out of it. His body became covered in digital pixels and he was restored into his original Kamen Rider form. This gave the Nytemare enough time to perform a counter attack. Several spikes flew into Vortex and sparks exploded off his body.
Now it was time for Ifrit to act. He slipped his Dyno Pass into the Liner Cross-Rod's chamber and then closed it.
"FULL POWER CHARGE!"
With a loud shout, Ifrit rushed at the Nytemare and slashed its body through the Nytemare staggered backwards. Vortex then picked up the Vortex Book and converted it to Sword Mode by pulling the black handle upwards until it was parallel with the black stripe which ran across the book's surface, which caused a blade to fold out from the other end.
Vortex quickly slid a card into his belt buckle and reset it.
"ATTACK RIDE: VORTEX SLASH!"
The energy from the belt charged up his sword. He then leapt up and performed a downward slash that sliced the Nytemare in half. With a cry of anguish, the Nytemare exploded and with its destruction the stasis field began to vanish, fixing all the damage caused by the fight. Unfortunately, those who'd perished within the stasis field were gone from existence forever.
Ifrit and Vortex then sped away. The new Rider was heading home. He needed to lie down for a bit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Yuuki entered his house, he saw his sister standing at the entrance with a hard expression and her arms crossed. "Oh, sorry I'm late," Yuuki apologized. "I was just…studying at a friend's house."
"Oh, really?" remarked Chie. "Which friend?"
"Oh, a friend from school," added Yuuki lamely.
"Would this friend be Ryuji Hasuma?" questioned Chie. Yuuki's eyes widened behind his glasses.
"Well, yes…he had some trouble with-"
"Fighting a monster," Chie finished.
"Fighting a monster?" Yuuki weakly chuckled. "Are you kidding, Nee-san? Why would he do something like that? It's not like he's a superhero or something." Yuuki then quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. He was blabbing.
"Oh, I think he is a superhero," said Chie. Yuuki began to sweat. "And so are you…Kamen Rider Vortex."
Now Yuuki was in trouble. His mind reeled at the accusation. How did she find out? How could she find out? Yuuki knew he was busted, but he wasn't allowed to tell anyone! He had to cover this up somehow.
"H-huh?!" Yuuki gaped. "Me? Vortex? Come on Nee-san! That's crazy!"
"Oh? You know what's crazy?" Chie frowned, tears beginning to show in her eyes. "I thought my little brother would be honest with me. The one who I love so much and who I've looked out for during these years. My own little brother who is LYING right to his older sister's face! I thought I told you that you could tell me anything! Why did I have to follow you to find this out? Why!? Didn't you trust me!?"
"I just couldn't tell you!" Yuuki shot back, finding his voice.
"Why not!? I could've handled it!" Chie shouted.
"Not this! Come on, Nee-san! If I told you would you be able to believe me?"
"If you provided me proof, I would!"
"I just couldn't tell you!"
"Why not!?"
"I needed to protect you!" Yuuki's exclamation caused her to pause. "I didn't want you to worry. If you knew, you'd try to stop me. I wanted to be stronger to protect the Nee-san who's always taken care of me."
"But I'm supposed to look after you!" Chie cried. "You're my little brother! I'm supposed to protect you!"
"Not from Nytemares!" Yuuki cried out. "Those monsters are born killers! Not many people can stop them!"
"Then let the other Kamen Riders deal with it!" Chie insisted. "You could die Yuuki! You aren't a fighter! This isn't like you!"
"I have to!" Yuuki argued. "I have the ability to stop them! I can't just turn my back on the people who might die if I don't help!"
Chie had never seen her brother act so defiant before. It made him seem taller in her eyes but he was her little brother first. He wasn't supposed to be a superhero. He was just supposed to be a good student, get good grades in school, and find a girlfriend. Chie already had Roka come over many times so she and Yuuki could make a connection but Yuuki always came home late and was too tired. Sure, Roka and Yuuki talked at school but they were growing too distant because of the lies and secrets.
Chie was going to put a stop to this once and for all.