WITCHBLADE RENA

BY: TRISTAR

The Shibuya district was beautiful at night but for one Yuri Natsumi it would be her last night alive. Wearing her school uniform which consisted of a sweater vest, pleated skirt, and matching shirt, the young girl was on her way home. On her wrist was a silver bracelet with a red gem in the center. The gem itself seemed to be glowing softly.

What she didn't know was that she was being stalked. He was a man wearing black from head to toe. Stamped on his jacket's back were three letters: DHS. "The target is in range. I will retrieve…" A wicked grin appeared on the man's face as he removed his glasses.

Yuri felt the hair on her neck stand on ends. She knew something bad was coming but, she didn't know what. Rubbing the bracelet she continued to stroll.

"Hello little girl. Please be so nice as to give me the bracelet…" Yuri spun around and saw a large beast. It vaguely looked like a man with huge arms. In his left hand was a huge war hammer that large enough to crush her. On his dark skinned body he wore a leather chestplate and loin cloth. His appearance was truly hideous, with two massive horns on his head that were curled back, his teeth protruded out of his mouth like dark tusks and his face was covered in boils.

A dark grin spread across the girl's face. "A demon…" The girl's clothes seemed to shred away as a black ooze covered her naughty bits. Her arms and legs also becoming covered. Her short brown hair grew long and silver as her eyes became a deep shade of crimson. "You want the Witchblade? You'll have to pry it from my cold dead body!"

The Demon Beast hefted his hammer up. "That can be arranged, onna" When he swung his hammer down it only hit pavement, missing his target.

A long blade extended from the girl's right arm. "Die…" she uttered and drove the blade into the chest of the Demon Beast, going for a killing strike.

The Demon Beast growled in anger before grinning "You missed, onna." Grabbing her arm he jerked the blade out and with one loud grunt hefted her up and slammed her into the ground. He let go of her arm to reach for her head only to have her dash away.

Jumping up onto a street lamp, she spat out some blood. "You're strong." A wicked grin once again appeared on her lips. "This will be fun!" She leaped up and extended a blade from each arm. Digging one foot into his chest, she delivered two wide slashes before leaping off.

The raging Demon Beast dragged his hammer along the ground. He swung his hammer at her but missed as she spun around him, only to be caught by his back swing which sent her hurling into a cement wall. "Baka Onna!"

She slid off the wall before picking herself up. She was dazed but not completely out of it. Looking at him she still had her grin. Going low she charged at him. At the last second she leapt over him and spun, leaving several slashes on his back.

She smirked as she rolled away from another one of his hammer swings. The swing in question, however, had enough force to cause a shockwave that made her lose her footing. Pressing his advantage, he managed to kick her in the rear that forced her to the ground long enough for him to smash his war hammer into her spine. "Baka Onna, thinking you can beat me!"

Yuri screamed out in pain as he brought the hammer down again. "One more swing onna and you die!" With one more powerful swing there was satisfying sound of bones shattering. The black ooze that made up Yuri's armor retracted into the bracelet on her arm. With her last breath she cried out. Only one last swing was needed to take the girl's life and the girl that was Yuri Natsumi was dead. Reaching to the side of his loin cloth the Demon Beast pulled a stone knife and used it cut Natsumi's hand off to remove the bracelet. After reverting to his more human appearance, he put the bracelet into a box which had the DHS emblem on it. "Can't have you finding a new host just yet." He'd been ordered to track down the Witchblade and bring it back to his superiors. The life of the host was irrelevant. Only the mystical bracelet was necessary.

Shinichi looked through the junk, or treasure piles as Rena called them. He was looking for a present to give to her or at the very least something he could clean up. It surprised him of how much stuff people threw away and what people threw away. He had a small bucket that was slowly filling up with either broken jewelry or small motors from music boxes. For once in his life he was glad for the skills GIN-SHOCKER had drilled into him, most specifically engineering, and his lock picking skill so he didn't have to kick doors open.

His ears picked up a very interesting conversation from nearby.

"You know, getting yourself gutted more than likely wasn't a good idea."

"That onna had more bite than I thought."

"You're lucky the blades only pierced your thick hide and not any organs and that you don't bleed easily." Shinichi stealthily climbed over the pile of junk to see who was talking.

As he looked out over a pile of medical waste (he was going see Dr. Ire after this to make sure he didn't catch anything), the sight before him made his blood boil. Standing out in the open was a pair of men, both dressed in the standard uniform of the DHS organization that had recently taken to harassing him and the NEO-NUMBERS as they searched for the Orbs.

Shinichi decided to confront them. "Henshin! Let's Ride: Showa!" Leaping up and over the garbage, puzzle pieces formed around Shinichi turning him into Kamen Rider Showa.

Hearing Showa's pronouncement, the two men spun around to face him. "Showa! I've been looking for a challenge!" one of them exclaimed.

"You idiot, we don't have time for this!" his partner reminded.

"There is always time to beat our enemies into pulp!"

"Big talk for a small fry!" Showa stated making a run at the man who was already changing form into that of the Oni Demon Beast. "Oni no Hone!" Within seconds Showa had changed into Showa Oni Form! The Demon Beast swung his hammer into the ground, trying to create a shockwave, only to have Showa jump onto the hammer, breathe in, and expel a torrent of flame.

"Damn it you big idiot!" The other DHS agent made a run for it, changing into a demonic looking flea and leaping away. Showa would have given chase, but was busy.

"Fall down!" Having taken his lessons with the three spirits of the treasures, Showa smashed his fist into the face of the still smoldering Demon Beast.

The Demon Beast swung his massive arms, knocking Showa away. "Get off me!" Raising his war hammer up the Demon Beast lashed out with it.

Showa wasn't going to have any of that, only to discover when he tried to catch the hammer he missed. His opponent, however, didn't. "Owww…"

The Demon Beast smashed his foot into Showa's spine and then kicked the Rider away. Showa picked himself up his hands crackling with electricity and his mouth alit with cinders. "Something isn't right."

Showa attempted to dodge another attack only to be caught at the attack's edge. "So you're the all powerful BLACK 13 Dr. Shingami speaks of." The Demon Beast swung his massive right fist. Showa tried to dodge only for the attack to smash into his knee, forcing him back into his default form. "I am not impressed!"

Picking up Showa the Demon Beast hefted the Rider up. "Don't get cocky! Weapons Ride: Showa-Blaster!" Summoning his weapon Showa shot the Demon Beast in the face, forcing the monster to drop him. Backpedaling, Showa got some distance between him and his enemy. "Let's try something else! Kage no Hoshi! Changing into his Kage Form, he used the powers the Kage no Hoshi to see what was causing him to misjudge the Demon Beast's attacks.

"So you're relying on the strength of others?" The Demon Beast hefted his hammer on his shoulder "How pathetic!"

That's when Showa saw it. The horns on the Demon Beast's head were disrupting his vision, thus messing up his balance. "Now I've got you figured out!" Showa shifted back into his Oni Form and leaped into action, literally.

"What are you doing!?" The Demon Beast swung his hammer only for Showa to grab the handle and use it to propel himself onto the Demon Beast's head. "How about some electro-shock therapy?" Charged with energy, Showa grabbed the horns and let loose a torrent of power into the Oni.

The Demon Beast screamed in agony as his body convulsed because of the energy. "And snap!" With those words Showa broke the Demon Beast's horns and smashed his fist into the creature's skull.

"Argh!" Knocking Showa off wasn't as easy as it was before. With a solid back flip Showa reverted back to his default form. "Nighty-night, ugly. Ryuusei Punch!" With one powerful slug to the gut Showa sent the Demon Beast crashing back into a pile of cars. "Too easy!"

Showa turned away only to be met with an unhappy sound. The Demon Beast roared in outrage as he smashed his way out of the wrecked cars. "It'll take more than breaking my horns and punching me to kill me!" The Demon Beast's knees buckled. "Until next time, Showa!" Suddenly the Demon Beast disappeared as he was engulfed in a dark mist.

Shinichi dismissed his armor and cursed, "Kuso, they got away and I still don't know what they were up to…" Before he could finish his sentence Shinichi saw a silver bracelet with a red gem in the center on the ground. "Perfect. All I have to do is polish it up and give it Rena!" Picking up the bracelet he failed to notice the emblem imprinted on the box the item had been inside.

It was late in the evening and Shinichi was bone tired. It wasn't his fault he was late. The game Mion had picked for them was Dungeons and Dragons and of course as Club President. Mion had taken the role of Dungeon Master. The rules had been simple. If nobody won the game the last person to fall would get a penalty. If anyone managed to beat the dungeon, the Dungeon Master would take the penalty.

"Rena-chan?"

"Shin-kun?"

Shinichi opened his jacket and pulled out a small black case that was too large for a ring but large enough for something. "I fixed this up for you."

Taking the box Rena opened the box. As it opened, 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' began to play "Kawaii!" Rena reached inside and took out the bracelet. It was so beautiful. "Thank you, Shin-kun!" She gave him a hug and kiss.

Shinichi smiled and waited for her to let go. "Rena-chan, do you mind if I put it on you?"

"Hai, hai." He smiled and took the bracelet and slid the article of jewelry onto her wrist. "Do you want to come inside?"

It took an entire three seconds for him to decide. "Let me call Kaa-chan and tell her I'll be coming home late."

Rena looked through the pile of treasure. It had been three whole days and she still couldn't find anything as special as the bracelet she now wore on her wrist. "Rena's going to cry! Rena can't find anything special for Shin-Kun!"

"Find it! We have to find it or it's my head!" Rena looked through the broken window of a car and saw several creatures all of which she recognizes, with the exception of the Demon Beast with the broken horns and scorched face.

She gasped and quickly ran away locking herself in her special place, the minivan. "Darklings, Evil, evil creatures. I wish Shin-kun was here."

Unfortunately for Rena, Shinichi was currently working for Mion as a cart puller for losing a game of tag-team Jenga. He wasn't the only one being punished. Keiichi was his tag partner while Mion was partnered with Satoshi. It was all Keiichi's fault to be distracted by Mion.

"Rena wants Shin-Kun…" After a short time rocking herself Rena looked out the van window. The demon- like creature was smashing vehicles as he walked. He was approaching taking moment to steady herself she exited the van and stood defiantly in front of the vehicle. "You are not going any farther!"

"Stop me, Onna!" He raised his hammer to smash her.

"You are not going to destroy Rena and Shinichi's special place!"

The Demon Beast stopped himself in mid-swing. Shinichi was the name BLACK 13 used. He also answered to the name Shniji Banabara. "So you're his special someone?" Snapping his fingers the Darklings quickly surrounded her. "Count yourself lucky, onna. You'll make good bait for BLACK 13." the Darklings quickly grabbed Rena. A feeling of panic and dread filled Rena and caused a sudden change.

The two Darklings holding Rena's arms had their heads impaled by two large blades. No longer was Rena dressed in her school clothes. Now she was dressed to kill. Bringing her arms down the two Darklings were cleaved in half. The blades retracted into the back of Rena's new look. Her arms and legs were covered in some sort of black armor. Her hair had changed from its normal color to a deep blood red matching the new color of her eyes. "You," Rena pointed at the Oni. "Will not touch Rena and Shinichi's special place!" Rena charged forth carving away at any Darkling that stood in her way.

The Demon Beast recovered after a moment. "You're not as lucky as I thought Onna!" The Demon Beast charged forth, brandishing his hammer and ready to swing. He swung his hammer down only for her to catch the weapon with her arm blades. "I will stop you!" The blades suddenly inverted shocking the Demon Beast. The Demon beast was soon even more shocked when Rena sliced the hammer's head off. "Baka Onna!" The Demon Beast swung his massive arms.

Rena narrowly dodged the attack. In her head she thought she should be in terror but her body was telling her just the opposite. It felt almost euphoric. Was this what Shinichi felt like when he was in a battle he knew he could win?

The Demon Beast charged, his fists clasped together bringing them down. Dodging the attack was pitifully easy for Rena. She dove into the finished attack and hooked one of the blades into the Demon Beast's shoulder. "I don't want your not kawaii arm!" With a powerful upward thrust she cleaved the arm off.

"My arm!" the Demon Beast screamed in agony as blood oozed from the stump of a shoulder.

"Rena doesn't want your not kawaii head either!" Using the blades as a makeshift pair of scissors she sliced the Demon Beast's head clean off his shoulders.

Rena collapsed on her knees, panting as she reverted back to normal. "Did…Did I do all of this?" All around her Darkling's were carved into pieces, their dark forms scattered around her. Even The Demon Beast's body lay fallen in front of her.

At that moment Kamen Rider Showa made his appearance. "Rena!" Running up to her, he grabbed her from behind. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Rena broke down and cried on his shoulder. "Shin-kun, I was so scared! There was this monster and Evil, evil creatures."

Showa stroked his girlfriend's hair. "Shh…Rena-chan, it's alright. Just tell me what happened."

With tears in her eyes Rena looked up at her boyfriend in his Rider form. "I…I…happened…" A new set of sobbing began for her. "I killed them. I was protecting our special place…"

Unknown to the two lovers, the blood of the Demon Beast was mixing with that of the Darklings' slowly melding together into a dark beast. "Rena-chan, run…"

"Shin-kun?"

"RUN!" Spinning her around, he forced her away as the Oni Darkloid smashed into him crashing them both into a pickup truck. "Higurashi no Yaiba!"