-LOST IN SNOW-

"I give you guys points for attacking me here on the high ground," Showa said while dodging an Axe swing from the DHS Fighter before delivering a sweep-kick that knocked it down to the snow ridden ground. "But not so much, though."

Shiori has token both the NEO-NUMBERS and the Gaming Club to a ski resort. Her latest book was a hit so she wanted to celebrate. The group left all of their belongings in their rooms and got bundled up for the cold weather. In no time they were ready to hit the slopes. Shinichi was just skiing down the slope when he was attacked by agents of the Dark Hatred Society.

"You're indeed good, GX, but can you face the terrible wrath of Walrus Buggane?" The Demon beast roared. It looked like a humanoid walrus but with black hair, claws, golden tusks, a large red mouth and the DHS symbol on its back.

Showa rolled his eyes at the theatrics and drew out his Showa-Blade. He rushed at the Demon Beast and slashed at it, making it grunt, but it fired a huge burst of water at Showa from its mouth that pushed him back. Showa then performed a downward slash on Walrus Buggane, but was unable to do any severe damage.

"Hah, you think you're tough, brat?" Walrus Buggane said cockily but stopped as it felt a gun pressed against its torso, making it look down to see the Showa-Blaster

"Actually, yes. Now taste this! RIDER BLAST!" Showa called out as he pulled the trigger. A massive burst of emerald energy was fired from the Showa-Blaster at point blank, vaporising Walrus Buggane completely as Showa was thrown back
by the recoil. He was forcefully reverted back to human form due to the force of the attack.

Shinichi hit a tree full force, his head slamming into the trunk. The impact threw him backwards into the snow, out cold.

When Shinichi didn't return to the lodge as it got dark, the group organized a search party. They all split up into small groups in order to cover more ground. The NEO-NUMBERS had assumed Rider form to help in the search.

"Hey Shinichi, where are you?" Armadillo called as he, Satoshi and Keiichi were out looking for him. "Shinichi, hello?"

"Where could he be?" Keiichi asked.

"Do you think something must've happened to him?" Satoshi questioned.

"To Shinichi? He's a tough guy. This kind of weather can't kill him," said Armadillo confidently.

"Are you sure about that?" Keiichi asked.

"Positive," Armadillo affirmed. "It'll take more than this weather to do him in."

"Damnit, where the hell is he?" Musician muttered. He was using his Cricket Fork and echo location to look for Shinichi. So far, he found nothing on his radar. There was some sort of interference. With him were Shion and Slasher.

"I hope he's okay," said Shion.

"He should be. Though it's best that we find him soon before he freezes to death," said Slasher.

"That guy won't let the cold kill him," snorted Musician. "He's way too stubborn."

"Still, we should find him soon," said Shion. "Shiori-san's already lost her son once. Losing him again would devastate her."

"Hey, Shogo! Did you find him yet?" Mion spoke to Zero who had been searching from the air.

"I'm sorry, Mion-sama, but so far no luck. However, I will keep on searching," replied Zero as he began his search anew.

"I hope we find him," Shiori said worriedly with Arachnea trying to comfort her. Michiru stayed behind to make sure Rika, Satako and Hanyuu remained in the lodge. They don't want the younger kids to get lost as well.

"Don't worry, Shiori-san," said Arachnea. "We'll find your son. We won't abandon our comrade just like that."

"Thank you, Hana," said Shiori. "Shinji! Shinji, answer me! It's Kaa-chan!"

"Shin-kun! Shin-kun, where are you? Shin-kun!"

Rena was the only one not in a group and she was trying her best to locate Shinichi. She was about to look another way when she spotted something. She rushed towards and gasped. "Shin-kun!" She knelt down to check for a pulse, relieved to see that he was alive. "Thank goodness." She found a bleeding wound on his head. "Don't worry, Shin-kun. Rena will take you back." She gently picked him up and carried him on her back. Despite her appearance, she was a lot stronger than she looked, especially when she wanted to take something cute home with her.

"Mion-sama, the weather is getting bad," informed Zero. "We should head back to the lodge."

"But what about the Shin-chan?" Mion asked.

"It won't do us any good if you freeze to death," said Zero.

"No, we have to keep looking!" Shiori insisted.

"No, not in this weather," denied Zero. "Shiori-san, I know how you must feel right now, but I don't think Shinichi would want you to freeze to death looking for him."

"He's right, let's head back," Arachnea agreed.

"But-" Shiori began to argue.

"They're right, Shiori-san," said Mion. She hated to admit it but they simply couldn't risk it. Even the NEO-NUMBERS needed appropriate conditions to continue the search and a snowstorm was definitely not ideal conditions.

Rena found a cave nearby to take shelter in when the blizzard hit. She gently lay Shinichi down. She gazed down on him. He was still unconscious. The blood had already dried and the wound was healing. Of course Shinichi would heal quickly from such a wound. He wasn't an average person, after all.

As she brushed his hair aside, her eyes fell upon the XIII scar. She hated the mark and what it represented once she discovered the truth behind it. The scar differentiated Shinichi from the other NEO-NUMBERS. They had tattoos. Only Shinichi had the infernal scar.

She laid herself over his body, holding him in order to keep him warm. Ever since she found this strange boy in the rain, she couldn't let him go. She needed him to be around. She knew Mion and Keiichi loved each other, but she also wanted her own love. She wanted someone to hug her, kiss her, and never abandon her. Shinichi did those things and much more. Sure, he'd tried to run away but only because he thought he was trying to protect her. He did it because he really did care about her and he was afraid he might hurt her. He nearly did leave after he found out his true identity.

Shinichi spent his days as usual in the Ryuugu home, but he didn't talk much to Rena. It was the same thing with the Gaming Club. He ate lunch alone and even withdrew from club activities early. It was like he was avoiding them. It was like he was avoiding her, which hurt.

One day, during the walk home from school, Mion stopped walking and turned to face Shinichi. "OK, Shin-chan. What's going on?" Mion asked.

Shinichi looked back at the Gaming Club president, a little puzzled at the question. "What do you mean?" blinked Shinichi.

"Well, you've hardly said anything to me, Keiichi or anyone in the club this week, not even Rena. You haven't been this withdrawn since the time you started going to school and even then it wasn't this bad."

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably before denying, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Keichii spoke up next, "Yeah right. You've been acting strangely ever since that big fight with the mechanical tentacle monster."

"Shin-kun, please tell us what's going on?" pled Rena.

Shinichi answered, "I have no right to associate myself with you all. I'm not human. You saw what happened. I nearly killed you guys. It's best if I just leave and never come back."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," sighed Keiichi.

"So what if you aren't human? You're still you," said Mion.

"But I tried to harm you. If it weren't for Kasai, I would've killed Rena," Shinichi said.

"It wasn't Shin-kun's fault. It was that bad man," Rena said. "You're a hero Shin-kun. You protect us from the Darklings without asking for anything in return. So please, don't leave." Rena was hugging Shinichi with tears in her eyes.

"But…" Shinichi began, still feeling conflicted. He yelped as Mion whacked him on the head. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"You felt that, right?" Mion questioned.

"Yeah, so what?"

"That means you're human. If you can feel things like pain and also feel love, courage and what not, that means you're human. You just have a very strange birth is all," Mion said.

Shinichi chuckled, "I can't get away from you guys, can I?"

"Nope!" Mion answered. "You're stuck with us, Shin-chan!"

"Sides, who's gonna fight the monsters when you're gone?" questioned Keiichi.

"And Rena wants to take Shin-kun back home with her and be all lovey-dovey!" added Rena.

Shinichi was touched, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad might happen in the future if he chose to stay. "What if BLACK 13 wakes up again? Then what will you guys do?"

"I'm not particularly worried," Rena said.

"Neither are we," Keiichi and Mion stated.

"Why not?" Shinichi asked in confusion.

"Simple; you broke free once, you can do it again. We believe in you Shin-kun!" Rena smiled.

"Thank you, guys," Shinichi said, smiling.

"Aww, don't mention it," Mion said. "Now who's up for a trip to Angel Mort? My treat!"

"A treat would be seeing you dressed as one of the waitresses," said Shinichi grinning.

WHAP!

"Itai!"

"Good to have you back, Shin-chan," Mion grinned.

"Good to be back," he replied, smiling genuinely while he rubbed his head.

Rena was so relieved to hear that he would stay in order to protect them from the monsters. Even when Shiori came to take him, he never abandoned her. He stayed close by to be with her.

"R…R…" Shinichi began to murmur.

"Shin-kun?" Was he awake? Was he calling for her?

"Rina…don't die…" he murmured.

Rena sighed. Of course. It had to be Rina that he dreamt about. This wasn't the Rina the dirty woman who had dated her father in order to cheat him of money, but the Rina who'd been Shinichi's friend back when he was BLACK 13. This was also the Rina Gebok had tricked him into killing.

"No…please…no…no more…" he started again. "Rena…Rena-chan…"

Rena listened.

"Don't die…please don't die…don't die…don't leave me…" He was begging in his sleep.

Rena tightened her grip on him as she whispered, "Rena won't leave you, Shin-kun. Rena promises that Rena will be right here."

He began to relax. "Rena-chan…" Rena didn't know about the suffering he had to go through due to his own endless December. That time, on December 31st of the previous year, he had to experience tragedy after tragedy. He'd seen her die in gruesome ways and reversed time in order to prevent it. He'd broken down but Warren saved him from falling into madness.

Rena touched his face. It felt cold. So, she began to pepper his face with kisses before stopping at his lips. She gave him a deep and passionate kiss to warm him up. That was when he began to regain consciousness and felt a soft and warm sensation on his lips. "Rena…" he mumbled through the kiss.

Rena's eyes snapped open and she gasped. "Shin-kun!" He embraced him tightly. "You're okay!" She got off him and let him sit up.

"Ow…" he groaned. He placed a palm on his head. "My head…What happened?"

"Rena found you in the snow. You were hurt," she answered. "What happened?"

"Had a run in with the DHS," he told her. "They tried to ambush me but I managed to put up a fight."

"Why won't they leave you alone?" Rena frowned. "Can't they leave you be?"

"I'm a threat to their plans, Rena-chan. They won't rest until I'm permanently out of the picture." He informed her, "That's the way things are for us Riders. We can never stop fighting it seems." He thought that after GIN-SHOCKER he could live in peace but then this new organization showed up. "We can never know true peace."

"That's not true!" she denied.

"How can you be sure?" Shinichi asked. "Are you willing to bet your life?"

"I did, we all did, when we asked you to stay," she said.

He remembered. It was after he found out how he got his powers and why he had them.

Shinichi was sitting outside as he stared up at the night's sky. Both Rena and her father were asleep. A few days had passed since the confrontation with Dr. Gebok and the revelation of his origins. Despite the words of encouragement he received from his friends, he still felt some doubt within himself.

He idly touched his scar. The XIII scar branded him as a weapon for the GIN-SHOCKER organization. BLACK 13. He'd been created and given his powers for the sole purpose of becoming their killing machine and nothing more. So much blood had been spilt by his friends.

His friends didn't understand. Maybe they just couldn't. Shinichi didn't blame them, but that didn't stop it from hurting. He was a monster. He was created to kill and conquer by the mad scientist known as Gebok, and because of that he nearly killed his friends.

"I've gotta distance myself," Shinichi murmured. It was the only way. He couldn't risk losing control and losing Rena or the Club again.

He'd distanced himself from his friends and avoided them. He knew it had hurt them but he just thought it was best that they didn't associate with a monster like him. They never did see a monster, though. Rather, they saw someone who suffered due to their pasts. They all had something in common. They each had past regrets.

Shinichi saw Rena shivering. "You're cold," he concluded.

"Rena is fine," she lied. She was freezing. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"You liar," he said playfully. "Let me keep you warm."

Rena relaxed into the embrace, closing her eyes. She wouldn't mind staying like this forever…

"Let's have sex," he stated bluntly.

"Huh!" Rena stared at him, bewildered. "In a place like this!"

"Well, we have to share body heat or we'll freeze to death," he rationalized. "If we have sex then our bodies will get hotter and we'll be able to survive."

It goes to show that Shinichi really was perverted. Rena shook her head and smiled slightly. At least he was being perverted to her and she didn't mind. "Alright, we'll do it your way, Hentai-Shin-kun."

"I thought you liked me when I was being a hentai," he teased. He then leaned in and gave her a deep kiss that she soon returned. "So, yes or no?"

"With you? Yes…" she purred.

Shinichi smiled.

Daichi, Shion and Chiaki returned to the resort lodge empty handed. "This is bad," Shion murmured. They had failed to locate Shinichi and because of the blizzard were forced to return.

"Maybe the others have better luck," Chiaki said hopefully but that was shortly crushed as they saw everyone with an aura of despair around them.

"No luck, huh?" Daichi said wearily.

"Unfortunately no, in fact it just got worse," Hana said.

"Huh?" the three who'd just returned uttered but then they noticed that one more person was missing and her name was Rena Ryuugu

"Crap," Shion cussed. Rena must've gone missing during the blizzard.

"This is bad, our friends are lost out there," Hanyuu said worriedly.

"Yeah, this is not the kind of weather you want to be out in," Keiichi said with Shiori looking worried

"Tch, I think you're all underestimating that bakayarou." Daichi spoke, making all eyes turn to him. "That man has survived far worse. It'd be embarrassing if he lost to a blizzard. Knowing him he found Rena and they are somewhere warm and safe."

All looked shock at the Cricket Rider except for Shion who murmured, "I knew it." Despite his apparent resentment for Shinichi, he still cared about the former BLACK 13.

"Daichi has a point," said Yokoshima. "I mean, Shinichi has done a lot of amazing stuff."

"Guess we forgot that," said Satoshi.

"Still, that doesn't mean they can't be in danger," said Hana logically. "However, there's a possibility that Daichi's right. Shinichi's always been resourceful. We just have to wait until the storm clears before we begin another search."

"Ironic," snorted Daichi. "He killed us and now we're trying to save him."

"We've all forgiven him, Daichi," said Shogo. "It wasn't his fault. It was GIN-SHOCKER."

"Whatever you say, Shogo," responded Daichi. "I just can't wait to rub it in his face that we were the ones that saved him instead of the other way around."

"You know, Daichi," spoke Michiru. "You can be such an asshole sometimes."

"Whatever…" Daichi shrugged and rolled his eyes before picking up his guitar. "Any requests?" he asked.

The following morning, the NEO-NUMBERS began their search anew. Rena was now missing and the entire group feared the worst. Shiori feared that she'd lost both her son and her future daughter-in-law during the snowstorm. The NEO-NUMBERS had to wait until the blizzard cleared since visibility was limited during said storm.

Zero was searching from the air. "Where are those two?" he asked himself. "Have you all found anything?" he asked the others through the comm-link. He received negative answers. "Where could they be?" He then stopped in mid-air as he saw a flash in the distance. "A signal flare?" He then used his built-in optical zoom to see that it was Showa who was shooting into the sky using the Showa-Blaster as a signal flare. Rena was also with Showa. "They're safe! Thank God!"

Zero then hovered down and landed before the two. Zero removed his helmet. "You're both alright!" said Shogo happily.

Showa removed his helmet and smiled, relieved, "Glad you saw my signal, Zero."

"Thank goodness you're both safe. Everyone was…" Shogo paused when he realized something. "Rena, why are you wearing Shinichi's clothes?" Rena and Shinichi blushed in response.

Shinichi began, "Well, you see…" But Shogo held his hand up to stop him. "Shogo?"

"On second thought, never mind. I think I can guess," said Shogo. "So, you shared body heat to survive, huh?"

"Actually, there's something you should see," said Shinichi. "Come on, follow us."

Shogo followed after Shinichi and Rena and they surprised him. "All the way out here?"

"Pretty neat, huh? After the storm cleared we still felt a little cold but then I sensed there was something nearby," explained Shinichi. "And lo and behold we found this hot spring."

That was what Shogo was seeing. It was a natural hot spring. Hot steaming water was right there in a pool. The only other bathers were some macaques, which Rena found cute.

"That must have helped you stay warm," rationalized Shogo.

"We should tell the others, Shin-kun," Rena suggested.

"Right, they're at the lodge and have been worried sick," Shogo informed them. "Let's go!"

"YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE ALIVE! THANK GOD!" Shiori exclaimed as she hugged both Shinichi and Rena tightly. "I WAS SO WORRIED!"

"Kaa-chan…need…to breathe…" Shinichi rasped out as she was squeezing too tight. She may not have been a modified human, but she was indeed a tough customer.

"Sorry," Shiori apologized.

"How did you guys survive?" Mion asked curiously.

"Well, Rena and I found a cave, but since we didn't have a fire we had to…" Shinichi trailed off.

"Had to what?" Satoshi asked.

Shion guessed, "Oh…I see…you had to share body heat, am I right?"

Rena and Shinichi blushed.

"Ah, I see. You both had sex," Shiori added.

"KAA-CHAN!" yelled Shinichi, his face blood red. Rena's face was also flushed.

"Well, you're not denying it. I mean you had to share body heat somehow, right?" said Shiori.

"Speaking of heat, there's something we have to show you," said Rena, quickly changing the subject. "And bring bathing suits!"

Using snowmobiles, the group went to the hot spring Rena and Shinichi had found. They had their swimsuits on as they submerged themselves inside the pool.

"Ahh, this is nice…" Yokoshima sighed as the warm water of the hot spring loosened his muscles.

"Yeah, it was a good thing Rena chose this cave as shelter from the blizzard or else we would never know about this hot spring," Michiru said

"Yep, it's nice that we got something out of this whole mess!" Mion nodded as she and Shion sat near their boyfriends.

Shiori sighed happily. Her son and his girlfriend were alright. She relaxed as she was being rejuvenated by the water. The steam shrouded her hair and face and the water's made her feel almost weightless.

"Yeah... I wonder if Warren will be mad when he realizes that we used one of the time trains just to get our swimsuits before coming back here for the hot spring," Daichi said.

"Eh, I'm sure he'll understand... hopefully," Shinichi said as he strode over to the edge of the hot spring and slowly lowered himself in.

"I'll take any punishment at the moment," Chiaki said, sighing happily. Both Rena and Shinichi looked at each other and smiled. Despite their terrifying experience, their trip ended on a happy note.

-THE END-