A metal door opened as Rize stepped out onto a rooftop, a chilling breeze nipped at his skin.
"Oh, it's cold," Rize commented, shivering.
'Wanna head back and put some more layers on?' Cipher asked.
Rize shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said, zipping up his jacket, "where are we anyway?"
Rize's phone started to buzz as he pulled the device out from his pants pocket. On the screen, he saw his phone recalibrate to the world's current time and place.
"Tokyo…February 2019?" Rize looked up from his phone and leaned against the rooftop railing. "Holy shit, did we just travel back in time?"
'Something like that.'
"Damn…though something tells me that this isn't my world." Rize looked down at his hand and tried to activate his Channel. A faint glow appeared briefly over his hand, before dying out immediately, causing Rize to let out a sigh.
'It's not.'
"Do you happen to know what world this is? Is this just like…a regular parallel world or reality, or whatever the fuck?" Rize shut his eyes, rubbed his forehead and groaned. "God, I wish I wasn't a fucking idiot."
'Easy Rize. It's too early for the self-deprecation. But, back to your question. It kind of depends really. At first glance you can't really tell what world or universe you're in, but there tend to be signs here or there.'
"What kind of signs?"
'Like I said, depends.'
Rize let out a sigh as he pocketed his phone. He watched the people walking and driving along the streets, going about their business. A small, wistful smile grew on his face before stepping back.
"Well, what better way to find out what world this is, then to walk with its people."
'You just want to explore the place, don't you?'
"Can you blame me?" Rize asked, "My whole life, I never got the chance to go abroad."
'Fair enough. Besides, we've got some time before shit hits the fan.'
"Alright!" Rize jogged over to the rooftop door and started making his way down to the streets.
…
Sometime during the afternoon, at the other side of town, a trio of students had left the school grounds of Hikarigamori High. Two boys, one with brunette hair, the other black haired, and one girl, with short black hair, were walking side by side as they had finished classes early for the day.
"So," the brunette began, turning his head to his friends, "what do you guys want to do now?"
"I don't know," the black-haired boy replied, "Wanna get something to eat?"
"Are you two serious?" the girl questioned.
"Oh, come on Miss President," the brunette answered, "it's our last month before we graduate. Let's just take it easy, yeah?"
"Take it easy? Sougo, don't you have to retake your maths exam next week?"
Sougo Tokiwa, the self-proclaimed future king, widened his eyes as he nervously looked away. The other boy snorted.
"And Geiz, don't you have to retake English?"
Keito 'Geiz' Myokoin, the aspiring saviour, stopped laughing looked down in shame.
"It's not our fault that we failed those exams, Tsukuyomi," Sougo argued, "with the monsters coming back again, who else is going to stop them?"
Alpina Tsukuyomi opened her mouth to retort, before letting out a relenting sigh. "Look you two, even though you aren't going to university, that doesn't mean you can just slack off."
"Okay, okay, we get it," Geiz groaned, "We'll make sure to study for them."
"Good," Tsukuyomi nodded.
The three walked in silence.
"So…I'm guessing that's a 'no' on lunch?" Sougo asked.
Tsukuyomi sighed again, "Alright, fine. Let's go get something to eat."
Sougo and Geiz looked at one another and silently celebrated.
"And while we eat, we can get started on revising for your exams."
The two stopped celebrating and groaned. Tsukuyomi silently chuckled at their misfortune.
The moment between friends was cut abruptly as they heard screams coming from afar. The trio exchanged looks at one another before rushing off towards the noise.
…
Just before the screams, Rize had just finished eating lunch at beef bowl restaurant, the taste of marinated beef and onions still lingering on his tastebuds.
'Damn, that was delicious!' Rize thought to himself, letting out a content sigh. 'Now what?'
He heard screams and clamouring nearby.
'Now, time to go to work.'
Without a second thought, Rize quickly made his way to where the screams were coming from. As he ran towards the site, other people were running away from whatever danger was present.
Soon, Rize had finally reached a wide-open area where random objects were left strewn across the tables and floor. He started scanning the area, trying to determine what was making everyone so scared.
He then heard heavy footsteps walking towards him, causing the outworlder to turn to the noise. Rize's eyes widened with surprise at the familiar figure.
It was a helmeted figure wearing a black bodysuit, and over his shins, forearms and chest was grey- silver armour, and a silver belt with a black deck that had a gold symbol resembling a rhinoceros' head. The figure's chest armour was bulky and had a large red horn protruding out from the left pauldron. The figure's helmet looked like a rhinoceros-themed Maximilian helmet, with a horn pointing out from the forehead.
"Holy shit! Is that…Kamen Rider Gai!?" Rize shouted out. "Man, I never thought I'd see a Kamen Rider in front of me…" The man then started looking around. "Strange that there are no cameras or crew around…"
The Kamen Rider slid open the grate on his left shoulder, before taking out a card from his belt. He tossed the card into the compartment and shut the grate.
[STRIKE VENT!]
White, translucent images appeared and formed over Kamen Rider Gai's right arm. Once the images combined, it created the Metalhorn, a gauntlet resembling the head of a rhino, with a long gold horn.
Rize immediately grew wary at the summon, stepping back and readying himself for what was about to come.
"That's not a suit actor…is he?"
'No, he is not.'
Gai then charged at Rize, swinging his horned gauntlet at the latter. Rize quickly dove out of the way and started making some distance between himself and the silver Rider. He went to activate his Channel, only for the aura over his arms to fade away.
Clicking his tongue in frustration, Rize contemplated what he could do next. He could run away, hide, and try to wait for his powers to work and ambush Gai, at the risk of allowing the rhino-themed Rider to continue menacing the streets. Or he could use whatever was lying around and hope that something works.
Knowing he was at a great disadvantage, and a rather impulsive decision maker, Rize picked up a plastic chair and threw it at the Rider. The furniture bounced off Gai, who continued his pursuit.
Chairs, plates, utensils and whatever Rize could find lying around, were used as flimsy ammunition that did nothing but bounce off of the Rider's armoured body. Whenever Gai was in range, he would swing his Metalhorn, which caused Rize's body to momentarily freeze before dodging as the tip of the gauntlet barely missed him.
Rolling away, Rize grabbed a large parasol and held it defensively as Gai thrust his weapon once again.
Instead of piercing through the fabric, Gai's Metalhorn bounced off of the parasol. Rize's brows furrowed as he soon noticed that the aura around his arms had returned.
'Alright,' Rize let out a breath of relief as his eyes sharpened, 'now we're getting somewhere.'
…
Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi had arrived on the scene as they saw Rize fighting Kamen Rider Gai with a cheap outdoor umbrella.
"Are you two also seeing this?" Sougo asked his friends. Rize stabbed at Gai with his umbrella.
Then, they saw Rize spin on his heels and open the umbrella as lasers shot through the fabric. A group of Kamen Rider-like figures wearing black bodysuits, bronze and black armour, and round silver faceplates then charged at Rize, who was immediately surrounded.
"Come on!" Geiz took out an oval-shaped device resembling a digital clock that had two slots, one on each side, and slapped it onto his waist. Sougo and Tsukuyomi took out the same device and did the same.
[ZIKU (SPACE-TIME) DRIVER!]
The three then took out their Ridewatches – round, palm-sized devices that allowed the three to transform. Sougo had a black device with a white faceplate, Geiz's had a red faceplate, and Tsukuyomi held an all-white device. The three rotated the bezels and then pressed the button on top of their respective devices.
[ZI-O!]
[GEIZ!]
[TSUKUYOMI!]
The trio then inserted their Ridewatches into their drivers and pressed the top button of said drivers.
"HENSHIN!"
…
'Where the hell did these Riotroopers come from!?' Rize mentally cried out as he opened his umbrella to block one of the Riotroopers' Axelaygun in blade mode. Though he tried to strengthen the canopy with his Channel, the knife pierced through the fabric and left a sizable tear, in addition to the holes their laser had left.
Realising that his makeshift weapon was beyond repair, Rize activated his Channel and poured his energy into the canopy. He strengthened it as best as he could and swung it at Gai. Unfortunately, the umbrella shattered against the Rider's armoured chest.
'Oh shit.'
Luckily, before Gai could retaliate, something fast slammed into the Rider's chestplate, causing sparks to fly. Turning towards the direction of the attack, Rize's eyes widened even further as he saw even more familiar Kamen Riders rushing into battle.
The first was Kamen Rider Zi-O, a black suited Rider with wide pink diagonal line running along the sides of his waist and pink plating on his hands; two Ridewatch holders strapped around his forearms; chestplate armour that had silver-grey and pink curved bezels running out from his chest and over his shoulders, and a silver watch strap running from his neck and down to his waist. Zi-O's helmet resembled an analog clock face, with hour and minute hands pointing at ten and two respectively, and his visor had pink katakana that read 'Rider'.
The second was Kamen Rider Geiz, a red suited Rider that looked similar to Zi-O, with black lines running diagonally along his waist, and yellow plates on his hands; Ridewatch holders over his forearms; chestplate armour with grey and yellow straight bezels, and a black vinyl watch strap running down from his neck to his waist. Geiz' helmet resembled a digital clock display, with his yellow visor, spelling out 'Rider' in hiragana, protruding out from his helmet's face.
The third and last Rider was Kamen Rider Tsukuyomi, another black suited Rider wearing a white robe and cape with gold edges that had a short watch strap running from her neck to her abdomen. On her right arm was a Ridewatch holder, while her left forearm had a gold ribbon wrapped around it. On her helmet, the clock hands on the forehead pointed at two and twelve, and her visor was shaped like a crescent moon, with the word 'Rider' read out in gold katakana.
Zi-O pounced at Gai with his sword, the Zikan Girade, in hand. The blade resembled an enlarged minute hand and near the bottom of the blade, the word 'Sword' was written in pink katakana. Zi-O let out an upward slash, forcing Gai back.
Geiz then leapt over his friend, aimed his red and black bow, the Zikan Zax, and fired an energy arrow. The arrow slammed in Gai and knocked the Rider down.
Mesmerised by the appearance of the Kamen Riders, a Riotrooper was about stab Rize in the back with his knife, before Tsukuyomi blasted henchman with her Faizphone X, a silver and black laser pistol that took the form of a feature phone.
The white-robed Rider then kicked away another, before quickly looking back at Rize.
"Are you okay?" Tsukuyomi asked.
It took a second for Rize to brusquely nod.
"Alright. Get to safety!" Tsukuyomi kicked back another Riotrooper before aiming her gun and started firing.
Having only started to gather his thoughts, Rize heeded the female Rider's words and started making his way to safety. Once he was off the battlefield, a sudden burst of fatigue and soreness flowed over Rize's body.
"What the hell?" Rize caught himself against a wall. "Why am I so tired?"
'Because you're not accustomed to using Channel in an uncontrolled environment,' Cipher answered. 'Back home, the world's atmosphere helped regulate the flow of energy within your body. Out here, you're on your own.'
"Great, like I need more fucking handicaps," Rize groaned. He decided to let go of the topic and watch Zi-O and Geiz fight Gai, while Tsukuyomi dealt with the Riotroopers.
…
Zi-O and Geiz swung their weapons at the silver Kamen Rider, overpowering the latter with their co-ordination. Zi-O's skill with his sword was formidable, if not slightly unruly, swinging his sword wide but precise at the same time. In contrast to his friend, Geiz showed greater proficiency with his fighting capability, swinging his edged bow past Gai's guard.
Zi-O continued swinging his sword at Gai while Geiz aimed his bow, pulled back the lever on his Zikan Zax and let energy arrows flying. Zi-O rolled to the side as the arrows hit their target, causing more sparks to fly off Gai's armour.
Once Zi-O recovered, he pulled back the Zikan Girade's blade, transforming it into gun mode and started firing purple energy bullets. Gai held his gauntlet up to block the shots, before Geiz transformed his Zikan Zax into axe mode, flipping the bottom half of the bow up, and started hacking at the Rider.
With Tsukuyomi, though she was outnumbered, her skills were more than enough to fight against the Smart Brain troopers. While the white Kamen rider relied on her Faizphone X to gun down the Riotroopers, those who managed to get close were met with a swift palm strike or kick.
As Tsukuyomi continued to fend off the enemy, a trio of Riotroopers pushed down the blade of their Axelayguns, transforming them into gun mode, and started firing at the Rider. Tsukuyomi spur around and swiped her hand at the energy bullets, catching them in the process. The Riotroopers stumbled back in shock as Tsukuyomi focused on the energy in her hand, converting it into a large orb of white, and shot it back, barrelling through the Riotroopers.
Zi-O and Geiz simultaneously kick Gai back, the silver Rider flew back and rolled along the ground for a couple of metres. Zi-O and Geiz recalled their weapons.
"Let's go, Geiz!" Zi-O called out as he pressed the button on top of his Ridewatch.
"Got it, Sougo!" Geiz replied, repeating the action with his own Ridewatch.
Tsukuyomi had just finish rounding up the remaining Riotroopers as she saw her friends preparing their final attack. She then pressed the button on her Ridewatch.
[FINISH TIME!]
The Kamen Rider trio pressed the button on top of their Ziku-Drivers and spun them around.
[TIME BREAK!/BURST!/JACK!]
Magenta energy emanated underneath Zi-O's right foot, while yellow and white energy radiated around Geiz and Tsukuyomi's respective feet. The trio then leapt into the air and performed a Rider Kick.
Gai fumbled while attempting to take out another card from his Card Deck before Zi-O and Geiz flew towards the rhino-themed Rider and kicked through the latter.
The Riotroopers watched with futility as Tsukuyomi also let out a flying kick, passing through the henchmen while skidding to a stop.
Kamen Rider Gai and the Riotroopers collapsed onto the floor as they exploded in a strangely contained manner.
…
Rize's eyes were as wide as plates, while his mouth was agape. His fatigue seemingly disappeared after watching the adrenaline pumping fight.
"Holy shit…" Rize muttered, "A Rider Kick…a real Rider Kick…right in front of my own eyes…" The starstruck man chuckled.
'Alright Rize, you can fan out any other time, we need to go talk to them.'
'Need to?'
Rize looked back to where the Riders were, undoing their transformations and returning to their civilian forms. A dejected look was plastered onto Rize's face as he realised what was about to happen.
'Ah shit.'
The man left his cover and started making his way to the Kamen Riders.
…
Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi let out a quick sigh as they finished fighting.
"You two alright?" Tsukuyomi asked as she caught up with her friends.
"We're fine," Geiz replied, before frowning a little, "but why was a Kamen Rider here?"
"Who knows," Sougo shrugged, "at least we managed to beat him before he could do any more harm."
As the three conversed, Rize started to slow down as he made his way over to them. His heart started pounding and his palms grew sweaty. He would take a few small steps before stopping.
'They seem to be a bit busy, maybe we should talk to them some other time.'
'What happened to the guy who said 'nothing like a little spontaneity to kick your ass into gear'?'
'In terms of action. I'm fine being in the background in terms of social situations.'
'Oh, come man. Have some confidence in yourself.'
'I don't even know Japanese, apart from a couple of phrases, how the hell do you think I'm going to talk to them?'
'It'll be fine.'
While Rize and Cipher mentally chatted, the Riders watched as Rize nervously stood in place, swivelling his head from side to side.
"Is he alright?" Geiz asked, weirded out by Rize's awkwardness.
"He should be," Tsukuyomi replied. "Though, I'm guessing he's having a more personal conflict."
Sougo slowly nodded, before smiling and walked over to Rize. The brunette tapped Rize on his shoulder, breaking the latter out of his conversation. Rize jolted as he noticed Sougo in front of him.
"H-hi?" 'Oh god, they must think I'm insane.'
'You're not?' Cipher asked.
'Oh, bite me.'
"You alright there? You seem a bit distracted," Sougo interrupted.
"No, I'm fine…just a bit…surprised is all." His eyes grew wide, surprised by the fact that he was somehow speaking Japanese. Out of impulse, Rize held out his hand. "I'm Rize…" The man's eye twitched very visually, "…Kariba."
Cipher halted a snort.
"Nice to meet you Rize," Sougo firmly shook Rize's, "I'm Sougo. These are my friends Geiz and Tsukuyomi."
The two waved at Rize, before Tsukuyomi spoke up.
"What were you doing out here?" The girl asked. "Why didn't you get to safety?"
"…Bad decision making?"
"Okay, do you just want me to cut to the chase here?" Cipher asked aloud. The Rider trio looked around in surprise.
"Oh, please do."
A ball of light shot out of Rize's back and transformed into Cipher. The Kamen Riders stepped back in shock at the sudden appearance of the helmeted man.
"Name's Cipher. Mind if we take this somewhere more private?"
…
Rize, Cipher, and the Kamen Riders left the area before the authorities arrived to question them.
From afar, a man sat alone in a dark, derelict building, watching the five walk away from the fight scene on a monitor.
"So…that's Cipher's apprentice," The shadow-covered man chuckled as he picked up a dark purple Ridewatch off the table. "Well then, let's see how this plays out."
…
The five made their way back to Sougo's home, 9 5 DO, a clockmaker store with fading and rusting white walls. Rize took a moment to appreciate the building, before following Sougo and his friends in.
Once inside, walking through a door curtain, Rize caught sight of the store's interiors, a various assortment of clocks hanging on the walls and rafters, and watches displayed on cabinets and in display cases.
Opposite the entrance, sitting in a corner with greenish yellow walls, behind a workbench, was a middle-aged Japanese man with short black hair, thick-rimmed glasses, wearing a vest, button-up dress shirt, and slacks. The man was looking through a magnifying lens, meticulously repairing a clock.
"Uncle, I'm home," Sougo called out.
Junichiro Tokiwa, Sougo's Great-Uncle, swiftly stopped working and looked up, giving his nephew a smile.
"Welcome back, Sougo. Oh, Geiz, Tsukuyomi, you're here as well! Welcome!"
"Hello Mr Tokiwa," Tsukuyomi greeted back, while Geiz bowed slightly.
While Junichiro was happy to see his nephew and his friends, he grew a curious look as he noticed Rize.
"Who's this?"
"Forgive the intrusion. I'm Rize, I got a bit lost, and your nephew and his friends were kind enough to help me."
"Ah, well, welcome to our home. Please, make yourself comfortable," Junichiro said warmly. The clockmaker then looked back at Sougo. "Actually, there's someone else here who would like to speak with you."
Junichiro gestured his hand towards the table in the room, where a scarf-wearing man said, reading his book. Once he was noticed by the others, the man clapped his book shut and got up from his seat.
"Woz!" Sougo muttered in surprise.
"Hello again, my Overlord," Woz greeted with a bow, before straightening himself. "It's good to you as well, Geiz, Tsukuyomi." Woz then faced Rize with a somewhat more neutral expression. "I see, so, you must the anomaly-"
"We'll take this in the back and leave you to your work," Tsukuyomi butted in, grabbing Woz's arm and quickly pulling him into the dining room.
Tsukuyomi released Woz's arm, causing the prophet to stumble slightly.
"Still as rough as ever, Tsukuyomi," Woz muttered, straightening his olive coat.
"How come you're here Woz?" Sougo asked.
"Apologies, my Overlord, allow me to explain." Woz held up his book.
The cover had was green, in the centre was a dismantled silver watch, with cogs and gears of various colours and sizes scatted around. Above the dismantled watch, was the title of the book, written in gold Kanji – "True Oma Advent Calendar".
The book snapped open to a page where a single line of text dirtied the white sheet.
"Anomalies of time shall throw the world in disarray."
Cipher appeared in his ghostly visage to read out the line on the page. The others, sans Rize and Woz, jolted in surprise once again.
"A little warning next time?" Geiz breathed out.
"Sorry," Cipher apologised. "So, is that all your book says?"
"Indeed," Woz closed the book once again. "Perhaps you could prove some more context…Mister-"
"Cipher. And yeah, I can tell you guys what's going on."
"Are you sure it's safe for you to be out here, with, you know," Rize gestured his head over to Junichiro's direction.
"Oh it's fine, I may not be at full strength, but I still have enough control to specify who can see and hear me…plus I doubt Sougo's uncle has that strong of a spiritual awareness," Cipher looked back to Woz. "Back to what I was saying. I can tell you all what's happening, because I was kind of hoping to ask for your help."
"I'm sorry what now?" Rize asked. "I mean, I'm not against it, but that's what we're doing?"
"Help with what?" Tsukuyomi questioned.
"Recently, enemies of past Kamen Riders have been popping up again, haven't they?"
Tsukuyomi nodded.
"I believe that it's because an old…acquaintance of mine has resurfaced in your universe after a lengthy hiatus."
"Wait, you think he's summoning past Riders and monsters? Not-" Rize stopped himself. "Wait…was the last major thing that happened to you all was Oma Zi-O sending you to a world full of monsters? And there were like, six or seven Sougos?"
"Yeah, that's right," Sougo answered, before furrowing his brow. "How do you know about that?"
"We're not from this world. In fact, we're here to make sure that nothing happens to it."
The Riders accepted the statement easily, much to Rize's surprise. Considering the many outlandish things that have happened to them, a pair of outworlders seemed quite commonplace.
"This guy you're after," Geiz spoke up, "Who is he?"
"His name is Null. For quite some time, I've been following him through different worlds, making sure that he doesn't wreak havoc. But…" Cipher grew silent, and voice quietened slightly. "To be honest, I'm still not quite sure why he's doing any of this."
"He's not looking to rule the world?" Sougo asked.
"Nah. That's not his style. He has no need for titles or sovereignty. Or one to act without reason." Cipher sighed and his voice became somewhat lighter, "Still, regardless of the 'why', he's still planning to do something bad here. Which means Rize and I are going to need some help…especially considering that my partner here is still kind of new to the game."
"If that's alright with you guys," Rize added on. "I know you all must be sick and tired of random tyrants and villains trying to kill you all, and trying to change history, but we'd really appreciate it if you could help us."
Sougo, Geiz, Tsukuyomi and Woz exchanged quick looks to one another, before nodding in agreement.
"Sure, we'll help you out," Sougo declared.
"Seriously?" Rize blinked with surprise, "That's rather quick."
"Well, while we'd be a lot more suspicious of you two…honestly, it's a nice change of pace to deal with something that's rather straightforward," Geiz stated.
"So…does that mean you all still suspect us of being enemies?"
"It helps to keep on our toes," Tsukuyomi replied, "but, having seen you fight against that Kamen Rider, it's probably safe to say that you're not our enemy."
Rize blinked a couple of time before turning to Cipher.
"I'll be honest," the outworlder began, "I was kind of expecting a lot more resistance."
"They're just used to this. Further along our journey, it'd be safe to say that other people we meet will be a lot more wary of us."
Junichiro walked into the dining room, phasing through Cipher. He shivered a little, but ignored the sensation and grew a satisfied grin on his face, as he carefully held a small mahogany clock and handed it to Woz.
"Here you go, Woz. It's nice to finally fix a clock after repairing so many other things."
"Think nothing of it, Junichiro."
Junichiro smiled wider and nodded, before turning to his nephew and friends.
"You all must be pretty hunger, considering you're all here so early. I'll get started on making something for you all to eat."
Knowing that he had most likely over welcomed his stay, Rize proceeded to make his way out.
"Rize? Where are you going?" Junichiro called out.
"Oh, I…well, I just thought that you were talking to Sougo and the others, and that I should probably head on out."
"Nonsense! I was also talking to you as well."
"A-are you sure? I mean, I don't want to intrude or anything."
Junichiro nodded, causing Rize to nervously sit down at the table, with the others following suit in calmer fashions. The older man put on an apron and headed to the kitchenette.
"So…" Rize began, "…what now?"
…
Two hours passed as the sun began to set. During those two hours, Junichiro had made some rice balls with various fillings for the others to eat, and tea to drink; Sougo and Geiz were revising their notes, with Tsukuyomi helping the boys to ensure that they pass their make-up exams; Rize found himself helping the two high school students as well; and Woz and Cipher watched amusedly as the former ate and drank.
By the end, Geiz and Tsukuyomi left the Tokiwa household, while Woz, Cipher and Rize were still seated at the dining table, the latter still helping Sougo study for maths.
"I see," Sougo nodded, "So, in order to get x, you need to times both sides by the same number."
"There you go," Rize said encouragingly. 'Jesus fucking christ, what the hell am I doing?!' the outworlder thought to himself. 'How the hell am I doing this? I haven't done maths in years!'
'Easy Rize. Channel is just letting you process information smoother.'
'Oh, so it's helping me remember things then.'
'That's right.'
'…It's not going to make me any smarter, is it?'
Rize was greeted by a mental silence.
"I must say, this is fascinating," Woz commented, as he helped Junichiro finish setting up the table. "To think that someone has finally been able to make my Overlord interested in maths."
"I'm surprised as well," Junichiro commented as he removed his apron. His eyes widened with realisation. "Say Rize, do you think you could help tutor Sougo for his maths exam?"
"Oh, uh, um…I'll be honest, my maths skills are quite rusty. When is his exam?"
"Next Monday."
'Oh he~ll no.' "Sure, I'll do my best to help him pass."
'Seriously Rize?' Cipher deadpanned.
"That's all I ask." Junichiro glowed with joy. "Now, come on, let's eat."
…
Rize laid awake on his futon. It was midnight, and the man was still trying to process how he found himself in an even worse predicament.
'Rize, you're seriously not thinking that tutoring Sougo maths is worse than having to fight for the world's survival, right?'
'I don't know Cipher, how about the fact that I agreed to help a guy who's terrible at maths, when I myself was so shit at it. The fucking irony could not make itself anymore clear!'
'Weren't you also terribly depressed and stressed during high school?'
'Yeah, but that's still no excuse for what I'm about to do. It doesn't help that Null could attack any moment either.'
'True. But hey, think of it this way. You're starting to become more proactive.'
Rize sighed. 'That…is one way I could think of things right now.'
The man continued to lie on the futon, a billion thoughts ran through his mind, before he decided to grab his phone and took out a pair of earbuds.
'What're you doing now?'
'Going online to look up maths tutorials. If I'm going to help Sougo pass his exam, I might as well do it wholeheartedly.'