Tsukasa Kadoya, the Destroyer of Worlds, watched as Rize hold his stomach and relax back onto his bed.
"How…" Rize took a moment to breathe, "How the hell are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"Maybe…maybe not."
Rize chuckled. "Huh, I guess your journey truly is never-ending…Why are you here?"
"Bored I suppose," Tsukasa began tinkering with his camera, "and, I wanted to see who Cipher had brought with him."
"You know Cipher?"
Tsukasa nodded.
Rize let out a grunt. "I really should ask what his story is."
"He'll tell you in due time." Tsukasa lowered his camera and got up from his seat. "Anyways, I'll leave you to rest. Knowing Cipher, he'd talk my ear off if I kept bothering you."
"What're you going to do in the meantime?" Rize asked.
"I'm going to make myself something to eat. Maybe catch up on some of my shows." The brunette cameraman started to leave Rize's room.
"Alright, but don't use the cheese. I want to make some Macaroni later."
Silently acknowledging Rize's request, Tsukasa closed the door as the former went back to rest. The brunette let out a snort.
"Macaroni does sound pretty good honestly."
…
A couple of hours had passed when Rize had miraculously healed from his wounds, although the burning sensation remained.
He was currently sitting at the dining table, a blank stare on his face as he looked at the bowl of mac n cheese in front of him.
'That son of a bitch,' Rize sighed as he placed a spoonful of cheesy macaroni into his mouth, pausing his ire as he continued to devour the meal.
"How's the food?" Tsukasa asked, lounging on the sofa and watching TV.
"You're lucky you're a damn good cook," Rize replied, wiping the remnants of his meal off his mouth and placed his bowl and spoon into the sink.
The cameraman snorted as he picked up the remote and started channel surfing. After blazing through hundreds of different channels, most of them showing trashy reality shows, Tsukasa switched the box off.
"TV also gotten to become a massive shitshow for you too?" Rize questioned with a look of understanding.
"I suppose so. Even after travelling to different worlds, there is one constant, and that's the decline of programming."
"Well, I guess online video platforms and streaming services probably have something to do with that. Well, that and I guess out of touch executives."
Tsukasa shrugged, though the possibility was not out of the question.
Rize sat on the leather recliner to the right of the sofa, leaning back as he sunk into the cushions.
They sat in silence, causing Rize to stew over his fight with Null. His body grew hot, and his face slowly reddened. His breath grew a little louder as well, knowing full well that he was nowhere capable enough to take Null on.
Then a thought came to him. He realised who was in the room with him.
'Did Cipher…' Rize stopped the thought. It was now or never, as he opened his mouth.
"Are you sure about this?" Tsukasa queried, as if he already knew what Rize was about to ask.
The dark-haired man nodded. "I need the experience, if I'm ever going to be able to pull my own weight out there. Cipher's been a great teacher, but he's also one of my closest, if not only, friend. I need someone who's willing to not hold back their punches. A dickhead like you."
"…You really had to add that on, didn't you?" Tsukasa sighed.
"Oh don't act like you don't know it already." Rize took in a deep breath. "So, you think you can help me?"
The cameraman took a moment before smirking.
…
The next morning, at the arena, Rize was wearing his workout outfit, while Tsukasa was still in his suit. The former was taking in deep breaths, psyching himself up, while the latter remained his usual calm and collected self.
It took a moment for Rize to keep his heart from leaping out his mouth, as he finally activated his Channel, his arms shimmering with a pale glow.
Tsukasa analysed Rize with his eyes, letting out a seemingly indifferently grunt before pulling out his NeoDecadriver, a black and magenta pink buckle with a silver ring and a dark red glass in the centre, surrounding the silver ring were black symbols of past Heisei Kamen Riders.
The photographer slapped his Driver onto waist and a black belt wrapped around him. The Kamen Rider then pulled out a card from his inner breast pocket. The upper edge was magenta with a black barcode, in the centre was an image of his Rider helmet, a magenta helmet with green eyes, black lines running down the helmet and a yellow LED on the middle line.
"Henshin!"
Tsukasa flipped his card around, displaying his Rider symbol, before pulling the levers of his NeoDecadriver and inserted said card into the Driver.
[KAMEN RIDE!]
Tsukasa then pushed the levers in.
[DECADE!]
Shooting out from Tsukasa's Driver were eighteen grey, blurry projections of his Rider form, each with different symbols of other Heisei Kamen Riders, before they formed onto his body.
After they formed his Rider form, red projections of cards shot out and slammed into the Kamen Rider's helmet, turning the grey on his armour into magenta pink, his eyes green and the LED yellow.
Kamen Rider Decade's armour was magenta from his left and right laterals, black in the centre, and white on his medial sides. On his body armour, was a black cross with white edges, with the vertical line being straight, while the horizontal was slightly off balance, resembling an 'X'.
The air felt somewhat heavier around Rize, as he could already feel the power emanating from Decade. He then swallowed his fears and charged at the magenta Rider.
Decade grabbed his Ride Booker, a silver and black case attached to the left side of his belt and pulled back on the black handle at the top. This caused the handle and the silver nub to extend, transforming the carrying case into a gun, and the Kamen Rider started firing.
While Rize was able to avoid the energy bullets by Channelling his legs, he could still feel them brushing past his skin. He poured more energy into his legs and quickly closed the distance between himself and Decade.
Once the Rider was in range, Rize started letting out flurries of punches and strikes.
Decade easily blocked and parried his opponent's attacks, biding his time before countering with a swift punch to the chest.
The air was knocked out of Rize's lungs as he took the brunt of the Kamen Rider's attack, stumbling back before taking in a couple of deep breaths. His eyes threatened to pop out of his sockets before he finally got himself under control.
It took barely a moment for Rize to also notice a long blade slashing at him, causing the man to roll to the side.
In Decade's hand, the Rider had transformed his Ride Booker into sword mode, lining the handle with the black line on the Ride Booker, with a long blade with a silver tip pointing out from the other side.
Decade continued his advance, letting out a couple of light slashes at Rize, forcing the latter to remain light on his feet.
The Rider let out a quick stab, and just as he was about to land his mark, Rize quickly summoned a bokuto (wooden sword) and redirected the attack.
For a minute or two, the two clashed blades. The difference between their skills and capabilities were night and day.
Rize was able to fend off whatever attacks the Destroyer of Worlds threw at him but felt his arms slowly growing numb and feeling like jelly.
With Decade, the Rider was able to keep up his attacks, blocking Rize's counters easily, as if they were like pillows.
Even before the spar began, Rize knew that he was out of his league. He did not have the experience or skills to even come close to fight someone like Decade. Yet, he just needed to know. He needed to know where he ranked in this Darwinian lifestyle, he was now a part of.
Once Rize and Decade clashed blades again, the former leaned in with a tired yet determined look in his eyes. The drenched man started deep into the green visors, pumping his Channel into his body to stop the shaking in his arms.
The Rider pushed back, forcing the two to stand a couple of metres away from one another.
Knowing that the fight was about to come to an end, Rize decided to finish with what little dignity he had left. Pouring his Channel into his wooden blade, Rize's weapon glowed before igniting into flames. He then leapt forward, air blasting beneath his feet and slashed at Decade, while the latter responded at the same time and dashed towards Rize.
Once Rize landed past Decade, the two stood still, as if time had stopped. The Kamen Rider placed his thumb and middle finger on the flat sides of his sword, performing his trademark wipe. As his fingers were removed from his weapon, the flames on Rize's sword died out as he fell onto the arena floor.
Reverting his Ride Booker back to its base form, Decade opened his Driver and removed the card, dispersing his Rider form. Tsukasa looked down at Rize's prone form, letting out a sigh as he watched the latter lie there.
…
Hours passed when Rize groggily woke up. The smell of a hot cooked meal wafted into his nose, causing the man to fully awaken.
Pushing himself up on the sofa, Rize looked towards the dining table and saw Tsukasa placing down a plate of grilled chicken.
"Dinner's ready," Tsukasa called out to Rize, his eyes remained on the food while he took off his apron and sat down at the table.
Rize forced himself off the leather couch, quickly recovering from a slight stumble, before taking a seat opposite Tsukasa and started digging in.
The two ate in silence, with most of the food being devoured by a ravenous Rize. Once they were done, Rize let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat.
"How're you feeling?" Tsukasa asked.
Rize stared up into the ceiling before answering, "Full."
"What're you thinking of?"
"Ways to improve myself."
"Anything in particular?"
"…Probably should be more social for one. But, as of now, I'm trying to figure out how to fight better."
"Would you still like my help with that?"
Rize looked back at Tsukasa. "If you don't mind."
…
A couple of days had passed. The main routine had been Rize sparring against Tsukasa, getting his ass beat, resting in the afternoon, eating, and then relaxing before going to bed.
Each day that passed, Rize grew aggravated. Even with the Kamen Riders help, Rize could not help but feel as if he was still in a slump. Though his combat abilities did improve, as little as they did, there was a strong feeling of doubt that remained deeply embedded in the man.
Rize ducked under Decade's sword and swept at the latter's legs. The Rider swiftly lifted hopped over the kick, before changing his weapon into gun mode and aimed it at Rize, who was a couple of seconds late in aiming his own.
Relenting in defeat, Rize dropped his weapons, while Tsukasa undid his transformation.
"You're getting surprisingly better," the brunette commented.
"Thanks," Rize replied, dropping onto the floor, "though, it's mostly thanks to my Channel. If it was just my own abilities…truthfully, I wouldn't even be here."
Tsukasa sighed as he sat on the floor as well. "Still doubting yourself, huh?"
"Well, I'd say it's one of my more defining traits."
"You know change doesn't just happen overnight, right?"
Rize let out a groan. "I know, I know. I've heard the same thing from other people, over and over again. But it's not that."
"So, what is it?"
Rize paused. "I'm just worried that, even if I do miraculously manage to become capable in battle…I feel like I won't be able to pull my own weight when it matters."
Tsukasa mulled over Rize's confession. "So, you're worried that you'll still be dead weight when things get tough."
Rize nodded.
"Honestly, if you want to get out of that mindset, the first thing you should do is stop thinking like that."
Rize perked up and furrowed his brows.
"From what I can tell. You are capable, but your biggest enemy isn't Null, it's yourself. If you keep worrying about what you can't do, you'll only be fulfilling a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Easy said than done, to be honest."
Tsukasa sighed, knowing what Rize's response would be, and reached into his breast pocket. He then pulled out a couple of sheets of folded paper and handed it to Rize.
Somewhat confused, Rize took the paper out of Tsukasa's hand and then gave it a look over.
"This is Sougo's test results, why do you have it?"
Instead of responding, Tsukasa gestured his chin, telling Rize to keep reading. The latter did so, continuing to scan through the exam.
"Okay, he passed. He was going to do so regardless."
"Take a closer look, dumbass."
Rize gave the papers another looks through, before realising what he was supposed to notice.
"Wait a minute…these are two different exams," Rize separated the test papers.
"They're both the same, but from different times. Take a guess which one is which."
Rize's eyes widened as he noticed the rather sizable difference in the marks.
"Holy shit, seriously?!"
"I'm guessing you thought your tutoring wouldn't be much help?" Tsukasa asked.
Rize nodded, before letting out an acknowledging 'Ah'. "I get it now. Strange comparison, but I get it." He then snorted and laid on his back. "Alright then, I'll work on it."
"Good man." Tsukasa got up from the stone floor and turned to face the sun. "Also, you know that you're not alone in this, right?"
"I know, I know." Rize laid there, bathing in the sun's rays, before sitting up. "Thanks Tsukasa, for-" As Rize sat up, he saw that Tsukasa had disappeared. The man let out another sigh and laid back down. For a moment, Rize began to appreciate the quiet, a content smile grew on his face.
However, said quiet was immediately interrupted when an Aurora Curtain appeared far behind Rize. Shooting up onto his feet with alarm, Rize swiped his wooden sword and pistol off the floor, ready to fend his home from the potential intruders.
Shooting out from the Aurora Curtain was Another Decade tackling Heure onto the grass, and following them was Hora and Cipher, who leapt out of the Another Rider.
Rize's eyes widened as he quickly rushed over to his partner and the Time Jackers.
"Cipher!? What the hell's going on here?!"
"Help us pin him down and I'll fill you in!"
Dispersing his weapons, Rize rushed over to help with whatever was going on.