Chapter 6 – Graduation
About a week had passed since Rize had won his first fight against Null and becoming a Kamen Rider. The latter was still causing Rize great amounts of disbelief, still wondering if he truly died after his first bout with Null.
Sitting on his porch, Rize was staring out at his vast backyard, his mind replaying the last week on a vivid loop.
…
Friday March 1, 2019
Standing outside the front gate of Hikarigamori High School, Rize leaned against a wall, beside an ethereal Cipher, as the senior students were walking out as graduated adults. Tears were shed, hugs were given, farewells were traded as the outworlders continued to watch.
"So, was this how your graduations were?" Cipher asked.
'Kinda…actually, my high school had a graduation night.'
"Graduation night?"
'Yeah, after the last day, my school booked a hall at some club, and that's when I finally graduated.'
"Huh, interesting…I'm guessing that's to keep the kids still in school for one last time?"
'Probably. It may have also been another way to make sure the teachers earned their pay.'
"This was…not a very privileged school, was it?"
Rize shook his as he pushed himself off the wall as he saw Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi walking towards him, while their respective parents and guardians talked amongst themselves.
"Hope we didn't keep you long," Sougo said, pride still brimming in his voice as he held his diploma.
"No, not at all. You all finish closing any loose ends?"
"As close as we could I guess," Geiz replied, letting in a deep sniff while holding back in his tears.
The others chuckled at the Saviour's attempt at stoicism.
"I still can't believe it," Tsukuyomi let out a melancholic sigh, "We've finally graduated, and now we're considered adults of society."
"Don't worry, the feeling will pass in about a week."
Tsukuyomi playfully pushed Rize as a proxy for Cipher. While the Kamen Riders continued to converse for a bit, Junichiro walked up to the group.
"Hey, how's everyone feeling?"
The graduates all merely smiled and shrugged.
"Oh, come on," Junichiro played along, "Anyways, Geiz, Tsukuyomi, I was talking with your parents, and we've agreed to hold a party at our place, tomorrow night."
"Thank you so much, Mr Junichiro," Tsukuyomi responded.
"It's nothing, besides, I'm just so proud of Sougo!" Junichiro placed a proud hand on Sougo's shoulder.
…
Geiz and Tsukuyomi left after their parents had called for them. Rize, feeling a little out of place, walked with Sougo and Junichiro back to 9-5 DO.
"So," Rize started, breaking the rather lengthy silence, "will you need help with anything tomorrow, Junichiro?" In his head, Rize heard Cipher groan. 'What?'
'Come on Rize, you don't need ask that all the time.'
'Well, I just want to make sure, that's all!'
"Oh, it'll be alright, I'm just going to make a few things. Besides, Geiz and Tsukuyomi's parents are also going to be bringing some food as well."
"A potluck? Very nice."
"I wonder what they'll be bringing," Sougo hummed, mouth salivating at the potential dishes for the party.
"You sure you don't want me to bring anything?" Cipher groaned again, causing Rize to punch his partner mentally. Rize then felt a sharp pain throbbing in his head as Cipher connected his senses with the latter.
"Well, if you insist," Junichiro tilted his head in thought, "bring whatever you think would be nice."
…
Saturday, March 2, 2019.
Two hours after the party began, the Kamen Riders left 9-5 DO with a very tense and awkward atmosphere surrounding them.
"Look," Rize raised his hands placatingly, "in my defence, I did not think that all of your parents would go that hard on the liquor."
"I'm still surprised that my parents knew what happened on that camping trip all those years ago," Geiz muttered. "…I thought I had hidden it from them so well…"
"Oh please, you were eight," Tsukuyomi retorted, "at least your parents didn't try to set you up with an upperclassman."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Sougo responded, "Plus, in my opinion, your parents could've done worse that Kirishima."
"She's a woman!" Tsukuyomi shouted.
Rize's brows furrowed. "Wait, why would your parents set you up with a-Ohhhhhhhh…well, at least your parents had your best interest at heart." The older man then placed a comforting hand on Tsukuyomi's shoulder as she dropped her head.
"Not to play devil's advocate, but-"
"Nuh-uh, you don't get to say shit buddy," Rize interjected.
"Oh come on! How was I supposed to know that they'd down three whole bottles of sake!?"
"They're parents whose kids just graduated from school, what did you think was going to happen?" Rize retorted.
"In Cipher's defence, it was a kind gesture," Sougo softly argued.
"Thank you! See?! Someone appreciates my contributions!"
Rize barely held in a sigh and looked away before muttering, "I still think we should've just gotten a cake."
…
A short moment passed as the Riders, minus Cipher who excused himself from the walk halfway through, found themselves on a hill with a couple of benches and a swing set.
Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi placed themselves by the swings, while Rize sat on a bench with a bag of drinks that they had bought from a convenience store during their walk. The four sat in silence, appreciating the quite while overlooking the town before them.
"I know it just happened yesterday, but I think the fact that we graduated from high school is finally settling in," Sougo softly said as he gently swung on the swings.
"Yeah," Tsukuyomi nodded, "now we're beginning a new stage of our lives."
Geiz merely grunted in agreement.
"One step closer for me to become King, and Geiz to become a Saviour," Sougo proclaimed.
Another silence rolled in after Sougo's statement.
'Good to see that they still have their goals in sight,' Rize thought to himself. "So, you guys have any idea on what you're going to do until then?" the man asked, "Because, while I'm sure you two will become a King and Saviour…you still have some time to enjoy yourselves."
"I was actually discussing that with Sougo," Geiz spoke up, "even with Null gone, there's still going to be people who'll disturb the peace, yeah?"
Rize nodded.
"Well, Sougo and I are going to around the world, to know what others are going through, so we know what we'll be facing in the future."
"Very noble of you two," Rize smiled, a warm feeling filling his chest from the future Saviour's words. "What about you Tsukuyomi? Still undecided?"
Tsukuyomi gently hummed in thought, before smiling at the moon. "I was discussing this with my parents the other day. I'm still have some time until I need to make a commitment, plus there are still so many things I need to experience in my life as well."
"Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Geiz asked.
"Yep, I've decided to also go on a world trip," Tsukuyomi then looked to her fellow Riders and smirked, "besides, someone needs to keep you two in check. God knows how long it'll be before you two get yourselves into trouble."
Sougo and Geiz winced from Tsukuyomi's statement, before smiling joyfully at their friend's decision.
Watching the trio from his seat, Rize felt a slight pang of envy at the comradery between them. Memories of missed opportunities and feelings began to rouse in Rize's mind, before the outworlder quickly pushed those feelings down.
"How about you Rize?" Sougo asked, "What are you going to be doing now?"
'Hmm…what am I going to be doing?' Rize thought to himself. The older man took in a breath before answering. "Well, I guess working with Cipher to stop Null whenever he shows up again. Like Geiz said, even if he's gone for now, he's probably already got another scheme up his sleeves." Rize then snorted as he looked at his hands. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to be ready until then."
…
Meanwhile, from afar, watching Rize and the Kamen Riders sitting on the hill and talking, Woz and the Time Jackers turned as they saw Cipher making his way to them.
"Hope I didn't keep you all waiting."
"Not at all, we just got here ourselves," Woz replied.
"So," Swartz stared Cipher straight in the eyes, "Why have you called for us here?"
"I was hoping to check up and see how everyone has been holding up. You four did pretty much just up and vanish after the fight."
"We wanted to make sure that Null was gone," Swartz replied. Heure flinched slightly at the mention of his captor's name.
"Don't worry, he is."
"Good," Ora responded, "The next he shows his face, I'll make sure he'll pay for what he did."
"Hopefully, you won't be seeing him for a while." Cipher looked down at Heure, the boy in blue freezing up slightly at the sight of the masked man's visor. "How've you been, Heure?"
Heure shrugged. "I've been better."
"Fair enough," Cipher chuckled, before growing serious once again. "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask. During your time with Null, did you happen to notice anything? Like, conversations, or other people?"
Heure took a moment to try and recollect his time under Null's control. While he wracked his brain for some sort of answer, ultimately, Heure stopped and shook his head.
"Ah well, it was worth a try. Thanks anyways."
"Still trying to find a reason why Null came to our universe?" Woz queried.
Cipher nodded. "He came for the Decade's Anotherwatch, I know that for certain. But the reason behind it?"
"Are you certain that he didn't want it just for its power?" Swartz asked. "Being able to have access to our world's greatest heroes and villains, and their powers, is one sought after by many."
"Maybe…but Null's not the kind of guy to do something 'just because'…"
Woz and the Time Jackers exchanged a brief glance, then turned their eyes back to Cipher.
"Perhaps we could assist you in discovering Null's goals," Woz suggested.
Cipher mulled over Woz's words for a moment, before facing them. "You all sure about this? Because I can't guarantee that Null won't go easy on you like this time."
"It's not like we have anything going on now," Heure answered. The boy the smirked. "Plus," he raised his hand and activated a blue aura, "it'd be waste to not use this power up."
Ora smiled at her best friend, then grew a serious look on her face as she nodded determinedly. Swartz merely snorted as he waited for Cipher's response.
"Very well," Cipher pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to Swartz. "This is my number. Call it and you'll be able to create a direct line to me and my home."
"A direct invitation to your home? What makes you so sure that we won't try to betray you?" Swartz questioned.
"Because, if I thought you were going to, we wouldn't be meeting here in the first place." The already cold night dropped to nearly sub-zero temperature as Ora and Heure stepped back, while Swartz and Cipher continued to stare each other down. The man in purple slowly then conceded as Cipher grew lax as well. "Now that we got that out of the way, you sure you all don't want to say anything to those guys down there?"
Everyone looked back at the Kamen Riders, continuing to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Ora and Heure had slight looks of melancholy in their eyes as they watched their friends enjoying themselves, Swartz let out another snort, while Woz chuckled.
"It's not like you all can't see each other again," Cipher explained, "I mean, sure your paths may divert for now, but who's to say that you can't find time to reconnect?"
"Because we're Time Jackers," Swartz answered, looking down at Tsukuyomi, "We exist outside of time itself."
With Swartz's definitive statement, the Time Jackers left the world without a trace, leaving Cipher and Woz by themselves.
"Still a hard ass I see," Cipher muttered.
"Somethings remain constant, regardless of what timeline it is," Woz stated.
…
Down at the benches and swings, Rize looked up to where Cipher and Woz were as they made themselves scarce.
"They gone?" Geiz asked.
Rize nodded.
"It would've been nice if they said something before they left," Tsukuyomi sighed before taking a sip of her bottled tea.
"I don't think that's necessary," Sougo smiled, "who knows? We might see them a lot closer than we think."
Rize pursed his lips in thought. "I'll drink to that."
A couple more minutes passed when the Kamen Riders decided to head back to 9-5 DO, remembering that the adults were probably still getting hammered off alcohol.
…
Monday, March 4, 2019.
Two days after the party, allowing the parents and guardians to sober up from their rather excessive drinking, Rize walked down to the dining room in 9-5 DO, where he saw Sougo, Junichiro, Geiz and Tsukuyomi sitting down for breakfast.
"Ah, good morning Rize!" Junichiro greeted, "Come! Sit down and have some breakfast before you leave!"
"Hey, didn't think I'd see all of you up so early," Rize commented to the others.
"Well, it's your last day before you leave, and we thought it'd only be appropriate that we see you off," Sougo replied, biting into a piece of toast.
"That's fair," Rize nodded, before looking at Geiz and Tsukuyomi, "your parents feeling better now?"
"I think they still might be a little buzzed," Geiz answered, "weird, considering that the party was on Saturday."
"Eh, they probably just had a lot of steam to let out now that you've all graduated."
"I'm surprised that Mr Junichiro is doing better though," Tsukuyomi furrowed her brows at the middle-aged man, "my parents told me that you were drinking a lot…like, an excessive amount."
"Well, it'd been a while since I drank that much, but it's good to see that my liver is still as strong as ever."
'How much of a party animal was Sougo's uncle?' Cipher asked.
'I think it might have more to do with it being the 80s.'
…
After breakfast, Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi decided to wait outside the store while Rize said his farewells to Junichiro.
"Thank you so much for letting me stay under your roof, Junichiro," Rize bowed his head deeply. "And, I apologise for any trouble I had given you as well."
"Oh it's nothing," Junichiro grinned, "If you happen to come back to Japan, do come back, you're more than welcome to stay here again."
Rize chuckled and nodded humbly.
The older man's grin lessened as an honest expression grew on his face. "Actually, I should be the one to thank you."
"What for?"
"For taking care of my nephew and his friends."
Rize blinked, before lightly waving away Junichiro's gratitude.
"Oh, it was nothing Junichiro. Sougo would've passed that exam anyways-"
"I wasn't talking about that," Junichiro interrupted, "I was talking about him, Geiz and Tsukuyomi risking their lives out there. I wanted to thank you, for protecting them from whatever dangers were there."
Rize sighed. "In all honesty, they're the ones who protected me from my own rash behaviour…H-how long have you know about all this?"
"For about a couple of months." Junichiro then smirked. "I may be an old man, but I'm not senile."
Rize snorted and smirked as well, before growing a more gentle and grateful smile. "You've raised a good, strong man, Junichiro. And, he has some great friends to back him up."
"And I pray that they will continue to do so."
An understanding silence grew between the two, as Rize gave Junichiro a hug, before pulling away. "Goodbye Junichiro. Let's hope the next time we meet, it'll be under more peaceful circumstances."
Stepping outside the 9-5 DO, Sougo and the others escorted Rize and Cipher back to their home.
…
The front door opened as Rize took in a deep breath and let out a loud sigh of relief.
"Man, there really is no place like home," the man took off his shoes and plopped onto the sofa.
"Rize, you could act hold it in a little longer," Cipher stated, "We do have guests."
Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi walked through the door, forcing Rize to sit up.
"Well, make yourselves at home I suppose," Rize chuckled as he got up and walked over to the fridge. "Would any of you like something to drink?"
The visiting Kamen Riders politely declined.
"You know, even though we've been here before, I must say, this is quite a nice place you two have got," Sougo commented, taking a seat on one of the recliners.
"Well thank you, Sougo," Cipher responded, taking a sip of water. "You never know when you have guests coming over, so I try to keep things as clean as possible."
"How often do you have guests?" Geiz questioned.
"…Not very often."
"And, while I'm more than happy to have you all here," Rize paused to take a drink of lemonade, "why are you here? …Wait, when you were talking about that trip-"
"No, no," Tsukuyomi interjected, "We won't be coming with you." Rize, though somewhat conflicted, relaxed a little. "Actually, while you were saying 'goodbye' to Mr Junichiro…we were all discussing on what to do for your farewell."
"Why do I feel like this is something I'm going to regret?" Rize muttered to himself, placing his drink on the table.
"You're a Kamen Rider now," Sougo began, smiling as usual, "but, you haven't really gone through the usual ritual of being one."
"Ah fuck me," Rize downed his glass. "Alright, I can tell where this is going."
"So, you have a place where we can do this then?" Geiz asked with a rather determined smirk.
"Follow me," Cipher answered, patting his partner on the back.
While the Kamen Riders followed Cipher out to the arena, Rize stood by the dining table before taking a seat and placing his head on his hands. For a moment, the man began to question what was happening to him, before back onto his feet.
"Whatever. I had this coming."
…
At the arena, Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi stood on one side, while Rize and Cipher stood opposite the trio.
"You ready to do this, everyone?" Sougo asked with a grin as he slapped his Ziku-Driver onto his waist.
"Always," Geiz replied, following suit.
Tsukuyomi just nodded while giving Rize and Cipher a determined smile.
On the other side, a less than enthused Rize ran a hand through his hair.
"So, how much help are you going to give me for this fight?" Rize asked.
Cipher chuckled. "Not too much I'm afraid. Can't let you off that easily." The masked man then lightly tapped Rize's arm with the back of his hand. "Gotta take your lumps boy."
"You're a real asshole sometimes," Rize replied with slight humour in his voice. He then held his right hand over Cipher's helmet, causing the latter to leave behind his faceplate as he entered Rize's mind. "Alright then, let's get this show on the road, shall we?!"
[ZI-O!/GEIZ!/TSUKUYOMI!]
The Riders then inserted their Ridewatches into their Drivers, while Rize held Cipher's faceplate over his face. Time began to slow down as the trio spun their Drivers as Rize placed Cipher's mask onto his face.
"HENSHIN!"
[KAMEN RIDER! ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER! GEIZ!]
[KAMEN~! RIDER~! TSUKUYOMI~! TSU~KU~YO~MI~!]
Once the Kamen Rider trio had transformed, they readied their weapons and charged at R-Cipher. R-Cipher felt his blood pumping as his Channel flowed throughout his body. Tightening his fist, R-Cipher sprinted over to the other Kamen Riders and jumped into the air, cocking his fist back and letting out a Superman punch.
…
"Hey Rize! Dinner's ready!" Cipher called out from the kitchen.
Rize was broken out his thoughts, letting out a shudder as he remembered the beating he had gotten from Sougo and the others.
"Man," Rize grunted out as he got up from the chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he went back inside, "they really don't hold back."
…
That night, after Rize had gone to bed, Cipher was sitting in the living room, surfing through the infinite number of channels on the TV. Continuing to scroll mindlessly, Cipher perked up when the television screen began to flicker, then leaned back into the sofa as the screen turned off.
"I was wondering when you'd get here," Cipher called out, his head still facing the TV.
Behind the man in black, the entire room had transformed into a massive black void, where a gold light illuminated a gold and black, regal Kamen Rider sitting on a large throne, placed on top of a red rug.
"It has been a while since we last met, Cipher," the gold Rider replied.
"Well, it's all relative, isn't it, Sougo?" Cipher asked back, getting up from his seat to face the Rider, "Sorry, Ohma Zi-O."
Ohma Zi-O, the Overlord, snorted at Cipher's response. "I was never one for semantics."
"Same, but, I'll use it when it suits me." Cipher then paused and straightened his back. "What's going on?"
"Rize has done well in gaining access to the powers of the Kamen Riders, past, present, and future…surely, you understand what this means?"
Cipher nodded.
"Then you know why I am here."
"I could hazard a guess…but I suppose that would be redundant, considering we both already know the answer."
"Null has already begun planning his next move. And with his own access to the Kamen Riders, your brother has become even more formidable than before."
"You think I don't already know that?!" Cipher asked, before calming himself with a deep breath, "I understand your worries, but have faith in Rize. Your past self already does."
"That is because my past self is still naïve…" Oma Zi-O then paused, "…but I suppose a little naivety couldn't hurt." The Overlord then slowly began to fade. "A shame that our meeting must be cut short. Let us hope that the next time we meet, the situation will not turn for the worse."
'You just had to say it, didn't you?' Cipher thought to himself.
"Farewell Cipher…we will meet again soon."
Oma Zi-O disappeared from Cipher's sights as the rest of the room returned from the void. Letting out a deep sigh, Cipher placed his hands behind his head and leaned against the sofa.
"So Null…that's how you want to play it?"
…
Back at the abandoned looking building Null resided in, the man in white was walking down a hallway and reached an out of place, pristine wooden door. Rapping his knuckles against the door, Null then opened it to reveal a spartan room, dimly lit with a few candles lying about the room, with a cloaked figure sitting in a wooden chair.
"Sorry for the wait," Null said as he entered the room, walking closer to the cloaked figure. He reached behind his back and pulled out a Ziku-Driver and a gold Ridewatch with a black bezel. "And thank you, for your patience."
The cloaked figure took the Driver and Ridewatch from Null's hands, inspecting the devices with extreme scrutiny. Turning the bezel on the Ridewatch, the figure activated the trinket.
[BARLCKXS!]
The figure smirked as he stood up from his chair, his cloak dropping from his body, revealing himself to be a middle-aged, brunette, wearing a maroon-red cloak with black edges with gold buttons.
SOUGO Tokiwa, the leader of the Quartzers, pocketed his new Driver and Ridewatch and gave Null a grateful, but arrogant smirk. "I thank you Null…for allowing me another chance at earning what is rightfully mine."
"Please, no thanks necessary." Null then scanned his eyes over SOUGO's body. "But, if you do want to thank me, how about some sparring sessions? You have been out of commission for quite some time."
While SOUGO would have been outraged by Null's comment, he understood the truth behind them. Null held his hand out, waiting for the Quartzer Leader's response. SOUGO then firmly grasped Null's hand, creating a formal agreement.
…
About a week passed since Rize and Cipher returned from the world of Zi-O. While they waited for Null to resurface, the two ensured that they kept up to date with their training, while also ensuring that they did not neglect their wellbeing, Rize especially.
After another vigorous training session, Rize took a quick hot shower and was now lounging in the living room.
"Okay…so, now we know that I can't just use a Rider's ultimate form or power…" Rize sighed with anticipated disappointment.
"Well, on the bright side, your Channel has gotten a lot better," Cipher responded, flipping over a steak frying on a pan. "You don't seem to be getting any blowbacks when conjuring elements, your body has gotten stronger, plus your weapons are getting a lot sturdier as well." Cipher prodded the steak, nodded, then removed the meat off of the pan and onto a plate with chips, "Steak's ready!"
Jumping off the sofa, Rize grabbed the plate and sat down at the dining table.
"Though, I must say, I don't like you getting fancy out there. Not yet anyways. You're still not ready for that level."
"Can you blame me?" Rize asked after swallowing a juicy piece of medium rare steak. "I'm finally getting the hang of these powers. Plus, you've always told me to loosen up."
"In moderation, Rize," Cipher replied, pouring the gravy made from the juices of the steaks into a bowl. "Besides, you've only seen what those weapons can do behind a screen or read what they can do. Once you see them up close, that's when you can properly use those weapons."
"How long is that going to take?" Rize drizzled a tablespoon full of gravy onto his chips.
"Not for a long-time mister."
Expectant of Cipher's answer, Rize let out a minute huff as he popped a gravy covered chip into his mouth, his spirits lifting as he savoured his meal.
Snorting at his partner's attitude change, Cipher picked up his knife and fork and prepared to dig into his lunch. However, before he made contact, he felt a change in the air.
"Oh, come on!" Cipher placed his utensils down and got out of his chair.
"Null's back?" Rize asked. Cipher nodded. "Well, it's not like we have to go immediately."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, we already know what's Null's tracking signature, yes?" Cipher nodded again. "And because time and space is relative…we could eat and enjoy our meal, prepare ourselves, then when we are ready, we can leave to when Null first made his appearance, making it seem as if we immediately called to action."
Cipher processed Rize's explanation, then slowly sat back down and ate his food.
…
About an hour passed when Rize and Cipher finally left their home, but only two minutes had gone in the world they had arrived in.
"Huh, we're back in Japan," Rize muttered, stepping out of the alleyway. "I wonder what world we're-" Rize's voice died in his throat as he looked up and saw something standing out in the sky.
A giant, flying red Galleon floated in the skies. A seeming eternity had gone by in Rize's mind as he continued to stare at the flying ship. Once his mind was working again, the Rider could only say-
"Holy. Shit."
Author's Note Update
So, I've decided to just put up everything I've written for this story. Thank you all for reading up to now, or if you just decided to skip here, I don't blame you.
Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out the next 'arc' of this fic, so stay tuned.
Take care everyone.