JUNE 19th - A few hours after Haruto Soma had accepted his invitation.

Kosuke Nitoh didn't have the slightest clue what this festival stuff was all about, nor did he give much of a damn about the wonders of magic, but he figured that any place that was big enough to throw a celebration with his name on it was worth checking out. Who could say, there might be a huge platter of phantom food waiting for him and Chimera to chow down on? Besides, chances are if he's got an invite then that pesky Wizard is also going to show up, and he's not going to let him have all the fun!

"Man, bet there'll be phantoms of all kinds out there, huh?" Kosuke laughed, slapping his stomach while he spoke towards Chimera. It wasn't much of a talker, unless it needed something from you of course. He wondered if it was the same with the Wizard, and his phantom was as needy as this one. Geez, why was he stuck with such a demanding creature? Kosuke sighed, leaning back onto his sleeping bag. The darkness of closed stores engulfed the outer regions of his home. As it appeared… Kosuke found himself in the middle of a closed mall. He was never exactly the courteous type of guy. After all, before conjoining with Chimera, his career of choice involved resurfacing various ancient properties. Ever since then he's lived a fairly nomadic life, so the thought of sticking in one place - even for more than a single day didn't feel right.

Oh, woe was the life of a beast.

"Well, whatever's in store for us doesn't matter to me." He grinned, signing away on the letter. "You and I will have the lunch of a lifetime."

The very next day Kosuke Nitoh ended up shipwrecked and nearly a hundred miles off course. As it turns out, the sea was not exactly the safest, and so not every sailor was as fortunate as others. It was likely that those who encountered the arms of the ocean would have their life strangled out of them in the most painful way one could imagine. A large, daunting wave had collapsed right over their boat with little to no time to react.

"Oi, oi!" Beast shouted, stretching his arm down into the water below. There was odd bubbling around the vicinity he stuck his hand in. As it turns out his Captain was drowning. With a large heave, he managed to pull her out. Unlike Hortar, she was not a dwarf. In fact, she was human! Small, and stout like a dwarf, with a pale face. "Are you giving up on me?!"

"... Why did you… save me… ?" She asked, throwing up a barrel of salt water. Her name was Atlia.

"Because you're not getting off that easy." Beast shook his head, sighing. Their ship was a mess. Still in one piece for the most part, their sail was torn to shreds and the small cabin, which was a makeshift tent that had an emerald cover hanging over a planked rooftop, was now a pile of rubble, and the ship was practically floating off of pure luck alone. "You still owe us a vacation."

"This is all my fault." She sat up, curling her knees to her stomach. "I nearly got us both killed."

"Maybe that's true for you." Beast laughed. "I would've lived either way."

"How can you be so calm?" Atlia asked, terrified of his calm composure.

"Because I'm not the one doing the work." He yawned. "Now, chop chop! I'm not going to be late for the buffet!"

"WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A BUFFET?!" She squealed. It was now starting to kick in. "We're in the middle of nowhere… O-our compass.. It's broken!" She began searching what was left of this raft. "Which way did we come from? Was that wave always waving like that?! That wave is waving just like that wave is!" She was speaking faster than her mind could comprehend, her heart begging to be torn straight from her chest to end the misery of this slow, cruel fateful death that she has found herself in. What was she going to do?! All of this place looked the same! Why did it have to be blue?! Why was all of the sea blue?!

"I'M GOING TO DIE HERE!" Atlia screamed in horror. No matter how loudly she screamed, no one could hear her. Not even Beast, because he was midway through napping.

"Oi, keep it down a little, yeah? I'm trying to enjoy my vacation…"

"HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO ENJOY IT IF YOU'LL DIE?! I'LL DIE! WE'LL ALL DIE!" His captain began shaking him profusely by the collar, exclaiming in terror the many, many, many, many things that could kill either of them out here.

"Hold it!" Beast started shaking her back. "This is your job, what do you expect me to do?"

"MY JOB?!" Atlia screamed once more. "I DIDN'T EVEN WANT THIS JOB! I'M SO DEEP IN DEBT THAT I CAN'T AFFORD TO LICK MUD OFF THE STREET!" Tears began streaming down her face. "THEY TOLD ME I COULD BE ANYTHING I WANTED!" She tossed him aside and sunk into her woes. "I WANTED TO BE A FARMER…" Her words became more difficult to comprehend as she started choking on her sorrow, bubbling up in a deep fit of rage and sadness. "A M-MELON FARMER..! EVERYONE JUST LAUGHED… TOLD ME I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO IT!" She started punching at the water as though they were her classmates.. "... I SAVED UP ALL THE MONEY I COULD… COUGH ALL OF MY STUDENT LOANS… AND I USED IT TO BUY LAND… MY TINY LITTLE PIECE OF HAPPINESS!"

The 'captain' clasped her hands together and slapped them onto her face. "HOW WAS I S-SUPPOSED TO K-KNOW YOU C-COULDNT GROW M-MELONS U-UNDER THOSE BIG DAMN M-M-MUSHROOMS?!" It was then that she threw herself back into the water. This time it was on purpose.

Beast couldn't believe this. One moment he was having the time of his life, thinking about all the glorious rewards he was finally going to receive for all the work he put in this past year in doing good, and now here he was having all of that robbed by a woman half his size. He watched as she sloshed around, unsure of where to go or what to do. She didn't allow herself to sink out of fear, but didn't want to float. Eventually, she tried to swim away, but went in circles. Beast grabbed her by the ankle and held her upside down.

"You called yourself a captain!" He yelled. "That means you're a part of this ship, and my ticket to that island! Don't you forget that!" In the face of danger, opportunity struck. The man laughed, reaching into his jacket and pulled out a tricorn hat.

"I'll be your hope!" He said in a childish, taunting tone as though it was his best impression of Haruto. The man was propped with brimming, chaotic energy that ran parallel to his own pleasure. His legs stood apart, and he held one fist out to the ocean in front of them. His Captain, who was shedding enough tears to fill this ocean twice over, stopped for a good few moments to revel in his perceived awesomeness. However, hope was not what filled her heart. In fact, it was more a deep and dark looming sense of fear that she couldn't put her finger on. Something about what he did was wrong, and felt like a cardinal sin. Should she really have her life placed in his hands?

"Fortunately for you, I know a thing or two about navigation." Beast exclaimed, sticking his index finger in his mouth. He plopped it out from his lips, allowing it to soak in his disgustingly large amount of saliva. He closed his eyes and honed into his skills, listening to the gentle winds breeze by. As he had once learned before, if you let yourself be one with nature it will be one with you and show the guiding path. Do not fight against the world, allow it to be the arms you require. That was his philosophy, and what fuelled his nomadic lifestyle. "Mm…" He went silent, much to his captain's dismay.

He's going to save me. Atlia thought to herself, and for a second there was a faint shining glimmer of marvel over Beast. Could it be that this buffoon knew what he was doing? Was his valiant courage going to sweep her off her feet and expedite the captain back to comfort in her cozy, one room apartment, with several jagged cracks in the wall?! He's going to save me.

"Show me the way…" Beast muttered underneath his breath. It was time to get a move on. "Say, you said this fancy place is supposed to be south, huh?" He asked, looking over his shoulder with radiant confidence.

"Y-yes!" Atlia exclaimed, nodding her head. Beast struck a pose, like something you'd see out of a magical-girl poster. Curling his legs together while standing, he grinned from ear to ear in a way meant to look cute, and tilted his head.
"Then south we go!" He cheered.

As it turns out, Beast was pointing west.

So, the ship set sail. Or rather, what was left of it. Further off course, and with two bumbling fools who neither of were anyone's first pick to command a vessel. Nor were either of them anyone's last pick, because quite frankly neither of them would have made the list to begin with.

"Man, I'm starting to get hungry." Beast sighed, lazing about while his captain wheeled the rotting remains of their ship. "Haven't had a thing to eat all day!"

"Y-you're just going to have to wait." Atlia reassured. "We'll be there soon enough…" Whether this was meant to control Beast, or herself was unknown. Perhaps, it was the latter. Or both, both were good. Atlia was feeling much better the more she sailed! Now that she was back in her rightful place as captain and steering them back to paradise then she was going to be A-Okay! Who cares if there were a few repairs that needed to be done? It was a write-off! That's right, all she had to do was stay confident in herself and keep on moving! Besides, at this point nothing was an issue. There was tons of food stored in her knapsack. Kept hidden away, she had left it under the cabin and spotted it dwelling under the debris. Full of home cooked meals from her loving parents, who were the very reason she became a sailor in the first place by forceful - or rather tough conditioning towards their demands to go out there and get a real job! Once again, she had this. Navigation? Check. Hope? Check. Food? Check. It was all thanks to that idiot's delusions that made her realize she shouldn't die out here with him!

If she knew, however, that she was way off course then she would've fought harder to let the waves consume her. The day came to pass, and there was still no end in sight towards this trip. It was a bit odd, because she should've been there by now, but nonetheless there was nothing to fear. Nope, not at all!

"Maaan, are you sure there is nothing to eat out here?!" Beast yelled. His stomach was rumbling louder than the waves.

"Nope, and if you jump off the ship I might not come back to save you." She laughed. "So, you can stay put and be a good passenger. You've caused enough trouble for me already, so it's the least you can do."

"Oh yeah?" Beast asked, getting to his feet. "Says who?"

"I do." She proclaims. "There's no one out here to disagree, is there?"

"Well…" He glanced around. That was technically true. "Hold it! You're trying to keep the secret of your stash, aren't you?"

"W-what?!" Atlia let go of the wheel. Did he know?! "That's preposterous, and untrue!"

"I bet you're waiting for me to sleep just to sneak off and grab a few, aren't you?" Was this man an ace detective?! "Oi, oi. Spill it. Come on!" Without a warning, he started to search her. This was met with an enormous punch to the gut before he began moving past those pockets.

"Do that again and I'll throw you off the ship myself!"

"Alright, alright." He waved her off. "Look, I'm used to having my meals be snagged from me, got it?"

"Have I ate anything since we started this trip?"

"Come to think of it, no." The man shook his head. He sighed, stretching his arms out. "Welp, guess I misjudged you!" He rested his head down onto the planked floor of the boat and started to snooze away. His snores were loud, obnoxious but also infectious. Before she knew it, she too felt drowsy. It has been an extra long day, and she deserved the rest. That is what she decided, yes. She rightfully deserved the rest!

Atlia was going to bed, and in the morning that stinking Beast would have to find his own food, because she'd wake up right before he would! Her internal clock was that good!

"It's… gone?" Atlia fell to her knees the very next day. As it turns out, all of her food had been snagged. Gone, reduced to nothing but wrappers and opened boxes. She couldn't believe this. Who could have done such a thing?

"So you are a liar." Beast proudly exclaimed, standing over her with his hands at his hips.

"Just when you think you know someone too…" He sighed, disappointed at what led to finding his treasure.
"You ate all of it?" She asked, her heart being nothing more than a pile of broken branches to snap into smaller, tinier pieces that hurt all the same.

"What kind of monster do you take me for?" He laughed. "There's something special in that sack waiting for you." Without another moment to consider his words, Atlia desperately clung onto whatever sliver of hope she had and leaped towards the knapsack; her hand being shoved right down to the core! She searched, and searched… Nothing, nothing! "There has to be something in here!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her eyes widened! Something was there!

"Pretty considerate of me to leave you the best for last, huh?" Beast felt proud of his restraint. It was a snack with nuts. Atlia's parents had forgotten she, and not her older sister - who got all the praise in the world for being a gifted magician at the top of her stinking class, was the one who had no such allergies. "Oi, we have a lot of ground to cover!" All she could do was stare at it. There was nothing in her heart anymore. No, it was a barren graveyard where only she may be buried, but never to have the sweet release of death.

Atlia was in Hell.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

1/11/23 - I have started adding dates for the notes, so that readers can follow along with my process.

I would never forget about Beast! Some say he can be annoying, but I say those people don't get Beast's character. They would HATE Goro Majima if they hated Beast. Beast is personally my favourite secondary rider, and for good measure given how funny he can be. So, these chapters for Beast are going to be a bit shorter than the rest, as they are meant to serve as intermissions for what is to come. Believe me, there is a LOT in store for Haruto and the rest of the gang. I'm thinking this entire story should be done in a few months. I'm also thinking, based off my loose planning, that the entire thing should be about 12-14 chapters long. Give or take, because I want an epilogue with a few extra chapters kind of as a bonus. Then, I move onto future projects.

Speaking of future projects, I have my own OC series set within Kamen Rider that I want to work on. I'm quite proud of it, but there's still a lot of progress to be done. Also, I want to work on a crossover project.

I think it will be with... Wizard, OOO, Faiz and Fourze with themes of grief and loss. It's very much a work in progress with loose ideas, and I'll have to actually watch OOO and Fourze to get a good feel for their characters. Then there's also Black Sun: RX that I want to write, oh and many other things too. It seems lately writing has overtaken me. I can't remember the last time I played a video game in the past few weeks, haha.

That, and school has me busy. It should only slow the process of working on chapters by a little bit. I wrote this chapter in I want to say... two days? I have to keep the train going while there is still steam, but don't worry: I won't overdo it!

Anyways, I'm not sure where to share my stories. I do have a tumblr but I need to rebrand because it's several years old. Might just get a new one. I want my story to be viewed by more people. Not for the simplistic sensation of positivity, but for feedback and fan engagement. It is engagement that keeps me happy to write, and I'd want fans of this franchise to allow me into their circle; I'd be quite honoured.

With that being said, if you liked what you saw or wanted to give me any criticism please do. My perfectionist mentality can't bring me everywhere, so I as all writers do, rely on feedback! Plus, it makes my day : )

Nonetheless, the next chapter SHOULD be out within the coming month. It will be the same length as others, and then my favourite chapters are going to be written. I'm quite excited, and you should be too!