Disclaimer: Do I own anything? No, not at all.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"What happened here, officer?"
"An accident with the archeologists that were excavating the site."
"I am Toshigami Yuusuke. I'm a student at Johnan University's Archeology Department."
"The mummy had a belt?"
"Still, will you continue on this path to protect what needs protecting? To renew the legend?"
'That has to be it… The harbinger of the Ultimate Darkness…'
"Yes… I will!"
"That is… Kuu-!"
"What are you doing?!"
Chapter 3: Smiles
"Ah!" Yuusuke shouted in pain as he was slashed across the chest again. The pink warrior that suddenly appeared certainly did not pull his punches.
Before he could do anything, the other Rider grabbed him by the neck and raised him a few inches off the ground. Yuusuke did not know what he planned to do, whether it was to choke him or snap his neck, but whatever it was, the other warrior was stopped by the timely intervention of the police officer once again. Two of the policemen tackled the Kamen Rider away, forcing him to let go of Yuusuke.
That made it twice now that he was saved by them.
However, his gratitude towards them immediately turned to worry as the pink Rider simply threw them off of himself and knocked them out with a swift punch to their faces. The Rider then raised his blade once more. This time, it was coated with pink energy and he cut through the air. A long energy slash quickly flew through the air going straight for the remaining officers' feet. The ground beneath them exploded and knocked them out (hopefully).
The Rider then looked down at Yuusuke again and was ready to continue his beatdown. Before he could get the chance, however, more people intervened.
"Snap out of it, Ritsuka!" Tetsuya shouted at who Yuusuke now knew to be Fujimaru Ritsuka, hanging onto his waist and trying to push him back.
"Ritsu, that's not an enemy!" Ryoko was hanging off Ritsuka's back. "That's Yuusuke."
Their efforts to wake their friend were in vain as Ritsuka did not even seem to recognize them, throwing them off of him just like he did with the police officers. Unlike them, however, he did not go the extra step to knock them out and instead went straight back to attacking Yuusuke.
Picking him up again, Ritsuka threw him against the police van. However, instead of slamming into its side, Yuusuke felt himself get dragged into a void. He saw the pink Kamen Rider disappear from view as fell through a glass tunnel. Eventually, he hit the ground again.
Slowly, Yuusuke managed to get back on his feet and looked around. He was right where he was, next to the police van and the massive hole in the ground. Soon though, he noticed the minute differences in the world he landed in. There was nobody around besides him and, more importantly, that all the signs nearby like the one on the police van were reversed.
Back in the normal world, Decade was silently staring at the reflection of the white Kuuga on the police van.
"Ritsuka!" Somebody grabbed onto his shoulder, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"..." He did not answer because he did not hear anything. Everything beyond the Kamen Rider was shut out of his mind. Ritsuka ignored the hand on him and leaped into the reflection as well, leaving the two people who tried to stop him behind.
Before he could react, Yuusuke was sent rolling on the ground again (noticing a pattern here?) as Ritsuka flew out of the van and kicked him.
"Argh…" Yuusuke groaned before he was kicked again in the stomach. "Rit…su- Ah!"
Yuusuke was thrown to the ground again.
"Why are you doing this…?" "Why did you do this?!" A second voice spoke in Ritsuka's head, making him stop in his tracks. '...What?'
"Please snap out of it!" Yuusuke pleaded, trying to get through his haze. However, those were not the right words and he blacked out. Ritsuka ran his hand on the RideBooker's blade before attacking Yuusuke again.
"Ritsuka!" "Ritsu, wake up!" Tetsuya and Ryoko slammed their hands on the van as they watched Yuusuke get beat up by their best friend.
"Your voices won't reach him."
"What?" Both of them stopped in surprise and looked around.
"You… heard that, right?" Ryoko asked Tetsuya, noticing that there was nobody else around. The officers and Sakurako had been knocked out by Ritsuka earlier so they were the only ones left.
"Yeah… I did," Tetsuya nodded.
"He won't hear you." the voice spoke again. "He lost himself again. There's no one who can stop him when he gets like this."
"...Shut up."
"...What?"
"Shut up!" Ryoko shouted again. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"...You're an idiot." The voice remarked, sounding annoyed before it disappeared.
"Ritsuka!" "Ritsu!" "Open your eyes!" "Please listen to our voice!"
"Ritsuka-san… Please open your eyes! I don't want to hurt you!" Yuusuke's pleas fell on deaf ears again as Ritsuka thrust his sword into his chest. Sparks flew off his white chestpiece as he was sent sprawling further back. "Can't you hear your friends crying for you?!"
'...Friends?' He regained consciousness again as a distant memory played in his head. "We thought you were our friend!" Friends… No, he did not have any. Not anymore. Not for a long time.
Opening the RideBooker, Ritsuka took out the Final AttackRide card and inserted it into the Decadriver.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: DE-DE-DECADE
Like before, large versions of the card appeared between him and the white Kuuga. Readying his sword and taking a running stance, Ritsuka then dashed through the holographic cards.
"This is it then…" Yuusuke muttered to himself. There was no way he could escape it. He was too tired and injured to move and there was no one to intervene this time. Closing his eyes, he relinquished himself to fate.
"Ritsuka!"
He dashed through the second card.
"Ritsu!"
He dashed through the fourth card.
"Stop it!"
He dashed through the sixth card.
"Open your eyes!"
He dashed through the eighth.
"Please, let their voices reach you…"
He dashed through the tenth and final card, sword raised high above his head.
"Ritsuka!"
"..."
"...huh?" Yuusuke opened his eyes to see Ritsuka frozen in place, his sword just seconds away from ending his life. "Ritsuka-san?"
"What was I…?" Ritsuka quietly said before he suddenly grabbed his head in pain, dropping the RideBooker in the process.
"Arg… AH!" He screamed in pain as he dropped to his knees, his armor lost its color before disappearing. "Yuu...suke?" Ritsuka muttered before he fell to the ground.
"Ritsuka-san!" He faintly heard before he lost consciousness…
"Ack…" The spider monster groaned as it entered a dark tunnel. Before it could go any further inside, it collapsed to the ground. Two runes were glowing on its chest, right where Yuusuke had kicked it.
"Gabada bi zebisu bodo pa gose zabezegu ba?" The Gurongi heard somebody ask him. A strangely dressed woman then entered its vision, kneeling down next to it. "Gababasi."
"Gabada pa… Balva." The spider monster choked out.
"Zagi, Gmun." The Gurongi in disguise looked at the downed monster in disappointment. "Badagidaji bo shishizaza pa gabada do Badaa ga gimamagi gida bodo bi zasapodadesuzegigogu."
"Gobegagi… Rorogijigo jigangu go buzagagi." The spider man pleaded.
"...Papan jigangu." The woman raised one finger. "Goma go gagagu."
"Goma?"
"Zagi. Padagi ga gabada go gobudada do base bi gigi bagagi."
"Goma pa zobozegu ba?"
"..."
Dawn…
"Ah…" A woman sighed, getting out of her car. "What's wrong with the engine?" She muttered as she popped the hood.
Unbeknownst to her, something was watching her.
"Nothing seems to be wrong…" The woman used her phone's flashlight to check her car.
*PHEW*
"Who's there?!" She quickly turned around, hearing something moving. However, she saw nothing. "Just calm down… Maybe I should call someone." The woman told herself before turning back to her car. "If nothing can't work, I'm sure the priest would let me in even this late at night."
Up on the steeple of the nearby church, a shadowy bat-shaped man watched the woman's attempts to get her car working again. "Bozo ga bapagide…"
"C'mon, pick up…" The woman impatiently tapped her foot, waiting for her friend to answer.
*PHEW*
"AHH!" Before she could react to the sound, something landed on her just as her friend picked up the phone
"Hello? Yuuko?! What's wrong? Yuuko?!" Over the phone, all her friend could hear was the screams of her dying friend.
The next morning…
"Urgh… Huh?" Ritsuka groaned as he opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling. That was odd. His ceiling was more of a beigey shade than white. Actually, now that he thought about it, the ceiling was also a bit higher and his bed was less comfy than usual.
"Ritsu! You're awake!"
"Ryoko?" His view of the ceiling was quickly replaced by the girl's relieved face. "What are you doing in my room?"
Her smile morphed to an annoyed grimace. "You too? You and Tetsuya are the same."
"Oh…" Right. He remembered where he was and why he was there. Sitting up, with Ryoko leaning back, Ritsuka looked around the room and realized that they were back in the former cafe. Between the two pillars was the backdrop depicting the Kurougatake Ruins. He saw, on the opposite side of the room, Tetsuya sleeping on a futon with a gleeful smile, obviously dreaming about something. There was another futon in the corner of the room, neatly folded away.
"How did we get here?" Ritsuka asked. The last thing he remembered was being at the police station before he blacked out.
"One of those walls appeared and dropped all of us here," explained Ryoko.
"And Yuusuke?"
"Yuusuke-kun already left last night after he woke up," she said before she narrowed her eyes on him. "Now then… what were you thinking?!"
"What?"
"Don't give me that confused look! Why did you attack him?!" Ryoko demanded an answer.
"I was…" Ritsuka muttered. "I don't know. I blacked out when I saw him."
"So you don't remember attacking Yuusuke, knocking out all those cops, and jumping into a reflection?" She asked, sounding unconvinced.
"No."
"Nothing at all?"
"Absolutely nothing," Ritsuka affirmed with a calm expression.
"...I guess that explains why you were acting so weird." Ryoko sighed.
"So what do we do now?" asked Tetsuya.
"We… Since when were you awake?!"
"Since you started screaming your lungs out," he grumbled before yawning.
"Oh… Sorry about that." Ryoko bashfully apologized. "Well, the first thing he's-" "Ow." She slapped the top of Ritsuka's head. "-doing is throwing himself at Yuusuke-kun's feet and begging for forgiveness."
"Since I've got no choice in the matter-" "Yup, you don't." "-I might as well do that," Ritsuka sighed, getting up from his own futon. "But first, let's get something to eat. I'm starving. Tetsuya."
"Just don't get anything expensive please," Tetsuya whined. "Ryoko and I had to buy some new clothes yesterday while you were out. I don't have that much left on my allowance."
Meanwhile…
"Ow…" Yuusuke groaned as he sat up on the seat he was napping on. Yawning, he greeted Sakurako, who was sitting on the other side of the table researching something, "Good morning."
"Good morning," she greeted back. "Had a nice sleep?"
"No. This is too hard." He patted the cushioning of his seat.
After he ended up in that empty shop along with Tetsuya and Ryoko and Ritsuka's unconscious body, he tried to get back to the police headquarters. As soon as he stepped out of the shop, however, he got a call from her to meet up at a nearby 24-hour cafe. He did not know why the police did not hold her for questioning but he was too tired to ask. At least she brought his bike with her.
"So did you discover anything about… you know." Yuusuke looked around the cafe as Sakurako took a sip of her tea.
"No, nothing that we haven't already figured out," she sighed, putting down her cup.
Yuusuke sighed quietly in frustration. "But was there anything about a red warrior in the parts we already translated?" he asked.
"Red?" Sakurako repeated in confusion.
"Yes," Yuusuke confirmed, nodding.
"Give me one moment. Red… red…." she muttered as she searched through her files. A few moments later, her eyes lit up as she found something. "Here," she said, spinning her laptop around so that Yuusuke could see.
Yuusuke read the two runes on screen. However, only the first one was translated. "Red… What is that one?"
"I still haven't figured it out yet," Sakurako admitted. "That symbol appears a few more times. I'm thinking it's supposed to be a name."
"A name?" Yuusuke hummed. Suddenly, like when he first donned the armor, a word appeared in his head. And like before, he did not understand it.
Before either of them could say anything else, a familiar teen walked up to their table. "Yo," he said, waving his hand.
"Eh? You're Fujimaru-kun, correct?" Sakurako asked.
"Yes, Fujimaru Ritsuka, private investigator," Ritsuka introduced himself. He was wearing his day clothes from his(?) world again; the pink shirt with a white jacket and black pants.
"Ritsu! Don't leave us behind like- Oh! Yuusuke-kun, Shirasawa-san." Ryoko gasped when she noticed who was sitting at the table.
"Good morning, Ryoko-chan." Sakurako greeted her. Yuusuke, however, was staring at Ritsuka indecisively, unsure what to make of the boy.
"Psst. Ritsu."
"Ow." Ritsuka flinched in pain as Ryoko stepped on his foot to motivate him. "Fine… Sorry for yesterday."
"Not good enough." Ryoko hissed at him.
"Fine, fine… I'm sorry for what happened to you yesterday."
"Really?"
Yuusuke, meanwhile, understood what Ritsuka wanted to say without speaking too much. "I see… Don't worry about it." He smiled. "Since you feel bad about it, you don't need to apologize."
"What…?" Sakurako muttered, not really following what they were talking about. "Wait, wasn't there another boy in your group?"
"Goddamn it…" Tetsuya finally caught up to them, gasping for breath. "Don't… Run ahead like that…"
"Now that we've got that taken care of," Ritsuka said. "Let's order something."
Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters…
"Sir, should you be back on duty so soon?"
"We need all hands on deck for this," Inspector Hayakawa said as he and Officer Tomozane walked through the garage. "Besides, you're in the same boat as me, aren't you?"
"Yes, but-"
"Then get in," Hayakawa interrupted him as he got into the passenger seat of a police car.
"So… where exactly are we going?" Officer Tomozane asked as he and Hayakawa drove through the streets of Nagano.
"We're to pick up Shirakawa Sakurako and Toshigami Yuusuke," Inspector Hayakawa told him.
"The two from the university?"
"Yes. We need to know if they have anything on the Unidentified Lifeforms. Especially #2."
"I understand… But how are we going to find them? Do we have their phone numbers?" Tomozane asked him.
"... Just keep driving."
"Yes, sir."
As they drove down the street, Inspector Hayakawa's phone started ringing.
"Hayakawa speaking… Yes… I understand, I'll be there as soon as I can." He said before hanging up. "Officer Tomozane, change of plans. Do you know the way to the San Marco Church?"
"Excuse me, Ritsuka-san?" Yuusuke spoke over the bench. Ritsuka and his friends were sitting at the table next to his and currently eating their breakfast.
"Whut ish it?" Ritsuka said with his mouth full.
"Hey, have some manners." Ryoko scolded him.
Gulping down his food, he said again, "What is it?"
"Uh… If it's okay, can I talk to you in private?" Yuusuke requested.
"Hmm… Fine." Ritsuka shrugged before getting up from his seat.
"Wait, Ritsuka," Tetsuya said in concern. "Are you sure you should-"
"Don't worry about it, Tetsuya-san." Yuusuke interrupted him, getting out of his own seat. "It'll be quick."
"Come on, we can talk outside."
The two left the cafe and took a walk.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Ritsuka questioned him as they walked. "Let me guess, why did I attack you?"
"Yes… but there's something else," Yuusuke said.
"To be honest, I don't really understand why I did that either," confessed Ritsuka. "All I remember was seeing you and then blacking out."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. As I said, I don't know why," he said again.
"Well, you're certainly strong. My chest still hurts from all the times you slashed me," Yuusuke sighed, putting his hand on the wounds he got from the fight.
"Of course I am. I…" Ritsuka trailed off, forgetting what he wanted to say.
"Ritsuka-san?"
"At any rate, if those guys didn't stop me, you wouldn't be alive so you better thank them," he told Yuusuke.
"I know," the young man smiled. "Those two saved me, they deserve all the praise."
"...Two?" Ritsuka muttered. For some reason, he thought that number was wrong. But how could it be? Tetsuya and Ryoko were the only ones who were calling his name.
Putting a pin on that thought, he asked, "So what was that other thing you wanna ask?"
"Ritsuka-san… What are you fighting for?" Yuusuke asked him. "There must be something that's driving you."
"..."
"Yesterday, before I put on the belt, I heard a voice," Yuusuke continued speaking. "It asked if I will protect what needs protecting."
"Protect…?" Ritsuka muttered.
"I want to fight… but I'm not sure what I need to fight for."
"That is… something I can't tell you," Ritsuka said.
"Huh?"
"Everyone has their own reason for doing what they do. Maybe I have one myself but if I tell you that, you'll just follow my example." And it may not be the best example to follow. "If you want an answer, you'll have to find it yourself. To fight, it must be a reason you yourself choose and believe in so that others will not break your resolve."
"Find my reason…"
"Does that satisfy you?" Ritsuka asked. "If yes, then can we go back in? I'm still hungry."
However, before they could walk back to the cafe, they heard a car honk. Turning towards the road, they watched as a police car pulled up next to them. The passenger side window slid down and they saw Inspector Hayakawa with Officer Tomozane, the latter driving the car.
"You're… oh, the detective from yesterday."
"Inspector." Hayakawa corrected them. "It's fortunate we spotted you. Are your companions-" "I'm not even wearing those clothes anymore…" "-with you? We need to debrief you of yesterday's events."
"What is there to talk about? We got attacked by some monsters," Ritsuka grumbled. "Shouldn't you be looking for them instead of us?"
"We are but as there is a high likelihood that the Unidentified Lifeforms came from Kurougatake, we thought it would be best that we inform you about it," Hayakawa told them.
"Unidentified Lifeforms?" Yuusuke repeated. "You mean those… things from yesterday?"
"Yes, but we cannot speak about it out here in the open. Come back to the headquarters as soon as you can," the inspector instructed them. "I've just been called to another incident."
"Another incident? By a Gu- Unidentified Lifeform?" Ritsuka asked, nearly saying their true name.
"We're not sure yet. Regardless, we need you to come with us."
"Me?!"
"Yes, you Fujimaru. Need I remind you that you were hired on this case?" Hayakawa told him.
"But-" "Please just get in, we're in a rush." "...Fine." Ritsuka sighed. "Yuusuke, tell those two where I'm going." He told the other Rider before he entered the car's backseat.
Yuusuke remained quiet as he watched the police car drive off. After a moment of deliberation, he knew what he had to do. He ran back to his bike, which was parked outside the cafe, and got on…
San Marco Church, Nakagosho, Nagano, 08:16 a.m...
"We're here." Inspector Hayakawa announced their arrival as they reached their destination.
"A church?" Ritsuka muttered, staring at the holy building. He did not know why (what else is new?) but something told him that the people inside would not like him.
Regardless, the crime scene and the reason they were here was in the parking lot next to the church. Yellow tape was already in place around the lot but that did little to deter the passersby. Several police officers were trying their best to block their view as forensics did their own jobs, taking photos and cataloging evidence. Additionally, an outline of a person was drawn right in front of the car.
The two approached the older detective who was in charge of the investigation, ducking under the police tape. Officer Tomozane, meanwhile, went to help his colleagues with crowd control.
"Ebisawa-san. Sorry for being late, I had to pick someone up." Inspector Hayakawa apologized as he gestured to Ritsuka, whose eyes were still focused on the church.
"It's fine, I did call you out of the blue after all." The detective told him as Hayakawa took out a pen and pad.
"So why did you need me in a homicide case?"
"Well, that's the thing. There were four other cases like this last night," The detective informed them (mostly Hayakawa). "All of them had two puncture wounds in the neck and were drained of blood."
"And that's the cause of death?"
"The examination is not complete yet but that seems to be the case," Ebisawa said. "The reason I called you down here is that I want to hear your opinion. You were there when those two… things attacked headquarters. Do you think one of those two… things could have done this?"
"Hmm… I don't think so," Hayakawa commented. "#1 and #2 did not have mouths like a human's…"
"I see… and did either of them seem sensitive to light?" The detective asked.
"No. Why?"
"Well, believe it or not, we have someone who claimed to have seen the attack. He said that the culprit was some sort of bat man," Ebisawa told him. "He also said that the bat man was about to kill him when the sun rose up. It seemed to be hurt by it and flew away."
"How credible is this claim?"
"To be honest, the man was drunk but with five victims…"
"I see…" Hayakawa understood what this meant and noted it down in his book. "Then it's #3…"
"Wait, what?" What the inspector had said finally snapped Ritsuka out of his stupor. "This is the third one?"
"It seems so. #1 was the spider and #2 was the beetle."
"..." Okay… What was that supposed to mean for him?
Meanwhile, Yuusuke was watching the police work from the other side of the tape. It was hard to do so, with how people were pushing him around to get a better look at the crime scene. After a few moments, he knew it was a lost cause to stick around so he got himself out of the crowd.
"Might as well head back." Yuusuke sighed. Sakurako was probably getting worried about him.
As he was heading back to his bike, he walked past a mother and daughter and accidentally overheard their conversation.
"Mama, will the Father be alright?" The daughter innocently asked.
"I don't know. He didn't say anything about staying inside today…" The mother answered.
Stopping in his tracks, Yuusuke turned and looked up at the church. "...Well, it can't hurt to check it out," he muttered before he went up the steps to the doors.
He knocked on the door. No response.
He then tried to open the door. Locked.
Yuusuke sighed as one idea came to his mind. Was he really going to break into a church?
Yes. Yes, he was.
He went around the building to a side covered by trees and looked for a window. Eventually, he found an unlocked one, slid it open, and hopped inside. He then head for the door and stepped into the main hall. Several pews lined the hall beside the center alley towards the raised altar and cross. On both sides of the altar was stained glass. There was very little light in the room, with only a trickle of sunlight pouring in from the windows.
Yuusuke wandered further, looking around and taking in his surroundings. When he stepped into the sunlight, he noticed somebody staring at him creepily through a gap of an ajar door.
Against his better judgment, Yuusuke called out to him, "Excuse me, are you the Father here?" That man seemed to be. Yuusuke noticed he was wearing a priest's robes as the man approached him with an angry glare.
"Wait. I know it looks bad but I wanted to check up on you!" Yuusuke quickly tried to explain why he was in a locked (holy) building. However, the priest hissed in pain and stepped back as soon as the sunlight hit him.
Taking the chance, Yuusuke slowly moved back. "I'll just see myself out," he said as he went back into the room he broke into. Before he closed the door, Yuusuke glanced at the priest, who was still on the other side of the room.
"Bobogunzegu be…" Yuusuke heard the priest mutter as he closed the door.
Unbeknownst to the young man, hidden behind the altar was the blood-drained body of the real Father…
A couple hours later…
"-then disappears for two hours!" Yuusuke heard Sakurako complaining to somebody on the phone as he walked back into the cafe. Noticing him enter, she got up from her seat and missed her slap. "I didn't know what to do at the restaurant!" Yuusuke did not know if she was speaking to him or whoever was on the phone with her.
"Sorry," He mouthed to her.
"Huh? An animal attack?" she said, "...Oh, yeah. That sounds bad. Did you get any leads on it, Minato? What? Really?"
Sakurako quickly gestured for Yuusuke to hold her phone as she opened up her notebook and pen.
"Okay. District 4 in Hakoshimizu, Nagano?" She repeated Minato's directions. "Okay." She then hung up before walking into the main cafe, Yuusuke following behind her. They returned to their table and picked up their stuff, Yuusuke noticing the one next to theirs empty.
"Hmm? Where did they go?" he asked her.
Was there something else he was forgetting? He didn't think so.
"I think they said they were going back to their home," Sakurako told him as she picked up her bag. "Come on, we have to find a place to stay tonight."
"Why? I thought you would be going back to Tokyo."
"Not yet, we have to go to Professor Natsume's house tonight."
"Just turn left here," Ritsuka told Officer Tomozane. The latter followed the boy's directions and the car eventually came to a stop in front of… they really need to find a better name than not-cafe.
"Thank you for your help today." 'I barely did anything today.' "Sorry, but I'm not willing to bring someone so young on a literal monster hunt." 'Good, I could finally get something to eat.'
"I'll ask the commissioner about your consultation fee," Hayakawa commented as Ritsuka exited the car. Now that got his attention. "What's your usual rate?"
"It's about-"
"Sir, we have to go now."
"Right, sorry but we will have to talk later," the inspector apologized.
"Wait!" Ritsuka's cry was ignored though as the two policemen had already driven off into the sunset. Well, not sunset, it was barely even noon yet.
Sighing, he turned around, entered his pseudo-home, and was greeted by two very annoyed teens.
"Oh, look who's back." Ryoko's voice was oozing with insincerity. While noticed that, Ritsuka did not know why she was like that.
"What's wrong?"
"Where did you go?!" She shouted at him angrily. "We were waiting for you for hours!"
"...Did Yuusuke not tell you?"
"No, he didn't come back to the restaurant either."
"...Yuusuke, you useless Rider!"
"So there's another one of those things running around now?"
"Yup." Ritsuka nodded as he sorted through his grayed-out cards.
After spending the last ten-ish minutes explaining where he went off to, the three were currently sitting in a circle in the middle of the main room.
"But what was that about it being the third one?" Tetsuya asked. In Ritsuka's explanation, he mentioned that this new bat Gurongi was numbered 3. "They're not counting you as #3?"
"Apparently not," The black-haired boy said. "At least they wouldn't be shooting me next time I transform."
"And who's fault is that?"
"Look, Ryoko, I'm telling you I do not know why-"
"No, not that." Ryoko cut him off before he could finish his complaint. "I mean how did they just forget that they were attacked by some pink guy?"
"First off, I'm magenta, not pink," Ritsuka grumbled.
"Really, cause that shirt looks pink to me." Tetsuya pointed out.
"Yeah, this is pink," Ritsuka said, pointing to his shirt, before taking the Decadriver out. "And this is magenta."
"..." "Er… Ritsu?" They both were giving him confused stares.
"...No, I don't know what I said that either," he glanced at the white Driver. Why did he think it was magenta? "At any rate, the police don't know that a third 'Unidentified Lifeform' attacked them. Well, fourth really."
"Did that smack you gave made them lose their memories or something?"
"How am I supposed to know? I can't remember what I was doing at that time." Ritsuka shrugged as he placed the last card on the ground in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Tetsuya scooted over to his friend's side to get a better look, Ryoko doing the same to Ritsuka's right.
"Just sorting them out," The amnesiac teen answered as he glanced at the card on top of the top-leftmost deck.
"21?" Ryoko commented as she counted the decks of cards laid out in front of them.
"22 if you want to include mine," Ritsuka said, taking out the only KamenRide card he could use.
"And you can't use any of these," Tetsuya sighed, eyes scanning the 21 gray cards depicting the 21 Kamen Riders. "That sucks, man. They really looked cool when you used them."
"It's not about looking cool when using it, it's about…" Ritsuka trailed off. What was it about?
"Hmm?" Ryoko noticed the top-left most card at long last. "Isn't this Yuusuke-kun? It looks a bit different…" She noted, picking the card up.
"Yes. Kamen Rider Kuuga," Ritsuka affirmed. "If all goes right, then that card and those connected to it will regain their powers. That's the feeling I'm getting anyway..."
"Kuuga? You said this was Kuuga's world, right?" asked Tetsuya.
"Right… I said that, didn't I?" Frankly, Ritsuka's mind had been mostly on autopilot when they first came across the former cafe after the end of the world. "You know, we still don't really know what we're supposed to be doing…"
"Uh… Please don't say that. You're the leader here. If you're lost, then we're in trouble," Tetsuya nervously said. "We're still in the first leg of our journey for god's sake."
"You give up too easily," Ritsuka remarked. "And I'm not lost, I know what I'm supposed to do here."
"Then?"
"I was talking about this journey as a whole," he clarified. "We were just thrust into this whole thing with nothing more than a warning not to go on it."
"And what exactly will happen if we continue on it? That bull guy said our fates would be sealed if Decade, you, went on this journey…"
"My excuse is the same as always: I have amnesia so I have absolutely no clue."
"You're a useless amnesiac, you know that?" Ryoko snarked.
"Well, at least I've been doing things, unlike two other people I can name."
"..." "...Touche."
"In our defense, there's nothing much we can really do," Tetsuya sighed. "The only reason we got involved in the entire thing was that you faked being a P.I. to get into the case."
"I wouldn't say I faked it, per se, but I get what you're trying to say," Ritsuka hummed.
"Then what do we do now?"
"...Amnesiac."
"A useless amnesiac."
Several hours later…
The sun had set, and Ritsuka decided to take a look around his new home while Tetsuya and Ryoko went out to buy some takeouts for dinner.
"Don't wander out," Ryoko told him before they left. What did they think he was? A little kid or something?
Regardless, he was wandering upstairs, searching through the various rooms. Like the rooms downstairs, they were not furnished with the exception of a couple of cabinets in the bathroom. At least there's a functional bathroom.
Entering another room, he took a quick glance around. It was empty just like the other rooms.
"Hmm… Maybe this can be my bedroom…" Ritsuka muttered to no one in particular. He'd rather have a room for himself. Those two can pick other ones for themselves.
"Man, you really made a mess in this world, haven't you?" The last voice he wanted to hear said from behind him. "Things have really gone off the rails since you got here.'
"Go away," Ritsuka grumbled without turning to face the black-cloaked man.
"C'mon, man. I finally got the chance to speak to you and you want to kick me out?" The young man complained. "Just once, can't you let me say what I want to say?"
"No."
"You can be quite the dick, you know that?" The cloaked man snarked at him.
"Were you the one who erased the police's memories about me?" Ritsuka asked.
"Don't you wanna know?"
"I do, that's why I asked."
"That's a secret." The man put his finger on where his mouth would be.
"Well, you can be quite the ass, you know that?" Ritsuka grumbled.
"I do know that," the man smirked underneath his scarf. "So instead of telling what you want to know, Imma be a cryptic ass and leave you with more questions than answers again.
"Just shu-" "Do you know why you went on a rampage when you saw Kuuga?"
"Didn't you say you only know what I know?" Ritsuka recalled their conversation during the destruction of his(?) world.
"Yup! But do you really believe you don't know why you just attacked him like that?" Ritsuka could practically hear the man grinning.
"I do," he replied. "That wasn't me who attacked Yuusuke."
"But you're a useless amnesiac. How do you know who you truly are?" The man retorted.
That comment genuinely managed to confuse him and Ritsuka finally spun around. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked him.
"You don't remember the first 17 years of your life, how are you so sure you weren't some sort of Rider-hunting machine?" The man lightly laughed, enjoying the look on Ritsuka's face.
"Because this is the first time I've met another Rider." Ritsuka shot back but sounded unsure of himself. Something the cloaked man picked up on.
"You do realize my argument still stands, right?" The masked man smirked underneath his scarf again.
"...and how do you know so much about my past?" Ritsuka quietly asked.
"Simple. I've been watching you from the very start." The man cryptically said as he raised his arm and flicked his hand. Immediately, another silver wall appeared between them. "See ya!" Ritsuka watched the man waved before the wall washed over him and he disappeared.
"...Just who are you…?" Ritsuka mumbled.
Meanwhile, Koshibama…
Yuusuke sighed as he drove around to clear his mind. "My own reason…" he muttered, remembering Ritsuka's words from earlier.
He sighed again in frustration. Maybe he should return to the motel. He and Sakurako should be heading to Professor Natsume's house soon anyway. However, Yuusuke soon heard sirens before a police car zoomed past him.
"...Sorry, senpai. I'll be a bit late," he apologized, revving up the engine.
Following the car closely, Yuusuke eventually reached the scene of the incident. As he stopped his bike, he saw two officers getting out of the police car he was following. He put his helmet on the handle, he was about to go after them when he was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Do you really think you should interfere?"
"Huh?" Yuusuke looked around to see who was speaking.
"Just because you have the power, does that make you believe that you should help?"
"Who are you?" Yuusuke asked the voice.
"Who I am doesn't matter, not yet. So answer me, are fighting just because you were granted this power?"
While Yuusuke was busy conversing with a voice in his head, the officers responding to the call shouted as the body of their companion was thrown at them, drained of blood and two puncture wounds in his neck.
They looked up at what had done that to him. Standing on top of a nearby building was a bat-like humanoid monster. Its body was dark brown and all there was covering it was a white loincloth attached to its belt. It also had bat-like wings attached to its arms. In keeping with its bat theme, its head was shaped like… well, a bat, and it had sharp teeth and squinted eyes.
It leaped off the building and flew towards the officers as they unholstered their guns. As typical of their species, the bullets failed to do anything, and #3 swooped over the policemen.
"Run! Get away from it!" Inspector Hayakawa shouted at them as he and Officer Tomozane pulled out their handguns to distract #3. While they failed to actually hurt it, they did their job in distracting the bat man while the others escaped, running past a still Yuusuke.
"Toshigami Yuusuke, what are you fighting for?"
"Why are you asking me this?" he asked.
"A reason you can say you truly believe in. One so strong that you will never waver in your path."
"I…"
"Hey, get out of here!" Officer Tomozane shouted at him, snapping him out of his trance.
'Right, now's not the time to be distracted!' Yuusuke dashed past the two policemen towards #3, who had landed on the ground in front of them. As he ran, the silver belt appeared around his waist.
"Wait, what do you think you're-"
"Tomozane, hold it!" Hayakawa stopped him when he noticed what had appeared around Yuusuke's waist.
"That is-"
"Ah!" Yuusuke shouted as he punched #3 in the face, his arm transforming.
"He is #2?!" Tomozane gasped as Yuusuke punched the bat monster one more time as his body completely transformed. Once again, he was in his white armored form.
"...Gabada ga geda bo pa gose zabezagu ba?" The monster scoffed, completely unfazed by the punches. "Gobo badaji pa padagi go bizuzubesu bodo pa zebirazen."
"Eh?" Yuusuke glanced at his clutched fist before trying to attack #3 again. This time, the monster barely flinched and returned the blow with a slash of its claws.
'This is not turning as well as I expected! Why did I think it would go well in the first place?!' He silently panicked as he got back up. Before Yuusuke could attack it again, something wrapped itself around his neck and pulled him against the wall, suspending him above the ground. "Wh-what?!" He choked out as he tried to rip off what was suffocating him.
The two officers looked up and saw a familiar spider monster. "#1?!" The first Unidentified Lifeform had reappeared again, using its webs to hold Yuusuke in place.
"Gmun? Baze gabada pa bobo bi gisu boze gu ba?" #3 questioned its fellow Gurongi, surprised by its appearance. On account of its mouth being occupied with something else, #1 was not able to reply.
"Co...me on!" Yuusuke struggled to free himself from the web. Seeing this, Inspector Hayakawa quickly reacted.
"Let him go!" he shouted as he aimed and shot at the web. He succeeded in hitting his target and the webbing snapped, dropping Yuusuke back onto the ground.
"Hmph! Regipabuba Rinto!" #1 shouted in anger before it shot another string of web at the inspector. The web managed to stick itself to his gun and hands, and with a strong tug, Hayakawa was pulled towards the spider monster. It then backhanded the inspector and sent him falling 20 feet down to the pavement right next to Yuusuke.
"Hayakawa-san!" "Detective-san! Please, open your eyes!" The two remaining men shouted in concern, rushing to his sides.
"Hahaha…" Both #1 and #3 darkly laughed at the scene, enjoying the look of despair on Tomozane's face.
Hearing their laughs, Yuusuke felt anger rise in him. "Officer-san, please look after him."
"Wait, don't rush in, you idiot!" Before Tomozane could stop him, Yuusuke got up and tried to engage #3 again.
It went as well as last time, i.e. not at all.
All it took was a dodge and a strong kick to the chest to send him rolling onto the ground. Moreover, his armor disappeared and left him vulnerable to any attack.
"Jopa gugi," #3 laughed again at the pathetic display of power. It slowly walked towards Yuusuke and was ready to land the final blow. Before it could, however, it was hit by more ineffective bullets. It turned to its head to see it was Tomozane who was shooting it.
Ignoring Kuuga for the moment, it focused on the officer and grabbed him by the collar. "Jara bi basabagi!" the bat monster then threw Tomozane into some nearby metal barrels.
However, a sudden screeching of a car then grabbed #3's attention. It barely had time to react before it was hit by strong light beams coming for the arriving police car's headlights. It flinched in pain and decided to retreat, having already quenched its thirst from the officer earlier. Stretching its wings, #3 flew off in the direction of its hideout.
Seeing its ally fly off, #1 retreated as well, following after #3. "Padagi go radedede buzagagi!"
Trying to get back up, Yuusuke heard the doors of the new police car opened followed by a cry, "Inspector! Tomozane-san!" He turned to see a couple more police officers going to the two's sides.
'I failed…'
Nagano Prefecture Police Hospital, 6:09 pm…
Yuusuke looked downcasted as he waited for the news regarding the two policemen.
"-ait, Tomozane-san! We still need to check you out! You could-"
"I'm fine. I need to join the others on the manhunt." His head shot up when he heard the door opening and Officer Tomozane arguing with one of the nurses.
"Officer Tomozane!" Yuusuke got out of his seat and followed after the officer. "How's the detect- inspector?" he asked, worried about him.
"Inspector Hayakawa should be fine. At the moment, he's resting and being kept for observation," Tomozane answered him as he put on his coat.
"That's good…" Yuusuke sighed in relief before his downcasted look returned. "Sorry, I… was not able to stop them."
"Save it. I don't need to hear it," the officer told him belligerently as he pushed the button to call the elevator. "Just stay out of the way."
"But-!"
"You barely survived the last two encounters!" Tomozane cut Yuusuke off, shocking him. "Just leave protecting the people to us, that's our duty."
"I…"
"Toshigami, right?"
"Ye-yes." Yuusuke nodded.
"Why did you follow us?" he asked him more quietly as the elevator doors opened. "I saw you earlier when we were driving to the scene."
"I wanted to help but…" It turned out terribly. "I got these powers for a reason. I couldn't just sit back and watch," Yuusuke explained himself.
"Just because you could fight does not mean you should. If you're fighting simply because you could, you'll just get yourself and others hurt," Tomozane gave him one last piece of advice before he stepped into the elevator.
Park Hotel, Minami-Chitose, Nagano, 6:52 pm…
He was lost. He did not know what he should do anymore. After driving around for some time, Yuusuke eventually found himself back to where he and Sakurako were staying for the night.
"Yuusuke-kun, you're late!" he barely heard Sakurako in his daze. "What were you doing?! ...What's wrong?" she asked more gently when she noticed the far-off look on his face.
"I was… thinking about things…" Yuusuke muttered as he sat on the seat next to her. "About the red warrior," he clarified.
"The red warrior?"
"My visions… I keep seeing a red warrior. But when I transformed, my body was white," he told Sakurako. "I can't help but feel that it's supposed to be red."
"So that's why you asked me about that…" Sakurako whispered under her breath.
"I think that I can't use that power because I don't know what to fight for. I know that I have to protect something but… I don't know what that thing is."
"Yuusuke-kun… That's really unlike you…"
"Huh?" Yuusuke looked up at her.
"You don't usually hesitate like that. Even yesterday, you were determined to save us so much that you put on that belt without thinking," Sakurako told him. "I know that you'll understand soon… and awaken your true power."
"My true power…"
Residence of Professor Natsume, Hakoshimizu, Nagano, 7:21 pm…
Sakurako silently prayed in front of the shrine dedicated to the recently departed man. As she closed her eyes, she heard someone start crying before the door opened. Glancing behind, she noticed that the seat where the professor's daughter was sitting was now empty.
Outside, Yuusuke was still pondering his reason for fighting. He did not feel like he should go in because he admittedly did not know the man that well compared to Sakurako. He had met him a couple of times before when Professor Natsume was visiting the archeology lab but that was about it.
As he continued to think, he heard someone rush out of the house. He turned to see a young girl crying against the wall surrounding the house. Yuusuke was about to go to comfort her when he heard what the girl said.
"Dad…"
He clutched his hands as he saw tears fall from the girl's eyes.
'...I understand now.' He nodded to himself, now knowing the answer to his questions.
Kurita, Nagano, 4:08 am…
"He should be here…" Officer Tomozane said as he approached the oden stand.
"Bef careful!" He heard an old man drunkenly tell another customer as the latter left the stall. "Keeph an eye out on the way home tonights!"
"Excuse me, you are…" Tomozane glanced at the name in the book he got from Inspector Hayakawa. "Oshima Masaru, correct?"
"Hmm? An officer?" The man noticed Tomozane's uniform. "What ish it?"
"You witnessed the monster attack yesterday, right? Can you tell me more about it?" he asked as he sat in the recently vacated seat.
"You actually believe me?!"
"Yes, so please tell me what you saw in detail."
"Umm… That's it! That monster came through the church's window!"
"Church's window?" Tomozane repeated, "You mean San Marco?"
At the same time, Fujimaru 'residence'...
"Zzz…" "Hey, get up." "..." "I know you're awake." "..." "You forced my foot here."
"Ow!" Ritsuka clutched his side as he sat up. "What do you think you're doing?!" He shouted at the black-cloaked man.
"That's your own fault," the man told him. "Now get dressed, it's all coming to a head soon."
"What?"
"San Marco Church, you know where that is so get going," the hooded man said. "You must be a witness to it."
"Tsk, I'm not that religious you know," grumbled Ritsuka.
"I don't mean witness in a religious sense, but you must see it when it happens."
"Witness to wha- Ack?!" A sudden headache made Ritsuka stop. A vision of the red warrior appeared in his head again. This time, he was in the flames instead of the ruins.
"Do you understand now?" The man asked.
"Yes… I think I get the gist of it," Ritsuka sighed as he got up. The true dawn of a new era is approaching, and he must be there when it happens.
San Marco Church…
"Why are we here?" Tetsuya yawned as the three were outside the doors of the church.
Ritsuka ignored the question as he tried to push the door open but to no avail. "Locked," he remarked.
"Really, then can we go back home?" grumbled Ryoko. The two had been woken up by Ritsuka and dragged out into the cold night air.
"Not yet," Ritsuka said as he took a step back and got ready.
"Wow, just hang on one mo-" *BANG* The doors of the church were kicked open with a loud bang. "Are we seriously breaking and entering a church?!"
"Yes. Yes, we are," Ritsuka plainly stated as he walked into the empty hall of the church without blinking.
"Oh… we're going to hell for this, aren't we?" Ryoko whined but still followed after him.
As soon as they reached the middle of the hall, they heard a door creaked open, and out stepped Officer Tomozane wielding a rifle. "Freeze!" He ordered as he aimed the gun at them.
"Don't pull the trigger! Our hands are up!" Tetsuya and Ryoko raised their hands, the former begging the policeman not to shoot.
"Wait, you three are… What are you doing here?!" Tomozane shouted when he recognized the three teens, lowering his rifle.
"Investigating… loudly," Ritsuka added after a moment. "How about you?"
"I-" Tomozane's eyes widened when he spotted something on the ceiling. "Get down!" He warned them as he raised his rifle and started shooting.
Quickly following the order without question, the three dropped to the ground just in time as Unidentified Lifeform #3 swooped down from the ceiling, barely missing them. Tomozane, meanwhile, was not so lucky as he was tackled, dropping his rifle and getting thrown against the altar. The force from the impact caused one of the candles to fall down and ignite the curtains next to it.
Seeing this, Tomozane hastily got back on his feet and tried to grab something else to defend himself with, which just so happened to be another candlestick. However, #3 simply grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall, causing Tomozane to drop the candle and ignite the other curtains.
"Ritsuka!"
"I got it!" Ritsuka shouted back as he took out the Decadriver. "You two get out of here!"
Putting on the belt, he rushed towards the bat Gurongi and tried to get it to let go of the policeman.
"Regipabuba dagu!" It shouted back as it grabbed Ritsuka with its other hand and threw both of them into the pews
"Ritsu!" "Ritsuka!" The other two shouted as they rushed to their side.
"Forget about us, just get out of here!" Ritsuka shouted back at them, trying to get back up.
"Hmph! Gabada ga geda bo pa gose zabezagu ba?!" They could hear #3 laugh at them. "Gebagi bo zabagi-giga, Decade?"
"What?" Ritsuka froze when he heard what the Gurongi said. "How…?"
"Gabada pa gose zozo zujobu pa bagi jojozegu!"
"#1?!"Turning around, they saw the spider Gurongi descending from the ceiling and blocking their escape. "Baze padagidaji bo shishizaza pa gabada bi dodero jojojinzugagi bozegu ba?"
"Great, we're trapped again…" Ryoko muttered. On one end was the flaming altar behind the bat Gurongi while on the other was the not flaming entrance behind the spider Gurongi.
"Damn it, where are you…?" They could really do with a miracle right now.
And as if somebody was watching, a miracle came. Before any of them could react, the entrance of the church blew open again, this time due to Yuusuke riding his motorcycle and crashed into the #1. Due to how unexpected it was, the spider Gurongi was sent flying across the room and slammed into #3.
"What are you doing here?!" Tomozane shouted at Yuusuke as the latter got off his bike. "I told you to stay out of this!"
"I know you did," Yuusuke agreed with him as he went to join them, specifically in between Tomozane and Ritsuka. "But I know now what I need to fight for, what I need to protect, and its thanks to both of you."
"Me too?" Ritsuka let out in surprise. "I mean, of course I helped. That's what I'm here for."
"Yes, a reason that I can whole-heartedly believe in," Yuusuke affirmed, staring at the two Gurongis as they stood back up. "I can't leave them to rampage as they please and bring tears to everyone's eyes. I… want to protect everybody's smiles!"
"Yuusuke…" "Yuusuke-kun…"
"Even if I have to stand alone, so long as I can protect their smiles I'll win!" Yuusuke shouted with a look of determination.
"...You finally understand it, Yuusuke." Ritsuka smiled at his conviction. "But luckily for you, you won't be fighting alone."
"Right, let's go!" The two took one step forward. "Everyone… Please look at this." As he said that, he put his hands over his waist and the Arcle reappeared with a hum. He then put his left hand on the right side of the buckle and thrust his right arm forward.
"This is…" Yuusuke swung his right arm around as his left hand slid over the buckle and settled on the left side of the belt. At the same time, Ritsuka opened the Decadriver and took out the KamenRide: Decade card. "Our… transformation!"
KAMEN RIDE: DECADE
Simultaneously as Ritsuka inserted the card into his Driver and closed it, Yuusuke brought his arms together on the left side of the Arcle and pushed down. Spreading his arms out, the ancient belt began humming as his body changed into its armored form.
While Ritsuka's Decade armor remained the same, Yuusuke's Kuuga form was different than before. All the white armor pieces were now a brilliant shade of red and his horns were now bigger.
"Gose ga… zonrobo bo Kuuga!" #1 yelled as he recognized the new form.
"Kuuga…" Yuusuke muttered, the word that kept appearing in his mind now becoming clear to him. "Yes, I am Kuuga!"
Beside him, Ritsuka's RideBooker opened on its own and three cards flew out of it into his hand. He looked down at cards and watched as they regained their colors. "Hey, you three." Ritsuka put the cards back into his weapon and looked over his shoulder to address his friends (and officer), "Get out of here. I mean it this time."
"Got it!" Tetsuya flashed him two thumbs up before grabbing Ryoko's hand and dragging her out, much to her protests to getting dragged.
Tomozane, meanwhile, gave Yuusuke one last look before nodding, now confident that the Rider was fighting for the right reasons.
"Good," Decade muttered as he watched the three escape. Looking back at the two Gurongis, he and Yuusuke got into a battle stance. "Let's go, Kuuga." "Yes!"
The two Gurongis immediately charged at the two Riders, #1 attacking Kuuga while #3 dealt with Decade.
Kuuga reacted to his first foe's charge by rolling to the side. Meanwhile, Decade was not so fast (or did not care) and was grabbed by the bat monster. #3 flew out through the door carrying Decade and up into the sky. However, what the Gurongi did not know was that the magenta Rider had a weapon besides his fists and feet. Removing the RideBooker from his side, he slashed it in the arm.
"Ah!" With a shriek of pain, the two dropped from the sky and broke through the roof of an abandoned building.
Meanwhile back in the burning church, Kuuga grappled with #1 before he punched it in the chest and pushed it back.
"Gabada- Ack!" #1 took one step forward before it suddenly grabbed its chest in pain.
"That is!" Yuusuke saw two glowing runes on the monster's chest right where he had kicked it the day before. "I got it!"
Seizing the moment, Yuusuke ran up to it and swiftly landed a strong kick right in its chest again. The blow was strong enough to send the spider Gurongi flying across the hall and crashing into the burning altar.
"Gigige..." It groaned in pain as a third rune glowed on its chest. "GIGIGE!"
With a final scream, Unidentified Lifeform #1's body exploded into pieces. Its flaming body parts flew across the room, setting the rest of the church on fire.
"Uh oh." Yuusuke froze for a moment as he looked around the burning church. "I… better get out of here." He dashed out of the hall as the room began collapsing all around him, barely managing to get out just as the platform above the entrance came crashing down.
"That was close…" Yuusuke sighed in relief as he landed at the bottom of the steps outside the church. However, he had no time to rest. Looking around, he spotted Tomozane and the others gathered around the police car he used to get here.
"Yuusuke!" Ryoko shouted at him, pointing in a direction. "They went that way!"
"Got it!"
It was not even fair. It was nowhere near fair.
Decade, despite being far from being at his strongest, was easily able to handle the one Gurongi on its own.
ATTACK RIDE: SLASH
Similar to the Blast card, holographic copies of his sword appeared around it as he slashed the bat monster multiple times, sparks flying off its body.
"Really regretting what you said earlier, aren't you?" Ritsuka smirked under his helmet, watching #3 struggling to get back on its feet. "Answer me this, why did you call me that?"
"Gusugagi!" It screamed in anger as it charged Decade, only to get slashed in the waist and rolling on the ground.
Spinning around, Ritsuka sighed in indifference. Realizing that the Gurongi was not going to give him any answers, he prepared to finish it off.
"Ritsuka-san!" Before he could even take out his Final AttackRide card, he heard the sounds of barrels falling behind him. Taking his eyes off the Gurongi for a moment, he looked to see Yuusuke had stumbled into the building. "Oh." Kuuga noticed that Ritsuka was doing just fine by himself.
Nearby, hidden behind some rubble, a certain figure was watching the two Riders with an unreadable stare. "This is too easy for them. This story can't end just like that…" he muttered. "I should probably do something about it."
The man in the black cloak raised his hand and summoned an Aurora Curtain.
"Yuusuke, you finish this!"
"Got it!" The red Kamen Rider took off into a dash and leaped in the air. However, before he could kick the bat Gurongi, a silver wall appeared in between them. When his foot hit the wall, it sent back a shockwave that blew him away.
"Yuusuke! Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!"
"Zozo gida bo?" The wall disappeared into thin air, but now standing in front of the bat Gurongi was a new monster.
Its body was black and reddish-brown armor. Its shoulder pads were shaped like the wings of a biplane. A plane's propeller was attached to its neckguard and on the top of its helmet, right above its blue goggled eyes. Around its waist was a strange buckle shaped like an angry eye.
"You are… a Ganma." That name appeared in Ritsuka's head.
"Where am I?!" The so-called Ganma shouted at him before it recognized his armor. "It can't be… Decade?!"
"My reputation proceeds me, it seems." Ritsuka did not know how to feel about that. Next to him, Yuusuke stumbled into place.
"What is that?" He asked.
"A ghost… I guess." Ritsuka shrugged before taking out the RideBooker in its gun mode. He then told Yuusuke, "At the very least, it's an enemy."
"That's correct!" It shouted, raising its hand to make a point. "As a loyal member of Dai-Sho- Ow!" The Ganma was interrupted by Decade shooting it in the head. It was then sent stumbling back by a punch from Kuuga.
Meanwhile, realizing that the two were now distracted by this new foe, #3 decided that now was the opportunity to retreat. For now, it will bide its time to strike back at Kuuga.
ATTACK RIDE: BLAST
"Yuusuke, duck!" He followed the order without question and managed to dodge the hail of energy bullets.
"Damn it! Why do I have to do this alone!" The Hikoki Ganma cursed its luck as it tried to fight off two Kamen Riders on its own.
"Shut up already," Ritsuka said as he turned the RideBooker into its sword mode and attacked the Ganma.
However, it sidestepped the slash and retreated further back, putting some distance between itself and the two Riders.
"Eat this!" The Ganma pointed its index figures at them and, surprisingly, fired its own barrage of bullets, managing to hit them accurately. Now getting a taste of their own medicine (mostly Ritsuka), sparks flying off their armor. "Hahaha!" Both of them dropped to their knees as the Hikoki Ganma laughed at their pain.
Yuusuke, recovering quickly, dashed towards the rusty-armored monster and tried to kick it. His attack only hit thin air though, as the Ganma suddenly shot up into the air.
"Too slow!" It laughed at him again before it continued shooting its hail of bullets.
ATTACK RIDE: BLAST
Reusing the card again, Decade switched the RideBooker back into its gun mode and tried to return fire. However, his attack also missed as the Ganma zoomed around the building.
"Is that all you got, Decade?!" The Ganma mocked him, evading his bullets.
"Fine then! I'll use this!" Ritsuka shouted in frustration, taking out a special card.
The card was golden like the Final AttackRide cards, but instead of depicting the Rider's symbol, it showed the Rider themselves along with another item. In this case, it showed Kuuga along with a metallic stag beetle. Below the image were the words "KUUGA GOURAM" and "FINAL FORMRIDE".
Inserting it into his buckle, the Decadriver made a new announcement.
FINAL FORM RIDE: KUU-KUU-KUUGA
Luckily, he did not have to go over to Yuusuke as the young man just so happened to roll next to him to avoid the Ganma's bullets. Positioning himself behind him, Ritsuka warned him, "This will tickle for a bit."
"What are you?"
"Face forward."
"Eh?!" Ritsuka made Yuusuke looked forward before reaching his hands into the latter's back. Bright light poured out of the red Rider's back before Ritsuka pulled his hands back and a black-and-gold shell came out. Body horror ensues as Yuusuke's head folded into the shell before he began hovering as the rest of his body changed to match the beetle on the card.
"What?"
"What is that?!"
"This is our power," Ritsuka simply answered the Ganma before ordering Yuusuke, "Get him!" "Hai!"
Before the Hikoki Ganma could react, Kuuga Gouram shot at it at high speeds, caught it in his pincers, and was crashed into the roof, breaking through in the process. Kuuga then quickly turned in midair and flew back down into the building, breaking through the roof again and smashing the Ganma into the ground.
Letting go of the ghost monster, Yuusuke flew off and the Ganma tried to get back up on its feet. This was a mistake though, as Decade took the chance to attack it as well. After tanking a flurry of slashes, the Ganma suddenly found itself getting grabbed by the beetle and smashed into the wall.
"How…?" It groaned in pain before the Ganma was thrown towards Decade like a bone. It was slashed across its abdomen and skidded on the ground. "Why…? Why?!"
"I said shut up already." Ritsuka sighed as he took out the Final AttackRide: Kuuga.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: KUU-KUU-KUUGA
As the Ganma got up on its feet against its better judgment, Kuuga flew towards it and grabbed it with his pincers again. "This will end it!" Yuusuke cried as he flew at Ritsuka, who was now dashing towards them.
Jumping into the air, Kamen Rider Decade kicked the helpless Ganma and knocked it out of Kuuga Gouram's pincers.
"So this is how it ends…" If there was anything Ritsuka could say about the Hikoki Ganma, it was that the airplane-themed monster was sturdy. Despite being on fire, it still somehow got on its feet again. "Decade, this will not be the end!"
"..." Kamen Rider Decade remained quiet, taking the Ganma's words in.
"Glory to Dai-!" *KABOOM*
Before it could finish what it wanted to say, the Ganma blew up in a fiery explosion.
"We did it, Ritsuka-san!" Yuusuke celebrated as he ran back to Ritsuka, no longer in his Gouram form.
"Right… we won." Underneath his mask, Ritsuka smiled.
"Thank you for everything." Yuusuke bowed to him as he, Ritsuka, his two friends, and Tomozane, stood outside the magenta Rider's 'house'.
"It's fine," Ritsuka told him. "I just happened to be passing through here when I did."
"But-!"
"If you want to thank me then do me one favor."
"Anything."
"Protect the smiles in your world," Ritsuka requested. "That's all you need to do for me."
"I got it," Yuusuke nodded resolutely. "Leave it to me!"
"And you'll make sure he'll do that, won't you, Kaoru?"
"Don't talk like you know me," Tomozane grumbled. "But yeah, I'll make sure he does his job."
"Good, now say 'cheese'."
"What?" Before either of them could react, Ritsuka snapped one last photo of them. He did not know how he will process the photos but it will be fine. "Well, we should be going now."
"So soon?" Ryoko asked as Ritsuka opened the door to their new home.
"Yes, we're on a journey after all," he said. "We shouldn't stay in one place for too long."
"A journey, huh? Sounds fun," Yuusuke remarked. "I wish you luck on… whatever you're doing."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. C'mon, you two." Ritsuka gestured for Tetsuya and Ryoko to go in. "Farewell, Kamen Rider Kuuga. Maybe we will meet again."
"Goodbye… Decade." Yuusuke waved at them as the door closed. "So…"
"So…" Tomozane repeated without thinking.
"So… Can you give me a ride?" The archeology student asked the officer.
"What?"
"Hey, my bike was in the church when it collapsed! I need a ride back to my hotel!"
"That's one down…" Ritsuka muttered as he held the restored KamenRide: Kuuga card in his hand. "That leaves…"
"20 more, right?" Tetsuya asked before sighing. "This will take a while."
"What are you complain about? You agreed to go on this thing so-"
"Yeah, yeah, no complaining, I know what you're going to say."
"In that case, Ritsu, let's move on to the next world," Ryoko said to their de facto leader, who was already going behind the pillar.
"Alright… One… Two…" Ritsuka psyched himself up for what he was about to do before he pulled on the chain.
The room lighted up again as a new backdrop dropped down. Going around the pillar, Ritsuka studied the image when the light disappeared.
In the center of the tapestry was a chibified pink video game character with spiky hair. Surrounding the character in a circle was 10 images, 9 of which were covered by the words
GAME CLEAR. The last image, to the top left of the character, depicted a dragon and the words DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER Z.
A new name appeared in Ritsuka's head as he touched the backdrop.
"...Ex-Aid." The image of a pink Kamen Rider resembling the video game character filled Ritsuka's mind…
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Why is everything so… fantasy?"
"When we complete our mission, and then we can leave this World."
"Hang on, you're from the real world, aren't you?!"
"Just remember, if you lose here, it's Game Over."
"I'm the genius gamer, Dairiki Emu! Kamen Rider Ex-Aid!"
Chapter 4: The Simulated Game World!
Elsewhere...
"Hmmm..." The man carefully reread the report given to him. "This... issue truly requires our attention."
"I agree." His colleague nodded. "With one of own murdered by these Unidentified Lifeforms as they have been called, we should send somebody to investigate them."
"Very well, it's unorthodox but as we do not know the nature of these beings, we shall send someone to Japan," the first man said. "Who do you propose we send then?"
"Hmm... I've heard that there is an up and coming Executor making a name for himself recently."
"I've heard the same news." He agreed with his colleague's choice. "Then we are in agreement, we shall send him to investigate these Unidentified Lifeforms and see if they are beings who go against His will."
A/N: And done with chapter 3! First off, a special shout-out to u/Cykuno_ on the Grand Order subreddit for that cool piece of art for this story! Go check it out if you haven't!
Not gonna lie, I feel like that ending came out of nowhere. But hey, at least it foreshadows some stuff. Is that a good enough justification? No? Okay.
There were actually three sections that were supposed to be in this chapter but got cut for various (but mostly the same) reasons. The first got cut because I thought it didn't quite fit in with the chapter. Maybe we will be seeing it in a future one. The other two were supposed to be at the end but got cut because it would've dragged it on too long (plus, the second one involved Gurongi language so no).
So, Saber Wars II is coming out soon and how many of you are going to roll for Spishtar? I'm not because I only have like 120 SQs and want to save for Castoria. MHX might tempt me though…
At any rate, the next world is going to be Ex-Aid due to the process of elimination so see ya next time! Leave a review and all that stuff!
EDIT: Decided to add one of the cut ending scenes for fun.
EDIT 2: Some more minor editing.