Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own anything.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"I'm just curious what will become of a world where death is meaningless."
"No matter what happens, always trust in your friends."
"That was… my memory…"
"It doesn't matter, especially not now. All you should worry about is the present and future."
"This world is next, huh?"
After taking a second look at the new backdrop, Ritsuka put the grayed-out card away and made his way out of the room, Ryoko and Tetsuya following after him.
"So this is the third world? Kiva's…world." The three exited their new home and looked around. At a single glance, the world seemed normal. Right now, they were in a nice-looking neighborhood and the exterior of their studio was that of a normal house, complete with a brick wall around it and the front garden.
"Seems… decent," said Ryoko, "At least it's better than the last one."
"As much as I love games, I have to agree." Getting stuck in the house for an entire day because the world was slowly collapsing on itself really soured their experience there.
"Count your blessings. At least you two didn't get infected with a computer virus," Ritsuka silently huffed. Before he could take another step further, a dimensional wall quickly washed over him and changed his clothes. "What is it this time?"
His new attire was, for the most part, pretty normal. Just a simple white shirt paired with a black vest and blue jeans. The only thing odd things about his clothes were the single black glove on his left hand and the I.D. card that was around his neck.
"You don't look weird this time; that's a plus." Ritsuka did not hear Tetsuya's comment though as he was busy trying to get the I.D. card off to look at it closer. Unfortunately for him, the strap got tangled with his camera's strap and he had to spend nearly a minute to fix that issue.
"What is that?" The I.D. card, obviously, had a small image of him along with some typical information on it. There was something of note about it though.
"'The Wonderful Blue Sky Organization'?" Ryoko read the name on one corner of the card. "Looks like you're a member of whatever that is."
"I can see that." Something told Ritsuka whatever his job is in Kiva's world, it was not as peaceful as the name of the organization implied. "Anyway, my boss can wait; we've got bigger business than whatever Blue Sky is."
Of course, the world instantly proved him wrong as a white van skidded down the street and stopped right in front of their house. On its side were a logo and the same words that were on his card.
"...Dang it," Ritsuka sighed as the side door slid open. Two people were in it (other than the driver), a man and a woman that looked to be in their early 20s. He also noticed that the woman had a similar I.D. card to his around her neck.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka?" The woman asked, looking at Ritsuka in particular.
"Yes?"
"Get in," she ordered, gesturing for him to go into the van. "The president wishes to speak to you."
"Umm, Ritsu?"
"What?" Ritsuka glanced at Ryoko.
"Isn't it rule number one to not enter a van with strangers?"
"It is," he nodded before going to the van, shouting back, "Go explore or something! I'll be back."
Ritsuka entered the van and the door closed before it drove off.
"You know, just once I want to see what he's up to."
"Me too, Tetsu… Me too…"
Chapter 7: Note: Missing Royals
"First of all, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The woman said to Ritsuka before introducing herself. "I am Kuzu Megumi. This is my colleague, Minami Keisuke."
"Pleasure." The man known as Minami Keisuke, meanwhile, barely acknowledged his presence. He was dressed in a suit and tie and looked like he wanted to be anywhere other than with them.
"Don't be put off by his attitude, I picked him up right before he had the chance to go after his latest bounty," Megumi told Ritsuka before telling her partner, "Wear your card. We're meeting with the president, remember?"
"It's off the books. I don't need to use mine yet," said Keisuke. "At any rate, congratulations on your promotion, Fujimaru."
"Promotion?" Ritsuka unintentionally parroted.
"Soon, you'll be working with us on our hunts; as support mainly," Keisuke informed him, ignoring Ritsuka's confusion. "Once you're done with whatever the President tasks you with."
'Hunts?'
"The president will brief you more when we meet up with him." Megumi noticed the confused look on his face. "For now, why don't you tell us more about yourself? There's only so much we could tell from a dossier."
Seeing as there was nothing else, Ritsuka divulged as little as he could about himself. "Well, you already know my name. I'm 19 apparently, and probably an orphan."
"We know that already," Keisuke said with disinterest, only to get a jab to his side by Megumi.
"This is your new junior; try sounding less disrespectful, will you?" She scolded him with a small frown.
"But exactly why is the president even putting someone with us in the first place? Especially someone so young." Keisuke glanced at Ritsuka. "No offense."
"Meh." Ritsuka did not really care about the kind of insult.
Megumi, meanwhile, explained to Keisuke, "His skills are good enough to get the president's attention. His age has nothing to do with it or need I remind you of your age when the president approached you."
"Fine, I get it," Keisuke huffed, admitting defeat. "Hey, Riki, how long until we get there?"
The driver, who was dressed as a butler, simply raised four fingers.
"This is Riki by the way," Megumi introduced their driver to Ritsuka. "He works part-time for a close friend of the president."
"Riki…" Ritsuka muttered, a brief memory playing in his head when he heard the name.
"Last but not least, this is Riki, or Dogga, if you want to call him that."
"Fujimaru?" The sound of finger snapping right in his voice brought him back to reality. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
While Ritsuka was off making new friends, Tetsuya and Ryoko followed his suggestion and went exploring around town. Well, they tried to. They barely got to the end of the street when somebody approached them.
"You two." A young man with a white designed shirt with a denim jacket came up to them.
"Uh… Yes?" Tetsuya hesitantly replied.
"You are not from this world," he stated, instantly triggering alarms in their head. "Do you know Fujimaru Ritsuka?"
"Why? How do you know him? How do you know we're not from this world?" Ryoko narrowed her eyes at the man.
Unfazed by the glare, he told them, "My father requires his presence. Tell your friend to meet me at Cafe mald'amour and be quick about it; my father is not a patient man."
The man then left them alone and went off in another direction.
"That was… worrying," Ryoko said after a moment.
"So how are we supposed to contact him?" It was not like their friend said anything about where he was going. "I've got an idea."
"Hmm?" Ryoko gave Tetsuya the go-ahead to speak.
"We follow Ritsuka's lead; just go off and do whatever we feel like. Eventually, the problem will come to us."
"...Yeah, sure."
Back with Ritsuka…
The van pulled up in the parking lot of a cafe and the four exited the vehicle.
"Cafe mald'amour, huh?" Ritsuka read the sign over the entrance.
"Come on, the president is waiting inside." Megumi gestured for him to follow her and Minami-senpai in.
The interior of the cafe was nice, if Ritsuka could surmise it in a word. A long wooden counter with jars of coffee beans on one wall, several tables and seats laid out across the room, and a few customers enjoying their coffee while he assumed to be the establishment's proprietor cleaned the main counter.
"Oh, Kuzu-san, Minami-san," the aging man greeted them. Guess they were regulars here. "Shima is at his usual spot."
"Thank you."
"Riki, could you help Ramon clean out the backroom?" Ritsuka heard the man request the part-timer as he followed his seniors to a more secluded corner of the cafe.
There, they met a man doing some paperwork over a cup of coffee. "Ahh, you've finally arrived," he said when he spotted them. "Take a seat, Fujimaru. Kuzu-chan, Minami-kun, keep an eye out."
"Yes, sir." The two bowed before leaving them alone, presumably to watch out for any eavesdroppers.
Going along with what his new boss said, Ritsuka sat down on the chair opposite to him.
"I'm sure you have several questions but first, let me introduce myself. I am Shima Mamoru, the president of Wonderful Blue Sky Organization," his boss said. "I presume Kuzu has not completely explained to you your new position in our company."
"No… Sir." Ritsuka added just in case.
"In that case, let me start from the beginning; what do you know of the Fangire?" Shima asked.
"Monsters. Sucks the life force out of humans and turns them to glass," answered Ritsuka, earning small praise from his boss.
"Good. But that is just the basics. What do you truly know about them?"
"They have a monarchy, and their King is known as Kiva." Was that too much? Apparently not, if the smile the president was giving was of any indication.
"Then you are more knowledgeable than most. Much more." He then took something out of his briefcase and passed it over to him. "As a test of your skills, you will be searching for Fangire detailed in this folder. If you succeed, I will tell you of our true mission and you can join Kuzu-chan and Minami-kun for real."
Opening the folder given to him, Ritsuka glanced at the information within it. For all intents and purposes, it was a bounty; basic info about his target, last seen location, and a reward for his capture or… Well, you get the idea.
"Ono Keita… Is that all?"
"Depends, don't you have any questions about us?" Shima questioned him.
"Not really. If you would excuse me." Ritsuka got out of his seat. "I've got a bounty to find."
"And one last thing." Ritsuka stopped and looked at his boss. "There are a few others that are also looking for him. Try to finish your job before they do. You may leave now."
Now that he heard him out, Ritsuka went towards the entrance but barely made it six steps before a worried Megumi took him aside.
"Be careful with your target," she warned him, "He's responsible for-"
"I got it, thanks." It was not the first time he was hunting down a wanted murderer…
Wait, yes, it was. What was he talking about? "I'll be done with this by the end of the day. Just you watch."
Ritsuka then made his way out of the cafe. On the other hand, the world seemed dead-set on not letting him work as he wanted to and sending another obstacle in his path.
"You are him, aren't you?"
"What is it this time?" Ritsuka silently sighed to himself before turning to whoever called out to him. "So, who are you?"
The young man ignored his question. "Come with me. My father has need of your skills," he said.
"Yeah, well, I already got a job." Ritsuka had a feeling about who the person before him was and his father's identity. "If he wants my help, then he has to wait."
"I'm not asking here." He pressed further, some stained glass details appearing on his face and neck.
"...You do realize there are Fangire hunters inside that cafe, right?" Ritsuka pointed out. He was half-surprised nobody was around to see them.
"I do. They do not concern me," the other man sounded so confident about himself. "Why else would I ask that we meet here?"
"Excuse me?
"So it was by luck that you came here?" He sounded mildly surprised at that. "At any rate, it would be wise to follow me to the castle." The young man turned around and went off, expecting that Ritsuka would trail behind.
"...Fine," Ritsuka sighed and went after him. Besides, he did say he would be done by day's end.
With Tetsuya and Ryoko…
Meanwhile, the other two teenagers were exploring the world as they planned to and were currently on top of a bridge over a slow and shallow river.
"...Hey, Tetsu."
"What is it?" The boy stopped walking and looked back at his friend.
Ryoko sighed, leaning on the railings. "It's about Ritsuka. There's… something up with him."
"You'll have to be a bit more specific about that." Tetsuya tried to ease the tension a bit but failed. "What exactly do you mean?"
"I mean… isn't it a bit too weird how he tends to be okay with everything that is happening?" She brought up the issue they previously discussed in Kuuga's world. "I know it's kind of his thing to just go with what's expected of him but you'd think he'd dropped the act around us."
"Is it really acting?" Tetsuya had his doubts about it. "Maybe he just doesn't mind about everything that has been going on."
"Any normal person would have some problems with what's happening," said Ryoko. "Watching your entire world collapse and being responsible on some level, getting some great power, losing your mind and nearly coming close to murdering someone? And that's not going into what happened in Emu's world. He has to have issues with it and yet, he acts so unbothered by it."
"Maybe he's desensitized to it?" Tetsuya put forth that idea. "I mean, that first one could easily break anybody."
"Exactly." They conveniently sidestepped how they were affected by the event though. "But he doesn't act like it. He acts… well, like he usually does and just goes along with the flow."
"Well, I don't know much about psychology but maybe he just goes along with everything as an outlet. Like I said last time, to keep his mind off of it."
"That would make sense but when he contracted that virus, he just holed himself in his empty room." Ryoko pointed out. "Wouldn't he be thinking about something?"
"Well, it's not like either of us know what's going on in Ritsuka's head," Tetsuya admitted, "And I'm sure that if we talk to him about it, he'll just deny that anything's wrong."
It was annoying but they would expect nothing less from him.
"...Hey, what's that?" Ryoko, who had been looking at the river below them, spotted a golden gleam of something moving very fast.
"What?" Tetsuya, on the other hand, did not see anything.
"Come on, follow me!"
"Wait!"
A dense fog set in as Ritsuka followed the young man closely further into the forest. "Hey, aren't you worried that someone might be following us?" Ritsuka glanced back for a second but obviously could not see a thing.
"Unless they are a member of the royal family or a member of the royal family is knowingly guiding them, nobody can get through Castle Doran's defenses," The young man explained without looking back. "Although from what I heard from Bishop, someone like you could enter the castle without passing through the fog."
"Well, that's news to me."
"We're here."
The person Ritsuka was following stopped walking and the fog cleared a bit, letting the magenta Rider see exactly what was before them. Castle Doran was appropriate as the massive dragon in front of them was infused with a castle.
"Stand still," the man advised as the dragon roared. Instantly, they were encompassed by yellow energy and sucked into the dragon before Ritsuka could let out a single word.
A moment after being eaten by the castle, Ritsuka and the young man were dropped into a hallway. Quickly regaining balance, Ritsuka said, "You know, getting eaten by a dragon was not on the list of things I was expecting to happen today."
"If you have time to snark then you have time to speak with the king," the young man huffed as he went down the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."
It was a short walk through the various hallways of Castle Doran, passing by some maids that were taking care of the interiors of the dragon-building. Eventually, Ritsuka followed the young man into a large room where in the center, surrounded by roses, sat a man on a throne atop a small platform. The man had an air of authority as well as something darker around him. On the back of his left hand was a black symbol in the shape of a bat.
"Father, I've returned with the one you seek." The young man kneeled before his father. For a second, Ritsuka debated on whether or not he should kneel too but decided against it.
"Good, Taiga." The man on the throne briefly smirked at his kneeling son before saying, "Now stand aside, I have business to discuss with our guest."
"Yes, Father." Taiga followed his father's orders and went to stand off to the side as the latter looked at him with deep interest.
"...You did not kneel before," he remarked. "Do you know who I am?"
"Of course I do," Ritsuka answered, not afraid of what might happen.
"Then I must commend you for your bravery, Decade." The older man flashed him a congratulatory smile. "If you were a denizen of my world, you would have been executed for your transgression against me, the King of the Fangire."
"So I get a pass just because I'm not meant to be here?"
"Do not take that as me permitting you to be able to do what you wish in my world." King glared at him. "This world belongs to me and my people. I am only letting this one act pass because you may be ignorant of our laws. Next time we meet, I expect you to be bowing to me."
"Your son said that you require my skills; what do you need my help with?"
"It is a simple matter, you need to hunt down those that broke our laws," King answered, "Specifically, Decade, you need to hunt down a couple of half-breeds."
"Half-breeds?"
"One of our most sacred laws is that regarding our stance against humans. They are cattle to our eyes; a source of nourishment. Nothing more," King explained. "However, there are those that ignore this rule and mingle with them if you catch my meaning."
"Yeah, no need to explain that part," Ritsuka did not need to be told of the birds and the bees from a king of a race of glass monsters. "So you want me to hunt down these Fangires that got a bit too friendly with humanity?"
"No, the true law-breakers had long since been punished for their cries. I need you to hunt down the result of their union." The King of the Fangires had a scowl on his face when he spoke about the first law-breakers. Ritsuka noticed that he subconsciously clutched his abdomen. "Normally, it is the Queen's role to carry out the punishment of those of our kind for this specific crime. However, you will be filling her role now as she is currently… indisposed of."
"Great, guess I'm a queen now." Ritsuka silently snarked to himself. There was no way he would let King hear his comment.
"My son, the crown prince of the Fangires, will be aiding you in your task." King gestured to Taiga. "With his presence, my people will know that you are working for me and will not interfere. He will inform you of their last known location."
'Is it a good time to mention I'm also hunting down a member of your race?' "Before I go, can I ask some questions?"
"You may."
"First, why exactly do you need my help with this? Can't a Fangire deal with these half-humans?" Ritsuka asked.
"A logical question." King seemed to be alright with answering that question. "You are not the first to be hunting them. Several of my subjects have searched for them but ended up killed by these half-breeds. Had those two not already been marked for death, their acts of self-defense would also be punishable by death."
'What isn't punishable by death?!' "Next question; how did you know I was in this world? Or has your son been asking around for me for… days?" Has it really been only 5 days?
"My people and I have been anticipating your arrival for some time," King answered. "Some of them were involved in the destruction of that useless world and we knew that it would not be long before you arrived here."
Ritsuka did not know what to say to that. He should be angry that the King admitted he played a part in the destruction of his world but he was not.
...Was it because he did not truly belong to that world?
"I thought the purpose of destroying my world was to stop me from becoming Decade. Why are you letting me waltz right into your throne room?"
"You are correct in thinking that that world was destroyed to prevent you from going on your journey. However, that does not mean all of us were in agreement that you should be killed."
'What?'
"Let me reiterate; my people joined the coalition of 19 worlds to prevent your journey from beginning but we do not agree that your journey should be stopped in the middle." That did nothing to explain what he meant.
"Okay, final question then."
"Ask it."
"You are Kiva, correct? That's the mark of the King if I remember correctly." Ritsuka watched as the King of the Checkmate Four instantly dropped the facade and glared at him.
"Decade, you are a guest in my court." Stained glass details appeared on the King's body. "Any further insult towards me will result in that status being revoked. Do I make myself clear?"
'Well, that answers that question.' "Crystal, King."
"Then you may begin your hunt. Taiga will escort you out of the castle." The King scowled, looking away from them.
"Come along, Decade."
Taiga hurriedly pushed him out of the throne room and the double doors closed behind them. As soon as they did, Ritsuka heard crashing noises from the other side along with some angry screaming.
"You should have not said that." Taiga gave Ritsuka a look of annoyance. "You're lucky my father did not execute you on the spot."
"Maybe I just have a death wish. Have you considered that?" Ritsuka said as they went back the way they came in.
Meanwhile, Downtown…
"Help me!" A man cried as he tried to run away from his pursuer. As he fled, he constantly ran into things like tables and chairs as well as other people. This slowed him down but for some reason, he did not see his pursuer.
He turned a corner and he felt something punch him right in the face and instantly sent dropped like a sack. He then felt someone pull off the button on his collar as his consciousness slipped away. "I'm taking this as a token of our chase. Be reborn, and walk a new path in life."
He blacked out as his pursuer stood up.
"Minami, couldn't you do it a bit more stealthy?" Megumi complained to Keisuke as she and some policemen approached him and the unconscious man.
"I could've, but that wouldn't be any fun," Keisuke said, putting away the button. The policemen, meanwhile, took the unconscious man away. "So, have you heard from the kid?"
"You do know you are only older by 3 years, right? And no, I haven't." Both of them walked away from the scene as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened.
"What is the president thinking about sending a greenhorn against somebody like Ono?" Keisuke quietly grumbled.
"Why? Actually worried about him?" Megumi smiled slightly at his concern.
"And you're not?"
"Of course I am, but the president knows what he's doing. Or are you implying that his choice may not be correct?"
"...I hate you."
"So what do you want to do now? The job's done," she said.
"Search for those two, of course," Keisuke said like there was no other option. "Let's head to where they were last seen."
With Tetsuya and Ryoko…
"Are you sure you saw something?" Tetsuya grumbled as he followed Ryoko as they went down the street next to the river.
"Positive. You should know better than to doubt my eyesight." Ryoko waved off his concerns. "Who's the one who took home the trophy in the archery tournament for our school again?"
"Eyesight isn't everything in archery, you know."
"It helps!" Despite their bantering, Tetsuya trusted that she actually saw something but was not sure that they were going the right way, especially not when all they had to go on about was a golden gleam.
"Wasn't it you who said just do what we feel like? Well, I feel we should follow whatever it was that I saw."
"I also said the problem would find us."
Eventually, they reached the end of the river, or rather, where the river went underground.
"Right, we should look around here."
"How are you so sure that that thing is around here and didn't part from the river a bit back?"
"Shush, just trust my instincts." Ryoko said, crossing her arms, "I'll go ask around."
The two split up, completely unaware of the small silver bat that was flying above them.
"This is quite interesting," the bat commented to herself, "I should go tell the twins." She then flew in the direction of an abandoned house. Slipping into one of the various cracks in the walls, the small bat heard the voice of her older brother speaking to his partner.
"Everything seems clear," the larger golden bat-like thing said to the brown-haired boy. "As far as I can tell, there are no Fangires nearby."
"Good, maybe we can finally get a good night's sleep." The teen sighed. "Regardless, can you and Kiva-la keep an eye tonight? Just in case."
"Of course." The bat nodded as best as he could, which equated to it bobbing up and down in mid-air. "I'll tell her as soon as she gets back. It may still be lights out, but why don't you get some sleep too?"
"Thank you, Kivat. We wouldn't have made it as far as we have without your and Kiva-la's help."
"Ejsy snpiy zr!?"
"And you too, Sagarc." The boy thanked the flying saucer that spoke gibberish. "Tell Taiga we said hi."
"Yjsml upi!" The so-called Sagarc said before he flew off and out of the abandoned house.
Kivat, meanwhile, went to perch next to a window overlooking the street that led to their hideout. Flying over to him, Kiva-la said, "How are they doing?"
"Oh, Kiva-la, you've returned," Kivat said, "They're doing well considering the circumstances."
"That's good, but…" Kiva-la quietly whispered to her brother. "We might have a problem."
"What is it?"
"A pair of humans spotted you and are in the area," Kiva-la informed. "It might be nothing, but you can never be too careful."
"...What did you do to them?" Kivat squinted his large red eyes at the smaller bat.
"Nothing… yet."
"And what does that mean?"
"Why don't we try nipping this problem in the bud and-"
"No, absolutely not." Kivat cut his younger sister off. "We are not sucking the lifeforce out of any human."
"How about just a nibble? It's been a while since I last fed on anything." Kiva-la pleaded.
"Then ask one of the twins. They would be more than willing to feed you." Kivat reminded her.
"Yeah, but they do not taste too good. The Fangire blood that runs through their veins really sours the taste."
"You do not hear me complaining, do you?" Kivat grumbled, staring back out the window.
"Fine, fine. I'll just go keep watch at the back…" Kiva-la sulked off towards the window on the opposite side of the house.
With Ritsuka…
Reentering the city and currently walking with the prince of the Fangires, Ritsuka asked his new partner, "So who exactly are these half-human/half-Fangires? Your dad seems to have an interest in them."
"What makes you think that?" Taiga dismissively replied.
"Dunno, just a feeling." Ritsuka shrugged. "So who are they?"
"It does not matter to you." Taiga refused to answer his question.
'Somebody's a bit antsy, aren't they?' Ritsuka thought, noting down Taiga's response. "Hey, before we go murder some kids for the sins of their parents, can we make a small detour?"
The prince stopped and turned to him, "Is this related to the job those hunters gave you?"
"Maybe."
"Who is it specifically?" Taiga asked. "Depending on who of us you have been sent against, you will have to abandon your hunt."
"His name is Ono Keita; does that ring a bell, Prince?" Ritsuka emphasized his title.
"Ono… Tsk." Taiga clicked his tongue, recognizing the name. "That one, huh?"
"So you do know who I'm looking for."
"Luckily for you, he is also wanted by Father," Taiga said. "While it is not the task he has assigned you with, he will be glad that you aided in his execution."
"We could just capture him," Ritsuka pointed out.
"No, we are killing him. His judgment has already been passed." Taiga did not care for Ritsuka's opinion. "It will also let me see how well you would do in battle."
"Fine by me. It is supposed to be the role given to me by this world," Ritsuka shrugged as they made their way to the last known location of their new target.
Shortly after…
Eventually, the two arrived in an empty park where their bounty was last seen. Specifically, a silk tree on a hill near a forest.
"Why would he come here? Ritsuka muttered as he walked around the tree, trying to spot something that might lead him to his target, or at least something that would explain why he would be here at the tree. "Taiga."
"Do not address me like we're friends."
"Why exactly is this guy wanted by the King?" He gets why his boss wants this Fangire dead; a single look inside the folder told him all he needed to know.
"Several crimes. In addition to feeding on humans, he has murdered several of our brethren without mercy."
"I'm pretty sure that the first one doesn't concern your dad at all…"
"You are correct; Father does not care about the humans that had been killed," Taiga confirmed. "However, his biggest crime is that he fell in love with a human."
That piqued Ritsuka's interest. "Really? Then why would he be killing humans?"
"His woman died," the prince off-handedly revealed, "After that, the killing began."
"...What exactly happened with the Checkmate Four?" Ritsuka decided to ask.
"Be a bit more specific, Decade." Taiga, surprisingly, was not surprised at the question and seemed willing to answer him.
"As I asked your dad earlier, isn't he supposed to be Kiva? I don't know how I know, but I know the armor of Kiva is the mark of the King."
"...I do not know either. Neither Father nor Bishop is willing to tell me why he lost the title of Kiva," admitted Taiga.
"Bishop?" Ritsuka recognized the name, of course. So he was around… "What about Rook?"
"Rook has been missing for nearly two decades now."
"So not only is the King not Kiva, the Queen and Rook are missing. Really shows how poorly your dad is doing as King… No offense," Ritsuka added after remembering who he was talking to.
"Let us just go search for our target." Once again, Ritsuka was surprised Taiga did not care about the insult directed towards his father.
"Yeah, there's nothing here…" Ritsuka grumbled, walking away from the tree.
Unbeknownst to him and Taiga, they were being watched by somebody hidden among the nearby trees.
'The stakeout proved fruitful…' the person thought as they watched the two young men walk away. They recognized the older of the two; the prince of the Fangires, but why would they be working with a human? Least of all someone like him?
For now, they decided to try and tail the two and find out what they are up to…
With Megumi and Keisuke…
Keisuke moved his fingers across the ground, deep in thought. He and his partner were currently in a damaged, outdoor theater.
The man stood up and took a few steps back, looking at the symbol imprinted into the ground in full.
"A bat, huh…?" He has seen the symbol several times before while he was looking into Kiva's resurgence.
Meanwhile, Megumi was checking a similar symbol that had been imprinted into a nearby wall. It was the same symbol with only some very minor differences. "Say, Keisuke?"
"What?"
"Why do you think Kiva has returned after so long?" She asked him, who merely scoffed in response.
"It doesn't matter. Our job is to hunt him and the rest of his kind to protect humanity."
"You're not even a little bit curious?"
"No."
"And what do you think about the second Kiva?" Megumi asked.
"My thoughts are still the same; we have to correct God's mistake," answered Keisuke without missing a beat. "If you thought I would say anything else, think again."
"Nah, I expected nothing else from you."
Ring-Ring!
"Hmm?" Megumi reached into her pocket and took out her phone to answer the call. "Hello?"
"This is Shima. Where are you and Minami-kun?"
"We're at the Mizaki Park's theater," she answered, "What's wrong?"
"Then you're close by. A known Fangire has been seen nearby; hunt him down."
"Got it." She nodded as Shima informed her of where they needed to go. Hanging up, Megumi looked at Keisuke and told him, "Let's go, and ready the belt."
"Got it."
"Do you really think this is the place?" Tetsuya and Ryoko stood outside the gates of a house that was left in disrepair.
The latter nodded, scanning the front of the house. "Yeah, from what I gathered, the neighbors heard some strange noises coming from this place."
"And are you completely sure that you're right? I mean, I know we're breaking in either way but it'll be easier on my consciousness if you're sure," rambled Tetsuya. Ryoko did not reply though as she was busy trying to squeeze through the open gap in the gates. "Well, in for a penny, I guess."
Meanwhile, inside the house and peeking through the window, Kivat was starting to panic slightly as he watched the two try to get past the fence.
"This is bad…" He muttered as he flew away from his post and into the room his partner was sleeping in. "Hey, wake up!" Kivat landed in front of his sleeping face and slapped him awake.
"Kivat? What is it…?" His partner groaned as he sat up.
"We've got trouble, someone's trying to break in here!" Kivat hurriedly explained as he pulled on his collar. "Hurry up!"
"I'm up, I'm up…" As he followed his winged partner out of his room, he heard the sound of a door squeaking as it opened.
"They're inside," Kivat whispered as he landed on his shoulder. "Proceed carefully…"
"-eaking and entering again? What has our lives ended up to?" He heard one of the people breaking in muttering. "At least it isn't a church this time…"
He stood by the door leading to the entrance hall where the two who broke in entered from.
"Let's split up. I'll check this side, you go that way." he heard a girl say from the other side of the door. A second later, the doors swung open and someone entered the room. Whoever it was, they could not see him on account of him hiding in a blind spot.
"Why did I agree to do this…?" The male of the duo sighed to himself, or so he thought. "Ritsuka's off doing whatever it is he does, and boredom got the best out of Ryoko…"
Carefully and slowly pushing the door back, he tiptoed to the currently complaining boy and was about to hit him in the back of the neck to knock him out. Unfortunately, a crashing sound from the other side of the house caught both of their attention.
"Wha-?! Who're you?!" The intruder turned around and saw him and Kivat right in front of him.
Reacting quickly, Kivat shot off his partner's shoulder and slammed his entire body into the intruder's chest, knocking him off his feet. The latter barely had time to let out a shout of pain before he was punched in the face and knocked out…
"...ey…"
"...
ake up…"
"Huh?" Tetsuya groaned in pain and tried to touch his aching forehead. However, he realized he was tied up to a chair; his wrists being bound with a second length of rope to something else. He also felt something touching the back of his head. "What the-?"
"You're finally awake." The teen looked up to see a boy about his age staring at him. He had short brown hair and equally brown eyes. His clothes were that of a brown school uniform, at least that was the impression Tetsuya got.
"Er… It was all my friend's idea. I did not want to break into your house," Tetsuya tried to defend himself, somewhat unintentionally throwing Ryoko under the bus.
"This isn't our house," Tetsuya heard someone correct from behind. He could not see who it was but he could tell it was a girl from the voice. "My brother and I were just staying here for the night."
"Hey, should we really be telling them this?" Another female voice said.
'Them?' "Wait, where's Ryoko?" He asked his captor(s).
"She's right behind you, who do you think is tied up with you?" The boy in front of him answered. So that was what he felt touching his head. "So why are you here? We can tell you're both normal humans."
"Well, it's a bit of a long story…"
"Then make it quick." The second female voice impatiently said. "Or was it really as simple as you spotting my brother?"
"Your brother?" Tetsuya asked the second voice. He then felt something land on top of his head.
"Why did you follow Kivat?" The boy asked him. "How did you even see him in the first place? He was careful not to be seen by anybody."
"Pure luck, I guess." Tetsuya would have shrugged but could not. "It was my friend who saw Kivat… wait…"
"Kiva's… world." He recalled what Ritsuka had muttered earlier.
"Wait. Could it be…?"
"Huh?"
"Are you Kiva?" Tetsuya questioned the boy.
Immediately, his expression and the tone of his voice became more serious, "How do you know about that? Not many know that name, let alone a human."
"So I'm right?!" That certainly put his mind at ease, that their breaking of the law proved useful. Granted, he and Ryoko were currently tied up but that was fair. They did break in after all.
"Focus, how did you know that name?" The boy asked him again.
"That's… also a long story." Tetsuya nervously chuckled before he felt the pressure on his head disappear and something fly right in his face.
"Stop saying "it's a long story" and expect we will just accept it!" The tiny silver bat-like object screamed in his face. "We're mphm-!"
Somebody grabbed the bat out of mid-air, cutting her off. Tetsuya looked to his side and saw a girl that looked very similar to the boy. She had the same shade of brown eyes and wavy, long hair. Her clothes, meanwhile, looked to be a female version of her brother.
"Quiet, Kiva-la," she scolded the bat that was struggling in her clenched hand.
"Well, it is a long story…" Tetsuya hesitated to answer at first but eventually found the courage to say it. "You see, me and her are not exactly from around here."
"What do you mean?"
"We're… from an alternate universe…"
"...Excuse me but what?"
Meanwhile...
Elsewhere, a man led someone down a deserted alley, saying, "It's right this way."
"Are you sure?" The other person was not too sure about the person he was following. All he wanted was directions to a nearby cafe he heard had the best coffee around. He had asked around and the man graciously offered to lead him there.
However, he was starting to get a bad feeling from the man.
"Yes, the owner wanted his cafe out of the way." The man smiled cheerfully as he led him further down the alley.
However, they eventually came to a dead-end that was out of sight of the main street, thoroughly confusing the second person. "Um… I think I'll go back and-"
He never got the chance to finish his sentence before the man grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. He tried to call out for help but only managed to let out choked cries.
"Sorry," the man said in an unapologetic tone, "But I haven't fed today. I'm sure you will be filling enough."
His eyes widened as stained glass appeared on the man's face and neck. Next thing he knew, something had pierced either side of his neck and then nothing.
A few seconds later, the man dropped his meal's body, letting it shatter as it hit the ground.
"That was… delicious." He smirked as he made his way out of the alley and into the main street. As he walked, he had the lingering feeling that somebody was following him. The sensation remained as he crossed a large bridge into an empty square.
It was then that he realized that something was going on.
"Who's there?!" He shouted, looking around but seeing n0 one. "Show yourself!"
"God has erred." The man heard somebody say. Spinning around, he saw a young man slowly walking towards him. "It is our mission to correct that mistake; the mistake of letting your kind into this world."
"Fangire hunters, huh?" He has heard about them. "Give it your best shot then."
The stained glass details appeared again as he said that. This time though, his body was replaced with that of a blue-and-black prawn-themed monster. His body also now looked as if it was made out of glass.
The Fangire summoned two fang-like illusions above himself and sent them at the Fangire hunter. However, they were shot out of the air by silver darts before they could reach their target.
"What?" The Fangire looked towards the direction where the dart came from and saw a woman with a strangely shaped gun. Looking away was a mistake though as it gave the man the opportunity to run to and kick him squarely in the chest, knocking him back.
"Let's go, Fangire," Minami Keisuke said as he took out a belt with an incomplete buckle. On both sides of the belt were three slots that held whistle-like objects. He then put on the belt before taking out a fist-like weapon from within his coat. The weapon was mostly black and silver and had four golden lines from end to end.
He pressed his open left palm onto the flat end of the fist.
READY
A mechanical tune started playing as he said, "Henshin."
FIST ON
Keisuke then inserted the fist into the empty right side of his belt buckle, completing the image as a golden cross-like symbol appeared on it. It moved from the right side to the red gem on the left before flying out in front of Keisuke, glowing brightly as it did.
The symbol then changed shape into that of the sun as a golden projection of a suit of armor appeared. The sun symbol flew into the chest of the armor which in turn flew into Keisuke. In a flash of light, the armor materialized onto him, mostly losing its golden shine in favor of a blue, white, and black color scheme.
His undersuit was black with white platings over it. His upper body was nearly completely covered in armor, with a silver shield-shaped plating over his chest that had a red circle in it. He also had wide pauldrons that were fused with his large chestplate. His mask meanwhile was mostly white and had a blue band covering the top of his head. The most striking feature of his mask, however, was the same golden cross-like symbol from earlier that acted as his visor. A single, blue gem was embedded into the center of the cross over the black v-shaped line.
"You are… the Fangire hunter?!" The Fangire recognized the suit of armor Keisuke was using. It was the one that had slew his many brethren over the past two decades.
"Fangire," Keisuke stated, the blue gem in his visor flashing repeatedly. "Please return that life to God!"
His visor then split open, revealing large red eyes underneath it. More importantly, however, was that the area around Kamen Rider IXA suddenly rapidly rose in temperature, causing several small bursts of fireballs to appear and explode, hurting the Fangire.
Walking through the flames, IXA readied for battle as he took out his sword.
"A different world? Really?" The brother of the duo that tied Tetsuya and a still unconscious Ryoko up stared into the boy's eyes.
"What makes you think we would just believe what you say?" The sister commented from beside her brother.
"That's exactly why I said it's a long story," said Tetsuya.
"So why are you in this world then?" The brother questioned him. "And why do you know the name Kiva?"
"We- Actually, Ritsuka, a friend of ours, is searching for Kamen Rider Kiva. Not well though, he's busy with something else at the moment," Tetsuya sighed.
"Why would he be looking for m- Kiva?" The brother caught himself before he could say 'me'.
"He's also a Kamen Rider and we're currently on a journey through the multiverse for… reasons."
"Kamen… Rider?" Both siblings tilted their heads in confusion.
"Uh… I don't know either," Tetsuya said before they had the chance to ask him what that meant. "At any rate-"
"Urgh…"
"Ryoko?" Tetsuya heard the girl groaning as she woke up behind him.
"Tet...su? What happened?" She asked as she shook her head. "Wait, why are we tied up?!"
"You are… Ryoko, correct?" The younger sister walked over so that she could see her face-to-face.
"Ah! You're the one who knocked me out!" Ryoko recognized the girl, having seen her face a brief second before she fell unconscious.
"Sorry about that, but you are the ones who broke in."
"That's right! We broke in first! If you want to find a place to stay, we aren't sharing!" Kiva-la said from her spot on top of her partner's head.
"What?!"
"It's a long story," Tetsuya told her, earning him a small huff of annoyance from the girl.
"That explains nothing."
"Exactly!"
"Alright, let's start from the beginning," the brother said. "I am Kishinami-"
Before he could completely introduce himself, the strumming of a violin filled the room.
"This is…" He muttered before looking towards his sister. "Take care of them. Kivat and I will deal with this."
"Leave it to me." She nodded to him before he exited the room.
"Kivat!" The male Kishinami shouted to his bat partner, who had been perched by the entrance.
"Got it! Let's go!" Kivat exclaimed as the two left the house in search of the Fangire…
Kamen Rider IXA slashed his foe relentlessly with the IXA Calibur, a black-and-silver sword with a red blade. On its tilted hilt was a red gem with golden wings. One end of the hilt was jutting out, revealing the barrel of a gun.
After making another slash with his sword, IXA kicked the Fangire he was hunting again, forcing him back.
"A Knight Templar… huh?" Ritsuka muttered as he and Taiga watched the battle from nearby. It was by pure chance that they stumbled onto this battle. They were passing through the area when they saw several people evacuating. Having his curiosity peaked, he went to investigate, much to the chagrin of the prince.
They watched as Minami Keisuke transformed into Kamen Rider IXA and began fighting the Fangire. However, something about the armor started to remind Ritsuka of something. Another distant memory…
"-reigner. Ja-"
"IXA, the Fangire Hunter," Taiga stated, snapping Ritsuka out of his thoughts. The prince of the Fangires scowled as he watched the Rider fighting, and winning, against one of his kind. "Where are you…?"
"Hmm?" Ritsuka glanced at the prince, having heard his muttering.
"You," Taiga stated with a frown. "Go protect him."
"Why don't you do it?" Ritsuka rebuked him. "Aren't you also a Rider?"
"So?"
"Nothing, just wondering." Ritsuka smiled as he took out the Decadriver and put it on. "Just sit back and watch, Prince. Henshin."
KAMEN RIDE: DECADE
Now in his armored form, Ritsuka made his presence known by shooting IXA with Ridebooker as he stepped out of cover.
"What the-!" IXA turned around to see an unknown Kamen Rider. "Who are you?!"
"My name doesn't matter,"Decade said, activating the voice-distorting feature within the suit. "You will be destroyed soon either way."
"Your voice…" Hearing and recognizing the other Rider's voice, IXA gripped his sword's handle with both hands as he raised its blade. "Fine then. If you want a fight, then I have no choice but to cut you down."
Decade changed his RideBooker into its sword mode before he charged at the knight. They soon locked swords, sparks flying off as the blades scraped against each other.
They stayed there for a few moments before IXA suddenly leaped back, throwing Decade off-balance as he was pushing all his weight in the standoff. Taking advantage of his moment of weakness, IXA dashed forward and slashed Decade across the chest.
While that attack did hurt, it did not do as much damage as IXA would have liked as Decade returned the favor and slashed him back.
As the two Riders were busy battling with each other, the forgotten Fangire tried to make his retreat. However, there was someone else who was watching the battle.
"Don't you dare run away!" The Fangire heard before he was shot by the silver darts.
Megumi narrowed her eyes as she targeted the Fangire's vital spots, mainly the head. Her shot flew true as they hit precisely where she aimed for hurting the glass monster. However, her assault was cut short as she heard fast footsteps approaching her before her Fangire Buster was knocked out of her hands.
"What-?!" She barely had time to turn to her attacker before she was forced to defend herself from a strong kick that still managed to knock her back. "You are…?"
Megumi stared at the young man that was protecting the Fangire. She recognized him from somewhere but did not remember.
On the other hand, the Fangire knew who his protector was. "Why are you here?!"
"Escape." Taiga simply replied, staring down the female Fangire hunter. "I will keep her distracted."
"Thank you!" The Fangire shouted as he continued his retreat without question.
"You… Wait a minute!" Megumi finally realized who the young man was. "You're the prince of the Fangires!"
"Indeed I am," Taiga confirmed her suspicions, taking out a white handle that had a blue disc in it. "And for harming one of my subjects, I shall pass judgment on you, hunter."
A red rod slid out the handle, turning the Jacorder into its rapier mode.
Now knowing the identity of the young man before her, Megumi motioned for him to come at her, ready to fight for her life.
Back with Decade and IXA, they traded blow after blow, not flinching or stepping back after any attack. The latter Rider, however, noticed who his partner was currently fighting with and turned to his opponent.
"You. Are you working for the Fangires?!" He demanded, locking blades with Decade once again.
"At the moment, yes," the magenta Rider replied. "No hard feelings. The King scouted me out… well, not personally but he sent the prince."
After taking a moment to take in his words, IXA said, "You're right; there will be no hard feelings. Anyone who works with those monsters deserves no mercy!"
'Wow… Racist,' Ritsuka thought.
With Megumi, she dodged a stab from Taiga as she slowly and steadily made her way towards her dropped Fangire Buster. Evading another attack, she took the chance to grab her gun. She failed though, as the rod of the Jacorder knocked it further out of reach.
The rod then snapped back and hit Megumi in the head, knocking her out as the whip retracted back.
"This is the prince's judgment: death." Taiga readied his weapon to deal the final blow.
"Megumi!" Seeing this, IXA pushed Decade back and quickly pulled the bottom of the IXA Calibur's handle. He did not have time to aim and just sprayed bullets at the prince.
"Mpy pm zu rsyvj!" Before they could hit Taiga, a white disk-like object flew in and protected the prince from the bullets.
"Sagarc! Where have you been?!" Taiga shouted upon seeing his partner.
"Taiga, dpttu. O fofmy lmpe ejtrt upi ertr." Although Sagarc was speaking gibberish, Taiga understood him perfectly.
"I forgive you," he smiled at the disk. "Let's go."
"Urd!" Sagarc shouted before attaching himself to Taiga's waist, a belt appearing and securing him in place.
"Henshin!" "Henshin!" Both Taiga and Sagarc announced as the former slid the end of the Jacorder into a slot on the side of Sagarc. He pulled his weapon out and the blue dial started spinning. The Prince's body then turned to quicksilver before shattering, revealing his Rider form.
His suit was black and had small silver chains snaking all over it. In addition to his large shoulderpads, his chestplate had stained glass details as one would expect from a Fangire. His mask had large blue eyes along with a white crown that had a red gem.
"This is better," Kamen Rider Saga said to himself before he joined Decade in fighting IXA, conveniently forgetting about Megumi. "Let's duel."
"Kyaaaa!" Nearby, a woman shrieked as glass shards stabbed into the sides of her neck. Soon, she turned to glass as she was drained of her Life Energy.
"More… I need more…" The Prawn Fangire muttered as he dropped the lifeless husk of a body. He had sustained several heavy injuries from his fight with IXA and needed to absorb more lifeforce to heal himself.
"Kivat Kick!"
"What?!"
Before he could try and look for more humans to feed on, a large golden bat flew in from nowhere and kicked the Prawn Fangire in the back of the head.
The Fangire turned around t0 see the bat flying around a teenage boy approaching him.
"You are-?!" The bat's appearance was all the Fangire needed to figure out the boy's identity.
"Kivat."
"Yes! Kivat ikuze!" The bat proclaimed as the boy caught him in his hand before bringing Kivat against his other hand. "Gabu!"
As Kivat bit into Kishinami's hand, the latter's skin gained stained glass details similar to a Fangire's as a hypnotic tune played from nowhere. Chains wrapped around his waist before shattering, revealing a blood-red belt that had whistles on either side of it. The buckle, meanwhile, had a horizontal bar on the top side.
"Henshin," Kishinami called out as he perched Kivat onto his belt, the bat hanging upside-down as his claws hooked onto the bar. Like Saga, his body turned to quicksilver and changed shape. A moment later, the coating shattered and there stood Kamen Rider Kiva.
As seemed common among the Riders of this world, his undersuit was black with most of his armor being on his upper body. However, there were chains wrapped around a silver shin guard on his right leg. Most of his chestplate was blood-red while his back and shoulders were silver. Finally, his mask had yellow eyes that were shaped like a bat's wings.
"Kiva!" First the hunter, then the prince, and now the fake king. What was his luck today?!
Normally, IXA's Rider System would be enough for any Fangire. However, against two Riders, one of whom was one of the strongest Fangires in the world, he had a hard time fighting them off. When he tried to defend himself from one of them, the other would strike him from a blind spot. Not helping was Saga's ability to fight from a distance.
Participating in his favorite pastime of crossing blades with Decade, IXA withstood being whipped in the back by Saga.
"There's no point in continuing this battle,"said Decade. "Why don't you just run away?"
"Shut up, traitor!" IXA angrily shouted, swiftly taking the IXA Knuckle out of his belt and punching Decade. A halo of fire radiated from the impact as Decade stumbled backward.
Turning around and pulling the sword's hilt again, the knight-themed Rider shot at Saga. However, the other Rider used the Jacorder's whip to slap the bullets out of the air. IXA pressed the assault and continued to try shooting Saga. Eventually, one bullet got past his defense, hitting Saga in the shoulder.
As he rushed towards his foe, IXA pushed the bottom of the handle up and the blade popped back up. He made a heavy downward strike, cutting Saga down the chest.
"You bastard…" Saga grunted, holding his chest in pain.
"Gaaah!"
Before they could clash once again though, the pained scream of the Prawn Fangire grabbed their attention as the glass monster rolled back into the area.
"What?!"
"Why are-?" The question was immediately answered as another Kamen Rider landed nearby. One look at the Rider and everyone recognized him.
"Kiva…"
"Kiva?!"
"Why are you out here?" Saga muttered as he stared at the Kamen Rider.
Kiva, meanwhile, ignored the presence of the other Riders and continued kicking down the already beaten Prawn Fangire. He grabbed the latter by the tendrils poking out of the top of the Fangire's head, lifting him before kneeing the monster in the face.
"Ooh… That's gotta hurt…" muttered Decade before he remembered what Taiga had told him to do. "Oh, right; I have to protect him."
ATTACK RIDE: BLAST
Sparks flew off Kiva's armor as energy bullets hit the Rider, making him stop attacking the Fangire.
Seeing the other Rider turn to look at him, Decade said, "Sorry, it's nothing personal. It's just that the prince here asked me to protect that guy you're beating up."
Letting go of the beaten Fangire, Kiva prepared to do battle with the new magenta Rider. Decade, meanwhile, put his weapon back onto the side of his belt, feeling that he should do something to even the odds for Kiva.
The two stared each other down for a few moments before they both charged at each other in tandem. Simultaneously, they punched each other in the chest, sparks flying off their armor again.
"..." Saga watched silently from the sidelines, not sure who he was supposed to help. On one hand, Decade was fighting for him; to protect a member of his kind. On the other hand, Kiva… he was…
IXA CALIBUR: RISE UP
IXA, meanwhile, went over to the injured Fangire, who was trying to get away again, inserted one of his whistles into a slot on top of his belt, and pushed the IXA Knuckle into the left side.
The circle on his chest started to glow, the sun symbol appearing on top of it as lightning began charging on the IXA Calibur. Behind him, an illusion of the burning sun appeared and blinded the Fangire, leaving him open for a single, final slash from IXA.
Lightning shot off the Prawn Fangire as he screamed in pain. His body hardened, the stained details becoming more prominent before, finally, the Fangire's body shattered.
Now that the Fangire has been dealt with, IXA turned to face Saga, whose back was turned to him. The prince of the Fangires did not seem to notice that one of his kind was murdered a few feet away.
"AH!" IXA cried as he slashed Saga in the back.
"Taiga!" Kiva spoke up for the first time seeing the Rider get attacked from behind. He pushed Decade away and ran to help Saga fight off the knight Rider.
Landing a jump kick on IXA, Kiva forced him back and glanced at Saga, "Are you okay?"
Saga, however, ignored his concern for him. "What are you doing out here?!" He demanded, pulling Kiva back by his large collar. "I told you to lay low for a while!"
"Hmm…" Decade hummed, watching the two's exchange. "Could it be…?"
"I-"
"We'll deal with this later," Saga turned the Jacorder into its whip mode and attacked IXA, sending him rolling onto the ground.
After recovering, IXA looked up to see that the other three Riders had disappeared, leaving him alone in the square.
Removing the IXA Knuckle out of the belt, Keisuke disengaged his transformation before remembering something. "Megumi."
"-if you didn't hit me with a freaking frying pan!"
"Ryoko?" Ritsuka recognized the girl's screaming as he and his two new… allies entered the abandoned house.
"We're back…" Kiva, now detransformed, muttered as they entered another room where Ritsuka saw his friends currently tied up in the center of the room. A young girl that looked nearly identical to Kiva was watching over them, and on top of her head was a small silver bat similar to Kivat.
"Welcome back… Taiga?" The girl glanced at them and noticed that the prince of the Fangires was with them. "And… who are you?"
"Ritsuka!" His friend ended up introducing him before he could do so himself.
"Save us! That small bat thing wants to suck us of all our blood!" Tetsuya shouted.
"Oh, quiet. I wasn't serious." The silver bat huffed, sounding offended.
"Your voice…" Ritsuka felt like he had heard the bat's voice before from somewhere. He just could not place where…
"I apologize for Kiva-la's behaviour," sighed Kivat, who was perched on Kiva's shoulder. Like his sister, Ritsuka also recognized the bat's voice from somewhere…
"Good. As an apology, why don't you untie us?" Ryoko pleaded, looking at Kiva in particular.
"You still haven't explained why you broke into here," The brunette girl reminded the two before glancing at the new arrivals, "Or why your friend is with my brothers."
"Brothers?" Ritsuka turned to look at Taiga and Kiva, "Oh, I get it now. That's why your dad wanted me to kill them."
"What?!" A chorus of 'whats' echoed in the room at Ritsuka's words.
"To some extent," nodded Taiga, "But mostly because of their heritage."
"Taiga, what are you talking about?" Kiva, or as Ritsuka now confirmed to be Taiga's brother, asked the prince.
"Well, if you want me to murder a couple of royalties, tell your dad my price just tripled."
"Decade, we're not even paying you."
"...Then why am I working for you?!"
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Let us introduce ourselves; we are-"
"The sins of their father must be paid with his children's blood."
"Why did you recruit him?! He's working for the Fangires!"
"What exactly did their dad do to yours?"
Chapter 8: Replay: Sins of the Father
A/N: Welp. Done with this chapter. Unfortunately, the person everyone's been waiting for didn't get the chance to shine for now. Just wait a bit and she'll have her time in the spotlight.
As you probably noticed, I went out of my way to avoid naming them yet because… I'm still unsure on what to name them. S0 I decided to put up a poll on my profile for that. Go vote on it.
One of the best things coming from this chapter is that I finally got the opportunity to listen to Kiva's soundtracks, besides Break the Chain and Supernova that is. So far, Circle of Life and This Love Never Ends really sticks out for me.
I don't remember what else I wanted to say so… Please leave a review and all that stuff!