Disclaimer: As per usual, I do not own anything at all.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Specifically, Decade, you need to hunt down a couple of half-breeds."
"You are Kiva, correct? That's the mark of the King if I remember correctly."
"You still haven't explained why you broke in here, or why your friend is with my brothers."
"Well, if you want me to murder a couple of royalties, tell your dad my price just tripled."
"Hang on one second!" shouted the older twin (at least he's sure they were twins) Ritsuka was supposed to be hunting down. "What exactly do you mean by killing us?"
"You heard me, Kiva-"
"Don't call me that."
"-The King hired me to kill a pair of half-Fangires. I'm assuming that's you two," finished Ritsuka, ignoring the brunette's comment.
"Of course the King is behind this; who else could it have been?" the youngest of the siblings sighed.
"Can someone please untie us already?!" Ryoko, meanwhile, was more interested in getting out of her restraints than whatever they were talking about.
"Oh, sorry about that. Kivat."
"Got it." The golden bat nodded before flying off his partner's shoulder and cutting the ropes tied around Ryoko and Tetsuya.
"Finally…" She rubbed her sore arm. The rope had been tied a bit too tightly. "So what was all this talk about royalty?"
"Before that, introductions are in order," the older twin said. "I am Kishinami Hakuno."
"And I am Kishinami Hakunon." The younger sister introduced herself, earning some confused expressions from the three. Well, Ritsuka had a more incredulous look than the others.
"..."
"..."
"What?"
"Your name is Hakunon."
"That's correct."
"And your brother's name is Hakuno."
"Yes."
"...Your parents had a terrible naming sense."
Chapter 8: Replay: Sins of the Father
Meanwhile…
In a gym on the other side of town, the president of the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization was currently working out.
"President!" His relatively peaceful workout session was swiftly interrupted by Keisuke storming into his gym with an angry look. "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Oh, Minami-kun? How is Kuzu-chan?" Shima took his subordinate's barging in well. Putting down the barbells, he went over to the treadmill and turned it on.
"Where did you find that boy?!" shouted Keisuke.
"I assume you are talking about Fujimaru-kun," said the president, "What has he done to earn your ire? You're usually only this upset over Kiva."
"That boy, Fujimaru, he was working with the Fangire Prince and protecting Kato."
"...What did you say?" The treadmill stopped.
Keisuke further elaborated, "He admitted to me that he was approached by the prince personally."
"For what reason? Did Fujimaru say?" asked Shima, getting off the running equipment.
"No. But if he has allied himself with the Fangires, then he is humanity's enemy!" Keisuke proclaimed.
"...I will review IXA's combat footage. Until then, I recommend you to stand down."
"But-!"
"Leave the belt. It'll be returned to you once I am finished with it," Shima ordered him.
"...I understand." Keisuke painfully forced his hand to reach into his pocket and took out the IXA Knuckle, and placed it on the seat of an exercise bike. The belt itself joined it a moment later.
The bounty hunter made his way out of the gym but not before giving the president one last look…
Back with Ritsuka and the others…
"Is that how you endear yourself to people? By making fun of their names?" Hakuno stared at Ritsuka, who had made that earlier comment about their parents.
"Not really, I usually don't want to endear myself to anyone in the first place." Ritsuka shrugged, "I mean, I know siblings usually have similar names and all, especially twins, but really?!"
"Hey, it's not like we had any say in the matter," Hakunon huffed.
Tetsuya, a bit annoyed with his friend's attitude, grabbed Ritsuka's head and forced him to bow. "I apologize for his behavior. He can be a bit irritating at times."
"At any rate, I am Kivat-Bat the Third," Kivat continued the introductions, "And on Hakunon's head there is my little sister, Ki-"
"I can say my name just fine!" Kiva-la huffed, interrupting Kivat. "I am Kiva-la, partner to Hakunon here."
"Smf o sz Sagarc!" The small flying saucer that was flying around Taiga's head said.
"And you?" Ryoko glanced at Taiga, who was standing arms crossed against the door.
"My name does not matter to lowly mortals like you." Taiga huffed, looking away from them.
"What did you say?!"
Tetsuya had to physically try and restrain his friend from attacking the admittedly overtly proud man. "Wait, Ryoko!"
"Jor mszr od Taiga!" Sagarc tried to tell them his partner's name but they, expectedly, did not understand a word he was saying.
"Umm… What did that thing say?" Asked Ryoko, having calmed down slightly at hearing Sagarc's gibberish.
However, that had ended up angering Taiga for some reason, his Fangire markings appearing on his face. "He is not a thing!"
"Eh?!"
"Vsaz fpem Taiga," said Sagarc, "Djr fprdmy zrsm smuyjomh nu oy."
"..." Whatever Sagarc had said did its job, as Taiga had put on his aloof demeanor again and leaned on the door.
Seeing as his brother was not interested in adding anything to the conversation, Hakuno decided to introduce him for convenience's sake. "As Sagarc was trying to say, his name is Taiga."
"Taiga? Another one?" Tetsuya remarked. This was the second Taiga they have encountered, after Kamen Rider Snipe in the previous world.
"He is also the prince of the Fangires," added Ritsuka, surprising his friends.
"Wait, prince of the what now?"
Ignoring Ryoko's confused comment, Ritsuka turned to the Kishinami twins and said, "And since you're his siblings, that would make you also royalty."
"Technically, but we don't consider ourselves as such," Hakuno replied.
Hakunon added to her brother's response, "Besides, our… legitimacy as royals of the Fangire throne is questionable at best."
"I guess being half-bloods really puts a dent in your stake for the throne," Ritsuka remarked, earning a scoff from the twins.
"That doesn't matter; neither of us is interested in it in the first place," Hakunon said.
"I see-"
"Can we please put a pause in this conversation?!" Ryoko, not following what they were all talking about, asked, "We're a bit slow on the uptake.
"Fine…" Ritsuka sighed, "Let's start from the very beginning then; the nature of this world."
"Wait, so it's true then?" Kiva-la asked. "You guys are from another dimension?"
"That we are," said Ritsuka before he started to explain the situation to his friends, "In this world, there are other species that humanity… not-so-peacefully coexist with."
"That's an understatement," Hakuno muttered.
"The Fangires, which as the name implies, are similar to vampires."
"Decade, do not compare us to those bloodsuckers," Taiga, ever the pretentious prince he was, scoffed at the mention of the undead menaces. "The difference between us and them is as clear as night and day."
"Again, slow down," grumbled Ryoko. "First off, vampires are real?!"
"Apparently." Ritsuka looked as surprised as his friends were at the confirmed existence of vampires. "But that doesn't matter at the moment. Back to the Fangires, they're a race of ancient monsters that like to suck humans dry of their Life Energy."
"You do remember that we're still in the room, right?" Ritsuka, once again, ignored Hakunon's remark.
"...What do they look like?" Tetsuya asked, glancing at the Fangires, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Their bodies tend to look like they're made out of stained glass," Ritsuka answered without a second thought before he realized why Tetsuya would be wary of them. "Oh yeah, you might've seen them during… that time."
"That time? ...Oh." It took a moment before Ryoko understood what he had meant by 'that time'.
"Not I'm the one not following anything." "Yeah…" The Kishinamis shared the same sentiment as Kivat did.
Continuing on from where he left off, Ritsuka said, "A group of four Fangires known as the Checkmate Four, named after the more important chess piece minus the Knight, are their rulers. They have a King, Queen, Bishop, and Rook. In essence, a monarchy."
"And they-" Ryoko referred to the other trio in the room, "-are the King's children?"
"What do you think?" Taiga sarcastically asked.
"Taiga is. My brother and I aren't."
"So this isn't filicide by proxy." That puts Ritsuka's mind slightly at ease. "Then you two are the Queen's children?"
"Yes."
"So that would explain why the King wants you all dead, Hakuno. You being Kiva in addition to having royal blood, he probably thinks you're a threat to his position as King," Ritsuka told the older twin.
"Well, he can stop thinking that. As Hakunon said, I have no interest in the throne," Hakuno stated.
"Ehh, can one of you explain that first part to us?"
"What Decade is saying is that the power of Kiva traditionally belongs to the King. That had been the case since the second King." Surprisingly, it was Taiga who explained it to Ryoko. "But due to circumstances, my father no longer has the Kiva's armor."
Kivat added to Taiga's explanation, "My and Kiva-la's father, Kivat-Bat the Second, used to be partners with the King just as we are to the twins. The only thing we know is that they had a falling out and he left the King nearly two decades ago for… someone else."
"Uh… Thanks for the clarification."
"You're welcome, miss," Kivat said.
"..."
"Where were we?" Ritsuka asked himself, "Oh, yeah, the Checkmate Four. From what I gathered in the three hours we've been in this world, they're in a very sorry state. The King is just as useless as the chess piece, Queen and Rook are missing, and Bishop… Hey, Taiga, what exactly is Bishop's role?"
"His role is the keeper of Fangire laws," answered the prince, "And I'll remind you again, do not address me like we are friends."
"So he's basically useless. That's good to know," snarked Ritsuka. "Two out of the four ruling Fangire's are missing, and the remaining two don't really do anything."
"Decade, you are aware that you are insulting my father, correct?" Despite saying that, Taiga did not sound upset at the jab towards the King. "And, despite appearances, my father should not be underestimated."
"Remember what I said when we left the throne room? Yeah, that again."
"Ritsu, for every thing you explain, you say something that confuses us."
The door to the house he and Megumi picked up Fujimaru Ritsuka was not locked, letting Keisuke enter to start his investigation. While the president had recommended he should stand down, it was just a recommendation, not an actual order. As such, Keisuke had elected to investigate further into the boy that had sided with the Fangires.
However, he ran into his first problem near-instantly. That is, there was nearly nothing to investigate. The entire house was practically void of any furniture, excluding a few rooms that had futons in them. The only true thing of note in the entire house was in the main hall; a backdrop of Kiva's symbol implanted onto the moon.
"What's this supposed to mean…?" Keisuke lightly touched the pictured symbol, not expecting an answer to his question.
However, he heard a response from behind him.
"That's quite a mystery, isn't it?"'
"Who's there?" Keisuke quickly spun around and saw somebody standing in the doorway… and recognized them. "...Why are you here?"
"The same reason you are, of course," the other person said, walking up to Keisuke, "I'm a bit interested in the Fangire's new pawn. What was his name again?"
"...Fujimaru Ritsuka," Keisuke answered hesitantly.
"Hm…" The person had a thoughtful look on their face, as if they were trying to remember something. "Fujimaru… Fujimaru… It's not a name I recognize."
"A name you recognize?" That confused Keisuke for a moment. "Wait. Is he a-"
"My finely-tuned instincts says "yes, he is." I might be wrong but if he is one, then that might explain why he would side with those bloodsuckers," the other person said before correcting themselves, "Well, lifesuckers but you get my point, don't you?"
"Elaborate a bit more."
"People like him tend to have no morals; there's nothing that they wouldn't do for power and/or knowledge. That's my best guess anyway."
"I see…" Keisuke glanced back at the backdrop before talking to the other person again, "How do you know about that boy in the first place?"
"It was pure happenstance, really. I was staking out that tree the Fangire known as Ono Keita was known to visit and saw Fujimaru with the prince," The person explained, "Followed them to that brawl you all had but lost them."
"So how did you know to come here?"
"I followed you of course, but this ended up being a dead end," the person sighed in fake frustration. "At any rate, I'm going to go investigate more into this Fujimaru guy. See if there's anything else to figure out."
They promptly left the room to do just that… How was a question that was in Keisuke's mind, but he knew better than to ask them about their or their organization's methods.
"Maybe I should get a drink first…" Keisuke muttered to himself before leaving the house, making sure to lock the door behind him.
Back with Ritsuka and co…
"So are we all caught up now?"
"Kinda…" Ryoko replied, "So after you ran off with those Blue Sky Group members, you were approached by the prince of the Fangires to work for the King. Am I getting that right?"
"Yup."
"And the King hired you to murder us, with Taiga acting as your credentials for working for the King," Hakunon continued.
"That's right."
"Taiga, what exactly were you planning to do?" Hakuno asked his half-brother. "I doubt you were going to lead him to us."
"My plan was to lead Decade along for some time. From what I heard from Bishop, he has a reputation for getting into trouble every ten steps he takes."
"Hey, it's not my fault all you guys decide to run amok when I'm in town," huffed Ritsuka.
"Doesn't mean he's wrong, Ritsu," Ryoko smirked at her friend's annoyance.
"..."
"Say, Tetsu, you've been a bit quiet," she had noticed that her other friend was not speaking much; not since that topic about Ritsuka working with… the Fangires.
"Hey, Ritsuka?" Tetsuya called out.
"Yes?"
"Can we… talk in private?" he requested. "There's something we need to talk about."
"Sure," Ritsuka shrugged.
"You too, Ryoko."
"I'm coming." The three left the room to head to the other side of the house, leaving the siblings by themselves.
Once the three dimensional travelers got themselves away from the prying ears of this world's Riders, Tetsuya immediately confronted Ritsuka.
"What exactly are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" Ritsuka looked confused at his friend's questions.
"I'm pretty sure what he's talking about is you working with the Fangires," Ryoko answered for Tetsuya, now sharing his worries.
"That? Oh, it's nothing," Ritsuka answered, "It's probably just going to be a one-time thing."
"Nothing?! You yourself think that they were involved with the destruction of our world!" Tetsuya pointed out.
"And that's where you're wrong."
"What? But you said-"
"I don't think the Fangires were involved; I know they were involved. The King said so himself," Ritsuka said.
"What?!"
"Then why the hell are you working for them?!" Tetsuya demanded, more than a little upset with Ritsuka's reply.
"I think you guys are forgetting something. I was speaking to the King. The strongest Fangire in the world. In his living dragon castle. That was filled with his Fangire servants." Ritsuka calmly and slowly answered. "I wasn't in the best position to deny him anything. One might even say I had no choice but to agree."
"Oh… Right." Hearing his explanation, the two calmed down.
'That's what I want to say anyway…'
Back in the other room, the three (half-)siblings were discussing things themselves.
"Hakuno, why did you go outside?" Taiga asked him. "I ordered you and Hakunon to stay here for safety."
"The Bloody Rose was acting up again," Hakuno explained as if that would excuse his actions.
"Still, it's dangerous for you to leave, let alone transform."
"We would ignore the call if we could, but you know we can't. You know that," replied Hakunon.
"Just be thankful that the only witness to your appearance was that hunter," Taiga said, "There is little chance word of me aiding your escape reaching my father."
"Remind me again why do the rest of the Fangires follow him in the first place?" Kiva-la spoke her mind. "I mean, he is a horrible person, even by Fangire standards. There was a reason dad left him and it was not just 'a falling out'."
"That may be true but he still has the King's Mark," answered Taiga. Like the earlier insult towards his father, he was not angry at the smaller Kivat's words. "That's not to mention how your first meeting with the King went."
"You would think that being beaten by a mortal would've sent him pummelling down the ranks…"
"Kiva-la."
"Oh, sorry. A slightly more than average human," Kiva-la corrected herself. "But my point still stands."
"Regardless of what Kishinami Otoya did, so long as the King's Mark remains on his hand, our people will follow his words."
"Our… people…" Hakuno muttered. A part of him still found it hard to believe that he and his sister were truly half-Fangires.
Had the King himself not verified it for them, he would still not believe it…
Sometime ago…
Wake Up!
A crimson red fog set in and the bright blue sky darkened, the crescent moon shining high above them.
He focused on his right leg and a second later, the chains broke as the silver plates opened with force. Blood red wings were revealed before he leaped into the air. Positioning his foot towards the Fangire he was fighting and flew towards it.
His foot made contact and the force of the blow blew the Fangire back. Its body hardened before, finally, it shattered.
The sky returned to a blue hue as he let out a heavy sigh. That was finally over with.
"Brother!" He heard his sister call out to him. Looking towards that direction, he saw her walking towards him, obviously done with her side of the battle.
"Hakunon…" He sighed again, before chuckling, "Come on, let's go back ho-"
Before he could finish what he wanted to say, both of them felt a malevolent aura pierce through them. Whatever or whoever it was, it made them freeze in place.
"We finally meet again, future Kiva," a similarly malevolent voice said, "Or should I just say Kiva?"
"Who's there?!" They both turned to see who was speaking, and saw him. A man in crimson red and black robes standing on top of a nearby set of stairs.
"Has no one warned you of me? You must have been aware of my identity on some level, even with your tainted blood." The man gazed at them with a look of disgust.
"Tainted?" They could not move under the glare the man had. "Who are you?!"
The man huffed, his contempt for the two plainly obvious. "I am the King of the Fangires; and the end of you half-breeds."
"King?!"
"Did you truly believe your slaughtering of my subjects would not gain my attention?" The King had a dark smirk on his face. "I've been waiting for your emergence for the past two years. But you…" he glanced at Kiva-la. "I was not expecting you."
"What are you talking about?!"
"But that does not change anything. The sins of the father must be paid with his children's blood." Fangire marks appeared on the man's face before, a moment after, he reverted into his true form. "Now, it's extermination time."
To say it was pure luck that they had barely gotten away from the King with their lives was an understatement. Since then, they had been on the run, forced to leave behind the human lives they had. The only thing they took with them was the violin case containing their late father's final creation.
"Hey, Hakuno?"
"Hm?" The boy looked up to see Kivat's concerned face. "What is it?"
"You've been zoned out for the last three minutes."
"Oh, sorry."
"At any rate, we should discuss our next move," Taiga stated, "Even though this place may still be safe, it's best not to take the chance."
"So where do we go next then?" asked Hakunon.
"There might be one place, but we should wait for Decade to return with his friends."
"Wait for what?" As if on cue, Ritsuka and company reentered the room.
"How safe would you say your residence is?"
"...Why?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'll be the first to say it; this place is terrible!" Kiva-la shouted as the group stood in the main hall of the Fujimaru residence. After the brief issue of the front door being locked, they moved to their new hideout. "Why isn't there anything in here?!"
"We didn't exactly have time to furnish the place before leaving," huffed Ritsuka.
"Even that last place is better than this place! Broken furniture is better than having no furniture!"
"Kiva-la, that's enough," Hakunon scolded the small bat. "Not that you're wrong…"
"I'm really starting to regret working for you now," Ritsuka glanced at Taiga with an exasperated look.
"This will only be temporary; I'll be looking for a place for them to stay in," the prince responded as he exited the room, not interested in staying there much longer. "Take care until then. Let's go, Sagarc."
"Vpzomh!"
"Well, he's gone," Ryoko remarked, not really upset to see him go. "So what? We hole up in here again?" She did not fancy being playing games of U*o for the rest of the day.
"Not like we really have much choice," Ritsuka shrugged.
Hakuno, meanwhile, was more interested in the backdrop depicting his symbol. "...Ritsuka-san? Why is this here?"
"That? Don't know either. It just happened to be like that when we came here." Or was it more like they came here because it was like that? Whichever case it was, they had zero clue about the backdrops too. "So, Hakuno, Hakunon… Alright, there has to be something else I could call one of you. Somebody has to have given one of you a nickname."
"Is he always this annoying?" Hakunon asked Ryoko, who responded with a shrug.
"Rarely, but yes."
"Since I'll be talking with you more," Ritsuka said to Hakuno, "I'll just be calling you Haku. That okay with you?"
"No?"
"Well, too bad. I'm calling you Haku."
"At least it's leagues better than any other nickname you had as a kid, right, Hakuno?" Kivat said as he flew around his partner's head.
"Anything would be better than Zabino…"
"I have…several questions."
"What was I going to say again?" After that short detour concerning Hakuno's nickname, Ritsuka steered the conversation back, "Haku, Hakunon, what happened between your and Taiga's fathers? Besides the whole 'sleeping with the Queen' thing."
"...What did you say?"
"Ritsu!"
Needless to say, that question had caught the twin off-guard and Ryoko to slap him in the back of the head. The boy barely noticed it though, and continued to press the question. "I… Uh, we overheard something about Kishinami Otoya and that he did something to the King. What was that about?"
"It's… a long story."
"Of course it is…"
Cafe mald'amour…
Keisuke, in the meantime, was rereading the dossier that was compiled by his organization over a cup of hot coffee. Before, he had simply made a cursory glance through most of the information. Same goes for Megumi.
Upon further inspection he had noted something odd about Fujimaru Ritsuka's life. Namely, that his work for some organization was strangely barren. Nearly everything after he had turned 17 was missing minus a couple of visits to his parents. After leaving that agency, he joined the Wonderful Blue Sky Organization and rapidly rose through the ranks until the president promoted him to join Keisuke and Megumi.
"I'm 19 apparently, and probably an orphan."
"Hmm…" Keisuke recalled what the boy had said earlier in the van. The bounty hunter had brushed it off but what he said was questionable. Fujimaru was unsure of his age or what happened to his parents.
"Here you go!" A young-looking boy exclaimed as he placed a new cup to replace Keisuke's empty one.
"Thank you, Ramon." He thanked the part-timer without looking up from the papers. More specifically, he was focused on the one detailing (or lack thereof) Fujimaru's time at his previous job.
"C.S.O." He read the acronym.
That was the only name written within the file; no meaning, just C.S.O.
"What's that supposed to mean…?" It was not based anywhere in Japan as far as he could tell. The folder mentioned that he took a flight out of the country to work… at 17.
Just what was this group? Would the president know?
Even if he did know, it would not matter as Keisuke could not exactly go to him for answers.
"C.S.O…" He heard someone say from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, Keisuke saw it was the cafe's proprietor. "Could it be…?"
"Kido-san, do you know what this group is?" Keisuke politely asked him.
"Hm… the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; maybe that's it?"
"...No."
"To tell you the story of what happened to the King, we have to go back a few months before that. And a bit of a warning, we only know it second-hand," Hakuno started to explain the events regarding his and Hakunon's father. "It was nearly twenty years ago when-"
"Wait a second," interrupted Ryoko, "Who told you about all this?"
"Does it matter?"
"I just would like to know the source."
"It was our mother who told us back when we were kids," Hakunon answered.
"Queen of the Checkmate Four, correct?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yes… Although we weren't aware that she was a Fangire, let alone the Queen, until recently," Hakuno said, "Can we get back to the story now?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Ahem. About twenty years ago, our parents met in front of a cathedral. Father had thought she was a friend of his. Our mother said it was the first time she was mistaken for somebody else."
"That…doesn't really sound that-"
"The average lifespan of a Fangire is several centuries," Ritsuka explained to Ryoko.
"That does sound more important now that we know she's a Fangire," Hakunon admitted. "After that, they met a couple more times. What was it that she said father told her?"
"'Once is coincidence, twice is a miracle, thrice is inevitable, four times is fate.'"
"Sounds romantic," Ryoko commented, "You guys really have a good memory to remember a story from…"
"14 years ago."
"14 years ago. I barely remembered what I did when I was 5," Ryoko said, impressed with their memory.
"Well, since all we know about our father is from her stories, we keep them close to our hearts."
"That sounds nice." Although… Was it bad that Ritsuka wanted them to speed it up a bit? Probably (read: definitely) yes.
"During their fourth meeting though, something happened," Hakuno continued, "We don't know what, mom did not say, but dad lost his memories."
"Well that took a very sharp turn," Ryoko remarked. Ritsuka, meanwhile, was much more interested in the story now.
"Mom was there when it happened and she helped him recover his memory but…"
"But?"
"She masqueraded as a friend of his to do so."
"...What?"
"Our mother pretended to be someone else when father lost his memories," Hakunon reiterated what her brother said.
"..." Ritsuka glanced away. Something about that specific line intrigued him.
"He recovered his memories quickly though. By the end of the day, he remembered everything and mom left him."
"Lucky him…" muttered Ritsuka, earning a look from everyone including Tetsuya, who had been completely quiet the entire time. "About him getting his memories back. Besides, since you guys exist, they obviously met again."
"Yes, that's skipping ahead to the end but they met several more times, and they eventually made this together." Hakuno opened the violin case he had been carrying with him and showed it to them. As expected, they saw a beautifully-crafted violin inside. "The Bloody Rose."
"It looks beautiful."
"Isn't it?! To make a violin as amazing as this, it's-"
"A lifelong dream of yours. We know already," Hakunon finished her brother's sentence for him. "Soon after, our father died and we were born."
"When we were 6, mom left us at our father's old house and disappeared," Hakuno finished the story.
"..."
"Uh, I don't want to sound rude or anything-"
"You've been nothing but rude towards us this entire time."
"-but where does the King fit into all this?"
"Well, we learned recently that our father once fought against the King. Whatever happened, the King fell into a deep sleep and father died not too long after."
"A deep sleep, huh?" Recalling his meeting with the King, Ritsuka remembered that the King was clutching his abdomen. If he were to venture a guess, then the pain would be from the fight with the Kishinamis' father. "So, Haku, how long have you been Kiva?"
"About four months now," Hakuno answered, "Why exactly are you so interested in me personally?"
"Yeah!" Kiva-la shouted, agreeing with the boy. "Hakunon is also a Rider as you call us yet you seem to ignore us!"
"Wait, what?!" Ryoko exclaimed, staring at the other girl. "You're a Kamen Rider too?!"
"Yes," Hakunon confirmed, "I don't transform as frequently as my brother does but I'm the same."
"Finally, we meet a female Rider." Sure it was only the third world, but Ryoko had been wondering if Riders were exclusively guys.
"About two weeks ago, the King approached us and… we've been on the run since."
"So the King does move from his throne, huh?" Ritsuka said, "And he managed to beat you two, I assume?"
"Yes. Fangires had broken into our house and we had to bounce from place to place with Taiga secretly helping us," Hakuno told them, "We knew him when we were younger and revealed to us we were siblings."
"So he would rather help his half-blood siblings rather than his all-powerful father. Guess he has a heart underneath all that jackassery," Ritsuka hummed before he heard a familiar voice in his head.
"Go upstairs, we need to talk."
"...I'll be back," he said as exited the room, "I need to use the toilet."
"See ya."
"Finally…"
When Ritsuka entered his room, he saw nothing besides his empty bed. When he turned around and closed the door, he heard that guy's voice again.
"So what do you think about that story?"
"What is this all about?" Ritsuka did not answer as he looked back, seeing the familiar hooded figure that has been stalking him for the past two-and-a-half years staring out the window.
"I'll get to that, but first, let's talk amnesia," the man in black said, "If memories are what defines a person, then someone with no memory is essentially a blank slate. Am I wrong?"
Ritsuka debated on whether he should answer him. However, he knew that he would continue talking regardless.
"Without past experiences to influence their actions, a person can easily end up making many mistakes that they'll regret. For example, Kishinami Otoya made the mistake of believing in the Queen's lie."
"Kishinami Otoya?" That was the twin's father. How did he know his name?
"But who ended up regretting it? Him, or the Queen?"
"I mean it this time; what are you going on about?"
"Maybe they didn't end up regretting anything at all. So how about you?" The hooded man turned to look at Ritsuka, "Have you losing your memories led to you regretting something? Say… siding with the Fangires?"
"I didn't side with the Fangires," Ritsuka denied, "...in general."
"Right, you think that helping the King might persuade him to reveal more information about the destruction of your friends' world, am I wrong?"
"No, nineteen worlds worked together to try and kill me; of course, I'm curious," Ritsuka replied. "...Nineteen?"
"But you also have absolutely no grievances about helping the Fangires."
"..."
"You told them that you agreed to help the King because you weren't in the best place to refuse, but you don't really care that you're helping someone who admitted that they conspired to kill you."
"..."
"Wait, that's dumb of me," the hooded man started to laugh to himself, "But wasn't it the other way around? You accepting aid from someone who tried to kill you."
"..."
"...Hey? Are you listening to me?"
"Ow!" He walked up to Ritsuka and flicked his forehead. "What was that for?!"
"Wow, you really weren't listening," the masked man sighed to himself. "So? What was distracting you?'
"...The King mentioned nineteen worlds worked together, right?"
"Yeah? And?"
"Then why do I have 21 cards?" Ritsuka took out the KamenRide Cards (excluding his own) and showed it to the other man. "If there are 21 Rider Worlds, then shouldn't there have been 21 worlds trying to kill me?"
"Oh, that? Well…" The man seemed to be at a loss for words. "Why don't we just ignore that for now? That wouldn't matter for a while."
"Answer me." Ritsuka glared at him, but it did not seem to have an effect on the hooded man.
"Oh right, there was a reason for me calling you up here," the man in black quickly changed the subject, "It's about Kiva, or rather, Kishinami Hakuno."
"What about him?"
"Does nothing about him, or his sister for that matter, ring any bells in that forgetful head of yours?"
"Should they?"
"Oh, but hearing their pets' voices do?" The hooded man continued their back-and-forth of questions, "Simply because their voices happen to be similar to ones you've heard before?"
"I… don't know what you're talking about. Their voices do mean anything to me."
"Lying to yourself again? That's pretty sad," The young man shrouded in black pretended to sigh. "I have to say though, you really need to learn to lie to me better. You're a Master of lying to others but whenever I'm concerned, that's thrown out of the window."
"Well, I-"
"Ritsuka-san?" Ritsuka was interrupted by hard knocks on his door and Hakuno's voice. "Taiga called; he needs you to return to Castle Doran immediately."
Hakuno stood at the door for a few seconds before it opened and Ritsuka walked past him, irritatedly saying, "I'll be on my way then."
"O-Okay then…"
"What ruffled his feathers?" Kivat questioned from Hakuno's shoulders.
"Who knows?" Hakuno glanced inside the bedroom, which was mostly empty. "...Who was he talking to?"
A few minutes earlier…
Taiga was walking down a walkway next to a large river when he heard his voice.
"Where are you going, my prince?" He looked above him to see a man in priest-like clothes leaning onto a fence. "Should you not be following our King's orders and be searching for the half-bloods?"
"I am. Decade and I have decided to split up," Taiga answered with a calm demeanor. "What about you, Bishop? Should you not be by my father's side and tending to his injuries?"
"I am here under his orders," replied Bishop of the Checkmate Four, "You and Decade are to return to the castle. He wishes to speak to you two."
"Why? He only assigned our task four hours ago," Taiga pointed out the flaw in his father's orders.
"Does it matter? Make haste to the castle. Your father awaits."
Bishop then disappeared in a shower of particles, leaving Taiga.
"Ejsy djpiaf er fp?" Sagarc asked.
"What else? We're going home," Taiga stated as he took out a phone and proceeded to call Hakuno.
Ring-Ring
"Hello?" Hakuno answered the call, "Taiga?"
"We really need to recharge our phones…" Ryoko remarked. They obviously did not know the end of the world was coming when they went out that day. As such, they had left their chargers back home. To put it simply, their phones had been dead for the past four days.
"Okay, I'll tell him," Hakuno said before the call ended. "Um, how long will Ritsuka-san be in the toilet?"
"Just bang on the door and tell him what you need to," Ryoko told him, "The toilet's upstairs at the end of the hall."
"Got it," Hakuno nodded before exiting the room and making his way upstairs. However, he heard muffled voices as he walked down the hall.
"Wh...bout...hem?"
"Is that Ritsuka-san?" Hakuno stopped in front of the door he heard the magenta Rider's voice coming from.
"...earing the…does?"
There was another voice coming from inside, speaking to Ritsuka.
"Lying…etty sad… Master at…"
"Well, I-"
"Ritsuka-san?" Hakuno decided to knock on the door and a few seconds later, it opened.
As much as it annoyed him to be interrupted, Ritsuka was happy Hakuno had cut the conversation short. That hooded man can really get on his nerves with his cryptic question and not-answers. Walking to Castle Doran gave him the chance to clear his mind for the headache that was that aggravating man's words.
"Master of lying…" Ritsuka muttered to himself as he walked down the empty street, "What does that mean?"
As he was not watching where he was walking, it was not a surprise when he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry," he said without a second thought and continued on his way, not even taking the time to see who it was that he bumped into.
"At least you're a bit more polite than most," Ritsuka heard the other person say, "I guess that's not too bad."
"What did you say?"
He spun around to get a closer look at the other person, who he realized was a woman. As her back was turned to him, he was not able to see her face. What he could see though was her blue hair that reached their shoulders.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Ritsuka asked.
"So which is it? Power, or knowledge? Personally, I'm banking on the latter," The blue-head said. "Although, it wouldn't matter much if it was for power."
Ritsuka correctly assumed that she was talking about him working for the Fangires. "Are you with Blue Sky?" Maybe that explains the blue hair.
"No, not really," she answered, "I work with them sometimes when it comes to exterminating those lifesuckers, but I'm not an official member of their group. Not that I was ever given the chance to join them. That fitness-crazed president of theirs doesn't like me that much."
"Then who do you work for?"
"Oh, you still can't tell?" The woman giggled a bit before asking, "This is your first time meeting one of us, right? The Agency has no documentation about any Fujimarus."
"Agency?"
"You really are locked out of the loop, aren't you?" She remarked. "Regardless, let's begin."
Ritsuka barely had enough time to react as the blue-haired woman quickly turned around and nearly decapitated him. Had he not ducked and rolled back, he would have surely lost his head.
'Sorry, Taiga. Looks like you have to deal with your dad on your own.'
Fujimaru 'residence'...
"Hmm…" Ryoko hummed as she stared down a silent Tetsuya.
"...Do I have something on my face?" The boy finally broke his silence when he noticed her stare.
"Come with me for a sec." She grabbed Tetsuya's hand and dragged him out into the hallway, leaving behind the Kishinamis and Kivats. Once they reached the entrance, Ryoko let go and asked him, "Spill it; what's on your mind?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Tetsu, it's written all over your face," Ryoko dryly remarked. "This is about Ritsuka helping the Fangires, isn't it?"
"Ryoko, when… you know, happened, did you run into a Fangire?" Tetsuya hesitantly asked.
"No, did you?"
"Two of them," he revealed to her, "I… saw them turn people into glass and shatter them."
"Oh… I… don't know what to say." Sure she also saw something similar to what Tetsuya saw, but they were currently in the world the Fangires came from.
"I'm just wondering why Ritsuka seems fine working for them." Their friend might have said that he had no choice but to do so, but Tetsuya noticed he seemed a bit too cavalier about it. "The Fangire leader told him that they helped destroy our world but Ritsuka didn't sound like he cares."
"What makes you say that? Ritsu said he didn't have a choice."
"Right, he didn't have a choice, but he never said he didn't want to work for them."
"You're…overthinking it," Ryoko said despite knowing he had a point. "He didn't need to mention it to us."
"Maybe you're right…" Ritsuka was not like that. It went without saying he would have issues working for them… right?
Meanwhile, Castle Doran…
"Father, I've returned," Taiga announced as he bowed to the King. He had noticed several of the decorations that were in the room earlier were now conspicuously missing and that there were dents within the walls.
"...Where is Decade?" King stared at his son's kneeling figure.
"He's still looking for the half-bloods."
"And? Have either of you located them?"
"No."
"..." Taiga heard his father get off his throne and walk towards him. The tips of the King's shoes entered his vision as he dared not to look up.
"Taiga." His father's voice was much closer now. "Tell me; as prince and future King, you know what your role is, correct."
"Yes."
"Then say it."
"...To prevent humanity from becoming a threat to the Fangire race," answered Taiga.
"Correct. The half-breeds may have Fangire blood running through their veins, but so does human blood. They had stolen the power of Kiva and are using it to murder our kind; to protect humanity,' the King said with a dark tone. "It is your duty to protect our subjects from them with all your abilities. Do you understand that?"
"I do."
"Then why are you not taking this matter seriously?"
"I-"
"Bishop told me that Kiva managed to escape both you and Decade in your previous battle," the King interrupted his son. "I had sent him to keep a watchful eye on our guest. He reported to me that you hesitated to fight against Kiva when he appeared and that contributed to his escape."
"I- Gah!" Taiga did not have the chance to explain himself as the King kicked him in the shoulder, sending him sprawling back. He felt a foot being pressed against his chest. Looking up, he saw his father glaring at him.
"Their status as your half-siblings should not cause you to hesitate!" The King started shouting. "Their mother was that traitor of a Queen! Do not tell me you sharing blood with them has made you weak!"
The King twisted his foot into his son's chest, eliciting a pained cry from Taiga.
"The half-breeds' connection to your mother should only further your resolve to slay them, not weaken it! Or are you just as traitorous as she was; caring for lowly mortals like the Kishinami?!" The King's voice was filled with venom. "Their father stole that power of Kiva and was the reason I lost my physical form for 18 years!"
The King removed his foot and stepped away from Taiga. "Leave, and do not return until those two are killed."
With no other choice but to obey, Taiga got off the floor and stumbled out of the throne room, the doors closing behind him. He quickly made his way outside of Castle Doran and saw the last person he expected to see.
"Bishop."
"My prince," Bishop bowed slightly to him.
"...Father ordered you to follow me earlier, correct?" Taiga narrowed his eyes at his father's advisor. "And you saw everything in the battle."
"That's correct. I saw everything," Bishop said with a small smirk on his face, "Even your… questionable retreat."
"Then why have you not informed my father?" It did not escape Taiga that the King would have executed him if he knew that he helped his half-brother escape. The fact that his father did not bring it up was strange, to say the least.
"Would you prefer it if I did?" Bishop asked back.
"Answer me."
"I'll put it in terms I know you understand; in addition to being the keeper of Fangire laws, the duty of the Bishop is to make sure the other members of the Checkmate Four are suitable for their roles."
"...I see."
"If that's all, I must return to your father's side," Bishop bowed again before Castle Doran brought him inside it.
Taiga glanced back at the castle for a moment before he walked away, debating with himself as to what he should do. For now, he will be looking for where Decade ran off to…
Ritsuka did not know how it happened, but his fight with the blue-head woman that suddenly attacked him eventually led them to a warehouse.
As far as could tell, his opponent was human, or human enough for him to hesitate using the Decadriver.
"What's wrong? Not using that pink armor of yours?" She taunted him before she threw one of her rapiers at him.
Of course, he managed to evade the attack. "It's not pink, it's magenta."
"Pink, magenta, same deal; why aren't you using your it?"
"Even though you attacked me first, I'd rather not use Decade's power against a normal human… semi-normal human," Ritsuka answered.
"Aww, thanks for worrying about me," the blue-haired girl fake-swooned before saying more seriously, "That line of thinking will just get you killed in the real world."
"Maybe I just have a death wish, you ever thought about that?" Ritsuka shot back before his attacker threw more of her seemingly endless amount of swords at him.
"Is that why you decided to help the Fangires? Because you want to die? 'Cause that's a surefire way to get your life sucked out of your body."
"No, it's just that I do whatever people want me to do. That's it," the boy told her.
"In that case, why don't you let me do my job and lie down. I promise I'll make this quick."
"...Nah, I don't really like you," Ritsuka smirked as he watched the woman's smile disappear and be replaced by an annoyed frown.
"Well, the feeling's mutual, Fujimaru," the blue-haired woman huffed.
"Oh right, you know my name," remarked Ritsuka, "I never caught yours."
"Give me a reason why I should bother telling you my name."
"...Because it's polite?"
"...Good enough for me," the woman said after a moment, "You can call me Ciel for the next ten minutes. After that, you wouldn't need to worry about my name."
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"As a traitor of the human race, I'm afraid that the only path for you is death."
"No matter where you go, they'll never stop chasing."
"There is only one way for you two to escape judgment."
"Then our next step is clear; we have to murder the King."
Chapter 9: Checkmate: A New King
A/N: Shortest chapter so far but still broke 8k, which is good enough for me. So long as the average word per chapter is more than 10k, I can work with it.
Last chapter's review usually covered one of two subjects: the lack of the Church's presence, and that Ritsuka seemed to recognize Hakunon. To the first subject, I have to say that Kiva's arc is one of the few that I planned more than 50% of. Of course I was planning to have the Church be a part of it! Granted, there was only one short mention of Ciel last chapter so that's on me really…
The other thing, Ritsuka recognizing Hakunon, was a misconception everyone seemed to agree on. It was Kiva-la's voice he recognized, not Hakunon's. It was supposed to be a joke to Kiva-la's VA (don't remember her name) also voicing several Servants in the franchise. The ones I can name off the top of my head are Mordred and Rama. The paragraph after also mentioned Ritsuka recognizing Kivat's voice, who is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, who also voiced [REDACTED].
Also, is it just me or does it seem Taiga is the focus of this arc rather than Kiva? Meh, the Kishinamis will get their time to shine… Didn't I say that last chapter too?
As always, please leave a review and all that stuff.