Across The Kaleidoscope Chapter 9: Checkmate: A New King, a Fate/stay night + Kamen Rider Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: Don't own Kamen Rider or any Nasuverse stuff. You guys know who they belong to.

Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope

"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."

"Have you losing your memories led to you regretting something? Say… siding with the Fangires?"

"Their father stole that power of Kiva and was the reason I lost my physical form for 18 years!"

"You can call me Ciel for the next ten minutes. After that, you wouldn't need to worry about my name."

Whatever the Agency was, they had trained Ciel well as all Ritsuka could do was duck and weave under her weapons. For some reason, he had the feeling he had seen them before from somewhere.

After narrowly avoiding another sword to his face, Ritsuka ducked behind a bunch of barrels for cover. He heard the blue-haired woman shout at him, "Stop running already!"

"And get stabbed in the heart? No thanks!"

"That's not the only place I'm ramming my Black Keys in if you continue being a pain in my ass." One of said Black Keys, as Ritsuka now knew their name, pierced through his cover right next to his head. "Normally, I'm like stuff like that but-"

Before she could finish speaking, Ritsuka kicked the ruined barrel at Ciel to shut her up. His attempted murderer simply cut the barrel to shreds with a swipe of the Black Keys held between her fingers.

"Sorry, but I don't need the person trying to kill me to also be flirting with me," Ritsuka snarked.

"Don't think too highly of yourself, Fujimaru. You're cute, but I'm not interested in someone who willingly chose to help the Fangires," Ciel smirked at him, "We're just engaged in witty banter until you're dead."

"So I can't flirt my way out of this?"

"No," the blue-haired woman simply stated as she threw more Black Keys at him.

This time though, he did not dodge them. Instead, he knocked them out of the air with a swipe of the RideBooker.

"Looks like I'm not getting out of this one without a fight," sighed Ritsuka. Not that he ever got out of a fight by talking so far, even during his school days. "Guess I should take this more seriously."

"Fine by me," Ciel had a more serious look on her face now. "Let's see what you're made of, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

Chapter 9: Checkmate: A New King

Meanwhile…

After being discharged from the hospital, Megumi quickly made her way to her (boss') favorite cafe where she saw her partner looking intensely at the papers in front of him.

"What are you looking at?" Megumi sat across from him and peeked at the papers. "Oh, him."

"Yes, Fujimaru Ritsuka," Keisuke confirmed, "I am still trying to understand why a human like him would be aiding the Fangires."

"And?"

"From what I read about his life, he was a normal boy. No juvenile record, no close relatives that had any shady dealings, a perfectly normal life," said Keisuke as he slid over a paper to her. "At least, until he joined C.S.O."

"C.S.O.?" That was not a name Megumi was familiar with. "What's that?"

"That's the issue; there is absolutely no indication of the group's name or purpose. All there is about it is that Fujimaru Ritsuka was hired by them approximately two years ago and that he recently left it," Keisuke told her, "After that, he joined Blue Sky and-"

"I know the rest," Megumi interrupted him, reading the paper. "Out of the country, huh?"

"Yes," nodded Keisuke. "I tried searching for the group on the Internet but nothing seemed to be the right choice."

"Does the president know?"

"I'm not certain. He doesn't know that I'm looking into Fujimaru's background."

"Did he forbid you to investigate or something?" Megumi asked as Ramon returned with a plate of food and placed it on the table.

"Here you go, Megu-chan!"

"Thanks!" She said before quickly digging into her meal with gusto, much to Keisuke's mild disgust.

"Can you not eat more properly?"

"Hey, I just got out of the hospital. Cut me some slack," Megumi pouted but still continued to eat.

Keisuke, meanwhile, just let out a sigh of exhaustion as he gave up on the dossier. There was nothing else he could extract from it and was now just a dead end. Was there something else he could check?

Well, there was one but he would very much not go to those guys for answers. Despite liking to say he is following the Lord's will, those Executors for the Holy Church tend to go too overboard for Keisuke's liking. At least their usual contact with them is with that blue-haired woman; she was usually friendly enough with him and Megumi.

While that woman, Ciel, did say Fujimaru was helping the Fangires for either knowledge or power, Keisuke had his doubts about that. From the very short time he knew him, Fujimaru Ritsuka did not strike the more experienced Rider as someone who would do anything for those two reasons.

After quietly thinking for a moment, he remembered something about Fujimaru that confused him. "Where did he get his Rider System?" Keisuke muttered to himself, which Megumi only overheard the last part.

"You mean that pink armor?"

"It is magenta," Keisuke corrected her.

"Same deal, what about it?"

"That Rider System was artificial but not developed by Blue Sky. Who made it and how did Fujimaru obtain it?" There was one likely suspect but with no clue as to what their name even stood for, he was not going to get a concrete answer anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Megumi had the same line of thinking as he did. "I'm more than willing to bet my life savings that his Rider System was made by this C.S.O. group." The near-two-year gap in his life was all the proof they needed in her eyes.

"I wouldn't say you are wrong but it's best not to jump to conclusions; no matter how likely it is," said Keisuke as he put everything away. "Just because C.S.O. seems to be the obvious answer, that does not mean they are the makers of Fujimaru's Rider System."

"You've got a point…" Megumi begrudgingly admitted before a stray thought crossed her mind, "Hey, do you think Fujimaru could be a spy for his group?"

"What do you mean?"

"If whatever C.S.O. is was the one who made his Rider System, why would they let him keep it after he left?" If Fujimaru's Rider System was even half as valuable as IXA is, then no one in their right minds would let a 19-year-old take it with them. "Maybe he's actually still working for them and was sent to infiltrate Blue Sky."

"If he is a spy, then he is a terrible one," Keisuke remarked. "He was just assigned a task by the president and immediately went to help the Fangires."

"I guess that's true." Once again, Keisuke was correct.

"Oh, I thought you two would be here. "

"Hmm?" It was at that moment that the two noticed that their boss had just entered the cafe and was standing at the doorway.

"Oh, President Shima."

"How are you feeling Kuzu-san?" He asked her as he approached their table.

"I'm good, nothing too bad," Megumi answered.

"That's fortunate." Shima smiled briefly before turning to Keisuke. "Good to see you did not run off searching for Fujimaru."

"Have you finished reviewing the combat data?" Keisuke said, not actually saying he did not do that.

"I have," Shima answered with a serious look. "I know you were not thinking too clearly earlier but you could have mentioned that Fujimaru has a Rider System comparable to IXA."

Oh… Right, he did not mention that fact at all when he stormed into the gym. "I apologize, sir."

"Do not worry about it." Shima accepted his apology before he placed the IXA Knuckle and Belt on the table. "Now that we know what we are dealing with, you may have IXA back for your next assignment."

"And that is?"

"Hunt down and eliminate Fujimaru Ritsuka," Shima stated with a solemn look. "Whatever his reasons for helping the Fangires is, it doesn't change the fact he has done so.

"You know," Ritsuka said as he parried a slash from Ciel. "You still haven't told me who your boss is."

"Does it matter?" Ciel retorted.

"Seeing as you're trying to murder me and all, I would assume I have the right to know who you work for." Ritsuka stepped back and put some distance between him and his foe. "Since you're not with Blue Sky, who are you with?"

"...I can't tell if you're serious or not," Ciel said after a moment of staring at his face. "Does my clothes not give it away?"

"Your clothes?" Ritsuka parroted, taking a closer look at what Ciel was wearing. "...Are you a nun or something?"

He could have sworn that she was wearing something else earlier. Now though, Ciel had what was basically a priest's outfit, complete with a cross necklace around her neck.

"Alright, I thought for sure you're a magi but how do you not know what I am?" Hold up. She thought he was a what now?

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not a magician like you think," Ritsuka confessed, "That's not to say I can't do some parlor tricks; I know how to make a couple balloon animals if you'd like."

"I thought you said you'd take this seriously?" Ciel huffed, summoning more Black Keys in her hands.

"I said I'd take it more seriously. If I took this fight completely seriously, you'd be out of breath already."

"Do I have to say it again? You're not flirting your way out of this," Ciel said as she threw more Black Keys his way.

"If you're taking this as me trying to flirt, then you're sorely mistaken. I could do way better than this."

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm just saying, blue-heads are a bit too much for my liking." Ritsuka tried to slash her but Ciel blocked it with her Black Keys. He did not really care for hair color (mainly because he did not care about having a romantic relationship with anybody) but if it was to get under her skin and lower her guard, he would be willing to say it.

"Hey, I've been told my blue hair has made me very desirable," Ciel huffed. "If you're not attracted to it then that's your problem."

"Oh, so you want me to be attracted to you?"

"...You really are going to be a pain in my ass, aren't you?" Ciel had a look of barely restrained exasperation on her face.

"I thought you said you like that sort of thing," Ritsuka smirked, enjoying the frustrated look she had.

"And now I'm starting to regret saying that."

Fujimaru 'residence'...

"Say… Hakuno-san?" Tetsuya cautiously called out to the brunette boy.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Can I ask you and your sister something?" Hearing herself get mentioned, Hakunon looked up from her phone.

"Sure."

"The King, what is he like?" Since Ritsuka was working for him, Tetsuya was concerned about his friend's safety.

"Eh…" The faces they were giving him did not do well to give him much confidence.

"You do know that the King is trying to kill us, right?" Hakunon stared at him with an incredulous look. "Does that not tell you what you need to know about him?"

"He's just wondering why Ritsu would be willing to work for him," Ryoko explained for Tetsuya. "Especially since…"

"Your friend, Ritsuka," said Hakuno, "Why exactly was he looking for me?" He wanted to ask that earlier but Ritsuka had run off before he got the chance.

"To be honest, we have no clue either." Ryoko shrugged.

"So what do you know?"

"Er…"

"You're not exactly the best of friends, are you?" Hakunon commented, which neither Ryoko nor Tetsuya could really deny.

"He's just… prefers to keep us at arm's length ever since we started traveling around."

"And before that?"

"Well, we wouldn't call him the most social guy there is, but Ritsuka was not as… active as he is now."

"Active?"

Ryoko clarified, "As in going out and actually doing things. He usually tries to stay in the background ever since he enrolled in our school." Well, their old school now. "He didn't usually succeed though, he's pretty popular. But that's changed now."

"Did anything happen to cause it?" Hakuno asked. Obviously, he meant nothing bad about his question since he was ignorant of their world's destruction.

"Something did happen but…" For some reason, Ryoko did not think that that was the reason for his slight change in personality. Not the sole reason anyway.

"Maybe you two did not know him as well as you thin- Hmph!" Kiva-la's insensitive comment was cut off by Hakunon snatching her out of the air again.

"Kiva-la, what did I say about-" Hakunon went off to scold her Kivat partner.

"Please excuse what my sister said, she can be a bit rude most of the time," Kivat apologized to the two. However, both Ryoko and Tetsuya could not help but think that Kiva-la had a point in what she said…

He had no idea how it happened (That's a complete lie) but Ritsuka was now trying to seduce a battle nun in a bid to persuade her to let him go free.

It was simultaneously going somewhere and nowhere at the same time.

What did he mean by that? Well…

"For starters, why don't you tell me where you come from?" Ritsuka politely asked as he blocked a blow from Ciel. "From your name, am I wrong to assume you're not from around here."

"First, that's racist," Ciel called him out, their weapons grinding against each other, "Secondly, I'm half-Asian."

"And the other half?"

"French," she answered, pulling back and trying to go for Ritsuka's legs. "And I know what you're going to ask next; my name means sky."

"Blue hair, name means sky; are you sure you're not with Blue Sky?" Ritsuka asked again for confirmation, "You'd be perfect for it. Well, you're not that wonderful but two out of three ain't bad."

"And that's another Black Key going up your ass, Fujimaru." Ciel did not take that little joke that well it seems. Maybe. She sounded like she was both joking and was completely serious. "So it should be my turn to ask questions, right? Let's go back to my first one then."

"And that is?" Ritsuka quickly put some distance between him and Ciel again and switched the RideBooker into its gun mode. However, his attempts to shoot her failed as Ciel was skilled enough to block the bullets with her Black Keys.

"Why are you helping the Fangires? If you're truly not a magi as you say you are-"

"I can say with complete confidence that I'm not a wizard."

"-then why would you help those lifesuckers?"

"Well, the King said that he's heard of my skills so he wanted my help to hunt down a couple of half-blood," Ritsuka told her, "Actually, I was on my way to meet him when you decide to murder me."

"You what?!" Ciel cried out and stopped attacking him momentarily in surprise. "You don't mean the actual King of the Fangires!" She had known he was working with the prince but the fact he met the King himself was news to her.

"I guess a human meeting the Fangire's leader and surviving is pretty big," Ritsuka muttered to himself. "I'm just helping him because he knows some things that are important to me."

"Oh, so it was for knowledge." Ciel puffed her chest, her earlier assumption being correct. "So what is this oh so important knowledge that led you to betray humanity?"

"Simple, they and a bunch of others tried to kill me," answered Ritsuka, "I want to know why they did that."

"You want to know why a race of monsters that consider humanity to be beneath them would try to kill you?" Ciel questioned his motivations. "You sure it's not as simple as that?"

"Of course, it's not that," said Ritsuka. "I know it's not as simple as that, and I have to know why."

"So siding with the very people that tried to murder you was the plan you came up with?" Ciel gave him a look of disbelief. "What makes you think those monsters wouldn't try to kill you again?"

"...I might just have a death wish, you ever thought about that?"

"That was not an answer, Fujimaru," the blue-haired woman said to him. "While I have to admire your willingness to go so far as to ally with the Fangires, the only path for you is death. Even if you do learn what you want to know, they'll just kill you once you outlive your usefulness."

"So you'll let me go get killed by Fangires instead?"

"...No." And their fight continued again.

This time though, someone was now watching them fight, hidden from view.

"You really can't go ten steps without getting into trouble," The man in the black cloak sighed to himself as Ritsuka parried another attack.

"I know I'm not supposed to ask this so soon but how old are you?"

"None of your business!"

"...And he's shamelessly trying to work his charm on her." The cloaked man let out another long sigh. "Why can't you be a bit less… you?" That technique does not even have a 100% success rate!

He deliberated on whether he should intervene or not. On the one hand, that annoying boy needed to be done with Kiva's world as soon as possible and move on to the next. On the other hand, summoning more monsters was not only a pain to do but sooner or later, they will notice their footman disappearing. He did not need that yet.

He could always try to summon something from the other Rider Worlds instead but that would be even harder to do. Sure, he could do with a Gurongi or Bugster but that would be too boring.

"Wait, why am I overthinking this?" The young man slapped himself in the forehead for missing the most obvious choice.

"I'm a bit confused about one thing though," Ritsuka admitted to Ciel, "Why are you dressed like a nun?"

"Because I'm an Executor for the Holy Church," the blue-haired woman answered, "It's my job to execute those that go against the Lord's will, such as bloodsuckers and the Fangires."

"And people who help them."

"And people who help them," Ciel confirmed, gripping the handles of the Black Keys more tightly.

Ritsuka, meanwhile, muttered, "Well, I guess they are one of the 13 Demon Race, but since when did the Church have assassins working for them?"

"We're not assassins," She denied his claims.

"Well, I think otherwi-"

Ritsuka did not get the chance to finish what he wanted to say though, as a large burly figure smashed through one of the warehouse's walls.

"A Fangire?!" The one that interrupted Ritsuka's and Ciel's fight had an orange color scheme to them. In addition to its large claws, the similarly shaped appendages came out of its shoulders and covered its face.

"That is…" Ciel recognized the Fangire, having been chasing it down before more pressing issues reared their ugly head, "Ono Keita?"

Upon hearing that name, the Grizzly Fangire screamed in rage as it charged at the blue-haired woman. She was fast enough to get out of the way and the crazed Fangire continued charging right into one of the support pillars.

"Oh, that's the guy Blue Sky wanted me to hunt down?" And the King too, to a very minor extent. "Hey, Ciel," Ritsuka called out to her as he stood off to the side and watched Ciel fight the Fangire.

"What?!" The blue-haired woman shouted, blocking a swipe from the Grizzly Fangire.

"How about a truce for now?" Ritsuka proposed (not in that way!) "Two against one would be better, wouldn't it?"

"Aren't you supposed to be fighting him in the first place?!"

"Yeah… But I have reservations about fighting alongside someone who tried to kill me."

"As if!" Well, it looks like she had to fight on her own since Ritsuka was alright with being useless. That was fine with Ciel, of course. She was experienced with fighting Fangires.

Back with Ryoko and the others, they were just loitering in the main room, doing their own thing. While Tetsuya kept some distance from the Kishinami twins, Ryoko was trying to get to know them better. It was going… Well, it was going somewhere for sure.

"So exactly how do your powers work?" She asked them. While she had not seen them transform yet, she assumed that they had used a belt to do so.

"Our powers?" Hakuno had a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to think of a proper explanation, "Well, Kivat and Kiva-la are an important part of it."

"More like they can't transform at all without us," Kiva-la elaborated.

"It's usually Hakuno and me who go out whenever a Fangire goes on a rampage," said Kivat, "Hakunon doesn't like to fight that much."

"It's not that I don't like to fight, it's just that fighting in heels can be too cumbersome for me," Hakunon said. "Not everybody is an instant learner like those my brother is."

"I operate mostly on instinct actually. Using Kiva's powers just feels natural to me," Hakuno confessed. "Going back to the actual question; for us to transform, we need those two to lend us their powers."

"For Hakuno, I need to bite him to transfer the Demonic Powers I have. Usually his hand, but anywhere could do it," Kivat explained. "However, Kiva-la does not need this step."

"I'm a bit too small to properly transfer my powers to Hakunon so she's not quite as powerful as Kiva is."

"Not helping is not able to use those whistles," Hakunon muttered but was overheard by Ryoko.

"Whistles?" She asked.

"Hakunon means the Fuestles," Kivat clarified, "In essence, Fuestles are power-ups. We have six of them but two of them are unusable for one reason or another. The ones we can use let Kiva borrow the powers of three of the other Demon Races."

"...And what are Demon Races?" Ryoko had a feeling she was getting deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole…

"Demon Races are-" Kivat was cut off by the sound of a violin humming.

"Again?" Hakuno picked up and opened the violin case containing the Bloody Rose. Sure enough, the strings on his father's violin were playing by themselves.

"Why is it-?"

"The Bloody Rose senses when a Fangire is on the loose."

"And it won't shut up until one of us go deal with it," sighed Hakunon, finishing her brother's explanation before staring at him.

"...fine, I'll go again." Hakuno easily figured out what his sister wanted him to do.

"Hey, Hakunon, I know you don't like to fight using heels but you haven't fought since the fight with the King," Kivat said, "Did fighting him really sca-"

"No," answered Hakunon with a straight face, "It's… something else."

"At any rate, we better get going." Hakuno said, "Come on, Kivat."

"Got it."

As the two were about to leave to fight the Fangire, Ryoko thought about something before nodding. "Hey, Tetsu, make sure that annoying bat doesn't break anything, got it?"

"Wha-?!"

"See ya later!" Ryoko waved goodbye before she shut the door to the main room, wanting to see the fight that was about to happen.

"...Uh… Hi?"

"Hi."

...Well, this was going to be a bit awkward for them.

Ritsuka did not really have much of a grudge against Ciel; she was doing her job and he did expect helping the Fangires will have its drawbacks. But that does not mean he felt bad about leaving it to her to fight the Fangire that attacked them.

...He really was past the point of no return, wasn't he?

Still, Ritsuka was impressed at her abilities to fight. She was skilled enough to fight the crazed but powerful Fangire on equal footing. In fact, Ciel was displaying more skills than just throwing her Black Keys at her enemy. Makes him wonder why she did not use them against him.

Sitting on a nearby barrel, Ritsuka watched as the person he was fighting (well, it was mostly bantering than actual fighting) leaped into the air and threw her Black Keys at the Grizzly Fangire. Unlike when she was fighting him, the Keys started stopped and started in mid-air, grinding against the monster and forcing it back a few steps.

"Hey, why didn't you use that against me?"

"If you're not going to help then don't be a bother!" Ciel shouted back as she tried to focus on fighting than answer Ritsuka's questions.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps coming from behind him, Ritsuka turned his head back to see who was interrupting them now. "Ryoko? What are you doing?"

He saw his friend along with Hakuno and Kivat. Guess they found out the Fangire's appearance.

"Ritsu?!" Ryoko was surprised to see her friend just sitting there. Looking past him though, her surprise turned to confusion. "...Why is there a nun here?"

"Long story."

"Ah! It's that woman again!" Kivat shouted, easily recognizing Ciel's identifiable blue hair from their previous run-ins with her.

Ciel, meanwhile, also noticed their arrival and recognized the brunette boy. "Ah! You're-" She was forced to dodge an attack from the Fangire and could not finish her statement.

"Wait, Ritsu! Why aren't you helping?!" Ryoko noticed that Ritsuka was just watching the fight happening.

"...It's not what it looks like?" Ritsuka said after a moment.

"Doesn't matter. Kivat." Hakuno raised his hand up as he called for his partner. Knowing what to do next, Kivat bit into Hakuno's hand.

"Gabu!"

As with before, Fangire marks appeared on Hakuno's hand, neck and face, and the blood-red Kivat belt appeared around his waist.

"Henshin!" Hakuno proclaimed as Kivat hooked onto the belt of his own volition. The half-Fangire's body turned to quicksilver again before shattering, turning into Kiva again.

Immediately, he ran to join the fight against the Fangire, kicking the glass vampire monster in the side.

"Eh… Guess this is my chance to really see how he does…" Ritsuka muttered, putting his chin on his knee. However, he felt somebody slap him in the back of the head. "Ow."

"What are you doing?!" Obviously, it was a slightly enraged Ryoko who slapped him.

"Observing," Ritsuka answered, watching the fight.

"Yeah, well, you can observe closer by helping," Ryoko said as she pushed him off his barrel. "Transform already!"

"Fine, fine," Ritsuka sighed, giving in and putting on the Decadriver. "Henshin."

KAMEN RIDE: DECADE

Translucent illusions of the Decade armor appeared around him along with the symbols of the first nine Heisei Riders. The armor merged on him and Ritsuka transformed into Kamen Rider Decade.

"Let's make this quick," he said to himself, pulling out the RideBooker in its sword mode again.

Watching her friend joining the other two fighters, Ryoko could not help but think, 'Just what is going on in his head?'

"Oh, so now you're helping," Ciel huffed after Decade slashed and kicked the Fangire in the chest, "You still want that truce?"

It was a rhetorical question but either he did not get it or was just retorting, "Sure, since you're offering."

"Is this really the time to be talking?" Kiva sighed before taking a clear whistle with a blue wolf engraved on it from the side of his belt. He then put it into Kivat's unhinged mouth and the golden bat blew the whistle. "Come, Garulu."

Garulu Saber!

Elsewhere, a lone man wandered the woods, taking in the familiar scents that filled the forest. However, his moment of peace was disturbed by the familiar tune that filled his ears.

"He needs me again." Despite being disturbed, he did not mind being called upon for help from the Kishinami's spawn.

The man let out a low growl as he crouched down and scratched his nails against the forest floor, blue flames burning as he dragged his fingers. The apparition of a blue wolf-like monster appeared next to his head before he jumped and transformed into a small blue statue that flew away…

"Haku! What are you waiting for?" Decade muttered as he had his arm the Fangire's neck, holding it in place while Ciel slashed its chest.

Kiva, meanwhile, remained still as he waited for something. "Uh… Keep him busy please, they can take a while to come."

However, the Fangire managed to break free of Decade's chokehold and throw him away. It then tried to attack Ciel once again.

"What are you talking about?!" Ciel shouted, stepping out of the Fangire's way.

"Ah! He's here!" Just then, the blue wolf statue flew through the hole made by the Fangire earlier and into Kiva's outstretched left hand.

As soon as he grabbed hold of the statue, it folded out, revealing a short golden blade. Chains started wrapping around his left arm before shattering, revealing a new blue armor. More chains wrapped around his chestplate before it also shattered, a blue and silver chestpiece replacing it. Both Kivat's and Kiva's eyes also turned blue as the apparition of the same blue wolf monster overlapped with them.

"That's a Wolfen's power…?" Decade muttered to himself. As always, he had no idea how he knew that name but he was not going to question it.

Kiva, now having the mentality and ability of a Wolfen, took a low stance and growled before running at the Grizzly Fangire.

Nearby, Ryoko could not help but comment behind her cover, "First it's vampires and now it's werewolves?" What's next? Zombies? This world was more fantasy than Ex-Aid's world and they were trapped in a video game world!

"Maybe I should try out my new power," Decade said as he opened the Decadriver and RideBooker. He then slid out the restored KamenRide: Ex-Aid card out of his cardholder.

"Henshin."

He flipped the card before inserting it into his Driver and closed it.

"..."

"...Uh, Ritsu?"

"...Does yours also take a while to get here?" Ciel snarked at the magenta Rider as nothing happened at all.

"I swear this doesn't usually happen." Ritsuka quickly said as he opened and closed the Decadriver repeatedly.

"Are you really using that line?" Ciel sighed before deciding to focus on fighting the Fangire.

"Just give me a moment to get it working." Decade tapped the Decadriver's cover in an attempt to get it to work. A couple seconds later, he gave up on the endeavor. "...nope, doesn't work."

So he got sick for absolutely no reason. Joy.

Guess he has to stick with ol' reliable.

KAMEN RIDE: KUUGA

He inserted the Kuuga Rider Card into his Driver and transformed into Kuuga's Mighty Form.

Kiva Garulu Form, who was not paying attention to Decade's problems, ferociously slashed the Fangire before D-Kuuga jumped over him and kicked the monster in the chest, sending it rolling on the ground.

"Oh, so you can also change form?" Kivat observed from his perch on Kiva's belt.

"From pink to red; are they your favorite colors or something?"

"I already told you; it's magenta, not pink," Decade corrected Ciel again before calling out to Ryoko, "Hey, find me something long and hard!"

"What?!"

"A metal pole or something!" He shouted back before punching the Fangire in the face.

Ryoko nodded and went off to look for what he needed. In the meantime, the three continued to fight off the somehow still standing Fangire. They had to give props for it lasting this long against three warriors that were experienced with fighting its kind.

Kiva quickly ran in and slashed the Fangire across the waist before Decade kicked it again. The copycat Rider then felt something, or someone, jump off his shoulders. He looked up and realized it was Ciel who used him as a jumping board. Although…

The blue-haired nun landed gracefully after successfully hitting her target with a quintet of Black Keys, Kiva coming in and preventing the Fangire from going after the Executor again.

"...What are you looking at?" Ciel noticed that Ritsuka was once again being useless and just watching her.

"You… really like blue, don't you?"

"What?" Ciel looked confused for a moment before she realized what he was talking about. "...Forget what you just saw, okay?"

"Is this really the time, you two?!" Kivat shouted at them.

Ryoko, meanwhile, was successful in looking for a long rod for Ritsuka to use. "Ritsu! Here!" She shouted, throwing the pole at him.

"Thanks."

FORM RIDE KUUGA: DRAGON

Quickly switching into Kuuga's blue form, he caught the metal pole and turned it into the Dragon Rod.

"Great, now we all match," Decade said, twirling the weapon in his hand. "Maybe Haku is also wearing blue today."

"Hey! Don't drag me into it!" Kiva shouted for the first time in this battle.

"I said forget about it!"

"What are they talking about?" Ryoko muttered, confused. Hakuno was definitely blue too.

"Come on, let's just finish this already."

'Finally!'

'Shut up.' The amnesiac Rider silenced the voice in his head.

"Hakuno, you heard him!"

"Got it," Kiva nodded, bringing the blade of the Garulu Saber to Kivat's mouth.

Garulu Bite!

FINAL ATTACK RIDE: KU-KU-KUUGA

A crimson red fog rolled in and, through the various holes in the warehouse's roof, moonlight poured in as day turned to night.

"Wait, it's night already?" Ryoko, unfamiliar with Kiva's finishers, looked up in surprise.

Meanwhile, Kiva brought his sword to his helmet's mouthpiece and somehow held it in place. He kicked up dirt and dust before he, along with Decade, jumped into the air and was about to deal the finishing blows.

Despite its mind is that of a beast at this point, the Grizzly Fangire recognized the intent behind their attacks and was about to dodge out of the way. However, a gripping sensation held it in place.

"Don't think you could get away this time," Ciel said, having thrown one of her Black Keys into one of the Fangire's shadows.

With it unable to move, the Fangire could only stand still as Kiva dropped onto it and cut it down in the middle. At the same time, Decade thrust the Dragon Rod into its chest. Both a Rinto symbol and the head of the werewolf monster appeared on and in front of the Fangire respectively before its body hardened and finally shattered. Only a glowing orb remained of the Grizzly Fangire, it flying away into the now afternoon sky.

A short time later, Fujimaru 'residence'...

For nearly the entire time they stayed in the house, Tetsuya kept a watchful eye on Hakunon and Kiva-la. He knew they would most likely not do anything to him but he could not help but be wary of Fangires after what happened in his world.

Was that racist of him? Probably (read: definitely) yes.

"...I know we're the cute little sisters and all but do you have to keep staring?" Hakunon asked him.

"Sorry, but…" He did not know how he was supposed to say he was cautious of her due to her Fangire heritage.

However, he was saved by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Looks like you got your wish, Fujimaru. I'm in your house," Tetsuya heard an unfamiliar voice say followed by Ryoko asking their friend.

"Ritsu, what exactly were you doing with her?"

"Long story."

A moment later, the door to the main room opened, and in stepped the people who left earlier. However, someone else was with them, easily standing out with her blue hair. Hakunon and Kiva-la, meanwhile, seemed to know who she was.

"Ah! You're that woman!" Kiva-la shouted.

"Oh, I should've realized you were the other Kiva." The blue-haired woman glanced at Hakunon before turning to Tetsuya. "And you are… Who are you?"

"Uh…"

"Tetsuya, Ciel. Ciel, Tetsuya," Ritsuka quickly introduced them to one another before also saying, "Hakunon, Ciel. Ciel, Hakunon."

"Yeah, we know each other," Ciel said. "We've met a couple of times at mald'amour."

"Hey, Ryoko, who exactly is she?" Tetsuya asked his friend.

"She… I have no clue either. Ritsuka's new girlfriend, apparently?"

"Oh… WHAT?!" Tetsuya shouted after he realized what Ryoko just said.

"We're not together," The topic of the conversation said in tandem.

Tetsuya, however, did not hear them, grabbing Ritsuka's shirt and shouting in his face, "You promised not to find a girlfriend before me!"

"I didn't find her, she found me," Ritsuka responded with a straight face.

"My, how romantic," Ciel snickered at his response.

The Kishinami twins, meanwhile, mostly ignored the other four.

"You okay?" Hakunon asked her brother, who nodded.

"I'm fine, Ritsuka-san can be a big help when he's not too busy being… him."

"Just how do you keep getting into these situations, Ritsuka?!"

"I have no idea."

While Tetsuya was busy shaking Ritsuka like a ragdoll, Ryoko decided to ask Ciel some questions. "So what were you doing with Ritsu?"

"Well, I was trying to kill him at first."

"What?!"

"But we decided to call a truce until… Hey, Fujimaru, how long is this truce gonna last?" Ciel questioned the boy who somehow was not having a headache.

"As long as you want. I'm okay with anything." Ritsuka shrugged.

"Hmm…" Ciel thought about it for a moment before asking, "What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"Depends really," he answered, "I could fall asleep at any time."

"Then I will wait in your room until you sleep then."

"You really think I could go to sleep with you watching over me?" Ritsuka stared at Ciel incredulously.

"Then I'll do everything I can to tire you out," Ciel said, winking at him.

"Not if I tire you out first."

"Ritsuka!"

"Ritsu!"

"Hakunon, cover your ears!"

"I'm the same age as they are, Kivat."

"DECADE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"...Uh oh." It was at that moment Ritsuka remembered that he was supposed to meet Taiga at Castle Doran. Looks like he actually is going to get something sucked out of him and it's not going to be pleasant.

A short time later… again…

"That's… terrible."

"Understatement of the year."

After listening to Taiga's explanation of what happened with his father (and also preventing the prince from draining Ritsuka dry), the group tried their best to figure out their next step.

"What should we do now?" Ryoko muttered.

"Well, Taiga could renounce his title as Prince of the Fangires and live the life of a hermit," Ritsuka suggested.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, neither of us are laughing."

"Shtrrf!" Sagarc agreed with his partner.

"Just throwing it out there."

"Our next option would be running away."

"Isn't that what you guys are already doing?" Ritsuka muttered after hearing Hakuno.

"I mean getting out of the country," the older twin clarified.

"If you think my father only rules the Fangires in Japan, then you're just being naive, Hakuno."

"What if we go with you guys?" Hakunon asked Ritsuka.

"That would be a hard no," he answered, "Not only does the King have a way to send Fangires to other worlds, but we also don't have the room to take three royals and their toys with us."

"Hey!" "Jru!"

"Hold on one minute." Ciel, who had been silently observing them the entire time, realized what Ritsuka had just said. "What do you mean 'other worlds'?"

"The three of us are from another dimension," Ritsuka quickly let her in on the secret before telling everyone, "Then that leaves us with two options."

"And those are?"

"First, the three of you can just lie down and die."

"That's a hard no from us."

"Then your second, and only, option is obvious," Ritsuka said, looking at the royal siblings with a serious expression, "No matter where you go, they'll never stop chasing you. There is only one way for you all to escape the King's judgment."

"...Are you really going to say what I think you're going to say?"

"Yes. There is only one way for you to live." Ritsuka paused before proclaiming with complete confidence, "We have to murder the King!"

"...Okay, I'm in."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to agree with Fangireslaughter so easily, Haku."

In front of the photo background of Kiva's symbol was a whiteboard that had a rough drawing of the Bat Fangire, the King's true form, on it. The group of (former) students, one prince, and three not-toy transformation… things sat in chairs that had been provided by Ciel (along with the whiteboard). Where she got them on so short notice was unclear but helpful.

"Let start the lesson!" Ritsuka smacked the pointer he had against the whiteboard. He was now in a teacher's uniform; a suit and tie combo, and a pair of glasses. Where he got them was also a mystery.

"Yes, sensei!" They all cried in unison…minus Taiga, who was just confused at what the hell was happening.

"As you can see on this whiteboard here, this is a diagram of the Bat Fangire that had been so helpfully provided by the Kishinami twins." Ritsuka-sensei tapped the picture with the pointer. "He looks crazy strong, doesn't he?"

"Yes, sensei!"

"And all of you are correct," Ritsuka-sensei nodded.

"Except for you, prince!" Ciel, who was wearing a similar uniform to Ritsuka, smacked Taiga in the back of the head with her own pointer. "Answer when the teacher asks a question!"

"What's going on?!"

"As the Kishinami twins can attest to, the King of the Fangires is a force to be reckoned with. That is to be expected, of course. The King is, without a doubt, the strongest Fangire there is. Understand?"

"Yes, sensei!"

Smack!

"Answer when the teacher asks a question, prince!"

"Can we just get on with it?!"

"But he may have a pivotal weakness!" Ritsuka-sensei pointed at the lower chest region of the drawing. "During my first and only meeting with the King, I observed his abdomen seemed to hurt when he mentioned the so-called lawbreakers that were Kishinami Otoya and… What was your mother's name?"

"Maya!" The Kishinami twin answered.

"The lawbreakers that were Kishinami Otoya and Maya!"

"They were lawbreakers."

Smack!

"Don't speak when not spoken to, prince!"

"Stop that already!"

"No!"

Smack!

"Ow!"

"There is a high likelihood that the pain the King felt was a scar left behind from his fight with Kishinami Otoya nearly 20 years ago! If I am correct, and I am correct, then there is where we must attack during our murder attempt!"

"Don't shout it to the world!"

Smack!

"Silence, prince!"

"Once we kill my father, you are dead! You hear me, mortal!"

"I am not a mortal! And how dare you speak like that to a teacher!"

Smack!

"While that does not change the fact that he is still the strongest Fangire there is, it does help make our upcoming battle easier!"

"Sensei!" Hakuno raised his hand, "May I ask a question?"

"You may."

"How are we going to get past Castle Doran's defenses? Or are we going to draw the King out into the open?"

Ritsuka-sensei had a thoughtful look for a moment before he answered, "Leave that to me. All you have to do is wait for my signal. Any other question?"

"Oh! Me! Me!"

"Yes, Jindai-san?"

"You mentioned that the King had Fangire servants in his castle. What would you do if they get involved?"

"Excellent question. Other Fangires will definitely try to protect their King from would-be assassins," Ritsuka-sensei said. "To that end, we must bring more allies that will at least distract the other Fangires while we murder the King."

"Leave that to me!" Ciel-sensei raised her hand. "I will be the distraction you need."

"Not enough! We need more!" Ritsuka-sensei shouted. "We will try to get IXA's help in this battle. Unfortunately, they will most likely attack me on sight."

"Leave that to me too!"

"Why must you two shout…?"

Smack!

"That would be five Kamen Riders, one battle nun, and two… what will you two be doing?"

"We'll cheer you all from the sideline!"

"And two cheerleaders!"

"We can also try enlisting the help from the other Demon Races. I know they would want to get revenge on the King as well!" Kivat shouted.

"That would add one werewolf, one merman, and one Frankenstein's monster too!"

"Wait, how do you even-?"

Smack!

"What did I say, prince?!"

"I regret everything…"

"We have a battle plan set then! Tonight, the King of the Fangire dies!"

The room was filled with the cheers of five (former) students, three not-toys transformation partners, and two teachers. One prince of the Fangires, meanwhile, was trying to process what he just experienced.

"Taiga?" Fingers snapping in front of his face jarred the prince of the Fangire out of his daze. He quickly realized that it was Hakunon who was trying to speak to him. "What's on your mind?"

"...What just happened?" Taiga looked around and noticed that the room was barren again. Ritsuka and Ciel were back into what they were wearing earlier.

"Did you really forget the entire plan?" Kiva-la asked incredulously from the top of Hakunon's head. "I mean, I know we're about to go kill the King and all but-"

"No, not that." Taiga cut off the small bat. Did he just imagine the whole thing?

"Alright, I'll try and convince those Blue Sky soldiers to go to the forest," Ciel said as she and Kivat were about to leave.

"And I'll search for Garulu, Basshaa, and Dogga," Kivat added.

"Got it," Ritsuka nodded to them before the door closed. Turning to his two friends, he asked them, "Are you sure you guys don't want to come along?"

"Yes, we would just get in the way," said Ryoko with Tetsuya agreeing. "It's better that you guys don't have to worry about two civilians getting caught up with everything."

"True," Ritsuka nodded. He was not going to say it but he also rather they stay behind. Turning to the royal siblings, he said, "You three."

"Five," Kiva-la corrected him but was ignored.

"We better get going now." The forest was some distance away and they have other problems to deal with too.

Shortly after…

The group of four Riders soon arrived and now stood outside the forest where Castle Doran slept.

"Hey, Taiga."

"I said don't refer to me like we're friends."

"Taiga, what exactly are the defenses around Castle Doran?" Ritsuka asked, repeating the prince's name.

"There are several layers to it. Firstly, the second we step into the forest, we will be caught in a Bounded Field created by a Fangire in servitude to my father," Taiga grumbled. "Unless we destroy her, we cannot get near the castle."

"So that means the three of us have to fight-"

"Wrong." Taiga cut Ritsuka off. "Once she realizes who we are and what we are going to do, she'll alert my father and he will most likely move Doran."

"Taiga, why didn't you say that earlier?" Hakunon asked him.

"Yeah! That messes up our plans big time!" Kiva-la shouted. Granted, there was not really much of a plan in the first place but he really should have said something.

"I wasn't finished yet," Taiga said before glancing at Ritsuka "Decade, remember what I said when I first brought you to the castle?" Taiga asked him.

"Hm… Someone like me can get enter the castle without going through the fog?"

"Yes. The Aurora Curtains-"

"That's what they're called?"

"-can send you straight into the halls of Castle Doran." Taiga ignored the comment from Ritsuka. "However, any more than two of us will alert everyone in the castle and make it harder to get to the King. If that happens, he can make Castle Doran fly away. You will have to get him outside somehow."

"So I have to sneak into the castle, fight and drag the King outside, and make sure he doesn't reenter Castle Doran all alone?" Ritsuka listed off.

"No, not alone. Hakuno will go with you."

"Me? But Kivat's not here," Hakuno said.

"I'll be needing Hakunon's help in defeating the Fangire guarding it," Taiga explained, "We have to clear a path for our other… allies to follow."

"...Okay, I'll do it." As he said before, Ritsuka was willing to do whatever people as of him. "And you, Haku?"

"If we have no choice then yes." Despite his reservations about entering the castle without Kivat, Hakuno still agreed.

"Alright… How do I open an Aurora Curtain?"

"...Our plan is falling apart already."

Meanwhile…

"..."

"...Should we give up for the night?" Megumi asked after she and Keisuke spent the last two hours trying to find Fujimaru Ritsuka. Naturally, they did not find him.

"No. There is still one last place we can check." If they were tired, then so must Fujimaru Ritsuka. That means he would retire for the day and return home… at least that was the train of thought in Keisuke's mind. "Let's-"

"There you two are!"

"Ciel?"

"You again?" While Megumi was just surprised with the blue-haired woman's appearance, Keisuke was more annoyed due to their meeting earlier that day.

"Let me guess, still looking for Fujimaru?" She asked a rhetorical question, "Well, lucky for you two, I know where he is."

"What? Where?!" Megumi asked their (sometimes) co-worker.

"Follow me! Oh, and you got that crusader gear with you, right?"

Also meanwhile…

"I'm back." The lone man from earlier announced his return to his shared two-room apartment with Ramon and Riki.

"Oh, welcome back, Jiro!" Ramon lazily said as he read an old magazine article on the couch. Riki, meanwhile, just gave a small nod as he cooked some dinner for them.

The man, or rather, Jiro inhaled deeply, taking in the delicious scent that wavered in the air. "Fried rice again."

"No… Complaining…" Riki slowly said.

"Yes, yes…" Jiro muttered, sitting down at the table and tapping on the hardwood in a rhythm.

"-ey!"

"..."

"H-y!"

"...Ramon, did you say something?"

"No, wasn't me."

"Open-!"

"Riki?"

"Not… me…"

"-indow!"

"It's coming from the bedroom," commented Ramon as he got off the couch. Both Riki and Jiro followed the young-looking boy into their shared bedroom… They slept in different corners.

As soon as they went in, they figured out who was trying to get their attention.

"Ah! It's Ha-kun's bat!"

"Kivat, huh?" Jiro muttered as the three of them saw the golden bat knocking on the only window in their apartment (that only opened from inside).

The Wolfen in disguise went over and open the window for the bat. "Next time, use the doorbell."

"There's no time to explain! Hakuno and Hakunon need your help!" Kivat shouted at them as he flew into the room. "...Why do I smell smoke?"

"Huh?" The three Arms Monsters sniffed the air and sure enough, they smelled smoke.

"Riki… Did you leave the stove on?"

"Yes…"

"..."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Is that the fire alarm?"

"Yes."

"..."

Uh oh…

"Breath in… Breath out…" Ritsuka muttered as he psyched himself up. The others, meanwhile, watched as he tried to summon an Aurora Curtain.

"...This is pathetic," Taiga commented.

'Come on! Do this one thing for me!'

While on the surface he looked like he was trying to summon the silver walls, he was actually trying to get that guy to open the Aurora Curtains for him.

It was working out about as well as you think.

"Sorry, but no can do," Ritsuka gave up trying to get that man to appear. "I don't know where you got the idea I can summon those walls but-"

"-you're wrong… Huh…" Ritsuka looked around to see he and Hakuno were now in one of Castle Doran's various hallways.

"Did you do that?" Seeing as the other boy was struggling to actually do it, Hakuno could not help but think someone else had opened the dimensional wall.

"I'll just leave that to your imagination, Haku." Now… Which way was the throne room? The halls all looked the same to him.

While Ritsuka and Hakuno were wandering the halls of Castle Doran, the latter's siblings (and their respective partners) entered the forest, a dense fog rolling in as they walked. A heavy sensation filled their bodies as they

Eventually came to a fork in the road, a broken stone statue that had moss and vines growing on it in between the two paths.

"Which way?" Hakunon asked Taiga.

"Left." They followed the left path and, eventually, came to another fork in the road… where the same broken, overgrown statue was.

"That's not good," Kiva-la remarked.

"Oaa dsu!"

"So that's the form you take," Taiga said to the statue. "Come out. Your prince commands you."

"Would that actually work…?" Hakunon muttered.

Much to her surprise, particles of blue light came out of the statue and formed into a white-and-blue Fangire with a silkmoth motif wielding a trident.

"What are you doing, my prince." The Moth Fangire questioned her prince, glaring at the half-human next to him.

"I'm giving you one chance," proclaimed Taiga, "Take down the Bounded Field around the forest."

"And let this half-breed through?" The guardians of the woods scoffed. "Does that mean you have betrayed your father and people?"

"Not my people, no," answered Taiga. "But if you continue to stand in my way, you'll face the prince's judgment."

"If you think you scare me, then you are being ridiculous. The King's judgment is worse than death."

"Then we will grant you the mercy of death. Hakunon."

"I may be younger, but don't order me around," Hakunon huffed. "Kiva-la."

"Sagarc!"

"On it!"

"Urd!"

While Sagarc latched himself onto Taiga's waist as per usual, Kiva-la flew into Hakunon's hand.

"Henshin!" The two siblings (and Sagarc) exclaimed together. Taiga inserted the Jacorder into Sagarc's side and transformed into Kamen Rider Saga.

Meanwhile, the small heart-shaped crystal on Kiva-la glowed and an identical glow appeared on Hakunon's forehead. Violet hearts swirled around her before they converged on her, turning into the Kiva-la armor. Her suit was a mixture of white and violet with silver platings on her upper body. Red bat wings served as her visors. Around her waist was a belt similar to Kiva's with Kiva-la perched in the middle. Finally, she wielded a silver-and-white saber in her hand.

"Come," the Silkmoth Fangire stated, not afraid to fight the two Kamen Riders.

"Down," Ritsuka whispered to Hakuno. They each hid behind a pedestal on opposite sides of the hallway.

Peeking out a bit, they saw a few shadows walking at the end of the hall before they disappeared. They waited a bit before coming out of cover and continuing their way to the throne room.

"...Hey, Haku."

"Yes?"

"What do you think about all this? You being a half-Fangire?" Ritsuka quietly asked him.

"Well…" Hakuno paused for a few seconds, thinking about the right words to say. "For starters, I don't really want to believe it but…"

"The King came after you and your sister due to that fact," Ritsuka finished his sentence for him. "And probably also because of what your dad did."

"Dad…" Hakuno muttered.

"Do you think he regretted it?" Ritsuka asked.

"Regretted what?"

"Falling in love with your mother and fighting the King. That was what led him to his death, right?" While he knew it was very insensitive of him to ask that, Ritsuka still asked anyway.

"It was… but if what mom's stories of him are true, I know he did not think twice about it, even if he knew that he would die," Hakuno answered. "Mom always said he was an incredible person; strong-willed, sincere, diligent. A pure person who hated evil."

'Why do I get the feeling only half of those were true?' Ritsuka thought. "And how about you? Do you regret becoming Kiva?"

"Kiva…?" Hakuno mumbled.

"I guess a better question would be if you get the chance to change time, would you still choose to become Kiva?"

"Being Kiva has led to me discovering a truth I wished I never would want to know, but… I would not change that." Hakuno answered resolutely. "As Kiva, I saved many lives and stopped many Fangires. If I change that, then who knows how bad things would be."

"I see…" Ritsuka tried to think of another question. "Let's change the question again; if you had the chance to change time, will you erase the Fangires from history?"

"...No."

"Why not? Because you'd erase yourself from history too?"

"No," Hakuno shook his head. "Believe it or not, I don't really hate the Fangires. Not all of them are truly evil."

He has met a few of them that were kind and chose to try and live among humans. Despite looking like monsters, not all of them are monsters.

"If not all of them are evil, do you think humans and Fangires can coexist in peace?" Honestly, Ritsuka did not know where that question came from or why he was asking it in the first place but he felt like he needed to.

"...I-"

"Oh, this is it." Ritsuka interrupted him. If he was right, the door in front of them was the entrance to the throne room. "One. Two."

"Wai-!"

"Three!" Before Hakuno could stop him, Ritsuka kicked open the door with a loud bang, most likely alerting half the castle in the process.

"What was the point of sneaking when you do that right at the end?!"

"Oh, the King isn't here." Ritsuka ignored the question and looked around to see that nobody was around. "Hey, Haku. What were you going to- Haku?"

Hakuno did not seem to hear him as the brunette walked towards a wall behind the throne. He touched the still scratched-up wall without thinking, mumbling, "Why…?"

Ritsuka went up to the hypnotized Rider. "Haku. What's wro-?"

"You've returned, Decade." The two quickly turned around to see their target standing in the open doorway. "And you brought the fake Kiva with you."

"King."

"So tell me, is he here as a prisoner?" The King asked with a dark smile on his face. "Or have you betrayed me as well?"

"What do you think, King?" Ritsuka asked sarcastically, reading the Decadriver.

"Since you are not bowing down to me as I have warned you last time, the answer is obvious." Fangire marks appeared on the King's face before he turned into his true form; the red-and-black Bat Fangire.

"Henshin."

KAMEN RIDE: DECADE

Transforming into his Rider form, Decade glanced at Hakuno and told him, "Hide for a bit."

"Hide where?" There was no place to hide in the room besides maybe behind the throne.

"Decade, for your crimes against the Fangire throne, you will face the King's judgment. My judgment," The King of the Fangires proclaimed before the two of them charged at each other.

Back in the forest…

The Silkmoth Fangire grunted as she took a stab from Kiva-la, sparks flying off the point of impact. She barely had time to react before Saga used the Jacorder in its whip mode to hit her from behind.

"You really have to give it to her for standing against us."

"Kiva-la," said Kiva-la (Rider) as she sidestepped a thrust from the Fangire's trident. "Don't be noisy during battle."

"Yes, yes…"

"Hakunon, we have to finish this quickly," Saga told her. They had to get to Doran as soon as possible and help Decade. As strong as the Rider was, his father was still powerful enough to defeat him.

"No… You shall not pass…" The Fangire made one last defiant cry before charging at the two.

"Idiot," Saga scoffed as he took out a Fuestle from his side and inserted it into Sagarc's mouth.

Wake Up!

An alien tune filled the air as Sagarc blew into the whistle. High above them, the crescent moon glowed in the night sky as Saga inserted the end of the Jacorder back into the slot in his belt and took it out. Red lightning now connected the weapon to the belt as the rod of the Jacorder started glowing.

Kiva-la, meanwhile, raised her sword and it began to glow violet. Wings made of violet light grew out of her back as she readied her final attack. She jumped and flew towards the charging Fangire. With a single slash across the waist, the Silkmoth Fangire stopped in her tracks and dropped her weapon.

Saga then thrust the Jacorder at the Fangire and the rod extended, piercing the monster's body before the Rider jumped into the air and through a black version of Kiva's symbol. He landed right next to Kiva-la and pulled the Jacorder, suspending the Fangire in the air. For the finisher, Saga sent a powerful jolt of electricity through the Jacorder, electrocuting the Fangire.

The Silkmoth Fangire's body hardened before shattering into many glass pieces, leaving behind another glowing orb that flew away. Immediately, the strange feeling that had enveloped the two earlier disappeared and the fog began to clear.

"It's done," Saga quietly muttered before hearing his half-sister say, "Taiga, which way now?"

"It should be a straight line from here," he informed her. He just hoped that the late-comers would go the right way too…

Castle Doran…

The fight between Decade and the King spilled into the hallway… and also got a bit worse when a few other Fangires that served the King joined, having heard the Rider's door-kick.

Hakuno, meanwhile, had to make do with using a fire poker to defend himself against two other Fangires that rushed in to protect the King.

"Gah!" As it turns out, Taiga was not kidding when he said that his father was still mighty powerful. The King was easily able to throw the magenta Rider around, smashing him into the walls and pedestals that decorated the hallway. And as soon as he got up, the three Fangires accompanying the King rushed him, forcing Decade to be on the defensive.

"What's wrong, Decade?" The King mocked him as the Kamen Rider blocked a sword swing from a white-and-blue version of the Grizzly Fangire. "I was told you were a great threat to the worlds but I see that the representative was exaggerating."

"Representative?" Despite being in a rather unenviable position, Decade made sure to listen to whatever the King had to say. "Who's this representative you're talking about?"

"But he was right that you have no recollection of your past." While the Bat Fangire did not answer him, he was at least giving useful (if insulting) information. He did not say anymore though, as he shot black orbs out of his chest, hitting both Decade as well as the Fangires that were fighting him and knocking them all down.

Back in the throne room, Hakuno was busy dodging and weaving through the Sungazer and Earwig Fangires' swings and swipes. Making liberal use of his surroundings (i.e. dancing around the throne), the half-Fangire managed to avoid getting hit and used the fire poker to keep them back as best he can.

"Stop being a coward, Kiva!" The Sungazer Fangire shouted as it tried to hit Hakuno, who of course ignored the frustrated cry.

"Where are you, Kivat…?" The brunette boy muttered as he had to block the Earwig Fangire's bladed hands with the admittedly durable fire poker.

Meanwhile, outside, Saga and Kiva-la were quickly approaching the sleeping dragon-infused castle. However, before the former could try and awaken the dragon so they could enter it, they were stopped by a small group of Fangires appearing out of nowhere.

For a brief second, Saga thought to order them to leave but, as the Silkmoth Fangire said earlier, he knew they would not betray the King. Instead, he and Kiva-la prepared their weapons, ready to face the Fangire hoard.

"We made it in time!" Before they could engage their enemies though, the two Riders heard a familiar voice behind them. They looked back to see Kivat-bat the Third followed by the three Arms Monsters, still in their human forms.

"Kivat, get inside! Hakuno's fighting the King!" Kiva-la shouted to the golden bat.

"Got it! Hakuno, wait for me!" Kivat exclaimed, flying towards Castle Doran to find an open window.

"For now," Jiro growled as a blue aura enveloped his body, "We will keep our promise to Otoya."

A similar aura covered the other two, Ramon green and Riki purple, before their bodies transformed into their true monstrous forms.

While Jiro turned into the blue werewolf, Ramon turned into a green merman while Riki turned into a purple, bulky, Frankenstein's monster.

Now in their true forms, Garulu, Basshaa, and Dogga went to help the two Riders with the wave of Fangires. It may only do little to actually even the numbers, but they could not complain about the cavalry.

ATTACK RIDE: ILLUSION

In order to stand a chance against the four Fangires that he was facing, the magenta Rider reused the card he previously used in Ex-Aid's world, three additional copies of himself. While the three copies distracted the Fangire bodyguards, the true Decade fought against the King.

He brought the RideBooker down on the Bat Fangire's head but the blade was blocked with ease.

"Tell me, King." Decade gritted his teeth underneath his mask as he pushed the sword down. "Why did 19 worlds try to assassinate me?"

"I don't need to answer anything," the King scoffed, refusing to answer him. "For betraying the Fangire throne, you lost the right to any information the Fangires know."

"In that case, I'll just have to help Taiga rise to the throne. Maybe he'll be more useful to me."

"Is that why you chose to betray me? Just to have my traitorous son as your puppet?"

"That's a pretty big leap in logic," Decade sighed, "I'm just in it because I'd rather help Kamen Riders than monsters like you… and because I don't like you, King."

"Then you are a far cry from who you once were."

"Eh?" The brief moment of confusion from what the King said was enough for the Fangire to overpower Decade and throw him into the wall. The Rider easily broke through the wall and slid across the smooth, wooden floor until he stopped right under the window.

"...Ow."

Before the King followed him through the new hole in the wall, a crashing noise from behind attracted his attention. Turning around, he saw the half-breed being forced out of the throne room and into the hallway. A moment later, the Earwig Fangire came after him, ready to stab him. Hakuno barely managed to get out of the way and the blade get stuck in the wall instead.

"Kishinami," the King growled, glaring at the bastard prince. Hakuno did not hear him though, as he was too busy trying to avoid getting his head bashed in by the Sungazer Fangire's shielded arms.

The King did not mind this as it allowed him to fire energy balls straight for Hakuno and the two other Fangires.

"Hakuno! Watch out!"

Thanks to the very timely intervention of Kivat, who flew in and took the hit for him. The Fangires were not so lucky however and took the full brunt of their King's attack.

"Kivat!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Kivat told his partner. "Let's transform!"

Hakuno nodded and raised his hand.

"Gabu!" Kivat bit his right hand and Fangire marks appeared on his body as the hypnotic tune echoes in the halls.

"Henshin!" Hooking Kivat onto his belt, Hakuno's body turned to quicksilver before shattering, turning into his Rider form.

The King, however, was not too impressed by the transformation and look of Kiva. "Do you really think you can defeat me in that weak form?"

Kiva did not listen to the Bat Fangire and charged at him.

As the three only fully human (or so it seems) approached the castle, the sound of battle got louder and louder the closer they got.

"While it sounds like we're going the right way, I got a bad feeling about this," Megumi muttered, reading her Fangire Buster as she followed closely behind Keisuke, who was in turn following Ciel.

Keisuke could not help but wonder something. "What is Fujimaru doing out here?"

"He's… doing something." While she obviously knew what her new… friend was doing, she had to maintain some sort of reputation with the Blue Sky Group. The fact she had agreed to help the person that (supposedly) betrayed the human race was something she would rather keep to herself. "I heard he was heading here with the prince while I was following him."

It was not exactly a lie; she did hear that they were heading here. She just neglected to tell them she was helping them by leading Keisuke (and Megumi) to the battlefield. Megumi, however, noticed something odd with Ciel's actions.

"Wait, if you were following them, why did you-"

"I have my ways of doing things," Ciel interrupted her.

"You people with the Church are really weird, you know that?" Megumi huffed quietly. Ciel overheard her, of course, but did not argue since she was not exactly wrong.

Wake Up!

They overheard the tune made by Saga activating his finisher some distance away.

"Looks like they've started without us…"

Finally breaking through the treeline, they saw the battle unfold in front of them; Saga destroying a pair of Rat Fangires, Kiva-la cutting through several more Fangires, and the Arms Monster holding off some of the more sturdy ones.

"What's going on here?! Wait, is that uncle Jiro?!"

"It's-"

Before Ciel could lie off her ass, one of the windows of Castle Doran smashed open as five figures were thrown out of the castle, crashing down onto the ground on top of each other. Three of the five figures disappeared shortly after and everyone could see who the remaining two were.

"Ow…" Kiva groaned underneath Decade. When they were thrown out of the castle, the magenta Rider and his three copies had landed right on top of him. "Please get off me…"

"In a second, I think I broke my back…" While not as unfortunate as the other Rider was, three copies of himself still landed right on top of him.

However, before they could get up, the King flew down and landed near them, back turned to them.

"So that's the King?" It was the first time Ciel, and the Blue Sky members for that matter, had seen the King in person. They have only seen him in blurry photos from two decades ago.

"Keisuke!"

"I know." Despite their order from their boss, Keisuke knew that that needed to be put aside in favor of fighting the King of their sworn enemies. He put on his returned belt before taking out the IXA Knuckle.

READY!

"Henshin!"

FIST ON!

As before, a projection of a golden cross flew out of the belt and turned into the IXA armor before overlapping with his body. The armor projection solidified before his visor opened up, revealing his red eyes again.

Taking out the IXA Calibur, the crusader-themed Rider rushed to join the battle on Kiva's side. Of course, he tried to go after the King himself but was stopped by a few Fangires, leaving the Decade and Kiva to deal with him by themselves.

Meanwhile, Ciel and Megumi had to fend for themselves, using their own weapons against whatever tried to go after them.

"Ow… Round 2, it is!" Decade cried out as he and Kiva got onto their feet and prepared to continue the fight. The former moved first, dashing towards their foe while the bat-themed Rider took out the Garulu Fuestle again.

Garulu Saber!

Kivat cried as he blew into the whistle. Garulu, who was less than a hundred meters away, heeded the summon and turned into his statue form again. However, before he could fly into Kiva's hand, IXA spotted him and took a black version of the Garulu Fuestle from his side.

He then inserted it int0 the slot in the IXA Belt and pushed the IXA Knuckle.

GARULU FAKE!

A computerized rendition of Garulu's tune played from the IXA Belt and, instead of flying to Kiva, the Garulu Saber went into IXA's hands. The Rider proceeded to continue battling while dual-wielding the two sw0rds.

"Ah! You thief! Again!" Kivat shouted in frustration at IXA hijacking the summoning again.

"Forget about it…" Kiva whispered, not wanting his voice to be heard by IXA and Megumi. He took another Fuestle from his belt, this time a purple one in the shape of a fist. He then put it in Kivat's mouth and the bat blew into it.

Dogga Hammer!

"My… turn…" Dogga said before turning into a large purple statue of himself and flying towards Kiva. As he got closer, the statue unfolded and was revealed to be a hammer with a very large head that was in the shape of a fist. However, before Kiva could grab him, someone else jumped in and stole him. This time, it was Kiva-la borrowing the Dogga Hammer.

"I'll be using this," she told him before running off to continue fighting with the large hammer. While she cannot summon the Arms Monsters, she was still capable of wielding them if summoned by her brother,

"Why?!" Kivat shouted. "Fine, let's use Basshaa!"

"Yes," nodded Kiva as he took out the final, green Fuestle on his left side.

Basshaa Magnum!

"On it!" Basshaa exclaimed as, like the other two, he turned into a small statue resembling himself and flew into Kiva's hands, folding out and turning into a gun as he did. Nobody intruded on the summon, thankfully, and the Rider grabbed the weapon in his right hand.

Chains wrapped around his right arm and chestplate before shattering, revealing new green armor. As with using the Garulu Saber earlier, both Kiva and Kivat's eyes changed colors to match his new armor as an apparition of Basshaa fused with them.

"Finally you're done!" Decade shouted after having distracted the King while Kiva was trying to switch forms. The King, however, merely scoffed at the form change as he thought it did little to shrink the gap in power between them.

Throwing off the magenta Rider, King shot more energy balls at the stationary Kiva. The Rider, however, shot the energy balls aimed at him with the Basshaa Magnum. The King, in response, simply fired more balls at the Rider, which were promptly shot out of the air by Kiva.

Unfortunately for him, this left him open to an attack by Decade. Before the Bat Fangire could react, the other Kamen Rider he was fighting rolled in front of him and stabbed him in the abdomen with the RideBooker, right where his scar was. The blade did not pierce his glass skin but succeeded in forcing him back with the blow.

"Word of the wise, don't focus too much on one target," Decade quipped before he continued fighting again.

IXA CALIBUR: RISE UP!

With the other three Riders, IXA initiated his finisher before throwing away the Garulu Saber so he could grip the handle of the IXA Calibur with both hands.

"Hey! Don't just throw me away like that!" Garulu, meanwhile, was not amused at being discarded like that, turning back into his monster form.

IXA ignored him though as the area lit up due to the illusion of the sun appearing again, blinding the three Fangires he was fighting. Quickly taking advantage of this, he ran at them and with three swift and powerful slashes, killed them. Their bodies hardened before shattering into piles of glass.

Nearby, despite her new weapon being large and unwieldy, Kiva-la was able to swing the Dogga Hammer with ease, smashing the head of the enormous hammer into the glass monsters and throwing them into the air.

"Okay, let's finish this!" Kiva-la (the bat) proclaimed from her perch as Kiva-la (the Rider) launched another Fangire into the air.

Following her partner's proclamation, she implanted the end of the hammer's handle into the ground. She then pulled on a grip in the back of the hammer's head and the fist opened up, revealing a singular purple eye in its palm. The eye stared at the small group of Fangires in front of it and released a wave of purple energy. Upon hitting them, the Fangires' bodies immediately froze and stiffened, allowing Kiva-la to pick the hammer again. A larger illusion of the purple fist was projected out of the hammer as she began to swing it around.

The illusionary hammer struck the frozen Fangires and shattered them in a single swing.

"And that's done…" Kiva-la sighed, implanting the hammer into the ground again and leaning on it for support. She did not rest for long though as the Dogga Hammer reverted back into his true form, momentarily shocking the white Kamen Rider.

"Help… Kiva…" Dogga told her.

"Ye-yes."

Basshaa Bite!

FINAL ATTACK RIDE: DE-DE-DECADE

Both Kiva and Decade initiated their finishers, the former by putting the back of the Basshaa Magnum to Kivat's mouth while the latter inserted his golden Final AttackRide card into his Driver.

Immediately, the ground around Kiva (and Decade, who was next to him) turned to liquid, reflecting the half-moon shining above them as the 'fins' of the Magnum started spinning. Decade, meanwhile, aimed the barrel of the RideBooker at the King and holographic copies of his card appeared in between them.

Instead of moving away, the King charged an energy blast in the palm of his hands.

Simultaneously, the three let loose their attacks. Four large blasts flew through the air and collided in between the three combatants, causing a massive explosion that blew them off their feet. Additionally, Kiva was forced to revert into his base form as the Basshaa Magnum turned back into his true form behind him.

"Kiva! Decade!" The other Riders and Arms Monsters rushed to the two's sides. Meanwhile, the King had to stand up and fight alone.

"Even if all of you fight together, it's useless!" The King proclaimed before addressing his son. "So, in the end, you did betray me as your mother did."

"..." Saga did not respond, tightening his grip on the Jacorder.

"So what would be the most fitting punishment for you? Shall I strip you of your Fangire powers as I did the Queen?" The King taunted, accidentally letting slip a bit of his anger towards the previous Queen's betrayal.

"Ignore what he's saying," Decade advised not only Saga but also Kiva and Kiva-la.

"And you, Decade, I expected more from someone like you."

"As I said earlier, you should have not expected me to be completely on board with killing for you," Decade retorted.

"Oh, but a part of you was fine with helping me?" The King noticed that Decade had not completely denied wanting to work for him.

"...Let's finish this."

A chorus of cheers erupted from them as they readied their weapons. As one, they charged at the arrogant King, excluding Kiva and the Arms Monsters.

"Hey, let's use that!" Basshaa suggested, the others immediately understood what he meant.

"That…?"

"I agree. Hakuno."

"Yes…" Kiva muttered before taking out the three Fuestles again.

Garulu Saber!

"And then."

Basshaa Magnum!

"And finally."

Dogga Hammer!

The three Arms Monsters turned into their statue forms and flew onto Kiva's body. Garulu flew 0nto his left arm, Basshaa onto his right, and Dogga onto his chest.

As before, chains appeared on those body parts and shattered, turning them into the earlier matching armor.

"At least it's faster than earlier."

Kiva, now in his DoGaBaKi Form, ignored the remark as he ran to join them, shooting at the King with the Basshaa Magnum again while wielding the Garulu Saber in his left hand.

Despite the water bullets hitting their targets, the King did not react to them and was more focused on fighting the other four Riders instead. Both Kiva-la and IXA tried to bring their swords down on him but the King managed to catch both blades in his hands. Before they could pull back, the King blasted them with more energy balls, hitting them and making them lose grip on their weapons as they were blown back.

The King was about to blast them again but Decade and Saga jumped in and prevented him from doing so. Kiva joined them shortly after, wildly slashing at the King with the Garulu Saber.

While the King went toe-to-toe with Decade and Kiva, Saga turned the Jacorder into its whip mode and whipped him in the back. It did not hurt him that much but made the King focus on his son instead of the others. Turning around, he fired a stream of dark energy from his arms straight at Saga. The attack hit him straight on and an explosion blew him back into the trees, leaving Decade and Kiva to fight him.

"This… has gone pretty badly…" Decade muttered as he gripped the RideBooker. He knew it would be a hard-fought battle but the King was deceptively sturdy. "Haku, keep aiming for his chest," he whispered to Kiva, "The only way we're getting out of this alive is by defeating him."

"Got it," Kiva nodded as he pulled out the Dogga Hammer. Since the other two weapons did not work, he should use the heaviest-hitting weapon in his arsenal.

As one, the two charged at the King with a battle cry. That did nothing to demoralize the King as he, again, fired energy balls at them. However, the two Riders took the blasts head-on and did not let the attacks faze them. Momentary stunned by their resolve, it left him open to a heavy swing from the Dogga Hammer right in the chest. He was sent stumbling back and was punched by Decade in the same spot again.

IXA KNUCKLE: RISE UP!

"Don't forget about me!" IXA joined them in their assault, removing the IXA Knuckle out of his belt after activating his finisher. The Knuckle began heating up as it began charging up. The King tried to stop him from getting closer but Decade held him from behind, letting IXA use a Rider Punch on the Bat Fangire. Both the King and Decade were blown back from the resulting explosion but the former was still able to fight.

"You…" The King growled as he forced himself back to his feet, "If you think this is going to stop me, think aga-!"

Wake Up!

"Ack!" The King of the Fangires did not finish as the Jacorder pierced him from behind. "Taiga… You traitor…"

"...This is the King's judgment," Saga proclaimed after a moment of hesitation, "Death!"

Saga leaped into the air, going through the Kiva symbol and landing back on the ground. He pulled on the Jacorder and the King was suspended off the ground. "Now, finish him!"

"No need to tell me twice," IXA said as he and Kiva-la picked up their dropped weapons before he inserted the IXA Calibur Fuestle in his belt again.

IXA CALIBUR: RISE UP!

While the illusion of the sun did not appear again, both their swords glowed before they ran towards the hanging King and slashed him as he was struggling to get free. A X glowed on his body right where the two Riders cut him.

"Let's do this together, Kiva!" Decade shouted as he slid next to Kiva, who nodded in response and took out the Wake Up Fuestle.

FINAL ATTACK RIDE: DE-DE-DECADE

Wake Up!

Kiva focused on his right foot and the chains on it broke as the gates opened, revealing the red wings underneath. Next to him, golden holographic cards appeared between Decade and the King. Unlike earlier, there was no way the King could stop them.

The two Riders jumped into the air and aimed for the Bat Fangire. They hit the King at the same time and the leader of the Fangires exploded as the two Riders landed next to the others. The fire soon disappeared and the King laid on the ground in his human disguise.

"So this is how it ends again…" The King let out a dark laugh as he pushed himself. Turning to Kiva, he gave him one last warning, "Kiva… This is not over. You will meet me again."

"What are you talking about?"

"In the past, you will meet me for the last time…" The King smiled as his body start to turn to stained glass, "You… were correct, it seems."

The King let out one last laugh before his body completely changed and shattered, only leaving behind glass shards.

"What… was he talking about?" Kiva muttered, not understanding what the King meant.

With the fight over though, they detransformed with the exception of the Kishinami twins. The Arms Monsters did, however, separate from Kiva, turning him back into his base form.

"It's over then…" Taiga muttered. He felt a burning sensation on his left hand and looked at it. On the back of his hand, he saw the evidence that his father was truly dead as he saw the mark of the King appear. "I am… the King…"

"Congrats," said Ritsuka as he glanced at both the mark and Kiva. 'Thought he would get it since he dealt the final blow…'

"Right… It's over…" Kiva mumbled in relief. However, he felt his vision start to get blurry before he suddenly dropped to the ground and blacked out, the strain of using DoGaBaKi catching up with him…

A few days later…

"Mmm…" Hakuno groaned as he opened his eyes. He saw the familiar view of the roof over his bed back home. Now that he thought about it, the bed he was in also felt familiar…

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." The half-Fangire heard somebody say as he sat up. Looking to his left, he saw Ritsuka sitting at his dining table, reading the newspaper. "Had a nice nap?"

"Ritsuka...san?" Hakuno muttered before coughing, his throat feeling sore after a few days of not being used. "How long was I asleep?"

"About… three-and-a-half days, approximately," Ritsuka answered, "That fight really took a lot out of-"

"HAKUNO!"

"Kivat?" The brunette barely had time to react as his partner flew down from the upper floor and hugged his face.

"You're finally awake!" Streams of tears came out of Kivat's eyes. "I'm so happy!"

"Now, now, Kivat. Of course, I'd wake up. If I was going to die, that was not how I was going to go," Hakuno joked to Kivat as he tried to get him off his face.

That joke seemed to work on Ritsuka though, who let out a small laugh as he put down the newspaper, "Is that so? So how would you think you'd go out?"

"Hmm? Um…" Hakuno thought about his question for a second before saying, "I don't really know, but not like that."

"Pretty vague but alright." Ritsuka got up from his seat and picked up a plate of food from the table. "Here, cooked it myself," he told Hakuno as he presented the plate to him. "You need to get something in you."

"Thank you…" Hakuno thanked, took the breakfast plate, and began to eat. Admittedly, it was pretty delicious. "Ritsuka-san?"

"Yes?"

"What happened after I fainted?" Hakuno asked as he chewed on something. Kivat, meanwhile, nicked a piece of sausage from the plate and ate it himself, muttering that it was delicious too.

"Let's see… Well, right after you passed out, I had to try and convince those Blue Sky guys to leave without another fight," Ritsuka told him, "It was easy for me but if they start acting like best buds with you, don't blame me."

"What?" While he was confused, he would be completely fine if Keisuke stopped attacking him every time they meet while transformed.

"I think they saw your face when you fainted so maybe that's why they retreated so willingly," theorized Ritsuka, "Anyway, your sister is out buying some stuff for your house and should be back soon."

"And Taiga?"

"He had his coronation yesterday," he answered, "It was nice although I had to disguise myself to see it." Lucky for him, everybody wore a black cloak and hood that hid their face. He thought to also get a mask and scarf to further hide his identity but that would just make him look suspicious. That, and for another reason…

"So… It's over then?" Hakuno asked mostly to himself. "The Fangires will now stop hunting us?"

"Yes," Kivat answered after stealing some more food from Hakuno's plate. "Taiga came here and told us that he's called off the order on us under one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"You and your sister cannot transform anymore," Ritsuka answered, "He said you can keep Kivat and Kiva-la but you two can no longer fight. Oh, and he replaced basically every furniture in this place too."

So that was why the dining table was intact. He thought it had been destroyed when he and Hakunon fled a few weeks prior.

"I'm fine with not fighting but… Wait, where's the Bloody Rose?" Hakuno remembered they had left it in Ritsuka's house before they went off to kill the King.

"Your sister put it in its display upstairs." Ritsuka pointed to something that Hakuno did not see. He did not need to, of course, he knew what display the other teen was talking about.

"Kivat, get off my leg for a bit."

"Hey, wait."

"Should you be getting up so soon?" Despite asking, Ritsuka made no attempt to actually stop Hakuno as he lifted the plate and blanket so that he could get off the bed.

"Don't worry about it, I just want to see it for a moment," said Hakuno as he put the plate back on the dining table. He then made his way up the staircase to his work area, where various violins hanged from the ceiling. There were a lot less than the last time he was there, thanks to the Fangires that broke in while searching for him.

He ignored that though and focused on the glass case embedded into the wall in the corner. Inside, in its full glory, was the Bloody Rose on display along with a photo and its leather and fur casing.

Hakuno sighed in relief as he saw the violin and went over to it, touching the glass case. What he was about to say just now was whether or not the Bloody Rose will continue to alert him to any Fangire rampages but that would depend on the Fangires in the first place.

"You're really attached to that, aren't you?" Ritsuka observed. Back when they were in his house, Hakuno had not let go of the casing the entire time until they left.

"Of course, it's the last memento my sister and I have of my dad…" Hakuno stared at the photo in front of the Bloody Rose. It was of a man playing the violin while smiling.

The half-Fangire then opened the case and took out the violin and its bow and held it in his hands for a few moments.

Ritsuka stared at Hakuno for a bit before asking, "Do you play?"

"Huh?" It took Hakuno a second to realize what he was talking about. "Oh, I'm more of a luthier but yes."

"Why don't you play for a bit? As payment for me helping you?" Ritsuka suggested.

"Sure… I guess…" Hakuno took a deep breath before holding the Bloody Rose between his shoulder and chin. Putting the bow against the strings, he took another deep breath before he started playing.

A soothing melody filled the house as Hakuno played the Bloody Rose, fingers pressing on the strings as he bowed the instrument.

"This melody…" A smile appeared on Ritsuka's face as he listened to the tune Hakuno was playing, a nostalgic feeling in his heart.

After a minute of playing, Hakuno finished the song with a small smile on his face. "Was that to your liking? I don't usually play for anyone so I'm not sure what it sounds like to others."

"It was… great," Ritsuka answered, "It really sounded great."

"Thank you," Hakuno let out a sigh of relief again, "And thank you for helping me… after you tried to kill me."

"Hey, I wasn't trying to kill you, I was just trying to stop you from killing that Fangire," Ritsuka defended himself, "...So what will you do now? Your brother told you that you can't be Kiva anymore."

"As I said, I'm fine with it," Hakuno repeated, "I'd most likely just do what I used to do before I became Kiva."

"And that is?"

"Working on them." He gestured to the hanging violins above them. "Now that I don't need to be Kiva again, I can focus my time on them."

"Is that so…" Ritsuka hummed as he took one of them off the bars, "...What do you say to a duet? Is that the right word for it?"

"Du-duet?"

"Yeah, some song again." Ritsuka ignored Hakuno's shock as he looked for a bow to play with. Quickly finding one, he pointed it at the other boy and said, "Come on, just one time."

"Do you even know how to play?" Hakuno asked.

"I know enough," Ritsuka replied as he positioned the violin in his arm.

"...Alright then," Hakuno relented and copied his actions. "Three. Two. One."

The two started playing the song again completely in sync. While that did surprise Hakuno a bit, he ignored that feeling as he continued playing the violin with Ritsuka.

Ritsuka, meanwhile, had another feeling of nostalgia as he closed his eyes, playing the song from memory. Despite it being the first time he was playing the violin (well, second if one were to include the club fiasco from when he enrolled in his school), he felt like he had played that song many times before.

In his jacket, a soft glow illuminated the inside of his pocket where he kept the KamenRide: Kiva card.

The two of them continued to play till the end and finished in sync. As soon as they played the last note, Kivat, he had been listening from his perch, began clapping as best he can.

"Bravo! Bravo!" He exclaimed.

"It's nothing, Kivat," Hakuno downplayed the praise his bat was giving him before turning to Ritsuka. "I'm impressed. How did you copy me so easily?"

"...I have no idea either," Ritsuka shrugged with a small smirk before he put the violin and bow on a worktable. "I should probably get going soon, I've been here a bit too long."

"Thank you again for helping me and my sister," Hakuno said as Ritsuka went to the nearby door.

"It's no bother." Ritsuka waved to him as he opened the door. "I was happy to help you, Wataru."

"I hope to see you again." Hakuno waved back as the door closed. "...Wait, what did he call me?"

Fujimaru 'residence'...

"I'm back!" Ritsuka shouted as he entered his new house.

"Ritsu! We're in here!" Ryoko voice called out from the end of the hall and the main room of the building. Ritsuka made his way to the room, passing by a couple of photos that had been hung on the wall.

Entering the room, he saw Ryoko and Tetsuya sitting at a table that had been placed in the center, right in front of the backdrop. The two were currently putting some photos that had just finished processing into an album they recently bought.

"So, is everything done now?" Tetsuya asked as he looked up from the photo album.

"Yup," Ritsuka nodded as he looked at their work, "And is everything here?"

"Should be, the movers just finished up with your room an hour ago," Ryoko answered, "Those guys work pretty fast."

"Of course they do, a "mysterious" billionaire paid for express delivery."

"Still, we get our new house furnished in two days just because you helped him murder his father…" Tetsuya expressed his disbelief at the situation. After they claimed victory over the King, Taiga decided to reward Ritsuka with furnituring his previously barren house. It was probably out of pity, but none of them were complaining. Ritsuka did finally have the equipment to process all the photos he had taken in the previous worlds after all.

"You did not meet the guy, he was the worst," Ritsuka replied, "At any rate, we can already move on to the next world."

"Then it's three down," Ryoko remarked. "And about 18 le-"

"Hello! Anyone home?!" The voice of a certain someone interrupted Ryoko.

"...How exactly did you two meet again?" Ryoko asked.

"I'll tell you guys later," Ritsuka told her just as the doors of the main room opened, and in stepped everyone's favorite blue-haired battle nun. She was not wearing her holy attire and was wearing something normal instead. "So to what do I owe the pleasure now?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see what you were up to," Ciel answered him. "Not helping any more Fangires, I assume."

"No." Was it a lie? Maybe, maybe not.

"You sure about that?" Ciel pushed a bit further, her face getting closer to Ritsuka's. The two stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before she asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Move on, I have some more work to do elsewhere."

"And you won't be working for more enemies of humanity again?"

"...I can neither confirm nor deny that question."

"So what's stopping me from stabbing you in the heart right now?"

"Our truce is still going on, as I'm sure you know," Ritsuka answered.

"...I suppose it still is," Ciel smirked, stepping back a bit. "You're leaving soon then?"

"We were right about to when you barged in."

"So if I did not announce my arrival, I would have accidentally come with you?"

"Probably."

"Would you like that?"

"...I can neither confirm nor deny that question."

"Well, too bad for you. I have important work to do here," Ciel said as walked backward. "Who knows, if you meet another version of me, you can ask her instead."

"Why would I?" Ritsuka asked her.

"Why indeed. Goodbye, Fujimaru Ritsuka," Ciel smirked again before closing the doors.

"..." Ritsuka felt eyes were on him and, sure enough, he turned to see his friends staring at him. "...What?"

"Ritsu," Ryoko said with a small smirk, "Just what was going on between you two?"

"I have no idea," Ritsuka shrugged. He did not even know how he felt about the tension between them either.

"Hey, Ritsuka, do you have a thing for foreigners or something?" Tetsuya asked with a straight face.

"Uh… What?"

"I mean, last year, you had that thing with that exchange student. You were with her nearly every day while she was here."

"Because I was asked to help her while she was here by our teacher." Ritsuka sighed, not wanting to get into that conversation.

Before he could go over to the chains and pull on them though, Ryoko suddenly shouted in surprise and pointed to something out the window. "AH!"

"What?!"

"What's outside?" Both boys glanced out but only saw the fence that was around the perimeter of their house. "What did you-?"

"Hup!" The room was flooded with lights as Ryoko had pulled on the chains, making a new backdrop replacing the one representing Kiva's world.

"...You sneaky little-"

"Damn it, Ryoko! I wanted to do that!" Tetsuya shouted at her.

Ritsuka sighed as his two friends started to play-argue and looked at the new backdrop. It depicted three belts covered in stone with the exception of the buckle. The central belt had a yellow-and-red insignia similar to a phi symbol attached to the back of an old smartphone.

"This world… is Faiz, right?"

Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope

"What is Smart Brain?"

"To put it simply, Orphnochs are zombies."

"Not everybody can use the Drivers' power."

"Fine! My name is Haizuka Takumi!"

Chapter 10: Unending Dilemma

A/N: And done with Kiva's world! At 16.7k words, this is the longest chapter so far and definitely makes up for the previous two chapters' length and quality… right?

Most of you guys asked for more flirty dialogues between Ritsuka and Ciel so I did so. I know it'll get me killed by half the fandom, but I grew to like it. Problem was that I'm probably not good at writing romantic stuff so if it's bad, I apologize. I also apologize if Ciel ends up OOC and that scene in the middle. You know the one, I did it because I was bored.

Hakuno and Hakunon's story come to an end here (for now) and there were some more ideas that I threw around in my head, especially for the latter. I felt like I should've added her to the crew because… Kiva-la, and there was a way for me to do so in a semi-natural way involving her getting sent to the moon in [REDACTED]'s world but I have other ideas for that world. If Hakunon gets sent there, it'll just complicate things more than it already will be.

And just an early warning, as you guys probably already know, Lostbelt 5.1 will be coming soon and when it drops, expect some delays as I try to complete it. Just FYI.

On a very unrelated note, today's episode of Ultraman Trigger (#19) is definitely top tier in my opinion just for that final fight. No spoilers in case anyone hasn't seen it yet but yeah, S Tier for me.

As always, please leave a review and all that stuff and see you all later!u