Disclaimer: Still don't own anything as per usual.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"There is only one way for you to live. We have to murder the King!"
"I was told you were a great threat to the worlds but I see that the representative was wrong."
"But he was right that you have no recollection of your past."
"Thank you for helping me and my sister."
"It's no bother, I was happy to help you, Wataru."
"This world is… Faiz, right?"
The doors opened and Fujimaru Ritsuka found himself in the next world. He took a deep, long breath of fresh air, spreading his arms out as he did.
"...It smells like the other worlds to me," he muttered, exhaling loudly. He looked up and down his new street and noted that they were in an old part of town.
"Even Emu's world?" Ryoko questioned him as she stepped out.
"Ex-Aid… was more that there was nothing to smell," Ritsuka replied as Tetsuya joined them, "And the real world felt the same as the others."
"The real world? When did you go to the real world?" The other boy asked.
"I… didn't." Ritsuka had no idea why he just said that but that was not exactly new. He was just going to add that to the ever-growing list of things that do not make sense. "So, what is it this time?"
As always, his attire changed with the world. This time, he had a dark business suit as his new disguise, complete with a pair of glasses and a large metal briefcase. On the side of the briefcase was a logo for the company he most likely worked for here.
For some reason, he felt like he had worn his new suit before.
He held the sides of the briefcase and read the logo, "Smart… Brain?"
"What's that supposed to be?" It was not a company the other two were familiar with but that was not a surprise. After all, they were traveling through alternate worlds.
"Smart Brain, if I recall correctly, is one of the leading manufacturers in electronics," Ritsuka said as he tried to open the case, "Smartphones, vehicles, cameras. Smart Brain has something for everybody."
"Okay… I'm not sure if a vehicle is considered an electronic but, more importantly, how do you know that?"
"No clue. Nope, definitely locked," He sighed and gave up on trying to open it for now.
"So you work for Smart Brain in this world?"
"Looks like it."
"Can I ask exactly why this keeps happening?" Tetsuya asked as Ritsuka started walking down the street towards… somewhere. "Why do your clothes keep changing every time we enter a new world?"
"I don't know either," Ritsuka replied, carrying the briefcase over his shoulder. "At any rate, I better be heading to work… again."
"Two things; first, what makes you think that we'll let you just go off after what happened last time? Second, do you even know where you're supposed to go?" Ryoko said as she and Tetsuya followed him, passing by the dry-cleaners that were right next to their house.
"In my defense, I did go to meet up with my boss. It was Taiga who dragged me to work for the King, may he not rest in peace." And besides, he did end up doing the job assigned to him before that day's end. "As for directions…"
Okay, she got him there.
Beep! Beep!
"Hmm?" Hearing beeping coming from his pants pocket, Ritsuka fished inside them and found what he could call a wide phone with a big cover. "SB-555M…" He read the code underneath the Smart Brain logo before flipping the cover open.
"Is that… a pager?"
"Have you ever seen a pager, Tetsu?"
"...No."
Ritsuka ignored his friends and read the message on the screen. 'Reminder: Meeting with Chairman Akaibara Kyouji at 1200 hours.'
He glanced at the clock at the corner of the screen and saw it was 10:47 a.m.
"Tetsuya."
"Yes?" The boy in question replied.
"Wallet. We need a taxi."
"Oh, come on, man!"
"Shush, we got paid by Taiga."
Chapter 10: Unending Dilemma
11:39 a.m., Smart Brain company building…
"Wow…" Ryoko looked up in awe at the center courtyard of the Smart Brain company. "This place is big!"
Various workers walked across the courtyard and several leather seats, tables, and planters decorated the area.
"Hmm… I've seen bigger," said Tetsuya, not as impressed as Ryoko was.
"Oh, right. Your brother's company…"
"I've got… 20 minutes before my meeting with the Chairman." Ritsuka closed the cover of his Smart Pad and put it back in his pocket. "In the meantime… Let's find a waiting room or something."
"Hey, wait for us!" The two followed him across the courtyard to the front (kind of) desk. Why it was on the other side of the yard was a bit strange but meh.
"Welcome to Smart Brain," the receptionist greeted them once they got there. "What is your business with us today?"
"I have a meeting with Akaibara Kyouji at noon."
"Oh, you're the representative?" The receptionist peered over the desk to see if Ritsuka had the metal case. "I'll send a message to the Chairman of your arrival. Until the appointed time, why don't you and your…"
She glanced at the two accompanying him, thinking of the most polite way of calling them. "The three of you may wait here in the courtyard in the meantime."
"Thank you," Ritsuka bowed politely before the three walked away from the reception.
The receptionist watched them as they went to find a place to wait before picking up a company-brand phone. "Hello, sir?"
"Yes, Hasegawa?" The voice on the other line said.
"The representative is here in the lobby."
"Good, good. The meeting room will be on the 9th floor. I'm currently busy with other issues at the moment."
"Yes, sir." The receptionist hung up but was not able to inform Ritsuka yet as another visitor came up to her.
With the three dimensional travelers, they found a place to sit. Putting the case on the table in front of them, Ritsuka once again attempted to open it.
"Should you be trying to open it?" Ryoko was not sure if that was a good idea, at least not at the moment.
"Call it morbid curiosity," Ritsuka replied as he tilted the case up a bit so he could take a closer look at the lock.
"Isn't that phrase used for dark stuff like dead bodies?" His hesitation did not mean that Tetsuya was not interested in what was inside the case. "What do you think's inside?"
"Who knows? A gun?" Ritsuka half-heartedly suggested before he looked at Ryoko. "Do you have a paper clip or something?"
"Why would I be carrying a paper clip with me?"
"You're right. I doubt a single paper clip would work on this… You have two paper clips?"
Ryoko let out a loud sigh at Ritsuka's attempt at a joke.
"...I need to use the bathroom for a bit. Wait here and keep an eye on the case." Ritsuka said as he sat up. "I'll be back soon."
"Sure, sure. Tetsu, stop messing with that."
While the two were left alone, however, there were a few people nearby that kept a close eye on them…
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city…
A young man sighed as he looked out the passenger seat window. He, along with his boss/co-worker/not-friend, was currently driving in a van nearly filled to the brim with recently cleaned clothes.
"Takumi, you know what they say; every time you sigh, you're driving away happiness," said the driver of the van.
"I don't want to hear it…" The young man named Takumi huffed as they arrived at their first stop of the day, a tall apartment building with stairs on the side of it.
"Come on, Ta-kun," said his not-friend as he unfastened his seatbelt. "Hara-san's apartment is on the 7th floor. Room 703."
Takumi let out another loud sigh as he exited the van, quickly went around back and opened it. A look inside caused him to let out another sigh. "Hey, Keitaro! Which ones are his?"
"Check the tags. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Keitaro pouted as he joined Takumi in the back and began searching through the rack of clothes. "Hmm… Found it!"
"Thank you-"
"This is for Kimura-san. Her building is down the street from here," Keitaro stopped Takumi from taking the clothes he took out of the van. "Go look for Hara-san's clothes yourself. Why else am I paying you?"
Letting out yet another sigh, Takumi began his own search through the van as Keitaro went off to deliver his set of clothes. Not too long after, he found what he was searching for and took them out.
"7th floor, huh…?" Well, better get started.
Takumi made his way towards the staircase and started to make his climb up to the 5th floor. Since they had a lot more stops to make for the day, he did his best to get up as fast as he could, even going as far as to jump over some steps.
In record time, he reached the 7th floor barely breaking a sweat, and began going door-to-door looking for the right apartment. Upon finding it, Takumi knocked on the door and called out, "Hara-san?! I'm with Kitsugi's Cleaners!"
Getting no response, Takumi knocked again, this time a bit more loudly. "Hara-san?!"
That seemed to get a reaction as he heard some knocking noises and loud footsteps before the door opened. "Oh, Haizuka-san? Got my laundry?"
"Yes," Takumi answered as he handed over the three suits to the older man. However, he could not help but look over the man's shoulders to see the inside of his apartment. "Can I ask why your place is a wreck?"
Indeed, the inside of the room had basically been turned upside down. Hara-san looked back to see the same scene but had a look of surprise on his face. "That's… I don't…"
"Are you kidding me…?" Before he could do anything, Hara-san dropped to his knees and fell, his body turning to ash.
"This has to be recent…" Takumi muttered before rushing back to the stairs. He knew what had killed his customer and needed to look around for the killer.
Jumping down several flights of steps until he reached the ground floor, Takumi went back to the van and opened the passenger side door where he put the metal case. Grabbing it, he went off to search for the Orphnoch…
Ritsuka hummed another tune as he exited the toilet stall and washed his hands, passing by somebody else. Turning around, he was about to leave when who else but his least favorite person called out to him.
"What? Not so much as a hello?" The ever cloaked man in black indignantly huffed. "I only talked to you once in Haku's world and you're just going to ignore me?"
"Yes. And please also talk to me once in this world too."
"Why did I even bother to ask?" The masked man sighed. "Anyway, I have one question and one question only."
"Why do I think that's not true?"
The other man ignored Ritsuka and asked him the question, "How did you manage to get that case?"
"Case?" Ritsuka parroted.
"You know, the case. The one you got when you came into this world."
"Oh, that case?" Ritsuka understood what he meant now. "How am I supposed to know? My clothes keep changing against my will."
It was not a complete complaint since it meant he did not need to buy new clothes. Granted, there was no way he was using the attire he got in Kuuga's world again but the thought was still there.
"Again, why did I bother to ask?" The cloaked man sighed. He then glanced at the suit Ritsuka was wearing and muttered, "Why are you wearing that of all things…?"
"Hmm?"
"At any rate, whatever you do, don't give the case to anybody; not Smart Brain, not your friends, not even yourself."
"Everything you said sorta made sense until that last part," Ritsuka snarked at him.
"...I think I may have gotten 'case' and 'trust' mixed up." The man sheepishly admitted.
"So… I should not trust anybody including myself?"
"Not what I was going for but sure. Should not be too hard for you to do," The young man said before opening an Aurora Curtain and disappearing, leaving a frustrated Ritsuka behind to make sense of his words again.
At least he would have tried to make sense of it if Ritsuka did not decide to throw the man's words into the back of his mind and left the bathroom. Returning to the courtyard, he saw his friends waiting for him. However, the receptionist from earlier was with them and holding onto the case.
'I probably should take that away from her…' Ritsuka thought as he rejoined them.
"Representative, here." He did not need to though as the receptionist gave him the case of her own volition. "I ask that you not leave the Gear with… careless individuals again."
Ritsuka heard Tetsuya let out a nervous laugh and Ryoko glaring at him.
"Gear?" That rang a bell, but Ritsuka did not have time to think about it as the receptionist continued to talk.
"I came here to tell you your meeting with the Chairman will be on the 9th floor. You may wait there until noon. However, only you are allowed to meet with him."
"Oh, come- Ow!" A slap to the back of Tetsuya's head quickly shut him up.
"If that's what it has to be then sure," Ritsuka shrugged before asking, "Which way to the elevators?"
"If you would please follow me." The receptionist (is she really just a receptionist at this point?) started to lead him away but Ritsuka said to his two friends, "Just stay here in view of everybody until I get back."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Just… do as I say." Ritsuka did not have time to explain as he had to catch up to the woman. "I wouldn't be gone long."
"Good luck!" Ryoko bid him farewell before sighing as she sat back down in her seat. "Again, huh?"
Despite her best attempts to keep a close eye on her friend, Ritsuka had to meet with a chairman of some mysterious organization while she (and Tetsuya) had to wait down in the lobby.
Recognizing Ryoko's dour attitude, Tetsuya tried his best to cheer her up. "Hey, you don't need to worry too much about it, you know? I mean, what are the chances he's meeting with another monster?"
"...I guess you're right." While she was not so thoroughly convinced, Ryoko had to thank him for his attempts to cheer her up.
"You may wait here, the chairman will be here shortly," the receptionist said as they entered the appointed meeting room, "I have other business to attend to. Please do not leave the room."
The receptionist left Ritsuka by himself, presumably to return to reception but she was giving some odd vibes since they talked. Regardless, Ritsuka took a seat and put the case on the table in front of him.
He stared at the metal case intensely, as if he was trying to open it with his mind. He had just been curious about the contents of the case before but thanks to what the hooded man said, Ritsuka needed to know what was inside.
Well, he did know what was inside thanks to the receptionist but he was not sure what she had meant by 'Gear'.
"Gear, Gear, Gear…" It was very likely that the Gear had something to do with Faiz's world because of the Smart Brain logo on its case but he could be wrong.
He looked around for something he could poke into the lock but only found a forgotten pen on the ground. It would have to do for now…
Taking off the cap, Ritsuka inserted the tip of the pen into the keyhole and started wiggling it. He spent the next ten minutes or so trying (and failing) to open the case until the door opened, startling Ritsuka and causing him to drop the pen.
"I apologize for making you wait," A man in a business suit said as he entered the room adjusting his tie, "One of the shareholders had- You?!"
"Hmm?" The man seemed to recognize him as evident by the look on his face. Ritsuka, however, felt an air of familiarity with the dark-haired chairman of Smart Brain. "Is something wrong?"
Realizing that the younger man did know who he was, the chairman quickly recovered and introduced himself, "Sorry, I thought you were somebody else. I am Akaibara Kyouji, current chairman of Smart Brain."
"I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka," Ritsuka replied, keeping a close eye on the chairman's reaction. It was very nuanced, but the man flinched.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fujimaru," Akaibara said before taking the seat across from him. "You are the representative, correct?"
"Yes." 'Apparently,' Ritsuka added that last part in his head.
"I assume that's the payment for our recent collaboration," the chairman glanced at the metal case before looking back at Ritsuka.
"It is." 'Probably.' While he was also curious about what Akaibara meant by collaboration, it was obvious that the chairman was weary of Ritsuka. If he was going to start asking questions then that would just make the man more suspicious of him.
"Good, good… Well then, why don't you be on your way?" The chairman stood up and picked up the case. "I'll escort you down."
"Al...right…" It looks like he was not going to find out anything at all here. Then that means he has to go with Plan B.
"...Hey, Tetsu?
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me or do you feel like someone is looking at us?" Ryoko fidgeted in her seat. She had that feeling since they walked into the building but she had written it off as someone wondering why three teens were just walking into their workplace. But after a near-half hour, she was just worried at this point.
Luckily for her though, Ritsuka returned accompanied by an older man in a suit, the latter carrying the metal case in his hands.
"You're done?" She asked, more than ready to get out of there.
"Yes," Ritsuka answered before turning to the chairman, "Pleasure doing business with you."
"Likewise," Akaibara replied as Ritsuka turned back to his friends.
"Let's get going."
The three quickly made themselves scarce and left the building under the watchful eye of the chairman of Smart Brain.
"Sir?" The receptionist from earlier walked up to him.
"Hasegawa, send someone to follow the representative," Akaibara ordered. "...Make it two of them."
"Yes, sir." The woman bowed before leaving to contact some of their… special employees.
"So how was the meeting?" Tetsuya asked as they exited the building.
"It was alright," Ritsuka shrugged before he pushed up his new glasses. Wait, were they real glasses or fake? "But I'm feeling hungry at the moment, let's look around for a place to eat."
"Sure, I was starting to feel hungry myself."
"And… It's going to be out of my wallet, isn't it?"
"Did you expect something else?" Ryoko snickered in response to Tetsuya's complaint. However, she still had the feeling that somebody was watching them. "So where are we eating lunch?"
"I'm sure we'll find a place sooner or later," Ritsuka said as they continued walking the street.
Eventually, about ten minutes later, they eventually found a small cafe to eat in.
After finding a table to sit at someone is looking(which was not hard since they were the only ones around) and ordering, Ryoko asked Ritsuka about the meeting.
"It was… odd," the black-haired boy answered. "The CEO mistook me for someone else."
"Someone else?" Tetsuya repeated. "Actually, now that I think about it, could there be alternate versions of us in this world? Maybe that guy met this world's you?"
"That's certainly an option but…"
"Hmm… I wonder what would happen if I met another me…" Ryoko muttered. "Wait, isn't this what that blue-haired woman was talking about?"
"Her name is Ciel… and probably," replied Ritsuka.
"So do you think you'd meet her again?"
'How did we go from talking about my meeting to that woman who tried to kill me?' "Can we go back to the first topic? That chairman guy knew who I was and reacted strangely to my name." Ritsuka said, conveniently sidestepping the question, "What are the chances that he had met this world's version of me? Especially a me with the same name."
"Same name?"
"..."
"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Ryoko did not know if she should laugh or sigh.
"At any rate, that man was acting suspicious and I'm curious," said Ritsuka. "And we also have to start looking for Faiz."
"Faiz… That's this world's Kamen Rider, right?" Tetsuya asked for confirmation. He had been mock-arguing with Ryoko at the time and only faintly heard what Ritsuka said.
"Yes; the fourth Heisei Rider, Kamen Rider Faiz," Ritsuka answered without thinking. "...Which part did I lose you guys?"
"The fourth." "Heisei Rider." Ryoko and Tetsuya answered at the same time.
"There is a numbering system for Kamen Riders?" Ryoko asked before Tetsuya could.
"Kind of. It's hard to explain but I can say for sure that there is. For example, Kamen Rider Kuuga was the first Heisei Rider."
"Yuusuke is? Then Emu and Hakuno are number two and three?"
"Nope," Ritsuka answered, "...Do you think because Kuuga was the first world we visited and Faiz is the fourth, we're going through them in order?"
"...No."
Ritsuka did not know whether he should laugh or sigh.
"So what number are you?"
"As Decade, I am obviously number 21," Ritsuka snarked, causing Ryoko to pout. "Tetsuya, what did you want to ask?"
"You said Heisei Riders, right?" A nod from Ritsuka let Tetsuya ask further, "Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Yup, Heisei Riders just means Kamen Riders born during the Heisei era."
"So are there Showa and Reiwa Riders too?"
"I think so," Ritsuka said as he dug into his pocket and took out two cards before showing them to his friends, "If I'm right, these two are Reiwa Riders."
"Zero-One?"
"Kamen Rider Saber?"
"Right, Zero-One and Saber… Saber… Saber…" Ritsuka unconsciously started to repeat the second Rider's name for an unknown reason.
"Ritsu?"
"Yeah?" He did not seem to realize what he was saying and looked at his friend, expecting another question.
"Umm… How do you know all this?" Ryoko decided to ask him that since he seemed unaware of his daze.
"To be honest, I don't know myself," Ritsuka huffed, mainly annoyed with himself than Ryoko for asking a question with an obvious answer. "It feels like this knowledge just pops into my head. I just go along with it."
"Really…?"
"So do you also get knowledge of other worlds and Riders every time we enter a new world?" Tetsuya suggested, "I mean, it's not like you knew this stuff back when we were in Ginseisora… right?"
"Of course not," Ritsuka replied, waving his hand around. It was then that the waiter returned with their food and drinks.
"Here you go," the waiter said as he put the drinks on their table.
"Thank you… Uh, sir? Are you okay?" Tetsuya asked in concern as the man froze as he was about to give them their food.
"I…" The waiter trailed off as his skin turned ash-gray.
"What-?!"
"Get back!" Ritsuka's warning came in time as the waiter collapsed onto the table, shattering the glasses and plates that were laid out on it. The waiter's body did not remain for long as it disintegrated into ash.
"Wha-what happened to him?!" Needless to say, Ryoko started panicking at what just happened in front of them.
"This is… an Orphnoch." Ritsuka recognized the perpetrator of this crime. "What happened to the rest of the staff?"
While Ritsuka went to check the kitchen, Ryoko and Tetsuya remained firmly in place, eyes frozen on the ash-filled pile of clothes that was in front of them. "Wha…?"
Of course, they have seen people dying in front of them during the destruction of their world but this was different. Back then, the world collapsing all around them made them put all the deaths in the back of their mind as they ran.
This time, there was nothing else to focus on but the dead body in front of them.
"This… This…" Tetsuya could not help but stutter as he stared. "He…"
"Hey, you two!" Ritsuka's shouting helped jar them out of their haze but just barely. "You might want to get out of here."
"What's wrong…?" The two stumbled over to where Ritsuka was standing, the door to the back kitchen. However, what they saw did not help at all. "There's… more?"
The entire kitchen staff was laid out on the floor and various appliances that were in the room. Like the waiter, their bodies had been reduced to ash with only a few having enough structure to remain whole.
"Ritsu, what happened here?"
"If I remember right, an Orphnoch was responsible for this." Unfettered by the piles of ashes that were once people, Ritsuka walked into the kitchen and began looking around, walking over the clothes without much care.
"Ritsuka?! Wait, they're-?!" Tetsuya tried to tell him that the ashes were dead people despite Ritsuka already knowing, having seen what happened to the waiter.
Ritsuka, however, did not listen as he surveyed the room. It did not take long for him to find something off (besides the piles of ash, that is). "Why's this door open?"
In the back, Ritsuka found the door leading to the back alley left ajar. Without waiting for his friends, he stepped out and into the alleyway. He looked up and down the alley but saw no one else. After thinking about which way to go for a moment, he took off in search of the Orphnoch.
"Ritsuka!" "Ritsu!"
The two shouted as they got out of the kitchen, having taken extra care to not step in any of the ash piles. This led to them losing track of their friend though, as he had disappeared by the time they exited the cafe.
"Damn it, Ritsu…" Ryoko cursed as she unintentionally copied Ritsuka's actions, looking up and down the alley. "Why did you have to run off like that?"
"What should we do now?" Tetsuya sighed, glancing back at the kitchen door.
"I… don't know."
A short time later…
After accidentally leaving behind his friends while looking for the Orphnoch, Ritsuka eventually found himself walking next to a wide river. Up ahead, he saw a large red bridge to the other side of the riverbank.
Eventually, he reached the bridge and began making his way across but stopped halfway to catch his breath.
*snap!*
He also took a picture of the river to remember the moment.
"Hey, you!" He heard somebody shout from the other end of the bridge.
Looking to his right, he saw a brunette boy around his age running down the path. He wore blue jeans and a black jacket over a yellow t-shirt. However, what got Ritsuka's attention the most was the metal case he had. It was practically identical to the one he was carrying earlier with the noticeable exception of a lock.
"Have you seen a monster run through here?!" The other boy questioned him as he got closer.
"No, have you?" Ritsuka asked in return as the boy stopped in front of him.
"Tch, I know I sound crazy but I'm serious." The brunette seemed to have taken his reply as him being a smartass.
"And I'm also being serious. A monster made of ash, specifically."
"Wait… Are you looking for the same one I'm looking for?" He stared at Ritsuka's face, gauging his reaction.
"Probably," Ritsuka shrugged, "What's the monster's name?"
"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you already know they're called?"
"Of course I do. Do you know what they're called?"
"Of course I do. Do you-?"
"Let's not start this type of who-knows-what," Ritsuka interrupted the other boy before their conversation could spiral out of control.
"You're right," the boy sighed before asking, "So, you're an Orphnoch hunter or something?"
"Or something," Ritsuka answered as he pointed his camera at him. "I'm whatever anybody wants me to be. But I'm apparently done with my current job so I'm doing whatever I want. Now, say cheese."
*snap!*
"Hey!" he did not appreciate getting his picture taken without permission though, attempting to cover up his face but was not fast enough.
"Who are you anyway?" Ritsuka asked for his name. "You know, since we'll be working together."
"Working together?" It was not that much of a surprise that the other boy did not seem so pleased with that idea. "If you want to go hunt some Orphnoch, do it by yourself. I'd rather not get distracted trying to protect someone who has a death wish."
"You think I need protection when fighting Orphnochs? I'm more than meets the eye, you know."
"Really?" The boy scanned his body for a few seconds. "...I guess when you don't look like much, anything could be a surprise."
"Hey!" Ritsuka did not really care about what the other person thought of him but he still did not appreciate getting insulted like that. Besides, he was wearing a dark suit! How does that 'not look much'?
However, as they were arguing, two figures slowly made their way across the bridge from the direction Ritsuka came.
"Do you usually go around insulting what people wear?" Ritsuka glanced at the other boy's clothes. "You don't look like much either."
The other boy glared at him and said, "Hey! I'll let you know this is my best jacket!"
"If that's your best jacket, I'd hate to see your worst."
"You- Ow! Watch where you're going!" One of the men that were crossing the bridge bumped into the brunette boy. The man stopped in his tracks and stared at him for a moment-
"What are you looking-?"
-and punched the boy in the jaw. The boy, caught off guard by the sudden assault, stumbled back into the railing and dropped the case he was carrying.
"Hey! Let me go!" The other man, meanwhile, was holding Ritsuka back, preventing him from coming to his new "friend's" aid.
"This is quite the jackpot, isn't it?" The man who threw the first punch smirked as he picked up the dropped case before glancing at the restrained Ritsuka. "Who knew that following him would lead us right to the Faiz Gear? I'm sure we'll be well rewarded for this."
'The Faiz Gear? Then that guy is-' Ritsuka's train of thought was interrupted by the other boy letting out a scream as he tackled the man.
The man was only pushed back a few steps before standing his ground against him and started laughing. "How cute."
All the boy got from fighting back was a kick in the stomach followed by a backhand slap to the face.
"You know what? I think killing you would give a much bigger reward." With a dark smile, something appeared on his face before the man's entire body changed. His clothes disappeared as his skin turned an ashy-gray color. Spikes covered most of his upper body, especially around his head.
At the same time, his compatriot's body also morphed, turning into a monster with a very bulky body with an elephant head.
"Orphnochs!" Now Ritsuka had a much more urgent reason to get out of the Elephant Orphnoch's hold.
The Cactus Orphnoch, meanwhile, grabbed the other boy by the collar of his jacket and pulled him up. "Our mission was to just tail the delivery boy over there and see what he does but the big man will forgive us for jumping in."
The ashy-skinned monster then threw the brunette boy to the wayside before turning to Ritsuka.
"As for you, what should we do with you?" The Orphnoch mockingly asked.
"I'm still a representative for…" Now he wished that he had asked something back during the meeting. "Regardless, I'm too important to be killed."
The Cactus Orphnoch scoffed, "If you're lucky, you'll become one of us."
Ritsuka was a sitting duck as the Orphnoch raised his hand and shot tentacles out.
Meanwhile, with Ryoko and Tetsuya…
"Ritsu!"
"Ritsuka!"
"Ritsu, where are you?!"
The two called out for their currently missing friend as they looked around, eventually coming to a small park. Needless to say, they did not find Ritsuka anywhere nearby. They've already tried calling him but he did not pick.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen a boy about this tall, black hair?"
"He was wearing a black suit and had glasses on."
All they got were negative responses to their queries.
"We're getting nowhere with this…" Ryoko sighed, sitting down on a park bench across a fountain.
"Should we go back to the cafe… house," Tetsuya corrected himself. "He'll go back there eventually, right?"
"True, but-"
"Ta-kun!" Someone's shout interrupted Ryoko. "Takumi, where did you go?!"
Before both of them could do anything, a young man quickly ran up to them and asked, "I'm sorry for disturbing you but have you seen a friend of mine? He has brown hair and is about my height."
"Uh… Sorry but I don't think I have. Tetsu?"
"Nope, can't say I saw him either. Sorry," Tetsuya apologized to the young man.
"Really?" He let out a worried sigh. "Where could he have gone? He even took the belt…"
While he did not think his friend would just abandon him while out of delivery, the fact that the metal case was missing was troubling. Very troubling. It was enough for him to drop the deliveries and go look for his missing friend.
"Belt?" The young man had muttered that word under his breath but was still overheard by the duo. "Don't tell me…"
"Why don't we help you look for your friend?" Tetsuya suggested.
"But-!" The young man tried to object but was cut off by Ryoko.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be happy to help. What's his name?"
"Takumi. Haizuka Takumi," The young man answered before realizing he had not yet introduced himself. "Oh, and I'm Kitsugi Keitaro."
"My name is Jindai Ryoko and this is my friend, Tsunogai Tetsuya."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," replied Keitaro. "Maybe it's easier if we drive around town. It'll be easier that way. Please follow me."
Back with Ritsuka…
Closing his eyes by reflex, Ritsuka did not see the gray tentacles coming his way. However, this resulted in him not seeing the Cactus Orphnoch's tentacles getting shot by something.
"What?!" The Orphnoch managed to let out a shout of surprise before he and the Elephant Orphnoch were shot too, causing them to let go of the case and Ritsuka respectively.
Thinking quickly, Ritsuka kicked the case back to the recovering… he still has not told Ritsuka his name yet. Regardless, Ritsuka ducked under the Cactus Orphnoch's swing and rushed to the other brunette boy's side, who had opened the case and taken something out of it.
"Hey, who was it that saved me?" It was probably not the right time but Ritsuka noticed that there was no one else around but them.
"How was I supposed to know, I wasn't looking," the other boy huffed as he stood up and put on a large, mostly silver belt. On the right side of it was a flashlight while on the left was a digital camera. Most noticeably though was the empty slot in the buckle.
"Is that so?" Ritsuka sighed as he took off his glasses and tossed them away. He then took out the Decadriver and said, "Let's take care of them first then."
Noticing the belt that was now around Ritsuka's waist, the other boy let out a small huff and said, "Whatever you say."
The brunette took out a cellphone from his pocket and flipped it open. He then dialed 555 into the number pad before pressing the Enter button.
Standing By!
Closing the phone, he raised it over his head as Ritsuka took out his transformation card.
"Henshin!"
Complete!
KAMEN RIDE: DECADE
The brunette boy inserted the cellphone into a slot in his buckle and swung it down into place. Red lines came out of the Driver and traveled all over his body before glowing brightly. The next second, the light died down and revealed his transformed state.
He now had a black suit that was barely covered in silver armor, mostly on his upper body. His chestplate was cut down the middle by the red lines that ran over his body while small pauldrons covered his shoulders. Finally, his helmet was mostly just the two large semi-circular, yellow eyes that were only barely separated down the middle.
Next to the newly transformed Kamen Rider Faiz, Ritsuka quickly transformed into Decade just as the two Orphnochs finally recovered from the surprise attack.
"Let's go, Faiz," Decade said as he lightly slapped the other Rider's shoulders before charging towards the monsters.
"Don't order me around," huffed Faiz before he flicked his hand and ran at their foes, specifically the Cactus Orphnoch for obvious reasons.
The second Rider reached his target first and landed a quick punch on the Orphnoch's chest. Decade, meanwhile, tried to open up with a punch as well but the Elephant Orphnoch did not seem to be affected by it.
"...Crap." Decade managed to get out before, with a mighty swing of his arm, the Elephant Orphnoch sent him rolling back.
Faiz, on the other hand, was having much less trouble with his chosen Orphnoch, easily able to evade the prickly monster's jabs and retaliate with his own.
"Is this going the way you thought it would?" Faiz taunted the Cactus Orphnoch before punching him in the jaw(?). Now, he would not call himself someone who would bear grudges but he can be let off just this once.
After blocking another punch from the Orphnoch, Faiz landed a powerful kick that sent him stumbling back.
Back with Decade, he was struggling to actually hurt the Elephant Orphnoch. He did not seem to feel any of the punches or kicks the Rider was throwing at him. Switching gears, he removed the RideBooker and changed it into its sword mode.
This time, while his attacks had more of an effect than before, the Elephant Orphnoch was still a juggernaut and swung his arms at him. Even though he brought his arms up to defend himself, that did not stop Decade from getting blown back at all.
"Ow… Fine, time to test out my new power." Decade rubbed his arm in pain for a second before opening his Driver and taking out his new card from the RideBooker.
KAMEN RIDER: KIVA
The Decadriver played a familiar tune as his armor turned to quicksilver. The next second, his armor shattered, revealing the armor of Kamen Rider Kiva.
Undeterred by the change in looks, the Elephant Orphnoch charged at Decade and tried to tackle him. The copycat Kiva managed to sidestep the attack and let the Orphnoch rush past him.
"And now for this."
FORM RIDE KIVA: DOGGA
Unlike with Hakuno, Decade quickly changed form. Chains wrapped around both arms and his chest before they shattered, his armor turning purple and bulkier. The Dogga Hammer, meanwhile, flew out of the Decadriver and into Decade's hands.
"This should be better," the now-purple Kamen Rider hummed to himself, "Let's continue."
Still not fettered by his form changes, the Elephant Orphnoch once again charged towards Decade. This time, he responded by swinging the hammer and smashing the oversized head against the Orphnoch, sending him into the railing and bending it a bit.
"Definitely better now."
"Ow! Why did I have to sit in the back…?" Tetsuya quietly complained as he rubbed the top of his head after the van went over a speedbump.
"Sorry about that, Tetsuya-san," Keitaro apologized while driving.
"So what's your friend like?" Ryoko asked from the passenger seat. If they were right about who the person Keitaro was looking for was, she was interested in his personality.
"Takumi? Well, he can be standoffish at times… all the time… and it's very hard to make friends with him because he's so anti-social. But he has a good heart buried under his harsh exterior. Truly!" Keitaro answered honestly.
"Is that so?" So a more rude version of Ritsuka, Ryoko thought. The entire time she has known Ritsuka, he had been a bit snarky and refused to interact with most people. It was only recently with the start of their journey that he became more outgoing.
"Do you know why… Ur… Takumi? Why did he leave you behind like that?" Tetsuya questioned Keitaro.
"Because he's a hero," Keitaro answered with a smile, "If he thinks that there's something dangerous around, he'll go out and stop them."
"..." Both Tetsuya and Ryoko remained quiet upon hearing what Keitaro said which he noticed.
"Um… Did I say something weird?"
"No, no. It's just… Nothing."
"Really?" He was not going to outright say he thought they were lying, but he could easily tell that something was on their mind. "Anyway, Takumi is-"
"Watch out!"
Keitaro quickly stepped on the brake when he heard Tetsuya shout. The van screeched to a halt, a few inches shy of hitting the person that suddenly stepped onto the road. The person did not look scared at all and simply stared at the three through the windshield.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this…" Tetsuya said, feeling unnerved by the impassive look the person was giving them.
"You're not the only one."
Their worries and fears were proven right when the man in front of the van suddenly changed forms, turning into an ash-skinned monster with the appearance of a swordfish and was armed with two claymores, one in each hand.
"Orphnoch?!" Knowing the danger they were in, Keitaro immediately put the van in reverse and tried to drive back. Unfortunately, the Swordfish Orphnoch was too fast and too close. With a quick thrust of his swords, he cut through the front grill of the van and damaged the engine behind it.
"Out, out," Keitaro told the other two as he and Ryoko frantically took off their seatbelts. Tetsuya was no longer complaining about being in the back as he pushed the hanging clothes out of his way and opened the back doors.
Even if he could express any emotions on his face, the Swordfish Orphnoch simply watched as the two humans in the front seats opened their door, got out, and started to run away. Pulling his swords from the wrecked engines, he began to go after them…
Back with Decade and Faiz…
The Elephant Orphnoch was now on the receiving end of a beatdown as he was repeatedly smacked around the bridge with blows from the Dogga Hammer. After one final knockback, Decade thought it was time to finish the monster off.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: KI-KI-KIVA
A crimson red fog rolled in and day turned to night, the moon shining down on the fake Kiva as purple lightning crackled around him. Since his opponent was not a Fangire, Decade went straight to the last part of the finisher and started swinging the Dogga Hammer, and its projection, around.
The Elephant Orphnoch barely had time to react as Decade brought the hammer down and smashed the illusionary hammer onto him. The monster exploded in a burst of blue flames and his body broke down just like his victims would, turning back to ash and falling apart.
Decade let out a long sigh as his armor turned back to normal, the Dogga Hammer disappearing too. He dusted off his hands before turning to look at how Faiz was doing.
The other Rider was also about to finish his own fight as evident by him taking the flashlight off his belt and removing the small card key from the Faiz Phone in his Driver. He inserted the Mission Memory into a slot on the Faiz Pointer, causing it to extend before kneeling down to attach it to his right anklet.
Opening the cellphone, he pressed the Enter button again to initiate his finisher.
Exceed Charge!
A red light traveled along the lines on his armor from the Faiz Driver down to his anklet. Faiz then took off into a dash towards the Cactus Orphnoch before jumping. He pointed the flashlight at the Orphnoch and another red light shot out of it. The light hit the Orphnoch and turned into a large holographic drill that kept him in place for the final blow.
Faiz kicked through the drill and disappeared into it. The Cactus Orphnoch let out one final short shout of pain before the Kamen Rider rematerialized behind him. Blue flames burst all over the Orphnoch's body as a red phi symbol appeared in front of him.
Like his ally, the cactus monster's body turned to ash before collapsing, the remains being blown away by the wind.
"Phew…" Faiz panted before taking the Faiz Phone out of his Driver and pressing the Enter button, disengaging his transformation. "So, did that company make your Gear too?"
That question was directed towards Ritsuka, who had also detransformed and was walking towards him with the Faiz Gear's case.
"Nope, at least I don't think so." Really, where did the Decadriver come from? "And you're Kamen Rider Faiz? Think fast."
"Obviously," the boy huffed as he caught the thrown case. Putting it down on the ground, the brunette boy took off the Faiz Driver and began the process of putting everything back.
"So what's your name? Now that I help you deal with some pests, I think I earned the right to know that," Ritsuka said.
"Just because you helped me doesn't mean we're immediately friends." The other boy closed the case, having put the Faiz Gear inside excluding the cellphone. That he was keeping on him.
"Well, I'm going to continue pestering you until you tell me so might as well tell me now." Ritsuka may or may not have enjoyed seeing the small frown on the boy's face as the latter realized he was right.
Letting out a small grumble, he finally introduced himself to Ritsuka, "Fine then, my name is Haizuka Takumi."
"Fujimaru Ritsuka. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Sure, sure. Same for me." Something told Ritsuka Takumi was not being truthful with him…
Meanwhile…
The trio of Rider friends came to a short tunnel underneath a street as they tried to escape the pursuing Swordfish Orphnoch. For some reason, the lights in the tunnel were out, with only sunlight shining in from either end.
That made it hard for Ryoko to see the small hole in the ground that tripped her up.
"Ow!"
"Ryoko!" "Ryoko-san!"
The other two quickly stopped and tried to help her up. As they pulled her up, footsteps echoed through the tunnel as the Swordfish Orphnoch caught up to them, now at the end of the tunnel.
"Can you walk?" Tetsuya asked in concern as he glanced back to see the Orphnoch's silhouette being illuminated.
"I think so." Her knee was bleeding slightly but she could still move. "Why is it following us?"
"Does he think we have the belt?" Keitaro muttered.
However, the Swordfish Orphnoch had decided that this was a good spot to kill the three and threw one of his swords at Tetsuya with the intention of slicing through his leg. The boy did his best to dodge it but the sword still managed to cut his lower leg.
"Gah!" "Tetsu!"
It was his turn to fall and unlike Ryoko, he was unable to get back up straight away.
With two of the three now having a hard time trying to walk, the Orphnoch began to slowly move towards them.
"Please get away from here!" Ryoko tried to persuade Keitaro to leave them behind but he was having none of it.
"No way, I'm not leaving either of you behind!"
That was fine with their pursuer. It just meant he had one more person to kill.
"Fire."
Burst Mode!
However, the Swordfish Orphnoch was stopped in his tracks as a small burst of bullets him in the chest.
"Huh?" "What was...?"
The three humans turned to look behind them to see a figure walking into the tunnel from the opposite end. Like the Orphnoch, the figure silhouette was illuminated but not only from the sunlight but also from the white lines that were on his body. In his left hand was a gun that was still pointed at the Orphnoch.
"That's… not Kagata," Keitaro remarked, realizing both the color of the light and that pattern were different.
The orange visor of the gun-wielding Kamen Rider briefly flashed before he began firing the Orphnoch again. All three bursts of energy bullets hit his target dead-on and forced him back.
The white Rider briefly looked at the three and said, "Hurry up, don't just sit there gawking."
"Wait…" Ryoko recognized the deep-sounding voice from the silhouetted figure. "You!"
"I said hurry it up." She did not get the chance to say anything else as Kamen Rider Delta ran past them and began fighting the Orphnoch hand-to-hand…
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"What happened to you two?"
"Sir?! Are you alright?!"
"The Delta Gear has been stolen…"
"You… What are you doing...?"
Chapter 11: The Stolen Belt
A/N: A bit shorter but completed the tenth chapter. You know, this arc was meant to be a bit more light-hearted after three arcs of hard-hitting stuff… As you can probably tell, that failed and is probably not going to be changing soon.
Also, I didn't realize that I hit 100k last chapter so belated celebrations! This story suppressed the length of my first fic in less than two months while it took JTR nearly a year.
So, Lostbelt 5.1 dropped and I have to say… Super Orion tempted me and I'm down over 90 SQs and about 20 STs. All I got for it is my Lakshmi Bai and Astrea reaching NP3 and Mandricardo so it's not too much of a loss.
Story-wise, I just got my butt beaten by Wodime and got rescued by you-know-who. Man, I know that it's not him but the feels still got to me. How about you guys?
As always, please leave a review and all that stuff and see you all next time!