Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. Let's move on already.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
'Only by connecting them does a legend begin. And the next chapter of your legend is just beginning.'
"I want people to leave me alone but I also want them to know that I exist, that I'm remembered."
"Remember kid, it isn't just what you do that shows who you truly are, what you believe in matters too."
"Now then, you can begin your hunt. For the new Queen of the Fangires."
How long has it been since I was gifted this power? 14 years, right? Coming close to 14 years anyway, that I'm sure of.
Fourteen long years since I was granted the power beyond that of a King's, the power of an Emperor; the power that represented the world itself, given to me simply because someone thought I had the potential to rule the world. For that, I will be eternally grateful to that man.
Fourteen years with this power that lets me do whatever I please. No one could stop me. To right the wrongs against me. I truly am… strong…
Chapter 20: Tempo Rubato: Return to Kiva's World
Ritsuka stared at the new yet old backdrop for a few more seconds, trying to understand why it had changed since last time.
"How long will you be staring at that, Decade?" Bishop still had that tone of superiority as he interrupted his thoughts. "You should begin your search for the new Kiva."
"We'll begin when you explain what exactly is going on," Ciel spoke with a severe tone while maintaining a line of sight
of Bishop. "Unlike Fujimaru, I do not know who you are or what you're asking us to do."
"Ah, right… You are not the Executor from my world," Bishop reminded himself. "I suppose I have to explain what I require you to fix."
'Can he sound any more pompous?' Ciel grumbled in her head. She has only known this priest for two minutes, and she wanted nothing more than to ram her Black Keys up his ass.
While she did want an explanation, she did have some idea of what was going on; firstly, they're in Kiva's world where Ritsuka met the first of herself. Secondly, this man was either a member of the Holy Church, which she doubted, or he was a Dead Apostle. He had a strange look in his eye and his very presence was setting off red flags in her head.
"The reason I came looking for Decade is-"
"Because the Fangire race has been erased from existence," Ritsuka finished Bishop's statement, finally chiming into the conversation.
"You're correct, but that's not all; all 13 Demon Races have also been erased from history," the priest said.
"Then how are you around?" The amnesiac teen did a 180-degree turn to face him.
"Simply put, I was not in my world when history was altered," Bishop explained. "I was… elsewhere… dealing with the previous King's unfinished errands."
"So you were spared from the complete extermination of your kind, how lucky," snarked Ritsuka.
"That is where you two come in; you will be restoring the proper timeline and bringing back my race as well as the other 12."
"...Okay," Ritsuka agreed with a slight shrug which made Bishop grin.
"Good."
"...Fujimaru, can I speak with you in private?" Ciel gave Bishop a look that pretty much said: "get out".
"I already have your cooperation; I have no reason to stay." With a visible smirk, Bishop left the room and, a few seconds later, they heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.
Now that they were alone, Ciel gave Ritsuka a long hard stare with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"...What?"
"Don't "what?" me." She wasn't shouting but Ciel got her point across. "I admit I don't know anything to do with this world other than there's a version of me here, but even I can tell that helping Bishop isn't smart. Isn't he a monster like the Gurongis?"
Ritsuka let out a short sigh before he replied, "Look, I know where this conversation is going and let me make it clear: I am not helping him because I want to help the Fangires."
"Oh?" Ciel waited for his reasoning.
"Most of the Riders I met in this world have Fangire heritage, and I'm helping them. I don't blame you for being frustrated with me, but it's a means to an end, that end being that I help the Riders of this world." It was a lengthy reason but it satisfied Ciel if her eyes softening a bit was any indication. "And also, the Fangires are not vampires. I know what you're thinking. They're similar but the Fangires will throw a fit if you compare them to vampires."
"I… Alright, that's fair," Ciel admitted. "But, I still don't like the idea of helping that priest."
"Then we can begin hunting Another Kiva," Ritsuka stated, "And I know just where to start."
After Ritsuka took a few minutes to get out of his Amanogawa uniform and into something more comfortable– i.e. the clothes he previously wore in Kiva's world –they left the house to begin the search with him leading. Eventually, they arrived at their first destination… which made Ciel realize that Ritsuka may not know what he was doing.
"...Why are we here?" Ciel asked as she looked up at a cafe's sign: Cafe mald'amour. "I thought you said we'd be hunting down this Another Kiva?"
"Information is needed first," Ritsuka said as he opened the door for her. "Both for me and you."
"That means…?"
"You need to know what we're up against and I need to know how good the food here is," he answered with a completely straight face.
"Really?" Ciel had a deadpanned look on her face as she heard Ritsuka's reason for going here.
"Yes, really. I'm hungry, okay?" After the battle in Amanogawa, they didn't get the chance to eat since Bishop dragged them into yet another problem. Ritsuka also didn't get the time to nap, but that wasn't important.
"But why here specifically? We passed a couple of other restaurants on the way here."
"I'll tell you inside, now get in." He had been holding the door open for her for a minute now and his arm was getting tired.
To be frank, she was starting to feel peckish herself, so she entered the cafe.
"Welcome," the old man tending the counter greeted them as he cleaned cups, "Take a seat. Ichikawa will take your order shortly."
Apparently, it was a slow day as no other customers were around, leaving them free to take the corner table far from the counter that the owner was tending.
"Alright, what's your first question?" Ritsuka gave her the go-ahead to start. "I'm sure you'd want some explanation of… everything."
"How nice of you." Ciel sounded a bit snarky, but she did feel grateful that he was taking the time to bring her up to speed. "What happened to Ryoko and Tetsuya?"
"...How am I supposed to know that?" Ritsuka had a "really?" look on his face.
"Again, couldn't you act a bit more worried about them?"
"I'm acting calm for the same reason as last time; there's nothing I can do about it at the moment, so panicking about it would do me no good." It was callous, without a doubt, but he did have a point just like last time. "Besides, I get the feeling they're safe wherever they are."
Ciel continued staring at him for a few moments. "You know, the fact that your evil self acted more friendly than you are is sad."
"At least that means you know when that guy pops up again," Ritsuka told her. "Next question then."
"Who's Kiva? You never told me that."
"Kamen Rider Kiva, Kishinami Hakuno," he gave her Kiva's name. "I met him… about a week ago?" It was around that time anyway. "The previous King of the Fangires was hunting down him and his sister because they were "half-breeds"."
"And you helped them." It wasn't a question, which made Ritsuka hesitate for a moment.
"...I helped them eventually."
Recalling what she heard about his first encounter with her, Ciel managed to piece together what he meant by that.
"You didn't."
"I'm neither gonna confirm nor deny your suspicions."
Ciel let out a sigh of exasperation at his answer. "Fine then, I won't say dwell on that topic. Those two probably already chewed you out for that enough."
'They chewed me out but not enough, probably.' Ritsuka silently thought.
"But you did help him and his sister in the end, right?"
"I did… then Haku fell asleep for three days because he exhausted himself too much when we assassinated the King."
"So that's what you meant earlier," mumbled Ciel. Ritsuka said he assumed Bishop was here for something the former did to the King.
"Anyway, Taiga became King, I ran into their mother probably, I got Kiva's powers, then I left for the next world."
"And you also nearly got killed by me," she added.
"There's a difference between getting into a fight and nearly getting killed."
"Keep telling yourself that." She may have (technically) not been there when they fought, but Ciel liked to believe that the other her managed to keep up with Ritsuka. "So who or what is Another Kiva?"
"Another Kiva is an Another Rider," Ritsuka answered. "They're basically monster versions of Kamen Riders."
Admittedly, she should've figured that out from the name itself.
"Alright, but why do we have to deal with it? Why can't Kishinami handle it?" As soon as she asked that, Ciel felt a bit stupid. Bishop had already told them why he couldn't.
"Because Kiva's history has been altered; the Fangires, including Kishinami Hakuno, no longer exist," Ritsuka said with a grim voice… that was promptly replaced by his normal one. "Anyway, we defeat Another Kiva and history will be restored. We can then continue our journey and move on to the next world."
"...and reunite with those two."
"Right, and reunite with those two," he nodded without missing a beat.
"..." Ciel began staring at Ritsuka again, noting how he continued acting undisturbed by his friends' disappearance.
Before she could bring it up, however, the waiter finally came. "Apologies for the wait. May I take your order?"
Ritsuka noted that the waiter was neither Riku nor Ramon, who had been working here the last time he was here.
"Uh, wait a moment please," Ciel quickly reached for the menu and read through it while Ritsuka gave his order. He had read through the menu last time he was there but never got the chance to actually eat anything because he was constantly dragged into something like Taiga's coronation.
Ciel gave her own order less than a minute later, and the waiter walked away.
"Have you fought an Another Rider before?" She asked now that they were alone again.
"Yes, Another Faiz," Ritsuka nodded before he realized something odd. He recalled how Faiz continued to exist despite the existence of Another Faiz. Then again, there was how the second Faiz, which must have been the evil Ritsuka, was around even though no two versions of the same power could co-exist. "Unless…"
"What?"
"Nothing, just a stray thought," Ritsuka told Ciel before yawning. How long has he been awake now? He got up pretty early in Hibiki's world and it was after midnight when he was sent back to Fourze's world. It has since been about five hours, so he has been awake for nearly 24 hours. "Any other questions?"
"Hmm…" Ciel hummed, trying to think of something. "I don't think so."
"Good, 'cause I want to ask you something."
"I can answer depending on what it is." She did have an idea of what Ritsuka wanted to ask her, though.
"Who's the other Executor Bishop mentioned?"
"One: I have no idea either. Two: even if I did, I can't tell you out in the open," Ciel answered with a serious look on her face.
"I thought you guys were nuns, not assassins," Ritsuka snarked.
"Not all of us are women," she retorted but didn't correct him about the assassin part.
"Regardless, Bishop said that we'd have to deal with them, so they're an enemy." Ritsuka crossed his arms in thought. "Do you think you can fight them when the time comes?"
"Of course I can," Ciel scoffed, "I don't have a connection with anybody here so it won't be a problem. What about you?"
"Since the only Executor I know here is you, I won't have a problem either." Either that meant he didn't believe that the other Ciel was the enemy… or that he was alright with fighting her again. Ciel did not know which option was better.
The waiter soon returned carrying a platter of their drinks and promptly left once again.
"Why did you want to come here specifically?" Ciel asked after taking a sip of coffee. Sure, the drinks they served tasted amazing but that can't just be it.
"When I first came here, I was dragged here by several Fangire hunters because they believed I was a new recruit."
"Like how you were a student and a police officer?"
"Yup," Ritsuka nodded. "Anyway, they, including their boss, were using this place as a hangout so I thought we'd run into them."
"But Fangires don't exist anymore."
"I was also hungry," he added. "If I wasn't, we would've gone to Haku's house first."
"Even though he doesn't exist," Ciel couldn't resist saying. It was a wise idea in lieu of having no other clues; going to the house of this world's Rider.
Ritsuka understood that and continued on, "The next place we could look after that would be… Castle Doran."
"Castle…?"
"Doran," he repeated. "It's where the King of the Fangire rules from– yes, I know –but the forest it was in could also point us in the right direction."
"You already have this all thought out, don't you?"
"To an extent. You want to add another place to our travel plans?" Ritsuka somewhat sarcastically asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Ciel smirked at him, "Since we're looking for someone like me, there are a few places I know of that could also help."
"Like a nearby church?"
"Assuming that I can pass off as the me who's here, I can get some information," the blue-haired Executor told Ritsuka her plans.
Ritsuka, however, did have one nitpick with that idea, "And what would you do if we ran into the other you? Since history has been altered so that Fangires don't exist, she wouldn't remember our previous encounter."
"That's true…." She muttered thoughtfully before a grin stretched across her face. "Well, if it comes to it, I can handle myself in a fight."
"...Was that supposed to be a pun?" Ritsuka deadpanned at her attempted joke. "If so, that was terrible."
"Hey!"
"Anyway, once we're done with lunch, we'll check out the Kishinami's house and then do your place," Ritsuka changed the topic back to their plans. "Any complaints?"
"No," she huffed, still annoyed at the insult.
"...You're French, right?" Ritsuka asked in an attempt to make small talk with her.
"I am. Why?" Ciel raised an eyebrow, wondering why he would bring that up now.
"What does the mald'amour mean?" He asked her. "It is French, right?"
"It is," she nodded, "And it means heartache."
"Wonder why he named it that…." Ritsuka glanced at the cafe owner, who was currently cooking their meals. The older man didn't hear them, of course; they had been speaking in a hushed tone. "Anyway, why were you in Japan anyway?"
"I… don't understand what you mean," Ciel looked confused at his question.
"I get why this world's you were here in the city; the King lived not too far from here. But the Lords didn't just operate in Japan according to you," Ritsuka elaborated, "Even then, weren't your group and the Lords allies? Why were you hanging around Japan?"
Now that Ritsuka had explained it to her, hesitancy replaced Ciel's confused expression with one of hesitancy. "It's… a long story."
"Okay," he simply said before glancing out the window, which moderately shocked Ciel. While she did know Ritsuka was not the type to pry, she thought he'd at least ask something.
"You're not going to ask at all?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to ask," Ritsuka told her. "If you do want to talk about it, I'm all ears."
It was a rather off-handed method to say he'd listen to her if she wanted to talk about it but Ciel appreciated it. She knew that if she were going to keep following Ritsuka– which was the most like scenario –he would learn about her past sooner or later. And when that happens, she wondered if he would be able to see her the same way he usually does.
However, that coming conversation was neither here nor there. For now, she was going to enjoy this lunch… ur… just lunch with him before they (and by that, she meant Ritsuka) inevitably get into trouble again.
Bang!
Their conversation was soon disrupted by the door loudly swinging open before a young woman trudging in groaning. A young woman that Ritsuka recognized.
"Welcome, Megumi-chan," the cafe owner greeted one of his regular customers. "How was work?"
"Tiring…" The former Fangire Hunter complained as she sat down on one of the barstools, "The regular…."
"Got it," The owner nodded before setting up another pan in addition to the ones he was making for the two.
"That is…" Ritsuka muttered as he glanced at Megumi from behind.
"Is that?" Ciel didn't need to finish her question before Ritsuka nodded. 'So that's one of the Fangire Hunters….'
She wondered if Megumi, as she was evidently named, knows this world's version of her. Ciel assumed that this world's her also hunted Fangires and Dead Apostles just like how she hunted the Gurongis when they were active.
"How have your parents been? I haven't seen them in a while," the owner continued chatting with Megumi. "Your old man just returned from a concert in Osaka, right?"
"Yeah, mom sent me a video of it," Megumi answered with a short yawn, "It was good."
"I don't doubt it," the owner chuckled. "Alright, that should do. Ichikawa?"
"Yes, sir." The waiter moved behind the counter to help his employer prepare the dishes for their other customer. Less than a minute later, he went back towards Ritsuka's table with their food. "Enjoy your meals."
"Thank you," Ciel smiled.
As they ate, Ritsuka could not help but keep glancing at the new timeline's version of Kuzu Megumi. He made sure to make them short so she would not notice him. Ciel, meanwhile, felt pure bliss as she took another bite of the cafe's curry.
"And what about Keisuke-kun?"
"Urgh, that guy has been as aggravating as ever," Megumi grumbled loudly. "You know what he said the last time we met up? 'Hey, Shima-san wanted me to go up to Hokkaido to give his old friend a package.'" She mockingly imitated one of her co-workers by speaking deeper while waving her hands around. "Now, I have to deal with all the workload this week! The least Shima-san could've done is divided-"
"Yes, yes, I understand now." The owner stopped her from going on a rant as he put down a cup of coffee, "Here, to help keep your eyes open."
"Thanks…" Megumi sighed as she took a sip of the coffee… before promptly bleching in response to how bitter it was. "Seriously?!"
"It did wake you up, didn't it?" The older man chuckled at her reaction, which made her glare at him.
"Just keep cooking, old man," Megumi barked at him before getting out of her seat and making her way to Ritsuka's table. "Hey, you." She looked at the teen with narrowed eyes. "I don't think your girlfriend appreciates you making eyes at me."
"Hmm?" Ciel hummed as she looked away from her dish. "I'm not his girlfriend."
"Well, you're certainly not his sister," Megumi snarkily retorted.
"I was looking at you because I thought you looked familiar," Ritsuka told her.
"You should; I'm a famous model after all."
"Part-time!" The owner spoke up from the counter.
"Still famous!" Megumi shouted back before glancing at the two of them. "Regardless, that doesn't change the fact your girlfriend would be pissy you're looking at other girls."
"Again, not his girlfriend," Ciel repeated while she continued eating.
"...Do I know you?" The other girl asked now that she was taking a closer look at her. "I feel like I've met you before."
"Sorry, but I'm not a famous part-time model," the blue-haired girl snarkily replied.
"No, I know all of my competition," Megumi shook her head, "But that doesn't mean I haven't seen you in my other job."
"What is your other job?"
"...Anyway, let's move on," she not so subtly changed the topic. "What's your name?"
"I'm Ciel."
"Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"My name is Kishinami Megumi," she introduced herself, "It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah, ye…" It took Ritsuka a good long second before he realized what she had just said. "Ki-Kishinami?"
"You may have heard of my father before. Kishinami Otoya, the violinist."
"...What?"
A short time later…
"See you guys next time!" Kishinami Megumi waved as she split off from her two new acquaintances to go to her other mysterious part-time job. Ritsuka and Ciel waved back, the former slower than the other as his mind was too preoccupied with the implication of her name and father.
"..."
"Fujimaru-kun, am I right in assuming that she isn't Kiva's sister?" Ciel asked once the other woman was out of sight, having noticed his muted reaction the entire time they were talking. At least, what little they did before the owner finished making Megumi's lunch.
"Yes. Last time I checked, her last name was Kuzu," Ritsuka nodded. "Looks like our next stop is obvious."
It was supposed to be their next stop anyway so Ciel didn't raise any objections. "Lead the way then."
With their next step figured out, the two walked away from the cafe.
Ritsuka vaguely remembered where the Kishinami siblings lived, assuming that their western-styled house wasn't unbuilt by the changing timeline, so he confidently led Ciel where he believed it was.
Roughly half an hour later, Ritsuka stopped without warning while they were in the middle of a busy park.
"What's wrong Fujimaru-kun?"
"...We're lost."
"I was afraid of that," Ciel sighed while facepalming.
Somewhere else in the city…
Catching the eyes of the many men that were walking the street, the woman ignored them as she was more than used to them. Instead, she tried to figure out why she felt drawn to this city in particular.
She didn't understand it but she followed her gut feeling anyway. For now, she wandered the city in the hopes that whatever was calling for her would appear.
The woman had brown eyes and long brunette hair tied in a ponytail with a pink elastic tie. On the left side of her chin, she had a small beauty mark. In general, she had an air of maturity around her that, without a doubt, was the reason she drew a lot of attention.
"Hmm… Maybe I should get myself a treat," the woman muttered to herself with a smile as she noticed an ice cream parlor. And by treating herself, she was going to get an unsuspecting man to treat her to it.
Ritsuka yawned as he sat on the edges of a small fountain, tapping on the black marble tiles as he waited for Ciel to come back. It wasn't long before the blue-haired fake high-schooler returned with a couple of soda bottles.
"Here you go," she smiled as she gave him one of the bottles.
"Thanks," he said as he gratefully took the drink and twisted the cap off.
"So." Ciel sat down next to him as he drank the soda. "Anything else I should know about all this?"
"Nothing really comes to mind…." Ritsuka mumbled before taking another gulp of his drink. "Honestly, anything I learned the last time I was here might as well be useless. Another Kiva's presence had altered history so much."
"Like? Other than your friend-" "Not a friend." "-having Kiva's last name."
"Well, Haku and Hakunon told me that their father was Kishinami Otoya," Ritsuka recalled his conversation with them from before. "And he stole Kiva's powers and defeated the previous King of the Fangires. Otoya died soon after while the King fell into a coma that lasted nearly 20 years."
"Sounds like Otoya was an amazing person," Ciel hummed.
"Moreso since he was a normal human that somehow managed to beat a several-hundred-year-old vampire king and seduce his wife," the blue-eyed boy added before taking another swig of his drink while Ciel had a look of disbelief on her face. "Actually, I don't know who seduced who but at the end of the day, he and Maya ended up together."
"Wait, if Kiva's mother was the Queen, then-?"
"That's right, Haku and Hakunon are royalty," Ritsuka nodded.
"...What are their names again?"
"Hakuno and Hakunon," he answered with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Maya did not have a good naming sense evidently."
"I'm not even gonna comment on that," Ciel shook her head in slight amusement, just like Ritsuka.
"I think that's it about Kishinami Otoya. I didn't learn much about him beyond him putting the King into a coma," Ritsuka said before quickly adding, "He did make a violin before he died; his children have it in a special display in their house." Well, they had it in a special display.
"I see."
The two did not say anything else to each other and spent the next few minutes in peace, listening to the sounds of children playing nearby as well as the water fountain behind them. Ciel could not help but glance at Ritsuka from the corner of her eyes as the latter absentmindedly watched the nearby families.
She noticed that his expression was as neutral as ever, neither smiling nor frowning.
"...Fujimaru-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you like kids?" Ciel asked him.
"Not particularly," Ritsuka answered honestly, "I won't say I dislike them, but I don't want to be around any."
"Is that so…" the blue-haired girl muttered as she leaned back a bit. Her eyes wandered again, this time to the pool of water behind them. She stared at Ritsuka's reflection for a bit before her eyes flickered elsewhere.
"Let me guess, Decade just so happen to have an evil doppelganger that also happens to be a vampire?"
"Vampire?"
"You didn't notice? Fujimaru doesn't have a reflection."
'A vampire, huh?' She mused at the comparison Ryuusei made. Of course, she could see that Ritsuka does have a reflection and, thus, was not a vampire. Maybe.
"...Any reason you're staring at me like that?"
"Huh?" Ciel was snapped out of her thoughts by his words. She then realized that she had been gazing at his face for the last minute or so.
"I could ask if you see something you like… but I won't." Ritsuka had a mischievous smirk as he took the chance to tease her.
"Shut up, I was just thinking," Ciel retorted with a completely straight face.
The smirk on Ritsuka's face grew wider as he already knew how to respond to that. "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."
"...You better sleep with one eye open tonight."
"I'll leave the door unlocked for you then," his smirk somehow got even wider, "Don't be late though, we're probably going to be busy tomorrow too."
She didn't know if Ritsuka realized how that sounded. If he didn't, she could easily brush it off; if he did… she could still brush it off but not without flicking him in the forehead for that inappropriate retort.
"I should hit you for that," Ciel kept a low and neutral voice, trying not to let her true emotions be known.
Ritsuka was already one step ahead of her, though. "Why? There was nothing wrong with what I said, right?"
Ciel begrudgingly admitted that he had her there, making her want to hit him more.
However, she couldn't help noticing that he was acting a bit differently again. While he had an excuse in the last world– it wasn't Ritsuka –he was acting pretty differently than in her world. Ritsuka had been rather lax with everything while here… Well, he was being relaxed, but this was different. Against the Lords, he always had his eyes on the mission. Here, despite several of his friends being erased from history, he was not treating it as some run-of-the-mill chore, i.e. something one procrastinates on as long as physically possible.
"Anyway, we've rested for long enough," Ritsuka got off the fountain before offering Ciel a hand to help her up, "Let's head to your church."
"Oh… Thank you." It took her a moment to take his hand. "Let's go."
However, they overlooked one crucial detail as they left: Ritsuka's reflection failed to move from the pool and remained watching the nearby families with a small smile.
Elsewhere in the city…
A brown-haired man in a black and red suit sang under his breath as he wandered the streets of his city, carrying a leather violin case over his shoulder as he did.
"Maiagare aozora koete, mada minu sora no hate. Kagayaki dake wo misete ageyou, For you yubi ni hoshi wo. This love never ends…."
'Maybe I could play by the church today,' he thought, deciding where he could bless the world with his music. His city has not been given the gift of his playing in a week. Besides, the local priest would appreciate it since he's always in a bad mood. The last time the violinist played there, the cops were called in for "a public disturbance" or something like that.
The man continued humming as he made his way to the church. It wasn't long before he arrived at the large cathedral and started looking for a spot to play.
There were several people outside in formal wear, and he could hear the priest's rather loud voice coming from the inside of the church through the dark wood doors. 'Ah, a wedding… That is a nice coincidence."
However, his eyes were quickly drawn towards something, or rather, someone nearby. Off to the side and away from the crowd, a woman was watching the celebration with a far-off look in her eye. She was not dressed like the others, making him think she was a passerby like him.
'No, Otoya, don't do it,' the man mentally slapped himself to get rid of the straying thoughts in his head. At that moment, the doors opened and the newly wedded couple stepped out with their arms linked together. Seeing that, the wandering man put his violin case on the brick fence surrounding a nearby garden patch and opened it. 'I shall bless this union with my music….'
"A wedding, huh?" Ritsuka muttered as he watched the man and woman of the hour step out of the church to the cheers and flowers of their friends and relatives. Opening the flap of his camera, he quickly snapped a picture of the couple.
"Hmm… Maybe we can wait for a bit until everybody leaves," suggested Ciel. She wasn't interested in raining on anyone's parade and disrupting this wedding in any way. Besides, the priest was definitely busy and wouldn't be able to talk with her.
So once again, they had no choice but to take another break. At least they would have, had what happened next didn't occur.
The sound of a violin playing filled the air, adding another layer to the beautiful scene before them. It was a bit hard to hear over the bell tolls and the cheers, but they could listen to it.
"This song…" Both Ciel and Ritsuka said simultaneously, "-is amazing." "-is terrible."
"Terrible?" Ciel parroted in surprise at his opinion. While she would never claim to be an expert in classical music, she knew that whoever was playing was an expert at it.
"Mmm… Terrible admittedly might be an overstatement but it's certainly not the best…." Ritsuka explained. Of course, there was also the fact that he's heard someone played that specific song better. "Regardless, I'm gonna look for who's playing. I'll be back."
"Hey, wait for-" He did not hear Ciel as her voice was drowned out by the crowd the further he got away. The fake high-schooler disappeared in the sea of attendees trying to take a picture with the happy couple as the violin music stopped.
The violinist had a slight smile as he finished his solo, removing the bow from the strings. Unfortunately, while he did get some looks from the crowd, they largely ignored him.
"Hmph, people just don't have any taste these days." 'Wait, does that mean I'm old? No! I'm still young!' He mentally wailed as maybe, just maybe, he was no longer young. He put away his violin with a scoff and prepared to leave to find another place to play.
"That was a beautiful piece, monsieur."
"Hmm?" The man looked up to see the very same woman he saw earlier, the passerby like him. "Oh, are you French, mademoiselle?"
"Oui," the brunette Frenchwoman nodded with a flirty smile. "May I ask for your name?"
"You may," the man replied, "My name is Kishinami Otoya, you may have heard of."
"Hmm…" The woman pretended to have a thoughtful look before she answered. "No, I don't believe I have."
'Ow.' "I see," the man named Otoya feigned a polite smile, slightly miffed at that but ignored it, "Regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you. And may I know your name in return? I'm sure it is as beautiful as you are."
"Ooh, quite the flirt, I see."
"Yes, but I'm afraid that all this will be. You see, long ago-"
"Kishinami… Otoya?" The violinist was interrupted by a teenage boy coming out from the nearby crowd.
'At last, someone recognizes me!' Otoya mentally cheered. "Oh, who are you? A devoted fan of mine?"
"No." The blunt answer might as well have been an arrow going through his heart.
"You wound me, young man," the violinist clutched his heart in faux pain. "But you do know who I am."
"To an extent," the younger man shook his head. "A friend of mine has a picture of you in their house."
"Well, your friend has excellent tastes," Otoya complimented, "Not many appreciate fine music these da-" He stopped himself from sounding like an old man.
The boy glanced towards the woman, who had been silently listening to them talk. "You are…?"
'Oh, yeah. I didn't get her name either… Not that I need it,' Otoya quickly added.
"Aren't I a bit too old for you?" The woman mused, "Or do you prefer older ladies?"
"Aren't you a little bit old to ask a teenager that?"
Ritsuka only asked for her name because he had no idea who Otoya's wife in this timeline was. Then again, he did not know if Otoya and Maya had married in the original timeline so…
"You're a snarky little boy, aren't you?" Despite that jab towards her age, the woman looked more amused than anything.
"That's how lots of people have described me, yes."
"What's your name? Tell me that I might answer you," the woman offered that deal.
"...Fujimaru Ritsuka," he answered after a moment.
It was nearly unnoticeable, but Ritsuka picked up on the brunette woman's reaction: her eyes widened slightly, and her mouth twitched.
"Fujimaru?" She whispered, surprised at his name. "As in-?"
"Fujimura?!" Otoya's scream cut the woman off. "Hey, I already paid your old man back years ago! Why are you here now?!"
"...Fujimaru," Ritsuka repeated his family name.
"Oh… ahem," Otoya cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Sorry, I thought you were part of that family from Fuyuki."
'Fuyuki?' Ritsuka could not help but feel a sense of nostalgia hearing that name. However, he knew that he's never heard of that city before in his life. Well, as far as he could remember of his life…
'I'm getting distracted,' he shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts. Turning back to the woman, Ritsuka asked her, "And you? How do you know me?"
"Huh? Oh…" Realizing she was caught, the woman tried to avert answering the question, "I said I might answer you, boy. Besides, I doubt we'd be meeting again after this."
'Yeah… she's definitely off.' The very fact that she recognized his name was a big enough red flag. Unless there existed another version of him here– which may or may not be the case since Blue Sky had a file about him –nobody should know him in this altered timeline.
"I best be going, I have other plans for the day," the woman said in an attempt to leave. "Good-"
"Fujimaru-kun!" Ritsuka heard Ciel shout from behind him. Turning around, he saw her coming out of the crowd, which was starting to disperse somewhat, with an annoyed look. "Don't do that again, I got pushed all the way up front! I-"
Ciel stopped in her tracks upon seeing the woman with him and Otoya. Her eyes widened in shock, as did the woman.
"You… You're…" Ciel muttered. She obviously knew who the brunette was.
The woman, meanwhile, had a less than friendly reaction to her. "Elesia, tu es en vie?" The woman's smile from earlier was replaced with a sadistic smile, her brown eyes turning expressionless as she spoke in French.
"Ele- That's-" Ciel stuttered at that name. She quickly composed herself, however, before replying to her in her native language. "Qu'es-ce que tu fais la, Noel?"
"Moi? The woman sounded incredulous, which was the only thing Ritsuka (and Otoya) could pick up since neither spoke the language. "Aux dernières nouvelles, tu es mort. Mais là encore, nous vivons dans un monde où les gens ne meurent pas lorsqu'ils sont tués. Du moins certaines personnes ne le sont pas de toute façon."
"Hmm… Kid, I think we should leave them be," Otoya advised Ritsuka after looking back and forth at the two women. "Looks like your girlfriend there has some history with her."
Had the situation not been what it was, Ritsuka would have made another snarky retort. However, it was clear that there was something between those two French women, and it was not something good.
"Noel, je ne suis pas ce que tu crois que je suis." Their conversation continued
"Vraiment? Pourquoi tu doutes de ça, Elesia?" The sadistic grin on the woman's face didn't disappear as she spoke. "Parce que je pense que tu viens d'un autre monde, comme Decade qui est là-bas."
"Decade?" Ritsuka may not understand much French but he knew what she said. 'Then that means….'
"Cet homme m'a dit que tu viendrais un jour mais je ne m'attendais pas à t'attendre 14 ans. Tu m'as vraiment fait me laisser t'attendre." The woman glanced at him, taking pleasure out of the fact he couldn't understand her.
On the other hand, Ciel did know, which made it easy for her to come to the correct conclusion. "Noel, ne me dit pas que tu est-"
"Tu sais quoi, Elesia ? Je suis content que nous nous rencontrons de nouveau; ça signifie que je peux drainer ta force vitale pour la deuxième fois."
The sound of cracking glass reached Ritsuka's ears before he saw the marks on Noel's face, the stained glass marks that denoted someone as a Fangire.
"Ciel!" Ritsuka did not need to warn her, however. The glass fangs above Ciel barely materialized before she shattered them with a quick summon and slash of her Black Keys.
"Eh? What was-?" Otoya tried to say but
"Tu vas être aussi difficile que la dernière fois, n'est-ce pas ?" Noel's sadistic expression did not disappear as she snapped her fingers, "Venez, mes serviteurs."
"Ahhhh!" An ear-piercing scream filled the air. Everyone's head snapped towards the church entrance where, standing over the fallen fleeing couple, were three monsters. Three monsters that Ritsuka quickly identified as Kiva's Arms Monsters.
"Monsters?!" Otoya reacted the most loudly out of them all– which isn't that high of a bar, but still.
"Ne t'inquiètes pas, Elesia, ils ne te tuerons pas." Noel giggled slightly, "Je vais le faire moi même."
None of them could stop her from walking away as the three Arms Monsters, Garulu, Bassha, and Dogga, dashed towards the three humans.
"Hang on, why me?!" Otoya shouted before he had to evade a clawing from the blue wolfman, "Hey?! I'm just a passerby here! You want them!"
Again, had the situation not been what it currently is, Ritsuka would have made a snarky comment. At the moment though, he was too busy having to roll out of the way of Dogga's heavy-handed blows. The ground cracked underneath the full force of the Franken's punch.
That left Ciel to deal with Bassha. However, the merman remained far from her as he shot his water bullets, forcing Ciel to block them with her blades.
"Fine! If you think I'm gonna lay done and just let you kill me, think again!" Declared Otoya as he began swinging his violin case wildly around to deter Garulu. The Wolfen just stared at the violinist with a blank expression before, with a single swipe of his claws, cut cleanly through the case and the violin inside.
"Oh, come on! These were my favorite!"
A roar to the face quickly shut Otoya up.
"You know what? You can keep it." The violinist quickly threw the two pieces at the Wolfen before taking off in a run. Garulu, being the wolf that he was, howled loudly before chasing after Otoya.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Ciel were pushed back to back by their respective opponents.
"How are you holding up?" Ritsuka took the time to ask as he stared at Dogga, who was drumming his chest in an intimidation attempt.
"I should be asking you that," retorted the Executor, waiting for Bassha to make his next move. "Why don't you transform already?"
"Don't tell me what to do, I'm supposed to be the leader here," the other teenager playfully replied with a smirk. Taking out the Decadriver, Ritsuka placed it on his waist and let the belt wrap around him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Henshin."
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
He closed the buckle and initiated the transformation. Grey silhouettes of his armor appeared around him before converging into one. The glowing cards slammed into his helmet and his suit gained its magenta colors, completing the change.
"Now then, whoever wins their fight first is the leader," Decade suggested for fun. Whether he was serious or not was left up in the air as he dusted his hands off and turned the RideBooker into its sword mode.
Normally, Ciel would have made at least a snarky remark, but she was too focused on the Merman before her and that Noel was nearby and controlling them. Instead, she just dashed towards Bassha with three Black Keys in each hand.
Speaking of Noel, the French woman was watching from the church entrance. She had gone around them to watch the fight. For some reason, she had expected Otoya to put up more of a battle.
But then again, what could one do against a werewolf with nothing to defend oneself? Running away was the smartest choice in this situation.
Elesia and Decade, on the other hand, they were proving to be quite troublesome. That was not unexpected though; she had a feeling that Elesia would be hard to kill again. Meanwhile, that man had told her Decade would be near impossible to defeat should he be at full power.
That man had also told her that it would be some time until that happened and she was free to do what she wanted until then.
'14 years…' Has it really been 14 years since that night in the church? Fourteen years since that man gave her the powers of the King? Well, former powers. She recalled that the King lost the powers of Kiva the year after the Incident.
And died. The King also died a year after the Incident. He lost his power and then died.
However, from what she understood about her powers, the King and all the Fangires had been erased from history so technically, the King never lost his powers or died.
"So you're the one who stole Kiva's powers?" Noel was snapped out of her thoughts by somebody talking behind her. Spinning around, she saw a young man in a brown jacket leaning against the church wall. "As a fellow thief, I could respect you stealing time itself."
"And you are?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Something told her that she could let her guard down around this man.
"Takaragi Yuu at your service, Queen Kiva," he bowed slightly to her. Noel didn't know whether the bow or the nickname was to mock her, but she nonetheless appreciated it. "You are technically royalty since you are Kiva, y'know."
"Is that so?" Noel smirked. She did know that; after all, Kiva was the mark of the King of the Fangires.
"Yup, so why don't you prove to your servants-" Takaragi glanced at the two closest Arms Monsters. Garulu and Otoya, meanwhile, had run out of sight elsewhere. "-that you're their leader for a reason?"
Even if they were mindless, Takaragi's suggestion sounded amusing enough to interest her. Although, the prospect of fighting Elesia herself was what ultimately convinced her to do so.
"Sounds entertaining, monsieur. Count your blessings, not many have seen my other form. Well, nobody lives long enough afterwards to tell."
Ciel admitted that her opponent was one slimy fishman. He was pretty fast and somehow could dodge her attempts to hit him. Decade, meanwhile, was having a difficult time actually hurting Dogga. There was a reason he was Kiva's most durable form and it was not because he was slow.
"It looks like you're struggling with my servants, Elesia." The voice of Noel grabbed both theirs and the present Arms Monsters. "How do you hope to defeat me if you can't beat them, the both of you?" She shook her head in mock disappointment like a teacher would.
"Noel, are you the one we're looking for?" Despite the evidence pointing towards that conclusion, Ciel still asked anyway. Deep down, she hoped that she was wrong.
Noel did not answer for a few minutes before– "Hehehe…." –she broke into mad laughter. "Are you seriously asking me that, Elesia?! Maybe getting possessed like that has made you blind!"
'Possessed?' Ritsuka thought, adding that to the list of mysterious things about Ciel, right below the name 'Elesia'.
Meanwhile, Ciel did not visibly react to the insult or their shared past being dragged out into the open. "Please, Noel. Don't make this harder than this has to be."
"Ha! I should be telling you that," Noel shot back. "After all, nobody has defeated in the last 14 years. Not even you."
KiVa
With that final declaration, dark red bats flew out of the ground below her as black bands surrounded Noel's body. Her body was dyed black and changed shape before the black liquid shattered like glass, revealing her other form.
If they could describe her in as few words as possible, they would call her an offense to nature—jagged pieces of armor designed like stained glass, eyes within her crimson red pauldrons, and a fanged human mouth that was at odds with her appearance. Notably, she was a golden buckle in the shape of a perched bat on her waist.
"This is the Queen's judgement: death!" Another Kiva declared to the world.
Next Time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Kishinami Otoya, come with me if you want to live."
"You know, I decided to look into your past and I have to say-"
"I guess it's time; you should know my past…."
"Decade… Fujimaru Ritsuka, it has been a long time."
Chapter 21: Redux: Sins of the Past
A/N: And done! That's this chapter done!
I know what some are you gonna say: "Did you make this arc so you can have RitsukaxCiel moments?" And the answer to that is yes—a very resounding yes. Let them come! I'll gladly stand for this crackship!
But hey, this chapter is all fluffy and stuff until the end. Next chapter, ohoho! Time for the angst storm to rampage!
Also, did I do Noel well? As Tsukime R has not been fully translated yet, the best I can do is read the wiki and play as her in Melty Blood. And if she's OOC, chalk it up to this being an A.R. version of her that has also had her history altered by a certain someone. (Hint: they're also the last person speaking in the preview).
And speaking of Noel, or rather, the other Executor, most of you guys didn't seem to realize that they were supposed to be Another Kiva. At least that what I got from reading you guys' reviews anyway. And for the other choice of Executors… they might appear in the future. Dunno, depends on if I can integrate them somewhere (I think Kirei may get a passing mention in a certain arc tho).
Also (again), I would like to thank someone on Discord for helping me with the French translation. They're from France so the translation should be accurate. As for what Ciel and Noel were talking about… That's for you to put through Google Translate and understand the crap it'll shoot out.
Finally, as always, please leave a review on what you think. It makes me feel happy.
See you all next time!