"Goddammit!" Otoya cursed as his pursuer created deep claw marks in the ground. Had he not rolled out of the way, he would've been slashed across his stomach.

Otoya had managed to stay ahead of Garulu for about three minutes before he collapsed and fell to the ground in front of the church's side entrance. "Hey, hey. We can talk about this, right Wolfy?" The violinist tried to talk with the Wolfen.

However, the ridiculous name he called the monster just made him snarl.

"So you can understand me!"

The wolf monster pounced at him again—and again, Otoya rolled out of the way. He knew that he couldn't keep dodging him much longer; sooner or later, the Wolfen would kill him.

As if the world was watching over him– most likely due to his music –help arrived and not a moment too soon.

Just as Garulu was about to pounce again, the nearby door flew open as a man came bursting through. The wolfman barely managed to face the interloper before he was sucker-punched in the face. Garulu was sent flying back by the blow, leaving the third man with Otoya.

"Kishinami Otoya." The man had a deep and gruff voice as he offered him a helping hand. Otoya looked up to him and a strange feeling of familiarity made itself known.

His savior had a butler uniform on and an air of aloofness to him. 'Do I… know you?'

"Come with me if you want to live," the man said.

Now that was an offer he couldn't refuse.

Chapter 21: Redux: Sins of the Past

"Another… Kiva…" Decade muttered as he stared at the monster who altered history through the lenses of his helmet.

"Look upon me," the smug tone in Noel's voice did not disappear in her transformed state. "I am Kiva, the World itself. To fight me is to go against the World."

"You really like to speak highly of yourself, huh?" The Rider shook his head in exasperation at her declaration.

Meanwhile, Ciel stared at Noel with little emotion in her eyes and kept her thoughts hidden. "...Fujimaru, I will handle Noel."

"Hey, wa-" She did not listen to him and dashed at Another Kiva, leaving Decade to deal with the two Arms Monsters.

Ciel flew up the stairs with haste, three Black Keys in each hand to fight Another Kiva with. The monster just scoffed at the thoughtless tactic and let her hit her.

The Executor's blades made a loud clang and sparks flew off the point of impact. However, the fake Kiva reacted indifferently to the blow and would have smirked had she been able to move her mouth.

Not wanting to be a sitting duck, Ciel jumped out of striking distance but that did nothing to deter Another Kiva. Waving her hand over her face, the monster sent more energy bats out from her mouth at the Executor. Again, Ciel jumped out of the way but the bats simply changed course to go after her.

Still, she tried her best to continue avoiding the swarm of constructs while Another Kiva watched in amusement.

Back with Decade, he was also doing his best to avoid Bassha's water bullets whilst fighting Dogga at the same time. The magenta Rider brought his sword down on the Franken's neck but, while sparks flew off him, Dogga was unaffected by it. Left open by his failed attack, Decade was blown back by a hard swing from Dogga.

"Ow…" he groaned as he got back to his feet. "Fine then, no holding back then."

Opening the RideBooker and sliding out a KamenRide Card, the Rider inserted it into his Driver.

KAMENRIDE: KIVA

Quicksilver swiftly covered his armor and morphed it into the right shape before the silver liquid shattered, revealing the form of the real Kamen Rider Kiva.

"This should do the trick." He dusted his hands off before dashing at Bassha first. Quickly closing the distance between them, Decade kicked the Merman in the side and sent him rolling to the ground.

The green monster recovered quickly and shot more bullets at him which Decade easily avoided the attack. However, before he could retaliate, the true-fake Kiva was forced to dodge another heavy swing from Dogga.

KAMENRIDE– "Henshin!" –DIEND

Decade felt pain shoot through his back as a suddenly-appearing DiEnd shot him.

"Takaragi…" He grumbled as he turned around to face the thief.

"Yo, Ritsuka-kun. Happy to see me so soon?" DiEnd playfully responded. "I still gotta pay you back for taking my stuff so forgive me for this, will you?"

Well, at least he's making the reason clear…

Nope, he was still irritated. Then again, he would always be annoyed by Takaragi so knowing the reason wouldn't change anything.

"So then, five on one will end better this time," DiEnd said as he took out two cards from his side case.

KAMENRIDE: IXA

KAMENRIDE: WISEMAN

Pulling the trigger of the Neo Diendriver, the cyan thief summoned two more Riders to aid him. The first was the Crusader-themed Rider native to this world wielding the IXACalibur while the other was a completely new Rider.

His suit was nearly completely white, having golden accents lining the edges of his longcoat and hood. There were chains of ringholders attached to both sides of his chestplate while his helmet was basically a large orange gem. Additionally, a miniature version of his helmet was what the ring on his left hand was designed on. His belt, meanwhile, had a black strap with a silver and black buckle. Finally, a hand with a red trim was embedded into the center of his belt. His weapon was a short black spear with a golden-yellow head.

As was routine, DiEnd snapped his fingers before giving his orders, "You know what to do. Take him down."

The white duo nodded silently before joining Dogga and Bassha in fighting Decade. IXA brought his sword down on the Rider's head while Wiseman tried to stab him with his spear.

Decade just barely managed to dodge both blows but he knew that he was in trouble, being outnumbered four-to-one.

Back with Ciel, the Executor now understood that she was a bit– just a tiny bit –in way over her head. While she expected Noel to be more skilled than the one she knew, Ciel did not expect it was to this extent.

The other Executor was not hurt at all by Ciel's Black Keys; the Church's signature weapon simply bounced off the fake Kiva without even so much as a scratch. In fact, she did not even react to Ciel's attacks at all.

"Elesia, do you really believe that you could defeat me?" Another Kiva laughed at Ciel's attempts to fight her. "I'm different from our old preys. Completely different."

She was correct; Ciel was treating this fight like she was fighting a Dead Apostle and not the human that Noel truly was— assuming that Noel was still human, anyway; her earlier attempt to attack her was something inhuman. Ciel was trying to say that she was using technics that Noel was familiar with and that using them would not work.

However, before she could switch up her strategy, the Another Rider snapped her fingers. Nearby, Bassha stopped fighting Decade as he turned into his statuette form and flew into Another Kiva's hand. While her form did not change, Bassha unfolded into his Magnum mode.

Now, Ciel was once again forced to avoid water bullets flying at her at top speed.

Meanwhile, Decade was having a very slightly easier time dealing with the 3 Riders plus one monster he was facing. He now just had to avoid one ranged fighter instead of two.

"Come on, Ritsuka-kun. Why can't you let what happens happen?" DiEnd fake-sighed, "It'll make it easier on all of us if you just die already."

"You're annoying, you know that?" Decade managed to retort as he dodged a stab from Wiseman. "It'll be easier for me if you'd just fuc-"

ATTACKRIDE: BLAST

The Rider's retort was cut off by DiEnd letting loose a storm of bullets upon him. Decade could not avoid it in time and got caught in the center of the attack.

'Damn it… I better use this.' In the cover of the dust cloud kicked up by the attack, he quickly inserted another card into his Driver.

FORMRIDE KIVA: DOGGA

The sound of chains being broken could be heard before the hammer-wielding Kiva Dogga Form came out of the cloud and made a wild swing with his weapon, smashing his weapon into IXA and Wiseman both.

The "real" Dogga smashed his giant fists together in anger– obviously enraged by seeing the purple Kiva –and blindly charged him. Without missing a beat, Decade simply swung his oversized hammer again into the Franken's body before turning towards DiEnd.

"Ah… Can you forget what I said just now?"

"...No." With that simple response, Decade inserted the final card into his buckle.

FINAL ATTACKRIDE: KI-KI-KIVA

As before, the blue sky turned black as a crimson fog rolled in. Purple lightning crackled over Decade's body as he raised the Dogga Hammer and began spinning it around, its projection mimicking its movement.

However, while Decade was charging his finisher, IXA and Wiseman had gotten back to their feet and ran to protect their master. Rushing in front of him just as Decade brought the hammer down, they ended up taking the brunt of the blow while DiEnd got out of the explosion radius.

KABOOM!

Decade watched with a smirk underneath his mask as he watched the two subservient Riders explode. While he was aiming for DiEnd, defeating two Riders was somewhat cathartic, especially after what they did to him; IXA for (righteously) fighting and Wiseman for… for…

"WElp, I'm not a good treasure hunter if I don't know when to cut my losses." Takaragi's voice snapped him out of his fog, making him look up just in time to see the cyan Rider insert a card into his Neo Diendriver. "See ya around, Ritsuka-kun."

ATTACKRIDE: INVISIBLE

DiEnd's body became transparent in the blink of an eye, leaving Decade with only one more to deal with.

"Grrr…" And judging from the loud growl, it seems Dogga has recovered as well.

With Ciel, she was heaving heavily as Another Kiva quickly pushed her into a corner. "Elesia, why don't you just give up? Was it not your wish to die?" The monster mocked her, "I could grant you your wish; all you need to do is stay still."

Ciel recognized this behavior. Namely, it was Noel looking down on someone she saw as weaker than her. Ciel had seen this sadistic behavior whenever the both of them would go out at night for missions. It might have been a long time since she once worked with her Noel but she remembered it clearly. The look of twisted pleasure Noel had when she hurt and killed Dead Apostles is a look Ciel would never forget.

"Noel, please," she tried to plead with her. "It's not too late to turn back."

"Hah!" From the laugh, it was apparent that Ciel's word only served to amuse Another Kiva. "And give up this amazing power? No thanks but by all means, continue wasting your breath." The Another Rider raised her weapon again and pulled the trigger.

'I have no choice then….' Instead of dodging again, Ciel chose to face her head-on and used her Black Keys to block the incoming projectiles. Even if Noel was now a vampiric glass monster, that didn't change that Ciel was more skilled than she was.

If she was expecting her to do something else, Another Kiva did not show it. Then again, she couldn't emote since her face was perpetually stuck showing her fangs. Regardless, the monstrous Rider continued rapid-shooting at Ciel. The Executor expertly evaded the water bullets as she quickly closed the distance between them.

Before anyone could so much as blink, two Black Keys were thrust through Another Kiva's stomach with the bloodied tips poking out the other sides.

"Forgive me, Noel," Ciel calmly said with her Executor mask. "However, if you willingly choose to be a threat to humanity, then you will get no mercy from me."

A third blade pierced Another Kiva's chest before Ciel dashed away from her with another swift move. For a few seconds, Another Kiva remained still and unmoving. Ciel thought that her attack did nothing for a few seconds– KABOOM! –until the Another Rider exploded.

"Hmm?" 'That was odd….'

"Hey, Hakuno, did you feel that?" The amateur luthier turned his head up towards his partner's roost where Kivat-Bat the Third was hanging.

"I did," Hakuno looked around to see what caused that strange feeling in his chest. As expected, there was no one besides the three of them in his workshop (read: the upper floor of his house).

"Pyun~ pyun~, I don't smell anything odd."

"I thought you're a dragon, not a dog."

"I have a great sense of smell, okay? And I didn't say that I didn't feel that too."

Hakuno let out a small sigh, already knowing that his two companions would start bickering in a few moments. His eyes wandered towards the nearby wall clock… and noticed the time. "AH!"

"What's wrong?" Both Kivat and Tastulot followed his panicked gaze and immediately started panicking with him.

"Quick! Tatsulot, grab his coat! I'll get his-"

A second later, all noises were silenced, the tools and half-made violins disappeared from the room, and the three residents of the house vanished into thin air.

KiVa

The flames cleared to reveal Another Kiva standing there, undamaged and with no hint of having exploded seconds earlier. With an amused laugh, she swept the dust off her chest where she had been stabbed. "Elesia, Elesia. How precious of you to think that would be enough to kill me."

Ciel didn't visibly react to the turn of events and wordlessly took out more Black Keys, more than ready to continue fighting.

As the two resumed their battle, someone watched the battle from nearby, hidden from view. He observed both fighters with great curiosity and a smirk on his face. "Interesting," the man muttered in a deep voice as he eyed Ciel in particular, "Very interesting…."

However, the man was not there for her, nor was he there for his puppet. Turning his head towards the other battle in front of the church, he stared at the purple Rider.

"You've finally appeared again, Decade. No, Fujimaru Ritsuka." He quickly corrected himself as he watched Decade-as-Kiva slam his hammer into Dogga. "How long has it been since that battle?" The man in the purple and black robe-like clothes mused to himself.

It was nearing three years since the battle where they had to fight together against him. The man honestly thought for a long time that Fujimaru Ritsuka had died in that battle but he learned that was not the case.

Regardless, the man will just stand back and watch Decade complete this test that he had laid out for him. But first, the Time Jacker has to do one more thing,

Decade smashed the Dogga Hammer into his opponent once again and the Franken was sent flying back and crashing into the wall, creating a sizeable human-shaped hole in the bricks.

"Phew," he let out an exhausted sigh, letting the heavier part of his weapon rest on the ground as he was too tired to wield it any longer. For some reason, fighting Dogga was more tiring and hurt him more than nearly every other fight he's been in.

Unfortunately for him, the World was not going to give him a moment of rest as he was knocked to the ground by something hitting him at full speed. A few moments later, he realized that Ciel had also been sent flying by Another Kiva.

"Ahh, I expected you to last longer than that, Elesia." The Another Rider taunted her. "I thought you'd be better than the Elesia of this world."

Ciel did not- No, could not respond as she was too injured to say something.

"Disappointing," Another Kiva faked a sigh. "What about you, Decade? Can you stand against me?"

'Not like I have much choice….' After gently moving the tired Ciel off him, the Rider stood back up and grabbed the Dogga Hammer again.

Seeing that, the vampire monster snapped her fingers. The weapon she was wielding reverted into his true form as Bassha landed next to her. At the same time, Dogga turned into his weapon form and flew into her hands.

The wind blowing through could easily be heard as the two stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. Time passed, and Decade stepped forward and purple lightning crackled on his weapon.

And then time stopped.

'What?' The Rider thought as he found his body frozen. In fact, everything was frozen; the wind stopped blowing, the clouds weren't moving, and the lightning on the Dogga Hammer stopped crackling. However, there was one person who could still move: Another Kiva, and she was just as confused as he was.

"This is…" She looked around at everything. Even her green servant was frozen in time. However, she was not worried at all as she knew what this meant.

"What are you waiting for?" A deep voice questioned her. Decade could not see who it was as he was frozen, but a lingering sense of familiarity made itself known to him.

"You are-!" "Defeat him, and solidify your status as the Rider of this World." The voice commanded her.

Another Kiva didn't respond for a few moments before raising her Dogga Hammer. As with Decade earlier, a projection of the fist-shaped hammerhead appeared above her. Unable to move, all the Rider could do was tank the hit and the resulting explosion.

Time resumed, and he was thrown back by the attack and landed next to Ciel, who had just begun to recover. That was not all, however, as he was groaning in pain, the Decadriver opened up on its own before ejecting the KamenRide: Kiva card. The card then faded away, turning into pixels. Finally, his suit reverted back to his normal one before it also disappeared, leaving him vulnerable.

"Fujimaru!" The Executor coughed as she pushed herself to her feet despite her obvious injuries.

"Oh, your wounds don't reverse instantly anymore, Elesia?" Another Kiva noted. "So that's why you're so much weaker. But that just makes it easier for me."

Without saying a word, Ciel prepared to fight Noel again and took out more Black Keys. Another Kiva, however, just giggled at her suicidal act of defiance.

However, an exasperated voice reached their ears before their battle could continue. "Here I go saving you again…."

An Aurora Curtain appeared between them before it quickly moved towards Ciel and Ritsuka. The wall washed over them both and they disappeared without a trace, leaving Another Kiva and her Arms Monster alone.

The Another Rider huffed in mild annoyance before turning back into her human form. Her servants also disappeared, which left her by herself. However, Noel did not plan to stand around and wait as she immediately began looking for the man who granted her her powers…

Sometime later…

"Hold still," Ciel chastised Ritsuka as she put the bandage on his face.

The wall had dropped them off in his living room, where they had taken to lick their wounds and were now putting on bandage wraps and rubbing alcohol.

"That…" Ritsuka muttered, "-did not go as I planned at all."

"And how exactly did you plan that fight to go?" Ciel retorted.

"For one thing, I didn't think that you would go charging in on your own."

Ciel admitted to herself that he had a very valid point; it was unlike her to act so thoughtlessly and brashly. "I'm… sorry about that," she apologized to Ritsuka, "I- Noel, she's-"

"Someone from your past, isn't she?" He finished her sentence for her. "And not just some old co-worker that you had an argument with, I assume."

"...Yes." Ciel nodded after a moment, finishing deliberating on whether she should just come clean with him. Seeing as the person they were supposed to defeat was someone tied to her dark past, she knew hiding it would end badly or worse…

Ritsuka quickly picked up on her hesitation. "...Ciel, I'll say what I said earlier: if you don't feel like saying it, you don't need to."

"No, no, it's better if I do," she replied with a small sigh, "It's finally catching up to me after all these years and you're caught right in the middle of it."

"...Alright," Ritsuka nodded upon seeing the resolute look on her face. "But get some rest first; you need it."

Before Ciel could say anything, the boy stood up and went into the kitchen.

The Executor sighed as she watched him walk out of view, unsure whether she should feel grateful that Ritsuka was giving her time before telling him of her old life.

Elsewhere…

While the two transdimensional travelers were resting in their home, their target was strolling through the streets as if nothing had happened in search of that man. However, as she walked through an empty street, Noel called out to someone.

"How long will you be following me, thief?"

"Do you know how hypocritical you sound?" Takaragi replied as he stepped out from out of nowhere behind her. "You're a thief yourself, aren't you?"

"I called you that because I never got your name."

"That's fair," the thief admitted, "You can call me Takaragi."

"Noel," the woman introduced herself simply.

"Oh, I know," Takaragi smirked, "I've looked a bit into you since Ritsuka-kun and Blue are coming after you."

"Let them come; as you saw, they can't do anything to me," Noel said, her voice brimming with confidence.

"Wow, so brave." While Takaragi sounded sarcastic, he was impressed that Noel was able to make the devil run away. Granted, had she fought the true one, she would not have stood a chance at all.

"Why did you help me? Aren't you the same as Decade?"

"Please don't call me the same as Ritsuka-kun; there's nobody worse than him out there," he told her before quickly correcting himself. "Well, there is one person equal to him but nobody knows where he is so he doesn't matter."

"I see," hummed Noel. "But you still haven't answered me yet."

"Well, let's just say I know what happened to you and I have to say…." Takaragi trailed off. "Let's just say that I'm more inclined to side with you more than usual."

"What happened to me…?" It took her a moment to understand what he meant. The emotions in her eyes were drained away as a distant memory flashed in her head. "So you know what happened that day?"

"Which day are you referring to? The one in 2001?" retorted Takaragi. "While I wasn't there for that day for pretty obvious reasons, I have heard about it on my travels. Although, I sometimes heard that it happened back in the early 90s."

"..." Noel continued to stare at him with emotionless eyes, wordlessly telling him to continue speaking.

"I'm not trying to anger you but I want to say that you're not the only one out there that has lost everything." Takaragi's trademarked cheerful and playful demeanor disappeared as he spoke. An Aurora Curtain appeared behind him as he gave her one last message. "But remember, the man who helped you, he's not to be trusted by anyone. His ambition is too big for that."

The thief disappeared into the silver wall before that too disappeared, leaving Noel staring emotionlessly at where he was standing.

"...whatever, I don't need to listen to what you say." Noel dismissed the thief's warning and continued on her stroll, putting the discussion behind her again….

The room was utterly silent except for small noises coming from the connecting kitchen where Ritsuka was. He had gone in there about half an hour ago and has not exited since, leaving the Executor to sit alone in the living room.

Ciel, meanwhile, was lost in her thoughts as she reminisced of a moment from her past.

Early 2009…

'How long has it been…?' She thought as she entered the church, having just returned from another mission. Her question had a double meaning; she wondered how long she was away and how long it's been since she reawakened in that dark room.

Clearing her head of those thoughts, she walked down the aisle with an emotionless mask. At the end of the walkway, she saw a young-looking boy with blonde hair standing by the altar. With the way he was dressed, one would assume he was just a visitor but Ciel knew better.

"You've returned," the boy said with a smirk on his face, "I assume you were successful with your mission."

"Yes," she plainly nodded.

"Good, that's one more Ancestor eliminated from this world."

Ciel did not respond and let her superior continue talking. Frankly, she couldn't be bothered with his congratulatory praises. She was just doing her job, after all.

"Oh, have you heard? That incompetent woman got into trouble."

'What?' Now that got her attention. There was only one person that Mario called incompetent so casually.

"Keep an eye out for her, will you? She's been on the run for a few months now." Her boss continued grinning, noticing her muted reaction. "And make sure to turn her in if you see her. She needs to be punished for-"

"Hey."

"Huh?" Ciel looked to her left to see Ritsuka sitting next to her. Her mind had been so preoccupied that she didn't notice that he had sat down next to her. "Oh, Fujimaru…"

"You didn't call me Fujimaru-kun; this is bad." Right, she dropped the honorifics whenever she was being serious. "You… wanted to talk about your past, right?" Ritsuka cautiously asked.

"Yes," she nodded slightly. "Where should I begin…."

"Start with Another Kiva then," Ritsuka suggested, "She has a grudge against you, right? Well, this world's version of you."

Ciel did not say anything for a few moments before she said, "I'm sure my world's Noel has a grudge against me too. She has too after all I did…."

"..."

"Fujimaru, answer me honestly. How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm…" Ritsuka examined Ciel's figure for a few seconds– his eyes most certainly not lingering on her bare legs longer than necessary –before he answered, "22?"

His answer made her snicker in amusement, "You're a bit off."

"By how much?"

"A decade."

Despite her light joking tone, the small unhappy smile she had told Ritsuka that she was being honest. "So you're 32?"

"Yup," she popped the 'p'. "I was born in 1989. The third of May, to be exact."

"...No, twice my age would be 38."

"Fujimaru, what exactly are you thinking?" Ciel asked in an almost scolding tone, narrowing her eyes at Ritsuka. "Nothing weird, right?"

"No, nothing weird," Ritsuka replied with a completely straight face.

"Yeah right…" Ciel huffed with an aside glance and crossed arms. A second later though, her face cracked into a small smile and she giggled again. It may not have been his intention (not purposefully, anyway) to cheer her up but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Unfortunately, her brief moment of levity was torn away as she moved on to the next part of her story.

"My name, my real name, is Elesia, as you probably already figured out," Ciel narrated sadly to him. "I was born in the French countryside, my family owned a bakery, and my dream was to take over the family business. Sounds normal, right?"

"It… does. What happened?"

"When I was born, I was an anomaly," she answered, "Despite me being born into a normal family, I had a lot of magical potential… and that made me a suitable host for a Dead Apostle named Roa."

"Roa?" While Ritsuka was not familiar with the name at all, he did feel like he knew what Dead Apostle means. "A Dead Apostle is a vampire, right?"

"Yes; more specifically, Dead Apostles are humans who became vampires," Ciel nodded. "Telling everything I know about Roa would take a while so I'll simplify it as much as I can. Roa had the ability to reincarnate, taking over the bodies of humans after his current incarnation dies."

"..."

"Anyway, when I was twelve, I started to feel his influence," she continued, "I wanted to do unspeakable things to my friends, my family, and even to complete strangers."

Despite her calm and collected voice, Ritsuka could tell she was having a hard time pushing herself to continue talking.

"I locked myself in my room for months because I was scared. In hindsight, that probably just made it easier for Roa to take over…." Ciel shook her head, silently scolding herself for her decision all those years ago. "In the end, I became Roa's 17th incarnation and…."

She choked on her own words as she recalled what happened when she stepped out of her room in months.

"My dark thoughts became a reality and I watched it happen, unable to do anything as Roa wreaked havoc on my hometown," Ciel remembered her despair and hopelessness as her mind and soul was buried deep down while Roa gleefully killed and raped her village with her body.

Ritsuka did not say anything. Instead, he just scooted closer to her and gently put his hand on her shoulder. Whether or not she realized it, she continued her story. "Eventually, someone arrived and killed me but the damage was done. My hometown was destroyed and Roa just moved on to his next incarnation."

"Someone… killed you?" Ritsuka slowly said.

"That's another long story," Ciel replied with a small, sad smile. "I can tell that some other time but what happened 21 years ago is what you need to know regarding my relationship with Noel."

'Right, that was why she was telling me this…' the boy thought.

"Noel also lived in my village, and she survived that night. She knew it was me who killed her family and friends."

'I think a grudge would be a massive understatement….' Ritsuka didn't want to say it aloud to not upset Ciel further.

"She joined the church after that and became an Executor, in my world at least. She became my apprentice eventually, but I don't think that happened here."

"When did that happen?"

"2009. Why?"

"Then that definitely didn't happen here. At least not anymore," Ritsuka confirmed, recalling what he saw on Another Kiva's wing. "The year on her was 2008, the year when she became Another Kiva."

"I see…" Ciel hummed. "So she had been a monster for 14 years then."

"Right about there."

"That lines up with what Noel said. She told me you had been keeping her waiting for 14 years."

Ritsuka assumed that it was during their French conversation. "Did she say anything else?"

"Hmm…" It took a moment before she recalled something that came up, "Noel did say a couple of things. She knew that we were from another world and that a man told her you were going to appear one day."

The other thing that she mentioned, which Ciel didn't want to bring up, was that Noel had already killed this world's version of her. How she did so, Noel didn't mention other than "draining her lifeforce", but the knowledge that an alternate her was dead was unsettling to Ciel.

"A man, huh…." It didn't take a genius to figure out that the man who created Another Kiva and the man who stopped time were one and the same. "Not only can he steal a Rider's powers, but he can also control and travel through time…."

"Hm? What was that?" Ciel did not quite catch what he said.

"Our true enemy, the one who gave Noel Kiva's powers, did so in 2008. That means whoever he is, he can time travel." And that was not a comforting thought at all. More so than the man knowing who he was.

Then again, everybody and their monster mother knew who Decade was, so it wasn't that weird.

"Our true enemy… Do you have any idea who he could be?"

"No, this is the first time I'm hearing about a threat unrelated to the world." By that, Ritsuka meant that the man who created Another Kiva was (presumably) not a Fangire. Else, the paradox of Another Kiva being created would rip the world apart as the person who gave Noel her powers would not exist.

In other words, the man must have come from another world. He's never dealt with something like that yet.

'...No, I have.' Ritsuka corrected himself as he recalled a fight he had so long ago, in the first world. After Yusuke transformed into Mighty Form for the first time, they fought that Ganma from Ghost's world.

And there was something the Hikoki Ganma proclaimed.

"That's correct! As a member of Dai-Sho- Ow!"

"Glory to Dai-!" KABOOM!

The Ganma had come from nowhere, and Ritsuka never quite understood why it happened. The best guess he has was that his evil doppelganger was involved.

Regardless, he was trying to say that this was the second time a threat unrelated to the world he was in had appeared in his journey. Twice was a miracle, as Kishinami Otoya once said to Maya in the unaltered timeline, but Ritsuka doubted this was a miracle.

"Oh… Otoya…" Was it wrong that he had forgotten about his friends' father? Probably… Definitely…

'It was a good thing I've long since accepted I'm going to hell for everything… What?' Ritsuka didn't know what he was thinking. Sure he has done some questionable things like helping the King for a couple of hours, but that was it. He hasn't done anything truly heinous yet.

'Yet…'

'Shut up…'

"Well," Ciel let out a relieved sigh. "That's all you need to know about my dark past and why Noel hates me," she said in a semi-joking tone before letting out another sigh, "You know, I don't think I ever got the chance to sit down and talk about it."

"What? The church doesn't have paid therapy for their assassins?"

"Of course not, it's the church."

"Right, I should've known better," Ritsuka chuckled. "On a more serious note, are you feeling any better?"

"Actually, yes," admitted Ciel. "Talking about it aloud really takes a load off my shoulders. As I said, I never had someone to talk to about all this."

"Not even an old ex or someone like that?"

"That would require me having a boyfriend," she retorted. "Unfortunately, my job doesn't give me time to date anyone. Not that I want to anyway. Nor do I have the time to."

"How sad," Ritsuka sarcastically replied with an amused smirk. His smirk only grew as he got lightly smacked by Ciel for his snarky comment. "Anyway, go eat or something. I'm gonna get changed… and maybe a nap too."

Getting off the couch, Ritsuka gave her a small goodbye before leaving the room. As soon as he left, Ciel let out a relieved sigh for the fourth time before getting up and going into the kitchen.

Her eyes were immediately drawn towards the stove's cooking pot, and she walked towards it. Even before she peeked inside it, Ciel already knew what Ritsuka had cooked from the smell alone.

"That guy…" She smiled, quickly recognizing the distinct scent of curry wafting from the pot. It was a good thing those two weren't around. They'd surely tease Ritsuka for making her favorite food.

Ritsuka sighed as he collapsed in his bed, burying his head in his pillow. His entire body was aching from getting hit by Another Kiva's attack. The last time he felt like this was when he fought the other Faiz back in Takumi's world.

'Don't you mean me?'

'Shut up.' Ritsuka grumbled in his head. 'Go do whatever it is you do. I want to be alone.'

'Liar.' That was all the teen heard before he felt his mind become clear.

He let out a long, exhausted sigh as he flipped over and stared above him, dull blue eyes unfocused on the whitish-grey ceiling.

A deafening silence filled the room as Ritsuka lay in bed, thinking about the story he had just listened to. He believed it, of course; it wasn't the strangest or most unbelievable story he's heard… he thinks? Regardless, he believed that Ciel was telling the truth about her past and that was that.

No, what stumped him was Noel. Out of literally anybody in Kiva's world, it just so happened that the person chosen to be Another Kiva was someone that had a beef with his current travel partner. Well, an alternate version of Ciel but his point still stands.

Once was a coincidence– but this was most definitely not a coincidence.

'Oh, yeah. Otoya.'

Ritsuka was also most definitely going to hell for forgetting about Otoya twice.

"…He'll be fine." Besides, Ritsuka was technically already aiming to kill him anyway. Restoring history would erase Otoya so it doesn't matter if Garulu killed him.

Moving on, his second problem was more pressing than Otoya: Kiva's powers were gone. Without it, there was no way he could defeat Another Kiva and restore history once again… again… again…

"I'm more tired than I thought…." With a yawn, Ritsuka closed his eyes and took a long deserved nap.

Meanwhile…

"Are you sure this is the best way, Jiro?" Ramon tilted his head as he stood in front of an unconscious and tied up Otoya.

The Wolfen in disguise, who had continued his chess match with Riki, let out a low growl-grunt in confirmation. "Going out there will be suicide for him now. The fake Kiva will be going after him if he returns to the present," Jiro said as he moved his bishop into position.

"I guess you have a point," hummed the youngest of the trio. "...If we restore history back to normal, he'll die again, right?"

"Yes, him and Yuri both," Jiro answered unempathetically. "As well as all those killed by the Fangires."

"Remind me again why we want to restore history. This world is much better than the normal one." the boy in the sailor suit walked over to where Jiro and Riki were playing, "Besides, it's not like defeating the fake Kiva will restore our races anyway."

"Because we're not just doing this for Otoya's pups." Jiro briefly glanced at the bounded violinist. "It was Otoya's own wish. We swore that we'd protect and guide them no matter what."

"Oh right, that was it." After being stuck in the castle for a month, Ramon had genuinely forgotten about it. "Say, I thought you were going to pick up Decade too."

Another unspoken reason was that they'd remain trapped within Castle Doran, only able to leave for a couple of minutes at most.

"After I win," the older Arms Monster replied as he made his next move with a smug smirk, confident that his victory was assured. In two moves, he'd triumph over Riki.

"..." Tne Franken butler stared long and hard at the chessboard with a furrowed brow. Jiro's smirk grew larger when he saw his old friend struggle to make his next move.

His smirk fell off his face when Riki moved his rook. "Checkmate…"

"What? This isn't a checkmate, I can still move-" Jiro was about to point out that his king could move out of the way before he noticed the trap: Riki had already pre-emptively positioned his remaining bishop and two knights to trap Jiro's king.

The Wolfen angrily stared at the board, fury behind his eyes. He rasped heavily and loudly before, with a loud screech of the chair, stood up and stomped out of the room.

"Be careful out there!" Ramon cheerfully waved as Jiro slammed the door behind him.

Meanwhile, Riki celebrated his victory by chomping down on some chess pieces.

Back in Kiva's world…

After devouring the pot of c curry, Ciel followed Ritsuka's example and crashed into her bed. He was admittedly a good chef and she couldn't help but wonder who taught him. Regardless, she was feeling much better now than earlier and, while still worried about Noel, could get some much-needed rest.

Knock, knock.

At least she would've, had she not needed to answer the door.

"Yes, Fujimaru-kun?" Ciel opened the door, fully expecting him to be standing outside her room.

However, she instead saw a gruff looking man in a butler suit and an irritated look in his eyes. "You, follow me." The man ordered before stomping down the hallway.

"Hang on, who are you?" Ciel questioned the man as she stepped out of her room.

"Does it matter, hunter?" He replied callously before pounding on Ritsuka's bedroom door. "Decade, open up."

"No, really, who are you?" Ciel asked more forcefully, on the verge of taking out her weapons.

The man cast her aside glance. "If it'll convince you to come along, then I'm one of Kishinami Hakuno's servants who aid him in battle."

"Hakuno?" Well, that was a solid start. No one else should remember Kishinami Hakuno existed so that was saying a lot. "Wait, how do you-?"

"Decade, I don't have all day." The butler ignored her and continued pounding on the door. "If you don't open this door in three seconds, I'm breaking it down."

"Hold on!"

"3."

"Wait a second!"

"2."

"Hey!"

"1."

Crash!

Ciel could not stop the angry and annoyed butler from kicking open Ritsuka's door before he went inside. She quickly followed after him, reaching the doorway to see the man carrying a sleeping Ritsuka over his shoulders.

"Come, follow me," the man ordered as he bumped into her. He walked back down the hall before stopping in front of the bathroom door and glancing at his wristwatch. "Good, I timed it right," he smirked to himself.

"Can you please explain what you're doing?" Ciel was close to losing her temper at the man's actions.

"Patience, we'll explain it all in Doran," the butler said like it would excuse everything. "5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0."

As soon as he finished his countdown, he opened the door, revealing that a strange portal now filled in the doorway. "Come, hunter," the man smirked at her before stepping inside with still sleeping Ritsuka.

"...What did I get myself into?" Ciel sighed to herself, "This is your fault, Fujimaru-kun…."

Steeling herself, she followed them into the portal…

Next Time on Across the Kaleidoscope

"Please say that you have a Plan B."

"What are you doing serving an empty throne?"

"Noel, no matter what, I'll save you from yourself."

"Let's do this, Ha-kun! Henshin!"

Chapter 22: 2008: The Golden Emperor's Debut

A/N: Took me nearly 2 weeks but I'm finally done with this chapter. If you want to blame anyone for my slowish updates, blame my Switch. It loves attention.

Anyway, two (or three, depending on how you look like it) major plot details happened in this chapter. First, a certain Time Jacker appeared and thought something especially interesting. What does he mean? Stick around to find out. Secondly, Ciel is not immortal. Why? I think you guys can piece the clues together to understand where I'm going with things.

Next chapter, we'll finally get some Hakuno action that won't be overshadowed by someone… hopefully… And as for Hakunon! …Uh… I'll get back to you guys on that. JK, I actually do have a plan for her.

As usual, I ask that you guys leave a review and see you all next time!