Disclaimer: I still do not own anything. Let's move on.
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"I already made an arrangement with your true self, Decade. He'll send them to another world to help set you up while you and her deal with the other Executor."
"Did I stutter? Deep down, you know you deserve everything coming your way."
"I miss them… And they're gone because of me…."
"This is… Blade's world…"
?
As soon as he stepped through the Aurora Curtain into the next World, Fujimaru Ritsuka was greeted by a strong, refreshing breeze. He could faintly hear the sounds of traffic below but it was minute enough to not ruin his enjoyment.
"The next World…" He mumbled to himself after taking a deep breath. 'What number is this one?' Truthfully, he lost count a while back.
Regardless, he should start looking for this World's Riders.
Glancing down at his clothes, he noted that they had changed as usual— now, he was wearing a blue uniform with black pants. "Hmm… Nah." It looked cool but he didn't need it at the moment.
With a flick of his hand, he swapped clothes back to his usual one; a black jacket over a blue shirt with matching dark pants.
'Now then, where should I start?'
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
Well, the sounds of screams and explosions should be a decent place to start his investigation.
Sirens wailed throughout the facility as a message aired over the intercom: "Emergency, Emergency, a Category-7 and a Category-9 Undead detected at Point R-2. Forward Operatives Hayami Sakuya, Tsurugi Kazuma, and Koyama Mitsuka; please dispatch immediately."
As the announcement continued to play, three men entered the building's garage, which housed a variety of vehicles, including three uniquely designed motorcycles. As they climbed aboard and cranked their individual engines, the big bay door slowly lifted, allowing sunlight to rush in.
Various monitors in another area, observed by uniformed personnel, displayed the three men driving out of the building's garage. "One-one-three-eight hours—" one of the employees typed monotonously, "—forward operatives G-01, B-02, and L-03 left headquarters."
While the other staff were busy with similar activities, another trio—two men and one woman—sat in the back of the room, watching the enormous monitor connected to the other wall. Two creatures were shown rampaging through a metropolitan area, attacking civilians attempting to flee.
While they looked completely different— one had trilobite characteristics, while the other had black-and-white stripes and the head of a zebra—they both wore the same belt around their waists.
"A Spade and a Diamond," the man in the middle of the three muttered to himself as he watched the video.
"Junichi, should we get ready to leave too?" The other man next to him inquired. "Those two are high levelled so—"
"That isn't necessary, Shun. "I'm sure those three can handle themselves," said the first man.
Meanwhile, the trio's sole female grumbled quietly before murmuring, "We never get any action out there..."
"It's better that way, Natsumi," Junichi reminded her for what must've been the twentieth time, "We're the backup squad and only—"
"—only get dispatched if something happens to the forward squad, I know," she sighed, annoyed as she was every time the alarm went off. "We might as well rename ourselves the chairman's bodyguards."
Junichi let out a short, amused laugh at her usual muttering before returning his gaze to the screen, where the forward squad had now arrived.
The sound of tires screeching signalled the arrival of their new adversaries to the two Undeads. They both turned to face the three men who were getting off their motorcycles.
"Tsurugi, you handle the Category-7," the man in the red leather jacket told his younger blue subordinate. "I will seal the Category-9 with Koyama."
"You got it!" "Understood!" The other two nodded before splitting up to face their respective opponents.
When the lone blue soldier arrived at his opponent, the Trilobite Undead, he tried to land a powerful kick on it... only to recoil in pain due to the toughness of its armour.
"Ow…" He winced before he dodged a blow from the Undead's spiked gauntlet. As he rolled out of the way, he took out a large silver buckle and a playing card, which depicted a top-down view of a rhinoceros beetle with the blue symbol of the suit of Spades on its shell. The same symbol was in the corner, with an A beneath it. The word "Change" was written on the side of the card.
The young man in blue inserted the card into his buckle before securing it around his waist, causing a deck of red cards to emerge from its side and wrap around his waist, eventually becoming his belt.
A repeating tune played from the buckle as the young man posed— "Henshin!" —before pulling the lever on his belt.
TURN UP!
As a blue energy field burst out, the plate containing the card flipped to reveal a red panel with a golden Spade symbol in the centre. The holographic field collided with the Trilobite Undead, sending it flying back with a shock and revealing the beetle's image in the field.
With a battle cry, the young man dashed through the energy field, causing armour to appear on his body. His undersuit was navy blue, and his armour was mostly silver with red and gold accents. A Spade was engraved on his chestplate. Finally, his helmet was adorned with a single horn and red eyes.
Kamen Rider Blade— this world's Kamen Rider —unsheathed his sword from his waist and slashed the Trilobite Undead across the chest.
"Now then, shall we go?" He smirked to himself as he pointed the tip of his sword at the Undead.
Chapter 23: Four Aces, Three Cerberus, Two Swordsmen
"Hmm… So that's Blade?" Ritsuka hummed as he leaned against the railings, watching Kamen Rider Blade battle from a nearby vantage point. "And those are Garren and Leangle…"
He took a moment to snap a couple of pictures of them before putting his camera away.
Ciel sighed behind him before questioning him. "Aren't you going to help them?"
"Of course not," he replied without missing a beat. "I want to see how they fight before I inevitably get into trouble with them."
"I'm not sure whether you're being pessimistic or realistic." Really, the chances of them not getting into trouble with this world's Riders were extremely slim, if not outright non-existent.
When the two arrived in this world, they immediately began exploring the city in search of their missing friends/acquaintances. Ritsuka, as usual, received a new outfit, consisting of a simple black vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and matching black pants. It also came with a fedora but he had ditched.
However, it wasn't long before the sounds of screaming drew them to the area just as the three Riders arrived.
Ritsuka noticed the two other Riders had transformed and were fighting the Zebra Undead out of the corner of his eye. While he ignored them in favour of focusing on Blade, he did notice that the crimson Rider used a gun and the green Rider used a staff.
Back with the swordsman, Blade slashed the Trilobite Undead repeatedly, sparks flying off its body as it stumbled backward. As the monster rose again, the navy Rider pulled a tab on his sword, revealing a compartment containing more cards. He quickly removed one of the cards from its slot and slid it through a slit in the side of his sword.
TACKLE!
A blue projection of the card's image– a boar– emerged from it and entered Blade's chestplate.
"Haaaaa…" Blade exhaled as energy flowed through him. He dashed off in a sprint, doing as the card instructed and attempting to tackle the Trilobite Undead. He crashed into the Undead, further injuring it, as he cut through the wind.
"Alright! "The grand finale!" Blade exclaimed loudly for no apparent reason before pulling out two more cards and scanning them.
SLASH! THUNDER!
LIGHTNING SLASH!
Two more holographic images of the cards appeared: this time a deer and a lizard. A lightning bolt fell from the sky and struck his sword, energising it for his finisher.
With another battle cry, Blade used the appropriately named Lightning Slash to defeat the Undead once and for all.
The monster exploded after being cut through the chest and thrown back, as was customary. However, when the smoke cleared, its body was still intact, but sprawled on the ground.
A sharp ting filled the air as its belt buckle split open— revealing the number 7 engraved inside. Like clockwork, Blade slid out another card, this time one with chains instead of an image of an animal, and threw it at the Undead's body..
The card imbed into the monster's chest and began sucking it in, the monster's body glowing as it was absorbed by the card. When the Undead was fully sealed, it flew back towards Blade, who caught it between his fingers.
"Haha!" He laughed triumphantly as he examined the symbol on the corner. "Another one for my deck."
UPPER! FIRE!
BLIZZARD! SCREW!
Blade's attention was drawn away from his new card by another pair of explosions. Turning his gaze to his coworkers, he saw that they had just defeated the Category-9 Undead, and the red gunslinging Rider tossed a card at its battered body.
The Zebra Undead was sucked into the card, much like the Trilobite Undead, before the rectangle piece of not-plastic flew back into Garren's hands.
"It's done," the crimson Rider muttered before putting the card away. He then reached down and pulled on the lever on his belt buckle, which was nearly identical to Blade's except for the plate, to flip the panel. Another energy field appeared and washed over the Rider, stripping him of his armour.
Turning towards Leangle, he complimented, "You did well, Koyama."
"Th—Thank you very much, sir!" The green Rider bowed in gratitude. He then pushed his buckle's left side in. Another energy field appeared and he removed his armour.
"Hey, hey!" Blade exclaimed as he walked over to them, already detransformed like them, "We finished this pretty quickly, huh? Do you think we could get a bonus?"
"Tsurugi," the man in red chided, "we're already getting paid handsomely for this; stop wishing for a large bonus after every battle."
"I know, but—"
"Then let's return to headquarters for the briefing," he cut him off and went back to their bikes.
"Better luck next time, Tsurugi-senpai." His junior patted him on the back before they both followed after the first man.
Back with Ritsuka, he watched as the three rode away on their motorcycles. "Hmm... They're pretty good..." He muttered unconsciously, to which Ciel agreed.
"They are, aren't they?" They had handled their opponents expertly and decisively. She assumed the three had been fighting as Riders for quite some time. "So, Fujimaru-kun, what do we do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want to follow after them or continue looking for those two?" Ciel laid out their options. "Of course, we could also split up—"
"Of course, we're following them; did you expect anything else?" Ritsuka sarcastically asked as he started walking. "Those two should be able to handle themselves for a few more hours."
"You're a terrible friend, you know that?"
"You're probably correct." The number of times he was unconcerned about their safety was higher than it should have been. Nonetheless, he was certain that going after Blade and company was the right decision. "Come on, let's find a taxi or something."
"That reminds me, I thought Kamen Riders are called that because they ride on something."
"No, I do not have a bike. And no, I do not know why I don't have a bike."
As the two bantered with each other, somebody on a red motorcycle watched them from a distance. 'That is….'
Snap!
The sound of a camera shutter closing quietly echoed through the area but was ignored by everyone. Ritsuka watched from a hiding spot as this World's Riders left the scene after defeating the two monsters.
From his observation of their battle, it was clear that they were skilled. He wondered how long they— or more specifically, the main Rider of this World —had been fighting.
For now though, he put that thought in the back of his mind and went to follow them.
A short time later, BOARD HQ…
On the upper floors, the trio who remained behind walked along the railing overlooking the entrance hall. "What was the point of us signing up if all we do is stay here and hang around the halls?" grumbled the sole woman of the three once more.
"Come on, Natsumi, you know this isn't bad," Shun sighed, "Our paycheck is pretty nice for people who do nothing."
"All right, you two, spot arguing," Junichi said with a chuckle. "I believe it's best if we get lunch first."
"If you say so, boss."
"Sure, sure… Are we sitting with those guys again?"
"Damn it, Natsumi…."
"What?" She asked defensively. "I was talking about our reserves!"
Junichi didn't react visibly and glanced over the railing down at the ground— "Isn't that…." —and saw someone he didn't expect.
"What's the matter, Junichi?" Shun glanced downwards too at what he was looking at.
"Nothing, nothing," he said dismissively, "You know what? Why don't you two go to the cafeteria first? I'll get back to you in a minute."
Junichi did not wait for a response before proceeding to the elevator, leaving his two friends confused as hell.
Down below, Ritsuka and Ciel looked around the massive room that was the BOARD lobby.
"This place looks a lot different than I expected for an organisation dedicated to protecting the world." Ciel wasn't expecting it to look like a typical, albeit opulent, corporate structure.
"Firstly, I'm 99 percent sure they're just protecting Japan as usual. Secondly, this is only the lobby; who knows what's going on behind the scenes." A few passing workers gave Ritsuka a strange look before moving on. "Anyway, what's the most effective way to get everyone's attention?"
"Please don't make a scene the moment we arrive," Ciel pleaded, her voice exasperated. "This kind of retaliation for what I—we—I said is a little excessive."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is. And aren't you tired too?"
"…Do you think this place has a cafeteria?" Ritsuka changed the subject.
"I'm pretty sure it'd be employees only."
"Well, it's fortunate that I am an employee," he said, pulling something from his jacket pocket and showing it to Ciel—it was a BOARD employee pass with his name and picture on it. "I'll just put you down as my plus one or something."
Ciel read his job description, "Reserve Forward Operative B-02 Fujimaru Ritsuka. Reserve?"
""I'll figure it out later," he shrugged before spinning around. "Let's go find the cafeteria." He was genuinely feeling famished since Hakunon's snacks weren't particularly filling. He just hoped it wouldn't be like the last time he visited a company building; he wondered if Smart Brain would ever recover from the attack by Another Faiz and his master.
However, he only made two steps before being stopped by an unknown man. "Hello there," the man said, a friendly smile on his face. "Welcome to BOARD headquarters, forefront of the battle against the Undeads."
"Oh, uh... hello?" Ciel made a hesitant wave. She had the impression that something was off about the man.
"My name is Shirahara Junichi, Kamen Rider Glaive. It's nice to meet you," he said as introduced himself.
"It's nice to meet you too—" Ciel paused, registering what the man had called himself. "You're a Kamen Rider?"
"Yes," Junichi said, nodding. "And who might you be? "I know who you are," he glanced at Ritsuka, "but I don't think I've ever seen you around. Are you a new employee?"
"No, she's just here to see me," Ritsuka replied on her behalf. "And... have we met before?" Like Ciel, he was getting an odd feeling from Junichi. It wasn't so much that he felt he knew him but something else that Ritsuka couldn't put into words.
"No, we haven't," Junichi smiled, "But I heard Tsurugi-san was finally getting a reserve after all this time."
'Tsurugi? Even if they tried, that name couldn't be more obvious.'
"Of course, he could handle himself so the chances you're getting any field action is pretty slim but don't let that discourage you," he advised Ritsuka. "In any case, how about I show you two to the cafeteria? Isn't that where you're going?"
"How did you—"
"Come on then, follow me." Junichi turned around and went off without waiting for any input.
For obvious reasons, they didn't follow after him immediately. Instead, Ciel gave Ritsuka a look asking him if they should play along. Ritsuka just shrugged and walked after Junichi.
BOARD cafeteria…
The large cafeteria was packed with workers on their lunch break, with hungry businessmen and businesswomen occupying every table.
However, there was a door near the back of the room that led to another, smaller sitting area. Shun and Natsumi sat at one of the two tables, the latter tapping impatiently on the ornate table.
"What's taking them so long?" She grumbled.
"Who? Our juniors or the forward team?" Shun asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"Both."
"Oh, let it rest, Natsumi," he sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "Firstly, Hayami-san and his team should still be in a meeting with the President right now. Secondly, stop being so harsh with two; they have an even less chance of getting action than we do."
Natsumi didn't respond, but she continued to mutter under her breath. The two remained seated because they had nothing else to do but wait. It didn't take long for the door to open and two exhausted people to walk in.
"Sorry, sorry," the boy apologised, "Takagi wouldn't let us out until—"
"Whatever, just put your stuff down— Ow!" Natsumi attempted to command them, only to be elbowed in the side by Shun.
Ignoring the glare she was shooting at him, Shun told them, "What she meant to say is, please take a seat."
"Huh? Where's Shirahara-san?" One of the two asked as they sat down.
"Dunno, he saw something and ran away without us," Natsumi, ever the grouch, grumbled.
"Anyway, it's almost two months since you two started working here, right? Normally, one wouldn't celebrate something as trivial as that, but why don't we take you two out for a night out to town or something?" Shun suggested.
"Shun, they're still below the drinking age."
"Oh right. In that case—"
"Uh, that's not needed, Yarigi-san. We don't need to celebrate something like that."
"You sure?"
"Yes," they both insisted.
"Your loss then."
The four sat in relative silence for a few minutes (aside from Natsumi's never-ending muttering) before the door slowly opened again.
"—since you're Tsurugi-san's reserve, you get to eat inside here and are treated to a finer selection of meals," they heard Junichi explain to someone from the crack. "You, though… I think you could come in for today only."
"Who's he…".
The door fully opened a second later and Junichi stepped inside, followed closely behind by two more people.
Upon seeing them, Junichi grinned and said, "All of you are already here, good. There's someone I wanna introduce."
Stepping to the side, he let them see the newest addition to the elite group of BOARD— "Ritsuka?!" "Ritsu?!" —who the two reserves recognized.
"Oh, you two are here." That was convenient, very convenient.
Meanwhile…
The three forward operatives stood in front of a well-dressed man sitting at an ornate table in the President's office. Karasuma Kei, President of BOARD, stared at the two cards on his table.
"That's two more sealed away…." He muttered, mentally counting how many should be left. 'Including the ones Chalice sealed, that should be 25 sealed Undeads.'
Despite sealing more than half of the Undeads already, the Royal Undeads weren't among those BOARD's Riders have defeated. That worried him as that could mean they were planning something.
"Alright, that should conclude this briefing," the President finally said after a few more moments of thinking. "I'll have the R&A department handle these new cards as usual. You may leave now."
"Thank you, sir," all three bowed at the same time before turning around and heading to the door. "Oh, Tsurugi! Stay back for a moment. There's something else we need to talk about."
'Ah, shi—' Kazuma cussed in his head, sincerely hoping that he wasn't getting a pay cut for his earlier comment about his pay. "Ur… Yes, sir?" He said as soon as the others left.
"As you know, we managed to find someone with a high enough Fusion Ratio to work as your reserve. If I remember right, he should be here today."
Oh, that wasn't something as concerning as he thought. "Wait, why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"It only crossed my mind a few moments ago," Karasuma explained. "Maybe you can find him wandering the building. As his senior, it's your responsibility that he doesn't get into trouble, understand?"
"Got it, sir."
"Good, you're dismissed." All things considered, that was a pretty decent meet— "Oh, and if he breaks something, it's coming out of your pay."
…Never mind.
"So… this guy, who's now Tsurugi's double—" Natsumi gave Ritsuka the stink-eye "—is the friend you two said went missing a while back?"
"I'm impressed, Natsumi. I didn't expect you to remember something like it."
"Shut it, Shun," she snapped at her friend.
"...Can we have the room for a minute?" Ryoko asked with narrowed eyes. Next to her, Tetsuya looked like he was trying to decide whose side he'd be on in the inevitable argument.
"Yeah, I expected something like that." Junichi stifled a laugh before grabbing Shun's and Natsumi's wrists and dragging them out against their wills. "Come on, you two. Let's leave them be for a while."
As soon as the door closed, Ryoko didn't waste one second before shouting at Ritsuka. "Where the hell were you?!" She glared at him, "We were starting to think that you left us behind!"
"Isn't that jumping the gun a bit?" Ritsuka calmly replied. "I was only gone for two days."
"Two— what?"
"Speaking of which, how did you guys get hired here? You guys don't get that weird cover stories I usually get."
"Wait just a minute, move back a couple seconds. What do you mean two days?" Ryoko stared at him in disbelief.
"I mean what I mean, it's been two days since we got separated. Right, Ciel?"
"I think it's more like a day and a half but yes," Ciel confirmed before saying, "Sorry, we tried our best to wrap things up as fast as possible but somebody takes long naps whenever he can."
"But— What?"
"It's not my fault I keep getting dragged into one thing after another."
"Hang on just a—"
"This time, it is your fault because you got embarrassed by me talking with—"
"Both of you, shut up for a second!" Ryoko snapped, making them both stop arguing.
"What's wrong?"
"How long did you say you were gone, Ritsuka?" It was Tetsuya who asked.
"About two days. Why?"
"...Ritsuka, we've been here for two months now."
"..." 'Yeah, that explains why she was angry.'
Elsewhere in the world…
The motorcycle came to a halt in front of a quaint and small cafe in the middle of nowhere. Regardless, there were a lot of other cars parked outside. The motorcyclist hopped off his bike and quickly made his way into the building which was naturally filled with customers.
"Ah! Hajime! Welcome back!" The young girl helping around the cafe greeted him cheerfully.
The man, unable to resist cracking a small smile, patted her gently on the head before making his way through the cafe to his room.
As soon as he closed and locked his door, Kurose Hajime rested his forehead on it and let out a long sigh. 'He's finally here…' He thought to himself. 'What should I do now…'
The smart and logical answer was to contact BOARD (or at least Kazuma and the others) and warn them about him. However, there were a few issues with that path, including the fact that it would expose him to unnecessary risks. They'd also question him about how he knew what he did, which Hajime didn't need.
The alternative would be to confront Decade himself, but there were issues with that as well. He may be the strongest of the Undeads, but fighting an unknown factor in this World was a stupid move, and Hajime was no fool.
Another thing he could do— which, again, has its slew of problems —was to contact the people who warned him about Decade in the first place. His reluctance this time came from not wanting to involve himself with that group. They already seduced most of the Royal Undeads to their coalition, and Hajime was not going to fall for their promises.
At the moment, as much as he disliked it, all Hajime could do was wait and see what Decade would do in his world.
However, whatever plan he had was forgotten when he felt a strange sensation shoot through him and realised that someone else was in the room. Quickly turning around, he summoned his Driver— a silver belt and buckle with a red heart with a slot going down the middle — and took out a card.
"Hold yourself, Chalice, I come in peace." Hajime recognized the man standing in front of his wall of photos; it was the same man who approached him not too long after he was unsealed. "Or should I call you Joker? After all, the name Chalice belongs to the Mantis Undead."
"I would prefer if you don't call me anything," Hajime glared at the man, card ready to be scanned. "I told you before, I have no interest in your group."
"I'm not here to recruit you," Swartz smirked, making Hajime all the more wary of him. "I'm here to warn you that Decade is here… but you already know that, don't you?"
Hajime wouldn't call himself a naturally violent man/Undead (which would be a lie) but he wanted nothing more than to punch that smirk off the man's face. As usual though, he suppressed his instincts.
"Then why are you still here? Leave me be already."
"Don't be so hasty, my friend." From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was mocking him. "You don't need to join us outright, but we are willing to lend a hand—"
"That's not needed. I can handle him by myself." It was a lie and both of them knew it. However, it got Hajime's point across; he wanted nothing to do with them.
"...If that is your wish," Swartz feigned a sigh, "Maybe your counterpart is more recipient to our cause."
"Go ahead. Whatever that white maniac does is none of my business." Again, that was a lie; whatever the other Joker does is completely his business.
"So you're that adamant against joining us, quite a shame," Swartz sighed again. "In any case, I've done what I came here to do."
"Then leave," Hajime ordered him, "And if you come here again, I'll kill you."
"Of course you will," the man in purple snorted, both from the threat and the weird face Hajime was giving him. "But keep our offer in mind, you never know if you might change your mind."
"I won't," he said confidently. As soon as the last syllable escaped his mouth, he felt that strange sensation again and, in the blink of an eye, Swartz disappeared. "...Annoying prick," Hajime scoffed as he went to inspect his corkboard.
'He better not have taken anything,' was his train of thought. 'Good, everything's still— wait, what's this?'
Hajime reached out and pulled off a photo he knew he didn't take off of the board. Looking at it, he could help but make a comment— "It's terrible."
"...Two months?" Ritsuka parroted with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. Two. Months," Ryoko emphasised. "Tetsuya and I have been stuck here for two long months."
"...So what did you guys learn?"
"Is that really the first thing you're saying?!"
"Hey, calm down!" Tetsuya cried as he tried restraining Ryoko from strangling their friend.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka quietly yelped in pain after getting flicked in the head by Ciel. The disapproving look in her eye told him she also didn't like his casual response.
"In my defence, it wasn't like I wanted you guys to be sent here or let you guys be stuck for two months," Ritsuka said.
"Was that supposed to be an apology? 'cause it was a really bad one," Ryoko grumbled while crossing her arms.
Ritsuka didn't retort and instead turned towards Tetsuya. "What about you? Are you angry at me too?"
"Well, I wouldn't say angry per se." As an avid fan of science-fiction, Tetsuya had assumed that time dilation had been in play the longer the two had been there— refusing to believe that Ritsuka would actually abandon them. "But that's not to say I'm not upset at being stuck here for two months."
"But do you blame me?"
"No, not real—"
"That's good enough," Ritsuka shrugged.
"You know what, Ritsu? I had forgotten how much of an insensitive dick you could be at times."
"Hey, it's you two who wanted to stick by me through this entire thing," he defended himself. "In any case, I'm here now and we can do whatever it is we need to do then be on our way."
"I don't think you're taking the whole 'abandoned for two months' thing seriously enough," Ryoko snarked at him to which he just shrugged again.
"At least it wasn't two years or two decades. Anyway, did you guys find out anything about this World that I should know?"
"Just getting straight to the point, huh?" Tetsuya sighed. "Well, we did learn—"
"Hold on just a moment," Ciel interrupted. "Is this place secure enough to have a conversation about this?" While it was just a cafeteria (albeit a private sitting area), Ciel couldn't help but worry that someone could be watching them. Those three were most likely outside the door and might overhear more than they should.
"Meh, it'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"
"A lot of things actually."
Ritsuka ignored Ryoko's comment and continued, "How many Riders are there? Seven, right?" That was how many cards there were on the backdrop earlier.
"Yeah, that's right," Tetsuya nodded. "But only six of them work for BOARD. The last one…"
"We don't know much about him, only the forward team runs into him."
"We don't even know if he is a him."
"It's probably a him," Ryoko sighed. If the last several worlds were any indication, the archer Rider she heard of was probably a guy too.
"Can I ask what BOARD stands for?" Ciel politely asked.
Before either of the two could answer her, Ritsuka did. "What else does a company stand for? Money and worker exploitation while pampering the higher-ups."
"That's not what I mean and you know that."
"I'm just calling it as I see it. Why else would this room exist?" It wasn't for the normal employees, that's for sure.
"BOARD means… What does it mean again?" Ryoko looked at Tetsuya for an answer who sighed before answering.
"BOARD stands for Board of Archeological Research Department."
"Wait, the B in BOARD stands for Board?" That sounded dumb and redundant but what did she know about naming things? The best name she could come up with is Seven for—
"And the seven Riders are Blade, Garren, Chalice, Leangle, Glaive, Larc, and Lance," Ritsuka counted, "Am I missing anyone?"
"Alright, how the hell did you know that already?"
"Intuition," Ritsuka answered. "Only seven Riders, right?"
"Yes. Why?"
"...Nothing, just wanted confirmation," he replied after a second. "Next question, how many Undeads have they sealed already?"
"That… we don't know. They don't tell us that," Ryoko said, "All they said is there are 52 Undeads and they all have to be sealed away, one for each card in a playing deck."
"You still haven't told me what Undeads are by the way." Ciel not-so-subtly asked for an explanation.
"Don't look at us, we don't know either," Tetsuya shrugged. "I don't think the forward team were told either."
"What about you, Ritsu? What does your intuition say?" Ryoko sarcastically asked, not expecting an answer.
Ritsuka, of course, proved her wrong. "Undeads are immortal beings created by this world's version of God. Kind of like the Lords from your World."
"...Alright, how could you possibly know that?"
"As you said, intuition," Ritsuka smirked. "Still confused, Ciel?"
"Other than how you know that, I think I get the gist of it," Ciel nodded.
"Good, then you wouldn't mind doing a favour for me, right?"
"...Why do I feel like I'll regret saying yes?" she sighed.
"I'll take it as a yes then. Go look around and see if you can learn anything they haven't," Ritsuka tasked her.
"What could I possibly find out that they haven't?"
"You can brainwash people so that should help. Go pretend to be the chairman's secretary or something," he suggested/shooed her away.
"If that's code for 'go away,' you could've just said so," Ciel sighed. While he had a point in that investigating around (again) was a smart move, he could've asked a bit more nicely. Getting out of her seat, she told him, "Don't cause any trouble, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He didn't need to be told that. Besides, it's others that should be told not to drag him into trouble.
Being semi-satisfied with his response, Ciel quickly left the dining room and the three alone.
"So…" Ritsuka started to say, "How have you two been?"
"Finally, he asks about our feelings," Ryoko sighed in exasperation, "Honestly though, we were fine here. The house was around so we had a place to stay and somehow we were already working here."
"Really? How?" As he said, it was usually (read: just) him who got a cover story. A shrug from them was the answer he expected. "Well, let's just forget about tha—"
Ritsuka was interrupted by the door swinging open again and Natsumi walking in with an annoyed look, Shun and Junichi coming in after her. "You guys done talking it out yet?" She asked but it was clear she didn't care. "Move, you're in my seat."
'Wasn't she sitting over there?' Ritsuka thought but was quickly evicted out of his chair.
"You go sit at the other table where you're supposed to," she told him. "Since you're part of the forward team, you should be sitting with them… wherever they are."
"Forward team?" Right, that was what was written on his employee ID. Well, it was "Secondary Forward Operative" specifically.
"Remember, Natsumi, he's new," Junichi reminded her before turning towards Ritsuka. "You're part of the forward team alongside Tsurugi. Basically, when an Undead is detected, you'd be following them out to the field."
"Of course, you'd still not be getting any action like us in the reserve team but at least you'd be on the front lines," Shun added.
"So… I'm the backup while you guys are my backup."
"That's the gist of it, yes."
"And you two…" Ritsuka neglected to ask them what exactly his two friends did around here.
"We're the backup backup backup," Tetsuya answered, "So we're never going to see any fighting."
"Oh… What?'
In hindsight, it made sense that they'd be seconds since they were in this part of the cafeteria… Alright, moving on.
"Good afternoon. Hmm? Who are you?" At least they would've had two more people not join them.
?
"—thanks for waiting for me!" Ritsuka heard the voice echo through the expensive hallway while he rested against a pillar out of view.
"What did he want to talk to you about?" A second voice said.
"Oh, he said that a new recruit—" the first voice said. However, his words were drowned out by footsteps reverberating off the floor and walls. "—so I'm responsible for whatever he does." Ritsuka caught the tail-end of the sentence.
"That's not too bad, you know. The only thing you could complain about is that you're still relatively new in your role," the second voice told him.
"True, I'm not planning on retiring anytime soon so he'd have to wait a while before taking my place."
"At least you have a successor in mind. The rest of us don't really have the same benefit, and some of the—" Ritsuka couldn't hear the rest of what the second voice said.
"By the w… is there any news on…" The voices got quieter as they walked further away from Ritsuka. He could follow after them, but he'd rather go deal with the other things on his to-do list.
Speaking of which, the next thing should be… oh… great…
The door opened again and Kazuma shuffled with a yawn. The events of the last few hours had finally caught up to him and he was feeling exhausted.
"Hey, everyone," he greeted them.
"Good afternoon, Tsurugi," Kazuma heard Junichi say. "Why don't you say hello to your new reserve?"
"Hey," he thoughtlessly waved at the only face he didn't recognise before going to his usual seat. "When are the kitchen staff gonna be done with our meals?" Kazuma knew their lunch takes a bit extra time but how long do they have to wa— "Wait a second."
Kazuma looked at the new guy again.
Ritsuka just half-heartedly waved back.
"You're… my reserve?" The (slightly) older of the two slowly asked.
"Apparently," Ritsuka shrugged. "And you're my…" What was the right word? At the very least, Ritsuka wasn't gonna call him senpai now or any time soon.
"His name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, 19 years—" "Probably." "…Probably 19 years old," the Garren System's main user, Hayami Sakuya, introduced him. Ritsuka had silently noted that he looked identical to that weird principal from Fourze's World. What was his name again? Hishigata or something?
"19?" Kazuma echoed while looking at him. "Aren't you a bit too young to try saving the world?"
"I doubt age has anything to do with saving the world," Ritsuka retorted with a blank look. "Besides, from what these two have told me, you're a bit too greedy to save the world?"
Over the next table, three out of the five snickered as Kazuma's face flustered a bit. "Hey, at least I'm not a glory hound!" He tried to defend himself, "What's wrong with me wanting to get paid for my hard work?"
"Nothing really." If he was honest, Ritsuka was a bit peeved that he gets paid nothing for some pretty big stuff. Well, except the first time he was in Haku's world.
"Exactly! Besides, I'm the MVP in most fights since Hayami-senpai has to look out for Mutsuki…. No offence, kid," Kazuma added as an apology.
"It's fine," the junior in question accepted the apology with a smile while, next to him, Sakuya glared at Kazuma with narrowed eyes.
"Tsurugi!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. We're all equals here and not competing with one another."
"If we're all equals, why are half of us always benched?" Ritsuka heard Natsumi quietly grumble.
"In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing you fighting up close," the new recruit pandered to his senior's ego. "I hope to learn some things from you."
And by that, he of course meant that he wanted to recover Blade's power which would result in him copying the swordsman's fighting style and abilities. Obviously, he was not gonna say that aloud but he was thinking it deep down.
Meanwhile…
Ciel found herself wandering the upper hallways of BOARD's headquarters. She hasn't checked any of the rooms mind you, most of them were locked and required a pass that she didn't have, but she managed to fool a couple of security guards to let her stick around. In other words, she lightly brainwashed them into thinking it was okay for her to be up there. Of course, she made sure to keep an eye on any security cameras and avoid getting spotted by them.
However, despite all that, she still wasn't able to find out anything— mainly because there was no one around to question/interrogate. It turns out that nearly everyone was down in the cafeteria.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she mumbled to herself, "What exactly does he expect me to find…"
"Hey, Blue. What are you doing up here?" Upon hearing that voice, Ciel quickly turned around and tossed a summoned Black Key. The blade just barely missed Takaragi, who managed to react quickly enough to avoid it, and sailed through the air before being embedded in a wall. "Hey, careful! You could poke someone's eye out with that!"
"What are you doing here, Takaragi?" Ciel questioned him with a slightly harsh tone bleeding through her normal calm demeanour. "Are you trying to kill Fujimaru again?"
"At the moment, no," he answered rather cheerfully. "So you don't need to worry about me poisoning his food or anything"
Ciel made a mental note to keep an eye out for potentially poisoned meals in the future.
"Besides, I think he might have some poison resistance. I wouldn't be surprised if he does," Takaragi sighed.
"Then you're looking for treasure."
"Yup," he nodded affirmatively, "Unfortunately, there's nothing that catches my interest here. Guess I have to check the other BOARD buildings for that."
"Why did you even talk to me then?" Ciel was wary of whatever Takaragi was up to. After all, he was willing to help Noel when she was Another Kiva.
"Two things. Firstly–" Takaragi reached into his jacket pocket and took something out. "—to make up for trying to kill him again."
He tossed the card at Ciel, who easily caught it. Reading the card, she realised it was a KamenRide: Kiva card. "You think this is going to make up for that?" While Ritsuka did lose his Kiva card, she doubted he would be willing to use this one if he knew it was from Takaragi.
He did not answer and instead told her the second reason he was there for. "Secondly, I want to ask; do you have any idea what Ritsuka's reflection is up to?"
"His reflection?" It was at that moment that Ciel realised she had basically forgotten about him. Things had been moving so fast that the normally pressing issue of Ritsuka's reflection coming to life and scheming something had fallen to the wayside. "No, I haven't heard anything."
"Well, just keep an eye out for him. Something tells me he's gonna do something soon," Takaragi warned her. "Oh, and keep an eye on Ritsuka himself too. After all, mirror him is just a reflection of his own heart."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Simple, it means—"
BLARE!
Takaragi was interrupted by the alarms loudly ringing. "...That wasn't me by the way."
"Emergency, Emergency, three Category-10 Undeads have been detected at—"
"Oh good," Takaragi grinned. They were in the clear for now. "Hey, can you follow me for a sec? There's something you should see."
"Forward Operatives Hayami Sakuya, Tsurugi Kazuma—"
As the announcement played, Kazuma muttered, "Three more already?" And the remaining Category-10s at that? They hadn't even got the chance to eat yet.
"It doesn't matter. Come on you two," Sakuya told them as he stood up. "And you, Fujimaru, you follow too."
"Aye aye, sir." Ritsuka wouldn't have it any other way. Glancing toward his recently reunited friends, he said, "Tell Ciel this was not my fault. They're dragging me out there."
In his room, Hajime had been running maintenance on his camera equipment when a familiar feeling shot through his body.
'Again?' While multiple Undead attacks on the same day weren't that strange, it was still rare enough to make him pause.
Regardless, he got up and quickly dashed out of his room and the cafe, giving the owner and her daughter a short goodbye, before hopping on his bike.
As he drove down the empty road, he resummoned his belt and took out his Change card in one hand again.
"Henshin," he called out before sliding the card through his buckle.
CHANGE!
His body was quickly covered in black liquid before it disappeared, revealing his new form; a black-and-golden skinsuit with silver and black armour with red accents. His visor was in the shape of a heart and had two sharp silver horns protruding from it.
In addition, his motorcycle morphed as well, turning into a more ornate bike with a similar colour scheme.
Now transformed, Kamen Rider Chalice rode off to engage the Undeads he has sensed.
Ritsuka had ignored the loud sirens that had been playing over the speakers when he ran into a squadron of uniformed men and women (mainly men).
"You there!" The one leading them shouted upon seeing him. "Why aren't you in uniform?"
"I'm off-duty," Ritsuka lied as naturally as he breathed. He had been expecting something like that and had prepared an excuse.
"Didn't you hear the alert? This is an all-hands-on-deck situation."
Well, it looks like he wasn't avoiding this. 'At least it wasn't my fault this time.'
Outside an industrial factory, workers screamed as they fled from the three monsters that appeared out of nowhere. However, some of them found themselves unable to move and frozen in time, leaving them easy pickings for the three Undeads.
"There they are!"
The three plus one BOARD Riders arrived at the scene, quickly gaining the attention of the Scarab, Chameleon, and Tapir Undeads.
"Newbie, stand back and watch how the master does it," Kazuma ordered Ritsuka, full of confidence.
"I just hope your sword skills are better than your driving skills…" Ritsuka quietly grumbled. No, he was not annoyed that he had to ride with Kazuma. Not at all.
Anyway, he still followed his new senior's command and went out of view as the three took out their buckles and cards. Sliding the Change cards into their slot, their belts appeared and secured the buckles to their waists.
"Henshin!"
TURN UP!
OPEN UP!
Three energy fields came out of the buckles before the three ran through them, donning their armour and weapons. They each engaged a single Undead each; Blade fighting the Scarab Undead, Garden tackling the Chameleon, and Leangle going after the Tapir Undead.
From the sidelines, Ritsuka quietly snapped some photos before looking up at the fight. "Let's see how you do, Blade…"
Back in BOARD Headquarters, the reserve squadron was watching live footage of the battle again.
"Category-10s, huh?" Junichi muttered. He found it odd that the three had appeared at the same time in the same location. Moreover, they weren't trying to fight each other and were just going after the workers.
While he didn't care much about the victims, that didn't mean he wasn't worried about what the Undeads were up to. This type of coordination, especially between those of different Suits, usually meant that one or two Royals were involved. And since the three were all from separate Suits, a Spade, Diamond, and Club Royal were conspiring with each other.
Junichi was trying to figure out what they possibly have to gain from this. They should be smart enough to figure out that leaving the lower Categories for BOARD to seal was the right play. Sending three high-levelled like that would—
"Shirahara-san?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Turning to his right, he said, "What is it, Tsunogai?"
"Can I ask something?" Tetsuya hesitantly inquired.
"Of course; I'll try answering as best I can."
"Didn't you say that Undeads wouldn't team up with each other? Why are these three working together?"
"Uh…"
"There were also the two earlier. Hayami-san said that they were different Suits too," Shun added, sharing Tetsuya's confusion about the oddity.
"I… don't get it either. From what the research team concluded, they assumed that the Undeads were predisposed to hating one another," Junichi told them.
"Then…"
"I don't think it really matters," Natsumi voiced her opinion. "Our… Well, their job is to seal them. Do we really need to worry about the Undeads' behaviour?"
"For someone who really wants to fight, you don't put in the effort in proving yourself."
"Shut it, Jindai. Don't forget I'm still your superior."
"Now, now, you two. No fight—" Junichi tried to be the peacemaker between them. However, what made him pause was not Natsumi snapping at him as it normally would be, but everything freezing in time. "...What do you want, Time Jacker?"
"Just as hostile as your counterpart, White Joker." Junichi turned his head to the entrance to the room. There, he saw the familiar man in black and purple calmly walking in. "At least you were willing to join us along with the others."
"And our agreement was that I stay independent so long as I give reports as to what Tsurugi and BOARD are doing to your little group," Junichi shot back.
"Yes, that was the deal," Swartz confirmed as he looked around the console room, checking the footage and taking in the faces of the workers at their station.
"Then why are those three working together? The only ones who can do that are the Royals."
"Glaive, don't mistake your independence as you being able to do whatever you want in this Battle Fight. The ones working for us are still interested in winning your little battle royal."
Junichi let out a low, annoyed growl before he continued talking, "So why are you here now?"
"Isn't it obvious? Decade has appeared in this world. As his… chaperone, if you will, it is my job to follow him now that he's been found again."
"And his friends?" Junichi glanced at both Ryoko and Tetsuya. "What are you going to do with them?"
"They get to live so long as they don't interfere with Dai-Shocker's affairs. And if they do, I already have contingencies in place for these two."
"And the other girl? There's something about her that struck me the wrong way." He had no idea that the feeling had been mutual.
"Yes, I agree that she will be an issue in the future." Her ability to easily fight off an Another Rider proved it. "At the moment, I am still reviewing her history to find her a suitable… rival."
Once he understands her, all he needs to do then is to find a catalyst and bring them into reality…
"Where are you taking me?" Ciel questioned Takaragi as they walked down the stairs to the building's basement. The door to the staircase had been sealed off so at the very least it was something important.
"Do you know the story of the World of Blade?" Takaragi inquired. "Its backstory goes back much longer compared to some of the other Worlds, tied to your own World, Blue."
"Stop calling me that."
The thief ignored her protests and began to narrate. "Ten thousand years ago, this World's God created the Undeads and made them fight to determine which species would dominate the Earth."
While Ciel appreciated the explanation, she was slightly confused about why he was telling her that.
"They were blessed with true immortality which is why BOARD seals them away instead of killing them. However, one day, this company accidentally released them after they were sealed following the first Battle Fight. They then created the Rider Systems to fix their mistakes without even telling the operators why or that they were the ones responsible for releasing the Undeads."
"So a normal corporation."
"Basically," Takaragi mused. "Ah, here we are. Give me a moment." The two of them reached the bottom of the staircase where another door was. Takaragi immediately got to work and pulled out his Diendriver. Aiming it at the lock, the thief pulled the trigger and shot it off. "Come on."
Ciel would have said something about breaking and entering… but she was a regular offender of that as well. She just followed him into the room instead… and saw the rows of machinery hooked onto the walls. "What's this place…"
Takaragi wasted no time and approached the closest one and pulled back a panel. "Would you look at that? Another one of BOARD's dirty laundry."
"What's inside?"
"Why don't you look for yourself?" Takaragi tempted her, taking a step back to give her space to see.
Ciel hesitated for a few seconds before finally stepping forward and looking into the panel— and her eyes widened in shock. "This is—?!"
Ritsuka quietly took several photos as he looked back up at the fight. All around the area, several battles were taking place while the squad that dragged him here were helping evacuate the citizens who were caught in the middle.
He ignored most of them, however, and just focused on the only battle that mattered to him. Ritsuka watched as the red Rider pulled something out and inserted it into his Driver.
"Let's see how you do—"
Rekka Battou!
"Kamen Rider… Saber," Ritsuka muttered as he took out the blank KamenRide: Saber card…
Next Time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Decade, leave this world. You're not wanted here."
"Saber… Please… Give me your powers."
"I… don't know what to think about you… but—"
"Hehehe… It's been a long time, Decade."
Chapter 24: Riders of the Sword, Protecting against the End
A/N: And next chapter is completed! What do you guys think? Surprise fusion arc so soon after the last one! Honestly, I was gonna drop the bombshell that this was actually a Blade-Saber arc at the end of Part 2 of the arc… Then I remembered I did that for Fourze-Hibiki so I moved the reveal here instead.
So on to the main stuff in this chapter, Ritsuka reunited with Tetsuya and Ryoko who were working as backups of the Missing Ace Rider. Will that be important in the future? Perhaps. Of course, the bigger thing is the Saber's World segment. Did you guys realise or suspect that there was gonna be another Rider involved in this arc or did I manage to hide it well enough until the very end?
Anyway, IRL stuff now. Powered Ciel (and Mario) are now in MBTL so I have a good reference for how she'd fight in the future but I'm a bit confused about something. Maybe it's just a game thing but there's a few attacks where the Seventh Holy Scripture is in different forms at the same time (and I'm not talking about what I think is its base form at the start of the fight). At 0:19 of the official battle preview, I am 99% sure that she has it in both sword and rifle mode at the same time. Anyone can clarify that for me?
Finally, please leave a review and all that stuff and see you all next time!
P.S. I finally got the confidence to ask u/Cykuno_ for permission to use his art for the cover art of this story! So shoutout to him for making it (again) and letting me use it!