Chapter 33: Unwritten Moments
October 3rd, 2007…
The sound of a train running through the area went unnoticed, nor did anyone bat an eye when a small group of people stumbled out into the crowded square. The most anyone thought was that they may be tourists from their reaction to seeing the city.
"Obviously, we were more in awe at being in 2007. And by 'we', I mean those two."
"You don't get surprised by anything, do you, Fujimaru-san?"
"Hm… no, not really."
"What's with that, anyway? You like acting so slick and co—"
"Momo, calm down please and let him continue."
"Is this really 2007?" It wasn't a question Ryoko thought she'd ever ask herself and yet here she was. Then again, she never expected to be travelling through the multiverse so this was just another minor addition to the weirdness of her life. Glancing around, the most she could pick out that made it evident they were in the past was the flip phones everyone was using.
"I don't see the Sky Tree. That's proof enough, isn't it?" Just as Tetsuya said, the famed Tokyo landmark was nowhere to be seen. They did see it earlier in the future, so it not being around now should be all they need to believe they were in the past. "So what's our first move?"
"Easy: find the past Ryotaro," Ritsuka answered like it was obvious. "Swartz is planning something and we'll be needing Ryotaro's help with it." He already had an idea which Another Rider they'll be facing; the question was why. "First stop: the café."
It took a bit, but they soon found the café Ryotaro worked for in the present day. Unlike earlier (or way later), it was most likely rush hour and patrons were going in and out when they stopped by.
"Welcome~" the young woman at the counter greeted them as they walked in with a jingle of a bell. "Take a seat, I'll come by for your order in a bit." The woman seemed cheerful but Ritsuka couldn't help but think she was an airhead with the far-off look she had in her eyes.
"Sorry, but we're not here for lunch," Ritsuka tried to be as polite as he could. "We're looking for Kihara Ryotaro."
"Oh, you're friends of Ryo-chan?" The woman smiled at him and Ritsuka felt cold glares directed at him from every other male customer in the café. Guess the woman was popular….
"I guess you can say that," Ritsuka answered. "Where can I find him?"
"Hmm… Unfortunately, you just missed him. Ryo-chan just left a couple minutes ago to run errands," the woman answered. "You can try catching up to him. He shouldn't be too far yet."
That worked for him. Ritsuka said thank you to the woman and quickly left. He'd rather not deal with jealous patrons any longer. As soon as they were out, he went in one direction and hoped for the best, much to the annoyance of the others.
"You really do like going at your pace, don't you?"
"I shall neither confirm or deny that accusation."
Luck must've been at their side that day as it wasn't long before they found the person they were looking for. It would've been hard to miss him with how everyone was gathering by the tree the young man was stuck in with his bicycle.
"How did he even…?"
"Best not to question it," Ritsuka bluntly answered. If he's going to pause and try and figure out something odd that happened, it won't be how someone managed to get stuck in a tree while on their bicycle.
"Young man! Stay calm! We'll get you down shortly!" A police officer shouted with a megaphone.
"Can you hurry? I have to pick up some groceries before they run out of stock." The young man in the tree meekly replied but seemed to treat the accident as a normal occurrence. Before the officer could reply though, an audible snap filled the air. "Eh… Can everyone step back? I think the branch is going to—"
Just as he said that, another snap filled the air and the young Ryotaro screamed as he and his bicycle fell through the tree branches. If there were anything that went his way, it was the other branches he was hitting that slowed his descent. He still fell fast and strong though and crashed loudly on the pavement.
"Sir?! Are you okay?!" The police officer immediately tried to assist Ryotaro but as soon as he got close, Ryotaro was already back on his feet and dusting off his clothes.
"Oh don't worry, I'm used to this sort of thing. I think this is the…. 4th? Yes, 4th time this year this happened. Thanks for your help anyway, officer," Ryotaro casually informed the officer. The policeman was so taken aback by the reveal that he couldn't stop Ryotaro as he walked away, the crowd parting to let him through, also in shock at how he walked it off with a hum.
'Well, no sense in waiting around.' Ritsuka thought but before he could approach Ryotaro, something stopped him.
"Fancy bumping into you here, Ritsuka-kun. For a second, I thought you were a younger version of yourself." Whatever mood Ritsuka was in immediately soured upon hearing the voice. He looked around for the source of the voice but didn't see the thief until— "Up here!"
Ritsuka followed the voice to see Takaragi sitting on a branch of a nearby tree. Unfortunately, the branch was too thick and could take his weight with little issue.
"Why's everyone hanging out in trees today?" Ryoko sarcastically wondered.
"Why are you here Takaragi?" Ritsuka questioned him, to which Takaragi replied with a joyful laugh.
"Oh come on. Wherever you go, I'm sure to follow. Can't let you have all the fun by yourself after all. You didn't miss me after that little skirmish with Asagami, did you?"
Oh right, Ritsuka had to get back at Takaragi for that. At least he had a favour saved for when he needed it.
"How are you in 2007?" The chances that Takaragi happens to take the train and arrive on the same day as them were too slim for it to be a coincidence.
Takaragi's answer? "Just testing out my own abilities. Honestly, you should start working on opening your own portals. It'll help get you out of jams."
"I hate to agree with him, but he's right, you know?"
Ritsuka didn't dignify either with a direct response. Instead, he just asked Takaragi if he knew what Swartz was planning.
"Nope. Why would I know what that guy is up to?" Takaragi retorted. "But whatever it is, it's not good so… have fun with that!" With a cheerful wave, Takaragi summoned another portal and disappeared.
"He was as useless as ever," sighed Ritsuka while rubbing his head. Regardless, they had to follow after Ryotaro before he got too far ahead..
"Takaragi… I feel like I know that name…" Gentaro racked his brain trying to recall where he heard that name before.
Luckily, Ritsuka was there to give him a reminder. "Ryuusei probably mentioned him at some point."
"Hmm… Oh yeah! He told me that Takaragi was a Rider too… Hey wait, you knew Ryuusei was Meteor?" Gentaro realised after a moment.
"Eh? Who's Ryuusei?"
"Another Kamen Rider running around this school," Ritsuka explained the simplest he could for Momotaros. "So you finally learned it was him? How'd that happen?"
"Oh, he killed me so Tachibana-san cancelled his transformation in front of everyone."
"...You know what, I'm not going to ask." Again, he wasn't going to stop and ask questions now. "After Takaragi gave me another headache, we followed after Ryotaro. We then saw for ourselves how he got the nickname "the unluckiest man in the universe." I have no idea how anyone could have luck that bad."
"Believe me, I want to know myself…" Ryotaro muttered. "I've gotten used to it but I want to know if I annoyed a god in a previous life to get cursed like this."
"How bad is his luck?" Gentaro asked.
"To give you a good picture, other than somehow ending up in a tree, he got hit by a stray ball in the head twice, fell down a storm drain once, and a street light nearly fell on top of him."
"Ouch."
"Did I mention that it all happened in about 5 minutes?"
"Wow, maybe you did annoy a god in a previous life."
"Honestly, that was actually worse than usual. I mean, yes, those things do happen to me regularly but massive things like getting stuck in a tree and storm drain only happen every couple of days."
"Hey, you think we can find a shaman to break the curse or something? None of that is normal."
"Don't worry, Momo, I've already learned to live with it long before you and the other Taros entered the picture."
"Alright, let me continue." Ritsuka cleared his throat before resuming his story.
"Geez, how unlucky is this guy?" Ryoko wondered as they observed Ryotaro going about his errands. So far, he has been encountering terrible luck right after one another yet he simply continued saying he was used to it to anyone who asked. "When are you going to talk to him?"
"Something tells me I'd get hit by a truck if I get too close to him…" or maybe a light pole. Needless to say, he had to be careful approaching Ryotaro. "Hey Ciel, why don't you talk to him first?"
"Me? Why me?!" Ciel looked incredulous that Ritsuka even suggested she go first. "I don't have the greatest luck as is. Getting near him would just get me struck by lightning or something."
"Oh please, how could anyone could get hit by lightning in this weath—"
"Ah!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Yea— yeah. It just barely missed me."
They saw the electrician visibly sigh in relief before he resumed working while Ryotaro simply walked around the fallen power line.
"…Alright, never mind." Honestly, it was simply absurd how bad his luck was. As they discussed what they should do, with Ryoko bringing up that Ryotaro's bad luck seemed to be localised to himself only, none of them noticed the blue spectre-like torso floating above them.
"Tell you what? If you do get attacked by a rampaging bear, I'll take everyone out to dinner," Ryoko offered, not wanting to be one within Ryotaro's bad-luck range.
"Hah, as if I'll believe that! You'll still foot me with the bill!"
"Whaaaaat? Noooo."
"Alright, as group leader, I say—"
"Hang on, since when did we agree you were the leader? Aren't we all equals here?"
"I've always been the leader. What are you guys talking about? Ciel, you have my back, don't you?"
"Well… You're not the greatest leader if I have to be honest.
"Ouch." 'Shush.'
"Look, one of us has to go talk to him so— Wait, what's that behind you—"
"And now—!"
Before anyone could react, the blue spectre jumped into Tetsuya's body with a flash of blue energy. Immediately, his eyes gained a light-blue hue and a streak of blue hair appeared on his head. "Ah…. sorry about that," another voice came from Tetsuya's mouth as he combed back his hair. "Normally, I don't go around jumping into strangers' bodies but the situation called for it."
"You are…? What did you do with Tetsuya?"
"Again, apologies for that," the spirit possessing Tetsuya said.. "You may call me Urataros, and I'm borrowing your friend's body to speak to you."
"A… ghost?" It still wasn't the weirdest thing they'd encountered but to have one suddenly appear and possess Tetsuya was still surprising.
"Ghost? No, far from it," Urataros replied with a shake of his head. "I'm an Imagin, not that you'd know what that is… or maybe you too. Now then, can you answer me this? Why are you following Ryotaro?"
Ah, so that's what this is about. "We're… friends?"
"Did you just come with that on the spot?" Urataros snickered at Ritsuka's terrible lie but quickly moved on. "Well, I'm good at reading people and can tell you don't have any ill intentions. But until you tell me what's going on, I won't—"
"Hey, let me play too!"
"Ryu-chan?! Wait, don't—!"
Out of nowhere, a purple spirit flew into Tetsuya's body, kicking out Urataros in the process. His blue spirit form, however, ended up hitting Ryoko and as she got the blue features dictating Urataros's possession, Tetsuya's blue eyes and hairstreak turned purple.
"Wai! Wai!" Another voice replaced Urataros's in Tetsuya. "This body feels different from Ryotaro's. I wouldn't mind hanging out at the park with this body."
Urataros in Ryoko's body let out a long sigh before saying, "Ryu-chan, we agreed that I should be the one talking to them. Go back to the Liner."
"But it's boring waiting around!" Ryu-chan or whatever the Imagin's name was replied like a child. He then faced Ritsuka and asked, "So what's it you all are up to? You're not trying to kill him, are you?"
Ritsuka didn't answer the new Imagin immediately; he glanced at Ciel next to him and warned her, "Keep an eye out for any more of them. I'd rather not have everyone getting possessed by ghosts." That was a headache Ritsuka didn't want to deal with.
"Way ahead of you…" Ciel muttered. She was already on her guard after Urataros took over Tetsuya; she didn't need the warning.
"I apologise for Ryutaros. He likes to act on his own a lot," Urataros apologised as he tried to reign in the (presumably) purple Imagin in their friend's body. "But do answer him, please. Or we'll sick Kin-chan on you."
"No, we're not here to kill Ryotaro. Someone else might be though."
"And you know that, how?"
Would answering that it was a Future Ryotaro be believable? Sure, the Imagins and Den-O regularly time travel but that didn't mean they'd accept that answer. Luckily for him though, something else came up first—
"Let me guess: a monster rampaging around again?"
"Firstly, I am not a magnet for trouble, I just happen to be around when it happens. And secondly—"
"Yeah, yeah. Just skip to the cool bit about me already!"
"Alright, alright…"
The nearby sound of explosions and collapsing buildings drew everyone's attention, even Ryotaro. They took different paths to get there; Ryotaro had followed the streets and was on ground level upon arriving while Ritsuka's group found themselves on a nearby overhead bridge. That gave them a good view of what was causing a ruckus and…
"That's…. Den-O?!" Urataros shouted in disbelief at the monstrous version of Den-O using twin small swords to easily topple over the nearby buildings.
Next to him, Ritsuka muttered under his breath, "Swartz… what are you planning?" Stop Another Den-O from reaching the beginning? What was that supposed to mean and how?
Down below, Ryotaro was just in shock over the Another Rider's appearance. Ritsuka was too far away to hear what he said but he didn't miss what Momo had to say. The oni-like Imagin took control of Ryotaro's body and let his thoughts known to the entire world.
"You bastard! Why are you going around ruining my reputation, huh?! You know how hard I worked to be respected by everyone?!"
"Senpai, nobody knows who you are…" Urataros muttered and was obviously not heard by Momo.
In any case, Momo got Another Den-O's attention who didn't act scared at all. If anything, it seemed excited that the real Den-O appeared. It immediately closed the gap between them and tried to cut Ryotaro with his swords. Momo dodged it with ease, rolling out of the way and taking out their transformation belt.
"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get! Henshin!"
SWORD FORM!
Ryotaro and Momo transformed into Den-O and assembled the DenGasher in its sword mode to fight their Another counterpart. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like they were equal in strength but Ritsuka noted that Another Den-O was slowly beating Den-O back. The others noticed too, with Urataros deciding to do something about it.
"I think it's time for me to show what I could do," he declared as he got ready to jump bodies again, but not before flashing a grin at Ciel and shamelessly flirting. "Keep a close eye on me, madam. I'll be sure to give it my all with a lady like you watching."
Not only would that sort of flirting just make Ciel roll her eyes, Urataros still being in Ryoko's body made it impossible to work in any capacity.
At any rate, Urataros shot out of Ryoko's body and flew towards Den-O from behind. Momotaros barely had any time to react before he was evicted out of Ryotaro's body; meanwhile, Ryoko nearly fell over like a puppet with cut strings. Ritsuka managed to catch her before she could hit her head on the concrete.
'Why do I feel this is gonna happen a lot?' Ritsuka mentally groaned, glancing at the still-possessed Tetsuya.
Back down below, Den-O's armour detached and reassembled itself. Blue pieces now covered his body as a new visor slid down his helmet. The DenGasher also reassembled itself into a long staff in the Rider's hand.
ROD FORM!
"Now, mind if I reel you in?" Den-O asked now with Urataros in control before he twirled his staff and re-engaged Another Den-O.
"And that's how it went for the next 10 minutes," Ritsuka surmised what happened in the initial fight against Another Den-O. "One of the Taros would take over, say their catchphrase, then get their ass handed to them by Another Den-O."
"That's—!" Momo tried to argue but quickly realised he had nothing to fight with. So he just crawled into a fetal position and grumbled under his breath about the "cheeky pink idiot".
"Wait, how many of them are there?" Gentaro asked. "There's Momo, Ura, Ryu."
"There's also Kintaros," Ryotaro answered. "He's usually sleeping or exercising if not fighting. There's Sieg but he's… not around, I guess? He's off living his life somewhere— well, somewhen else."
"That doesn't sound too bad. If Sieg's anything like the others, he'd be a headache to be around."
"He's not as bad as the others. Sieg's just… self-centred? I think that's the best way to describe him." So long as they don't bump into him on their journey, it doesn't really matter.
Anyway— "The fight with Another Den-O got so bad, Ryotaro here had to use one of his stranger forms. It's basically the equivalent of your Magnet States," Ritsuka explained in a way Gentaro would understand.
"You didn't help?"
"I did… eventually."
"Shouldn't you go help?" Ciel badgered him to jump into the fight. Ritsuka answered saying he wanted to see how Den-O would handle his Another counterpart.
All that got him was a swift slap to the back of the head.
"Fine, fine," Ritsuka sighed before making his way down to finally help Den-O, who was letting all four Taros possess him at the same time to even the odds. "Henshin."
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
After quickly transforming, Decade cut in between the two Den-Os and slashed the monstrous one.
"Hey! Who are you?!" Momotaros shouted, pointing his sword at him. "We got this! Just stay out of the way!" Just as he said that, Another Den-O threw one of his swords at him, shutting him up with a pained cry (that may or may not have made Decade snicker). "Alright, now you're getting it!"
Den-O rushed at Another Den-O, swinging his sword wildly, before slashing at him and not giving the monster a moment to breathe. While they were distracted, Decade took out his newest Rider Card and inserted it into his Driver.
KAMENRIDE: RYUKI
"And now this—"
ATTACKRIDE: STRIKE VENT
Decade, now using Ryuki's powers, raised his hand as the Drag Claw flew down and attached itself to him. Flames gathered in the maw before Decade threw his hand out at Another Den-O… and Den-O who was still trying to chop him into a million pieces. If it weren't for overhearing Decade shouting as he let lose the fire stream, he would've been cooked along with the monster version of himself. After a loud scream of surprise, Den-O rolled out of the way before the flames could engulf him as it did Another Den-O.
After a few moments of being immolated, Another Den-O exploded, leaving nothing behind but smoke and ash.
With the Another Rider dealt with, that left Decade to handle an annoyed and easily irritated sand genie who did not take nearly being burned nicely. "You ass!" He shouted as he got up close and personal with Decade. "I was standing right there! Were you trying to kill me too?!"
"Now, now, senpai. It's all over and dealt with,"Urataros intervened, taking control of Den-O's body temporarily. "We can ask him and his friends nicely about everything back on the Den-Liner."
"Hmm… So this is the one following Ryotaro earlier," another voice joined the chorus and studied Decade's appearance. However, Momo then usurped control again.
"This guy?! Why were you following us this entire time huh?!"
"Everyone calm down." Finally, the person underneath it all retook control of his own body. He took off his belt, causing himself to detransform. "Firstly, I apologise for all of them. May I ask your name?" Ryotaro politely asked after an apologetic bow.
"Ritsuka!" Before he could do the same, he heard Tetsuya call out to him. The other three had made their way down to them and was about to join them when—
DeN-o!
As if time itself rewinded, the previously left ash and smoke reformed as the explosion essentially played in reverse. Within a couple of moments, Another Den-O came back to life and stood there as if nothing had happened.
"How—?" Ryotaro was taken aback at the sudden revival but before anyone could do anything, time itself froze.
"Time froze?"
"Yes. I suppose this is the first time you're hearing about a Time Jacker."
"Yup! I have absolutely no idea who that is!"
"Well, he's a pompous jerk, I can tell you that much!"
"Momo, calm down…."
As expected, the cause of the World freezing was none other than Swartz. "We meet again, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Although our meeting in Ryuki's World was with your true self; not you, the real self." Swartz continued to spout more philosophical mumbo-jumbo that honestly flew over everyone's head.
Well, everyone that was still conscious anyway. That was just him (Ritsuka) and Ryotaro with the Imagins in his head.
Finally, Swartz cut to the chase and finally gave Ritsuka his challenge. "I created this Another Rider with the sole purpose to erase all of you from existence. Whether or not he succeeds hinges on your own abilities to search and follow. Should he reach the beginning, everything you all are will vanish as if they never existed…"
It was a strange-sounding threat but it was clear Swartz wasn't joking around.
"So here is my challenge: a time trial. Defeat my pawn before it's too late, and your history will remain intact."
Swartz waved his hand, silently giving Another Den-O the order to attack. The Time Jacker vanished as everything resumed. However, neither Decade nor Ryotaro was fast enough to react to Another Den-O grabbing and tossing them away. The Another Rider then switched targets and went for the others next, specifically Tetsuya for whatever reason.
Ciel tried to protect him but Another Den-O shrugged off her Black Keys and tossed her away too before grabbing Tetsuya by the next.
"Why… me?" Tetsuya got out as he struggled to get out of Another Den-O's grip. All he got for his struggles was a backhand that knocked him out. Another Den-O placed his hand on his unconscious head before pulling away and letting go of him. However, instead of dropping like a sack, Tetsuya only fell to his knees before his body split down the middle and opened like a door.
Another Den-O leapt into Tetsuya's open body and disappeared before the latter turned back to normal and fell to his side.
"What happened?! Tetsu?!" It was Ryoko who reached Tetsuya first with everyone else reaching him a few moments later.
"That monster jumped into his memories," Ryotaro quickly explained while searching his pockets. "We have to follow him or he'll do irreparable damage to our past. Where is it…":
Ritsuka was prepared for this moment and took out one of the tickets he was given by Future Ryotaro. He presented it to Ryotaro who, while surprised, said thank you and put the ticket against Tetsuya's head. A date flashed onto the ticket along with a full-body image of Another Den-O; the date read April 20th 2017.
"Wait… what? 2017?" Ryotaro had a double take at the year and for good reason since it was a decade ahead of his present.
"We'll… explain everything on the train." They really didn't have time for this…
Fortunately, Ryotaro agreed and stood up as the sound of the DenLiner's whistle echoed through the air. A rainbow portal appeared in the air above their area and train tracks came out of it, going past them before the train itself sped through.
"Owner!" Ryotaro shouted as he rushed into the cabin, ticket in hand. The Owner, opposite Ryotaro, kept his composure and greeted them before taking the ticket and going to set an emergency course for 2017.
"Normally, I would drive the DenLiner if there's an Imagin involved but—"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure this guy gets it."
"So… who are you guys?" Ryotaro finally asked them as Ciel (who unsurprisingly was the one who carried Tetsuya's unconscious body) placed their fainted friend on one of the seats.
After a quick round of introduction— with Momotaro calling Ryotaro the unluckiest man in the universe and not to stand too close to him— Ritsuka asked Ryotaro what Another Den-O did.
"I don't know how he did it without a contract— I assume there's no contract —but that monster did the same thing Imagins did and jumped into your friend's memories of that day in 2017," Ryotaro explained again. "Imagins would usually take that sort of opportunity to rampage and destroy as much as they could to erase the future. But with that guy… I'm not sure what he'd do."
"To the beginning…" Beginning of what, exactly?
"So all of you are from the future then?" Ryotaro then asked them.
"Yes, we're from 2022," Ryoko answered for the group. "Before you ask why we were in 2007, we were following—"
"We learned Swartz— the man in purple earlier —was planning to do something in the past so we followed him back." Ritsuka finished her explanation. "And the one who told us all this was you, actually."
"Huh? Me?" Ryotaro was unsurprisingly surprised by the information. Ritsuka's response was to pass him the letter and told him to read it. "Hmm… this is my handwriting but…"
"Believe it if you want to. What matters now is to stop Another Den-O from doing whatever it is Swartz wants."
It was then that the Taros finally showed up, appearing from out of nowhere. Unlike before though, they were now corporal with body colours matching their respective Forms.
"What exactly was that guy anyway?!" Momotaro basically demanded an answer from Ritsuka. "Why did he look like us?!"
"Stop shouting, I'm right here," Ritsuka grumbled before actually answering, "Another Riders are just false copies of Kamen Riders. In this case, Another Den-O is a copy of you, Kamen Rider Den-O."
"Alright, but why does that guy exist in the first place? What does that Swortz guy get from copying us?"
"I don't know. If you figure that out, tell me too."
"Tsk. Useless ass," Momotaro grumbled which got him a smack from Ryotaro.
"Don't go around insulting people, Momo."
"Yeah, yeah…"
"Senpai, you should really learn to play nice with people. Who knows what sort of relationship you'll strike up if you don't go around calling them jerks and whatnot," Urataros chided him as he sat down next to Ciel and tried to put his arm around her.
Needless to say, he ended up with an elbow to the side before getting kicked away thanks to an annoyed Ciel. As Ryotaro tried to apologise to her for Urataros's behaviour, Momotaros and Ryutaros (who had been busy drawing in the corner) loudly laughed at the blue Imagin's failed attempt at flirting. Meanwhile, the last of the Taros, the golden Kintaros, was loudly snoozing at another table.
"Is it because of my appearance, madame?" Urataros faked cried before cheering up and saying, "This should solve it, right?"
With little prompting, Urataros possessed the unconscious Tetsuya's body and would have tried to flirt with Ciel again if Ryotaro didn't intervene, trying to get him to stop possessing random people's bodies.
'How does he deal with all this?' Ritsuka mentally sighed, referring to how chaotic the Taros seemed to be.
"Well, they're just as fun as usual," Fujimaru chimed in. "And besides, these guys are nowhere near as chaotic as everyone back in… never mind."
'Back in where?' Ritsuka didn't get an answer and realising that Fujimaru wouldn't say anything more, went to Ryoko.
"What's up?" Ryoko tried to play it cool but Ritsuka could tell she was worried about Tetsuya.
"What happened on this day?" He asked. "It was long before we met and I'm curious why Another Den-O would choose that day of all times."
"Hmm…" Ryoko had a look of deep thought as she tried recalling something from 5 years ago. "What's the date again?"
"April 20th."
"Hmm… Nope, can't remember anything specific. Sorry."
"Normally, the date an Imagin travels to is the strongest memory a person has," Ryotaro added to the conversation, having given up on getting Urataros out of Tetsuya's body. At least the Imagin was too busy avoiding the others from taking control of the body. "Of course, since we're not dealing with an Imagin, that might not matter."
"Well, I still don't remember anything big happening that day… Oh, wait!"
"Yes?"
"Tetsu was depressed for a week 'cause he lost a fighting game tournament!" Ryoko sounded pleased with herself for remembering something from so long ago. "He was so excited for it and training himself the weeks leading up to it. He won second place as usual though and was crying about it for a while."
"Alright… but why that week specifically?" That was the usual story with Tetsuya's gaming hobby so what was special about this tournament in particular?
"If I remember correctly… Yeah, he got beaten by some pro and couldn't even win one of the rounds. I think Tetsu is still sore over it so he never brought it up with you," Ryoko assumed. "Even Jo had a hard time getting him out of his funk."
"Jo?" Ryotaro wondered who that was but Ritsuka already knew who Jo was. A part of him wondered if he'd run into Tetsuya and Ryoko's old friend in 2017…
"Who's Jo?" Gentaro interrupted the story again to ask.
"His full name is Shirokawa Joima. He… I'm basically his replacement in their trio," Ritsuka answered. "He was friends with Tetsuya and Ryoko before I came along. He moved away the year before I met them so I never got the chance to meet him."
"I see…" hummed Gentaro. "So did you meet him in 2017?"
"Unfortunately, no," Ritsuka shook his head. "When we arrived in 2017, the past Tetsuya had split up from them and was on his way home when Another Den-O came out of him." Luckily, that had knocked 2017's Tetsuya out so he didn't see his future self (who was still possessed by Urataros). "But we did run into someone we knew."
HIT! HIT!
As soon as they hopped off the train, their ears were assaulted with the repetitive sound that Ritsuka recognised. It should be impossible, he thought, but as soon as they turned the corner, he saw him fighting in the playground.
Another Den-O was already engaged in combat with a Kamen Rider Ritsuka hadn't seen in a long time. The pink and green Rider with the comically large and cartoonish hammer was easily beating back the Another Rider but didn't appear to be hurting it that much.
"What exactly are you?" Ex-Aid asked as he continuously slammed his hammer on Another Den-O. "You're not a Bugstar, and you look like Momotaros-san."
'Huh? He's met Momotaros?' Did everyone know Ryotaro and his Imagins? Yes, he should be around this year but what were the chances of that?
"Another Kamen Rider?" Ryotaro muttered in surprise.
Ciel, meanwhile, recognised the Rider from somewhere. Ritsuka didn't know how but he saw the familiarity in her eyes.
In any case, he lightly smacked Ryotaro in the back with a "Come on," and took out his Driver. Ryotaro did the same and slapped on his buckle and pressed the red button.
"Henshin." "Henshin!"
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
SWORD FORM!
Both transformed and jumped into battle to help Ex-Aid, starting off with a dual kick that sent Another Den-O rolling.
"Eh?! Fujimaru-san?! And Momotaros?!" Ex-Aid was naturally shocked at their sudden appearance. "Wait, are you guys the real deal? Not copies again?"
"Huh? Copies?"
"So the real things?"
"Can we deal with this later?" Decade grumbled which got Ex-Aid's attention.
"Ah! Sorry, you're right." He then stepped forward while taking out another Gashat; unlike the single slot ones he used previously, this Gashat had the thickness of two and was coloured orange and blue. "Alright, this guy refuses to go down as is; I'll just level up!"
Mighty Brothers XX
Double Gashat!
In one swift move, Ex-Aid closed his Driver, removed the Mighty Action X Gashat and inserted the new one to replace it. He wound up his arm before spinning it and shouted, "Daaaaaaai Henshin!" and opened his Driver again.
Gachan! Level Up! Mighty! Brothers! Futari de hitori! Mighty! Brothers! Futari de victory! X!
The character selection ring appeared around Ex-Aid before he selected a new character profile. In the blink of an eye, his armour was replaced with another chibi form similar to Level 1. To differentiate from his weakest form though, this form had wilder hair that was cut down the middle with the right side being orange while the left blue. His health bar on his chest was also massive compared to his previous Levels.
"Eh?! A chibi?!" Momotaros, of course, reacted loudly to Ex-Aid Levelling up and that led to him being left in the dust as both he and Decade rushed forward without him. "Hey, wait for me!"
Another Den-O tried to fight back the best he could but with it being 3-on-1, it wasn't long before he was sent flying and softened up for another finisher. This time, Decade made sure it'd be Den-O who'd deal the finishing blow.
Things would've worked out… but of course something had to come in and ruin things.
Kamen Rider Chronicle! Enter the game! Ri-Riding the end!
From out of nowhere, a small group of brown simplified versions of the Ex-Aid jumped in and interrupt their chances of defeating Another Den-O.
Decade caught a couple of things they were saying, that they must be worth a lot of points and that their weapons looked strong. He was more aware of Ex-Aid calling a retreat which he followed after.
"That was a close one," huffed Emu as they finally got away from the RidePlayers. The group stopped underneath a bridge going over a river and sat by the support columns on the banks."Honestly, I thought by now they'd know not to attack us! Must be some guys who didn't read the announcements. Now then…" He turned to Ritsuka. "Long time no see, Fujimaru-san! How've you been?"
"I was enjoying not being surrounded and kicked by a bunch of teens," Ritsuka snarkily answered, still annoyed by that.
"Yeah… Again, sorry about that. They don't usually do that anymore. Trust me, it was a lot worse before…" Emu sighed again as he remembered the times before. "Anyway, I see you picked up a couple new friends," he waved at Ciel and Ryotaro. "And… did Tsunogai-san get a new haircut? Wait a second, wasn't he also unconscious at the playground?"
"Yeah, this is gonna be a long story…" It was Ritsuka's turn to sigh. He was already feeling the coming headache explaining everything.
They quickly gave Emu the gist of what was going on while introducing him to the two people he didn't know. Luckily, he understood everything with little issue. "So you're time-travelling to stop that fake Den-O from going into the past and doing… what again?"
"We don't know either. Just that it's something bad."
"Got it," he nodded. "And Tsunogai-san here is
"You're taking everything pretty well, Dairiki-san," Ryotaro noted which caused Emu to wince.
"Yeah… well, things have been so hectic for me lately that time travel is the least of my issues…."
"How bad has it been?" Ritsuka asked mainly out of curiosity even though they really didn't have time for it.
Thankfully, Emu summarised what happened after their first and last meeting pretty quickly. "Well, Kiriya died and we learned the black Ex-Aid was Dan Kuroto."
'We're starting off big.' "Well, those things happening isn't a surprise."
"After that, Dan Kuroto died but not before completing this new game that'd take place in the real world called Kamen Rider Chronicles, you saw the players earlier."
'Yes, and one of them kicked me in the kidney.' Honestly, all of that sounded pretty simple. Why did Emu say it was hect—
"But before all that started, the Game World attacked us and I had to take part in this tournament with digital versions of everyone. As in lots of other Kamen Riders and even those Sentai guys. Even Kiriya was there, and I think a version of you was involved but a version of you was definitely involved." Emu pointed at Ritsuka and then Ryotaro. "Well, not you, Kihara-san. It was just Momotaros and he was part of my team in the tournament. Anyway, we won and became these guys called the GoRiders and then fought the Game World's version of Shocker."
'Okay, never mind. Things were hectic for him…'
"After all of that happened but before Kamen Rider Chronicles started—"
'It keeps going?!'
"—the real world was being invaded again but this time it was because of this game console made by Kuroto-san before he died. I went in there and met all these dead Riders, including Kiriya, but kept forgetting because the system kept wiping my memories every time I entered. I managed to find a loophole around of course, you know me, and figured out the dead Kazuma-san—"
'Wait, what?'
"—wasn't the real Kazuma-san and that it was Kuroto-san masquerading as him. The real one then showed up and he was some sort of zombie, I think?" Emu sounded just as confused as everyone at that point. "Anyway, he destroyed that Game World and we all fought against Kuroto-san, who's the black Ex-Aid in case you forget. Or Genm, I suppose I should be calling him that. Either way, I gave the dead Riders, and Kazuma-san, the GoRiders' powers and we used it to defeat Genm. Although… Kiriya and the others stayed behind as the Game World collapsed to make sure Genm died and Kazuma-san and I could escape."
"…I think I only got like half of what you just said," Ryoko said for basically everyone. Not Ritsuka though, he got everything… he thinks.
"Hey, pinky, was talking about all that really necessary?"
"No, but we're still waiting on… never mind."
"I'm surprised you remember everything Dairiki-san said. I barely could keep up with him."
"Oh yeah, and long before all of that happen, not too long after we last met, there was this thing with a Doctor Pac-Ma—"
"Alright, so things have been crazy for you too," Ritsuka stated the obvious as he stopped Emu from continuing. "But we now need to find Another Den-O and stop him before he jumps into the past again."
"Oh, just leave it to me!" Emu playfully saluted before taking out his phone. Ritsuka couldn't see what exactly but the genius gamer quickly typed something out. "Give it a couple of seconds annnnddd—" beep beep "—Here we go!"
Emu presented his screen which showed pictures of Another Den-O somewhere in the city. There were captions of people saying that either he was scary or cool looking but most of the pictures were tagged with the username "GeniusM". "He's not too far from where we are actually. We can easily catch him if we run. Come on!"
The genius gamer ran ahead of them, not giving much time to even catch his breath. Oh well, they could recover later…
When Ritsuka said that, it all fell into place for Gentaro— "Hang on! Were you telling me all this so you could rest on the moon?!"
"I will neither confirm nor deny that," Ritsuka replied monotonously which made the delinquent-looking student sigh.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but shouldn't we be looking for this Another Den-O?"
"Yeah! What he said! We've done nothing but talk the last hour!"
"I knew I should've mentioned it earlier," sighed Ritsuka (mostly to himself).
"Mention what?"
"Remember when I was messing with the computer earlier?"
Gentaro answered, "Kengo will kill you for that if he finds out about that, you know?"
"Yeah, I was also setting up the Foodroids to be on the lookout," Ritsuka revealed. "The second they spot something red, they'll alert us. Until then, we can rest and get ready." His arm still felt sore anyway, he never had time to rest (though that is partially his fault). "Anyway, we followed after Emu and found Another Den-O again."
"But things didn't go as planned, did it?" Gentaro could already figure that out since they're here in 2012.
Ritsuka, Ryotaro, and Momotaros sighed simultaneously as they recalled how the last fight went. "No, it did not…"
It started off well enough. Another Den-O was unable to fight back against the three of them. Ex-Aid was once again using Mighty Brothers Double XX while Decade used Blade's powers. Shortly into the battle, Den-O pulled out the red flip-phone he used earlier in 2007 and the four right-most buttons.
MOMO! URA! KIN! RYU!
CLIMAX FORM!
He attached the K-Taros cell to his buckle and transformed into the strongest form he had again. New armour replaced his current one before the masks of his other forms appeared and attached to him— Urataros's on his right shoulder, Kintaros on his left, and Ryutaros on his chest. His current visor also split open to reveal more colours. Decade also noticed Tetsuya dropping again as Urataros left his body.
"Yay! Yay!" Ryutaros cheered in Den-O's body before saying, "Let's finally kill this poser and go home!"
Kintaros then took control, saying, "We have to be the one to finish it off once and for all, correct? Yes, we'll finish this off with a sna—!"
"Alright, alright, enough talking. It just gives that guy time to escape again," Urataros interrupted Kintaros before Momo took the driver's seat again.
"Yeah, yeah! Let's just go!" He yelled before rushing ahead to finally defeat Another Den-O.
However, just as he reached him— "Know your place, you impudent child!" "AHH!" —a black and red swordsman jumped in between the two and nearly cut Den-O down to size had he not ducked at the last second.
"You ass! Who the hell are you?!"
"Foul-mouthed cretin," the monster Decade recognised as a Bugstar scoffed at Den-O while cleaning off his sword. "With technique as weak and atrocious as that, you do not deserve to know my—!"
"Ah! It's Kaiden!" Ex-Aid interrupted the Bugstar's monologuing to name it, audibly making it frustrated as it tried to keep its cool.
"Hmph! Very well! My name is Kaiden of the 35th standing!" the Bugstar proclaimed, pointing its sword at them, "Come at me if you dare! You'll have to strike me down before I'll allow you to slay this man I've been assigned to protect!"
'Well, this is just great…' It looked like they had no choice but to fight Kaiden first before taking down Another Den-O— "Come! My loyal soldiers!" —aannnndd also the group of Bugstar footmen dressed in samurai armour and armed with katanas. This was just great.
Gachon!
Despite the sudden intervention, Ex-Aid already had something up his sleeve for this. He closed his Driver again but instead of taking out the MBXX Gashat, he spun his stubby arms as a charging tune played. "Daaaaaaaai Henshin!"
Gachan! Double Up!
Another holographic panel flew out of Ex-Aid's Driver before it pulled back and passed through him. His body glowed before flying off his body with a flash of light.
Ore ga omae de! Omae ga ore de! We are! Mighty Mighty Brothers! (Hey!) Double X!
Once the light died down, two near-identical Ex-Aids stood there. Naturally, the one on the right was mainly orange with blue accents while the left was the opposite. Half of their hair was also slicked back and coloured the opposite.
"Eh?! There's two of them now?!" Den-O yelled in surprise at Ex-Aid splitting up.
"Alright!" Both Ex-Aids shouted at the same time, "Let's clear it together with super co-op play!"
Gashacon KeySlasher!
One of the Ex-Aids summoned their new weapon, a similarly coloured sword with a gun barrel on the back of the sword blade and an axe-like edge on the central portion. Simultaneously, the Ex-Aids dashed forward and cut down the Bugstars with ease.
Not wanting to just stand aside and watch, Den-O and Decade rejoined the battle and soon they cut a path to Kaiden who didn't like that there were four of them against one.
"Hey, wait! I'll only allow one of you to—"
"Shut it!"
"Gah!"
Kaiden barely lasted a few more minutes before they finished it off with a bang.
Double Gashat! Kimewaza! Mighty Brothers Critical Finish!
CHARGE AND UP!
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: BL-BL-BLADE
"This isn't fair at all!" were Kaiden's last words before he was defeated with a fiery blaze.
Game Clear!
"That didn't sound too bad."
"No, Kaiden was the easy part. It was after that was the problem."
"How bad?"
"No good copycat… Hitting us when we weren't ready…"
"Huh?"
Unfortunately, they didn't get even a moment to breathe before twin swords flew at them and blew them off their feet. As if that wasn't enough, Den-O was grabbed by the neck and pulled to his feet.
"Ack! You… bastard! Let go!" Momotaros choked out but was obviously ignored. Another Den-O visibly scoffed at the command before placing his other hand on Den-O's chest. A purple and black glow erupted from the monster's hand which made Den-O scream in pain. Whatever torture he was going through lasted a few seconds before Another Den-O tossed him away like trash.
"Ryotaro!" "Kihara-san!" The other three Riders shouted. The former would go to Den-O's side while the latter(s) immediately go after Another Den-O and keep him busy.
Decade watched as Den-O writhed in pain on the ground as his body flickered in and out of existence. Finally, with one last pained cry, the Taros were expelled from Ryotaro's body as his armour and belt disappeared. Not only that, the four Imagins landed around Ryotaro in their corporeal forms but also in pain from whatever Another Den-O did.
"Wha— What was that?!"
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
"Impossible… He took away our ability to transform?"
"Ryotaro… Hey, Ryotaro! Get up! We can't give up here!" Momotaro shouted at the young man still in pain. However, hearing his words encouraged Ryotaro to do just that and get to his feet. He still needed some help from Decade to stand though but soon enough, the Imagins also joined them.
"Come on, everyone. We can still stop him," Ryotaro rallied his Imagin partners together and they were about to resume battling despite being unable to transform anymore.
"But?"
"But Swartz decided to make things harder for us."
An Aurora Curtain appeared behind Another Den-O and out came a small battalion of grunts from various Worlds. Leading them was a double-coloured monster— the right side light blue while the left white —armed with a sword and shield. On its shoulders were dual pipe-like cannons.
"Not so fast, Decade!" The monster proclaimed, "As ordered by our glorious leader— but not Great Leader, mind you —we will stop you."
'Why can't things ever go easy for us?'
"Because everyone and everything hate you, obviously."
"Now then! Escape, my friend!" The monster ordered Another Den-O, pointing to the portal behind them. "We shall hold the line!" The Another Rider made a noise of agreement before he turned around and ran into the Aurora Curtain.
"Fujimaru, Kihara, go after him!" "We'll give you an opening!" Decade heard Ciel shout followed by one of the Ex-Aids. The enemy commander was then hit by a bunch of Black Keys that made it stumble out of the way. Meanwhile, the two Ex-Aids worked to clear a straight path for them to take.
The two rushed forward and as some of the grunts tried getting in their way, the other three Taros dealt with them, all telling Ryotaro and Momo to go on ahead. Finally, they reached the Aurora Curtain (and Ritsuka saw from the corner of his eyes Ciel fighting the leading monster) and passed through it.
Upon emerging on the other side, Ritsuka realised the wall had cancelled his transformation somehow but that brand of confusion was replaced by another when he noticed where they had ended up. He recognised the empty courtyard as the one he was ambushed in by the Horoscopes— they were in Amanogawa High School.
He couldn't wonder much about that, however, as Momotaros was incredibly impatient— "Alright! Where did that copycat go?!"
"Momo! Wait for us!"
"And that's how we ended up here." Ritsuka let out a relieved sigh now that he finished his story. "We chased after Another Den-O but lost him somewhere in the school. Then we ran into you while we were looking for him."
Sure, he skipped a bit and neglected to mention a couple of things the others said but that was all so Gentaro would get the gist of the situation.
The student, meanwhile, had a look of deep thought and was nodding along before standing up and shouting, "Okay! I think I understood everything!"
"You think?" Whatever, it didn't really matter.
"So now we just wait for the Foodroids to find this fake Rider, right?" Gentaro asked before slamming his fist on the table. "But that's not good enough! I'll go look for it too! Wait here!" He declared before running out of Rabbit Hatch, leaving behind the three time-travellers.
"…He seems fun," Ryotaro said after a moment with a smile to which Momo added, "And loud."
"Yeah, that's Gentaro in a nutshell," Ritsuka told him as he leaned forward to rest his head on the table. "He can handle himself so there's no problem with him rushing ahead."
Amanogawa's his stomping grounds too. He should know where to look.
"Hmm… Fujimaru-san?"
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you worried about leaving the others?" Ryotaro asked with concern in his voice. "They're stuck in 2017 since—"
"Oh don't worry about that." Ritsuka knew what he was about to say and nipped it in the bud. "Before we went through the portal, I tossed my Pass to Ciel." Well, it was Jiro's Pass and he threw it in Ciel's general direction but he trusted her to pick it up. "They should be able to return to the present. What about you? What about your other Imagins?"
"I can't feel them the way I used to," Ryotaro revealed as he touched his chest. "Not even Momo."
"Yeah, I can't feel our connection either," Momotaros added. "Whatever that Other Rider or whatever did, it cut off our connection to each other."
"And since we can't transform, I don't know how we're supposed to stop him. You said only Den-O's power can stop him, right?"
"Yes…" That's going to be a big issue. They needed to find a way to restore his powers or they'd already lost. There was also the other issue that was stuck in his mind. "This just doesn't make any sense…"
"What doesn't?" Ryotaro overheard him and was curious about what he meant.
"Why was Emu in 2017?" Ritsuka loudly pondered. "When I met him, it should've been 2021. He looked the same and he obviously knew who I was, yet everything was off."
"Hmm… are you sure you met in 2021?"
"Yes… I think…" They didn't quite get the date during their first visit to Ex-Aid's World. But the same problem was happening here too. He definitely recalled the date written on the whiteboard when he was first here in Fourze's World. It was definitely 2022 but now everything was transported a whole decade back. "Is someone messing with time?"
"You mean besides that fake copy of us running around?"
"Yes, besides him," Ritsuka replied without missing a beat. "Not only that, why is everyone living in the same World too?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Oh, right. I didn't mention that to you yet…"
Ritsuka explained to Ryotaro (and Momo) that not only was he from the future but travelling through the multiverse too. He told them about the different Rider Worlds and how they should be separated from each other but… "Now it's just one World…" Granted, it's only been Den-O's, Ex-Aid's and Fourze's Worlds so far. But three Worlds fusing into one? That didn't sound right to him…
"Wait, no. Not just three." Blade's World too; Emu mentioned meeting Kazuma so his World was also mixed in. And who knows which other Riders he met during that whole Game World invasion that happened.
For someone to have the power to fuse together at least four Worlds together…
"Eh, that sounds like a whole other issue to me," Momotaros voiced his opinion of Ritsuka's worries. "Can't you worry about that later or something? We have to deal with the other me first."
He had a point but that did nothing to help him relax.
However, speaking of Another Den-O— "Fujimaru-san?! Kihara-san?! Can you hear me?! Are you still there?!"
"Huh? Tsukinari-san?"
"That was fast," Ritsuka muttered as he got up and went over to the nearby computer. On the screen was Gentaro's transformed face.
"Can you see me? Good, I've found the fake Den-O." Fourze pointed his camera at the mentioned Another Rider, who was being distracted by the Foodroids. "We're on the west side of campus! Get here quick!"
Communications then cut out, making Ritsuka sigh and mumble about how Gentaro was going at his own pace. In any case, they better hurry to help.
"Take this! And that! And some of this!"
When they arrived on the scene, Fourze was beating up Another Den-O, punching the monster rapidly with each cry. With one last heavy swing, he sent the Another Rider flying.
"There! Hmm? Oh there you guys are!" Fourze waved his arm at them to get their attention (as if he didn't already) upon noticing the three's arrival. "Just watch me. I'll hit him so hard he won't be standing back up!" He confidently declared before taking out a large blue AstroSwitch and replacing the rightmost slot in his Driver.
Cosmic!
"That Switch is…" Ritsuka thought he recognised the Switch from somewhere but couldn't place a finger where. All he knew for sure… it was powerful.
"Push and press!"
Cosmic On!
A bombastic tune played upon Fourze pressing the large red button on the AstroSwitch; more Switches flew in around him, including the Foodroid Switches that were nearby, and merged with his armour. With a flash of colours, Fourze's suit changed to blue and black and a four-part panel appeared on his chest. His pauldrons turned into rocket wings, and a large rocket-shaped sword/club materialised in his hand.
Now in his strongest form, Fourze Cosmic States shouted his catchphrase to finish it off— "Kamen Rider Fourze! Let's do this man-to-man!"
Another Den-O wasn't intimidated by the form change and rushed at him. By the time he reached Fourze, however, the latter had pulled down a lever on his weapon to reveal its sword mode. With it, Fourze easily blocked Another Den-O's attacks before cutting him down the middle, forcing him back.
"Let's start with this!" Fourze shouted before pressing one of the Switch numbers on his chest. The corresponding Switch— the Fire Switch —appeared in his hand before he inserted it into a slot at the bottom of his sword.
Fire!
Fire On~!
Flames covered his blade, elongating it and allowing Fourze to simply wave his sword and still hit his opponent at a distance. After a couple more slashes, he finished it gracefully off with an overhead swing. Already softened up by the earlier battle, all it took now was one last attack to kill Another Den-O, and Fourze made sure it'd be a powerful one so he wouldn't get back up.
Fourze pushed the lever on his sword— "Close it up—!" —removed the Cosmic Switch from his Driver and insert it into the weapon's slot. "—and plug it in!"
Limit Break!
Behind Another Den-O, a large shining vortex appeared as Fourze used his jetpack and rocket sword to take off towards the monster. He slammed into the Another Rider but continued flying into the portal, disappearing into the light before the portal disappeared behind them.
"Huh? Where did they go?"
"Just be quiet and watch."
"Watch? Watch what?! There's nothing there!" Momotaros shouted. "...right? AH!"
The portal reappeared and out came Fourze, who landed like a natural. "And done! That guy is no more," he laughed before detransforming and presenting something. "He left this behind though. What is it? Is it like a Zodiart Switch?"
Ritsuka stepped closer and took it out Gentaro's hand to inspect him, with Momo and Ryotaro looking at the object over his shoulders. What Another Den-O left behind was a purple RideWatch that had the Another Rider's mask on the clock face. "So this is what makes Another Riders…" Ritsuka wondered what their connection was with the normal RideWatches he had been encountering so far.
However, the fact it wasn't destroyed yet was worrying and something they should deal with first. "Momo, get your sword out."
"Hmm? Sure." Momo didn't know what that was about but he wasn't going to leave the chance of using his sword.
Ritsuka put the RideWatch on the ground before taking a step back with the others except for Momotaros. The Imagin already got the idea and raised his sword, ready to bring it down to end this once and for all. Momotaros brought down the red sword down with as much force he could and as the weapon connected— "Uh… should that thing be sparking?" "Momo, get back!"
Black and purple lightning shot out of the RideWatch, somehow repelling Momotaros's sword and knocking it out of his hand. Another jolt of lightning then struck the Imagin in the face, sending him tumbling on his butt.
DeN-o!
Like before, time itself reversed as Another Den-O revived himself. The monster growled loudly once his body fully reformed, much to Ritsuka and company's chagrin.
"Of course, it wasn't that easy…" Ritsuka sighed. He also heard Gentaro spluttering something about being sure he killed him. Regardless, Another Den-O took the chance to run away first, no doubt in search of someone to jump through.
"Don't you run away, you bastard!" "Hey, wait!" Naturally, it was Momotaros who ran after Another Den-O first. The other three followed after him too.
However, it was already too late as by the time they turned the corner, they could only watch as Another Den-O use an Amanogawa student as a portal to leap into the past. And as always, Momotaros was the first to let his feelings known.
"AHHHH! Just how long will we be chasing after this guy?!"
"Calm down, Momo. I'm sure we'll get him next time," Ryotaro tried to get his Imagin to settle down. Unfortunately, Ritsuka doubted that it'd be over so soon. Even as he used another one of the tickets on the unconscious student, he knew they still had several more for use. Future Ryotaro would know how many they would need specifically and packed accordingly.
In other words, they still had a long road ahead of them in stopping Another Den-O. But for now, their next stop looked to be… Christmas 2008. "This date…"
"What's wrong?"
"No… nothing…." The chances of them running into his past self outside Hakuno's house was near to nonexistent. He didn't need to bring it up. "Come on. Oh, and thanks for helping out, Gentaro."
"Sorry!" Said teenager apologied. "I thought for sure that was enough to defeat him."
"Don't worry about it," Ryotaro told him with a comforting smile. "You did the best you could."
"See you around," Ritsuka said goodbye as the sound of the DenLiner echoed through the air. "Don't be a stranger."
"Oh wait! Before you go—!"
"Huh?" Ryotaro could also blankly stare as Gentaro pulled him into his special handshake.
"And there! We're now friends for real!"
"Tha— thank you?
"As for you, Fujimaru-san…" Gentaro stared at him with squinted eyes for a couple of moments before saying. "I'll be honest, I don't think we're quite there yet. You still haven't figured yourself out, haven't you?"
'Well, that's just rude to say out loud.'
"He's not wrong, is he? I'm still around, after all."
"This should do for now." Gentaro took his hand and gave it a firm shake (which definitely made up for it). "I'll leave everything to you then. I'll get Kazuhiro somewhere safe." The teen then went next to Another Den-O's victim and, with a mighty huff, carried him on his shoulders.
"Wait, what about me?! Don't I get a haaaaaa—!"
"Let's just get going." Ritsuka grabbed Momotaros by his horns and dragged him onboard the DenLiner, Ryotaro quietly laughing behind them.
Christmas 2008…
When Another Den-O emerged from his latest victim, it was in the latter's childhood bedroom. The monster noticed that young boy sleeping on his bed as he looked around for a way to leave. There were two doors, one leading to a small balcony outside and the other most likely to the rest of the house.
His choice of exit was made for him, however, as the latter door swung open and out came Momotaros. "There you are, you cheap knockoff! You're not getting away this time."
If he could speak, he would've said no to that. Instead, he ran towards the balcony door, slid it open and leaped over the edge down into the driveway. "Ahh! Wait! Don't you run away again!"
Another Den-O continued running through the streets of the suburbs yet a glance back and he saw he was still being followed. He then stumbled over a rock and tumbled into a T-intersection of the road.
"Finally— you've… stopped…" Momotaros heaved out, completely out of breathe along with Ryotaros. The third person, however, was looking around the area with a look of familiarity on his face.
"This place is…" He muttered. "So this was what that commotion was…"
Another Den-O scrambled to his feet, ready to stand his ground and fight as he summoned his weapons. He watched intently as the third man took out his Driver and put it on. If he could take him out first, then he could continue with his mission— "Kivat Kick!"
From out of nowhere, the Another Rider was kicked in the face by a golden bat the size of a human hand. The bat then smartly flew away before he could retaliate so the monster could only seethe in anger at the surprise attack.
"So you're the one making a ruckus this early in the morning! People are trying to sleep!" The bat scolded him. "Hakuno, let's teach him a lesson!"
"You're being too loud too, Kivat…" A fourth man softly spoke as he came down one of the other end of the intersection. "It's a holiday, let people sleep… in…? Ritsuka-san?"
"Haku?"
"Ah! The pink guy's back already!"
Another Den-O didn't know what was going on, but it seemed he was in the middle of yet another reunion.
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"Time is more like a ball of yarn. It's not the straight path you've been taught in school."
"All of that happened yesterday… right?"
"To make up for before, I shall accompany you for the rest of this journey!"
"This year… it doesn't make sense. I. was—"
"You are… who are you?"
"I am… a maneating monster… I guess."
Chapter 33: Temporal Escapades
A/N: And more time shenanigans happen! It's also been satisfying to bring back minor stuff I mentioned over a year ago. All the set-up is finally paying off!
Anyway, time is getting screwed up as Ritsuka and Ryotaro are now going to be messing around in 2008 with Hakuno even though that should by all accounts be wrong. I'm pretty sure you guys can guess who's screwing over the timeline, but the question is why. Also with every Rider now set in what I'll be dubbing their "natural years" then one of our characters gonna have a minor existential crisis as seen in the preview.
Also in the preview, a certain someone will finally be appearing. Yes! Takaragi will finally have more character relevance next chapter!
…oh yeah, and the person I was hyping up for a bit will appear too. Can you guys guess who it is and which Rider he'll be? I think it'll be pretty easy though.
I would also like to remind everyone there's a certain someone who is also messing around in the timestream so that'll be another time period we'll be visiting… right? Maybe, we'll see~~
Anyway, as always, please leave a review and all that stuff. I do read them and they're my fuel to keep writing. See you all next time!