Hope you had a fun 4th of July weekend. I just gouged on barbeque and watched Captain America: The First Avenger. Hope you liked the last chapter. This chapter will be mostly exposition with some action at the end. Some more changes I will be addressing.
- Souta will be a Kamen Rider in the second part of the story. As will Yahiro. Which one depends on the vote of Daryl first.
- Shu's father will be mentioned a little more.
- Daryl will be in the school with Shu, and there will be some hostility that will force Shu to grow balls.
One last thing. The winner of the 1st Gaim Rider poll. The winner is Baron. Stay tuned for the second one featuring Yahiro.
Without any further ado, here is the third chapter.
Phase 03 - Phanerosis: Ichigo Arms of Friendship!
(last night )
All around Tokyo, one voice talked and made a huge splash into the social consciousness.
"We will always offer funeral songs for those who have been selected out of this life."
People saw this message anywhere they had screens and access to the internet. Gai's message was everywhere you could see. People had no choice but to hear Gai's message to them and to their 'government.'
"Hence the name of our group. We oppose GHQ who treat our country poorly. As if it belongs to them and no one else. Because of that fact, we publically declare war on them. We refuse to let GHQ to select us out or anyone of our citizens."
xxxxxx
(Earlier that morning)
Shu was riding the train to school. Today he was riding all by himself today. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by events that he had made happen with his void powers, he decided to watch DJ Sagara's online show.
"DJ HOTLINE! Helllloooo Tokyo. That's right, it's your best friend, DJ Sagara here giving you the latest in music and news at your viewing pleasure. Nothing happening much in music..."
computer animation featuring a recording booth with a lone cricket making its trademark sound.
"BUT in news, all of Japan is totally talking bout' this."
Screenshot of the video that was broadcasted last night featuring Gai.
"This group called Funeral Parlor. Do these guys really mean all that bull(bleep) they said? Cause let me tell you something."
Sagara leans in on the screen and whispers,
"I think they do."
He leans back to his seat.
"Honestly y'all. Let's take a trip down memory lane."
Computer animations featuring a cloudy road with a puffy sign that says "Memory Lane." Various clips of Sagara reporting on GHQ and their 'isolated incidents' and accompanying animations to make it look like a newspaper conspiracy web.
"I don't know about you all, but I smell somethin' rotten."
Animations that feature green scent waves and an oversized clothes pin on the DJ's nose.
"You wanna know something about me? I never liked GHQ before. I mean, just who the hell to they think they are? The boss of me? The boss of you?"
Various pictures and videos of Anti-GHQ protests are played.
"If you ask me, These Funeral Parlor people; I think they might the wake up call that we ain't had in a while. But, I like to keep my show, so..."
Sagara pulls out an ironically little flag that says GHQ and says flatly,
"You can do it, GHQ. Get those 'terrorists.' I gots your back."
He puts the ironically little flag back under his desk.
"Well, I'm signing off for the morning. But before I do, here's a classic music video for today in light of this news. This is DJ Sagara telling you to RESPECT THE CLASSICS!"
The music video playing as he signed off was Public Enemy's Fight the Power.
Shu listen to the whole thing.
xxxxxx
(A little earlier)
Shu's homeroom teacher stood in front of a blackboard that had writing that read 'Self-Possession.' He spoke to his students with an announcement.
"Okay, class. I highly doubt if you missed this bit of news, but a national emergency has been issued recently. GHQ has been cracking down since that incident in Roppongi. If you have heard anything about this Funeral Parlor; rumors, sightings, et cetera, you need to report it to the authorities. With that out of the way, I would like to announce that we have a transfer student joining us today. You can come in."
xxxxxx
(Now)
As Shu stood speechless, some students begun to think and comment about where they have seen her before. The teacher quelled the noise his students were making.
"Okay class, settle down. Shu, please sit down."
Shu did so.
"Okay. Please tell the class your name."
Inori began her introductions.
"My name is Inori Yuzuriha. I am pleased to meet all of you."
The students reacted with a burst of excitement as they realized who she was. The lead singer of EGOIST, and Inori confirmed their speculations. Everyone was bursting with fangasm as they realized that one of Japan's most beautiful and talented celebrities was in the same class as theirs. This made Souta's face bursting red. They all yelled in celebration and adoration.
Inori was surrounded by her classmates. Some were fans of her music, some wanted to score a date with her, and some just wanted to see her up close for the first time. Shu was at his desk, thinking of the reason why she is enrolled in the same school as him. Yahiro looked at Shu, wondering
'What's with that look on Shu's face?'
At the crowd surrounding Inori, Souta gathered his 'courage' and spoke to Inori.
"Inori! I was uh... just wondering about... what you think about Funeral Parlor?"
Shu was startled at the mention of the name.
"Why would you even ask her about that, Souta?"
said Kanon, the class representative.
"Well, you know... her songs kinda sounds like what they stand for So, I thought she might support them."
Kanon looked especially irritated.
"Yeah well, you sound like an idiot."
The rest of the crowd kept on asking Inori questions. She began to feel a bit overwhelmed by her newfound popularity. Yahiro stepped forward to see if he could disperse fan crowds.
"Hey guys. Lay off. Stop putting her on the spot like that. You're making her nervous. Sorry, Inori. If you want to know, this guy's name here is Souta Tamadate, a big fan of your work. So, please overlook his enthusiasm. He'll calm down eventually. By the way, my name is Yahiro."
Souta eventually did calm down and told Inori about his club.
"Yeah. Me, Yahiro, and Shu over there have this club called the Contemporary Visual Culture Club. It's really cool. So uh... would you like to..."
Yahiro pulled Souta by his coat.
"Souta, come on. Give Inori some space. Everyone just relax. We're all in the same class for the rest of the year. So stop acting like that this is the only time Inori has for us."
Yahiro's classmates agreed and apologized to Inori for harassing her like that.
xxxxxx
At gym, Shu was think about the whole situation he was on.
'Seriously, how else can this be explained? I meet up with Funeral Parlor, help them out by beating up and destroying a GHQ Inves or whatever they're called, get an offer to join them, and then Inori is at my school. I know the reason why she's here has something to do with me.'
As Shu and the rest of the boys were running their laps, they were all staring at the pink haired underground popstar. Like she was something out of a dream. The lead singer of EGOIST, one of Japan's most popular bands ever to hit the music scene, captured the hearts of practically every youth in the nation, was in at the same school as theirs. One student commented that Inori was something like a doll. Shu kept silent about that, instead of the usual 'just agree with everyone is saying' fallback plan.
xxxxxx
It felt like a long train ride to home. It felt like a long day for Shu. All day, all he could ever think about how Funeral Parlor was keeping an eye on him by sending an underground celebrity to spy on him. She seemed like an expert at dodging crowds of adoring fans. At least, that was what Shu thought. The only thing that gave him any relief was that he could retreat to the isolation of his home. He could finally relax for a spell and gather his thoughts about both what was the true purpose for Inori's enrollment at his school and the compromise he made with Funeral finally made it to his apartment home. He knew that his mother would work for long days at a time with her job. He thought that once again, he would be home alone. As soon as he got to the door, he saw a hand other than his reach for the hand scanner that recognizes his prints. It was Inori, and Shu was dumbfounded about why she was there.
"INORI! Why are you here?"
When Inori went inside, Shu followed and saw boxes inside of his home.
"Wait, why are these boxes here? Inori, hold up! Why are you…?"
Shu tripped onto the floor and saw the little robot, Funell, was inside as well.
"That was rude. What did you do that for?"
Funell wheeled on away from Shu. Shu crawled on the floor for a bit until he saw Inori changing into some new clothes. This made him blush like crazy. Shu closed his eyes, but like the hormonal teenage he was, he took a look again only to see Funell. It eyes lining red, it took out his robot hands surging with electricity ready to punish Shu. As Inori finished dressing, she found Shu holding off Funell's little assault. While Shu was defending himself, he asked Inori the prominent questions that came to his mind.
"Why are in my house and how can you open the door?"
Inori answered calmly,
"Funell opened it for me."
As Shu was still trying to survive the attack of the little robot, Inori was crouching in front of Shu.
"Can you please explain what's going on here?"
"Drop the manners."
"I just don't wanna be rude. That's all."
Shu was trying real hard not to look at what Inori was wearing underneath. Inori broke the uncomfortable silence.
"I haven't ate anything."
"Okay. What do you feel like?"
"Rice balls."
xxxxxx
At GHQ Headquarters, a meeting was held between the head of the Anti-Bodies and the various command heads of the entire Occupation operation.
"Let's get right to it, Keido. How do you intend to rectify the events that had happened yesterday? Not to mention the fact that this THING was actually following orders from one of your commanding officers?"
The image of the prototype Inves was shown.
"Rest easy, sir. I am putting Major Segai in charge of Funeral Parlor-related matters to him."
Two of the generals was puzzled by that man's name.
"Segai?"
"Never heard of him."
"But you have heard of Norma Gene, correct?"
The supreme commander of GHQ spoke out in familiarity of those words.
"It's a genetic narcotic that has been on the rise amongst civilians. Mostly teens. Am I right, Dr. Ouma?"
A woman with long brown hair was in the same room where the meeting was taking place. She was Haruka Ouma, Shu's mother.
"Yes. It was inadvertently discovered during the creation of Apocalypse virus vaccine."
The head of the Anti-Bodies, Shuuichirou Keidou, continued his report.
"I've assigned Segai to track the distribution channels. When he reported, he gave an exact analysis of the countrywide operation within days. He's sharp like a guillotine. He's a hunter. Whatever prey we give him will have no chance of escaping his sight. He is ruthless in his methods. The perfect match against opposition like Funeral Parlor."
Commander Yan spoke.
"Very well. Proceed with that. Now as to the other matter at hand, this creature that was in the battle yesterday."
Keido was prepared with the matter of the Inves. One of the GHQ generals asked the question that was on their minds.
"Why was this creature kept a secret from us?"
"Because sir, these creatures are a relatively new discovery my Anti-Bodies discovered two weeks ago.
Everyone in the room was shocked at that statement. Keido brought some images and videos dating back two weeks.
"This is the video footage we have obtained from that encounter. It took down nearly 15 troops before we placed it in a containment cell."
The video footage showed a hunchbacked bug-like humanoid with large forearms. It had oval, black eyes. An oval mouth with fang-like teeth on the sides of the mouth. Needless to say, this was a monster unlike anything the top brass had seen before.
"During the capture, we took a blood sample out of the creature and ran it through numerous tests to determine the exact nature of its DNA."
Commander Yan asked,
"What where the results of those tests?"
Keido spoke in a grave manner.
"The results were shocking to say the least. We found out it was human."
Those last words gave the generals a chill that made them shudder.
"We also discovered traces of the Apocalypse Virus within its bloodstream. Closer analysis of the creature's DNA have found out that both Human DNA and the DNA of the virus have merged. It may have resulted into a sort of mutation that made the human host to look like this."
This hypothesis that Keido had proposed made everyone in the room uneasy with tension. To know that the Apocalypse Virus is capable of turning some poor human soul into a monster of unspeakable hideousness is enough to bring out the worst in people through panic and fear.
"We didn't want to report this until we had all the facts. As to how this larger version of this creature was associated with the Anti-Body third squadron, we are currently investigating the matter as we speak. We will update you as soon as we can."
This made Commander Yan satisfied.
"See that you do. I believe that is all for now."
The meeting ended. Even though he did not show it, Keido was relieved that he was able to keep generals at charge off his scent. It was important for him that the Inves were to be kept secret a little longer. Haruka Ouma spoke to Keido.
"Sir, may I ask..."
"About the creatures. I meant every word. The research division is currently under investigation. Don't worry though, you're exempt from it. I know you had no prior knowledge about these monsters because I kept it that way."
Haruka was surprised at that action. It almost seemed uncharacteristic of Keido. He then gave Haruka her orders.
"Please continue with your work."
"Yes sir."
Haruka left the conference room with Keido all by himself to collect his thoughts.
xxxxxx
In an office building in another location. A man with clown makeup carrying a flip phone with a little cell phone accessory. The accessory was a keychain that jingled like a bell. It took the form of a black on one side and white on the other European clown. It had a red eye on the black side and a black eye on the white. Both were shaped like a ghoul's eyes. A sunset was happening as a man in a business suit was hanging upside down, gagged and blindfolded. This was Major Segai, a hunter with a keen nose.
"Sorry about that. Just had a urgent work e-mail. So, you're just about to say something. Oh wait, I never gave you proper motivation to speak, did we? Well, let's see what we can do."
xxxxxx
In Shu's apartment, Inori was digging in to some rice balls. Shu was at the living room, assessing the situation he was in.
"So, you're here about what I said to Gai, right?"
xxxxxx
(flashback to the aftermath of the battle)
Shu, while still in his Pine arms, was looking at the hand Gai extended towards him. Shu wanted to grab that hand and shake it in agreement. And yet, a part of him was scared at that he could not hack it as a freedom fighter. He needed time to figure out what he really wanted. So, he made a compromise.
"Listen, Gai. I am glad that I was able to make a difference today. What was done is something I would never forget. But ... I don't know if I can join you. I just need some time to think about it."
Gai looked at Shu and thus made a decision.
"Very well then. You have a day and a half. At sunset on the next day, we will hear your answer. This is a commitment you need to carefully contemplate on."
xxxxxx
(Present)
"How am I going to explain this to my mom?"
As Inori finished eating, she spoke about Shu's mom in a mnemonic, factual manner.
"Haruka Ouma. Senior Researcher at Sephirah Genomics. Only comes home once a week. Unlikely to be back for several days."
Shu looked like he expected that to happen.
"Why am I not surprised? You've run a background check on me."
Inori felt that she had to apologize.
"I'm sorry. I know that this is strange, but I don't mean to be a burden."
Shu wanted Inori to feel better.
"You're not a burden. It's just... don't understand why you're here."
"I'm here to protect you when you're not Gaim."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Shu went to the door to answer. It was Yahiro.
"Hey. Hope I'm not late."
"No, but what's going on?"
"I was in the neighborhood, and I thought we could watch that movie I told you about."
Shu held a horror movie.
"That's nice. You really came all the way here to watch a movie?"
"Well really, I just wanna hang out. You were pretty weird today. So, I though I'd check on you and ask you if anything happen to you today?"
Shu was surprised that Yahiro would do something like this.
"In all honesty, I don't know. I do know that change is happening to me. I just don't know where it's going to take me."
Yahiro was curious about what Shu meant when he said that. Then, he saw another person come out of his apartment. He saw Inori come out, holding Funell.
"Whoa, what's she doing here?"
"Uh..."
As Shu was trying to think of an explanation, Inori just flat out said,
"I had a communication. We need to go now."
Yahiro was puzzled about what she meant. He looked at Shu when he inside for a while and outside again.
"It's complicated to explain."
"How complicated?"
"Can't even tell you. Anyway, I'll see you later."
Yahiro looked with a hint of friendly jealousy.
xxxxxx
Inori, carrying Funell, was leading Shu to the meeting place to Gai. Shu decided to take his holo-tablet with him. Inori talked to him as they walked.
"Would you say that Yahiro Samukawa is your friend?"
"Sure. He's a really good person. He takes the time to be considerate of others. The opposite of me. What about you? You got friends, right?"
"Is it really necessary? Does a person need to have friends?"
xxxxxx
As they were both waiting in a park, Shu looked online to see if there were any shops, physical or online, that sold toy lockseeds. If they were ordinary toys, Shu wouldn't bother. But somehow, when he held a lockseed it gave him power. He thought that maybe it had something to do with his void powers. Inori looked a little bit to see what Shu was looking at. Shu eventually discovered a shop at the Akihabara district that did sold these things. The only ones the shop had was a lockseed that was shaped like a strawberry that was labeled 'LS-06,' and a slightly larger one, shaped like a watermelon with the label 'LS-10.' Gai arrived to where Shu and Inori were.
"I appreciate you coming."
Shu looked at Gai and said,
"I'm still thinking about your offer. By the way, that's some outfit you got on."
"There's more to being a revolutionary than being able to shot a gun. Tsugumi, we clear?"
Behind Gai was Tsugumi and Ougumo. Ougumo was carrying an AK-47 for security and Tsugumi had her computer with her.
"All clear from what I can tell."
"So, why did you send Inori to keep an eye on me?"
Gai spoke in a serious manner.
"We have a problem. Someone saw us yesterday. They witnessed the battle and your part in it. If they were from the fort, I could have handled them. However, it seems they're an outsider. Specifically speaking, someone from your school.
Shu was surprised from this bit of news.
"From my school? you sure?"
"Have you heard of Norma Gene?"
Shu was familiar with that name.
"It's a drug, right? Wait, they were there for a drug deal?"
"Our intel says that the dealers operate under the name 'Sugar.' We're not completely sure, but it's highly likely, they saw you and Inori. There is even the possibility that they saw you transform into Gaim. We need to locate them."
If Shu didn't have this power, he could refuse Gai on the spot. But, since he does have the power to make a difference, he owed it to himself to keep this power a secret to protect the people he cares about. Shu knew that he had to find these guys who might have seen him in battle. It was a slim chance, but it was a risk he dare not ignore.
"Even if I agreed to this, do you realize how many students we're talking about? How am I supposed to find the guys?"
"You just need to extract their voids."
Shu then made a realization.
"You can see other people's voids, right?"
Gai was impressed at how sharp Shu was.
'Pretty quick, aren't you? You're right, though. I can see people's voids. During the battle over at Roppongi, I felt another presence. Most importantly, I saw their voids. Thanks to GHQ's temporary disaster law, terrorists have no human rights. If this witness identifies you, you will be on the Anti-Bodies' most wanted list. Understand?"
Shu gave Gai a look that meant that he understood everything and what it all means.
"I already gave the description of the void you're looking for to Inori. She will guide you during this 'favor' you're doing for us."
Shu was confused at that last word.
"Favor?"
"I know that you're not officially one of us. But if you do this for us, we'll do something for you in exchange. Call it an 'incentive' for membership."
xxxxxx
At school, Shu and Inori were in a bridging hallway where they hid behind one of the sides of the entrance.
"Are you sure? Have you memorized everything?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it."
"You know the void rules?"
"Rule 1: Voids can only be drawn 17 years or younger. Rule 2: When extracting a void, the subject loses the memory of you extracting it. Rule 3: Return the void of the person you extracted it from."
Inori was nodding her head in confirmation to Shu memorizing all the Void Rules. Shu found his first subject. It was Hare, his crush.
"Hare, I'm really sorry for what I'm going to do. Believe me when I say this this: the regret will haunt me forever."
Little did Shu know that Kanon, the class rep, was walking with her.
"Okay. Here I go."
Shu, with his right arm out, committed a devastating mistake. He groped Kanon's right boob. The first thing in Shu's mind was
'Holy ****ing shit, I'm dead.'
The second thing he thought was
'Wow. Those are soft.'
Everyone that saw this was stunned in complete, utter shock. The other students were talking about what was happening. One even took a picture with his camera phone. Hare felt a bit faint.
"SHU! If that's all you wanted, you should've told me."
Kanon was blushing red all over her face. She screamed as loud as she could in offense to this horrendous action that Shu committed. Shu ran from the scene. Inori walked after him, and Kanon furiously chased after him. All over the school's online message board was Shu's picture of gabbing Kanon's boob. The comments of the picture were brutal. Some said that he was an 'absolute pervert' while others were along the lines of 'dude, keep it on your pants.'
xxxxxx
Shu and Inori went to the clubroom where Shu attempts to recover from this debacle. Feeling dejected, Shu thought his life was over.
"Question of the day: How did I screw up?"
Inori answered, not understanding that Shu was asking a rhetorical question.
"You didn't make eye contact with her. That's crucial when drawing out voids."
"Is that another rule when drawing out voids? Because if it is, then that's no good. I get nervous when I make eye contact with other people. I get self-conscious and forget what comes out of my mouth."
"Shu, turn around."
Inori grabbed Shu by the sides of his head and made Shu look at her, establishing a sort of eye contact.
"Tell me. Does it look like I'm looking into your eyes? I'm actually staring at the spot between them. The important thing is that other people think you're making eye contact with them."
Shu was surprised that something like this was possible. This was a game-changer for him. Not just for extracting voids, but also for dealing people in general. Shu decided to try again with this new technique.
"This time, I'll make it work."
xxxxxx
Souta was walking to the clubroom while listening to his MP3 player. He was unaware of his surroundings. Shu was running up to Souta. Shu was yelling out,
"SOUTA!"
Souta was surprised at Shu running towards him, then stopping all of a sudden. A blue glow emerged as Shu was starting to extract Souta's void. Shu placed his right hand on Souta's chest as a bright circle emerged. The crystal streams appeared as well as Shu was now extracting Souta's void. Souta was feeling an acute amount of pain. A tall amount of organic-like stones was coming out of Souta until it came out as a video camera-like object. Shu showed it to Inori, asking if it ws what they were looking for.
"No."
"I had a feeling it wasn't."
Shu placed Souta's void back into his body.
"At least I know how to do this now."
Souta regained consciousness, but didn't remember what had just happened that put him in a daze. There was even no one else to tell him. Shu and Inori went all over the school, extracting various voids from any student they could find. Among the voids extracted were a vase, a pair of pliers, binoculars, a skateboard, and a refrigerator of all things. All negative results. When it came sunset, Shu and Inori were resting somewhere from the exhausting search. Shu held a soda to his forehead to cool himself.
"This is taking forever. Just what exactly are we looking for?"
"Shears."
"Like garden shears?
"Yes. You'll know when you see them."
Shu asked Inori a question.
"What are voids, anyway? Why do they have different shapes?"
"The shape of a person's void is a reflection of that person's innermost fears or complexes."
"So, it's a reflection of the person's heart? or maybe even soul?"
"You might say that."
Shu reminisced about the shape of his void, the Sengoku Driver. He wondered what part of him made him Kamen Rider material. After all, Kamen Riders are heroes. They're supposed to be self-confident, courageous, and true to the cause of justice. He was none of that. And yet, he has a belt driver and capable of amazing fighting feats of power. Shu wondered if the driver was a reflection of his desire.
"Hey Inori, what's your void?"
As they were talking, running was heard. The sound was coming towards them. Shu then saw Kanon still chasing after him.
"There you are. I GOT YOU, SHU OUMA!"
Shu forgotten his botched attempt to extract a void, and the aftermath it ensued.
"Aw crap. I forgot about that."
Just then, Yahiro opens one of the gum doors and provides Shu and Inori a means to escape.
"Shu! Over here."
Shu and Inori went to where Yahiro was with Kanon yelling,
"STOP RUNNING AWAY!"
xxxxxx
Shu was still feeling pretty tired from running all over the place and sat down at the nearest bench seat.
"Feels like I've been running all day."
"If you were a member of Funeral Parlor, you'd be doing it all your life."
"Heh heh, yeah.
Shu was shocked at the mention of Funeral Parlor coming out of Yahiro's mouth. Suspicions rattled his head.
"How about we wait here until the class rep cools down? Then you can go apologize to her."
"Sure, but I don't know if she'll forgive me for what's essentially something a shameless pervert would do. I mean, she's most likely to stab me with a pair of shears."
Shu watched Yahiro maintained his composure. He tried some more keywords since he felt that he may have found the person Gai asked him to locate.
"Sounds like you watched that movie I gave you last night."
"You know, I kind of find it surprising that you're into all those gory, slasher flicks."
"You say it like it's a bad thing."
"No, you just... don't look like you'd be into that sort of stuff, sugar."
Silence took place as Yahiro stood still. Shu confirmed his target.
"So, you did see me. Now, you're mocking me."
"No I'm not. I just trying to be understanding. Maybe you got your reasons. I mean, you wouldn't just..."
"Shut up!"
Shu felt the sudden shift of tone in Yahiro's voice. It was a violent one, and it made Shu be on his guard.
"IT'S TOO LATE TO ACT LIKE A CONCERNED FRIEND! I knew the minute you called me 'sugar,' you were gonna turn me in. Just cut the sanctimonious bullshit!"
Yahiro slammed a rail in anger. Shu was new to this side of Yahiro. The side that was angry.
"YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE TREAT ME LIKE SOME SORT OF LOSER PASSING BY! LIKE YOU GET TO DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF PERSON I AM! AND THEN I HAVE TO BE THAT PERSON I FRONT OF EVERYONE! DO YOU REALIZE HOW SICK I AM OF THIS PRETENTIOUS CRAP THAT I FEED TO YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE?! Even worse, I HAVE TO FEED THIS SHIT TO MYSELF!"
"YAHIRO, STOP!
As Shu pushed Yahiro off, his void extracting abilities activated on instinct when Shu felt his life was in danger. Shu extracted Yahiro's void and it came out a pair of shears.
"So, it was him."
Inori took out her gun and said,
"You've found him."
Shu knew what that meant.
"NO! You can't shoot him."
"Why not? His temptations show how weak he is. If he lives, he will be a threat to us in the future."
"And just what the hell do you people think you know about him?"
Inori was confused at that last statement.
"Maybe it sounds stupid, but I can't forget the person I've known him to be. True, there's a side of him that he hasn't been honest about before, but he's still one of the people I can trust unconditionally, and that includes you as well. Now, put down the gun, Inori."
Inori was stunned at that second last thing Shu said. He trusted her with his life much like he trusted Yahiro with his secrets. She eventually complied. Shu was grateful. Night fell at the school gym/auditorium and Yahiro woke up in a daze.
"Ugh... Shu?"
Shu gave a little wave.
"What happened?"
"I headbutted you because I was scared. Sorry about that."
"No, I am. You're one of the few friends I can trust."
"Funny. I feel the same way."
The two of them made a pact to keep each other's secrets. A mutual understanding was reached that night. Before Shu left, Yahiro gave him a gift he wanted to give recently. It was the Ichigo (strawberry) lockseed.
"I saw the orange lock you hold to. I thought you collected these things or something."
Shu was thankful for it.
"By the way Yahiro, just be careful. Believe it or not, I actually care if you die in a drive-by shooting if you screwed up a 'drop,' or whatever they're called."
Yahiro was genuinely touched by those words.
"You're too kind, Shu."
"You think so? I like to think that's my only redeeming quality."
xxxxxx
Shu and Inori were walking back to the apartment. Shu had a hectic day that ended on a positive note. Inori was in her thoughts. She was thinking about the report she gave to Tsugumi, who then reported it to Gai. She trusted Shu with this decision. All of a sudden, screams were heard. Shu and Inori look on and they could not believe it. A pack of monsters (the ones described before) were terrorizing people in the park near his apartment. Shu knew he had to do something. There was a nearby alleyway that Shu and Inori hid in. Inori was a bit confused to why they did that.
"Shu, why are we here? Shouldn't you go and kill those things?"
"I will, but not before a quick change."
Shu grabbed his schoolbag and pulled out his Lock Vehicle and his blue hoodie. Inori then realized that Shu was playing it smart. He had to hide his face if he was fighting against those things. Not to mention that GHQ has eyes all over the city in both surveillance systems and people's communication devices. Shu took of his school coat and put in his blue hoodie. He then activated his Lock Vehicle that transformed into a motorcycle. He rode to the center of the monster attack. The monsters were new to Shu, but he knew that people were in danger if he did nothing. Both the monsters and the people who were running away stood still to this newcomer, with his hood on covering his face, as he got off his bike. Shu then summoned his Sengoku Driver out of his chest and placed it on his waist. He held his Orange Lockseed and yelled,
"HENSHIN!"
"ORANGE! "
A metallic orange appeared over him. Shu did his pose and placed his lockseed on his driver.
"LOCK-ON !"
The driver then played the Japanese horagai music with a techno beat before Shu used the Cutting Blade on his driver.
"SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE! "
Shu wielded both his swords and charged at the monsters with various slashing attacks. The people watching this were stupefied at this person who came on a motorcycle, went through a transformation sequence, and fought against the monsters. It was unlike anything they had seen before. Shu kept on battling the monsters until they were weakened. Shu then decided to bring out his new lockseed to try out. He put off his Orange lockseed,
"LOCK-OFF."
And took out his new one.
"ICHIGO!"
A metallic strawberry was above Shu. He then latched the Ichigo lockseed on his driver...
"LOCK-ON! "
and used the Cutting blade to slice it.
"SOIYA! ICHIGO ARMS! SHUSHUTO SPARK! "
The metallic strawberry descended on its side and landed on Shu's head to become his Ichigo arms. New weapons appeared on Shu's hands. It was a pair of kunai, a type of ninja knife weapon. Shu threw a number of the ninja knives at the monsters and the monsters were feeling the pain. Shu didn't know much kunai this lockseed could produce, but it was doing the job. He saw the monsters were on their last knees and went for the final blow. Shu took off his Ichigo lockseed...
"LOCK-OFF."
and placed it on his musou saber.
"LOCK-ON! 1-10-100! "
Shu swings his saber into the air.
"ICHIGO CHARGE! "
Out came an energy strawberry that floated in the air until it came apart as a kunai storm over the monsters. Each of the kunai exploded on contact with the monsters until the monsters were destroyed themselves. Shu was glad that he did some major good this night. The people that saw the whole battle recorded it with their various recording devices. Cameraphones, video recorders, smartphones, anything connected to the internet and its various video streaming sites. Shu spoke only one thing.
"My name is Gaim. Kamen Rider Gaim."
Shu went to his bike and rode off to where Inori was hiding, and then to his apartment.
xxxxxx
When they got there, Inori went straight to sleep. Shu was still awake, laying on the couch. The fight with the monsters still fresh on his mind, the whole thing felt a bit overwhelming. He wondered if every fight like this was going to feel the same way. He then took out his Ichigo lockseed that Yahiro gave to him. It was thanks to his best friend that lives were saved.
xxxxxx
Elsewhere, Major Segai was making contact with his superiors.
"We have confirmed. I am certainly surprised that you would risk civilian life like this. I'm also quite curious to see where did you get these creatures."
On the other side of the call was Keido.
"That is something we are keeping a secret for now. I need to keep the top brass off my tail for a while. I'll fill you in at the right time."
"I look forward with bated breath. In the meantime though, I'll keep on the hunt for these Funeral Parlor people."
"Have you made any leads?"
Segai was in a building across the apartment Shu was living in.
"I'm working on one right now."
xxxxxx
The next morning, Shu and Inori were taking the train to school. Shu overheard a few of his schoolmates talking about the many videos featuring this armored guy beating up all those monsters that appeared last night. They were saying at how amazing he was. Shu felt a little glad that someone was saying positive things about him (while he was still in his armor). Shu then decide to turn on his holo-tablet and tuned to DJ Sagara's show.
"DJ HOTLINE! DJ Sagara here giving you the latest in news and music. But I wanna focus on news right now because of THIS GUY!"
A video of Gaim in his Orange armor.
"THIS GUY RIGHT HERE! This mysterious, but nevertheless, KICK-ASS stranger out of nowhere. Who is this guy? Where does he come from? And how does he do this AWE-SOME STUUUUFFFF?!"
Videos of Gaim's slashes and the final blow were shown.
"He calls himself Kamen Rider Gaim."
The part where he says who he is played.
"I don't know where he came from, but then again I could say the same about these freaks.
Footage of the monster attack on the people is shown.
"When asked about these creatures, GHQ issued no comment. In other words..."
Computer animations feature the GHQ logo with the word balloon 'Duhhhhhhh, I DON'T KNOW,' said in a stupid person's voice was heard. Shu laughed at that.
"I think there's more to this than we know. Whatever it may be, I know this. There's a Hero of Justice out there, y'all. And I have a good feeling that he's on our side. This is DJ Sagara signing off the morning."
DJ Sagara got off his chair, stood back for the camera to capture his full body, and did the Henshin pose of Kamen Rider Ichigo. Shu felt a bit good about himself. To be capable of this sort of stuff and be loved for it. He took it as a sign that the change that he always wanted in his life is now happening. Inori spoke to Shu.
"Shu, do you think I could stay with you? It's just that... Nobody ever said that they trusted me. It felt good. So, can I?"
Shu saw Inori taking his words to heart. He smiled and said,
"Sure. Stay as long as you like."
Inori looked at Shu and smiled for his kindness.
Just then, the train they were on went for a sudden stop at one of the station they normally pass on this route. Everyone was startled by this.
"What's going on?"
Shu saw GHQ soldiers standing outside with guns. Everyone inside the train were taken aback by this chain of events. The sliding doors opened and Shu was pushed outside. When Shu looked behind, he found out it was Yahiro who did it.
"Yahiro, what are you...?"
"I'm sorry, Shu."
"What?"
Inori looked at fear for what would happen to Shu. While Shu was experiencing something for the first time: betrayal. Shu then heard a voice say his name.
"Hello, Shu Ouma. I'm Major Makoto Segai. And you are under arrest."
Shu quivered until he bursted out yelling in the air,
"BACKSTABBING MOTHERF****ER!"
I thank you for your patience. I hope you like this chapter. I will work on the next one as soon as I can.