Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP20 – Espada Exposed
"There we go, this should keep you hidden from Master Logos for the time being," Tassel said as he lowered a thick red book he had on him, it being similar to Master Logos' in that it had a crystal teardrop-shaped jewel on the front cover. It had shined a bright red before fading as before him were Calibur and Luna, the duo having a red aura around them before it faded.
The three were within his cabin that was deep within an unknown forest, Luna having brought Calibur after they had escaped.
"Thank you," Luna gave a short bow.
"There's no need to," Tassel said as he put a hand up, "It's the least I can do for being unable to help you or find you after you had vanished."
"You shouldn't feel bad about that," Luna reassured, "Neither of us were expecting this Master Logos to try and imprison me."
"But you know what that means right," Tassel said with a frown, "If he wanted you in place then that means the time is drawing near for his plan to start moving."
"I know," Luna replied, "Thankfully over half of the Seiken and necessary Ride Books are out of his possession. It would take a lot for him to even attempt what he's thinking of doing."
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to be more careful," Tassel replied, "I've got a bad feeling about the coming battles."
"Right," Luna nodded, "I'll see what I can do then."
Calibur remained silent, simply letting out a grunt as they glanced towards the side.
"I'm also terribly sorry we couldn't help you sooner," Tassel said as he looked over to Calibur who barely glanced his way, "Unfortunately the one who now bears the title of Master Logos is rather crafty in hiding himself."
Calibur still didn't respond to this either, only walking over to the door and exiting. Tassel and Luna could only look towards the other in concern as the Rider of darkness made his way outside.
"Please watch over him," Tassel finally spoke up now that Calibur was out of earshot, "I fear that his time with Kurayami has weighed on him greatly."
"Of course, I'll try and help him the best I can," Luna nodded before hurrying out of the door to follow after Calibur before he could head off, "Wait!"
Calibur was ready to bring his sword down to open a portal when he lowered his arms, glancing back at Luna.
"Let me go with you," Luna replied, "You don't need to walk this path alone."
Calibur stared at her long and hard before turning and opening up a dark portal. He stared at the portal long and hard before stepping aside and gesturing for Luna to enter first.
"Thank you," Luna smiled before hurrying into the portal, Calibur following after her.
"I can only hope things go well," Tassel sighed, having been watching from his front door before looking upwards, "Something tells me this brief respite we've been granted won't last much longer."
It was a somewhat late morning at Hibiki and Miku's shared apartment, the duo currently working on finishing any chores they had. Mostly because the alternate for Hibiki would be working on her summer homework, and despite some help from Touma, she was still a ways away. She reassured everyone that she'd get it done as quickly as possible though, despite the deadline that was quickly approaching.
Miku was making sure the laundry was done while Hibiki made sure that everything was in order around the house and nothing was out that shouldn't be. Well that was until she noticed something odd on the kitchen counter.
"Hey Miku," Hibiki called out.
"Yes?" Miku asked as she began to enter with a basket of freshly dried clothes.
"When did we get a new Ride Book?" Hibiki asked.
"What?" Miku asked, a bit confused by the question, "Did you forget that everyone decided it'd be best for you to hold onto Ultimate Bahamut? And that's not counting the other Ride Book you have for your Ride Gear form."
"No I mean a new, new Ride Book," Hibiki said as she held up Lamp Do Alangina before raising it to show her friend, "When did we get Kento's Book?"
"Huh?" Miku asked as she began to internally panic due to realizing she had slipped up and left Lamp Do Alangina out in the open, "Oh…" she trailed as she feinted recalling something she had forgotten, merely trying to come up with an excuse, "Daishinji sort of gave me a small project to take care of."
"A small project…?" Hibiki asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah," Miku nodded as she hurried and set the basket down before hurrying over and taking Lamp Do Alangina from her friend, "He wanted to see how well I could take care of a Ride Book on my own. Just to familiarize myself with them some more, that's all."
"Oh okay," Hibiki nodded, "Admittedly, I wonder why that one. I figured since it was one that was used to transform it'd be too important…"
"He probably wanted me to make sure I took it seriously," Miku guessed, though at this point she was improvising like crazy.
"Which is weird, I think he'd already think you're serious about helping him," Hibiki admitted curiously before shrugging.
"I suppose that's just how he is," Miku gave a sheepish smile as she went back to the laundry basket, picking it up before pausing as she stared at it, "Hibiki…"
Hibiki looked over, "Yeah?"
"How about we go out for lunch today?" Miku asked as she looked over with a smile.
"Ooh that sounds great!" Hibiki said as she pumped her fists, "Let's finish up everything then!"
"Right," Miku nodded before walking off, taking a deep breath as she knew that today was the day she'd tell Hibiki on her own terms.
Hibiki smiled as she watched Miku walk off before glancing down and back towards where she had found Lamp do Alangina. There was an odd feeling nagging at her, and she hoped she was wrong… but…
"Ah, the end of summer," Storious remarked as he stared out of the window of their base, not really staring at anything in particular due to the nature of how their base worked. But he did so anyway due to his flair for the dramatic, "To think we're approaching fall soon."
"We've had a pretty bountiful summer," Zooous admitted as he walked past, "It was a bit of a rough start but…"
"Then you all started to not play fair!" Amanojaku called out with glee as he pointed upwards before clasping his hands, "Honestly, still such a great deception."
"Knowing how everything is playing out however…" Storious trailed before realizing something and looking around, "Where's Legeiel?"
"He wanted some time alone," Amanojaku admitted, "He kind of went over the various Alter Books created and noticed his was lacking compared to the two of yours…"
"Which one of us had the most anyway?" Zooous asked.
"You did," Storious admitted though he seemed satisfied regardless, "Though I'm not surprised, once you get going it's hard to get you to stop."
"Serves that prideful beast right," Zooous scoffed as he glanced at Amanojaku, "If there's one thing you need to learn to not pick up from him it's how self-absorbed he is."
"I see," Amanojaku nodded before letting out a chuckle, "Then if he is out for the time being… would it be possible for me to take the lead on trying to create an Alter Book?"
"You want to try on your own?" Zooous asked, "Didn't it go horribly when you tried to help with mine?"
"Now, now, that was possibly because he was tagging along," Storious said as he looked over at Amanojaku with a smile, "Right?"
"Yes, yes," Amanojaku nodded as he held up a finger, "I've been looking over the battles that you all have recorded alongside what information you have on SONG. And I think I've figured out a perfect set of targets that'll cause some fun strife amongst their group."
"Wow you've thought this out, huh?" Zooous stared in surprise before putting his hands on his hips, "That said, you're going to have trouble at your level."
"What?" Amanojaku asked in shock, "You calling me weak?"
"Well despite your growth you are still lacking," Storious said as he walked past the Megid, having no qualms with admitting this. He then walked over to where they stored their basic Alter Ride Books, grabbing hold of Itazura Goblins alongside an unused one known as Guru Guru Mummy and holding them up, "That said… I think there's a way to help expedite the process."
"Oh?" Amanojaku looked over curiously.
When it came to figuring out where to go for lunch, Miku knew she wanted somewhere kind of secluded just so she could explain without worry. So she decided to go for the tried and true combination of buying some boxed lunches and heading to the nearby park to eat. They had found one of the few benches strewn along the pathway littered with tall trees that helped block out the sun.
Thankfully to Hibiki, food was food, so she didn't mind it one bit with the selection of food. This was especially the case since Miku went out of the way to get some that were more on the higher end than others, but nothing too fancy.
"Ah this is so good," Hibiki said as she took a bite of a piece of fried cutlet, humming in delight before going to scarf down the rice that was included, "You-mmm really didn't have-mmm to do this Miku."
"I figured I might as well do something a bit special all things considered," Miku admitted with a slight smile as she went to pick at her bento before grabbing a bit of the salad that was included and taking a bite of that.
"What do you mean?" Hibiki raised an eyebrow, a bit confused by the wording.
"Well considering I asked you to eat lunch here than at some restaurant it only made sense to splurge a bit with the bento," Miku explained, "But also I wanted us to have a bit of time to ourselves. There's something I wanted to talk about…"
"What did you want to talk about?" Hibiki asked.
"Well, you see…" Miku trailed, trying to find the words but it was becoming increasingly difficult due to how she had set everything up instead of just telling Hibiki upfront. She took a deep breath, realizing that it was now or never, "I'm-"
"Hina, Bikki!"
"Huh?" Miku snapped out of her sudden confession when she heard the familiar voice of her friend Kuriyo.
Both Hibiki and Miku looked over to see Kuriyo alongside Shiori and Yumi approaching. Miku couldn't help but deflate slightly in her posture given this complicated her confession. Hibiki seemed to notice this and wondered what exactly Miku wanted to talk about given how secluded she tried to keep their conversation. Despite this however…
"Oh, hey girls," Hibiki said with a wave, figuring a brief chat wouldn't hurt though she'd try to push for a bit of privacy if the conversation lasted too long.
"I'm surprised you two are out like this," Shiori admitted, "The heat today's kind of killer."
"Yeah but this park is great for that," Yumi pointed out the abundance of trees in the area, "It's a great way to enjoy the end of summer, especially if you've finished all the assignments."
"A-Ah yeah," Hibiki said in an almost nervous manner before pumping her fist, "It's totally the perfect way!"
"You haven't finished your assignments have you…?" Kuriyo trailed, already noticing how nervous Hibiki was.
"Guilty as charged," Hibiki said with a sheepish chuckle.
"I keep telling her to stop putting it off," Miku said before sighing when she realized she wasn't exactly taking her own advice. And while Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo were in the know about SONG, she realized she couldn't exactly just blurt out her secret in front of them.
"So what's got you so down?" Yumi asked as she leaned near Miku as Hibiki was currently trying to get some advice from Kuriyo about certain parts of the assignments from their summer work.
"I'm uh… trying to tell Hibiki something important," Miku admitted, "Though uh… as I was about to…"
"Oh… oh…" Yumi trailed in realization, though thinking of something completely different instead of what Miku was trying. She could only nod in understanding, looking over at Shiori who nodded back. She then turned back to Miku and gave a thumbs-up, "Leave it to us!"
"Oh yeah that's a tough one," Kuriyo admitted as she recalled the issue that Hibiki was running into on part of the homework, "Well luckily all you have to do is-"
"Ah sorry about this but we need to get going!" Shiori called out suddenly as she looped her arm around Kuriyo's before dragging her friend off, "We'll chat some other time!"
Kuriyo let out a yelp, "W-Wait, I was just about to-"
"You can tell her about it later," Yumi said as she looped her arm around Kuriyo's other arm before helping Shiori drag her off. She then turned back with a smile and a wave, "We'll talk soon okay!"
"Uh… okay…?" Hibiki trailed, a bit surprised by how sudden their friends' exit was but shrugged before sighing in relief, "Well at least I'll have some clue on a few things once I get a chance to ask."
"Just don't ask her for everything," Miku suggested.
"Right, right, I need to see through most of this myself," Hibiki nodded before realizing something, "Oh Miku, what did you want to talk about again?"
"Huh?" Miku was a bit surprised by Hibiki wanting to pick up where they left off, "Oh uh…"
"I was going to ask them if we could talk some other time anyway," Hibiki admitted, "Because it looked like you had something important to say."
"I did actually," Miku nodded before taking a deep breath, "The thing is… I'm…"
The two were interrupted by the familiar screams of their friends nearby, the two quickly looking at each other and turning before giving gasps.
A group of Goblin Megid had suddenly leapt out of hiding places and surrounded Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori, though they were different from the usual kind. They lacked their skirt pieces and book on their chests now while the coloration of their unique body and upper armoring was now the same grey-white that the rest of their bodies were. The only thing that made them stand out were their masks which were gold colored now.
"Perfect, perfect, you're just the three I was looking for," Amanojaku said as he worked his way through the crowd of Goblins. He had the skirt piece the Goblin Megid would normally wear alongside bandages haphazardly wrapped around his organic left arm.
"W-What's going on?" Shiori asked in surprise, "These are…"
"Yeah, Megid," Kuriyo nodded, a bit caught off guard since they rarely ran into this grouping of SONG's enemies.
"Oh good you know what we are, though I figured," Amanojaku clasped his hands before reaching behind his back and drawing out three of the Blank Alter Ride Books that the Megid would use to transform humans, "It's your lucky day, I plan on turning you all into my comrades so you can fight your friends for us!"
"H-Hold on a moment there," Yumi stammered out, "That's like something out of an anime!"
"Anime…?" Amanojaku tilted his head before shaking it, "Whatever, let's get this party started-!"
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
{SG-r03': Gungnir}
In an instant Hibiki had transformed, launching upwards from where she was and dropping down towards the crowd of Goblins and Amanojaku at high speeds.
Amanojaku could only look up in shock, "EH?!"
"Don't go anywhere near them!" Hibiki shouted as she performed an axe-kick, aiming right for the Megid.
Amanojaku yelped as he backed away only to realize what he had done, letting out a shriek of terror as Hibiki's kick smashed into the Blank Alter Books he was holding. The result was them shattering as she slammed her foot into the ground, unleashing a burst of air that forced her friends to brace and sent the Goblin horde staggering away.
"Girls, get going!" Hibiki called out as she glanced back.
"Thanks Bikki!" Kuriyo called out as Shiori nodded, the two quickly rushing through the opening.
"Yeah thanks, now kick their butts!" Yumi called out as she followed after her friends.
"Oh come on!" Amanojaku shouted in clear displeasure, "You're not supposed to interrupt the setup! These were going to be good ones too!"
"I'm not letting you try and turn anyone into a Megid today," Hibiki said as she took her stance.
"Whatever, I'm not the same old Amanojaku you all have been fighting anyway," Amanojaku said as he patted his left forearm, "I'm new and improved!"
"You're planning on leaving soon?" Genjuro raised an eyebrow, staring at Yuri who had entered the bridge of SONG's headquarters to talk to him and Sophia.
"That is correct," Yuri nodded.
"I can only assume this is a temporary leave," Sophia said, "Especially given how vague you decided to be."
"Did I not state my intentions clearly?" Yuri asked, a bit confused by Sophia's words.
"Yuri, you just waltzed in and said 'I'm leaving' without any warning," Aoi said as she glanced back, "And you didn't elaborate after that."
"And here I thought things were going well," Sakuya sighed.
"Yuri," Genjuro said as he cleared his throat before gesturing towards the Swordsman/Seiken, "Explain to us why exactly you're leaving soon."
"As this chapter of our battles close, a realization has dawned on me," Yuri answered, "I must prepare myself for the coming battles."
"I see," Sophia replied, already getting a better idea of Yuri's intentions, "And I assume it's not standard training."
"I must regain my true strength as a Swordsman," Yuri replied, before putting a hand to his chin, "However I still must prepare how exactly that will take shape before seeking out my friend…"
"I see, so you're giving us a warning then just in case you suddenly vanish," Genjuro said with a nod, though inwardly he sighed due to how odd Yuri's decorum was, "That said…"
"What if a Megid appears in the time you're gone?" Sophia asked.
"Touma's grown as a swordsman and the Kaenken Rekka has responded to said growth," Yuri replied, "As such he should be capable of separating a human from Megid. Though I will try to make it quick and return as fast as possible."
"So long as you understand the importance of your absence," Genjuro replied.
"Do not worry, I do not plan on leaving you all alone in defending this world," Yuri reassured before giving a light yelp when the alarm started to blare, "Eh?"
"Well speaking of defending the world, we've got a Megid alert!" Sakuya called out, "Though it looks like we're picking up the same unique signal that's shown up when Amanojaku appears instead of a new one."
"We're able to pick up unique signals finally?" Sophia asked.
"This is mostly because of how often he's shown up alongside each Megid giving off slightly different but similar signals to our tracker," Aoi explained, "Out of all the Megid, he's made his presence known the most."
"It means the others are either good at hiding their power or they haven't been as active as he has," Sakuya replied, "But right now we've got a lock on him."
"Contact all available Riders and Wielders," Genjuro called out as he held a hand forward, "If Amanojaku's acting on his own there's no doubt he has something wicked planned."
"Actually we've already got someone nearby," Aoi called out as she pulled up the Waveform signal for Gungnir, "Hibiki's already engaging Amanojaku!"
"Perfect, good to see we've at least got the jump on them this time," Genjuro said with a smile.
"Hurry, over here," Miku said as she gestured for her friends to hurry over to a nearby tree where they could observe the battle from. It didn't take long for the three to make their way to her, all four soon watching as Hibiki fought against Amanojaku and his Goblin horde.
"Just what are these things?" Hibiki questioned, dodging and performing counters against the Goblins that were trying to rush her, "They're like the Goblin Megid except, not."
"Like I said, new and improved!" Amanojaku boasted, "I can't summon too many yet but they're much better than any Shimi and even Alca-Noise! Not on par with the originals still but… that's fine."
Hibiki let out a shout as she slammed her leg against a Goblin's head, landing and blocking a punch from the next Goblin before reeling it in and striking it numerous times in the gut. She then elbowed it away, ducking and rolling when two Goblins attempted to tackle her at the same time.
"Yes, not bad, not bad," Amanojaku nodded as he clapped a few times. Despite the Hibiki being the only combatant, and his Goblins not being entirely incredible, it made sense that the Gungnir Wielder was handling the situation as well as she did, "That said…"
The Goblins all leapt up and charged forward, this time planning on attacking Hibiki all at once now that new orders had been given. Hibiki prepared her stance, planning on wiping them out with a strong attack. Her eyes caught something at her side, turning only to yelp, it growing muffled in an instant as bandage-like wrappings suddenly wrapped around her mouth and kept her from speaking and singing.
Miku's eyes widened, "Hibiki!"
Hibiki let out a muffled gasp as she was forced to dodge, feeling her power output going down now that she wasn't able to properly sing. She countered a couple of the Goblins before dodging anytime there was too close of a call. As she went to reach to try and tear the wrappings off, more wrappings were launched towards her hands. The result was her hands were now balled mitts that wouldn't be able to properly grip anything.
"Nah, not letting you get your second wind," Amanojaku said as he waged his left finger, the wrappings around his left arm spiraling slightly as this was the second new ability he had gained, "You see I noticed you all like to sing, and that usually causes problems so what if I just shut you up? The results are pretty nice so far!"
Hibiki could only let out a muffled response as she was forced on the defensive now, though she knew all she had to do was wait for backup. So long as nothing bad happened, she could hold out until someone else arrived.
"Now then, ciao," Amanojaku said as he vanished before suddenly appearing farther away and right next to the tree that Miku and the others were hiding behind, "Because I've got an appointment with a few others!"
The Megid had slammed his fist into the tree, a sickening crack occurring as he stepped to the side, it snapping and breaking as the tree fell forward. The result revealed Miku, Yumi, Kuriyo, and Shiori, though Miku immediately put herself in front of her friends instinctively.
"Oh and a fourth one," Amanojaku chuckled as he brought out two spare Alter Ride Books, "We'll go two at a time, so who wants to join the lovely lady up front?"
Miku narrowed her eyes, slowly reaching towards her pocket as this wasn't the kind of situation she wanted to end up in. Though she couldn't help but let out a sigh of resignation when she realized this was her own fault for not opening up earlier.
Hibiki turned with a muffled gasp, her eyes widening as she tried to move forward only for several Goblins to get in the way, all of them forcing her back. She hurriedly tried to find some way to tear off the wrappings around her hands or even her mouth, realizing that time was short.
Two Goblins got behind Hibiki, lunging towards her only to suddenly go limp. Sparks flew from their backs as they fell over and exploded. Hibiki turned in surprise to see Blades in his base form.
"Hibiki," Blades said as he quickly moved in, slicing through the wrappings on Hibiki's hands alongside carefully slicing at the ones around her mouth, "Are you alright?"
"Thanks Rintaro," Hibiki gasped out as she pulled the wrappings off before quickly turning, "I need you to handle these while I go and help Mi-"
[RAIMEIKEN IKAZUCHI!]
Thunder rumbled as lightning struck against Amanojaku, the Megid yelling out as sparks flew. Standing before him was Miku who was now wielding the Raimeiken Ikazuchi, her Swordriver attached to her waist and ready to go.
"Whoa…" Shiori said with wide eyes.
"No way…" Kuriyo let out a light gasp, "Hina's…"
Yumi let out a light squeal, "A Kamen Rider?!"
Miku said nothing as she glanced towards Blades and a clearly shocked Hibiki. Her glance turned into one of regret before she took a deep breath and looked away. Preparing her transformation with Lamp Do Alangina she readied Ikazuchi within her Driver before drawing it out once more, forming a halo of electricity above her.
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
"…Henshin!"
[LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
The halo crashed down as her transformation completed, Kamen Rider Espada now standing before everyone.
"What the hell?" Amanojaku questioned, "Since when did SONG get a new Espada?"
"Clearly you haven't done enough research," Espada said as she took her stance, crouching as she shifted her blade, a brief reflection of Blades and a still shocked Hibiki being seen before she shot forward at high speeds.
"Miku transformed… into Espada?" Hibiki asked in shock.
"Oh…" Blades muttered as he realized that Miku had yet to tell Hibiki about being Espada. He figured given he and everyone else assumed Hibiki would make a big deal about it. But he had also hoped that maybe Miku would have taken initiative before now.
Of course now wasn't the time for that as the remaining Goblins began to leap towards the Rider and Wielder, forcing them out of their thoughts.
"Hibiki, let's handle this first!" Blades called out as he blocked a punch from a Goblin before shifting his blade and rushing forward, slicing past the grunt.
"A-Alright," Hibiki called out as she batted away a couple of punches of one Goblin before smashing her fist into its gut, managing to send it flying back into another.
Amanojaku let out a yell as he was sent tumbling back, stray electricity crackling over his body. He shouted out as he launched a burst of dark energy towards Espada who leapt upwards while angling her blade downwards. The enhanced Megid could only yell out as Espada launched through him in an instant, sparks flying.
"I'm not letting you hurt my friends," Espada said as she turned and kept her stance.
"Not bad, but if we didn't know about you then you're still new at this!" Amanojaku called out as he lashed out with his mummy-like wrappings, the wrappings splitting into multiple tendrils that tried to strike at Espada from different angles.
Espada leapt backwards while slicing through whatever she could. Once there was an opening she slotted Ikazuchi back into the Swordriver, planning on initiating a Two Book Combo to give her an extra boost. She let out a light yelp however as her arms were suddenly tied to her body, one tendril having managed to sneak up on her. She let out a grunt, trying to reach for the Ride Book she was attempting to change forms with to try and escape this sudden trap.
"Now you want to protect your friends, right?" Amanojaku said as he gathered dark energy before launching it towards them, "Hope you can do it without your arms!"
Yumi, Shiori, and Kuriyo could only back up in fear, too frozen in shock for them to properly get out of the way of the blast.
Espada let out a light gasp at this, trying her hardest to get her transformation going or to at least activate the Ride Book she was reaching for. She quickly began to run towards her friends, though she wasn't sure she'd make it in time.
[BATTOU!]
In an instant, Falchion in her enhanced Gungnir Form descended and pierced through the energy in an instant by striking against it with her spear. She then swung her weapon to the side, dispersing it in an instant as she stared down Amanojaku.
[ETERNAL RELIC!]
"Are you girls alright?" Falchion asked as she glanced back, receiving nods from the trio, "Good, I'd suggest backing up a bit further while we clear things up."
"Sure thing," Kuriyo nodded as she quickly hurried off, grabbing her friends by the wrists to drag them off.
"Damn it, SONG's too quick to mobilize," Amanojaku hissed out as he saw this, "And especially with one of their stronger ones."
"Yeah, too bad for you we're kind of evenly spread out," Falchion said as she rested her spear on her shoulder, "So it wasn't too hard to make it here in time. That said, while I appreciate the compliment you should know I'm not the one you should be worrying about…"
[TRI-CERBERUS!]
Electricity lashed out from the Ride Book that had been activated, tearing through Espada's bindings as an electrical Cerberus construct formed from the elemental discharge. It managed to pounce on Amanojaku, pinning the Megid to the ground.
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! MITTSUMATA LAMP DO CERBERUS!]
The Cerberus kicked off of Amanojaku, flipping backwards as it spread out into electrical charges that struck Espada's outstretched right arm, forming the Cerberus armoring for Lamp Do Cerberus. She wasted no time in moving forward, going for fast and quick strikes that forced Amanojaku on the defensive.
It didn't take long for Falchion to leap up, dropping down while swinging her spear to strike against the Megid. She then got beside Espada, the two rushing forward to overwhelm their opponent. Falchion provided the range, easily managing to close the distance with her spear while Espada closed in for precise electrifying strikes. The two weren't exactly the most clean with their attempted teamwork though, which meant a few missteps.
"There we go," Amanojaku gasped out as he quickly leapt away from their barrage before black energy began leaking out of the shadows around him, sending energy onto his body in order to build up power, "Now then…"
"Uh-oh," Falchion stared forward before glancing at Espada, "How about we don't let him power up."
"Already on it," Espada said as she tapped both of her Ride Books before holding Needle Hedgehog over her Seiken's scan port.
[TRI-CERBERUS! LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
The Tri-Cerberus and Lamp Do Alangina constructs quickly formed out from the Ride Books that had been tapped. Both fully formed at Amanojaku's sides, Lamp Do Alangina striking against the Megid with both fists like a bullet while Tri-Cerberus lunged forward at high speeds while biting. The result had caused the energy gathered to destabilize, sparks flying as Amanojaku was staggered.
[HEDGEHOG! MM-HM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Espada let out a shout as she stabbed forward with Ikazuchi, holding it with both hands. The result formed a giant needle that shot through at high speeds, piercing Amanojaku through the stomach.
[GEKISŌ GUNGNIR!]
"Now I think it's time for you to pack your bags and leave," Falchion said spinning the pole of Gungnir in her hand rapidly to start up some momentum. She then used her other hand to increase the speed, fires erupting and burning brighter than ever as she swung downward, unleashing a fiery twister against the Megid, "Last Meteor!"
Amanojaku yelled out as he was struck directly by the twister, it angling upwards and launching him high into the sky. He could only reach out towards the ground as the fires burned his body further and further before he suddenly seized up, exploding in a bright display.
{LASTMETEOR}
"Hell yeah," Falchion said as she raised a free fist.
Espada however was looking at where Hibiki and Blades were, the Swordsman of Water taking the lead and slicing through the remaining Goblin constructs. Sparks flew as the Goblins staggered back before falling over and exploding.
"There we go," Blade said before realizing the battle was over, noticing that Hibiki was staring straight at Espada, "Uh…"
"Have to say it's nice to see you on the field, guess you finally told her," Falchion remarked as she glanced towards Espada before noticing that Hibiki was staring at them, "Uh…"
"That's the thing… I didn't tell her…" Espada admitted in a low voice, but low enough for the phoenix Rider to hear.
"Oh," Falchion said as she watched Espada walk towards Hibiki and Blades. She sighed as she dismissed her transformation alongside the others, "Well this just got complicated, huh?"
"Yep," Miku muttered as she finally stood across from Hibiki, "I suppose the truth is out now, but well… that's what I was trying to tell you before Amanojaku attacked. I'm the new Kamen Rider Espada."
"Oh," Hibiki said, everything catching up as the shock was finally wearing off, "So the Book today was…"
"Was me accidentally leaving my personal Ride Book out and about," Miku replied as she held up Lamp Do Alangina to stare at.
"How long have you been…?" Hibiki trailed off in her question, though it was clear there was an awkward air now present.
"I started training around when the new Megid type showed up," Miku explained, deciding to take the lead in the conversation, "Daishinji approached me and I've been practicing for a majority of summer. But I didn't transform until the incident where you were infected by the Phantom Megid."
"So then that feeling I felt… it was you fighting to protect me…" Hibiki trailed as she held a hand towards her chest before gripping it tightly. She lowered her head slightly before fully lifting it up with a smile, "Thank you Miku."
"Eh?" Rintaro was a bit surprised to see that Hibiki was seemingly alright with this development.
"Yep, she and Touma kicked butt big time to help you," Kanade said, figuring that Hibiki wasn't too bothered given the smile.
Miku though knew better however, and that was because she had known Hibiki for a long while. She could tell when Hibiki had a genuine smile and when that smile was forced. It was a subtle difference that most people couldn't pick up on, but she knew. And the smile she saw Hibiki give at that moment was one that was forced. She could only hope that Hibiki wouldn't try anything crazy now that the secret was out.
"Well that ended in a dud," Zooous said as he dropped down into his seat while having his hands in his pockets, he leaned back and let out a low groan, "Why did we decide to do this again? We wasted how many Megid to power him up? And he couldn't even start his job…"
"I suppose the cards were stacked against him," Storious remarked with an amused expression, "I suppose I was curious, but I am still marveled by Amanojaku's growth…"
"You don't say?" Zooous asked as he looked over, "I guess he's got some good cunning to him…"
"He's willing to get tricky with how he fights which I appreciate," Storious replied, "He also isn't above getting his hands dirty, thanks to the nature of his story."
"Sounds like a match made in heaven," Zooous answered sarcastically before sighing, "What do we tell Legeiel though? He's not going to be happy when he finds out a couple of his books were used up."
"Simply put, Amanojaku chose to act on his own, absconding with two books to increase his power only to turn up short," Storious said as he walked over to where Amanojaku's Book was located. He picked it up and went to pocket it completely, "As such I shall put his Book on lockdown for the time being as punishment. Let our Megid rest and clear his head until I choose to bring him out once more."
"That's not what happened though…" Zooous trailed.
"Does Legeiel really need to know the truth?" Storious asked as if the answer was obvious, "It's better in the long run for us if he just believes my story."
"And what if Amanojaku blabs whenever you let him out?" Zooous asked, raising a brow.
"I will only let him out when absolutely necessary," Storious replied, "For now I will hold onto him."
"Whatever," Zooous groaned out as he went to sit up, "So what's the plan now?"
"We've acquired quite the stock towards our goal," Storious said as he walked over, "I think it's time for us to wait and see what the next group in the limelight is planning."
"Fair enough," Zooous replied, "We usually end up making out like bandits when it comes to letting others do the heavy lifting."
"Indeed we do," Storious smiled before looking over at a projection that replayed the fight that debuted Miku as Espada. He then went over to a small case, opening up to reveal that it held Alca-Noise crystals, "That said… considering our newest entrant, I think a few tests are in order."
Several Days Later…
Touma and Daishinji were currently making their way through the hallways of SONG's submersible, the former having sought out the latter due to a few concerns.
"I'm worried, "Touma admitted, "I get that it'll take some time but they feel so awkward around each other now whenever I briefly see them."
"It's been nearly a week hasn't it?" Daishinji asked, receiving a nod as he went to put a hand to his chin in thought, "That's not good…"
"Yeah, I'm worried it might go on longer than it needs to," Touma replied, "I figured I'd try and pick the brains of our older members to see what they thought."
"It's certainly a wise choice to come to us instead of the others," Daishinji agreed, "However I'm not sure if I can truly grasp this situation without…"
"Alright that's enough Hibiki! What's really going on here?"
"N-Nothing's going on at all! It's probably just your imagination Miku!"
"Speaking of them…" Touma trailed as he began to pick up his pace from where they heard the noise before realizing where they were, "Wait isn't this where…"
"We're nearby Gjallarhorn's chamber, yes," Daishinji said, "There was an alert earlier, remember?"
"I wasn't here for it," Touma replied, "I only just got here, remember?"
"Ah, I was working with Elfnein so I didn't show up," Daishinji explained, "Considering they didn't call me I likely wasn't selected or they re-rolled."
"That said I think we at least know two of who were selected…" Touma trailed off as the voices grew louder.
"I'm being serious!"
"I-I'm being serious too!"
The two were ready to walk into Gjallarhorn's storage room only for a very nervous Hibiki to back out of the automatic doors with a clearly annoyed Miku following after her. Exiting after was a fairly bored Yuri, simply staring at the scene before him.
"Yuri…?" Touma asked.
"I was on a team with Hibiki and Miku to a parallel world," Yuri explained, "I would say it was quite splendid, but…"
"Okay, enough you two," Daishinji spoke up as he quickly walked over, keeping his arms crossed but his presence was enough for Hibiki and Miku to keep their distance from each other, "What's going on?"
"I-I don't know…" Hibiki admitted nervously, "We were just going about our mission as normal and…"
"Hibiki don't lie," Miku glared before looking over at Daishinji and gesturing towards her friend, "Hibiki, Yuri and I were sent to deal with a Phantom Megid. We confronted it but that's my issue with what happened. Hibiki kept dealing with the Phantom Megid herself. She'd let Yuri get in several hits but anytime I tried to help keep pressure she'd take over almost instantly."
"Eh?" Touma asked as he looked over at Hibiki.
"I'm uh… I'm just trying to be efficient is all, especially with the Phantom Megid," Hibiki admitted with a sheepish smile, "You're worrying about it too much Miku, you still fought it anyway."
"Am I?" Miku asked before sighing, "Listen, I'm sorry about keeping it from you if that's what's bothering you. It was stupid to keep it to myself but I wanted to make sure I was ready before I let you know so we could avoid something like this."
"No, no, it's not that, I don't mind that you kept a secret, heck that makes us even now," Hibiki held her hands up as she looked around in a panic before hurrying over to Yuri, "Yuri, you mentioned you needed to figure out a base for your new look right?"
"Oh, I see word has spread of my inevitable travel," Yuri said with light surprise, having not paid much mind to the information flow within SONG HQ, "But yes, why do you ask?"
"How about we try and figure out something later at Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama!" Hibiki called out before suddenly hurrying off with a laugh, though nervousness could be heard clearly in it, "Anyway, I should go get something to drink after a mission like that! See you later!"
"Okay, so something's wrong here," Touma said once Hibiki was out of earshot as he crossed his arms and looked over at Miku, "Hibiki just hogged the Phantom Megid to herself? Isn't that dangerous?"
"It most certainly is," Yuri nodded, "I at least helped wherever I could however since she'd allow me within the fight for an extended period."
"It hasn't just been that," Miku admitted as she gripped her hands tightly, everyone looking at her when she uttered those words, "You know how there have been some stray Alca-Noise here and there, and how Hibiki and I have been dealing with some of those groups right?"
"Oh don't tell me…" Touma trailed, "She's been taking the lead on those too?"
"Yes," Miku said in a fairly frustrated tone, "And that's not getting into training the other day. I was hoping that maybe it was us not having any real synergy yet, but she'd always take the lead on the simulations. Except she'd make sure she'd finish off every opponent created before I barely got a chance to fight them."
"I see," Daishinji said, finally speaking up as he had gone silent once Miku had her explained what had happened on the mission, "It's a leap, but it feels like she doesn't trust you."
"But why doesn't she?" Miku asked, her frustrations building, "I told her how long I trained, and I don't think I did that badly against Amanojaku."
"You didn't," Daishinji confirmed, recalling the footage he had seen since it was Espada's first active fight recorded, "And I saw you clearly while you fought Odin. You're not weak."
"Then why?" Miku asked with a sigh as she looked down, "Why doesn't she trust me?"
"That's likely an issue she's holding all to herself," Daishinji replied, "One that she's not going to easily let go of and one she likely won't tell anyone but herself."
"If she'd just tell me then it'd make things easier," Miku crossed her arms with a light pout.
"Just like it was as easy to tell her that you were Espada?" Daishinji asked with a clear tenseness as he wanted to be as blunt as possible when it came to his words. Yuri and Touma's eyes widened as Miku looked up in surprise at his words. He had a stern look on his face, though it held some resignation to it, "I didn't want to have to do this… but there's only one suggestion I can have so that this issue becomes non-existent before the end of summer."
The Next Day…
SONG HQ's bridge was fairly packed with nearly every Rider and Wielder there as Genjuro stood before them all, Sophia standing off to the side with Ogawa. Aoi, Sakuya, and Elfnein were glancing back from the stations towards the front, having put a pause on what they were doing to listen to Genjuro's announcement. The only one not around was Daishinji oddly enough, though a fair few people figured that it was likely due to him prioritizing his job as a swordsmith.
"I've called you all here today for a very important reason," Genjuro said as he crossed his arms, looking over everyone with a gravely serious expression before relaxing his stance. He let his arms drop to his side as he let out a small smirk, "Before that though… Miku, the floor is yours."
"Thank you sir," Miku said with a light bow as she stepped forward.
This surprised a few people but most of all Hibiki, wondering exactly what the Commander wanted Miku to do specifically. Of course she wasn't expecting the next words out of Miku's mouth…
"Hibiki," Miku said as she turned, a serious expression on her face as she pointed directly at her best friend, "I challenge you to a duel!"
Hibiki stared at Miku for a while in surprise before the realization hit her, "EH?!"
Kirika could shout at this, "What Dess?!"
"Now this is surprising," Shirabe admitted, having been unaware of what had been going on between the two.
"Wait, seriously?" Chris asked in surprise, "You're derailing the meeting for that?"
"This duel is the reason the meeting was called," Genjuro admitted much to everyone's surprise, "Because this is to be overseen by all of us."
"I see," Tsubasa nodded as she looked over at Miku, seeing the clear resolve within the Rider's eyes, "I'd be honored to supervise such an event."
"Sounds kind of cool to be honest," Kanade admitted.
"But why though?" Rintaro asked.
"Yes that's a very good question," Maria said, noticing that the higher-ups alongside Touma and Yuri were very silent at the declaration, "Why exactly a duel?"
"Y-Yeah, exactly," Hibiki nodded as she finally found her words as she quickly went to agreeing with Maria, "Why do we need to fight each other?"
"I'm tired of all this dancing around," Miku replied as she kept herself steeled, clearly taking this situation very seriously which everyone took notice of, "If you won't explain your issue with me becoming Espada then I'll gladly fight you to find out why and everyone's joining us to make sure you don't get out of this."
"T-There's no issue, none at all," Hibiki shook her head before quickly hurrying off, managing to break away from the crowd of Riders and Wielders. The door opened and she was ready to make a beeline to the nearest exit only to let out a gasp as she ran into something, getting sent to the ground and wincing as she held her head, "What…?"
"Are you running away?"
"Huh?" Hibiki looked up, her eyes widening in shock as she looked up to see a displeased Daishinji staring down at her, the Swordsmith had been standing right outside the bridge the entire time, "Daishinji… I…"
"Are you running away from your friend's request?" Daishinji asked as he crossed his arms.
"I… I…" Hibiki trailed before shaking her head and slowly picking herself up, "Why do Miku and I even have to fight?"
"I've told you once before but I'll tell you again," Daishinji replied, "Sometimes the best way to understand one another is to lock blades."
"That may be true…" Hibiki muttered, recalling that he had told her that during the Frontier Incident when Kirika and Shirabe fought, "But…"
"As your commanding officer I'd like you two to come to an understanding now that I'm aware of this," Genjuro answered firmly but with enough softness to show that he was genuinely concerned about the situation, "If you can't say what you mean then let your fists and blades do the talking. There are more ways to reach someone than simply talking after all."
"This is something the two of you need to see through before this grows out of control," Daishinji continued as he kept his stern look, "Are you running away?"
"I…" Hibiki trailed off before sighing and shaking her head, realizing she didn't have a choice, "No."
"Good," Daishinji said as he softened his expression.
"Miku," Hibiki said and closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath as she looked over towards her friend, managing to just barely lock eyes with her, "I accept your challenge."
"Thank you," Miku said, appreciative of the response as she followed up with a quick bow, "It will be tomorrow."
"Wait, why tomorrow?" Hibiki asked, slightly caught off guard by how much time they'd have to prepare for this.
"To give you time to prepare your body and mind," Genjuro replied, recalling what Miku had told him, "That and we're setting up the venue now as we speak, but it won't be ready until tomorrow."
"Alright then," Hibiki said with a nod, "That's fine by me."
Everyone had gone their separate ways after the meeting, Miku and Hibiki heading out from the submarine to prepare for the fated duel. Others had either left by themselves as well or grouped up with others. When it came to Maria's thoughts on this however…
"Alright," Maria said as she currently had a soda in her hand, having gotten some for her, Touma, and Yuri after pulling them to the side, "Was this your idea?"
"Daishinji was the one who brought the idea up to Miku," Touma replied, "But both Yuri and I were there when he explained it to her."
"And you agreed to this?" Maria asked as she raised a brow.
"Is there an issue?" Yuri asked as he took a sip of his soda, taking in the flavor as it was one he hadn't tried yet, "I feel as though this is the best possible solution so long as it's kept under control. It was common practice back in my days as a Swordsman."
"It's just, I'm trying to understand the logic here," Maria admitted as she crossed her arms, "I understand what Daishinji is getting at, but is a duel of all things really going to-"
"When it comes to Hibiki and Miku, yes," Touma answered, deciding to cut Maria off to show just how for the idea he was, "You don't know them like I do."
"What do you mean?" Maria asked.
"It was easy to see because well… I came later into their lives," Touma admitted, "There's something about their relationship that's special and while the three of us have a close bond, that's different compared to just the two of them."
"I suppose that does make sense," Yuri nodded.
"It's why I know that if they don't do this, they won't be able to say what they want to each other about this situation," Touma added as he stared directly at Maria, "Communication on certain things is hard for them, and I'm in the middle of that so they're able to tell me some of the little or big details that they otherwise wouldn't be able to directly say."
"I see," Maria said, "And you really think this will work?"
"If it's anything like the match I had with Daishinji, it will," Touma replied, "Daishinji is right. Sometimes to understand someone, the weight behind the weapon they hold… you need to clash with them."
"Considering what it's done for you, I'd say it has a splendid chance of working out," Yuri added.
"I suppose if you're vouching for this, then I'm alright with it," Maria said before giving a light sigh, "It's just the sudden nature of it just caught me off guard."
"No I get that," Touma reassured, understanding his friend's feelings, "We were hoping to slowly get people in on it but Miku and Daishinji insisted we try to get it done as quickly as possible."
"Considering we never know what might happen, it makes sense," Yuri agreed.
Kanade and Tsubasa were currently wandering around SONG HQ's hallways with Ogawa, the manager/swordsman of wind having needed to go through some idol related talk with Tsubasa. That led to the trio walking with no real direction, though once talks on idol work faded, Kanade knew she had to ask her question.
"So…" Kanade trailed off, "Who do you all think is going to win?"
"Excuse me?" Tsubasa asked.
"Where did this come from?" Ogawa asked.
"Come on, the fight is literally tomorrow," Kanade replied as if it was obvious, "And I want to see what you've got to say about this."
"Why exactly?" Tsubasa raised a brow.
"Tsubasa, you've trained alongside Hibiki for a bit and both you and Ogawa have trained Miku to an extent," Kanade replied, "I feel like you've got the best read about this situation."
"I guess you are right in that regard," Ogawa agreed.
"Fair enough I suppose," Tsubasa relented as she stopped in place and put a hand to her chin in thought, "Tachibana is extremely strong and her tenacity knows no bounds. However considering how hesitant she was about this despite her acceptance puts her at a disadvantage if she can't find her resolve by tomorrow…"
"Yeah," Ogawa agreed, "While Hibiki is strong, if her heart's faltering then she won't be going as strong as she usually is. Especially since her opponent is Miku."
"I see," Kanade nodded.
"Though Kohinata is at a disadvantage as well due to lacking as much experience as Hibiki has," Tsubasa admitted, "The fact is Tachibana has had more practical fights under her belt. But I cannot deny Kohinata's skill with a blade… whenever we sparred I definitely felt an adeptness that only someone like Daishinji or Ogawa has shown."
"That is also true," Ogawa agreed, "While not as experienced her skill is still incredible to witness."
"Oh I see…" Kanade nodded further, "So… you're going for…?"
"It's a close matchup though I'd like to believe Kohinata can win this," Tsubasa said with a nod as she solidified her choice further while turning towards her friend.
"I'd probably go for Miku as well," Ogawa admitted, "Though I do hope Hibiki can figure things out that way the duel can be met at an equal level tomorrow."
"So you're both betting on Miku, got it," Kanade nodded with a grin, now having a notepad out as she quickly wrote something down, "Any potential monetary value you want to put on that or…?"
"Kanade…" Tsubasa narrowed her eyes in a rather dangerous manner, "What are you doing?"
"I think she's trying to run a betting ring," Ogawa said with a sheepish smile.
"No, just honest to goodness statistic work," Kanade replied held up her hands in a nervous manner, "Okay, maybe some betting to actually spice the fight up a bit…"
"You are not turning a sacred duel into a spectator sport," Tsubasa remarked dryly as her eyes remained narrowed.
"Okay, fine, fine," Kanade said as she went to walk off, realizing she'd have to change up her strategy, "Guess you aren't that confident in Miku after all."
"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Tsubasa asked with a stammer, getting knocked out of her serious demeanor as she hurried after her friend, "Kanade, hold it!"
Ogawa meanwhile let out a sigh as he shrugged with a smile, going to follow after the two.
Daishinji and Elfnein had gone back to the workshop to start work on the equipment that would need to be in tip top condition for the fight the next day. Elfnein was running checks on Gungnir, making sure everything was functioning and there would be no issues. Daishinji meanwhile was making sure all the Ride Books that would be used by the two combatants were in pristine condition, while also attending to the Raimeiken Ikazuchi.
"How's everything going?" Genjuro asked as he entered.
"We haven't run into any issues yet thankfully," Elfnein replied, "Luckily I was already in the process of keeping Gungnir up to date in regards to checkups."
"That's good to hear," Genjuro replied.
"Sorry about springing this on you by the way," Daishinji apologized to the two, "But considering how they were acting and what I saw yesterday… I figured we needed to get drastic before this gets worse."
"No it's understandable," Genjuro replied, "If you didn't take initiative I would have once I figured something was off."
"Yeah, I understand," Elfnein replied, "While it is more work in a smaller timeframe, what's important is the two keeping their relationship stable, especially with Miku now joining us in battle."
"That being said," Genjuro said as he looked towards Daishinji and gained an almost childish smirk, "If you think your pupil is going to top mine, then I'd suggest keeping your expectations in check."
"Oh I see," Daishinji said as he gained his own smirk, turning to face Genjuro with his own air of confidence, "So you think that she can best Miku, huh?"
"While it could go either way, I'll always bet on the one I trained," Genjuro said as he crossed his arms.
"And I'll say the same," Daishinji said as he crossed his arms in response.
Elfnein meanwhile could only look in confusion, unaware of what the two were posturing about. She had still yet to truly understand the nature of the two teachers who held great pride in their students.
"Considering everything, it makes sense," Rintaro said as he, Shirabe and Kirika had decided to stay behind on the bridge while everyone else went about their business.
They were currently further up at the main control stations that Aoi and Sakuya sat at, Sophia having joined them. The trio was curious about what reasons Miku would have for wanting to propose a duel aside from what was suggested. While Sophia didn't exactly have a full grasp on the situation, she did learn enough when they were setting up the plan to begin with. So she was able to let the three know why exactly Miku had chosen Daishinji's plan.
"Sometimes you need to fight to work things out," Shirabe said, glancing at Kirika who glanced back, the two recalling their battle against each other at Frontier. Though admittedly the two winced slightly at the memory, recalling the extremes they went through, "But with how this is set up, it's a lot safer."
"Yeah," Kirika nodded, "A duel like this will definitely be a lot tamer."
"I'm surprised we're waiting for tomorrow," Sakuya replied, "I just hope our enemies don't take advantage of this."
"Well that's why we'll still be here," Aoi reminded, "To alert the others if something happens."
"Yes, I'll likely be skipping out on watching it directly as well," Sophia nodded, "Though we will be monitoring it alongside our usual duties."
"Admittedly, I do get why it came to this," Shirabe spoke up again, "Miku doesn't want to be seen as useless or helpless. And what Hibiki's been doing, no matter her intentions, has been causing that feeling to fester inside."
"Right, right," Kirika nodded, "And now Miku wants to prove she has what it takes."
"More than likely," Rintaro agreed though he did feel like it was more than a simple dislike of feeling helpless, "While I'd normally have reservations about something like this… considering their relationship… this might work out wonderfully for them."
"All I ask is that you lend your support to them," Sophia replied, "This didn't seem like an easy decision to make for either of them. So I'm sure they'll be looking to you all for encouragement."
"You can count on us," Kirika smiled.
"We'll do whatever we can," Shirabe nodded.
"A duel huh, sounds fun," Desast said as he was currently leaning against the railing of a raised area within an alleyway/back area of a few buildings with Chris. The Ichaival Wielder had decided to decompress from the shock by having a late lunch with the chimera Megid. Said lunch was just her grabbing some bowls of ramen from a convenience store and heating them up for them to enjoy.
"You're only saying that because it's a fight," Chris replied as she went to slurp down some of her noodles.
"Well duh," Desast said as he went to slurp down his noodles as well, "But as someone who's been at this for a while, that Miku girl's got the right idea."
"What makes you say that," Chris glanced over as she went to slurp down another set of noodles.
"I'm a fighter and even when I had to follow Calibur's orders I still enjoyed myself," Desast replied, "But while enjoying myself I knew I'd get bored so I tried to find something beyond the material form of a fight."
"And how did that go for you?" Chris asked.
"I've got a lead, I think," Desast replied, though he himself was unsure about it. He shook his head however, "There's been one person I've clashed and viewed in battle with my own eyes that I think can show me what I want."
"Okay," Chris said though went silent, "What does that have to do with…"
"Your friend wants to use battle as the means of finding and giving an answer," Desast replied, "And if her bond with the one she chose to duel is close enough… well it'll likely be enlightening for both of them."
"I see," Chris nodded as she stared at her bowl, "Did you want to watch?"
"I'm not joining you all for that," Desast replied dryly, already knowing what the reaction would be from mostly everyone there, "But if I can find a good spot to hide myself at, I'll keep an eye out."
"Got it," Chris replied before going back to downing her ramen with Desast following suit.
Touma let out a yawn and a stretch as he made his way back to Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama. He wasn't sure where Miku or Hibiki had gone but he figured they were going to prepare in their own ways. Once his conversation was done with Maria and he made sure he didn't need to take care of anything else, he decided to leave.
Of course, imagine his surprise when he saw that Miku was sitting outside of Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama. She was looking the other way before turning and catching sight of him, soon standing up.
"Huh?" Touma walked over at a more hurried pace, "Miku, what are you doing here?"
"Touma, I have a favor I want to ask," Miku admitted.
"Wait what?" Touma asked, taken aback by the sudden request from his friend, "What kind of favor exactly?"
"Well…" Miku trailed.
Hibiki meanwhile had gone back to her and Miku's apartment as she was currently lost in thought. She knew exactly what she had been doing these past several days, and there was the naïve hope that they could just ignore everything. That they could keep moving along like they had in the past even with Miku's new status. Though yesterday should have been the tipping point in her realizing that it likely wasn't going to hold any further.
"I feel like I'm cursed…" Hibiki muttered as she went to the bedroom of the apartment, sitting down on the bottom bunk with a sigh, "I don't want to fight Miku… but it's not really a fight considering it's a duel… it'd be more like a sparring session… but even so, maybe I should…" she shook her head, "No, she was really serious about this. It's not like I can't show up, that'd just make things worse."
She let out a yelp however as she felt something moving around in her pockets, soon yelping further as it suddenly launched out from her pockets. She could only stare in surprise as the Ride Book she held onto, Ultimate Bahamut, was now floating before her.
"Bahamut…?" she asked in surprise as she stared towards the Ride Book that began to glow with an ethereal blue aura, the aura expanding and molding itself into a distinct shape. The Gungnir Wielder's eyes could only widen in surprise as she saw this, "Whoa…"
"Hibiki Tachibana…" before the girl was the armored form that Bahamut had taken before though with no belt/buckle. There was a blue aura surrounding his body which itself was mostly transparent, the Ride Book floating around where his heart would be, "It looks like you could use some guidance."
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: I did mention that I'd be doing things a bit differently for the ending when it came to RXU in comparison to the other seasons before and after. While the Parallel Worlds were the big premise for the season, another major reason this season exists is to allow a bit of breathing room for Miku's training to become Espada. So with that in mind, why end bombastically when I can go for a bit of a more personal story involving Miku and Hibiki? There's not much else to say but thanks for reading and please look forward to the season finale.