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Guest DCDGojira: Glad you liked it

lordri25may2001: Yeah, Ouja and Femme are both in Lydian. They know about Femme but are unaware that Ouja came back from his missions overseas. I'm holding to reveal more of Yosuke's backstory and his relationship with Tsubasa's dad until we get to GX and as for Hazuki, we'll see glimpses of it as the story progresses. Also, I was planning on writing about XDU. I was thinking of maybe its own chapter, like a movie special or something. But I was waiting for the story to end because it will spoil most of the normal stories' plotlines and whatnot. But I have some idea on what to do about the parallel characters.

Chapter 35
Game of Revenge

Terunosuke paced around his room, checking his phone yet again. No notifications. No calls or texts. Andreas and Raiden had not communicated with him in the past 18 hours since they went to intercept Hibiki Tachibana. He watched in the news that the top of the tower had been destroyed, but he had assumed they were smart enough to escape. Especially with Evildiver. But they hadn't reported in. Moreover, the Noise were reported to have been in the area as well. That means the old hag and the others were around for some reason.

The possibility of his brothers being dead was there. Or even worse, captured and are being questioned right now and will eventually crack, exposing Terunosuke as their alleged guardian. And then they would find out who he really was. And if that's the case, they would also realize that he's Gai. His life would be over.

But...that couldn't be. There was no way to link him to them. If they were dead, then some other Rider probably got their power and that was going to be a pain in the ass. But certainly much better than them exposing him. No, even if they were captured, they wouldn't rat him out. They had too much trust in him. His grip on them was strong and had earned their blind admiration. They were just confused children, after all. He could worry about that later. For now, he had to prepare for his day at work. Supposedly someone had asked specifically for him. Why that was, he wasn't sure. It's not like he ever tried to excel at work anymore. Not like it was hard to stand out, but he just found no pleasure in overachieving anymore. Everyone at his job were idiots and never recognized his efforts, so he saw no point in trying too hard. And yet, despite that, someone has asked to see him.

'Maybe people are finally starting to recognize me as the best.' He grinned cockily, finishing adjusting his tie and putting on his vest. He exited his bathroom, his eyes darting over to the stuffed chipmunk sitting on his desk. He walked over to it, unzipping its back and pulling out a small picture hidden in its stuffing. A picture of Serena."I'll be going now."

Stuffing the picture back, Terunosuke exited his room and headed for the living room of his apartment, noticing the laptop sitting on top of the kitchen counter.'Wait! That's right! The camera!'

He quickly opened the laptop to check the recordings of the camera in front of the girls' dormitory. To his surprise, someone had moved the camera. He checked the activities log and realized the camera hadn't recorded anything since yesterday. 'Did someone take the camera?' If so, then this was bad news. They could trace the camera serial number and find out he bought it from Amazon and trace his address.

But there was something wrong with the room. It was dimly lit, but he could tell it was some basement. He squinted his eyes, adjusting the brightness and that's when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. Two corpses lay on the ground, covered in blood and with their guts scattered around them, making for a grotesque image that almost made Terunosuke vomit his breakfast. He had seen Metalgelas eat people before, but it wasn't as...extreme as this. On the wall, there was a message written in blood.

"I know who is watching. I am watching you too."

Out of nowhere, someone emerged from below the camera wearing a pumpkin for a mask, causing Terunosuke to scream in shock and trip over his couch.

"I see the camera is recording..." The voice that belonged to a female drawled, poking the camera."I see the light blinking. So I have an audience?"

"What the fuck..." Terunosuke was bewildered. Someone had stolen his camera and was...recording some type of sick human mutilation in a slaughterhouse."What is this?!"

"I can hear you, you know..." The woman giggled."This camera...this particular model has a microphone integrated into it. One that you no doubt put on mute before...but I managed to change those settings...when I got my hands on it..."

"Who are you...?"

"Me? You want to know...who I am?" She giggled madly."I'm so happy. I love it when I'm asked for my name. It brings me...joy to be asked for my name. Because I know they will remember it. You will too, won't you? But unfortunately, I can't give you my name. Not yet, at least. But I can show you this little toy~"

A white Deck with the symbol of what looked to be a swan embedded into it."You're...a Kamen Rider?!"

"I am. I'm Kamen Rider Femme." Femme introduced herself with a mock bow."At your service."

"Are you the one who did the brats in?"

"Brats...? Oh, you mean those adorable kids? The one with glasses and the hyperactive one?" Femme shrugged."I did not...But I wanted to. I didn't get a choice, you know? I was in Tokyo Sky Tower too. I saw all those fights going on...But I couldn't jump in to have my fill of fun...Frustrated, I grabbed a couple of high school girls and well...as you can see, I satiated my thirst for...blood. For now, anyway."

"Fantastic. I hate dealing with women and children. But now I'm dealing with a psychopath." Terunosuke tried to calm his nerves, adopting a bored expression."So? What do you want? Want to kill me too? Let's skip to the chase. You probably know my name too, don't you?"

"You're taking the fun out of it, dumbass!" Femme snapped, banging on the table that the camera was probably sitting on."So what if I know who you are?! That just makes it even better! You fucking idiot! I traced the serial number of the camera and found out that you, Terunosuke Kuwana, are the one who bought it!"

Terunosuke was left speechless, petrified at her sudden outburst.

"No...I'm not going to kill you. At least, not in the way...you're thinking..." Her tone changed in pitch once again."No...because thanks to you, I know who my real target is. Your brothers...were chasing those girls...one of them which I'm particularly interested in. So I'm not upset at all...I took the camera because...I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me...?"

"Thank you for that and also...because you make my killing sprees easier to carry out..." Femme began walking over to the corpse, grabbing a knife on the floor, and inspected the bloody knife."I tend to follow your MO to mask my murders. They think...you're the one killing them...But they're unable to get to the heart of the matter...Unable to find the truth."

"You damn bitch!" Terunosuke finally exploded."So you're the one pretending to be me!"

"What's the matter? Am I being heartless? I have a remedy for that..." Femme squatted down, her back obscuring whatever she was doing. But Terunosuke could hear the stomach-retching sound of flesh being cut and bones being broken. Once she was done, she pulled something out of the girl's chest, holding it high in the air. She walked back to the camera, showing off the human heart in her palm."Ta-da..."

"What the hell are you-"

The girl got closer to the camera, her sclera turning black and contrasting her yellow eyes from inside her mask. "We're similar. You and I. We kill because it gives us pleasure. Some sort of excitement and purpose. Anyway...I must get going. I'm sure you...have other things to do as , ciao, Onii-san."

With that, the communication was abruptly cut off. Terunosuke clenched his fists in anger."That damn bitch...Who the hell does she think she is, belittling me like this?! She wants to battle? Fine. Once I'm done with this stupid meeting, I'll gladly go look for her and kill her. Who knows. I might get a sweet new power out of this."

At the same time, Yosuke was getting ready to head to Sunny Enterprises for the meeting he had scheduled with Kuwana. He had his information neatly packed in his binder. And most importantly, his Deck in his back pocket. He knew a fight was inevitable. But then again, he was hoping for it. With the amount of evidence against him, Kuwana was already guaranteed to be sent to prison.

He didn't want that. He wanted justice to be served. For this killer to feel what it's like to be killed. For the people who died. His own classmates. Kids like him, who had their whole lives ahead of them. Dreams, aspirations, families, and friends. All of them gone because of some petty grudge he had against the school. And those businessmen as well. He didn't want to think about the families who lost their fathers and mothers.

"I'm ending this today." He muttered to himself, tying up his purple hair in a topknot style."First Gai, then I'm coming for you, Ouja...And once that's done, Odin is next."

"Looking sharp there, friend."

Yosuke glanced at the mirror, watching the reflection of Takeru entering the changing room."Sakamoto. You're still here? I thought you guys were all going to go training today to get ready for when we face off against FIS."

"We are. The Luitenant wants to test out his new card. The girls already went ahead with the Commander." Takeru leaned against the wall."But you know Tsubasa. She's worried. She doesn't like the fact you're going alone to confront Gai. You know you don't have to. We can all go together."

"It's fine. It'll be less suspicious." Yosuke refused."Besides, I told you before, I want to beat Gai at his own game. Give him the ultimate humiliation. He's played with all of those lives...as well as made us look like fools. Sorry. But I have to go in alone."

"And I told you before, revenge is the worse path to walk on." Takeru sighed."Listen, man, there's a difference between premeditated murder, killing on accident, and following orders. I followed orders and killed. You killed on accident. No, you didn't even kill the first Scissors. It just happened. And Ouja plans all his murders. Are you...really okay with crossing that line?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, man, I can see it in your eyes." Takeru shook his head, standing in front of Yosuke."That's the look of a guy who's already made up his mind. You want to kill Gai. For revenge."

"I know it's the wrong thing to do." Yosuke closed his eyes."I'm aware that...nothing good comes out of revenge. Funny enough though, Kanade and Akira's relationship sparked because of revenge."

"Revenge?" Takeru arched a brow."How so?"

"Kanade wanted revenge against the Noise because they killed her family. Akira wanted revenge because...from what I understand, in his past, one of his friends killed another friend. Akira's goal was less straightforward than Kanade's since it required him to find that person again. Anyway, they understood each other's feelings and motivations. The rest...the rest just kind of happened."

"Did he ever...find that person?"

"No." Yosuke exhaled."No, he didn't. He never told us any details. No names, no characteristics, nothing. Just that it happened before he joined Section Two. When he was a kid. But now that I know there's a connection between Akira and Cypher..."

"You think Cypher is the one who killed his friend," Takeru said, earning a small nod.

"Do you remember what you told me? When you and Yukine were escaping Fine's mansion? That Ouja killed his "most important person". Just to see if he had emotions? After a long time, it finally clicked for me. Akira's words."

"So what are you going to do once you find the person you're looking for?" Yosuke asked him as they both were finishing up their reports for a recent Noise sighting.

"Put one in his head." Akira casually answered without looking up from his laptop."Or something."

"Just like that? I mean, I get you want revenge, but-"

"It's not about him killing my friend only." Akira finally met his gaze."It's about why he did it. He did it just to prove a point. A stupid fucking point. I will never forgive that unstable piece of shit."

"Unstable...?"

"The guy was a real piece of work. Lifeless as a doll with no personality whatsoever. We...sympathized with him. So we brought him into our little social circle. But...I know killing him won't bring my friend back. Or make anything better. But sometimes you have to do what you feel like doing. Despite if it destroys you and lowers you to that person's level. Because otherwise, you will never get rid of that feeling in your heart."

"Yanagi...do you realize what this could mean?" Takeru swallowed the lump in his throat."If there is a direct connection between the two, it means that Akira was an assassin."

"I thought about the possibility. It's the only thing that makes sense. The lack of information from his past, his reluctance to talk about himself." Yosuke's left eye twitched."Damn it..."

"Akira said it. Revenge won't make you feel better. You'll just become as bad as Ouja is."

"But I have to do it. It's not right, but I have to. I owe it to all those people he killed." Yosuke began walking toward the door."You must know what it feels like. To lose people in front of you and then ponder if you could have done something about it. I saved as many students as I could. And yet...even more died. And now I know who the man behind the slaughter is."

"Still...would you really be okay carrying all that hate by yourself?"

"It's because I'm the leader that I'm suitable to do so." Yosuke looked over his shoulder."You guys won't ever have to worry about your mistakes or things that you couldn't help. I'll gladly carry your faults. As a leader, it's what I have to do."

With that, Yosuke exited the changing room, a solemn look on his face."Gai...we're ending things today."

"Yanagi..." Takeru couldn't help but understand his friend. But he also worried about what will become of him if he sank into that darkness.

Terunosuke arrived at work, entering the small lobby of their little firm. He hated working in one of the small firms, but he couldn't deny the place was cozy. He knew everyone. Or at least, was forced to. He didn't particularly care about anyone there but after a while of seeing the same faces every day, it kind of stuck.

He headed upstairs toward the main offices, noticing his boss and favorite co-worker chatting by his office."Good morning, Morgan-san, Hamako-san."

"Kuwana-chan. Very nice to see you." Hamako bowed down."I apologize for dragging you out of your vacation. But this client was very persistent in requesting an audience with you."

"I'm curious as to why he picked me. What's he like?" Kuwana took off his jacket, setting it in a nearby rack.

"He's very young." Morgan told him."Can't be much older than you, from the looks of it. But he has this aura of maturity that makes you take him seriously, despite his age."

"And he wants to be a homeowner." Hamako continued."I did advertise a handful of workers earlier in the year. You were one of them, Kuwana-chan. Perhaps he wants to hear your advice since you're fairly young yourself."

"I'm not a homeowner. I pay rent." Kuwana sighed."But I suppose..."

"By the way, how are your little siblings doing?" Morgan asked, the poor foreign oblivious to Terunosuke's situation.

"Just peachy. I love having kids around." Terunosuke lied through his teeth."Takes me back. Anyway, I better see our potential client so I can go home and sleep. I...got a rough night ahead of me."

Without another word, Terunosuke entered his office, lazily taking a look at the back of the young man's head as he sat in a chair in front of his desk.'Great. A damn brat. Fucking hell.'

"Sorry to keep you waiting..." Terunosuke popped his neck, leisurely making his way toward his desk.

"No problem at all. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yanagi. Yosuke Yanagi." Yosuke and Terunosuke's eyes met for a brief moment.

"Yosuke Yanagi-kun. Well, I'm Terunosuke Kuwana." Terunosuke chuckled as he took a seat."Funny. We have similar names. Well, not really. Except that our names end in "Suke". How interesting. I never liked my name. It's too long. So...how can I help you? A little too young to want to own your own home, aren't you? Let me guess. Shitty parents? I can certainly relate."

His eyes darted over to the binder in front of him."What's that? Your homework?"

"Something like that." Yosuke snorted, reaching for his pocket."But now that I've got your attention, let's cut to the chase. I know you're a busy guy, right? And quite frankly, so am I."

Yosuke flashed his Knight Deck as if it were a police badge, causing Kuwana's eyes to dilate for the briefest of seconds."Recognize this?"

'What...are you serious?' Terunosuke attempted to keep his composure, hiding his mouth behind his hands as he leaned on his table.'He's Knight...? Wait, more importantly...did he figure me out? But how?! It can't be! There shouldn't be any evidence that can incriminate me! It can't be a coincidence...to ask specifically for me...He has to have a reason. I just have to figure out what.'

"What is that, a toy?" Terunosuke feigned being puzzled."Looks pretty nifty. Is that what's trending nowadays?"

'So he wants to play dumb.' Yosuke's glare didn't deter.'Then I just have to force the confession out of him.'

"You're Kamen Rider Gai. I know that for a fact."

"Kamen...Rider...?" Terunosuke scratched his head."Is this a joke? Are you roleplaying or something? Look kid, why don't you tell me what you really want, and I-"

"You screwed up big time." Yosuke cut him off, not missing a beat."You got cocky and let too many loose ends. Maybe you never thought they'd come to haunt you. Or perhaps ever since the appearance of your "siblings", you knew it was a matter of time before the truth came out."

He opened his binder, and all the while Terunosuke glared at him bewildered.

'He must have caught the little brats. And they fucking ratted me out! It's the only thing that makes sense!' Terunosuke swallowed the lump in his throat."Either that or the old hag is behind this. It still makes no sense...Fine. You want to play, kid, let's play.'

"You've been working at this company for a few months, right?" Yosuke inquired as he browsed through his binder."Less than a year?"

"Since I graduated college, yes."

"And in your high school days, you went to Kaiser Academy. You were quite the outstanding student." Yosuke showed him his student file."And also, a murderer. You killed the missing students."

"Where did you get this?" Terunosuke arched a brow."For crying out loud, what is this supposed to be? You're saying I killed those missing students? And what are you basing this on? Are you playing detective? Why shouldn't I just call security and have you kicked out of here?"

"Because your ego prevents it." Yosuke smirked at him."I know what kind of person you are based on our few encounters. I know you're arrogant, you look down on people, and are self-centered. If you kick me out now, you'd be admitting defeat. As to what evidence I have, none. But I do have evidence of your recent murderers. Particularly, the attack on the hangar as well as the destruction of Kaiser Academy." He spat with all the venom he could muster."I know you murdered those kids. You disgusting piece of human garbage. All because you had a grudge against the school!"

"Grudge?"

"The students you killed were bullies. And the principal was a crook that overlooked their misdeeds. You killed people who've wronged you in some way. That's why you've been running around killing people in this company!"

"And what evidence do you have for that?" Terunosuke scoffed."You're just a kid playing detective. And here you are, trying to slander my name. And let's say I am who you think I am, for the sake of argument, what then? Are you hoping to punish me for the sake of justice? You know you don't get anything in life for doing something like that. People don't give a shit about the truth, kid. The real world doesn't work like that. People only care about what keeps their pockets full."

Terunosuke took out a pack of cigarettes from his drawer, lighting one up with his handy lighter."You don't get anything from getting involved in things like this. Unless...you want to be recognized as a hero or something. That's such a childish idea. Kids like you need to be studying, getting good grades, getting into a good college, and marrying a cute girl. Not play cops and robbers"

Yosuke leaned closer to him."I won't rest until justice has been served. I don't gain anything except setting things right for the kids whose life you ended. You don't care about anyone else except yourself. You manipulated Yakuza into making a deal with you by giving them information about a shipment of furniture. They would never have gotten their hands on that shipment if it weren't for inside knowledge. The type of knowledge someone like you could provide."

"Or anyone else in this company." Terunosuke poointed out."Literally anyone else. Besides, why would I hang around with Yakuza?"

"You were there. Ryuga confirmed it." Yosuke replied sharply."You had a scuffle with him and you got beaten. It was then when Ryuga gave you the misinformation about Ryuki's whereabouts and that's when you stormed the school."

'Ryuga...? That fucker...' Terunosuke groaned internally."Again, you have no evidence to suggest that. You want me so badly to be the bad guy here but admit it. You don't want justice. You just want to satisfy yourself by getting the credit for putting someone behind bars. You want to solve this case and earn that thumbs up from daddy dearest."

Yosuke took a deep breath, leaning back on his chair and staring at the ceiling."Say...do you keep in contact with your parents, Kuwana-san?"

"Huh? Not really." Terunosuked shrugged, setting his cigarette down on his ashtray."They're there, I guess. Don't keep in contact anymore. They certainly try, though. Funny. After all these years of being neglected by them, now they want to be there for me? What a fucking joke."

"I imagine not many people have good parents." Yosuke trailed off, scanning the room."My dad was always busy. But he made sure to carve some time for me and my mom. I got a friend who hates his dad with a passion. And I have another one who never met his real parents. No doubt that some of the kids that died had similar circumstances."

Terunosuke quirked a brow, inhaling some smoke from his cigarette.

"Their parents...I'm sure they think about their kids every day. How things could have been different if they still had their kids with them. Some regret their decisions." Yosuke closed his eyes tightly."Burying their children...All because I couldn't stop you twice."

"Twice?"

"Back when we first met. My friend and I could have defeated you. But I was so hellbent on assembling a group of Kamen Riders to take down Odin. Back when we thought that defeating him would be enough to...fix everything. See our friends again and wish the Noise away. So I hesitated..." Yosuke stared at his hands with a blank expression."I couldn't defeat you. And when I got my chance again...it was too late. Your attack made it impossible for me to make it in time."

"That's a touching story." Terunosuke crossed his legs."So you were then when the school was attacked. I imagine you did what you could to save as many students as you could. But sadly, life is not like anime or action movies. You can't save everyone. It's possible that while you saved a small number of people, a greater amount died."

"I failed them. Had I defeated you as I should have, they would still be alive today. Our school would still be there." Yosuke continued."But that's not how it went down. So it's up to me to make sure to see this through."

"I've been pondering for a while now..." Terunosuke leaned back, setting his feet on the table."You've been ranting for a while now about all this evidence you have against me and whatnot. But if you for some reason do have evidence that I'm this...Kamen Rider Gai, or whatever, how come the police aren't here? How come I'm not in handcuffs yet? Furthermore, why are you here by yourself, with no backup? Are you so arrogant to think you're enough for the job?"

"It's not about arrogance anymore. I just know that I'm more than enough to beat you if you chose to fight." Yosuke's gaze darkened."And besides, I wouldn't be satisfied with just putting you behind bars. I want to break you both physically and mentally. Make you a broken man. And for that, I came here alone, to take you apart piece by piece. Just to see your face when you get outsmarted by a kid, as you keep on calling us."

Terunosuke's eyes twitched, forcing a smile as he held back his annoyance."Well, aren't you noble? But this isn't what you should be aspiring to. You should be confronting bad people with your friends. You know, work together, beat the bad guy. Friendship, effort, love. Kids your age love that stuff. But you're going on based on assumptions. You have nothing concrete."

"At first, yes." Yosuke nodded."But I also know you're connected with another problem. You're Kamen Rider Gai. Of that, I have no doubt. So that means you're the one...who killed Serena Cadenzavna Eve."

'What?' Terunosuke couldn't hide his shock at that, which Yosuke quickly notice.

'Bingo. Now I have your attention. I know Serena was declared dead six years ago based on the files we got from Ouja. And after connecting the dots and reading the information, I know you killed Atticus Demetrios, Jades' brother, not Serena. But based on what you have said before, I suspect Serena is the person you're so desperate in reviving.'

"Serena...?"

"She's Maria's sister. The idol that turned terrorist." Yosuke leaned forward."She died 6 years ago. 6 years ago you came back after being kidnapped by a specific group. You said you didn't know who they were or why they had you captive for many years, which struck me as odd. Being imprisoned and not knowing a single detail about your captors...struck me as odd. But then it hit me. You killed Serena and that's why Maria and her siblings want you dead."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Terunosuke gritted his teeth."I didn't kill Se-I mean, that girl! I haven't killed anyone!"

"All of a sudden you're so worked up." Yosuke forged on."I've been accusing you of murdering hundreds of innocent people and now you're on the defensive over a single girl."

"Because I thought this was a joke!" Terunosuke exclaimed."I decided to humor you because I thought this was just some prank! A school project or a hidden camera video! But you're actually accusing me of murder! Yes, I was kidnapped! But I was too traumatized to remember anything! Now let me see that fucking binder!"

Yosuke easily jumped out of his chair, causing Terunosuke to miss him entirely."Your whole demeanor changed the moment I brought up that girl. Do you feel guilty about killing her? And why did you kill her in the first place? Is it because she threatened your frail ego? Just like the rest of the people you killed? Because you're an insecure little man with no standard whatsoever?"

"I've had enough of this!" Terunosuke stormed toward the door."I'm out of here! Wasting my fucking time with this shit!"

As he stormed through the corridor, he spotted Morgan and Hamako chasing down a group of kids that stopped his path. He easily recognized the girls, since they didn't bother ever hiding their faces, and was beyond him how they ever attempted in hiding their identities.

"Kuwana-chan!" Hamako cried out."These younglings...they're...they're..."

"They're accusing you of murder..." Morgan finished."I'm sorry, we tried to stop them but..."

"We have a warrant." Tsubasa showed him a piece of paper with a seal showing its authenticity."You are suspected of being Kamen Rider Gai and you are to come with us."

"Suspected?" Chris scoffed."The bastard is guilty clear as day."

"You guys..." Yosuke gaped at the sight of his friends."Why are you..."

"Come on. Did you think we'd really let you handle this alone?" Takeru grinned at him."We're a team. We look after each other."

"We understand that you wanted to carry the burden on your own." Tsubasa stared into his eyes with a tint of sadness."But you don't deserve to be the one taking on all the pain alone."

"Yeah. People are meant to share their struggles too." Chris eyes Takeru, who winked at her.

"Couldn't have said it better, Chrissy."

"What is this shit?" Terunosuke found himself surrounded from all sides, in between two doors that led nowhere but other people's offices."What warrant?! I didn't do anything!"

"Do you think so little of us that we'd come here without evidence to link you to your crimes?" Tsubasa boomed, taking firm steps forward."You are connected with the terrorist group known as Fine. And you have been in contact with their members."

"Right here." Yosuke showed him his phone, playing a video of the CCTV recordings around Terunosuke's apartment complex. The video showed him talking with two kids as they carried bags for him."The kids in question are Raiden Amaterasu and Andreas Kagutsuchi. We have Andreas in custody after he was found in Tokyo Sky Tower yesterday. And he confessed that he was living under your roof. Furthermore, he said that you did indeed escape 6 years ago from where you were being kept with Atticus Demetrios, Kamen Rider Gai. He said they thought both of you were declared dead until they found you recently, hiding from their eyes. But no sign of Atticus. And it just so happens that you are Kamen Rider Gai now, right? You killed Atticus."

"W-what-"

"The person they've been looking for has been right under their noses." Tsubasa forged on."All the people you've been killing. The coworkers. Ma'am, how long have you been working in this particular firm?"

"A-about three months." Hamako responded, her voice shaky."I was transferred here after the other manager died..."

"It just so happens that that manager died three months ago." Takeru took his shot."And all the people that have been disappearing from your company? All of them him."

"You insecure piece of shit." Chris gritted her teeth."People like you make me sick! All the innocent people you killed! And for what?! Because you think you're better than them?!"

"And for some reason the only one of your victims that you care about is Serena." Yosuke snorted."Poor girl. Couldn't have been older than 13, right? Killed by your hands."

"I didn't kill anyone!" Terunosuke screamed, his face completely red."For fuck's sake! Why are you even doing this?! I'm not the enemy! If you want to focus your attention on someone, go track down FIS!"

As soon as he heard those words, Terunosuke's face turned pale.

"FIS." Tsubasa folded her arms.

"FIS? What's...FIS?" Morgan asked no one in particular.

"FIS is the real name of the terrorists that declared war on the world in that concert. That name hasn't been revealed to the public. Only government officials as well as us know the truth." Yosuke walked past Terunosuke, giving him a sideglance."So how does an "innocent" man know that name?"

"Kuwana-chan...did you... murder those people..." Hamako nearly fainted and collapse had Chris not prevented her fall.

"What's going on here?" A middle-aged man exited his office from the side."I'm in the middle of a call right now. What's all the ruckus-"

Terunosuke grabbed the man, holding him in a chokehold as he pulled out a boxcutter from his pocket."All of you back the fuck up! Back up!"

"Put the knife down!" A group of police officers emerged from the back, all of them aiming their guns at Terunosuke.

Yosuke and Takeru pulled out their decks and the girls stayed on guard in case they needed to sing.

"Let him go, Kuwana!" Morgan yelled, tears swelling in her eyes."T-this isn't like you! This has to be a misunderstanding!"

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" Terunosuke hissed, holding the knife dangerously close to the man's neck."Good riddance! I was getting sick and tired of everyone in this fucking office!"

"K-Kuwana-kun! Don't kill me!" The man sobbed uncontrollably."Please! M-my family! I have kids a home!"

"You all just couldn't stay away, could you?" Terunosuke chuckled, his eyes as wide as they could get."Couldn't look the other way? After I saved your sorry ass back in the concert?!"

"You're a goddamn murderer!" Yosuke finally snapped."You deserve to be put down!"

"Fuck you! You want to know why I killed them?! Because I fucking could! So what?!" Terunosuke began backpedaling, his goal the window behind them."So the fuck what?! The people in power stand at the top and take everything from those weaker than them! I'm not a murderer. I'm just a human being enforcing his freedom!"

Once he reached the window, he shot them a sardonic smirk."And for the record. I killed Atticus. But not Serena."

"I know." Yosuke said, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face."I was just baiting you. You're right. I had no evidence to suggest you were right. All of the evidence could have been traced to any other employee here. The worse that could have happened was you withholding information about FIS and being interrogated. But you decided to try your luck and try to debunk my arguments. But in the end, you lost. You self-confessed. You lost against a schoolboy. Am I right?"

"You...YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Terunosuke slit the man's throat with the boxcutter, throwing himself out the window to fall from the fourth floor. He took out his Deck, quickly transforming into Gai."Henshin!"

"NOW!"

As soon as he landed, he was struck in the face by Ryuki's fist, slamming him against the wall. The boy jumped back, quickly using an ability.

Ignite Vent

A tail of fire manifested in Ryuki's tailbone."Now! Tail Whip!"

With his tail, Ryuki smacked Gai on his arm, knocking him to the ground. The flames went up to his arms forming two arms of fire which he used to grab Gai and punched him into the air."Fire Punch!" After that, the fire dissipated.

"METALGELAS!" Gai quickly drew a card, tossing it to his visor.

Advent: Metalgelas

The rhinoceros monster rammed Ryuki into a wall.

"Adachi! You'll pay for that!" Tsubasa was hot on his trail, swinging her sword to his exposed back. Gai swatted her away with his horn, but this allowed Zolda to attack him from the side.

Strike Vent: Gigahorn

Gai was struck in the side, his armor taking the brunt of the weapon but he still felt it.

"Yours is bigger, I'll admit." Zolda grinned under his helmet as he struggled to push Gai."But bigger doesn't mean better!"

Strike Vent: Dragclaw

Gai was sent flying by a fireball that collided against his side, knocking him onto a pole. The citizens saw the fight going on and began to evacuate the area with the help of the police.

"I sympathized with you!" Ryuki began charging up another fireball."But...doing what you do...it's not the answer!"

Knight dived down from the skies, intercepting Gai with his Winglancer. Tsubasa appeared from behind him, forcing Gai to block her sword with his forearm.

"You know something, I was legitimately going to let the girls live." Gai grunted, putting great effort to hold the back, addressing Knight."I wasn't even going to be the one to kill you, kids."

"You were hoping for FIS and us to fight each other so you can come in and finish us off!" Tsubasa sneered.

"So what?! People do this kind of shit every day! It's an eat-or-be-eaten world! And you know something, Yanagi-kun. You and I aren't so different. We both like to have control over other people."

"What?!"

"To feel like a person's very life is in your hands." Gai elaborated."Just like these kids are in your hands. The power...feels great, doesn't it? When someone's life is entirely up to you. To be able to take their freedom at any time. God...It's amazing, isn't it? That's why I killed all of those people. Because I'm just enforcing my rights as a human to be free. And you're only free..."

Gai suddenly pulled back, drawing a card from his deck."WHEN YOU TAKE SOMEONE'S FREEDOM!"

Metal Vent: Horn Eruption

From the ground, spikes began to form and force the group to spread out as they broke through the concrete and into buildings.

"Wow!" Zolda was nearly impaled by a spike, jumping back and crashing through a wall.

"Takeru!" Chris gasped, grimacing as she switched to her missiles."You bastard! How dare you hurt him!"

Confine Vent

All of a sudden, Chris' missiles disappeared, leaving her stunned in shock."What just-?"

Gai ran up one of the spikes, kicking Chris off of the rooftop onto the ground. Ryuki leaped into the sky, catching Chris."Chris-san! You alright?"

"Yeah." Chris wiped the blood off her lips."Bastard did something weird and my missiles just disappeared."

"Confine Vent." Knight narrowed his eyes."I didn't know it could work on relics too."

"But he can only do that a certain number of times." Tsubasa surmised."He can't beat all of us together."

"It's too bad we can't use our strongest firepower." Zolda commented."Chrissy and I are heavily nerfed here since people are still being evacuated."

"Dumbass brats." Gai sneered."You can flank me if you want, but your attacks aren't enough against my ultimate defense."

"Adachi! Rush him!" Knight commanded.

Sword Vent: Dragsaber

"Roger that!" Ryuki jumped up to the wall, standing in front of Gai as they began fighting.

"His ultimate defense is Metal Horn. Ordinarily, his armor is tough, but if we can do enough damage, we should be able to take him down." Knight began explaining."The problem revolves around his defense. Otherwise, I'm sure any of us could take him down individually. Adachi will give us an opening. Yukine and Sakamoto, you two wait for an opening to fire a simultaneous attack. When he's stunned, Tsubasa will attack him from behind. And I'll jump in."

"Don't do anything reckless, Yosuke." Tsubasa said, grabbing his hand."Not more than you already have."

Knight said nothing, and the group scattered around.

Ryuki continued running circles around Gai, striking him from all angles as all he could do was block. With a growl, Gai swatted his horn, but Ryuki bent his knees, avoiding the strike, and kicked his knee, forcing Gai down. He then gave him a roundhouse kick, knocking Gai off the rooftop."This kid... is insanely strong!"

Shoot Vent: Gigacannons

Zolda began spamming his rockets, shooting Gai higher and higher in the air with each collision."Chrissy!"

"Hell yeah!" Chris grinned, displaying a total of 24 missiles.

Mega Deth Party

'I only have one more Confine Vent.' Gai gritted his teeth as the missiles were fired at him. He used Metal Horn to block most of them. His armor began cracking slightly and felt the impact of the areas of his body he couldn't protect.

"We're not letting down just yet!" Tsubasa cried out high in the sky, conjuring a sword thanks to Ame-no-Habakiri the size of a truck, and kicking the hilt down to Gai.

Heaven's Wrath

Gai, realizing he was beginning to take too much damage, drew a Confine Vent and activated it. The giant sword disappeared, but Tsubasa did not stop in her pursuit. She flipped upside down, spreading her legs as she proceeded to spin at high speeds, unfolding the blades on her ankles.

Reverse Rakshasa

"You fucking brats! You really think I'm the real threat?! What about Ouja?!" Gai furiously thrust his horn forward to no avail thanks to Tsubasa kicking his arm out of the way. Tsubasa landed a devastating kick against his face, breaking the horn on his forehead.

Final Vent: Flyinglancer

From the cloud of smoke, a black tornado emerged, heading straight for Gai.

"You're out of options!" Knight bellowed."Don't you worry! I'm going to do to Ouja what I'm about to do to you!"

"Yosuke! Don't kill him!" Tsubasa screamed as everyone watched in awe.

Flash Vent

A flying card flew past them before everything turned white for them. Knight closed his eyes, and felt someone kicking him in the air, changing his trajectory and crashing against the pavement, making a hole in it.

"What's going on?! I can't see anything!" Ryuki shielded his eyes with his arm from the intense light.

"Was that him just now?!" Chris winced, her eyes hurting even with the protection of her eyelids.

"No way. I didn't see him activating an ability." Takeru stated, glaring at the ground due to him having experience with flashbangs.

"You fucking coward!" Yosuke screamed in vain, as once the light died down, Gai was no more."DON'T YOU DARE RUN!"

Gai landed harshly on a puddle, splashing water all over his armor.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" He heard a familiar female voice antagonize him from the side. He shifted his gaze, noticing a female clad in white armor and a black bodysuit sitting on top of a dumpster, her legs crossed."But alive...I'd say that's a...win."

"Who the hell..."

"Don't remember me?" Her monotone tone suddenly shifted into a more normal one. Or as normal as Gai considered, but patronizing."You wound me. And after I told you we'd see each other soon, Onii-san. I hate being forgotten."

"You...you're that girl with the pumpkin mask." Gai gasped, backpedaling away and hitting a wall."You sick fuck...you ripped a girl's heart out!"

"Must be nice from that glass house of yours." Femme rolled her eyes."We're both killers. I'm just more open about it. And I remember everyone who I killed. Everyone. They live on, inside of me." She poked at her head."Right here. So what does it matter? More importantly, when are you going to thank me for saving you?"

"Why did you even save me?" Gai spat, his breathing labored as he was still feeling the adrenaline pumping through his system."So you can kill me personally?"

"Oh, I wish I could kill you right now." Femme twirled her rapier around in her hand."But I already took my medicine. And I had my fill of blood for today. I don't like to overindulge. Besides, I didn't save you out of the kindness of my heart or just to kidnap you, take you to a dark basement, tie you up, torture you, skin you alive, rip out your organs, among other things."

"That's oddly specific."

"Someone asked me to help you." Femme ignored his remark."And I'm not the kind of girl who can say no to a friend asking for help. So here we are."

"Someone...?" Now Gai was completely lost."Who? Don't tell me the hag is behind all this?"

"You'll meet that person soon enough." Femme stood up on the dumpster."After all, we're all similar, just like I said. Besides, you wouldn't come with us even if I asked, would you?"

"Hell no." Gai immediately refused."I have to make a call. I'm going to be a wanted criminal in a matter of minutes. They said they have Andreas. So I have to contact Raiden. Look, I don't care about what you or this mysterious person want, but I want no part of it. So leave me the fuck alone."

"You'll come of your own volition eventually." Femme shrugged, watching as Gai began sprinting away."We're all destined to serve a greater purpose, after all."

A few minutes earlier, the group of teens sat around in the now abandoned Sunny Enterprises, hearing the sound of sirens in the distance. Yosuke sat on his own on a one-seat cough, his head hanging.

"I can't believe that bastard got away." Takeru sighed, rubbing the edge of his nose.

"Someone saved him." Chris punched her palm."Damn it! We almost had him."

"I saw a card fly by." Hajime said."It must have been a Kamen Rider, no doubt."

"Who? Imperer is being detained at HQ, Raia is a no-show and not to mention neither of them know who Gai is. For all they know, he's the killer who murdered their brother." Takeru threw his arms up."Besides, no Rider we've seen so far has a card like that."

"It doesn't matter who it was." Yosuke gritted his teeth."I let him go. Again. Why the hell are you guys even here? Sakamoto did you-"

His sentence was abruptly cut off as Tsubasa slapped him across the face, shocking everyone.

"Kazanari-san!" Hajime gasped."What are you doing?!"

Yosuke rubbed his aching cheek, glaring at Tsubasa but realized the girl had tears in her eyes."Tsubasa..."

"Do you realize just how reckless and foolish you are? Do you think so little of us that you'd think we'd let you go on your own to confront a dangerous person like Gai? And for what, so you can have your revenge on him?"

Yosuke said nothing as she continued to berate him."Are you aware that if your little stunt went wrong, more people could have died? You could have died? What's wrong with you?! This isn't like you!"

"I had no choice!" Yosuke barked back."That bastard deserves to die! He killed all of those people!"

"And you think revenge is the way to go about it?!" Tsubasa was right up in his face."Risking your own life!"

"Because it's all my fault!" Yosuke grabbed her shoulders, sounding desperate as his voice cracked."I cause all of this! I'm the one who couldn't stop him back when he robbed that bank. I'm the one who wasn't able to prevent him from destroying our school. Countless people died because of my incompetence. Goro died because of me too. I'm...I'm supposed to be the leader and yet...I know it was wrong. But sometimes you have to do what you feel like doing. Despite if it destroys you and lowers you to that person's level. Because otherwise, you will never get rid of that feeling in your heart."

"Come on, Yanagi." Hajime grabbed Yosuke's forearm."You're always telling me to not let my emotions cloud my judgment. That losing control of them might affect those around me. You taught me that."

"Adachi..."

"You're the leader, yeah. But honestly, that doesn't mean only you get to suffer alone." Takeru remarked."A team is supposed to look after each other. A good leader looks after those he leads, but they are also there to help carry the burden together."

"I get how you feel." Chris sighed."About wanting to fix things that were inadvertently caused by you. But beating yourself like that...I realized it's not the most healthy thing to do. Not for you or anyone."

"We appreciate that you do everything while thinking of us." Tsubasa grabbed his hands."But understand that we don't want you to take all the pain on your own. Let us take some of that pain too. That's what it means to be a team."

"You guys..." Yosuke shook his head, touched by their words."I'm sorry...I...I still can't forgive myself...Probably never will. But..."

"We'll stop him." Takeru assured him."One way or another. But not because of revenge. But because it's the right thing to do."

"Come on, let's go." Tsubasa pulled on his hand."We have to destroy all these spikes."

"And after that, we'll get some rest." Takeru grinned."Tomorrow we'll go save Miku. So we need to be as refreshed as possible."

"Right. Tomorrow..." Yosuke trailed off, gazing at the sky.'I'll find you. You worthless criminal.'

And that's another chapter done. I decided to make confronting Kuwana its own chapter due to how big the confrontation was. Next chapter we'll go back to see what FIS are doing as well as what Raiden's whereabouts are. We're closing in on the final battle.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the chapter, feel free to leave a review as they are always welcome and appreciated. Hope you have a good day! Take care!