Life 4: Glass Orchestra
It was the dead of night in Kuoh Town Square, a place that was surrounded by stores and restaurants, Café Mald'amour being among them. At the center of the Plaza was a giant clock tower, where a Fangire stood atop it. This one was clearly a female, and resembled an octopus. The stained glass on her body red to burnt orange with gold circles adorning her legs and abdomen. She had sharp boots that pointed upwards and sharp clawed hands with red forearms that were inflated like cancer tumors. The top of her head was made of white and gold glass, they resemble two shriek heads that were stuck together from the back. Various red tentacles with golden suckers were protruding from the double shrike head, wrapping around her face and hanging from her back. Only her mouth was shown, which was a golden octopus beak. She also had a second black colored beak that was in between her white and gold striped breasts, which also had a tentacle each protruding from them, hanging over her shoulders.
"Quite a view, isn't it?"
She did not have to turn around, for she already knew who that voice belonged to. It was Dark Kiva, who was casually hovering behind her with his vampire wings out.
"I agree. such a beautiful town, from the sights to the sounds. Not to mention the people are so nice… and delicious."
"But, you haven't drained anyone yet."
"And how would you know that?
"It's my job to know, that's how I keep your kind in line. Although… I did lose track of one you, a Horse Fangire. Have You seen him around?"
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't."
"… Fine, be that way."
The vampiric rider turned around to fly away, annoyed that his time was just wasted. But he was stopped by a long slimy tentacle grabbing his leg.
"Now hold on there. Are you really just going to leave a girl hanging like that?"
"You have done nothing wrong, so I have no reason to-"
The tentacle suddenly tossed Dark Kiva into the ground below with such a force that a large dust cloud was formed upon impact. After retracting her extra limb, the Fangire leaped off the clock tower and landed gracefully on her feet.
"How about now?"
The Rider emerged, dusting himself off while showing no signs of pain.
"Yeah, that'll definitely do."
He ran towards the mollusk, who blocked the first few punches with her cushioned arms. She threw her own punches, but Dark Kiva dodged those before grabbing her fist and throwing her over his shoulder far across the street. As retaliation, the octopus shot balls of pressurized black ink from the beak on her chest. But the Rider avoided those projectiles by falling backwards and sinking into the ground. This confused the Fangire, until she noticed that they were both under the shadow of the clock tower. A shadow that was barely visible since it was night, but it was just enough for Dark Kiva to dive into it and re-emerged behind his foe for a sneak attack. But she was a clever cephalopod, ducking and hitting her foe with a palm strike to the chest, pushing him back with a stagger.
"You'll have to do better than that, boy."
"Trust me, I got plenty of tricks up my sleeve"
Before he could strike back, he heard the buzzing in his ears again.
"Master?"
Kivat the second showed concern for Dark Kiva as he stared blankly at the ground as if he was deep in thought. After a full minute, he recomposed himself while releasing a mosquito from his hand that flew away.
"I'm good, let's show her what we got."
And so, the battle continued, exchanging blow for blow and throwing each other across the plaza multiple times. With all the constant movement, they eventually found themselves in the park.
"Ready to give up?"
"Not in the slightest, I can go at this all nigh-"
The Octopus was interrupted by something in the sky. Three balls of bright lights flew over their heads. She knew what this meant, and she didn't like it. Dark Kiva on the other hand…
"Ha, Ha! I knew he could do it."
"Mustang… Damn it, you will be avenged."
She stretched out her tentacle to grab one of the park benches and threw it at the rider. He dodged it with a backflip and upon landing he saw that Octopus Fangire had vanished.
"So, you already figured out it was a diversion?"
Gasper asked Taiga as they sat in the living room with the others, watching the recording of the previous fight.
"Pretty much."
"Then… why didn't you just leave."
"I had a gut feeling that you and the others would handle it. of course, I sent an extra mosquito to alert me if things went dire for you."
"I Guess it all worked out in the end, and Master got to kick some butt."
"I'll say! you were really great out there, Gasper!"
Kivat the third and Ramon excitedly said respectively while Riki gave a silent thumbs up. The young dhampir smiled at the kind gestures, until Jiro proceeded to ruffle his hair before saying.
"You done out there kid, you did good."
Although he was still weary of the werewolf, he could not deny that it was his harsh words that gave him the push needed to save his peerage. For that, he deserved some gratitude.
"Th-Thanks, Ji-Jiro"
"Of course, we still have that Octopus Fangire on the loose."
Goro pointed out as he sipped the last of his Tea.
"At the very least, we will not have to deal with another time limit."
Lady Doran looked through the recording again, showing that the Fangire had just been waiting on the clock tower the whole time, like she knew Dark Kiva would appear. She really didn't take any life energy either, she just stood there… menacingly.
"Still, she will definitely be a problem in the future, especially since her partner was targeting Rias-"
Kivat the Second was interrupted by the front doors opening. Mimi had stepped in holding a gold cone-shaped item with a string hanging from the bottom.
"Good news, those ladies have made full recovery."
"And I assume they are none the wiser of what happened."
Taiga questioned
"As far as they know, they just passed out in front of the café, and I brought them in out of the kindness of my heart. Now with that out of the way…"
She pulled the string on her cone, firing a ball of magic into the air like a canon. The ball exploded like fireworks, raining confetti everywhere with Kiva's symbol in glitter lingering above.
"Congratulations on completing your first mission as a Kamen Rider!"
Everyone was clapping and cheering for Gasper's victory. This was definitely a first for him, being surrounded by so many people who were showering him with praise. Granted they did celebrate his 16th birthday with him back in March, but this was the first time they celebrated with him for something he personally accomplished. He was now on the verge of tears again, but these were tears of joy.
"Thank you, everyone… Thank you all."
"Man, I'm beat"
Gasper and his Kivat had returned to the sealed room, ready to finally get some sleep after a long night's work. Both of them crawled into the cardboard box, which now had a blanket and pillow inside.
"Wait, I thought I was sleeping here, Master."
"There's room for both of us."
"What about your coffin?"
"I just felt the urge to be here again. No… not just an urge, more than that. It was my destiny to be here, in this box."
"Destiny?"
"Yeah. When I'm sitting here, I get this feeling of inner peace. I can't put it into words, I feel… Safe. Like this is where I was meant to be, Like I'd find the key to true happiness. Does any of that make sense?"
"Not even a Little, But you're the Master. Goodnight."
The bat fell asleep almost immediately, with a comical snot bubble inflating and deflating as he snored.
"Goodnight Kivat."
Gasper laid down while snuggling his Kivat like he was a plush doll, something he has also done before, sleeping with plush dolls was another habit of his. Slowly but surely, he drifted off to the land of dreams… until he heard a knock.
"Gasper-Kun."
His eyes shot open. It wasn't Rias this time, this was…
"Akeno… Nee-Chan."
"Ah, I'm Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, I'll come back later."
"N-NO!" it's fine"
He got up from the box, careful not to wake his sleeping familiar and walked to the front door.
"Do you need something from me? I'm happy to help."
"Ara ara, you're more eager than usual. Well, I was wondering if I could borrow that laptop of yours so I can do some research."
"Sure, though I could do the research for you myself."
"That's so sweet of you, but you already work so hard for us and you clearly sound tired."
"… alright, one second."
He grabbed his laptop from the table and placed it on the floor near the door, summoning his red magic circle under it, teleporting it to the other side.
"Thanks, I'll return it as soon as I can. In the meantime, you should get some rest."
"Yeah, I'll do that…"
Gasper yawned as he returned to his box, happy that he was able to help.
"So, what do you think?"
Rias Gremory stood in an office room, conversing with a girl who sat behind a large wooden desk. She was the same age as Rias and wore the same student uniform as her. She had black hair in a short bob cut with violet eyes and a pair of red oval glasses. In her hands was a shard of blue glass that she was intently analyzing.
"There's definitely some residue energy in this, but it's completely foreign to me. Aside from that, I got nothing."
"I've arranged for the rest of the remains to be delivered to Lord Beelzebub. If he can't figure out who that Mustang guy was, then no one can."
"Mustang… and you said he resembled a horse, right?"
"Heh heh, I guess it was a bit on the nose now that I think about it."
"Bad naming aside, this is a very troubling situation. First those Fallen Angels and now some… glass monster who can feed off of life energy like a vam-"
The conversation was interrupted by someone entering the room, it was Akeno with a laptop in hand.
"Pardon the intrusion, but I think you should see this."
She opened the laptop to show an internet discussion forum with several blurry pictures of a certain vampiric vigilante.
"That's him, The Kamen Rider."
Rias said while pointing at the screen.
"Apparently they call him Kiva. He's been spotted all across Japan, and rumor has it that he's even been seen across Europe."
"Kiva…"
Rias thought back to the final words of the horse monster, to the very last word he yelled before exploding… Kiva.
"As for whom he fights, I was only able to find one picture."
Akeno scrolled down to said picture, which showed the rider facing what looked like a humanoid bug with a colorful and reflective body.
"I knew it, there are more of those things out there, and Kiva must be hunting them."
"Let's not get to ahead of ourselves, Rias"
The bespectacled girl got up from her seat and adjusted her glasses before continuing.
"Hero or not, he's still an intruder in our territory, especially since you confirmed him to be a vampire."
"I know, Sona. We will confront him, if we can find him that is. Afterall, Vampires are notoriously hard to track due to their lack of an aura."
"That's true, the only reason Koneko-Chan was able to sniff him out was because she's already familiar with one of them"
Akeno stated.
"Right, that reclusive Bishop of yours. Hmm… you don't think?"
The now identified Sona began to ponder the possibility of Gasper being this Kamen Rider with the other two joining her in this thought… only for all three of them to start giggling uncontrollably from such a notion. Rias being the first to recover.
"That's a good one. Now that you mention it, Kiva would be a great addition to my peerage. Maybe a Knight or a Rook.
"Adding another so soon?"
"I am reaching the deadline pretty soon."
"Ah…Right, your first Rating Game. Well, I wish you good luck with that. Just don't be too upset if I end up snatching him first this time."
"Heh, we shall see about that."
"You're joking, right?"
"Nope, It's all true."
Taiga and Gasper were in the training room taking a breather from another long exercising routine. The young devil took the opportunity to lecture his Senpai about the reincarnation system, and how the Evil Pieces functioned. Taiga was already aware of the chess motif and the different abilities each piece bestowed, what he didn't know was the value system. Knights and Bishops are worth three Pawns each, Rooks are worth five Pawns, and Queens are worth nine Pawns. In order to reincarnate someone, the King needs a piece higher or equal to the person's own value based on their strengths, talents, and skills. Should one Piece not be enough, you'll need to use multiple of the same type. So far, Rias' servants have all been given one Piece each, until Issei came along. He was reincarnated with not one Pawn, not two, not three, not even four, but…
"All eight Pawns? That's insane!"
"It's because of his powerful Sacred Gear, according to The President."
"If that's the case, then how come it only took a single Bishop to reincarnate you?"
"It… wasn't just a Bishop, it was a Mutation Piece."
"… Mutation?"
"It's apparently a rare phenomenon that happens to one in every ten devils. One of the Pieces in their sets end up with a little extra power, becoming a Mutation Piece. The abilities it gives remains the same, but you can use it to reincarnate anyone regardless of how high their value is."
"I see, so it's like a wild card, but for chess."
"Uh… I guess so."
"As for Hyoudou-San, at least now I know where the strong taste came from."
"Taste?"
"From his blood, the flavor had a lot more of a kick to it compared to the other humans in Kuoh."
"B-Blood has different flavors?"
"Obviously! If different blood types exist, then of course they would have different flavors."
"Well, I wouldn't know since I don't drink it all the time like you do."
"And that's why I'm here to teach you, come with me."
Taiga led his Kohai back into the hallway, passing by many doors until they reached one that was labeled with a picture of a glass vial.
"What's this room?"
Gasper asked before Taiga opened the door revealing a room with a large metal cauldron in the center and countless glass vials with labels lining the walls, all of them being filled with… blood. There was also a wooden chest on the opposite side of the room, and an open window above it showing nothing but white fog outside.
"Welcome to the blood room, this is where my mosquitoes deposit all the blood they've collected."
Sure enough, two mosquitoes flew through the window and landed on the edge of the cauldron, spitting out the red nectar before leaving to do it all again.
"I don't like this room."
Gasper clenched his nose to block out the smell, refusing to even step through the door.
"Just bear with it for a moment."
Taiga entered the room and picked out two blood vials before exiting and closing the door.
"The cauldron is where I keep most of the gathered blood, but I made an exception for Kuoh academy. From the students to the staff, each one has their blood kept in separate vials. For the sake of categorization. These two for example hold the blood of Kumi-Chan and Hyoudou-San, before he became a Devil of course."
"Ok… so why bring them out."
"For you to taste."
"EHHHHHHHH!?"
"Just a single drop from each, that's all."
Gasper was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Alright… one drop… each."
He closed his eyes and held his tongue out as Taiga opened one of the vials with a pop. Slowly tilting it until the blood reached the edge, pulling back as it began to drip. The single bead of red liquid fell and landed on the dhampir's tongue, which then retreated back into his mouth.
"So, what's it taste like?"
"Salty and metallic."
"That is the default flavor for human blood. And since Kumi-Chan is a type O negative, she doesn't have any of the antigens or the RH factors that gives blood its seasoning. It's still good, but It's not something I'd wanna drink all the time."
Taiga then opened the second vial and just like the last one, Gasper received the drop of blood on his tongue. But the moment he did, he realized something was off.
"This is… Different."
"I know, and Hyoudou-San is also an O negative. It's not just blood type, but diet, vitality, and overall genetics also play a factor in how a person's blood tastes. Because Hyoudou-San has a Sacred Gear, his vitality is higher than normal, giving him a much stronger taste."
"I see… but It still tastes gross."
"Eh, baby steps"
A beeping noise was then heard from Taiga's wrist. He moved his sleeve to reveal a digital wristwatch, it said that the time was 3:30.
"Music Club practice?"
Gasper asked, having heard that alarm many times before
"Yup. So, we'll have to cut this lesson short."
Taiga sunk the blood vials into his shadow while pulling out his violin case.
"It's alright, I'll just be doing my contracts then."
The crossdresser turned around, only for his senior to halt him with a hand to the shoulder.
"Not this time, cause your coming with me."
"… What?"
"You heard me, I'm bringing you to the music club with me. And before you ask, there are permission forms required for outside visitors, but I already turned those in ahead of time and got Sensei's approval. So, we should be all good."
"H-H-Hold on, what about my peerage?"
"What about em?"
"I've already been gone for too long, what if they check on me and I'm not there."
"Oh. Well in that case, your Kivat will cover for you."
"How?"
"Call him over."
"Um… Kivat!"
"Yes?"
Kivat the third appeared from behind his master, even though he wasn't there before.
"Aside from having your semantic memories, I also gave him your voice."
"But he sounds nothing like me."
"What about now?"
"EH!?"
Gasper's eyes widened, his normally goofy yet masculine voice had now become as soft and girly as his own.
"Now he can do your contracts and pretend to be you. Sounds good?"
"hmmmmmm…"
The sun was shining bright today, illuminating the whole town with its warm and golden light… and Gasper hated it. Even though dhampirs were immune to all the typical vampire weaknesses, they still had an instinctual repulsion to them and would need to build up tolerance. Something Gasper never had the opportunity to do compared to Taiga, which was the other reason why his Wataru disguise covered up his entire body.
"So, you haven't even seen the main campus?"
Taiga asked his pretend brother as they walked across a stone bridge.
"I've seen pictures, but never in person. I was in my coffin the whole time during the move."
"Then you're going to love this."
They fully crossed the bridge reaching a black steel gate with red brick walls on both sides. The gate was wide open, revealing Kuoh academy in all its glory. It was a rather large school, made up of several interconnected buildings with Jacobethan architecture rather than the plain rectangular look of most Japanese schools. The pathway from the gate to the entrance had a fountain in between, similar to the one found in the park. Not to mention the fresh green grass and trees on the outside.
"Amazing."
That was all the Gasper could say, really. The two then ventured inside, navigating their way through the various hallways lined with empty classrooms. Until they reached the final hallway.
"This is where the club rooms are, save for the sport related ones. That one is the Photography Club, over there is the Manga Research Club, then there's the flower arrangement club, the Calligraphy Club, the Sewing Club, the Newspaper Club…"
As Taiga kept going down the list, Gasper was able to hear the various students inside each room thanks to his vampiric hearing. So many people talking, laughing and enjoying themselves, he completely lost himself in those noises. This resulted in him accidentally bumping into a girl with a clipboard and pen who had just walked out of one of the doors.
"Ah, I-I-I'm so sorry. I di-"
"It's ok, it was my fault for not looking."
She was a student judging by her uniform and appeared to be older than Gasper but younger than Taiga. She had brown eyes and shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair tied in twin tails. She also had swept bangs and an ahoge sticking out of the top of her head.
"Hey, I recognize you. You're one of the student council secretaries, Tomoe Meguri."
Taiga pointed out
"That's right, and You must be Taiga Kurogane-Senpai from the music club. I loved your performance at last year's culture festival."
"Why, Thank you. So, what brings you here?"
"Just some club evaluation, the usual work."
She showed off the to-do list that was on her clipboard, using her pen to mark off the tally for the Manga Club.
"And it looks like yours is next on the list."
"Well, that's convenient. my little brother and I were just about to head there right now."
"Then let's get going!"
Tomoe cheerfully shouted, marching forward as the boys followed. Taiga gave her a quick explanation about his brother, and she thankfully bought it without issue. But despite that, Gasper was even more nervous than before.
"If she's from the student council, then that means… she's also a devil."
He remembered what his master told him long ago, that there was another devil heiress attending Kuoh Academy, Sona Sitri. She was Rias' childhood friend and the current Student Council President, with her servants making up the rest of the council. This obviously included Tomoe, the Knight of her Peerage.
"So, what's your name?"
"Eh…I'm Ga-um…W-Wataru."
"That's a nice name. How old are you?"
"S-Sixteen."
"Wait, really? I thought you would have been younger considering how short you are… not that there's anything wrong with that."
"And here we are."
Taiga announced as they finally arrived at their destination.
"Welcome to the Music Clubroom."
He opened the door, and they were greeted by a room with black padded walls meant for noise cancellation. There were about 17 students, each with their own chair and instruments that they were either cleaning or tuning. Some were keeping to themselves, while others were chatting with their fellow club members. At least they were until they all turned their attention towards the entrance.
"Kurogane-Kun, your late."
Said one of the female members who was holding a flute. She had sharp, slanted dark brown eyes and neck length, brown hair with two strands peeking out to cover her large forehead.
"Sorry about that, I was-"
"I don't want to hear it."
She held her hand up before getting up to approach Taiga and Tomoe.
"At least you brought the student council here. It's Good to see you again, Meguri-Chan."
"You too, Tachibana-Chan."
As the two girls bowed to each other, Taiga leaned over to Wataru with a whisper.
"That's Mari Tachibana, our Club President. She also plays the flute and is a bit of a hard ass."
"YOU KNOW I CAN STILL HEAR YOU, RIGHT!?"
The now identified Mari yelled.
"Oh, I know."
Taiga said with a smirk, causing the president to sigh with annoyance before looking towards Wataru.
"And you must be the visitor Sensei mentioned."
the timid boy nodded in response
"Hey, it's Wataru-Kun!"
Kumi, along with Hitomi and Kanae dropped their instruments so they could greet their unexpected visitor.
"You know him?"
"Yeah, he's Taiga-San's little brother. And…"
Kumi turned to Taiga remembering the promise she and the others made. He nodded before speaking.
"To keep things short, He's became reclusive years ago due to trauma that I'd rather not get into, and I've been slowly trying rehabilitate him."
"Still, we didn't think you'd bring him here."
Hitomi interrupted.
"It's more than just getting him to go outside, he needs to get used to being around new people. Better it be ones that I already know instead of random passer byes at the mall or something."
"Either way, we're really glad that you're here with us, Wataru-Kun. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us."
Kanae reassured the boy, who was sweating bullets from all of the people staring at him at once. He wanted to run away and go back to his box, but he knew he had to persevere.
"Th-Thank you, Kanae-Chan."
Mari had led Tomoe to the other side of the room so they could talk privately, while one of the few male members walked towards the group. He had tanned skin with short dark purple hair and crimson eyes.
"Wataru, was it? I'm Asumu Kiriya, Vice President and expert drummer."
"He's from the Percussion Section, along with Kayama-Chan on the Xylophone and Hase-Chan on the Piano."
Taiga Pointed towards the two girls who were siting with their instruments next to Asumu's Drum set.
"As for the everyone else. In the Brass Section with Kumi-Chan are Sawada-Chan on the French Horn, Gotou-Kun on the Tuba, Nakaseko-Chan on Trumpet and Noguchi-Kun on the Trombone. In the Woodwind Section with Kanae-Chan and the Prez, we got Kitamura-Chan on the Bassoon, Yoroizuka-Chan on the Oboe and Souga-Chan on the Piccolo. And finally in the String Section with Hitomi-Chan and I, there's Hirasawa-Chan on the Harp, Nakano-Chan on the Lyre and Goto-Chan on the Guitar."
All of the members waved as their name was called, each wielding an instrument Wataru was able to recognize for the most part. Only a few like the Basson and Lyre were completely foreign to him.
"And these aren't even all the instruments we have, there are plenty more in the storage closet."
"So, are you guys like an orchestra or something?"
"Sort of"
Asumu answered Wataru's question.
"Our membership is too small to be considered a real orchestra, but we do function like one, especially when Senesi plays the role of conductor."
"Speaking of Sensei, where is he?"
Taiga asked
"Out sick."
"Again?"
"It is allergy season."
"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!"
Mari shouted while clapping her hands, gathering everyone's attention.
"It's time for practice, everyone back to their seats! As for you Wataru, you'll be sitting with Meguri-Chan over there."
She pointed to the right wall where two chairs were set up, Tomoe already sitting in one of them while beckoning Wataru to come over. After a light shoulder nudge from Taiga, he finally went over to his fellow devil. Once everyone was seated, the music began.
"Is it over already?"
He was confused why everyone was packing up so soon, until he looked out the window to see that the sun was setting. He had been so enthralled by the classical melodies of Taiga's club; he had not realized just how much time had passed.
"Wataru-Kun, do you play any instruments too."
Tomoe asked him, to which he silently shook his head in response.
"Then, what do you like to do for fun?"
"…Well … I spend most of my time on the computer, when I'm not training at least."
"Training?"
"Eh… I-Uh!"
"Oh no, I think I said to much! I need to find a way to salvage this."
"N-Nii-San has been making me exercise regularly… as part of my rehabilitation."
"Oh, that's good. Exercise is definitely important."
She then proceeded gently pinch his bicep.
"Kya!"
"Oooooo, you actually got some pretty decent muscle on you. I'm impressed."
"Uuuuuuuuh…"
"Good grief."
Hitomi said while walking up to them.
"I knew you were into younger guys, but could you be any less subtle about it."
"HEY, ITS NOT LIKE THAT! I was just complimenting him, trying to be friendly."
"By smothering him?"
Upon hearing that, something finally clicked in Tomoe's head. She turned to see just how uncomfortable Wataru was, especially since she was still holding his bicep.
"I'm sorry, I got a bit ahead of myself there"
She let go of him before getting to do a polite bow.
"I-It's ok"
…
…
…
"Anyways, I should get going. I need to turn my evaluation, Take care."
She waved goodbye as she quickly walked towards the exit.
"Thanks for the help, Hitomi-Chan"
"No problem. She's a good person, just needs to work on her boundaries. Wait… Shoot, I forgot I wanted to ask her something. Talk to you later, Wataru-Kun."
"Y-You too."
So, she ran after the student council member, leaving Gasper alone in his chair. Not to say he was completely alone, there were still plenty of students in the club room, but they were all crowding around Taiga. From what he saw, he had a chocolate bar in his pocket, which he gave to Kanae. Of course, everyone got jealous, until he revealed he had more bars in his coat. Now he was passing them out to everyone like he was a candy man.
"He really is a nice person."
He got up and went to his pretend brother, who upon seeing him, tossed him a chocolate bar.
"Don't think I forgot about you, Wataru."
"Thank you… Nii-San."
…
Taiga stared, looking like he was stunned for a few seconds before he responded with a warm smile.
"So, did you have a good time."
Kanae asked while taking a bite from her chocolate.
"Yeah, and I really enjoyed your solo piece. What did you call it Again?"
"Solitude. it was just something I came up with on the spot, Taiga-San isn't the only Genius here."
"Wow."
"Ehm."
Kumi cleared her throat, in a manner that was louder than it should be. Not to loud, but it was enough to get Wataru's attention.
"Oh, and you were great as well, Kumi-Chan."
"Oh, you're to kind."
"…So, what made you pick the euphonium?"
"Well... it's cause no one else did. It's a pretty obscure instrument that's often overlooked for its bigger cousin, the tuba."
"You picked it because you felt bad for it?"
"At first, but I really did grow attached to it in the end. And that's the thing about instruments, their more than just tools for playing music, they are your partners. It's only when you treat it with love and care while pouring all of your feeling into it, that you will be able to get the perfect sound."
…
"Forgive her, she gets way too sentimental sometimes."
Asumu intruded.
"No one asked you."
She lightly punched the vice president in the shoulder, causing him to laugh.
"She is right though, about the instruments. Taiga's Bloody Rose is a good example of that. I wonder if maybe I shou-"
Buzzing, the dhampirs heard the Fangire alarm again. But this one was louder than the others, which could only mean… it was at the school. The boys looked at each other knowing what they had to do, Taiga rolled up his sleeve to look at his watch.
"Hey, would you look at the time. Sorry everyone, but we need to head home."
"Huh… Ok, see you tomorrow."
"Feel free to come back anytime Wataru-Kun."
Kumi and Kanae said respectively, waving goodbye to the brothers as they rushed out of there. Everyone was completely oblivious to the chaos that would soon unfold.
"You see anything, Gasper?"
"No."
The duo had returned to the school entrance, searching for the source of the alarm. Yet, they could not see any Fangire.
"Damn, this Is really unusual… Wait."
Taiga looked at the fountain, the water in the bowl having a faint blue and green glow. It didn't do that before.
"Over here."
He made his way to the fountain with Gasper sticking behind him. Upon reaching it, they found the source of the strange light. submerged in the water, were about a dozen glowing orbs the size of basketballs.
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Senpai, what are-"
Crack, one of the orbs began to crack. The others followed suit, in a chain reaction. The two backed away as the orbs exploded in a blinding light, splashing water everywhere. What merged from the fountain were a strange looking clutch Fangire. Identical in appearance to one another, they resembled Humanoid Sea Cucumbers. Blue and green stained glass covered their forelimbs, chest area and head in a large circle patterns like giant boils. The areas in between have sharp thorns. Finaly, their only facial features were their gaping maws with sharp fangs.
"Fangire Troopers!"
"T-Troopers!?"
"Lesser Fangire that are spawned from eggs, their mostly mindless and only serve as cannon fodder.
"There's… so many."
"Nothing we can't handle. Kivat!"
"Here I am, Master!"
Kivat the second appeared from thin air as usual. As for Gasper, though he was not expecting to face an army, He knew he couldn't afford to cower now.
"Alright… Kivat!"
"About Time, Let's Kivat a go!"
Now that both Kivats were here, their respective masters grabbed them.
"Gaburi!"
"Gabu!"
They bit their hands, summoning the belts.
"Henshin!"
The duo said in unison as they placed the Kivats on their belts.
"Henshin!"
The Kivats also said in unison. The green and red Magic Circles of Kiva were projected, shattering into shards and reassembling into the respective Kiva armors, completing the transformation.
"Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The Troopers hissed, charging the duo with fierce voracity. Before they could reach, New Kiva used his Balor View to slow them down. This allowed Dark Kiva to go up and knock them down one at a time. Punching, kicking, once the effect wore off only one was still standing. Dark Kiva grabbed its head and slammed its face into the ground, The trooper instantly shattered into glass shards.
"As you can see, it doesn't take much to kill these things. Well, for us anyways."
Unfortunately, the rest of the Troopers were still alive and getting back up. One swiped at Dark Kiva with its claws, but he dodged them, and spin kicked it back into the fountain. Another Trooper decided to go for a leap attack, be the Rider caught it, and after a good spin, violently threw it towards five other Troopers, knocking them down like bowling pins before they all shattered. The next Trooper tried to do a sneak attack from behind, only to be intercepted by a tackle from New Kiva. Knocking it to the ground before rolling off, the two get up to engage in a short wrestling match, ending with a strong headbutt that cracks its skull, shattering as it collapses. The three remaining Troopers rushed New Kiva, who once again slowed them with his Balor view. He proceeded to punch the first one in the chest multiple times until he saw a crack form, then he did the same to the other two. When time sped back up, so did the cracking, until all of them shattered. Upon seeing this, Dark Kiva approached him while clapping his hands.
"Nicely done, Man. You've rea-"
"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
It wasn't over yet, the Tropper that was knocked into the fountain emerged for one last hurrah. running at full speed to avenge its siblings… only for the two Kivas to double kick it in the face. Landing on its back, it eventually gave in, shattering like the rest.
"…As I was saying. You've really gotten the hang of this."
"Thank you… huh?"
The shards of the Fangire Troopers were turning into what looked like bubbling seafoam, which then evaporated.
"This is another thing that separates them from Normal Fangire, at least it makes the clean-up easier."
"So, is there a Mama Fangire Trooper we have to deal with now?"
"No… at least, I don't think so. The only troopers I've faced so far were hatched by normal Fangire, but in those cases they were just carrying the eggs so they could have emergency backup. I'm still not sure who or what laid them, but what I do know is that they start out the size of marbles until they are given water or blood, causing them to grow and then hatch. In the case of blood, it's an instant process, but for water… they have to soak in it for a good while."
"Then that would mean…"
"Yes. The Fangire who planted them did it a while ago. And If I had to guess who, it would probably be-"
Buzzing, they heard the alarm again and looked towards the school.
"Damn, this was another diversion. Come on Gasper, She-"
More Buzzing, this one coming from farther away.
"That one is in the forest behind the Academy, where the old schoolhouse is."
"No… My Peerage."
"Guess we're going to need some backup of our own."
Dark Kiva pulled out the Bassha Fuestle and placed it into his Kavat's mouth.
"Bassha Magnum!"
He blew the Fuestle, which played a tune that sounded like a trumpet.
"Got any Queens?"
Mimi asked Lady Doran as they along with the arms monsters sat at the game table with playing cards in their hands.
"Go Fish."
"Hm."
Mimi drew a card from the middle of the table and looked at it.
"Yes!"
She placed it along with three cards from her deck on the table face up, they were Queens of all four suits. Next up was Ramon.
"Ok… Riki, do got any-"
He did not finish, because he heard the sound of the Bassha Fuestle.
"WAHOOOOOOOOO! I've been Summoned!"
He tossed his cards in the air before rushing to the right of the living room.
"Finally, it's my time to shine."
He spun and snapped his fingers as his green eyes turned red and his whole body was enveloped in a fiery green aura. Ramon was then transformed into a small floating Merman statue.
"Have fun out there"
Lady Doran said as she opened a portal for the statue to fly though.
Back at Kuoh, the Merman statue arrived and flew towards Dark Kiva. Landing in his left hand, it unfolded into its weapon form, The Bassha Magnum. The grip was green with Gold on the side, and the bottom resembled a fish fin. The gun hammer had the same color pattern and was shaped like a sharp fin. The trigger and frame was green with the rear sight having a gold band with a red orb on it. The barrel was mostly black with green parts on the top and bottom resembling the upper and lower jaws of a fanged fish, the top part also having gold on it. Finally, instead of a bullet cylinder, the magnum had three green fin-themed turbine blades on an axis.
"Now here is the plan, Gasper. I'll deal with whoever is in the forest, and you'll deal with whoever is in the school."
"Y-You mean were splitting up."
"We have to, it's the only way. Good luck."
Dark Kiva deployed his vampire wings and took to the skies, flying over Kuoh academy and leaving New Kiva on his own.
"Don't worry, Master. You've got this."
"…Yeah, your right."
So, he ran back inside, determined to defend the school of his Peerage… and his friends.
Just as quickly as he took off, Dark Kiva landed in the forest. Specifically, he landed on the pathway the lead to the old school building, the occult research club. With no time to lose, he sprinted, running past multiple puddles of rainwater which no doubt would be good spots to plant some of those Fangire eggs. Sure enough, Dark Kiva found two dozen more Fangire Troopers slowly making their way towards the old building, one of them was even banging on the door like a zombie.
"How the hell are those devils not hearing them, they must not be here. Oh well"
He raised the magnum and fired into the sky, the noise easily catching the Troopers attention. The halted and slowly turned around, and once they saw their new target…
"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
…They charged. Dark Kiva wasted no time and opened fire on the hoard, shooting high pressurized water blasts that shattered each Trooper that was hit. Only half of them were left now, but they managed to reach the Rider, but he was undeterred. He dodged each of their strikes while striking back with kicks or by whacking them with the butt of the gun. The final Trooper was struggling to get up as it was on all fours, Dark Kiva simply walked up to it and pressed the magnum against its face.
"Sayonara."
BANG. That was the last of them, he had made quick work of those glass mooks.
"That was rather easy, Master. Too easy."
"Agreed, I was Hoping She would be here for Rias, but neither of them are-."
A crash noise was heard, it was coming from the main campus. Using his Omni Lens, Dark Kiva was able to spot what was going on.
"There you are."
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"
Hitomi yelled as she and Tomoe were hiding in the janitors closet from a dozen Fangire Troopers, who had mysteriously come out of the women's bathroom. They were banging at the door trying to bust it down, but despite the situation, Tomoe remained.
"It'll be Ok, Hitomi-Chan. I've got a plan."
She grabbed one of the mops, stepped on its head and pulled off the handle, leaving only a sharp needle on the end.
"On the count of Three, I'll open the door, and you make a run for it while I hold them off."
"WHAT! I'm not going to leave you to those… Things, they'll tear you apart!"
"I'll be fine, I know how to fight."
"It's either that or we both die."
…
…
"…Fine. You better not die though."
"I won't, Now on Three. One… Two… THREE!"
She opened the and rammed through horde, knocking them to the ground
"GO NOW!"
Hitomi booked it out of there as fast as she could, she was thankfully ignored by the Troopers, for they already had a target.
"Take this!"
She stabbed the mop into the Trooper, but the needle merely bent like tinfoil, As the Trooper snapped the mop in half with a single chop. It then tried to hit Tomoe, but her speed as a Knight piece allowed her to dodge with ease.
"Figured that wouldn't work."
She raised her hand to summon a blue magic circle, one that bore a crest resembling a necklace, it was the crest of the Sitri Clan. Tomoe reached into the circle and pulled out a new weapon, a black sheathed katana.
"Shaaaaaa!"
Dashing forward, she quickly unsheathed and slashed the first Trooper. Then she cut down the next one and the one after that. All fell to her blade, until only one was left standing, whom she stabbed in the chest.
"Sh-Shaa-AUGHHHH!"
The thing exploded, with some of the glass shards cutting Tomoe.
"Gah… ow! What the heck!"
Worse yet, the other Troopers were still intact, getting back up for round two. The Knight turned around, her sword at the ready. The Troopers Charged, only to be enveloped in the violet glow of Balor View, Tomoe included. With time slowed down, New Kiva ran up with a jump kick to knock down the army, shattering five of them.
"Eh?... Wait, aren't you-"
"I'll handle this."
Kiva assured the Knight as he went to face the remaining monsters. Seeing that they all had slash wounds, he struck those with his punches and kick, easily shattering them. The last one that was left tried to strike from behind, only for its head to be chopped off by Tomoe. Its body breaking apart one it hit the floor.
"Thanks."
"Guese were even now, Kiva-San."
"Y-You know my-"
"Tomoe!"
They both turned two to see a girl running up to them. It was Sona Sitri herself, whom Kiva instantly recognized as such from the pictures he saw.
"Hey prez! It's alright, everything's under control now."
Tomoe said as she sheathed her Katana.
"Yes, I can see that."
Sona surveyed the dissolving remains of the Fangire Troppers before looking straight at Kiva. Her serious stare sent shivers down the Rider's spine.
"As for you Kiva… Though I appreciate what you have done for Rias, we still have a lot to tal-AUGH!"
She was stabbed in the neck by two red fangs, draining the color and opacity from her body.
"NOOO!"
Kiva and Tomoe ran to Sona, who's body fell after the fangs dislodged themselves. Once they caught her, they heard fiendish laughter.
"AH, HA, HA, HA, Ha! I just love it when a plan comes together like this."
It was her, the Octopus Fangire from last night. She had been using camouflage to make herself invisible, until finally revealing herself. Her fangs entered her body, and she felt an immense surge of power.
"Yes, yes, YES! Finally, the power of a Pure-Blooded Devil is in my grasp."
"You… YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
Tomoe unsheathed her sword once more, ready to avenge her master. But The Fangire caught her sword with one hand and smacked her against the wall with the other, instantly knocking her out.
"Foolish little girl, I have become stronger than before. And once I drain that Rias girl, I shall be invincible."
"So, you were after them all along?"
Kiva angerly asked.
"Of course! Not only are they the heiresses to their clans, but they are also the little sisters of Lady Leviathan and Lord Lucifer. Draining them is merely step 1 of our ultimate plan to dominate the… the…"
The Octopus Fangire clenched her stomach.
"GUUUAAAAAHHHHH!"
She vomited out the life energy she just drank, which immediately flowed back into Sona, restoring her to life.
"Ahhhh… What happened?"
Sona was obviously confused by the situation, along with Kiva and especially the Fangire, who was still gagging.
"The hell… why did-GAAAAAAAUUUUUUHHHGGGG!"
She vomited again, this time it was actual puke. As if she had been eating real food before, at the contents were now spilling out. It was gross.
"Grr… Damn it all!"
She turned around and Retreated down the hallway.
"W-WAIT!"
Kiva ran after her, while making sure not to trip on the puke puddle. Sona would have also followed, but she knew her injured servant took priority.
"If only Tsubaki came with me."
Crash!
The Octopus Fangire leaped out one of the windows, entering the forest. New Kiva was on her tail, determined to not let her get away like last time. Thankfully, he could track her from all the gagging noises she was making. The chase ended at a rather large pond of water, the Fangire standing in the center while puking blood.
"Man, that Life energy really didn't agree with her."
Kivat's comment got her attention, and she was not happy.
"This is… nothing. I won't let anything stand in my way, especially not the likes of you."
She fired several balls of her ink at New Kiva, but he slowed them and her with is Balor view. He ran and swerved past those obstacles, reaching her just as the effect wore off. The two exchanged punches, hitting and dodging until the Fangire was knocked far back. In retaliation, she used one of her tentacles to grab and hoist him up by the neck.
"Awwww! Not so tough now are you, Kiva Jr? How you managed to kill Mustang is beyond me, but at least now I can av-AGH!"
She was shot with two blasts of water, one in the face, and the other breaking off the tentacle. Setting New Kiva free to be caught by Dark Kiva, coming in the nick of time.
"You Good?"
"Y-Yeah!"
Once she got back on her feet, the Octopus summoned another tentacle too strike the Riders. While they managed to dodge it, this also knocks the Bassha magnum out of Dark Kiva's hand.
"Crap!"
"I got it!"
New Kiva leaped up and caught the gun in his right hand. And once he did…
"There's… that feeling again."
…magical chains wrapped around his right arm and chest, exploding off to reveal new armor. Just like his Garuru form, his silver armband turned gold, while the red glove and veins on the forearm also changed color, but they were green instead of blue. He had green armor covered the top of the forearm with a spiny fish fin sticking out, a green armor plate covering the top of the bicep, and a green piece of armor that resembles another spiny fish fin curved over the shoulder. The chest was now green, with grey lining going around each bicep and abb. Finally, the Omni lens had switched from Yellow to Green. Once the transformation ended, New Kiva gracefully landed on his feet with a splash. He stood up straight, looking towards his enemy.
"Hm."
He walked forward with a confident strut, while casually leaning the magnum on his shoulder. The mollusk fired her ink balls again, but New Kiva shot them all down without missing. He even blew on the muzzle just to taunt her. She was not amused, sending out her tentacle again, but he not only dodged it, he did it while spinning like a ballerina. He then slid his foot, sending a wave of water to splash the octopus backwards.
"GRRRR!"
Snaping his fingers, he created a green magic circle under the fallen Fangire, which blasted he into the air with a water guizer. Aiming fast and true, he fired multiple shots at her as she came crashing down with a big splash.
"Damn it… Damn it all to he-UUUAAAGGGHHH!"
She vomited even more blood, turning the water red.
"Why is this happening to me!?"
"Dragon Venom."
Dark Kiva blankly answered.
"How…and when… did you even-"
"Back in the Music Clubroom when I was handing everyone candy bars, I laced one of them with Dragon Venom… the one I gave you."
…
…
…
"Eh!?"
New Kiva and the Fangire both muttered in unison.
"The jig is already up, so why don't you show us the human face you've been wearing."
"… ha ha… ha ha Ha Ha HA HA HA HA! So that's how it is… very well. I'll give you what you want, Taiga-San."
The light around her body distorted until her human form was revealed, a form that both Riders had already met before.
"K… Kanae-Chan?"
The revelation shook New Kiva, causing him to drop the Bassha Magnum, reverting him to his base form.
"How long… have you known?"
Kanae asked.
"Since before the new school year."
"Ha ha… and I'm guessing you didn't confront me because…"
"I had no reason to, until now. I have eyes and ears everywhere in town, you never attacked anyone. I thought…"
"That I was different? Oh, how adora-BAUH!"
She vomited more blood, as Dark Kiva walked closer to her, kneeling down.
"You have two options from here. You could either let the venom kill you, or let me spare you the suffering and do it myself."
"Hmmm… I don't like either of those options."
"They're the only ones you got."
"You sure about that?"
He was confused at first, until his danger sense kicked in. jumping backwards to dodge a spear made of blue light. As for the one who threw it, it was a middle-aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a pale gray trench coat over a white dress shirt with a matching ascot, black pants and shoes, a pair of black gloves, and a black fedora. But his most defining feature was definitely the large black feathered wings protruding from his back.
"Dohnaseek … I knew you would come for me."
The man descended onto the pond, scooping up Kanae into his arms.
"Heh, you really are handful sometimes, Lisa."
"Lisa? That's your real name?"
Dark Kiva scoffed.
"And you must be those Kamen Riders, right? As much as I'd like to fight you, I can't have you killing my comrade. This is goodbye."
The fallen angel snapped his fingers, causing the light spear to glow brighter, until it exploded. It wasn't a real bomb, but more of a flash grenade sending out a large bright light that blinded our heroes. Once the light receded, Dohnaseek and Lisa were gone, leaving behind a couple of falling black feathers.
"God Damn it."
Dark Kiva cursed as New Kiva got on his hands and knees, still struggling to process what just happened.
"Kanae-Chan…"
Next Time on Kiva DxD.
"I Just… Need to be alone right now."
"A second Kiva?"
"Good to have you with us, Kiva-San."
"Taking someone's Sacred Gear… would also mean taking their life."
"ASIA!"
Wake Up and break the chains of fate!