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writingpaperghost · 11 months

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From the Future With a Miracle (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6: The Miracle We Longed For Will One Day Change Form

The time has come to fight Diablo.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45877396/chapters/119756356

The Riders were split between five foes, that was determined quickly. Jeanne had sent word (a letter appeared, somehow), that she and Aguilera would be facing the Himiko Crisper. It was decided that two of Mr. Kamiyama’s friends, Ms. Shindai and Ms. Sophia, would join them. Revi was facing the Edison Crisper, and he would be joined by Mr. Kadota and Mr. Kamiyama’s friend, Mr. Fukamiya. The Khufu Crisper would be fought by four of Mr. Kamiyama’s allies, Mr. Yuri, Mr. Ogami, Mr. Daishinji, and Mr. Akamichi. Up against the Leonidas Crisper was Tamaki, aided by Mr. Kamiyama’s friends Mr. Shindo and Mr. Shindai, the brother of the one who was fighting the Himiko Crisper.

That left Mr. Kamiyama and Makoto himself to fight Diablo.

While Makoto didn’t particularly like the odds of just the two of them against such a powerful demon, there wasn’t much getting around it. All the others would be needed elsewhere, and as it were, Koushiro wasn’t ready to fight.

Before they leave, Karizaki calls Tamaki over, “I’ve got something for you,”

Tamaki blinked, confused, “You… do?”

“I do,” He holds out the Driver he’s been working on to Tamaki, “Just be careful, it still needs some adjustments, but it’s good enough for something as bad as this.”

Taking the Driver, Tamaki nods, “Got it.”

Makoto would be honest that he feels a little better that Tamaki has the Driver, since there’s no getting around fighting like this. Anything to protect Tamaki even just a little more. It makes Makoto even more glad that Hana was safe and likely far away from any fights. Especially given how Hana was when it came to fights.

Yet as everyone began to file out, Makoto couldn’t help how tense he was, the nerves building in him. Fighting the Deadmans felt… easier, than a demon like Diablo. The Deadmans never seem too dangerous, to him, even though he knows they are. But if they wanted him dead or otherwise out of the way, they had plenty of opportunities. Diablo, he suspects, is a different story. Diablo, from all he’s heard, likely wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

“We don’t have long,” Daiji declared, surveying the Riders. “Whatever Diablo’s up to, it’s going to be completed soon, that much we can tell. So, it’s now or never.”

Mr. Kamiyama frowned, “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Mr. Koushiro?”

“I think he’ll find us if he’s ready,” Makoto said, pleased that he sounded confident in that statement. He really wasn’t sure whether or not Koushiro would make his way to them. In a way, it depended on Koushiro. On if he could work out whatever was holding him back – Makoto didn’t know what it was, despite his suspicions.

“Like you said, we have the aid of Mr. Kamiyama and his friends,” Daiji reminded, “I’m sure we’ll be fine without him.”

Everyone was preparing, it seemed. Ms. Sudo and Mr. Shindo were speaking, it’s obviously something important. Makoto gets the impression the two are close, and they’re both clearly aware of the danger that Mr. Shindo was about to go into. It could easily be the last time they see each other. He notes that Daiji has found his way to where Hiromi was, just the slightest worry leaking into his expression. They were friends, that was for certain, and Daiji was concerned. Makoto couldn’t blame him.

If something does happen to anyone, though, Makoto hopes it will be him. Or even, in a more selfish way, anyone other than Tamaki. He doesn’t think their parents fully understand what they’re about to go do, and Makoto doesn’t want to be the one to tell them Tamaki was hurt, or worse. And, of course, Makoto would prefer no harm comes to his brother. It was selfish, certainly, but Makoto didn’t really care. He saw no harm in being selfish when it came to his family.

Still, the possible fate of humanity, that was a lot. Makoto is no fighter, he never really has been, so this was… a lot. More than he’d ever really wanted to take. But at the end of the day… he’d put himself in this position, and while he’ll never really be a hero, this is good enough. If his parents have at least one of their sons come home, that’s all he can hope for.

“You look tense,” Mr. Kamiyama notes.

He was a kind man, at least that was the impression Makoto got. He knew more about all of this, about being a Rider, than Makoto. Which was a strange thought, mostly because Makoto didn’t really know many other Riders. Just Mr. Kadota, and more loosely, Aguilera. In a way, it all made Makoto feel a bit bad knowing he might lie to him. Knowing that he might fudge the truth, like he did with everyone. But Mr. Kamiyama was far less connected to him than any of those other people.

And so Makoto answers, it’s not a lie, but it doesn’t feel like the whole truth. “Diablo is a bit different than what I’m used to fighting.”

“Unlike Captain Kadota there, or even your brother, you haven’t trained for this.” Mr. Kamiyama nodded, “so having the weight of protecting people isn’t an easy one to bear. Isn’t something you’re prepared for.”

It’s almost a surprise that Mr. Kamiyama had described it so easily. “Yeah,” he said, “it’s a little out of my league.”

“Maybe not that. You seem to be doing pretty well, and I can see you’ve made an effort to improve yourself. To make up for the lack of preparation.”

“You’re giving me too much credit,” Makoto insisted. The last thing he wanted was for Mr. Kamiyama to get the wrong idea. “I just want my family to be safe. I really don’t care about much else.”

“And that’s reason enough to fight,”

“There are plenty of people who would disagree, Mr. Kamiyama.”

If one was going to fight, it would probably be better to have some big goal, or at least some desire to help people. Like Tamaki, who wanted to protect people. Makoto had no desires like that, no big goal to save anyone other than his family. It didn’t bother him, really, but he didn’t want anyone to think he was better than he was.

It didn’t matter much, anyway. Soon they’d be too busy fighting to really focus on that. Really, Makoto preferred it that way.

---

Hana could only wait on the Riders who were aiding Fenix, out of sight of the Himiko Crisper with Sakura. She really hoped that whoever was coming were people who didn’t know her – keeping quiet around her brothers especially wasn’t easy. But there were other Riders involved, now, and they didn’t know her, so she wouldn’t have to worry so much about not saying anything if it were them.

Then the two appear, one red and one purple, out some strange portal that Hana rather quickly decides not to question. Sakura smiled at the sight of them – not happy, exactly, more a smile of relief that they’d arrive and a smile to help her slip into her persona as Jeanne. The two’s arrival just made Hana happy to have to stop hiding.

Standing, Sakura hurries over to the two, as they’d caught the Himiko Crisper’s attention anyway, with Hana hurrying behind. “I hope you’re ready for a fight,” Sakura says to the two, only slightly hesitating to place herself behind Hana. “Aguilera will be your main aid, but I’ll do what I can.”

The other two nod and all four dodge out of the way of the attack, Sakura keeping her position behind Hana. While Sakura was perfectly capable of fighting, Hana had seen that for herself, she was obviously being careful here, when it came to the Himiko Crisper. Then again, the only thing remotely like a demon Hana knew Sakura had fought before was Tamaki.

Pushing the red Rider away, the Himiko Crisper attacked, the red Rider already just barely out of the way, the purple Rider was off to the other side and safe. Hana and Sakura were a different story, Hana grabbing Sakura and letting her wings bring them up and out of the way. When they land, regrouped with the red and the purple Rider, Hana lets go of Sakura.

“I really don’t like her,” Hana said, resting the back on her hand on her hip.

Sakura sighed, “I think it will be best that I leave this to you three,” she didn’t seem too pleased. But the look she gave Hana filled Hana with a certain confidence. “Still, I’m sure you three can handle it. You have the aid of my queen, after all.”

Hana nodded, “I won’t lose!” Quickly, she decided it was time to test out the Vistamp that Sakura had gotten earlier, pulling it out and activating it.

Sounding curious, the red Rider asked, “What will that do?”

“We’re about to find out,” Hana declared, pressing the Turtle Vistamp against her Driver. Then her kunai morphed into a bazooka. “ooh,” She couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Barely, she can hear the purple Rider say, “Oh dear…”

And then Sakura laughed.

---

Ikki only recognizes one of the Riders that arrives to help fight against the Edison Crisper, that being Demons. The other one was yellow, and he must be one of those other Riders that was aiding in the fight against Diablo. Well, with something like Diablo, Ikki was pretty happy to have the help, anything to make sure this gets dealt with.

Not that he thought he was going to avoid the consequences of this, there was no way something this big avoided notice, and since Diablo’s awakening was Vice’s fault… yeah, Ikki wasn’t looking forward to that. But they had to deal with Diablo and the Crispers, first.

“Revi,” Kadota greets.

“Demons,” Ikki doesn’t see the point in wasting much time on pleasantries, pulling out the T-Rex Vistamp. “The Edison Crisper is very… well electric, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

The yellow Rider that stood beside Kadota responded, “Well so am I.”

An electricity-based Rider, then. Well yellow was a fitting color, in that case. Not that Ikki thinks learning much about these Riders will do much good, since it would probably be unlikely that they’d ever encounter them again. Certainly, at least, they wouldn’t be fighting against them, the only place where it would likely be all that important to take note about them now.

“You know, you could let me out and I could help,” Vice suggested, hovering nearby and sounding a little too eager.

“No, it’s your fault we’re in this mess.” Ikki was quick to answer, then stamped himself with the T-Rex Vistamp, transforming into the T-Rex Deadman.

Though he can no longer see Vice, and Vice’s mouth was hidden anyway, Ikki just knows he’s pouting. “Aw…”

---

Though Tamaki had used a Driver and the Wolf Vistamp to transform before, this would be the first time he actually did anything while transformed, let alone fight. Still, he tells himself it won’t matter, because he’s trained plenty, and he’s fought enough with the Vistamp that even with the difference of the Driver being involved he thinks he’ll be okay. Besides, he has Mr. Shindo and Mr. Shindai fighting with him, so it would be fine.

That didn’t change that he may or may not be a tad tense. Being stressed was not an uncommon state for him, but it still didn’t make it any more pleasant. To some degree, though, he found that being transformed like this did comfort him, not entirely, but enough.

And then they go through the weird portal thing and find themselves in view of the Leonidas Crisper. He noticed the three quickly, leaving Tamaki little time to think too much about his feelings, and next thing they knew they were fighting. Quick enough, Tamaki finds himself focusing on the fight more than his own worries.

There was, after all, a lot to focus on that mattered far more than his skill at messing up.

---

Makoto and Mr. Kamiyama were the only ones who didn’t have to travel somewhere far to confront Diablo. Diablo and the center of his star were at Mt. Fuji, so while not just down the street, was at least in the same country. Not that Makoto really cared how far it was, the only real important part was that they knew where Diablo was and were ready to fight.

And sure enough, upon their arrival, there was Diablo.

“Are you ready for this, Makoto?” Mr. Kamiyama asked, sending a concerned glance towards Makoto.

Already reaching for his Driver and the Squid Vistamp, Makoto answered, “Ready enough. Worst case scenario, I die.” That was a lie. As it were, him dying – and only him – was the best-case scenario. Worst case was… well a lot worse.

“Don’t say that,”

Shrugging, Makoto placed the Driver on his waist, “I’m afraid I don’t have a very good sense of humor.” He activated his Vistamp, “Now, it’s probably best we get on with this.”

He didn’t have high hopes for their fight against Diablo. They hadn’t fared particularly well before, and nothing really had changed to give them an advantage. Still, they had to do all they could to defeat Diablo, unlike the demons Makoto had faced before, he would certainly cause a lot more damage. If Koushiro was right, he’d pretty much end humanity.

The two transformed, Makoto let the armor settle over him with the knowingly vain hope that it would make much of a difference, let his weapon appear in his hand. Mr. Kamiyama holds his sword, ready to fight. And now they’ve gotten Diablo’s attention.

“I see you’ve come to fight me again.” Diablo said. There was this energy gather around all of them, the energy Diablo was obviously trying to get from whatever he was planning. Who knew what would happen once it was done.

“This will be the last time,” Mr. Kamiyama responded, and Makoto really couldn’t argue with that. Either they defeat Diablo or they die.

Diablo didn’t seem all that concerned, “Because this will be your last fight.”

And then the fight begins. It’s all Makoto can do is manage to keep up, despite limbs that were already sore from the previous fight and the exhaustion that was setting in from getting into multiple fights in one day. He wasn’t really a fighter, he couldn’t take this much exertion. Mr. Kamiyama, at least, seemed to be faring better, though he certainly had more experience.

It was unfortunate, really, that it was only the two of them fighting Diablo. Makoto could already tell that they weren’t going to be able to defeat him, let alone keep fighting for much longer. From Diablo’s attacks, Makoto knew he’d be covered in bruises and cuts, a familiar problem to be dealt with later – provided he even survived. Not that Makoto had high hopes for that, even with Mr. Kamiyama’s aid.

What good was defeating the Crispers when they couldn’t even defeat Diablo?

They’re knocked down by one of Diablo’s attacks, sending both of them out of their transformations. Not a good sign. Especially not as Diablo loomed over them. Well, it wasn’t like he’d expected to live.

Then a dark purple blur shoves Diablo away, and standing in front of Makoto and Mr. Kamiyama was Koushiro’s demon, wings spread as though to further protect the two. Running up beside him came Koushiro, looking at Diablo with a new fervor in his eyes. “Good job!” He cheered, raising a hand in the air. It held a Vistamp, though it had a different appearance to Koushiro’s Dragonfly Vistamp.

“We’re here to defeat Diablo, after all, and it would be unfortunate for any other Riders to fall at Diablo’s hands,” His demon said.

Koushiro nodded, “Right!” He turned to look at Makoto and Mr. Kamiyama, “We’re here to help.”

Pulling themselves up off the ground, Makoto commented, “You seemed to have figured it out.”

“Thank your mom for that – she’s really amazing you know.”

“I know,” Makoto laughed a little, though his lungs were frankly still heaving a little from the fight. “though I think we have more important concerns.”

“Oh, right,” Koushiro turned his attention back to Diablo. “I think we can take him for a bit, but if we’re going to defeat him, we’ll probably need your guy’s help.”

Mr. Kamiyama nodded, “Of course, we’ll do what we can.”

Then Koushiro cheered, pulling out his Driver and placing it on his waist, “Great!” then he activated the Vistamp – the Emperor Dragonfly Vistamp, Makoto was right that it had changed. As the two transformed, both gained armor – the demon had already had some, effectively, but now his matched with Koushiro’s, similar to before but different. Particularly, Koushiro’s own wings were present, and seemed to function in someways as something of a cape. “Now… it’s time for the Riders created by your own actions, Diablo! Kamen Rider Hawker!”

“Kamen Rider Tombo!” Koushiro’s demon, apparently named Tombo, declared alongside him. The two hurry to fight Diablo.

Makoto reached for his Vistamp again, “Well, I think that’s our cue.”

Mr. Kamiyama nodded, “I think so too.”

Like Tombo and Koushiro’s own appearance, though far brighter and harder to miss, there’s a flash and a different sword comes flying to Mr. Kamiyama’s hand. Unlike the sword he usually had, red and at times burning, this one was blue and seemed to sparkle. It had come from the sky, it seemed, and were it not for the fact he’d seen so many transforming sword wielders today, Makoto would probably have questioned where it came from more. But he wasn’t so crazy as to try to question magic swords.

Around them, that building energy dissipated – Makoto’s best guess was that the others had managed to defeat the Crispers. He wondered if that had something to do with the appearance of this new sword, perhaps whatever the Crispers were doing was blocking it.

Well, anything to stand a better chance against Diablo, though Makoto’s hopes were a bit higher now that they had Koushiro and Tombo’s help. Transforming, he and Mr. Kamiyama begin to aid Koushiro and Tombo in their fight. Makoto was certainly the weakest of the four, between his exhaustion and that both Koushiro and Mr. Kamiyama had gotten a form stronger than what they were using before. Though he’d likely never say it out loud, he didn’t mind letting them take the lead.

Soon enough, Diablo seems suitably weakened and Makoto can recognize the movements that the other three make as preparing to finish him. Thus, he figures he should probably help them, just to be safe. Besides, he thinks he has enough energy to do that much, at least.

So the four of them launch into the air, Koushiro and Tombo first, followed by Mr. Kamiyama and Makoto. Then they kick, an action just familiar enough Makoto doesn’t question it, but foreign enough he wonders if Koushiro’s instinct for it comes from stories.

Even Diablo couldn’t survive that, it seems, as he explodes and then there’s nothing left.

Knowing he’s gone, their armor disappears, Tombo along with it. Koushiro stares at where Diablo once was, Emperor Dragonfly Vistamp still in his hand. “It’s… over. Diablo’s… Diablo’s gone.”

“He is,” Mr. Kamiyama agreed, “You did it.”

“You did what you set out to do, Mr. Koushiro.” Makoto nodded. “Though I suppose the question for you from here is: now what?”

Koushiro laughed, joyful and sad and bitter all at once. “It really isn’t a question, Makoto. It never was.”

That didn’t sound right. “I don’t follow.”

“The reason why I was always so single mindedly focused on Diablo, on defeating him no matter what happened to me… was because no matter what, I wouldn’t live past today. Not really.” Koushiro looked down, staring at the Vistamp in his hand. “If I died, that was that, but if I lived… well, sooner or later I’ll disappear.”

“Oh,” Makoto’s eyes widened, realizing what Koushiro was saying. “your timeline doesn’t exist anymore.”

He nodded, “Exactly. Even if I’m still born… removed from Diablo and the hellscape created, from his life raised by my Kari-papa… that Koushiro wouldn’t be me. And he’d never travel back in time like this, for this specific event.” Koushiro sounded resigned. Then again, it sounded like he’d known for a while that this would happen. That he’d accepted it regardless of how he felt.

Makoto could understand that feeling.

“No matter what, you’d effectively die.” He can’t help but sigh, “so now it’s only a matter of time.”

“Only a matter of time.” Koushiro repeated with a nod. He glanced at his own hand, which began to shimmer and fade. “Though it seems that time is already upon us.”

Taking a step towards Koushiro, Mr. Kamiyama said, “You did good.”

Koushiro responded with a smile, “Thank you.” Then he turned his attention to Makoto, “Makoto, if I could… I have a couple favors to ask of you.”

Since this was the end for Koushiro, Makoto felt an obligation to at least hear him out. “I’ll do my best.”

Digging through his jacket pocket, Koushiro began, “Firstly, I’d like you to give this to Karizaki. It’s from my Kari-papa.” He pulled out a crinkled and slightly torn envelope. Makoto took it, curious but not willing to pry. It had no label of any kind, but maybe it didn’t need it.

“I take it there’s something else, too?”

“Secondly,” Koushiro held out the Emperor Dragonfly Vistamp, “I’d like you to hold on to this, since it’ll be of no use to me. If possible, I’d like it to go to the me of this timeline, maybe it could help him one day.”

Taking that too, Makoto regarded it for a moment, “That one might be a little harder. I’ll have to find you, and I don’t even know how old you are.”

“About forty… uh, forty-eight, I think. If I’m born around the same time, it should be in the next year or so.” Koushiro answered, “And as for finding me, well… You won’t have to look far. Thanks to you… I got to meet my parents, and my big brothers too! I got to meet family that I hadn’t dreamed of meeting in a long time.”

Brow furrowed, Makoto began, “You mean…?”

The fading and the shimmers have grown, Koushiro was nearly gone at this point. He smiled, bigger and more genuine than Makoto had seen him smile. It looked like it might hurt his cheeks to hold it for too long. He might even had begun to cry. “Now, Koushiro Igarashi can disappear, and he can be happy. Thank you, Makoto.”

Koushiro Igarashi fades away, shimmering out of existence. Any further words that Makoto might have had were stuck in his throat.

Mr. Kamiyama stands beside him, “So he was your brother.”

“So it seems,” Makoto choked out, “I… wasn’t expecting that.”

“That’s understandable. We should probably head back, though.”

Makoto regarded the Vistamp he held in one hand and the envelope he held in the other. “Yeah, I guess we should. Ah, thanks for the help, Mr. Kamiyama.”

“Of course,” Mr. Kamiyama smiled.

---

“Aguilera and Jeanne told us to return this to you,” Sophia (Kamen Rider Calibur) said, as Reika Shindai (Kamen Rider Sabela) held out the Turtle Vistamp to George. Obviously that they were talking to them and the crisis now appeared to be averted was alone enough to make George nearly vibrate with excitement. He needed to get as many autographs as possible.

Of course, there was also the Vistamp they had gotten back from Jeanne and Aguilera, something that George was a little surprised by. “Oh, they actually gave it back. Well, that’s good.” He examined it for a moment before asking, “What did it do when Aguilera used it?”

Sophia paled and Ms. Shindai answered with a slight hesitance, “It… gave her a rocket launcher.”

“Oh,” George blinked, “well, it worked as it should have, then. Still, we should probably try our best to keep this one from her.”

The only Riders that hadn’t come back were Makoto and Touma Kamiyama (Kamen Rider Saber, the Kamen Rider Saber!), but since it appeared Diablo was defeated, they should be back soon. George would be excited to hear how the fight went.

Tamaki had already returned the Driver to George, it seemed even he was able to notice that the Driver wasn’t quite finished – then again he’d helped George with testing the Driver Makoto had. George would put the finishing touches on after all this had settled down and then Fenix would have three Riders.

Finally, Makoto and Mr. Kamiyama return, looking a bit worse for wear and tired – or downright exhausted in Makoto’s case – but otherwise more or less fine. Daiji greets them first, “Congratulations on defeating Diablo,”

Mr. Kamiyama gave a smile, “We couldn’t of done it without Koushiro.”

“Speaking of,” George noted the absence of said person with them, which was strange if he had been fighting Diablo with them. “if he helped you, where is he now?” George was curious as to if he would try to keep up his time travel story.

“Gone,” Makoto answered, an unusual tone in his voice. He sounded… perhaps a little sad. “with Diablo defeated, his timeline doesn’t exist anymore, so he disappeared.”

A silence falls, a degree of uncertainty in the air. Tamaki glanced around before asking, “You mean that… he was telling the truth about being from the future?” he looks between Makoto and George, as though to try to verify the thought.

Thus, George groused, “I guess if he was from the future, then yes, he wouldn’t exactly exist as he was anymore,” he still didn’t fully believe the story, though.

“We saw him disappear,” Mr. Kamiyama said, “I think that’s answer enough.”

From there, everyone begins to settle down and leave, particularly Mr. Kamiyama’s friends. George is in a hurry to get as many autographs as possible – a quest that was being interrupted by Daiji insisting that his behavior was going to give everyone second hand embarrassment, not that George cared. Though as the last of them leave, Mr. Kamiyama himself alongside Mr. Shindo and Mr. Fukamiya, Makoto approached George.

Maybe it’s to gloat about being right to believe Koushiro. Even though Makoto played the role of quiet and mostly obedient, George didn’t believe that’s how he truly was. He was certain that Makoto was a lot more like him than he let on.

“Mr. Karizaki,” Makoto said, and that sadness hadn’t quite been shaken from his voice. How foreign. He produced an envelope and held it out to him, “Koushiro asked that I give this to you. I believe it’s from the version of you from his future.”

George may be skeptical still, but he can’t deny that he’s curious, so he takes it. Though instead of asking about it further, he asked, “Something’s changed, what’s got you so sad about that Koushiro?”

Makoto’s expression shifted and he looked uncertain, for a moment, before he answered. “Well Koushrio was- is- will be our brother.”

Overhearing that, Tamaki pulls a face, “Wait, our brother? You mean – like adopted, right?”

“He didn’t say, but I don’t really think so…”

“You mean mama and papa- ugh nope! I don’t want to think about that!” More than a little redness creeped across his cheeks. Makoto laughed, clearly amused by this reaction.

Interrupting, but giving Makoto and Tamaki a small smile, Hiromi told them, “You two should head home, now, we’ll finish up here. Get some rest, especially you, Makoto. You look almost as bad as Daiji can get.”

Daiji made an indignant sound, “I don’t get bad,”

It didn’t even look like Makoto believed that statement, but he and Tamaki leave anyway. Soon enough Hiromi and Daiji leave too, to finish all the paperwork left over. That left George alone in the lab, as usual, though this time he wasn’t too focused on his work. Instead, his focus was on the unlabeled envelope that seemed to have come from Koushiro. From the future.

His curiosity gets the better of him and he opens the envelope, pulling out a worn and crinkled paper with smudges of dirt. It looked old, perhaps written a while ago.

“To my younger self,”

The handwriting certainly looked like George’s own, that much was certain.

“Hopefully you’ve gotten this letter from Koushiro, or he somehow found a way to get it to you. He’s a good kid, even if he sometimes gets a little single minded. I think he learned that from me. Us. Anyway, I know you probably won’t believe that he’s from the future, I know I wouldn’t have, back before all of this, but it’s true. He was entrusted to me by Yukimi and Genta Igarashi, so I did all I could to ensure that he stayed alive. I knew, after a certain point, that it wouldn’t be me who could stop Diablo, no matter how much I wanted to, that it had to be Koushiro. He’s an Igarashi, after all, and I think if anyone could do it, it would be him.

“Thus, I hope that now, when you’re reading this, you’ll never see the future I’ve seen. But that’s not exactly why I’m writing this. What I have to say is simply that you should cherish what you have, the people who do in fact care about you. When everything went to hell, I realized I’d lost more than I thought. And while I wouldn’t trade Koushiro for the world, I do hope that you don’t have to raise a child on your own during an apocalypse. I hope that you still get to be a part of the life of the Koushiro of your new timeline.”

As if the Igarashi family would want him anywhere near their child, if they weren’t left with any other option. That was, of course, assuming they even had another child in this timeline.

“I think, even in the new timeline, he’d adore you. Us. Or however you feel like calling it.

“Now, moving on, while there’s a lot I could try to say… I think this is enough. So much has happened, but none of it will ever really happen to you. I hope. Which means I think it should be about time for my closing statements… wait there is one thing. Keep an eye on Makoto Igarashi, I saw what happened when he snapped.

“Other than that, I think my letter has come to a close.

“Your future self, George Karizaki.”

Clipped to the letter was a picture, somewhat faded but clearly well cared for. He recognized when it was taken, a week or so ago when he’d stopped by Happy Spa to pester Makoto and Tamaki. It was him, with the Igarashi family, Tamaki barely hiding his annoyance and physically holding Hana back from launching herself at George, though to anyone who didn’t already know it would look more like a hug.

His future self kept it for so long, clearly did his best to keep it in the best condition he could. George wasn’t really sure what that said.

Pulling a drawer at his desk open, he returned the letter and the picture back into the envelope and shoved it in the drawer.

---

“I can’t believe you got to meet our little brother!” Hana lamented loudly, something of a pout on her face.

Makoto did wish she’d have saved it for a later time, preferably when they didn’t have a group of Riders at Happy Spa that day. They’d invited Mr. Kamiyama and his friends over. Still, he could understand why Hana was at least a bit upset, since she was the youngest.

“You could have stuck around,” Tamaki answered, “though really I think I preferred you being with Sakura and far from any trouble.”

Hana rolled her eyes, but moved on, slipping through the room before stopping to stare at Mr. Yuri, who sat in one of the chairs in the lobby. “…Why do you have a cactus?”

“Because he does,” Tamaki responded again, “Don’t you have something better to be doing?”

“Don’t you have that comic to get around to reading?” Hana shot back.

A slight blush comes to Tamaki’s face, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With a sigh, Makoto comes out from the counter, broom and rag in hand, “If you two would prefer, you can both clean.”

In response, Tamaki sighed and took the broom. Hana recoiled a little and crossed her arms, huffing something about how she’d been asked to run to the store for Mama anyway and left. Well, that got the two to calm down pretty easily, Makoto found that it usually did.

Since Tamaki was out front, Makoto didn’t feel too bad about slipping into the house for a minute. He stops at the shrine for the missing Igarashi children, now with a new addition. There, nestled next to the picture of the three children, was the Emperor Dragonfly Vistamp. Though they’d barely known Koushiro, and all Koushiro had asked was that Makoto give the Vistamp to the version of himself in this new future, Makoto had thought it would be a good place to keep the Vistamp, in the meantime. Besides, Koushiro deserved to be remembered, even if the future he was from may be better left forgotten.

---

In a future not too far away, a little boy runs up to the shrine, now absent of any items save for the Emperor Dragonfly Vistamp. The boy has dark and messy hair, a pair of slightly too big glasses on his face. He stares up with curiosity.

“Big bro! Big bro George!” He called as footsteps approached. “Why is there a Vistamp there?”

Beside him, George arrived, answering, “It belonged to someone very brave, but he never knew his family,” He reached down, picking up the boy, who couldn’t help but giggle. “So we remember him here. After all, this is the family that will take anyone in, Koushiro.”

#kamen rider revice #kamen rider #my writing #without you #from the future with a miracle

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writingpaperghost · 1 year

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From the Future With a Miracle (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2: I Wanna Be Your Hero

Makoto finds a strange man.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45877396/chapters/115884034

“Are you sure there’s anything of interest here?” Sakura sighed as she, Daiji, and Ikki hiked up steep mountain, Daiji leading. She had little desire in finding whatever it was they were supposed to find, at least if it meant they had to traverse such rough terrain. She’s relieved, kamen riderat least, that they’d all decided to wear more appropriate clothes for such a hike and not their Deadman uniforms.

Daiji sighed, “That’s what the information Fenix has on the place says,” he shrugged, “Of course, it also said it was hidden away.”

Glancing around their surroundings, Ikki seemed nervous. It wasn’t that surprising, Ikki was nervous quite a bit, though usually not when they were this far from their father. Perhaps he was worried about what they’d find, all the way out here, so far from anyone else. “What does father even hope for us to find?” he asked, reaching up to bat a feather out of his face.

“Some stamps or other,” Daiji answered, stopping and looking at a particularly rocky section of hill. “The file was vague, but apparently there’s a stamp that’s somehow connected to Lord Giff.”

How curious, a connection to Lord Giff? Sakura wondered if it was important to moving the plan along, to wake Lord Giff up sooner. She didn’t have a particular desire to see that happen at any point, but if it was what their father asked of them, they didn’t have much choice.

Ikki rolls his eyes in a way that tells Sakura Vice said something dumb, “Vice wants to know why we stopped.”

“I think this is it,” Daiji began to climb onto the rock, feeling a hand around, “At least, it should be.”

“I sure hope so,” Sakura said, giving the rocks a few experimental stomp kicks with her foot, “I’m tired of all this hiking. I want to spend time with my queen.”

This time, it’s Daiji who rolled his eyes, “You already spend plenty of time with her. Too much, really.”

Clearly hoping to try to defuse some of the tension that’s come with Sakura and Daiji’s words, Ikki adds, “Besides, she’s helping out at Happy Spa today, so she’s busy anyway.”

Daiji says nothing more, having seemingly found the entrance that he was looking for, pulling opening the rock door to reveal a dark room inside. “There, we’ve found it.” Carefully, Daiji steps inside, producing a flashlight from his pocket to shine around the room. Sakura follows, the Ikki close behind.

It’s dusty and covered in cobwebs and debris, “What is this place, anyway?” Sakura asked, lightly kicking a stray piece of concrete on the ground.

“Old Shocker base,” Daiji answered, absentmindedly as he looked around the room. Ikki and Sakura both pull out their own flashlights and look.

Quietly, like he didn’t want to disturb something, Ikki asked, “Shocker… then wouldn’t Fenix have taken anything of interest?”

Daiji moves some small rubble with his free hand, “You would think,”

“Fenix isn’t always very good at its job,” Sakura scoffed, digging through a different patch of rubble, her flashlight balanced between her shoulder and the head. “then again, if father wanted it left here, it would be left here. I suppose it’s rather safe here, since few would even find this place.”

To help them search – or perhaps because he was curious or bored – Vice appeared, picking up and moving pieces of rubble around. “Are we sure we should be digging around here?” Vice asked, before adding, “This place doesn’t seem the most stable?”

“We’ll leave as soon as we find what father wants,” Sakura responded.

They search a little longer, Vice humming a little song all the while, hoping more and more to find whatever it was they were looking for. If only so they could get out of this dark and dusty place. Just when Sakura thinks they’ve searched every place they conceivably could, Vice declares, “Oh! I’ve found something!”

He’s holding an open box, and within the box is a stamp, not unlike the one belonging to Giff. Though where Giff’s stamp was black, this one was red. Sakura walks over, peering at it curiously, “This stamp does seem to resemble Giff’s… could this be what father is looking for?” She looked over at Daiji.

There’s a flash of uncertainty across Daiji’s face, “Maybe…” there were four other stamps in the case with this strange red stamp, these much more closely resembled Karizaki’s Vistamps.

“It’s a demon stamp, I think,” Ikki said, warily. “like Giff’s, but for a different demon. Those other four… I guess Shocker somehow managed to replicate some of Karizaki’s earlier research.”

“Very early work, I’d say,” Daiji takes a step closer, “according to the Fenix file, this place has been abandoned for decades. Probably since sometime in the seventies. Long before any of Fenix’s records for the creation of the prototype Vistamps.”

Sakura shakes her head, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter what they are. As long as father’s happy, who cares. Those have to be it, so let’s get going.” She reaches out to close the case, just as Vice moves his arms and, in a fumble of limbs and the case, the stamps fall to the floor, the red one activated. Wide eyed, Sakura and Vice hurry back, away from the red sigil that appeared on the floor. “Vice!”

Vice didn’t even say a word, only quiet whimpers as from the sigil something began to form. A demon, surely the demon that this stamp belongs to. Daiji and Ikki move close to her, in front of her and between her and the demon.

The demon seems to survey the room, before landing on the three, “You are the ones who awoke me.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sakura spoke, “We are,” she won’t say that it was accidental or Vice’s fault. They couldn’t let it be known, that was far too much of a weakness for a demon to know. “We are the leaders of a group who follow a demon.”

“And which of you is the true leader?” There’s a flash of worry across both Daiji and Ikki’s faces at the question, and it’s clear that Ikki was about to take a step forward, to claim himself as the leader.

She didn’t need him protecting her like that. She pushes past the two, stepping closer to the demon, “I am the leader, Jeanne.”

Taking her wrist, the demon raised his stamp, holding it over the back of her hand. “Then you will follow me, Diablo, now.” Pressing the stamp against the back of her hand, Sakura gritted her teeth to keep the gasp in as a strange burning sensation ran through her. When Diablo let go of her wrist, she stumbles back, Ikki and Daiji hurrying forward to support her.

Diablo picked up the four other stamps, activating them before tossing them to the ground again. From those stamp, four more demons appeared – or at least creatures that were like demons. Vice hides further against the wall, and Sakura already has a scolding ready for him.

“In mere days, I shall rule over humanity, and you will ensure that no one interferes with my plan.”

Through gritted teeth, holding the hand that had been stamped to her chest, Sakura responded, “Of course… Lord Diablo.” A moment later, he and the four other demons were gone. Sakura sets her sights on Vice, pulling away from Ikki and Daiji, marching over. “This is your fault!”

---

Happy Spa is what even Makoto has to call a bit boring, right now, it being a surprisingly slow day. Though Makoto knows it’s ultimately the calm before the storm, with their planned Family Day coming up, and he knows from experience that the bathhouse will be bustling and it’ll be all hands on deck. But until then, it was slow and boring. He stood at the desk, flipping through the pages of a math book he’d picked up a while back, a pencil and paper at its side. Hana and Hikaru sat at the table across the way, idly playing a card game.

Peaceful, if boring, Makoto thinks, setting his pencil down. Still, he’ll take boring and peaceful over the alternative – quiet days meant that things were going well, that there was no demon to worry about or whatever. And that was something Makoto was quickly learning to not take for granted. Though he’d admit he might be going a little stir crazy right now, math aside.

Walking out from behind the counter, he stretched a little, saying, “I think I’m going to take a short walk, you two mind keeping an eye on things?”

Looking up from the cards in her hand – held at such an angle that Hikaru could surely see them – Hana answered, “Yeah, totally.”

There’s something nice about the extra noise brought from just going outside and being around people. Already, Makoto was feeling better, though that perhaps was more because of the fresh air. It almost made him want to go do something, but he wasn’t much of a doing something person and really, he’d much rather go back to his math book when he got back from his walk.

A gentle breeze blows, adding a little chill, but nothing that distracted Makoto too much. If anything, it made him feel a tad bit more peaceful. The pleasant breeze soon gives way to a much stronger one, though, and the next thing Makoto knows, a figure in green and purple blurs passed him and into the wall beside him.

Makoto has yet to process the sight when the person in green and purple armor pushes himself off the wall and rushed back the way he came. Looking over, Makoto can see he’s running towards what he’s very, very, certain is a demon. As the man – he looked a lot like a Rider, now that Makoto was able to think a little about it all – punched at the demon, there was another demon to the side who watched on curiously. The demon on the side was purple, with armor that appeared similar a knight’s, though he notably had dragonfly wings extending out his back.

It takes another moment, another attack from the Rider, angry, and then the demon to the side finally joins in. Unlike what Makoto first expected, the demon that just joined did not join the other demon in fighting against the Rider, instead he joined the Rider in fighting against the first demon. A demon and a human working together, and this demon seemed much less mindless than the ones that the Deadmans caused.

Finally, Makoto’s brain has managed to process everything, recognizing what was unfolding in front of him. A fight between a Rider he’s never seen before, aided by a demon, against a demon. Which means he should probably help. Mysterious Rider or not, fighting demons was sort of a part of Makoto’s job now, even if he wasn’t entirely thrilled by that. Still, he fished his Driver from his pocket, pulling the Squid Vistamp out after.

Before Makoto can transform, though, the Rider is knocked back by the demon he was fighting, and stumbled, before falling to the ground. The other demon, the one that was aiding the Rider, looked over, surprised. With an audible concern, he spoke, “Huh? Shiro?” He doesn’t get to say much more before the armor on the Rider disappears, and the demon disappears along with it.

“Is this the best resistance humanity has to offer?” The demon the Rider had been fighting spoke, which was more than Makoto thinks he’s heard just about any real demon say before, save for the demon they’d seen at the hot springs.

The demon disappears, prompting Makoto to hurry over the Rider. He looked… terrible in more ways than one. His clothes were dirty and had a few bloodstains, on top of what appeared to be much more recent splotches of blood, though not seeming to be from this fight. His hair was a mess, having become tangled and probably more than a little knotted. What Makoto noticed first, when he went to move the man, was the dragonfly wings that extended from his back, peeking out from under his jacket in a way that couldn’t be missed.

He was like them – with wings like Tamaki had his tail or Hana had her fuzz. And he was a Rider, too, though Makoto suspects that he wasn’t one of Fenix’s, despite the curious Driver on his waist and the Vistamp that had fallen to the ground. The Vistamp didn’t look that different from any of the other ones Makoto had seen, though the same could not be said about the Driver, despite that it seemed familiar.

And that demon… there was something about him that certainly wasn’t right, even if Makoto wasn’t sure what. Or maybe less so not right and more like he was just different from other demons they’d encountered thus far. Definitely something to keep an eye out for, especially since it got away.

For now though… Makoto thinks it will be best to take the man back to Happy Spa, given how terrible he looked, he could probably use a chance to clean up, and Makoto doesn’t want to try to drag him to Fenix with his injuries. Makoto picked him up, surprised at how light the man was. Even the wings didn’t seem to add that much weight. Then again, the man was probably a bit smaller than Makoto, so maybe he was just misjudging how heavy he should be.

Either way, it was much easier than Makoto expected, the first and only thing that would be such in this whole ordeal.

---

Daiji is already on edge when he arrives at Fenix, wondering just how long it would be until Diablo made his move. He likely wouldn’t wait long, which only brought further worry that what power they had at their disposal would even be enough. Diablo was stronger than any other demon they’d faced, and Daiji knows for a fact that the Riders weren’t as strong as they could be.

So he’s really just hoping that whatever happens today, it’s not going to put him anymore on edge. His hopes are immediately dashed when he walks into Karizaki’s lab and finds the man reviewing footage with what can only be described and a strong mix of a pout and frown. This already is not a good sign, a frowning or pouting Karizaki, on it’s own, is not a good sign, both together was practically a sign that Daiji should just leave and let Hiromi deal with it. Unfortunately, Hiromi walks in moments after, and Karizaki looks up to notice both of them.

“That Rider showed up again,” Karizaki grumbled. Daiji can only infer that it’s the mysterious Rider who’d appeared the night before, with the unknown belt and Vistamp. Without further clarification, Karizaki continued, “and this time, he’s fighting some demon.”

Karizaki points at the screen, Daiji and Hiromi moving closer so as to see what he was pointing at. On the screen was much more visible footage of the Rider, now it was easy to see that he was purple and there appeared to be a demon at his side who looked like an insect and a knight combined. A moment later, the demon that the Rider was fighting came into view, the sight of which caused Daiji to tense. Diablo, that was certainly Diablo that the mystery Rider was fighting.

“He seems to only appear to fight demons,” Hiromi observed, obviously unaware of just what demon that Rider had tried fighting.

Rolling his eyes, Karizaki responded, “Perhaps, but we don’t know who he is or where he got any of his equipment. He didn’t even seem to be faring too well in this fight.”

“What happened after this?” Daiji asked, eyes still on the footage as the demon lands a visible hard hit on the Rider and sends him out of the camera’s sight.

“We don’t know,” Karizaki’s words were spoken with a shrug that did little to hide the audible irritation in his voice, “we weren’t able to find him after this, so who knows where.”

It’s then that Kagerou reminds Daiji that he isn’t asleep – not that he usually ever was. “So mystery Rider here tried to test his luck with Diablo? Well, I guess we’ll find his corpse somewhere.”

“You don’t know he’s dead,” Daiji reminded, hoping that Kagerou was wrong. Whoever this Rider was, his help could be needed to deal with Diablo. Any help could be enough to tip the scales just enough in their favor.

“You think Diablo’s leaving him alive when he got in the way?” Daiji couldn’t argue that it wasn’t likely, but they have no way of knowing what occurred after this fight. Still, he could hope, even if that’s so often a useless thing and a waste of his thoughts.

Breaking Daiji from his conversation with Kagerou, Hiromi spoke, “We’ll need to search the area, then. The demon could still be around, and we may even find the Rider.”

Diablo was likely gone, had likely moved on to whatever he planned for next. The Rider though… there was a chance that, if he was still alive, he was somewhere around there. And if he was still alive, then they’d want his help. There was also the question of that demon that appeared with him, whether or not it was friendly and whether or not it had possibly taken him somewhere.

“I still think he’s probably dead.”

“Please shut up.”

---

When Makoto had arrived back at Happy Spa, Hana stared at him and the unconscious man in his arms. Her eyes narrowed, frowning, before she then sighed, “You said you were going for a walk.”

“I found him,” Makoto explained, walking past and intent to find somewhere decent to let the man lay down, and then he’d worry about the man’s injuries. “He has a Driver and a Vistamp. He was fighting a demon.”

Hana blinked, unsure, “He… what?”

With a shrug, Makoto turned to look back at her and Hikaru from the entrance to their home, “I don’t know much else, he passed out before I could actually talk to him.” With that, he continued on.

He settles for putting the man in his bed, for now. He’ll change and wash the bedding later, when the man has woken up. The Driver and Vistamp the man had were placed on the table beside the bed. Then, retrieving their first aid kit, he sets about taking care of the injuries that he can find on the man, once more finding himself surprised about how light he was. He tries not to pay it much mind, instead focusing on the injuries.

There’s not a lot, mostly just bruises, but the cuts he does have seemed to have reopened during his fight. Makoto is terribly concerned by all the scars, though. There were a few that he thinks were from some kind of surgery, but the others, and god were there a lot of them, were more jagged and rough and looked terribly painful. Like they came from claws.

Makoto had to wonder just what caused all those scars, how the man had gotten them all. Though he quickly chides himself, deciding that it wasn’t likely that he’d ever learn, and that it frankly wasn’t his business. If he were in the man’s position, he knew he wouldn’t want to explain any of his scars.

As he pulled the man’s shirt back down, he frowned at how dirty all of his clothes were. Dirt and blood and he thinks they’re somehow dirtier than anything he, Tamaki, or Hana had once had when they were still on the streets. The man had either been rolled through more mud and dirt than any sane person would ever find themselves going through – and even then, he thinks some of that dark stuff is burnt or ash, a thought that made him only more concerned.

And then there was those wings. There was no good way he could have gotten his wings. He didn’t know how Tamaki got his fur, tail, and ears, or how Hana got her fuzz and antenna, but he knows it can’t be good. They obviously weren’t a new addition, his shirt was cut so that his wings could go through, awkwardly tied below the wings to create an opening of fraying ends. Even with how large and ill-fitting the shirt was, the manner that it was tied under the wings resulted bottom of the back raising up higher than the front.

It reminds Makoto of the makeshift manners that they used to try to work around Tamaki’s tail, before Mama came along and helped them place holes in his pants. It was hard to make holes in clothing for things like tails and wings, when you didn’t know how.

With the man’s injuries taken care of, Makoto knows that he should just go back out and relieve Hana from counter duty, though he’s certain that even if he does, he’ll still worry about the man. He doesn’t think that Hana will get too annoyed if he takes longer than strictly necessary taking care of the man, but he’s also sure she’d much rather not be stuck hanging around much longer, or at least have the option to leave.

Makoto ends up digging through his closet – he thinks the man would fit his size best, not by much, given how thin the man was, but it would work, and the clothes he was wearing now were in a terrible state. Finding suitable enough clothes, Makoto digs out the sewing supplies he kept and headed out to the front. He’d keep himself entertained making some holes in the shirt of the man’s wings, and then hopefully it’ll be done by the time the man wakes up.

Hikaru’s left by the time Makoto comes out, Hana scrolling through something on her phone looking bored. Giving her a smile, he sets his things down, “Alright, I’m back.”

Hana looked up, setting her phone to the side, a curious but hesitant expression on her face. “... that guy, he’s like us, isn’t he? He has those wings…”

“As far as I know, he is. It’s the only answer I can think of, and what I’ve seen lines up with it.” Makoto nodded, setting the shirt out so that it was flat on the table, back facing up.

“You said he’s got a Driver and a Vistamp, so he’s got to be a part of Fenix, right?” Makoto thinks there’s something more bothering her than she’s letting on. Maybe it’s finding someone else like them, especially when the only other ones they’d met were the leaders of the Deadmans. “’Cause that Karizaki’s the only one who knows how to make Drivers and Vistamps.”

Grabbing his pencil from earlier, Makoto marks the shirt around where he’d seen the man’s wings were. “I’m not so sure about that. You saw, he looked terrible, I’m not sure where he could have gotten the Driver and the Vistamp, but somehow I don’t think it’s from Fenix.”

“Then where?”

“I don’t know, but I looked at them after I was done, and they both looked pretty… cobbled together, I guess. I’m no expert, obviously,” – he’d only made it through not even a year of high school before he ran, and even if he’d been smart, he didn’t know that much about Karizaki’s work – “but there’s something about them that makes me think it’s not made by someone with access to the sort of resources Mr. Karizaki gets from Fenix.”

Judging by Hana’s expression, she was troubled by this. “Then… who? Where did he get them if it wasn’t from Fenix?”

Shrugging, Makoto reached for the scissors he brought out, “The Deadmans, maybe? Though to be honest, I’m not sure, I think the only way we’ll find out is from him, when he wakes up.”

Leveling him with a slightly disbelieving expression, Hana said, “Has it occurred to that you, for all you know, just brought someone who could be like, a criminal or something home?”

“I don’t think he is,” Makoto responded, “He was fighting a demon, so I doubt he’s a bad person.”

The conversation is stopped by Tamaki walking in, not in a particular hurry but not exactly casual, either. Given the time and that he was still in his Fenix uniform, though, tells Makoto well enough that whatever he’s here for, it’s work related. He looks curiously at the shirt that Makoto was cutting, seeming rather confused, before shaking his head.

He crossed his arms, “Have you guys seen anything strange in the past hour or so?”

“Strange?” Makoto echoed, thinking about the man.

“We’re looking for some Rider with a demon, they were fighting another demon,”

With a far too gleeful smile, Hana stands, walking towards the doorway, “Oh, like the guy Makoto found on his walk,” she chirped, cheery and amused. Then she waved, “anyway, I’m gonna go see Sakura!”

Before Makoto can tell her to be careful, especially with that demon still around, Tamaki’s tail twitched in annoyance and he asked, “What’s this about some person you found?”

Setting the scissors down, Makoto answered, “I was on a walk. And I found him. He’s got wings, so he’s like us.”

“Dragonfly wings?”

“Yes, and a strange Driver and Vistamp – he was fighting a demon, aided by another, just as you said.”

Sighing heavily, Tamaki closed his eyes, before opening them again, “Of course you’d find the person we’re looking for. Where is he now?”

“My bed, he passed out and he was injured, so I tried to do what I could.”

“We literally have no clue where he came from.”

Picking up on Tamaki’s worry, Makoto did his best to give him a reassuring smile, “He needed help, I wasn’t going to leave him. Mama taught us we should help people, when we can.”

Again, Tamaki sighed, “Fine, fine, but when he wakes up, we’re heading to Fenix with him.”

“Let’s see how he’s doing, and then we can.”

“Yeah, fine. I’m not going to try to argue with you right now.”

The smile Makoto gives Tamaki is much more relaxed and genuine.

#kamen rider revice #kamen rider #without you #from the future with a miracle #my writing

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