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writingpaperghost · 22 days

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Without You (Chapter 30)

Chapter 30: Memories, the Past is Here!

Ikki remembers.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/139608148

There were flames everywhere, fire consuming what was supposed to be a home. A home. Ikki lived here, it was the only home he’d ever known. He’d been sleeping, but then it was too hot. Fire. Their home was burning.

He was scared, of course, but he had to be brave. For Daiji and Sakura. Because he was their big brother and big brothers were brave. He carefully hurries to his parents room. His parents would make sure they were safe.

When he enters, he finds this is where the fire is the worst. Fire fire fire. His mama’s on the ground, maybe she was still asleep? But his papa’s standing, over her almost. Maybe he was trying to wake her up? Yeah, papa was waking mama up.

Papa turns his gaze over to Ikki, clearly having seen him. Papa doesn’t seem right. No. No, papa wasn’t right. Was this even papa?

“Pa… papa?” Ikki called out. He wanted it to be his papa. He wanted to be imagining things. The fire kept burning. It was too hot. He was scared.

His papa spoke, but it didn’t seem like papa. “Junpei… has a child?”

That wasn’t his papa.

Ikki was scared.

Then, a voice speaks to him, faint and distant, but hopeful. “I can make the scary monster go away.”

He doesn’t know where the voice comes from, but he responds anyway. “That’s papa.”

“It’s actually a monster pretending to be your papa.”

“You’ll make it go away and make papa come back?”

Not papa scowled, “Who are you talking to?”

The voice answered, “Of course.”

Ikki, scared little Ikki, only four when he was seeing his home burn, a monster that looks like his papa standing over his mama, does the only thing he can do, in that moment. Ikki agrees. “Okay.”

He’s overcome with this strange feeling, as something great and terrible bursts out of him, this blue phantasm swirling around him, like a storm that shielded him from the fire and the monster that pretended to be his father. The blue then goes towards not papa.

That was the last thing Ikki could recall, of that day. Prior to encountering Kamen Rider Vail, Ikki couldn’t remember that much. That was the day he made a contract with Vice. But more importantly… the monster that was masquerading as his father that day, was the same as Vail.

How?

Ikki, huddled in his room, sat on the floor, back against the side of his bed, couldn’t help but shake. The memories were so much, something he’d forgotten about for years and years, suddenly came back and overwhelming him. He’d been terrified, then, and even now the memories shook him with a fear he hadn’t realized he’d had for anything other than Akaishi, the man who’d forced himself into the role of father.

Vice sat at his side, a hand on Ikki’s shoulder, watching him carefully as Ikki let out a shuddering breath. “He’s a demon, a big scary one,” Vice said, his own voice sounding somewhat fearful. “Back then, he was weak, stuck in your dad’s body. Weak enough that the burst from making a deal with me was enough to chase him back. I dunno if I could take him on now, since he’s got that Driver.”

That wasn’t very reassuring, but Ikki appreciated the effort. “Dad has a demon.”

“Yeah…”

“Is that why you…? Even before the things they did to us here?” Kagerou and Lovekov hadn’t appeared until after Akaishi had gotten ahold of them, given them to those people who poked and prodded them. For a while, when Kagerou kept a low profile and Sakura still managed to hide Lovekov from him and Daiji, Ikki was the only one with a demon. Until Vice had managed to take a physical form himself, Ikki had thought he was imagining Vice.

Hesitantly, Vice nodded, “I think so. I bet Kage and Lovey would have appeared on their own, sooner or later, even without what was done to you guys.”

Another shaky breath, “What are we going to do…?” He wasn’t sure if Sakura was worried about Vail yet. She probably was. He needed to be able to reassure her, to make sure that Vail couldn’t hurt her or anyone else. They had to figure out how to stop Vail. Would Revi and Vice be enough, if they could challenge Vail without having fought prior? Would Jeanne, Aguilera, and Papillion lend enough power? Vail was strong, but surely not stronger than multiple Riders, multiple Giftexes?

“We’ll just have to fight him and stop him – kick him out of dad!” Vice excitedly said, “I mean, between all of us, we can probably pull that off.”

Despite Vice’s confidence, Ikki was less convinced, “Without hurting dad?”

Vice wilted a little at that, “Er, well, I guess that would be harder…”

“I won’t hurt dad,” Ikki said, “We’ll have to figure out how to get Vail out some other way.” And hopefully the sight of him wouldn’t send Ikki into such a state again. He hoped it was just from remembering…

Again, trying to cheer and reassure Ikki, Vice said, “I’m sure Sakura will come up with some plan – she’s not gonna want to hurt him either, since he’s Hana’s dad.”

“I hope so…”

---

Makoto drags himself to Happy Spa, unsurprised to find Yukimi doing the evening chores. No sign of Genta, probably for the best. Tamaki likely went back to Fenix, first, so it would hopefully be just them. Now was probably a good time to talk to her about the past and what just happened with Genta. With Vail. He suspects she isn’t going to want to, but it needed to happen.

She smiles when she sees him, though it falters for a moment when she sees the state he’s in, “Makoto, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, mama,” He assured.

“If you say so… did Genta mention going out to do anything today? He left and I haven’t seen him.” She at least gave him a good transition into what he wanted to talk about. She wasn’t going to like it, though.

He shook his head, “No, but I saw him not that long ago. Or, well, I saw Vail.”

At the name, she tensed, slowly looking towards him again. “…Vail?” The name was said with a certain fear, though an obvious hope that he was wrong.

“Vail. That’s the name of papa’s demon, isn’t it? Of the Rider that he was, back when he was Junpei Shiranami?” Although it begged the question as to why Vail attacked Revi and Jeanne, but Makoto had… suspicions. Suspicions that he still needed a bit more evidence for and certainly wouldn’t bring up to Yukimi, yet, or anyone else for that matter.

A frown settles on Yukimi’s face as she sets the rag she was holding down on the table. Slowly, she pulls the chair out and sits down, “How do you know about that?”

Makoto wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to tell her. She’d briefly encountered Masumi Karizaki, though not enough to be particularly familiar with him, if she remembered him at all, at least by Karizaki’s recount of the story. And he suspected that, for now, it would be best to keep Weekend a secret. Which didn’t leave him a lot of options to explain how he knew about what had happened.

“I’ve heard, here and there,” he said, “Mostly, I’m just worried about papa.”

“You say you saw Vail…?”

Nodding, Makoto braced his hands on the back of the other chair, leaning back against it, “He tried to attack Jeanne and Revi. Ha- Aguilera and I stopped him, barely, but we didn’t want to hurt him, since he was using papa’s body.”

“Jeanne and Revi... I don’t understand why Vail would go after them…?” Yukimi seemed in thought. “Genta doesn’t even know them, so Vail shouldn’t have anything against them…”

The golden question. There were… a few possible answers, though Makoto didn’t want to consider some of them too much. The most likely answer, of course, was the one he honestly liked the least. Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura; those were names Makoto, Tamaki, and Hana had heard long before meeting the Akaishi siblings. Long before they met Revi, Evil, and Jeanne. They’d learned those names early on in their stay at Happy Spa, even before they were really taken in. When Yukimi let them spend the winter, and Makoto worked so hard to make it up to her.

Tamaki, once, had glanced at the shrine, at the picture of the happy boy and his two little siblings, and softly, Tamaki had asked if they were Genta and Yukimi’s children. Yukimi had smiled, soft but sad, and told them the story. Of Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura, their beloved children who had been taken from them in the night, after Happy Spa had caught ablaze. It had been years since then, even at that point, but it was clear that it still hurt. How could it not? Even Makoto understood that some people loved their children.

When the three were inevitably adopted, properly, and their stay at Happy Spa was undeniably permanent, the three had all came to an agreement. They would be the children Genta and Yukimi had lost, the best that they could be. Not that they’d ever be a good replacement, not that they ever really could replace them. But it was... the least they could do. To try to ease their pain just a little, as repayment for all the good that the two had done for them.

So, the Occam’s Razor said that the most obvious answer is the correct one – meaning, that Ikki, Daiji, and Sakura being the name of both the missing Igarashi siblings and Akaishi siblings, and Vail targeting Jeanne and Revi, were not coincidences. That the two sets of siblings, were, in fact, one and the same.

Makoto hated that idea.

He kept those thoughts to himself, “I don’t know, mama. It’s as much of a mystery to me as it is to you.” A lie, at least in part, but he wouldn’t tell her about his speculation. Especially since he technically had little proof that wasn’t circumstantial. And there was no way he was going to play with her feelings like that.

“Makoto… I know you won’t have a choice about fighting him, but please… please don’t hurt Genta. He’s… he’s a good man, you and I both know he is.” It’s then, that Makoto realized that Yukimi was scared. The woman who’d cared so much for him, Tamaki, and Hana, the woman who took them in and who always seemed to keep their family together, was scared. They both knew, in this situation, Vail would have to be fought. But since he was using Genta’s body, it would be easy for Genta to be hurt in the fight.

She’d already lost her children, it must be terrifying to consider that she might lose her husband, too. She loved him so dearly, surely as dearly as she loved her children. It would break her heart to lose him, too. Makoto knew it, without needing any other thought.

If something happened to Genta, something might happen to Yukimi too. And that was a thought that chilled Makoto to the bone. So badly, so strongly, that he found himself hesitating. He didn’t want to hurt Genta, but would that be in his control?

“Mama, I…” All he had to do was say he’d make sure Genta wouldn’t be hurt. Or at least that he wouldn’t hurt Genta, and then just hope that Tamaki or anyone else wouldn’t do something to hurt him. But instead of any words coming out, his throat only seems to tighten.

Why was this the thing that he was struggling to lie about?

“Lies are our bread and butter, and yet here you are. Failing to lie,” His demon said, “All you have to do is say you won’t hurt Genta. If someone else did, there’s hardly anything you can do about it.”

Makoto screwed his eyes shut, willing with all his might for his demon to shut up. Now was not the time for that. He had to reassure Yukimi, even if it he was struggling. “I… I’ll do my best, mama, not to hurt papa. But…” He opened his eyes, again met with the sight of a scared Yukimi. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. “But Vail is… is a monster, as far as I’ve seen.”

In some ways, that assurance seemed to relieve her. A little bit of that fear seemed to melt away, though clearly not all. It was the best he could give her, though, even though he knew that she’d be more reassured if he could just promise to not hurt him.

Yet Yukimi seemed… happy enough with his answer. “I don’t want you to be hurt, either, Makoto.”

“You won’t,” He said, and that he was certain wouldn’t be a lie. He wouldn’t let her see him hurt, even if he was. That was always the role, as the oldest child. His hurt was best hid away, out of sight and out of mind, somewhere it couldn’t cause any trouble. It was a skill he’d learned well, in his childhood.

That got him a small smile from her, “I’m glad to hear that.”

There’s a lot more he should say. Tell her how much he knows. About Genta and his past, about Vail, about Tamaki and about Hana. About his demon, lurking in the back of his mind, seeming almost as volatile as Vail. She deserves the truth, for all she’s done for him, for all the kindness she’s shown him. Yet if she knew the truth… she’d know what monster he was. Even knowing that she could love Genta, knowing what he’d done, Makoto didn’t think she’d be able to love him. Makoto wasn’t worth that love.

He should tell her the truth, let her know all those things.

But he couldn’t, even if he wanted to. Not a word would come out, when he slowly opened his mouth. He can’t say a thing, not the truth, not a reassurance. Not even a lie. All he could do was shake his head and turn away.

With a deep breath, he finally managed to say, “I’m going to head to bed.” With that, he left, heading towards his room.

---

Karizaki’s lab was tense. Both he and Tabuchi had seen the most recent fight. Both of the Igarashi brothers against Jeanne, Revi, and Aguilera. None of the audio was particularly understandable, a stray attack having messed up the camera. But they’d seen when Makoto had gotten in the way of Tamaki’s attack, when some argument seemed to break out between them and Aguilera, and when a man with an appearance matching Genta Igarashi appeared, before transforming into a Rider and attacking Jeanne and Revi.

There was a lot about that fight that bothered Tabuchi.

“Seems Tamaki Igarashi’s temper has come out,” Karizaki said, tone mostly observational, but there was something of an accusation in it.

Tamaki’s training was more in the hands of Hiromi and Captain Akaishi than Tabuchi’s – they’d only met now, when Tabuchi had taken over the two’s position. Though Tabuchi knew Hiromi well, knew he’d have impressed trying to keep a level head on Tamaki, he knew Captain Akaishi more by reputation. The director’s cold son, level headed, almost to the point of making him seem like he didn’t feel at all.

They knew now, that wasn’t true, as plenty had seen Evil’s bombastic display of emotions.

Perhaps some of that could have rubbed off on Tamaki. Or perhaps Tamaki was simply young, he’d only been at Fenix for a couple years, at most, and had only begun to see proper combat with the completion of Karizaki’s Driver. Inexperience could easily be an answer for the outburst. Or perhaps he simply had a temper. Without being able to even hear what it was about, it was hard to say, though his target was clear. And it was no secret that the civilian that Jeanne had poisoned was someone Tamaki once knew.

“Though what I’m more interested in,” Karizaki continued, now sounding more annoyed. “is that man who looks like Genta Igarashi.”

Then there was him. The mysterious Rider who seemed to have some strange focus on Jeanne and Revi. Tabuchi frowned, “We’ll have to hear Igarashi’s report.”

“If he’s in the mood. He left before the fight was even over,” Karizaki groused, before returning to his work, as he often did when he was annoyed. And Karizaki had pointed out another problem – Tamaki shouldn’t have left while the fight was still occurring, he couldn’t just quit like that. He’d have to talk to him about it.

Yet Tamaki Igarashi never appeared at Fenix – oh, sure, his report was written and turned in, but there wasn’t a sign of Igarashi. Though perhaps that was for the best, at least right now. Give him a chance to calm down, as he’d clearly still been upset when he’d left the fight. Still, they’d have to have quite a talk – this was new behavior, Tabuchi knows that Hiromi would have reported if Igarashi was acting out of line. Though he couldn’t be certain the cause, it was likely from Captain Akaishi revealing himself as Evil, and more likely, Hiromi’s… disappearance. Even now, Tabuchi was hesitant to admit that Hiromi might be dead.

It's not until the next day that Igarashi shows up. He looks tired, certainly, his hair more of a mess and obvious exhaustion. It was unfortunate that it wasn’t likely he’d get any less tired, today.

Karizaki was quick to point at Igarashi and ask, “Igarashi, that Rider, who is he?”

Looking up, clearly uncomfortable, Igarashi opened his mouth, though few words came out. “He…” His ears twitched, his tail raising in a way that easily conveyed his discomfort. Perhaps the man’s similarities to Genta Igarashi were not a coincidence.

In his report, Igarashi referred to the man as simply as “the man whom Makoto Igarashi referred to as ‘Vail’.” Given how all reacted to the appearance of the man, Tabuchi doubted that was entirely true. Igarashi might not have lied, but he likely wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Come on, Igarashi, out with it,” Karizaki snapped, “He looks like your father, and whoever he was, he sure seemed to shake more than a few of you.”

“That’s because…” Igarashi shook his head, a visible action of him clearing his thoughts. “He… sort of is? Maybe? He didn’t talk much. But Makoto seemed convinced…” He stopped, frowning, clearly uncertain. He was second guessing his words.

Tabuchi added, “In your report, you said your brother called him ‘Vail’.”

He bit his lip before responding, “Makoto seemed convinced that he was papa’s demon. That’s all he said.”

Karizaki scoffed, “What would your brother know about demons? Who’s to say your father didn’t just snap?”

“He didn’t snap!” Igarashi growled, “Papa isn’t- isn’t like that! And I don’t know why Makoto thought that, I don’t. But that man looked like papa, but he sure wasn’t him.”

Rolling his eyes, Karizaki seemed unbothered by the outburst, “And then there’s that Driver and Vistamp… I can’t figure out where they came from. It appeared like the Demons Driver, but it definitely wasn’t. Similar… so maybe daddy’s work?”

Obviously, Igarashi had little he could supply to possibly answer that. Though Karizaki clearly wasn’t looking for an actual answer, as he quickly went back to his work, choosing to ignore Tabuchi and Igarashi. With a sigh, Tabuchi figured that was the last of Karizaki’s questions for Igarashi, which meant he was all his. And they had… a fair amount of discussion to have.

“Igarashi,” He began, “I’d like to talk with you.”

Igarashi looked over, clearly aware that this probably wasn’t going to be a conversation he’d enjoy. “Yes, sir.”

Tabuchi leads him out of Karizaki’s lab to a more suitable place to speak, Igarashi quietly following the whole way. He didn’t intend on being too harsh on Igarashi, but the conversation need to happen, just to make sure everything was clear.

“What happened between you and your brother, yesterday?” He finally asked.

There was a moment where Igarashi clearly contemplated what to say. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. But it was important to know, as he didn’t write about it in his report, and it had clearly caused trouble. Finally, Igarashi frowned, “He stopped me when I was fighting Jeanne.”

“And why did he stop you? It seems to have contributed to your argument after.”

He clenched his jaw, before begrudgingly answering, “He thought I was too angry.”

It was true that Igarashi appeared quite irritated, something that obviously was not helped by being interrupted by his brother. “You appeared quite agitated in the footage. Did it have something to do with the civilian Jeanne had poisoned?”

Igarashi looked away, “Yosuke… no, it didn’t.”

Somehow, Tabuchi didn’t think that was true. This wasn’t likely to cease being an issue just from being ignored, even if Igarashi was likely far less inclined to listen to him than if he was Hiromi. Though at this point, he suspected Igarashi wasn’t much in the mood for listening.

“Don’t allow your feelings to cloud your judgement,” He said, causing Igarashi to glance back at him. “It’s hard, but ultimately, allowing yourself to focus on your anger will only cause others to be hurt.”

“Of course,” Though Igarashi agreed, through almost gritted teeth, Tabuchi didn’t think he really did. But there really wasn’t much else he could do, other than try to take measures to ensure that even if Igarashi did lose his temper, it wouldn’t cause trouble. He’d have to talk to Igarashi’s brother, it seems.

---

A knock on Ikki’s door catches both his and Vice’s attention. Warily, Vice disappears, once again becoming a specter only Ikki can see. If it were Sakura, him being out wouldn’t be a problem, but if it were anyone else… it was better if Vice was just out of sight, for now at least.

Whoever was knocking didn’t even wait for a response, instead waiting only a couple of moments before opening the door. Hana peeked in, appearing curious and concerned. “Hey, Ikki, how are you doing?”

“I’m… fine. I should be asking you that, I’m sure seeing your dad like… that, isn’t easy.” Ikki knew far too well how hard it was, but he couldn’t tell her that. Letting her know could be dangerous. So he could only pretend things weren’t as bad as they were.

Hana rolled her eyes, sitting beside Ikki on the bed, “I saw how you reacted – not to mention the fact you’ve hid away. Sakura’s worried, but I figured I’d volunteer to come see you. And, anyway, it’s not like you don’t know papa.”

Despite his best efforts, they obviously noticed something was wrong. Ikki wasn’t really sure how to explain that. He’d have to be careful, too, that their father doesn’t realize he remembered. Doesn’t realize something is up. Who knew what he’d do then, and Ikki really didn’t want to find out.

“I dunno, maybe you should just tell her. It’s kind of a miracle she hasn’t figured it out yet.” Vice suggested, “I mean, sooner or later, her or one of her brothers will figure it out.”

Ikki didn’t want to tell her the truth, didn’t want to put Hana in that danger. But, maybe Vice was right, to some extent. Maybe he could tell Hana a bit of the truth. Certainly not all of it, nothing that might make her think that he has any connection to the Igarashi family – not more than she already did, at least. “It’s just… something about what happened… made me remember something, from when I was really young. And I guess I’m having a hard time processing it.”

“So that’s why you’ve been hiding away,” Hana hummed.

“I just… needed some time to process it…”

“No, no,” She said, “I get it. Obviously, whatever you remembered was… bad. And those things take time. Hell, do you know how long it took Koto not to be afraid of mama and papa? Or really any of us to actually trust them? When bad things happen when you’re a kid, sometimes it takes a really long time to shake it. And that’s when you remember it. Remembering it after having not… I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

Hana wasn’t looking at him, staring at the wall, more than anything. But her words said enough – she understood, to some degree. Ikki doesn’t know why he thought she wouldn’t, he knew enough about how she and her brothers got adopted to know that none of them had the greatest lives before. How much she understood was… harder to say, but it wasn’t like he was trying to talk to Sakura or Daiji about it. While their father had hurt them in many ways, they couldn’t remember before. They couldn’t remember their parents.

Looking over at him, Hana sighed, before hugging him. It surprised Ikki, Hana was affectionate, sure, but mostly it was with her brothers, Sakura, and Hikaru. He and Daiji were rarely, if ever, on the receiving end. But in a way… it was comforting. It was nothing like his mom’s hugs, not quite so warm and loving, but it was… something. Nice. “You’ll be okay, Ikki,” She said, “Eventually. Just take your time, and you’ll be okay.”

Ikki hugged her back. He hadn’t realized how much he needed it. Taking a deep breath, he responded, “I know,” and he did. He knew, in theory, that it would all pass. But in reality, it was more a matter of what lasted longer. Him, or the pain? Maybe, next time, Vail achieves his goal, seemingly to get rid of his host’s children. Maybe, then, Ikki dies and that’s that. But he doesn’t want to think on those things, not with Hana right here, lest she somehow sense his thoughts.

They stayed there for a few moments, before she pulled away, “Great,” She stood and walked towards the door, “By the way, I made curry.”

Hana’s very spicy curry, that Sakura enjoyed so she refused to put less spice in? Ikki didn’t like the sound of that, “I’m not hungry.”

“Sure you aren’t.”

“I’ll make something for myself, I… uh, don’t feel like curry right now.” Anything to get out of this conversation without eating curry or annoying Hana too much.

Again, she rolled her eyes, “Whatever you say, just don’t forget to eat.” With that, she left.

---

Sakura greeted Hana with a smile, “How was Ikki?”

“Okay enough, he says seeing Vail somehow reminded him of something that happened when he was young,” She sits down at the table, between Sakura and Hikaru, a plate of curry already ready. Hikaru was eying his own plate with unease. “He seemed to still be a bit shaken. I reminded him not to forget to eat, he said he wasn’t really hungry for curry.”

“We can remind him to eat again later, then.” Sakura responded, taking a bite of curry. “Unfortunately, our plans can’t stop just because Ikki’s remembered something bad.”

Hikaru frowned, “Are you sure? Especially given what the current plan is…”

A frown curled on Sakura’s lips, “Father desires Giff’s stamp, not his coffin. And father insists this is the best way.”

“Maybe your father doesn’t know best,” Hana scoffed.

“Certainly not,” She agreed, “But you’ve seen only a little of what he can do.”

Moving around the curry on his plate, Hikaru added, “Presumably what he can do if he doesn’t get what he wants?”

“Exactly.”

“Joy,” Hana sighed heavily. “Makoto and Tamaki will be suspicious from the get-go. Makoto might not say anything, but there’s no telling what Tamaki will do.”

“I believe in you,” Sakura said, “and I’m sure he wouldn’t be willing to get you in trouble. I don’t think he’s willing to admit that you might be acting of your own accord, even now.”

“Maybe so.”

#kamen rider revice #without you #my writing #kamen rider

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writingpaperghost · 24 days

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Tank bunny

(via)

#kamen rider build

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writingpaperghost · 27 days

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It's occurred to me that, since I don't think I'll ever actually write much for I'll Be Who You Were and I'll Be Even More I could just... do art for it. I'll admit, at this point, I only really have some Ichigou designs and then like, one and a quarter animatics for this AU (the animatic boogeyman really possesses me when it comes to this AU). But maybe I'll draw some more and convey the story through those, in some capacity. (because I totally need more projects)

Also, the AU I'm talking about: https://www.tumblr.com/writingpaperghost/731488788099055616/im-talking-about-the-aforementioned-revice-au?source=share

#kamen rider revice #i'll be who you were and i'll be even more

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writingpaperghost · 1 month

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Without You (Chapter 29)

Chapter 29: Demon Released, Monster in the Belt

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/138750334

Catching a glance of his mother working on dinner, Makoto can’t help but recall what Karizaki had told him. About Junpei Shiranami – about his father Genta Igarashi – and his demon. Yukimi knew what happened, she’d been there, and Mr. Buu knew too – it would at least explain why he was so close to the family, and why he was sometimes a bit… odd and they never learned what his job was. But to think, that once upon a time that Genta was a Rider too… it seemed impossible.

Genta was goofy, silly, and really a bit… incompetent, sometimes. Yet the man Karizaki described, at least, the one he described as Junpei Shiranami, was very different. Of course, Karizaki didn’t know all the details, in fact, a lot of what he’d learned had been gleaned after the fact. But he’d still had a hand in it all.

Makoto wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

For years… for twenty-five years, Yukimi had kept what happened between her, Genta, and Mr. Buu. Karizaki didn’t know just what happened to cause the change in character between Junpei and Genta, so Makoto hadn’t a clue either, but if he had to guess, it was likely somehow connected to him being a Rider, or at least having his demon sealed away. Perhaps that had some effect on him, causing the shift in personality.

Makoto wasn’t sure how he felt about Genta’s demon being trapped in the Demons Driver, either.

He didn’t think that George Karizaki knew – he might have known that there was a chance of something like that, that there was something up with the Driver, but Makoto thinks there’s evidence enough to say that if he did know there was a demon in there, he did a good job of hiding it. Makoto wasn’t even sure if Karizaki had a way of knowing there was a demon in the Driver. Regardless, it would explain the strange feeling the Driver gave off, though, as perhaps somehow that was the demon leaking through.

Everything that he had been told by Masumi Karizaki only left him confused on how to process it. He had reason enough to believe it to be true, as wild and outlandish it felt, but what did that mean about everything else? Was it coincidence that Makoto and his siblings stumbled upon the Igarashi family? That they were taken in by them? Were they wrapped up in some kind of inescapable connection to demons – to Giff? Was Genta’s past a part of why his and Yukimi’s children were taken, eighteen years ago? That, perhaps, was the question that haunted Makoto the most. Three children, the oldest only four, taken away from their family, perhaps because someone thought they might have carried the remnants of the experiments done to Genta. Someone able to know who Junpei Shiranami had become, know where to find him, and be heartless enough to take those children.

Was the fire an accident, like the police decided, or was it on purpose? Was it taken advantage of as an opportunity to kidnap three children, or was it intentionally cause to create that opportunity? Just what happened to the missing children afterwards? The worst Makoto’s mind could conjure up would be for them to be used in experiments, just as their father had been (just as Tamaki, Hana, and himself had been, but far younger). The best he could think of was that they ended up with a different family, but were otherwise happy. The most likely answer was that they were dead.

Genta and Yukimi kept up hope that, one day, their children would return. Makoto never knew these children, and while he’d love for it to happen, if only for his parents’ happiness, he knows it’s unlikely. He doesn’t believe it would happen. Even if it did, he doubts that they’d come back unchanged, and at the young age they were taken, they’d be entirely different people, now.

With a sigh, Makoto’s gaze landed on a family portrait. Their parents, smiling, Makoto’s own lips curved into just a small smile, Tamaki and Hana smiling with real happiness. That only made him frown further. Hana was with the Deadmans, now their enemy, and Tamaki still thought too highly of Fenix. Now there were so many players, too, Fenix, the Deadmans, and Weekend. What were any of them really after? How honest were they about their intentions?

When had their lives become so complicated?

Sitting down, Makoto leaned back. He wished to go back to before this all, to before there were Riders and demons and everything. When things were easier and less dangerous. Then again, he had no reason to think it was possible to avoid all of this. Not so long as they were a part of the Igarashi family, if it was true that the connection ran as deep as Genta’s past.

It was hard to say for certain if Karizaki was telling the truth, but his words never wouldn’t leave Makoto’s mind. If it was true, it made everything very different. And if it wasn’t… then it was quite the story, at least.

“Are you okay, Makoto?” Genta’s voice snapped Makoto out of his thoughts.

Opening his eyes, he sees Genta standing beside him, smiling warmly. Something in Makoto felt warm, Genta had always had that sort of effect on Makoto. Maybe it was because he’d never had a father before Genta, all Makoto really knew that he enjoyed the feeling. Yet that feeling was also in conflict with his own thoughts.

Was Genta’s warmth real? Or just a façade to hide the coldness that Karizaki had spoken of? It seemed impossible to know the truth so easily. The Genta he knew wouldn’t have been capable of acting so cold, or even convincingly hide that behavior. But if it was fake, then who was to say that the Genta he knew was real at all.

He sighed, “I’m… fine. I’m just… tired, I guess.”

“Ah, you and Tamaki have been working so hard recently, not to mention your sickness…” Genta frowned for a moment, before smiling again, “Don’t over do it, though. I know you’re always trying to protect your siblings, but you shouldn’t hurt yourself while doing so.”

Makoto glanced away, “I’ll be alright. I’ll just be glad for… whenever the hell it’s over.” There wasn’t much of an end in sight. The Deadmans seemed to never give up, the demons never ending, and even what end could be thought of, getting rid of Giff, was fairly unattainable. They couldn’t beat Jeanne, Evil, or Revi yet, not consistently, they had no chance of being able to defeat Giff if he woke up.

Genta gave him a pat on the back, “I know you two will be able to make it.”

“Papa…” Makoto glanced away, “How did you and mama meet?”

“Huh?” Genta tilted his head, frowning. “Oh, well… to be honest, I don’t really remember. I had an accident not long after we got married and I lost my memories. They never really came back.”

That left two options. Either it was all a coincidence and Genta had no connection to Junpei Shiranami or… or Karizaki was telling the truth, and the reason why Genta acted so different from Junpei was because of whatever this “accident” was that caused Genta to have amnesia. Makoto hoped it was the former, but he couldn’t deny that his gut feeling pointed more towards the latter.

“I guess I’ll have to ask mama, then.”

“Why did you ask?”

Makoto shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess I was just curious.” No need to bring up any bit of the real reason. Especially if Genta really didn’t remember. Besides, no point in bothering him with ghosts and near unbelievable stories.

Dinner feels a bit awkward. Tamaki is back from work, but it’s obvious that he’s still upset about Makoto lying to him about the Smilodon Vistamp’s origin. He was quieter than usual, more focused on his food. It was also likely some of it was bleed over from everything at Fenix, with Mr. Kadota gone and Daiji being Evil – although most didn’t know the exact details and simply that Daiji was the mole – it left Tamaki much more alone. And while Tabuchi was better than nothing, he didn’t make up that support that Mr. Kadota had, or even Daiji had.

Tamaki, of course, insisted that he was fine and that everything was fine. Makoto knew better than to try to argue with him about it, especially right now when Tamaki wasn’t exactly pleased with him. But the lies were necessary, for now at least. Tamaki would surely tell Karizaki that his father was alive, and that would probably be trouble. He’s pretty sure Tamaki would understand – will understand, when the time comes and he learns the truth.

“Or hate us, like everyone else.” His demon chirped.

Makoto held in a groan. His demon was very, very annoying. But he’d need to ignore it, for his own sanity. He gave his food more focus than perhaps was needed, but it allowed him to more easily ignore his demon.

The rest of dinner passes, still uneventful. Tamaki disappeared into his room and Makoto insisted on helping Yukimi clean up. Genta had wandered off elsewhere, probably to work on a video for his Bytube channel. It was probably for the best, it allowed Makoto to further push the matter of Genta’s past without risking Genta learning anything that maybe he shouldn’t.

“…Mama,” Makoto began, taking a deep breath, “How did you and papa meet?”

His gaze glanced over at her, though he didn’t turn his head to face her. She frowned, for a moment, her washing of the dishes stalling. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no real reason. I guess I’m just curious.”

Yukimi thought for a little longer, then answered, “Well, it was a normal day, and there was this… monster attack. I found your father in the rubble afterwards and brought him back here.”

A monster? Well, according to Karizaki, in 1996, there would at least have been the runaway demons that had been caused by his previous failed experiments. Which meant it was unlikely that either Karizaki or Yukimi were lying about that. But beyond that… Karizaki had said that Junpei had gotten left behind after a fight and somehow ended up with a woman, so that could also be true… but she was being vague about the details.

He frowned, unsure of just what to make of the answer. “What did you… think of him?”

“I thought he needed a family. His parents had died, and mine had too, so we were both alone…” A loving look came to her face, “I know you understand that feeling.”

Makoto understood being alone terribly well. And he understood the Igarashi belief of giving a family to those who seemed to need it. Even if he thought that Yukimi wielded that belief too wildly, far too cavalier. “So how long were you two together before you got married?” He was genuinely curious, at that point, even if it had no real connection to the story that Karizaki had told.

Again, Yukimi hesitated, to Makoto’s surprise. She seemed to debate with herself for several moments, before she came to her answer. “Not very long, really. We got married very quickly.”

More reason that Yukimi perhaps was too bold in her kindness. “Papa says he doesn’t remember how you two met, that there was an accident. What happened?”

“Oh, one of those monster attacks… It was terrifying, but I was so relieved that he made it out okay, even if he couldn’t remember.” She smiled again, “We got to fall in love all over.”

For all the things Makoto felt for his parents, sometimes, they could be unbearably mushy. Like right now.

“Ah, okay, thanks…”

Yukimi turned to him with a smile, “I know you said you were just curious, but do you have some other reason,” There was a strangely knowing look, though Makoto could figure out what it was knowing of. “Maybe you’ve found yourself with feelings for someone?”

At that, Makoto went stalk still, shoulders tensing as he tried very hard to keep his grip on the plate in his hand. “W-what? No, no it’s nothing like that at all!”

His words didn’t seem to do much to convince Yukimi, “You know we’re happy for you, whoever they are.”

“I do not have feelings for someone!”

---

The Demons Driver was a curious belt, George found. He’d never had much of a chance to examine it too closely, his time working at Fenix focused instead on making his own Drivers. But if it really had such negative effects on Kadota, then it was worth taking a look, before he was forced to give it to someone else.

At the top of the list of things that were odd or strange that he’d chalked up to simply being because it was an old piece of technology, was that instead of simply harnessing power from the Vistamp, that power also seemed to be going inside the belt itself. Like the Driver was consuming it – and more power, if George had to guess. It was probably what caused what happened to Kadota.

So then, the question was: where was this energy going? How was the Driver consuming it?

To find those answers, George would have to do more digging.

---

The next day is drawing to a close when the Deadmans make their appearance. Jeanne, no sign of Aguilera or Papillion in sight, with only Revi at her side. It doesn’t take long for Tamaki and Makoto to arrive, finding the two on a set of steps. Jeanne sits, legs crossed, leaning back, bracing herself with her arm against the step she sat on. Revi stood, looking around warily, then watching Tamaki and Makoto when they arrived.

“And the Rider’s arrive,” Jeanne said, standing. Her gaze ran across both of them, pausing for a few moments on each. She beckons Revi closer, “We’re evenly numbered, at least.”

“Evil decide he was too good to fight us?” Tamaki growled, “We haven’t seen him since…”

Dismissively, Jeanne waved him off, “The two of us will certainly be too much of a fight for the two of you.”

Makoto’s hand reached into his pocket, feeling the cold Anomalocaris Vistamp. The elder Karizaki seemed confident that so long as he used it at the same time as Tamaki used the Smilodon Vistamp, both wouldn’t face the freezing and burning they usually felt. He could only hope that would actually be the case, otherwise this fight could be more trouble. Especially since Makoto really still wasn’t supposed to have the Anomalocaris Vistamp.

Jeanne pulled out the Cobra Vistamp, prompting Revi to take out the Revice Driver and T-Rex Vistamp. In response, Tamaki is quick to pull out his own Driver and, though perhaps with some hesitation, the Smilodon Vistamp. Not long behind Tamaki, Makoto does the same, fairly confident that Tamaki wouldn’t notice the Anomalocaris Vistamp until it was activated and he was already transformed.

“This time, Jeanne won’t poison us.” His demon said, sounding too confident.

Tamaki transformed, lunging at Jeanne, as she stamped herself and became the Cobra Deadman. Following suit, Revi takes a few steps to the side, keeping himself from the fight between Tamaki and Jeanne. He activated his Vistamp and stamped his Driver.

They’re working together this time.

Fire and ice don’t always go well together, right?

Maybe they’ll blow each other up!

I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Besides…

Together, we both know they’ll be more of a threat.

You’re no fun…

Since Tamaki seemed so focused on Jeanne, probably still pretty upset about what happened to Yusuke last time they fought, that left Makoto to deal with Revi and Vice. Two on one wasn’t the greatest odd, but the Anomalocaris Vistamp was strong, so long as his body didn’t reach its limit. He threw his spear at Vice, then ran at Revi, swinging his fist.

He tried to focus on the fight, really, he did, but all he could do was worry about Tamaki. That kind of anger that he was directing at Jeanne was dangerous, the same sort of anger that resulted in Yusuke getting injured, and in turn made Tamaki even more angry. A terrible cycle, feeding on itself, and sooner or later it would have to come to an end. Makoto worried that the end would be Tamaki becoming so focused on his anger, he gets himself killed, or worse, hurts someone in some irrevocable way that he’ll have to live with.

To do what Makoto himself had done in anger to his father.

In his wandering thoughts and distraction, Makoto’s control slipped, his demon easily taking control of parts of his body. He only realized when his attention came back to the fight, and he realized his body was moving, except he wasn’t the one doing it.

“Fights aren’t the place for distractions. Unless you want to end up like daddy dearest.” His demon commented, not giving up control in the slightest.

“Stop that.” Makoto hissed, “Let me fight.”

Sounding almost gleeful, his demon answered, “No,”

Keeping track of both Revi and Vice was hard, and though Makoto was still very much trying to wrestle back control, something that he was having little luck with, his mind had returned to the fight at least, away from his wandering thoughts. Even without control of his own body, he could at least try to keep an eye on Revi and Vice. Not that his demon seemed to be having half as much trouble – as a whole, he seemed much more accustomed to fighting than he was.

“I’m a demon, of course I am.” His demon responded, tone indicating that he considered this an obvious fact. Makoto hated that the demon knew what he was thinking so well. Then again, it lived in his head, so of course it did.

His demon jabbed their spear at Revi, who caught it, only for ice to quickly travel from his hands and up his arms. Pulling the spear free, Makoto’s demon then swung it at Vice, who had been coming up to help Revi. Vice dodged it, though barely and in a clumsy way. With a huff of frustration, his demon stabbed the spear at Vice, this time managing to hit him, ice again sprawling from the spear tip onto Vice.

Not too far from them, Makoto can see Tamaki’s fight with Jeanne. Tamaki was up close to Jeanne, swinging his daggers, his anger evident. Jeanne dodged each swing, appearing unbothered. She was likely aware of the extent of Tamaki’s anger, and how it would make him a lot more careless.

Makoto’s demon ran turned towards the two, then hurled his spear, hitting Jeanne in the shoulder, ice blossoming from the spot. She hissed, trying to shake the ice off, gaze turning towards Makoto for a moment, before returning to Tamaki, grabbing the blade of Tamaki’s incoming dagger.

Her mouth opens, and Tamaki’s forced to the side in order to dodge her venom. In the process, she pulls the dagger out of Tamaki’s hand, still gripping the blade. She flips it in her hand, flames still licking the blade, and she holds the blade up to the ice on her shoulder, melting it. “Nice try, but fire and ice don’t mix, remember?” The melted ice dripped to the floor, “You’ll just end up with water.”

She kicks at Tamaki, stunning him for a moment while she throws his dagger at Makoto. Easily, his demon dodged out of the way, though Revi and Vice had broken free of their ice in the meantime. Vice came at him first, and his demon grabbed him, shoving him out of the way, then kicking Revi back. He quickly crouched to the ground, picking up Tamaki’s dagger. Taking only a moment to get a feel for it, he then swung at Revi, the flames of the dagger feeling nicely warm against the cold of the Anomalocaris Vistamp.

“What a pain,” his demon grumbled, “I wish these guys would hurry up and lose.”

Again pushing against the demons control, Makoto responded, “Maybe you should get better at this, then.”

“Like you could do any better, always held back by the fear of hurting someone.” Vice came at them, and Makoto’s demon practically snarled, before harshly kicking him back.

His demon reached for his Vistamp, “I’m getting tired of this,” he said, his voice harsh and annoyed. It was Makoto’s voice – his demon always used his voice, but it was different when they were talking among themselves. To anyone who heard him, it would sound like it was Makoto talking, not some monstrous demon that lurks inside him.

Activating his finisher, he jumps into the air and kicks at Revi and Vice, ice exploding around them. He didn’t really care if it fully stopped them or not, he just wanted them out of the way long enough to help with Jeanne, so this fight could be considered more effort to win then it was worth.

Looking back over at Tamaki and Jeanne, he was surprised to see that any progress had been made. Though Tamaki was angry and now down to only one dagger, Jeanne was appearing worse for wear. Still, Tamaki’s anger hadn’t much subsided, that much was obvious.

“Careful wolf,” Jeanne hissed, “Snake aren’t very friendly-“

“Neither are wolves,” Tamaki growled, “And you hurt-!”

“Your dear friend? Don’t get me wrong, I was threatening him, sure,” She punched at him, to which he responded by swinging his dagger. “But he was the one who got in the way of my venom. And to protect you. Such a wonderful friend you have.”

Tamaki kicks, flames licking his leg, beginning to swirl around him. “Stop talking about him!”

Jeanne seemed a lot less bothered by the flames than she ever had Makoto’s ice. Then again, snakes didn’t like the cold, and it was obvious from the get go Makoto’s ice was far too cold for her. The fire, then, must be a welcome difference, if only because it wasn’t cold.

Makoto’s demon approached Jeanne and Tamaki, taking a place at Tamaki’s side, “Your dagger, Tama.” He tossed the dagger to Tamaki, who seemed a bit surprised, though by the action or the different nickname, Makoto wasn’t sure. Still, he caught the dagger, and the fire began to swirl around it more.

Picking up his own spear, Makoto’s demon quickly adjusted his grip on it until it was comfortable in his hands. Before he has a chance to do much more, Tamaki activates his finisher, lunging at Jeanne, fire spiraling around him, so hot that even with the ice to cool them, it seemed too hot for Makoto and his demon. “Damn fire.” His demon hissed.

As Tamaki slashed his daggers at Jeanne’s raised arms, the fire focused there, before exploding outwards, creating a fiery circle for several yards around them. Feeling his demon’s control of him lessen, Makoto winced, a little surprised when his body actually responded. Being in control made both the aches of his body from the fight, and the sweltering heat of the flames all the more obvious.

Jeanne staggered, stumbling to the ground, reaching a hand down to steady herself. Even she couldn’t withstand the full force of Tamaki’s attack, it seemed, and it certainly didn’t help that Tamaki had worn her down. Growling, though, Tamaki did not appear to be done with her. “You hurt Yosuke! He had nothing to do with any of this and-“

“And he protected you,” Jeanne said, voice clipped and strained, “Are you really angry at me, or are you just angry at yourself? You two seemed to be having quite the heart to heart-“

“Shut up!” Tamaki snapped, kicking at her and finally knocking away her transformation. Jeanne hissed, her clothes burned in spots, and Makoto was willing to bet she had at least a few burns on her skins.

She had clearly lost the fight. And Tamaki kept going. He raised his daggers again, it quickly becoming clear that he was going to attack Jeanne again. As he began to swing them, Makoto threw his spear, purposely aiming more towards Tamaki than Jeanne, but not hitting him.

A cloud of ice and freezing mist exploded from the spear, extinguishing Tamaki’s flames and knocking him down. Jeanne still had her arms raised, previously in an attempt to protect herself from Tamaki, now shielding her head just a bit from the ice.

Revi had gotten out of the ice, his transformation gone as he hurried to Jeanne’s side. Quickly, he helped her up, casting a somewhat confused, but grateful look at Makoto. Tamaki looked over at Makoto, easily spotting his spear in the ground.

Standing up, he growled. “Makoto! What the hell?!”

“You were getting a bit overkill, Tamaki. The last thing you want is to kill her.” He crossed his arms. So long as Tamaki was transformed, he wasn’t going to risk dropping the transformation.

It’s impossible to miss how Tamaki seemed to tighten his grip on his daggers. “What do you know about what I want?”

Makoto wasn’t sure he was willing to test his odds against fire, but it really wouldn’t be up to him. “I know you’re angry, and I know you’re taking it out on her-“

“Because she’s the one who hurt Yosuke!”

“And Yosuke will be okay, he’ll survive. You can’t go back from killing someone.”

“I don’t care!”

Over by Revi and Jeanne, Hana appeared, glancing at Jeanne with worry, then over at Makoto and Tamaki. She frowned, “What the hell happened?” She asked. Her gaze stays on the two, eyes dashing back and forth between Tamaki and Makoto. “What’s going on with them?”

“Your brother,” Jeanne began, “is upset I poisoned his friend.”

Narrowing her eyes at Tamaki, Hana huffed, “Seriously?” She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her upper arm, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “I can’t believe him.”

Tamaki, clearly having had enough of Makoto trying to argue with him, lunged forward, daggers raise, flames licking forth at the air. Makoto braced himself, raising his spear to try to block the attack, ice at his feet, trying to anchor him. Hana rolled her eyes, pulling out the Bee Vistamp and quickly stamping herself. She ran forward and intercepted Tamaki’s attack with her kunai. The force of it alone was enough to send her back into Makoto a little, and she suspects her fuzz has been a bit singed from the fire.

“Hana!” Tamaki growled, “Get the hell out of my way!”

“Make me!” Hana spat back, “What’s gotten into you, anyway? Or have you given up on trying to be the hero so much that you’ve decided to go and attack your own goddamn brother? Who, might I remind, is on your side!”

Taking a step closer to Hana, Tamaki said, “You’re one to talk.”

Before Hana can respond, Revi called out, “Uh, hey, Ha- Aguilera, I think we should get going.”

She glanced over at him, “What? Why?”

“Well…” He pointed off to the side, and her gaze followed. Over by the stairs, where Revi and Jeanne had once been, there was an approaching figure. One that was rather familiar.

Hana startled, “Is that… papa?”

Looking over, Makoto confirmed. It did appear to be Genta, but what was he doing here? Moreso, he appeared to have a Driver – it looked like the Demons Driver, but the colors were wrong.

In a flash, he recalled what Masumi Karizaki had told him. All those years ago, about the man Genta was before. Junpei Shiranami was a Kamen Rider, and Makoto was willing to bet the belt that Genta wore now was the same one that Junpei used. Both it and the Demons Driver were made by the elder Karizaki, after all, so it would explain them both appearing very similar. The question was, then, what was going on?

It wasn’t out of the question that the Driver had remained in Genta’s possession, one way or another, all these years. But why dig it out now? What was Genta even trying to do?

And then Genta activated a Vistamp, stamping it to the Driver. And that’s when Makoto realized something. Whoever this was, this wasn’t Genta Igarashi. Perhaps some remnant of Junpei Shiranami, or perhaps something else. His demon, even if it was supposed to be locked away in the Demons Driver. Enough possibilities, all Makoto could say for certain was that this man wasn’t the Genta they knew.

Perhaps it was because they were closer, or perhaps it was for some other reason, but the Rider, Vail, targets Revi and Jeanne. Quickly, Revi ensures that Jeanne is behind him, having the misfortunate of having to take a punch without the power of any Vistamp to protect him. He grunts and clearly reaches for his Vistamp, but doesn’t get the chance to reach it before Vail punches again.

Seeing this, Hana shoved Tamaki to the side and rushed towards the three, slashing at Vail with her kunai. It did little, seeming not to bother Vail at all. Makoto shook off his surprise, tried to set aside the way his brain was swirling and whirring for a plan. Now wasn’t the time for a plan. He takes his spear and throws it at Vail, hitting him in the front of his shoulder, causing ice to blossom. Quickly, he hurries towards them, pulling his spear free and pushing Vail back with a kick, taking a place next to Hana.

Her voice audibly distressed, Hana wondered, “What is papa doing…?”

Makoto shook his head and responded, “That isn’t papa.”

“Then who is it?”

Pursing his lips, narrowing his eyes and focusing on Vail as he came closer again, Makoto answered, “His demon.” Here, so close to Vail, he could feel it. The same dark presence that came from the Demons Driver. Exactly the same, but stronger. This had to be Genta’s demon, somehow controlling him.

They had to find a way to get him to leave, but without hurting Genta too much. The last thing Makoto wanted to do was be responsible for killing his father again hurting Genta. This wasn’t Genta acting, it was his demon.

Did that make Makoto any less responsible for knocking Mr. Kadota off the cliff? Or for nearly trying to kill Hana? No.

Makoto had ice on his side, a wonderful immobilizer. Perhaps, even, it might be cold enough to shock the demon out of control. Or something. Makoto wasn’t sure and really didn’t have the time to contemplate the pros or cons, beyond the fact that it seemed the least likely to hurt Genta, since he had the suit to protect him from the worst of the cold.

He lets the ice gather on his spear, his best bet of being able to spread it further onto Vail. All he has to do is hit Vail with it, and then it would spread, like before, but hopefully he could get it to spread more. Should he aim for the legs, to try to keep him still? Yes, that should be good. Effective. Makoto could use effectiveness right now. He takes a deep breath, then jabs at the ground at Vail’s feet, dodging another punch in the process. No more time to think, he’d just have to hope his half baked plan would work.

Ice spreads on the ground, then quickly begins to creep up Vail’s legs. Makoto can’t keep the spear there long, he has to pull it out and put some distance from Vail. But he also has to keep Vail in place, until he can get a stronger layer of ice. So quickly, he runs back in, this time occupying Vail’s arms with his spear, and kicked at his legs. Ice spread onto both, but quickly shatter and fall off Vail’s arms, as he easily knocks Makoto back.

Hana seemed to sense enough of his plan, hurrying forward to slash at Vail with her kunai. Good, that would keep him occupied for a few moments. He jabs his spear at Vail’s midsection, able to hold it there long enough for the ice to spread even further. Makoto isn’t sure how much longer he can keep this up, with all the fighting before, his limbs ached terrible, his lungs strained to keep up with his exertion, and the cold was seeping into his bones.

Vail shoved the two back, Makoto tumbling to the ground, transformation disappearing and Vistamp clattering. Ice cracked and shattered, not thick enough to keep Vail in place. Makoto’s heart dropped.

“Uh oh.” His demon intoned, almost mockingly. “If only you were stronger. If only you had more of a demon’s power to draw on… I could help with that.”

“Go to hell,” Makoto spat back in his mind with barely any thought.

His demon cackled, “I think you’ll be the one going there, soon enough.”

He could hear as Hana tried to hold Vail off, but she was no match, and he soon heard a thud as she too hit the ground. They weren’t strong enough, especially after already fighting. What could they do? They were going to die and…

And Tamaki hadn’t helped them. Was he so caught up in his own anger that he’d let his brother and sister die? Some hero. But then again, Makoto didn’t think Fenix employed heroes. He thinks they employed pawns.

Nothing came, though, and soon staggering footsteps leads Vail away from them, disappearing off somewhere. Maybe they’d done enough. Or maybe something else. Hana manages to pull herself up, breathing heavily.

“We… should go. Recover.” She said.

It was smart. There was no fighting left to be done here. He moved his head, looking towards where Tamaki was. He was gone.

#kamen rider revice #without you #kamen rider #my writing

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writingpaperghost · 1 month

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I'm a bit surprised I'm going to say this, given I'm only 8 episodes into Faiz, but. I am mildly obsessed with the characters in Faiz.

Like, Takumi and Yuji both having no dream and having a hard time to understand people with dreams? But Takumi choosing to fight to protect dreams, because at least he can do that, and Yuji doing it because he wouldn't let a repeat happen of what happened to Kaidou?

The Orphenochs making their own little group, unsure of wanting to make more Orphenochs, but still looking out for each other. Yuka ignoring Keitaro and Kaidou tossing his guitar away, removing the things that tethered them to their dreams (their "curse" as Kaidou described it), and in a way, a part of their remaining humanity. Yuji clinging to the idea that he's still human, that he doesn't want to be a monster. And how Yuka and Kaidou were miserable before dying, but becoming an Orphenoch has taken that misery away, or at least lessened it. But Yuji had been happy, and if that accident hadn't happened, if he hadn't been in a coma for two years... maybe he still would be. His parents would still be dead, but maybe things would be okay. But that's not what happened, and he lost his life both literally and figuratively. And he's vocal about the regret he feels over getting revenge, unlike Yuka who, if she feels any regret, doesn't voice it at all.

...Okay, so maybe it's just Takumi and the Orphenochs right now, but still. No one told me Inoue was actually a competent writer, ya'll were giving me the impression he just wrote wild shit that was fun to watch, not like... good in any technical manner.

#kamen rider 555 #kamen rider faiz #talking paper ghost

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writingpaperghost · 1 month

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Given I suspect Mari's bag is likely a bit heavier than Takumi's, it is impressive that he managed to get them confused not once, but twice. I don't know what I was expecting from him (given my only exposure to him was Kamen Rider 4) but this was not it.

#kamen rider 555 #talking paper ghost #takumi inui

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writingpaperghost · 1 month

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Without You (Chapter 28)

Chapter 28: Feelings of the Wolf, Friend or Betrayed?

Tamaki sees someone he'd hoped to never see again.

AO3:https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/138306043

Tamaki had been feeling… strangely good about himself. Despite the whispers that still permeated Fenix, he’d heard plenty in and outside that were different. People saw Julio fight, even without his Driver, willing to become a monster, to protect people. Sure, when he fought Jeanne, there were no civilians present, but the point had clearly gotten across.

That couldn’t have been apart of Sakura’s plan, though, he couldn’t imagine what the Deadmans could gain from him feeling good about himself and people thinking well of him, for once. No, more likely, Sakura’s intentions had been more hoping for the sort of reactions people had to seeing the video of Makoto’s fight.

What people saw, when they saw Makoto fight, wasn’t a hero, but a monster. He had been too ruthless, and regardless of how they felt about Aguilera, seeing him hold the Bee Deadman’s own kunai to her neck like that had left a terrible impression. Makoto himself had been quiet and distant since seeing the video. Tamaki really wasn’t sure what to think.

Bad things are happening at his hand, and instead of owning up to it, he keeps claiming that he can’t remember. Tamaki wants to believe him, he did the first time, but this time it’s harder. He suspects, if he hears it again, it will only get even harder to believe.

If there was one person who has been there for Tamaki, supporting him even if he didn’t necessarily agree with him, it was certainly Makoto. If it weren’t for Makoto, he and Hana would probably have been dead by now. Either starved, frozen, or sick. For around five years, there had been no one Tamaki trusted more than Makoto.

In the light of Captain Kadota leaving and Captain Akaishi’s betrayal, he wanted to say that Makoto had been there for him as always, but… that trust that he’d had in Makoto, the very thing that he’d always valued so much in their relationship, seemed to waver in the face of the memory of seeing Captain Kadota fall, in the sight of the Squid Deadman with a kunai against the neck of the Bee Deadman. How could Tamaki trust Makoto like that, when he couldn’t remember doing such things.

The first could be considered a mistake, but the second… the second was a terrible, terrible action, one that Tamaki could barely forgive, if he could at all. For all that Hana had done… the last thing Tamaki wanted to see was her being hurt. Worse if it was at Makoto’s hands.

Did his wavering trust in Makoto make him a bad brother? Or was it understandable enough? There wasn’t anyone for Tamaki to ask, anymore. Hana was with the Deadmans, Makoto was who he was worried about, and Captain Kadota was gone. He wouldn’t dream to bring up his doubts with either of his parents, so that left him with no one.

It wasn’t like Tamaki was unused to being alone, but that didn’t mean he liked it all that much. Tabuchi had been a friend of Captain Kadota’s, but just as Tamaki hadn’t been that close with Captain Akaishi, he had never even properly met Tabuchi until recently. Just, at most, seen him in passing.

But he couldn’t show any of his worries, lest people worry themselves and ask. And that’s the last thing Tamaki needed. Especially now that he’d gone back home to Happy Spa (it was nice to be in his bed again, the one in his dorm at Fenix was never quite so comfortable). And he especially couldn’t let Makoto know about his wavering trust – justified or not, it would only hurt Makoto to hear about it. And with everything going on, Tamaki didn’t want to risk something happening again.

Makoto greets him with a smile, when he gets back to Happy Spa that evening. Tamaki makes it part way through the lobby when Makoto said, “By the way, someone showed up asking for you earlier.”

“They… did?” Who would be looking for him?

“Yeah, said his name was Yosuke… Yosuke something or other, didn’t catch his last name.” Makoto replied, his tone far too casual for the news that he didn’t even realized he’d given Tamaki. But surely this was some other Yosuke… “He said you two were classmates, back in like, elementary or middle school. Something like that. Before you ran, I presume.”

Never mind, Tamaki froze in his spot, that was the same Yosuke.

Looking at him curious, and Tamaki must have looked like a deer in headlights, Makoto continued, “I… take it you remember him?”

“You could say that,” Tamaki said, slowly.

“Well he wanted to meet with you, in the morning before you head to work.”

Unsure of what else to say, Tamaki responded, “I… okay.”

Yosuke was one of the last people Tamaki thought he’d ever see again. He didn’t even think he wanted to – he regretted them parting as they had, but Yosuke had betrayed him – broke his trust and hurt him in a way that few had before or since. His actions that day had been like a stab to the heart. And with Tamaki and his family moving soon… it had spurred Tamaki to run away. Nothing could be worse than the life he had before.

And now Yosuke had found him. How was he supposed to even feel about that?

“Oh, and by the way…” Makoto fished something out of his pocket, before holding out an unfamiliar Vistamp. “Karizaki wanted me to give this to you.”

As far as he knew, Makoto hadn’t visited Fenix today, but it was entirely likely that George had stopped by Happy Spa at some point. He did that, sometimes. Tamaki takes the Vistamp. It was strangely warm. “A… Vistamp.”

“It’s supposed to be like my Anomalocaris, but for you. And hopefully without the… unintended and annoying side effects.” Makoto explained.

Tamaki nodded, “…Alright. Let’s hope it works right.”

“Yes, let’s.”

---

When Tamaki arrives at the spot that Yosuke asked him to meet at, the next morning, he can’t help but feel… nervous. He wasn’t even sure why he decided to actually come – he held no care for Yosuke, anymore, and hadn’t in years. But… perhaps he was feeling bold, or nostalgic. Regardless, once he’s there, Yosuke was waiting, and he couldn’t turn around and leave.

Even though it had been years, Tamaki could still recognize Yosuke.

When Yosuke sees him, he smiles – just like he used to when he was younger, but this time… it looked more pained. Remorseful. Tamaki swallowed the tightness in his throat, choosing to ignore it however he could. There was no reason to hesitate, it was just Yosuke.

Just the person who had torn his heart in two, that fateful day. Who’d torn their friendship, and then Tamaki was too cowardly to ever even speak to them again. Like it or not, while Yosuke might have been the one to begin the tear, it was Tamaki who’d severed it. But at the time, it seemed like such a good idea – he couldn’t imagine being friends with someone who’d hurt him so. He still couldn’t.

“Tamaki – or, you’re using that as your first name now, aren’t you? Would you prefer Igarashi?”

Tamaki bristled, unsure why he felt so… uncertain. He glanced away, “It’s… whatever. Call me whatever you feel like.”

There’s a moment of silence, tense. Tamaki can hear Yosuke breathe, hear him take in an uncertain, nervous breath. He was preparing himself to speak, Tamaki could tell that much. “Tamaki I… well, I’d like to apologize. I hurt you, obviously very badly. And I never got the chance to say that I’m sorry. I still am. You didn’t deserve that, and I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that you wouldn’t have run away if I hadn’t done it.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Tamaki’s quick to say, though the tightness in his chest says otherwise. “And, for the record, it was a lot of things that made me run away, not just what you did.”

He looked back over at Yosuke, who frowned, “I… guess it doesn’t, now.” He shook his head, “Still, you deserved the apology.”

“How’d you even find me, anyway?”

“I saw the video the Deadmans posted and recognized you,” Yosuke explained. “It wasn’t that hard to track you down, from there.”

Tamaki could only hope that Yosuke was the only person to recognize him – he suspects so, given the ears and fur made him a lot harder to recognize. He doubted most people would be able to. He and Yosuke had just been… close, once upon a time.

With a shrug, Tamaki turned away. “Well… I need to get to work.”

Yosuke quickly called out, “I know you may not feel the same, but it was good to see you again.”

And then a voice called out, one that belonged to neither of them, “What a cute little reunion – he’s a friend of yours, isn’t he?”

Both Tamaki and Yosuke quickly turned to face the side, where Jeanne stood, watching them with interest. Unable to help himself, Tamaki growled, “What do you want?”

“Truthfully, I simply wanted to see how you were taking our little videos going public,” she answered, “But I’ve stumbled on to something far more interesting.”

Sparing a quick glance from Jeanne, over to Yosuke, Tamaki stepped closer to Jeanne, reaching into his jacket for his Driver and Vistamp. “Whatever you’re planning, I’d advise against it.”

“Really?” She pulled out the Cobra Vistamp, activating it. “Then let’s find out.”

The Vistamp that found its way to Tamaki’s hand wasn’t the Wolf Vistamp – instead, it was the Vistamp he’d gotten from Makoto the day before, feeling hotter than before. Then again, the Wolf Vistamp wouldn’t be strong enough to defeat Jeanne, and if this new Vistamp were as strong as the Anomalocaris Vistamp… he might stand a chance. There was only one way to find out.

He activated the Vistamp – it proclaimed itself the Smilodon Vistamp – then pressed it against his Driver. Jeanne appeared surprised to see the unfamiliar Vistamp, but quickly stamped herself with her own. Around Tamaki appeared flames, emerging from which was a wolf that twisted around with a saber-tooth tiger, which lunged forward and engulfed Tamaki.

Where Makoto’s Anomalocaris Vistamp seemed to exude ice and cold, the Smilodon Vistamp seemed to let out only heat and flames. It felt hot, like standing next to a fire. In each hand, he finds a blade like a fang, seeming to emanate their own flames. Most of all, though, Tamaki felt… powerful – was this how Makoto felt when he used the Anomalocaris Vistamp?

“A new Vistamp? Well, this will be fun,” Jeanne sounded almost excited, “And no pesky ice like your brother. Let’s see if you can measure up.”

Quickly, Jeanne lunged at him, fangs bared. He blocked her mouth with one dagger, while blocking both of her swiping hands with the other. He hoped to avoid getting poisoned this time, and he thinks it will be possible. Pushing her back, he freed his daggers of her fangs and claws, then slashed, jabbing one of the tips into her retreating arm. Jeanne let out a hiss of pain and pulled further back.

“Quite the power you have there… I wonder if it will be enough to protect your friend?” Her gaze very obviously wandered to Yosuke.

Tamaki kicked her, “Don’t bring a civilian into this!”

“But I could hurt him in quite a few ways,” Jeanne retreated back, using the momentum from his kick to help her. “Venom, of course, my claws, my fangs…”

“You’ve never purposefully dragged a civilian into a fight before.”

She tilted her head, “Maybe I will, now.” Then she spit something at him – a venom that Tamaki dodged, causing it to land harmlessly on the ground. Who knew what that could do to someone, even with the armor.

“Leave him out of this!” He ran at her, swinging his daggers.

Jeanne grabbed both of his wrists, then brought her leg up and kicked him back. Despite the two of them being on more even grounds, now, she still seemed more amused than anything else. “Even with that Vistamp being as strong as your brothers’… he’s still better at using his than you are yours!” She ran at him, swiping her hand, that Tamaki just barely dodged. “Your power is useless if you don’t know how to use it.”

He growled, “I’ll show you useless!” He swung at her again, but she just shoved him back again, sending him off balance and stumbling to the ground.

“What was that?” She asked, mockingly. “It seems my previous plan wasn’t enough. But I’ll give you this chance – show me that you’re becoming stronger, Julio! Show me, or else your dear friend may end up in the hospital…”

Though she stood a distance away, Tamaki could recognize that the movement she was making meant that she was preparing to spit venom again. He struggled to get to his feet enough to move out of the way, but the heat from the Vistamp was getting to be too much. The flames licking at his armor were overheating him, beginning to burn.

But he gets to his feet and takes a staggered step, trying to get out of the way, right as Jeanne spit. Then he’s shoved and knocked to the ground again, Vistamp clattering to the ground. He’s out of the way of Jeanne’s venom, but he doesn’t hear it splatter to the ground. Instead, he hears a sharp intake of air from Yosuke, as if he were in pain, and Jeanne let out an odd hiss.

“You…” She said, “You got in the way… you must be crazy!”

Tamaki forced himself to move and look at where he once was – in his place stood Yosuke, who began to sway. Jeanne’s venom had hit him, instead. He’d protected Tamaki, but now what?

Jeanne shook her head, returning to her human form, “Well, this wasn’t how I expected that fight to go…” With that, she left, gone without a trace.

“Yosuke!” Why hadn’t Yosuke run when it became obvious that Jeanne was going to fight? Why had he gotten in the way of her attack?

Worse yet, why was it that he was somehow braver than Tamaki had ever been?

Yosuke gave him a pained smile, “I’ll be alright, Tamaki.”

“You shouldn’t have protected me – it’s my job to protect you, not the other way around.” Tamaki grabbed him to steady him. “You need a doctor.”

“That’s why I know I’ll be alright. You’ll make sure I am. And I just did what I should have done years ago.” Yosuke didn’t seem all that bothered by the fact he’d just been poisoned. Tamaki couldn’t understand how that was the case.

Though Tamaki winced as Yosuke leaned against him – he hadn’t taken that many hits during the fight, but he thinks he’ll need to have a doctor look at him too. He still feels hot, and too much of him hurt in some manner for him to be able to convince himself he was alright. But he wouldn’t let Yosuke know about that.

---

The Vistamp had burnt him – not too badly, but enough to hurt him some, and the ends of the fur of his tail had been singed, leaving the tip of his tail blackened somewhat. It seemed that, like Makoto Anomalocaris Vistamp, this one too had a side effect from prolonged usage. Tamaki would just have to be careful not to use it for too long.

No, the far stranger thing was George’s confusion at the Vistamp’s very existence. When he’d heard of it, he’d come to see the Vistamp, looking thoroughly perplexed. “This isn’t one of mine,” He said, then looked at Tamaki, “Igarashi, where did you get this?”

Startled, Tamaki answered, “From Makoto. He said it was from you.”

“Well it’s not,” George scowled, “Have him come over here, I need to know where he got this from.”

Tamaki wasn’t going to argue with George, and he himself was rather curious as to just where Makoto had gotten the Vistamp, if not George. No one else could make Vistamps, after all. Makoto arrived in decent time, looking rather relaxed.

Though he soon looked annoyed when George waved the Smilodon Vistamp in his face, demanding, “Where did you get this Vistamp?”

Makoto looked directly at Tamaki, past George, “Like I said. Karizaki.”

“He says he didn’t make it,” Tamaki responded, “So where’d you get it?”

A thoughtful look comes across Makoto’s face, for a moment, and then he answered, “A ghost, then.” And turned and left without another word, and before either George or Tamaki could say anything else.

A thoroughly unhelpful conversation – obviously Makoto wasn’t going to give them a straight answer, and that made Tamaki’s growing distrust of him even stronger. Perhaps something to do with that Weekend group? But Tamaki doubted they’d know how to make Vistamps. Which brought him back to square one – he had no clue who could have made the Vistamp, and neither did George.

There were no more answers to be found on that avenue, as it were. Hopefully something would reveal itself soon, but Tamaki wasn’t getting his hopes up. It did make him more wary of using the Smilodon Vistamp, between the side effects and having no clue where it came from. How could he know the person who made it wasn’t malicious in their intent? How did he know there wouldn’t be some side effect like what the Demons Driver had on Captain Kadota?

Tamaki wished he were as brave as Yosuke.

---

Makoto wandered, once more, into Weekend’s base. “Mr. Karizaki?” He called.

Karizaki turned to face him, “Makoto,” He greeted, “I’ve been looking into the Anomalocaris Vistamp for you, I think I’ve figured out a solution.”

He honestly hadn’t expected Karizaki to have an answer so quickly. “Really?”

“Yes,” Karizaki nodded, “I believe if you were to use it alongside Tamaki using the Smilodon Vistamp, they would negate each other’s negative effects.”

With a frown, Makoto said, “So you’re aware of the burning.”

“Now I am.”

He shook his head, “Well, it’s something.” Karizaki holds out the Anomalocaris Vistamp, and Makoto took it. Still it felt too cold. “Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask… you made the Demons Driver, right?”

Seeming uneasy, Karizaki answered, “That’s correct…”

“So… just what is up with it? It was killing Mr. Kadota, and somehow I don’t think that’s it’s intended purpose.” There was no point in dancing around the question, after all. Though Makoto wasn’t entirely sure that Karizaki had an answer.

Hesitantly, Karizaki said, “The Demons Driver is more intended to be a… containment, than a Driver. And it is currently containing something. That’s what was having such an effect on its user, I suspect.”

Makoto blinked, “A… containment? For what?”

“A… demon.”

That explained the terrible feeling the Driver seemed to give off, odd and dark. Like it was alive. Or well, it had something alive in it, as it turned out. To think, a demon. And no one knew, except its creator – a message that didn’t get passed to anyone in Fenix, obviously.

What happened to Mr. Kadota could have been avoided if the director hadn’t forced Karizaki to give someone the Demons Driver. Though Mr. Kadota would surely insist he preferred it happen to him than to someone else, it shouldn’t have happened at all. Makoto wasn’t sure if he should tell Tamaki about this – Tamaki might not even believe him, not knowing Karizaki’s involvement in Weekend.

The same thing would likely happen to anyone else who tried to use – surely the director would make Karizaki give it someone else, he wouldn’t be satisfied with just two Riders, when he could have three again? Frowning, Makoto asked, “Is there a way to get rid of the demon?”

“You’d have to free it, and it’s a dangerous demon. And even then, I fear what might happen to the human the demon has a contract with if he’s completely destroyed.”

“And who’s that human?”

Again, Karizaki hesitated. He obviously didn’t want to talk much about all this, but Makoto wouldn’t let up easily. Karizaki sighed, “It’s a long story.”

Makoto sat himself down in one of the chairs, “Well I’ve got all day.”

At the very least, Karizaki didn’t try to stall much further, “It was twenty-five years ago…”

As it turned out, Makoto was in for quite the story.

#kamen rider revice #without you #kamen rider #my writing

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writingpaperghost · 1 month

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Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to watch Faiz next even if it did win, but seeing how many people think I should watch it has made me very curious. And also because I have... heard things about the writer. Anyway, odds are, I'll either like it, or be ambivalent. Probably mildly annoyed about how women are written (I usually am).

#kamen rider faiz #the talking paper ghost #I know technically the series is called 555

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writingpaperghost · 2 months

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I guess for reference, I've already watched

Ultraman:

Ginga, Ginga S, Mebius, X, Orb, Geed, R/B, Taiga, Zett, Decker, and Blazer

Kamen Rider:

Ex-Aid, Revice, Geats, W, Fourze, and I'm watching Gotchard roughly as it airs.

I'm mostly just curious what everyone thinks, and I don't have a specific one I want to watch next anyway.

#kamen rider #ultraman #ultraman gaia #ultraman cosmos #kamen rider faiz #talking paper ghost

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writingpaperghost · 2 months

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Without You (Chapter 27)

Chapter 27: Growing Pains, Show Your Strength!

It seems Makoto was Jeanne's new target.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/137015647

Karizaki still hadn’t fixed what was wrong with the Anomalocaris Vistamp, and the delay was beginning to grate on Makoto’s nerves. Not only was he uncertain if Karizaki was even making any real attempts to fix it, but there was also that terrible whispering. His reflection, who seemed insistent on voicing all the thoughts Makoto would rather keep to himself. The only saving grace was that Makoto was the only one that could hear the voice of his reflection, though that in some ways only made it all more agonizing.

But Karizaki was also the only one who would be able to fix what was wrong with the Vistamp, he was the only person who understood how any of his technology worked well enough to pull it off. Sure, anyone who might have worked with him might have picked up some, but Karizaki couldn’t hold an assistant, and even if he could, they likely wouldn’t even know enough. Nor would anyone that Karizaki’s father had worked with, most likely…

Though there was an idea, maybe Karizaki’s own attempts were proving fruitless, but what about his father? Since he was responsible for creating the Demons Driver, and the prototype Vistamps, then he surely might know enough to figure out what was wrong with the Anomalocaris Vistamp. The hard part would be getting the Vistamp away from Karizaki, and possibly convincing his father to see what he could do for it. But Karizaki would notice when the Vistamp was gone, and now that Daiji had been outed as Fenix’s mole, or at least the one who had been stealing Vistamps and such, Karizaki’s first suspect would be Makoto. Of course, if he didn’t have the Vistamp still at that time, there wouldn’t be much to prove he’d taken it.

The question still stood, though, how he was going to get it away from Karizaki in the first place. He’d be watching more carefully, now that Makoto’s already swiped it when he wasn’t paying attention, so he’d need to try something else. A distraction, maybe? But what would be enough that Karizaki wouldn’t immediately notice the Vistamp’s absence? He couldn’t ask Tamaki to try to retrieve it, he’d both not do it and tell Karizaki. Besides, it would be a bit until Tamaki fully recovered from Jeanne’s – Sakura’s – venom, and he was ordered to rest until then.

Pondering how he might get ahold of the Anomalocaris Vistamp again, Makoto wandered over to Karizaki’s lab. He had been visiting Tamaki, but since he was here, he saw no harm in paying Karizaki a visit too. Who knew, maybe he’d finally managed some kind of progress. Or maybe he’d get an idea as to how to get the Vistamp.

Upon entering Karizaki’s lab, he noticed that there was another person there, a man he doesn’t immediately recognize, but thinks he might have seen about Fenix, at some point. Regardless, Makoto had to wonder what he was doing here.

Both the man and Karizaki turn their attention towards the door when they hear it open. Karizaki grinned, “Igarashi! Great timing!”

Makoto’s previously neutral expression turned to a frown, “I don’t know about my timing, you’re being awfully loud. Have you considered drinking less coffee? Then you might actually be bearable.”

The man fixed Makoto with an intent look, seeming to take in every detail about Makoto he could. Makoto didn’t wholly ignore him, but mostly paid him little mind – he was a Fenix soldier, examining someone in such a way showed he’d learned well. And really, it wasn’t like he’d find anything from doing so that Makoto wanted to keep hidden. He wasn’t dumb enough to hide too many secrets in his behavior or appearance. Not anything easily noticeable on first meeting, anyway.

Karizaki pouted, “Aw, come on. I wanted to introduce you toTabuchi, he’s been assigned to help now that Akaishi and Kadota are… gone.”

Now it was Makoto’s turn to examine the man, Tabuchi, not that there was much to see. He held himself seriously, but that wasn’t uncommon at Fenix. Otherwise, he couldn’t really see much special about him. Then again, there wasn’t much special to see first glance about Mr. Kadota or Daiji. He’d have to wait and see.

“I suppose any help is appreciated after Mr. Akaishi turned out to be… Evil, and Mr. Kadota…” Makoto struggled to find a good way to describe what happened. An event that he was apparently responsible for, but couldn’t recall in the slightest. “…fell off a cliff.”

Of course, Karizaki was quick to chime in, “Which could have been avoided if you had listened to me and not used the Anomalocaris Vistamp.”

Makoto rolled his eyes, “He would have left, anyway, and what the hell else was I supposed to do? Evil, Live, whoever the hell, could kick both Tamaki and mine’s asses.” He shook his head, “What the hell was that about, anyway? Why was he suddenly… different, when he transformed?”

Pausing in his work for a moment, Karizaki pulled up what appeared to be schematics for the TwosiDriver, gesturing to them, “The TwosiDriver was intended to be used by someone with a demon – the idea was that it could be used by both the human and the demon.”

Then that meant… “So one of them was the demon in control, and the other was Mr. Akaishi – that’s why they were able to change between the two while already transformed.”

“Exactly! For someone who seems to have selective hearing, you sure catch on quick, Igarashi.”

He shook his head, “No, you just annoy me, so I choose not to listen to you, sometimes.”

Sighing, Tabuchi shook his head, “Hiromi was right, you two do seem to have a… tenuous relationship.”

Makoto decided he was going to ignore the implications of the second half of that statement, and instead ask about the first half. “Is Mr. Kadota a friend of yours?”

“He was,” Tabuchi answered, “We were cadets together.”

Well now Makoto just felt worse about the whole… having some responsibility in Mr. Kadota falling off a cliff thing. Even if he didn’t remember it.

“It’s not like, alive or dead, he’s much use to you, anymore. He’s no longer a Rider, which makes him useless.” The voice whispered – in the black screen of a turned off monitor, he sees his reflection, looking unbothered by everything. Staring right at Makoto. Makoto did his best to ignore it.

Tabuchi watched Makoto closely, for a moment, before speaking again. “Igarashi… why did you become a Kamen Rider?”

An odd question, but Makoto doesn’t think anyone’s ever asked that of him before. He suspects no one gave it much thought, or deemed it all that important. But Makoto could see, in a way, what Tabuchi was trying to uncover. He was likely aware of just what happened to Mr. Kadota. He was probably trying to decide if Makoto was even all that worthy of being a Rider.

He wasn’t, but people didn’t seem to realize this as quickly or easily as Makoto himself had. It took them longer, if they figured it out at all. Even if Makoto spelled it out for them, or near enough did.

Carefully, Makoto answered, “The first time, it was for my family. I would sooner die than allow them to be hurt. After that, it’s simply been because Fenix has given me no choice – they wouldn’t let me not sign the contract, and my only hope at that point was to keep Tamaki out of danger just a little longer. That did not work.”

“You don’t care about what Fenix fights for,”

“If I did,” Makoto smiled, slyly, “I’d be a lot more willing in all this. But let me tell you this: I trust anyone in Fenix, yourself and Karizaki included, less than I could throw them. What happened with Mr. Akaishi has only proven that this is necessary.”

Frowning, Tabuchi said, “What makes you so distrustful?”

“It’s in my nature,” He shrugged, “Regardless, I don’t care what you do, so long as you don’t hurt Tamaki, especially not like all of this has. And if you do… then you’ll have the misfortune of seeing how terrible I can be when I’m angry.”

Shaking his head, Karizaki said, “Enough of all this, don’t you have something better to be doing, Igarashi?”

Laughing, leaning casually against Karizaki’s desk, Makoto answered, “No. I already visited Tamaki, and mama’s been stress cleaning more than I ever have in my life, so there’s little for me to do at Happy Spa.” He can spy the Anomalocaris Vistamp, on the other side of Karizaki’s computer. It would be hard to reach from here, impossible without Karizaki noticing. “Besides, mama and papa are insisting I ‘rest’ still. As if resting isn’t the most boring thing on Earth.”

“I’ve heard you aren’t all that… athletic,” Tabuchi said, “I’d think that resting would be perfectly fine by you.”

“It gives too much time to think,” Makoto responded, “I hate being left to my thoughts.”

Leaning back in his chair, Karizaki said, “I can’t imagine what you might think of. How you’d like to wring my neck?”

His words bring to mind the memory of when Makoto had found that sudden urge – the influence of his reflection, surely – and had attempted to strangle Karizaki. Of course, Karizaki would bring that up here. In a bid to appear unbothered, Makoto replied, “Sometimes,”

At that, Karizaki made a face, before spinning in his chair and getting up, walking away from Makoto and his desk. “I think I’ll go get myself some lunch, but you two can keep each other company.”

With Karizaki gone, it would be a lot easier to get the Anomalocaris Vistamp. Now, Makoto only had to worry about Tabuchi – still a challenge, as he watched Makoto, still perched on Karizaki’s desk, closely. Makoto glanced over at him, noticing his still intent gaze. Just what was he thinking about.

After several moments of silence, Tabuchi stepped towards the door. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

Giving a fake smile, though Tabuchi couldn’t see it, Makoto called, “I’ll look forward to it.”

Tabuchi was gone, out the door, and Makoto was alone in Karizaki’s lab. With the Anomalocaris Vistamp. He circled the room and the desk a few times, idly, putting on a nice little act for the cameras in the room. Even once he’d taken the Vistamp and placed it in his pocket, careful to hide the act from the cameras’ sight, he circled a few more times, before finally sighing and leaving.

Makoto was very pleased, having now gotten ahold of the Anomalocaris Vistamp. Now, the only obstacle in the way would be the elder Karizaki himself. Even then, Makoto doubted he’d prove too much trouble – all Makoto was asking of him, after all, was to take a look to see if he could figure out how the Vistamp might be fixed, even if he couldn’t or wouldn’t fix it himself. Or figure out if trying to fix it would just be a waste of time and Makoto should try to convince Karizaki to move on.

It took a while to get to the Ushijima household from Fenix’s base, all the while the Anomalocaris Vistamp felt terribly cold in Makoto’s jacket. Given everyone else always seemed unbothered by the icy coldness, Makoto had to wonder if it was possible that he was the only one who felt it. Though if that were the case, he hadn’t a clue why. Perhaps, that too, had some connection to the voice of his reflection.

He arrived at the Ushijima family’s house to find it oddly empty – every time he’d been there prior, one or both of Mr. and Mrs. Ushijima had been present. Though now, there wasn’t a soul in sight – he checked around the house, after carefully letting himself in. Perhaps they were simply elsewhere – it wasn’t like it mattered much to him, neither of them were who he was here for. So without further ado, he walked to the basement and climbed the steps further down, into Weekend’s base.

The base was the same as when he and Tamaki had first been there, and Makoto had little trouble retracing the steps they took that first time. Soon enough, he finds himself standing at the entrance to that room that he’d spoken to Karizaki in for the first time. He’s unsurprised to see Karizaki sitting at one of the computers again.

Karizaki turned to face him, face still hidden. “Makoto, it’s a surprise that you’ve come here. I suspect there’s something you’re looking for?”

Makoto approached him, slowly. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about Karizaki, but he might be useful here, so Makoto wanted to stay on his good side, for now. “I was hoping you might be able to be of some help with something, Mr. Karizaki.”

“Perhaps,” He said, “What is it?”

Pulling the icy Anomalocaris Vistamp from his pocket, Makoto held it out towards Karizaki, “There’s been some trouble with the Anomalocaris Vistamp. Your son hasn’t been able to figure out how to fix it, I was hoping you might have some ideas – or at least, a second opinion would be appreciated.”

Taking the Vistamp from Makoto, Karizaki examined it for a moment, before saying, “George can’t know, if I help you.”

“Of course, I had no intention of telling him, and Tamaki doesn’t even know who you are.” Makoto gave a small smile, “It stays between us – at least on my end. I won’t tell you who you can and can’t tell.”

With a nod, Karizaki sets the Vistamp down by the computer he was working at, “I’ll see what I can do.” He then reached for something else, “It’s good that you’ve come, though, I have something I’d like you to deliver to your brother.” In Karizaki’s hand was a different Vistamp, one that Makoto had never seen before.

“A Vistamp?” Careful, Makoto took the Vistamp.

“For your brother, as I said. I hope that it can match the power of your Anomalocaris Vistamp.” Karizaki explained.

Makoto can’t help but frown somewhat, “So long as it doesn’t affect him like the Anomalocaris Vistamp does me…” The idea of seeing Tamaki in such a state, especially after seeing him affected by Sakura’s venom, was a terrible, terrible thought. He isn’t sure how he’d react if such a thing happened.

Somewhat hesitantly, Karizaki responded, “There will be only one way to know.”

Sticking the Vistamp in his pocket, Makoto sighed, “I’ll be sure to give it to him.” Then he turned to leave, giving a wave. “Thanks for all this, I’ll swing by in a few days or something.”

---

Makoto gets about halfway back to Happy Spa when he sees a not unfamiliar trio. Sakura, clad in a blue sweater that Makoto suspects is Hana’s handy work, with Hana and Hikaru at her sides. Sakura had a smile on her face, one that Makoto just knew would mean trouble, while Hikaru had his phone in hand.

“Ol-te-ca…” Sakura said, “Will I have to goad you like your brother, or will you play along more nicely?”

Shaking his head, Makoto answered, “I have little intention of easily playing along with your game,” He pulled out his Driver and the Squid Vistamp. “Maybe you’ll still win the fight, but I really don’t think that’s what this is about.”

She tilted her head, “Oh, what makes you think that?”

He placed the Driver around him waist, “You could beat Tamaki regardless of if he used his Driver or not. You wanted something from that fight, and it wasn’t to win.”

“Still thinking too much, Koto,” Hana observed. She had her Driver out, around her waist and Vistamp in hand. Makoto thinks he knows what she’d planning to do.

They both activate their Vistamps and transform, but Makoto was met with the full speed of Aguilera. She didn’t brandish her kunai, instead wielding only her fists, which further told Makoto what she might be up to. He doesn’t have time to get the Marlin Vistamp out, and thus has no choice but to fend her off with his own fists.

But in a battle of fists, he could never stand a chance – even before she started doing karate, Hana could beat him in a fist fight. Thus, she was easily able to remove his Vistamp from his Driver and pull it from his waist, wings buzzing as she flew over and landed next to Sakura.

With a pleased smile, Sakura took the Driver from Hana’s hands, “My queen, would you like the honor?”

Removing her own Vistamp, then handing her Driver also over to Sakura, Hana nodded, “It could be fun – besides, we’ve never seen Makoto use his Vistamp without a Driver. I want to see.”

The truth of the matter was that Makoto had no other choice. Faced with the Bee Deadman – he’d never seen Hana like this, but it was obvious she’d used it before – his only hope of making it out of the fight in decent condition would be to use his Vistamp. Even though he knew what the end result would be, regardless of if he won or lost. There wasn’t time to try to make sure anyone would be able to get him away from here, though, so he’d just have to deal with the risk.

He raised the Squid Vistamp, activating it. “If it’s a fight you want…”

Stamping himself, tentacles rose, wrapping around him like a cocoon, “Then who am I to deny that?”

---

Makoto wakes up to the sound of his Vistamp clattering to the ground, a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down, seeing Sakura’s ungloved hand, fingers poised like claws. He was on top of Hana, whom, no longer the Bee Deadman, looked terrified. While Sakura’s venom was likely the cause for the terrible pain growing in his chest and the strange haze that hovered in his mind, the question still stood as to how he got here.

Had they fought? If so, why could he remember nothing?

He staggered back, Hana scrambled out from under him, clinging to Sakura’s side. Sakura was scowling, glaring with an anger he’d never seen before. She tossed his Driver to the ground, handed Hana her’s, then turned towards Hikaru. “We’re leaving,” She barked. Nothing more was said as the three disappeared.

Makoto was alone, exhausted, and poisoned. This could only go well.

---

The next time Makoto wakes up, he is reminded of the times he’d passed out, brought about by his use of the Anomalocaris Vistamp. Though this time, he simply felt like shit, with a bit of an ache in his chest. But he had to wonder, he didn’t think he’d managed to get his phone out to try to contact anyone, before he passed out, so how did he end up here, anyway?

And what happened, when he’d used his Squid Vistamp? Whatever it was that Sakura had been trying to do, he’d have no way of figuring out if he’d might have done it – there wasn’t a single memory between stamping himself and returning to normal, realizing that Sakura had poisoned him. Obviously it had upset Sakura and freaked Hana out, but that didn’t tell him a lot as to just what it had been.

Finally, after some time, Tamaki arrived, frowning deeply. Seeing that Makoto was awake, he sat beside him and began, “Sakura went to mama and papa and brought them to you – told them that she’d found you and wasn’t sure what else to do. That’s how you’re here.”

Slowly, Makoto blinked, “Alright, they still don’t realize that she’s Jeanne, then?”

“No,” He shook his head, “Makoto… what happened?”

With a shrug, Makoto answered, “Hana took my Driver, Sakura wanted me to fight with just the Squid Vistamp. But… once I stamped myself… the next thing I remember, I was over Hana, she looked frightened, and Sakura had just poisoned me.”

“So… you don’t remember what happened during the fight?”

Before Makoto can answer, the door opens again and in enters Karizaki, with Tabuchi at his side. Neither looked pleased, Karizaki had a tablet in hand and Tabuchi was thoroughly frowning. That didn’t seem like a very good sign.

It’s Tabuchi who speaks first, thought Karizaki clearly wants to, “The Deadmans have shown why they’d forced the two of you to fight without your Drivers.”

Tamaki looked surprised at that news, which meant that it was very, very, new. That, or they’d chose to wait to tell him until they could tell Makoto too, but Makoto wasn’t too convinced on that one. “They have?” Tamaki tilted his head.

“They took video,” Karizaki answered, “And posted it for all to see. Tamaki’s probably isn’t going to bother too many people, but Makoto’s fight…”

Makoto couldn’t help but wince, “I’m afraid I don’t remember that fight, so you’ll have to enlighten me as to just what happened.”

A surprised expression came across Karizaki’s face, “You don’t?” When Makoto shook his head in response, Karizaki brought up a video on his tablet and turned it towards Makoto and Tamaki.

The video began to play, showing Makoto standing there, holding his Squid Vistamp. He activated it, speaking, “If it’s a fight you want…” then he stamped himself, tentacles wrapping around and obscuring him. Still, his voice could be heard, “Then who am I to deny that?”

When the tentacles disappeared, with a splash, there stood the Squid Deadman. He laughed, a terribly wild and rancorous laugh. The camera pans, just a little, and out of the corner the Bee Deadman can be seen almost hesitating, seeming a bit surprised. Then she summoned her kunai, though got no further before the Squid Deadman rushed at her. He punched, then took the kunai from her hand.

Still laughing, he knocked her down, quickly taking his place on top of her, holding the kunai to her throat, “Such power… and to think, this is the first time experiencing it!”

“What are you doing?” The Bee Deadman sounded scared, her voice wavering as her hands grasped at his wrist.

“What only a coward wouldn’t,” The Squid Deadman answered, pressing the kunai harder, leaning against her.

The video cut off there, leaving Tamaki and Makoto in a stunned silence.

If Sakura hadn’t interrupted when she did, if she hadn’t poisoned him and forced him to stop… Makoto may very well have killed Hana. And he couldn’t remember any of it.

Scowling, Tamaki turned to Makoto, “Makoto, what the hell?”

“I told you, I don’t remember that…”

“Just like you don’t remember the last bit of the fight the last time you used the Anomalocaris Vistamp?”

“I…” Makoto wasn’t sure what to say. Tamaki’s anger was perfectly justified. Not only had he possibly killed Mr. Kadota, but he’d nearly killed Hana, their own sister. He looked away, a terrible and not unfamiliar tightness building in his chest, his breathing quickening. Panic, but the last time he’d felt it so strongly…

Had been when he’d killed his father.

Then, cracking through his thoughts like a whip, like a bolt of lightning and clash of thunder, the voice of his reflection spoke, “I almost outdid myself, this time.”

Was it his reflection – whatever it really was – that had nearly killed Hana? Had it been responsible for what happened to Mr. Kadota, too? Why? And how? But it might explain why he couldn’t remember – even the moment when he’d found himself acting without even realizing it. Perhaps it was the influence of the voice.

“I can’t take all the credit,” The voice said, reminding Makoto that it always seemed to know what he was thinking, “I’m nothing you’re not.”

It took all of Makoto’s strength not to speak out loud, “Lies!”

There’s a laugh, then the voice said, in an amused tone, “While you are a liar, I am not. Not really.”

“Igarashi?” Tabuchi’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, for a moment. Right, he, Karizaki, and Tamaki were still here. To them, Makoto had suddenly gone quiet.

Ignoring his protesting limbs, Makoto slides out of bed, pushing past Karizaki and Tabuchi. “I need time to think,” He said, then left. He needed to find somewhere to yell at his reflection, or it’s voice at least, without anyone noticing.

“Or else they’ll think you’re crazy,” The voice laughed, “Then again, maybe we are.”

Makoto ducked into a bathroom. It seemed mostly empty, so it would do, for now at least. Immediately, he catches sight of his reflection in one of the mirrors. It openly defied him, appearing as some shadowy figure that only vaguely resembled him, though clearly shared his face.

Moving closer to the mirror, Makoto glared, “What do you want?”

The mouth of the shadowy reflection smiled, terribly smug, “Oh, not much.” He said, making eye contact with Makoto, “I just want to… make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” Makoto scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t even know what you are.”

“Well, a contract, more like,” The shadow corrected, “And I suppose you don’t have enough information to figure it out, smart as we are.”

Again, the shadow had said “we”. Like he and Makoto were the same. And before he insisted that he was nothing that Makoto wasn’t. What was that supposed to mean?

Pushing past his hesitation, Makoto asked, “Then what are you?”

Seeming pleased that he asked, the shadow smiled again, wider. It only worried Makoto more. Then, almost gleefully, it answered, “I… am your demon.”

Unable to help himself, Makoto took a step back. Certainly, he’d suspected that it was a possibility, but he’d had little to go off of and had, frankly, hoped that it wasn’t the case. That it was anything but a demon. Because that complicated things. Besides, the current theory was that the three didn’t have demons, and him having one complicated that, too. And his demon was clearly dangerous, so how would Fenix take that news? They’d probably decide the only solution would be to lock Makoto up.

No, the fact that Makoto had a demon had to stay to himself. Not even Karizaki could know, as one way or another it would surely make its way elsewhere in Fenix. Makoto couldn’t tell Tamaki, because Tamaki would tell one of his superiors or otherwise spill it, sooner or later. If this got out to anyone, it would be trouble – trouble Makoto couldn’t afford.

“And that’s why you want me to make a contract with you. Because contracts give demons power.” Makoto narrowed his eyes, watching his demon carefully.

“Of course,” It answered, “And I won’t go away until you do. Well, maybe, if you do.”

With a scowl, Makoto said, “Well I have no intention of ever doing so.”

“Then we’ll have lots of time to get to know each other, Koto.”

“Don’t call me that, demon,”

“What are you going to do about it? Even if you break this mirror, I’m still a part of you,” The demon cackled, “There’s no getting away from me. Just me choosing to be silent.”

Gritting his teeth, Makoto hissed, “Then you better shut up.”

His demon hummed, seeming in thought, for a moment, then answered, “No,”

“Fuck off.” Irritated in now in a significantly worse mood than before, Makoto stormed out of the bathroom. While he could take some solace in the fact it was his demon, not him, responsible for what happened to Mr. Kadota and for almost killing Hana, the demon grated on his nerves far too much for it to be much of a relief.

Makoto wasn’t even sure if there was much he could do about the demon. It didn’t have a physical form, save for when it used Makoto’s body, and it was obviously very different from the demons Makoto normally fought. Getting rid of it, at least by the usual means, wasn’t an option – not unless Makoto risked making a contract with it, and he wasn’t going to do that. There was no telling how destroying his demon might affect him, either. Especially if they really were more closely entwined with their demons than most.

As it was, Makoto was just going to have to ignore the voice of his demon – and its shadowy reflection – as much as he could. That was no easy task, but Makoto would have to find a way to make it work.

Let it be known, the world didn’t love Makoto Igarashi, and he was beginning to really hate the world.

#kamen rider revice #kamen rider #my writing #without you

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writingpaperghost · 2 months

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...Ooops... I finished Fourze (save for the movies)... guess what... new AU...

#kamen rider fourze #the talking paper ghost

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writingpaperghost · 2 months

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I actually started writing some more stuff for There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (nice fluffy stuff where the only problems are normal things and not traumatic events). I was rereading some of the stuff I'd written for it and found myself really in the mood for some fluff, and I'd always intended for there to be a bit more after The Ending.

#there is a me who can become strong #talking paper ghost

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writingpaperghost · 2 months

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It's dangerous for me to ever watch New Things (particularly Kamen Rider) because it makes me want to write loooong AUs. In totally unrelated news, I'm in the final stretch of Fourze, and I haven't fully made a new AU. I've toyed around with some roleswap ideas, but nothing concrete yet.

#the talking paper ghost #kamen rider fourze #Fourze is a hard one because of both cast size #the low number of Riders compared to Ex-Aid and ReVice #and just the fact that everyone fits their role soooo well #I'd have to rewrite a whole bunch to make it work #which it could #but I'd have to do a lot of thinking #so we shall see #I still have the W swap AU to write when I'm finished with Without You

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writingpaperghost · 3 months

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You Might Be My Dream Come True (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2: I See More In You Than the Rest of Them Do

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53415592/chapters/136066978

As it turned out, Daiji, having only really done household chores limited to his room, was not entirely that good at doing household chores, particularly in such a small and rural town. Almost amused, though, Hiromi would help him every time, even though Hiromi’s mother tried very hard to insist he didn’t have to. Daiji wanted to, really, it let him feel normal.

And it let him get closer to Hiromi, or rather let the walls that had built up around them break down more than they would have on their own. So Daiji liked it, even if his ability to help out was sometimes rather limited. He was learning, and like everything he learned, he wanted to become the best at it.

It really wasn’t that much of a wonder that Akemi was always scolding him for overworking himself.

He just could never help the lingering fear that if he didn’t, if he wasn’t perfect, if there was some flaw in his actions… he’d get in trouble. Someone would come scold him, or worse. There was no room for imperfections in the leaders of the Deadmans. Not in Revi, not in Jeanne, and certainly not in Evil. There wasn’t a single thing that it was acceptable to hesitate in doing, and they’d all learned to get rid of that hesitation. It could be someone’s life in their hands, and if needed, they would end it with little thought.

They had to. Daiji – no Evil had to. Kagerou helped with that, he hesitated a lot less about the things that Daiji still struggled to bring himself to do. So Kagerou got to have his fun, and Daiji didn’t have to remember any of it. He could just wash his hands of the matter (of the blood and change his clothes, so he didn’t have to carry any sign of what had been done) and go about his day. It was a good system, it made both Daiji and Kagerou happy, as much as they could be, with the situation, and pleased their father.

Daiji hoped that Hiromi never learned the extent of Evil’s actions. Perhaps he might be able to forgive what he knows about right now, but he doubts he’d forgive Daiji for killing someone, especially as so many of them were just people who got in their father’s way. Not all of them, in that regard Daiji wasn’t always much better than his father, even the first was motivated only partly by his father. It was just that some said things they shouldn’t, especially about Jeanne and her leadership. What kind of brother would he be to let them off scot-free?

Yet in such a peaceful place like this, it almost felt like Daiji had left it all behind. Or, at the very least, he’d left it mostly behind, and the parts Hiromi didn’t know about were not present entirely. And that was more of a relief than he’d at first realized. Hiromi was right, being here… maybe it was just the presence of Hiromi and his mother, combined with distance from Daiji’s own father, but… Daiji really was more relaxed than he thinks he’s ever been.

If Sakura were here, he suspects she would only tease him endlessly, both for how much he felt like a new person, as well as for the close proximity he was now keeping to Hiromi. He thinks the former is a good thing, though, as Daiji had never been so pleased with himself, and the latter was just a side effect of staying with Hiromi and his mother. Ikki, he thinks, would probably be… some kind of proud of him, Ikki was like that. Taking the role of a parent even though that wasn’t really what he was. Someone had to be proud of them, reassuring… protective. Their father wasn’t going to be that person, given he was often the one they might need protecting from.

Daiji sighed, fumbling a little in his attempt to fold a towel. As relaxed as he felt, he couldn’t help that his worry for everything else still lingered, at least in the back of his mind. He had remarkably good luck at ignoring it, but it never went away. Some part of him would always fear what he’d done, and some part of him would always fear his father.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Hiromi observed with a small, almost fond smile, breaking Daiji out of his thoughts. Daiji finished folding the towel, setting it down on top of the others he and Hiromi had been folding.

“Well, practice makes perfect,” Daiji responded, his entire life boiled down to a simple three word phrase.

Hiromi laughed a little, “They’re towels, Daiji. You don’t have to be perfect at folding them.”

Unable to help himself, Daiji blinked, some strange shock coming over him. He thinks that might be the first time anyone other than Ikki or Sakura had said something like that to him. He stared at Hiromi, barely able to believe that he’d heard what he’d said properly. Maybe he hadn’t, maybe he’d misheard.

Daiji had to be perfect at everything he did, he had to be the perfect son.

“Daiji?” Hiromi called, concern evident in his voice.

Shaking his head, Daiji responded, “Sorry. Anyway, that’s the towels folded, what’s next?”

Clearly not entirely happy leaving the topic behind, Hiromi said, “That’s all. You’re free of chores for the day.”

“Oh,” Daiji frowned. He hadn’t thought they’d be done so quickly, today. The end of the chores always meant he was suddenly at a loss of things to do. He didn’t have much interest in exploring the small town, most of the land was farmland, anyway. Not the most interesting scenery. He’d borrowed some of Hiromi’s books, for a while, but quickly grew restless trying to read them. So that had been a bust.

He stood, offering a hand to help Hiromi up. While his own legs were rather stiff, he suspects Hiromi was far worse off, given the state the Demons Driver left his body in. Hiromi took his hand, and Daiji tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about how much more casual, though often incidental, touches they’d shared. Brushing against each other, just a little. It was never like that, at Fenix.

It made Daiji’s heart beat louder than ever before.

“It’s a good thing Hiromi doesn’t have our hearing.” Kagerou said, “Otherwise, he’d be on to you. Though I still think it would be easier just to tell him-“

“No,” Daiji said, firmly, “Now’s not the time.”

Kagerou scoffed, “It’ll never be the time, if we wait on you.”

“Thank you,” Hiromi hummed, looking around, “The weather’s nice today, how about a walk?”

Unable to help himself, Daiji frowned, “A walk…? It’s just… farmland around here…”

“It can make for some nice scenery,” Hiromi responded, already heading towards the door.

Following closely, Daiji nodded, “I guess. Probably won’t hurt to stretch our legs a little.”

They don’t get far from the house before a boy approached them, fixing Hiromi with an intent gaze. Perhaps Hiromi knew him, he’d seen Hiromi interacting with a few of the locals, though this is the first time seeing the boy.

The boy hesitates for a moment, before saying, “You’re a Kamen Rider,”

Hiromi didn’t seem surprised the boy knew – his mother had told Daiji a lot of the town who knew Hiromi had all watched the ceremony, and surely news of him becoming Demons had made it here at some point. But the topic clearly made Hiromi uncomfortable, to little surprise. “I was.”

Somehow, Daiji sensed that this boy wasn’t just some curious child. But he also suspected the boy wouldn’t reveal his true motivation so easily.

“You’re… a hero,” The boy said, again with some hesitation.

“Some might consider me that,” Hiromi responded, “But I like to think of it as just protecting people.”

There was something so amazing about Hiromi’s humbleness. How he’d boil down his actions so simply, just because Daiji is certain, that in his mind, they were just the right thing to do. Maybe they were, Daiji wasn’t really one to ask. But he saw Hiromi for what he was, an amazing person who did so many amazing things and deserved all the adoration. Even if Daiji and Kagerou were the only ones seeming to adore him.

#kamen rider #kamen rider revice #my writing #without you #you might be my dream come true

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writingpaperghost · 3 months

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You Might Be My Dream Come True (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: I've Been Spending Time Wondering Why

Daiji travels to Hiromi's hometown in a desperate hope that, if he's still alive, he'll be there. Maybe, he can make up for what he did.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53415592/chapters/135197230

The train ride wasn’t that long, though the bus ride was awkward – he was the only one to get off at the small town, and he clearly didn’t belong. His clothes were too nice, despite his best efforts to choose ones he thought would blend in, and whenever he had to stop to talk to someone, it was obvious he lacked the accent they all had. But he didn’t intend to be in this town long, his only intention was to confirm something, and then apologize, if Hiromi was indeed here.

He only hoped that, if Hiromi was not here, if he was truly dead, that he didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news to his mother. Daiji didn’t want to be the one to do that to anyone, let alone the mother of his crush best friend. But even he knew that the chances of Hiromi being alive were… not high, given the cliff and the state he was already in. He also knew that, if Hiromi was, he’d be here, home with his mother. And if that were the case, Daiji needed to apologize.

A nice, if curious and wary looking, man gives him directions to the Kadota home, which Daiji finds without too much trouble. Though as he approaches the front door, he feels this strange feeling in his chest, twisting and almost painful. It gave him pause, frowning.

“You’re nervous, Daiji.” Kagerou said, as though it were obvious.

Really, it was, Daiji had been nervous before. Plenty, really, he had a lot of things to be nervous about. His father, for example, up until recently, the consequences of being found as Fenix’s mole, and… Hiromi. Sometimes, like right now, Hiromi made him very nervous. Nervous he might upset Hiromi, that Hiromi might realize how terrible Daiji really was, and hate him.

Daiji took a deep breath, then straightened his shoulders, “All I have to do is see if he’s here, and then apologize if he isn’t.”

Though there’s nothing for him to see Kagerou through, Daiji just knows that Kagerou is smirking, smug, when he spoke next, “The worst he can do is hate us. But I’m optimistic.”

“That makes one of us.” Daiji sighed, then walked the rest of the distance to the front door. He raised his hand and then knocked. He can hear some shuffling around, then footsteps, and soon the door opened. On the other side was the face he both hoped and dreaded most to see: Hiromi.

Hiromi looked surprised to see him, quickly studying him before he spoke, “…Daiji?”

Suddenly Daiji forgot everything he’d been planning to say. “…Hiromi. Hello.”

“What are you doing here?” Hiromi glanced around, as though he was looking for someone or something else.

It hurt that he was already on edge, just from seeing Daiji. Though Daiji supposed he couldn’t blame Hiromi – Daiji had, as much as it pained him, damaged his trust. “I… wanted to see you.” Daiji admitted. “I wanted to know you were alive and…” His throat tightened and he lost his words.

Frowning, Hiromi asked, “And?” He was wary still, but seemed just a little more relaxed, perhaps feeling more comfortable in the idea that Daiji was alone – or alone as he could be, and as alone as Hiromi knows.

“Just tell him we love him and get it over with,” Kagerou said.

“No,” Was Daiji’s firm response. They were here to apologize, then get out of Hiromi’s hair. Nothing more.

“I wanted to… apologize.” Daiji finally said to Hiromi, “I’m sorry about… everything. About lying, about you falling, about the demon, about how all this ended up. I never wanted any of this.”

Hiromi’s frown didn’t fade, to Daiji’s dismay, “And yet, here we are.”

Looking away, Daiji felt his nerves fade, instead being replaced with just pain. Just the hurt of knowing how badly he must have hurt Hiromi, for this to be Hiromi’s response. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just… owed you that apology.” He turned away.

Before he can take a step, they’re both interrupted by who can only be Hiromi’s mother, “Oh, Hiromi, who’s this?”

Turning back towards the door, Daiji can see Hiromi’s mother, standing just behind Hiromi himself. Carefully, Hiromi answered her, “A… former coworker.”

“And he came all this way to visit you? You two must be close,”

Daiji shook his head, “Not… exactly,” He didn’t want to admit that they had been. That just days ago Hiromi had been the single person he was closest to that wasn’t his siblings. But he’d ruined that – it was always going to be ruined, an inevitable fact when so much of who he was had been built on lies and half-truths. But she didn’t know that, shouldn’t have to know that. “Anyway, I was just about to leave.”

She frowned, “Already? Are you in a hurry?”

Though Daiji could see where this would likely go, knew he should just say “yes” and leave… he didn’t want to. He wanted an excuse to stay, to get to be near Hiromi and all his brilliance for just a little longer. “Well…”

“Stay for lunch, at least,” She said, gently nudging Hiromi aside. “Come in, I’d love to hear a bit more about how you two know each other, Hiromi’s never talked much about work.”

He suspected there was a reason that Hiromi didn’t talk much about his time at Fenix – not just because of how that time came to an end, but because he was sure that Hiromi didn’t want his mother to know just how much danger he was always in. Daiji doesn’t think he’d want his mother to know, if she had still been alive and he knew her. Hiromi stepped aside, allowing Daiji into the house.

She hurried ahead, once again leaving Hiromi and Daiji alone, though likely not entirely out of earshot. Daiji glanced at Hiromi, who frowned even still, and he said, “I won’t tell her anything bad,”

“…Thank you for humoring her, at least,” Hiromi responded, staring the way that his mother had went, “She’s happy I have friends.”

“Because she cares about you, I think,”

They don’t speak another word to each other as Hiromi leads him to the table. When Hiromi’s mother returns with lunch, though they speak to her, again, they speak little to each other. She doesn’t seem to notice much, too wrapped up in Daiji’s stories, stories he told mostly at his own expense (she kept scolding him, albeit somewhat playfully, about overworking himself. Hiromi almost smiled).

“You sound like you need to take a vacation,” She said, giving him something of a stern look, “Overworking yourself isn’t going to do you any good.”

Daiji shook his head, “I’ve got too much to do to take too long of a break,” Even now that he wasn’t working at Fenix anymore, he likely had too much to do as Evil. He’d have to face his punishment for defying his father, and if he was still in working condition after that, he’d surely be expected to do even more as Evil.

“Still, you shouldn’t forget to take care of yourself,” She insisted.

Finally, Hiromi spoke, “Truthfully, I think this is the closest thing to relaxed I’ve ever seen him.”

He wasn’t… entirely wrong. While Daiji hadn’t exactly realized it, he’d begun to relax, sitting here with Hiromi and his mother. Hiromi had always helped him relax a little, as much as Daiji ever relaxed, but this was different. This was more. Maybe Hiromi was right, but Daiji couldn’t imagine why he was. What made being here, right now, different from anything else.

“I…” Daiji really wasn’t sure what to say.

“You’re not expected back all that soon, are you?” Hiromi asked, finally casting a careful look at Daiji.

Confused, Daiji answered, “Well, not exactly…”

“Then,” And what Hiromi said next really surprised Daiji, “Maybe you could stay here, for a while?”

“What?” Daiji quickly looked at him, almost giving himself a bit of a headache, “Why would I…? Why would you want me to…?”

Hiromi glanced away, then answered, “You could use the rest, and it couldn’t hurt to have a little extra help here.”

There it was. Help. Well, Daiji would be willing to give it. “If it’s not too much of a bother.”

Hiromi’s mother lit up, “Oh, not at all! We’d love to have you.”

“I’d be happy to stay and help you two, then.” Sure, being gone longer would only delay the inevitable, and ultimately make his father more upset with him, but at this point, Daiji didn’t really care. Not when he was being handed a perfectly good chance to be with Hiromi for longer.

To his surprise, Hiromi gave him a smile, “That’s good to hear.”

The next time that he and Hiromi are alone, Daiji asked, “Why did you suggest I stay?”

He frowned, for a moment, before answering, “Well, as… complicated as I feel about you, I know… you’d never hurt either of us, not when I’m a civilian now. And you do need the break.”

Daiji couldn’t help but laugh a little at that comment, “I guess I do.”

#kamen rider revice #kamen rider #without you #you might be my dream come true #my writing

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