LINEAR VENT
Title: The World of If: [LINEAR VENT]
Fandom: Kamen Rider Ryuki
Rated: T
Summary: Shinji must fight Asakura. Ren must save Eri. Kanzaki must win. And Yui must find another way to save them all. How everything changes in a world of terrible possibilities. "The World of If" with a linear structure.
The World of If
[LINEAR VENT]
This had to be some kind of trick, a trap to lure him out into the open so the cops could get him. And if Kitaoka was going to play that way, Asakura was going to make sure the game was fun.
There were no police around Kitaoka’s home, the way he’d expected. Even that butler wasn’t lurking around. Everyone was probably inside, ready to ambush him. That worked just fine for him-everyone crowded in one small area, easy to kill all at once.
Not even bothering with stealth, he kicked in the door, satisfied to hear the wood splinter. The lawyer wasn’t anywhere in sight, but the butler got up from the couch in shock.
“Hey,” Asakura drawled with a smirk. “Where’s your boss?”
“He’s…” Goro hesitated, looking away.
“Wrong answer,” Asakura said, walking closer. The inside of the house was just as empty as the grounds, but he refused to believe that was all. Looking around, he called out, “Kitaoka! Where are you hiding? Come out!”
“He’s dead!” Goro argued. Asakura turned on him as he said, his voice wavering, “It happened this morning. He was ill, and…”
Asakura grabbed him by the neck to shut him up. It wouldn’t be the same as killing the lawyer, but at least he wouldn’t have to hear him anymore. But Goro had something in his hand-the Zolda deck.
No. Zolda was Kitaoka and only Kitaoka. There was no way Asakura was going to let some upstart butler take that. Enraged, he grabbed the nearest object-a small statue of some kind-and struck Goro across the forehead. He fell to the floor, unconscious and with his head bleeding, half-hidden by the desk.
“You’re not supposed to die peacefully,” Asakura growled, throwing everything from the desk onto the floor. “I’m supposed to be the one to kill you!”
He tore through the house, turning over furniture, destroying artwork and books, and smashing mirrors. For all he rampaged, nobody came to stop him-no cops, no lawyer. It was as if everything the butler said was true.
~~~
It was possibly the quietest it had ever been inside Atori. Shinji didn’t speak as Ren and Yui looked at his phone, reading the ORE Journal article:
Attorney Kitaoka Syuichi (30) was found dead in his home today. Though he has made many enemies, including serial killer Asakura Takeshi, who is still on the loose, police suspect no foul play. Sources indicate that he has been suffering from a progressive disease, though his personal assistant has neither confirmed nor denied this.
Reiko’s article was short, due to lack of available information, but it gave everything that they needed to know. Ren looked up from the phone and said, “So it’s true.”
Shinji nodded. “Reiko-san wants to interview Goro-san later, but I told her I’d check first. Since he and Kitaoka-san were close.”
“I don’t know why you’re getting so involved,” Ren started, and Yui immediately glared at him.
“Ren!”
“You know what it means,” he reminded them. “Another Rider down, another one less that we have to fight. It’s just Ouja and Tiger now.”
Yui looked away, but Shinji burned. Ren never failed to get to him with his attitude about the Rider War. Damn his personal strife-Shinji was done with it, and he went straight up to Ren and grabbed him by the shirt. “Maybe you can think that way, but I sure can’t! A human being just died right now, and all you can think about is the battle? It doesn’t matter if he was a Rider or not-you should care because he was still human!”
“Shinji-kun!” Yui cried, pushing her way between them before it came to blows. Ignoring Ren for the moment, she put her hands on Shinji’s shoulders and tried to calm him down. “Please. It’s not going to solve anything if you start fighting now.”
“In case you forgot the article, Kitaoka was sick anyway,” Ren said. “Whether he was a Rider or not doesn’t matter-he didn’t have much time left, and he knew it. If you think stopping the fighting would have prevented it…”
He didn’t finish, leaving it for Shinji. But Shinji stared back at him, still too angry to give in. Instead, he backed away and said, “I’m going over now. If anyone’s looking for me…”
“We’ll let them know,” Yui promised.
Shinji nodded before giving one last glare to Ren and walking out.
Yui watched Shinji take off, her heart aching for him. He had few reasons to like Kitaoka, especially given how the lawyer had once tried to entrap him, but he cared because they were fellow Riders. He hated the idea of the Rider War and wanted to try to save everyone he could. It was only natural that he’d take this hard.
Which brought her to another problem…
“Ren,” she growled, turning an angry glare on him. She’d spared him the lecture before, if only because Shinji was still there, but now she had to speak her mind. “There was no reason for you to tell Shinji-kun that! Just because he wants to try to stop the fighting…”
“If he can’t face reality, he never should have become a Rider,” Ren insisted. “He’s too soft for this anyway. It’ll just kill him in the end.”
“Ren!” she shouted again, but it was obvious he wasn’t listening. She had no choice but to put up with it. Her aunt was out and expected them to get the shop open on schedule, so she worked alongside Ren in angry silence.
She was about to switch the sign around to read “open” when Ren’s phone rang. Immediately, she froze before carefully turning around. There were only two other people who would call him: Shinji or the doctor.
Ren pulled it out and recognized the number instantly as the doctor’s. Immediately, his blood ran cold, and it took everything he had to calmly answer, “Hello?”
In that moment, Yui it had to be the hospital. He would have said something sarcastic if it were Shinji. She could only wait out the long tension as the doctor spoke to Ren:
“Akiyama-san?”
“Yes?”
“There’s been an incident with Ogawa-san. We need you to come as quickly as you can.”
His heart was in his throat, but he kept his cool as he replied, “I understand. I’ll be there soon.”
Yui was giving him a worried look as he hung up. “Is it Eri-san?”
“I have to go,” he said in lieu of answering.
Nodding, Yui started to open the door for him, but an arm reached through the window and wrapped around her. She screamed and tried to fight her way free, but the Monster was too strong.
“Yui!” Ren shouted, reaching for her, but it was too late. She had just been pulled through into the Mirror World.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. Eri needed him, but at the same time, so did Yui. Quickly, he called Shinji’s number, quietly cursing, “Damn you, Kido, answer!” as it went to voice mail. Without a choice, he pulled out his deck and held it to the window.
“Henshin!”
~~~
The ride to Kitaoka’s house wasn’t long, but even if it had been all the way to the southernmost point of the country, it wouldn’t have been long enough to improve Shinji’s mood. No one managed to aggravate him quite like Ren did; though Shinji liked to think they were friends, it made it all the more infuriating when Ren was being stubborn about fighting the other Riders. He could understand why Ren felt like he had to, but it never ceased to anger him when Ren casually brushed off serious issues like killing other human beings. And he said that Shinji was the simple one!
Shinji brought his moped to a stop and took off his helmet, trying to calm down a bit. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he tried to talk to Goro while angry. He was trying to be there for him as a friend-or at least friendly acquaintance or whatever kind of respectful relationship they had.
As he made the slow march up the stairs, he noticed that the door was ajar-in fact, it looked like it had been kicked open. Concerned, Shinji quickly and silently made his way up and peered through the door. Inside, the house was trashed-there were books and artwork strewn all over the place and broken glass on the floor. For a moment, he considered calling out to Goro, but he decided against it quickly. It was possible that Goro might be in danger, and any sound could get him killed. So he cautiously made his way inside, taking note of the upturned furniture and smashed glass. And halfway hidden by Kitaoka’s desk was an unconscious Goro.
Choking back the instinctive shout of concern, Shinji ran over to the other man. There were marks around his neck as if someone had tried to strangle him and a bruised and bleeding gash on his head from a bad blow, and Shinji quickly checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt it strong.
“Goro-san,” he whispered, and the slight sound caused Goro to stir. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
But before Goro could wake, Shinji heard the sound of shattering glass coming from further in the house. The attacker was still there, and he wasn’t done yet.
Taking his helmet as a makeshift weapon, Shinji crept toward the sounds of destruction. He couldn’t see the vandal, but he knew he was dangerous-the injury to Goro proved that much. It was imperative that Shinji be absolutely silent as he snuck up on the intruder.
So, naturally, that was when his cell phone rang.
Shinji let out a small cry of panic as he put the call directly to voice mail, but it was too late. The attacker came at him, and it was only his improved reflexes from being fighting as a Rider that let him bring up his helmet in time to block a blow from one of Kitaoka’s curios. But in that moment, Shinji managed to see the face of Goro’s attacker, and he would wonder later why he had been so surprised.
“Asakura?”
Asakura swung the statue again, this time hitting Shinji’s upper arm and pushing him into the doorframe. Once again, Shinji raised his helmet to block against any more blows, but Asakura wasn’t about to stop venting his rage. He kneed him in the stomach, forcing him to double over and hold his helmet over his head.
But with Shinji holding up his helmet, Asakura was able to see that he still had his phone in hand. If there was anyone who would call the cops rather than just fight him to the death right now, it was this Rider. Dropping his weapon, he fled the house.
Breathing heavily in relief, Shinji took just a moment to rest against the wall before he remembered that Goro was still injured. He ran over and started shaking him, crying, “Hey! Hey, wake up!”
Goro moaned in pain and opened his eyes, but it took a little time before he could focus on Shinji’s face. His words were a little slurred as he tried to ask, “What are you…”
“Do you remember what happened?” Shinji asked.
With Shinji’s help, Goro managed to sit up, but Shinji was hesitant to let go of him out of fear he might fall back to the floor. “Asakura broke in. He demanded to know where Sensei was. He didn’t believe me when I said he was…”
There was a horrible feeling in Shinji’s stomach, like he’d swallowed a stone. It was the same feeling he’d had when he learned of the news from Reiko, and he realized that Asakura must have felt the same shock and disbelief. He’d dedicated so much of his battle trying to defeat the lawyer that it must have hit him hard. Asakura was grieving, and for the first time, Shinji truly pitied him.
“Did he…” It was hard to ask the question, but he knew Asakura’s pattern. He’d already added Tezuka’s and Shibaura’s Contract Monsters to his collection after killing them; would he have done the same with Kitaoka’s? After swallowing, he asked, “Did he take anything? Kitaoka-san’s deck?”
“No,” Goro answered, moving slightly so he could take the deck out from underneath him. “I thought I could use it to fight him, but it only enraged Asakura more.”
“Makes sense,” Shinji muttered. It supported his theory: Asakura wanted to fight Kitaoka, not Zolda. “I’m going to call the hospital. Will you be okay until the ambulance gets here?”
“Yeah,” Goro replied. “Please. Stop Asakura.”
Shinji nodded solemnly, then raced out the door.
~~~
It was a Psycorogue-one of the Alternatives’ Monsters, not a wild one. Knowing the danger she was in, Yui fought as hard as she could to break free, but her attempts were in vain. To her horror, Alternative leapt down from a nearby roof and started to rush at her, his sword drawn.
“Nakamura-san,” she gasped. “Please, stop!”
Her pleas were even less helpful than her struggles to get free. Alternative continued to charge, but then a familiar shout sounded, and a Kamen Rider leapt over the Monster.
“Ren!” Yui cried.
He didn’t need Yui’s cry to tell him that the Monster had her. Spinning quickly with sword in hand, he struck the Psycorogue’s arm, forcing it to let go of her.
“Run!” Knight ordered her.
Thankfully, Yui listened and began running down the street, away from the battle. She trusted him to find her as soon as the fight was over and get her home before they ran out of time. Once he was certain Yui was out of range of the battle, Knight turned his attention back to the recovering Alternative.
“So, you’re still after her,” he noticed.
“Kanzaki Yui is the cause of all this!” Alternative spat. “If not for her, Kanzaki Shiro never would have run the experiment that day, and everyone in the lab-including Ogawa Eri-would still be alive.”
A chill went down Knight’s spine as he heard this, and he immediately shouted back, “Eri’s still alive!”
“She might as well be dead!” Alternative argued. “By protecting Kanzaki, you’ve just as good as killed Ogawa!”
“Shut up!” Knight yelled, charging. He long ago had accepted that whatever her brother had done, Yui wasn’t responsible for what had happened to Eri. She was just another victim, and he couldn’t afford to think the way the Alternatives did.
His sword struck Alternative’s, but this time they were equally angry and equally matched. Neither would give the other room to advance. Knowing he’d reached a stalemate, Knight began to reach for a card, but a slash to his back caught him off-guard, giving Alternative room to throw him off with a countering strike. As Knight looked up, he saw a second Alternative standing with sword ready. But this wasn’t Alternative Zero, like he’d expected; this Alternative had bronze stripes running down his sides.
“Your Monster was down,” he said in a young voice-possibly a teenager. “I thought you could use the help.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Alternative said. “Go after Kanzaki!”
“Got it,” he answered before running off.
“There’s more of you now?” Knight asked, getting to his feet.
“Professor Kagawa thought we could use more help, since you and the other keep getting in our way,” Alternative insisted, slashing.
Knight ducked away from the blow and scanned his Sword Vent card. This wasn’t good. If there were more than just two Alternatives and Tiger, Yui was in even more danger. Much as he hated doing so, he had to move the battle closer to where Yui had escaped.
And farther from Eri, part of him thought.
~~~
A menacing growl brought Yui to a sudden stop, and she looked around in terror for the next attack. She didn’t have long to wait; Destwilder came barreling through from a side street, and she dove to avoid its claws. It was a very narrow escape, and she got a cut on her shoulder for her trouble.
“Kanzaki Yui,” said a voice from behind Destwilder. The Monster held still as Tiger walked up to it. His whole demeanor was calm despite him carrying his ax-like Visor, and Yui could imagine that he had his usual reserved expression on his face. “I’m not sorry I have to do this. You have to be sacrificed in order for me to be a hero.”
[Strike Vent]
With the simple scan of a card, Tiger traded out his Visor for his even more deadly claws.
“No,” Yui pleaded. “Please!”
Getting into an attack stance, Tiger insisted, “But if you’re courageous about this, maybe you can be a hero too.”
With no other choice, Yui took off running once more, but Tiger was harder to lose than Alternative. She couldn’t outrun him, not with the boost the Rider powers gave to his stamina, and she had to duck out of the way of his claws every time he tried to corner her. Worse, Destwilder wouldn’t give up the chase either, and he tore through buildings to cut off her escape route.
Backing away from Destwilder, Yui found herself against a wall with no way out. To one side was the Monster and to the other was the Rider. Desperately trying to buy herself more time, she asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Killing you will stop Kanzaki Shiro,” Tiger answered simply. “It will close the Mirror World and end the Rider War and all the attacks in the real world. We’ll be heroes.”
Yui’s head was reeling from the information. That was impossible. How could her dying mean all that? Was this why her brother had wanted her to keep out of everything? Was this why Shinji and Ren were always so tight-lipped about their encounters with the Alternatives and Tiger?
“No,” she denied. It couldn’t be true. Just what was her brother trying to do?
Tiger lowered his claws, preparing to attack. Terrified, Yui closed her eyes, just waiting for the end. But a dragon’s roar sounded clear through the air, and she opened her eyes in hope.
“Shinji-kun?” she asked.
Dark fire rained down between her and her attackers, forcing them to back away. At once, Yui knew she was mistaken; Dragreder’s fire wasn’t this strange color. She glanced up to see a black dragon just like it circling around above her, clearly trying to protect her.
“Did Brother send you?” she murmured.
Another blast of fire came down, once again keeping Tiger and Destwilder from approaching her. Trusting in the black dragon, Yui began running. More flames came, creating a wall of dark fire that protected her from attack as she made her way through. She finally managed to make her way to a park, safe, and she breathed heavily in relief.
“I made it,” she breathed. Looking up at the dragon, she said, “Thank you for protecting me.”
The dragon roared and flew off, as if realizing it was no longer needed, and Yui once again wondered if it had been sent by her brother. Most Monsters would attack humans rather than protect them. Even with a contract, it wasn’t a guarantee the Monsters wouldn’t go rogue or at least challenge it every once in a while; she knew that Shinji and Ren sometimes had a hard time keeping Dragreder and Darkwing under control. The only person who seemed to know how to control the Monsters completely was her brother.
“Please, Brother, tell me,” she begged. “What’s going on? What are you doing, and why do you need the Rider War?”
She waited, hoping Kanzaki would appear and answer her questions. But he didn’t; she was left alone in the silence. Sighing, she was about to sit down to wait for Ren to find her when another Alternative dropped down from a tree.
“Got you!” he declared.
~~~
Under normal circumstances, Shinji would have just transformed and entered the Mirror World from right where he’d been. But there would be paramedics and police there when he returned, and on top of all of that, he had to be sure that Asakura had gone to the Mirror World instead of rampaging in the real world.
He had one thing in his favor, though. With his moped, he was able to catch up to Asakura quickly, who was still running. When Asakura saw him, he came to a stop by a nearby car and held out his deck.
“Henshin!”
Shinji didn’t waste a second once he saw Ouja enter the Mirror World. He got off his bike and held out his own deck to one of the side mirrors. It would have been smarter to call Ren for backup, but he was afraid that any time he waited would be a chance for Asakura to cause more harm. So he crossed his arm in front of him and slid his deck into place on the V-Buckle.
“Henshin!”
Ouja turned as Ryuki emerged from right behind him. For a moment, both Riders were silent. Then, hoping his theory meant there was some chance of reasoning with Ouja, Ryuki said, “I understand what you’re feeling right now, about Kitaoka-san. But there’s a chance we can stop-”
Ouja cut him off with a slash from his sword. Ryuki was too surprised to avoid the attack, and the force made him turn. But he saw the next attack coming and ducked out of the way, scanning one of his cards.
[Sword Vent]
Ouja was coming at him with an overhead swing, but Dragreder arrived in time to deliver the sword, and Ryuki was able to block the attack and throw it off.
“Asakura, you don’t have a reason to fight anymore!” he shouted. “End this!”
“I was vexed learning that Kitaoka died on his own, and I didn’t get the chance to kill him,” Ouja admitted, stretching his neck muscles. Ryuki couldn’t believe the understatement; he called ransacking a house and attacking both him and Goro a matter of being vexed? “But I think you’re more vexing than that right now.”
Ouja rushed Ryuki again, but he’d expected the attack this time and summoned his shield guards. The sword bounced off of them, giving Ryuki the chance to counterattack with his own sword. But for all he tried, he couldn’t get an effective enough attack against Ouja. The other Rider was crazed with bloodlust and kept pushing Ryuki farther and farther down the highway, into narrow streets where he was at a disadvantage.
The battle edged closer and closer to another fight, and Ryuki looked over in surprise when he heard Ren’s voice. Knight was fighting desperately against Alternative, and Ryuki immediately knew that something had happened to Yui. Breaking away from his fight with Ouja, he rushed over to help Knight, delivering a slash that threw Alternative into a nearby building.
“Ren, where’s Yui-chan?” Ryuki asked in fear.
“Alternative grabbed her,” Knight explained. “I told her to run.”
That sense of dread only got worse. “So she’s still here in the Mirror World?”
Knight was holding himself tensely. He didn’t need that subtle accusation, and he shouted back, “It was the only thing I could do! You didn’t answer your phone!”
“Wait, you’re the one who called?” Ryuki asked. It was unlike Ren to call for help, especially when he and Shinji had just had a fight. “Why?”
Knight couldn’t deal with this right now. There was Yui to worry about, and the Alternatives, and Eri. Silently, he began to remove his Survive card.
On a hunch, Ryuki asked, “Is it Eri-san?”
And he didn’t need Shinji’s pity. But before he could tell him off for it, he saw Ouja approaching, his sword pointed toward Ryuki.
“Look out!” Knight shouted as he shoved Ryuki out of the way. But it cost him any time to react. The sword struck his belt with enough force that he doubled over onto the blade, dropping his Survive card. Not even seconds later, his transformation shattered as he watched the remains of his deck fall to the ground in front of him.
Ryuki hit the ground harder than he would have liked, but he hadn’t been given much in the way of warning. Complaining and rubbing his head, Ryuki looked over to see Ren doubled over on Ouja’s blade-Ren, not Knight.
It felt like Ren had lost all strength, and he slid off the blade, cutting his stomach on his way to the ground. The shock began to fade into devastation, and he didn’t care that he was bleeding or that Ouja was standing over him, ready to finish him off. Ren thought that he might as well. Those who don’t fight won’t survive. Those who can’t fight…
Without realizing it, Ryuki scanned his contract card, and Dragreder flew in, blasting Ouja with fire. With Dragreder providing cover, Ryuki ran over to Ren. His shirt was torn from the blade, revealing a cut from the blade-miraculously not deep, and only the result of sliding off the sword. But his deck was in pieces on the ground, having taken the full force of the attack. It had saved his life, but for how long?
“Ren, can you get up?” Ryuki asked. Ren didn’t-wouldn’t-answer, but Ryuki put Ren’s arm around his neck as support anyway, trying not to wince at his pained almost-cries. He hated hurting him, but they had to hurry. It wouldn’t be long before Ren started to disintegrate. “Where’d you come in from?” Could he even get Ren back the way he’d come without a deck? Then again, he didn’t need to, not if a Monster emerged into the real world. “Never mind. Dragreder!”
The dragon roared and flew through the nearest window. Supporting Ren the way, Ryuki followed it through to the real world. Once they’d made it through, Ryuki set Ren on the ground and knelt next to him, remaining wary of Dragreder’s presence in the human world and ignoring the way Ren tried not to glare at him. Shinji meant the best, but he was only prolonging things, making it more painful.
But still, there was at least the chance that he could get to Eri in time.
“Are you okay?” Ryuki asked. “You should probably go to the hospital.”
Struggling to stand, Ren insisted, “I’ll take care of it after…” and then trailed off. He respected Shinji, maybe even could call him a friend, but this wasn’t something he could share so easily.
If only because deep down, he knew he was afraid that if he said it, it would be true, and Eri would die.
Hesitantly, Ryuki asked again, “Is it Eri-san?” When Ren didn’t answer, he said, “Okay. You head to the hospital to check on Eri-san. I’ll save Yui-chan.”
“You won’t stand a chance,” Ren protested, shaking his head. “There’s more of them this time.”
More Alternatives? They had a hard enough time with the two and Tiger. Still, refusing to let his fear show, Ryuki confidently insisted, “I’ll think of something. Now, go!”
Dragreder returned through the glass, and Ryuki followed closely behind. Ren tried to stop him, tried to warn him that he was more of an idiot than he’d ever believed and there was no way Ryuki would last against the Alternatives, Tiger, and Ouja, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t go after him. And he couldn’t even watch after him; for all he strained, the only thing he could see in the glass was his own reflection.
That didn’t mean, however, that he couldn’t do anything. He could at least get to Eri.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he turned from the glass and ran for the hospital.
~~~
Asakura was about to scream in rage when the three of them disappeared into the real world, but then he noticed a card abandoned on the ground. He felt a gust of wind blow by as he picked it up, taking note of the wing and the word: Survive.
He couldn’t help but laugh. That fool had dropped it during Ouja’s attack.
“Looks like I win after all,” he noticed.
“Asakura Takeshi,” stated a calm voice.
Ouja knew that voice, heard it in his nightmares. He turned, and sure enough, Tiger was approaching him.
“You again,” he said.
“That Survive card could give you the power to be a hero, but you only want it for blood,” Tiger pointed out.
“And what do you care?” Ouja challenged.
“The professor says we shouldn’t sacrifice too many people, and you’ll do just that,” Tiger replied. “I think I should take it instead.”
Ouja struck him viciously with his sword. “Just try.”
Tiger swung his axe-shaped Visor at Ouja, but he easily blocked it with his sword, kicking Tiger in the middle to force him back. He followed it up with a fierce strike to Tiger’s shoulder, forcing him to step back and scan his Strike Vent card, summoning his claws. He was able to block the next attack and tried to swipe at Ouja, but Ouja dodged and struck even harder. Soon, Tiger could only hold up his claws as barely effective shields against Ouja’s continued onslaught. Another Rider would die, and Ouja still hadn’t played his best card.
Suddenly, someone grabbed him around the waist and began wrestling with him. He managed to look down to see Ryuki, who shouted to Tiger, “Run! Hurry!”
It was probably a mistake, Ryuki thought; Tiger was definitely an enemy and he wanted to kill Yui, but he couldn’t bear to let another Rider die. Tiger didn’t hesitate to escape. Ryuki knew he’d have to stop him too to prevent him from attacking Yui, but at least then, he’d be able to do it non-lethally. This way was wrong.
Ouja hit Ryuki’s back with the hilt of his sword, forcing him to let go. A swift kick under Ryuki’s chin sent him flat on his back, where he just rolled in time to avoid the sword coming at him.
“You’ve been a lot of fun,” Ouja remarked, laughing. “But I think I know how to make this even better.”
The wind picked up as he displayed a card-Ren’s Survive card, Ryuki recognized much to his horror. Slowly getting to his feet, he realized that Ren must have been preparing to scan it when he took the blow meant for him.
This wouldn’t have happened if Shinji had been paying attention in battle. If he’d answered his phone when Ren had called for help. If he hadn’t gotten mad at him and stormed off before Yui was taken.
Ouja’s Visor became a wrist-mounted shield and sword, much like it had with Knight Survive, only the shield was cobra-themed and the sword looked much like Ouja’s normal sword. Wicked-looking blades jutted out from the armor on his shoulders, and armor extended down from his helmet to better protect his neck. It was, by far, the most frightening thing Ryuki had ever seen.
Ouja Survive cracked his neck before charging at Ryuki, who had no choice but to scan his own Survive card. A fire burned around him, trying to keep Ouja at bay. The Drag Visor disappeared from his arm in a swirl of flames, forming the Zwei version in his hand. He placed the card in the Drag Visor Zwei, and his Survive armor formed over him in a burst of fire. A blade then extended from the Visor, and he charged at Ouja Survive.
Their swords clashed with a tremendous amount of force that made Ryuki’s arm ache. Belatedly, he remembered how Asakura had hit his arm earlier in the house, and he knew he was going to have a hard fight of it. He’d been able to forget about it in the heat of battle before, but now he couldn’t focus on the fight. Too many things were worrying him, and it made it hard to forget that he’d been hurt. Ouja’s sword struck him wherever his armor was lightest-his arms, his middle, his legs. Ryuki struck back as fiercely as he could, but his arm was too sore to hit him hard enough to really be effective.
Another blow to his face sent Ryuki reeling, making it impossible for him to counter Ouja’s next strike to his arm. It took all of his strength not to drop his Visor, and he quickly scanned his next card.
[Advent]
Dragreder roared as it flew into battle, its form shattering and evolving into Dragranzer. A storm of fireballs rained down on Ouja, forcing him back as he reached for a card.
In the chaos of flame, he reached for his next card.
[Final Vent]
Venosnaker arrived and evolved into its Survive form, Venoviper. It transformed into a motorcycle, and Ouja leapt onto it as it spat corrosive venom at anything in its path. Ryuki hurried to scan his own Final Vent card, but he didn’t have time. Venoviper collided into Dragranzer, causing it to explode. Ryuki flew backwards, hit by the venom and the shockwave. He landed several feet away, his Blank Form shattering as the acidic venom ate away his deck. The explosion had been enough to knock him out, and the Mirror World would finish the rest.
“Feh,” Ouja commented, bored. “How vexing; you died so easily.”
Ouja walked away, ready to face his next opponent, as Shinji’s body began to disintegrate. It was a disappointment. Now that he had all this power, he couldn’t find satisfaction in battle. Nothing survived long enough to give him the pleasure he needed.
“Ouja.”
That strange man, Kanzaki, was standing by his path. Ouja stopped and said, “I hope you have someone strong for me to fight. The lack of challenge vexes me.”
“You will have your opponent,” Kanzaki promised. “Seek out Kamen Rider Odin.”
“The last one?” Ouja asked in surprise.
“Yes,” he answered. “Tiger will not survive long, and should he or his opponent live, Odin will finish them off either way. Go. Fight.”
“Just what I was hoping you’d say,” Ouja replied with a twisted smirk beneath his mask.
Perhaps this battle would provide the thrill he was looking for. Maybe now, he’d found exactly the opponent he needed.
~~~
When Ren got there, it was worse than he feared. The doctor and several nurses were gathered around Eri’s bed as he burst into the room, wrestling with the staff. Some part of him, very deep down, knew that they were only trying to keep him from disrupting the delicate operations trying to keep her alive, but all he could process right now was that they were trying to keep him away from her. He could hear the machines going haywire-beeps and alarms representing her heartbeat and breathing rate going out of control. He saw the doctor preparing the defibrillator, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Ren had to be there; he had to save her. He was the only one who could do it. He just managed to pull himself away and took her hand…
And in that same instant, the heart monitor gave off that sound-the horrible, single, shrill beep of a flatline.
Ren was sure he’d shouted her name, but even though he could feel the cry escaping him, he couldn’t hear himself. There was no sound left in the world-that horrible noise had deafened everything. The assistants pulled him away from Eri so the doctor could use the defibrillator, and he didn’t fight them this time. Finally, after either a lifetime or a second, the doctor sighed and turned away from Eri, telling Ren something-maybe an apology, maybe a reprimand for not getting there in time. It didn’t matter. It was all the same.
And then Ren could hear again-the screeching noise of the Mirror World. He turned around to see a man in a trenchcoat, watching impassively.
“Kanzaki.”
~~~
Ouja walked away, ready to face his next opponent, as Shinji’s body began to disintegrate. But though he was unconscious, he could hear a dragon roaring above him, and he could see someone walking toward him.
The figure was dressed all in black, and Shinji suddenly realized he was looking at his own reflection. Above him was a black dragon, identical to Dragreder aside from the color, who flew down and circled him.
“I can give you power,” Shinji’s doppelganger promised. “Power enough to save Yui and Ren.”
How? Shinji wanted to ask. Tell me.
Though Shinji couldn’t form the words, his twin understood and replied, “First, there’s something you need to give me.”
Shinji hesitated, unsure if he could trust this shadow. But the dark reflection insisted, “There’s not much time. Otherwise, you’ll never save them.”
That was all Shinji needed, and he forced out the word:
“Okay.”
The shadow smirked, but before Shinji could realize he’d made a huge mistake, the black dragon flew into his body, and the shadow disappeared. Only one Kido Shinji remained, alive and strong, standing from where he’d fallen. A black deck was in his hands as his belt formed around him.
“Henshin.”
The passionless call summoned dark images of the Ryuki armor, converging on his body. The armor had turned completely black, save for the glowing red eyes of his mask.
And Kamen Rider Ryuga stalked off to find Yui.
~~~
Ren wasn’t sure how he ended up outside the hospital, but he honestly didn’t care. Kanzaki was standing before him, watching without sympathy, without any emotion at all, as Ren staggered against the wall. He’d never felt this dead inside before. There had always been some hope that he could save Eri. But now, he couldn’t find any. His deck was gone, and he knew he’d let Shinji run to his death to rescue Yui. He couldn’t save them, he couldn’t save Eri-he couldn’t save anybody, and that made the world seem darker than ever.
“You’ve lost the fight,” Kanzaki pointed out.
Ren let out a humorless, pained laugh. “Tell me something I don’t know.” He pounded his fist helplessly against the wall. “I’ve lost everything. I can’t even fight.”
“So you’ll die,” Kanzaki reasoned.
“What else can I do?” Ren demanded.
For a moment, they stared at each other-Ren in grief and anger and Kanzaki with that damnable calm. At long last, Kanzaki replied, “There may be a way for you to fight.”
Ren turned his head away and closed his eyes. “It’s impossible.”
But Kanzaki pulled out the last deck-gold and emblazoned with a phoenix. Ren didn’t have to see it to know what it was. “You were one of the most likely candidates to win the war. You were the only one to have defeated Odin.”
“So I broke it, I bought it?” Ren asked derisively, refusing to look at the deck.
“Fight for me,” Kanzaki insisted. “Become Odin and win the war.”
“And lose myself,” Ren challenged, finally looking at him. “Become your puppet?”
“What else do you have to lose?” Kanzaki argued.
Ren froze. He knew an empty promise when he heard one, but at the same time, he was empty already.
As if he’d already given up control of his body to Odin and Kanzaki, his hand reached out to take the deck. With nothing left, Ren turned toward the nearest window and held out the deck, allowing the V-Buckle to form around him. He didn’t even have the will to cross his arm in front of him before sliding in the deck.
“Henshin.”
And Kanzaki smirked in satisfaction as Ren died and Odin lived again.
Odin stood facing the glass, perfectly motionless as the man he’d once been burned away to ash. All trace of memory and emotion had been incinerated, leaving only an empty shell. Kanzaki walked forward to stand by his puppet and ordered, “Come,” before passing through to the Mirror World. Odin followed seconds behind.
Ryuga was making his way through at the same time, and he came to a halt when he saw them. Immediately, he began to slide into an attack stance, and in response, Odin did the same. The irony couldn’t have been more obvious, and it almost made Kanzaki smirk again. Over and over, he’d been through this scenario, and it was always the same. Despite the war and despite themselves, Kido Shinji and Akiyama Ren became friends, and they were never able to fight one another to the death the way they were supposed to, the way they needed to if any one of them wanted to save Yui. Though they claimed to be her friends, they’d failed her, and this was their punishment. Now, with their personalities erased, it wouldn’t matter if they could see who was under the mask. They wouldn’t recognize each other as anything more than an opponent.
It would be so tempting to make them fight now, to finally put an end to the wrenches in all of his plans, but Yui needed him.
“No,” he said, and not without some regret. “There will not be time for you to fight. Kido.” Ryuga inclined his head slightly, still able to answer to his former name. “Rescue Yui. The Alternatives have her. Room 401.”
As Ryuga nodded, ready to go, Kanzaki turned to Odin. “Akiyama.” As he expected, Odin didn’t even recognize his own name. Kanzaki could have used any name, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Odin wouldn’t react until given the direct order. This had just been for Kanzaki’s own benefit, to enjoy the victory he’d finally gained over these impossible obstacles. “You will face Ouja. Defeat him. Should Kido survive his battle, he will face you next, or it will be Tiger or neither.” Odin’s nod was almost imperceptible, but either way, Kanzaki knew he would obey.
“Now, go. Fight.”
Ryuga and Odin walked past each other on their separate missions, never once reacting as if they knew the other. And this time, Kanzaki did smirk.
Continued in next post.
Fandom: Kamen Rider Ryuki
Rated: T
Summary: Shinji must fight Asakura. Ren must save Eri. Kanzaki must win. And Yui must find another way to save them all. How everything changes in a world of terrible possibilities. "The World of If" with a linear structure.
The World of If
[LINEAR VENT]
This had to be some kind of trick, a trap to lure him out into the open so the cops could get him. And if Kitaoka was going to play that way, Asakura was going to make sure the game was fun.
There were no police around Kitaoka’s home, the way he’d expected. Even that butler wasn’t lurking around. Everyone was probably inside, ready to ambush him. That worked just fine for him-everyone crowded in one small area, easy to kill all at once.
Not even bothering with stealth, he kicked in the door, satisfied to hear the wood splinter. The lawyer wasn’t anywhere in sight, but the butler got up from the couch in shock.
“Hey,” Asakura drawled with a smirk. “Where’s your boss?”
“He’s…” Goro hesitated, looking away.
“Wrong answer,” Asakura said, walking closer. The inside of the house was just as empty as the grounds, but he refused to believe that was all. Looking around, he called out, “Kitaoka! Where are you hiding? Come out!”
“He’s dead!” Goro argued. Asakura turned on him as he said, his voice wavering, “It happened this morning. He was ill, and…”
Asakura grabbed him by the neck to shut him up. It wouldn’t be the same as killing the lawyer, but at least he wouldn’t have to hear him anymore. But Goro had something in his hand-the Zolda deck.
No. Zolda was Kitaoka and only Kitaoka. There was no way Asakura was going to let some upstart butler take that. Enraged, he grabbed the nearest object-a small statue of some kind-and struck Goro across the forehead. He fell to the floor, unconscious and with his head bleeding, half-hidden by the desk.
“You’re not supposed to die peacefully,” Asakura growled, throwing everything from the desk onto the floor. “I’m supposed to be the one to kill you!”
He tore through the house, turning over furniture, destroying artwork and books, and smashing mirrors. For all he rampaged, nobody came to stop him-no cops, no lawyer. It was as if everything the butler said was true.
~~~
It was possibly the quietest it had ever been inside Atori. Shinji didn’t speak as Ren and Yui looked at his phone, reading the ORE Journal article:
Attorney Kitaoka Syuichi (30) was found dead in his home today. Though he has made many enemies, including serial killer Asakura Takeshi, who is still on the loose, police suspect no foul play. Sources indicate that he has been suffering from a progressive disease, though his personal assistant has neither confirmed nor denied this.
Reiko’s article was short, due to lack of available information, but it gave everything that they needed to know. Ren looked up from the phone and said, “So it’s true.”
Shinji nodded. “Reiko-san wants to interview Goro-san later, but I told her I’d check first. Since he and Kitaoka-san were close.”
“I don’t know why you’re getting so involved,” Ren started, and Yui immediately glared at him.
“Ren!”
“You know what it means,” he reminded them. “Another Rider down, another one less that we have to fight. It’s just Ouja and Tiger now.”
Yui looked away, but Shinji burned. Ren never failed to get to him with his attitude about the Rider War. Damn his personal strife-Shinji was done with it, and he went straight up to Ren and grabbed him by the shirt. “Maybe you can think that way, but I sure can’t! A human being just died right now, and all you can think about is the battle? It doesn’t matter if he was a Rider or not-you should care because he was still human!”
“Shinji-kun!” Yui cried, pushing her way between them before it came to blows. Ignoring Ren for the moment, she put her hands on Shinji’s shoulders and tried to calm him down. “Please. It’s not going to solve anything if you start fighting now.”
“In case you forgot the article, Kitaoka was sick anyway,” Ren said. “Whether he was a Rider or not doesn’t matter-he didn’t have much time left, and he knew it. If you think stopping the fighting would have prevented it…”
He didn’t finish, leaving it for Shinji. But Shinji stared back at him, still too angry to give in. Instead, he backed away and said, “I’m going over now. If anyone’s looking for me…”
“We’ll let them know,” Yui promised.
Shinji nodded before giving one last glare to Ren and walking out.
Yui watched Shinji take off, her heart aching for him. He had few reasons to like Kitaoka, especially given how the lawyer had once tried to entrap him, but he cared because they were fellow Riders. He hated the idea of the Rider War and wanted to try to save everyone he could. It was only natural that he’d take this hard.
Which brought her to another problem…
“Ren,” she growled, turning an angry glare on him. She’d spared him the lecture before, if only because Shinji was still there, but now she had to speak her mind. “There was no reason for you to tell Shinji-kun that! Just because he wants to try to stop the fighting…”
“If he can’t face reality, he never should have become a Rider,” Ren insisted. “He’s too soft for this anyway. It’ll just kill him in the end.”
“Ren!” she shouted again, but it was obvious he wasn’t listening. She had no choice but to put up with it. Her aunt was out and expected them to get the shop open on schedule, so she worked alongside Ren in angry silence.
She was about to switch the sign around to read “open” when Ren’s phone rang. Immediately, she froze before carefully turning around. There were only two other people who would call him: Shinji or the doctor.
Ren pulled it out and recognized the number instantly as the doctor’s. Immediately, his blood ran cold, and it took everything he had to calmly answer, “Hello?”
In that moment, Yui it had to be the hospital. He would have said something sarcastic if it were Shinji. She could only wait out the long tension as the doctor spoke to Ren:
“Akiyama-san?”
“Yes?”
“There’s been an incident with Ogawa-san. We need you to come as quickly as you can.”
His heart was in his throat, but he kept his cool as he replied, “I understand. I’ll be there soon.”
Yui was giving him a worried look as he hung up. “Is it Eri-san?”
“I have to go,” he said in lieu of answering.
Nodding, Yui started to open the door for him, but an arm reached through the window and wrapped around her. She screamed and tried to fight her way free, but the Monster was too strong.
“Yui!” Ren shouted, reaching for her, but it was too late. She had just been pulled through into the Mirror World.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. Eri needed him, but at the same time, so did Yui. Quickly, he called Shinji’s number, quietly cursing, “Damn you, Kido, answer!” as it went to voice mail. Without a choice, he pulled out his deck and held it to the window.
“Henshin!”
~~~
The ride to Kitaoka’s house wasn’t long, but even if it had been all the way to the southernmost point of the country, it wouldn’t have been long enough to improve Shinji’s mood. No one managed to aggravate him quite like Ren did; though Shinji liked to think they were friends, it made it all the more infuriating when Ren was being stubborn about fighting the other Riders. He could understand why Ren felt like he had to, but it never ceased to anger him when Ren casually brushed off serious issues like killing other human beings. And he said that Shinji was the simple one!
Shinji brought his moped to a stop and took off his helmet, trying to calm down a bit. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he tried to talk to Goro while angry. He was trying to be there for him as a friend-or at least friendly acquaintance or whatever kind of respectful relationship they had.
As he made the slow march up the stairs, he noticed that the door was ajar-in fact, it looked like it had been kicked open. Concerned, Shinji quickly and silently made his way up and peered through the door. Inside, the house was trashed-there were books and artwork strewn all over the place and broken glass on the floor. For a moment, he considered calling out to Goro, but he decided against it quickly. It was possible that Goro might be in danger, and any sound could get him killed. So he cautiously made his way inside, taking note of the upturned furniture and smashed glass. And halfway hidden by Kitaoka’s desk was an unconscious Goro.
Choking back the instinctive shout of concern, Shinji ran over to the other man. There were marks around his neck as if someone had tried to strangle him and a bruised and bleeding gash on his head from a bad blow, and Shinji quickly checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt it strong.
“Goro-san,” he whispered, and the slight sound caused Goro to stir. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
But before Goro could wake, Shinji heard the sound of shattering glass coming from further in the house. The attacker was still there, and he wasn’t done yet.
Taking his helmet as a makeshift weapon, Shinji crept toward the sounds of destruction. He couldn’t see the vandal, but he knew he was dangerous-the injury to Goro proved that much. It was imperative that Shinji be absolutely silent as he snuck up on the intruder.
So, naturally, that was when his cell phone rang.
Shinji let out a small cry of panic as he put the call directly to voice mail, but it was too late. The attacker came at him, and it was only his improved reflexes from being fighting as a Rider that let him bring up his helmet in time to block a blow from one of Kitaoka’s curios. But in that moment, Shinji managed to see the face of Goro’s attacker, and he would wonder later why he had been so surprised.
“Asakura?”
Asakura swung the statue again, this time hitting Shinji’s upper arm and pushing him into the doorframe. Once again, Shinji raised his helmet to block against any more blows, but Asakura wasn’t about to stop venting his rage. He kneed him in the stomach, forcing him to double over and hold his helmet over his head.
But with Shinji holding up his helmet, Asakura was able to see that he still had his phone in hand. If there was anyone who would call the cops rather than just fight him to the death right now, it was this Rider. Dropping his weapon, he fled the house.
Breathing heavily in relief, Shinji took just a moment to rest against the wall before he remembered that Goro was still injured. He ran over and started shaking him, crying, “Hey! Hey, wake up!”
Goro moaned in pain and opened his eyes, but it took a little time before he could focus on Shinji’s face. His words were a little slurred as he tried to ask, “What are you…”
“Do you remember what happened?” Shinji asked.
With Shinji’s help, Goro managed to sit up, but Shinji was hesitant to let go of him out of fear he might fall back to the floor. “Asakura broke in. He demanded to know where Sensei was. He didn’t believe me when I said he was…”
There was a horrible feeling in Shinji’s stomach, like he’d swallowed a stone. It was the same feeling he’d had when he learned of the news from Reiko, and he realized that Asakura must have felt the same shock and disbelief. He’d dedicated so much of his battle trying to defeat the lawyer that it must have hit him hard. Asakura was grieving, and for the first time, Shinji truly pitied him.
“Did he…” It was hard to ask the question, but he knew Asakura’s pattern. He’d already added Tezuka’s and Shibaura’s Contract Monsters to his collection after killing them; would he have done the same with Kitaoka’s? After swallowing, he asked, “Did he take anything? Kitaoka-san’s deck?”
“No,” Goro answered, moving slightly so he could take the deck out from underneath him. “I thought I could use it to fight him, but it only enraged Asakura more.”
“Makes sense,” Shinji muttered. It supported his theory: Asakura wanted to fight Kitaoka, not Zolda. “I’m going to call the hospital. Will you be okay until the ambulance gets here?”
“Yeah,” Goro replied. “Please. Stop Asakura.”
Shinji nodded solemnly, then raced out the door.
~~~
It was a Psycorogue-one of the Alternatives’ Monsters, not a wild one. Knowing the danger she was in, Yui fought as hard as she could to break free, but her attempts were in vain. To her horror, Alternative leapt down from a nearby roof and started to rush at her, his sword drawn.
“Nakamura-san,” she gasped. “Please, stop!”
Her pleas were even less helpful than her struggles to get free. Alternative continued to charge, but then a familiar shout sounded, and a Kamen Rider leapt over the Monster.
“Ren!” Yui cried.
He didn’t need Yui’s cry to tell him that the Monster had her. Spinning quickly with sword in hand, he struck the Psycorogue’s arm, forcing it to let go of her.
“Run!” Knight ordered her.
Thankfully, Yui listened and began running down the street, away from the battle. She trusted him to find her as soon as the fight was over and get her home before they ran out of time. Once he was certain Yui was out of range of the battle, Knight turned his attention back to the recovering Alternative.
“So, you’re still after her,” he noticed.
“Kanzaki Yui is the cause of all this!” Alternative spat. “If not for her, Kanzaki Shiro never would have run the experiment that day, and everyone in the lab-including Ogawa Eri-would still be alive.”
A chill went down Knight’s spine as he heard this, and he immediately shouted back, “Eri’s still alive!”
“She might as well be dead!” Alternative argued. “By protecting Kanzaki, you’ve just as good as killed Ogawa!”
“Shut up!” Knight yelled, charging. He long ago had accepted that whatever her brother had done, Yui wasn’t responsible for what had happened to Eri. She was just another victim, and he couldn’t afford to think the way the Alternatives did.
His sword struck Alternative’s, but this time they were equally angry and equally matched. Neither would give the other room to advance. Knowing he’d reached a stalemate, Knight began to reach for a card, but a slash to his back caught him off-guard, giving Alternative room to throw him off with a countering strike. As Knight looked up, he saw a second Alternative standing with sword ready. But this wasn’t Alternative Zero, like he’d expected; this Alternative had bronze stripes running down his sides.
“Your Monster was down,” he said in a young voice-possibly a teenager. “I thought you could use the help.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Alternative said. “Go after Kanzaki!”
“Got it,” he answered before running off.
“There’s more of you now?” Knight asked, getting to his feet.
“Professor Kagawa thought we could use more help, since you and the other keep getting in our way,” Alternative insisted, slashing.
Knight ducked away from the blow and scanned his Sword Vent card. This wasn’t good. If there were more than just two Alternatives and Tiger, Yui was in even more danger. Much as he hated doing so, he had to move the battle closer to where Yui had escaped.
And farther from Eri, part of him thought.
~~~
A menacing growl brought Yui to a sudden stop, and she looked around in terror for the next attack. She didn’t have long to wait; Destwilder came barreling through from a side street, and she dove to avoid its claws. It was a very narrow escape, and she got a cut on her shoulder for her trouble.
“Kanzaki Yui,” said a voice from behind Destwilder. The Monster held still as Tiger walked up to it. His whole demeanor was calm despite him carrying his ax-like Visor, and Yui could imagine that he had his usual reserved expression on his face. “I’m not sorry I have to do this. You have to be sacrificed in order for me to be a hero.”
[Strike Vent]
With the simple scan of a card, Tiger traded out his Visor for his even more deadly claws.
“No,” Yui pleaded. “Please!”
Getting into an attack stance, Tiger insisted, “But if you’re courageous about this, maybe you can be a hero too.”
With no other choice, Yui took off running once more, but Tiger was harder to lose than Alternative. She couldn’t outrun him, not with the boost the Rider powers gave to his stamina, and she had to duck out of the way of his claws every time he tried to corner her. Worse, Destwilder wouldn’t give up the chase either, and he tore through buildings to cut off her escape route.
Backing away from Destwilder, Yui found herself against a wall with no way out. To one side was the Monster and to the other was the Rider. Desperately trying to buy herself more time, she asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Killing you will stop Kanzaki Shiro,” Tiger answered simply. “It will close the Mirror World and end the Rider War and all the attacks in the real world. We’ll be heroes.”
Yui’s head was reeling from the information. That was impossible. How could her dying mean all that? Was this why her brother had wanted her to keep out of everything? Was this why Shinji and Ren were always so tight-lipped about their encounters with the Alternatives and Tiger?
“No,” she denied. It couldn’t be true. Just what was her brother trying to do?
Tiger lowered his claws, preparing to attack. Terrified, Yui closed her eyes, just waiting for the end. But a dragon’s roar sounded clear through the air, and she opened her eyes in hope.
“Shinji-kun?” she asked.
Dark fire rained down between her and her attackers, forcing them to back away. At once, Yui knew she was mistaken; Dragreder’s fire wasn’t this strange color. She glanced up to see a black dragon just like it circling around above her, clearly trying to protect her.
“Did Brother send you?” she murmured.
Another blast of fire came down, once again keeping Tiger and Destwilder from approaching her. Trusting in the black dragon, Yui began running. More flames came, creating a wall of dark fire that protected her from attack as she made her way through. She finally managed to make her way to a park, safe, and she breathed heavily in relief.
“I made it,” she breathed. Looking up at the dragon, she said, “Thank you for protecting me.”
The dragon roared and flew off, as if realizing it was no longer needed, and Yui once again wondered if it had been sent by her brother. Most Monsters would attack humans rather than protect them. Even with a contract, it wasn’t a guarantee the Monsters wouldn’t go rogue or at least challenge it every once in a while; she knew that Shinji and Ren sometimes had a hard time keeping Dragreder and Darkwing under control. The only person who seemed to know how to control the Monsters completely was her brother.
“Please, Brother, tell me,” she begged. “What’s going on? What are you doing, and why do you need the Rider War?”
She waited, hoping Kanzaki would appear and answer her questions. But he didn’t; she was left alone in the silence. Sighing, she was about to sit down to wait for Ren to find her when another Alternative dropped down from a tree.
“Got you!” he declared.
~~~
Under normal circumstances, Shinji would have just transformed and entered the Mirror World from right where he’d been. But there would be paramedics and police there when he returned, and on top of all of that, he had to be sure that Asakura had gone to the Mirror World instead of rampaging in the real world.
He had one thing in his favor, though. With his moped, he was able to catch up to Asakura quickly, who was still running. When Asakura saw him, he came to a stop by a nearby car and held out his deck.
“Henshin!”
Shinji didn’t waste a second once he saw Ouja enter the Mirror World. He got off his bike and held out his own deck to one of the side mirrors. It would have been smarter to call Ren for backup, but he was afraid that any time he waited would be a chance for Asakura to cause more harm. So he crossed his arm in front of him and slid his deck into place on the V-Buckle.
“Henshin!”
Ouja turned as Ryuki emerged from right behind him. For a moment, both Riders were silent. Then, hoping his theory meant there was some chance of reasoning with Ouja, Ryuki said, “I understand what you’re feeling right now, about Kitaoka-san. But there’s a chance we can stop-”
Ouja cut him off with a slash from his sword. Ryuki was too surprised to avoid the attack, and the force made him turn. But he saw the next attack coming and ducked out of the way, scanning one of his cards.
[Sword Vent]
Ouja was coming at him with an overhead swing, but Dragreder arrived in time to deliver the sword, and Ryuki was able to block the attack and throw it off.
“Asakura, you don’t have a reason to fight anymore!” he shouted. “End this!”
“I was vexed learning that Kitaoka died on his own, and I didn’t get the chance to kill him,” Ouja admitted, stretching his neck muscles. Ryuki couldn’t believe the understatement; he called ransacking a house and attacking both him and Goro a matter of being vexed? “But I think you’re more vexing than that right now.”
Ouja rushed Ryuki again, but he’d expected the attack this time and summoned his shield guards. The sword bounced off of them, giving Ryuki the chance to counterattack with his own sword. But for all he tried, he couldn’t get an effective enough attack against Ouja. The other Rider was crazed with bloodlust and kept pushing Ryuki farther and farther down the highway, into narrow streets where he was at a disadvantage.
The battle edged closer and closer to another fight, and Ryuki looked over in surprise when he heard Ren’s voice. Knight was fighting desperately against Alternative, and Ryuki immediately knew that something had happened to Yui. Breaking away from his fight with Ouja, he rushed over to help Knight, delivering a slash that threw Alternative into a nearby building.
“Ren, where’s Yui-chan?” Ryuki asked in fear.
“Alternative grabbed her,” Knight explained. “I told her to run.”
That sense of dread only got worse. “So she’s still here in the Mirror World?”
Knight was holding himself tensely. He didn’t need that subtle accusation, and he shouted back, “It was the only thing I could do! You didn’t answer your phone!”
“Wait, you’re the one who called?” Ryuki asked. It was unlike Ren to call for help, especially when he and Shinji had just had a fight. “Why?”
Knight couldn’t deal with this right now. There was Yui to worry about, and the Alternatives, and Eri. Silently, he began to remove his Survive card.
On a hunch, Ryuki asked, “Is it Eri-san?”
And he didn’t need Shinji’s pity. But before he could tell him off for it, he saw Ouja approaching, his sword pointed toward Ryuki.
“Look out!” Knight shouted as he shoved Ryuki out of the way. But it cost him any time to react. The sword struck his belt with enough force that he doubled over onto the blade, dropping his Survive card. Not even seconds later, his transformation shattered as he watched the remains of his deck fall to the ground in front of him.
Ryuki hit the ground harder than he would have liked, but he hadn’t been given much in the way of warning. Complaining and rubbing his head, Ryuki looked over to see Ren doubled over on Ouja’s blade-Ren, not Knight.
It felt like Ren had lost all strength, and he slid off the blade, cutting his stomach on his way to the ground. The shock began to fade into devastation, and he didn’t care that he was bleeding or that Ouja was standing over him, ready to finish him off. Ren thought that he might as well. Those who don’t fight won’t survive. Those who can’t fight…
Without realizing it, Ryuki scanned his contract card, and Dragreder flew in, blasting Ouja with fire. With Dragreder providing cover, Ryuki ran over to Ren. His shirt was torn from the blade, revealing a cut from the blade-miraculously not deep, and only the result of sliding off the sword. But his deck was in pieces on the ground, having taken the full force of the attack. It had saved his life, but for how long?
“Ren, can you get up?” Ryuki asked. Ren didn’t-wouldn’t-answer, but Ryuki put Ren’s arm around his neck as support anyway, trying not to wince at his pained almost-cries. He hated hurting him, but they had to hurry. It wouldn’t be long before Ren started to disintegrate. “Where’d you come in from?” Could he even get Ren back the way he’d come without a deck? Then again, he didn’t need to, not if a Monster emerged into the real world. “Never mind. Dragreder!”
The dragon roared and flew through the nearest window. Supporting Ren the way, Ryuki followed it through to the real world. Once they’d made it through, Ryuki set Ren on the ground and knelt next to him, remaining wary of Dragreder’s presence in the human world and ignoring the way Ren tried not to glare at him. Shinji meant the best, but he was only prolonging things, making it more painful.
But still, there was at least the chance that he could get to Eri in time.
“Are you okay?” Ryuki asked. “You should probably go to the hospital.”
Struggling to stand, Ren insisted, “I’ll take care of it after…” and then trailed off. He respected Shinji, maybe even could call him a friend, but this wasn’t something he could share so easily.
If only because deep down, he knew he was afraid that if he said it, it would be true, and Eri would die.
Hesitantly, Ryuki asked again, “Is it Eri-san?” When Ren didn’t answer, he said, “Okay. You head to the hospital to check on Eri-san. I’ll save Yui-chan.”
“You won’t stand a chance,” Ren protested, shaking his head. “There’s more of them this time.”
More Alternatives? They had a hard enough time with the two and Tiger. Still, refusing to let his fear show, Ryuki confidently insisted, “I’ll think of something. Now, go!”
Dragreder returned through the glass, and Ryuki followed closely behind. Ren tried to stop him, tried to warn him that he was more of an idiot than he’d ever believed and there was no way Ryuki would last against the Alternatives, Tiger, and Ouja, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t go after him. And he couldn’t even watch after him; for all he strained, the only thing he could see in the glass was his own reflection.
That didn’t mean, however, that he couldn’t do anything. He could at least get to Eri.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he turned from the glass and ran for the hospital.
~~~
Asakura was about to scream in rage when the three of them disappeared into the real world, but then he noticed a card abandoned on the ground. He felt a gust of wind blow by as he picked it up, taking note of the wing and the word: Survive.
He couldn’t help but laugh. That fool had dropped it during Ouja’s attack.
“Looks like I win after all,” he noticed.
“Asakura Takeshi,” stated a calm voice.
Ouja knew that voice, heard it in his nightmares. He turned, and sure enough, Tiger was approaching him.
“You again,” he said.
“That Survive card could give you the power to be a hero, but you only want it for blood,” Tiger pointed out.
“And what do you care?” Ouja challenged.
“The professor says we shouldn’t sacrifice too many people, and you’ll do just that,” Tiger replied. “I think I should take it instead.”
Ouja struck him viciously with his sword. “Just try.”
Tiger swung his axe-shaped Visor at Ouja, but he easily blocked it with his sword, kicking Tiger in the middle to force him back. He followed it up with a fierce strike to Tiger’s shoulder, forcing him to step back and scan his Strike Vent card, summoning his claws. He was able to block the next attack and tried to swipe at Ouja, but Ouja dodged and struck even harder. Soon, Tiger could only hold up his claws as barely effective shields against Ouja’s continued onslaught. Another Rider would die, and Ouja still hadn’t played his best card.
Suddenly, someone grabbed him around the waist and began wrestling with him. He managed to look down to see Ryuki, who shouted to Tiger, “Run! Hurry!”
It was probably a mistake, Ryuki thought; Tiger was definitely an enemy and he wanted to kill Yui, but he couldn’t bear to let another Rider die. Tiger didn’t hesitate to escape. Ryuki knew he’d have to stop him too to prevent him from attacking Yui, but at least then, he’d be able to do it non-lethally. This way was wrong.
Ouja hit Ryuki’s back with the hilt of his sword, forcing him to let go. A swift kick under Ryuki’s chin sent him flat on his back, where he just rolled in time to avoid the sword coming at him.
“You’ve been a lot of fun,” Ouja remarked, laughing. “But I think I know how to make this even better.”
The wind picked up as he displayed a card-Ren’s Survive card, Ryuki recognized much to his horror. Slowly getting to his feet, he realized that Ren must have been preparing to scan it when he took the blow meant for him.
This wouldn’t have happened if Shinji had been paying attention in battle. If he’d answered his phone when Ren had called for help. If he hadn’t gotten mad at him and stormed off before Yui was taken.
Ouja’s Visor became a wrist-mounted shield and sword, much like it had with Knight Survive, only the shield was cobra-themed and the sword looked much like Ouja’s normal sword. Wicked-looking blades jutted out from the armor on his shoulders, and armor extended down from his helmet to better protect his neck. It was, by far, the most frightening thing Ryuki had ever seen.
Ouja Survive cracked his neck before charging at Ryuki, who had no choice but to scan his own Survive card. A fire burned around him, trying to keep Ouja at bay. The Drag Visor disappeared from his arm in a swirl of flames, forming the Zwei version in his hand. He placed the card in the Drag Visor Zwei, and his Survive armor formed over him in a burst of fire. A blade then extended from the Visor, and he charged at Ouja Survive.
Their swords clashed with a tremendous amount of force that made Ryuki’s arm ache. Belatedly, he remembered how Asakura had hit his arm earlier in the house, and he knew he was going to have a hard fight of it. He’d been able to forget about it in the heat of battle before, but now he couldn’t focus on the fight. Too many things were worrying him, and it made it hard to forget that he’d been hurt. Ouja’s sword struck him wherever his armor was lightest-his arms, his middle, his legs. Ryuki struck back as fiercely as he could, but his arm was too sore to hit him hard enough to really be effective.
Another blow to his face sent Ryuki reeling, making it impossible for him to counter Ouja’s next strike to his arm. It took all of his strength not to drop his Visor, and he quickly scanned his next card.
[Advent]
Dragreder roared as it flew into battle, its form shattering and evolving into Dragranzer. A storm of fireballs rained down on Ouja, forcing him back as he reached for a card.
In the chaos of flame, he reached for his next card.
[Final Vent]
Venosnaker arrived and evolved into its Survive form, Venoviper. It transformed into a motorcycle, and Ouja leapt onto it as it spat corrosive venom at anything in its path. Ryuki hurried to scan his own Final Vent card, but he didn’t have time. Venoviper collided into Dragranzer, causing it to explode. Ryuki flew backwards, hit by the venom and the shockwave. He landed several feet away, his Blank Form shattering as the acidic venom ate away his deck. The explosion had been enough to knock him out, and the Mirror World would finish the rest.
“Feh,” Ouja commented, bored. “How vexing; you died so easily.”
Ouja walked away, ready to face his next opponent, as Shinji’s body began to disintegrate. It was a disappointment. Now that he had all this power, he couldn’t find satisfaction in battle. Nothing survived long enough to give him the pleasure he needed.
“Ouja.”
That strange man, Kanzaki, was standing by his path. Ouja stopped and said, “I hope you have someone strong for me to fight. The lack of challenge vexes me.”
“You will have your opponent,” Kanzaki promised. “Seek out Kamen Rider Odin.”
“The last one?” Ouja asked in surprise.
“Yes,” he answered. “Tiger will not survive long, and should he or his opponent live, Odin will finish them off either way. Go. Fight.”
“Just what I was hoping you’d say,” Ouja replied with a twisted smirk beneath his mask.
Perhaps this battle would provide the thrill he was looking for. Maybe now, he’d found exactly the opponent he needed.
~~~
When Ren got there, it was worse than he feared. The doctor and several nurses were gathered around Eri’s bed as he burst into the room, wrestling with the staff. Some part of him, very deep down, knew that they were only trying to keep him from disrupting the delicate operations trying to keep her alive, but all he could process right now was that they were trying to keep him away from her. He could hear the machines going haywire-beeps and alarms representing her heartbeat and breathing rate going out of control. He saw the doctor preparing the defibrillator, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Ren had to be there; he had to save her. He was the only one who could do it. He just managed to pull himself away and took her hand…
And in that same instant, the heart monitor gave off that sound-the horrible, single, shrill beep of a flatline.
Ren was sure he’d shouted her name, but even though he could feel the cry escaping him, he couldn’t hear himself. There was no sound left in the world-that horrible noise had deafened everything. The assistants pulled him away from Eri so the doctor could use the defibrillator, and he didn’t fight them this time. Finally, after either a lifetime or a second, the doctor sighed and turned away from Eri, telling Ren something-maybe an apology, maybe a reprimand for not getting there in time. It didn’t matter. It was all the same.
And then Ren could hear again-the screeching noise of the Mirror World. He turned around to see a man in a trenchcoat, watching impassively.
“Kanzaki.”
~~~
Ouja walked away, ready to face his next opponent, as Shinji’s body began to disintegrate. But though he was unconscious, he could hear a dragon roaring above him, and he could see someone walking toward him.
The figure was dressed all in black, and Shinji suddenly realized he was looking at his own reflection. Above him was a black dragon, identical to Dragreder aside from the color, who flew down and circled him.
“I can give you power,” Shinji’s doppelganger promised. “Power enough to save Yui and Ren.”
How? Shinji wanted to ask. Tell me.
Though Shinji couldn’t form the words, his twin understood and replied, “First, there’s something you need to give me.”
Shinji hesitated, unsure if he could trust this shadow. But the dark reflection insisted, “There’s not much time. Otherwise, you’ll never save them.”
That was all Shinji needed, and he forced out the word:
“Okay.”
The shadow smirked, but before Shinji could realize he’d made a huge mistake, the black dragon flew into his body, and the shadow disappeared. Only one Kido Shinji remained, alive and strong, standing from where he’d fallen. A black deck was in his hands as his belt formed around him.
“Henshin.”
The passionless call summoned dark images of the Ryuki armor, converging on his body. The armor had turned completely black, save for the glowing red eyes of his mask.
And Kamen Rider Ryuga stalked off to find Yui.
~~~
Ren wasn’t sure how he ended up outside the hospital, but he honestly didn’t care. Kanzaki was standing before him, watching without sympathy, without any emotion at all, as Ren staggered against the wall. He’d never felt this dead inside before. There had always been some hope that he could save Eri. But now, he couldn’t find any. His deck was gone, and he knew he’d let Shinji run to his death to rescue Yui. He couldn’t save them, he couldn’t save Eri-he couldn’t save anybody, and that made the world seem darker than ever.
“You’ve lost the fight,” Kanzaki pointed out.
Ren let out a humorless, pained laugh. “Tell me something I don’t know.” He pounded his fist helplessly against the wall. “I’ve lost everything. I can’t even fight.”
“So you’ll die,” Kanzaki reasoned.
“What else can I do?” Ren demanded.
For a moment, they stared at each other-Ren in grief and anger and Kanzaki with that damnable calm. At long last, Kanzaki replied, “There may be a way for you to fight.”
Ren turned his head away and closed his eyes. “It’s impossible.”
But Kanzaki pulled out the last deck-gold and emblazoned with a phoenix. Ren didn’t have to see it to know what it was. “You were one of the most likely candidates to win the war. You were the only one to have defeated Odin.”
“So I broke it, I bought it?” Ren asked derisively, refusing to look at the deck.
“Fight for me,” Kanzaki insisted. “Become Odin and win the war.”
“And lose myself,” Ren challenged, finally looking at him. “Become your puppet?”
“What else do you have to lose?” Kanzaki argued.
Ren froze. He knew an empty promise when he heard one, but at the same time, he was empty already.
As if he’d already given up control of his body to Odin and Kanzaki, his hand reached out to take the deck. With nothing left, Ren turned toward the nearest window and held out the deck, allowing the V-Buckle to form around him. He didn’t even have the will to cross his arm in front of him before sliding in the deck.
“Henshin.”
And Kanzaki smirked in satisfaction as Ren died and Odin lived again.
Odin stood facing the glass, perfectly motionless as the man he’d once been burned away to ash. All trace of memory and emotion had been incinerated, leaving only an empty shell. Kanzaki walked forward to stand by his puppet and ordered, “Come,” before passing through to the Mirror World. Odin followed seconds behind.
Ryuga was making his way through at the same time, and he came to a halt when he saw them. Immediately, he began to slide into an attack stance, and in response, Odin did the same. The irony couldn’t have been more obvious, and it almost made Kanzaki smirk again. Over and over, he’d been through this scenario, and it was always the same. Despite the war and despite themselves, Kido Shinji and Akiyama Ren became friends, and they were never able to fight one another to the death the way they were supposed to, the way they needed to if any one of them wanted to save Yui. Though they claimed to be her friends, they’d failed her, and this was their punishment. Now, with their personalities erased, it wouldn’t matter if they could see who was under the mask. They wouldn’t recognize each other as anything more than an opponent.
It would be so tempting to make them fight now, to finally put an end to the wrenches in all of his plans, but Yui needed him.
“No,” he said, and not without some regret. “There will not be time for you to fight. Kido.” Ryuga inclined his head slightly, still able to answer to his former name. “Rescue Yui. The Alternatives have her. Room 401.”
As Ryuga nodded, ready to go, Kanzaki turned to Odin. “Akiyama.” As he expected, Odin didn’t even recognize his own name. Kanzaki could have used any name, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Odin wouldn’t react until given the direct order. This had just been for Kanzaki’s own benefit, to enjoy the victory he’d finally gained over these impossible obstacles. “You will face Ouja. Defeat him. Should Kido survive his battle, he will face you next, or it will be Tiger or neither.” Odin’s nod was almost imperceptible, but either way, Kanzaki knew he would obey.
“Now, go. Fight.”
Ryuga and Odin walked past each other on their separate missions, never once reacting as if they knew the other. And this time, Kanzaki did smirk.
Continued in next post.