A Second Chance at Humanity
Title: A Second Chance at Humanity
Series: post-Blade, pre-Decade
Characters: Kenzaki, Hajime, Wataru, mention of a Kabuto rider
Pairings: slight hints of Kenzaki/Hajime
Rating: PG
Summary: Kenzaki had been running for so long, he was tired, and he missed being back home.
"Where are you going?"
"Where we cannot meet. Where we cannot contact each other. That should be good enough."
And for a while he thought it was. He had given up everything so that Hajime Aikawa could live a normal life. He would travel to the ends of the earth, just so that one friend could live. So that the only other living Undead could be normal.
He still heard the call of The Master. He could hear Hajime's voice in his head. He cried out continuously for him to return. He knew he couldn't though. Not while The Master called all the shots.
It hurt. It hurt not to be close to his friends. But they were enemies now... If he went near them, he'd become Joker. He'd be forced to fight.
No, he wouldn't allow that. He couldn't allow that. That's why he traveled. That's why he... why he...
His body was becoming tired. But he couldn't sleep... Couldn't sleep...
All of a sudden he heard the sound of something behind him. It wasn't Undead... The Roaches were long gone. No this was something else.
Turning around, tired and shadowed eyes gazed upon creatures he had never seen before. Creatures of both bug-like qualities and who appeared to be covered in multiple colors. He had no strength to fight them as he collapsed next to a wall. Too tired... Just too tired...
"Henshin."
"HENSHIN!"
"Kivat!"
"Biting."
"Henshin"
He heard chains and machines as the lay against the wall. Swallowing, he tired to watch as the blurred fighters destroyed the monsters before him. They soon were finished after a "change beetle clock up" and a "tension fortissimo wake up fever" - whatever that meant. The figures broke henshin and came over to him. But he couldn't focus, too tired...
As he fell asleep he heard two soft, kind yet strong voices speaking.
"Let's take him to the compound."
"We have to. He is Blade after all - the one that that one guy liked. He's been waiting..."
Who had been waiting? Who had liked him? How did these people know who he was? What was this compound? These questions swam in his mind as he lost consciousness, not feeling the pair of arms pick him up.
He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had passed out, but when he woke up he was laying on a very comfortable bed. He hadn't been on a normal bed in what seemed like ages. It was warm, cozy. Everything that he had wanted in a bed.
That was when he saw a very familiar face beside his bed. He quickly sat up and tried to move away.
"Hajime! What... What are you doing here? We can't be near each other! We'll be forced to-"
"No, Kenzaki. We won't."
The person in question blinked as the Chalice user held up two sealing cards. Both of them held a Joker within. As if he could see he disbelief, Hajime took out a pin, pricking his own finger then Blade's.
The blood was red.
"But... how?"
Hajime looked around the room before moving over to the window. Opening it, he gazed outside at the grounds below. At the moment three sets of two Kamen Riders were taking each other on. Even two young boys were out there, learning how to spar from a fourth pair of riders.
"This place... It's timeless for us... There are still days and nights, but we remain the same age," the former Joker spoke before correcting himself, "or rather we age more slowly. It's the same for everyone here. Everyone except the children. They'll age normally until the age of twenty or twenty-one. That's when it will slow down for them.
"How they were able to turn us human - to make me fully human - and remove the Jokers from us... It's a process that I don't even know. I don't get it to it's full extent. But the Jokers are sealed... The Jokers are sealed and we are free."
"But how? Where are we?"
"Blade, you're finally awake. I was afraid the process had put you into a coma. It's good that it didn't."
Kenzaki looked toward the door. Standing there was a young man - perhaps just slightly younger than him. He wore a white shirt and a white scarf with blue jeans and a nice pair of shoes. His hair was a rusty red. As he walked toward the bed, it was revealed that his eyes were tired, battle-worn, but still youthful.
The young man sat on the bed. He waited for the question.
"Who are you? What's going on?"
The young man smiled kindly. "My name is Wataru Kurenai. I am Kiva and hail from the original Kiva World. Where we are is a compound in a place where no one can find us. The primary and secondary riders of each world were all saved and brought here so that we would be able to train with each other and learn of each other's enemies."
"What about Tachibana-san? And Musuki-kun?" the Blade rider questioned.
Hajime - who had returned to the bedside - placed his hand on his comrade's shoulder. Kenzaki looked up, only for the Chalice rider to shake his head.
"What?"
Wataru bowed his head. "Your comrades - Leangle and Garren - were taken captive by an organization called DaiShocker. They're held prisoner in the dungeons with other riders. They're probably being brainwashed. They've been taken from the various worlds in hopes that DaiShocker would become stronger."
"So why are we here? Why aren't we out there trying to help them?"
Wataru fell silent. Closing his eyes, he swallowed before opening them again. The gaze he gave was a sad one.
"Because DaiShocker is stronger than you think."