Chapter 2 - Kamen Rider

 

I was thoroughly outclassed by this so-called “Kamen Rider A-Cross”. 

She thought to herself as she lay on her back unable to move even a single muscle.

Her body was battered badly. Her carapace cracked in many spots, leaking blood. She’s also been coughing out blood for some time now. Her vision became hazier with each drop of blood she lost. The pain that wracked her entire body also dulled along with her waning clarity.

Looking in the direction of A-Cross, she saw that it has undone its transformation, returning back to its original form. 

A human…. He is a human.

Her exhausted mind finally found the proper name for the creature. Despite this being only the second time for her to see these creatures, she instinctively knew what they were. The name simply just popped out only now. 

“Goddamn, she’s tough… Even without Amaya asking me to spare her, she's such a tough nut to crack.”

She could hear him muttering to himself.

Who is this ‘Amaya’? And what are they intending to do to me by keeping me alive… barely?

Unable to find the answer, she couldn’t help but to recall how their fight went. Wondering what went wrong on her part…

 

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[Set, roll, action! Xrossover Hero! Here we go!]

“Henshin”

[Kamen Rider A-Cross!]

The new figure standing before her--appearing from beyond a crimson fire pillar and bathed in light coming from three mysterious constructs, after what appeared to be a fanfare that seemingly announced its arrival--was a serious mismatch of colors.

His head was a combination of red, black, and silver, which was fine. But going down from there was when the colors went weird. The left upper body was covered in some parts with yellow plates, while the right with slightly darker red platings. Instead of staying on the right, the darker red plating instead crossed over to the left part of his lower body, whilst the yellow extended to his right. Black and white stripes crisscrossing on top of both darker red and yellow chestplate. 

Weird looking masks adorned each of his shoulders, each with different color and design. The one on the right had light blue eyes with a rhino beetle-like horn attached on it, while the left had yellow grasshopper-like face plate and a pair of red eyes.

This new form was slightly taller than his regular human counterpart, but of course still small compared to her demonoid body.

“Let’s get the action started”

She heard him talking as he pressed something on his...what was that object called again? Ah, belt, then…

[Featured Ability: Kabuto - Clock Up]

He seemingly teleported really close to her midsection, and the next moment his fist already collided with her belly.

This man, Kamen Rider A-Cross, was only as tall as her thighs, just like those pale skinned miscreants. But unlike them who couldn’t even tickle her, his small fist actually packed a serious punch. The force behind his strike had actually sent her skidding backward for some distance. Not to mention that speed.

Before she even stopped skidding back due to the punch, she saw A-Cross disappearing and reappearing again, this time already kicking her on the right calf before disappearing once again. This attack not only tripped her, but also sent her floating in the air for a second.

During the entire process she tried to keep her eyes on A-Cross, thinking that she must get accustomed to his speed if she was to defend herself. 

 As a result, by the time A-Cross launched another attack that sent her body flying backward in midair, she became able to see him as a blur that moved incredibly fast instead of just him teleporting around.

His attacks might carry a lot of momentum, but it’s not as hurt as that lizard’s. I could just hold on until I get used to his speed…

But just as she thought so…

[Featured Finisher: Kabuto - Rider Kick]

She was still skidding on the ground after landing harshly on her side from the last attack. The voice came from behind her, followed by electrifying and heavy shock on her undefended back. It was such a potent attack, that not only it caused such a wracking pain, it also caused a line of crack on her carapace.

 

The vision again….

She thought inwardly seeing that she’s still standing and A-Cross only finished his transformation sequence just now.

“Let’s get the action started”

[Featured Ability: Kabuto - Clock Up]

A-Cross following moves still exactly mirror the vision she saw. With the knowledge of where he’s moving next, she took action immediately by protecting her stomach with both hands and brace herself as fast as she could at the last moment.

With how much faster A-Cross moved than she could, her only option was to rely on her visions of the future and defend with the least amount of moves right before his attack reaches her. She might be slower than him, but her abrupt defence might still throw off his attacks.

Just like the vision showed her, A-Cross punched her belly. Her hands weren’t fast enough to cover her stomach in time, as A-Cross was still able to slide his fist through the opening. But since she’s bracing herself, the momentum from the strike wasn’t able to push her back. Meanwhile she continued her hands movement in order to pin his outstretched arm.

It was just a quick thinking on her part. If she couldn’t successfully defend herself, she might as well try to use the situation to stop his movement.

The moment her arms stacked together tightly to cover her belly, the blurry image soon reverted back into the mishmash of color that was A-Cross. His right hand stuck in between her two arms. 

Great! Now all I need to do is to use….

“So you do have the ability to predict your opponent’s movement.”

She suddenly heard A-Cross’ voice coming from some distance away to the front. To be exact, from his original position before attacking.

No way…

The A-Cross she managed to pin down soon became distorted, his color turned into black and white statics before disappearing. 

At the same time, through similar distortion effects and black and white statics, another A-Cross slowly took form. Still standing where he was after transforming.

“Surprised? That’s just one of the many tricks I have in my disposal. Next up, how about we have a prediction battle?”

This time A-Cross pressed the left side of his belt.

[Featured Ability: Zero-one - Shining Arithmetic]

Then the right side.

[Featured Ability: Kabuto - Clock Up]

It was at this point, a large number of visions started flooding in her head. They overlay on top of each other, as if all of them are possible futures. The number kept growing on and on, until suddenly a sharp pain attacked her nerves.

Guh! The vision...

The vision had very nearly overloaded her mind, thus shutting itself down automatically to prevent damaging the brain.

 

That was when everything went wrong for her.

 

With no visions helping her predict A-Cross’ movement, she was unable to defend against any of his attacks properly. Even when her eyes finally adjusted to his speed, he would anticipate any attempt to intercept his movement, suddenly attacking from another angle. As if he also predicted her movement.

Not only that, A-Cross’ actual punches and kicks were more powerful than what she initially saw in the first vision. This made her realize that the A-Cross who attacked her in her first vision was just a decoy that possessed only parts of his actual performance.

She also kept hearing quickened voices saying [Rider Kick] during the beatdown, followed by immense pain from having her carapace cracked down and the softer inner body messed up. 

It took several of those electrocuting kicks, but she finally went down. Too wounded to continue fighting, but somehow still alive.

 

=========================

 

“To think you tanked that many rider kicks and is still alive. Just how tough are you?”

The young man, A-Cross, crouched next to her powerless body, seemingly commenting on her toughness.

“Though it’s the least powerful of all finishers, you still took it like a champ. Man, those worms, no, regular kaijins cannot compare to you.”

Worms? Kaijins? What is he talking about?

Her body entered a sleeplike state some time ago in order to recover from the near fatal condition. But her hearing and mind were still working, albeit not at the capacity she’s normally on.

“Didn’t I tell you to restrain her? You basically pummeled her to near death.”

A woman’s voice could be heard approaching them.

“Restrain her? Fuck that. I could probably restrain her for a while using Faiz Edge’s Sparkle Cut from the Faiz Reel, but I bet she’ll find a work around to escape the gravity field. And I don’t think Axel can last that long to contend with her anyway. Her battle instinct and adaptability are amazing. I think she actually started to be able to see my movement during Clock Up around the two third of the fight there. Give her more time to adapt and she’ll probably learn how to temporarily increase her speed to defend against Clock Up speed. This is the best I could do without killing her outright.”

Replied A-Cross. His tone sounded like he was annoyed. She could hear him sitting on his butt and lying down on his back as he spoke. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke again.

“Why do you want her to become the candidate anyway? I mean, I get that she has the instinct to protect humans. But… she’s a kaijin.”

“....have you forgotten who you are talking to right now?”

The woman quietly replied. That question actually rendered A-Cross silent. The woman then continued.

“...those kids she saved were watching the fight. In their eyes, you were just a stranger one-sidedly kicking their saviour around.”

Kids? Oh, those little ones… so they are safe… good.

It was one thing that had been at the corner of her mind. She had no time to worry about them given the circumstances, but now that she knew they’re alright, a sense of relief washed over her.

Then she heard the woman approaching her, whispering words while being really close to her.

“Sleep properly, young one. When you wake up next, the world may feel weird and unfamiliar. But I assure you, everything will be just fine.”

 

Eh? What….? 

As if on cue, ignoring her own will, her sense of hearing and the part of her mind that were still active slowly entered a sleeplike state just like the rest of her body.

 

========================

 

“I’m sorry… Amaya.”

The young man, kamen rider A-Cross, now in a sitting position, apologized to the beautiful woman. Regret was evident in his voice.

“It’s alright, Daisuke-kun. Being forgetful is part of being human.”

The beautiful woman, Amaya, replied back to the young man, referring to him with his real name, Daisuke.

“But…”

“It’s alright. Now please give me some peace so I can do my work.”

Hearing Amaya brushing him off like that, Daisuke couldn’t help but sigh. He got up and walked away, stopping by at his backpack that the hauntingly beautiful woman had also brought along with her when she went down here to catch up to him.

Opening the backpack, he extracted a suitcase from within.

The suitcase, mostly black with some whites, resembled a clapper board due to the placements of its colors and how thin it is compared to regular suitcase. It has a four number combination lock, which Daisuke fiddled upon, inputting 2, 0, 1, and 0 as the combination before clicking the lock open. He opened the suitcase, revealing a red velvet interior and a collection of Hero Reels neatly arranged inside.

Daisuke then proceeded to fiddle with the belt around his waist--the Xross-Over Driver, a device that allows him to transform into Kamen Rider A-Cross--, took out the two Hero Reels from the driver, and stored them inside the suitcase. He stared at the Hero Reels for a while, before finally closing the suitcase and storing it inside his backpack once more. Not to forget, he pressed a switch on the Xross-Over Driver, causing the transformation belt to turn into a normal looking belt.

Looking around, he only saw a devastated village. The demonoid attack and subsequent battles had left the poor village mostly leveled, leaving behind wooden debrises everywhere, and piles of lesser demonoid corpses. Daisuke noticed that he had knocked out the newborn demonoid right at the center of the village. Amaya was there next to ‘her’. While the burning corpse of a larger demonoid, the now dead Valak, was a bit further away.

He then noticed that the two little girls, with the lanky looking guy who guided him and Amaya to this village following behind them, were running down the slope. Daisuke stayed there watching until the two stopped by to address him.

“I thought you were a good guy, but turns out  you’re a bad guy!”

The older one between the two chidded at him before running off toward Amaya’s direction. The younger looking one simply stared at him with hate before also running to follow her sister. The scrawny man chased after them worriedly. They didn’t even let Daisuke respond.

Not that he’s intending to defend himself with excuses.

“Yareyare, now that I’m on the receiving end, I think I understand how Matsuda-san must’ve felt when I confronted him for attacking Amaya.”

Daisuke mused to himself while watching the two kids crouched near the supine form of the greater demonoid he managed to subdue earlier.

He still felt stupid about that particular incident too. Amaya had no intention to fight back, for reasons still unknown to Daisuke, but she was not in any danger back then. From what he heard from the Professor, even if Matsuda--despite being a kamen rider just like Daisuke--tried his damnedest to kill Amaya, he wouldn't be able to. Because even the infamous Kamen Rider D-Evil failed in that task once before.

That day, Daisuke was shocked by the revelation, but he had to come to terms with the fact that Amaya is, in fact, a Kaijin. And a very strong one too.

 

Kaijin.

That’s how humanity of his world referred to any unknown monstrosity that threatened human’s life. Kaijins come in many forms and powers. Some of them resemble animals that are mentioned in folktales or are endemic to that particular world. While others may look like a complete freak of nature or a mishmash of random things.

But there are exceptions among the Kaijins. Some don’t even like fighting and choose to live peacefully in hiding. Some choose to disguise themselves as humans, helping humanity to fight back by introducing the necessary means for it. One of these ‘necessary means’ was the Kamen Rider systems.

Amaya? Daisuke assumed that she started out as the former category, then changed into the latter. 

Anyways, Amaya was not actually part of the people who designed and created Xross-Over Drivers. But she’s able to repair and reproduce as well as creating new Drivers along with the other transformation trinkets by using the remains of  other Kaijins. The Hero Reels Daisuke used were her handicraft.

Up to this day, Daisuke still doesn't understand how Amaya could convert the (mostly) biological substance of Kaijin into electronic machinery.

 

“Kamen Rider-kun, can you bring me the stuff that I asked you to stash inside your backpack?”

Amaya’s voice woke Daisuke up from his reverie. 

“Hai-hai, I’m coming, miss Assistant”

Since she’s using a pseudonym to refer to him, Daisuke chose to refer to her with a pseudonym as well. He hefted up his backpack and walked toward where his ‘assistant’ was waiting along with the two curious kids and a frightened scrawny man.

Daisuke didn’t really understand what Amaya was planning. But at least he knew that he could always trust her.

Her being a kaijin didn’t make any difference.

 

Opening his backpack next to Amaya who was half kneeling with both of her hands outstretched, Daisuke took out the remnants of greater demonoids he had defeated during his stay in this world so far. Five of them so far. He lined them up neatly on the ground within Amaya’s reach.

“That’s not enough. I need one more.”

She asked after giving the remnants a glance

Daisuke looked around, and saw the half burnt giant corpse not far from them. So he asked while pointing at it

“Will that do?”

Amaya nodded as a response.

Daisuke then took out the clapper board suitcase once more, this time inputting 2, 0, 0, and 9 at the combination lock. Despite that he input a completely different numbers combination than before, the lock still clicked open. Opening the suitcase, this time it revealed an arrangement of tools instead.

He took out what appeared to be a pen before closing the suitcase once more, then hastily jogged to the corpse.

“Super Hyper Mega Laser Carving Pen, show me what you got!”

Hyping up himself, Daisuke turned the pen switch on. It was the first time he used this one tool, and the name was simply too bombastic to ignore whenever he checked the gadget side of the suitcase. So he’s been wondering what it’ll do.

Bzzzzt…. 

Buzzing noise he usually heard when a laser blade is being deployed on a tv show or movie played out.  But the blade itself….

….was as small as a regular carving pen blade. Making the tool almost no different than regular blowtorch, but smaller.

“I should’ve known better…”

Daisuke disappointedly sighed after looking at the carving pen. But proceeded to try carving up a piece of skin from the corpse.

It was easier than he thought. The laser carving blade cut through the demonoid skin like a hot knife through butter. But as it turned out, there’s a catch; the blade only lasted for exactly 10 seconds before the pen ran out of energy and needed to be recharged inside the suitcase. Fortunately he managed to secure a piece of the demonoid before that happened.

 

Running back to Amaya, Daisuke placed the piece he had cut out among the other demonoid remnants. Without even checking, she stretched her right hand toward the lined ‘materials’, while keeping her other hand directed toward the now unconscious demonoid.

Speaking of the newly born demonoid, other than the obviously monstrous characteristics like bladed tail, clawed hands and feet, horns sticking out on various joint areas, visibly jagged teeth on the lipless mouth, the pair of blue diamond shaped orbs acting as eyes, and the generally jaggedy and edgy feel, the black armor-like shell that perfectly encased ‘her’ body showed an extremely effeminate features.

‘Hers’ was an hourglass body with shapely legs, flaring hips, slim waist, and a mountainous pair of breasts. Without all the monstrous characteristics, one might even say that ‘she’ has the body of an alluring woman. The black shell is also perfectly molded to show traces of trained muscle on the otherwise very effeminate and alluring figure, giving a sense of well built body.

Thinking so, Daisuke actually felt bad for what he did to ‘her’ earlier.

Meanwhile, the ‘materials’ started to float in the air, visibly expanding or shrinking depending on their sizes before each of them lost color and were molded into a certain shape. When they finally stopped changing shapes, different new colors were applied on each one. This would be the new transformation trinkets.

From Daisuke’s perspective, the new transformation trinkets looked nothing like the Hero Reel. Instead, they resemble Kamen Rider Gaim’s Lockseed, albeit much larger and bearing no fruit theme whatsoever. They looked more like sophisticatedly crafted luxurious locks, with weird looking insignias etched on the front side. 

Following the creation of the six locks, Amaya shifted her focus toward the still unconscious demonoid. ‘Her’ bladed tail suddenly moved on its own, circling around her slim waist, then, just like the ‘materials’, started to expand and change shape. After a few minutes, it became apparent that the tail had become a belt; black with golden linings. The locks then flew to the belt, attaching themselves to it, with the belt growing a silver chain that connected each lock together. Two out of six locks secured the chain at the head of the belt; one hidden inside the belt, covered by wing-like swivel windows. The rest of the locks were spread evenly on the left and right.

Once the six locks clicked to a close, ‘her’ body started to shrink at a visible pace. At the same time, ‘her’ jaggedy and edgy features seemingly melted, merging and reforming into a much simpler and thinner shell. Meanwhile, the claws and horns started popping out from their sockets. The claws were replaced by fingers and toes, while the openings left behind by the horns were now filled with jade green oval gems.  

As ‘her’ body shrunk closer to a normal human size, ‘her’ body smoothened into a more human look, with the previously non-existent finer details starting to take shape. ‘Her’ previously monstrous face was reforming into a more human one, and black silky hairs started growing on ‘her’ head. The belt sunk itself inside her body, now no longer visible.

By the time ‘she’ stopped shrinking, like a dried cocoon, the now thin black shell that covered her entire body instantly peels away, revealing a completely human body underneath.

‘She’ had turned from a 6 meter tall abomination with some female human features into an actual female human. One with a face and body like they were meant to allure men.

And a completely naked one at that.

Black silken hair that reaches down to her hips framed her oval shaped face.  A pale green oval gem could be partially seen hidden behind the fringes of her hair. The crescent eyebrow, well shaped nose, partly open lips, her currently closed eyes, all of them gave off the sense of a serene sleeping beauty.

Her skin is smooth milky white, supple with barely any blemish. Her breasts, rising and falling softly as she breathed, still stood fairly tall despite gravity. Delicious pink nipples topped the milky white mountain. Her arms and waist are slim, with visible traces of sinewy trained muscles on her upper arms and smooth belly. Her juicy but taut thighs unfortunately situated in a way that covered her nether area from view.

“Are you done gawking, kamen rider-kun?”

Amaya’s sweet voice dragged Daisuke’s attention away from the fine specimen of a human lying unconscious in front of them. With his focus now directed at her, the beautiful woman gave him a coy smile before tugging on the collar of her jacket.

“Oh”

Realizing what she meant, Daisuke immediately took off his baggy jacket, handed it over to Amaya, then took off while dragging the still enthralled scrawny man along with him. Starting to look for any salvageable woman clothing among the wooden debrises.

 

With the two male gazes gotten rid off, Amaya carefully lifted the upper body of the demonoid-turned-human, and helped the still unconscious woman to put on the jacket that Daisuke loaned to them. The kids, finally recovering from being so awestruck--more by the process of turning the demonoid into a beautiful woman--, assisted her, even if it’s only a meager help.  

In the middle of it, she took a good look at her latest handicraft. The pale green gem on the woman’s forehead reminded her of a certain friend.

Solomon, your descendant will now have to walk a similar path as you did… Perhaps, such is the fate of your kind. Cursed to devour each other until only one remained, only for the cycle to repeat after the last survivor perished. You tried to sever that cycle… yet failed partly due to my negligence.

Amaya thought as she looked up to the sky. Then she turned her sight toward Daisuke’s direction. The young man was still rummaging through the village ruins to find clothing alongside their scrawny guide.

But she won’t have to hide like you did… I can assure you that. As for whether she can break the endless cycle, even I have no idea. But you see, if old man Ishinomori-sensei was right, perhaps she  would be able to. After all….

The beautiful silver haired woman sighed. Recalling her past always gave her a melancholy. But this time, she’s hopeful that the same mistake won’t be repeated again. This is only the first few steps.

 

I’m going to turn her into...a Kamen Rider.