Interlude: Daisuke

 

Daisuke had a hard time sleeping after Seir left. Mostly because he can’t decide what to do just yet. He could leave the group, letting this world fend for itself now that he had provided the tool to do just that—like he usually does—while waiting for Amaya to fetch him; or he could stay for the chance to encounter ‘that man’ here, but at the cost of risking losing everything else.

He shuffled left and right on his bed, feeling uncomfortable with his indecisiveness, only to suddenly find himself missing something particular tonight. And he knew full well what he’s missing right now, as she left his tent just a while ago.

Daisuke frowned, realizing just how much Seir had wormed her way into his mind. He recalled that she often mentioned how she enjoyed his warmth. He never truly took it seriously before tonight. Now he found it funny and embarrassing at the same time that he actually missed her warmth.

“Who am I kidding…”

He mumbled to himself.

It’s too late to consider himself still free of attachment to this world. Worse still, he’s actually enjoying living here. Even though not as his own daughters, he could easily see himself treating Shana and Rhonia as his little sisters. Considering he never had one before, the feeling was new and pretty fresh. And then…

Let’s not go there for now. I need to keep my mind balanced to make the decision. He thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly, Daisuke repeated it a couple of times until his mind cleared up. He then closed his eyes, to start doing the thing he usually do when he needed an additional drive:

Recalling when it started and the end.

 

 

 ======================

  

 

-Japan, August 10th, 20xx

07:10

 

It was a regular morning for Ishinomori Daisuke. Getting up, washing his face, having breakfast, taking a bath, choosing what to wear today and putting it on, checking his backpack, then finally heading out for classes. It was his daily morning activity ever since he left home for college.

He could’ve applied to a university that is closer to home, since his family was fairly well-off thanks to his great-grandfather. But just like many other young men of his age, Daisuke wanted to be independent—the so-called ‘I don’t need my family’s help to get a degree and find a promising career’. Though, to be honest, he already knew that it’s just a hypocritical and wishful thinking, given that it’s his parents who paid for his tuition. Whatever meager earnings he could get from part-time jobs directly went into paying his room.

Then what about his livelihood? Daily necessities like food?

Well, about that…

 

…let’s just say Daisuke ‘cheated’.

 

08:00

 

“Ohayo, Daisuke-kun” (Morning, Daisuke)

“Ohayo, Amaya-san.” (Morning, Amaya)

Daisuke responded to the greeting he received right after he exited his room. It was a good morning from the prettiest woman he’d ever seen in his whole life…

There she was, standing in the hallway, waiting for him to come out from his room. Her black hair was tied in a slightly messy bun that somehow looked good on her anyway. Her face, Daisuke could only imagine belonged to a goddess of beauty, still looked pretty despite the lack of make up. The white shirt that clung a bit tightly to her upper body as well the tight-fitting jeans highlight her slim but curvy-on-the-right-parts body.  

“Hora, kyo no shokuryohin.” (Here, today’s groceries) 

she said as she handed out a plastic bag filled to the brim with vegetables, packed chicken meat, and some fruits. Just the right amount of groceries to fit his small refrigerator.

…and yes, she was his so-called ‘cheat’.

Thanks to this Amaya-san, Daisuke didn’t have to worry too much about food. But that’s the only extent of her aid. He still had to deal with everything else himself.

Daisuke was quite weirded out when Amaya-san first knocked on his door to deliver groceries. A stranger suddenly coming out of nowhere like that, especially one so enchantingly beautiful, quickly raised the alarm in his head once his initial awe tapered off. The wariness only continued with how the young woman visited every few days without fail, all for the same intention of delivering groceries which he never ordered.

But it’s fine nowadays. His parents had informed him of Amaya-san’s ties with the family. Apparently her great grandmother worked as an assistant to his great grandfather, and their families had kept an amiable relation throughout the years. That pretty much dispelled his wariness. He actually anticipated her visit more than he used to. Although he still found it odd that the person who worked for his great grandfather as assistant was also someone named ‘Amaya’.

Those two can’t possibly be the same person, right? 

Thinking back, Daisuke could only chuckle at how clueless he was.

“Aah, arigato” (Thanks)

he said as he received the plastic bag with a smile. He could feel his mood rising up already. The only thing that dampened the mood a bit was Daisuke’s self awareness on how he still hadn’t built up enough courage to ask Amaya-san out.

Let alone asking out, he hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation beyond exchanging greetings.

There’s always this strange sense of inferiority that crept up within him whenever Daisuke met her. Other than her obvious ‘Onee-san’ look, Amaya-san always had this, sort of regal aura, around her. Although it’s not the only thing that prevents any development from ever happening so far…

Daisuke reopened the door to his room and stretched his hand to place the groceries inside.

“Toiuka, Amaya-sa–...” (By the way, Amaya-sa—)

He only looked away for less than a second, all the while trying to strike up a conversation. But Amaya-san was no longer there when he turned his eyes back.

“....itsumo dori, da na” (....just as usual, huh.)

This was the second reason why. Amaya-san always mysteriously disappeared whenever he turned away even for just a slight moment. It wasn’t the first time he ended up talking to empty air, much to his chagrin.

At least he knew that she wasn’t a ghost or yokai. But what if she’s an uchuujin (alien)?

“Maa ii ya” (Eh, whatever)

Daisuke shrugged and locked the door once more. This time directly heading to the building’s parking area to retrieve his bike and head out for lectures.

 

 

 08:18

 

For some reason he wasn’t aware yet, the traffic today was rather busy. Atop his honda , Daisuke could only sigh as the jam packed road hadn’t budge at all for about twenty minutes already. He’s almost late for the first class. Just in case the jam lasted even longer, Daisuke fished out his phone from his jacket and dialed a number.

“Moshi-moshi. Gotou-san? Ishinomori desu. Hai, Ishinomori Daisuke desu. Maria-sensei wa mo soko ni imasu ka” (Hello? Gotou-san? It’s Ishinomori. Yes, Daisuke Ishinomori. Is Maria-sensei already there?)

{~~~~~~~}

“Mada imasen ga? Ahh, kotsuu juutai da na. Ore mo. Wakatta. Arigato, Gotou-san. Jaa” (She hasn’t yet? Ah, the traffic jam, isn’t it? Same here. Got it. Thanks, Gotou-san. Bye.)

Daisuke turned off the call. The person he spoke to on the phone just now was one of the campus’ security guards. He’s asking whether the class lecturer is already there. Apparently she’s not. Probably trapped in the same traffic jam as he is.

Out of curiosity, Daisuke reopened his phone and searched the internet for any news regarding the traffic jam. After all, things rarely went on for this long. There must be something that caused it. And apparently yes, there’s actually a live news report about it.

Is it really that important? Daisuke thought to himself, but still clicked on the link regardless.

He could barely hear the audio with all the noises around and since he didn’t usually wear his earpiece while traveling on bike. But at least he could still see the headline, which says ‘Mysterious man causes major traffic accident’, and also the video feed showing a man with slicked back hair and black trench coat—almost like that villain in the famous zombie survival game. Though this guy lacked the black spectacles and red glowing eyes.

Other than the person’s cosplay-ish attire, what attracted Daisuke’s attention was the pile of wrecked cars behind him. He could even see that some of the wrecked cars still had passengers in them. 

Are you telling me this one guy caused all that? Daisuke couldn’t really believe it.

The video then panned to the other side of the scene, showing that the local police officers had already gathered to apprehend the mystery man. The man didn’t look phased at all despite having a number of guns aimed at him.

One policeman approached the man in black, probably intending to cuff him. But the poor officer was taken down almost immediately with—did the mystery man actually use telekinesis or something? Is this really a live news broadcast and not some movie stream?

It took a metal rail taking down another officer—in a rather grisly show of the said metal rail piercing the unfortunate policeman right in the head— before the remaining started to open fire. 

“Ittai nani…” (What the hell…)

Daisuke involuntarily muttered as he continued watching the video.

The man quite literally dodged every bullet coming at him, not unlike that other villain wearing black from an old movie Daisuke watched with his family a long time ago. In that movie the scene was shown in faux slow-mo, so the villain’s movement was clear to the audience. But in this live stream, all Daisuke could see was a blur of black.

Given that the only type of gun the policemen had were just revolvers, they soon had to stop firing since their gun ran out of bullets. The video showed that one officer was frantically calling for help via his radio, while the others pulled out their police batons–albeit hesitant in engaging the man. Clearly, this was not something local police could handle on their own.

But what came next baffled Daisuke.

“Jodan daro…” (you gotta be kidding me.)

In his youth, Daisuke often watched the fairly popular tokusatsu tv show ‘Kamen Rider’. Not only because his great grandfather, Shotaro Ishinomori, was the original creator of the show, but also because he found the idea of a transforming hero fighting against a monster of the week (or of two weeks) quite novel and interesting. Every year, a new kamen rider with a new story would air on tv. As he grew older, his interest toward the series did not wane, and instead improved as he started to pay attention to the story instead of just the henshin sequence and action scenes.

One trivia about the series that still baffles him was how the company made the rider design and story of each season based on the notebook left behind by the late Shotaro Ishinomori himself. The notebook contains sketches and what appear to be rough story drafts, each one seemingly meant to accompany a particular set of the rough sketches. The content was so massive, that up to this day, they have only been able to televise less than a quarter of it.

This was also the source of his family’s fortune. But that’s not important.

The point is, Daisuke was baffled because the man in black actually transformed! 

And in a way very similar to the more modern era kamen rider at that. He had to double, no, triple check whether it’s truly a live news report or just an advertisement for a new kamen rider series.

But seeing how the ‘kamen rider’ dispatched the cops, Daisuke started to be certain that this wasn't just some publicity stunt. 

Kamen Rider can be bloody at times, but never too graphic. Yet in this ‘live’ recording, he watched the ‘kamen rider’ shredded through the officers’ body one by one with light punches and kicks, sending bloody bits, viscera, and bone fragments everywhere. Whenever the ‘kamen rider’ moved in reaction to the police officers’ attack, he either inflicted a fatal blow, or a mutilation–followed by a fatal blow to the cops. At one point, a piece of entrails was splattered on the camera, causing the cameraman to panic.

When the footage became steady once more, the police were all lying in their pool of blood and gore. Only the ‘kamen rider’ standing there, facing away from the camera. Seemingly unperturbed by the blood and entrails sticking on his suit. Then with a wave of hand, a wide–about 10 meters by 10 meters– gray, misty screen appeared.

Daisuke almost immediately recognized the misty screen. Even more so when he saw monster-like creatures emerging from the screen.

The footage was cut short soon after, as one of the monsters charged directly toward the cameraman. The screen immediately switched to the newscaster room, at which point Daisuke stopped watching and put his phone back in his pocket.

He needs to get out of here ASAP.

His thought was confirmed when he started hearing cries of fear, followed by the sight of people running desperately–only to be cut down by the monster-alien that was chasing from behind. It’s all it took to snap Daisuke out of his reverie and sprung his bike engine on.

Thankfully, his bike was the trail-bike type instead of the sport or scooter type motorcycle. He knew it’s against the rules and might endanger other people, but he could care less about it right now. Daisuke steered his bike to the sidewalk and sped up. The best he could do was to not crash into anyone.

He was just as desperate and scared witless as anyone else.

That being the case, Daisuke only managed to go as far as a few blocks before halting to a stop. The ‘kamen rider’ didn’t only summon the mist curtain in one spot. There was another one of that curtain-like projection several hundred meters ahead. And just like the one he was running from, monsters were pouring out from that curtain. He knew almost immediately that what awaited ahead of him was a scene of bloody slaughter and destruction.

For a moment, his mind stalled under the weight of reality.

I would die. That very thought flooded his mind. Especially when a butchered upper half of a human body falling from the air and right next to him, emitting a wet sploshing sound as it landed on the pavement. Daisuke didn’t even dare to turn his head to see. His eyes were stuck at the perpetrator instead, a hundred or so meters away in front.

At that moment, it’s as if the confused and scared people around him were inconsequential. Everything else felt like a blur, except for himself and the monster.

If it’s inside a movie, Daisuke reckon that he’d most likely be the innocent bystander killed by the monster and be forgotten not even 3 minutes after his death. Just another body to add to the killcount. And now that the monster is looking toward his direction–perhaps noticing his intense stare, he’d probably be next on the list. He’s even more certain when the monster, looking like a man with a giant squid for a head and a single tentacle as right arm–a typical showa-era kamen riders’ style of kaijin, started beelining toward him.

Yet, probably because adrenaline finally got into his head, or probably due to an impulse to at least ‘Do something notable’ before dying unceremoniously soon after, Daisuke instantly revved his bike’s engine. The moment the fleeing crowd in front of him cleared up, he released the brake and accelerated forward.

At the corner of his mind, Daisuke knew that the monster could just swat the motorbike along with him with a swing of its arm. And he knew his bike–which he bought after saving up his allowance for almost a year– would not survive the ordeal. But he punched in the gas as hard as possible either way. 

The sudden acceleration caused the front wheel to momentarily lift off the pavement. The bike sped toward the squid headed monster in full throttle. Then when they’re only several meters apart, Daisuke shifted his body backward whilst also pulling back the handlebar for a wheelie. When the front wheel reached the apex, he let go of the handlebar and kicked back, letting the bike roll on its own while he himself landed on his foot after jumping off.

As he expected, the monster swatted the trail bike with one hand, bending the entire frame into almost a 90 degree angle in the process. The poor bike was launched sideways to the display window of a shop nearby. 

It was all well within my expectation. Daisuke thought as he ran. Not away from the monster, but toward it. Right as the monster’s attention was directed at him again, he’s already in midair, in the middle of launching a drop kick.

“Taakoo!!”

Apparently it was caught off guard, or probably didn’t see a human rushing at it as a danger. Either way, Daisuke’s soles met its squid-like head, and it actually faltered a few steps backward from the impact. 

On Daisuke’s part, he didn’t really expect that his kick would actually do anything. And honestly speaking, he also didn’t think everything through. He didn’t know what he should do after this. So he was left dumbfounded, sitting on his butt on the pavement after he landed from doing the drop kick.

“Shimatta!” (Oh shoot!)

When he came to, Daisuke realized that the ruckus he caused had alerted the other kaijins. Shark head, tiger head, porcupine head, even a red panda head, basically what seemed to be men in various kinds of animal helmets and their respective animal features in their limbs or backs were making their way towards him. 

With them converging on him from all directions, Daisuke had no way to run. He could only watch as they closed in. Then, as one of the kaijins raised its arm to finish him off, he closed his eyes while raising his arm out of reflex to protect himself.

….

….then…

 

….

 

…..nothing.

Nothing. Daisuke felt nothing hit him. 

Was it such a swift death his brain didn’t even register the pain? Is he now in the afterlife? Such thought crossed his mind. 

After another bout of nothing, Daisuke finally dared to lower his arm and opened his eyes.

“Hee..?”

The scenery before him was no longer that of the bloody street. The kaijins that surrounded him were nowhere to be found either. Somehow, Daisuke found himself somewhere else.

“Hee..?”

He looked around. It was a bedroom. A painfully familiar bedroom. That desk, that chair, the posters on the wall, that glass cupboard with kamen rider action figures in various poses lined up inside…

“Heee!?”

Somehow, Daisuke is in his bedroom, back in his parents house. Hundred miles away from his previous location

08:26

After some rummaging, Daisuke was certain that this room is indeed his bedroom—except it’s his bedroom back in his parents house, instead of his bedroom in the apartment he currently lived in. He did keep the layout of each bedroom similar, so at glance it looked like the same bedroom. But of course, the contents of the cupboard and closet, as well as what hidden under his bed, were all the dead giveaway that it’s his old bedroom.

Not to mention that it’s way tidier than his current bedroom. Not even a single speck of dust anywhere. Not even under the bed or other spots that are normally out of sight or beyond reach, where dust usually gathers.

…no, he certainly kept his current bedroom tidy, but not this tidy.

Daisuke tried opening the door to see what’s outside the room, imagining that he’d see an empty white room outside. For all he knew, if he wasn't dead yet, then he might still be sleeping and this was inside his dream. But all he saw was the first floor of his parents’ house, where his old bedroom was situated. To his front was his younger brother’s room. The small corridor to the right led to the bathroom and his older brother’s room. To the right was the staircase leading down to the ground floor. 

He could hear commotion coming from downstairs. Just as he wanted to check…

“Those are your parents, Seiru-kun and Nagisa-kun. I believe they’re arguing over whether to stay at home or pick your younger brother from school. The outside is getting dangerous after all.”

That voice coming from behind him startled Daisuke. It was spoken in what sounded like the English language to him, which he fortunately was quite proficient with–but that’s beside the point. He’s alone just a while ago.

“Dare ka…”

He muttered as he slowly turned his head around. As he did, it occurred to him that the voice actually sounded fairly familiar.

Amaya-san.

The name immediately crossed his mind when Daisuke saw who was sitting on the side of his old bed. The person in question was still wearing the same attire she had when they met earlier today. The only difference being that her black hair was let loose this time, and her shirt’s top two buttons were left undone.

“Amaya-san? Naze, koko ni? Soretomo, sono eigo wa…” (Amaya-san? Why, are you here? Moreover, speaking in English too…)

Hearing Daisuke’s confusion, Amaya-san’s eyes widened a bit, as if realizing something. 

“A, gomen, gomen, wasurechatta. Sawagi no sei de eigo o tsukau yō ni natte shimatta. Demo sa, anata wa eigo ga kanari jōzuda to omoimasu yo ne?” (Ah, sorry, sorry, I forgot. All this commotion made me slip back to using english. But you are quite proficient in English yourself, aren’t you?)

“Ha, hai.” (ye, yes)

“Jaa, let’s talk in english then. It’s more comfortable for me.”

“Ha–y, yes”

Daisuke was flustered, both by Amaya-san’s sudden appearance and her usage of English instead of the usual Japanese. He hadn’t recovered yet from the confusion over how a kamen rider started killing people and summoning monsters to kill more people, then he suddenly arrived here—only seconds before his own demise, and now this. He needed some sort of clarity over what really happened.

“How did we… no, did you bring me here?”

Daisuke asked. He always had this crazy idea that Amaya-san was supernatural of sorts. After what he saw earlier today, and how she suddenly appeared here, he’s willing to entertain that idea.

“Why, I followed you here. It was you who ran to this house, to this room. I suppose you subconsciously see this room as a safe haven.”

“I brought myself here?”

Daisuke quipped in disbelief.

Amaya-san gave him a look, and seemingly came to a conclusion, before continuing.

“I see that you are yet aware of what you can do. Let me explain then.”

She walked toward the glass cupboard, opened it as if it was never locked, and extracted one action figure from within. She turned around, raising the figure in her hand and asked,

“Have you ever wondered how your great-grandfather invented ‘Kamen Rider’?”

Daisuke didn’t expect such a question, but answered regardless.

“No, well, I always thought that he’s just a very creative person.”

Amaya-san let out a small smile in response.

“Your great-grandfather, Shotaro-kun, was a scribe. One day, he found out that he can visit another world, and finding it fascinating, he visited random worlds for sightseeing. In his hubris, he accidentally visited a world where a certain secret organization was manufacturing cyborgs in order to rule that world. He stumbled right in front of one such cyborg.”

Secret organization? Cyborgs? Why do those sound familiar? Daisuke thought. In the meantime, Amaya-san continued on.

“Fortunately, someone saved him before anything bad happened to him. His savior, a cyborg rebel, introduced himself as Hongo Takeshi.”

“Takeshi… Hongo Takeshi? You mean…”

“Yes. Shotaro-kun’s notebook is actually a record he wrote in honor of these ‘heroes’ he encountered throughout his world-jumping journey, to eternalize their story in written form. The term ‘Kamen Rider’ was coined by his son—your grandfather, Jo-kun when they sought to adapt the stories into tv series. It’s not an accurate adaptation of the real account as recorded in the notebook, but, well, it couldn’t be helped.”

Hearing all that merely served to add even more stuff into Daisuke’s already confused mind. He felt like his head would explode from all this new information that came one after another. But one thing caught his attention.

“Are you telling me that my great-grandfather could teleport to any place he wanted–even another world, and I somehow inherit that ability? Was it also how I suddenly popped out here?”

Amaya-san responded with a nod.

“And there are actual kamen riders out there, in another world? And that person I saw summoning monsters is also one?”

Another nod. But Daisuke noticed a slight pause before she responded this time. As though Amaya-san was hesitant in calling that person a ‘kamen rider’. And she confirmed this almost immediately, as if she could tell what Daisuke was thinking.

“In your great-grandfather’s words, that man was a kamen rider.”

“...’was’? What about now?”

“He is nothing more than a man blinded by vengeance now. But that doesn’t change the fact that he IS powerful. In any ca–…”

CRASH!! CRANK!!

“Nanda kore..?” (What’s that?)

Daisuke accidentally slipped back into his Japanese when the sound of wood and glass breaking resounded from outside his (former) room. It was soon followed by a scream of a woman which was quickly cut short by sudden silence.

“It is them. They are here.”

Amaya-san’s voice broke the eerie silence. 

“They who?

Daisuke responded in confusion. At that point, there were too many things swirling in his head for Daisuke to put the two and two together.

“The monsters he brought to this world. Lend me your hand, quickly!”

Even in his confusion, Daisuke still could discern the urgency in Amaya-san’s voice. Without much thought, he stretched out his right hand as told. She in turn placed something in his palm.

“A ring?”

It was a silver ring decorated with a pink colored stone. The stone itself, crisscrossed with strands of silver trapezoid engravings, somehow glowed solemn rainbow colors.

“This was entrusted to me by… a fellow wanderer. I believe it will aid you in your endeavor.”

It won’t even fit my finger. Daisuke thought to himself as he looked at the silver ring. Its size made it seem like it was meant to be worn by a woman instead of a man.

“How do I exactly use this…?”

In response to his question, Amaya-san enveloped Daisuke’s hand with hers, and slowly closed his fingers to enclose the ring within his fist. 

“Just do what you want to do. I promise you, it will help you as long as your will and hope remain strong.”

He certainly heard Amaya-san’s explanation, but Daisuke was more distracted by the silky feelings of her fingers when she clasped them around his hand. And as his focus was mostly directed there, he also noticed that the ring in his palm was emitting strange warmth. The combination of the two sensations somehow dispelled the doubts and confusion in his mind, replacing it with unexplainable calm and confidence.

The fear was still there. But it’s a lot more bearable now.

“The stasis I put around the house will be dispelled soon. Now go, Daisuke-kun. Do what you want to do.”

 

What I want to do, huh? Daisuke thought to himself. Unable to think too hard by that point, lest his brain might explode from all the new information coming in, he acted out the first thing that flashed in his mind.

“!!”

He pulled the unsuspecting Amaya-san into his embrace, eliciting a soundless gasp from the young woman. The feeling of her body pressing into his was startling, but Daisuke chose to ignore that for now as he’s more intent on doing something else first. As he moved his head forward, his right hand circled behind Amaya-san’s head and gently pushed her toward him.

*smooch*

And just like that, he stole a kiss from her.

It was a chaste kiss that only lasted for a couple of seconds before he broke away. Not that he didn’t want more, but he didn’t want to embarrass himself with his lack of experience. Not in front of the seemingly experienced and adult-like Amaya-san. That, and because Daisuke was afraid that his spur-of-moment action may disgust her.

But she didn’t push him away.

Instead, Daisuke heard Amaya-san’s nasally giggle. 

“Is that what you want to do?”

She sounded amused. But thankfully Daisuke didn’t catch any sign of mocking from her tone.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that. I just… thought… better do it now just in case…”

“‘Tis no good to be pessimistic.”

Amaya-san slid her hands between their bodies and pushed Daisuke away ever so gently. She then continued with an almost patronizing tone.

“Believe that you’ll live on to see tomorrow. Never despair, never doubt yourself. And surely, the path will show itself to you.”

It was funny, to say the least. Daisuke felt that Amaya-san was more disappointed at his ‘before I die’ mentality, rather than him hugging and stealing a kiss without her consent.

“Then how about this? Amaya-san,”

“Yes?”

“After all this is over…”

Daisuke paused to gather up his courage. Taking a deep breath, before finally going in for the kill.

“...after all of this is over, will you go out with me?”  

 

 

08:39

Daisuke exited his old room with a sizzling hot face.

That smile she gave me, as well as the answer, it’s so unfair. He thought to himself.

But it certainly made him look forward to what the future holds. At the same time, the ring in his palm grew somewhat warmer for reasons he wasn’t aware of. However, if he was to believe what Amaya-san said, then the ring might have reacted to a hopeful will he had for the future.

Running downstairs, he saw the kaijins busting through the front door and window, as well as his parents, all in a suspended state. It’s like watching a life size diorama depicting a scene of a family being attacked by monsters from showa era kamen rider show. It was a somewhat otherworldly and magical scenery, but Daisuke had no time to appreciate it.

Focusing his mind and setting aside all things about the mystery shrouding Amaya-san and his great grandfather, he took his place between his parents and the charging kaijins.

At first, Daisuke thought about using the ring to awaken his teleportation ability. But considering that it’s an ability that was pretty much foreign to him, he opted to not use it until he learned properly how. After all, if something went wrong, he may end up sending everyone in the room to an even more hostile place.  

Therefore, he chose to make a stance instead.

Daisuke knew his decision didn’t make any sense. But nothing that happened this morning made sense anyway. So he simply chose to believe. Hoping that, at least, Amaya-san wasn’t lying to him. Hoping that the ring within his grasp is more than just a ring with a pretty pink stone.

Then, the moment the world around him started moving again, and the kaijins continued their furious charge, Daisuke focused on the thoughts to protect his family and to fight back the enemies.

At the same time, unbeknownst to him, the ring in his hand was shining brightly.

Responding to his thoughts and wishes.

 

And for the first time in his life, Daisuke transformed into the one of the heroes that his great grandfather took charge in scribing the story of their life.

Kamen rider.

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

That was the first time Daisuke transformed into a ‘kamen rider’. 

 

It was a different type of kamen rider than what he is now. It was more primal, ancient, and biological in form, in contrast to A-Cross’ more modern and mechanized look. He even first thought that he had turned into just another kaijin, but fortunately his features were unmistakably that of a kamen rider. It certainly was something he couldn’t simply forget.

That ring… Or the pink colored stone embedded in it to be exact, was actually the so-called ‘kenja no ishi’, or in English, the ‘philosophers’ stone’. One of the many in the infinite multiverse, but no less potent than the others.

This particular one responded to its carrier’s wish and hope. Giving form to the ideal condition that will allow its carrier to achieve said wish and hope. Its only limitation was directly tied to its carrier’s knowledge and understanding over how to achieve their own wish and hope.

The first time the ring responded to his wish, the ring transformed his body to that of a kamen rider. It’s probably because Daisuke doesn’t know how a modern kamen rider technology works or how to assemble one, thus the ring took the next logical method: altering his own body while still enabling him to reassume his regular human form.

From there, Daisuke would use the ring’s power to alter nearby items into weapons, or alter his muscle fiber or skin to adapt to a certain task. 

The ring also made his blood into some sort of exploding virus that will cause cells that aren’t his own to combust or explode after exposure to a certain dosage. In lieu of that altering, it also created some kind of microscopic but extremely sharp stingers on his fists and soles that help inject his blood into his enemies’ body—those in his soles capable of injecting more dosage than the ones on his fists. When he started using weapons, the said weapon will also have connection ducts and a way to inject his blood to the enemy it struck.

It certainly helped him defeat kaijins that didn’t outright die from his muscle strength alone. Later on, when he starts encountering kaijins with no living tissue in their body, his blood would even explode after exiting his body and exposed to air for a while. Although it often left him anemic at times.

Good old times. Daisuke thought to himself.

Anyways…

 

Theoretically speaking, depending on its carrier, the ring’s power would be near infinity.

Makes him wonder who was this ‘fellow wanderer’ who entrusted the ring to Amaya.

 

In any case, the ring was no longer with him.

Daisuke had returned the ring to Amaya a few days after his Earth was destroyed. He was at his lowest point at that time, and he felt that he failed to wield the stone’s power properly.

A few weeks afterward, he inherited the A-Cross system from the professor. Apparently, Amaya did something to the system, that the professor–as its original user, could barely recognize it anymore. Its basic system was still that of the professor’s A-Cross, but the rest are apparently new.

That’s in the past now.

What Daisuke wanted to invoke back was that scene when he first received the ring from Amaya. 

 

After a moment of silent deliberation, Daisuke got up from the bed and walked out of his tent.