[XW1n5t0nX]

“HENSHIN!”

A bright red light emanates from the center of the belt, it bright enough to cause Kurai, his attacker, and the girl to shield their eyes. In front of and behind Kurai, two red badges of light fly towards him, they slamming into his body. Afterwards, the light emanating from the belt dies down, the man and the girl taking their arms away from their eyes. Their faces become filled with shock as they take in the sight before them. Kurai stands before them clad in a blackish grey suit featuring read armor, his head covered by a helmet slightly curved, it featuring two yellow eyes. Kurai looks down at himself, he left speechless by what has happened.

“What…what is this?” He says inside of his head.

Kurai’s thoughts are interrupted, the man letting out a scream as he slams the tip of the blade against Kurai’s gut. The armor he is wearing though deflects the attack, it flying out of the man’s hand due to how much force he used to hit Kurai as well as the armor deflecting it. The girl seeing this stops crying, her eyes wide in shock and awe. Kurai realizing that he cannot be hurt now grins inside the helmet, his eyes narrowing as he looks at the man.

Kurai moves his body forward, he bringing his arm forward with him, his fist slamming into the gut of his former attacker. Kurai begins to unload on the guy, he hitting him with his fists repeatedly, the man gasping from the strength of the blows. Kurai then moves back some as the man ducks down to avoid a punch, Kurai whipping his body around, he slamming his foot into the side of the head of the man. The man staggers to the side from the force of the blow, blood trickling down the side of his head.

“So, this is the power of the Hanketsu Driver. It feels, amazing.” Kurai once again says inside of his head.

The man lets out a battle cry as he runs towards Kurai, he looking to deliver a punch to the throat. Kurai moves his body to the side just enough so that the man’s fist flies past him. The two lock gazes at each other as Kurai brings his right arm back. He then throws it forward, his fist slamming into the gut of the attacker, the force of the blow so strong that he goes flying back and past the girl, he slamming into a pile of trashcans.

Kurai stares down the path and looks at the aftermath of his punch, he chuckling some in disbelievement. He soon stops, he turning his attention to the girl who has now made her way up to her feet, her eyes glued to Kurai, her face red from crying.

“W w who are you?” She asks of him, she as confused as he is.

Kurai stares at her for a few minutes, he then looking down at his hands and the rest of his armored form. His eyes soon return to the woman, his voice returning to him as he speaks to her.

“I…I don’t know.”

Kurai stares down at his waist and at the belt, he noticing a button near the slot where he inserted the badge. He pushes the button, he causing the badge to shoot up and out of the belt. Kurai holds out his hand and catches it. After about five seconds a white light emanates from the Hanketsu Driver, it washing over Kurai. When the light fades away, Kurai is back in the clothes he was wearing when he henshined, the girl staring on as all of this happens. Noticing that the girl is still shaking from the events which had just taken place, Kurai walks over to her slowly in an attempt to not spook her. Once he’s close to her he stares at her for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

“Are you alright?”

“I I’m fine.” She answers with a shaky voice.

“Do you want me to call for help?”

“No, I’m fine! Thanks!” She blurts out, she then turning her back to Kurai and running off.

Kurai looks down the alleyway as she runs away, he continuing to do so long after she’s gone. As he stands there his mind becomes flooded with thousands of questions. What had just happened? What was this mysterious armor that just appeared on him? Was this the power of the Hanketsu Driver? Why did the girl seem afraid of him?

“Just what am I?” Kurai asks himself aloud.

“You my boy are the one who will protect this city.” A voice utters as it creeps into Kurai’s consciousness.

Startled by the sound of the voice Kurai begins to look all around the alleyway, he finding nobody else in it but him. He looks upwards towards the roofs of the buildings, but his efforts are the same as the ones he had done only a moment ago; nobody was there. Kurai replayed the message in his mind again, he now recognizing the voice to be that of the man who gave him the Hanketsu Driver and the Kei Badges. The question was no longer who had spoken to him, but where was the man?

“Where are you?” Kurai asks to the empty alleyway.

“I am everywhere. That is not important. What is important is your question.” The man’s voice returns.

“My question?”

“Indeed. You asked who and what you were correct?”

“Y yeah. Can you tell me?” Kurai asks of his ghostly companion.

“You my son are the person I have chosen to protect this place. Only somebody who has a pain as big as yours, and a need for justice such as the one you have could protect a filth hole like this. You are the warrior who will bring law and order to Tokyo. You are Daigen, Kamen Rider Daigen.” The man explains, his voice gaining a sense of enthusiasm as he goes on, it almost becoming ecstatic as he utters the name he has given to Kurai.

“Kamen Rider...Daigen? I’m Kamen Rider Daigen?” Kurai questions to himself, he looking down at the badge and belt afterwards.

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*Opening Theme*

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Episode 3: Stranglehold

-April 15th, 2014|Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan|15:30 PM-

Kurai and his friends sit at a table inside of a café themed around the 1980s. The stereo in the restaurant is currently playing the track Turn It into Love by the pop group Wink as the group converses while drinking coffee. As the song continues to play, Daisuke turns his head to look over at Kurai. He takes a sip from his cup of coffee before he speaks out to Kurai.

“So Kurai, what’s it like living by yourself?”

“Daisuke…” Ai whispers over to him.

“No it’s fine Ai, I’m sure for somebody who still lives at home like Daisuke the thought of living alone is very intriguing.” Kiyoharu replies to the girl, a smirk painted across his face. His words get a laugh out of Ai and a small chuckle out of Kurai.

“It’s the same as living anywhere I suppose. You just don’t have anybody around unless you have guests.” Kurai answers after his chuckling stops.
“That sounds boring.” Daisuke says in response.

“Living with anybody is boring unless you care for them. Being on your own is no different.” Kurai states as he spins the liquid in his cup with a silver spoon.

“Oh. Well I guess that makes some sense.” Daisuke responds as he leans back in his chair, he taking in the words of his friend and thinking about them.

“But you can do whatever you want around the house then if you’re fully alone. That has to be pretty fun.” Kiyoharu suggests.

“I simply go about my day and life as I did before. The only difference is that everything falls on me now in both chores and finances. That and the fact that I have nobody next to me.” Kurai answers, he taking a sip of his coffee after doing so.

“Next to you?” Ai asks.

“I have nobody lying next to me at night when I go to bed. I have only myself, the bedding, and the air. I don’t ever feel lonely until I go to bed. There’s nothing lonelier then having nobody next to you while you sleep. Nobody to hold, no warmth, only coldness. I haven’t had as much trouble sleeping since I was a child. Not having somebody there next to you really make it hard.”

A quiet falls over the table of friends after Kurai finishes his explanation, the three digesting what he has just uttered and instantly knowing what he was referring to. It wasn’t hard for them to understand his thoughts, as they easily could see how no longer having somebody next to you that you’ve had for years could upset and disturb one’s sleeping process. After minutes had passed Ai became the first to speak again, she looking up and over at Kurai, her eyes filled with a concerned sadness.

“Have the police said anything about reopening the case?”

Kurai does not return Ai’s gaze, his eyes set down at the contents of his cup, it almost empty. His answer soon comes though, his voice coming out calm, but it would be easy for it to become heretic at any moment.

“No, they’re keeping it closed until they receive any new information.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Kurai.” Ai responds, she reaching out and placing a hand against his shoulder, she gently rubbing it for a few moments before drawing away.

“Don’t be. They have other important cases to work on instead of stopping everything on one that they couldn’t get a single thing for.” Kurai answers as he raises his head up and shakes his head in a “yes” type of movement. “Besides, I’m handling it.”

“Handling it? What do you mean?” Daisuke asks puzzled, he being as puzzled as the other two of the group.

“Well since the police have closed the case and don’t plan to investigate it, I decided I’d do their job for them. I’m going to track down Eiko’s murderer if it’s the last thing I do. Why just let the case and investigation end just because the police stop? I’ll do it myself.”

Ai, Daisuke, and Kiyoharu look at each other and at Kurai, they shocked at the fact that he plans to catch the killer himself. Kurai was studying to be a lawyer, not a detective. It was a case to where they knew he had the passion to do it, but didn’t think he could do it without any training.

However even though they doubted Kurai could do it, they dare not say it. The three simply smiled softly at their friend and nodded their heads in approval.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” Kiyoharu says.

“If anybody can do it, I’d bet it’s you.” Daisuke throws in.

“You’ll do Eiko-san proud Kurai.” Ai assures him.

Kurai smiles a bit and shakes his head in acceptance of his friends’ words. “Thank you, I’ll give it my all!” Kurai responds. He then stands up and takes out his wallet. He takes out a few yen coins and puts them on the table, he pitching in for his part of the meal. “I’m off for now.”

“Goodbye. Have a safe trip home!” The three reply in unison, they getting a nod from Kurai as a response.

As Kurai goes to leave the café, the song Illusion by Buck-Tick which had replaced the Wink song begins to come to an end. Right before Kurai heads out of the establishment he hears a lyric that resonates with him.

AH REMEMBER YOU
The white season that melted away
AH REMEMBER YOU
Even now, revives a faint “I love you”

The lyrics sink into Kurai’s consciousness, they bringing up the image of Eiko, she soon fading away as she says “I love you.” Just as the song talk about a season that could represent a person going away and saying I love you, Kurai himself has experienced very similar thing, right down to the last words Eiko ever spoke to him. Kurai clutched at his chest some as he exited the café, a small tear falling from his eyes. He soon released his hand form his chest and headed off to his apartment and to another cold night.

-May 7th, 2014|Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan|12:21 PM-

The rays of the sun shine down on the Earth, its heat transferring to the planet. The residents and visitors of Shinjuku walk around the ward in an intense heat, many people carrying fans with them to try and keep themselves cool so that they don’t become overheated. Groups of teenagers with their swimsuits on and towels over their shoulder head off towards pools, they looking for a more refreshing way to cool down. The heat is something the people are use to by now, it coming year after year and torturing them with it’s intensity. Though at the moment a heat wave seems to have taken effect and is making everyday life quite unbearable.

Kurai walks down the street with many others, he tugging at the collar of his shirt to try and relieve some of the warmth. His white shirt was clinging to his body due to sweat, and his backpack wasn’t helping matters, it seeming all the heavier in the heat. But he pressed as he has for days, he blocking out the heat as much as he could, he not wanting it or anything else to slow down the process of tracking down Eiko’s killer. He’s been at it ever since he left the café that seemingly far away April day, he becoming consumed with the case. School had recently ended for a summer break, and Kurai used his newly found free time to dive head first into the case, he working every day on it.

He started where most detectives would, he talking to those close to Eiko, he mostly focusing on those she worked with. Kurai was sure it wasn’t a family member or a friend who did it as there wouldn’t really be a motive for one to do so. With the family and friends out of the way he moved on to those who worked with her or around her, he almost positive it would be somebody in that circle. With Eiko working in the world of modeling and of idols there was sure to be somebody with motive, whether it was somebody jealous of her success, or a person behind the scenes mad that she wouldn’t agree to work, or even have a relationship with them. The possibilities were boundless and Kurai was going to work through every last one.

While he hadn’t interviewed everybody, those closest to her stated that they would have never dreamt of harming Eiko nor knew anybody within the business that would do so. Most of them speculated that it could possibly be an obsessed fan, but that would be near impossible in terms of singling out one person. Eiko did receive fan mail, but most of the time she would only read them before putting them away unless it was one that touched her. Kurai who has witnessed her doing this before agreed with the statement. He had in fact already gone through the ones she kept, but nothing came over as obsessed, especially since most of the letters were from girls. He asked if Eiko had received any offers from companies to go work for them, his brain thinking that perhaps somebody mad about her not working for them could act out. Eiko’s manager told Kurai that a few companies had made requests to sign Eiko to a contract, but that most of them weren’t for a permanent spot in the company, but just a onetime appearance. Kurai seemed to have come to a dead end, he not sure where to investigate next. Most of those who worked with Eiko would tell him of some people she was around close to the day of her death, and her manager was kind enough to inform him of what companies had inquired about hiring her. But the leads where wearing thin, and he was almost out of options.

Finding the heat to be getting too painful and tiring, Kurai walks into convenience store, one of the cashiers greeting him as he enters, Kurai returning the greeting. He walks over to the drinks section of the store, the air conditioning helping him cool off. Once at the coolers he looks through each section, he thinking about what he wants to drink. Not knowing how much longer he would be out walking Kurai takes a bottle of water and a can of green tea. He makes his way back to the register, a fairly good sized line awaiting him. He steps into it with two women joining the line afterwards. As the line moves forward every so often the two women begin to speak, Kurai picking up on it. While this is a common every day thing, his attention becomes grabbed at the subject of the two’s conversation.

“I can’t believe little Risa was harmed like that. Nobody her age should go through such a troubling event.”

“I know right? Why do these things always happen to such beautiful girls, and young ones at that?”

“I bet it was that guy she’s been working for. I know she wants to be a pop idol and it’s easier to start as one of these street groups, but she should be careful of who she associates with.”

“You’re probably right. Doesn’t he work for that gang that supposedly has been snatching up all of those girls to use as talent? You know the one that was supposedly responsible for that one girl’s death?”

“I heard she killed herself because she was whored out and got pregnant because of it. She probably didn’t want to shame her family.”

“But didn’t she die from an allergic reaction to something she ate?”

“She probably ate it on purpose. The youth are so troubled now a day. What went wrong? We were so much better growing up.”

By the time he was taking in the part of their talk about the girl’s reason for possibly dying, Kurai had checked out and headed outside. He put the water bottle inside of his backpack, it lying against a notebook and the Hanketsu Driver. He stands outside of the store and opens up the can of tea, he taking a long sip before lowering the can from his mouth, he wiping his forehead afterwards. After a minute the two women come out of the store, Kurai speaking out to them and walk to where they are, they staring at him in a puzzled state.

“Hello. I’m sorry to surprise you but I heard you talking about some gang that controls idols in the store.”

“Don’t you think you should mind your own business and not pay attention to what strangers say?” One of them asks Kurai in a tone that hints at her being irritated that she was being listened to in line.

“I know and I apologize for that. But my sister lately seems distant and says it’s because of work. I know she started working in an idol group a while back and after hearing your conversation I’m concerned she could be working for the gang you two were talking about. I was wondering if you knew where they tend to hang out.” Kurai asks of the two women, his brain coming up with a story quicker than most people can answer a question in class. While he was sure this gang may not have contacted Eiko, it never hurt to check, especially since an idol for them turned up dead.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear. I don’t know where they may have an office at, but I know one of the groups they manage has a building where they rehearse near her. You go to the end of this block, turn a right, go two blocks, take a left, and you’re there. Maybe you can ask the group if they know your sister.”

Inside of his head Kurai smiled at this new information, the smile more for how he was able to get this potential clue then the answer itself. “I’ll try that. Thank you very much!” He responded to the woman, the two smiling and nodding in response.

Following the directions given by the women Kurai soon comes to a warehouse like building, it sitting across from a bakery. From the outside of the building Kurai can hear the sound of music, it faint but still loud enough to penetrate to the outside. Kurai takes a deep breath before he crosses the street and walks to the door of the building. He opens the door and walks inside, he standing in a room filled with people. A small stage sits in the back, girls singing and dancing on it, this indeed being a place to rehearse. Kurai stays in the back and watches the rehearsal, he finding the little group to not be half bad, though this isn’t his preferred type of music.

After an hour the performance comes to a stop. One of the men sitting near the front stands up, he appearing to be dressed in a business suit. “That was good girls. Let’s stop for today.” He tells the group before he walks off to the left, a small group of men following him. With that, most of the audience moves to different spots of the building, the girls doing the same. One of the girls who remain on the stage looks in Kurai’s direction, she tilting her head as she looks at him. Not recognizing him from any of the other rehearsals she climbs down from the stage and walks over to Kurai. She’s about 5’4 with dark brown hair; it tied back into a ponytail. She’s clothed in a pink tank top and grey shorts, her appearance that of a regular girl who’d be rehearsing, she appearing to be around the age of Kurai’s sister. The girl looks up at Kurai and stares at him for a few second, Kurai returning the stare. Eventually she speaks up.

“Who are you?” The girl asks, her voice soft but a little deep, it coming off as sore, probably because of the practicing.

“My name is Kimiyoshi Kurai.” He answers, he taken off guard a bit by the apparent bluntness of the girl.

“I’ve never seen you here. If you came for the rehearsal why’d you stay in the back? Why are you here?” She continues as she assaults Kurai with questions, the girl coming off as the no-nonsense type. Kurai was reminded of his sister even more now in both age and attitude.

“I heard about that some pop groups rehearsed here and thought I’d check it out.” Kurai replies with a small smile and nod of the head.

“You’re lying.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we don’t have rehearsals open to the public. So how about you tell the truth this time. Why are you here Kimiyoshi?”

Kurai sighs a bit but chuckles some, he finding the girl to be smarter then he thought she would be. “Okay, the truth is that I heard that your group and some others are managed by a gang. A close friend of mine who was an idol died recently and when I heard about the gang, I thought I’d check it out. I know she wasn’t working for you all, but it’s the only direction I have at the moment.” He tells her.

The girl then laughs a bit before looking at Kurai again. “Your first lie was more believable than this one. Seriously why are you?”

Kurai takes out his wallet and opens it up to a picture of him and Eiko, he pointing the image at the girl in front of him.

“That’s…that’s…”

“Tsubami Eiko. She was my fiancée.” Kurai says in a cold monotone voice, it bland but hiding sadness in it.

“Oh my…you’re serious aren’t you?”

“Deathly.”

“I’m sorry to hear. If you’ll wait, I can go change. We’ll go out and talk for a bit.” The girl tells him, she giving him a small nod before running off, presumably to get dressed.

As he stands there waiting for her Kurai notices out of the corner of his eye a man staring at him as he speaks to another male. The one who was staring at him turns his attention to the other man, the two finishing up their conversation. Afterwards the man walks up to Kurai, he dressed in a Hawain styled yellow and blue shirt, his hair dyed blonde and his skin tanned some, he also sporting a gold necklace. The two look each other up and down trying to get a feel of the other. After a minute of the two standing off, the man speaks up to to Kurai.

“So I see you’re interested in Asami. You her boyfriend or something. Cause you look a little bit older then most high school boys.” The man asks Kurai, Kurai raising an eyebrow in response.

“I’m not her boyfriend. I’m just a friend of hers. I was in the area and wanted to see if she wanted to have a bite with me.” Kurai replies, his voice back to it’s normal tone.

“I see. I only ask because while I was talking to my associate, I heard you saying something about us being part of some gang. I just wanted to say it’s not true. People are jealous of what we have here, so they make up shit about us to try and bring us down.”

“And that girl dying mysteriously out of nowhere is a rumor too?” Kurai shoots back, his eyes narrowing a bit as his voice gains a more serious tone.

“Please, that girl was just depressed. She simply couldn’t handle being a star. It got her feeling down, so she decided to off herself. Big deal.” The man barks back, his tone growing as well.

“For somebody who thinks it isn’t a big deal you sure are getting agitated over it.” Kurai remarks with a small smirk.

“You would be too if somebody accused you of being responsible for a crime.”

“True. But hey, at least I’m not in a position that opens up the door for those types of accusations.”

“People shouldn’t gossip or point fingers. They may find themselves speechless and without a finger to point.” The man states, his eyes narrowed and his voice coming out as a slow malicious tone.

The two men stare off at each other, neither wanting to back down at this point. Asami soon walks up to the two, she no longer dressed in her dance clothes, she now clad in a red skirt and a light green shirt, her hair still tied back and like Kurai, wearing a back pack. She looks back and forth at both men, she ending the sequence by looking at Kurai.
“You ready to go?” Asami asks of him.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Kurai replies as he opens the door for Asami, she walking out of it. Kurai and the man give each other a final stare, their eyes equally being able to cut through air itself. Kurai soon looks away as he walks out of the building, the door closing behind him.

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Asami and Kurai sits next to each other on a swing set in a park, the two slowly swinging as they watch people pass before their eyes. The people they see range from all types, young to old, parents with children to teenagers out on dates, to children playing with each other. As they continue to swatch the multitude of people go pass them the two talk, Kurai taking the lead in it all.

“So why did you want to became a pop idol?” He asks of Asami, his eyes still glued to watching the passerby’s.

“I guess for the same reasons every other girl becomes one: I wanted to be famous.” She answers, her voice strangely softer sounding then it was earlier.

“But there are a lot of fields that could get you famous. Why did you want to specifically be a pop idol?” Kurai questions as he starts to swing a bit more.

“I think for the name alone. A lot of girls look at idols as that, idols. For some of us they’re somebody to look up to and inspire to be like. We want to be famous but also become somebody that a little girl could look at it and want to be like.” Asami answers, she joining in Kurai’s activity of swinging more.

“I thought people didn’t like looking to celebrities as that type of role. If the celebrity does something stupid and the fan follows by example, it gets that star a lot of slack, especially with the media.”

“That’s true, but pop idols are sometimes all us girls have. You boys have the stars of action shows, we have pop idols. I always looked up to those girls as role models; a lot of them come from the same background as me.”

Kurai stops swinging after a bit, he planting his feet on the ground below. He turns his head to look at the girl to his left, his voice flowing into her ear. “And what background would that be?”

Asami looks out at the people more, she quiet for a good minute or so, Kurai assuming she was either ignoring the question or simply thinking about what to say. Finally she does speak up, her voice while still deep sounding extremely soft to him, almost childlike. “I’m just another statistic in my family. I have a lot of siblings and a lot of family members stay with us. Even with all of these people growing up I never really got a whole lot of attention. I think a lot of people use a family member as an idol, but I could never really see any of mine as one. I was always put in front of the TV. I saw this pop idol one night and I sat there hypnotized by her. I found her music so beautiful and it was touching my soul unlike anything ever has. The next day I went out and bought all of her CDs that I could afford. From then on I wanted to be like her, I wanted to be famous and be able to be told that I inspired somebody.” Asami then looks over at Kurai, her lips forming a small smile. “Stupid right?”

“No, it’s actually quite lovely.” Kurai replies, he looking right at Asami’s face, their eyes’ locked too each other.

“Thank you.” Asami answers, she quickly turning her attention back to the scene in front of her. “So what do you want to know about the company exactly?” She asks of him, her voice returning to it’s regular tone.

“Ah yes. I wanted to know how good they are as businessmen. In other words if the rumors about them are true.” Kurai replies.

“I don’t know if they really killed that girl, but a lot of the rest are true.” She answers.

“How so?”

“They sign up us girls who perform on the streets, they knowing that we’re dreaming of being big and would love a contract. So they get us working for them. They throw us all into different groups and market us as different idol groups. But they’re really strict and controlling. We have to practice every day for hours on end with no breaks. They also are solely responsible for booking us which gets us a few undesirable venues. My group actually had to perform in a bar, it’s one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had.” Asami explains to Kurai, her voice getting more serious and cold sounding, Kurai able to pick up on how much hostility she’s housing.

“That sounds terrible.” Kurai replies, his eyes widening a bit from the surprise of the teenage girl performing in places such as the one she mentioned. He found the rest to be normal, as from what he understood younger idols were handled in a stricter manner than somebody older such as Eiko.

“Yeah well it gets worse. A lot of us girls aren’t too happy about some of the rules and way we’re handled. If you speak up they won’t promote or get you bookings for a while. If you act out even more some of the guys will hit you.” Asami goes on; her voice still filled with disdain, but it also cracking a bit, it a sign of her emotions starting to get the best of her.

“That does sound even worse. Why don’t you just leave them and try and get hired somewhere else?"

“I can’t. We no longer work for them only when THEY say so. We have to put up with it.”

“So why not go to the police?” Kurai asks as he himself begins to get angered, he finding the acts he is being told about.

“Because what good would that do. Besides,” Asami begins, she standing up before she continues, she proceeding to walk away from the swing set, Kurai following after her. “What would be the point? They’d probably by their way out, find out who did it and then punish them.”

“Is that what happened to that girl Risa?” Kurai asks in a somewhat abrupt fashion.

Asami looks up at Kurai who in response looks down at her, he noticing a fire in her eyes, it obviously being a fire of anger. “Pretty much. Why bother, the police won’t do anything. They never do anything. You should know that by now.” She replies, she bowing her head after saying it, Kurai turning his attention to the way ahead.

The sun begins to set as Asami and Kurai arrive at a train station, Asami deciding to see him off. The two stand there with a few other people, they not speaking a word to each other since Asami’s words in the park. It was easy for them to affect Kurai, Asami did after all bring up a good point. If the police wasn’t able to do anything about the murder of a famous star, why would they do anything about some low tier gang? He didn’t want to admit it, but Kurai knew Asami was right. Something had to be done though, and if it wouldn’t be the police, it would be him. He was already playing detective, why not play the role of a bodyguard. After all, he was given the Hanketsu Driver to protect people wasn’t he?

Kurai turned to Asami, she eventually feeling his eyes on her. Asami turned her head and looked at Kurai, her face conveying a bit of confusion as to why he was looking at her.

“What?” She asked in the blunt manner she used to question him back at the warehouse.

“Give me your phone.” Kurai tells her.

“Why?”

“I’m programming my number into it.”

“Why do you want to do that? Just because we spent a day together doesn’t mean we’re a couple now.” She retorts.

“If the police aren’t going to help you girls, I will. I want you to call me if anything happens.” Kurai explains.

Asami looks up at him, she lingering on every word that passes his lips. After he is finished Asami simply stands there, she thinking about what her companion has just told her. Her thinking soon becomes interrupted as the train back to Kunitachi. As Kurai begins to walk towards the doors that have just opened, Asami gently tugs at his arm as a signal of wanting his attention. Once Kurai turns around to look at her he comes to see her holding out her phone to him, it clad in a pink case and fashioned with multiple trinkets, typical for a teenage girl. Kurai gives a small smile and takes the phone from her, he programming his cell’s number into the phone. He then goes to the notepad and types something into a new note, he saving it and giving the phone back to Asami when he’s finished.

“There, you now have my phone number. I also gave you my address. If you need me just give me or call or come to my place. I’ll help you at any time if you need it.” Kurai explains to his young acquaintance, he turning towards his train again afterwards.

“Kurai!” Asami’s voice calls out right as he’s about to board the train. Kurai turns around and looks at Asami, she presenting him with a small but warm smile. “Thank you, thank you very much.”

Kurai gives her a small smile in return. “You’re welcome Asamsi.” Kurai then waves goodbye as he boards his train, the doors closing behind him. After a few minutes the train takes off, Asami watching as her new friend and protector heads back to where he belongs, she now having to make the journey back to where she belonged, but didn’t want to belong.

-May 20th, 2014|Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan|9:30 AM-

Grayish clouds cover the sky over Tokyo, the sun still rising within the land and not yet fully shining. Men and women are already at work or on their way to their jobs, some still not due in for hours, while many others are sleeping in. Those who are up are taking things slow, they either getting ready for their day or simply relaxing with their breakfast, morning paper, or a TV program. It was a typical morning for everybody, something straight out of any work of fiction.

Kurai walks out of his house dressed in grey sweat shorts and a blue shirt, the pair acting as his evening wear. He opens the gate in front of the house and walks out of the yard and over to the mail box. Kurai opens it up and plucks from it the day’s newspaper. As he starts to head back into the house a neighbor greets him, Kurai returning the gesture.

Once inside of the house Kurai heads into the kitchen and sits at the table, his mother standing at the stove and making breakfast. He opens unfolds the newspaper and begins to read the front page, he slowly working his way down it. The page now finished Kurai opens the paper up and immediately tosses it down to the table and in a heretic manner jumps out of his seat and backs into the refrigerator. His mother hearing the commotion turns away from the stove and looks at her son, his face now void of any color, eyes wide and almost bulging. The mother then looks at the table and notices the newspaper; it opened up and now a bit wrinkled from the manner of how Kurai rejected it. Curious and worried about what could have sent her usually calm and collected son into this state she walks over to the table and picks up the newspaper, she reading the headline of the page, she coming to understand what has sent Kurai into such a state.

“16 YEARD OLD POP IDOL NARUMI ASAMI FOUND DEAD AT CONSTRUCTION SITE!”

…To be continued

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