Kamen Rider Zero Hour Ep. 4

Kamen Rider: Zero Hour

Episode 4: Re-Spark

By Ziginz

--------------------------------------------

“HENSHIN!!!”

Upon activating the Sengoku Driver the same red suit and helmet usually worn by Tsubaki materialized around the belt’s current wearer; Tamiko. However that was all that appeared, the Himawari Lock Seed not having an arms associated with it. The truth was that the sunflower themed Lock was meant only as a source of nutrition and not for combat, barely having enough energy to create the base suit! Tamiko was neither aware of this nor was she concerned about it, not while one of the only friends she had left in the world was in mortal danger!

The Worm did its best imitation of human laughter as the unarmed girl ran towards it, the monster knowing well his opponent’s current state was an incomplete transformation. It didn’t even think it necessary to dodge her initial attack, a flying round house kick to the chest, until after it had been struck. It instantly regretted its decision as the force from the blow sent it railing back! Tamiko didn’t let up on her assault, letting loose a volley of attacks that were as refined as they were strong! While the Worm had been caught off guard by the girl’s strength and speed, Tsubaki and Kino were just as surprised by her apparent martial prowess. There was something none of them had yet to discover about this girl from the past that would give her a massive advantage in this dangerous era:

Tamiko was an avid martial artist.

While on the surface it looked like Tsubaki was the more physically developed of the two women, Tamiko’s body was far more toned and conditioned from her years of training.
Judo, Boxing, Kendo, and even Muey Thai; Tamiko had learned at least the basics in all of them, but her specialty had always been in Karate. Even with an incomplete rider form the gifted warrior was more than capable of damaging even this sort of foe! The Worm had taken more damage than it had expected from the girl’s onslaught but finally got a chance to counter attack. Tamiko saw the claw swipe coming and was able to side step it and a follow up swing before dashing in to punch the creature several more times, finally knocking it back with an uppercut to its lower mandibles!

“Tamiko! That Lock’s no good for combat! Switch to the Ichigo Lock quick!”

Tamiko heard Tsubaki’s instructions and only then realized her current state. She looked around the belt and quickly found the Ichigo Lock Seed dangling from her hip, unlatching it as quick as she could and switching it with the currently set Himawari Lock.

[Ichigo!] [Lock On!]

The strawberry shaped mass of energy formed above her as she flicked the lever, the construct taking a solid form before falling onto her head.

[Soiya! Ichigo Arms! Shushutto Spark!]

The strawberry unfolded around her chest and shoulders into its chest plate form, the arm’s signature weapons materializing in her hands. She quickly got a feel for the kunai and prepared to continue her assault when she noticed her opponent acting strangely. Its body almost looked like it was vibrating as it crouched down, neither Tsubaki nor Kino having time to warn the novice rider of what was coming. The Worm suddenly vanished from sight and less than a second later Tamiko was struck by an unseen attack, and then another, and another after that!

This was the true terror of a fully matured Worm, the power to manipulate tachyon particles in such a way as to let it travel at near light speed! There was some lag in its perception at such speeds, true, but it usually wasn’t anywhere near enough for someone to take advantage of. After being struck several times it seemed Tamiko was done for, her armor holding up for the time being but clearly taking damage. The creature stopped for a moment to size up its foe’s condition when Tamiko noticed something potentially game changing. She managed to get to her feet, much to the Worm’s ire, and waited for it to attack once more.

It was more than confident in its inevitable victory and accelerated at her, Tamiko turning towards where the creature was attacking! She was knocked back by the blow, seeming to have failed in her attempted counter attack, but two sharp pains in the
Worm’s chest caused it to suddenly decelerate. It looked down and hissed upon seeing the rider’s Kunai blades sticking out of its chest as its chitin skin cracked around them! She had managed to keep up with its movements somehow, but that should have been impossible, or so the Worm had thought!

Tamiko looked down at the monster’s feet and then toward where it had once been, seeing dust settling along the path which it had traveled. She had managed to predict its movements using its dust trail! It seemed these things weren’t always able to think as quickly as they could move, which was something she would have to keep in mind for future encounters. The creature stumbled back and Tamiko quickly mustered what strength she could, standing to her feet and pulling the lever on the Sengoku Driver!

[Ichigo Squash!]

A red mass of energy shaped like a giant strawberry formed between Tamiko and her foe, the rider dashing toward it before leaping skyward. She shifted into a flying kick and impacted the strawberry, the object spinning rapidly around her as she landed the attack! She drilled straight through the beast which exploded behind her in a gout of purple flames, Tamiko having defeated the imposing foe by the skin of her teeth! Her landing was less than graceful though, rolling a few times before landing on her back. She felt sore all over and was indeed sporting a few scratches and bruises, but the young fighter was otherwise unharmed from her battle.

“Thank God…and here I thought I had been training too much lately. Phew…”

“Tamiko!”

The sore youth heard her name and looked up to see her companions standing over her with concerned expressions. She deactivated the driver and gave a thumbs up which provoked relieved laughter from them both. Tsubaki suddenly cringed in pain as she grabbed her injured arm, her bicep looking bruised and swelling badly. Kino noticed this and quickly examined the injury, instantly recognizing the signs of a broken bone. Tamiko looked down at the Sengoku Driver and felt more than a little responsible for the woman’s injury. Tsubaki noticed the other girl’s expression and knew exactly what was going through her mind, not hesitating to set her straight on the matter.

“This isn’t your fault you know; it’s mine for letting my guard down.”

“D-Don’t say that. If not for me you would have had your belt and-“

“I’d probably be dead by now. Truth be told I doubt I could have beaten that thing even with the Driver. I think you might be, no, you’re seriously stronger than me Tamiko.”

“No way, I…I just…”

“Kino, let’s get my arm patched up, quick as you like.”

Kino looked over the injury once more and just sighed, running back to camp to get his supplies and trying to figure out how he was going to ease the swelling. Tsubaki’s words had gotten through to Tamiko for the most part, but the pain in her voice as she had spoken them still left the other girl feeling remorseful. She was also left wondering why someone as experienced as Tsubaki had put herself at risk by wandering around outside in the middle of the night. Now was hardly the time for such questions though, Tamiko instead focusing on helping her friend back to camp. She could do that much at the very least.

----------------------------------------------------------

Some miles from where the battle between Rider and Worm had just taken place stood a teenage girl on the roof of an old apartment building, her purple eyes unblinking as she seemingly gazed at the horizon. She was an oddly pale youth whose hair and skin were both white as snow, yet she looked remarkably healthy all the same. What more her clothing looked extremely well kept; her baggy hoodie, skinny jeans, and blue sneakers all looking practically new. There was definitely something odd about the girl but what was stranger still was her almost mechanical, monotone way of speaking.

“Tachyon particle emissions have ceased, however I now detect traces of heavily refined bio-energy that were previously being masked. A Sengoku Driver and Lock Seed are the likely source, but at the current range I cannot confirm this. Permission to investigate?”

An older looking man clad in military apparel stepped up to the edge of the roof and looked over the surrounding area. Behind him were four others wearing similar clothing and checking a variety of old firearms to make sure they were in the best possible condition. The others were younger than their leader but seemed well trained and were ready to face any foe without hesitation. There target today would be a greater challenge than normal however, especially since their ace in the hole would be useless against it. The group’s leader seemed well aware of this and decided it would be best if said ace weren’t present for what was to come.

“Permission granted but do not go into the forest, even if that’s where the trail leads you.”

“Yes sir.”

"Rendezvous with us at point 011 in twelve hours regardless of results, understood?”

“Understood. Beginning operation.”  

The girl stepped off the edge of the five story building without the least bit of reluctance, landing gracefully but with a weighty impact that cracked the pavement below her. She stood upright and began the long run toward her target destination, the one who had commanded her to do so turning back to join with his allies. They were finally ready to take out a target that had eluded them for months and would cement their reputation as the top Kaijin hunters of the southern wastes. They were armed to the teeth and ready for anything, or so theythought.

------------------------------------------

“AHHHH!!!”

Tsubaki had tried her best not to scream as Kino set her broken arm, but the blast of pain as the bone snapped back into place was almost more than she could stand. For a moment she thought she would pass out but a tight squeeze of her other hand helped shift her attention from the pain. Tamiko was sitting next to her and trying to comfort the injured woman, but she couldn’t do much more than hold her hand. Kino let out a relieved sigh after his last check of Tsubaki’s arm, convinced the bone was back in proper alignment. Unfortunately he didn’t have the supplies to make a proper cast so the best he could provide was some bandages and a sling.

“Hopefully this’ll be enough…but it’s gonna take a few weeks for it to heal.”

“So I guess fighting is out of the question huh?”

“What do you think?”

She knew the answer before even asking the question, but she wanted to hear it from someone else all the same. If it was just her that would be one thing, but she still felt like it was her responsibility to help Tamiko adjust to this new era. She turned to the still remorseful girl and started to speak, catching herself for a moment to make sure her words were what she wanted them to be.

“Tamiko, I’m not usually the sort of person that expects others to fight in my place, but with my arm like this I…if another Kaijin appears and we can’t get away from it…”

“Tsubaki…”

“I understand if you can’t, but right now I-.”

“It’s not that! I just…”

At first Tamiko was reluctant to accept such a huge responsibility and still felt guilt over what had happened, even though she had done nothing wrong. It was then as she looked at Tsubaki and Kino that she felt a desire to protect them both that was stronger than her sorrows. Even if she couldn’t do anything to change the past she could at least try and make a difference in the now. She felt her courage rising once again and this time she knew she would be able to hold onto it even as she spoke with a confident tone.

“I won’t let you guys down! Oshu!”

The strength in Tamiko’s eyes brought peace to Tsubaki’s mind and she finally felt like she could relax. Kino wasn’t as optimistic about the situation though, even after having seen what Tamiko could do in battle. What worse it wouldn’t be safe for Tsubaki to travel for at least two or three days, and that was if infection didn’t set up. Their “little” trip to see the Professor had proven more costly than the scavenger had ever expected it to. It was time to cut his loses before he ended up in the same shape as Tsubak, but could he really just abandon the two girls who had fought to protect him without question or expectation?

Of course he could…but would he?