Love Live! and Kamen Rider Chapter 10

"Oh, power? So once you have power, you can do whatever you want. That's a very seductive idea."

"That's not what I mean. If I had power, I could protect my companions better!"

"Protect them? Hmph! Do you still even have the desire to protect anyone?"

Geki retorted, "I do. I always have. It hasn't disappeared since I got the Spirit."

"Oh? Then what does the word 'Kamen Rider' mean to you?" the black-robed figure asked with a soft laugh.

"I don't know how to define it. But I do know that a good Rider has to protect what they hold dear. If you can't even protect what matters most to you, then you don't deserve to be a Kamen Rider! But right now, I..."

Seeing Takai Geki's downcast expression, the black-robed figure's eyes filled with heartache, concern, and frustration at his failure to live up to his potential. But the feelings were quickly hidden, and Takai Geki didn't notice. The figure then raised the wooden sword and thwacked him hard on the forehead.

"Power comes from hard work, not from wallowing in self-pity like you are. I imagine Divine's power came at the cost of tremendous sacrifice, too. If you keep wallowing like this, you'll never gain power, and your desire to protect will remain nothing but a fleeting illusion."

With that, the figure tossed something out from inside their robes. It was shaped like a pentagram and covered in strange patterns, but they were impossible to make out, as though the object were sealed. It looked like an ordinary trinket from a street stall.

"Someone asked me to give this to you. I hope your talk of protecting people isn't just empty words. Otherwise, you should give up your Spirit of your own accord."

After saying that, the figure turned and walked out of the wooden hut.

"Wait!"

Takai Geki, still lying on the ground, picked up the Star Disk and rushed out of the hut. But there was no one outside. He stared at the Star Disk in his hand and fell into thought.

The next morning, Takai Geki went for his usual warm-up jog. The difference was that he no longer felt lost or anxious. Now that he had a clear goal, the path ahead had appeared before him.

"That guy was right. Power comes from your own hard work. If you pursue it too obsessively, you might lose sight of your original intentions. I think that little girl meant the same thing. Her fortune-telling pose wasn't very convincing, but her prediction was surprisingly accurate."

After passing a corner, Takai Geki ran into a small grove. At first, the air felt cool and refreshing, but it gradually grew chilly, like a winter morning.

"No, it's that thing."

Remembering the enemy who had injured him last time, Takai Geki immediately grew wary. He linked his thoughts to the Transformation Device, ready to face an opponent at any moment. As he approached a lake, he spotted the spirit from last time. Its pale blue form bobbed up and down, surrounded by glittering flecks of ice. The fairy-tale scene unfolded right before his eyes. But as Takai Geki drew closer, the spirit noticed him, too.

"Oh, it's the loser from last time! What, you still sore about it? Want to fight me again? Let me tell you, I'm the strongest!"

As she spoke, ice crystals appeared around her, as if to show off just how powerful she was.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? Sunbathing!"

"Sunbathing? In the sun?"

Takai Geki stared at her blankly as he listened to her reply. He also noticed her tone, which sounded just like a child's.

"Yeah! Are you stupid? You can't even figure out something so simple!"

"I couldn't tell. The ice crystals on your body make it seem like you wouldn't like the sun."

"Ha! You really are stupid! Just because I have ice crystals, that doesn't mean I don't like the sun. Don't you think ice looks pretty when the sunlight shines on it? How stupid do you have to be to think I don't like the sun?"

Although the spirit was only an indistinct mass of pale blue energy, Takai Geki couldn't help feeling as though she were looking at him like he was an idiot. Still, as they talked, he got the sense that she wasn't actually bad at heart—and she really did act like a child.

Maybe this isn't a mlortha, but some other kind of creature. It could even be from the world of another Rider senior. I'll ask Philip about it when I get the chance.

The thought put Takai Geki more at ease. He turned to the spirit and said, "You're attracting a lot of attention like this. Can you change your appearance? Ideally, you could look like one of us humans. Oh, and can you tell me your name?"

The spirit thought about it and decided that this form wasn't very suitable for playing around.

"A loser like you wants to bask in my presence? Fine, I'll tell you my name! Tremble before it! I'm Cirno!"

As she spoke, the spirit landed on the ground. The light around her dimmed, and a little girl emerged from her pale blue body. She had blue hair and eyes, a blue top, and a short beige skirt. A little hat sat on her head, and a large blue bow was tied behind it.

Once Cirno had taken human form, Takai Geki no longer thought the little girl before him was some strange creature. He cast all his wariness into outer space. The girl before him seemed less like a child and more like an angel—a beautiful angel.

"She's an angel! It's great to be alive!"

As he spoke, a torrent of blood spurted from his nostrils. He collapsed to the ground unconscious, a silly grin still on his face.

"Um, he got so excited that he fainted! I really am the strongest!"

The little girl put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and looked very proud.

Heart of Moving Forward (5) (submitted by reader Yuan Yixinfei)

(Weather's little note: Everything below takes place in a parallel world created by a reader and is unrelated to the main story. Of course, I provided the Riders' base stats. (〃?〃)ゞ)

"You're awake."

Hearing a clear, girlish voice, Takai Geki came to. "Was that a dream? If it was, I wish I could've stayed asleep."

"What are you mumbling about, you idiot?"

"Am I hearing things? How wonderful."

As he spoke, Takai Geki looked toward the source of the voice. His muddled mind cleared instantly, and two streams of nosebleed spurted out again.

"An angel came out of my dream to see me!"

He started grinning foolishly again. Watching him, Cirno gathered blue water-elemental energy in her hand, then brought down a chop on his face, finally bringing him back to his senses.

"I figured you'd be excited to bask in my presence, but aren't you taking it a little too far?"

Cirno frowned, her little face full of suspicion.

"No, no, not at all! Your lovely figure is peerless, Miss Cirno! Combined with your incredible power, you're truly just like the legends! I'm completely captivated! It's an honor to gaze upon your noble face! It would be my privilege to serve you! Please let me stay by your side! Heh heh heh!"

"Really? Really? Ha ha! I'm the strongest! But even the strongest should have followers by their side. It's decided! From now on, you're my servant. Feel honored to bask in my glory! Ha ha ha ha!"

Cirno put her hands on her hips and laughed loudly.

Phew, thank goodness. Now I can watch her up close. If anything happens, I'll be able to stop it right away. And I can gaze at her little figure every day and listen to her heavenly voice. Heh heh heh.

As he thought that, Takai Geki once again drifted into his fantasies.

"But, servant, you're really weak. I'd be embarrassed to go out with you unless you got stronger! So come with me!"

With that, she headed out of the grove.

"Um, weak? She's looking down on me. I guess I'll have to prove myself."

He followed Cirno out of the grove.

Cirno led him to an open space.

"Show me your power, you idiot servant!"

All right. This time, I'll win you over.

Thinking this, Takai Geki linked up to his Transformation Device and inserted a card into the slot.

"Manifest—Transform!"

"Armor Manifest—Armed—White Tiger!"

As the synthesized voice sounded, a silver-white warrior appeared. As the Spirit's aura gathered, a faint tiger's roar could be heard.

"Hmm, you look pretty good. You're qualified to be my servant. Now try attacking me."

"What?"

Takai Geki's aura faltered at those words, and the tiger's roar vanished.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, attack me, you idiot servant."

Looking at Cirno's body, the Spirit suddenly felt awkward.

"Um, could you change into a different form? Like, the way you are now feels kind of..."

The Spirit scratched the back of his head with his right hand, unable to finish the sentence.

"Ha, what a pain."

Cirno's body flashed with blue light and began to change. When the glow faded, she looked just as she had before the Spirit's eyes.

"Is this better?"

"It's not that different from before, but if I focus, I can manage."

The Spirit took an attacking stance, though he didn't look like he was about to attack at all. Then he threw a right punch. An Ice Shield appeared in front of Cirno as he approached, blocking his attack. The energy gathering in her hand then sent him staggering backward. The Spirit regained his stance as he was pushed back. Once he realized his attacks couldn't hurt her, he began to get serious.

"That's more like it! If you don't take this seriously, I'll kick you out of your servant role!"

The Spirit adjusted his stance and charged at Cirno again, swinging his right fist. This time, a whirlwind curled around his fist, boosting his speed and strength. His punch shattered the Ice Shield, and the gust from his fist swept toward Cirno, but she blocked it easily. Seeing that his attack had failed, the Spirit kicked toward Cirno's waist. She took a step back and dodged. The Spirit braced himself with both legs, tiger claws extending from his gauntlets, and charged at her like a fierce tiger. His hands blurred as he struck again and again. Cirno summoned another Ice Shield to defend herself. The Spirit bent his knees, leaped into the air, and launched a flying kick at her. Cirno easily jumped backward and dodged. He had attacked with plenty of ease, but the Spirit was panting for breath.

"That all you've got? You can't be this weak."

"Hey, I'm not! I'm getting serious now!"

He pulled out a Weapon Card and inserted it into the slot.

"Weapon Manifest—Steel Fang Blade!"

A silver-white Ancient Tiger Saber appeared in the Spirit's hands. He gripped it with both hands and sank his energy into his core. Then, with a mighty swing, he brought it down hard toward Cirno. The Steel Fang Blade sent a shock wave through the air toward her, and fierce winds swept after it. Cirno frowned and gathered a chill in front of herself. Blue energy took shape in her hand, forming an ice blade that shot toward the attack. Unlike the immense force of the Spirit's blade, the blue ice blade barely managed to cancel out the strongest part of the shock wave before vanishing. The fierce winds formed by the surrounding blade aura swept past Cirno without harming her.

"Here comes my strongest attack! You'd better watch out!"

Seeing that his attack hadn't worked, he took out a Finisher Card and inserted it into the slot.

"Weapon Finisher—Charge—Fierce Tyrant Slash!"

Silver-white light flashed across the weapon, and the roar of a tiger rang out, intimidating the enemy. The Spirit swung his weapon, and the light formed a White Tiger amid the tiger's roar. Like a Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain, it pounced toward Cirno. Seeing this, Cirno didn't move at all. She just stood there as if she'd been scared stiff.

"Dodge, you idiot!"

But Cirno merely glanced at him before the attack struck her. Her body dissolved into a cloud of ice mist. The Spirit could only reach out with his right hand before letting it fall limply. Then he dropped to his knees and pounded the ground with his fist.

"What are you doing?"

A voice came from nearby. The Spirit raised his head in excitement. The ice mist floating in the air gradually formed Cirno's figure, and she landed on the ground.

"Was that your strongest attack? You call that a White Tiger? It looked like a big white cat to me!"

She looked at the Spirit with scorn. At her words, the Spirit stared blankly, frozen in place.

"A... a cat?"

Heart of Moving Forward (6) (submitted by reader Yuan Yixinfei)

(Weather's little note: Looks don't matter. What matters is having a shameless heart.)

Senba Gari searched around the site of the car accident, just as he had the day before, hoping to find more clues. The road led out into the countryside, and he soon arrived at a village, where he stopped.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Senba Gari knocked on the door of a house with its door shut tight, but no one answered for a long time.

Is there no one inside?

Senba Gari wandered around the village, but apart from a few scattered household objects, he didn't see a single person.

"No, something's wrong with this village. There isn't a single person here, and I can't even hear any birds or insects."

Senba Gari walked up to a house with its door shut tight. He shoved it, and the door swung open. He stepped inside cautiously, but there wasn't a single sign of damage. It was as if the owner had simply vanished into thin air. The farther Senba Gari went into the house, the messier it became. When he opened a bedroom door, two shriveled corpses rushed out. Their eyes glowed fiery red, and their bodies were gaunt, their bones jutting out beneath their skin. Their faces were twisted and terrifying, stretched into grotesque shapes, their expressions filled with pain. It was as though they had experienced some terrible horror before they died. Their body hair was dry and tangled, swaying in the air as they moved.

"What happened here?"

Senba Gari swung his right fist at one corpse and kicked the other in the stomach with his left leg, then quickly got out of the house. Perhaps the noise had been too loud. One by one, the doors of the other houses opened, and corpses poured out. They were different heights and sizes, but every face was twisted in terror. It was hard to imagine what they'd experienced while alive. The scraps of clothing on their bodies showed that they had once been the villagers.

"Damn it! Who did this?"

Senba Gari shouted furiously. He picked up a wooden stick nearby, channeled spiritual power into it, and attacked the corpses as he retreated toward the village entrance.

"Phantom, help me!"

"Master, what's going on? What are these things?"

Phantom, in humanoid form, raised her left-hand gun and fired at the corpses as she asked.

"I don't know. They were the villagers, but I don't know who turned them into this. I hate desecrating the dead, but I have to destroy them to keep them from attacking anyone else."

As he spoke, a deep blue glow appeared around the wooden stick, and he attacked the corpses. Phantom fired at them, too. But no matter how they attacked—even when they struck the corpses in the heart—the bodies would get back up and keep coming.

"Are the attacks useless? What kind of monsters have they been turned into?"

Senba Gari's face was red with anger, but confusion filled his eyes.

"Master, I've finished the analysis. These corpses contain traces of the mlortha from last time. The traces are coming from their heads. If you attack their heads, they'll stay dead. It also means that the creature from last time is still alive."