Love Live and Kamen Rider 26

The left arm armor and right arm armor differed; the surface of the left arm armor featured a peculiar diamond-shaped pattern, and in the center of this diamond was an LCD screen displaying a white-lined tiger. The right side of the left arm armor featured a sliding groove running from the front to the back, while the center of the belt held a silver Card Box with a diamond pattern on its surface.

"I say, you're a perfectly good shark, why not stay in the ocean instead of coming to land to wreak havoc on others?" A lighthearted, young male voice emanated from the armor's mask.

"Gaa-roar-roar-roar!!!!"

Immediately, Shark Mlortha extended its grayish-brown claws, and a strange black mist began to form between its hands. As the mist dissipated, it revealed a ferocious black trident.

Gripping the black trident tightly with its grayish-brown claws, it aimed the tip at the armored figure in front of it and charged straight ahead.

"Heh, overestimating yourself."

The armored figure said dismissively. Just as the trident was about to pierce him, he turned and dodged to the right. To him, this evasion speed was average, but to an outsider, it appeared to be incredibly fast, so even Shark Mlortha could not track the movement.

After dodging Shark Mlortha's attack, the armored figure reached out his right hand to grab the trident, then raised the Ancient Tiger Saber with his left hand.

"Clang!"

The Ancient Tiger Saber sliced Shark Mlortha's trident in two, and the armored figure followed through with an upward right-handed slash from swordsmanship.

"Slash!"

"Gaa-roar-roar-roar!"

The Ancient Tiger Saber left a deep gash on Shark Mlortha's body.

"Alright, I have other things to do, so I won't waste any more time with you. It's time to end this."

After speaking, the armored figure pulled a card from the Card Box in the center of his belt. The card was primarily black, featuring a white-lined sword and a tiger coiled around it; the back of the card also bore a diamond pattern.

He then tapped the tiger-head guard of the blade, causing a card slot to pop out, and inserted the card from his right hand into the slot.

He pressed the slot back into the tiger-head guard, and the eyes of the guard suddenly flickered, followed by a dull, synthesized mechanical voice.

〖Kill weapon〗

〖Energy storage〗

At the same time, the blade of the Ancient Tiger Saber emitted a silvery-white light.

"The funeral bell of hell has tolled for you. By the way, remember that the one who defeated you is Kamen Rider."

The light from the Ancient Tiger Saber in his hand grew increasingly intense, and the armored figure raised the blade high above his head.

"Spirit!"

〖Strong bully chop〗

As the third mechanical sound played, Spirit swung the Ancient Tiger Saber down heavily at Shark Mlortha, and a silvery-white blade aura shot straight toward it.

"Aoo-roar!"

The silvery-white blade aura instantly transformed into a fierce white tiger, which then slammed violently into Shark Mlortha.

"Boom!!"

A massive explosion roared, accompanied by the fiery light of the blast.

As the flames faded, a shark lay paralyzed on the ground with a black crystal floating above it; the black crystal then transformed and vanished into the air.

"Splash!"

Spirit threw the shark back into the sea and deactivated his armor, revealing a youth with brown, slightly curly hair and brown eyes, still wearing the gauntlet on his left arm.

"Whew, today was really tiring."

The youth looked up and wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead, when suddenly a hand rested on his shoulder and patted him.

"Whoa!" The youth was startled by the sudden movement. He turned around to see a man with fluffy black hair, black eyes, and a brown suit and trousers.

Seeing the man's face, the youth patted his chest, still shaken, and spoke with a tone of grievance.

"Senior Ryusei, people can be scared to death by such things, don't you know? Also, where did you run off to just now?!"

"Oh, me? I saw that you, Geki, could handle it on your own, so I spent some time on my phone and found a message Kisaragi sent me. Look." After saying this, Ryusei handed his phone to Takai Geki.

Takai Geki took Ryusei's phone, and his eyes widened as he saw the headline of a Japanese newspaper, and he said to Ryusei in surprise.

"It, oh no, he has already awakened?!"

"Yes, and like you, he is in an unawakened state. They have likely received the news as well." Ryusei looked calmly at Takai Geki, then changed the subject, "It is time for you to return to Japan. Find him, fight alongside him, and finally, resolve our problems."

"Fine, I'll find a reason to return to the Criminal Investigation Department and observe him while I'm at it." Takai Geki pondered.

"Is that so? I think when you meet him, you will feel the wonder of fate." Ryusei looked up at the twilight sky.

"Hey, hey, Senior Ryusei, I don't understand what you're saying." Takai Geki looked at Ryusei in confusion.

"You'll know when the time comes."

In Japan, at the Narumi Detective Agency in Fuuto, a young man wearing a black fedora and a black suit and trousers was excitedly placing a newspaper in front of another young man who was wearing casual loungewear with a hair clip in his hair.

"What's wrong? Shotaro." The other young man looked at the Shotaro in front of him in confusion.

"Philip! Look, look at the headline of this newspaper." Shotaro pointed excitedly at the headline on the newspaper for Philip.

"Hmm? So that's it. He has already awakened? That's great." Philip looked at the newspaper headline, suppressed his excitement, and then looked at Shotaro, "Have the others received the news?"

"Yeah, I asked around. Aside from the people stationed there, the others have already received the news." Shotaro took off his hat, placed it on the table, and sat down in his swivel chair.

In a certain city, inside the Kogami Foundation, a female secretary dressed in office attire was reporting the situation to her boss, Kogami Kousei, who was currently busy making a cake.

"Boss, he has awakened."

"Is that so? Have you told the people stationed there?" Kogami Kousei asked his secretary while continuing to work on the cake.

"They have already been notified, Boss," the secretary replied expressionlessly.

"I see. Then let us celebrate the moment of our new hero's birth!" Kogami Kousei then took out the freshly baked cake.

And what was our protagonist, Senba Gari, doing?

"Grumble~"

"Ahhh! I'm so hungry~"

Senba Gari was listlessly rubbing his growling stomach while complaining.

The First Meeting of the Boy and the Girls (Part 1)

"Grumble~"

"Ahhh! I'm so hungry~"

Senba Gari was listlessly rubbing his growling stomach while complaining.

"That idiot old man! He actually spent all the money in the house! If it weren't for the fact that he hasn't sold the house yet, I'd probably be homeless by now!"

Senba Gari ruffled his hair in frustration, then pulled a black wallet from his pocket. Upon opening it, he saw only a few thousand yen inside. (I mean, you're the protagonist, are you really okay being this poor? Senba Gari: Mind your own business! (ノ｀⊿′)ノ!!!!)

As he walked, Senba Gari found himself in front of a confectionery shop.

"Homura Bakery? Hmm, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. Should I go in?"

Just as Senba Gari was hesitating, his stomach growled again, causing him to abandon his thoughts and decide to go inside.

"Whatever, filling my stomach is the priority. I'll just go look for a job later."

Pushing open the shop door, Senba Gari heard a spirited girl's voice.

"Welcome! Is there anything you need?"

Looking up at the counter, he saw a cute high school girl busy at work. She had blue eyes and shoulder-length orange hair tied into a side ponytail, a hairstyle that made her look incredibly energetic. She was wearing a white pastry chef's uniform with a white headscarf.

"Uh, well, do you have any recommendations?"

The variety of sweets before him left Senba Gari unsure of what to choose, so he asked the orange-haired girl for a suggestion.

"Hmm, in that case, I suggest you try the Red Bean Cake. It tastes really good."

The orange-haired girl pointed to the Red Bean Cake on the counter.

"Is that so? Then I'll take one."

"Sure, that will be 900 yen. Thank you for your patronage."

"Alright, here's 900, keep the change. Goodbye."

He handed the money to the girl, took the bag containing the Red Bean Cake, and turned to leave.

"Kotori, hurry up! Honoka is probably waiting for us!"

"I know, I know, Umi, you're always like this. Umi, watch out behind you!"

"Huh? Whoa!"

"Hey, watch out!"

"Thud."

Just as Senba Gari was about to walk out, two girls were approaching the shop from the outside. One had long blue hair, wore a white short-sleeved shirt and light blue jeans, and carried an air of traditional elegance. Behind her was another girl with grayish-brown hair styled with a bird-shaped accessory, wearing a light yellow short-sleeved shirt and a black skirt, sounding slightly out of breath.

As they were chatting, the blue-haired girl, Sonoda Umi, was walking backward and didn't notice Senba Gari coming out.

Prompted by the other girl, she turned around and saw a tall figure. In her haste, she tripped over her own feet and began to fall backward, but Senba Gari caught her, pulling her into his arms with a bit too much force.

"Um, are you alright?"

Senba Gari smiled awkwardly, feeling responsible since she had almost fallen because of him. He looked down at the blue-haired girl in his arms. She looked up at him, then quickly lowered her head, her face turning bright red. He was still holding her soft hand, and seeing her shy demeanor caused a ripple in his heart.

Sonoda Umi's face had never burned like this before, and her heart had never raced this fast. She had thought she was going to hit the ground, but suddenly a strong hand caught her and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Um, are you alright?"

A voice reached her ears. She looked up to see Senba Gari looking down at her with genuine concern. She buried her blushing face into his chest.

"Umi, are you okay?"

Suddenly, the voice of her close friend came from behind, causing Umi to flusteredly push Senba Gari away.

"Umi, are you okay?"

A voice suddenly rang out, snapping Senba Gari back to his senses. It likely came from a friend of the person currently in his arms, and he suddenly felt a force pushing him away to a certain distance.

"Ahem, um, thank you for just now."

Seeing Sonoda Umi cough a few times to mask her recent embarrassment, she then solemnly thanked Senba Gari.

"Eh, ah, no, no need for that. Actually, I was partly responsible for what happened, so you really don't need to thank me."

The young girl before him suddenly thanking him so solemnly caught Senba Gari off guard, and he replied to her in a flustered manner.

"But—"

"No need for 'buts.' Um, I have somewhere to be, goodbye."

Senba Gari interrupted Sonoda Umi, then picked up the bag of snacks and walked away quickly.

"Umi-chan, are you alright? That person seemed a bit strange, but I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."

Minami Kotori looked at Sonoda Umi in confusion, then glanced at Senba Gari's retreating back, feeling a sense of familiarity.

"Ah, I'm fine. Oh, right, Kotori, let's hurry to Honoka's place. She's probably waiting impatiently."

Sonoda Umi cut off Minami Kotori's words and pulled her hand, heading toward Homura Bakery.

--Cut cut cut--

"Whew~ finally managed to escape. Whatever, let's eat some Red Bean Cake to fill my stomach first."

Having said that, Senba Gari took a portion of Red Bean Cake out of the bag, happily eating it as he walked along.

Soon, Senba Gari arrived in front of a luxurious school. With the Red Bean Cake hanging from his mouth, he looked up at the giant screen in front of the school gate. On it, three girls with distinct personalities were wearing gorgeous, matching outfits, skillfully singing and dancing.

"Nom, so this is the school idol group that's been so popular lately? They don't look half bad, though their movements and synchronization are still lacking."

After swallowing the last bite of the Red Bean Cake, Senba Gari evaluated the three idol girls on the screen, but a voice suddenly brought him back to reality.

"Whoa~ it seems this upperclassman knows quite a bit about school idols, nico?"

Turning his head, he saw a petite girl with black hair just like his own. She wore her hair in two medium-length twin tails, each tied with a red ribbon. Her red eyes added a touch of cuteness to her appearance. She was dressed in a red off-the-shoulder T-shirt and a black skirt, an outfit that gave her a vibrant, energetic look.