"Zzt."
Divine pulled back his left hand, flipped the two metal claws on his arm guard forward, and slashed at Rat Mlortha.
Divine knocked Rat Mlortha to the ground. It quickly scrambled over to its motorcycle and lifted it up. The bike's appearance changed, too, becoming hideous, with the most prominent feature being the black spikes that sprouted from its wheels.
Seeing this, Divine could only say:
"Are you fucking kidding me? The motorcycle can transform, too?!"
Rat Mlortha climbed onto the motorcycle. He had to admit, seeing that rat sitting on a motorcycle was pretty funny.
Then Rat Mlortha started the motorcycle and charged straight at Divine. Divine hurriedly dodged, and Rat Mlortha rode off.
"Holy shit, don't run if you've got any guts!"
Furious, Divine pulled a card from the Card Box. It looked just like the weapon card from before, except its design showed a pair of flaming wings.
He swiped it over the Transformation Device on his belt, and the familiar synthesised voice rang out again.
Blazing Wings
The armor on Divine's back, which had been folded together like a pair of wings, opened up and shot out several flames. They intertwined, forming a pair of fiery wings.
He leaped into the air, flapped his flaming wings, and flew after Rat Mlortha.
Suddenly, Rat Mlortha turned the motorcycle into a narrow alley. By the time Divine flew around to the other end, the space was too tight, and Rat Mlortha had vanished.
He landed and removed his armor. Senba Gari's figure appeared in its place.
"Damn it, he got away."
After cursing Rat Mlortha, he turned and left. But a grayish-brown-haired woman came out of a shop and caught sight of Senba Gari's retreating figure in the distance. She tilted her head and blinked, then murmured in confusion:
"Was that... Little Gari?"
A long-overdue scene change—
In a villa somewhere.
"Click."
"I'm home."
"..."
Senba Gari opened the door and habitually called out, but no one answered.
"...Honestly, I forgot again. They're not here anymore."
Feeling dejected, Senba Gari returned to his room and flopped onto the big bed. He picked up his phone and saw a message.
"Recently, there have been more and more motorcycle robberies. Please be careful, everyone."
The moment Senba Gari read the message, he sat bolt upright, grabbed a laptop from the side, and opened it. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
At last, Senba Gari looked at the computer screen with a smile. Several red dots marked locations on it.
"Looks like he'll show up in Akihabara again next time. But why Akihabara again? And since that guy has a motorcycle, it'll be hard for me to catch up with him."
Thinking about Rat Mlortha's motorcycle, Senba Gari grew helpless once more. Then a voice caught his attention.
"If you're having so much trouble, why don't you let me help?"
"That voice... Gaia! Is that you?"
"Hehe, looks like you haven't forgotten me."
As soon as the words fell, a ripple appeared in the space above Senba Gari's head. Then Gaia's little-girl figure appeared over him. Only—
"Whoa!"
Gaia landed butt-first right on top of Senba Gari's head.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
Gaia looked around but didn't notice Senba Gari beneath her.
"I'm right here."
"Eek!"
At that moment, Senba Gari spoke up at exactly the wrong time. Gaia felt the heat beneath her and looked down. Her butt was right on top of Senba Gari. Her face turned as red as an apple. She stood up, raised her tiny fist, and slammed it down on Senba Gari's face, shouting:
"You filthy pervert!"
"BOOM!"
"Gah!"
How could a Kamen Rider go without a ride? (laughs)
At night, in the bedroom of the protagonist's villa, two figures sat one behind the other on a messy bed, one big and one small. The smaller one was Gaia, a little girl with silver hair and silver eyes, dressed in a black Gothic Lolita dress. Her face flushed with anger as she glared at Senba Gari, who was sitting in front of her with an awkward smile.
Senba Gari's nose was red, and an OK Bandage was stuck to it. If an outsider saw the scene, they might call the police to come and arrest him.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
Gaia stared coldly at Senba Gari.
"Yes."
Senba Gari glanced at Gaia, then lowered his head. He had to. If looks could kill, he'd have died eight or ten times over.
"Then tell me what you did wrong."
Gaia's expression softened a little as she spoke.
"Uh, well... I don't know."
Senba Gari answered hesitantly.
"Hmm."
Gaia's eyes turned sharp again.
"I'm sorry! Please spare my life!"
Senba Gari spoke in utter despair. After all, she was the one who'd first—cough—hit him with her butt. So why was he the one being interrogated? At that moment, he'd never felt more strongly that no matter what kind of woman she was, if you picked a fight with her, you were bound to lose.
"Hmph. I'll let you off this time, but if you do it again, just you wait."
As she spoke, Gaia raised her little fist and threatened him.
"Yes! Wait, there's going to be a next time?!"
Hearing the rest of what Gaia said, Senba Gari cried out in alarm.
"BOOM!"
"Ow!"
Senba Gari held his head and glared at the culprit in front of him.
Gaia seemed unaware that she was the culprit. Instead, she leisurely played with Senba Gari's laptop.
"Sigh... Forget it. Oh, right! You came here for something, didn't you?"
He sighed helplessly, then suddenly remembered that Gaia seemed to have come for some reason.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just have a few things to give you."
She handed Senba Gari four strange cards.
"Things? What are these?"
He took the four strange cards from Gaia and examined them closely. Aside from their designs and colors, they looked just like the Divine Garuda form transformation card he already had.
The four cards were silver-gray, orange-yellow, jade green, and blue.
Their designs were different, too. The silver-gray card showed a wolf running. The orange-yellow one showed a gorilla with its fists pressed together. The jade-green card showed a fine horse half reared up, with a pair of wings and a horn on its head. The blue card showed a Flood Dragon soaring through the air.
"These are transformation cards for other Divine forms, which I found in other worlds for you. Each is meant for combat in a different kind of environment."
"Transformation cards for other forms!"
Senba Gari looked excitedly at the four cards in his hands. But Gaia's next words doused his enthusiasm.
"But you can't use them yet."
"Why not?"
Senba Gari looked at Gaia in confusion.
"Because they haven't acknowledged you yet."
Gaia replied coolly.
"Acknowledged me? What do I have to do for them to acknowledge me?"
Senba Gari looked at Gaia with hopeful eyes. But her answer plunged him into despair.
"I don't know."
"Are you kidding me? You don't know?! Whoa!"
He shouted at Gaia, only to get punched again.
Gaia pulled back her fist and said helplessly:
"Why are you shouting? I still have something else to give you."
"Hm? What else is there?"
"Come with me to the yard and you'll see."
Though he was confused, Senba Gari obediently followed Gaia.
In the yard, Gaia looked around. Green grass covered the ground, and a cherry tree stood in the middle of the lawn. It wasn't cherry blossom season yet, so the tree was bare.
A ripple of space appeared in front of Gaia. Then the roar of an engine came from within it. As the sound drew closer, a silver-white motorcycle burst out of the ripple and came to a stop in front of her.
The motorcycle's streamlined body resembled a falcon. Even its fairing and headlight perfectly captured the bird's shape, while the LCD instrument panel gave the bike a distinctly high-tech look. The word Phantom was written on both sides of the body. All in all, it was an incredibly cool motorcycle.
"This... this is a motorcycle."
Senba Gari stared blankly at the falcon-shaped motorcycle in front of Gaia.
"That's right. How is it? Pretty cool, isn't it? I made it especially for Divine, based on the rides of the Kamen Riders from your world's past."
Gaia walked over to Senba Gari, puffed out her chest, and proudly declared.
"Puffing out your chest won't make you look any bigger, you know. Ow!"
Senba Gari's mouth twitched as he watched Gaia's gesture. The moment he finished speaking, she kicked him.
"Hmph, I'm going back. You can handle things from here. Oh, right, take this, too."
Just before she left, Gaia slipped a colorful gem into Senba Gari's heart. Then she disappeared, leaving behind the silver-white motorcycle and Senba Gari, who had a hand pressed to his chest.
"Strange. Gaia seemed to have put something into my heart just now. Oh well, I'd better get to know the motorcycle first. I'll need it tomorrow."
As he spoke, Senba Gari had just placed his hand on the bike when—
Beep beep. Unknown DNA detected. Beginning automatic registration.
...Beep beep. Registration complete.
Identity confirmed. Name: Senba Gari. Sex: Male. Blood type: O. Hidden identity: Kamen Rider Divine. Spiritual power level: S- (partially awakened). Confirmation complete. Beginning awakening sequence.
Beep beep. Language, knowledge, and emotions of this world detected. Downloading... Beep. Download complete.
Artificial intelligence system activated. System designation: Silver Phantom.
Beep beep. May I ask, are you my master?
A string of mechanical voices sounded from the motorcycle. When the final voice fell silent, Senba Gari stared at the bike in a daze before speaking.
"Holy shit! The motorcycle can talk!"
A Man and His Motorcycle's First Team-Up
"Yawn..."
Beside a road in Akihabara, a handsome black-haired boy in a light blue short-sleeved shirt and brown jeans sat listlessly on a silver-white motorcycle. A stylish silver-and-white Bluetooth earpiece was in his left ear. The bike had a sleek, falcon-like shape, a front end that mimicked the bird's features, a high-tech instrument panel, and the word Phantom written on either side of its body. It looked incredibly cool as he yawned.
It had to be said: a handsome, stylish boy lazily sitting on an incredibly cool motorcycle was sure to turn plenty of heads. Only...
Before you continue