Love Live and Kamen Rider 41

A few minutes later, Senba Gari looked panting at the eye of the tornado symbol hanging before him. He was nearly out of strength; from a moment ago until now, he had fired dozens of arrows, but not a single one had hit the mark. They were either swept away by the winds surrounding the symbol or merely grazed past it.

At this moment, the Unicorn walked to Senba Gari's side and said.

[Do you know why you cannot hit the target?]

Hearing the Unicorn's words, Senba Gari followed up by asking.

"Why?"

[Because your heart is still lost in confusion.]

When the Unicorn finished this sentence, everything around Senba Gari vanished. Then, when he opened his eyes again, he found he had awakened from the dream, and he whispered.

"Because, my heart is still lost in confusion."

-Time Divider-

A few days later, in a garden not far from Kanda, Senba Gari, holding a bouquet of carnations, and Silver Phantom, who had transformed into her robotic form, stood quietly before a tombstone beneath a cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

Senba Gari placed the bouquet before the tombstone, then looked quietly at the photo of a stunningly beautiful woman on the marker. A name was carved into the stone.

Otonashi Yukine

Looking at the photo on the tombstone, although Senba Gari wore a smile, he could not erase the sorrow and faint dimness in his eyes. He then spoke.

"I've come to see you, Mom."

Past Events and Confusion

After seeing the name on Senba Gari's mother's tombstone, Silver Phantom asked curiously.

〖Master, why is the surname on your mother's tombstone different from yours?〗

"That? Well, my dad said back then that to keep Mom from worrying about us in heaven, and to let her be a bit freer on her own up there, he changed her surname back to her maiden name."

〖I see. Then, Master.〗

"You want to ask why my mom passed away, right?"

Speaking of this, the sorrow in Senba Gari's eyes deepened. Seeing this, Silver Phantom quickly said.

〖I'm sorry, Master. I shouldn't have asked.〗

"It's fine. After all, I've said it before: you are already my family, so I won't hide anything from my family. This all goes back to ten years ago."

-Time Divider-

Ten years ago in the afternoon, on a street in Akihabara, eight-year-old Senba Gari was holding the hand of his mother, Otonashi Yukine, while strolling through the district. When his mother brought him to the entrance of a shop, eight-year-old Senba Gari suddenly stopped. He stared at his mother's face with dead fish eyes and said.

"Mom, what are you planning to do by bringing me into a women's clothing store?"

Hearing her son's words, Otonashi Yukine's gaze drifted uncertainly, and her tone became unnaturally serious.

"Uh, well, little Gari, actually, Mom is just here to buy some clothes. You have to know, shopping is a girl's nature, you see."

Watching his mother's overly serious expression, Senba Gari had black lines hanging over his head, and his mouth twitched as he said.

"If you want to buy clothes, I wouldn't find that strange, but! This is a children's clothing store! And Mom, are you really a 'girl'?"

Some things are better left unsaid, but once they are out, well, let's just say: kid, you're dead!

"Oh, is that so? Little Gari, my cute son~ Do you think your mother is one of those 'old ladies' who always goes to the market to fight over discounted goods~"

Suddenly, a voice that seemed to come from hell reached Senba Gari. When he looked up, he broke out in a cold sweat. Trembling, he spoke to Otonashi Yukine, who was radiating black energy.

"Th-that, Mom, ah no, I mean my young, beautiful, elegant, and graceful mother whose age is forever in the golden prime of girlhood~ Please spare your cute son! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

Seeing that his mother's face had returned to a calm state, he thought to himself.

It's a death trap. How did Dad ever manage to get along with a mother who can turn dark at any moment like this!

Hearing her son's words, Otonashi Yukine recovered from her dark state as if nothing had happened. She wore a smile and said.

"Oh my~ son, don't praise your mother so much. I might get carried away, you know~"

"Ha, haha, is, is that so? What I said is the honest truth."

"Oh my~ your mouth is so sweet. You must have learned that from your dad. Alright, when we go back today, I'll cook myself and make you two a great meal!"

Senba Gari, who thought he had escaped disaster, turned pale the moment he heard his mother say she would cook. He hurriedly said to her.

"No, no, no! Mom, you absolutely must not cook! Look at how tired you are usually; you have to perform concerts outside and do housework at home. It's too tiring! So, leave the cooking to me!"

Senba Gari frantically tried to dissuade his mother from her plan to cook, while thinking to himself.

Are you kidding me? If I let you cook, that would be the end of us! Last time we ate your food, we had to go straight to the hospital. And after we got back, all the mice and cockroaches in the house were poisoned to death by your cooking. Thanks to you, we haven't had any pests in a long time, and I learned to cook earlier than other kids, but if I eat your food again, wouldn't that just be checking into heaven directly?

Seeing that her son didn't seem to want her to cook, Otonashi Yukine had to give up the idea. She pouted and said to her son, looking aggrieved.

"What's that supposed to mean? I just used the wrong seasoning back then. Is it necessary to crush your mother's confidence like this? No! I have to punish you, little Gari."

"Wrong seasoning? Don't joke around. Hey, hey, Mom! What are you doing?! Don't come over! Help!"

Senba Gari, who had been complaining about his mother, suddenly saw her eyes glowing with a green light. She began walking toward him step by step. Senba Gari retreated in fear, following her pace, but eventually, he ran out of room and screamed.

"Help!"

"Come here, come here, my cute son~ Hehehe."

"Hey, hey, Mom, you've got the stats completely wrong!"

"Stop talking nonsense, take this!"

As she said this, Otonashi Yukine pounced on her son, placed her hands on Senba Gari's waist, and then...

"Hahahaha, M-Mom, hahaha, I was wrong, hahaha, I was really wrong, hahahahaha, let me go! Hahahaha!"

And so, people on the streets of Akihabara watched this mother and son playing around with benevolent smiles.

At dusk, with the blush still not faded from his face, Senba Gari sat panting alone in a car, watching his mother run off by herself to an ice cream shop. But just as his mother was walking down the road with an ice cream in each hand, a red truck suddenly came barreling toward her. Otonashi Yukine was directly in its path, and as she turned her head to look at the truck...

"Screech—!"

"Bang!"

Blood stained the road; the pavement, already dyed red by the sunset, turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

"Mom!!!"

When Senba Gari got out of the car and saw his mother sent flying by the truck, he ran toward her as fast as he could. He tripped along the way and scraped his knees, but he didn't even notice. He just limped to Otonashi Yukine's side and shouted at the people around them.

"What are you all just standing there for! Call an ambulance!!!"

Although the ambulance arrived, due to the failure of the emergency treatment, Senba Gari's mother, Otonashi Yukine, passed away. The driver who hit her abandoned the truck and fled, and has yet to be found.

A few days later, in a garden, everyone was dressed in mourning clothes. Senba Gari and Senba Ryo stood before Otonashi Yukine's tombstone, also dressed in black, and Senba Ryo said to Senba Gari.

"If you want to cry, then cry, son. No one here will laugh at you, so if you want to cry, just cry!"

Hearing Senba Ryo's words, the tears that had been welling up in Senba Gari's eyes finally burst forth.

"Waaaaah! Waaaaaaah!"

Watching his son sob, Senba Ryo crouched down, hugged Senba Gari, and said to him.

"Cry out loud. Once you let it all out, your heart won't hurt as much."

From that day on, Senba Gari followed Senba Ryo around the world to study archaeology.

--Time Divider--

After listening to Senba Gari's past, I didn't know what to say for a moment. Seeing that Silver Phantom remained silent, Senba Gari continued.

"And now, even Dad isn't by my side anymore. Hey, Phantom, sometimes I really don't know what I should do. Just a few months ago, I was still just an ordinary person, but now I'm this so-called Kamen Rider Divine. Honestly, I really don't know what I'm supposed to do! Phantom."

As he spoke, Senba Gari's eyes were filled with pain and confusion. Seeing him like this, Silver Phantom simply patted Senba Gari on the shoulder and spoke up.

〖Master, honestly, I don't understand human emotions, so I can only say this: since you treat me as your family, I also treat you as my family. So, no matter what happens, I will always be by your side, Master!〗

Hearing Silver Phantom's words, Senba Gari suddenly laughed.

"Pfft, haha, Phantom, you're underestimating me too much. Who do you think I am? I'm Senba Gari, Kamen Rider Divine! So no matter what, I'll keep going! Let's go, Phantom, the sun is almost setting."

Silver Phantom then left first, but as he walked, he muttered in a voice only he could hear.

〖"Just keep going," you say, Master. I'm just afraid that one day, you won't be able to keep going anymore.〗

Then Senba Gari prepared to get up and leave, but suddenly remembering something, he said to his mother's tombstone.

"Oh! Right, right, Mom, I'll tell you one thing: tomorrow I'm going to be a teacher at your old school, Otonokizaka. Even though I was forced into it, I definitely won't let anything happen to Otonokizaka. After all, it holds your memories."

After saying this, Senba Gari turned and left.

Becoming a Teacher at Otonokizaka (Part 1)

Otonokizaka is a traditional girls' school located at the intersection of the three streets of Akihabara, Kanda, and Jimbocho. However, a young man arrived there today, and that young man was naturally Senba Gari.

"Hey, hey, look, why is there a boy coming in here?"

"Yeah, how strange. Could he be some kind of pervert?"

"Seriously, I can accept being looked at with strange eyes by the girls here, but ever since I stepped through the school gate, the guard's eyes have looked like he wants to kill me. Also, I'm not a pervert! If Aunt Minami hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have come at all!"

Being stared at by the surrounding girls, Senba Gari muttered with resentment as he walked along the cherry blossom path of Otonokizaka. Then, the Bluetooth headset in his ear transmitted Silver Phantom's voice.

〖Master, stop complaining. And if anyone should be complaining, it's me. Why do I have to be the one outside enduring the sun? This isn't fair! I want to go home! ψ(*｀ー′)ψ〗

--Scene Change

That's right, at this moment, Silver Phantom was quietly parked under a street lamp on the street opposite Otonokizaka. Just then, a delinquent with dyed yellow hair and a very sleazy look was cautiously approaching Silver Phantom, holding a wrench in his hand.

〖What are you doing? →_→〗

"What do you mean, what am I doing? What are you talking about, Phantom?"

Inside Otonokizaka, Senba Gari asked in confusion upon hearing Silver Phantom's words.

The delinquent was suddenly startled by a voice coming from his ear, so he hurriedly looked around, but didn't see anyone. He asked in confusion.

"Strange, there's no one here. Who the hell is talking?"

〖Me.〗

"I know it's you, I just want to know what you're doing again?!"

Hearing Silver Phantom's words, Senba Gari said, feeling a bit frantic.

The delinquent suddenly heard that voice again, so he turned his head to look around, but there was still no one there.

"Who's there!"

〖No need to look around, I'm right in front of you.〗

"Are you?! I don't see anyone?!"

Inside Otonokizaka, after hearing the words of Silver Phantom, Senba Gari hurriedly scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing but girls everywhere.

The delinquent followed the source of the strange voice and looked ahead, but he didn't see anyone either, only that 'motorcycle' known as Silver Phantom, and then the voice came from Silver Phantom once again.

〖See it now? Also, what do you think you're doing?〗

"What do you mean what am I doing?! That's the line I should be asking you!"

Senba Gari was on the verge of losing his mind at this very moment; he wanted nothing more than to go find Silver Phantom and demand an explanation.

When the delinquent youth finally realized the voice was coming from the 'motorcycle' in front of him, his expression turned to terror, and he stammered out, "Y-y-you, are you a human or a ghost?!"

〖I am neither human nor ghost; I am simply a motorcycle.〗

"..."

Having run to an inconspicuous corner of Otonokizaka, only to suddenly hear such a nonsensical remark from Silver Phantom, Senba Gari was truly about to go insane. What human? What ghost?! Explain yourself clearly!

Hearing the voice of Silver Phantom, the delinquent finally fled into the distance in fear, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Mommy! Help! A motorcycle ghost has possessed me!!!"

〖I already told you I'm not a ghost! I'm just a motorcycle!(＃｀д′)?〗

"Phantom! What on earth are you playing at?!"

Senba Gari finally snapped and screamed into his earpiece, but the only response he received was:

〖...master, did you forget to take your medicine?〗

"..."