A few minutes later, Senba Gari stood panting as he stared at the bull's-eye hanging in the eye of the tornado. He was nearly out of strength. He'd fired dozens of arrows since he started, but not one had hit its mark. They were either swept away by the wind around the bull's-eye or narrowly missed it.
Just then, Unicorn walked over to Senba Gari and spoke.
[Do you know why you can't hit it?]
Hearing Unicorn's question, Senba Gari asked,
"Why?"
[Because your heart is still uncertain.]
As soon as Unicorn finished speaking, everything around Senba Gari vanished. When he opened his eyes again, he found that he'd woken from his dream. He murmured,
"Because my heart is still uncertain."
A few days later, in a garden not far from Kanda, Senba Gari stood quietly before a gravestone beneath a cherry tree in full bloom, holding a bouquet of carnations. Beside him stood Silver Phantom, now in robot form.
Senba Gari placed the flowers in front of the gravestone, then gazed quietly at the photograph of a breathtakingly beautiful woman carved into it. A name was engraved below the picture.
Otonashi Yukine
Looking at the photograph, Senba Gari wore a smile, but it couldn't conceal the sorrow and faint despondency in his eyes. He spoke,
"I came to see you, Mom."
Memories and Uncertainty
After reading the name on Senba Gari's mother's gravestone, Silver Phantom asked curiously,
Master, why is your mother's surname different from yours?
"Oh, that's because Dad said he wanted Mom to have a little more freedom in heaven, without worrying about us. So he changed her surname back to the one she had before."
"I see. Then, Master—"
"You want to ask why my mom passed away, right?"
As he spoke, the sorrow in Senba Gari's eyes deepened. Silver Phantom hurriedly said,
Sorry, Master. I shouldn't have asked.
"It's okay. I told you already—you're family now, so I won't hide anything from my family. It all started ten years ago."
One afternoon ten years earlier, eight-year-old Senba Gari was out enjoying Akihabara with his mother, Otonashi Yukine, holding her hand. When she led him to the entrance of a shop, he suddenly stopped and stared at her with a dead-fish gaze.
"Mom, why did you bring me to a girls' clothing store?"
Hearing her son's question, Otonashi Yukine's eyes darted around. Then, with a suddenly serious air, she said,
"Um, well, Gari, I'm just here to buy some clothes. You know, shopping is a girl's natural instinct!"
His mother wore an expression that said she was completely serious. Senba Gari's mouth twitched as a dark line appeared over his head.
"If you wanted to buy clothes, I wouldn't find that strange. But this is a children's girls' clothing store! And, Mom, do you count as a girl?"
Some things were better left unsaid. But once you'd said them, all I could say was: kid, you're doomed!
"Oh, is that so, Gari, my dear son? Do you think your mother is some 'old hag' who's always rushing to the market to snatch up discounted goods?"
A voice that sounded as if it came straight from hell suddenly spoke in front of Senba Gari. When he looked up, cold sweat broke out all over his body, and he trembled as he faced Otonashi Yukine, who was wreathed in dark energy.
"Th-that's not what I meant, Mom! I mean, my young, beautiful, graceful, elegant mother, forever in the prime of her girlhood! Please spare your adorable son! I was wrong! I really was!"
Seeing that his mother's expression had calmed, he thought to himself,
This is terrifying! How did Dad manage to live with Mom when she could go dark at any moment?
Hearing her son's words, Otonashi Yukine returned to normal as if nothing had happened. Smiling, she said,
"Oh, son, don't flatter your mother so much. I might get carried away!"
"H-ha ha. Is that so? What I said was the absolute truth."
"Oh, you do have a sweet tongue! Did you learn that from your dad? All right, when we get home, I'll cook something nice for you!"
Senba Gari had thought he'd escaped trouble, but when he heard his mother offer to cook, his face went pale. He hurriedly said,
"No, no, Mom, please don't cook! Look how tired you are! You have to perform in concerts when you're out, and you do housework at home. It must be exhausting, so let me handle the cooking!"
Senba Gari tried frantically to stop his mother from cooking, thinking,
You've got to be kidding! What would happen if you cooked? The last time Dad and I ate your food, we went straight to the hospital to get checked in. After we got back, all the mice and cockroaches in the house had been poisoned by your cooking. Thanks to you, our home hasn't had a mouse or cockroach in ages. I also learned to cook earlier than the other kids. If I ate your food again, I'd be checking in at heaven!
Seeing that her son didn't want her to cook, Otonashi Yukine had to give up on the idea. Pouting, she said sulkily,
"What? I only used the wrong seasoning that time! Do you have to undermine your mother's confidence like that? No! I'm going to punish you, Gari!"
"The wrong seasoning? Give me a break! Hey, Mom! What are you doing?! Don't come any closer! Help!"
Senba Gari had been making fun of his mother, but now he saw the green glint in her eyes as she advanced toward him one step at a time. He backed away in fear, matching her pace, but soon ran out of room and shouted,
"Help!"
"Come on, come on, my adorable son! Heh heh heh!"
"Hey, Mom, you've got your character all wrong!"
"Enough talk! Take this!"
With that, Otonashi Yukine pounced on her son, put her hands on Senba Gari's waist, and then—
"Ha ha ha ha ha! M-Mom, ha ha ha, I was wrong! Ha ha ha! I really was! Ha ha ha ha! Please let me go! Ha ha ha ha!"
The people on the streets of Akihabara watched the mother and son play around with kind smiles.
At dusk, Senba Gari sat alone in a car, panting, his face still flushed from earlier. He watched his mother run into an ice cream shop. But when she came out with an ice cream in each hand and walked into the road, a red truck suddenly came barreling toward her. Otonashi Yukine turned to look at it.
"Skree—!"
"Crash!"
Blood stained the road. The sunset had already painted it red, but now it was redder still.
"Mom!!!"
When Senba Gari got out of the car, he saw that his mother had been knocked into the air by the truck. He ran toward her, falling along the way and scraping his knee, but he didn't notice. Limping, he reached Otonashi Yukine and yelled at the people nearby,
"What are you standing around for?! Call an ambulance!"
The ambulance arrived, but the rescue attempt failed. Senba Gari's mother, Otonashi Yukine, passed away. The driver who had hit her abandoned the truck and fled. He still hadn't been found.
A few days later, everyone at the garden was dressed in mourning clothes. Senba Gari and Senba Ryo stood before Otonashi Yukine's gravestone, also dressed in mourning clothes. 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, go ahead!"
At Senba Ryo's words, the tears that had been welling in Senba Gari's eyes burst forth.
"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"
Seeing his son sobbing, Senba Ryo crouched down, hugged him, and said,
"Cry as loud as you want. Once you let it out, your heart won't hurt so much."
From that day on, Senba Gari traveled around the world with Senba Ryo, studying archaeology.
After hearing about Senba Gari's past, Silver Phantom didn't know what to say. When it remained silent, Senba Gari continued,
"Now even Dad isn't here with me. You know, Phantom, sometimes I really don't know what to do. Just a few months ago, I was an ordinary person, but now I'm supposedly Kamen Rider Divine. Honestly, I really don't know what I'm supposed to do, Phantom!"
Senba Gari's eyes were full of pain and uncertainty. Seeing him like this, Silver Phantom simply patted him on the shoulder and spoke.
Master, to be honest, I don't understand human emotions. So all I can say is this: since you think of me as family, I think of you as family too. No matter what happens, I'll be by your side!
Hearing Silver Phantom's words, Senba Gari suddenly laughed.
"Pfft, ha ha! Phantom, you really underestimate me. Who am I? I'm Senba Gari, Kamen Rider Divine! No matter what happens, I'll keep going! Come on, Phantom. The sun's almost down."
Silver Phantom set off first. As it went, it muttered in a voice only it could hear,
Still, you'll keep going, Master? I'm afraid that one day you won't be able to keep going.
Senba Gari got ready to leave too, then suddenly remembered something and spoke to his mother's gravestone.
"Oh! Right, Mom, I have something to tell you. Tomorrow I'm going to teach at your old school, Otonokizaka. I was forced into it, but I won't let anything happen to Otonokizaka. After all, that place holds your memories."
With that, Senba Gari turned and left.
Teaching at Otonokizaka (Part One)
Otonokizaka was a traditional girls' school located where Akihabara, Kanda, and Jimbocho met. Today, however, a young man had come to the school. That young man was, of course, Senba Gari.
"Hey, look! Why's there a guy in here?"
"Yeah, that's weird. Could he be some kind of pervert?"
"Seriously, I can put up with all the girls here giving me weird looks, but the security guard looked like he wanted to kill me the moment I stepped through the school gate! And I'm not a pervert! If Aunt Minami hadn't forced me, I'd never have come!"
As the girls around him stared strangely, Senba Gari walked along the cherry-blossom path at Otonokizaka, muttering resentfully. Silver Phantom's voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece he wore.
Master, stop complaining. Besides, I'm the one who should be complaining! Why do I have to wait outside in the sun by myself? It's not fair! I want to go home! ψ(*｀ー′)ψ
That's right. Silver Phantom was currently parked quietly beneath a streetlight on the road opposite Otonokizaka. Just then, a sleazy-looking delinquent with dyed blond hair crept toward it, holding a wrench.
What are you going to do? →_→
"What do you mean, what am I going to do? Phantom, what are you talking about?"
Inside Otonokizaka, Senba Gari heard Silver Phantom's words and asked in confusion.
The delinquent was startled when a voice suddenly sounded beside him. He quickly looked around, but saw no one. Confused, he said,
"Strange. There's nobody here. Who's talking?"
Me.
"I know it's you! I just want to know what you're doing!"
Hearing Silver Phantom's words, Senba Gari said in exasperation.
The delinquent suddenly heard that voice again and turned to look around, but still saw no one.
"Who is it?!"
No need to look around. I'm right in front of you.
"Are you?! I don't see anyone!"
Inside Otonokizaka, Senba Gari heard Silver Phantom's words and hurriedly looked around. There were nothing but girls.
The delinquent followed the strange voice and looked ahead, but didn't see anyone there either. There was only Silver Phantom, which looked like a "motorcycle." Then the voice came from it again.
See? And what are you planning to do?
"What do you mean, what am I planning to do?! That's what I should be asking you!"
Senba Gari was about to lose it. He wished he could go find Silver Phantom right then and demand an explanation.
When the delinquent finally realized the voice was coming from the "motorcycle" in front of him, his face filled with terror and his voice trembled as he said,
"Y-y-you! Are you a person or a ghost?!"
I'm neither a person nor a ghost. I'm just a motorcycle. ()
"..."
Senba Gari had made it to an inconspicuous spot in Otonokizaka, only to hear Silver Phantom say something completely nonsensical. He was really about to lose his mind. What did it mean, "person or ghost"?! Explain yourself!
Hearing Silver Phantom's voice, the delinquent finally ran off in terror, shouting,
"Mommy! Help! A ghost has possessed the motorcycle!!!"
I told you, I'm not a ghost! I'm just a motorcycle! (＃｀д′)?
"Phantom! What the hell are you up to now?!"
Senba Gari finally lost it and yelled into his earpiece. The only response he got was—
...Master, did you forget to take your medicine?
"..."
Before you continue