Title: Another World
Chapter: 4 - Singularity ~ Returning Back in Time
Fandom: Kamen Rider Decade/Den-O
Character: Kadoya Tsukasa, Nogami Ryoutaro, Sakurai Yuuto, Hikari Natsumi
Summary: Post series. Finally Tsukasa started on another journey.
A/N: Since I wanted to have them see each other again. Been a while since I wrote Tsukasa, or even Ryoutaro so I might lose their voices here and there.
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"We needed to have to provoke you to that extent..."
"If you have not been fighting with all your heart against all of us... there wouldn't have been any creation after all that destruction..."
"...as long as the memories... continued to exist..."
Tsukasa took out his camera out before taking a look at it closely.
Memories...
How many times have that word affected his life all these times?
Ever since he could remember, ever since their parents have died; all he ever did was create memories. If not for himself, it was for Sayo. Even when he had left home, that was for creating more memories. So that once he returned, with all the many pictures he could take using his camera... he could show these memories to Sayo in hopes that it could give her courage to face the world.
He never thought memories could affect his life this much.
When he had lost his memories, he had gone around taking pictures using his cameras. With thoughts that as long as he could capture anything through his lenses, perhaps he could capture a piece of the world's memories. That perhaps, if he was even able to capture any bit of picture and being able to do it very clearly; the world could accept him. If he could not remember anything but the world remembered him, perhaps he could be able find the place where he belonged.
He could not believe it was those very memories that had saved and maintained his existence in this world.
xxx
Natsumi shook her head as she stormed towards Tsukasa before dragging him out of the photo shop. Tsukasa shouted at her as he pulled his arm from her grip.
"What's wrong with you, Natsumikan?"
Natsumi made a face at him. "I thought you already said you'd stop brooding anymore! But you still do that, so I'm dragging you out!"
"All right, all right!" said Tsukasa before pausing. He frowned as he stared at the backdrop hung at the studio. Right now, the picture on that backdrop changed again. Strange...
The other day when he had encountered Kurenai Wataru, the scenery in the backdrop had changed-reflecting a scenery of one part of the city with one building's tower turning into Castle Doran and looking as if it was about to fly away. Soon after that-peculiar as it was-right after Kivaara mentioned that Den-O existed in the same world as theirs, the Castle Doran's part of the backdrop disappeared and was replaced with the DenLiner.
Despite that, the studio had remained at the same spot. That day when it happened... he ended up meeting Sakurai Yuuto. Who was in truth, Kamen Rider Zeronos. It only struck him later as to the identity of that man.
Yet now, despite the place in that backdrop still remained unchanging-for the third time, the minor detail of the picture was changed. This time, the design on the DenLiner looked a bit different. Should that mean anything to him?
Natsumi started tugging his arm again impatiently. "Come on Tsukasa, we're going out!"
Tsukasa nodded absent-mindedly as his attention remained transfixed on the backdrop. Just what... that supposed to mean? Natsumi almost dragged him out of the studio as Tsukasa stared at his feet. He recalled Sakurai's words to him the other day.
His power to cross dimensions. Even now he hadn't truly understand the power that he had in him. While the disaster of worlds collapsing had already been averted, how could he be so sure that he would not start another?
He bit his lips as he stepped out of the studio.
xxx
"Mou... Tsukasa! Why can't you just drop whatever's bothering you all these times? That disaster about worlds converging and destroying each other, that one's already over! Why should you keep moping about it again?" Natsumi puffed out before wrapping her arms around herself.
"And I thought things finally started looking up after you suggested for all of us to continue on travelling across worlds!"
"I'm not moping!" exclaimed Tsukasa. "But... if you were me, don't you want to know?"
Natsumi turned her glance towards him before cocking her head.
"All those troubles happened because of me, yet for sake of the many worlds-and me-they had risked their own existences in order to set things right again. Even though there were no such guarantees that it might work."
Tsukasa bit his lips before looking up towards Natsumi. "I wanted to know. I wanted to know them! Throughout the last journey I-we've met many other Kamen Riders aside from me. But... I never got to know them. Yet they knew me. Natsumikan, if you were me... don't you want to know them?"
Tsukasa let out a long sigh. "To know... what kind of people they were. I've only been able to meet them for a very short time... even then, I really thought they were great people, even when they treated me as an enemy last time. They risked so much to protect the world they came from. In a way, they were a bit different than the ones we've met before." He turned towards Natsumi. "I just thought... before I think up of other places to see, for the other journeys that I would take-I might perhaps, try to find them first. You'd understand... right? Natsumikan?"
Natsumi sighed. Come to think, all these time... Tsukasa had only been fighting partly to find his world, recovering his lost memories... and fulfilling the path that he was meant to take. He was not really focused about wanting to protect any particular world. Could it be... Tsukasa wanted to know of that part the other Rider have that he did not?
On the other hand... seeing Tsukasa like this annoyed her.
Without warning, Natsumi started to poke the side of Tsukasa's neck. Tsukasa stared at her in horror as he started to laugh...
"Watch o-u-t! I can't stop! Eeeeek!"
Suddenly a loud cry interrupted them as a young man on bicycle crashed onto Tsukasa. Tsukasa continued laughing as both of them rolled down the road.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... eh? Why are you laughing? Aren't you in pain?" asked the befuddled young man as he helped Tsukasa up. Natsumi hastily apologized. Almost as if summoned, another person rushed down towards the other guy as he asked about his friend.
"Seriously... your bad lucks are really incurable!"
The young man started glaring towards his friend. "Well, not like I could help it! My luck was always this bad!"
Tsukasa looked up as he thought one of the voices sounded familiar. He gave a loud cry as he recognized the other guy.
"Sakurai Yuuto?"
Yuuto immediately turned towards Tsukasa as he stared at him in confusion.
"Eh? Do I know you?"
Tsukasa blinked at him in surprise as Yuuto turned his attention towards his friend.
"Let's go. No point wasting time here..."
Tsukasa stared at the two as both of them started to walk away. Natsumi started to poke him around as he wondered what was the matter with them. Tsukasa frowned. He had met that Sakurai Yuuto just a few days ago. How was it possible for the guy not recognizing him already?
"Tsukasa... did you know them before this?" Natsumi started to ask as Tsukasa suddenly got onto his feet before chasing after the two.
xxx
"Honestly... what's the point of you asking me to tag along with you? Normally you could do this job fine by yourself!" said Yuuto as Ryoutaro waved his hand at him.
"Ah no... nee-chan asked me to buy some new books for the shop. But I thought I wanted to look for some new books about stars as well... but I don't know what good titles to get." Ryoutaro turned towards Yuuto. "Yuuto... you certainly knows what kind of nice books to get, help me... please?"
Yuuto stared long at Ryoutaro. "I thought Airi should have told you what kind of books to get?"
Ryoutaro grinned sheepishly at him. "Arara... I got caught..."
Yuuto rolled his eyes at him, before grabbing him. "Nogami! What're you planning to do?" he exclaimed as Ryoutaro flailed his arms about.
"B-but! Lately you started to not visit the café so often! And nee-chan had started to remember Sakurai-san ever since she got out of the hospital-"
Yuuto suddenly turned sombre before releasing his hold on Ryoutaro. "Ah, she was... huh? I guess... good for her."
Ryoutaro frowned. "Yuuto?"
Yuuto shook his head as he turned around. "W-well, I better find you some good books to get... seeing we're already here-"
Ryoutaro hastily grabbed Yuuto's sleeves before he started to walk away. Yuuto gave him a glance as Ryoutaro shrugged.
"T-there's... another thing as well. Yuuto! I-if...there's another incident involving Imagins again... I'd rather... you left all that to me. That incident with Negataros was one thing, but I don't want you to have to change into Zeronos again if possible! I should be able to handle everything now anyway. I don't really mind it... and Momotaros-tachi would always help me, so you don't have to change into Zeronos aga-"
Yuuto just shrugged. "What're you talking about? About that, you don't need to worry yourself about it. My matters, I'll handle it myself," he said before darting off to another corner of the bookshop.
Ryoutaro sighed to himself before leaning on the shelf behind him.
"...what a cold fellow. You might as well don't bother with that kinda guy..."
Ryoutaro turned around towards the voice as he frowned. "It's not like that! Yuuto-eh? Aren't you... earlier?"
Natsumi nervously smiled at him as she roughly pulled Tsukasa to mind his manners to him. Ryoutaro cocked his head at them in confusion.
xxx
"Sorry you had to see that, even though... why are you guys following us?" asked Ryoutaro as Natsumi started elbowing Tsukasa roughly.
"It's nothing..." Tsukasa started to say, "... I just thought your friend was someone I've met earlier but he doesn't seemed to recognize me. So I was curious. On the other hand, why are you worried about your friend? What does it have to do with the Imagins?"
Ryoutaro gave a cry before gathering himself hastily. "W-wha... how did you know about Imagin? And how did you know Yuuto?"
Tsukasa shrugged. "Well... I have my reasons but back to my question, why are you so worried about Sakurai Yuuto?"
Ryoutaro stared at them warily for a moment before sighing. "It's a long story anyway. I just don't want anything else happening to Yuuto." He glanced towards Tsukasa before continuing. "And considering you knew about Imagins and you didn't seemed surprised when you overheard us, I'd assume you know about Zeronos?"
Tsukasa nodded.
Ryoutaro cocked his head to the sides again. "Though I wonder how...", he said before glancing at them. "Yuuto's situation was a bit complicated and he can't always change into Zeronos all the time. I guess... you can say that I'm worried about him. Even though he said he had a lot of good luck..."
"Luck?" Tsukasa asked as Ryoutaro explained.
"Didn't I crash into you earlier? I always had those kinds of bad luck. People might say that it's too ridiculous to be true..." Ryoutaro grinned sheepishly. "But even when I'm weak and have bad luck, that was no reason to not do anything. I wished I could help Yuuto a bit more... or at least not burden him with having to help me out whenever it seemed I cannot handle the Imagin. It should be fine now after all!" Ryoutaro suddenly checked on his watch before exclaiming loudly.
"Waa-ahh! Yuuto might start looking for me now! Excuse me, nice to meet you too... but I gotta go!" Ryoutaro said as he turned to leave. Tsukasa hastily grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Wait!" he exclaimed in alarm. "W-wha... what's your name?" Tsukasa started to ask.
Ryoutaro looked at him blankly before smiling. "My name's Nogami Ryoutaro. Pleased to meet you two..." he said before running off. Before managing to go so far, Tsukasa and Natsumi stared in disbelief at his back as Ryoutaro stepped on a several marbles that happened to roll on the floor and collapsed on the pavement.
xxx
Natsumi leaned her head to one side. "Tsukasa...? Do you think... just now... that person...?"
Tsukasa blinked in wonder. "Could that really be... Nogami Ryotaro? The same one?"
Natsumi turned to him, frowning. "But that can't be! Wasn't the one we know was..."
Tsukasa shook his head. "No, that other time they did explain that Nogami's child appearance was not his true appearance. Could we have somehow... travelled back in time?" He bit his lips.
"So... that was Nogami's true appearance before this, huh?"
He had his suspicions after all, not just after hearing him talking to Sakurai about Zeronos and Imagins... but also as he seemed to him to be somewhat familiar looking. He couldn't believe that his instinct had been correct...
"I always had those kinds of bad luck..."
Suddenly he wondered, if that time... when he had rampaged around to fulfil his destiny as the Destroyer of Worlds-Nogami had been there. Possessed by Momotaros, obviously... but he wondered if he was there as well. What would Nogami think of him at that time? When they had met during the Oni incident, Nogami did not seemed to react badly towards him for being the reason he was in that child form. Only his grandson did.
So, to Nogami Ryoutaro... could he have just treated the fact his own body being turned into a child's as another of his awful bad luck? Wonder... if there was anything he could do to help Nogami restore things back to the way it used to be.
"Truth be told, I don't truly hate you. You have your own music inside of you. That's why... I'm glad that your friends manage to bring you back."
Tsukasa felt a sudden lump inside his throat.
Kurenai Wataru... Nogami Ryoutaro, it seemed there was still another side of them that he never knew. Wonder if that was the same with the others...
Honestly, despite how much he wanted to meet these other Kamen Riders-a part of him did feel scared that he might be treated with enmity. He could not forget how Kenzaki had treated him badly that time when they've met after all.
But perhaps, he should still face this fear and learn more about the others that came before him. It might turn out that they might not have hated him as much as he thought they were. It might turned out to be good for him...
Natsumi started to dab his face with a handkerchief before Tsukasa turned his head towards her, annoyed.
"Natsumikan... what's that for?"
"You looked like you're about to cry..."
Tsukasa blinked as a drop of tear landed on his cheek. He snorted uncomfortably. This was so not like himself. He grabbed Natsumi's arm
.
"Come on... let's go to an amusement park. Since we're here already, we might as well enjoyed ourselves."
Natsumi smiled as both of them started walking away towards the bus stop to find their way around.