Ryuki 1

Everything was flipped right from left in that world.

This was most easily observed from the many advertisements and road signs that decorated the city. All the letters and numbers would be inverted. 

If anyone were to encounter their loved one within this world, there would be no doubt that they’d instantly feel that something was off about them. The mole positions would be reversed. The hairstyle would be flipped horizontally. The shape of their smiling lips wouldn’t be quite right either. 

It wouldn’t be the face of their loved one. If anything, it would be their death mask. 

Even the stars would be flipped horizontally. All the constellations would have their sides reversed. That is why you must not look up at the stars in the sky there. You must not determine your position using the stars. You would most definitely lose your way. 

 

That man appeared out of nowhere in this world. 

His face was hidden behind the knight-styled mask that covered his face. His body was covered by a pitch-black color reminiscent of a bat, and his hand was gripping onto a silver sword. 

That man was Ren Akiyama in his transformed form, known as Masked Rider Knight. 

He had to transform into Knight in order to step foot into this world. Typically speaking, a human without protection would not be able to survive in this world, nor would they even be granted passage to it.  

Knight felt a monster’s presence at a point of land that the Big Dipper pointed to and turned around. 

He then felt a sharp pain in his neck at the same time. The very next moment, a moth-like monster appeared in front of his eyes. Its whip-like feelers struck out at Knight’s neck and tightly wrapped around it.  

Various types of monsters existed in this world. They could either resemble bugs, reptiles, fishes, birds, or even combine features together from all of the above. Not just that, robot-type monsters that were made up of mechanical pieces could be found as well.  

Ren had defeated countless monsters by transforming into Knight. He had no choice but to defeat them. 

Knight swung his sword, Dark Blade, from below and instantly cut off the moth-type monster’s feelers. 

The monster backed away with its limbs and wings flailing and flapping. Its gold scales flew through the night sky like numerous shooting stars. 

(Here, eat. It’s time for your meal.) 

Upon stabbing his sword into the monster’s throat, Dark Wing appeared in response to Knight’s call. Similar to how a magician would bring out a dove from thin air, Dark Wing suddenly manifested from Knight’s shadow and attacked the moth-type monster. 

After spreading its bat-like wings and gripping its sharp claws into the monster’s head, it proceeded to tear it apart and feed on it.  

Dark Wing was Ren’s contracted monster. 

Ren was able to transform into Knight and utilize superhuman abilities through Dark Wing’s power. In exchange, Dark Wing had to periodically be fed. If the contracted monster were ever to be starved, the contractor would instead become its meal. 

There would be no doubt that Dark Wing would show no hesitation in attacking Ren. 

Upon Dark Wing finishing its meal and returning to Knight’s shadow, a harsh pain suddenly ran up Knight’s spine. 

(Fight, Knight!) 

He recognized who was talking to him. It was Scissors, a Masked Rider just like Ren. He had encountered Scissors a total of three times in this world, and each time he had initiated a surprise attack from behind.  

Naturally, Ren hated Scissors. Being that his face was hidden by that crab-like mask, he had no idea what he looked like, but he was sure that he’d absolutely hate him if he ever met him in the real world.  

(This time we’ll settle things for good. I’ll make you foam with bubbles soon enough, crab bastard.) 

As per his name, Scissors had a powerful scissors-like weapon equipped onto his right hand. While sharp enough to even slice apart boulders, it could function as a shield for defense as well, and Scissors protected himself with it.  

The attacks from Knight’s Dark Blade proved to be of no use against it. 

Scissors deflected all of his sword strikes and stretched out his scissors towards Knight’s face. 

Knight barely managed to dodge it as the sparks from the giant metal scissors clamping together flew out and obstructed his vision. 

With his vision momentarily disabled, Knight received a heavy kick from Scissors to his stomach. 

(Guh!) 

Knight quickly drew back with his body stooped over. 

(Stop!) 

Upon Knight standing back up again, another Masked Rider appeared at his side. 

It was Shinji Kido. 

(I said stop! There’s no point in fighting like this!) 

Words could not be spoken in this world. 

Even so, their thoughts could be projected to each other. Their words turned into thoughts and flowed directly into each other’s minds. 

Wind did not blow in this world. Words could not travel through the air. There was no sound. All there was was a deafening silence.  

That was the Mirror World. 

 

A little before jumping into the Mirror World, Ren Akiyama was laying in bed with Yui in his room.  

With the sheets wet with their sweat mixed together, Ren separated from Yui, to which she began talking about when she did the cat’s cradle for the very first time in her life. 

Ren didn’t understand what a cat’s cradle was. After thinking about it for a little bit, he remembered. 

Back in elementary school, the girls in class often played with loops of yarn around their fingers. They were able to skillfully loop the yarn with their fingers to make all kinds of shapes. Brooms, Tokyo Tower, bridges, ladders… 

“The cat’s cradle was really popular in class when I was a kid.” 

Yui continued. 

Whenever Yui met with Ren, she’d always talk about a time when she did something for the first time in her life. 

When she baked a hotcake for the first time in her life, when she watched a movie for the first time in her life, when she got a dog for the first time in her life… 

Today it was about doing the cat’s cradle. 

“I was simply dying to do the cat’s cradle. There was just something so intriguing about making all kinds of things using yarn. Just a single string of yarn could turn into a dustpan or Tokyo Tower, and then by simply tugging on the string, it would completely fall apart. When I was little, I felt like those loops of yarn were somehow extremely precious to me. I’d unravel all the sweaters and mufflers and gloves I could find in my house and try to do the cat’s cradle with them. I didn’t have any yarn at home, after all. Thanks to my efforts I was able to finally do the cat’s cradle, but as a result, I ruined pretty much everything that was knitted in my house.” 

“And?” 

Ren inquired after waiting a bit for her to continue her story. 

“That’s it.” 

Yui’s stories would always end abruptly. There usually wasn’t any punchline or conclusion, nor could anything like a lesson be discerned from them.  

That’s why Ren always fell silent. He had no idea how to respond. 

Yui seemed to be satisfied enough with that. It wasn’t as if she wanted to hear Ren’s thoughts about her stories. She just wanted him to listen to her. 

After seeing that Yui had fallen asleep, Ren gently got off the bed and stood in front of a mirror. It was about that time that he fed Dark Wing. 

Henshin. 

Upon muttering that word in his heart, a knight-styled mask and a power-enhancing suit covered Ren and he transformed into Knight. With a flip of his mantle, Knight jumped into the mirror. 

Yui watched Knight from behind with her eyes slightly open. 

 

(Enough of this! How many times do I have to tell you! There’s no point in fighting like this!) 

Shinji Kido’s thoughts echoed in Knight’s head in the soundless Mirror World. 

Shinji existed in the Mirror World as Masked Rider Ryuki. 

Ryuki thrust himself in between Knight and Scissors and shouted at them to stop with his hands spread out.  

Stop fighting. 

Ryuki, or Shinji, always said the same thing. That there was no point in fighting. 

Ren had met with Shinji numerous times in the real world. 

Ren was never quite fond of Shinji ever since the first time they met. 

He had a kind yet stubborn-looking face. It was the kind of face that made him look extremely prejudiced.  

It was better when he was transformed into Ryuki. At least that way he didn’t have to look at his face. But Ren hated Ryuki’s face, too. It resembled Knight’s mask in which it was knight-styled, but Ryuki’s was bigger and looked heavy. It resembled a torture device from medieval times. Those that put on that mask would be imprisoned in a jail in a tower, never to take it off for the rest of their life. That’s what he was reminded of. 

Scissors brandished his scissors-like right hand and ferociously attacked Ryuki. 

Ryuki took out his willow-leaf sword, the Dragsaber, and intercepted Scissors’s attack.  

There was no sound in the Mirror World. 

No matter how fierce the battle, it would play out in silence like a silent movie. 

Ryuki deflected Scissors’s attacks two, three times but he never counterattacked. He only defended himself. 

(Hey, Kido! Let me use your back!) 

Knight suddenly thought of something as he watched Ryuki and Scissors battle. 

(Huh? My back?) 

Upon hearing Knight’s thoughts, Ryuki bent over with terrifying obedience. 

Knight ran towards Ryuki and then made a huge jump into the air using his back as a stepping stone. 

Knight’s figure was enveloped by the moonlight as he flew high in the air, becoming the eight star of the Big Dipper. 

(Soaring Impaler!) 

In response to the cry of his soul, Knight’s Final Vent activated. 

Knight’s mantle spun around his body like a cocoon as he wielded his spear-like weapon, the Winglancer. The giant cocoon rotated like a drill, returning the number of stars in the Big Dipper to seven as it pierced Scissors’s body. 

With Knight’s entire body now functioning as a weapon for his finishing attack, he crushed the scissors-like weapon on Scissors’s right hand and drove himself right through Scissors’s body. 

Upon landing, the cocoon unraveled as his mantle spread out, returning Knight to his original form. 

Scissors seemed to be in disbelief over what had happened to his body. 

His fingers wriggled around inside the empty space that was formed from the giant cavity in his chest. 

The next moment, a silent explosion occurred as Scissors body disappeared along with bluish-white flames. The white fumes of the explosion drifted between Ryuki and Knight like clouds. 

Beyond the smoke, Shinji’s eyes glowed red with anger from behind his mask. 

(You took advantage of my body!) 

(Yeah. Thanks for always being so trusting.) 

(Do you have any idea what you just did?! That crab guy might’ve had a family! He might’ve had a cute fiancee, a sick grandma, or even little kids of his own!) 

(So what?) Ren lightly snorted mockingly. (If you feel so bad for the people he left behind, then go ahead and bring them all here. I’ll kill each and every one of them.) 

(Don’t give me that crap!) 

Ryuki sprung at Knight and their swords clashed. 

Shinji was never quite fond of Ren ever since the first time they met. 

He had a gloomy, patronizing face. It was the kind of face that made him look like he coldly laughed at others and rejected them. 

Ryuki deflected Knight’s blade and punched the face in front of him with a clenched fist. 

 

A little before jumping into the Mirror World, Shinji Kido was enjoying some okonomiyaki with Miho Kirishima.  

Shinji audibly gulped down the large amount of saliva that was building up from the scent of the fragrant scent of the searing sauce. 

Miho fried the okonomiyaki with surprising skill. 

“You want aonori on it?” 

“Yeah, put it on there.” 

Miho inquired, and Shinji answered. 

“You want bonito flakes on it?” 

“Yeah, put it on there.” 

Shinji wolfed down three okonomiyaki in no time and let out a satisfying sigh after chugging his glass of oolong tea. 

“So what’s the deal? Why’d you call me to a place like this?” 

Miho couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore over Shinji’s sudden change in behavior. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“I mean, like, you were all eating up those okonomiyaki with a huge smile on your face, but the moment you finished you suddenly stiffened up. You’re one of those guys, aren’t you? The type of guy that gets kicked out of the house after doing a girl once.” 

Miho snacked on the red pickled ginger meant for the okonomiyaki and took a gulp of her draft beer. She wiped off the foam below her nose and licked it off her finger. 

“Don’t lick your finger! And what do you mean by “those guys”? You’ve got the wrong idea, you know. I wouldn’t do stuff like that with a girl unless I really liked her. Obviously I’d make sure I treat the girl I like right. Also, don’t say things like “doing a girl”, that’s too unladylike.” 

“What do you want me to say then? Sex?” 

“I said don’t say things like that!” 

Shinji soon regretted meeting up with Miho. This was the second time he met up with her. The first time they met was completely awful, but it looked like today was going to go pretty bad, too. 

“I want to thank you for what you did for me,” said Miho as she turned her big eyes to Shinji. “So eat as much as you want. It’s all my treat, of course.” 

“Y-Yeah?” 

“I kinda caused some trouble for you.” 

“Not just kinda.” 

Shinji ate the monjayaki and steak he ordered while continuing to look at Miho with questioning eyes. Shinji had his own things that he wanted to tell her, which is why he went out of his way to accept her request to meet up. 

“If you’ve really learned your lesson, you better stop that marriage scam stuff.” 

“I don’t do marriage scams.” 

Miho ordered another big serving of beer. 

“I’ve never preyed on marriage before.” 

“Then what do you want to call it? Romance scams?” 

“Are you an idiot or something?” Miho’s large eyes seemed to laugh. “Romance is all just a big game of fooling each other in the first place. Everyone’s something of a con artist.” 

“I don’t like that kind of outlook. Romance shouldn’t be about deceiving each other.” 

Shinji slammed his glass of oolong tea down onto the table. 

“Romance is…” 

“Romance is?” 

Miho’s eyes were serious as she questioned back. Her face seemed to cycle through different expressions. 

Joy, anger, grief, and pleasure flickered across her face like light. 

“Romance… is like okonomiyaki. There’s no front or back side.” 

“That sounds so dumb. Have you ever even dated a girl before?” 

He was unable to say he hadn’t. 

“W-Well, yeah.” 

“Liar.” 

“Stop screwing with me. Anyway, you need to change how you live. Hurting others is only going to come back to bite you sooner or later. Karma and all, y’know?” 

“Whatever, I’ve had enough.” 

Miho let out a huff as she looked at Shinji from behind the tip of her nose.  

“I’m going home. I hate being lectured. Even more than I hate flat beer.” 

Miho quickly got up, paid the bill at the register, and headed out of the restaurant, to which Shinji panicked and rushed after her. He began to feel guilty over saying too much. Shinji didn’t want to hurt people with his words. 

“Hey, wait! C’mon! You don’t have to be that mad about it! I’m sorry if I went too far.” 

Miho came to a stop from having her arm grabbed from behind and turned around. 

“I said I’ve had enough. All I wanted to do was show my gratitude to you, and that’s exactly what I’ve done already. Let go.” 

As he watched Miho walk away with a brisk pace, he suddenly realized that his wallet was missing from the back pocket of his jeans. 

His regret over having said too much quickly turned into regret over having not said enough. 

(She even goes as far as to pickpocket? What a woman…) 

Shinji began chasing after Miho. 

He turned around the corner that led to a straight path, but Miho was nowhere to be seen. 

There was nothing there other than a calico cat yawning in the shadow of a telephone pole. 

Shinji felt like that calico cat was Miho’s true form. He felt like it wouldn’t even be that surprising if she was that kind of creature. 

‘Hey, give me back my wallet.” 

When Shinji half-jokingly started talking to the cat when suddenly the road mirror on the telephone pole appeared to warp. The surface of the mirror rippled and then showed the figures of Knight and Scissors fighting each other.  

Masked Riders had the ability to see what was going on inside the Mirror World. 

(They’re going at it again…) 

He didn’t have the time to care about Miho anymore. There was something more important in front of him. 

“Henshin!” 

Upon shouting that word and stretching his arm towards the mirror, a metal emblem with the shape of a dragon’s head appeared in his hand. The emblem then let out a light that surrounded Shinji, transforming him into Masked Rider Ryuki. 

A garbage dumpster on the side of the road had its lid slightly lifted. 

Peeking out from the gap was Miho, who had witnessed Shinji transforming into Ryuki and disappearing into the mirror. 

 

Right after knocking Knight back with his punch, Ryuki crouched down with his hand pressing against his stomach. 

Knight had instantly struck him with his knee. 

As Ryuki got back up, he let out a headbutt towards Knight’s face. 

Knight nimbly dodged it and landed a counter punch to Ryuki’s jaw. 

(What’s the matter, Kido?! Fight! That’s our fate as Masked Riders. We don’t have any other options!) 

Knight was stronger offensively, but Ryuki was ridiculously resilient. 

No matter how many times he’d get punched or kicked, he’d always get right back up and rush in. 

Ren hated Shinji’s resilience. 

It was just like him. It was like the physical representation of his thickheaded and audacious personality. 

(Why can’t you understand, Ren?! The answer is simple! We just have to stop fighting!) 

Ryuki yelled that out as he grappled onto Knight’s waist. 

This guy is seriously an idiot, Ren thought as he clicked his tongue from under his mask. 

The only way to stop the fighting was to fight. Killing was probably necessary, too. The fighting wouldn’t stop until everyone died. That’s just the kind of people the Masked Riders were. 

Shinji wasn’t able to pick up on that simple contradiction. 

Enough, I’m just going to kill him right here and now. 

Knight kicked up Ryuki’s chin and readied his Winglancer to strike at Ryuki’s throat. 

I’ll settle this with my next blow. 

(No hard feelings. Us contractors are probably doomed to kill each other until just one of us remains, anyway.) 

But then the battle suddenly ended. 

Knight’s body began to disintegrate as he held up the Winglancer. 

Numerous particles resembling tiny black insects were rising up from Knight’s body. 

(Time’s up, huh?) 

If he continued to stay in the Mirror World, the cells in his body would disintegrate and he’d be reduced to nothing. 

Knight set his sights on the nearest mirror he could find, a side mirror of a parked car, and jumped into it. 

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