May, 2033
It was a calm evening in Akihabara, the sun was already setting, and for most people it was a perfectly normal day.
People walked around with their families enjoying the last few rays of sunshine, but through all the people walking a single man stood there silently watching something on his phone, it was a news broadcast.
The man was disheveled with messy looking hair, with stubble on his face. The man was also wearing a large trenchcoat that nearly reached his knees, a dirty black shirt which was obscured by said trench coat as it was buttoned up, scuffed jeans, and messed up work boots.
From people's point of view the man appeared homeless, but the man did not care for his own appearance as he watched the broadcast as a small smile came upon his face upon hearing the news anchor's words.
"Another sighting of television hero Kamen Rider Ichigo has been reported in the Tokyo prefecture of the Kanto region, this comes after sightings of kamen rider Ichigo have been seen world wide in the past couple of years"
"Sightings of said hero have been attributed by the public to TOEI preparing to make a remake of the original 1971 series "Kamen Rider" which was produced by Shotaro Ishinomori"
His smile faltered as soon as the news anchor said the last part as his smile became sadder and almost filled with what seemed to be….regret?
But still he didn't dare look away from the screen as he then proceeded to say with a voice filled with sadness. "Hey grandpa…..don't know if you're proud of me, but I hope you'll keep looking after me" He said, almost sounding depressed as his eyes showed little life, as if he regretted every choice he'd made.
The man then put his phone away and looked to the sky as he then began to walk but he continued speaking "You know grandpa, I am…..to tell the truth regretting some of my past decisions" he continued as he walked down the street as he then took a turn down another street before entering Shibuya station.
"You know, suddenly disappearing on everyone after that casual rating game against Riser….I didn't even leave them a note or anything" he said quietly but still aloud as he took out a small card and scanned it as he went through the turnstile before going up some stairs.
"But sometimes grandpa" He began as he reached the platform he noticed it was empty which did strike him as odd but he didn't question it as he then sat down on a little bench and continued what he was previously saying. 'Temptation…..temptation begins to get the better of me, ' he said, sounding quite pitiful as he looked at his hand as he then concentrated as energy and matter began to slowly shift and transform as then a disembodied voice could be heard yelling.
[MIGHTY NOVEL X!]
From within the distortion of energy and matter out came this small little thing which could best be described as a game cartridge called a Gashat, on the side was a little guy holding what looked to be a paint brush as the title on the cartridge said "Mighty Novel X"
"All it would take is to use this….rewrite reality and then give myself my perfect life with Issei….Irina and the others" Just as the words left his mouth, it seemed temptation was getting the better of him as reality and energy were seen converging around his waist as then that same disembodied voice from earlier came back and yelled albeit a bit quieter than before
[GAMER DRIVER!]
Grabbing ahold of the driver with one hand he spun the Mighty Novel X gashat upside down as he lowered it to the point he nearly inserted it but he then stopped "yet….that would go against all I stand for…..I am a hero…..and Kamen Rider's aren't supposed to be selfish" He said closing his eyes as both the mighty novel x gashat and the gamer driver began to glow before dematerializing leaving him alone with his thoughts.
"As the one who Inherited your name of…..Shotaro I have to stay firm in my resolve to uphold justice….as a true hero you would've been proud of" He said as his body could be seen relaxing as he then gained a small smile on his face as he felt peace.
Inner peace to him was rather hard to come by but in the moments where he did feel it, made his choice to abandon his previous life worth it.
Moments passed as he stayed there for a long time as he entered a meditative state and all was calm.
"SOMEONE ANYONE PLEASE HELP!!!"
Jolt.
Shotaro jolted up as he looked to see where the sound came from.
The voice which sounded very young had come from the train tunnels, it was dangerous and rather foolish for regular people to go into the tunnels when they were still in service. But Shotaro was no ordinary human.
Without a moment's hesitation Shotaro stood up and ran, his footsteps sounding heavy against the floor before the then took a leap landing down on the tracks.
'It sounded like a little boy…..I have to get moving' He said as his expression seemed unreadable as he was currently in 'Rider' mode.
Rider mode wasn't anything magical or otherwise as it was more of a mental state where is solely focused on whatever is in danger, not that he could use magic anyways as he never learned how to despite people offering lessons to him, as he deemed having to learn equations to use magic as 'too difficult'.
Shotaro could then be seen running full speed down the tunnel, his mind racing as to what he would be faced with.
Soon enough he arrived and saw what he imagined would be there, a stray devil. The stray devil which had the appearance of a spider was holding a child by one of their arms, a little boy no more than 7, the boy had blonde with green eyes, but something about that boy seemed familiar, so much so it almost reminded him of
"Asia…."
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The stray devil heard the name coming Shotaro's mouth but just as he turned to look, Shotaro had already speed blitzed up to him with a fist reeled back as he then delivered the punch to said stray devil.
The punch delivered an equivalent of 15 tons of force straight to the stray's jaw sending him flying straight into a nearby wall along with inadvertently taking off the arm that was holding the little boy which caused the boy to fall landing on his back.
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As the boy looked up he saw his savior from behind as from what he could see his entire right arm was covered in fresh blood from the stray but the moment, Shotaro turned with a big reassuring smile on his face the little boy's eyes widened as tears begin to gather in his eyes as the one thought going through his head was
'Dad?'
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"Hey kid, close call there" Shotaro said casually as he's learned that acting calm and relaxed like the situation was under control was a great way to get kids like him to calm down, as he then asked. "So what's your name?" Shotaro asked his voice soft as he fully turned not at all concerned with the stray devil as it was missing an arm and its jaw, along with the fact it was severely disorientated from Shotaro's earlier punch as Shotaro could then be seen kneeling down to be at eye level.
The kid couldn't stop his tears as he then tearfully said "J-Joe….Argento" He said, causing Shotaro eyes to widen before he then asked.
"Wait….like Asia Argento?" Shotaro asked with wide eyes before they then softened significantly as if a worry of his was resolved right in front of him.
Shotaro began to speak but he ended up trailing off at the end "I knew her you know….your mother, she was a friend of mine but things got..." he couldn't come up with what to say so instead he decided to ask a question.
"So Joe, what's your favorite kamen rider?" Shotaro asked as he stood back up and turned to face the stray devil who had just begun to peel themselves off the wall Shotaro had punched him into.
He waited for Joe's response for a bit but he didn't say anything until he said in a rather small voice "Ryuki"
"Ryuki?" Shotaro asked softly as he turned his face to look at Joe with a surprised face before his expression softened and he chuckled "Yeah I imagine your mom told you stories about how the first face she saw after being brought back to life was his" He said softly as he turned back to the stray as energy and matter gathered in his left hand as it then materialized Ryuki's card deck in his hand.
Now having it in his hand he extended his left arm forward causing a type of belt called a v-buckle to materialize on his waist before he then brought his left arm back down and then extending his right arm diagonally to his left before taking a deep breath before saying
"Henshin!"
Immediately after the words left his mouth he slammed the card deck into the v-buckle causing what appeared to be multiple after images to appear with the appearance of Ryuki before all converging on Shotaro as immediately afterwards his transformation into kamen rider Ryuki is complete.
The stray devil for all it's worth seemed to recognize the danger it was in as it then reached out with his one remaining hand and began talking.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT I-I'LL...I'll return to my master, please!" The stray said which caused Shotaro to stop as the way that his helmet showed no emotion sent a shiver down the stray's spine.
It was a few seconds before speaking as he reached down with his left hand and slipped out a card from the deck before switching it to his right hand. "I'm usually a reasonable guy, and in any other circumstance I would've allowed you to return to your master and that would've been the end of it" He began as he used the hand holding the card to reach over to his right arm and move the top of the dragvisor forward showing a slot for the card to be placed.
The stray devil on the other hand began to realize that he wasn't leaving alive from this situation as he then began saying incoherent things while backing away
"But…you hurt my friend's…no….Asia's child, and that's unacceptable" Shotaro said his voice becoming colder and colder by the second as he then brought the top of the dragvisor back as a voice seemed to come out of the dragvisor as it said
[FINAL VENT!]
Immediately afterward from a nearby reflective puddle came a dragon, the dragon was of Japanese design with a long body and a red and white color scheme.
The dragon roared ferociously as hate was evident in its fully yellow eyes as it looked down upon the stray.
"Let's end this, Dragreder" Shotaro said as he turned his head slightly to look at the dragon which nodded in agreement as the two then looked upon the stray.
Shotaro soon thereafter began running towards the stray at full speed causing them to scream for mercy but the rider did not listen. Shotaro then jumped into the air as he put his right leg forward as fire erupted all around him as Dragreder came up from behind him and let out a forceful torrent of flames from his mouth propelling Shotaro forward straight towards the stray.
The kick once it landed proceeded to incinerate the stray so thoroughly that not even ash was left behind as Shotaro slowed mid air and landed back down in the middle of the train tracks.
"Well that about does it" Shotaro could be heard saying as he straightened up after landing but just as he turned to look for Joe, he felt something run into him before wrapping their arms around him in a hug.
This shocked him as he looked down and saw Joe hugging him tightly which seemed to awaken something….fatherly in the man causing his eyes to soften as he then placed his right hand on the boy's head and said in a soft tone reminiscent of how his own father spoke to him when he was young "It's ok Joe, it's all over now…..you're safe"
As the words left his mouth Ryuki's suit crumbled off his body as the card deck and v-buckle de-materialized from existence leaving him in his original clothes.
Joe didn't say anything as he just tightened his hug as he was afraid of letting go, as if the moment he let go Shotaro would cease to exist.
"I'm….not going to question why you'd come to the human world….nor do I know where Asia is but if how things were a few years back are anything to go by…." He trails off before looking to the side at a nearby wall and outstretching his hands towards it as the very space seemed to be disturbed until a silvery almost curtain like thing was left floating mid air.
The thing he summoned was called an aurora curtain, used in the kamen rider series by Kamen Rider Decade in order to travel through dimensions, whilst impossible in the real world, Shotaro's sacred gear called [Fictitious Reality] allowed him to create it since it allows him to create items from works of fiction and bring them into reality which is how he also created the rider items such as Ryuki's card deck and the v-buckle.
"Ok Joe, time to g-" He began to say only to look down and see Joe was still unwilling to let go causing Shotaro look at the little boy with a look of somewhat pity as he then simply looked at the aurora curtain he'd summon earlier and did a pulling motion causing the aurora curtain to suddenly come towards them as they were both consumed by it coming out intact moments later in front of the Hyoudou residence.
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It was just as big as the last time he saw it, and a part of him still can't believe that regular people never really questioned how regular humans other than himself never questioned how a normal two story home suddenly became a multi-story building.
"Well….Joe we're here you can let go now" Shotaro said causing Joe to look up and that's when Shotaro sees he'd been crying which comes as a shock to the 25 year old.
Looking around Joe notices that they're now standing in the front yard just a couple of feet away from the front door where panicked voices can be heard coming from the inside, a few of which he recognizes and all of whom are people he'd rather not see again as he doesn't know how they'll react to seeing him again after he essentially dropped off the face of the earth..
Shotaro after hearing those voices looks to genuinely panic as he grabs Shotaro's hands and pries them off his own body with such strength it shocked Joe as he looked up to see Shotaro's face darkened by shadows which made him appear more intimidating then he actually was.
But that was all quickly resolved as Shotaro took a step back into the light of a nearby street lamp which showed how genuinely anxious Shotaro was to get out of there as he then looked at Joe and whispered "I've got to go Joe, but please take care of your mother for me will you" but he then went quiet for a bit before he decided to further elaborate.
"She was….very special to me" He said causing Joe's eyes to water once more but Shotaro didn't notice as he gave him a closed eyed smile before saying "I'm glad she was able to move on and find love" Shotaro said but he then stops as everything up until then slammed into his mind at full force.
As he put the pieces together things didn't start to make sense to him, as to why Joe was all the way in Akihabara alone, as it was located about an hour by train from the nearest station.
"Wait a second Joe" He said suddenly before walking over and kneeling down in front of the boy causing Joe to flinch slightly as Shotaro then asked "what were you doing all the way in Akihabara?" He asked, causing Joe to then say quietly as his body began to shake slightly as he looked into Shotaro's eyes.
"I was….looking for dad…he left before I was born"
That single sentence caused years worth of anger he didn't even know he had suddenly explode outwards as he then ended up yelling "SO SOME SON OF A BITCH KNOCKED ASIA UP AND THEN LEFT?!" His voice was so filled with so much disbelief and it was so loud that some windows shattered nearby.
Joe then felt everything stop as he then thought 'He…didn't know?' though unfortunately he didn't get to think on this more as the front door of the house was nearly ripped off its hinges as it opened causing both Joe and Shotaro to look as they both saw Issei Hyoudou standing there backed by Asia and a couple members of his harem and members from both his and Rias's peerage all of whom had presumably been about to look for Joe.
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The world stood still, Shotaro's eyes were locked onto Issei's who appeared as young as he was 7 years ago.
No one dared make the first move, utter the first word, or even take another breath.
Shotaro shakily looked at each person that was there, as he didn't know what to say.
Issei, Rias, Akeno, Asia, Kiba, Xenovia, Irina, and many more including one addition that surprised him.
Vali.
He didn't know what to say or even do, at least not until his flight instincts kicked in and a disembodied voice said loud enough to bring everyone out of their frozen state
[DESIRE DRIVER!]
What happened next was so chaotic that it was more so a showcase of everyone's insane speed than anything else as Shotaro went from standing to being 500ft in the air after having jumped up out of sheer instinct as he was nearly tackled by Kiba and Xenovia who were two of the fastest people he had known other than Vali.
Those 500ft in the air gave Shotaro enough time to take a single breath as he was then simultaneously tackled by two red and silver blurs that he was unable to register as he was then seen flying at hypersonic speeds through the air before they crashed down kicking up an ungodly level of dust in front of the place where everything started Kuoh Academy.
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[Set, Ignition!]
"Where is he I can't see?!" A voice which Shotaro recognized as Issei yelled but he didn't care he had a short time limit made even shorter by the person who yelled next.
"How the hell should I know?!" The second voice said which Shotaro recognized as the fastest person he knew as Vali.
He had to move faster.
[DYNAMITE BOOST! GEATS IX!]
Suddenly a massive gust of wind blew away all the dust letting Issei and Vali finally see Shotaro as he was standing perfectly still just looking at them and he didn't make a singular move, not a muscle twitch or anything else.
He was as still as a statue.
But for some reason Issei and Vali didn't waste time quickly changing into their respective scale mail variants as they already knew the power of the form Shotaro had taken as they've faced it before in training, and they knew their current forms weren't strong enough to face him but until their fight could be dragged somewhere more deserted than they'd have to make due.
[Ready, Fi-
He de-transformed.
Shotaro de-transformed as he unequipped the desire driver from his waist and looked down on it as he then said quietly "Let's make a deal"
That made Vali and Issei both pause as they then simultaneously said "what did you say?"
"Devils make deals, so I'll make you one" He said before a golden glow briefly covered the desire driver which still had both halves of boost mark IX as he then threw it at their feet.
Vali and Issei both looked varying degrees of shocked, Issei much more than Vali as he didn't want to act irrationally and just tackle Shotaro to drag him back though he did want to, but instead he listened.
"As you know the golden glow indicates that the item is permanently here and won't dematerialize after I've deactivated my sacred gear, so….here's the deal" He paused as he began walking backwards whilst Issei and Vali walked forwards as a magic circle appeared behind them as everyone else appeared out of it and amongst them was Joe who noticed the desire driver on the ground.
"Sho-" Rias tried to say the moment she Shotaro but he shot her a glare so fierce that it should her up as he then continued to speak
"Geats mark IX has the power to grant wishes and manipulate reality so why don't one of you use it to create a divergence in the timeline, one where I didn't leave"
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Joe hearing that knew what he had to do, as he ran over and grabbed the desire driver.
Joe much like his father was a huge fan of his great grandfather's works and especially Kamen Rider so he already knew how to activate it, now he just had to get far away to pull it off, as he could then be seen in the background sneaking away before turning into a full blown sprint as he went around the corner and a very soft and inaudible
[Desire Driver!]
Could be heard.
If any of them had heard it then they would have gone to stop him, unfortunately they were all too focused on Shotaro to notice
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"You'd really think we'd do that?!" Issei yelled to Shotaro who was actively eyeing any and all escape routes, unfortunately he wasn't fast enough as people like Kiba, Xenovia, and especially Vali were there. He was strong enough to take them all on and win if he used his strongest form but he wouldn't dare lay a single finger on any of them.
'I got to distract them long enough for me to make my escape' Shotaro thought to himself before he shifted his body language to be more open which made everyone flinch and think he was about to run for it as Xenovia and Vali shifted their footing in order to launch themselves at him but before Shotaro could go through with his plan Asia spoke up.
"Are you happy?"
The question made Shotaro pause as he looked at Asia, letting down his guard completely as he then let out a quiet "what?"
Asia walked forward to him passing by the others including Issei and Vali, she hadn't changed much since the last time they last saw each other, she was maybe an inch or 2 taller, and slightly larger breasts but that was all as she then repeated her question.
"Are you happy?" Asia asked once more, causing Shotaro to open his mouth but nothing came out. He couldn't think of any lie or excuse to answer Asia as he just stood there as he looked away unable to meet her gaze.
But eventually he did speak.
"I…..there's no place for personal happiness once one becomes a Kamen Rider" He said quietly with Asia seeing the pain in his eyes but when she took a step forward he quickly took a step back before throwing his diagonally as a stream of green wind suddenly erupted from his waist as he quickly activated Fictitious Reality and changed forms into Kamen Rider Ichigo.
The first Kamen Rider and a personal creation of his late grandfather.
Asia stopped her advance as she looked into the suit's red eyes but she could tell Shotaro wasn't meeting her gaze as suddenly a voice could be heard saying from the background
"That's not true!"
It was Irina, his and Issei's childhood best friend.
"Don't you remember when we watched kamen rider as kids? And how they were always happy with their friends and they enjoyed life" Irina said as she walked forward until she was standing beside Asia.
"Irina…..not all riders get to be happy" Shotaro said as he turned his head to look at her before speaking once more.
"And sometimes riders have to make hard choices." Shotaro continued his voice steady but filled his sadness as he then continued to speak
"And I thought….no…I knew I could protect more people if I…..left" He admitted as he looked at his own hands before they then curled up into firsts.
"Being a rider is a sacrifice, I'd suffered more times than I've been happy in the last few years….which has been…never" He says before looking up at Asia and admitting.
"So to answer your question Asia, no I'm not happy….not one bit" He says quietly as he closes eyes and takes a deep breath as he then asks something that makes everyone there uneasy.
"Now for a question of my own" Shotaro says as he looks at Asia and then asks "Asia….who is Joe's father?"
Asia didn't answer as she then looked turned to look at Irina who just looked unsure of what to tell her causing Asia to have to turn to face everyone else who had all dropped their guards as they were sure he wasn't going anywhere.
Nobody dared talk as this was a decision she had to take for herself as she then took a deep breath before looking at Shotaro and saying as their eyes met.
"You are Shotaro"
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Shotaro's world shattered to pieces and said pieces shattered once more into tinier pieces and it just continued on from there as a chain reaction from there.
He was unable to speak, unable to think, unable to breathe.
It felt like the air was not only ripped out of his lungs but they themselves were also ripped out.
He felt like he was suffocating so much so he began to desperately reach for the back of his neck trying to take off his helmet to no avail.
He fell to his knees as he continued this weakly as he heard people calling his name and rushing over as he then fell leaned forward with him having to weakly put out his arms to catch himself and just as he was blacking out whilst on all fours.
And that's when he felt her.
Her soft touch, one he'd missed but thought he'd never be on the receiving end of.
As he looked up he saw Asia was now on her knees in front of him, her expression was as kind and gentle as he'd remembered back when they were going to the very academy they were currently in the grounds of.
Asia moved her hands behind Shotaro's neck and gently clicked a nearly unnoticeable button near the back of his helmet causing Ichigo's helmet's mechanical jaws to retract before she very carefully removed the helmet from his head before gently placing it down beside herself.
He looked truly pitiful as he could only mutter one word.
"How?"
Asia didn't answer at first as he gently put a hand on his cheek before Twilight Healing activated as he felt pain he felt for so long from past injuries began to slowly go away and only then did she begin to explain.
"The night before the rating game between us and Riser…..do you remember when we…" She paused as her cheeks became slightly red as she had to explain with everyone else there so she decided to say it a bit quieter so she whispered it.
"Had….sex, and when we ran out of condoms and decided to keep going" Asia whispered as her cheeks turned redder, even as she felt that she shouldn't be embarrassed as she was a mother now, but still....she couldn't help but be embarrassed.
"Yeah….I remember" Shotaro said normally as Asia removed her hand from his cheek as Twilight healing had done its job.
"Well...remember how I ended up leg locking you on accident and I…..well….made you cum inside?" She said, sounding as shy as when they first met and only then did Shotaro realize what had happened as he blushed for a moment before his entire expression darkened.
"I left you…..for 7 years to raise a child…alone…If I had known I'd…." He said quietly as in his mind began heading to very dark places only for Asia to suddenly cup his cheeks and make him look up at her as she then began talking quickly.
"No no no, don't think like that it's alright, I had everyone, I didn't raise him alone" Asia said quickly only for Shotaro to grab her hands and say with genuine pain in his eyes.
"No it's not alright, what I did was not alright" He says as he looked away from her "You shouldn't forgive me so easily, and even then I am sure that everyone else won't forgive me as easily as you did" He said as he himself felt what he did was an unforgivable sin, and should burn in hell cause of it as he then pathetically said "and I...don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself".
Asia didn't respond as she just stood up causing Shotaro to look up as she then outstretched her hands downwards towards him as she then said "even if they don't forgive you right now, they will forgive you in time….trust me" She said softly with a gentle smile as she then continued "there is still time to make amends Shotaro and to learn how to forgive yourself….just take my hand"
Shotaro looked at Asia's hand for a long time wondering if he really deserved her forgiving nature but in the end and for the sake of their son, he took it.
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Shotaro stood back up slowly as he looked past Asia at everyone, all of whom except Vali looked relieved that it seemed everything was going to go back to how things were or at least somewhat similar.
Unfortunately that didn't last long as suddenly bells began to toll causing everyone to look up but not finding the source of said bells.
"Shotaro this isn't you doing this right?" Vali asked as he was still looking up but the moment he saw the look on Shotaro's face, made him know it wasn't him doing it.
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Saying he was scared was putting it lightly.
As those bells continued ringing they signified one thing, and that one thing Shotaro knew well.
A world reset.
"No no no no" Shotaro just began repeating as he looked to the ground and the moment he saw that the desire driver was missing, he nearly shit himself.
"Shotaro, do you know what's happening?!" Asia asked as the bells just got louder and louder sounding more and more haunting with every toll.
"Yeah…." He said quietly but immediately after the words left his mouth he concentrated on his own waist like he did usually when he used his sacred gear but….nothing happened in fact his current Ichigo form seemed to crumble off his body as it became little fragments of light.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed aloud but it seems like it wasn't only him having problems.
"Ddraig?!" Issei could be heard saying as he felt his connection to him suddenly sever, causing Shotaro to look at him as it seemed that just like him, he was having trouble accessing his sacred gear.
"Vali, you too?!" Shotaro asked loudly, causing Vali to check and he just looked as shocked as him and Issei as it seemed no one could access their sacred gears.
"Shit shit shit!" Shotaro said as he ran forward and past Asia, Irina, and everyone else as he ran in a random direction as he could then be heard yelling.
"Everyone spread out, if we don't find the desire driver within the next few minutes than everyone is fucked!" Shotaro yell and only then did Ravel who much like Shotaro, Irina, and Joe was also herself a hand of Kamen rider, she had stayed quiet up until that point amd seemed to recognize what's happening.
"Wait a second….don't tell me" Ravel began causing everyone who was around her to turn to look at her she then elaborated whilst not wasting any time in pulling out her wings and taking flight.
"It's a world reset" She said as she turned to look panic rising in her body as she saw Shotaro turn a corner before yelling
"JOE!"
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"A world reset?!" Xenovia asked as she found herself running beside everyone though she had to slow herself down so the others would keep up with her.
Meanwhile Ravel was fully focused on flying but she did explain everything as they were nearing the corner. "A world reset is a concept in Kamen Rider Geats where after someone has won the DGP or Desire Grand Prix the world is reset to be in accordance of the winner's wish"
"Isn't there anything we can do to stop it?" Rias asked as they finally rounded the corner to see Shotaro and Joe talking and with the way Shotaro moved and his body language, he looked….defeated and sad as he could then be seen bringing Joe into a hug.
"No" Koneko answered this time, as someone who was essentially forced to watch many different kamen rider series by Shotaro, she knew what a world reset entailed after having watched the entirety of Geats and unfortunately it was the truth even if none of them wanted to believe it and so they then all rushed to the father and son.
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Moments before.
"What did you do?!" Shotaro yelled in shock as he put both of his hands on his head which he nearly felt like bashing it against something as he had just gotten his life back and now it was all about to be ripped away not even minutes after having regained it, as just moments ago he'd found Joe holding the desire driver.
"I made a wish" Joe said oddly calmly as he looked down at his own waist as the desire driver much like what happened to Shotaro earlier began slowly turning into little bits of light before fully dematerializing.
"A-and what could've been so important that you have to reset the entire world…no the entire universe?!" Shotaro asked still panicking as he heard the footsteps of people coming up from behind him
Joe just looked at him before smiling as he then said "mom always wished for you to be happy….so that's what I wished for"
Shotaro's face dropped as he just looked at Joe before saying "J-joe….you know what this means right?" He asked, sounding defeated as he knew there was nothing he could do nor could he find a reason to be mad at his little boy.
"I know" Joe said as he walked up to his father and looked up, his eyes seemed to almost shine as the way the light from the street lamp hit them.
"Y-you don't know how far back the reset will take us…..it could take us so far back in time….maybe so far back you wont even be born yet" Shotaro said causing a little fear to appear in Joe's eyes only for him to swallow it up and look at him straight in his eyes, the fear was still there, but there was another thing.
Courage.
"I know….a kamen rider must be willing to make sacrifices for the good of everyone else….right?" Joe asked tilting his head to the side causing Shotaro to begin to tear up causing Joe to do the same as Joe then said tearily. "Isn't that right, dad?'
Shotaro wasted not one second more and brought his son into his arms and hugged him so tight that Joe felt that he might actually break something as Shotaro then shakily said as he turned to look at everyone who were getting closer and closer but he knew in his heart they wouldn't make it in time.
"Joe" He began but he had to take a shaky deep breath before saying his final words just before the world ended.
"I promise you, I won't make the same mistakes as I did the first time, and I will not only fight for everyone else's happiness but also….my own"
After having made his promise to not only his son, to everyone, but also to himself, everything went dark.