Seconds stretched into long, punishing minutes. As time dragged on, both Mira and Hideo were denied even a moment of rest beneath the relentless, unceasing barrage of writhing vines.
Hideo attempted to cut them off, striking directly at the holes from which they emerged. It worked, briefly. But the vines simply regrew, regenerating as though nothing had ever happened. No matter how clean the cut, no matter how precise the strike, the result remained the same.
Working in tight coordination with Mira and her clones, they realized there was no true way to stop the onslaught entirely. So they adapted. Instead of trying to end it, they focused on containment, cutting and crushing every vine before it could breach into the outside world.
Time passed, and still, no Shuuki appeared.
Moments later, the gate began to shrink, its edges flickering as it neared closure. They held their ground, enduring the assault, waiting for the chance to finally move and track down the source of this maddening attack.
"There's no end to them," Mira snapped, her patience stretched far beyond its limit.
"Yeah," Hideo replied, stomping down hard and crushing a vine beneath his heel. "After this, I might swear off vegetables for a while."
As he glanced back at the temporary gate and watched it begin to close, Hideo quickly returned his focus to the enemy. Mira, on the other hand, twisted and shifted with a sharp flare of movement, weaving through the attacks with practiced ease. Now that their primary objective was complete, things were bound to become at least slightly more manageable.
"Hasn't anyone ever taught you lads how to play nice?" Mira scoffed.
Hideo narrowed his eyes behind his helmet, something tugging at his attention. It had been subtle at first, but now he was certain he wasn't imagining it.
"Chief, is it just me, or are they slowing down?" he asked, a faint frown in his voice.
At that, Mira's gaze sharpened as she studied the vines more closely, comparing their current movements to the relentless assault from before. She saw it too.
Then, without warning.
Just as the gate vanished completely, the vines froze.
Each one halted mid-motion before driving its tip into the ground. The sudden stillness was jarring. Hideo, Mira, and her clones all paused as they tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"What now?" she deadpanned. "I'm really starting to get sick of this."
Hideo crouched and gave one of the vines a cautious poke, testing for any reaction. There was none. Frowning, he nudged it again, harder this time. Still nothing.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he shifted from prodding to feeling, running his hand along its surface. The texture was exactly what one would expect from a plant: firm, fibrous, and faintly rough beneath his fingers. No pulse, no movement. Just stillness.
One of Mira's clones approached from behind and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. In its hand was a radio retrieved from her parked motorcycle. Mira took it without a word.
Switching channels, she brought the device up to her mouth and pressed the PTT.
"This is Mira speaking. Do you read me? Over."
A burst of static crackled through the speaker before a voice answered from the other side.
["This is Megumi responding. I hear you loud and clear, Big Sis. Over."]
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Atop the dormitory of the Second Unit of the Defense Force, the very unit Mira currently commanded, a lone woman stood with a pole in hand, a flag fluttering from it.
The woman was Zaha Megumi, Mira's vice chief and her most dutiful, loyal subordinate, ever since their earlier days. She wore a face mask, her long hair draping over her shoulders, with a single large curled strand resting on her forehead. The rest of her hair was tied neatly into a bun atop her head.
"Is something wrong on your side, Sis?" Megumi asked.
["There sure is. A weird one, too,"] Mira replied, her tone laced with annoyance.
"Don't tell me you were attacked by a Humanoid Shuuki?" Megumi said, concern creeping into her voice.
["I honestly wish that were the case, but no,"] Mira answered. ["A damn plant is my problem right now."]
Megumi tilted her head, confused, resisting the urge to scratch it as she dismissed the flag and sat down on the rooftop. As she asked for clarification, Mira began recounting everything from the very beginning, from the moment the gate opened to the current situation.
"You mean THAT Kamen Rider is with you right now?" Megumi asked, clearly surprised.
["Yeah. He showed up out of nowhere. Not that I'm complaining. The guy's been a big help,"] Mira mused.
Mira added a few more details before giving her vice chief clear instructions.
["Anyway, that guy isn't the issue right now. I'm just letting you know I'll be late getting back because I'll be staying on site for a while until these vines show any sign of moving."]
"Take care out there, Big Sis." Megumi rose from where she sat and summoned the flag once more. "You can rest assured, I won't stop waving the flag while you're out there."
Megumi's ability, Red Flag, was far from a simple decoration. It was a vital part of both her strength and Mira's. Once raised, the flag activated a rare power that amplified a chosen individual's abilities. In this case, that individual was Mira.
["Who do you think I am?"] Mira replied with a playful laugh before continuing, ["I'll be counting on you, Megumi."]
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Ending her communication with Megumi, Mira let out a long yawn, briefly contemplating whether she should call in other available personnel or even reach out to the other chiefs.
"Who were you talking to, Chief Kamiunten?" Hideo asked.
"Mhm? Oh, her? That was my vice chief," Mira replied with a shrug. "Just filling her in on what happened here."
"Oh, so like that Azuma girl who was with Chief Uzen," he said, nodding to himself as he tapped his fist into his palm.
"Yup."
"Not trying to pry, but why isn't she here? I mean, I'm not calling you weak or anything. I'm just wondering why you're alone without any soldiers, even with that cloning ability of yours," Hideo asked.
"Well, unlike Kyouka's vice, who's a combatant, my vice chief is a support-type soldier." Mira crossed her arms as she answered.
Realizing that each unit operated differently, Hideo figured he would likely encounter the same pattern if he ever met the other groups within the Defense Force.
"Kamen Rider," Mira called out. "I've been wanting to meet you for quite some time now."
"I'm flattered to hear that," Hideo joked, pretending to be shy as he scratched the back of his head.
"No, I'm serious," Mira said with a small smile. "You're technically an unauthorized trespasser here, but I don't really care about that, knowing what you've been doing."
"Oh?"
"I'll probably get jumped by Kyouka for saying this, but who cares? I'm already used to it," she laughed before adding, "That woman has only had positive things to say about you, even if she sounds slightly annoyed while saying them."
Hideo could only manage a wry smile as Mira casually let slip what Kyouka had been saying about him. Apparently, he was an unbearably nosy man, always poking his head into other people's business, and his constant bickering with Himari made them look like a pair of quarrelsome cats and dogs whenever they crossed paths.
Still, beneath all the complaints, there had been something else: an acknowledgment. A quiet admission that he was someone they could rely on.
"That mishap in Kofu," Mira continued, her tone softening slightly as she brought up an event Hideo knew all too well. "No one died that time... thanks to you."
Hideo scratched the back of his head, letting out a small, awkward chuckle. "I was just doing what I could. Honestly, it was pure luck that I happened to be nearby when it all went down."
"If you hadn't been there, the casualties would have been far worse," Mira said, adjusting her cap as a faint breeze brushed past them. "And now you've even helped the Third Unit deal with that Humanoid Shuuki."
Hideo didn't respond right away. The weight of her words settled over him.
"You've got no idea how many people would want to thank you personally if they had the chance," she added.
Mira tilted her head upward, her gaze drifting toward the dull, overcast sky. Despite its purple tone, her expression softened, as if her thoughts had wandered somewhere far brighter, somewhere untouched by the negativity of Mato.
Watching her like that, Hideo felt a quiet stir of memory rise within him.
This place.
He had stood here before.
On the edge of death, with no strength left to fight, no hope left to cling to. And yet, at that moment, someone had reached out to him.
A certain blonde woman.
The one who had pulled him back when everything should have ended.
Hideo's gaze lowered slightly, his expression turning more thoughtful.
"I could say the same to you," he thought, the words never leaving his lips. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here right now. I wouldn't have become a Kamen Rider..."
Months had already passed since the day he was transported, since he became a victim of a Mato Mishap. Yet not a single day went by that he could forget it. It was thanks to Mira that he had managed to escape that hellhole in one piece.
He wanted to put his feelings into words, to shout them out, to bow in gratitude, a gratitude he would carry with him to the grave.
His hand curled faintly at his side.
"You're the reason I was able to save those people."