-Chapter 70: Renewal
"How are you feeling this morning?" Hiiro asks me, fixing my bedsheets a bit. "Serene was watching over you all night. She currently has your Gashats and Gamer Driver since she is filling in for you while you're here."
"Serene is able to use them?" I sit up a bit, looking at my ex-boyfriend in confusion.
"Serene has your Human DNA in her because of the reprogramming to keep her in your body. However, that reprogramming came slightly undone when you fell from the building. In your desperate state to see your deceased lover again, you managed to overcome that reprogramming to free her," Hiiro tells me. "Serene is a very capable fighter. She hasn't found Cronus yet, which keeps this a secret."
"Hiiro, I should just confess to everyone about it. I can't hide this for the rest of my life," I state. "If I try to do that, what will it accomplish? What will it do?"
"You don't owe anyone anything about this. You're allowed to have children with whoever you please. Kara, I am not happy about the father of the children but it was your decision to have relations with him. I respect you for being an adult about this and not blaming others for your actions."
"I'm the one who chose to do it without protection. I know when I got pregnant. I know it for sure," I say, looking down. "It was the last time I was with Masamune. After I saved Parad, Masamune took me away to punish me. His punishment was just another sexual encounter that wasn't...well..."
"It is a bit awkward to talk about with you but we're adults and we are all going to have sex one day. Well, possibly." Hiiro pulls out a seat and I look at him as he sits down. "Go on, keep talking. I'll listen to you."
I nod my head. "It was rough sex."
"I see."
"I must have been pregnant a few weeks ago. I thought I just had a cold but I didn't go to an appointment to get my urine checked. I should have done that just to make sure everything was okay," I mutter out.
"Kara, what are you saying? Are you being hard on yourself? You may have screwed up a few times but don't let that get you down. You have learned from your experiences and you're becoming a better person thanks to it. Kuroto has been looking into how to raise children with you. He really wants this."
"How could he accept me so easily? Shouldn't he be upset with me?"
"Kuroto is aching but he knows that you truly love and care for him. He just thinks you want stuff sometimes and you went that far with Masamune because you wanted to be selfish. Besides, Kuroto thinks Masamune played off your insecurities. Masamune, in my opinion, wanted you for himself."
"And he got it..."
"I won't let him find out about your pregnancy. I'll have Serene Transform before any battles with him."
"Thank you, Hiiro."
Hiiro places his hands on mine, holding onto them gently. "I will always love you, Kara. You're one of kind," Hiiro tells me, smiling softly. "I'm going to go and check on everything. I think we may have a lead on where Masamune is."
"Thank you for checking on me. I know I'm a disappointment."
"You have disappointed me but we're over that now."
"You can be mad at me. You can even hate me, Hiiro. I did a lot of bad things. Foundation X..."
"Stop it."
"Hiiro..."
"Focus on raising your children, okay? I bet they are going to be wonderful," he says. "I want to see them grow up with an awesome mother who thinks highly of herself. Please think highly of yourself and show them the real you. Be the person they want in their life."
I nod. "Thank you, Hiiro."
~.~
(Serene's POV)
Masamune turns to face us as he finishes his hum. He doesn't have a bad voice at all. I wonder if he has ever sung a song to Kara. I wonder why she even spent time with him like she did.
"I didn't think you all would issue a challenge," Masamune says, looking around at each of us. I am already in my form because Hiiro told me to transform beforehand to hide the fact Kara couldn't join us. Hiiro doesn't want Masamune to know about the pregnancy and I agree. He shouldn't know.
"We're going to get rid of the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat," Taiga states flatly.
"That is right. We're going to do that," I say, keeping my voice like Kara's. "I refuse to allow you to do anything else now, Masamune! Just give up!"
"Kara is right," Hiiro says, agreeing with me. "We refuse to allow you to do anything else from now on."
"We believe this is the fastest way to heal the patient," Kiriya comments.
"Wait...I didn't agree on destroying the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat!" Kuroto states and I turn to him. "What?"
"We're going to get rid of it so deal with it, Kuroto!" I turn back to face Masamune.
Hiiro looks at me and then at Masamune. "The patient's treatment comes first."
"Do you think you can beat me without Ex-Aid's help?" Masamune asks us. He does have a point. We're useless without Emu.
"It's Emu's fault!" Kuroto exclaims.
"Kuroto, let's not play the blame game right now," I order. "We don't have time to waste on that. We have a problem right now so let's deal with that first."
"I see. So, that is the fate he picked?" Masamune is still holding his umbrella. Why does he even need that? Who cares if it rains or the suns touches the skin?
"We don't have time to keep talking. Let's just begin."
"In accordance with the games' rules, new actors will be picked to play the roles you all currently have," Masamune announces. "You all have no value as a product now." He is looking at each one of us coldly. He must really dislike us right now.
He tosses his umbrella to the side and he pulls out his game, clicking on it. He transforms and everyone else follows suit. We have no time to waste.
Kuroto rushes at Masamune, trying to hit. I move forward too and Masamune knocks Kuroto back and he smacks me in the side. That's right...Kara's Gashat can't be used to beat Masamune.
"No you don't!" Hiiro says. Kuroto must have lost the Gashat to the air and Hiiro must have caught it.
I regain my composure and ready myself to attack Masamune.
(Pause)
(Restart)
"Where did he go?" Kiriya asks.
"It is only ten seconds in the end," Masamune states, rushing towards Hiiro.
"Hand me that!" Kuroto shouts, rushing towards Hiiro. He grabs the Gashat and I move in front of Hiiro, catching Masamune's hand.
"Move out of the way, AOE," he orders and he shoves me back. I land on the ground, landing on my feet. Wow, he is crazy strong!
(Pause)
(Restart)
I land on the ground, my transformation ending. Crap! This wasn't part of the plan!
"Our Drivers are gone," Hiiro says and I look down and look up, staring at Masamune. I am pretty sure my mouth is hanging open right now.
"I have taken all the Gamer Drivers and Gashats from you. With that, you are all pretty much discontinued," Masamune states and his eyes land on me. "I think it is amusing that you have challenged me, AOE's Bugster. Where is the real one at? Did something happen to her after what Ex-Aid did?"
"You won't get your hands on her," I state, practically growling. "I refuse to let you touch her!"
"Oh, you do?" Masamune points at me. "You will not tell me what to do. I am the God of this world and you will respect that. Anyways, if you want your Drivers and Gashats back you will have to challenge me as a Rider Player. I'll be waiting."
He turns away, holding up his hands a bit. He walks off, disappearing from our view. This plan was a total failure. Now he is going to want to figure out where Kara went off to.
"Serene, don't be upset about what happened. It isn't your fault. We shouldn't have brought you along," Hiiro states, moving closer to me. "Are you alright?"
I look at his face and shake my head. "No, I'm not alright. He's going to go after Kara and he is going to harm her. What if he finds out?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Find out about what?" Taiga asks. "Did something bad happen to her? I thought that was Kara we brought with us."
"We lied to you," Kiriya tells Taiga. "Kara is in the hospital currently. She fell from a building when she saw Parad go down because of Emu. She barely managed to survive from the fall. It is because of Serene that she is even alive right now."
"So, she is recovering right now? How bad did she get hurt?"
"Enough that Serene popped right out of her body," Kiriya answers. "We should all go and check on her. Maybe she is feeling a lot better and can join up with us."
"She had surgery so she won't be out too soon," Hiiro states.
"I was out pretty fast," Taiga tells him. "With your skills, it'll heal fast. Besides, she has Bugster abilities. I'm sure she will have some sort of healing factor."
"Let's just go and see her."
~.~
(Kara's POV)
"Are you alright, Kara?"
I open my eyes and sit up a bit. "You're back," I say, staring at Hiiro. "Is Serene with you? Did she wander off on her own?"
"She's here and she's bringing you something light to eat. You're going to be feed liquid food today so deal with it," Hiiro tells me. "I did feed you by the IV earlier. How was it?"
"Not filling," I answer. "So, why the diet?"
"I just want to see how your stomach is handling things," he answers. "Also, because of the surgery." He is worried about me isn't he?
"Alright, Hiiro. I trust your opinion as my doctor," I reply, smiling.
"I have an ultrasound scheduled for later today for you so you can see the babies," he tells me, moving closer to me. He sits down next to the bed and moves one of his hands to mine, holding onto my hand. "You're going to adore them."
"How do you know that?"
"I know what kind of person you are. You're the type of person who will love her babies no matter what." He looks away and I nod my head a bit. He's right.
"Hiiro, I'm sorry that we couldn't have this together. To be honest, I'm bitter about the fact they belong to..." I close my eyes. "It shouldn't be like this but I wasn't careful enough with him. I just rushed things and didn't think about them around him."
"Don't worry about it, Kara."
I open my eyes and look at him. "You shouldn't be saying that to me. I literally was sleeping with the enemy," I state. "I'm a terrible person, Hiiro."
"Your decision making skills are questionable, Kara, but that has nothing to do with you as a person really. A good person can make bad decisions. I have done it myself," he tells me. "We're equal."
"You aren't equal to me. You're not part of an evil organization that tries to come up with schemes to have world domination and you haven't tricked so many people. You had legit reasons for what you have done, Hiiro. What reasons do I have?"
"You obviously grew to care about your father-in-law and I will not try questioning the relationship you had with him. What matters now is how you're going to live your life moving forward. I suggest you work at the CR until your pregnancy is done. Once we're done with that, I'll handle everything else. I know you will need time to take care of your children."
"It is going to be hard, huh?" I laugh.
He nods his pretty head. "Yeah, it will be hard but you have people who will help you with it. Besides, we can always have Kuroto babysit them while you're working hard. Also, Kiriya could help out. He's a huge fan of you."
"He is one of my biggest fans and one of the people I trust the most in this world. Without Parad, I'm going to have to deal with things differently," I say, looking down at our hands. "Hiiro, why are you being so kind to me when I'm such a screw up?"
"I believe in you, Kara. The Intern was right about you. You're a good person."
"Hiiro, I believe in you too. I know you will find a way to bring her back. And when you do, I'll tell her all about the man you became in her absence," I state, smiling brightly.
He looks at me, his mouth hanging open a bit. "Kara..."
"I owe you that much. Anyways, find Serene. I'm starving."
"Oh, right." He removes his hand from mine and gets up. "I'll be back."
"Don't keep me waiting too long."
"I won't."