Hoshimi Miyabi froze the moment she saw him.
Standing inside the Hollow was a young man whose tall fox ears mirrored her own perfectly, same shape, same silken fur, even the faint flick of movement at the tips. But what truly stunned her wasn't the resemblance; it was the scent.
That scent was hers.
Tsutsumi blinked, slightly puzzled by the fox-eared woman in front of him. She was unmistakably Hoshimi Miyabi, which reminded him of Hoshimi Miyabi back in his world. The two of them look identical to one another, with the only difference probably being their genetics.
Alternate versions of people he knew from different worlds were nothing new to him.
"Do… you know me?" Miyabi asked cautiously, her voice gentle but laced with curiosity. She stepped closer, unable to look away from him, or rather, from the strange familiarity he radiated.
"No." Tsutsumi replied without hesitation, turning away. "You just look like someone I know."
He started to walk away from her, but before he could take another step, Miyabi reached out and caught his wrist.
"Wait! It's dangerous to run around here!" she scolded, pulling him slightly back toward her.
Her tone was sharp, but her movement was instinctive, protective. Yet the closer she drew to him, the more her confusion grew. The scent clinging to his body wasn't faint; it emanated from him.
Naturally, when an animal or a Thiren spent time with their offspring, the parent would naturally mark them with their scent, like a way to identify which one is their offspring. The scent would only grow stronger before developing into a near identical scent.
Tsutsumi has spent days around the Hoshimi Miyabi in his world while using this form, thus whenever he uses the Attack Ride: Fox Spirit, his own scent would be replaced by one similar to Miyabi's.
Miyabi tilted her head slightly, her voice softening. "Uhh… can I get your name?"
"Tsutsumi Ryoko," he answered casually, his tone calm but distant. It didn't clear her confusion, it only deepened it.
Before she could ask anything else, a low rumble rolled around them.
Then came the growls.
All around them, from the broken buildings, shattered windows, and shadowed alleyways, figures began to emerge. Dozens of them, humanoid shapes warped by black crystal and Ether, their forms monstrous, with their head being black spheres.
The Ethereals.
Tsutsumi and Miyabi both turned, backs instinctively pressed together as the creatures encircled them.
Miyabi released his wrist and reached for her blade.
Attack Ride: Blast!
Hearing the sudden announcement, Miyabi tilted her head back, seeing Tsutsumi holding a strange-looking gun and opening fire on the Ethereals. What was even more shocking to her was that his gun actually flickered in red, blue, and yellow images, firing light bullets that sent the Ethereals scattering across the ground.
"What in the world…" she whispered, watching his weapon shift and pulse with color as light bullets rain down on them.
Then, in a single smooth motion, he twisted the gun's handle, converting it into sword mode. Magenta flames ignited along its edge.
With a fluid slash, he cleaved through three Ethereals at once.
Miyabi moved in sync, her blade flashing silver through the Ethereals. Every swing was sharp and deliberate, her movements graceful yet lethal.
The two fought side by side, their fighting rhythms aligned perfectly. Their motions flowed as if choreographed, stepping and striking in mirrored patterns. When their paths crossed mid-battle, they said nothing, yet understood the other's movements.
Moments later, the final Ethereal dissolved into ash, its body flickering out like dying embers.
Miyabi exhaled and sheathed her blade, brushing a strand of black hair from her eyes. Tsutsumi quietly put his weapon away.
Without saying anything, he turned to leave.
But before he could vanish, Miyabi's ears twitched. With a blur of motion, she reached out and grabbed him by the back of his neck, firm but not forceful.
"You're not going anywhere," she said flatly, pulling him slightly back toward her. "Didn't I just tell you it's dangerous here?"
Tsutsumi blinked, unamused. The difference in height made the scene even stranger; he stood at 192 cm, towering over her 170 cm frame. Or without their ears, he would be 172 cm while she would be 150, making the sight of her holding him by the neck almost comical.
Tsutsumi: "…"
Miyabi: staring up sternly, refusing to let go.
"Chief Miyabi, have you-" Soukaku's voice rang out as she finally arrived on scene, only to freeze mid-sentence at the bizarre sight before her.
There was her superior officer, holding a tall fox-eared boy by the scruff like a mother cat scolding a misbehaving kitten.
...
Now walking through the abandoned streets together, they made an odd formation, Soukaku leading up front, Tsutsumi in the middle, and Miyabi at the rear, her sharp gaze never leaving his back.
Originally, Miyabi had planned to escort Tsutsumi out of the Hollow and detain him for questioning. It should have been a simple standard procedure for unauthorized individuals entering restricted zones.
But after witnessing firsthand how effortlessly he could slip away, how even she almost lost track of him if it wasn't for the familiar scent he was carrying, Miyabi had changed her mind.
If she couldn't barely keep him in sight, then there was no chance in hell the regular officers could.
Besides, he wasn't some helpless civilian. He'd taken down multiple Ethereals without hesitation, moving like someone far too used to fighting monsters.
Soukaku glanced back over her shoulder, curiosity dancing in her crimson eyes. "So uhhh, which agency are you from?" she asked, tilting her head at the fox-eared boy walking behind her.
"Agency?" Tsutsumi echoed. "I don't work for anyone."
Both girls shared a skeptical look. The answer was too casual, too clean.
"Then can you tell us why you decided to enter the Hollow?" Soukaku pressed, her tone light but probing, like she was trying to sound friendly while fishing for classified intel.
Tsutsumi's reply was calm, almost lazy. "Just thought it looked interesting."
He reached into a small paper bag that seemed to appear out of nowhere and pulled out a donut. Without a care in the world, he bit into it.
Soukaku blinked. "Wait, where did you even get that?"
Miyabi frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes. She didn't remember seeing any bag in his hands earlier.
Tsutsumi didn't bother answering.
"Can I have some?" Soukaku asked.
Without a word, Tsutsumi simply lifted the bag behind him. Soukaku grinned, reaching in and pulling out two donuts with childlike enthusiasm.
"You only have plain sugar?" she asked, examining the pair of pastries.
"You don't like it?" Tsutsumi asked back, his tone perfectly neutral as he took another slow bite.
"Uh, no! I'm not a picky eater! I'll eat anything if it tastes good!" she declared quickly, and to prove her point, she bit down on one of the donuts with exaggerated gusto.
The sugary coating dusted her cheeks as she chewed proudly.
Miyabi, walking behind them, exhaled through her nose. Her ears twitched once in mild irritation.
Here she was, chief of an entire squad, following behind a strange fox-eared boy who had walked straight into the Hollow, while her subordinate was happily munching pastries beside him like they were on a casual stroll instead of patrol.
The three continued down the fractured, mist-laden streets. Their footsteps echoed softly across cracked pavement, the hollow wind carrying faint, distorted cries from somewhere deep within the void.
More Ethereals began to emerge from the shadows, crawling along building walls, dropping from shattered rooftops.
Miyabi was the first to react, her sword flashing in the dim light as she lunged forward, cutting down two before they could even take a step. Soukaku followed immediately, a grin on her face as she swung her massive blade, scattering shards of those Ethereals with every impact.
Tsutsumi, however, simply stood there and watched.
An Ethereal screeched and charged, swinging its jagged, blade-like arm straight down at him.
Tsutsumi leaned slightly to the side, the attack slicing through empty air as he took another bite of his plain sugar donut. Crumbs scattered as if mocking the creature's effort.
The Ethereal froze for a second, confused by its target's indifference, then roared and swung again.
Tsutsumi sidestepped effortlessly, pivoting on his heel and kicking the creature square in the gut. The impact sent it flying backward, crashing into the cracked asphalt and rolling several meters away.
It scrambled back up, letting out a distorted growl as it lunged again, only to slam headfirst into a nearby tree as Tsutsumi shifted aside once more.
Final Attack Ride: B-B-B-Build!
Blue tank track form underneath his foot as he spun, delivering a clean, brutal roundhouse kick. The strike connected with a deafening crack, shattering the Ethereal's body like brittle glass. The shards dissolved into dust before they even hit the ground.
Both Miyabi and Soukaku halted mid-motion, having cleared their own sides. They turned toward him, both caught off guard by the sheer force behind that single kick.
To destroy an Ethereal in one strike… that wasn't something a normal human, or even an average agent, could do.
After the fight ended, Tsutsumi tried once again to slip away, his steps silent, casual, like a passing breeze.
But Miyabi's hand shot out with lightning reflexes, grabbing the back of his neck.
"Nice try," she said curtly.
Tsutsumi blinked once, then looked away as if caught doing something trivial.
They resumed walking, heading deeper and deeper into the Hollow's twisted interior. The air thickened, shimmering faintly with corruption.
Then Tsutsumi noticed something was actually walking in front of them.
A round, bunny-shaped creature with short stubby arms and long floppy ears peeked back at him. It wore a neat little uniform, complete with a tiny hat that had holes for its ears to stick out.
"Hi… do you need something?" the creature asked, tilting its head as its digital face flickered into a cheerful expression.
Tsutsumi stared down at it, his eyes reflecting the faint glow from its screen-like face. "You are… mechanical," he murmured, studying it.
"This is Agent Gulliver, our Combat Bangboo and a member of the Hollow Special Operations Section Six," Soukaku said quickly, grinning as she gestured at the creature. Her tail swished behind her like an excited cat showing off a pet.
"What's a Bangboo?" Tsutsumi asked, his tone flat but genuinely curious.
All three turned to him with equally puzzled looks.
"You don't know what a Bangboo is?" Soukaku asked, blinking.
"Nope," Tsutsumi replied simply. Then, glancing away, he added under his breath, "I'll learn more about them later."
The mechanical creature reminded him faintly of the Humagears from the AR Zero-One world. It even had that same uncanny charm of artificial intelligence mimicking emotion.
Unfortunately, he hadn't thought to copy the Humagear blueprints while he was there, mostly because he didn't expect Ark-One to count as an alternate form of Kamen Rider Zero-One… and with Ark-One came Ark.
Tsutsumi sighed faintly. He'd planned to revisit that world eventually, but with the infinite multiverse constantly expanding, keeping track of each dimension wasn't exactly easy.
He only marked the ones that mattered. The worlds that he still has a purpose in.
The deeper they ventured into the Hollow, the air grew heavier, thick with Ether corruption.
Before long, the group reached another open street, only this one was crawling with Ethereals.
Dozens of them.
The air shimmered with the distorted outlines of their bodies, dark stone-like crystal bodies with an Ether green outline and a black sphere floating where their head should have been. But what drew everyone's attention wasn't their number; it was the Ethereal in the center.
It was huge, easily the size of a truck, walking on four thick, armored limbs. Its head was shaped like a horned beetle, and its black sphere was hidden under its belly.
Miyabi, her hand already tightening around her sword.
Soukaku grinned, raising her massive blade.
The two charged in without hesitation.
Their coordination was almost flawless. Soukaku smashed through the front line with raw force while Miyabi weaved between them, her blade cutting through the lesser Ethereals in elegant, fluid motions.
But for every Ethereal they cut down, more emerged, clawing their way out from walls, shadows, and broken vehicles. The sound of shattering glass and otherworldly screeches filled the air.
Tsutsumi watched the chaos unfold from a cracked stone bench near a broken vending machine, sitting beside Agent Gulliver, who fidgeted nervously.
He didn't even bother standing.
After all, according to his current "identity," he was a civilian. He shouldn't be fighting.
Gulliver's small digital face blinked anxiously. "Mr. Tsutsumi, you should retreat to a safe distance! It's dangerous here!"
Tsutsumi took another bite of his donut, eyes half-lidded. "This is fine."
The beetle-like Ethereal roared, being overpowered by Miyabi, and its head shifted to him. Letting out another loud roar, it charged forward, crushing the pavement beneath its weight.
Miyabi's sharp ears twitched, her gaze snapping toward Tsutsumi. "Tch! Soukaku! It's heading straight for him!"
"I see it!" Soukaku shouted, sprinting across the street.
Meanwhile, Gulliver frantically tried to pull Tsutsumi away by his sleeve, its mechanical voice trembling. "Please move, sir! Please!"
But Tsutsumi didn't even shift his posture.
His eyes reflected the oncoming monster.
Final Attack Ride: De-De-De-Decade!
Glowing cards appeared in a roll before Tsutsumi, forming a direct path between him and the Ethereal.
He lazily raised his gun, then pulled the trigger.
A beam of light shot forward, passing through each card in sequence. It flew through every layer. The magenta blast slammed straight into the beetle-like Ethereal's head, the impact tearing through its armored body and sending it flying backward with a thunderous crash.
The ground shook.
The creature tumbled across the ruined street, smashing through several half-collapsed cars before coming to a stop. Its massive horn shattered, landing beside Soukaku with a dull clang.
The air went still.
Miyabi, Soukaku, and even Agent Gulliver turned toward Tsutsumi, their eyes wide with disbelief.
He sat exactly as before, taking another slow bite of his donut.
"...Well," Soukaku muttered, staring at the crater where the monster had been. "That's… one way to do it."
Miyabi said nothing, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly as she studied the boy.