For days, Tendo had been eating and drinking at the restaurant on credit. The manager had no complaints about this. Of course, she wouldn't have any issue; she complied quietly.
After the food was prepared, Hiyori served it to Tendo. She then returned to the kitchen to continue seeking guidance from Raven. Throughout the process, Hiyori was the more proactive one, revealing a side of herself she rarely showed to others.
This gave Tendo the feeling that his precious cabbage had been stolen.
Yet, he was speechless. He rarely saw Hiyori trust or grow close to anyone, not even to him, her biological brother whom she hadn't recognized.
"This day had to come eventually," Tendo sighed, shaking his head.
Just then, a beetle flew past the window. It was the Kabuto Zecter, seemingly informing Tendo that a situation had arisen outside.
"Worms, are they? Good timing. Let me vent some of this inner frustration." Tendo put down his chopsticks. A fierce look flashed in his eyes.
After Tendo left, Raven glanced back. He guessed that Worms had appeared but paid them no mind. He simply turned back to continue instructing Hiyori.
…
Meanwhile, Kagami was officially appointed as the new captain of the Shadow Squad by headquarters. It was during this operation that he first used the TheBee Zecter and transformed.
As Kagami stepped forward and tangled with several Worms, a motorcycle roared in from the distance.
It was Tendo, already transformed into Kabuto.
"Cast Off!"
He immediately pushed the Zecter's horn, triggering the voice announcement.
[Cast Off!]
Not only did Tendo himself Cast Off, but the motorcycle beneath him also transformed, changing into the shape of a rhinoceros beetle. With a single move, he directly crashed into and killed several un-molted Larva Worms.
This violent and brutal display took Kagami by surprise.
Tendo then dismounted and began relentlessly attacking the numerous Worms. Unlike his usual style, he was clearly operating with pent-up resentment.
Did someone upset Tendo? This is completely unlike him.
Unbeknownst to Kagami, in Tendo's current state, all these Worms had transformed into Raven in his mind. He was treating them as substitutes.
"I can't fall behind him! I'll defeat all these damned Worms!" Kagami couldn't help but think of his younger brother, who also died at the hands of the Worms. He began to vent his own emotions, just like Tendo.
Soon, the numerous Larva Worms and a few Adult Worms were eliminated.
"Tendo, let's join forces and defeat the Worms from now on!" Kagami deactivated his transformation and looked excited. He held out his hand to Tendo.
He could finally fight side-by-side with Tendo.
However, Tendo ignored Kagami entirely, simply turning his back on him and extinguishing his enthusiasm.
"Grandmother said… only the sun is allowed to shine."
After dropping that line, Tendo quickly mounted his motorcycle and rushed back toward the restaurant, worried that Raven might do something inappropriate to Hiyori while he was gone.
Kagami was left standing there, feeling awkward. But he knew that was just how Tendo was: cold on the outside, warm on the inside.
…
On his way back, Kagami received a phone call from headquarters.
"The first mission assigned to the new suitable candidate for TheBee is to eliminate Kabuto."
"But Kabuto is…"
"That is all."
The person on the other end was Masato Mishima. He hung up the phone without giving Kagami any room to question the order.
"Wait a minute… Hello!"
"How could this happen…?" Kagami couldn't accept it for a long time.
Do we really have to fight?
This difficult choice plunged Kagami into a long period of self-doubt. Becoming TheBee seemed to necessitate eliminating Kabuto. It was an order from headquarters that he couldn't evade.
…
A few days later.
More Worms appeared.
Raven, meanwhile, was still busy seducing Tendo's sister. He interacted with Hiyori frequently, almost daily. And she was quite proactive. Due to her curiosity, she gradually developed deeper feelings for Raven. Physical contact between them became frequent.
This completely shattered the mentality of Tendo, who was constantly watching nearby.
But he had to hide his feelings and try his best to appear calm.
Kagami, who was now working part-time at the restaurant, was not as excited as before, looking completely out of sorts. Tendo couldn't help but look at him. He already had a rough idea of what was going on.
"What's wrong? Someone commanded you to defeat Kabuto, didn't they?"
"Don't talk about that here…" Seeing this, Kagami quickly pulled Tendo outside to talk.
The two went to a secluded spot for a serious discussion.
"I didn't want to say this, but I've always considered you a friend. If you feel the same way… then don't appear in front of me again." Kagami said this reluctantly.
"It seems you've become a boring person."
"But as long as I am TheBee, I have to defeat Kabuto. It's an order from the organization that I can't disobey." Kagami was clearly conflicted.
"Then come ahead. I won't lose to you," Tendo stated calmly. "It's that simple."
After speaking, he walked away.
…
Following this, Kagami received a mission regarding the appearance of a Worm. He rushed to the location.
In an abandoned factory, members of the Shadow Squad were already engaging a molted Worm. Intense gunfire hit the Worm's body but had no effect. The Worm's molting, unlike the Kamen Rider's Cast Off, resulted in a huge overall increase in power, with defense further enhanced.
Seeing that even their maximum firepower could not stop the Worm from advancing, the ZECTroopers began to panic.
Kagami arrived and quickly summoned the TheBee Zecter, transforming into Kamen Rider TheBee.
He stepped forward and told the others, "Stop firing."
"Leave the Worm to me."
But as Kagami engaged the Adult Worm, a large number of Larva Worms emerged nearby, attacking the Shadow Squad.
"Form up and engage!" Kageyama, who was mainly responsible for commanding the squad, quickly shouted.
Unfortunately, against the vast numbers of Larva Worms, the ZECTroopers' weapons were completely ineffective. They were on the verge of being annihilated.
Tendo arrived at the scene just in time. Using the Clock Up state, he successfully cleared out the Larva Worms.