The afternoon sun blazed outside, but instead of continuing their shopping spree, the three decided to rest at a small self-service library café that offered books for browsing.
One short break turned into several hours.
By the time they noticed, dusk had already begun to fall. Their conversation had drifted from the Fall Guy to video games, then to every random topic imaginable. Huaiyin even discovered that Kume Chinatsu played the same game as her. The two eagerly exchanged IDs, promising to party up and clear dungeons together once they got home.
"So I'm telling you," Kume Chinatsu said passionately, "we still can't figure out what the Fall Guy's attitude toward ordinary people really is!"
Huaiyin listened intently—or at least pretended to—while Dou Tang sat beside them, half-lidded eyes fixed on the book in his hands.
"Kiryu-kun, are you even listening?" Kume Chinatsu pouted, tapping the cover. It was a Japanese collection of supernatural tales. She'd been hoping to find some clue about the Fall Guy's origins, but so far—nothing.
"I'm listening," Dou Tang sighed.
"Brother, what are you reading?" Huaiyin craned her neck curiously. "Pipilu Series. …Didn't expect to find this here."
He closed the book. The cover illustration showed a lively young boy standing in front of a sleek, wide-eyed car. The title read: Pipilu and the Phantom.
"What kind of book is that?" Huaiyin asked. The title was written in characters she couldn't quite understand.
"A children's tale from Huaxia. This one's the original Chinese edition."
Dou Tang handed it to her. She flipped through a few pages—sure enough, she couldn't understand a single line. A few characters looked familiar, but their meanings didn't quite match Japanese usage.
Kume Chinatsu's eyes widened.
"Kiryu-kun, you can read Chinese?"
Dou Tang smiled faintly.
"More or less. I learned from a Huaxia friend. She taught me a lot." Huaiyin quietly rolled her eyes. A friend, huh?
She'd already seen flashes of his past in her dreams—she knew perfectly well he used to be from Huaxia. This "friend" story was clearly just a cover.
Still, knowing a secret about him that even Lu Zizhen didn't made her feel strangely proud. Kume Chinatsu leaned forward again, curiosity rekindled.
"Hmm… Anyway, Kiryu-kun, that's all I know about the Fall Guy. But isn't it fascinating? What kind of being could he even be?"
She raised her hands dramatically, miming a transformation pose.
"Maybe he's like… a Kamen Rider! You know, a modified human who can transform and fight monsters!"
Dou Tang couldn't help but chuckle.
"Kume-san, that's a Shōwa-era theme. These days it's all about 'chasing your dreams.'"
"Dreams?!" Kume Chinatsu's voice shot up several octaves. "Don't tell me you mean Kamen Rider Zero-One! Get real—that doesn't even count as a Rider!"
"I thought you'd like the flashy armor and effects," Dou Tang teased.
"No way!" Kume Chinatsu slapped the table. "The heart of Kamen Rider is about heroes! Even if they're born from tragedy or darkness, they still choose to fight for light and justice! That's what makes a Rider special!"
"'Dreams,' huh…" She leaned back, crossing her arms, looking genuinely offended. "A true Rider's dream should be to let the ones they love sleep peacefully—to protect their friends' lives even if it means being forgotten by everyone—to guard love and justice till the very end!"
She jabbed a finger at him for emphasis.
"At the very least, a Rider without dreams should still defend other people's dreams! What's that Zero-One nonsense supposed to be?!"
It turned out Kume Chinatsu was a hardcore tokusatsu nerd—especially when it came to Kamen Rider.
Her passionate rant, however, drew a few irritated looks from nearby patrons. She ducked her head, mumbling apologies, then leaned in again and whispered,
"So what about you, Kiryu-kun? What do you think about the Fall Guy?" Dou Tang thought for a moment, then said,
"He's too much of a mystery. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm curious why he hunts those monsters and spirits so relentlessly. Every kind—grudges, demons, wraiths—he destroys them all without hesitation. There must be something behind that."
He pointed lightly at her, half-smiling.
"And you don't need to look so nervous, Kume-san. The people in those videos all turned out fine, didn't they? Some even became his fans. I doubt he means you any harm."
Kume Chinatsu puffed her cheeks, unconvinced. She didn't notice that someone across the room had quietly lifted a phone—snapping several photos of her sitting close to Kiryu Dou Tang.
"Got it."
Lu Zizhen smiled faintly at her screen.
Her network had paid off. Kume Chinatsu's location—and by extension, Dou Tang's—was pinned neatly on her map.
She picked up another phone and dialed a number.
A thin, sharp male voice answered, dripping with irritation. "Well, well… Miss Lu. So you've found them already?"
"Of course," she purred. "I'm sending you Kiryu Dou Tang's location now. But, Kanekawa-kun—this information isn't free."
She toyed idly with her spare phone, flicking through her coordinates as she spoke.
"You're not to touch Kiryu Huaiyin. But the other one—Kume Chinatsu, I believe—cripple one of her legs for me. She's a minor underground idol. I'm sure she'll be of… interest to you people."
A pause. Then a cold laugh.
"So that's the price for your intel? We spare the girl, and deal with the idol instead?" "Exactly."
Kanekawa Ryūnosuke let out a derisive chuckle.
"Miss Lu, how about I pay you instead—and take both of them? The Kiryu family should answer for Oni Island's downfall."
Lu Zizhen's smile vanished. Her tone turned razor-sharp.
"If you want to test me, Kanekawa-kun, go ahead. But do you know why someone in my line of work has managed to live this long?"
"I don't," he said flatly. "And I don't care. But you'll learn soon enough—the Oni Island Syndicate doesn't take orders."
Lu Zizhen's voice hardened, every word a blade.
"I've survived this long because everyone who ever refused my price… ended up dead."
Silence.
A long, suffocating silence. Finally, the man spoke again.
"So… as long as we leave Kiryu Huaiyin alone?"
"That's right." Her smile returned. "As for Kiryu Dou Tang—feel free to make him your target. And that girl, Kume Chinatsu—her father's a police inspector, and she's an idol. Wouldn't she make the perfect first sacrifice for your grand return to Ikebukuro? Crippling her, taking away her livelihood—it should be easy enough for you, right?"
"…Miss Lu," Kanekawa said after a pause, "for a woman, you're terrifying." "I like being called that."
The call ended.
Outside, the sun dipped below the skyline—the last shimmer of twilight fading. In old Japan, dusk was called Ōmagatoki—the hour of meeting demons.
It was said that when light died, monsters began to roam.
In modern Tokyo, though, Ōmagatoki simply meant: the time for ordinary people to go home.
Because after that hour, the city belonged to something else—
to the noise, to the neon, to the restless darkness where reason lost its shape.
A time when even the radiance of Kamen Riders couldn't reach. Not because night shoots were inconvenient—
but because Tokyo at night… was something even heroes feared.
And the Fall Guy— he was never a hero.
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