When the day of our camping trip finally arrived, Isadora and I took a bus to Doshi Village. With only a few minutes left before we reached the stop, I found myself staring out the window.
Being the bored man that I am, I tried resting my head against the glass while the bus was still moving.
A bad decision on my part caused it turned out to be painfully uncomfortable.
Movies always make leaning against cars or bus windows look cozy and relaxing, but in reality it was nothing like that. The constant vibration just rattled my already dumb brain, and it was anything but enjoyable.
I glanced at the person beside me. She was wearing a sleep mask, smiling like nothing in the world could possibly be wrong
As if everything was sunshine and rainbows.
I don't know but staring at that made me pissed off. Just looking at her made me want to do something.
I raised my hand and pinched her cheek.
She jolted awake.
"Ouch—ouch—ouch!" Isadora yelped, slapping my hand away as she lifted her sleep mask. "What the hell was that for, you jackass?"
"Just cause." I smirked.
She shot me a nasty look.
That's a little payback for all the things you have done to me before.
"We're getting close to the stop," I said, then let my gaze drift to the ice box she was carrying. "Also… what have you got in there?"
She shook her head and wagged her index finger.
"That's a surprise for later, my dear."
"Now I'm even more curious."
I hadn't gone to the supermarket with her when she bought the meat for today, so I had absolutely no clue what was inside.
I figured I'd just let the chef of the trip do her thing.
When the bus finally came to a halt, we stood up from our seats and stepped off, bags slung over our shoulders.
Almost in sync, Isadora and I took a deep breath and let it out, a small shout escaping us both.
"This place is really quiet, Hideo."
"Yeah."
We lingered at the stop, looking around. A middle-aged man rode past on a bicycle, slowing just enough to greet us. We returned the greeting, watching him disappear down the road as the silence settled in again.
After stretching for a moment, the two of us began the walk toward the campsite we had reserved days ago. It was still quite a distance away, but at least I could move around a bit.
"If only we had one of those vending machines…" Isadora sighed, her gaze fixed on the path ahead.
I turned to her, confusion knitting my brow.
"Why would a vending machine help out here?"
"Mmh? Oh—right. You wouldn't know," she said, waving it off with a faint chuckle. "Silly me."
She continued without slowing her pace.
"You do know about the organization called the Kougami Foundation, right?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. You said they're the ones supplying the last OOO and Ankh with equipment."
"Exactly. And they're led by this guy named Kougami Kousei."
She spoke his name with a weary tone, as if merely saying it drained a bit of her energy.
"They have these vending machines that dispense cans which can transform into miniature robots called Candroids."
…What?
A vending machine that spits out machines?
If that wasn't the ultimate nerd's dream, I didn't know what was.
"And that's not all," she added casually. "It can even transform into a motorcycle."
"This Kougami guy who owns the company sounds like an awesome guy."
Damn, I really wished a vending machine like that actually existed here.
"...Yeah," she replied after a pause. "An awesome guy."
I glanced at her. The expression on her face didn't quite align with the words she'd just spoken.
"Don't misunderstand me—he is a great guy," she said, then continued, "but seeing his actions retrospectively, he's… way too much."
"In what way?"
She coughed lightly, then turned to me, staring me dead in the eye as she puffed out her cheeks.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OOO!!!"
I flinched when Isadora shouted out of nowhere, instinctively covering my ear.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked, annoyance slipping into my voice.
"Imagine that, but turned up to eleven," she said. "That's how President Kougami acts."
I blinked to that.
"Looks like the Greeed weren't the only interesting ones during their revival," I said, nudging a small stone along the path with my foot.
She snorted.
"I haven't even told you about Hina-san yet," she said. "She's a normal human—in a way—except she can lift a car like a super soldier, all with that tiny body of hers."
Somehow, a unique bunch of people gathering around a Kamen Rider didn't seem all that surprising anymore.
Isadora herself was proof enough of that.
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After the long walk, we finally reached the campsite. I stepped into the lobby to speak with the woman at the front desk.
As I paid for our camping spot, Isadora's attention drifted to the bulletin board behind the counter. She stared at it with quiet interest.
"Enjoy your stay here," the front desk attendant said with a warm smile, dipping her head slightly in a polite bow.
I returned the smile, then excused myself and looked over to the red-haired woman near me, who was still studying the board.
Curious, I asked, "What's wrong?"
"Mhm? Ah—nothing. Just… that."
She lifted a finger and pointed.
I followed her gaze. Pinned to the board were five missing person posters. What stood out most wasn't the faces or the names.
It was the dates.
They had all gone missing recently.
"Curious about it?" the front desk woman asked, noticing our eyes fixed on the missing person posters behind her.
Both of us nodded.
"Over the past few days, people have been disappearing," she said. "All that's been found are traces of their belongings—jewelry, torn shirts, even shoes that supposedly belonged to them."
Now that's a horror movie setup if I've ever heard one.
"Has anything strange been happening around here that might explain it?" I asked.
"Coincidentally," the woman replied, lowering her voice, "all five were last seen by locals entering the woods at night, on the far side of the village."
She paused, then added, "That's why the area's been blocked off. If you head that way, you'll notice there's a blockage placed there."
I wondered if some kind of animal had been attacking the area. Considering how few traces were left behind even with their belongings.
It was just as likely that a human could be responsible.
We would just avoid that place if we ended up going deeper into the village itself.
"Just be careful where you wander around here, at least as a precaution," the woman said.
"We will," I replied.
We said our goodbyes to the front desk personnel and headed out.
Walking toward the spot, the woods thickened around us, their branches dusted with snow that reflected the pale winter light. The air was sharp and cold; signs heavy snowfall seemed to be gathering just beyond the treeline.
Once we reached a relatively flat clearing, we dropped our packs and stomped down the snow to create a firmer base. I pulled the tent from its sack and laid it out, carefully separating the fabric so it wouldn't cling together in the cold.
The poles clinked as I snapped them into sections and began sliding them into the sleeves of the tent.
"Isadora, help me here."
"Okey dokey."
Together, we lifted the tent as the poles bent into place, slotting the ends into their grommets. It wobbled slightly before standing firm. I handed her half of the stakes along with a mallet and gave her a pointed look.
"You better not bend them."
"I'll try~~"
We worked around the tent, hammering stakes into the frozen ground at an angle and reinforcing them with packed snow. I tightened the lines one by one, checking that each corner was secure.
When we finished, the tent stood solid against the creeping wind.
"Cannonball!" Isadora burst into the tent, rolling around and kicking up a small commotion.
I just looked at her with a sigh.
What are you? A kid?
Letting her have her fun, I reached into my bag and pulled out two cups of curry noodles. A quick snack would make dinner feel even more satisfying later.
I unpacked the compact gas stove, carefully clicking the ignition and adjusting the valve until the small flame danced steadily beneath the kettle.
I filled it with water from a nearby faucet earlier, watching as the heat began to shimmer along the metal, and then stood back, eyes drifting upward.
Thankfully, this spot had a table we could use, which solved one of our little logistical problems.
When the water reached its boiling point, I instructed Isadora to start timing as soon as I finished covering the cup noodles with their lids after pouring the water in.
While we waited, I decided to strike up a conversation with the woman crouched inside the tent.
"About those missing persons," I said, glancing in her direction. "What do you think about it?"
Silence hung between us for a moment before she finally answered.
"I don't have much to say about this beyond the obvious," Isadora said, letting out a low groan. "These people all disappeared after entering the area at night. Even an idiot could tell whatever's behind this is choosing a specific time to strike its victims."
"So there's a high chance it's a human," I said. "Maybe a Peach user or something like a poacher? Or… hell, maybe I'm just talking out of my ass. It could even be consecutive Mato mishaps, like what happened to me."
"Well, when Mato is in the deck of possibilities, anything can happen," Isadora replied. "That's probably crossed the investigators' minds too. Still, with traces like the ones they found, it's more likely the victims are still on Earth. Whether they're alive or dead. Though, that's another matter."
Now that was starting to concern me a little. Even if Isadora and I could fight back, the fact remained that the site of the disappearances was considerably far from here.
There was only a small chance the thing attacking over there would decide to come this way.
But a chance was still a chance.
A normal territorial animal was also a possibility. But if that were the case, the investigators would have figured it out by now.
Investigation nowadays was far more thorough than in the past.
"Let's not dwell on it for now. The cup noodles are done," Isadora said, holding up her phone as the alarm went off.
I look up the sky.
It bothered me. People potentially losing their lives to something unknown.
That was far scarier to me than any Shuuki could ever be.
I'll just eat for now.
Overthinking it won't help me finish my cup noodles anyway.