His eyes were fixed on the news. The video showed the Heroic Spirit he had once fought side by side with—how could he possibly forget her?
Shirou smiled slightly. He had never thought she would also exist in this world. Maybe their once-promised reunion wasn't just a fantasy after all.
"But..."
What were the chances that this was his Artoria and not merely a copy of her? The nature of Heroic Spirits was that they were copies of the original heroes—though his Saber had been an exception. She was someone he truly wished to meet again, the friend he had made a promise with during their final goodbye.
"Um... young man, are you interested in buying a TV or something?"
Shirou looked to his left and saw an old man. Judging by his appearance, he was likely the owner of the shop.
"Ah, sorry. It's just... I was a bit surprised by the news."
The man glanced at the television.
"Ah, that news. It's surprising that King Uther wants his daughter to become king. It's somewhat controversial for Britain. After all, they're kind of breaking tradition by making a female heir into a king."
Shirou thought to himself, imagining Artoria becoming a king again. It reminded him of a conversation between her and Archer. That conversation alone had revealed to him the true reason she had joined the Holy Grail War.
Her regret was never about pulling the Sword of Selection.
Her regret was becoming a failed king—the king who led Britain to its destruction.
Will she regret it again?
Would this version of her achieve the perfect kingship she once sought, or would history repeat itself?
"Sorry, uncle, for staring at your shop like this," said Shirou.
"It's okay, young man. Though if you're interested in buying a TV, you can come here anytime."
"Hahaha, I'll remember that."
He finally returned home. Placing the meat, fish, and vegetables he had bought into the fridge, he left the rest on the kitchen counter.
After taking a shower, he returned to the kitchen to prepare some food for himself.
He took the raw, uncut salmon from the fridge and placed it on a cutting board.
"Trace... on," he muttered to himself.
A fillet knife appeared in his right hand.
Focusing, he began to fillet the fish. He started by removing the salmon's organs before cutting the fillets. The organs and bones were discarded into the trash can beside the counter.
He then divided each fillet into eight pieces, taking two for cooking while placing the rest back into the fridge along with the salmon's head.
He was planning to make a simple pan-seared salmon. After all, it was just for breakfast.
While taking the salmon fillet to season it, his eyes suddenly widened as a digital blue screen appeared before him.
[Want you to be hero?]
[YES / NO]
...
"Huh?"
--
Meanwhile, at Sobu High...
A boy was writing something on the blackboard. His hair was black, and a magenta camera hung around his neck.
"Hello everyone, my name is Tsukasa Kadoya. Nice to meet you all," the boy said with a smile on his face.
Some girls shouted excitedly. Some boys groaned in disappointment.
But one thing was for sure.
Great, another raijuu. Guess Hayama has some competition now.
That small thought came from a cynical boy sitting at a desk near the wall, far from the typical protagonist seat beside the window. His dead-fish eyes made others think he was a delinquent, though most of the time people simply failed to notice his existence at all.
A single ahoge stood out from his otherwise messy black hair.
He claimed to have 108 skills, though in reality that was just his lack of social capability being materialized.
Oi, oi, oi… did someone just mock me or something?
This guy was none other than Hikigaya Hachiman. And no, don't confuse the name Hachiman with the Japanese deity, because this guy was clearly just a mortal.
A pathetic one, in fact.
Wait, stop. Someone definitely mocked me.
Their eyes suddenly met.
Tsukasa instantly gave Hikigaya a friendly smile.
Shit. I don't like this guy.
Especially the fact that he noticed him. Even the king of raijuu, Hayama in this class usually failed to notice Hikigaya . Something about this new guy gave him a bad feeling.
He felt like this guy might cause him problems in the future.
Maybe he's gay. Sorry, man. I'd rather marry my little sister than be gay, he thought, not realizing he was getting dangerously close to turning this fanfiction into that specific anime—or the fanfiction of that particular anime.
"Tsukasa, you may sit over there beside Hikigaya," Hiratsuka-sensei said, pointing toward Hikigaya's desk.
Oi, oi, Hiratsuka-sensei, are you trying to kill my peace? Being forced to join that club was already one thing, but now you're destroying my personal domain? This is going too far! I demand to see my lawyer!
"Why should that guy get to sit beside him? It should be me!not him." Shout a girl
"Who's that guy again? Hiki… Hikitani? Hikimori?" Said a blond hair guy(Tobe)
It's Hikigaya, you bastard!
Tsukasa then walked toward his new desk. He put down his bag and turned toward Hikigaya.
"Yo, my new neighbor."
Hikigaya couldn't help but feel that the new kid was trying to get buddy-buddy with him.
"Um… yo?"
"That's it? You know, that's not very fun. Hey, since I already introduced myself, can I know your name?"
Huh? Your introduction was merely an obligation set by the teacher, and it has absolutely nothing to do with me.
"Hikigaya, right? That's what the teacher called you, right?"
Oh, so you're actually not deaf. Props to you.
"Um, yeah."
"Alright, from now on I'm gonna call you Hikki!"
The fuck? Do you have the same genes as Yuigahama or something?
This guy was already starting to give him a headache. Hikigaya could only hope that the guy would eventually lose interest and forget about him.
--
Lunch time...
"Hikki, can you slow down? There's no need to walk that fast."
Maybe my first analysis about you wasn't that incorrect. You gotta be gay.
Because who on earth would actually want to be friends with him?
"Oi, Tsukasa," he said as he stopped momentarily.
"What is it, Hikki?"
"Spill it. What exactly do you want from me?"
Hikigaya believed there was nothing good about being friends with him, and he didn't need friends. He wouldn't deny that there was a small possibility Tsukasa was acting out of kindness.
But that possibility was even worse.
Because that would simply be a lie.
"Well, I want to be friends with you, duh. Isn't it normal for classmates to be friends with each other?"
Define what you mean by normal.
It was normal for other people to do it. But being friends with him?
Please, cry me a river. Did he really think Hikigaya would believe that?
Unless the sun suddenly started setting from the west, then sure—maybe he'd believe it.
Though unbeknownst to Hikigaya, Tsukasa Kadoya was simply... that friendly.
Man, it's a bit hard to befriend this guy. But no problem. There's nothing a good conversation can't fix.
After his death, he had somehow transmigrated back into his younger body. What shocked him the most about this reality was the fact that there were no Kamen Riders here.
It was just a normal world.
In the past, Tsukasa Kadoya hadn't exactly had a good childhood. The death of his parents had seen to that. His teenage years weren't particularly great either.
That was why he wanted to enjoy a proper youth this time around—making friends, living normally, while still carrying the responsibility of being Kamen Rider Decade.
So, Hikigaya...
I choose you as my first friend in this world 😌
So stop resisting!
He continued to follow Hikigaya, from the canteen where Hikigaya bought a curry bread to the vending machine.
"Hey, Tsukasa, can you stop following me?"
"Sorry, can't do that, man."
Hikigaya sighed before pressing number three on the vending machine. A can of MAX Coffee dropped down, which he picked up.
He opened the can. With a small burst of air escaping, he took a sip.
"Aaaah."
Truly the nectar of the gods.
Hikigaya couldn't help but savor the sensation.
"Eh, MAX Coffee, huh?"
Tsukasa then bought the same drink, which surprised Hikigaya a little. Never he thought he meet another MAX coffee enjoyer
"Seems like we have similar taste." said Tsukasa while putting the Can of Max coffe beside his face.
Though the brand didn't exist in Tsukasa's original world, he had tried the drink about a week ago. No doubt about it—it tasted good.
"Though it's way too sweet," Tsukasa said after drinking it.
"You fool," Hikigaya replied. "Life is bitter, so coffee at least should be sweet."
That statement alone made Tsukasa laugh.
"Hahaha, you're funny, man." He then continued, "Though you're right that life is bitter, having diabetes would make life even more bitter."
"Heh, you're not wrong about that."
Hikigaya took another sip of his drink.
They both arrived at a staircase.
"Oh, so this is your 'spot'?" Tsukasa said. He looked around the area. In the distance, he could see a tennis court where a group of girls seemed to be playing tennis.
He then turned back toward Hikigaya.
"It's not just a spot. While it varies depending on the weather, our school is located near the sea, which means—"
At that moment, a gust of wind blew toward them. It almost felt as if the morning sea breeze was returning to where it came from.
Hikigaya then added, "The wind changes direction here. It's practically a natural air conditioner."
Hikigaya didn't know why he bothered explaining it, but he simply did.
"Oh, you're not wrong about that. It does feel nice," Tsukasa said before adding, "You know, Hikigaya, you're actually not bad to talk with."
Hikigaya was confused. In what way had he shown that he couldn't hold a conversation? He chose not to socialize—it wasn't that he couldn't. Of course, that depended on the kind of socializing.
"Ah, is that so?"
Tsukasa smiled.
Seems like there's some progress. Hm?
A blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Do you want to be a hero?]
[YES / NO]
What the hell was this? Some kind of Rider technology? Magic?
"Hey, Hikigaya, can you see—"
Tsukasa stopped mid-sentence. Hikigaya also had the same blue screen in front of him.
"You have it too?" Tsukasa asked.
"Oh, you too? Guess we ended up in the same prank together," Hikigaya said sarcastically.
Though inside his mind, his thoughts were racing in confusion. This was literally a shonen manga plot. If this were his younger self, he would already be jumping in joy.
"Well, if this is a prank, I'd say the prankster really went all out this time."
After all, a floating blue screen appearing out of thin air wasn't normal at all. And even if such technology existed, it would be a very expensive prank.
"So what are you going to do?" Tsukasa asked Hikigaya.
"Well, I say—"
He pressed Yes.
"I'll give the prankster what they want."
In the end, his curiosity got the best of him.
"Well, since you pressed yes, I'm gonna do the same."
Tsukasa then pressed Yes as well.
...
×2
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To be continued.