Kamen Rider Trouble (Kamen Rider Zi-O Fanfic)

-Chapter 16

-Chapter 16: The Reason for the Lost Souls

"So, why do you call Takumi by his last name?" Kurena asks me curiously, leaning back against a wall in Sougo's uncle's place. 

"Because it is cooler than calling him Takumi. Inui sounds more mysterious and cool in my opinion," I answer, being completely honest with her. "Do you want me to stop referring to him as so? It isn't like I do it to his face." I call him Takumi to his face."

"I see. Well, do you want to know about something we're facing that you don't know much about? You know how people become Another Riders, right?" 

I nod my head. "Yes."

"Well, Time Jackers are these creatures who don't really age. I'm sure they can grow older in appearance at some point, but they stay quite young for forever. They're going to keep interfering with these and I want to know what they're after."

"Ah, that's interesting." That explains a few things to me. "I guess they're wanting to change things so Sougo might not become king. That is the only logical thing I can think of. That is probably what happens."

"I do not know what happens because I was never taught it, but you seem to be onto something. I have always admired that about you," she tells me, possibly smiling underneath her mask. "I believe the boys probably have figured out what we need to know. I can probably guess it. That girl we've been following doesn't eat or drink anything. So, my guess is that she doesn't age."

I gasp. "What?" That's not possible! She's a living and moving being!

"Marina, she's a reanimated corpse that needs to be sustained in order to keep living. She's dead and probably has been dead for years."

I shake my head. "How can that be?"

"I don't really know, but I think the Time Jackers made a deal with someone who wanted to help her. So, someone's doing it because they care for her. I don't see why though. It isn't the right thing to do and I would never do it personally to bring the person I love back." Kurena is different from the people the Time Jackers use. "It isn't right to mess with the dead like that. I get preventing something in the past, but this is different. She literally is actually dead and gone and is meant to stay that way."

"Kurena..." I can't believe how smart she really is when she wants to be. Maybe she let her guard down in front of Woz and that is why he was able to use her. 

She looks away from me and brings up a hand to her face, moving some hair away from her eyes. "My guess is that we're going to have to head back to that time to check things out. If someone is trying to end Karin, then we should be there to stop it and see if I'm right." 

"When did you figure that she wasn't alive? You know, like actually alive?" I have to know.

"When she got knocked off the school building. No one is lucky enough to survive that unless God sees them in a favorable light."

"You believe in God?"

"Someone has blessed me with the ability to be a Kamen Rider and to change time with my actions," she tells me, her eyes lighting up. "Hey, want to head back to that school? I'm sure we're missing out on some fun and you should be a part of it."

"We should head out to the Time Mazine then." I am not going to argue about her views. If she thinks God has personally blessed her, she can keep on thinking that.

She moves off the wall and steps towards me. "You can lead the way. I'm going to grab something from my bag I brought her not too long ago."

"Alright." I don't think that is leading the way. "I'll see you in a few moments."