Disclaimer: I do not own Tumbling or Kamen Rider Kiva, nor am I profiting from it in any way. This fiction was written solely for my own pleasure.

Warning: This fiction contains shonen-ai. This means romance between guys. If this makes you uncomfortable in any way, then don't read this. I am in no way responsible for those who do not heed this warning.

Summary: Tumbling Post-series. AU w/ crossover with Kamen Rider Kiva. Premise: "What if Takenaka Yuta was Kiva?"

Azuma Wataru wondered why it took him so long to realize that while he considered Takenaka Yuta like a brother, he hardly ever knew anything about the kind captain's life outside of tumbling. But he's about to discover a whole other side of Yuta's life, a side fraught with Fangire politics, obsessive violin playing, and unimaginable danger.

Pairings: Wataru x Yuta, eventual Mizusawa x Kiyama, onesided Yuta x Tsurumi, Hino x Mari, Nago x Megumi

A/N: I'm alive! And this fic is not dead! Real Life continues to throw tons of obstacles at me and insists on keeping me from my writing. Future updates for Fangire Spring will hopefully come more frequently though I can't promise regular updates! Thoughtful reviews do motivate me to write more quickly though so they are very much appreciated. Enjoy!

Fangire Spring

Chapter 17- A Shaken Heart, The Rhino Hunts and Nago's Triumph

By fieryrondo

Tsuchiya Satoshi awoke to the delicious smell of grilled salmon and eggs. With a smile at the empty futon folded up and placed by his dresser, Tsuchiya hurried out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

By the time Tsuchiya got out the shower, breakfast, a splendid spread of Japanese and Western cuisine, with scrambled eggs and toast alongside rice and fish, was already laid out on the table.

"Dai-chan! You shouldn't have!" Tsuchiya exclaimed, turning slightly pink. Normally, he was the one who got up to help his mother with breakfast but after last night's events, Tsuchiya had stayed up late practicing his part on the keyboard to make up missing band practice. He had almost fallen asleep at the keyboard if it had not been for Dai-chan, who reminded him how late it was by yawning hugely.

Tsuchiya wasn't surprised he had slept in.

"Isn't he precious? He got up at the crack of dawn to water the plants in the back," Tsuchiya Sayu informed her son. The plump, auburn-haired woman turned to regard Dai-chan with a fond look. "And he was so sweet to help me in the kitchen."

"Ahh, Dai-chan's already replacing me, I see," Tsuchiya teased as he dug into his rice. Next to him, Dai-chan shook his head, his ponytail flicking back and forth like a dog's tail.

"No…only one Satoshi here. Dai-chan is Dai-chan."

"Did you remember anything since last night?" Tsuchiya asked, mouth full of rice.

Dai-chan frowned, his brow knitting in concentration.

"No, can't remember," he said, looking worried.

"Come have some of the eggs, Dai-chan," Sayu prompted. "Hiroshi's already gone off to a conference to discuss bathhouse trends, so eat up as much as you like! You've done so much for us in the short time you've been here—don't force yourself to remember if it hurts. Take your time—remember, our home is your home."

Tsuchiya gulped down his tea as he looked at the clock.

"I'm going to be late!"

"Take your bike, Satoshi," Sayu told her son. "Dai-chan fixed the chain this morning before breakfast."

"Really? Thanks, Dai-chan!" Tsuchiya slung his bag over his shoulder and dashed out the door.

Dai-chan waved at Satoshi's retreating back with a toothy grin.

"Dai-chan, a friend of mine who works at a restaurant could use some help. The pay isn't much but it'd be a lot better than just sitting around the house all day," Sayu told Dai-chan.

Mizusawa knew something was wrong the instant Yuta walked through the classroom door during third period. Matsumoto-sensei, who had been steadily drawing the classroom into a stupor in his meandering lecture on indefinite limits, looked shocked as Yuta silently headed for his seat next to Mizusawa's, his face shuttered and drained entirely of emotion.

"Takenaka-kun, I presume you have some reason for…?" The man trailed off as he scratched his head before changing tactics. "Never mind. Please see me after class."

"What's wrong, Yuta?" Mizusawa whispered from the corner of his mouth.

Yuta looked out the window. Mizusawa waited. After a few minutes passed with no actual response, Mizusawa repeated the question.

"Oomura-sensei died," Yuta said, his voice hollow.

Mizusawa didn't know what to do except trace soothing circles on Yuta's shoulder when Yuta began to silently weep.

Takenaka Yuta was one interesting human boy. Though, given the recent turn of events, Bishop wondered if he had mistakenly assigned the wrong species label.

No human, no matter how charismatic or powerful they were, could deter a Doran from its meal. And certainly not a boy.

The boy definitely had Fangire blood. Likely noble, or possibly even royal. It would explain Doran's acquiescing to allow Oomura's soul energy to naturally return to the earth. It didn't seem like the boy was even aware of his own heritage, judging from the way he had acted around Bishop. Even the lowliest Fangire was capable of recognize the signature aura of a Checkmate Four. But the boy had assumed Bishop was a human.

Oomura's interest in the boy suddenly made more sense. Bishop had wondered why the Frog Fangire had never harmed the boy—some Fangire enjoyed playing with their food, drawing out the hunt. But Bishop knew Oomura wasn't that kind of Fangire. While the man was far from an actual human-sympathizer, he did hold talented human musicians in high regard, often sparing them if they played music that pleased his critical ears. Oomura's fixation with the boy might have also been a sign of his claimed guardianship over the boy, who was of their people.

For whatever reason, Oomura wanted the boy to remain ignorant of his supernatural heritage. Bishop couldn't understand why—was Oomura planning to use the boy as a political piece as soon as the boy grew into an adult? That would explain the boy's ignorance but it also didn't coincide with the boy's limited knowledge of Fangire. Bishop's lower lip curled a little at the remembrance of Oomura dying in the boy's arms. The boy was shaken but he did not fear Oomura's Fangire nature.

Bishop wondered just how much Oomura told the boy about the Fangire. He would have to find out.

But first things first. Bishop returned a call from an old friend.

"Tohru-kun, it's been a while, I trust the hunting's been going well? I wonder if you'd be willing to do me a favor…"

"Yuta, wanna hang out at Tsuchiya's place? His mom's making this amazing dinner. The whole team's coming!"

"Wataru, Yuta isn't feeling—" Mizusawa began but to his surprise, Yuta smiled faintly.

"Ah, that sounds like fun."

"Yuta…" Mizusawa stared but Yuta shook his head.

"Is everybody here?" Tsuchiya called out. Everyone couldn't help but smile. From his skipping pace, their team manager was in a very good mood. "If you didn't bring your own towel this time, we can provide them!"

"I'm looking forward to meeting your hobo," Nippori said. "What kind of guy is he?"

"You haven't let him near any valuables in the house, have you?" Kiyama squinted, looking suspicious. "Because there are some sleazebags who pretend to be helpless so they can steal money and jewelry."

"Dai-chan isn't like that," Tsuchiya pouted. "He's a good guy. Ah, Hino-kun? Are you coming?"

Hino paused, facial expression twisted by indecision. He was reaching for his phone when a car honked.

"Hino! You were supposed to meet us in the lot ten minutes ago!" Nago Keisuke bellowed from the passenger's seat. Megumi, who was driving, mumbled about the annoyance of backseat driving.

"Shima-san told me I was off today," Hino said as he watched in irritation as Nago got out of the car. "So what if I want to spend the afternoon with my friends?"

"Maybe we shouldn't be hearing this conversation," Kaneko said nervously. "It feels like we're intruding."

Murmuring in agreement, the rest of the team retreated to the other side of the school entrance, out of earshot.

"Yuta?" Mizusawa inquired when he realized that his friend was no longer by his side.

"Yuta!" Wataru called out in surprise, but it was already too late. Yuta, having recognized Nago as the IXA-user, was already halfway across the street, fists clenched and eyes smoldering with barely suppressed rage.

"Fangire aren't just going to wait and attack on days when you're off," Nago primly informed Hino. "As defenders of justice, we must remain vigilant—"

"You!" Yuta screamed, baring his teeth as he swung a fist at Nago. Nago, seeing Yuta's attack, caught his arm. Yuta kicked him and the man released his grip to dodge.

"Yuta-senpai! What are you doing?" Hino asked, flabbergasted. Yuta's eyes, though brimming with tears, had never looked so frightening before.

"Yuta!" Kiyama and Wataru had grabbed Yuta's arms, pulling him back from Nago. "Calm down!"

"Who's this?" Nago asked, looking at the struggling boy with disinterest. "Don't tell me he's one of your friends…"

"You killed Oomura-sensei! You murderer!"

Hino's blood seemed to ice over upon hearing Yuta's cries.

"Nago-san, you killed Oomura-san?"

"I just got rid of that terrorizing monster—"

"Oomura-sensei wasn't a monster!" Yuta was now clawing at Nago, flailing his arms as the others held him back. Wataru was surprised at Yuta's strength—without the help of Kiyama, he doubted he would be able to hold Yuta off.

"Eh? Aren't you Takenaka? The music guy? One of Hino's classmates?" Nago peered at Yuta with detached interest. "You should be thanking me—that man would have sucked you dry."

Wataru blinked in confusion while Kiyama's eyes narrowed. He remembered the youkai that had tried to attack Mizusawa.

To their surprise, Yuta stopped struggling and pulled his arms away from Nago. Shrugging off the hands which held him back, Yuta straightened himself before turning to face Nago, directly meeting the IXA user's eyes.

"You're the monster, Nago-san," Yuta said quietly, his gaze unwavering. "You killed Oomura-sensei—I will never ever forgive you."

Yuta turned heel and walked away, a silent fury guiding his brisk pace.

Wataru shivered at Yuta's voice, which was like ice-wrapped steel He'd never heard Yuta sound so cold and angry before.

Kiyama knew he shouldn't have come. But Tsuchiya had seemed so excited for them to meet his new friend. Or "the wrestler hobo" as Wataru had dubbed the man upon seeing him, much to Tsuchiya's chagrin. But Wataru's crude christening, in Kiyama's opinion, was quite appropriate.

Dai-chan's arms were massive, easily enough to take down anyone twice his size (and the man was already big enough!). The man seemed gentle enough. A little slow, but Tsuchiya's family, Tsuchiya in particular, seemed to adore him. The other team members, once they got over how goofily tough he looked, they took to him.

Especially after they all tasted the delicious miso soup Dai-chan had made (under Tsuchiya's mother's watchful eye).

Kiyama leaned back, his soup scarcely touched. It was only when Mizusawa prodded him that he mechanically ate some rice. For some reason, he strongly disliked Dai-chan. His instincts were acting up again, dampening his previously good mood. It had been so long since the itch to fight plagued him that Kiyama almost couldn't resist giving in and starting a brawl.

But Kiyama prided himself on his restraint. It wouldn't do for him to suddenly flip the table and roar. For one thing, he would break a lot of dishes. And the others would be mad.

Mizusawa would be disappointed.

So Kiyama held his tongue, glaring in silence. Fortunately, no one else save for Mizusawa seemed to have picked up on his bad mood. Wataru, Tsuchiya, Ryosuke and Nippori were crowding around Dai-chan, marveling at the man's prowess at arm-wrestling. Kaneko had a dreamy glazed look—undoubtedly thinking about the mysterious girl he had met. Hino was in a deep conversation over the phone with Mari—something about a cancellation. Yuta's face was drawn and pale and after sitting and not eating a single bite, he quietly excused himself and left the room.

"Where's he going?" Kiyama asked.

Mizusawa shrugged. His eyes darkened with worry. "Maybe I should—"

"No." Before he realized it, Kiyama's hand had reached over to wrap around Mizusawa's. Mizusawa's eyebrows rose but he did not pull away. The two watched as the redhead excused himself, much to a certain wrestler hobo's disappointment, and followed Yuta upstairs. "Wataru's got it."

"I see." Mizusawa sat back down, lips pursed in a deliberative frown. Timidly, he scooted closer to Kiyama, where Kiyama let go.

"This is fine with you?" Mizusawa whispered.

Raucous peals of laughter coming from Dai-chan's corner broke the serenity of Kiyama's thoughts. He scowled.

"Ah," he mumbled.

Despite his inability to read the air, Azuma Wataru was a very observant person.

Of course, no one on the team had forgotten Yuta's encounter with the strange man Hino had taken to hanging out with. That kind of thing was just hard to forget. Hino didn't explain much to them—only that he had cut ties with the man, who had apparently been his "co-worker." What kind of work Hino refused to say, but Wataru gathered it had concerned some kind of investigative work. The man kind of looked like one, only without the uniform. Maybe Hino wanted to be a detective.

Hino had kept tossing nervous side-glances at Yuta, as if he were scared that Yuta would snap and charge at him too. But he stopped after Yuta gave him a sad smile.

"I'm not mad at you, Hino-kun."

Yuta's gentle voice evidently calmed everyone down to the point where Tsuchiya was able to cheerfully introduce his new hobo friend. But not Wataru. It had the opposite effect on him—he was scared for Yuta. After all, Yuta's voice, to his ears, sounded like a dying man's.

Wataru tried to distract himself with the others while he waited. Soon enough, Yuta had got up, murmuring nearly inaudible thanks towards his untouched food and left.

Wataru took that as his cue and hurried after Yuta. To his alarm, Yuta was crawling out of the window.

"Yuta!" Wataru gasped when Yuta seemed to disappear.

Yuta's head suddenly poked back up.

"Wataru?" His eyes widened, almost comically.

"Hey, how are you still alive? Didn't you just jump out…" Wataru trailed off as he stepped a little closer to the window, until he could see what Yuta was standing on.

"It's the roof garden," Yuta clarified, gesturing at all of the potted plants surrounding him. "There's a door over there but you can get here through the window."

Wataru exhaled a gulp of air he hadn't noticed he had been holding. So Yuta hadn't done anything scary-crazy like jump out of a tall building. With a grunt, Wataru hopped out the window and joined Yuta, who was looking up at the sky.

"This is a neat place," Wataru said, trying to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Mm," Yuta agreed. "It's peaceful. And quiet."

Wataru nodded. In the shadows, it was hard to see Yuta's face. But it was not before long before Wataru heard the sniffles.

Damn, he's crying…what am I supposed to do at a time like this?

Awkwardly, the red-head sidled up until he was standing right next to Yuta and cautiously patted him on the shoulder. Yuta stiffened a little at the unexpected contact but eventually relaxed. Wataru continued to give Yuta soothing pats on the shoulder, watching Yuta's face in the half-light.

With a wicked grin, Wataru dropped his arms to Yuta's waist.

Yuta shrieked as Wataru's outstretched fingers began to tickle him mercilessly. Tears rolled down his cheeks—mingled sadness and neurologically induced mirth—as he squirmed from Wataru's relentless fingertips, reluctant laughs coming out of his mouth in bursts.

Wataru paused his tickling regimen, allowing Yuta to catch a breath. For the moment while Yuta glared while gasping, Wataru wondered if he had gone too far.

But then the fierce glare softened to mischievous light and Wataru barked out in surprise, his body recoiling from Yuta's tickling assault.

"All right, all right, truce!" Wataru said, choking out laughs. To his relief, Yuta withdrew his hands. He had a most peculiar look on his face, one that spoke of amused confusion.

"What was that for?"

Confronted with such a direct question almost took Wataru aback.

"Well…just thought you could use some…I don't know…good feelings?" Wataru rubbed his head, suddenly self-conscious of his inability to articulate his thoughts. "I mean, I know it was stupid of me—I should have said something smart—but that would be even worse. Oomura-sensei meant a lot to you. And he took care of you. I know what it's like to lose someone—" Wataru winced as his voice trembled. Though he only spent a small amount of time with his own father, it was more than enough to reach and twist at his heart.

"We never did get along," Yuta said, turning to look up at the sky. "It seems that most of my memories about him were about our arguments. We disagreed over everything—schoolwork, tumbling, music. He really was like my dad in a lot of ways…I only wish I took the time to know him better. He did so much for me, more than any human would have, and I never even thanked him for it…I'm such an awful person, aren't I?"

This time, as the tears fell thick and fast, Wataru sat next to his friend until they both fell asleep.

Kiyama rose early, despite how late he had gone to bed. At some point long after Tsuchiya's parents had retired to bed, everyone realized how late it was and the idea of a sleepover sounded more appealing than trudging home. A few quick phone calls later to parents (Hino received one from Nago which he simply rejected without picking up), they were all warm and cozy in Tsuchiya's bedroom. Ryosuke whined about the lack of elbow space ("Gerroff my face, Nippori!") and perhaps pillows and blankets did not completely disguise the hardness of wooden floors but it was an arrangement that everyone found to be agreeable. Kiyama, sandwiched between Tsuchiya and Mizusawa, found his placement quite satisfactory, since it enabled him to speak with the two long into the night.

It also gave him an excellent view of the doorway. Though Dai-chan had already gone to bed in a separate room, this did little to allay Kiyama's wariness. While everyone else, especially Tsuchiya, had taken to Dai-chan, Kiyama did not trust the man.

Though it would sadden Tsuchiya, in matters of judging people's characters, Kiyama trusted his instincts above all else.

Mizusawa's hand somehow found its way to Kiyama's own hand during the night. Kiyama turned his head to study his classmate. Even while sleeping, Mizusawa still had his characteristic serene smile. Taking great care not to wake him, Kiyama extricated Mizusawa's hand from his own and quietly got up. Tsuchiya snored and stretched out over towards Mizusawa, as if he could sense the space Kiyama had just relinquished.

While everyone assumed Wataru and Yuta had gone home together, Kiyama was certain they had not left the household. And since they were nowhere in the house, there was only one place they could possibly be. After washing up, Kiyama headed up to the roof garden.

To his amusement, the two were sitting, their shoulders leaning together as they sleep. Wataru's head tipped onto Yuta's shoulder, a fine track of drool drying on the other's shirt. Kiyama was perturbed to realize that the two—

"Cute picture, eh?" A voice chimed above.

Kiyama tensed and wildly looked around.

There was nothing but sound of birds chirping. And the smell of sea salt and brine.

Eritate Kengo certainly had seen better days. He had dark circles under his eyes and his chin was covered in stubble. Wataru guessed that the guy hadn't been getting enough sleep lately.

"Kengo, we haven't seen you in awhile, man!" Wataru greeted.

"I know! Sorry I haven't stopped by your practices lately—"

"No, it's cool, we've been running the practices by ourselves now and we're in pretty good shape."

"We have to be, right, Aniki? Since the festival's next week," Nippori said.

"Aw man, I totally want to come by and watch you guys!" Kengo said, excitement removing some of his haggard appearance. "I mean, I'll try, but I've been so busy."

"A little too busy, maybe, you don't look like you're getting the sleep you need," Ryosuke observed. "What've you been up to?"

"Just a new part-time job," Kengo said.

"Don't you already have a job?" Wataru asked curiously. "How do you have time for another one?"

"This one's at night. Construction work."

"Sounds like hard work," Ryosuke said.

"Are you having money problems, Kengo-san?" Nippori asked, concerned. "Loan sharks?"

"Nah, nothing like that!" Kengo laughed. "Just trying to make a little extra cash. I want to earn money for my big debut."

"No way…you got a gig?!" Wataru gaped.

Kengo nodded. "Yeah, got scouted through a guy from a talent agency-Atelier Dreams or something. Pretty cool, right? In less than a year, you'll be seeing me at Tokyo Dome."

"That's so cool, Kengo—congrats!"

Kengo nodded and yawned. "Well, I gotta get back to work but let's catch up some time, yeah? Have fun with the festival—you guys are gonna rock."

"I think Dai-chan really likes her!" Tsuchiya whispered excitedly.

"Eriko-chan? The girl at the restaurant two blocks from your place?" Ryosuke looked up from his phone with professional interest. "She's pretty cute."

"Hands off her, Tsukimori-senpai!" Tsuchiya said. "She's Dai-chan's. They're so perfect together—there really is such a thing as love at first sight—you should have seen them when Dai-chan fixed her bike—"

"Take notes, Nippori, girls love it if you're a handyman," Ryosuke said with only a touch of sarcasm. He wriggled his fingers and raised his eyebrows. "Just watch their hands. If there's something going on, people get clingy and grabby with their hands."

"Dai-chan's too gentlemanly to do that to Eriko!" said Tsuchiya. "Please don't say such things, Tsukimori-senpai. And besides, it's not like holding hands is a bad thing. I think it's sweet."

"Do you know who's been pretty feely with their hands lately?" Ryosuke asked, eyes bright and jaw clenched.

To the blonde's surprise, everyone present pretended to not have heard him. Ryosuke snorted.

"Don't tell me that you actually don't know-I saw them and they were cuddling—"

"Ryosuke, shut up," Mizusawa snapped in a moment of uncharacteristic rudeness.

"Why won't you guys say anything?"

"Who's not saying what?"

Ryosuke nearly jumped out of his seat upon seeing Wataru and Yuta right behind him. The fact that the two had entered the classroom together did not go unnoticed by anyone. "Wataru!"

"What's up? And who's the person who's been keeping his lid shut?"

"Well—" Ryosuke's previous bluster had now deserted him. "You see—"

"She said YES!"

"Kaneko-kun?" Yuta inquired, looking utterly bewildered at the sight of his old friend, who announced his arrival and then proceeded to swagger towards them.

"She said yes, oh my God, she actually said yes—"

"You asked Mio-san out?" Yuta clarified.

"Who the hell's Mio again?" Wataru asked.

"She's Kaneko's new love interest," Tsuchiya informed him. "You've met her before, too, right Yuta-senpai?"

"We ran into her the other day and she really seemed to like Kaneko. Congratulations, by the way."

"Good going, Kaneko," Wataru said, his hand reaching over to fist-bump with Kaneko's. "Is she hot? Oh, she must be, since your face turned red like a tomato."

Unbeknownst to the others, Ryosuke slunk down into his seat and breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the change in topic.

"Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity—I'll have the next payment by next week. I won't let you down!"

Miyake Tohru bared his teeth in a smile. It was a rather menacing expression that would have made any client think twice before signing their life away. But this human, like all of the ones that came before was so drunk on joy that they abandoned all common sense.

This particular human, Miyake grinned, was especially gullible. As if his talentless string banging would ever make it on stage! Miyake looked forward to seeing the boy's hopes smashed into smithereens once he was "fat enough" for his dinner.

"I have to get to my other job—gotta bounce," the boy was saying. "I also promised some friends to help them prepare for their school festival."

"How exciting," Miyake said dryly, sipping on his glass of water. Not that it was particularly tasty but it did take the edge off his thirst. Unlike younger Fangire, Miyake was patient. The prowling was easily his favorite part of the hunt. Quick, efficient kills were all very well and good, but Miyake preferred to keep his aesthetics in all aspects of his lifestyle. "I look forward to hearing about your progress."

The boy left in a hurry, nearly crashing into a tall, brawny man carrying a towering pile of dirty dishes.

"Sorry, my bad!" The man grunted affably as he moved aside for the boy to pass.

Miyake Tohru glanced up to see the man dutifully clear up his table.

Miyake froze.

"Rook-sama?"

"Hmm?" Dai-chan looked up to stare blankly at Miyake's face. "Do you…need something?"

He doesn't recognize me, Miyake realized. Is it really him? No, I'm sure it's him. But what happened to him? His signature aura is practically gone…it's as if he's an entirely different person.

Closing his eyes, Miyake allowed his Fangire aura to flare up, just enough to allow Dai-chan see his eyes glow.

Dai-chan's face instantly changed. His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth like a cat.

"Who are you?"

"I think a better question would be to ask why you, an honored member of the Checkmate Four, would be here, in this dump? Consorting with humans?"

"I think we should leave." A young couple that had been enjoying an afternoon snack beat a hasty retreat upon hearing Miyake's raised voice. Miyake paid them no attention—talentless high school students did not pique his appetite in the slightest. Besides, his attention was on the Fangire before him—or rather, the pitiful shell of a Fangire lord.

"To see you in such a state, Rook-sama, is almost too much to bear." Miyake shed his human guise much to Dai-chan's shock. "You don't seem to remember anything at all…a pity, as our King has been waiting for you for all these years."

Dai-chan whimpered as he was struck by a massive headache. A blurred stream of images assaulted his mind, accompanied by bursts of anger and pain. He shuddered as the strange man—no, monster, advanced towards him.

"Allow me to put you out of your misery, Rook-sama."

Eriko, the pretty waitress who had just come back from a delivery, screamed.

"I'll catch up with you later."

Kiyama felt like the crappiest friend in the world. He had promised to help but the opportunity had been too good to pass up.

Mizusawa, who had been pouring over the finalized music score sheets for their band, looked up in surprise.

"We have practice with everyone in half an hour. It'll be our last one before the festival next week."

"I'll see you there. I need to talk to someone about something." Kiyama mentally kicked himself for giving such a vague reason but he did not want to lose the sneaky foreign transfer student—slippery as an eel—for the umpteenth time.

Mizusawa pursed his lips but then smiled gently.

"Go on then and try not to be late. You know how Yuta gets when we slink in ten minutes after."

The smaller boy yelped when large arms enveloped him in a quick but firm hug.

"Thanks." Kiyama dashed off in pursuit of a certain demonic child.

A blushing Mizusawa stood stock-still in the classroom as he savored the ghostly warmth from the aftermath of the hug, the music sheets forgotten.

Kaneko felt like he was the luckiest man alive.

He, Kaneko Atsushi, was on a date, with the cutest, kindest girl in the universe.

Kaneko still had to pinch himself every ten minutes or so to remind himself that it wasn't all a dream.

And though he'd been regaled with horror stories of typical first date disasters from his friends ("The first date always either blows her mind…or just blows," Ryosuke had said), the date had gone swimmingly well. Kaneko had convinced Mio to be a little more adventurous and self-assertive, so they had gone shopping.

They had considered a sophisticated little clothes shop called Luxur but the outrageous prices had intimidated them both from stepping in. Luckily, Mio found a pink scarf that she had liked and a matching blouse in another store. She had also purchased earrings by herself from a street vendor, causing Kaneko to beam with pride. Though she still had a long way to go, she was already becoming more confident in herself, thanks to the new clothes.

"Kaneko-kun, I was wondering if you could pick out a ring for me?"

Kaneko blinked out of his reverie. "Mio-chan? You want me to pick out a ring? Are you sure?"

Mio smiled and Kaneko went weak around the knees. "Yes, I want to wear the ring that you pick, Kaneko-kun."

Kaneko's heart did all sorts of triple backflips at her words. Emboldened by her words, he reached and slipped his hand into hers.

"How about this one, Mio-chan?" He asked, eagerly reaching for a ring on a tray. "I think this one really suits you…"

Band practice could wait, after all.

"You're awfully cruel, tying me up like this." Ramon fidgeted to no avail. The subjugation beads held tight. "What could you possibly want from me, a helpless human child?"

"You're not helpless. Or a human." Kiyama was taking no chances. His grandfather's subjugation beads seemed to be working, though for how long Kiyama had no idea. It was his first time catching a youkai and his father had stopped his onmyouji training long before he had learned anything really useful.

Hopefully, he could keep the youkai subdued until he figured out what to do with it.

"What makes you say that?" Ramon said brightly. He cautiously stretched out his foot to wipe away the salt circle Kiyama had created. "Is that blessed salt? Are you some kind of exorcist? You should know that I'm not evil—itai!" The young Bashaa's brow contorted in shock as his foot jerked back, the shoe slightly smoking. "What is that?"

"Blessed crushed obsidian from Mount Fuji," Kiyama said as he hefted another bag of obsidian and began making another circle to ring the first one. "I won't recommend trying to break the circle—you'll be burned alive."

"I'm guessing that's some more stuff from the other two, Haku-san and Tate-yama?" Ramon sighed, reluctantly impressed. "A trifold barrier reinforced by the burning rocks from the Sanreizan (Three Holy Mountains)? High school students sure have weird hobbies these days."

"What kind of youkai are you?" Kiyama asked. "Some kind of kappa? You stink like fish."

"I resent that. I'll have you know that I bathe everyday!" Ramon protested.

"What are you doing at our school? I don't think you're here to learn." Kiyama's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you eat humans."

"Once upon a time," Ramon intoned seriously before giggling. "There was a strange high school student who liked to kidnap cute little kids like me."

Kiyama groaned as he glanced down at his watch. He was definitely going to be late for practice.

"Ramon-kun's not picking up!" Yuta cried out as he dodged another attack. "I tried calling for him but he says he's tied up with something!"

"Try calling Riki the Franken!" Kivat advised as they scrambled out of the way. The Rhino Fangire was a particularly tricky opponent. For such a big creature, it was incredibly fast. Getting hit by the horn would be no laughing matter—in fact, Kivat was not sure if the Kiva armor could take more than one direct hit from the horn.

Yuta quickly called for the Dogga armor and following Riki's instincts, swung his newly acquired hammer just in time to shatter the Rhino's horn.

The Rhino Fangire shrieked, his head rocking back and forth in pain. His Fangire form flickered before assuming his human form.

Strike. Now. Riki rumbled.

Through the sea of Franken emotions—languid feelings of indifference, hunger, and hate—Yuta hesitated at the sight of the writhing Fangire.

"I…I can't."

What? What's…wrong with you? It was the most number of words Yuta had heard from the Franken.

"I can't do this—I won't do this anymore! I can't kill."

Before the Franken could assert his displeasure, a thunderous sound of grinding machinery interrupted their thoughts.

"KIVA!"

Yuta turned around to see the metal flash of a mechanical claw (head?) as it crashed into him.

The world exploded in white pain as Yuta was flung into the sky.

Tsuchiya sighed as he pushed his bike along the sidewalk. He had had the worst luck this afternoon! He had left his textbook at school. Dai-chan was late and his bike had been cursed with two flat tires. The bike shop had already closed and now to top it all off, he was late for band practice.

He had called Mizusawa-senpai earlier to let him that he would be running late. Oddly enough, Mizusawa sounded distracted on the phone and assured him not to worry, that it seemed to be the case for everyone else and that practice would start an hour later than scheduled.

"I guess I should be thankful that senpai-tachi are late today too," Tsuchiya said, pushing his bike, which lurched unevenly on its flat tires. "Though it is a weird coincidence for all of us to be late."

Just as he was about to round the corner, a girl's scream tore the air. Tsuchiya's chest tightened in fear as he turned, only to bump into someone very large.

Tsuchiya's eyes widened.

"Dai-chan?"

Kivat: Oh no! Tsuchiya really has the worst luck-bumping into Rook of all people! Looks like things are heating up with the boys-is love in the air? Kiyama seems to be on to something, what will happen to Ramon? It seems that Yuta's also been having doubts in fulfilling his duties as Kiva. Not good because he has bigger things to worry about. With TWO Checkmate Four loose and the Rhino Fangire still around-the last thing he needs is a temperamental IXA user in serious need of anger management counseling (seriously, whose bright idea was it to give that man a giant robotic dragon weapon?).

Next Time- Chapter 18: The Return of Rook, Tsuchiya's Sorrow, and the Call of Destiny