Kamen Rider Kage Episode 9

Kamen Rider Kage, the adventure so far;

The Wind Akuma Kaze-Arata-Gorudoiguru is set loose on Tokyo, authorize to utilize the Mujuu Separation technique, allowing him to split into a sentient human form and his animal form. Using this power, he sets up a number of bombings against human authorities, luring them in and killing a great number of them. Using this power, Arata lures Kage and Taiga into a clash with one another. Who will be standing when the dust clears after this epic battle?

Kamen Rider Kage, Episode 9, Christmas Chaos, the Bomb Loving Akuma!;

Tokyo, 10:30 am;

Karin ran into the main hall of the mall to find it in flames, the lights flickering. She then saw Taiga emerge from a pile of rubble, his suit sparking. "Eiji-san!" she yelled, running over. "What happened?!" Taiga looked up to see Kage emerge from rubble nearby, staggering injured as well. Karin followed his gaze. "Kage?"

Kage quickly ran off into the deserted mall, not wanting to continue their fight. "Come back here!" yelled Taiga, trying to follow, only to collapse to the ground.

"WARNING! DAMAGE CRITICAL! SYSTEM IS SHUTTING DOWN TO INITIATE EMERGENCY REPAIR FUNCTIONS!" announced the suit's computer, the armor disintegrating.

Karin helped Eiji up. "You and Kage fought?"

Eiji nodded. "Yeah…" he said with a wince. "First time we've fought each other as Riders though."

Karin nodded, looking around at the amount of damage the battle had caused. "And from the looks of it, I kind of hope the last," she remarked.

Kage staggered into the alley behind the mall, his armor vanishing to show him still in a Santa suit as he reverted to Jarrett, panting. "That was brutal," he muttered, leaning against a wall. "It's a good thing that the mall was evacuated or someone might have been hurt…" he said, looking up. "I have to find Arata before he strikes again…" he stated, trying to pull down his beard, only to find it stuck. "Huh?" he asked, trying again. He got frustrated and began feverishly pulling it. "Say it isn't so…" he moaned as it started to get painful to pull.

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Mt. Fuji, 10:35 am;

"Well well, it appears both Riders are evenly matched," said Anga, impressed. "I wonder, should we count the destruction from their battle as Arata's? He did directly cause it, and it was very fun to watch," he explained, enjoying the battle.

"I don't see why not, and he did follow his orders correctly, didn't he?" asked Venti. His eyes glowed green as he rewarded Arata. "He deserves a reward."

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Tokyo, 10:37 am;

Arata suddenly sensed something and looked down at his belt, which was glowing green. "What's this?"

"Akuma, you have proven yourself and found favor before us and the High Warrior, for your actions, you are rewarded. As your reward, when you reach your Ascended State, you shall retain your second life instead of trading it in," said Venti's voice.

Arata bowed. "Thank you, Lord Venti," he said, watching it fade. He then looked to his Majuu, petting its head. "Let's continue, shall we?"

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Anti-Akuma HQ, 11 am;

"So, you think an Akuma has had something to do with the bombs?" asked Sora, scratching her head. "Well, reports have come in of very similar bombings, the targets in the second case were police officers."

"The first ones were all security guards," said Eiji.

Sora nodded. "So there is a link: both used a second bomb, and both were aimed directly at officers of some kind," she explained, typing away on a computer. "According to this, it seems the Akuma's preferred prey is the police force and similar professions…that is if it is an Akuma and not a human criminal," she explained, still unconvinced.

"It is an Akuma," said Jarrett, coming in with slight limp, still wearing his Santa beard.

"Jarrett-san!" yelled Karin, running over to him and hugging him tight, then realized what she'd done and staggered back, clearing her throat. "Sorry, I was worried about you," she admitted.

"I'm fine, just a little sore, but that's not important," replied Jarrett, blushing a little from Karin's hug. "There's something new with the Akuma…I saw a human turn into an Akuma."

The three Anti-Akuma members all gasped. "Turn…into an Akuma?" asked Eiji, shocked.

Jarrett nodded. "I don't think it was a normal human becoming an Akuma, I think it was an Akuma in human form reverting to its true self," he explained. "I heard him say 'Majuu Fusion' and then merge with an Eagle to turn into a Wind Akuma, he said his name was Kaze-Arata-Gorudoiguru," he explained. "He said he'd done the bombings as part of a game or something…probably part of whatever the Akuma are up to," he said, clenching his fists tight in rage at Arata's actions, he'd stop at nothing now to destroy that sadistic monster.

Karin had never seen Jarrett so furious before. She then saw blood dripping from his hands. "Jarrett-san! Your hands!" she said, grabbing a first aid kit and wrapping his hands to stop the bleeding.

Sora went over to a black board and wrote down Majuu, Kaze, Arata, and Gorudoiguru. "Majuu means Demon Beast," she explained, writing Demon Beast out from Majuu. "Kaze means Wind. The last part, Gorudoiguru, is, well, golden eagle," she finished, writing out the words from what they meant in a mixture of Kanji and Katatana

"And Arata?" asked Eiji. "What's it's meaning?"

Sora shrugged. "It doesn't have one. It's simply a Japanese given name, though it may translate to something in the Akuma's own language," she explained. "It's only speculation, but if I had to say so, I'd say the first name explains the Tribe of the Akuma, the middle name is their given name, and the last name is their animal," she stated. "As for the Majuu, I'd say the Golden Eagle is the Majuu, and since they have to merge to reform Arata's true form, I'd say it's a part of him split so he can attain human form," she explained. "But this is all just speculation."

"Scary speculation," said Karin. "I don't like it…from now on, whenever a bombing report comes in, Masked Troopers investigate with a bomb squad, at least until we've put Arata down for good," she explained. "We have to take this possibility seriously."

Sora nodded. "I'll continue to research it, I'll let you know if I come up with anything."

Karin gave her a nod of agreement. "Alright, get to it," she said. "Eiji, until Arata is found, you're free to go, but be on guard," she said, knowing he was beat up and that he still had to get the flowers for his sister's grave, something she respected.

Sora walked off into her private wing of the lab. She pulled out her cell phone and called. "Rao-sama, the Akuma have authorized the Majuu's use," she reported, showing a direness in her voice.

"I see…" replied Rao's voice. "Good thing we saw this coming. Finish the new weapon," she ordered. "The Anti-Akuma branch, and Kage, must not be disadvantaged against the Akuma."

Sora nodded. "Yes, Rao-sama," she said. "I'll do just that," she finished, hanging up. She looked to Sally. "Let's get to work, Sally-chan," she said, heading to her work bench, her pet skunk trotting to Sora's side.

"Alright, let's continue as we were until we hear anything else…" said Karin, she then gave Jarrett a confused look. "Jarrett-san…may I ask why are you still wearing that beard?"

Jarrett looked embarrassed. "Well…I was afraid one of the kids would pull it off and that'd be upsetting for everyone…so I put a little glue on it…" he said, rubbing his head. "But I didn't realize at the time it was super glue…"

Eiji's jaw dropped. "Man…you've got some bad luck!"

"Well…we'll find a way to get it off, ok?" asked Karin, concerned.

"Thank you, Karin-chan," said Jarrett, bowing.

"Well, I've got paperwork to file, so see you later, ok?" asked Karin, waving as she headed off to do just that.

Jarrett then looked to Eiji. "Eiji-san…I know this is sort of embarrassing to ask, but, as you know, while I'm wealthy to an extant, I don't like to use an extravagant amount at any one time unless I truly need something…"

Eiji blinked, surprised. "You're asking to borrow money?"

"Not for myself," said Jarrett. "One of those kids at the mall, her name was Sarah…she said she and the other orphans were afraid Santa Claus wouldn't find them…" he explained. "I promised her he would, that they'd have what they wished for…" he stated. "I'm an orphan too…I know how hard it is to be alone on Christmas, to have nothing. But I can work to get money, I don't mind having nothing…but I want them to have something special…I don't have the money to make that happen…but I was told by the Masked Troopers you're from a rich family…do you think you could help me?"

Eiji actually looked touched, remembering back. "…I will," he said. "I'll help…I know how it feels to…" he said. "One of the Akuma from the Water Tribe…they killed my family, even the one I loved…" he explained, showing sorrow. "…I know how you feel about them…also…I know my sister, Miki-chan…she'd want to help them…"

Jarrett listened and nodded putting his hand on Eiji's shoulder. "Alright, let's do it," he said, seriously. "But first…help me get this beard off!" he yelled, trying to tug it off, Eiji starting to help.

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About two hours later, Eiji and Jarrett came out of the orphanage, Jarrett's face where the beard had been is bright red and sore. Each had a bag of letters over their shoulders from the kids. "It was sure nice of the people in charge to let us have the children's letters to Santa," said Jarrett.

"Helps to have government authority," said Eiji, showing his badge.

Jarrett nodded, then felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down to see Sarah. "Why hello there," he said, pretending to not know her, sense she didn't know he'd been the Santa at the mall.

"Mister, why are you taking our letters to Santa?" asked Sarah, confused.

Eiji froze for a moment, looking at the girl. He remembered his little sister at that age, sure, Sarah looked nothing like her…but still, her age reminded him of Miki… He kneeled and rubbed her head playfully, as he used to do with his sister. "Don't worry, Sarah-chan, we're taking the letters to Santa, he sent us to pick them up."

Sarah looked excited. "Really?! Santa is going to answer them?!" she asked, overjoyed.

Jarrett nodded. "Yep, he is, but make sure to be a good girl, ok?" he asked, Sarah nodded. "Good, now run inside and tell the others, I'm sure they'll be excited," he said, Sarah running to do just that. He looked to Eiji. "We've really got to get these presents there now."

Eiji nodded. "Looks like we don't have a choice in the matter," he said, we'll have to do our best."

Jarrett was about to reply, when an explosion went off nearby. The two looked at each other in surprise. "A bomb!" they yelled, running towards the source of the blast.

Jarrett, knowing what it was, looked to Eiji. "Eiji, I'm going to try and find the Akuma, if I do, I'll tell you," he said, getting a nod and running into an alley. Once he was alone, he summoned the Kage Buckle and slid the Fire Crest into its slot. "Henshin Shinka!" he called, transforming directly to Kage's Inferno Form and jumping up to the top of a building.

Eiji ran up towards the location of the bomb, seeing this time, a man was hurt and emergency personal were loading them into an ambulance. "Get away from the car! There's another bomb!" he yelled, but was too late and saw the ambulance, and those around it, vanish in another fireball, flaming shrapnel raining down from the blast. "No!" he yelled, watching the scene, the death and destruction, sinking to his knees, having once again failed in an attempt to save someone right in front of him, for the second time today! He flashed back to the burning house, his sister's death. He clinched his fist and beat the ground. He then clinched his fist and rose back to his feet. "That's it! I'm coming for you! Hear me! I'm going to hunt you down!"

Arata listened, watching from a nearby building as his tattoo was filling up. He smirked. "By the time you get your hands on me, I'll be too strong for you," he said. He the felt an armored hand fall on his shoulder and found himself hurled clean across the roof. He looked up to see Kage slowly marching towards him. "Kage…" he muttered. "Majuu Fusion!" he yelled, his Majuu flying down and fusing with him as he returned to his true form. "Attacking from behind? That's not like you," he said, Kage merely continuing his slow, deliberate march. "What? No threat? No witty banter about how you're going to stop my rampage in its tracks?" he mocked. "Have I gotten to y-"

Kage's fist interrupted Arata's speech and sent him crashing to the ground. "Oh, you've gotten to me, all right…and you soon will be wishing you hadn't!" Kage yelled, getting on top of Arata and punching away at him with unrelenting fury. After enough punches, Arata's face was cracked and bleeding energy, but Kage continued hammering away anyway. Desperate, Arata flapped his wings, blowing Kage off and trying to crawl away, only to run right into Eiji, who kicked him in the face and knocked him over.

Eiji glared down at Arata with a look of intense hatred, his Minigun in hand. "You're a monster," he said. "Even as far as you devils go, you're a monster!" he yelled. "The others do it for the same reason I fight Kage! It's their job! I may hate every last one of them, but at least they don't savor the suffering of innocents!" he yelled. "You're a sadistic demon and you're going back where you belong!" he shouted, lowering his Minigun at Arata's chest as the Akuma stood up. "My only regret is my armor is still damaged from earlier so I can't send you to oblivion myself…" he stated coldly, opening fire on Arata and filling him full of bullets. Arata convulsed as bullets tore into his hide, spurts of green energy erupting with each impact. He fell to his knees as Eiji stopped firing. Eiji looked to Kage. "Finish him…" he said, glaring holes right through Arata.

Arata groaned, staggering to his feet, clutching his wounded chest. "For your information, in Akuma, our name means Warrior, not Devil."

Kage snarled at him, summoning a Fire Crest. "Both are very fitting for you," he said, fury in his voice.

"Thank you," said Arata. "But you see, I've come too far to stop now," he said. "I'll fight you soon, but not until I've reached my full potential," he said, pulling out a bomb from his belt. "Catch!" he said, throwing it over his shoulder as hard as possible, then flying off the other direction, energy bleeding from him as he did so.

Kage gasped, watching the bomb head for the letters. "The letters! I can't let them be destroyed!" he though. "Flare Bow!" he yelled, summoning it and taking careful aim with a flame arrow at the falling bomb. After a few tense moments, he let the arrow fly and hit the bomb, detonating it midair. While it blew out the windows of several buildings, it detonated barely high enough to avoid causing serious damage or loss of life. Kage slowly lowered his bow, panting. "That was too close…"

Eiji nodded. He looked to his belt, the screen displaying a number, the number of minutes until it'd be finished with self repairs, about 10 minutes. He clinched it tightly. He then trust his hand out to Kage. "Truce…until the Akuma is dead."

Kage looked at him cautiously, but then slowly shook his hand. "Let's finish this," he stated, clearly still angry at that monster's actions. He then looked at the Minigun. "Where'd that come from?"

Eiji looked down at it. "I keep it in the Taiga Hunter, just in case."

Kage nodded. "You're smarter than you look." As the two began to head off, Kage looked at an alley, seeing a figure slowly walk off, however, it wasn't the Arata, it was a more female shape. "Who was that?" he asked, then realized Eiji was about to leave. "Ahh! Wait up!"

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Anti-Akuma HQ, 1:30 pm;

Eiji walked in, Kage behind him. "This is Eiji Takeo, I am presently with Kage in the base, do NOT fire on Kage, we are at a temporary ceasefire until the end of this Akuma threat," he said over his radio to all personnel. They soon came to Karin and Sora in the lab. "We need a way to find Arata, and quick," he said. "That monster's gone from police personal to anyone that happens to go to the scene of the attack," he continued. "Next time civilians could be hurt."

Karin nodded in agreement, partly because she agreed, and partly because she knew if something had caused Eiji to declare a ceasefire on Kage, it must be important. "Well Sora, go anything?"

Sora shook her head. "No, I'm working on something, but it's not yet completed."

Eiji punched a wall hard enough to dent it. "Then we'll got hunt that monster down ourselves, we can't let him hurt anyone else!"

Kage nodded. "I agree, even though your group is hunting me as well, this is something we can agree on, this Akuma is a sadistic monster that absolutely must be stopped."

The alarm suddenly went off and Sora ran to a computer. "Arata's attacking!"

Karin gasped. "But…why the sudden change?"

"Remember what happened with the Manta Akuma?" asked Kage, remembering something the Akuma from the Water Tribe did when they were fighting, and what happened when they badly injured one of them but it escaped. "Akuma go through evolutions, normal to Dai-Akuma to…whatever the Manta turned into. I think Arata is likely close to doing it as well. From past experiences, it seems Akuma get more desperate once they've suffered a severe wound, we wounded Arata very badly in our fight with him, so he's probably desperate."

"He should be…let's go put him down," said Eiji, slamming the Tiger Fangs together.

"SYSTEM READY…"

"Henshin!" yelled Eiji, putting the Tiger Fangs in position.

"SYSTEM ENGAGED…"

The Taiga System transformed him into Kamen Rider Taiga.

"SYSTEM ONLINE…"

Taiga went out and jumped on the Taiga Hunter, Kage summoning the Kage Runner, which had changed with his Inferno Form, now matching colors, a cobra-like design replacing the Rhinoceros Beetle on the previous form. "Let's go Taiga," said Kage.

Taiga nodded. "It'll be an honor to fight by your side…even if I have orders to capture you, I have always respected you…"

Kage nodded. "Same here, you are a good warrior and I respect you for what you do."

Taiga gave a slow nod. "Alright, let's go kick this Akuma's tail," he said, taking off, Kage beside him.

Karin watched this and blinked. "Alright…this day is getting weird!"

Sora shrugged. "I'm sure the higher ups will turn around sooner or later," she said, looking at a camera which had no doubt recorded the event.

Karin nodded. "It's only a matter of time…and when it comes, choice worlds shall be said," she replied, watching as Kage and Taiga made a hard turn.

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Tokyo, 1:45 pm;

Arata, still sporting his wounds, sent a cascade of bombs flying in all directions, triggering huge explosions. "I'm too close! I won't resort to asking for healing…not when I'm so close!" he yelled, blowing up a row of cars. Finally, his chest glowed and he opened the panel to show his full Tengu Tattoo, the Feathered Serpent symbol appearing. "Thank you, mighty High Warrior!"

The blood tears flowed out into the portal but his buckle stayed, as Venti had promised, the excess energy Venti had given him going instead. Next a stream of green energy flowed out of the symbol, surging into the symbol, which expanded and turned dark green, covering his chest. His wings extended outwards, gaining a serrated edge to them, his hide becoming more feral looking as his beak grew out and gained a fierce serrated edge. His hand claws and talons growing longer and more fierece as his wrist blades doubled in size, gaining a curve. Arata painted and looked himself over. "Amazing…" he said, laughing and clinching his fist.

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Mt. Fuji, 1:50 pm;

"Well it appears Arata has become an Ascended Akuma," said Anga. "And much easier than Guraida did, I might add."

Venti nodded. "Yes, it would appear that Majuu truly are the way we should go," he said. "I believe it's probably the best way to go from now on."

King Mao nodded. "Indeed, it's at least a trend worth trying to continue."

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Tokyo, 1:55 pm;

Kage and Taiga came to a stop near Arata, looking at him. "We're too late, he's evolved!" said Kage.

"No matter," said Taiga, stepping off the motorcycle. "He'll fall all the same."

Arata laughed. "You think it'll be that easy?" he asked, giving a roar. "I'm not a normal Akuma anymore…let's see how well you do," he said, charging.

The two Riders charged back. Taiga tried slashing Arata with his Taiga Slayers, only for Arata to block with his wrist claws. The Akuma then followed up with a barrage of slashes, forcing the Rider back. Kage jumped at him from behind but was slashed out of the air as well. Taiga tried taking advantage from behind, but Arata jumped up, spinning around and flying past both Riders, slashing them to the ground with his serrated wings.

Sora watched from nearby, Sally in her arms. "Arata has evolved…he's no longer a normal Akuma but an Ascended Akuma," she said, then looked down at Sally, petting her. "I wonder if they'll be able to defeat it."

Arata dove down as the Riders got back to their feet, grabbing both by the throat and driving them backwards, slamming them hard into the side of a car. He flew up and dove back down, the two barely evading his slashes, resulting in the car being cleaved in half. The two charged from both sides, managing to land some hits until the Akuma grabbed their arms, spinning and throwing them for a loop, causing them to land quite a ways away. "Enjoy this, Kamen Riders!" he yelled, flapping his wings and generating a whirlwind of green energy, blasting both Riders into the air and crashing hard to the ground, the area smoking from the blast. "Had enough?"

Both Riders struggled to get up. "He's so strong…" muttered Taiga, falling back to the ground.

Kage nodded, trying hard to get up. "He's much stronger than the Manta Akuma," he muttered.

Taiga nodded but growled. "But we can't let him win, no matter what," he said, getting to his feet and helping Kage up. "Let's work together, that's how we defeated the Manta Akuma once it evolved."

Kage nodded. "Let's put him down for good," he said, both turning to face Arata.

Arata snarled. "Don't know when to quit, do you?" he asked, spreading his wings again and letting out another energy twister, only for both Riders to leap out of the way. "What?!"

"Flare Bow!" called Kage, pulling out the weapon as he landed, firing several arrows, striking Arata's chest and staggering him back.

Arata snarled. "Why you!" he yelled, taking flight and diving right at Kage. Before he could reach him, however, Taiga leapt into the air and grabbed him, slamming him hard into the ground and slashing him repeatedly. Arata slashed at Taiga, only to be dodged and Taiga spin around behind him, grabbing him in a full nelson. As he struggled, Kage charged in, extending the blades on the Flare Bow and slashing away at Arata's chest, each slash earning a shower of sparks. Arata finally broke free and slashed both Riders back with his blades, then jumped up and kicked them. However, both Riders managed to grab him by the leg and together spun around and threw him into the side of a car.

Taiga pulled out the Tiger Fangs and triggered their pistons, slamming them into the ground and sending a shockwave at Arata, Kage breathing a torrent of fire into it. The combination attack striking Arata in the chest and blasting him clean through the car. The Akuma growled and stood back up. "Take this!" he yelled, sending off his energy twister.

"Behind me Kage!" ordered Taiga, planting his stabilizers and crossing his arms in front of him. Kage did as commanded and got behind Taiga. Taiga's stabilizers and armor held in deep, while he sustained some minor damage, he and Kage were mostly unharmed. Once the attack ended, Kage jumped up, leaping off Taiga's shoulders and firing a barrage of arrows into Arata's chest, launching him back. When he landed, he got on all fours, allowing Taiga to charge and leap off his back, driving the Tiger Fang into Arata's chest, sending him flying to the ground.

Arata panted as he got back to his feet. "Don't think you've won yet!" he yelled, taking flight and dropping his bombs at them, but the two managed to evade.

"Get ready, Taiga," said Kage, summoning the Element Crest and sliding it into his Flare Bow's crystal.

"Element Break," it announced, the blades at the end extending outwards, Kage taking aim at Arata, the extensions putting more torque on the 'string' of flames.

Taiga nodded, taking out the Metal Card and running it through the Taiga Slayers.

"RIDER SLASH…"

Arata came around for another run, Kage taking careful aim. "Inferno Shot!" he called, letting go and sending a large fire arrow at high speeds.

The arrow pierced right through Arata's chest and out his back in a shower of green energy, sending Arata plummeting from the sky. Taiga dashed in and intercepted him. "Killing Bow!" he yelled, swinging his blades up and slashing one on each side of Arata, squeezing inwards as the vibrating blades dug into the Ascended Akuma's sides, causing him to scream in agony. "Go to Hell!" yelled Taiga coldly. He then let out a fierce roar, increasing his force and completely bisecting Arata, the Akuma dying in a huge explosion of green energy, Taiga walking over to Kage out of the flames.

"Wait…" said Kage. "Whose catchphrase do we say?"

Taiga scratched his helmet. "I don't know, I got the killing strike…"

Before Kage could retort, Arata's buckle floated into the air, sucking in green energy and wind, resurrecting as a Dai-Akuma. He was a gigantic green skinned, armored Eagle with horns and teeth, the Thunderbird Dai-Akuma. It let out a loud screech and sent bolts of green lightning from its eyes, forcing the Riders to dodge. "A Dai-Akuma! But how?! The Manta lost his Dai-Akuma buckle when he transformed!"

"Must've got another one somehow!" replied Taiga, dodging another lightning bolt. Both Riders ran to their motorcycles and jumped on, taking off after the Dai-Akuma.

The Thunderbird Dai-Akuma screeched diving at the two Riders, forcing them to evade, its talons tearing up huge chunks of concrete. Kage pressed a button on the Kage Runner, causing its eyes to shoot fireballs, blasting the Thunderbird Dai-Akuma repeatedly, but doing little damage, replying by blowing both Riders back with its wings. "It's stronger than normal!" said Kage, dodging some more lightning bolts.

Taiga nodded, swerving to evade a peck of its beak, watching it swallow a hunk of road. "We'll need to work together for this one too.," he said, slashing its leg as he evaded another attempted grab of its claws. He produced a Metal Card and ran it through the handlebars of the Taiga Hunter.

"FERAL RUSH…"

Kage nodded. He took out a Fire Crest and inserted it into the slot in the Kage Runner.

"Element Break…" the voice announced.

Blades extended from the front of the Taiga Hunter as the Kage Runner burst into a fireball. Both launched off the ground and plowed straight through the Thunderbird Dai-Akuma's chest, bursting out its back and coming to a stop on the ground below.

"This hunt is over…" said Taiga.

"Your journey ends here…" said Kage, both looking over as the Dai-Akuma violently exploded, destroying it entirely.

Taiga slowly turned to Kage. "…Good job," he said, patting him on the back. "But next time, we're still going at it, right?"

Kage couldn't help but chuckle. "I expected that much," he said, shaking Taiga's hand. "But if we need to, I know we can work well as a team."

Taiga nodded slowly. "Yes, agreed," he said, both heading out on their own bikes and going on their own separate ways.

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Tokyo, Christmas Day, 7 am;

Jarrett and Eiji both walked solemnly towards the orphanage. "How did we lose the letters?" asked Jarrett, disappointed.

"The Akuma attacked and I was too busy to get back to them until after Arata was killed," said Eiji. "But I never thought they'd be gone by the time I got back!"

Jarrett sighed. "Don't blame yourself, at least you have a good excuse, I was on a wild goose chase for Arata."

Eiji nodded. "Yeah…still, how do we explain that to the kids?"

Jarrett shrugged. "Tell the truth I guess?" he asked, then saw Sarah run up to them, surprisingly cheerful. "Sarah-chan! How are you?" he asked, expecting bad news and surprised to see her happy.

"Thank you so much! Santa did find us!" called the little girl.

Both adults looked at her shocked. "Huh?" they asked at the same time.

Sarah lead them into the orphanage were a Christmas tree was set up, all the children playing with the toys they'd asked for, Sarah picking up a doll. "He even brought gifts for you!"

"He did?" asked a shocked Eiji, being handed his present, Jarrett taking his.

Jarrett opened his and was instantly excited. "I don't believe it!" he said, pulling out a Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Shinken-Oh. "They don't sell this toy in stores anymore! I really wanted one!"

Eiji opened his to find new motorcycle helmet stylized like a Tiger and matching Taiga's color scheme. "Sweet! I was going to make one myself or buy one! But…someone with a good heart finding the letters explains the kids…but how did they know our wishes?"

Jarrett blinked. "You don't think…"

Eiji looked back confused. "…Well…weirder things have happened…" he said, looking out the wind with Jarrett to see a reindeer drawn sleigh flying off. "…Ok, maybe they haven't…"

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"Alright, open your eyes!" said Karin, leading Jarrett to the top of the hill.

Jarrett opened his eyes to see a brand new tent, a bow tied to the front. "You got me a tent?!" he asked, amazed. "Thank you Karin-chan!"

Karin chuckled. "Ag, it's no ordinary tent. This one is fireproof," she corrected. "You have a habit of burning them down, so I made sure this one doesn't get burned to the ground."

"Oh thank you Karin!" said Jarrett, he then remembered something and went over to his tree, handing her a gift. "For you, Eiji told me to give it to you."

Karin looked down and opened it, finding a small gold compass. However, the four cardinal directions North, South, East, and West being replaced with the Vermillion Phoenix, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and the White Tiger which Taiga was based on respectively, with the Golden Dragon in the center. "The Guardians of Japan…" she said in amazement, closed it, and then slid it into her pocket. "That sure was nice of him…that couldn't have been cheap."

Jarrett nodded. "And now for my gift!" he said, going behind the tree and leading her along, revealing a large picnic set out with all of Karin's favorite foods. "Merry Christmas."

Karin stared in awe. "You did all this?" she asked, surprised, getting a nod from him. "…Thank you, Jarrett-san…" she said, slowly taking his hand as the two headed down to begin eating.


The same figure from before watched them from the shadows of a tree before turning and walking off.

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Eiji set in front of a grave, looking down at it, the name Miki-Takeo on the headstone. He put a bouquet of flowers on it. "Merry Christmas…Miki-chan…" he said, a tear running down his face. "I'm sure you're having a good one up in Heaven…"

"So, this is were you went," said Sora, walking up.

Eiji spun around. "Oh…hi Sora…"

Sora sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude…"

Eiji shook his head. "No, you didn't, don't worry…"

Sora kneeled next to him. "I'm sorry you lost your sister…it must've been a terrible blow…"

Eiji nodded. "Yeah, it was…" he said, looking a little sadden at the memory. "But it eases me that she's up there in Heaven."

Sora nodded, giving a smile. "She'd make a nice Tenshi if she's anything like you," she said, using the Japanese word for angel.

Eiji nodded. "Yeah, she probably would…she was a little angel," he said, smiling in remembrance. "I got you something," he said, handing her a present from a bag he'd brought the flowers in.

Sora smirked, opening it to find a new leash for Sally. "Oh, a new leash for Sally-kun! Thank you!"

"It's nothing," said Eiji, giving her a smile, not having the heart to tell her that it was Karin's idea.

"I got you something too," said Sora, getting out a gift and handing it to him.
Eiji blinked. "For me?" he asked, confused. He opened it and it revealed a pin in the shape of silver angel wings with 正義の天使 inscribed in it in gold lettering. "Angel of Justice?" he asked, reading the Kanji.

Sora nodded. "I should explain, Taiga is also partly based off an angel in addition to the White Tiger of the West, and you are intent on bringing justice to those who deserve it. Seemed fitting."

Eiji smiled. "Thanks a lot, it was sure nice of you," he said, smiling up to her. He looked down at the pin and put it on his jacket. "How does it look?"

Sora smiled and adjusted it slightly. "Perfect," she said. "Now come on, we've still got work to do, we've got a report to write on the Arata incident."

"Oh crap!" yelled Eiji. "Mine's due in an hour, thanks for reminding me! See you later!" he said, running off with a wave.

Sora waved to him as he ran off. She then looked back to the grave and kneeled. "For what it's worth, you really would've made a nice Tenshi, trust me, I know," she said, giving a smile. She then stood up and turned, pulling out her cell phone and calling again. "Rao-sama, Arata has been destroyed, but I have a feeling things are going to continue to get tougher from here on out."

"I see, Sora…" said Rao. "Just finish the Akuma Tracker, ok?"

Sora nodded. "I will, Rao-sama, but it'll take time."

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Location Unknown, 3 pm;

"I know, Sora, I know you're working hard…I just hope the world has time…who knows how long before the Final War may begin," said Rao, a woman sitting in a dark room, before hanging up, a red fox sitting on her lap. She stared into the ceiling of her dwelling. "Kage…" she muttered in longing, stroking the fox. "There is so much you've yet to discover," she said, slowly looking over at the table, a symbol with blue castle shaded in the background, the words 'Avalon Industries' in big bold, white letters inside it.

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Osaka, Anti-Akuma Biological Research Facility, 4 pm;

A tall, muscular Japanese man with intense green eyes walked into a room in a biohazard uniform, the room was cold enough a fog laid on the floor and a single, man-sized container stood in the center, pipes and wires extending out into a wall. "What's the status on it?" asked the man to a scientist accompanying him.

"The creature is fully functioning and combat ready, general," explained the scientist. "Project Prometheus is a complete success."

"And the controller?"

"Implanted in the back of the neck," explained the scientist. "It's mental functions are completely under our control."

The general nodded, dusting off a lair of fog from a port on the front, revealing a beat with rows of sharp teeth. "Well my friend, you're about to get a field test."

Next Time on Kamen Rider Kage, Episode 10; A Modern Prometheus, Hunt for a Speed Demon!;

The next Wind Tribe Akuma makes himself known, this time targeting motorists and destroying them in high speed attacks. Meanwhile, Karin's superior officer arrives and isn't too happy about recent team ups with Kage, intending to replace Project Taiga with a new secret project by the JSDF, but is Taiga's 'replacement' trustworthy?