On Your Doorstep

[onlycareaboutshipping]

On Your Doorstep

They ended up on your doorstep, quite literally. Bloody, possibly. Bruised, most definitely, though the wounds may be mental. You probably don't know them from Adam, yet you couldn't find it in you to turn them away - whether they wanted you to or not. So you opened up your home, just for a little while.

But it's getting to be more than a little while. Both of you are finding a comfort zone, because you didn't simply open up your home. Admit it or don't, but you've opened up your heart all the same.

Their's is slowly following, if its reluctant at all.

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[summerorange]

[Said table is inside the main studio itself, which doubles as the living room for those living here. Natsumi's grandfather had been kind enough to hold open one of the double-doors into the room, and he's sort of hovering over the ladies.] "Young lady...would you like some coffee?"

[Natsumi meanwhile was staring at the device strapped to Mai's waist. Or rather...] It can't be... That device...is that a Rider Belt?

[herstagenow]

Coffee? [The idea very much surprises her. This isn't the time for coffee! But coffee would be good... so though she starts with a protesting sound, she finds herself nodding anyway.]

Huh?

[Natsumi's question has her defensively holding her hands over the driver. But there's no point in keeping things secret. She was Armored Rider Gaim and anyone in Zawame who paid attention to the Beat Riders knew it.] Ah, no? It's called a Sengoku Driver. When you use it with the right kind of Lockseeds, you... transform.

[summerorange]

[Grandpa nodded with a pleased smile and shuffled off towards the kitchen to brew a few cups.

Natsumi, meanwhile, sat down in a chair near Mai, still staring at the younger woman as something dawned in her mind.] Transform...you wouldn't happen to be one of the local Riders, are you?

[herstagenow]

[Oh. Oh, there were chairs, weren't there? Mai fumbles for the back of one, pulls it out, and sinks into it.]

Um... mmhmmm. [Once more, there's no point in denying it, and she even smiles sort of shyly.] I'm Armored Rider Gaim. You're a fan...?

[summerorange]

[Gaim.

This poor, tired young woman is Gaim. This world's main Rider - the very person that Tsukasa and the others are probably seeking out.

And yet, this Rider landed in Natsumi's lap instead, clearly in need of some help. Fate's funny sometimes.]

Not quite...more like a sempai, really. I'm also a Rider, but I don't use the same kind of equipment that you do. [She puts on a reassuring smile as she continues.] My name's Hikari, Natsumi; what's your's? [Because she's pretty certain that her real name's not actually Gaim.]

[herstagenow]

[Fate is cruel more often than it is kind, if you asked Mai's opinion, but sometimes something like this happens. She sits a little straighter and her eyes go a little wider, hearing what Natsumi is.]

You are? Wow, that's... [She's happy, and maybe a little overwhelmed. Another girl that's also a Rider, that's not that scary Yoko lady? That's sort of exciting.] I'm Takatsukasa Mai.

[And then it hits her.]

If you're a Rider, then... then you're here to help with the Invess?

[summerorange]

That's right. My companions and I knew that there was some kind of trouble here, but we didn't know the exact details when we first arrived. [It's partially true; they normally get pulled into a new world if that world feels that it needs their help.

Still, Natsumi does feel that it's her responsibility to help Mai as much as she could. After all, female Riders are still few and far in-between; naturally, in her mind, they should stick together and help each other.] Can you tell me more about these Invess?

[herstagenow]

[This is all making Mai feel hopeful enough that it's starting to relieve some of her exhaustion. Another Rider! And her friends! And they're here to help! She nods quickly, eager to explain things further.]

They're monsters that come from another dimension. They slip her through "cracks", I guess is what you could call them. The cracks don't just let monsters in, though. They let in plants and vines from... well, it's called Helheim. The fruit that grows on the vines will turn people into monsters if they eat it. It's all that Invess can eat, though. Aaah... [It's all a lot to explain... so she sinks back, and reaches into her pocket and pulls out her orange lockseed.] ...these are Helheim fruit, but... changed.

[summerorange]

From another dimension...called Helheim... [Natsumi had never heard of another dimension or world being called that before. Maybe Tsukasa might know... After all, this sounds right up their alley.

She did, however, look curiously at the lockseed for a moment.] Are they all like oranges, or are there different types?

[herstagenow]

[Mai shakes her head quickly, and pulls another one from her pockets. It's a pineapple.] They're not all oranges. There are all sorts of different types. And ones that are lab-made, I think. And... [And ones that a mysterious DJ conjures out of nowhere and hands to you. She looks away and lets out a breath, reminded of how tired she is and how overwhelming things are becoming.]

...The cracks are just going to keep opening. They're going to cover the entire planet soon. And they've said there's no way to stop it. Except... [Aaah, it sounds silly to have to explain it to someone.]

[summerorange]

Lab-made? Someone's figures out how to make them? They wouldn't happen to be the same people that made the belt, would the? [It would make sense, in Natsumi's mind, for the same group to be making both things.]

Except...what?