[ ✥ ]—— For someone who never had fingers his whole life, he was quick to figure out how to button a shirt, put a pair of pants on, brush that hair to perfection, and other human-like activities he never thought he’d ever do in his whole life as a tiny bat. Kivat was no longer shocked by the reflection he saw from the mirror of their bathroom. The face of his partner, the body of his partner, everything that could remotely belong to his partner is now his own, although not for long, but who cares after all.
To think he could have obtained such an achievement through one single bite.
He wonders if the effects will wear off fast, and as much as he cares and feels sorry for Wataru’s forced state of ‘tinyness’, Kivat also feels great joy over finally being able to walk and flail like a human. It was a far dream of his, that he tuckered away for years upon realization that no magic in the world could turn him into something he was not supposed to be. Oh, how wrong he was! Even despite hating it when he’s wrong about something, now he’s more than happy that was the case. With the time ticking against him, he will use this opportunity to do one selfless thing, for the person he personally raised and grew to be best friends with.
That is, he’s going to procure a nice, new love interest for Wataru. How, you might wonder? Simply by using his infinitely great seduction skills to have the person fall in love with his timid companion. A foolproof plan that will certainly come to realization! The grin he turned to the mirror one last time before leaving the apartment is nothing that had ever crossed Wataru’s actual face.
And Wataru? Well, now that his soul has been forced into Kivat’s body, the process of learning how to fly at all has him stuck in his bed. Despite his loud protests, he could only powerlessly watch as Kivat leaves with his own body, to unknown destinations he will have to to roam through once he knows how to flap wings without risking to fall. It’s true that belt bodies are sturdy, but he’s not looking forward for when he will get stuck into trees and risk to get squished by random kids as they mistake him for a toy.
When this mess is over, Kivat will have a lot to explain.
[ ✥ ]—— Having traveled for miles upon miles on his wings means that Kivat is well knowledgeable of where most attractive people might hang out. With firm steps, he crosses the park that leads to the shopping district-- when a familiar sight stops him all of a sudden, human feet skidding to a halt on the ground. Isn’t that... the Insufferable Jerk he met with Wataru at the flowery labyrinth? The one who kept calling him a toy... yes, that piece of work.
Before his mind buzzes with plans to give the guy a well deserved lesson now that he actually has the right body to do so, an event unfolds before him. Said insufferable jerk has just slipped over a banana peel that dragged him to a pole which he narrowly dodged, but he couldn’t avoid the ladder that appeared in sequence, hitting his forehead right in the middle.
Kivat now remembers the slew of bad luck the guy’s grandpa usually suffered, and a wide smirk appears on his-- Wataru’s lips. He doesn’t exactly have to do anything. Nature is by his side, unleashing punishment on its own.
But that’s not how he wants his day to go. It wouldn’t be fun if he didn’t contribute, even a little bit. So he does rush, pretending concern as he kneels by Koutaro’s side.
“Are you still conscious, Koutaro-san? Should I call an ambulance?”
[ ♬ ]—— To say Ibuki is excited about meeting one of her idols is saying little. The difference between texting and interacting in person gives another meeting when you can actually see a hero, have a chance to shake hands with them, and get them to talk with you about anything. Koutaro wanted to learn some guitar tips and search for new music bands of the period, and the rocker would be a fool to refuse let alone run out of the infinite list of albums and songs she knows. Not only she can help a Kamen Rider, she even has a chance to show off and gain respect points.
Of course, she will ask for a favour in return. Something little, really.
“KOU-CHAN!!!!” She yells at the top of her lungs, almost in his face, as soon as she opens the front door of her house and finds him standing there. This girl really has no indoor voice at all. “Thank the gods you found your way here! Get in, get in!!!” A pull on his arm, and the guy is hurried inside the entrance without having the time to protest. “Food? Drinks? Host Ibuki can provide whatever you want to fight off the fatigue in your face!!”
Okay, this was really... weird. He’d been handed some strange drink concoction by a stranger for some odd reason (maybe they just simply didn’t want it), and by the looks and feel of it, it was something frozen. But still, he had no idea what this was, and so his immediate thought was to pass it along, the same as what had been done to him earlier. He was a little (more like pretty much) stiff and awkward in approaching the stranger, but he stood in front of them, offering over the beverage to them as he did his best to appear... well, not stiff.
“...I don’t... know what this is. Do you... want it.”
They’d made plans to meet up in Sector 5 and have lunch, or something along those lines. There never really needed to be plans, not when it came to Teddy having time to spend with Koutaro, but lately it’d seemed like the young man was on some sort of strange kick about making plans and trying to get Teddy to move in with him, so for the most part the navy Imagin enjoyed humoring him. There was never any harm in doing what Koutaro wanted, not when it was basically what he wanted too. If there was anything Teddy to improve on, it was being more honest about his feelings and desires. That could be saved for another day, naturally, and so he was more content on this day to let Koutaro be selfish.
They’d planned a meeting for nine am at the Sector 5 station, with Teddy leaving his sector nearly three hours earlier in order to try and be there on time. It wasn’t that he wanted to be early so as to make Koutaro think he’d been waiting long, it was more that he felt like Koutaro might get there early and end up breaking his nose or something. Just because they’d been reunited didn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things; Koutaro would always have bad luck and without Teddy there to assist him he was going to have trouble. He was already haflway into his trip, just stopping to let passengers on, when he saw him.
Or rather, maybe he thought he saw him? Koutaro was there, in Sector Three, getting off from another car and out onto the platform. There was absolutely no way that Teddy could mistake Koutaro for someone else, not now or ever, and he quickly got to his feet and moved out before the train doors slid shut. Koutaro, or someone who looked like him, was already ahead of him by a good bit and the Imagin had to press through a crowd (apologizing as needed) just to catch up.
Eventually he reached him though, and Teddy reached out and grabbed his arm. “Koutaro? What are you doing here? Weren’t we meeting in Sector 5?” He didn’t want to think he’d made a mistake, but if he had then he was certainly glad he’d caught up to the young man here before going on another hour.
Koutaro was right about Teddy liking the way Sector Five looked. It was certainly very different from how Six had been, not to mention all the ones they’d passed in the process, and it got him wondering just how the scientists who brought him here were able to make all of this. Well, make all of this and keep it secret for so long. This was a place he’d never heard of, not even in history books, so either it was extremely classified or just very well hidden.
There was no point in dwelling on it however, as he was supposed to be listening to Koutaro speak (as well as preventing him from walking into posts), and the Imagin just so happened to slightly pull the teen closer to him as someone threw something just to hide side. It missed, naturally, thanks to Teddy’s actions. When it was all clear and someone had shouted an apology, he let Koutaro go and continued on their walk. “You said this place is primarily for shopping? Do all all of the Sectors have something specific about them?” He was mostly asking for conversation’s sake at this point, as it was painfully obvious these were indeed shops.
Koutaro’s apartment was filthy, or at least his room was. There was a room next to his too that basically looked as though it needed burned to the ground, but for starters he could clean Koutaro’s and make it less likely for the youth to trip over something and die when Teddy wasn’t around. Moving to make sure Koutaro sat on the bed so he wouldn’t accidentally injure himself while Teddy was attempting to prevent injury, the teen was given a book to read and Teddy started sorting clothing.
Eventually he moved beneath the bed, pulling out whatever decided to get horded under there. It wasn’t until he heard Koutaro call his name that he peeked his head out (he’d managed to climb all the way under, call it dedication!) and noticed his partner leaning above him in the opposite way. Before he could even ask what he needed, there were still dustballs to destroy, Koutaro promptly planted an upside down kiss on him, leaving Teddy to grumble and take away the book.
Koutaro had been having a really rough day as far as Teddy was concerned. Even though the Imagin had joined him relatively early in the day, around lunch if he had to be more specific thanks to the train crowds, it was obvious the young man had already been through a nice share of troubles without Teddy there to help him. While it was always good to know he’d be needed no matter where they are, it was a bit disheartening to see that Koutaro really couldn’t function without him.
As he moved over to help clean off what he hoped was just regular street water and not sewer water, he leaned forward and gave Koutaro a small peck on the cheek. It was meant to be a pick me up, a way to show that Teddy cared and wanted him to be happier now that he was here. After all, it was a kiss between family… right?
As Koutaro kissed him yet again Teddy couldn’t help but sigh. He knew all too well that the young man was excited they were back together - seeing as he himself was extremely excited as well - but needlessly planting kisses on him was something he felt a bit uncalled for? Kisses were, if all of his reading and research were to be considered correct, things given out during moments of passion or towards those you loved romantically.
Lip kisses, of course. Kisses anywhere else could also fall into the category of passion but he’d read that those were commonly exchanged between friends and family as signs of affection and acceptance. Either way, Teddy just sighed and patted Koutaro on the back, really hoping he’d get this out of his system.
