Disclaimer : I don't own the Kamen Rider series; if I did, this wouldn't just be a fanfiction.
A/N : The story opens as vaguely as possible- I don't know how this ties in with the final end of Double, so.. It's probably something in between because I wrote it and realised it didn't make sense, time-wise, but ah well.. So yeah; vague opening, possibly a little AU depending on how you see it, and possibly a little OOC as well. Warning: Hints of Mature topics, with High schools and smut and Philip in glasses. I really need to stop watching Dramas starring Suda Masaki as a high schooler.
We can afford this.
Part I - Teaser.
Philip was never allowed the freedom to stroll down the streets of Fuuto City in such a casual, unguarded manner, nor had he ever imagined to be granted such freedom; of course, he had his Gaia Memories in his pocket and Terui Ryuu was easily a speed dial away, but there was no longer a need to be guarded, since there was no longer a threat to his existence, no longer a need to remain hidden away. Their enemies were gone, permanently, and until another group tries to take over the Sonozaki family's line of work..
Shoutarou had suggested Philip to go out, more often - to go walk around, relax, have fun.
It had been an awful headache for Philip to re-examine his definition of fun - because there had never been a need to. If 'fun' was defined as 'something that provides mirth or amusement', Philip supposed that watching the daily interactions of Shoutarou, Aki-chan, and Terui Ryuu was 'fun' enough; but everyone seemed to disagree when he brought this up, and in the end they'll just ask him to get out of the detective agency. Just the keywords 'fun' and 'outside' alone were no help to him in the Gaia Library - he might as well have been reading, from scratch, from the entire bank of knowledge - which, unlike usually, he was entirely not in the mood to do so for this topic.
Only upon seeing his state of distress at the idea of 'having fun' did Shoutarou suggest that he'd go 'walk around' Fuuto City with Philip for the first few times, until the younger boy got the hang of doing things like this on his own.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, cool from the shade of clouds dancing with the constant winds of Fuuto City. At this moment Philip was wandering aimlessly down the streets several blocks from the detective agency with his partner, eyes wary as he mentally mapped his surroundings, mostly allowing Shoutarou to lead their way since he was unsure of where to go. Having said, Shoutarou seemed determined to keep him a good distance away from the detective agency, while Philip was unwilling to stray too far away from their home as the center point. Soon, they ended up walking in circles down the same sets of shop houses, private estates, and public housing.
Going outside without a purpose seemed entirely illogical to Philip.
A few months back, he was encouraged to only go out should there be a real need for him to - and, if Shoutarou could be by his side to support and to protect him. Now, even if it was confirmed that there will no longer be any Dopants jumping at them or threatening to bring their beloved city to tears, it was still taking every single ounce of Philip's mental strength to keep himself from running back to the detective agency - and to think that he was encouraged - no, forced - to step outside of the comforts of their home for the sheer reason of 'walking around' aimlessly as such!
The pair of partners continued walking, mostly in a heavy silence, barely looking at each other.
Both boys disliked disagreeing with each other, they both knew; but sometimes, their stubbornness do get into the way. Philip knew that, at the end of the day, Shoutarou and everyone else were insisting on this for his own sake, but it would take more than just wandering around the city aimlessly for him to drop his guard like that. Glancing up at Shoutarou as the older boy took an unfamiliar turn down a road they have yet explored, Philip squared his shoulders and followed quickly, clutching his book closer to his chest.
As he rounded the corner, Philip was forced to halt suddenly, lest he knocked straight into his partner - he was surprised to find Shoutarou rooted to the spot, staring away at a cluster of buildings just across the road. The neat sign on the gates read, "Fuuto Gakuen Koutou Gakkou" - Fuuto Academy (High School), and Philip noticed attentively when Shoutarou sighed in longing.
"Memorable place?" Philip asked tentatively, peeking over his long lashes and his runaway fringe at his partner.
"Ah," Shoutarou answered slowly, his voice and his gaze far away, choosing to not elaborate further.
Philip permitted himself another gaze at the Academy grounds, this time looking beyond just the already-shut school gates. Schooling was an experience he had not been indulged in, since school was never necessary for a boy like him - there was no need for education when all the information he'd ever need was within reach in the Gaia Library. Originally, Philip was sure that schooling was an experience he would not have minded missing..
Now, seeing how Shoutarou was, he was starting to question his certainty.
"I wonder what kind of an experience 'schooling' would have been.." murmured Philip under his breath.
"It's fun for most of everybody," replied Shoutarou absent-mindedly, not realising that Philip hadn't meant to speak his mind.
"Really.." By experience, Philip knew that 'experience' was not something he could gain from reading a book. Regret was an instant, dull but bitter taste in his mouth, and Philip almost choke despite not actually speaking right then. If only he had been a little more normal, like everyone else, he might have been able to experience..
"Wanna head in for a bit?"
Philip glanced up in surprise at that bit of offer.
"Are we allowed to?" he answered with another question, eyes betraying his desire to step into the school grounds.
"It's a Sunday, so there won't be anyone around. Besides, we'll just get Terui Ryuu to get us out if we get into trouble." Shoutarou grinned.
Then, without sparing Philip another moment to regret, Shoutarou reached out, grabbed his partner's hand, and pulled him towards the tightly locked school gates.