So, I started this to establish That One Section in Re-Build where Philip and Shotaro introduce themselves, but, uh, it kind of got away from me a bit. Somehow it turned into a 5+1 story? I... had not intended that, but I realized I could make it work about halfway through writing some of the sections. Enjoy!
(One)
"You need to eat something."
The boy shakes his head.
"Man..." Shotaro looks at the plate of barely-touched food on the table. The boy he'd brought back from the tower hadn't said a word since they stopped being… whatever that was.
It was terrifying and Shotaro would really rather not do it again, but they probably aren't going to have a choice in the matter. Not now that the boss – well. There's going to be Dopants, and that whatever it was is probably the only thing that can take them down.
Putting that aside… The boss told him to take care of the kid, so that is what Shotaro is going to do, whether said kid wants him to or not.
"I... I see you put on some of the clothes I brought you. Sorry if the sizes were wrong, and I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I got a bunch of different stuff. I can take back the ones you don't want later, so just put them somewhere separate from the ones you like, okay?"
The boy nods.
"Are you okay?"
He gets a shrug in reply.
"All right then." He frowns in consideration. "You have a name, right? Or something I can call you? You didn't have a name tag or anything back at that lab, so I don't actually know what your name is."
"...philip..."
"Eh?"
"...that's what that man said I should be called..."
"The boss? When did – ah, never mind. Do you want to be called that, though?"
Another shrug. "...he said it was his favorite character..."
Shotaro grins. "Yeah, Philip Marlowe. If you want, you can read the books, and then decide if you wanna keep the name. The boss kept a full set of the series somewhere over… ah, here it is." Shotaro pulls out a stack of books from a shelf. "Philip, though – it's not a bad name regardless. Foreign, yeah, but it's not like that really matters. So, I'm going to keep calling you Philip, for now, if that's okay. But let me know if you choose something else, so I don't get it wrong."
"...all right..."
"Seriously, though. If you want to be called something else, just tell me at any time. Names are kinda important – it's one of the first things people know about you. You've got the chance to choose how people know you; you should take it.
"I'll leave you alone, you clearly don't want me talking your ear off, and I'm just filling dead air at this point. Sorry about that."
The boy – Philip – doesn't respond. Shotaro hadn't really expected him to. This was the most he'd spoken at once in three days. 'I hope he was more talkative before we transformed. That one form… that can't have done him any favors.'
As Shotaro goes over to a different table – not the desk, it's his boss's desk, he's not the one who's supposed to be sitting there, no matter how much he wants to – Philip speaks up unprompted.
"...why are you helping me?"
"Huh?"
"you called me a devil before, and you are not wrong, I helped make the Gaia Memories that you hate, so why are you being nice?"
Shotaro shrugs. "Because I love this city, and I won't let it cry."
"that doesn't make any sense."
"Well, those Gaia Memories are being spread around, and they turn people into monsters. Someone gets a hold of one, and then when they keep using it, they start to lose control. I don't want anyone to get hurt because they, or someone they love, lose sight of who they are. And, yeah, I went after you because you were making them. But." Shotaro pauses. "But that Dopant was willing to kill all three of us to stop you from leaving. I dunno if you wanted to be there in the first place or what, but I don't think that you had the same goals they do. So!" he pushes back from the table. "They were using you to hurt people, which means they were hurting you in the process. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always said that I won't let anyone here cry. That's not gonna change any time soon.
"It's not like there's ever been much I can do – I don't even turn 19 for another month, but I'm gonna do what I can.
"Hah, all that to say that I'm helping you because I want to. You were there, when the Boss told me to look after you, so there's that, too. But I want to help you. I mean, I want you to want to be helped, too, but I can't exactly control that."
Nothing but silence from the bench, where Philip had been sitting for the majority of the time, when he wasn't asleep.
"Seriously, though, you should eat something. I'm pretty sure passing out from hunger sucks."
Philip gives a small nod of acknowledgment, before moving over to the table.
'Well, that's something, anyway.'
"...thank you..."
"You're welcome."
'It's a start.'
(Two)
"Hidari? I need to ask you something."
"Yeah?" Shotaro doesn't look up from his novel.
"Do detective agencies usually have a tank in their basements?"
"Pft- what? Why are you asking that?"
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"It's a no, Philip."
"So this is unusual, then?"
Shotaro finally looks up, startled. "How- how did you get that door open? The boss had the only key, and he kept it with him when- well."
"It was unlocked when I went to try it today. I have been trying once a day, every day in the two months since I arrived here, but it opened this time." Philip starts down a spiral staircase. "This is quite impressive, actually."
Shotaro follows him. "Wow. What is all this?"
"I would say it appears to be several walkways, two walls of dry erase boards, and a tank."
"I can see that. I was more wondering why it's all down here. Wait, hang on, is that a note on one of those boards? Come on."
The two go over to a board on the far side of this impossible garage.
"Boy,
"It helps to write it all down. The vehicle is called the RevolGarry. Shotaro Hidari's motorcycle can interface with the attachments that it carries.
"Use them well, Boy.
~Shroud"
"Hey, Philip, any idea who this 'Shroud' is?"
"...No. Let me try to look them up..."
Philip closes his eyes, letting himself slip into the white void that houses the memory of the earth itself. "Keywords for the search… 'Shroud'… Hidari, can you help me with this?"
"Let's try, uh, RevolGarry."
"Nothing is moving, I'm. I'm not getting any results." This hasn't happened before – the library has always, always shown him something. But it's not. "Another?"
"…The way the letter was worded, it's clearly addressed to you. I guess that you should put in 'boy'."
"Then the keywords are 'Shroud', 'RevolGarry', and 'boy'. This is strange, Hidari, nothing is-" The shelves – all of them vanish – it's wrong, this is wrong, he should have gotten results, the first two keywords were so specific, there's no reason for there to not be anything, how is this not working?
The library lights up red, and Philip's eyes jolt open. Shotaro catches him as he stumbles.
"Geez, are you okay? Did you find anything?"
"No, nothing, there wasn't anything, I don't know what happened, am. Am I not allowed to look them up? It kicked me out, I don't know how, but I couldn't find anything at all..."
"Philip, Philip, hey, come on, it's okay." Shotaro tries to steady him. "Guess we shouldn't try that again, huh?"
"Guess not." Philip laughs weakly.
"Kinda rude of this person to just call you 'boy', huh?"
"I suppose, but it's not like my name's really Philip, is it?"
"Hey, no, quit that. It sure isn't 'boy,' that's just insulting." Shotaro guides him to the stairs, helping him sit down. "C'mere, sit down, you're shaking. As far as I'm concerned, whatever you want to be called is your name, so if you want to be Philip, that's who you are. You still okay with that?"
Philip pauses, then nods. "Mm-hm. Thanks."
(Three)
"Hey, Philip, check this out!" Shotaro calls, coming down the spiral staircase. "People are talking about us!"
Philip looks up, slightly panicked. "I fail to see how that is a good thing, Shotaro. You just used a plural pronoun, and no one is supposed to know that I am here."
"Wha- oh, no, not us as in, like, as normal humans." Shotaro quickly corrects himself. "The thing that we've been doing. Here, take a look." He passes Philip a newspaper.
"A New Hero Has Appeared In Fuuto"
"Three months have passed since the last sighting of Kamen Rider Skull-"
Philip looks up from the paper. "Kamen Rider Skull?"
"The boss, apparently. He's been-" Shotaro catches himself. "He was going around and defeating Dopants for the last few years. Just, keep reading."
"Alright."
"-since the last sighting of Kamen Rider Skull, but a new figure has emerged to take up his mantle.
"This new 'character' seems to be considerably less stoic than Skull, willing to talk to the people he rescues. He is no less skilled, however. In fact, he seems to be more versatile than Skull; with different abilities when he changes color-"
"So they don't know that we are using Gaia Memories?"
"Doesn't look like it. It's probably better that way, 'cause they kinda have a bad reputation."
Philip considers this for a moment. "Yes, people would likely be inclined to distrust us if they knew we were using the same technology that we were trying to stop."
"Since this new hero always has two powers active, we here at the Fuuto Breeze suggest giving him the name 'Kamen Rider Double."
"What is a Kamen Rider? They keep using this term, but it's not one that I am familiar with."
"Um… It's kind of a catch-all term for superheroes in helmets and armor, I think. I've been getting the impression that it's a big honor."
"Hm." Philip sets down the paper, and picks up a dry-erase marker and his book. "Interesting."
Shotaro sighs. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. I'll leave you to it, then."
Philip nods distantly, just enough to acknowledge him.
(Four)
"It's time to come home, Raito."
"You betrayed us, Raito."
"Raito. Shotaro Hidari is your trump card."
"Raito."
"Raito."
"Raito."
It may be the name he was born with, but.
But.
It's not right. That's not who he is.
He isn't Raito.
(Five)
"Isn't there something you forgot to say, Shotaro?"
"Heh, you bet there is, Philip! The same thing we'll say to every villain… whoever makes this city cry...'
""Now, count up your sins!""
Of course, they're a bit late – the Energy Memory shattered already. But better late than never, after all.
Shotaro has been barely holding on for a year – and Philip has been watching, but he wasn't able to help then. He wasn't able to be there for his partner, because he wasn't 'ready'. He couldn't tell Shotaro that he was there, because Philip didn't know how long they would have to wait. He wasn't willing to get Shotaro's hopes up for a day that might not come for a very, very long time.
Energy's attack provided the last surge that Philip needed – that he didn't know would be the last boost, didn't actually know if Xtreme could survive the hit itself, but he couldn't let Shotaro get hit by that. Not on his watch.
They both made it out – and Double is back now.
They're back.
"I suppose we should go write up the report for this case of yours?"
Shotaro blinks, shaking his head. "Ah, right, yeah, we should do that. Akiko, you wanna take Akira and Yui on ahead? I. Uh. I think I need a minute."
Akiko grins. "Hey, who gives the orders around here? Come on, you two, let's let these two catch up." She ushers their clients along.
Ryu looks at them, a small smile on his face. "I'll go take care of my report on EXE. Jinno and Makura picked up the flunkies, so I'll be bringing in their leader." He glances over. "He didn't put up much of a fight, did he?"
"I probably threw him off balance." Philip remarks. "It's not every day that someone appears from nowhere."
"Argh, I should hope not!" Is. Is Shotaro angry? Oh no. He did not mean for that to happen.
Once everyone else has walked off, Philip turns to Shotaro. "I'm sorry that I took so long. I wanted to come back sooner, but-"
"Just shut up." Shotaro looks at the ground, pulling his hat down.
"Sho-"
"I'm just." He grabs Philip, pulling him into a hug. "I'm just glad you're back." Shotaro looks back up. He's not mad – he's crying. "I've missed you."
They make their way back to the agency, and Philip notices Shotaro nervously staring at him. "Shotaro?"
"Just. I have to keep making sure you're really still here. I don't think I could take losing you again."
"I don't think I could stand going."
They make it to the door, and oddly, Akiko and Ryu are standing outside. They both look slightly stunned.
"Philip, Shotaro." Ryu nods at them. "I would like to start by saying that nobody asked us before they did this."
Akiko nods. "I finished the file for the Aoyamas, and then they just. Showed up. We don't know how they knew about any of this. So you guys should, uh, brace yourselves, okay?"
Warily, Shotaro asks "Brace ourselves for what?"
Ryu just shakes his head, and opens the door.
Party poppers go off in their faces, as a chorus of voices call out. "Welcome back, Philip!"
Shotaro's jaw drops, and Philip's comes pretty close to dropping as well.
The Irregulars – Queen and Elizabeth, Santa and Watcherman, are there, wearing party hats. Jinno and Makura, too; both looking slightly out of breath, as if they'd run to get there.
"Whu- huh- how did-"
"I believe the question Shotaro's trying to ask is 'How did you know I was back?'"
"Ryu here brought in that Energy guy, and he was going on about 'A two colored superhuman that split in half.' The rest is just logic." Jinno shrugs. "It's not like any of you were really hiding it very well."
Shotaro grimaces. "That doesn't answer the question at all."
"Well," Jinno stretches. "In '99, the first Dopants showed up, and Kamen Rider Skull appeared with them. I was on the scene when one of the first ones made themselves public – and so was a certain founder of this agency." He looks pointedly at Akiko. "Fast forward to '08, and Sokichi disappears. But!" Here he points at Shotaro and Philip. "His apprentice takes over the business, with a boy who appeared from nowhere. At the same time, Skull disappeared and Kamen Rider Double took over his whole 'taking down Dopants' job.
"And last year, when Philip left, Double left too – and Joker showed up." Jinno looks at them. "I don't know why you're all so surprised – I am a cop, after all. You've done better, Captain, but not by much. If it's worth anything, the rest of the precinct doesn't seem to know who any of you are."
"I don't know what you are talking about." Ryu tries to protest, but his voice is too tense for it to actually hold up.
"Just give up boys, you aren't gonna win," Queen pipes up. (Or is it Elizabeth? Philip really should remember this, but he doesn't. That's rather embarrassing.)
"You've all transformed in front of way too many people." That's Elizabeth. Or maybe Queen? (Drat. He's usually better than this, but... it's been a year.)
"The fact that you three are the Kamen Riders is practically an open secret around the city." They finish as one.
They knew. They all knew and they never said a thing. "Excuse me for just a moment." Philip goes past everyone and their expectant (and some slightly smug) faces to sit down on the bed. "All right. Is there anything else you haven't told anyone?"
"Kind of." Makky steps closer, while still giving him space. "After Princess Wakana disappeared, we didn't know who to contact as a next of kin. Jinno and I, we looked into it in the family registry. Out of the three Sonozaki children, only one was still alive. As far as we knew, he'd gone overseas."
'What.'
"Ryubee Sonozaki had all of his children privately homeschooled, so there wasn't any way to prove whether or not anyone ever went missing. Two and a half years ago now, when Shotaro came back a skinny little brat instead of his boss, the youngest child's name was legally changed."
'What.' Philip looks around, and no, it's not just him; Aki, Sho and Ryu all look just as surprised as he does.
"Fumine Sonozaki had her sons name changed from Raito to Philip. Congratulations, kid. You exist."
"So. I've been. Why did she-?"
"She was the reason you got out."
Philip looks at his partner.
"Shroud – your mother – she's the one who hired the boss to get you out of there in the first place." Shotaro stares off into the distance. "She told me that, before you," he coughs. "Well. Before. I went to talk to her, to see if there was a way around, uh, well, you know. Dunno why she never said any of that while you were hiding, since apparently they knew you were here the entire time, but, anyway. I didn't have the chance to tell you last time."
Nodding, Philip looks down.
And he's been Philip for almost three years. He was named that, by the family that he made, but. When his family – the family he was from – called him Raito, he sort of just… assumed that he would always be stuck in between being one or the other.
Shroud – his mother – had never used his name. She called him 'boy' before he knew who he had been, and after that he was always Raito. It was the same with Wakana, too – she never called him Philip again after she knew that he was the brother she had lost.
Had his mother just been stubborn? Mourning the son she knew was gone, and not allowing herself to call him by his new name? That sounds like the Shroud that he knew.
Wakana had called him Philip right up until she truly joined their father, until she lost the spark that had made her Wakana. After that, he was only Raito.
Even when they said goodbye to him, one year ago, he was still Raito to all of them.
His name is Philip. Philip Sonozaki, yes, but Philip. It has been for years, apparently, and he didn't even know it.
"Philip? You there?"
He blinks. Concerned faces surround him; all of the friends he made here in Fuuto, in and around this agency. The family that he made here in Fuuto.
He looks up at Shotaro – at the best partner he could ever imagine, who had waited a year for him without knowing that he was waiting.
Smiling, Philip answers. "Yeah. I'm here."
(One)
"So, Philip, you wanted to talk?"
"Mm-hm. I know that the fireworks are going to start soon, and that this might take a while, but I need to talk to you about this."
Shotaro laughs. "Well, my schedule's clear, barring any unexpected dopants."
Philip rolls his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you've just jinxed the rest of today, but thanks.
"How long have we been partners, Shotaro?"
"Um... we met in late '08, started actually working as Double in early '09, so that would have been... geez, six years? I think?"
"Six years. That's. A long time. And we're barely any closer to cleaning up the mess my original family left behind. But. If we do ever finish that, if all the Gaia Memories are destroyed, if we never had to be Double again, we'd still be partners, right?"
"Philip, are you okay?"
"Please. Please just answer."
"Yeah, of course we would. Hell, Philip, we've been datingfor like six months now. Why are you even asking this?"
"I'm getting there. When we first met, when all of this started, one of the first things you taught me was that names were important. And you were right – SO right.
"My parents called me Raito. Everyone – my family – you all call me Philip. This city calls us their Kamen Rider.
"Shotaro, you told me once, six years ago, that if I wanted a different name, to tell you, because I had a choice, and that names are the first thing a person knows about someone.
"I-" Philip pauses. "I want the first thing people know about me to be that I'm yours. Basically-"
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box, holding it out. "-Shotaro Hidari, can I marry you?"
"Yes, holy shit, yes." Shotaro runs his hand through his hair. "You little- you beat me to it!"
"...I what?"
Shotaro reaches into a pocket in his vest – the right side of his vest, go figure – and pulls out an identical box. "I was gonna ask when the fireworks were over, you little shit. Clearly we're both terrible at this. Here." Laughing, he passes the box to Philip. "Open them on three?"
"Okay. One."
"Two."
""Three.""
(click)
"...Shotaro?"
"Yeah."
"I admit that I only waited two weeks after we started actually dating to get it, but the consultant looked really smug when I ordered your ring."
"...so we agree that the past six months were basically a formality?"
"Looks like it."
Nestled in matching boxes from Windscale are two identical, three-banded rings. They're black on one side, a brushed-metal green on the other, divided by a small band of mother-of-pearl.
"So should I start calling you Philip Hidari now, or do I have to wait for the wedding?"
"Now's fine by me."
"All right then. Want to watch the fireworks with me, Mister Hidari?"
"It would be my pleasure, Mister Hidari."
End notes:
For the record, the last scene is in 2014, during the same annual fireworks show that was in W Forever back in 2010.
(Akiko's definitely recording the whole proposal from the sidelines and is definitely planning to send it to the others.)
Re: Shotaro's age – he doesn't have a canon age, but I kind of think it's hilarious if he's actually younger than Akiko. Also, I mean, he was wearing shorts when he and Sokichi went to raid the tower, and while they may indeed be comfy and easy to wear, they do not suit him in the slightest, and him being 18 when all that went down? Is a great way to say 'No, this kid's not ready to be a detective. Maybe someday..."
I am well aware that, during his appearance in Chaser Saga, Ryu says he's been keeping his identity as Accel a secret, but. I really like the thought that Jinno knew about him, about the boys, and had long since figured out Sokichi as well. The OOO & W Movie is… a thing, but it DID give us tiny Shotaro seeing one of the first public Dopants, seeing his future boss take on said Dopant, and Jinno also seeing said boss take on said Dopant. After all, even back in episode one, Jinno was a-ok with sharing information between him and Shotaro regarding Dopants. It took Makura a little longer to catch on, is all.