Disclaimer: Ben 10 and Kamen Rider W do not belong to me.
Last time, Ben Tennyson, wielder of the Ultimatrix, arrived in Futo. Befriending Akiko Narumi, the two go to the Narumi Detective Agency where they meet self proclaimed hard-boiled detective Shotaro Hidari. But things take a drastic turn when, during a missing person's case, Ben learns of USB drives called Gaia Memories, which allow people to turn into monsters called Dopants. A Magma Dopant is rampaging across the city, Ben and Shotaro locate him with the help of Shotaro's partner Philip, who can access something called the Gaia Library. Shotaro transforms into the Kamen Rider known as Kamen Rider W and, with some assistance from Ben, defeats the Dopant, revealed to be the missing person Yousuke Togawa. But no sooner was Togawa defeated, than a T-Rex Dopant attacked and took him away. Just how deep is this rabbit hole? And what was Ben in Futo in the first place? Stay tuned to find out.
Ben 10: Futo Adventures
Part 2
"I didn't hear anything about this! Just what is going on?"
Ben winced as Akiko stomped across the office floor, glaring at him as he sat in a chair in the green half of the room, Philip who was standing nearby looking into his book, and Shotaro, who was sitting at his desk with his back turned to Akiko, the radio playing in the background.
After the T-Rex Dopant disappeared, Shotaro had taken the memories out of his belt, causing both his armor and the Cyclone Memory to disappear. With no other leads to fall back on, he and Ben returned to the office. When they got there, Akiko was promptly freaking out about Philip collapsing and then suddenly sitting back up like it was normal.
"So when you guys transform, his mind somehow transfers into your body?" Ben asked after Akiko described Philip fainting.
"That's right," Shotaro had said as he made his way over to his desk.
"Still," Ben said, scratching his head. "I should've known that you must be a Kamen Rider. No wonder you were so confident about stopping that Dopant."
"Eh, Kamen Rider?" Akiko looked back and forth between Ben and Shotaro, her temper rising again. "What is all this?" She then produced the registration she had shown earlier. "As your landlady, I demand an answer!"
Shotaro turned his seat around, frowning at Akiko when—
"Futo resident, Togawa Yousuke, 21,"
Both Ben and Shotaro's head shot toward the radio. Shotaro got up from his desk and made his way to it.
"A fisherman notified the police after finding his body in the water."
Ben felt his fists tighten even as Shotaro turned up the volume to the radio.
"Looks like you were right, Shotaro," He said quietly.
Shotaro nodded grimly. "Yeah. Looks like Togawa had a partner who also had a Gaia Memory, and they silenced him for it." He looked down at his feet. "I-I have to tell Marina, in case she's not near a radio. If that's the case then I–I should be the one to tell her."
Ben sighed, wanting to find some words to cheer Shotaro up but none came to mind.
"Ben, come with me."
Ben looked up at the detective. "Huh?"
"Once I tell Marina about what happened to Togawa, I'm gonna do everything I can to find his killer. I wouldn't mind having some back up with me."
"Are you sure, Shotaro?" Ben asked gently.
Shotaro nodded. "Yeah, just…when I tell Marina…could I be alone for it?"
"Absolutely," Ben said. "Take as long as you need."
"Appreciate it,"
/*/
The two made their way to a park, which Ben guessed might have had some importance to Shotaro and Marina. He waited by the bike as Shotaro stood near one of the larger windmills in the city. He didn't wait long until Marina approached him. Ben looked away as the poor woman fell to his knees, crying as Shotaro stooped down to comfort her. As the two talked, Ben tried to think of this whole predicament. Gaia Memories, Dopants, Kamen Riders. That reminded him, why did Shotaro turn into a superhero instead of a Dopant? Did it have something to do with how different his Memories looked? Maybe something to do with that belt? And why did Philip transfer his mind into Shotaro when they transformed? Whenever they had an opportunity, Ben hoped he could ask.
Not to mention he had to inform his grandpa of this as soon as possible. Even if there was nothing the Plumbers could do with the lack of alien activity present, maybe his Grandpa could keep an eye out in case someone did attempt selling Gaia Memories in America. Once again, the fear of kids purchasing those things so they could be just like him made Ben queasy.
"Still," Ben said to himself. "Does any of this have to do with why she approached me?"
That night was still fresh in his mind.
It was a peaceful night in Bellwood, very rare all things considered. Ben was on his way home with a bag of chili fries from the Burger Shack and a couple of smoothies from Mr. Smoothy. All these to enjoy a Sumo Slammers tv marathon. What could possibly go wrong? The answer came when Ben pulled up to his house, nearly slamming down on the breaks of his car and making himself slightly lurch. Standing in the driveway was a woman wearing a black trench coat and a fedora over her long black hair. Turning her head, Ben saw that her face was obscured by a pair of sunglasses and white bandages that covered her entire head.
Ben's eyes narrowed. "Well that's not suspicious." Slowly he undid his seat belt and opened the car door. He got outside and made his way to the driveway, the woman's head turning to match his movement.
"Can I help you, miss?" He said politely but with a bit of edge in his voice.
"Ben Tennyson?" The woman asked, in a low, husky voice.
"That's me."
"My name is Shroud." She began walking towards him. Ben pulled his sleeve up and reached for the Ultimatrix when the woman stood at his side. "Go to Futo City." she whispered into his ear.
Ben blinked. "Uh, what?"
"Seek out the Narumi Detective Agency once you're there."
"Wait what? Futo City? Narumi Detective Agency? What are you–" Ben turned to face her–only to realize she had disappeared. "Ooookay, creepy."
"Oi, Ben,"
Ben jumped, both figuratively of his memories and literally as he turned around to see Shotaro sporting a downcase look on his face. "Let's get going."
"Got it, Shotaro. Where to? The office?"
"We're gonna go see one of my informants."
"Wait, you actually have informants?"
/*/
"Oh, good! Oh, beautiful! Unbelievable!"
Having been led by Shotaro to an outdoor restaurant, Ben stared as a man, with hair that could be described as a frizzy bowl cut, was using his phone to take pictures of a foreign, blonde haired waitress in a maid uniform. The waitress herself was happily posing for the pictures. Shotaro sat down next to the man and held out some yen between his fingertips.
"Hey, Info Dealer," He said. "I need your help."
The man stopped his photography, looking between the money and Shotaro himself. He grinned in amusement.
"Playing the hard-boiled detective is fine, Sho-chan," he said as he switched seats, still grinning at Shotaro. The waitress, seeing that their business was done, went to tend to other customers. "But those info dealers you see in tv dramas don't actually exist!"
"Maybe not human ones," Ben said under his breath.
The man chuckled at Shotaro with a shake of his head. "Sometimes I wonder if you're getting delusional."
"Why you—" Shotaro went to grab him. Ben winced as some of the other patrons turned their heads at the commotion.
/*/
Ben winced once again at the piercing sound of power drills as Shotaro led him to the basement area of the building that had been attacked last week. The construction workers didn't seem to pay them any mind. Either they weren't aware of the two intruders or the workers just didn't care as long as they didn't interfere with their job.
"You really think we'll find something down here?" Ben asked.
"Couldn't hurt to look," Shotaro rationed as they went down a further hallway.
The sound of doors slamming cut off any further questions. The two turned around and ran to the yellow doors behind them, Shotaro pounding on them and calling out to the workers. Ben was about to suggest using one of his aliens when they froze at the sound of deep breath. They turned back around to see what looked like a T-Rex head on a human body charging at them. In any other moment Ben would have commented on how ridiculous something looked, but it didn't seem that way now. Shotaro quickly pushed Ben into a side pathway near the door, catching him by surprise, while the detective himself jumped up and rolled across the Dopant's large head.
"Come get me!" He taunted the Dopant to keep it focused on him. Ben regained his senses as the T-Rex Dopant charged at Shotaro, who quickly sidestepped it. He then pulled out his camera and inserted a blue flash drive into its side. "Trying to keep me from snooping huh?"
BAT!
The camera unfolded to reveal a mechanical bat, the lens part making up its torso. The bat began flashing repeatedly at the Dopant, causing it to howl and stagger backwards as it tried to move away from the disorienting light.
"One more," Shotaro said with a smirk as he pulled out his phone and loaded a red flash drive into the bottom of it. "Free of charge!"
STAG!
The phone unfolded and shifted itself into a robotic stag beetle that flew off Shotaro's hand towards the Dopant. The monster's attempts to get away from the robotic bat caused it to be standing near a puddle of water formed from leaky pipes. The stag beetle flew above the Dopant, severing some electric cables. The Dopant screamed as the cables hit the puddle, electrifying it. Shotaro shielded his eyes with his hat while Ben crossed his arms over his face. The ceiling lights went out for a brief moment but the moment they came back on, the Dopant had disappeared. The two robots flew down the hallway in pursuit. Ben went over to Shotaro.
"Okay, that was pretty cool," he said with a grin. Shotaro was awesome even without needing to turn into Double. His grin didn't last, however, when he noticed Shotaro was staring at something.
Following his new friend's line of sight, he noticed the detective was looking at a shelf. More specifically, a piece of cloth sticking out from one of the shelf's boxes. The cloth had a symbol with three feathers that made Ben think of propeller blades. Something about that symbol was making Shotaro very uncomfortable. He said nothing as the two of them went over the building's parking lot where they saw the gadgets making their way back to Shotaro.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I could get one of those, do you?" Ben asked as Shotaro picked up the stag phone. That at least brought a small smile to the detective's face.
"Custom made," He said as the bat camera flew into his open palm. The robot folded itself back into camera mode. No sooner had Shotaro pocketed his stuff than his informant approached them.
"What happened?" He asked. "You two alright?"
Shotaro waved his hand. "We're fine, Watcherman. Were you able to find out anything?"
Watcherman put his hands on his hips, immediately becoming serious. "Turns out, someone managed to see Togawa purchasing a Gaia Memory."
"Were they able to see what the seller looked like?" Shotaro inquired.
"The thing they noticed most about the seller was that he had a black suit and a white scarf. The scarf was said to have a red spot on it, like a bloodstain."
"Yeah, like that doesn't scream bad guy," Ben said, crossing his arms.
Shotaro nodded as he filed away the seller's features for later. "Was Togawa the only customer there?"
Watcherman snapped his fingers. "That's right! There was another person!" He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Unfortunately it was dark so he couldn't see who the other buyer was."
"At least we got an idea on what the seller looks like," Ben said. "And we know what memory he sold. Think we should try tracking him down?"
"We should track him down, but first we need to worry about stopping this other Dopant," Shotaro said.
Shotaro's posture and expression made Ben raise a brow. "You—have an idea of who the user is?"
"Come on," Shotaro said softly. "Back to the office."
Ben and Watcherman shared a glance of concern as Shotaro walked off.
"Oh hey, I meant to ask," Watcherman said. "Who are you, anyway? Some sort of American intern for Shotaro? I'll admit, when I first saw you I thought Shotaro was trying to earn some extra cash as a tour guide."
Ben chuckled weakly. "An intern? Well, something like that."
"Hey. Keep an eye out for him, will you? Sho-chan may treat everything like a noir book but he is a good guy who genuinely wants to help this city."
"I could tell. Don't worry, I'll look out for him."
/*/
Meanwhile, the man with the blotched scarf was opening a case, revealing rows upon rows of Gaia Memories. "There's no rush in making your selection," he said to an elderly businessman. "These aren't cheap after all."
The businessman stared in amazement as a coworker to the man with the scarf held the case up for him. The business man cautiously took one from the case, looking it over. "With this, I could become a superhuman?"
The man with the scarf chuckled. "Superhuman? No, "superhuman" is too dull a word to describe what you'll become, my friend. You will become a god."
Taken aback by being compared to a god, the business man looked over the Memories. The other man smiled, knowing he had made another successful sale.
/*/
"I'm really curious about this Kirihiko guy," Wakana said, sitting at the table with her sister and father. Her hair was tied in two pigtails through white braids. "On record, he's the bestselling Gaia Memories salesman we have. Then she grinned at Saeko. "Not to mention a man who dates my older sister and survives has to be incredible."
"Don't talk about other people like they're demons, Wakana," Saeko lightly scoffed.
Wakana made a face. Her sister of all people had no right to say such things. However, her bright mood returned. "I'm still looking forward to it! Right, father?"
"Of course," their father said, stroking his cat's left cheek. "But Saeko, is he someone worthy of bringing into the Sonozaki family?"
Saeko merely smiled back at her father.
/*/
Ben and Shotaro were soon back at the office, inside the hangar. Philip was standing on the platform on the hangar floor and Shotaro was looking down at him with a grim look. Akiko and Ben stood on either side of the latter.
"I need you to access the Gaia Library," the detective said.
Immediately Philip turned and did the same motion he had done when he looked up the Windscale buildings, his body glowing.
"I wanted to ask earlier," Akiko said. "But what is this Gaia Library?"
"A place where all information on Earth is stored," Shotaro answered. "Philip can access it."
Ben's jaw slowly fell open. "All information? How?!"
"Philip described it to me, once. Think of a white void filled with rows and rows of bookshelves. Whenever Philip narrows his search, the irrelevant shelves move away, leaving Philip only with important ones. As the search narrows, he eventually gets the book."
"So it's some kind of dimension?"
"More like a different plane of existence," Shotaro said as he knelt down.
"Forget the Memories, Philip alone would—"
"I know," Shotaro said quietly.
"But then how does he not know obvious things?" Akiko asked.
"Philip simply has access to the information, he doesn't instantly know all of it," Shotaro explained.
"Hence the look up," Ben pieced together.
"Beginning look up," Philip announced. "The purpose here is to find the identity of Togawa's murderer. Keyword?"
"First, Windscale," Shotaro told him. Ben imagined the bookshelves rearranging themselves to match the keyword. "Second, feathers."
"Next?" Philip asked.
Shotaro rose to his feet, putting his hands in his pocket. Akiko tilted her head at his actions while Ben braced himself, suspecting they were about to find out why Shotaro was acting so tense now.
"You've got something, don't you, Shotaro?" Philip asked, curious.
"Last keyword," Shotaro said, taking a breath before looking down at Philip. "Female."
It started sinking in. Ben blinked slowly as he suspected he knew the reason for Shotaro's behavior.
"Bingo!" Philip exclaimed. "The T-Rex Memory requires a certain physical make-up for proper compatibility. Only one person matches that requirement with these keywords."
Philip opened his eyes and climbed up the stairs to the whiteboard across the room. The other three made their way across as Philip uncapped a black marker and began writing a name down. Akiko gasped, Shotaro lowered his head and Ben shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as Philip finished writing. In English and all capitilized was the name:
MARINA TSUMURA
"I-it can't be," Akiko said. "She's the one who made the request in the first place."
Shotaro gave her a glance before looking back at the floor. "Marina was a designer for Windscale."
"That design back at the building," Ben spoke up. "That was one of her designs wasn't it?"
Shotaro nodded. "Togawa wasn't the only one who wanted revenge on the company. He and Marina were partners in destroying the first two buildings, but then Togawa lost control to the power of the Magma Memory."
"So when Marina asked you to find him…"
"It was so she could dispose of him," Shotaro finished. He began walking to the door when Philip spoke up.
"I think I can guess what you're about to do, Shotaro," He said, bringing the detective to a halt. He turned around to face his partner. "You're gonna go naive and presumptuous, and the criminal will try to kill you. The T-Rex Memory has taken over her. She might try to eat you."
Ben didn't know what was worse; the fact that Philip seemed to be taunting Shotaro or this situation was uncomfortably familiar.
"Even so," Shotaro said to his partner. "I-I want to believe in her."
"We have to finish her off," Philip said.
"Looks like we don't see eye to eye," Shotaro said, narrowing his eyes.
"How strange. 'Not being swayed by emotions', isn't that the hard-boiled style you're always talking about? Right now, you're acting more like a half-cooked egg. No," Philip began turning around. "You're—half-boiled."
His body trembling, Shotaro strode back over to Philip and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around and slugging him right across the face.
"Hey!" Akiko cried as Philip fell onto the desk near the whiteboard, going over to his side. "That was uncalled for!"
Ben winced. Hitting Philip was pretty drastic but at the same time, Philip had all but provoked Shotaro. Said detective reached out into his jacket and slammed something onto the desk. Ben saw it was the Joker Memory and two others. One was blue with a T in the middle that resembled a gun and the other was gray with a metallic M sporting bolts on it.
"I'm doing this without your help," He said coldly to Philip before storming off.
"Ben! We have to go after him! He's gonna get himself killed!" Akiko cried.
"I won't let that happen, Akiko," Ben reassured her. "Let's go!"
/*/
The two managed to track Shotaro down to an outdoor they got there, they found him and Marina together, her hands around Shotaro's neck.
"Please, Sho-chan," Marina sobbed. "Please let me go!"
Slowly Shotaro pulled her away. Marina looked at him with hurt and confusion as he turned away from her. "Sho-chan?" She asked, realizing that he was looking at something ahead. Following his line of sight, she froze when she saw multiple police cars gathered in the parking lot over the back railing. Jinno was among them, scratching his back as Makura came up to him. Just as Makura was about to address, JInno held his back scratcher up to silence him.
"Remember what I said when we were kids, Marina? I didn;t want anyone in this city to cry. But you," He turned around sharply at her. "You're making the city itself cry!"
Ben rubbed the back of his head. "I hope everything works out."
Marina hung her head as if in shame but a giggle escaped her lips that turned into full laughter as she threw back her head. "Well, it looks like you're not a little boy anymore." She tilted her head at him. "You're now a cruel man without blood or tears."
Shotaro was stunned by Marina's words as she started walking away from him. "Turn yourself in and face justice!" He pleaded with her. "Go back to the woman you once were! Get rid of the Memory, Marina."
Smiling, Marina lifted up a gray Gaia Memory with her right hand while adjusting her shirt to show her left shoulder. A port-like tattoo similar to Togawa's own was visible. She placed a kiss on the Memory–
T-REX!
Then jabbed it into the port.
"No!" Shotaro cried before being back by a shockwave created by the Memory. Light flashed from Marina's body and she morphed into the T-Rex Dopant, letting out a roar that kicked up the dirt in front of her.
"I don't think so!" Ben shouted as he activated the Ultimatrix. "It's Hero Time!" He slammed the dial down, causing Akiko to cry out from the sudden flash of green light.
"Ben?" Shotaro looked towards the voice, only to shut his eyes as the flash clouded his vision.
Marina turned towards the flash, which also drew the officers' attention. Rubbing the spots from her eyes, Akiko gasped when she saw that Ben had been replaced by a seven foot tall plant creature with a head that looked like a red flame. "Eh?! Another alien? I—" She winced, pinching her nose. "Ugh, what is this awful smell?"
"Sorry about that," the alien said in a nasally voice. "This guy isn't known for his fragrance."
Akiko backed away, still pinching her nose. "I didn't hear anything about this!"
The T-Rex Dopant snarled at the alien hero. "Who are you?"
"Usually I go by Tennyson, Ben but for now you can call me," He held up his hands and fire ignited from his palms. "Swampfire!"
Marina let out another roar. Akiko was forced against a fence behind her but Swampfire's root-like feet dug into the ground, anchoring him. Narrowing his oval eyes at her, Swampfire threw a barrage of fireballs at the Dopant. Marina howled as each fireball pelted her. The police were transfixed as they witnessed the two creatures duking it out.
"Did he just say Tennyson?" Jinno asked, nearly dropping his back scratcher. "As in, Ben 10?"
Swampfire paused in his attack. "Huh. Guess some people here do know me after all."
Marina charged at him, hissing as Swampfire shot streams of flame at her. Despite causing her obvious pain, Marina endured it to ram Swampfire with enough force to knock him off the ground (And uproot his feet in the process). He flew over the fence and crashed into some of the back theater seats. Marina knocked the gate down and jumped into the seats as Swampfire picked himself up. He began flinging his arms, throwing what appeared to be pebbles at the Dopant's feet. Almost instantly, they turned into long green vines that began wrapping around her. Marina howled as she struggled to fight off her botanic bindings.
Akiko and Shotaro ran over the fence, watching as Swampfire continued to throw more seeds at Marina.
"You two followed me?" Shotaro asked, never taking his eyes off the two combatants.
"We were worried about you!" Akiko said defensively.
Police began pouring into the theater, aiming their guns at the bound Dopant. Marina let another, more powerful roar, tearing up the seats and destroying more of the ground. The officers scattered to dodge the debris flung towards them.
"Get to safety! I'll deal with Chomper over here!" Swampfire called to them before charging at the Dopant who managed to break free of the vines. He swung a fist but the T-Rex jumped right over him. "How in the world can you jump so high with such a big head?"
The T-Rex landed in front of Shotaro and Akiko, the former putting himself in front of the latter to protect her. Then Marina's voice came from the T-Rex's mouth.
"My dear Sho-chan. I love you. That's why," the sound of a tongue running across lips. "I'm gonna eat you up!"
Only to cry out when Swampfire drop kicked her in the back of the head, knocking her down. "Have some greens first!"
Snarling, Marina picked herself up and prepared to attack when shots rang out. Shotaro grabbed Akiko and fell to the ground as bullets began pelting the Dopant. Both her and Swampfire turned to see the officers taking cover at their cars, firing with everything they had. Unfortunately, Marina seemed more irritated by the bullets than anything.
"Get out of here!" Swampfire called to them. "Run!"
Marina had a different idea in mind, lunging at them. Swampfire jumped at her, grabbing as the Dopant unleashed another shockwave roar. The closest cops were blasted off their feet. Striking Marina across the face, vines emerged from Swampfire's back and stretched towards the airborne officers like tentacles. The vines wrapped around the officers, gently placing them on the ground. The cops stared at the plant alien in surprise as he responded with a smile and a thumb's up. Only to cry out when Marina chomped onto his arm and tore it clean off.
"BEN!" Shotar cried in horror, Akiko's hands flying to her mouth.
Swampfire turned around, glaring at the Dopant. Everyone gasped as foliage began growing out of his stub, soon forming a completely new arm. "Nice try."
"Marina!" Shotaro called to her. "It's me, you want! Come and get me!" He started running off, catching Akiko by surprise. Growling, Marina leaped back up and started pursuing, completely ignoring the petrified Akiko.
"Get back here!" Swampfire shouted. He looked over at the officers, they seemed shaken at worst. "Is everyone alright?"
Jinno slowly nodded, the others just staring at Swampfire. Nodding back, he ignited fire from his hands and launched himself upward to pursue the Dopant.
/*/
Marina had been his responsibility, Shotaro thought as he ran to the far side of the theater parking lot. He had truly hoped she would be willing to turn herself in but in the end, the power of the T-Rex Memory was too much after all.
Shotaro felt a force blast him off his feet, sending him sprawling across the concrete. Wincing as he tried to push himself up, he saw Marina rushing towards him. He tried to push himself but his legs were aching. Above Marina he saw Swampfire being propelled by his own fire. He looked ready to divebomb the Dopant when something slammed into her from the side.
Swampfire blinked at this unexpected development. "What the–?"
A black, eight-wheeled vehicle was what crashed into Marina, sending her flying across the lot. The body of the vehicle…it honestly resembled Double's head, albeit in all black. It also had that same, circular structure Ben had seen in their hangar. So it was actually a gigantic wheel the entire time. One of the red, eye-like windows opened up and Philip climbed out.
"Philip!" Swampfire extinguished his flames and landed beside the large vehicle.
"Eh, Philip-kun?" Akiko said, walking towards them. Swampfire tilted his head, noting Akiko saw Philip as enough of a friend to add the "-kun" suffix to his name. The two must've bonded while he and Shotaro were investigating.
Philip ignored them both as he made his way over to Shotaro. Grunting as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, Shotaro avoided eye contact. "What do you want now?" He asked, no doubt expecting Philip to rub his predicament in. Instead Philip scratched his chin.
"I was doing something but no matter what I just couldn't find the answer. Just why did you hit me?" Shotaro finally looked up at Philip to see him smiling and holding out his hand. Shotaro looked at the hand, then at Philip. Finally he gave a smile and grabbed it. Both Swampfire and Akiko smiled as Philip helped Shotaro up.
"Lend me half your power—partner."
Nodding, Philip handed Shotaro the Memories he had left at the office. After Shotaro took them, they both walked towards Marina, who finally picked herself up. Shotaro pulled out the red and silver buckle and slapped it on. The moment he did, an identical one appeared on Philip's waist out of thin-air.
Akiko gasped. "This is just like last time!"
"And who are you?" Marina snarled when she saw Philip.
"The two of us are one detective," Shotaro declared as he held up his Joker Memory with his right hand and Philip held the Cyclone with his left.
CYCLONE! JOKER!
"Henshin!"
Shotaro crossed his arm over himself like before, Philip mirroring his actions. Even their stances made them look like a W. Philip slid his Cyclone Memory into his buckle's right slot, only for it to disappear and then reappear in Shotaro's buckle. He pushed it down and slid the Joker Memory into his buckle's left, then pushed the slots into that W formation.
CYCLONE! JOKER!
Double's green and black armor covered Shotaro's body while Philip's collapsed beside him, the wind blowing everywhere. Akiko let out a yelp, holding her skirt in place before her jaw dropped at the sight of Double. "H-he turned into a half-and-half monster!"
Swampfire chuckled, both at her reaction and at how her hair was now sticking straight up from the wind. "That's no monster, Akiko. That's Kamen Rider Double.
"Now, count up your sins!" Double shouted at Marina before turning around towards Akiko. "Please take care of my body for me," Philip's voice said before Double ran to Marina, striking her tyrannosaurus head with a barrage of kicks similar to when he fought her boyfriend.
Akiko blanched at this sudden development."I didn't hear anything about this!"
"Allow me," Swampfire offered, running over to Philip's body and scooping it up. "Yeah, now I see why he didn't go with us last time. Come on!"
"In there!" Akiko shouted, pointing at the cop car.
"I don't think that's a good—"
"Come on!" She shouted, running towards it. Casting it an uneasy glance, Swampfire followed. Akiko opened the passenger side door, allowing the alien hero to place Philip's body inside while she got into the driver side. Swampfire noticed the key was in the ignition. "Akiko, can you drive?"
"Of course I can drive!" Akiko said in annoyance. "I have a license!"
"Then get out of here! Hurry!"
Marina roared again and Swampfire turned to see her shockwave was not only kicking up more of the concrete but even chunks from the surrounding buildings. What's more, the debris was now flying towards her, forming a type of makeshift shell. His eyes widened when he realized she was about to turn into that huge t-rex from before. He was about to call out for Akiko to hurry when his eyes caught a steel cable being pulled towards Marina and it was about to get caught on the rear tire. Quickly he grabbed the car by the bumper and hoisted it up, earning a squeak of fear from Akiko. Once the cable slid past, Swampfire put the car down.
"What was that for?!" Akiko cried back at him.
Swampfire would've replied when chunks of rubble began falling around them, Akiko screaming as some debris hit the car. Swampfire turned around to see that Marina had in fact become a full T-Rex. She shook her now gigantic body, sending a huge block of concrete at Double. He kicked the block, shattering it, but Marina then charged at Double, her teeth clamped onto his shoulder as she charged, smashing the two of them through a wall. Swampfire immediately ran after them, an anxious Akiko looking through the window to see what was happening.
As Swampfire climbed through the hole, he saw Marina going down a narrow road.
HEAT! JOKER!
Rounding a corner, Swampfire saw Double standing in front of Marina, only know his right half was red instead of green.
"We already know you can't take the heat," Double said, running up and punching Marina with his right fist. A burst of flame struck the Dopant as his fist connected.
"So he's got other powers too? Cool!" Swampfire blasted flames at Marina's back but she didn't seem to react.
"Ah, Ben!" Philip's voice called. "Aim for the head, it's the only part of her actual body that's exposed."
"Got it!" Swampfire called back, aiming at the back of her head when she reared back from another blow by Double. The two attacks caused Marina to roar in pain, thrashing wildly. Double then jumped up and struck the Dopant so hard she toppled backwards and fell on her side. "Nice hook!"
"Thanks," Shotaro said as Marina got back to her feet, shaking her head. Instead of attacking, she turned tail and started running down the street.
"Running away?"
"We can't let her escape! Ben, can you turn into something fast?"
Swampfire grinned. "Naturally."
"Good, keep her from getting away. We'll catch up and perform a Memory Break."
"Memory Break? Oh that thing you did on Togawa?"
Double nodded. "It's the surest way to destroy Gaia Memories."
"Got it, I'll keep her occupied." Swampfire touched the dial on his chest. In a flash of light, Swampfire was replaced by a red, bipedal manta ray with green eyes and yellow horns. "Jetray can catch up to her easily. See you soon!" Jetray soared into the air and after the runaway dinosaur.
"Huh," Shotaro said as he watched his ally fly off. That gives me an idea."
/*/
Horns blared and cars swerved wildly as a T-Rex made of junk charged down the highway. Marina even launched one car into the air with her giant head. As the car flipped through the air, Jetray grabbed it by the roof. Despite his scrawny frame, the Aerophobian was decently strong. He gently put the car down, taking a quick glance to see the drive shaken but unharmed, and flew off at the Dopant. His eyes flashed green as he fired twin neuroshock beams at the back of Marina's head.
The Dopant bellowed in pain before launching some of the debris from her body as she continued running. Jetray dodged the rubble with, firing more neuroshock blasts at his target. Marina held up her tail, protecting her head. Then the T-Rex took a sharp turn towards a nearby building. At first Jetray thought she was going to smash through it, only to stare as Marina ran up the wall. Shaking his head, Jetray flew at the Dopant as she reached the rooftop, launching more pieces of her pseudo body at him. Jetray weaved through the air, firing more neuroshock blasts as he could. Though trying to blast her and dodge her attacks was making it frustrating.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Jetray turned to see Double flying on a red hovercraft towards him and Marina. As he got closer, Jetray saw the control seat looked like the front of Shotaro's bike. It was as if he had detached the front and attached it to the hovercraft. "Hey, the more the merrier!"
The two flew around Marina as she chomped at them; Jetray took to the right, Double to the left. The Dopant her tail and the two reared back. Roaring, Marina launched more of the concrete making up her body at them. Double then pulled out the gray Memory.
METAL!
He then swapped out the Joker Memory for Heat Memory.
HEAT! METAL!
The left half of Double became gray, a metallic forming onto his back.
"Time for a Memory Break," Philip declared as Double unhooked the staff from his back.
"Right," Shotaro said as he loaded the Metal Memory into a slot on the staff.
METAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE!
"I'll give you an opening!" Jetray, soaring behind the Dopant and firing beams from both his eyes and the tip of his tail, striking Marina's head. The combined beams caused her to roar at the sky, jaw wide. "All yours!"
"Thanks!" Double called as he flew towards Marina, flames erupting from the tip of his staff. "Metal Branding!"
Double struck at the T-Rex's neck, tearing off chunks of concrete as the Dopant lost her balance. Her neck glowed red hot before her golem body exploded, forcing Double and Jetray to fly backwards. Double gasped when he saw Marina, having been reverted back to her human form, falling to the ground below. Before he could move to catch her, Jetray swooped her out of the before gently descending. Double maneuvered his hovercraft down to down, running over to Marina. Jetray gently placed her in the Kamen Rider's arms. Her Memory emerged from her skin before falling to the ground in pieces.
"Is she alright?" Jetray asked.
Double shook his head. Marina was far from alright; both because of the toll her Memory had taken on her and because of the punishment she would face because of it. Jetray looked over at the fragments of the Memory. Regardless of why Shroud actually wanted him here, the hero swore he would not allow anyone in America to get their hands on those Memories.
/*/
At the Sonozaki mansion, an important event was occurring. Saeko was introducing her fiancee to the rest of her family. They had gathered in a special room. The only sources of light were those from the stained glass windows. The line was filled with curtains of various colors.
"Father," Saeko said in her Taboo form, a glass of wine in her right hand. "May I present Sudo Kirihiko-san."
Kirihiko himself, stepped from behind a red curtain—completely naked much to the amusement of another Dopant who resembled a human sized clay doll with two elongated protrusions sticking out on either side of her head.
"Oh, he's quite the looker," the Dopant said in Wakana's voice.
To the right, a Dopant resembling an armored, bipedal saber-tooth feline crouched, growling tensely. At the end of the room, a figure beckoned to Kirihiko from behind a transparent, purple curtain. It was a muscular, shirtless figure with skin like obsidian and a large headdress that resembled the face of a wide-eyed, fang bearing monster. As Kirihiko neared the figure, he placed a silver buckle with a port-like slot in the middle onto his waist, a belt wrapping around him instantly.
The figure handed out a Gaia Memory to Kirhiko, a golden one with a stylized N. He then began speaking in the voice of the Sonozaki patriarch. "This Gaia Memory is exclusive only to the members of the Sonozaki family. It is possible that it will kill you. Do you have any last words?"
Kirihiko simply smiled at the Dopant as he held out his hand. "Your son-in-law will not disappoint, father."
Nodding in approval, the Sonozaki patriarch handed the Memory to Kirihiko, who slid into the port on his belt. Golden light filled the room.
/*/
Back at the office, Shotaro was at his desk, writing down the case on his typewriter.
Marina was left with the police, but Togawa Yousuke won't be returning. Such is the reality within my city, Futo. But, even if that is the reality, I swear that I will change it. I'm sure I will.
"Shouldn't you be saying we?" Shotaro looked at Philip, who was sitting in the corner, book in hand and smiling at his partner. "You should pluralize it."
"Alright, alright, I'll change it," Shotaro said with a grin as he began making the adjustments on the paper.
"We're back!" Shotaro flinched as Akiko strolled into the office, carrying a large plank in her hands and Ben strolling behind and looking uneasy. "Sorry we kept you waiting."
"Who was waiting?" Shotaro grumbled as he and Philip got to their feet.
"Rejoice you two!" Akiko said, turning over the plank she had, plopping it on the small table. "Tadah!"
Shotaro froze for a moment, then let out a scream of horror.
"Yeah, I thought that's how he'd react," Ben said quietly.
The plank turned out to be the sign of the agency, only now it was painted blue with white spots and the kanji was written in pink. Next to it was a smaller plank that read the kanji "Chief Narumi Akiko." with various designs like stars on hearts on it.
"You made yourself the chief?!" the detective exclaimed at the still beaming Akiko.
"Amazing," Philip said, causing Ben to think he actually liked the sign. "What an unexpected turn of events." Ah, so that was the reason.
"From now on, we're gonna solve all cases with a half-boiled style!" she declared before running out the door, no doubt to put up the sign up.
"Oi! It's not half-boiled!" Shotaro cried as he ran out the door. "It's hard-boiled! Hard-boiled!"
"I'm sorry, Shotaro," Ben said. "I told her you might not be thrilled but she is stubborn."
Shotaro slumped. "Why does she keep trying to ruin my hard-boiled style?"
"She is technically our landlady, Shotaro," Philip pointed out.
"Damn, middle-schooler," Shotaro grumbled.
"She already said she's twenty, Shotaro. No use trying to call her that," Ben said.
"She looks like a middle schooler so she's a middle schooler," Shotaro said, actually pouting. Ben struggled to keep a straight face at how childish the hard-boiled detective was acting, only to feel like someone was watching him. Turning his head, he saw Philip looking at him with a wide smile.
"Um…can I help you, Philip?"
"The Dopant case has been solved," Philip said, leaning so close that Ben had to tilt his head back. "Tell me about your aliens, that gauntlet on your wrist, everything!"
"That reminds me," Shotaro said, walking over to them. "Can you also tell us why you're here in Futo in the first place?"
"Don't worry, I will. In exchange, can you answer some questions I have? "
"Sounds fair to me," Shotaro said.
"Okay the sign has been put up!" Akiko cheered, coming back into the office.
"Ben's gonna tell us about his aliens!" Philip said giddily.
"Eh? You are?"
"You guys might want to sit down," Ben said. "It's kind of a long story."
Akiko and Philip eagerly sat down, looking like kids about to be told a bedtime story while Shotaro leaned against the wall, arms folded. "Alright, it all started when I was ten years old."
And so Ben told them the basic gist of that fateful summer when he first gained the Omnitrix, how he had to use it once more to protect the entire universe from the Highbreed, and how he was forced to sacrifice it to prevent it from being used by his archnemesis Vilgax. He told them about the Ultimatrix, his "evil twin" Albedo, and how he was currently using it. However, he decided to leave out his most recent adventure: the conflict with Aggregor, the Forge of Creation,...and the aftermath.
"In case you're skeptical, you can always look up me on the Gaia Library," Ben said after concluding his story. "I'm pretty sure everything I just said was hard to believe but—"
"I believe you," Shotaro said, pushing himself off the wall as the teen year turned to look at him. "Even with my experiences, I would usually find such a story something out of a sci-fi novel. Or that you were a Dopant posing as an alien. Yet, I can tell you're being completely honest with us."
"Detective intuition?"
Shotaro shrugged. "Maybe."
"This is incredible," Philip whispered, scratching his chin as he stared into space. "Life on other planets exists. Just how many aliens can you turn into?"
"Err, I kinda lost track of how many I can turn into," Ben admitted sheepishly. "I know it's nowhere near the one million, nine hundred and ten stored in—"
Philip shot up out of his seat and seemed to teleport right in front of Ben, causing him to tumble backwards. Akiko and Shotaro were both staring at Ben, jaws dropped.
"You have access to that many aliens?!" Philip said excitedly.
"Not exactly but—"
"I want to know about all of them! Since they're aliens, they wouldn't be recorded in the Gaia Library since that's limited to Earth knowledge. You're my only way of learning about these aliens! Tell me!"
"Uh, Shotaro? Philip's scaring me."
"I think you opened Pandora's Box," Shotaro replied weakly.
"If Gaia Library only has access to the information on Earth," Akiko said. "What if there was a space version of the Gaia Library?"
"Would that make it a Cosmic Library?" Ben wondered.
"Cosmic Library? Do you think it's possible?!" Philip asked, looking like he was about to burst.
Shotaro ran a hand down his face. "What have we done? Time to change topics. So Ben, why are you in Futo?"
Ben explained as best he could about his encounter with the mysterious Shroud. Even Philip was puzzled.
"Whoever this Shroud is, sounds like she was being cryptic on purpose," Shotaro noted.
"But why did she want you to come here?" Akiko scratched her head.
"Maybe she knows something about whoever's behind the Gaia Memories?" Ben suggested. "Maybe they're planning something big, something she wanted me to team up with you to stop."
Shotaro said as his desk, brow furrowed. "What could our enemies be doing that this Shroud would involve someone from another country?"
"I know this is probably asking a lot," Ben said. "But is it okay if I stick around with you guys? Shroud wanted me here for a reason and this is the only place I really know in the city. I mean, if I can't, that's fine."
"Probably for the best if we stick together," Shotaro said. "Some people seem to know you here so word will get out about you hanging near the agency."
"But isn't that a good thing?" Akiko spoke up. "If Ben really is famous, that could mean you'll get more business."
"By the way, Shotaro. Is it okay if I ask some questions now?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Why is it that your Memories look different from the others I've seen? Why do you have armor instead of turning into a Dopant?"
"Our Memories are refined," Philip answered. "Purified. That, alongside the Doubledriver allows us to use Gaia Memories without the negative effects."
"Doubledriver? Is that what the belt is called?"
"That's right," Shotaro said. "However, being purified means we can't use the full extent of a Memory's power except through Memory Breaks. To make up for it, the Doubledriver allows us to use two memories at the same time."
"How many do you have anyway?"
"Six," Shotaro pulled out his three. "Joker, Metal, Trigger."
"Cyclone, Heat, Luna." Philip held up three as well. His Cyclone Memory, the Heat Memory, which was a red flash drive with a fiery H, and a third, yellow one with a crescent moon. As Ben squinted, he could just make out an L in the moon.
"Cool, but in order to transform, you both have to become Double?"
"I serve as the body, Philip serves as the mind," Shotaro explained. "Though he can control the right half—"
"I usually leave the actual fighting to Shotaro, offering tactical advice instead," Philip finished.
Ben nodded. "But, can't it be a little inconvenient since you both need to turn into Double?"
"So far it hasn't," Shotaro admitted. "Philip stays here all the time except for rare occasions like earlier."
"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, how did you guys get involved with all of this?"
Shotaro and Philip shared a glance and Ben wondered if he overstepped his boundaries. Philip slowly nodded his head. Shotaro took a breath as he took off his fedora.
"The truth is, the organization behind the Gaia Memories—was using Philip to create them."
Akiko gasped as Ben stared at the two.
"More specifically, they were using my access to the Gaia Library to create Memories," Philip said. "Shotaro helped me escape using the power of Double."
"Begins Night," Shotaro said quietly, casting a glance over at Akiko but looked away before she noticed. It wasn't overlooked by Ben however and he suspected that her father was also involved in this Begins Night.
"I don't remember anything about my past or who I am," Philip said quietly. "All I know is that the organization is after me."
"Well now I feel like a complete jerk," Ben said.
"You were willing to share everything with us," Shotaro said. "It's only fair we're honest with you."
"While the building I was in got completely destroyed, we don't have any clue where the organization's headquarters is at," Philip said.
"No, but now we have an idea of what one of their salesmen looks like," Ben pointed out. "We find him, we find the head honcho. If that's okay with you guys, of course."
"If Shroud was desperate enough to get you to come here to Futo, that must mean my city is in danger," Shotaro said, putting his hat back on. "Besides, we actually make a pretty good team."
"And it gives me the chance to research his aliens!" Philip said, making Ben cringe.
"And bring in more business to the agency!" Akiko reminded them.
Grinning, Shotaro got off his chair and held his hand out to Ben like he had done before. "Welcome to the Narumi Detective Agency, Ben."
Ben smiled as he shook it. "Happy to be here, Shotaro."
Akiko clapped excitedly. "We're not only gonna solve crimes with a half-boiled style, we're gonna do it with a half-boiled style that's out of this world!"
"Hard-boiled!" Shotaro shouted.
Ben couldn't help chuckling as Akiko and Shotaro started arguing with each other, Philip also smiling. He would have to tell his grandpa about these Gaia Memories and how he would probably be in Japan for some time. Whatever the reason Shroud wanted him here, he was going to do everything he could to help Shotaro and Philip put an end to these Memories.
/*/
Outside the agency, a man smiled. He was an Englishman of middle age, wearing a white lab coat and a pair of goggles around his neck.
"And so begins Ben's adventures in the world of the Kamen Riders. Best of luck to you, Ben, but I know you'll be just fine." Just then he turned at the sound of a train whistle. "Ah, right on time."
Train tracks seemed to materialize in the middle of the street as a large white bullet train came to a stop in front of the Englishman. However, people walking down the street paid the train no mind, as if they weren't even aware of its presence. The side door opened and the Englishman just strolled up to it. As he did, he passed by a younger man leaning against a lamp post. He had short brown hair, a black pinstripe suit over a red dress shirt, and a pink camera around his neck.
"Ah, Tsukasa. Just passing through I see," the Englishman said pleasantly as he boarded the train.
Tsukasa smiled back at him, giving him a nod of respect. "I could say the same about you, Professor Paradox."
As the doors to the train closed, the train let out its whistle and started moving forward. A swirling portal appeared in front of the train. The young man watched as the train went into the portal, the tracks disappearing behind it. As the portal closed, taking the train with it, Tsukasa looked up at the agency. "Ben 10, huh? Alright. Let's see what he can really do."
/*/
"Professor!"
When Professor Paradox boarded the train, he was in the dining car; rows of tables and eating chairs on either side. At the end of the car was a booth where a smiling waitress stood. She wore a white shirt and apron to go with her hat, black pants, and black, elbow length gloves that became red at the hands, standing behind a concession booth.
"Hello, Naomi," Paradox said cordially. "How are you, today?"
"I'm fine, professor,"
"Eh? Who's this guy?"
Standing near the booth was a humanoid being that resembled a red and black oni, looking at Paradox suspiciously. The professor was not only unintimidated by the oni's gruff attitude, his smile actually grew.
"Ah, hello to you too, Momotaros. It is so good to see you again. Or is it before?"
"Oh? A friend of yours, sempai?" asked a blue figure sitting in one of the chairs closest to the booth. His blue, armored body bore patterns similar to that of turtle shells.
"I've never seen this guy before, turtle boy," Momotaros stomped over to Paradox, leering at him. "How do you know my name?"
"Well, that certainly answers that question," Paradox said pleasantly, pulling out a paper bag. "Gumball?"
"Oh, thanks," Momotaros said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a red gumball before pausing. "Wait a second, why am I accepting candy from you?!" He threw the candy onto the floor and grabbed Paradox by his jacket. "How do you know my name?!"
"Let him go, Momotaros," a stern voice in the back said. Momotaros flinched as he and the other occupants turned their heads towards a man sitting near the booth, napkin neatly tucked into his dress shirt as he ate a plate of rice. In the middle of the rice stood a flag. "He is a good friend of mine and a welcome guest whenever he wishes to visit the DenLiner."
Flinching, Momotaros released Paradox, even brushing off his lab coat hastily. Paradox just waved his hand reassuringly before bringing his attention to the man eating. "Hello, Owner, old friend."
"Always a pleasure to have you visit, Professor," Owner said after swallowing some of his meal.
"Oi, Owner," Momotaros, pointing at Paradox. "Who exactly is this guy?"
"His true name has been lost to time," Owner said, scooping some more of his rice with a fork. "He goes by the name of Professor Paradox. Others, such as the Imagin, know him by a different name: the Timewalker."
Momotaros' arms went slack, the turtle-like being turned around to look at Owner. Another figure, who resembled a purple, bipedal dragon in a long overcoat, looked up from his coloring book. The fourth figure, a yellow, muscular being somewhat resembling a bear, woke up from his slumber. All four looked at Paradox, who just kept smiling back.
"EH?!" Momotarous exclaimed, pointing at Paradox. "The Timewalker?! He's real?"
"Well of course, I am," Paradox said with a chuckle. "Just as real as you, Urataros, Ryutaros, and Kintaros. I'm quite certain I could tell whether I was real or not."
Urataros, the turtle creature, spoke up. "There's not a single Imagin who hasn't heard of the Timewalker, the one who can travel through time on his own. But since we could never find you, we thought you were just a myth."
"Well, considering Imagin wanted to destroy the past, I wasn't exactly going to leave myself open for them to catch," Paradox pointed out.
"But, why are you here right now?" Kintaros, the bear one, inquired.
"Ah, I just wanted to drop by and say that young Ben has met one of the other Kamen Riders today,"
The moment he said that, Owner had tried taking another bite out of hsi rice, only for his flag to fall over. Gasping in shock, Owner immediately calmed down and wiped his chin with his napkin. "And so it begins."
Momotaros scratched his head. "Ben?"
"He's known to the public mainly as Ben 10," Paradox answered. "A famous superhero from America who can turn into aliens."
"Aliens?" All four Imagin said at the same exact time.
"He has quite a list of accomplishments to his name," Owner added. "Including saving the entire universe."
"Really?" Ryutaros, the dragon Imagin, said in amazement.
"Yeah, well we saved the entire timeline from being erased," Momotaros said, plopping down in one of the seats. "Still, this guy must be pretty strong, right?"
"It depends on which alien he's using at the time but some of his aliens are incredibly powerful,"
"I would like to meet this Ben 10," Kintaros said.
"He sounds like a lot of fun," Ryutaros added.
"And surely a famous superhero must be quite popular with the ladies," Urataros added before looking at Momotaros. "What do you think, sempai?"
Momotaros fidgeted when he realized all eyes were on him. He tried to be silent but nobody took their eyes off him. With a huff he slammed his hands on the table in front of him. "Alright, fine! I'm curious about him too!"
"Ben 10 and the Kamen Riders, together," Owner said. "What sort of adventures will they share together?"
Paradox smiled as he looked out the window, looking over the endless sands of time the DenLiner was traveling through. "Won't it be fun to find out?"
End of Story
After I finished writing this, another crossover I hadn't considered was between Ben 10 and Kamen Rider Den-O. Eh, I might do a little bonus scene with them in the next chapter.
For those of you not really into Kamen Rider, Den-O is about the extremely unlucky Ryotaro Nogami. He winds up boarding a time-traveling train the DenLiner and is chosen to protect the timeline as Kamen Rider Den-O from Imagins; monsters from the future who are trying to destroy the past.
For a crossover between Ben 10 and Den-O I can see the Imagins teaming up with Ben's own time traveling enemies Eon or Maltruant, requiring Ben to team up with Den-O and his loveable allies, the Taros (Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros) to save the day.
While the time-travel plot can be a bit wonky, I personally like Den-O because I love the character interactions. The Imagins are a great and funny cast, plus I am actually a huge fan of stories where the monsters get to be the heroes and Den-O has it!
Now, I do feel that this series has been extremely milked for all its worth but the original is still a great and fun experience. I recommend it just as much as I recommend W/Double and Kuuga.
While I am tempted to continue writing this kind of crossover, I'm worried that if I do, I'll lose track of the crossovers I've already started. I wrote this two-shot to get the..err..what's it called again? Plot Bunny? Anyway, I wrote this story to get it out of my system, to express my growing fondness for the Kamen Riders, and because I'm hoping to inspire other writers to try their hands at things like a Ben 10/Kamen Rider crossovers. Hell, if someone wants to adopt this story, feel more than welcome to, I don't mind. Anything to help spread the love of Kamen Riders.
On that note, I want to give a shout-out to Dr. Exposition. It was his Kamen Rider stories such as Rosario to Kiva, Kamen Rider Showa, and LOVE HINA: DOUBLE TROUBLE that got me into the franchise. Another shout-out goes to Seanzilla1988 and his stories Danganronpa W Trigger and Friendship is Timeless.
That's all I can really say. Well, time for me to get back to Bleach: Ultimate Alien and JoJo's Alien Adventure. Take care everyone!
