Shinnosuke circles through the city during the conversation – both to let Ryuga tell him and Takatora what he could, and to give Sento some clearly much-needed sleep. Neither look like they'd slept much in the month that they'd been here, especially given what Ryuga had let them know.
And it was what he had let them know, too. He was honest about what happened – but he kept it to just what happened to the two of them. When he had to mention anyone else, he wouldn't use their names. He spoke so fondly of the people they had worked and lived with, but he used euphemisms and titles and kept the details hidden.
"Our reporter friend." "Night Rogue" for the enemy and "Rogue" for the hero. "Farmer" for the civilian and "Grease" for the Rider. "Mii-tan" for the girl – and that was clearly a nickname they had used, but not one that could reveal her name.
It looked like it hurt him to not say their names, but also that he thought it was best not to. He told them about what happened to Sento, about his amnesia and being tricked and a bit about who he had been – but wouldn't use his old name, as if even that would reveal too much.
They were from another world, and he wouldn't use his friends' names, which probably meant that they were here, too, but didn't know the two of them.
The being that they had been fighting, though. He named this 'Evolt' freely, so Ryuga clearly didn't think he was in this world.
Given the bare-bones description of what had been done to them, and what had happened to land them here, the venom in his voice was very, very justified.
But one of the most troubling parts of the story was how he referred to himself. Ryuga described himself as 'the sidekick,' and Sento as 'the only real hero.'
Ryuga's description of their relationship was… worrying. He kept saying things like how he was "just the muscle-headed assistant." That he had ragged on Sento, but "this guy's always been the hero. He was fighting for 'Love and Peace' and all that, ya know? I was just… angry."
That might have been true in the beginning, but it flat out doesn't match up with the later parts of their story, which bothers Shinnosuke, and from how Takatora asked questions after that, it was probably bothering him too. They were clearly partners, and equals, and he wonders what Sento would be saying if he was the one who was awake instead.
As the discussion begins to wind down, finally reaching the topic of the past month, Takatora remarks "Alright. I think that's all we can discuss over a phone, without being face to face. Tomari, how long until you arrive?"
"We're about ten minutes away. We'll wake Kiryu up and clue him in on what the plan is. See you soon." With that, Shinnosuke pulls over to hang up the phone.
Ryuga looks at him. "You're a terrible liar."
"What do you mean?"
Ryuga scoffs. "You said at the start we were headed for 'the other side of town.' I'm terrible with maps, but I'm not Ka-" he cuts himself off, grimacing. "I can't read a map, but I can tell where I've already been. You've driven past that train station three times now."
"Are you upset?"
"..." Ryuga looks at Sento, still sound asleep. "...No. I'm not. Thank you."
Shinnosuke smiles. "No problem. We're Riders, after all. It's what we do."
Ryuga shifts a bit, to get his other arm free so that he could reach Sento, tapping him on the shoulder. He had been lost to the world almost as soon as they got in the car.
"Hey, Sleeping Brainiac, we're almost there."
Sento blinks, and attempts to bolt upright into a fighting pose. Seeing as he is buckled into the back seat of a car, he winds up knocking his head on the roof and whacking Ryuga in the jaw.
"Oh my god I'm sorry-"
Ryuga shakes his head, smirking. "Don't worry. I've had worse and you know it. We're almost done."
Sento rubs at his eyes, trying to get some semblance of coherency. He looks out the window, and then notices that they are, in fact, in a car. As opposed to under a tree, which is the last place he really remembers being. "Wait, where are we?"
The driver, who Sento vaguely remembers picking them up in the rain, laughs a little. "I'm sorry, I guess you fell asleep before we did introductions, didn't you? Banjou here told me a bit of the story you two have. I expect there's a lot he didn't say."
Ryuga shrugs. "Didn't want to go into detail without my genius boss awake to make sure I don't get everything wrong."
Behind the wheel, the driver frowns, as if he somehow doesn't think that's right. Sento's not sure what to make of it, either.
'This guy… who is he?' Sento belatedly notices that he knocked a blanket off when he woke up. 'That's not ours, which means it's his, and it's clearly not brand new, which means he already had it with him. Probably prepared for a lot of things, then. He's wearing a suit, and this is a pretty nice car, so he's some sort of professional. But he was driving in the middle of a storm… a storm that's still going, and he picked up two complete strangers off the road. Why?'
"What are you getting out of this?"
They've started moving – he must have pulled over so Ryuga could wake Sento up – so he looks at them from the mirror. "I'm getting the two of you out of the rain, and helping you. That'd be reason enough. But." He sighs a little. "But I wish we'd found you sooner. I hear -"
"We?" 'He's part of a group, then.'
"Yes, we. Banjou says you came to Zawame City looking for fellow Riders. We've all been keeping our eyes out for our successors, and it looks like I found you. The names Shinnosuke Tomari, Kamen Rider Drive. Pleased to meet you."
Oh. Sento thought he'd woken up, but he is clearly not awake enough to deal with this. 'That's right, he wasn't surprised by the bike, was he? If he's a Kamen Rider I guess that makes sense.'
"Anyway, we're on our way to a Rider get-together. We've been doing these for a little while now – a way for Riders to meet up and talk, warn each other of issues, and have ways to help each other out with our assorted hang-ups and problems. Those of us who can still transform intend to act as backup for recurring battles, when they can." Shinnosuke chuckles. "It's been described as a 'social club for superheroes,' and that's really a pretty accurate description."
Sento blinks. "Sounds like a good idea. You said 'those of us who can still transform.' That implies you can't. Can I ask why?"
Shaking his head, Shinnosuke replies. "Well, I can't now, not without my partner. He… left, after everything ended. Things have happened to reunite us, a few times, but he hasn't been around for about a year and a half now.
"I miss him, you know? He helped me get back in gear after some really tough times, and I owe him for that. So, I try to pay that forward wherever I can. Not just as a Rider, or as a cop, but getting people going." He smiles wistfully. "I wouldn't have met my wife if it weren't for him, either, to say nothing of being a father.
"Ha, sorry, I got distracted. That happens a lot around here. Post-occupational hazard, honestly." Shinnosuke shrugs. "All of us have gone through a lot, and talking about it is largely part of why we started this, but it's really easy to get carried away.
"We can pick this up later, though. We're here."
Shinnosuke and his strays pull up to the Kureshima residence. It's not the giant mansion they used to live in – Takatora had put a significant amount of their resources towards restoring the city. But it's still nice, and has enough room that when the riders get together in Zawame, they're the hosts.
The three get out of the car, and head over. Takatora opens the door before anyone can knock. "Shinnosuke. Good to see you. And you two must be Banjou and Kiryu?" He nods in their direction.
"Ah, yes." Sento nervously manages to say. "Thank you for having us."
"It's no problem at all. It's the least I could do, honestly." Takatora replies. "Please, come in. The rain's probably going to pick back up soon." He leads the two inside, with Shinnosuke bringing up the rear.
Takatora watches them as they enter.
Sento is hunched defensively, his expression wary, and he's holding onto his bag like his life depends on it. 'Banjou said that they're keeping their Drivers in those, and that they don't have much else. I can't blame him for clinging to it.'
And speaking of… Ryuga was tense, too, but in more of a coiled, 'ready to fight at any time' way. His gaze was darting around, probably looking for any possible problem.
'They're hiding it well, but they're both nervous. Given what we already know… that makes sense.'
"Banjou told Shinnosuke and I some of what the two of you went through. Believe me, you are not the only people here who have been used as weapons without realizing it. That's a common thread among Riders – we all have ties to our opponents."
Sento smiles sadly. "I'm probably the only one who built all of the weapons though."
Ryuga shoves him lightly. "C'mon, man, we've talked about this. You and me, and the other guy were all being tricked by that black hole bastard."
Takatora frowns. "I made the decisions that led to a lot of our problems. You. Are not. Alone. Now, come on. Would the two of you like to get cleaned up? We can get you some things to wear that aren't soaked through, as well."
Both of them look relieved at that. Sento's the one who answers. "Yes, please."
Some time passes. Sento and Ryuga are slowly starting to relax – little by little. Not many people were there, it turns out. A lot of people had commitments for work, or in some cases had dropped off of the radar again. More people were supposed to show up for the larger meeting tomorrow.
Takeru – Ghost – was there though, and they had met him before, so that was something. He promised that he would "introduce you guys to Makoto and Alain tomorrow, I think you'll like them."
There were two others as well, a pair of detectives. That introduction went… oddly.
One, wearing a waist-coat, starts off doing the talking. "Hey. This here is Phillip," he jerks his thumb towards a guy with his nose in a book, who's paying no attention to the surroundings, "and I'm Shotaro Hidari. Kamen Rider Double."
Ryuga looks at them. "So, is he your 'plus one', or something?"
"Agh, no, we're both Double." Shotaro sighs. "We get that a lot when introductions go around..."
"If you would stop being so ambiguous when you introduce us, we wouldn't. Really, Shotaro. It's not like I'm in hiding anymore." Phillip doesn't look up from his book, but waves. "Phillip Hidari, also Kamen Rider Double. We're the two-in-one detective and Kamen Rider." He pauses, considering. "Although in certain circumstances, I would be his 'plus one,' as you put it. I'm not sure which circumstances it would apply to in our case, though, since we're partners in both of our jobs, but there must be some times when the other partner aspect would come into play..."
"Oi, don't get started on a new topic!" Shotaro sputters, starting to blush. "You are supposed to be interacting with people here!"
"I am. I'm multitasking." Phillip glances up from the book. "Ryuga Banjou… are you a boxer, or are you in mixed martial arts?"
"Uh… I was a boxer, but I'm. Kinda retired." Ryuga wrinkles his nose. "Why?"
"Just cross-referencing. Don't mind me." He looks back down at his book briefly, before looking back up towards Shinnosuke. "By the way, the Terui's are planning to be here tomorrow, assuming nothing comes up." And back down he goes.
Sento looks between the two detectives. "You're the same Rider? How is that possible?"
Shotaro grins. "We'll show you later. The demo looks better outside."
"How very half-boiled of you."
"You love the aesthetic too, and you know it."
Phillip smirks, making a 'so-so' gesture, causing Shotaro to slump in defeat.
Blinking, Sento turns to Shinnosuke. "Are they always like this?"
"This is nothing. Just wait until their boss gets here."
Overall, everyone kept the atmosphere light – Ryuga suspects that Takatora had warned them to, and honestly doesn't care. 'If it'll help Sento adjust, then good.'
It was going well. It really, really was.
And then the flatscreen turned itself on, and broke into yellow static.
The static spread in front of the tv, bulging, and then burst like a bubble, leaving behind a person. A person who stumbled into the chair that Ryuga had just vacated.
(No, he did not yelp like a little girl, thank you very much. He yelped like himself, it's just that his voice gets high-pitched sometimes when he's startled, okay? Okay.)
Takeru goes to help Sento, while Shinnosuke helps Ryuga from where the two had gotten tangled up. (Jump scares are the worst, alright, he is never going to get used to them, shut up Hidari.)
Meanwhile, Takatora just sighs. "Kujo. Why are you here? Your team called out, you said you were all busy. Also, why did you screenwalk in?
"Yeah, I know, we were going to a tournament." Kiriya acknowledges. "Well, I say we. I just went as a spectator and supportive roommate. The guys and Nico were actually entering. But the storm knocked out the power to the convention center, and the whole thing wound up getting postponed. So, we figured we might as well come here."
"And the teleport?" Takatora asks dryly.
"We've been out at the door for ten minutes. I came looking for you."
"...Oh. That's. That's fair." Takatora rubs at his forehead. "I'll go let them in. Who else is with you?"
"Just Emu, Parad, and Nico. Mind if I hang out here?"
"Fine, yes, okay, sure. Just… apologize to these two, you nearly landed on them." Takatora snaps as he walks off. "That's a great first impression to give them of all of us, they were just calming down, this is just perfect..."
"Para- oh, no." Sento whispers, freezing where he was still getting up from the floor. "No, no no..."
"Dude, we knew we were going to see them eventually." Ryuga murmurs.
"Yes, but not yet..."
"I'm sorry about that, you guys. I didn't see you there. I know, I know, I really need to work on my landings." Kiriya says, not having noticed who he was talking to. "Oh, wait, Takatora said something about a first impression? Are you guys new? Well, welcome to rider-hood, for what it's worth."
"Kiriya," Takeru manages to get a word in. "They're not new as riders. They're new here."
"Eh?" Kiriya finally takes stock of the room. "Oh, hey, it's you! Nice to see you again, Banjou. Been a while.
"...Wait. You guys were from that other world, weren't you? How'd you get here?"
Sento's started to fold in on himself. "Not now, not yet..."
"It's a long story," Ryuga replies to Kiriya, before turning back to Sento. "Hey, man, don't shut down on us," he pleads. "Come on, stick with me."
Shinnosuke looks at them, worried. "Is this about when you were here before?"
Sento nods mutely. He sinks to the floor, head in his hands. Both are in his hair, messing it up. One is more open, at the base of a flyaway section. The other is curled into a fist.
A voice carries from the hall. "I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but you guys are taking this way too personally."
"But Nicooo..."
"it's a crime!"
"We thought this city-"
"-was supposed to be prepared-"
"-for things like this!"
"Why did this one storm-"
"-knock out the whole center?"
"Oh god would you two stop doing the twin thing?"
"Sorry, Nico." a pair of voices chorus.
"Seriously, how am I the one being rational about this?" Nico says, exasperated, as the three walk in.
"That's probably mostly my fault." Parad admits, shrugging. "Hey everyone." He waves.
Emu waves as well. "Sorry for dropping in."
"Oh!" Parad is the first to notice the two new additions. "It's you! Sento!" He grins. "It's been a while!"
Sento stops moving. Ryuga crouches next to him, an arm hovering around Sento's shoulder. "Sento…? You there?"
"…sorry."
'Uh-oh.' "Sento?"
"…sorry about this..."
Sento shoves Ryuga off of him, knocking him to the ground with a burst of silvery light. He turns, not looking up, and runs for the door. Emu and Parad dodge out of the way, Emu pulling Nico along with him. Sento goes past them and the now-returning Takatora, blindly running down the hall.
Ryuga coughs. "Shit… ugh, god that hurts… damnit..." He coughs again, trying to catch his breath. "Damnit, Sento..."
"You okay there?" Kiriya goes to join Shinnosuke in helping Ryuga up.
"I've had worse, it's fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me, that's all," he wheezes. "Argh, so that's what my punches feel like. Ow… I apologize to almost everyone I have ever fought..."
"Seriously, are you okay? That looked like a bad hit." Emu starts to walk over, ready to help, but Ryuga waves him off.
"I'll deal, it's not important," Ryuga growls. "Someone needs to go after Sento." He points toward Emu and Parad. "Not one of you two, someone else. I couldn't – ow – couldn't see, was there any gold light or anything like that when he ran?"
"No, just whatever that was when he punched you," Emu replied, exasperated. "Why would he do that?"
"The guy panicked when he heard you were coming, Ace." Kiriya mentions. "What happened after you two went home?"
"Ugh, later. Someone go get Sento already!" Ryuga tries to yell, but it comes out rough. "If there wasn't gold, then he isn't using his bottle, just mine. He's fast, but he won't be as fast as he could be."
"Someone's already going after him." Takatora holds up his phone. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but there was another person on the phone call earlier. Mitsuzane – my younger brother – was listening as well. He thought that staying in reserve would be a good idea, just in case something happened. Looks like he was right. Now. What. Happened?"
"Fine, alright, I get it, you're not letting it go," Ryuga mumbles. "Look. Back in December, I accidentally came over here, to this world. The, uh, the tall guy over there, you're the guy who was in ours, right?"
Parad nods. "Yeah, I followed the guy who was apparently Build first over to your world – which kinda sucks, by the way – and wound up being there for two years. Came from our 2017, landed in your 2015, and didn't find Sento until your 2017."
"He told you about the amnesia, right? He said he had, anyway."
"Yeah, he did," Parad frowns. "After I slammed him against a wall to try and get Emu's power back… I need to apologize for that again, that first Build was doing his best to stop that Mogami guy."
Ryuga groans. "Heh, 'first Build was doing his best.' Story of our lives. Takumi Katsuragi was his name."
"Sorry, what? The guy they called the devil's scientist?" Parad says skeptically. "He was the Build we fought?"
"For a while. Until 2016. Then he had the bright idea of trying to take down said devil before the black hole bastard could finish his plan. He – Katsuragi got played. As far as the world was concerned, he died and I was the one who killed him.
"And neither of those things were true.
"The body they found was really someone named Taro Satou, who got his looks swapped with Katsuragi. I got framed for the murder, and spent a year in jail. Katsuragi wound up getting one of his own experiments run on him, and had his memories erased for good measure."
A silence falls over the room. (Shinnosuke absent-mindedly rubs behind his ear. Ryuga hadn't mentioned before that the amnesia was something that had been forced on Sento, as opposed to being an accident. Off to the side of the room, Phillip looks up from his book and frowns.)
"You need to know." Ryuga finally manages to straighten up from where he had been hunched over. "Katsuragi was well-meaning, yeah, but was absolutely terrible at going about it. The 'sacrifices must be made for the greater good' type. Sento. Is. Not. Him. He is his own person, and we all told him this, over and over, and he still blames himself for everything that Katsuragi did.
"We screwed up, both of us. A lot." He grunts, trying to stand up. "But Sento's been taking responsibility for what the other guy did, even though he shouldn't, and I need to go find him before he does something incredibly reckless and dumb. Again." Ryuga gets to his feet, but immediately goes back down to one knee. "Shit… damnit man..."
"Identity issues, huh."
"Eh?" Ryuga looks up. Parad is facing the door.
"Emu. Kiriya. Keep him here, would you? I'm going after Sento." Parad takes a step, and disappears in a cloud of red and blue specks of light.
(Yes, I know Freeze's power didn't work on Shinnosuke. It worked on A LOT of people, though, and I figure there's still a scar there. It's an uncomfortable topic.)
(Yes, Phillip and Shotaro are married. It was only a matter of time. A story for that is in the works.)
