Come morning, a pair of voices rouse Ryuuga.
"-ink we should let them sleep some more."
"How ha-"
"If you say half-boiled I'm filing for divorce."
"Still, it's not as if we really have a choice. Everyone else is at the park already."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Ryuuga twitches, trying to bury his face in the pillow. 'Hnnn. Gotta be dreaming. Come on, five more minutes of a comfortable dream, then back up, back on the road, get somewhere new...'
"Hey, guys, time to wake up."
Ryuuga twitches once more, and frowns. 'Fine then. Was great while it lasted.'
He rolls upright, and blinks confusedly. "What the-"
"Morning, guys. You sleep well?"
He takes stock of his surroundings. He's in a pretty good sized living room, with a bunch of futon mats and blankets piled up around the sides. He and Sento are on some, too, and they… were on separate ones, but it looks like either he rolled onto Sentos, or Sento rolled onto his at some point over the night, since they're currently back to back. Nothing new there, whichever of them it was probably did it out of habit. They were sharing one back… well, back home. Looking for whoever woke him up, he sees two of the guys from… last night… oh, right. 'That's sure a thing that actually happened, then, isn't it?'
"Hey."
The guy in the waistcoat, uh, wait, no, his name's Shotaro, right? Shotaro waves. "Hey yourself."
"Where is everyone?" Sento asks, reaching the ability to actually talk to people just a little faster than Ryuuga.
Philip answers. "They all went ahead to the park – Takatora said that a good number more people were coming, so we're basically going the picnic route this month."
Grabbing two piles of clothes from a nearby side table, Shotaro continues where Philip leaves off. "We volunteered to stay behind and catch you guys up to speed when you woke up. Here." He hands them their own outfits back.
"I'm guessing we're still being kept under watch, then?" Sento smirks half-heartedly. "Since there's two of you here, and all."
"Eh, there's that, yeah," Shotaro scratches the back of his neck. "But we wanted to talk to you without everyone around, too, one-on-one. Senior Riders duty."
"And we called dibs." Philip laughs. "We've been Double since early 2009, the longest of anyone here. We're usually the earliest of anyone at these get-togethers, actually. Most of our predecessors don't really interact with anyone else very often. Besides, we promised we'd give the two of you a demonstration."
They direct Sento and Ryuuga over to other separate rooms to get changed – Philip going with Sento one way, while Shotaro shoos Ryuuga another.
"Lemme guess, splitting us up by brains and brawn?" Ryuuga tries to joke.
"Kind of." Shotaro shrugs, leaning back against the wall outside the door. "Philip can get where Sento's coming from a lot better than I can. He didn't know who he was for a long time, either.
"That's neither here or there, though. I wanted to ask you some things."
"Shoot."
"Are you okay?"
Ryuuga sputters. "Wha?!"
Shotaro sighs. "Last night? You barely said a thing about yourself. Anything you did say was still tied to Sento, or the things that you both went through at the same time, or you deflected the topic entirely."
"Well, it's not like there's anything to say." Ryuuga replies, scoffing. "He's the hero, an' I just kinda came along for the fight." He sombers a bit. "I owe Sento everything, so I'm tryin' to make sure he's okay."
"See, right there, you're doing it again. For example, last night, you were mad at him for coming after you when you dragged that Evolt guy into that portal."
"Well, he shouldn't have!" Ryuuga growls. "Nearly got himself killed trying to help me, again. Sento and his stupid heroic streak..."
"It's not just that, though, is it? I'm not going to make you say what you kept him from telling us at the start, but I'm willing to bet that it's not pleasant. I get not wanting to talk about things, especially since you just met most of us, but just to let you know, it's going to come out eventually."
"Look, it's not important, okay? It's just stupid stuff."
"At least tell me this. Ryuuga, if he were up here right now, what would Sento be saying about that 'coming along for the fight' comment?"
Opening the door, Ryuuga snorts, now fully dressed. "Let's just go."
(Simultaneously, with Philip and Sento)
"You had mentioned that some of your previous self's memories came back. What was that like?"
Sento sputters. "That's – really blunt, wow. I'll be honest, I though a question like that would come from someone a little more, uh."
"Pushy?"
"Yeah, kind of. You didn't really seem to be paying much attention last night, so."
"That's fair, it does look that way, doesn't it?" Philip chuckles. "It used to be that I wouldn't have noticed anyone coming in, or cared at all. I still don't always notice people when I'm doing research, but I've gotten much better at it over time.
"It was a serious question, though. So… how did that go for you?"
Sento takes some time before answering. "I only really 'got' through High School. I, uh, was kind of talking to him for a while, after he had come back? I mean, he 'left' again when we got here, but for a while we were both kind of... around. So, I got some of what he thought about the things that went on from that point, but he didn't let me see anything from after the Skywall went up. So there's still a good ten years or so of his that I don't have. But thinking about it..." he pauses. "It's like watching a movie, one that's in first person, where I'm in the role of the character, but it's not really me there."
"So that's how yours is." Philip makes a sound of acknowledgement. "For me, it's essentially reading a book that's allegedly about myself, but actually isn't at all."
"Wait, you too?"
"At least you went through this as an adult. I was only about 17."
Sento's expression falls, not that Philip can see it from outside. "That's just..."
"Wrong? I know. Looking at the person you used to be, it's like having all of the facts right there, just waiting for you to grab them, but none of the connections to it, right?
"Haha, yeah. It's terrible. It'd probably be worse if I did have all the feelings still attached. I was – he was kind of awful." Sento's voice drops. "The 'perfectly willing to do pre-emptive murder' kind of awful."
"..."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, open mouth, insert foot, sorry..."
"Oh, no, it's fine. It's just that you sounded really..." Philip grumbles a bit, thinking. "You sounded really sad. Before, when you discussed Katsuragi, you seemed more guilty or mad about what he did. This was different, that's all.
"Well. New topic, then! The two of you still have your drivers, yes?"
"...yeah. Didn't want to let go of them."
"This is entirely my own curiosity speaking here, mind you, but do they still work?"
"They worked last time, in December, so if they don't work now, it won't be because we're in a different universe, if that's what you're asking. We don't know if they work, though. We haven't tried. Don't really know whether we want them to or not."
"Because of the war, or because of where they came from?"
"...because if we can transform, then Evolt might not be entirely gone."
"Ah."
They let the silence hang for a bit.
"Are you ready to head out?"
Sento opens the door. "Yeah."
"So then, is this the point where the two of you explain why you say you're the same Rider?" Sento's expression is curious, but wary. The four have gone outside, and while Shotaro stayed with them, Philip has been going around the yard, checking the ground.
"Yeah, that's why we're out here. Our transformation looks way better outside. It's also a bit less… eh, let's go with 'potentially destructive' if we're not indoors."
Shotaro notices the worried looks on Ryuuga and Sento's faces. "Ah, no, it's not like, explosions or anything. Just a large gust of wind, and I'd prefer we not ruin Takatora's living room. Philip, you find a good spot yet?"
"Almost!"
"Okay, summary time. Philip and I use what're called Gaia Memories to transform, these things here." Shotaro holds up a black USB-looking device. "Basically, they're elements, archetypes, and ideas condensed down into little high-tech packages. We've got three each – mine are basically for fighting styles, and Philip's are more elemental."
"Alright, this looks good!"
"Great, come on." Shotaro heads over, the others following. He and Philip stand next to each other, Shotaro pulling out a driver. "Let's do this." As he places it on his waist, a matching one appears on Philip's.
Philip inserts a green Memory into the right side of his driver, which promptly disappears, reappearing in Shotaro's.
CYCLONE
Shotaro inserts a black one into the left side.
JOKER
""Transform!""
A gust of wind circles Shotaro, building their armor around him as Philip collapses to the ground.
""Now, time to count up your sins!""
The reactions are… mixed. Ryuuga darts over to Philip's body, clearly distressed. Sento stares, transfixed, a lock of hair springing up.
"Holy- are you okay? Hey! Hey!"
"I'm over here."
"Eh?"
Double waves, 'his' right eye flashing. "Hi there. I get that a lot."
"Ehhhhh?!"
"We probably should start warning people about this..." 'he' rubs the left side of his head.
"This is terrific..." Sento starts to grin. "The both of you are in there?"
"Yup."
"Is this… Is this just normal?"
""Huh?""
Ryuuga's laying flat on his back, utterly defeated. Sento, meanwhile, has started circling around Double, looking more like a cat on the prowl than anything else.
"This whole… body-sharing, possession, thing. Is this normal around here?!"
"Does it matter? I just want to know how this works, it's amazing!"
"It matters! A lot! This makes four groups doing this, Sento!"
"Mm. So, Philip's at least speaking through the green side, but it's still Shotaro's body, right? Is that the extent of this, just communication, or is there more to it?"
"When we're wearing our driver, I can control the right side of Shotaro's body, transformed or not. Essentially, my consciousness is uploaded into him when we're fighting."
"So cool..."
"Hey, where are you getting four? I know Emu and Parad did their thing when you guys fought together that time, but who're the other two? And would you stop pacing?!"
"Easy, Shotaro."
"That Eiji guy did something when his suit turned red." Ryuuga answers from his place on the ground. "And the bird guy didn't show back up after that. The fourth..."
"The fourth is us. It was a very stressful few days. Some of the last of Evolt's race showed up and they." Sento grimaces. "Banjou. Do you want to take this one?"
"I mean, I don't really remember it that well, but yeah. They..." He growls as he gets up, thinking. "They decided that they liked me or something, and one of them pulled the 'possess the good guy and use him as a power-up' stunt, and they used me and the rest of the city to try and get rid of Sento. The only people they couldn't… I dunno, brainwash or hypnotize or whatever were him, Ge- Rogue and Grease. I'm not really sure how it happened, but somehow when Sento was getting me back, the two of us fused. Don't get me wrong, man, it was kinda cool and that suit was awesome, but I'd rather not go through all that again." The last part is directed at Sento, who's finally slowing down his 'investigation.'
"That's fair." Sento replies, still only half paying attention. "I'd rather not be attacked by an entire cities worth of people again. So, how many different forms do you two have?"
"All right, that's enough!" Shotaro snaps, closing the driver and ending the transformation.
Philip pouts a bit as he sits up. "Rude, all of you." Stretching, he answers Sento's question. "Nine basic combinations, where Shotaro is Double's body. Then FangJoker is the tenth – I'm the body in that form. Our last one is Cyclone Joker Xtreme, where we wind up completely merging, possibly a bit like what you described.
"Now that you've brought that up, though, it's not as uncommon a thread as I had thought, is it? Hm…"
"Philip..."
"Den-o and Zeronos use something similar to us as one of their main methods of fighting, and I suppose that Takeru and his friends may count as well..."
"Philip, babe, wait until we're home."
"Oh, right. Sorry." He pulls out a small, well worn notepad from a pocket on his sweater, turning to a page halfway through. "Let me just mark this down as a future subject for research..."
"Oh god they're identical." Ryuuga mumbles under his breath.
"And with that unfortunate realization out of the way, seeing as neither of you know how to get to the park… here." Shotaro holds out Sento's phone.
Sento doesn't take it. "I don't exactly have up-to-date maps on there," he quips, raising an eyebrow.
"What? No, turn it into the bike and we'll split back into groups. I'll go with you, and Philip with Ryuuga. Sound good?"
"Okay, see, that makes more sense than you actually giving it back."
(On the way to the park, with Shotaro and Sento on Sento's bike)
"What was he trying to keep you from telling us?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ryuuga tackled you when you started your story at '24 years ago.' That's not just a running in-joke, is it?"
"Well, that is part of it, I was stealing that one from him." Sento grimaces, not that Shotaro can see from where he's driving. "But it's not a thing we talk about. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Yeah, right. Is it tied to that Hazard Level thing you guys mentioned, and why the box responded to him?"
"…!"
Shotaro huffs. "Look, I am literally a detective, and far from the only one here, so not much stays hidden for long. Those levels changed, and if it were just that the box responded to 'people with high levels', then it would've reacted to you at some point too, wouldn't it?
"So. If it responded to Ryuuga the same way as it did that Evolt guy, but not to you, even after your level caught up, then there's clearly more of a link than just the ability to become a Rider."
"…"
"Thought so."
(On the way to the park, with Philip and Ryuuga on Double's bike)
"So, you're not human, are you?"
Ryuuga coughs, choking on air. "Wha- I dunno what you're talking about! I'm normal, okay?!"
"It's all right, you know. Normal is an incredibly relative term around here." Philip shrugs.
"If… If I wasn't human, or if I was like, part human and part somethin' else..." His voice becomes strained. "And I'm not saying that's true, but. If that were true. What would you guys all do?"
"Well, even if you're not human, not that you're saying that, it's not as though you'd be the only one in that situation."
"The heck d'ya mean by that?"
Philip chuckles to himself before replying. "For starters, I know you met Ankh. He's quite frankly an absolute asshole, but he was basically a science experiment gone… slightly awry. Parad essentially was part of the source code for his species, which eventually came to include Kiriya."
"The hell went on with those guys, anyway?"
"The situation with Emu and his group was." Philip pauses. "Complicated. And very long-term. So was mine. I was basically made of data for about thirteen years. But regardless, you're one of us – you're a Kamen Rider, and that's what matters. What you do as a person matters much more than whatever your heritage might be."
"Yeah, well, guess that makes sense. Not that it applies. But good ta know anyway. Hey, I gotta ask. Why d'ya keep repeating things?"
"Oh? Whatever do you mean?"
"You keep going back over the stuff I tell you, what's up with tha- oh."
"Mm?"
"You guys can talk through that belt, can't you."
"Yes, yes we can."
"You've been wearing that thing since you were showing off, haven't you?"
Philip grins, not that Ryuuga can see it while seated behind him. "Yes, yes we have."
"...Okay, so, if he doesn't notice, you guys have to let me be the one to tell Sento you never took those off."
"Why would you want to tell him?"
"Payback."
"Wait a minute."
"Yeah?"
"Did Philip take your name, or did you take his?"
Shotaro laughs. "He took mine, said he wanted to choose his name this time around and wanted everyone to know."
"So, your last name is Hidari. And you're-"
"The left half. Yeah. I know. Took like four months for either of us to notice, actually. And part of that was only after Philip re-learned that puns exist."
Sento looks downward – well, as much as he can while riding on the back of a motorcycle. "And I though getting named 'rabbit tank' was bad..."
"Oh, it gets worse." Shotaro grins. "First off, I wasn't even intended to be his partner as Double. So my name was a coincidence."
Sento winces. "Your name was a coincidence?"
"Yeah. Philip's original name is Raito."
"Ri- dear god."
"That was our reaction, too. Well, once the shock of the whole 'finding out who his family is' thing wore off."
"Mm."
"Aaand we're here!" They pull into the park, where a number more people than last night are gathered. "Hey, how do you shrink this thing back down, anyway?"
"Oh, it's this one." Sento pushes one of the icons, and the bike reverts back to a phone, which he catches. "Here, just in case." He holds it out, laughing dryly.
"Good to know you trust us, anyway." Shotaro tucks it away, noticing that they're being watched. "Hey, Date!"
"This the new guy?" A tall man meets them halfway.
"One of them, anyway. Philip here yet? He had Ryuuga with him."
"Sorry, not yet. Ryuuga's the one Eij' met, right?"
"'Eij'? You mean Ooo, right?" Sento answers. "He did, yeah. Sento Kiryuu, Build."
"Akira Date, Proto-Birth. Nice ta meetcha, kid." He grips Sento's hand in a rough handshake.
"Is Eiji here? Shinnosuke said something about him coming with someone named Kiriko."
Shotaro groans. "And everyone gets on me about being vague?"
Date laughs. "Nah, my teams Eiji is in… Italy? I think? Least that's where he was last week."
"Uh..."
"He travels. Tomari's Eiji is the smaller of the two children over there." He points over his shoulder at a sandbox.
"Ohh."
"In his defense, he hadn't met us and our Eiji until recently, they write it differently, and time travel was involved."
The older child, a girl with pigtails, looks up and breaks out into a grin. "Uncle Sho!" She sets out at a run.
"Whuh-oh." Shotaro crouches down to catch the small, excitable missile. He still almost gets bowled over. "Hey Haruna! You get bigger every time I see you!"
She pouts. "You see me almost every day, Uncle Sho! Nobody grows that fast!"
"When you're still a little kid you do!"
She sticks out her tongue at him. "Bluuuh! When's Uncle Philip getting here?"
"I dunno, we had to take different bikes." He tilts his head to the side. "Wait, no, he's pulling in as we speak."
Haruna nods, apparently satisfied with that answer. "'Kay! Now come play with me'n Eiji!" She grabs his arm, before dashing back off to the sandbox with him in tow.
"Wha-hey-hold on!" Desperately trying to hold onto his hat, Shotaro yells back to Sento. "I guess we'll talk more later! Haruna, hang on, I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Sento smiles. "She's adorable."
"Isn't she?"
Sento jumps, startled by Philip and Banjou showing up behind him. "When did you two get here?"
"Just now, ya didn't miss anything. So," Banjou turns to Philip. "That little ball of energy is your niece? Which of ya is she related to?"
"Neither of us, biologically speaking. Shotaro cut contact with his parents some time before I met him, and mine…" Philip's grip tightens on his book. "My birth family isn't around anymore. We both found our new family when we met each other, and Akiko and Ryu, and all of our other friends in Fuuto.
"Akiko is our boss; her father was Shotaro's mentor, and founded the detective agency. Haruna is her and Ryu's daughter."
The three watch the tableau over at the sandbox. Haruna has apparently decided that her uncle is now a jungle gym, and is clambering on top of him. He looks rather distraught, which may have less to do with the small child, and more to do with the woman apparently threatening him with…
"Is that a slipper that woman is holding?" Banjou squints. "Why-?"
"That is Akiko. Ryu is the one in the leather jacket, talking with Shinnosuke."
Sento's smile widens a bit. "So you all built your own family together, huh? Small worlds."
"Guess that's somethin' else you two nerds have in common, isn't it?" Banjou smiles lopsidedly. "I can get behind that."
"Hey, hang on." Sento blinks. "How did Shotaro know you were arriving?"
Banjou's smile turns smug.
Eventually, everyone makes their way to assorted tables around the park, and conversations are going all around.
"I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to set you off like that." Sento tries to apologize to Takeru.
"No, no, it's fine, I'm the one who snapped, after all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I mean, I slapped you, that's on me."
"Wait, what?! You slapped someone?!" Makoto comes over. "Is that why you've been rubbing at your hand all day?"
"Uh, yeah, heh, kinda. Still stings a little." Takeru looks sheepish as he answers an unasked question. "Like Doctor Emu said, I'm 'Ghost' for a reason. I mean, I came back, but my pain tolerance has been kinda messed up because of it. Still working on getting that to something resembling normal…" Makoto frowns at him. "Using Infinite in December reset a lot of my effort on it, okay? It's a work in progress."
"You say that, but..."
"Makoto, it's nothing. I'm dealing, it's fine. Please do not tell Akari or Onari." Takeru pleads. "They'll make a big deal out of it, and I'd really rather they not."
"Sure, I guess."
"Thank. You. I'm going to grab something to eat, anyone want me to get them something?"
The three decline, and Takeru runs off.
"Okay, that kid was not this jumpy last time." Ryuuga points out, once Takeru is out of earshot.
"No, it definitely picked up after then." Makoto's frown deepens. "He never used to be this anxious, back when we were kids, and before he died. And even when he wasn't technically alive, Takeru was a lot better at keeping it under wraps, at least."
"Last night, Kiriya mentioned something about Takeru dying multiple times..." Sento looks at Makoto worriedly. "I can understand there being a first time, but how could he die again while already, um, being a ghost?"
Makoto sighs. "He was given 99 days to come back to life. He managed to extend it by another 99 days, but he counts that first deadline as his second death. None of us do, but it's not worth arguing with him on it.
"The Infinite form he mentioned, he got that after his Eyecon was broken."
"His what?"
"Shush, we'll find out eventually."
"It's the object that was holding his soul."
"Holy shit."
"Banjou!"
"Like you weren't thinking the same."
"Ahem. As I was saying. He was killed twice, but he counted the number of times he's died at four. That fourth was when… well, there was a situation with one of Alain's brothers, and he didn't return to reality with us. He was 'gone' for a week.
"And he came back to life, at the last possible minute, Takeru came back to life, we were done, we'd won! And he was doing a lot better. Before, during everything, the stress of the fighting and the time limit was really getting to him. He was constantly hiding it, but who wouldn't in those circumstances?"
Sento and Ryuuga both nod.
"The thing is, at the end of the… uh, the Pac-man incident, where we met Emu… Takeru, he…" Makoto looks downward, away from the others, grimacing. "He went into cardiac arrest because of everything that happened in the battle. We lost him again for a few minutes there. After that's when he started getting… more constantly on edge, I guess, and even more so after that whole thing this past December. That day, the 'Pac-man incident', we count that as his third death, but that's when he started counting the second time he reached his deadline as another, and for some reason he's started counting the situation with Alain's brother twice.
"But whatever this is, today? It's not because of that, and it's not the pain tolerance thing either, at least, not the way he's saying it is. Alain and I dealt with a lot of that after everything, too, but for all three of us it's never been 'feeling something for too long.'" Makoto growls. "It's that we weren't feeling things correctly or enough and kept getting injured because we ignored it or just didn't notice that something was actually serious.
"Whatever this thing going on is, please don't tell Emu about it just yet? I want to try to get Takeru to say something on his own. He's good at deflecting, but if I can catch him as something happens, he's not nearly able to dodge questions as well."
"We'll keep quiet, don't worry."
"Thank you."
"So. Where do you guys plan to go now?"
"Uh..."
"Er, well, we hadn't really thought about it."
"Yeaaaah. We thought you hadn't."
Sento grimaces. "We?"
"Pretty much everyone, to be honest." Shinnosuke shrugs. "Actually, a lot of people are debating over who gives you guys a place to stay."
"Wait, what?" Ryuuga sputters. "No, wait, we can't-"
"We couldn't make any of you do that, why would-"
Parad walks over, putting his hand on Sento's shoulder. "Remember when you were helping me get back here? You literally said, and I quote, 'Must be nice to have a place you know you belong.'"
Ryuuga looks at the both of them, as Sento looks at the ground.
"I did say that, didn't I?"
"Dude."
"It was still early. We had just found out about who Blood Stalk was, for the first time, remember? There was so much that hadn't happened yet."
"Oh yeah, right."
"Emu and I wanted to put you up, but we can't. We asked already, but we can't swing any way to get a larger place – technically, our apartment is registered under the Ministry of Health, on account of me and Emu's whole deal, and I think we got lucky that they let Kiriya live there too. I'm really sorry."
Sento shakes his head. "It's fine, really. The fact you tried is enough."
Ryuuga shrugs. "So, uh, who else is trying for us? Since it kinda looks we're not getting a much of a say in this."
"Well," Parad peers over towards another set of picnic tables. "I know Takeru's going for it, but I don't think he's the best choice for you guys."
Philip joins them, nodding. "I doubt either of you are really the type for temple life, and he definitely knows that. Gentarou had put his metaphorical hat in the ring, as well. But he's on a teachers salary, so he's already been talked down."
"Probably just as well. I can safely say we're both burnt out on space right now. So, what I'm seeing from the remaining people over there is that we're moving to Fuuto." Sento concludes.
"Essentially." Philip sighs. "The last point we're really stuck on is who you'll be staying with until you get on your feet. Shotaro and Akiko are... negotiating."
"That's one way to put it." Ryuuga stares. "Are. Are they doing rock paper scissors?"
"Yes. Yes they are."
"I'm embarrassed for them."
"Just think how Ryu and I feel."
Ten minutes later, Shotaro and Akiko are still at it. Tying each and every time.
"It's like a train wreck. You wanna look away, but you can't." Ryuuga shakes his head.
"A very slow, very sad train wreck." Sento adds.
"Could've at least asked who we'd rather go with."
Ryu rolls his eyes. "Would you have been willing to take us up on the offer if we gave you a choice?
"Well, no, prob'ly not, but you still could've asked!"
"Alright, this is absurd." Sento groans. "How about a coin flip? Heads we go with Philip and Shotaro, tails with Ryu and Akiko. Sound good?"
"That makes as much sense as anything."
"It'll be faster than waiting on our spouses."
"Sure, why not?"
(flip)
(catch)
"Well then, Shotaro and Philip it is. Now how do we get those two to cut it out?"
"If someone can get our driver onto him..."
"Without him noticing? No, he'd think that was cheating, and he's using his left hand besides."
"Probably in order to keep me from doing exactly that..."
"Okay, what if someone just, like, walks up to them?" Ryuuga suggests. "That'd be way faster."
"I tried that, they both ignored me." Ryu sighs, then looks over at where Haruna had been watching from. "Haruna?!"
The small Haruna Terui is making her way over to her mother, with all the determination a six-year-old on a mission can muster. Given who her parents and adopted uncles are, that's quite a bit of determination indeed.
She tugs on Akiko's shirt. "Mommy, Uncle Sho, it's over. Uncle Sho and Uncle Philip won."
"Ehh?!"
"Wait, we did?" Shotaro glances briefly down, checking for the double driver. "When?!"
"'bout ten minutes ago." She starts pulling them to the others. "Daddy and Uncle Philip and New Uncle Sento and New Uncle Ryuuga flipped a coin."
"Oh, did they now?" Shotaro looks over at the others. "What, they don't trust your mom and me?"
"Guess not." Akiko puts her hands on her hips. "Okay, boys, show's over!" They all cluster together. "So then, you two. Glad you'll be joining us." She grins.
"...Thanks." Ryuuga nods slowly. "We appreciate it."
"Hey, um, Haruna?" Sento crouches down.
"Yup?"
"Why did you call Banjou and me 'uncle' just now?"
She blinks owlishly at him. "'Cause you are. Family's somethin' you choose, and Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Philip and Uncle Sho already chose you. So, you're family."
Sento and Ryuuga both look over at the adults, with matching expressions of surprise.
Ryu shrugs with a small smile, while Akiko flat-out beams. With Shotaro leaning on his shoulder, Philip laughs. "Well said. Welcome to the family, you two."
I will help these boys whether they like it or not.
Also, hi, guess who decided to change some of the reasoning for Takeru's "count" after seeing 100 Eyecons? I've updated the chapter 5 end note accordingly.
(Whoever wrote the movies for both OOO and Ghost have some decisions to answer for.)
To those reading when this goes up, happy holidays! It's December 25th, so here's some fluff to make up for Toei being Toei and their assorted brands of Rider Despair.
