Once again, thanks for the reviews! I'm really excited to see how everyone reacts to this new chapter, 'cause it's time to give a glimpse of what I'm really up to.
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Akiko stood in the hallway, her arms wrapped around her body in a tight self-hug. She couldn't hold still, alternating between leaning against the wall, pacing the width of the hallway while checking in both directions, and looking into the windows of the nearest room, as if the repetitive ritual would somehow summon a change in her surroundings.
She was midway through one of the pacing rounds of the ritual when Ryuu came into her line of vision. She dashed for him, stopping just shy of a collision. "Ryuu, how did it go?"
He shook his head, gaze averted so he didn't have to see the wave of disappointment that crashed over her. "I'm no closer to an answer than I was when we started. The victim's comatose, and no one we've questioned has given us any leads... None that have gone anywhere, anyway." Raising his eyes to her again, and trying not to cringe at her downcast features, he nodded towards the room she'd been standing next to. "What about here? Any change?"
She turned to follow his gaze over her shoulder and heaved a sigh that somehow left her looking even more morose than before. "Nothing. See for yourself."
They walked to the door together, and Akiko pushed it open. The general murmur of hallway noise was hushed somewhat compared to the steady beeping coming from two monitors in the room. Heart monitors, attached to the occupants of the hospital room's two beds: Shotaro in the one closest to the door, Philip in the one next to the window.
Akiko stepped inside first, her arms returning to their self-hug position. "The doctor says there's nothing wrong, physically. Their brain activity is just like they're sleeping..." She stood at Shotaro's bedside, reaching out to touch the detective's hand.
"But they don't wake up, just like the victim we found." Ryuu collapsed into the chair across from the beds and pressed his fist to his temple. "If we'd just caught that Dopant..."
She frowned, looking up from Shotaro's still face to her husband's grimace. "You can't blame yourself, Ryuu."
—
It had started three days earlier. The four of them had gone to a movie, and on the way back Shotaro and Philip were talking (arguing) about the credibility of the action.
"Whether they hit the concrete or get caught, humans can't endure the sudden arrest of momentum like that. No way they'd walk away from it." Philip was calm but insistent, one hand under his chin while the other gestured airily.
Shotaro sighed. "Philip, don't apply physics to a superhero movie. Anyway, we've survived falls like that." He jabbed a triumphant pointer finger at his partner and smirked.
Philip pushed the hand down. "We were transformed. That comparison doesn't hold." He smiled in turn, and Akiko shook her head.
"Are you two going to drop this any time soon?"
"Doesn't look like it." Ryuu smiled, walking close at her side as he watched Philip move on to the actual effects radiation would have on the human body, all while Shotaro made helpless gestures to Fuuto's clear skies.
Shotaro was emphatically defending superpower-free western heroes to Philip when they heard the scream. It only lasted a few seconds, definitely a woman's voice, and cut off abruptly.
A single heartbeat was wasted in surprise, and then they bolted, Shotaro and Philip in the lead. It didn't take long to find the source; as soon as they whipped around a corner into an alley, they saw it. A woman no older than Philip was sprawled on the ground, unconscious, and over her stood a Dopant. It was at least six feet tall, smooth skin coloured mostly blue-grey, pastel purple and green on the variations. The instant it saw them, it took one look at the alley's dead end and then charged, almost knocking Shotaro over before dodging past the other three.
"Hey, get back here!" The Double Driver was already in Shotaro's hand as he and Philip gave chase. "Terui, Akiko, take care of the girl!"
Ryuu nodded, already pulling out the Beetle Phone as Xtreme shot past his head to gather Philip's body for Double's strongest form. Then both Dopant and Kamen Rider vanished beyond the alley's mouth, and Ryuu's attention turned to the young woman his wife had knelt beside.
"She's still breathing." Akiko gently rolled the victim onto her back as she looked her over for injuries.
Ryuu just nodded, already dialing 119 and waiting for an answer. "This is Superintendent Terui with Fuuto's unusual crimes unit. I need an ambulance."
While he gave directions to the operator, Ryuu listened to the sounds of Double battling the Dopant in the street beyond. He hung up when the ambulance was confirmed on route and crouched beside Akiko. The battle sounds faded. The Dopant had probably fled beyond his hearing range.
It was only four minutes before they heard the ambulance arrive, and one of the paramedics came jogging down the alley. She frowned at Ryuu. "You didn't tell the operator there were multiple victims, Superintendent."
He blinked. "What?" For a moment he looked down, meeting his wife's worried eyes, and then they both ran out of the alley.
Two other paramedics were present, knelt beside two more bodies lying side-by-side on the street. Ryuu and Akiko's hearts almost stopped. "Hidari… Philip!"
Akiko bolted from her husband's side, nearly skidding in her rush to kneel next to her friends. "Shotaro! Philip!" She almost grabbed Shotaro before one of the paramedics pulled her away
Ryuu's eyes were roving their surroundings, but it was no use. There was no sign of the Dopant responsible for this.
—
Ryuu slammed his fist into the wall behind the chair, forcing himself out of the memory. "Damn it…!"
Akiko jumped at the sound, but moved to his side, gently prying his fist open so she could slip her hand into it. She squeezed. "It isn't your fault."
"I should have been fighting with them." At least then he could have seen what happened, had some kind of lead on the Dopant's abilities rather than stabbing around in the dark as he was doing now.
"And if the Dopant had gotten you too?" She rested their entwined hands on his shoulder, her free hand brushing bits of his hair away from his frustration-wrinkled brow. "At least this way we can try to help. What did you learn about the victim we found?"
Ryuu smiled at her, just slightly. Even worried as she was, she was trying to keep his spirits up. "Her name is Fukuzawa Haruna, a part-time secretary at a security office. I spoke to her parents, and they told me she's been trying to get into Fuuto University's law program, but she failed the entrance exam. Her boyfriend, Ueshima Ichiyo, passed the exam, and broke up with her a few days ago, apparently."
She frowned, head tilting to the side as her free hand rested on his other shoulder. "Sounds like she's been having a rough time… Why would someone go through the trouble of getting a GaiaMemory to attack her?"
"The only suspect I came up with was the boyfriend, and he has an alibi with multiple witnesses." He sighed, leaning back in the chair with his thumb brushing back and forth on Akiko's knuckles. "I think, whoever the Dopant is, they may not be directly connected to Fukuzawa."
"You mean they had the Memory before?" She looked away from him, back to Philip and Shotaro. Again her fingers tightened around his, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Why? First the Commander Dopant and now this… How did we not know about Memories this strong?"
He stood up, squeezing her hand and moving his free arm to hug her to his chest. "We know about this one now. I'll find out who did this."
Releasing his hand so she could put both her arms around him, Akiko sighed, her head on his shoulder. "I know you will."
They remained like that for a while, drawing comfort from their closeness. Eventually Ryuu pulled away, kissing his wife's forehead with a small smile. "I'm going to ask the hospital if there are any other patients in this condition. If the Dopant isn't connected to Fukuzawa, there have probably been other victims."
Her expression brightened at that. "And if we find the first victim, we'll find the Dopant!" When he nodded, she grinned. "I'm going back to the office to pick up a few things, so I'll catch a ride with you."
He tilted his head. "Didn't you already bring clothes for them?"
"Yeah, but I'm going to get some of Shotaro's books to read to them." She looked back at the unconscious detectives. "Philip researched comas once. He said that some doctors believe hearing familiar voices helps draw the patients back."
After a moment, Ryuu nodded. "Good idea. Let's go."
He left the room ahead of her, and she spared a moment to look at her friends. "Just wait, you two. We'll get you back."
She left the room, closing the door with barely a noise before heading for the main doors at her husband's side.
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Trying a new method of dividing scenes, because this site is very particular about what punctuation it likes and what punctuation it devours, causing my writing to stop making sense. Hoping the em-dashes have more luck surviving. R&R! And feel free to guess at the Memory you think is responsible for this tangled web I'm weaving.
PS: Wow, two uploads within 24 hours. I think that's some kind of record for me.