This is a nonprofit story. We do not own, Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider Double, Love Hina, Ikki Tousen, or any other series referenced here. Each series was created by the respective creators. Please enjoy.
Love Hina X Ikki Tousen
Kamen Rider Core
Stage 1: Prelude to Disaster (The Crimson Law)
(Insert Song - Memories and Memories - Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson)
There was once a small village called Hinamizawa. It was a simple town that held around 2,000 people, and was for the most part very peaceful. The people living there were very nice, and there were several children who knew each other very well. As it was a village, it was mostly closed off from the rest of the world and had no governing body. Instead, it was looked after the Sonozaki family, the very same family that would eventually become an underground crime syndicate in the 2000s. Before the discovery of the Gaia Temple by Ryubee Sonozaki, the Sonazakis were a relatively easy going group, save for the family head who was a hard and intimidating woman to deal with. Yes, aside from that, Hinamizawa was a lovely place to live at the time.
Emphasis on "at that time". Back in the 1970s after the building of Hinamizawa Dam was stopped, every night of the Watanagashi Festival, a tragic mystery occurred. One person would die, and another person would go missing. No one knew what had happened and the murders were unexplained. Then, on late June 1983, an even greater tragedy happened. Swamp gas leaked into the air and poisoned all the villagers. Almost no one survived. The government later ordered a quarantine order on the village. Only a handful of Sonozakis, as well as one other villager, remained.
The terrible event was forever known as the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.
Today, there isn't much left of the village. The houses and buildings were in shambles as no one set foot in them for years. The swamp was completely dried up as well. Hinamizawa was now for all intent and purposes a ghost town. A shell of what it used to be. No one would want to set foot in a place willingly.
Which is probably the reason why the reason why it makes for an excellent research ground.
In the center of what was once the village, several white tents were pitched up for camp. What was once a ghost town became an outdoor research lab as men and women in white coats milled about the place with computers and machines scattered around. A few vans were also parked nearby. These vans had a logo stamped on both sides: Foundation X.
Foundation X was an underground research organization focusing on illegal projects with phenomenal energetic potentials. The massive projects they focused on would provide in return immeasurable profit and research data from sponsoring different organizations to their respective project. They were the ones responsible for funding the creation of Gaia Memories done by the aforementioned Sonozaki family. They were even doing research on objects called Cell Medals which they acquired from the Kanto region and also devices called Zodiarts Switches found in another city called Konoha. Some stones with strange properties from Britain, specifically Wales, had also been brought to their attention. In other words, whatever appears mysterious or strange was theirs for the taking. Because of their illegal activities, the public eye doesn't even know they exist.
The activity they were focusing on today was the investigation of the poison gas that killed the entire village. What kind of gas was it? According to records, it came from the swamp. It was known as the Onigafuchi Swamp. Such a deadly gas would be very useful for biological warfare. And such a gas can be sold for a hefty sum.
A group of white suits wearing gas masks was walking through the dried up swamp, using an assortment of machines to collect whatever samples they can find. Since it was over 30 years ago that the swamp dried up it was rather difficult to find and molecules that was left. They really had to dig deep into the burrows to find anything that they could use.
(End Song)
Standing over the edge of the swamp was a man who wasn't wearing anything white. Instead, he was dressed in a sharp black suit with a blue tie and white shirt, making him appear more like a salary man than anything. He also had a mustache with black hair combed to the back. By his looks alone, his nationality was Chinese and he wore round spectacles over his eyes and was sucking on a Cuban cigar.
"Fascinating," he whispered to himself, a puff of smoke escaping from his mouth. "A town filled with dark secrets, once thought to be lost forever to the sands of time." He plucked out his cigar and an exhaled his smoke, "History hasn't been kind to you, has it? These days only a few people even remember your name. But don't fret. You will be put into good use." Then then shouted out loud, "What's the hold up? Haven't you found anything in this swamp yet?"
"There's nothing here, Hua-san," one of the white suits informed from below the swamp bed, "It's been over 30 years. It is far from likely that there is anything else left."
The man, Hua, frowned, "Hm... perhaps we shouldn't have waited for so long. Damn... what to do?"
Suddenly, the dried ground beneath the men suddenly gave way and started to sink. The men gave out loud screams as the fell into the hole tumbling down before hitting the bottom. The white suits coughed as the dust settled around them, waving their hands around to fan the dust away."
"Oi! What was that?" Hua shouted from up above, "Is anyone still alive in there?"
"We're alright sir!" one of the men called.
"Is there anything you can see down there?"
"Not yet! It's pitch black in here!"
"Then use these!" Two objects dropped from above the gap. One was what appeared to be a flashlight. Another one was a Gaia Memory with a stylized M on it. Another suit picked up both devices, activating the Gaia Memory first.
"MEMORY!"
The suit plugged the Memory into the slot at the end, and immediately flashlight lit up in a green glow. Before them was a strange whips of light that reflected against the light. "What the... what is this?"
"Did you find something?"
"There are some wisp like things here!" the suit shouted back. "It's... it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"The Memory Memory has the ability to reveal the truths of the world," Hua explained. "Though it hasn't been completely perfected yet. For something to appear in the light shining from the Memory Memory, it must be something special."
"Sir?" another suit began to stutter, "Something strange is happening..." The flashlight in his colleague's hand started to shake and glow in an odd color.
"What? What's happening down there?"
"I... I don't know. I think-"
"MEMORY: MAXIMUM DRIVE!"
Surges of power suddenly swarmed around the flashlight, causing the suit to drop it in shock. "A Maximum Drive?! But how?!"
As the flashlight continued to react erratically, the wisps suddenly drew inside of it. The flashlight rose up from the ground and levitated in midair as as more wisps grew inside of it. Above ground, several cases suddenly shook before shattering open, Cell Medals bursting out and catching everyone off guard. Hua watched with shock and awe as the Cell Medals dove into the hole like a rapidly flowing river. The Cell Medals formed around the flashlight, forming a sphere, and then a body. As the last of the Cell Medals filled out the form, it took a much more detailed shape and color.
The body resembled, for lack of better words, a Kamen Rider. It was in an orange glowing bodysuit underneath white chest armor, which mirrored chest muscles. It also wore white armplates, and boots. It's gloves were curved, as if they were claws. The helmet was white with glowing orange eye visors and an antenna. Oddly, the mouthplate moved as if it were a mouth on its own, moving up and down like it was segmented. Then there was its scarf, which glowed with a bright orange and moved freely and wildly as if it were fire. Lastly, there was a belt around its waist with a core in the center that glowed as if it were hot magma.
The suits gaped in shock at the Rider levitating in front of them. "Wha... what the hell is that?!"
The Kamen Rider let out a loud, haunting roar as he glowed with fiery energy, forcing the group to shield their eyes. The last thing they remembered seeing was a blaze as sudden heat bore down onto them.
XXX
(The intro is done in the same style as the Kamen Rider Yongo special)
The Guardian Detective of the dark city... Double!
The Crimson Cop who defends the road... Accel!
The Skeletal Rider from the shadows... Skull!
The Ancient Hero destined to rule over everything... OOO!
And... the Vengeful Ghoul that time forgot... Core!
In...
Love Hina X Ikki Tousen: Kamen Rider Core
XXX
Hinata City
Hinata City is a lovely and colorful metropolis that is very famous for the hot springs it has there. The hot springs are so famous that people from all over come to just take a dip. Another reason Hinata City is so famous is due to the Tokyo University, a well received, but tough school. Graduates from there are almost always granted to be set for life. Two of those graduates are the third reason why the city is so well known.
The city, while beautiful and lovely, is plagued by by humanoid kaijin known as Dopants, beings created through the use of Gaia Memories. Gaia Memories turn humans into Dopants, giving them powerful and destructive abilities, but also had very negative effects on the user's psychological wellbeing. To counter the threat of the Dopants, several detectives have Gaia Memories of their own. But rather than the ones handed out by the Sonozaki family, the ones used by the detectives are different. Cyclone, Joker, Heat, Metal, Luna, Trigger, Skull, and Accel. These eight Gaia Memories were what gave power to superheroes wearing masks. The Kamen Riders.
Walking up the steps and entering the door of Hinata-Sou, the all girls dormitory, was a young man in his early twenties with short brown hair and glasses over his equally brown eyes. His appearance made him look rather average and uninteresting at first glance, but he gave off the presence of a true man. While most people his age would rather wear something simplistic or casual, his choice of attire consisted of a black long sleeved shirt with a red tie, a white vest and pants with leather shoes. The white fedora on his head made him look like some sort of detective, which was exactly what he was. His name was Keitaro Urashima, manager and landlord of Hinata-Sou, as well as a private investigator. He had a number of successful cases under his belt, making him quite famous.
Entering his office and room, he was greeted with paper scattered all over the floor. The printer was still printing out more paper. Written in the centre of one was the word "HINAMIZAWA". At the whiteboard of the room was a young man who appeared to be somewhat younger and shorter, but was dressed just as oddly. He wore a red and white striped sweater with a sleeveless blue coat that came with a hood, black shorts that came down past his knees, striped red and white socks, red and white sneakers and cut off gloves. His black shoulder length hair was messy, supported only by a hair clip on the side. His brownish eyes hadn't even left the whiteboard as he scribbled across the screen. He was formerly known as Phillip Urashima, Keitaro's adopted brother and partner. Though to some others he was known by another name.
"Phillip," Keitaro called. Phillip didn't respond, being in his "research mode" again. Anytime he found something interesting, he would normally be absent minded to everything else. "Hey, Phillip!" Keitaro shouted.
Phillip jumped, startled, and turned around to see Keitaro, "Ah! I'm sorry, Keitaro! I was just lost in my research!"
"I can see that." Keitaro gestured to the mess. "What caught your attention this time?"
"Well, there was a documentary on television today and it covered the village of Hinamizawa," Phillip said.
"Hinamizawa..." Keitaro muttered out loud, "Why does that sound so familiar...?"
"It's where 2,000 people lost their lives because of poison gas," Phillip told him.
"What?" Keitaro blinked.
"It happened in 1983 but the government is thinking of redeveloping the land."
"Well, it's been decades so the poison gas should be all gone, right?"
"Perhaps, but there's so much I've found," scooped up one of the papers littered on the floor to show some of the findings, "Did you know that the village worshipped a deity known as Oyashiro-sama? And that they had mysterious murders ever since a dam was built nearby? And that a yakuza family called Sonozaki ran the village?"
"Huh? 'Sonozaki'?" Keitaro asked curiously, recognizing the surname. "As in that Sonozaki?"
"The same," Phillip nodded, "That town was their ancestral home, and only a few of them were left by the time it was destroyed. Ryubee was one the survivors and he was even interviewed over the tragedy."
"So, humble beginnings," Keitaro wondered, "Everyone has to start somewhere I guess." Ryubee Sonozaki, the leader of the Sonozaki clan, was a powerful and intimidating man. It was almost hard to believe that he came from a once peaceful village. "What about the murders, though?"
"Yeah, that's when things start to get surreal," Phillip said, frowning in concern, "Every year in the village there was an event known as the Watanagashi Festival that takes place on the third Sunday of every June. The festival was meant to appease the deity Oyashiro-sama. A local priest or priestess would perform a ritual dance before the masses and use a hoe to cut a futon of cotton and gorge it out. Each villager would then take a small amount of cotton, roll it into a ball, and set it adrift on the river to absorb the sins and sadness of the villagers. According to past journal entries, it was an improved ritual since the previous one before it involved human sacrifice."
"Good grief," Keitaro frowned in disgust as he sat down at his chair, "Did the change in the ritual upset Oyashiro-sama somehow?"
"No," Phillip shook his head, "The villagers did suspect that they angered Oyashiro-sama somehow, but the the ritual change wasn't the reason. The murders actually began sometime after the Hinamizawa Dam was being built. The villagers protested aggressively against its construction since it would mean their village would be flooded. The construction of the dam stopped eventually, but then that was when murders and disappearances began. The first one to die was the construction manager, who was killed in a fight. It was said that the manager was under the influence of an ailment called the Hinamizawa Syndrome. The next victim a year later were the parents of the Hojo family who supported the building of the dam. They were on vacation at the time of the festival since they were estranged from the rest of the village for supporting the dam. The third death after that was the head priest of the Furude Shrine. His death was caused by an unknown illness. His wife mysteriously vanished soon after that with only her slippers found."
"Murders and disappearances. Man, that would've been one hell of a case to solve," Keitaro muttered, idly remembering the Rokkenjima Murder Case. Sokichi Narumi had told Keitaro that a detective should always challenge the impossible. Cases that didn't seem to make sense would eventually yield clues and the pieces of the puzzle would come to them. A case like the Hinamizawa Murders would be just up their alley. "Anything else, Phillip?"
"A detective name Kuraodu Oishi, now retired, actually suspected the Sonozaki Family for all the murders," Phillip reported. "He suspected that they were using the murders and the myth of Oyashiro-sama's curse as a way to keep everyone in line."
Now that sounded like the Sonozakis Keitaro had the misfortune of knowing, using their influence to manipulate and control people while also covering up the truth in order to hide their involvement. But Hinamizawa was now just an abandoned village, a ghost town since the disaster. And with so much time having passed since, the murders would be officially declared as cold cases. They wouldn't be reopened unless there was a good reason.
"Anyone else who survived the disaster?" Keitaro asked.
"Let's see," Phillip searched through his piles of paper, and smiled as he found what he was looking for, "Ah, a girl named Rena Ryuugu. Apparently, she was in a hospital and under police custody during the disaster," he answered.
"Police custody," Keitaro cocked his head, "What for?"
"She..." Phillip's eyes widened as he read the reason for her lockdown, "Oh dear. She took her schoolmates hostage and threatened to blow up the school to force the police to investigate the truth about the village's 'aliens'."
Keitaro blinked, "Aliens?"
"According to reports, she was mentally unstable during her time but has since recovered," Phillip read, "She's still very traumatized about the incident though. She is now known as Rena Banabara."
"Wait, 'Banabara'," Keitaro had heard that name before, "As in the famous novelist 'Shinichi Banabara'." Shinichi Banabara was a world renown writer. He has written a series of novels and even wrote scripts for a few TV shows. He was also especially known for writing... special books. Kitsune was one of his fans for that very reason.
"It seems so," Phillip nodded. "They met one year after the disaster and he helped her cope. Eventually they wedded. She even has three children with him."
"Now that's interesting," Keitaro said, rubbing his chin.
Phillip arched an eyebrow, "Keitaro, you have that look on your face."
Keitaro sighed as he stood up from his seat, "Phillip, it's been a pretty slow week for us. There hasn't been much to do since the Darkness Dopant Case. How about we solve one of Japan's darkest mysteries?"
"Are you saying...?"
"We're going to solve the Hinamizawa Murders."
Narumi Sokichi taught Keitaro four things about being a detective:
A detective always challenges themselves.
A detective always seeks answers.
A detective always seeks the truth.
A detective always finds closure for the victims.
XXX
Asking the Sonozakis about the Hinamizawa Murders was out of the question. They were the enemy and would sooner try to kill them on the spot rather than allow them to bring closure to the family members they lost. So, they had to follow their leads and managed to find the address of the Banabara family.
Shinichi Banabara's house wasn't exactly what they expected. A writer with so much fame and fortune should have a big house like the Sonozakis. Instead, it was a cozy little two-storey house in the suburbs. The neighbourhood was nice to live in, with trees all around. They did have a swimming pool and a tennis court, though. Perhaps just to show off that they were wealthy but not too much.
Joining them on the travels was their younger sister, Kanako. She was a beautiful girl around her late teens to early twenties with slightly pale skin with long dark hair tied in a ponytail and some of it framing around her face. Her eyes were brown and looked pretty lazy. She was wearing a black long sleeve button down shirt with an onyx colored vest that had five white silver buttons on each side. Each one resembled a skull. She also wore black pants with matching three inch heels. Finally, there was a black fordra on her head. Her outfit really gave her the appearance of an occult detective.
"You know, it's a nice place," Keitaro admired.
"Not too big, and not too small. Perfect for a family of five," Phillip agreed, "So, Banabara-sensei should be at home about now, right?"
"Yes, he works at home and his wife helps him out since she's a full time housewife and his assistant," Keitaro replied.
"Let's say hello," Kanako concluded. She went up to the door and rang the bell.
"Yes, who is it?" Rena Banabara (nee Ryuugu) answered the door. She was a very pretty woman entering her 40s with short, shoulder length orange hair framing around her face with a few strands covering her forehead and blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and sweatpants and had an apron on, indicating that she was cooking.
"Sorry to disturb you, Banabara-san," Kanako greeted, tipping her hat, "My name is Kanako Urashima, and these are my brothers Keitaro and Phillip. We're from the Urashima Detective Agency at the Hinata-Sou Girls Dormitory."
"Ah, Urashima-san. I've heard about you," Rena smiled. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually, we've been hoping that you could answer some questions for us," Keitaro continued. "Can you maybe help us shed some light on the Hinamizawa Murders?"
Rena's eyes widened as her pupils dilated. The color drained from her face and she began to tremble.
"Um...are you alright...?" Phillip asked hesitantly.
Rena clenched her face as she released a bloodcurdling scream, causing the detectives to pale in shock. Fast footsteps soon followed as the woman collapsed and began to shiver uncontrollably. A man around the same age as her with short indigo hair with long antenna dropping out, dressed in a green shirt and black khaki pants, came into view and kneeled down to check what was wrong.
"Rena-chan, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.
"Oyashiro-sama's curse...it's back. He won't rest until we all pay for our sins..." she rambled on.
"Rena-chan, it's OK. Oyashiro-sama isn't here to hurt you anymore..." he reassured her, holding her up as he gently stroked her hair. He then stood up to glare at the detectives at his door. "I'm sorry. Could you please leave? You're upsetting my wife," Shinichi insisted. He slammed the door in their faces, and the siblings flinched in reflex.
Inside the house, Shinichi put his arms around Rena and held her close, "It's alright, Rena-chan. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."
"Shin-kun..." she sobbed.
"I'm right here..." He gently ran his hand through her hair. "I'm right here and I'm not letting you go..."
XXX
"Her husband slammed the door in our faces," Kanako frowned. The trio had to return to their office due to having no leads. There were as lost as anyone else who ever worked on the case.
"After the trauma she went through, he probably doesn't want her to have some sort of relapse," Keitaro theorized. "He'll probably report us to the police or sue us for harassment if we try to pressure her."
"And then he'll get lawyers. The guy's super rich because of his books," Kanako replied as she looked on her laptop at the awards Shinichi had earned in his career as a writer.
"And he never once tried to write a book about his wife's village?"
"I doubt he would want to provoke the emergence of horrible memories, Onii-chan," she held up one of his books to show an abstract, "Look, all of his books are dedicated to his wife. He wrote all these as a labor of love."
"He'd want to avoid as much painful memories as possible," Phillip pointed out. "The combined trauma of suffering a mental breakdown and then losing her friends and family shortly after isn't something someone can easily walk away from."
"Damn," Keitaro sighed, "Asking her upfront might've been a bad idea. We should've known she wouldn't be completely over it."
"Don't blame yourself, Onii-chan," Kanako frowned, "We all should've realized it. She's the only one aside from the elder Sonozakis to survive the gas leak so she was the only lead we had."
The door suddenly swung open and a blur of motion came flying towards Keitaro. Instinctively, Keitaro held out his hand and caught the blur, causing it to dangle in his hand. The blur in question was a young girl approaching her teen years with tan skin, blond hair tied in a small ponytail and a small dot in the middle of her forehead. She was dressed in a sailor fuku, the skirt flowing down from the gravity, and a silly grin on her face.
"Nice try, Su," Keitaro chuckled.
"And I thought I would get you this time." She beamed at Phillip, "Hiyas, Phillip!"
"And hi to you too, Su," Phillip smiled at his fiancée, "What's new?"
"Just listening in. Heard you talking about that Banabara writer," Su smiled. Keitaro let her go and she landed on her feet without problems. "You have another case already?"
"Phillip found us a mystery and it seemed like a good way to pass the time," Keitaro said. "We're looking through the Hinamizawa Cold Case."
Su cocked her head, "Hinamizawa? What's that? Is it something good to eat?"
"Just the site of one of the biggest localized disasters to hit a small village," Phillip said.
"Ooo, sounds bad," Su blinked. "What happened?"
"A lot of people died there due to a swamp gas leak. What's even more interesting is that place is where the Sonozaki Clan originated from," Keitaro said. "We went to ask one of the few survivors but we seemed to have brought back some less than pleasant memories."
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Kanako asked.
"I was doing some upgrades for the to the Mecha-Tama Xtreme and I was wondering if Phillip could come help out," Su said. "But I guess you'll be busy for a while."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Phillip apologize.
RING-RING! RING-RING!
Phillip quickly picked the phone, "Hello, Urashima Detective Agency." His eyes widened in surprise as he nodded. "I see... Yes, we can do that. Alright then, we will meet with you soon." He hung up and turned to his siblings.
"Who was that?" Kanako asked.
"That was Banabara-sensei. He says he's willing to give information about the Hinamizawa incident as long as we don't pester his wife again," Phillip explained.
"Seriously?" Keitaro smiled, "Looks like we have our first break."
XXX
Shinichi arrived shortly a half hour later. He was seated in Haruka's cafe with Keitaro sitting in front of him. Phillip and Kanako were seated behind them with chairs of their own. Haruka even gave Shinichi some tea to calm his nerves on the house.
"Look, my wife can't speak to you about what happened to her village. She lost friends when the disaster occurred, friends she never got the chance to apologize to after her episode." That was a tactful way for him to say that she had a mental breakdown.
"We never meant to harass your wife, Banabara-sensei. We just came for answers," Keitaro reassured her.
"Well, whenever she could talk about her home, she told me a few things that you might find interesting. I just want you to promise you will never approach us again about the subject," he said seriously, "My wife has been through enough already."
"You must really love her," Kanako noted.
Shinichi sighed as he rubbed his nose, "Growing up with my mother being a famous author, I was also well known for being her son. I was always teased or stalked just because of my mom's fame. You know how refreshing it was to meet a girl who had no idea who I was? It was great. We hit it off and started dating soon after. She didn't talk about her hometown, and avoided it whenever we talked. I never pressured her. She told me everything after we got married. That she was seeing a psychiatrist to help with her trauma. Meeting me, she says, was the best thing to ever happen to her since I reminded her..."
"Reminded her of what...?"
"...A boy," Shinichi said finally, "A boy she had a crush on. A boy that died in that disaster. One of her best friends."
"Holy crap," Kanako frowned sadly. Losing friends was one thing, but to lose someone you were in love with and never got the chance to express feelings for was something else all together.
"Somehow paparazzi found out about her past and was life was hell for her," Shinichi continued, "She got threatening phone calls and letters. Even her apartment was vandalized. Her landlord was forced to evict her. I found her wandering around and took her home. Kaa-chan called her lawyers. During all that time, Rena-chan insisted that I break up with her. She was so broken and didn't want to drag me and my mom down with her. I refused and my mom insisted that she would also stay by Rena-chan's side."
That was surprising, but Shiori Banabara was never one to adhere to society's expectations. Even if her fame had taken a hit due to her supporting Rena, she gained a stronger following for supporting Rena.
"Rena-chan was touched by Kaa-chan's kindness," Shinichi said. "She agreed to stay with us until things cooled over and she was able to find somewhere else to live. She still had night terrors so I offered to stay with her every night. And..." he coughed into his hand as he blushed, "Well, on one of those nights we..."
"No need to go into detail. We can see where you're going with it," Kanako interrupted.
"Right then. Anyway, Rena-chan told me about Oyashiro-sama and claimed that the people who died and vanished were all because they had incited his wrath. She believes that those who did not believe in Oyashiro-sama or broke his laws would be cursed," Shinichi told them.
"A curse?" Phillip personally didn't believe in curses but he decided to keep that to himself. He didn't want to insult anyone's religious beliefs.
"The rules of her village are Oyashiro-sama's rules. She believed her own episode was caused by the curse. She even believed the disaster was caused by the curse itself."
"So she believed Oyashiro-sama killed all the villagers."
"Yes, that's right. I'm an atheist but I don't believe a god would do that and I have a feeling that something else happened and the whole 'swamp gas leak' was just a huge cover up," Shinichi sighed.
"Do you have any possible reason to believe that?" Keitaro asked.
"Yes," Shinichi nodded. "One of her friends was actually found murdered."
"How did you find out about this?" Keitaro continued.
"It was on the news after the disaster. People were sent in to gather the bodies. Everyone was found in their homes, dead because of the poison gas. Rika Furude's body was found at her family shrine, disemboweled. Poor kid, she was only nine years old," Shinichi grimaced. Rika was the type of girl his mother would've loved to adopt.
"Who would do such a thing to a little girl?" Kanako asked. Her face might've looked even, but the way she clenched her armbars was a clear sign that she was pissed at what she heard.
"Nobody ever found out. So, if you are trying to investigate the disaster, could you do me this one favor? Find out who killed Rika Furude," Shinichi pleaded. "Rena-chan may want nothing more than to forget the tragedy, but it would at least give her some peace knowing that the one who killed one of her best friends was brought to justice."
"We will. Definitely," Philip promised him.
XXX
After Shinichi took his leave, the siblings returned to the office to discuss the new information the received. The also learned several more murders that happened before the gas leak."They did find a couple of bodies that were cut up and hidden in a cave. They were identified as Teppei Hojo and Rina Mamiya," Phillip stated.
"Cut up to pieces?" Keitaro grimaced.
"Probably done by the same killer who took Rika Furude's life," Phillip suggested.
"I'm not too sure about that," Kanako frowned. Seemed like a drastic change of M.O.'s. "The way Hojo and Mamiya were killed was a sign of hatred and rage. Mamiya was bludgeoned to death by a blunt object. Hojo's head was cut through down the middle with a with a sharp blade. Not to mention the fact that both bodies were chopped off several times. Furude, on the other hand, looked like she was dissected."
"Like a twisted lab experiment," Keitaro grimaced.
"So we have two killers," Phillip concluded.
"Seems like the gist of it," Keitaro nodded. "One with a personal grudge against Teppei Hojo and Rina Mamiya, and another who targeted Rika. This mystery is getting more and more complex."
"Mysteries like this are always complex," Phillip said. "The key is trying to have patience and eventually the answers will appear."
XXX
As the detectives continued talking in about the case, a pair of glowing orange eyes was watching from somewhere afar. It gave a displeased growl which sounded like some sort of distorted clicking noise.
"We can't let them interfere," it frowned, the voice sounding like many people speaking at once.
The figure took out a handful of coins and then tossed them into the air. Miraculously, the coins landed onto the front of the cafe. They then vanished and waited as the coins began to radiate with a dark aura before finally coming to life.
XXX
CRASH!
"Huh!?" Keitaro exclaimed, "What the hell is that?!"
The door swung opened and Haruka came in the room. Her normally stoic face was now one of panic. "Guys, we have some uninvited guests! Get in here, quick!"
The detectives wasted no time and followed Haruka down to the cafe. Once there, the found to their shock several black and bandaged figures smashing through the hallway like no one's business.
"Mummies?! Is it Halloween already!?" Kanako cried out in shock.
Phillip's eyes widened as he identified them from various blogs online, "No, those are those creatures that have been sighted in Kanto!"
"Kanto?" Keitaro blinked. "Is that the region where that girl said she was from?"
"Are we actually going to be discussing this?" Kanako asked as she strapped on her Lost Driver and brought out her Skull Memory. "Or are we going to trash these guys?"
"SKULL!"
"Of course," Keitaro replied as he put on his Double Driver before a copy materialized around Phillip's waist.
"Haruka, take care of my body, will you?" Phillip asked and Haruka nodded.
"CYCLONE!"
"JOKER!"
Standing back to back, Phillip and Keitato called, "Henshin!"
Kanako removed her hat, causing a long, single ahoge to spring out, and announced, "Henshin."
Gaia Memories entered their slots. Kanako moved her Lost Driver's slot to an angle, activating it.
"SKULL!"
Phillip's body collapsed as his Cyclone Memory and mind were transferred to Keitaro who spread out the Double Driver.
"CYCLONE-JOKER!"
Cyclones surrounded both Kanako and her brother as fragments of material fused to their bodies, forming their armored suits. The left half of Keitaro's suit was black with purple highlighting on the shoulders, wrists, ankles and chest. The right half was completely green with yellow highlighting on the shoulders, chest, wrists and ankles as well. A silver stripe ran down the middle. The helmet had a pair of round red eyes and the sharp "W" shape antenna was set on his brow with a red stone under it. Hanging from the right side of his neck was a long silver scarf that was like a cape. Lastly, red compact eyes flashed brightly.
Kanako's armor was black with silver accents. Her chestplate had rib-like patterns and the helmet resembled a skull with large black eyes that flash purple for a moment. There was a scar running down the right eye and a grilled mouthplate. The armor also sported a white scarf that hung from her neck.
Kamen Riders Double and Skull had arrived.
Skull placed her fedora back on her head and said, "Now, repent for your sins."
"Now, time to count up your crimes," Double said as he pointed at the mummies, his voice a combining Phillip and Keitaro's.
"Take it outside!" Haruka shouted as she dragged Phillip's to safety. A mummy lunged at her and she punched it in the face, knocking it down. "Seriously, I can't afford to have this place fixed up after another one of your fights."
"Gomen, Haruka," Double apologized as he switched Memories.
"TRIGGER!"
"CYCLONE-TRIGGER!"
Double's black half turned blue with lighter blue highlights. In his hand was a blue submachine gun with a yellow 'W' stamped on it. "Let's blow them away!" Keitaro called as he fired with his Trigger Magnum. A blast of air knocked the mummies out of the inn. Skull grabbed a couple and dragged them outside as her brother followed.
The mummies rolled along the grass of the front yard as Double flicked his left wrist. Pointing his gun, he shot blasts of air at each of the mummies, not giving any of them to move forward. Skull also drew her Skull Magnum. Standing back-to-back with her brother, the two fired at the mummies, weakening them. They then spotted more of the mummies climbing up the steps and grimaced.
"This feels like a zombie shooter!" shouted Skull in frustration, shooting the mummies off the stairs.
"I thought you liked those kind of games," Phillip commented from Double's body.
"Yeah, but this far too life like for me!" Skull retorted. "You know the old saying, be careful what you wish for!"
"Where did they come from though?" Keitaro wondered. "They don't look like anything the Museum would come up with."
"Oh, how about we ask them? I'm sure they would love to answer your questions!" Skull retorted sarcastically.
"I know sarcasm, sis. No need to be sassy," Keitaro frowned. The two of them worked together, blasting away at the creatures. Like every other opponent they came across, the mummies exploded. Though, oddly enough, the mummies left coins behind. It was like the items dropped by monsters in video games after they've been defeated.
"How odd, they're dropping coins after defeat," Phillip mused. "If I didn't know any better, it's almost as if a video game really did come to life."
"They don't look like yen coins, though," Skull added, seeing the thickness and odd images on each of the coins. "It's like there's more going on than we already know."
Just then, a loud roar was heard. Looking up, the Riders only had a moment to see a large shadow dropping below them. They rolled to the sides just as the shadow dropped, causing just to pick up and spread. As it settled, a new monster could be seen clearly. It resembled a humanoid cat. It had black fur and was packing thick muscles that looked like it could be capable of crushing anything. The torso was covered in chainmail underneath a dirty karate gi while it's legs was wearing equally dirty jeans. The face seemed human, but it was pale with glowing crimson eyes glowing from the shadow given from the panther head sitting on the cranium.
"Dopant!?" Keitaro cried.
"No," Phillip refuted. "It's not a Dopant. I...I don't know what it is."
"Does it really matter?" Skull frowned, shooting her gun, "It's here to disturb our home so we have to send it packing. We can figure out what these things are at the Gaia Library later!"
"Right!" both Keitaro and Phillip agreed. Double joined Skull in the barrage of fire power. Pressurized air bursts and energy blasts hit the strange Kaijin but it didn't seem fazed at all. Snarling at them, it suddenly lunged straight for Skull.
"Move!" Double shoved Skull aside. The Panther Kaijin struck Double and tossed him tumbling down the stairs. The two-toned Rider gave out some painful grunts as he tumbled down the steps. The Panther Kaijin roared again as it jumped down after him.
"Onii-tachi!" Skull shouted, jumping down the steps as well.
Double slowly struggled up it his feet and quickly rolled away from a stomp from the Panther Kaijin. He fired shots from the Trigger Magnum again, only for the blasts to be deflected harmlessly from the body.
"It's no use, Keitaro," Phillip said. "That creature's muscle mass is too thick. The Trigger Magnum won't help!"
"Then let's try this!" Keitaro frowned, pulling out the Metal Memory.
"METAL!"
Double pulled out the Trigger Memory and replaced it with the Metal Memory.
"CYCLONE-METAL!"
The blue side turned grey with silver highlights instantly. Attached to his back was the Metal Shaft, a steel rod. He twirled the weapon around as he faced the Panther Kaijin. The Panther Kaijin's mouth opened and a large laser energy blast shot out towards Double. He strifed to the side and charged. The Metal Shaft generated a green wind-like aura around it and he struck. Sparks flew on impact as the weapon connected with the creature and actually wounded it. Instead of blood, coins spilled out from the Panther Kaijin's wound, much to Double's curiosity. As the Panther Kaijin's wound healed, it snarled and lashed out with a claw strike, sending Double reeling.
"Over here!" Skull shouted, shooting energy blasts from her gun as she jumped from the stairs. The pellets bounced off the muscle mass like before. The Panther Kaijin turned around and spat out another energy laser at her. Skull quickly jumped and flipped over it, and then moved to the side as she continued to shoot while trying to find any weak points.
As both Double, Skull, and the Kaijin fought, a bike pulled over and the rider dismounted. He wore a red jacket over a black shirt with matching black pants. The jacket had a flame pattern on the back. The rider removed his helmet, revealing him to be Ryo Tatsuma, a young detective of the Hinata City Metropolitan PD and a member of the Special Crimes Division.
While Ryo Tatsuma didn't know what Double was fighting, he knew his comrade needed assistance.
He took out a buckle shaped like a motorcycle's handlebars and set it on his waist, causing a belt to wrap around and strap it on. He then took out a red Gaia Memory, his Accel Memory.
"ACCEL!"
"Hen...shin!"
The Accel Memory was inserted and he gripped the red handle before revving up the Power Throttle.
"ACCEL!"
In a flash of red energy in the form of a circle of pistons before form a red suit around him, Ryo Tatsuma had become the red Kamen Rider known as Accel. The torso armor sported a grill on his stomach and sharp, block shoulders with a wheel on the back. His boots also sported one half of a wheel behind each calf and his helmet had a blue visor with an "A" in the center. The top of the "A" went up past his helmet to form a horn. Reaching to his bike, he pulled out the Engine Blade he carried with him and rolled into the fight, literally. The wheels on his boots were not just for show.
Once he closed the distance, he struck the unaware Panther Kaijin across the back, throwing it through the air. Double blinked at his arrival but was grateful.
"Thanks for the save," Keitaro replied.
"Thank me later once we deal with this thing," Accel replied as the Panther Kaijin rose to its feet. Accel rushed at the Kaijin and began slashing with his Engine Blade, more coins falling out with each cut. Double watched but then he noticed when a large clump of coins was ripped off, he thought he saw something in the creature's chest.
"Help...me..." a voice cried out weakly.
"Keitaro, did you hear that?"
"Yes," Keitaro confirmed.
"Please...help me..."
When more coins were ripped off, forming a cavity in the creature's body, they saw a face of a familiar red head right in there.
"Help..."
"It's Naru!" Double gasped.
Double rushed ahead as Accel raised his blade, only to stop him.
"What are you doing, Urashima!?" Accel demanded.
"Naru's in there! If you keep attacking you'll hurt her!" Double shouted.
"Nani?!" Accel gasped. He turned back to the Panther Kaijin and watched in shock as the wound on the Panther Kaijin vanished, and Naru along with it.
"We need to get her out. Perhaps if we make a big enough opening, we can remove her from that creature," Phillip suggested.
"On it," Keitaro said as Double slotted the Metal Memory into the Metal Shaft's Maximum Slot.
"METAL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!"
Accel squeezed the Maximum Clutch lever and activated his own finisher.
"ACCEL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!"
"Metal Twister!"
Wind whipped around and gathered around the Metal Shaft. He then rushed at the Panther Kaijin and began striking it with his augmented Metal Shaft, ripping off coins with each strike. He then reached inside and grabbed hold of Naru's hand. Double kept his grip on her as the coins threatened to engulf her again before he pulled her straight out and they both landed on the ground.
Accel jumped into the air and performed a flying kick as a blazing aura surrounded his body. Double got out of the way before the kick collided, causing the creature to explode, sending coins flying in all directions.
Double gently cradled Naru as the poor girl tremble like a leaf. Gently, he picked her up. "I'll get Naru to safety. The girls are gonna want to know what happened. Think you can stick around for a bit?"
"I was actually planning to take Mutsumi out for dinner tonight," Accel replied, shouldering his Engine Blade. "But I guess we need to reschedule our plans."
Ryo Tatsuma, aka Kamen Rider Accel, was dating Mutsumi Otohime, a resident of the Hinata Girls Dorm. The two were opposites in almost every way, but they managed to hit it off and have a real relationship. Since Tatsuma had lost his family, he never thought he would ever care about anyone again. Then he met Mutsumi and despite a rough start due to his quest for revenge, they became a couple.
As Double and Skull escored Naru back to the dorm, Accel picked up one of the coins that had dropped on the ground. There were a lot of them. He would need to gather them all up as evidence and have them analyzed.
"What's going on here?" the police detective wondered.
XXX
Several moments later, the residents of Hinata-Sou were gathered in the attic after learning that there was another monster attack on their grounds, but not a Dopant. Naru seemed to have calmed down a bit but was still shivering somewhat and had both Kitsune and Motoko at her sides. Shinobu seemed very worried at the fact that another one of sempai was used to create another monster like how it was done to Mutsumi months ago. Queen, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Akiko seemed pretty calm though they were clearly just as worried. Plastic bags filled with the mysterious coins were put down on the floor with Su taking a peek at one of the bags. It had taken quite some time to gather them all. The detectives were in front with Haruka and Kirihiko leaning near a corner.
"So these coins were what was possessing Naru and turned her into that demon?" Motoko asked, looking the bags wearily.
"Seems to be the case," Keitaro nodded. "Whatever happened to her is completely different from how a Gaia Memory operates. It was like the coins were using her as a frame and built a body around her."
"Seriously?" Akiko blinked. "I didn't hear anything about that!"
"But how could coins do that?" Shinobu asked. "They look pretty much like tokens from an arcade."
"And Gaia Memories look like flash drives you use to store backup computer data," Kanako reminded, "In this business, looks can be deceiving."
"Do you remember what happened to turn you into that cat thing, Naru?" Kitsune asked.
"I... I don't know," Naru shook her head, stammering, "I was just coming back from Tokyo U when one of those coins fell from the sky and went through my head. Next thing I knew more of those coins was covering me from head to toe!"
"And then it turned you into that monster," Sarah frowned.
"I'm going to need to take these coins back to the precinct to be filed as evidence and run them through analysis," Tatsuma said.
"No need to go to the precinct to have them analysed. Su has a lab in her room," said Phillip.
"Eh?" Ryo muttered.
"Yeppers!" Su saluted, "I'll have this figured out in a jiffy!"
"Can the rest of you keep Naru company for a bit longer while we try figure out what these things are?" Keitaro asked. "We'll come back once we have some answers."
"Sure thing. We'll be waiting," Kitsune nodded.
XXX
Tatsuma had never been to Kaolla Su's room. So, imagine his shock and awe at what he saw when the door was opened. It was a jungle. A tropical jungle indoors. It was a tropical jungle inside a room of what used to be an inn.
"...How?" Ryo stuttered.
"Bigger on the inside. Molmolese science, I assume. Still trying to work it out," Phillip told him.
"Come in! The equipment's right over there! Just watch out for the quicksand!" said Su.
The group reached the supercomputer and placed a pile of coins on the the scanner. As the computer scanned the coins, a readout was being displayed on the monitor. Su's analysis was complete as the results were shown on the computer.
"Alright, so these coins are made out of 65% oxygen, 18.5% carbon, 9.5 percent hydrogen, 3.2% nitrogen, 1.5% calcium, 1.0% phosphorus, 0.4% potassium, 0.3% sulfur, 0.2% sodium, 0.2% chlorine and 0.1% magnesium," Su read.
"Quite the strange composition for coins," Ryo muttered.
"Those are the same elements that compose the human body," Phillip stated.
"Wait," Keitaro blinked. "Does that mean these coins were created from humans? This day... it just keeps getting stranger."
"Actually, if I had to guess, the coins seemed to be made from some kind of proto-science," Su stated. "The closest idea I can come up with is alchemy."
"Alchemy?" Kanako said skeptically, "Seriously?"
"We've seen the existence of magic, so alchemy isn't too farfetched," Phillip informed her.
"A skeptic like you believes in magic now?" Kanako blinked.
"What normal people think is magic is just science that is yet to be understood. It's safe to call it magic even if I don't believe in it," Phillip said pointedly.
"And remember, this is the guy who managed to logically explain what Ki is through science," Keitaro said.
"Anyway ideas where these coins came from though?" Su asked.
"I recognize the monsters from the blogs online," Phillip said. "They are similar to the ones found in the Kanto region."
"Kanto?" Ryo asked. "I know that place. The police precinct there usually try stay out of the way of the 'gang fights'."
"Gang fights?" Kanako wondered. "Is that place really that dangerous?"
"Immensely," Ryo said grimly. "Everywhere in that place there's always fights happening. It gets so bad that there are actually reports of killings. Fuuto & Hinata may have problems with the Dopants, but that place is a practical gangland. From what gather, seven high schools are used as headquarters for these gangs."
"What are these school's names?" Keitaro asked.
"Rakuyo, Kyosho, Nanyo, Seito, Yoshu, Youshuu, and Ryoshuu," Ryo listed.
"Nanyo..." Keitaro frowned. Now that can't be a coincidence. That was school where the Kamen Rider who called herself OOO said she came from. Was she part of that gang war too? "Phillip, I think it's time we paid a visit to the Gaia Library. Maybe we can see how this connects to the gang war in Kanto."
"Right," Phillip nodded. He closed his eyes as he astral projected himself somewhere else. Opening his eyes, he found himself within the white space of the Gaia Library. Numerous bookcases swarmed around him before they all suddenly halted. "Start Search... Location... Keyword... Kanto." Numerous groups of bookshelves rose up and vanished. The ones remaining grouped closer. "I'll need another keyword."
"Try high schools," Ryo suggested.
Phillip nodded and inputted the words. More bookcases vanished, leaving a smaller amount. There were around six bookcases left. "I need another one."
"Gang war," Kanako said.
More cases disappeared until there was only one left. The book floated into Phillip's waiting hands and opened up. Reading the book, Phillip's eyes blinked in surprise. "Interesting..."
"What is it?" Keitaro asked. "What did you find?"
"I think I'm reading a page of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Phillip said.
"Huh?" Kanako asked. "How is that relevant?"
"What's Romance of the Three Kingdoms?" Su asked.
"It's a novel that tells about a brutal war that took place almost 2,000 years ago in ancient China," Kanako told her. "Three kingdoms fought each other for years in an effort to take control of the entire land. They were called Wei, Shu, and Wu."
"Did you find something else, Phillip?" Ryo asked.
"All I have are the names of the three warlords of that period," Phillip answered. "Sousou Motoku, Ryuubi Gentoku, and... Hakufu Sonsaku."
"OOO's civilian identity," Keitaro said, eyes widening in realization. "And if you translate Hakufu Sonsaku in Chinese, that spells Sun Ce. The Little Conqueror."
"So this new Kamen Rider is named after one of the great warlords of medieval China, and there at least two more like her," Ryo concluded.
"Let's ask Queen and Elizabeth. They might've heard of her," Kanako suggested. Queen and Elizabeth were two of the informants for a reason. Nothing that goes on in the world of high school gets past them.
XXX
Going back to the attack, they called over for Queen and Elizabeth to inform them on what they found out. "Kanto? The coins came from that place?" Elizabeth blinked. "Didn't imagine we'll ever hear from there again."
"Well, out of the three Kamen Riders that helped us during the NEVER fiasco, one of them is named Hakufu Sonsaku," Keitaro said. "Have you heard anything about her?"
"HER? She's a Kamen Rider too?" Queen gasped. "She supposed to be a strong martial artist. Really strong! Once she completely demolished an entire school by herself!"
"Really? Everyone there?" Ryo asked.
"Yeah, even though Nerima has some freakishly strong fighters, Kanto has the biggest population of them so far," Elizabeth said.
"So she's reckless?" Keitaro questioned. That was troubling. Being a Kamen Rider meant using one's powers responsibly. Even if her intentions were good, she could still be a danger to others if she didn't have any self control.
"More like a berserker," Elizabeth said. "I heard she even destroyed a few establishments just to get back at some perverts."
"Crips, that's a lot worse than what Naru and Motoko used to do," he frowned.
"Yeah, but some of the other girls there did things just as bad if not worse," Elizabeth continued.
"Oh yeah, the other fighters. Ryo said that there was a gang war going on. What about it?" Phillip asked.
"Actually, the war is a reenactment of Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Queen replied, "Each of the seven schools there is trying to take over Kanto. Rakuyo used to be the strongest, but after their strongest guy Totaku was killed by a girl named Ryofu Hosen it was taken over by Kyosho. The boss of that school is named Sousou Motoku. I heard he's nice and a little lazy. He's also really handsome with a chest so firm you could iron on it," she gushed dreamily with a giggle and blush on her cheeks. "His temper is nasty though."
"Seito Private School used to be a place that was ran by thugs and delinquents but that changed last year," Elizabeth added, "Ryuubi Gentoku is the leader of that school, but she's just a figurehead and a bookworm. Her bodyguards Kanu Unchou, Chouhi Ekitoku, Chou'un Shiryuu, and Kouchu Kanshou do the fighting for her to keep things in line."
"Ryuubi, huh? Seems like an odd coincidence that she has the same name as a certain old man we know," Ryo mussed.
"And that leave's Hakufu, the leader of Nanyo Academy, right?" Phillip asked.
"Right on the money," Elizabeth confirmed. "She was voted as that school's leader after the last one, Enjutsu, was found dead. She's cleaned up the place rather nicely actually."
Well, at least she wasn't some delinquent. They didn't need someone like that roaming free as a Kamen Rider. It would give Riders like them a bad name.
"Well then, I think we should pay a visit to Nanyo Academy," Keitaro said. "Maybe she could give us some answers."
"Does this means we're going to stop investigating the Hinamizawa Murders?" Kanako asked. She was still interested in solving that particular mystery.
"It's more like we're putting it on pause," Keitaro clarified. The attack by the Panther Kaijin had shifted their attention to Kanto. If monsters from another Kamen Rider's territory was spilling into Hinata City, there had to be a reason.
"I'll stay here and continue my own research on the Hinamizawa Murders," Phillip stated. He wasn't about to give up on one of the biggest mysteries of the century because of a random monster attack. It needed to be solved. He needed to find answers. He just couldn't let it go until he found out what really happened.
Tatsuma cocked an eyebrow curiously, "The Hinamizawa Murders?" That subject was covered during one of his classes back in Tokyo U. There were many theories regarding the murders but none that were concrete. There just wasn't enough evidence and thus it became a cold case. If Phillip was trying to solve that mystery, it could change everything.
"Something that we were going to look thought to pass on the time," Phillip said. "And if anyone from the Museum comes, I have Fang." The white robotic dinosaur jumped onto Phillip's shoulder and roared in agreement. Phillip was going to look up Kuraodo Oishi. He was the detective who tried to solve the mystery but had to stop following the disaster. He retired not long after. According to what he found out, the man was still alive but living in Hokkaido.
"Then it looks like we're all set," Keitaro smiled. "Time to pack, it's gonna be a long trip."
XXX
A little while before the detectives made the leave to Kanto, another group caught wind of some unusual activity going on there. Ryubee Sonozaki, the head of the current Sonozaki family, sat at his desk with a tablet in hand with a frown. Not one of disapproval or intimidation, but one of concern. Something was showing on his tablet that he didn't like. A boy in his late teen years approached him for the door.
"You wanted to see me, Otou-sama?" he asked.
"Ah, Ryuji. Right on time," Ryubee nodded, setting down his tablet. "Tell me, are you familiar with the Kanto region?"
"Yeah, that place is crawling with strong fighters. I actually wanted to go there myself to see who I could match up with," Ryuji admitted, a small grin of excitement on his face, "But we never sold any Gaia Memories in that region for that reason."
"Exactly," Ryubee nodded. Too many absurdly strong fighters for Gaia Memories to be sold. If one of those fighters got their hands on a Memory, it would cause more unnecessary damages than Ryubee was comfortable with. Then the police, or worse, the SDF, would be brought in and trace everything back to the Sonozakis. That was something he would rather not have happen. "However, I was informed by one of our dealers that there have been Gaia Memory activity discovered in Kanto despite no sales being made there."
Ryuji's eyes widened in shock, "What?"
"My boy, would you mind traveling there to investigate?" Ryubee asked. "In addition to that, I understand that there is another Kamen Rider there, so it would be safe if you brought Wakana and Amakusa with you."
"Another Kamen Rider?" Ryuji frowned. "They keep popping up everyone these days. They're like rabbits." It was no secret that Ryuji hated Kamen Riders. To him, they were interfering with humanity's evolution. Sure some of his methods were a bit questionable, but the Kamen Riders always had to jump in and offrail his plans to make humanity improve. "Right, we'll go and see where those Gaia Memories are coming from. And if that Kamen Rider happens to show up," Ryuji said, pulling something out of his pocket.
"PHOBIA!"
"I'll just see what he's afraid of," he smirked.
XXX
Meanwhile, Rena Banabara was taking a bath and looking up at the ceiling. Even after all these years people were trying to ask her about her hometown, Hinamizawa. It had taken her years to move on from the tragedy, from the death of her friends. Now these detectives have come and were poking their noses into something that had happened a long time ago.
She was actually afraid that they would find out about the horrible things she had done during her madness. Taking the school hostage and threatening to blow it up hadn't been the worst thing she had done.
She had blood on her hands and even though she had felt justified during that time, she still feared the truth would come out.
All in the while, a figure in white and orange stood outside of her home, casually flipping a metal coin in their hand, "The desire to keep secrets hidden. That might be useful in our cause."
XXX
Tailsmo4ever: Welcome to the fanfic adaption of the Movie Core War. This is a project that I also wanted to handle ever since production on Medals of Ikki Tousen began. However, due to the Double Trouble epilogue being set up and completed without my knowledge I was forced to improvise. And that's fine as this new fic allows me to do things differently outside of the movie, such as altering the creation of Core. I can also explore some new territory and have other ideas that I may only have to use once. So you know, when God gives you lemons. Hope you enjoy.