Archive of Our Own

lizerrr 1 day ago

I mean Shoutarou is a private detective. And Kamen Rider fights crime, right? So don't you think it makes sense for their jobs to intercross a bit sometimes? They're work buddies is what I'm getting at.
⇧ 6 ⇩

-fuutokun- 1 day ago

Guys guys guys what if the detective guy is just a very very big fan of kamen rider that he customized his bike like that fhdsjkfjkh
⇧ 8 ⇩

weekend_burnout 17 hours ago

Ugh I can not stand you conspiracy people. There's no way kamen rider is dating hidari shoutarou and people who think so are just delusional. He has a red boyfriend you dimwits!
⇧ 30 ⇩

Terui Ryuu lives in a fairly nice apartment. Lots of windows, plenty of space, the type of apartment people would feel envious about, but never say so to his face. Partly because no one has actually been to Terui’s apartment, partly because Terui’s resting bitch face makes it really hard for anyone to complain to him.

It should be noted, though, that Terui himself doesn’t really spend a lot of time in his own apartment either. Terui is a man of practicality. To him, the apartment is simply the place he returns each day for sleep. No more, no less. There’s not much there, after all, aside from himself, and he might not look it, but he is sort of kind of not the biggest fan of loneliness after the whole “family dying” thing.

Had the thought occurred to him, he might’ve tried watching a horror movie, to feel like someone else is in the house with him. But he didn’t, so instead, he spends most of his time at the Narumi Detective Agency, where it’s always bubbling with some kind of commotion and you’ll never get left alone, even if you desperately wish so.

Today, however, the atmosphere is a little curious when he pushes open the front door. Terui stops, and thinks about it. He realizes that there is an uncharacteristic silence looming over the room. The two halves of the head detective are squished on the same chair- one that’s clearly not designed to hold two people at once- back pressed tightly to back, both reading a different book. The chief, Narumi Akiko is sitting over by the couch, watching them carefully over a cup of coffee.

Terui creeps quietly over to the chief.

“Chief.” He greets politely. “What are they doing?”

“Fighting.” says Akiko. “Good afternoon to you, Ryuu-kun.” She doesn’t seem worried in the slightest, experienced in dealing with stupid men by now. “It’s a disagreement over a client .” She whispers like it’s a conspiracy. “Some other rider is in town- Zio, I think his name is. He needs W’s power for… something. Unfortunately that means W would lose his power? To be honest, I didn’t fully get the gist of that. Philip-kun thinks it’s fishy, understandably. Shoutarou-kun wants to look cool in front of a kouhai.”

“I see.” Terui says. He does not see. “Why are they sitting like that?”

“They don’t like fighting.” Akiko says to him. “And Shoutarou-kun gets sad if Philip-kun isn’t there.”

“I thought their separation anxiety got better.”

“It did , but it’s still hard when they’re having an argument.”

Terui gives them another wary look before sitting down next to Akiko.

“Would you like a cookie?” She offers him sunnily. “I baked them myself.”

He takes one. “Thank you.”

“Shoutarou-kun! Philip-kun!” Akiko raises her voice to call out to the pair. “Would you guys like some cookies?”

“‘It’s okay. We’re good.’” Comes a perfectly synchronized answer, down to sharing a single rhythm.

Akiko exchanges a twin Look wordlessly with Terui. Later, Akiko deflates. “Nope. We’re not on their level yet.” But really, there’s no reason for her to be disappointed about it. Not many people are telepathic. Besides, not many people can stand to be telepathic. Imagine having someone else’s voice in your head all the time, like a personal Bad Idea Generator that just eggs you on terrible life choices, because voiced advocating is exactly what your worst, most idiotic thoughts need, of course. Speaking of voices in heads-

“Are they wearing their drivers right now?” Terui points at the matching belts digging awkwardly into Shoutarou’s and Philip’s thighs where they are folding themselves into the same chair.

“They get lonely when they’re not talking with each other.” Akiko explains.

The great and fearsome heroes of Fuuto, everyone.

And now, some guesses and speculation on how Philip grew his fashion sense. Some background knowledge on the topic: Despite living in imprisonment for literal years, wearing the same old white nightgown that makes him look like a ghost, a post-rescue Philip dresses in a very distinct style. A style, mind you, that bears no similarity whatsoever to Shoutarou’s, though his is the only sense of fashion Philip should be able to come into contact with. So from whence did Philip adopt the long jacket? The sleeves that cover half of his palms? The unorthodox hair accessories?

Here are a few possible candidates.

• Philip decided upon all the types of clothes he’d read up on in the Gaia Library.
• Philip took a fashion magazine and circled the ones he thought looked comfortable.
• Philip just wore whatever Shoutarou bought home from department store sales.
• Philip got the idea from a Wakana’s Healing Princess radio corner.

“So? Do you know?” asks Queen and Elizabeth.

“Why are you asking me?” asks a very lost Terui. Normally, he’d just deflect with his Don’t ask me questions line, but Akiko’s trying to get him to stop saying it lately.

It makes you super scary! She told him, which is kind of the point, if he’s being honest. Plus, if you can’t even ask a police officer questions, how are the people of Fuuto supposed to live without worry!

So now he’s stuck with this.

“You’re the only one available right now?” says Queen. “Philip’s who-knows-where, as usual. Shou-chan’s off working on some case with Akiko. You’re the next in line for most likely to know the answer. We’re conducting a school research on advertisements.”

“I didn’t sign up for this.” says Terui, who didn’t sign up for this.

“You very much did.” says Elizabeth, dead serious. “This was destined since the moment you first stepped into the agency.”

Hidari Shoutarou is what you might call a local celebrity: loved by children, doted on by grandmas, you know the type.

He grew up in Fuuto, and somehow never got tired of the same street views. Not only did he never get tired of Fuuto, he’s weirdly enthusiastic about Fuuto. Most people might be fond of their hometown, no big deal there, it’s just regular childhood nostalgia and a sense of familiarity in the community. Hidari Shoutarou is not like that. If anything, he’s more like a fan of the city.

He knows all the roads- streets as well as alleyways. He knows the best spot to watch the annual summer festival fireworks. He knows the cheapest restaurant that serves good curry. He knows the quickest way to the beach. He knows the biggest stationary store for all kinds of office supplies. The list goes on and on.

And everyone more or less knows about him too: knows the kid who’s running a detective agency on the edge of town, so it’s a mutual knowledge sort of situation, very nice. People go to him for all kinds of problems, and he’s glad to help them out, because helping out those in need is very hard-boiled, and because it helps pay the bills. Helping out other riders , then, should be just as simple, except rider business is never simple. There’s always some kind of forgotten gruesome past, or a betrayal, or power-ups with horrible side effects, or manipulation, you know, the kind of thing that you’d sneak into a children’s TV show and hope they don’t think too hard about the implications.

“We’ve never even heard of this ‘Zio’.” hisses Philip in a low voice. “If that’s even his real name.”

“Oh! That’s just my title!” Zio pipes up in the background. “My real name is Tokiwa Sougo! I’m from the future!” He has a dopey grin on his face. Ah, youth.

“Well.” Shoutarou begins carefully. “He did say he’s from the future. Maybe that’s why we’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s nowhere in the Gaia Library.” Philip tells him flatly. “And that’s not suspicious to you in the slightest.”

“Not really.” Shoutarou says. “Maybe because he’s from the future?”

Philip sighs in the way that means he thinks Shoutarou is being an idiot, which is quite uncalled for, because in this particular instance, Shoutarou is pretty sure he’s still operating reasonably. “Honestly, Shoutarou.” says his partner, exasperation heavy in his tone. “How have you not been scammed before? Do you believe just about anything that anyone tells you? There is a line between kind-heartedness and gullible, Shoutarou, and frankly, I don’t think you know where that is.”

A bit harsh there! Even for Philip’s standards. Shoutarou hears himself sigh, and say, “A detective, Philip. That’s who I am. If I don’t trust my own clients, who will? On top of that, I’m a kamen rider. You know as much as I do how tricky it gets sometimes. You’ve seen that- what’s it called again?-”

“Another Rider.” Zio supplies helpfully from across the agency.

“-Another Rider too, and how it reforms itself. If we could help with that…” He claps Philip on his sides. “Besides, wouldn’t we want to be assisted in our time of need, too?”

And? Whose side are you on, my dear?

Philip Shoutarou

Thank you for voting!

Now that we’ve got that entirely unimportant poll out of the way- no one’s counting the votes anyway, because the author can’t write anything that complicated yet- it really doesn’t matter whose side you’re on. Because Shoutarou spoils Philip quite a bit above a healthy amount, which means that he’s going to cave first in their little cold war.

“C’mon, partner.” There he goes, breaking the silence. “It’s not like Fuuto would be left completely defenseless. Terui would still have Accel, and didn’t Zio say he was fairly sure I’d still be able to transform into Joker? No one cries in our city, yeah?” He holds out a fist for Philip to bump, a tentative olive branch. Shoutarou really hates getting into disagreements with Philip, because his partner can get very unsettling if he puts his mind to it: stiff shoulders and unreadable eyes, that makes it kind of like talking into a wall.

Philip doesn’t reach out to bump it. Instead, he narrows his eyes, and says, “If that’s what Shoutarou thinks I’m mad about, then this conversation was already dead before it started.” Ah, yikes. Philip’s voice is about as warm as being plunged into the Antarctic Ocean naked, in the middle of winter, under a raging snowstorm. Shoutarou flinches. He had it coming, really.

Time to try a different tactic, then.

“Alright.” He relents. “How about you tell me what it is you’re so concerned about. And then we can go from there.”

Philip crosses his arms and huffs. “Okay. Let’s do that.” He takes a seat at the tall table, and gestures for Shoutarou to take the other seat, and for a while they just stare at each other soundlessly.

“You have no sense of self-preservation.” Philip says.

Shoutarou waits for a follow-up statement. Then he waits some more. There is apparently none. He blinks. “That’s it?”

He realizes it’s the wrong thing to say the minute it leaves his tongue, but unfortunately, Shoutarou can not turn back time, unlike that Zio kid. He does , however, duck his eyes just in time to dodge Philip bristling. “What do you mean ‘ that’s it ’?” He demands.

“I mean ,” Shoutarou tries to salvage the situation. “That I do have a sense of self-preservation, just like everyone else. Where’d you get the idea that I didn’t ?”

“You were perfectly fine with giving out W’s power.” Philip points out.

“Yes, well, temporarily, and it’s to help Zio with his thing.” Shoutarou protests, tapping a restless rhythm on the table with his left forefinger. “As I’ve argued before, I’d still have Joker. I’m not powerless, Philip.” He frowns.

“I never said you were.” Philip rubs at his temple. “I said you should think about it. Sure, Zio said a lot of things, but they’re mostly his own guesses , Shoutarou, about what might or might not happen after he takes W. Joker should be unaffected. But what if it isn’t? What if you’re chasing after a dopant and you can’t transform?” He pressures. “I wouldn’t even know, because I’d be back here. That’s not how we work.” Philip reaches out, catches Shoutarou’s tapping finger and traps it under his own hand. “I don’t like it when I can’t be there with you.” He says.

“Uh.” Shoutarou answers eloquently, voice suspiciously several pitches higher.

Q: What kind of senpai is W?

“I think they complement each other well!” answers Tokiwa Sougo, Kamen Rider Zio. “And I really like the W shape hand gesture they do before they transform. It looks so cool and concise.” (He mimics W’s movements with his arms for a moment, occasionally switching back to strike his own transformation pose, then back again. This continues for a good ten seconds before he blinks back into focusing on the present.) “Sorry. What were we talking about again?”

Narumi Akiko thinks of herself as a very good boss. She’s on excellent terms with her employees, she hasn’t fired anyone due to poor behavior before, and she’s always out in the field working alongside them. Literally, where would you find a better employer? She’s also very understanding, and very accommodating, and she genuinely cares about Shoutarou-kun’s and Philip-kun’s well-being.

That however, does not include putting up with their bullshit.

“ That’s what he said to you?” She gags. “Shoutarou-kun. Hey, Shoutarou-kun. Shoutarou-kun. You’re an idiot.”

And can you believe it- Shoutarou has the gall to look offended , as if Akiko wasn’t just telling it how it is, but slandering his good name.

“You’re on Philip’s side?” He complains. “Really. Even though you know he’s the one acting ridiculous this time.”

“This time.” she mutters.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Akiko says. “And I’m not on his side , really. I refuse to take sides in this! But my refusal to take sides doesn’t have anything to do with you being an idiot!”

“And would your highness be ever so kind as to grace us with why she believes I’m, and I quote, ‘being an idiot’?” Shoutarou rolls his eyes, then tips his hat mockingly.

She graciously ignores his act of great disrespect. “Philip-kun very clearly told you that he doesn’t like it when he can’t be there with you. And those are his exact words, you say?”

Her poor, misguided, fool of a hireling nods. “How does he say these embarrassing things straight-faced?” He wonders.

“I’d say it’s because he knows that Shoutarou-kun would never be able to understand anything less straight-forward.” Akiko sighs. She might not be taking anyone’s side here, but she does feel a pang of sympathy for Philip, and the tragedy of his blockhead of a partner.

“That’s needlessly mean.” Shoutarou mumbles. “For your information, I do understand that he’s worried about me, which I find touching and all, but it hardly serves as an excuse for him to treat me like I’m incapable of taking care of myself. I’m an adult.” He says. “I’m older than him, even. And he thinks I can’t handle myself because I’m half-boiled?”

Okay. There. This is why we need communication, truly. Otherwise how the hell are people supposed to jump through the same trick course of logic gymnastics to arrive at the same conclusion? So this is how Shoutarou views this. That’s a step forward, at least. Now if he would only say it directly to Philip instead of venting to Akiko over tea and cookies. Akiko is suddenly reminded of her high school years, when she and a couple of her best friends would hang together during lunch break and do essentially what she and Shoutarou are doing right now.

“Okay,” Akiko maneuvers. “I understand that Philip-kun might have some word-choice issues, but I’m sure he’s not trying to patronize you. Of course he knows you can take care of yourself! He’s your partner , Shoutarou-kun! If he didn’t know, who would ?”

“Right.” says Shoutarou. “That’s what I’ve been saying.”

“And?” She gestures widely with her hands. “Have you spoken to him about how you’re feeling at all?”

Akiko watches as Shoutarou grows to an unbecoming shade of red. “It’s lame.”

Akiko holds his gaze, and very very seriously tells him, “It’s even lamer to be sitting here whining about it to me.”

Possible Steps to Take:

1. Locate target
2. Trap the target somewhere they can’t escape
3. ???????
4. Profit

It’s the same old story, isn’t it? Two people being locked together in a secluded space, unable to exist before they resolve the tension.

“Philip” Shoutarou says. “Are you sure this is necessary?”

“Of course.” answers his partner. “I read it in a book about solving conflicts.”

“Okay.” says Shoutarou gingerly, raising his head to give the internal structure of the Revolgarry a good look. Come to think of it, he’s never properly appreciated their trusty battleground automobile before. Perhaps because W is usually riding on the bike, and not in the car. “Not that I’m not thrilled to be here, but don’t you think you could stand to read some other books revolving around conflict-solving?”

Philip snaps his fingers. “The thought has occurred to me,” he says, “but again, this is a time-sensitive matter, so I didn’t get the chance to read that many books. I did come across a suggestion on handcuffing the two of us together, but I did not find any handcuffs in the agency, so I decided that there would be no harm done to fall back on the old tactic. It worked the first time, after all.”

Darn it! The ole’ principle of No need to fix what ain’t broke! But Shoutarou really shouldn’t complain too much, considering the alternative. Speaking of, now might be a good time to feel relieved at the lack of handcuffs in the agency. Shoutarou isn’t sure he’d be able to handle that. The Revolgarry, at least, counts as private quarters.

“I guess this works.” Shoutarou says to himself, then, to Philip, “I initially hoped for a more laid-back setting, but alright. Let’s do this.” He cracks his knuckles.

“We’re not going to fist fight, Shoutarou.” Philip reminds him.

“I know that.” his partner responds defensively. “It’s a nervous tick, okay?”

“I don’t see why you’re nervous.” Philip says.

“You…can…be…” Shoutarou contemplates how he should put it. “Intense.”

Philip nods along mindfully. “I already said my piece last time. I’d like to hear your side, Shoutarou.”

“My side. Right.”- and there’s some awful pun that could be cracked there, and if these are the thoughts that are filling Shoutarou’s head, it must mean that his mind’s not really working so well. Come to think of it, it hasn’t been working so well around Philip ever since their last talk- “It stung when you didn’t trust me handling myself. A bit.” He says, and his palms are sweating up. As often as Shoutarou and Philip clash sides, Shoutarou has not gotten any better at dealing with these confrontations. Normally they just naturally boiled over, usually in the heat of battle where there’s no time to hesitate, which, perhaps, is not the most healthy method.

“I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you’re incompetent, Shoutarou.” And possibly Philip has been thinking it over too, because it’s not hard to tell that he’s trying to be more gentle.

“I know.” Shoutarou says quickly. “Akiko said that too.”

“I would never.” Philip tells him. “You are very competent, Shoutarou. You did exceptionally well protecting Fuuto when I wasn’t around. But you carry too much on your shoulders. If you’re busy taking care of everyone in Fuuto, who’s going to take care of you? And then I decided that I wanted to do it.”

Philip is a devil Philip is dangerous because Shoutarou thinks his face might be burning up. He is terribly unprepared for genuine praise and concern. But this is not the place to back down! No matter how overwhelmed he feels by Philip’s confession, he needs to steel himself or else he’ll never be able to get his thoughts across, and Philip, his partner , is waiting!

“Okay.” He squeaks, holding up a hand as a sort of a time out, let me process gesture. Then he takes a breath and says, “I get that. Thank you, partner, for looking out for me.” Shoutarou takes another breath. “It was hard to protect Fuuto alone.” He admits, something that sat heavily on his mind for the majority of that year, but never slipped past his tongue. “I more or less was just hanging on. I don’t think I did a very good job.” He holds out a hand when Philip looks like he wants to argue.

Philip closes his mouth, and for that, Shoutarou is thankful. He realizes that he probably needs to say this uninterrupted, at least once.

“I didn’t do a very good job, because there was just me. I couldn’t juggle everything as perfectly as I’d like to. And every time I’d think Oh god, what if Philip saw me now? It would be so uncool and just generally terrible to let you down after you entrusted the city to me, you know? So it’s extra hard to hear it from you.”

“I’m sorry.” Philip says. “I didn’t say it to make you feel bad.”

“Even I’d know that, Philip.” Shoutarou allows a little smile to emerge. He clears his throat. “Anyway, I didn’t tell you that to make you apologize. My point is, I’ve been through doing it alone, for what I thought was permanent, and it was really, really not good . I’d never willingly go through that again if I could help it. Here’s a question for you. Why do you think I’m okay with lending out W?”

Philip’s mouth quirks up. “I don’t suppose the answer is because you want to look like a sauve senior rider?”

Shoutarou coughs out a laugh. “I’ll give you partial credit for that, and that’s being generous.” He huffs. “Another part of it is, of course, that Zio obviously needs the help. Help that I could afford. But the big reason?” He flicks Philip on the forehead. “It’s precisely because you’re here, genius.”

Philip blinks several times. “I’m not following.”

“That’s because not everyone can know everything, Philip. Not even you.” Shoutarou grins, and gives his shoulder a firm pat. “It’s because I know that if things go south, I’d have you beside me. I can surge forward without fear only because I’ve got you behind my back, Philip. Because I know you’d catch me if I fall.”

And Philip smiles back, something dry and warm all at once. “That’s very half-boiled of you to say.” he teases, because Philip is not above that yet, but he can be pleasant when he wants, when he adds, “And it’s fantastic to hear.”

The wind blows in Fuuto

Kamen Rider reconciles

via cheesy trope

And...scene!

Thank you everyone, it's been a lovely evening with all of you here. We hope you have a good rest of your night! Tune in next time for more #MaskedHeroUnmasked

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