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"I'm sorry, did you say Fuuto-kun has turned evil?" Shotaro asked incredulously. He could hear footsteps coming up the staircase in the garage, whether it was Philip or their special visitor he wasn't sure.
"I find it hard to believe myself," the woman said. "But it definitely looked like Fuuto-kun, that's a pretty distinctive suit, and I found my assistant injured and she said it was Fuuto-kun. I don't know what happened and I haven't seen him since...please, Shotaro-san, you're the best detective in town. I need you to find him and find out what happened."
Shotarou nodded and escorted the woman out. As soon as he closed the door behind her, a figure peered out from behind the bedcurtain.
“Did she say Fuuto-Kun?”
“Yes, Kirihiko-San, she did. I don’t believe it myself,” Shotarou said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“You are investigating it?” Kirihiko asked.
“Of course. You know I am as passionate a fan of our mascot as you are,” Shotarou said as he made his way toward the basement door. Hopefully the walking library wasn’t in the middle of a personal research task and could help the detective get to the bottom of things before he headed out into the city.
Downstairs he found his partner listening to the radio with a blissful smile on his face. Shotarou inwardly groaned, having forgotten that it was time for Wakana’s Healing Princess show. He checked his watch. Only five minutes left...he decided to let Philip listen to the rest of the show in peace before interrupting him.
As soon as Wakana signed off, Philip turned the radio down and looked at his partner. “New case?” He asked.
“Supposedly, Fuuto-Kun has turned evil.”
“But you and Kirihiko-San don’t believe it,” Philip finished his partner’s thought.
“No. There must be something else at work here.”
“Shall we begin the lookup?” Philip said, picking up his book and entering the library. “Keywords?”
Shotarou thought a moment. “Fuuto-Kun. Assault.” He hesitated, and opened his notebook to where he’d taken notes while talking to the client. “And 425 Beacon Street.”
Philip was silent for a long moment. Then he opened his eyes and flipped open his book. "Very intriguing. The Fuuto-Kun your client saw was not the mascot we usually see. It was a Dopant." He picked up a marker and wrote a few things on the white board.
Kirihiko came downstairs just in time to see Philip write out the details of the Gaia memory involved.
"Someone made a memory based on Fuuto-Kun? MY Fuuto-Kun?" Kirihiko snarled.
Shotarou sighed. He knew Kirihiko wasn't going to back down on this case. The man was the only person Shotarou knew who was as passionate about Fuuto as himself. "Thank you Philip," he said. "This should be an easy case." He picked up his jacket and started to head out when Kirihiko stopped him.
"Let me go with you. Fuuto-Kun is my creation, my child. This is personal."
Shotarou gently slid the other man's hand off his shoulder. "I know it is. But you're still a fugitive from Museum. And injured. You know I care deeply for this city. Please trust me."
Kirihiko hesitated. Philip closed his book with a loud snap, catching the man's attention. "Shotarou will make sure anyone who hurts this city pays," he said. "Besides, it's your turn to cook dinner and I am hungry!"
Kirihiko sighed. "Be back in time for dinner," he said to Shotarou, and headed back upstairs.
"Good save, aibou," Shotarou said, and climbed aboard the motorcycle waiting in the garage. "Wish me luck!" he added, just before peeling out the secret garage door.
It wasn't long before Shotarou reached the office where Philip had determined the owner of the Gaia memory was hiding. It was an unassuming office building the detective had passed many times before, but now it harbored a criminal. He swung his leg over the bike, swiftly removing his helmet and switching it for his signature fedora, before heading toward the door.
The detective didn't get far. Screams from a nearby courtyard drew him away, and when he rounded the corner, he was confronted with a large red and green figure stepping menacingly toward some innocent citizens. Shotarou broke out into a run, tackling the figure with his shoulder and knocking it away from the frightened office workers.
"Run!" he shouted, before getting knocked to the ground from his quickly-recovered opponent. Jumping to his feet, he finally got a good look at the Dopant. He could see how their client had thought it was Fuuto-Kun terrorizing people - it looked very much like the city's beloved mascot, but with a mean face and a bit of a lizard look to it.
"Fool! Who are you to stop me?" it growled.
Shotarou pulled out his driver and put it to his waist. He snatched the Joker memory from its home in his waistcoat and tipped his hat forward. "A detective who is going to stop you from making this city cry by twisting its own precious symbol."
CYCLONE! JOKER!
With a rush of wind, the city's protector, their Kamen Rider emerged. With a yell, the green and black figure leapt at the Dopant, knocking it to the ground with a powerful blow. The Dopant tried to fight back but before too long, there was a frightened businessman in its place, quickly backing away from the shattered memory next to him.
Shotarou slipped his own memory from the belt and his suit disappeared in a whirl of wind. He walked over to the memory and picked it up as its former wielder ran away with a yelp. Sure enough, the fractured memory did read "Fuuto" on it. With a sigh, he pocketed the fragments and headed back to his motorcycle.
"I cannot believe they twisted my Fuuto-Kun that way," Kirihiko ranted as he filled plates in the detective agency's tiny kitchen.
"Me either," Shotarou agreed. "But it's over now. The memory is destroyed and Fuuto-Kun's good name is restored."
"Thank you, Shotarou-san," Kirihiko said, placing a full plate of food in front of the detective. "I appreciate your hard work."
"You're very welcome, Kirihiko-san," Shotarou replied. "And thank you for dinner!" he added, before picking up his chopsticks and digging in.