Three Shinkengers Shoutarou Met and The One He Went To See
3. Ryuunosuke
It had seemed that Philip had taken Shoutarou’s advice to heart about not only reading up on things, but also experiencing them. Shoutarou had suspected this had been boiling under the lid for quite some time, but only recently had it shown up.
If Shoutarou didn’t know any better, he would have thought Philip that purposely planned this. Damn, his partner was getting devious.
“Shoutarou! The show is about to start!” Philip grabbed Shoutarou’s wrist and dragged his partner to their seats in the theater. It was just their luck that Philip managed to get them front row seats (though if Shoutarou was right, it was not a coincidence).
The lights soon dimmed and two actors came out. Dressed in brightly colored kimonos and long wigs, the two actors danced to the music. They leapt into the air, landing with a powerful stomp on the stage. Shoutarou watched with a quiet but critical eye, knowing the routines and how the act would play out.
Soon, it was over and Philip was off dragging him backstage. Well, that more or less confirmed it. Philip knocked on the door of the dressing room. The door flung open, revealing a tall, brown-haired man dressed in the bright colored kimono of the one of the actors.
“OTOUTO!”
Before Shoutarou can could protest, he was pulled into a hug. “Ryuu-niisan,” he gasped. “I need to breath.”
Ryuunosuke let him go reluctantly. “Sorry,” he said, not really meaning the apology. He swung his arm around Shoutarou’s shoulders. “It’s been too long, otouto,” he said.
Shoutarou noticed that Philip was standing off to the side, looking happy but depressed. Ah, he was such an idiot. For Philip, who couldn’t remember his family, the idea of Shoutarou purposely leaving his all those years ago probably didn’t make sense. Shoutarou knew there were plenty of unasked questions that Philip had after reading the book about the first half of his life. He resolved to talk to Philip after this.
But first… “Ryuu-niisan. This is my partner, Philip,” Shoutarou introduced his younger partner. “Philip this is my older brother, Ryuunosuke.”
Ryuunosuke beamed and swept Philip into a hug. “So you’re Philip-kun! Shoutarou told me all about you! I hope you enjoyed the show.”
Philip looked bewildered and glanced at his partner. “Shoutarou talks about me?”
“Well not everything,” Shoutarou mumbled, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.
“Every time I call him,” Ryuunosuke said in a sing-song tone.
Philip believed that. There was someone who called the agency every night before Shoutarou went to bed. He was a little surprised that Shoutarou would talk about him, though, to his brother. They had only been living together for a few months now, and it had only been last week that Philip learned that Shoutarou’s original last name was Ikenami.
Ryuunosuke ruffled Philip’s hair. “Ah, I got another cute otouto,” he said proudly.
“Cute?” Shoutarou said. At the same time, Philip said, “Otouto?” They both looked at Ryuunosuke with confused expressions on their faces.
“Of course!” Ryuunosuke exclaimed. “Welcome to family, Philip. I can’t wait to tell Mother and Father that they have another son who’s just as adorable as Shou-chan.”
Shoutarou sputtered. “We’re not putting through Philip through samurai training!”
Ryuunosuke grinned. “I didn’t say anything about samurai training,” he teased. He turned his attention to Philip, who was looking very lost in the conversation. “Do you like Kabuki, Philip-kun?”
Shoutarou waved his hands frantically. “Say NO, Philip! Before Ryuu-niisan kidnaps you!”
“I won’t kidnap him, Shou-chan!”
“You would too!”
Philip watched as Ryuunosuke and Shoutarou playfully fought, running around the room. He didn’t really understand what was going on. However, the fact that Ryuunosuke considered him to be family right off the bat warmed his heart. Why Shoutarou wanted to leave this behind, Philip didn’t understand.
“Family. How compelling…”
2. Kotoha
“Aki-chan! It’s been so long!”
“Kotoha-chan!”
Shoutarou watched as a small girl walked into the agency with a large cloth bag swung on her shoulders. Her black hair was pulled into two low pigtails and he could see a strange necklace hanging from her neck, though Akiko was currently blocking his view as she hugged the girl.
“What brings you to Fuuto?” Akiko asked. She had known Kotoha back in Osaka. They had been close friends who regularly ran into each other before they had exchanged addresses to keep in touch, as Kotoha lived much farther away.
“I’m just passing through,” Kotoha explained. “But I dropped my flute when I went to get something to eat. I remembered you told me that you had a detective agency here in Fuuto, and I was hoping you could help me look for it?” She smiled shyly.
Shoutarou couldn’t help but smile back. “Of course we will,” he said with a slight bow. It was then that he noticed the yellow triangle necklace with the kanji for earth on it. “Ah,” he said, pointing to it.
Kotoha looked down. “Ah, this?” she said, gripping the triangle tightly. “It’s a family heirloom.”
Shoutarou knew it was more than just that. It was an Origami. That meant Kotoha was a Shinkenger. Judging from the bag on her shoulders, it probably meant that the Gendoshuu had returned, and they were being summoned. Ryuunosuke would be going into battle soon. It…upset him more than he thought.
“Shoutarou?” Akiko called out. She looked a little concerned by Shoutarou’s spacing out. Akiko reached out, placing a hand on Shoutarou’s shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Ah, it’s nothing,” Shoutarou replied. Giving a smile to Kotoha, he said, “Let’s go find your flute.”
---
A few hours later, they had tracked down Kotoha’s flute. She had left it at the ramen stand before it was picked up by Watcherman. The informant apologized for just picking it up and gladly returned it to Kotoha. Once that was done, they walked Kotoha back to the station, where they waited for her train to arrive.
“Thank you very much!” Kotoha said with a bow.
“No problem, Kotoha-chan,” Akiko chirped. “Keep in touch, okay?”
The smaller girl nodded. “Hai!” Turning to Shoutarou, she bowed once more. “Thank you again, Shoutarou-san.”
Shoutarou leaned forward and tapped Kotoha’s necklace. “Just do your best, ShinkenYellow.”
Kotoha’s eyes widened in surprised. “Ah! How do you know that?”
Shoutarou smiled and ignored Akiko’s questioning look. He would deal with Akiko later. Right now, he knew Kotoha was about to head into a rough battle, and a sweet girl like her would need the encouragement. “‘Cause I do. Tell ShinkenBlue that I said hi, okay?” He then ushered her toward the train that had pulled up. “Go on, now. Tono is waiting, isn’t he?”
Kotoha gave a hesitant nod before stepping inside. “Yes,” she agreed. “Do you know ShinkenBlue, Shoutarou-san?” She didn’t know how Shoutarou knew about the Shinkengers. It was a secret, for the most part, but Akiko trusted him and he seemed like a nice person.
“Something like that. I’m sure if you ask, he’ll tell you all about me,” Shoutarou said. “Go protect this world.”
“Hm! I will!”
1. Genta
There was this new Sushi cart that had appeared. Rumor had it the owner was only going to stick around for another day before moving onto the next city. Akiko wanted to try it, so she dragged Philip and Shoutarou out of the house.
That was how they ended up at Gold Sushi.
“It’s… okay,” Shoutarou stated, swallowing down the tamago sushi.
The sushi seller’s face fell. Shoutarou winced. “Not that it’s bad!” he quickly added on. “Just… plain.”
If possible, the sushi seller got more depressed. Shoutarou mentally groaned. It was impressive that at such a young age this guy had his own cart to sell from, but really, the sushi was not that good. A pinging noise drew Shoutarou’s attention to the fish tank.
“AH! Ika origami!” Shoutarou pointed at the fish tank. Inside, the white squid origami floated. It pinged and shot a burst of ink, clouding the tank.
“You know about the Origami?” the sushi seller asked. His bad mood had disappeared and a serious look appeared on his face.
Philip and Akiko had stopped their eating and looked at Shoutarou. Shoutarou felt flustered for a moment. Why was the Ika-origami here? It should be with Ryuunosuke and the rest of the Shinkengers. Did this guy steal it? Or was he a Shinkenger as well? But that didn’t make sense. According Ryuunosuke’s letters, all the Shinekengers were present. Perhaps it would be best to ask before he went around jumping to conclusions.
“Well, yes,” Shoutarou asked. “Why do you have one? Are you a Shinkenger?” His eyes narrowed as he waited for the answer. He heard Akiko ask Philip what was Shinkenger was, since Shoutarou didn’t explain it to her when Kotoha was here. Mentally, he sighed. Akiko was going to start asking questions again. Maybe he should just tell her. Shoutarou saved those thoughts for another time. If anything, Philip would explain it to her.
“Aha!” The sushi seller now had a goofy expression on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, not yet,” he said. “Hopefully Take-chan will let me be one.”
‘Ta-Ta-Take-chan?!’ Shoutarou thought. This… guy referred to Tono as Take-chan? Shoutarou could feel a headache approaching. On second thought, it might be better not to ask and just wait for Ryuunosuke’s letter to come and explain it all.
“I will be the new ShinkenGold!” the sushi seller proclaimed. He posed with his fist raised to the sky and a leg on one of his stools.
“Ah…” Shoutarou said. Yes, it would be better not to ask. “Good luck.”
“Thank you!”
And The One He Went To See
He… shouldn’t be here. But this was the only thing left that Shoutarou could think of. He fidgeted as he sat, waiting. The Kuroko had come in, and, through his protestations, dressed his wounds. Shoutarou was sure that if his father ever found about this, he would have Shoutarou’s head for what he was about to do.
The sliding door opened, revealing a tall, black-haired man: Shiba Takeru. Shoutarou immediately placed both his hands on the floor and dropped his forehead to the ground. “Tono-sama,” he greeted. “I apologize for this late night interruption.”
“It’s fine,” Takeru said. He took a seat on his platform. “Now, who are you?”
Before Shoutarou could answer him, a gruff voice interrupted. “Ikenami Shoutarou.” Shoutarou looked back to see an old man dressed in traditional male kimono.
“Jii,” Takeru greeted.
Jii took a seat on the left hand side of Takeru’s platform. “Ikenami Shoutarou. The Ikenami family is the holder of the Ryuu-origami and traditionally the family of the ShinkenBlue. Shoutarou-san is the second son. Records say you ran away from home several years ago. Why have you returned here?” He had a stern look on his face as if he was somewhere between concerned and disappointed.
Shoutarou winced. It seemed Jii was a master of the ‘Look’ as well. “Ran away is kinda… not the right word.” He sighed, shoulders sagging. “Look, I know I have no right to ask this but the Shiba Clan is the only one I know who could pull this off. To make an extremely long story short, after I left home, I ended up working for a detective agency. Recently, my boss, the owner of the agency, took on a case that involved the rescue of a child.”
Shoutarou paused and looked at the white hat that was placed on the ground next to him. Begins Night… it happened only two days ago, and Shoutarou and Philip had been on the run since. It had been too dangerous to return to the agency, and Fuuto had been crawling with Masquerade Dopants searching for them. Transforming into W was beginning to take its toll, and, because neither Philip nor he were not used to it, it wasn’t the more efficient way to defend themselves, especially since it left Philip’s body unprotected.
What they needed was time. Time to perfect transforming into W, time to recover and lay low, time to sit and absorb what had happened and to plan how to proceed. Shoutarou knew this wasn’t something he could go to Jinno for, and asking help from his friends would put them in danger. They needed to leave Fuuto, if only for a short time, and the Shiba Clan was the only one Shoutarou could think for help. Not only were they capable of defending themselves if the Dopants showed up, but Shiba Clan’s influence was much larger and widespread, and if there was anyone who could help them disappear for awhile, it was them. Shoutarou just hoped that the Shiba Head would be willing to help them.
“A child… the boy you brought with you?” Jii asked.
Shoutarou nodded. Shortly after they had arrived in the city, Philip had passed out from exhaustion. Shoutarou carried him to the Shiba Mansion where the Kuroko took him. Right now they’re were probably putting him to bed so that he could rest.
“Philip--that’s his name--was being held by this organization that is producing what is called ‘Gaia Memories’,” Shoutarou continued his story. He recited what Philip had explained to him while they were running away. “Gaia Memories, they’re… they give people superpowers that turn them into monsters like the Gendoshuu.”
That alarmed Jii and Takeru. They shared a look. “Such an organization exists?” Jii questioned. Takeru leaned forward; an even more serious look appeared on his face.
Shoutarou nodded. “Yes. They’re called Dopants. I recently only started to learn all of this as well. Philip has fragmented memories of everything so the information he has is incomplete. However the bottom line is that Philip is important to them, and they will do anything to get him back.”
“Why have you come here?” Takeru asked. He looked at the young man sitting before him. It was clear that Shoutarou had been through much. There were cuts that the Kuroko had patched up and bruises that seemed to be growing bigger. He looked worn out and exhausted. Takeru could see that despite all of that, the look of determination hadn’t left him. Ikenami Shoutarou was definitely a samurai.
“We… need somewhere to stay and rest. Somewhere where the Dopants can’t find us, and time to let us recover. Just for a few days, then we’ll head back to Fuuto to take care of the problem,” Shoutarou explained.
“You plan to go back?” Takeru asked, startled. His eyebrow was raised.
Shoutarou gave them a wry grin. “If there’s one thing being an Ikenami has taught me, it was to never leave a problem for someone else to fix when you have the power to fix it yourself. I wouldn’t be much of a samurai if I let innocent people suffer willingly, now, would I? Philip feels the same, especially since he had a hand in creating the Gaia Memories. Besides, we have a way of combating the organization. However, I haven’t mastered it yet.”
“A way of combating them?” Jii asked.
Pulling the Double Driver from his jacket, Shoutarou placed it on the ground along with the three Gaia Memories he carried. “I can’t really explain it to you as I don’t really understand it myself, and Philip hasn’t finished explaining it to me,” Shoutarou explained. “But this device allows us to use these Gaia Memories without the addiction and toxins that the regular normal Gaia Memories cause. Philip also said these were different, more… refined was the word he used. When Philip wakes up, we can demonstrate it to you.”
“In the morning,” Takeru interrupted. “For now get some rest.”
Shoutarou’s eyes widened. Jii looked at Takeru. “Tono?” he probed for a confirmation.
Takeru nodded. “They can stay here until they’re ready to leave. Have the Kuroko be on the lookout for these… Dopants.”
Shoutarou beamed. “Thank you Tono!”
They might have a chance at surviving yet.
It had seemed that Philip had taken Shoutarou’s advice to heart about not only reading up on things, but also experiencing them. Shoutarou had suspected this had been boiling under the lid for quite some time, but only recently had it shown up.
If Shoutarou didn’t know any better, he would have thought Philip that purposely planned this. Damn, his partner was getting devious.
“Shoutarou! The show is about to start!” Philip grabbed Shoutarou’s wrist and dragged his partner to their seats in the theater. It was just their luck that Philip managed to get them front row seats (though if Shoutarou was right, it was not a coincidence).
The lights soon dimmed and two actors came out. Dressed in brightly colored kimonos and long wigs, the two actors danced to the music. They leapt into the air, landing with a powerful stomp on the stage. Shoutarou watched with a quiet but critical eye, knowing the routines and how the act would play out.
Soon, it was over and Philip was off dragging him backstage. Well, that more or less confirmed it. Philip knocked on the door of the dressing room. The door flung open, revealing a tall, brown-haired man dressed in the bright colored kimono of the one of the actors.
“OTOUTO!”
Before Shoutarou can could protest, he was pulled into a hug. “Ryuu-niisan,” he gasped. “I need to breath.”
Ryuunosuke let him go reluctantly. “Sorry,” he said, not really meaning the apology. He swung his arm around Shoutarou’s shoulders. “It’s been too long, otouto,” he said.
Shoutarou noticed that Philip was standing off to the side, looking happy but depressed. Ah, he was such an idiot. For Philip, who couldn’t remember his family, the idea of Shoutarou purposely leaving his all those years ago probably didn’t make sense. Shoutarou knew there were plenty of unasked questions that Philip had after reading the book about the first half of his life. He resolved to talk to Philip after this.
But first… “Ryuu-niisan. This is my partner, Philip,” Shoutarou introduced his younger partner. “Philip this is my older brother, Ryuunosuke.”
Ryuunosuke beamed and swept Philip into a hug. “So you’re Philip-kun! Shoutarou told me all about you! I hope you enjoyed the show.”
Philip looked bewildered and glanced at his partner. “Shoutarou talks about me?”
“Well not everything,” Shoutarou mumbled, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.
“Every time I call him,” Ryuunosuke said in a sing-song tone.
Philip believed that. There was someone who called the agency every night before Shoutarou went to bed. He was a little surprised that Shoutarou would talk about him, though, to his brother. They had only been living together for a few months now, and it had only been last week that Philip learned that Shoutarou’s original last name was Ikenami.
Ryuunosuke ruffled Philip’s hair. “Ah, I got another cute otouto,” he said proudly.
“Cute?” Shoutarou said. At the same time, Philip said, “Otouto?” They both looked at Ryuunosuke with confused expressions on their faces.
“Of course!” Ryuunosuke exclaimed. “Welcome to family, Philip. I can’t wait to tell Mother and Father that they have another son who’s just as adorable as Shou-chan.”
Shoutarou sputtered. “We’re not putting through Philip through samurai training!”
Ryuunosuke grinned. “I didn’t say anything about samurai training,” he teased. He turned his attention to Philip, who was looking very lost in the conversation. “Do you like Kabuki, Philip-kun?”
Shoutarou waved his hands frantically. “Say NO, Philip! Before Ryuu-niisan kidnaps you!”
“I won’t kidnap him, Shou-chan!”
“You would too!”
Philip watched as Ryuunosuke and Shoutarou playfully fought, running around the room. He didn’t really understand what was going on. However, the fact that Ryuunosuke considered him to be family right off the bat warmed his heart. Why Shoutarou wanted to leave this behind, Philip didn’t understand.
“Family. How compelling…”
2. Kotoha
“Aki-chan! It’s been so long!”
“Kotoha-chan!”
Shoutarou watched as a small girl walked into the agency with a large cloth bag swung on her shoulders. Her black hair was pulled into two low pigtails and he could see a strange necklace hanging from her neck, though Akiko was currently blocking his view as she hugged the girl.
“What brings you to Fuuto?” Akiko asked. She had known Kotoha back in Osaka. They had been close friends who regularly ran into each other before they had exchanged addresses to keep in touch, as Kotoha lived much farther away.
“I’m just passing through,” Kotoha explained. “But I dropped my flute when I went to get something to eat. I remembered you told me that you had a detective agency here in Fuuto, and I was hoping you could help me look for it?” She smiled shyly.
Shoutarou couldn’t help but smile back. “Of course we will,” he said with a slight bow. It was then that he noticed the yellow triangle necklace with the kanji for earth on it. “Ah,” he said, pointing to it.
Kotoha looked down. “Ah, this?” she said, gripping the triangle tightly. “It’s a family heirloom.”
Shoutarou knew it was more than just that. It was an Origami. That meant Kotoha was a Shinkenger. Judging from the bag on her shoulders, it probably meant that the Gendoshuu had returned, and they were being summoned. Ryuunosuke would be going into battle soon. It…upset him more than he thought.
“Shoutarou?” Akiko called out. She looked a little concerned by Shoutarou’s spacing out. Akiko reached out, placing a hand on Shoutarou’s shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Ah, it’s nothing,” Shoutarou replied. Giving a smile to Kotoha, he said, “Let’s go find your flute.”
---
A few hours later, they had tracked down Kotoha’s flute. She had left it at the ramen stand before it was picked up by Watcherman. The informant apologized for just picking it up and gladly returned it to Kotoha. Once that was done, they walked Kotoha back to the station, where they waited for her train to arrive.
“Thank you very much!” Kotoha said with a bow.
“No problem, Kotoha-chan,” Akiko chirped. “Keep in touch, okay?”
The smaller girl nodded. “Hai!” Turning to Shoutarou, she bowed once more. “Thank you again, Shoutarou-san.”
Shoutarou leaned forward and tapped Kotoha’s necklace. “Just do your best, ShinkenYellow.”
Kotoha’s eyes widened in surprised. “Ah! How do you know that?”
Shoutarou smiled and ignored Akiko’s questioning look. He would deal with Akiko later. Right now, he knew Kotoha was about to head into a rough battle, and a sweet girl like her would need the encouragement. “‘Cause I do. Tell ShinkenBlue that I said hi, okay?” He then ushered her toward the train that had pulled up. “Go on, now. Tono is waiting, isn’t he?”
Kotoha gave a hesitant nod before stepping inside. “Yes,” she agreed. “Do you know ShinkenBlue, Shoutarou-san?” She didn’t know how Shoutarou knew about the Shinkengers. It was a secret, for the most part, but Akiko trusted him and he seemed like a nice person.
“Something like that. I’m sure if you ask, he’ll tell you all about me,” Shoutarou said. “Go protect this world.”
“Hm! I will!”
1. Genta
There was this new Sushi cart that had appeared. Rumor had it the owner was only going to stick around for another day before moving onto the next city. Akiko wanted to try it, so she dragged Philip and Shoutarou out of the house.
That was how they ended up at Gold Sushi.
“It’s… okay,” Shoutarou stated, swallowing down the tamago sushi.
The sushi seller’s face fell. Shoutarou winced. “Not that it’s bad!” he quickly added on. “Just… plain.”
If possible, the sushi seller got more depressed. Shoutarou mentally groaned. It was impressive that at such a young age this guy had his own cart to sell from, but really, the sushi was not that good. A pinging noise drew Shoutarou’s attention to the fish tank.
“AH! Ika origami!” Shoutarou pointed at the fish tank. Inside, the white squid origami floated. It pinged and shot a burst of ink, clouding the tank.
“You know about the Origami?” the sushi seller asked. His bad mood had disappeared and a serious look appeared on his face.
Philip and Akiko had stopped their eating and looked at Shoutarou. Shoutarou felt flustered for a moment. Why was the Ika-origami here? It should be with Ryuunosuke and the rest of the Shinkengers. Did this guy steal it? Or was he a Shinkenger as well? But that didn’t make sense. According Ryuunosuke’s letters, all the Shinekengers were present. Perhaps it would be best to ask before he went around jumping to conclusions.
“Well, yes,” Shoutarou asked. “Why do you have one? Are you a Shinkenger?” His eyes narrowed as he waited for the answer. He heard Akiko ask Philip what was Shinkenger was, since Shoutarou didn’t explain it to her when Kotoha was here. Mentally, he sighed. Akiko was going to start asking questions again. Maybe he should just tell her. Shoutarou saved those thoughts for another time. If anything, Philip would explain it to her.
“Aha!” The sushi seller now had a goofy expression on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, not yet,” he said. “Hopefully Take-chan will let me be one.”
‘Ta-Ta-Take-chan?!’ Shoutarou thought. This… guy referred to Tono as Take-chan? Shoutarou could feel a headache approaching. On second thought, it might be better not to ask and just wait for Ryuunosuke’s letter to come and explain it all.
“I will be the new ShinkenGold!” the sushi seller proclaimed. He posed with his fist raised to the sky and a leg on one of his stools.
“Ah…” Shoutarou said. Yes, it would be better not to ask. “Good luck.”
“Thank you!”
And The One He Went To See
He… shouldn’t be here. But this was the only thing left that Shoutarou could think of. He fidgeted as he sat, waiting. The Kuroko had come in, and, through his protestations, dressed his wounds. Shoutarou was sure that if his father ever found about this, he would have Shoutarou’s head for what he was about to do.
The sliding door opened, revealing a tall, black-haired man: Shiba Takeru. Shoutarou immediately placed both his hands on the floor and dropped his forehead to the ground. “Tono-sama,” he greeted. “I apologize for this late night interruption.”
“It’s fine,” Takeru said. He took a seat on his platform. “Now, who are you?”
Before Shoutarou could answer him, a gruff voice interrupted. “Ikenami Shoutarou.” Shoutarou looked back to see an old man dressed in traditional male kimono.
“Jii,” Takeru greeted.
Jii took a seat on the left hand side of Takeru’s platform. “Ikenami Shoutarou. The Ikenami family is the holder of the Ryuu-origami and traditionally the family of the ShinkenBlue. Shoutarou-san is the second son. Records say you ran away from home several years ago. Why have you returned here?” He had a stern look on his face as if he was somewhere between concerned and disappointed.
Shoutarou winced. It seemed Jii was a master of the ‘Look’ as well. “Ran away is kinda… not the right word.” He sighed, shoulders sagging. “Look, I know I have no right to ask this but the Shiba Clan is the only one I know who could pull this off. To make an extremely long story short, after I left home, I ended up working for a detective agency. Recently, my boss, the owner of the agency, took on a case that involved the rescue of a child.”
Shoutarou paused and looked at the white hat that was placed on the ground next to him. Begins Night… it happened only two days ago, and Shoutarou and Philip had been on the run since. It had been too dangerous to return to the agency, and Fuuto had been crawling with Masquerade Dopants searching for them. Transforming into W was beginning to take its toll, and, because neither Philip nor he were not used to it, it wasn’t the more efficient way to defend themselves, especially since it left Philip’s body unprotected.
What they needed was time. Time to perfect transforming into W, time to recover and lay low, time to sit and absorb what had happened and to plan how to proceed. Shoutarou knew this wasn’t something he could go to Jinno for, and asking help from his friends would put them in danger. They needed to leave Fuuto, if only for a short time, and the Shiba Clan was the only one Shoutarou could think for help. Not only were they capable of defending themselves if the Dopants showed up, but Shiba Clan’s influence was much larger and widespread, and if there was anyone who could help them disappear for awhile, it was them. Shoutarou just hoped that the Shiba Head would be willing to help them.
“A child… the boy you brought with you?” Jii asked.
Shoutarou nodded. Shortly after they had arrived in the city, Philip had passed out from exhaustion. Shoutarou carried him to the Shiba Mansion where the Kuroko took him. Right now they’re were probably putting him to bed so that he could rest.
“Philip--that’s his name--was being held by this organization that is producing what is called ‘Gaia Memories’,” Shoutarou continued his story. He recited what Philip had explained to him while they were running away. “Gaia Memories, they’re… they give people superpowers that turn them into monsters like the Gendoshuu.”
That alarmed Jii and Takeru. They shared a look. “Such an organization exists?” Jii questioned. Takeru leaned forward; an even more serious look appeared on his face.
Shoutarou nodded. “Yes. They’re called Dopants. I recently only started to learn all of this as well. Philip has fragmented memories of everything so the information he has is incomplete. However the bottom line is that Philip is important to them, and they will do anything to get him back.”
“Why have you come here?” Takeru asked. He looked at the young man sitting before him. It was clear that Shoutarou had been through much. There were cuts that the Kuroko had patched up and bruises that seemed to be growing bigger. He looked worn out and exhausted. Takeru could see that despite all of that, the look of determination hadn’t left him. Ikenami Shoutarou was definitely a samurai.
“We… need somewhere to stay and rest. Somewhere where the Dopants can’t find us, and time to let us recover. Just for a few days, then we’ll head back to Fuuto to take care of the problem,” Shoutarou explained.
“You plan to go back?” Takeru asked, startled. His eyebrow was raised.
Shoutarou gave them a wry grin. “If there’s one thing being an Ikenami has taught me, it was to never leave a problem for someone else to fix when you have the power to fix it yourself. I wouldn’t be much of a samurai if I let innocent people suffer willingly, now, would I? Philip feels the same, especially since he had a hand in creating the Gaia Memories. Besides, we have a way of combating the organization. However, I haven’t mastered it yet.”
“A way of combating them?” Jii asked.
Pulling the Double Driver from his jacket, Shoutarou placed it on the ground along with the three Gaia Memories he carried. “I can’t really explain it to you as I don’t really understand it myself, and Philip hasn’t finished explaining it to me,” Shoutarou explained. “But this device allows us to use these Gaia Memories without the addiction and toxins that the regular normal Gaia Memories cause. Philip also said these were different, more… refined was the word he used. When Philip wakes up, we can demonstrate it to you.”
“In the morning,” Takeru interrupted. “For now get some rest.”
Shoutarou’s eyes widened. Jii looked at Takeru. “Tono?” he probed for a confirmation.
Takeru nodded. “They can stay here until they’re ready to leave. Have the Kuroko be on the lookout for these… Dopants.”
Shoutarou beamed. “Thank you Tono!”
They might have a chance at surviving yet.