“I understand the situation. Looks like we’ll have to keep our guard up for a while.”
Kizaki’s calm and collected voice could be heard over the phone.
I was in the middle of reporting the chain of incidents involving Haruto to Kizaki as I sat in my parked car.
After learning that Yuzuru and Yamamoto’s comatose states were a result of having their magic robbed, Mayu said that she wanted to supply them with as much magic as possible in order to facilitate their recovery. I decided to bring along Nitou as well, who said that he had something to tell Yuzuru, and the three of us headed back to the hospital.
Shunpei was ordered to keep watch over Haruto by Nitou, and it seems like he’ll be staying over at Haruto’s room tonight. The idea of having a sleepover with Haruto probably excited him, since he went out to buy ingredients for dinner like he was getting ready for a picnic.
I would’ve preferred to take on that job myself, honestly. I’d be able to talk to Haruto about all kinds of things if it were just the two of us, and I’d be able to listen to what he has to say as his ally. I’d even manage to find a lead to solving this mystery if things were to go well.
But unfortunately, that’ll have to wait until later. I’m a member of Section 0. I have a responsibility to first report the situation, and it’s important that I support Mayu and the rest as well.
Kizaki continued to talk over the phone.
“Section 0 will keep a close watch over Haruto Soma. You’re to lead the investigation for that underground room of Fueki’s again tomorrow.”
“What?!”
I ended up raising my voice.
If that were to happen, I’d be pretty busy for a while. I wouldn’t be able to visit Omokagedou every day like I usually do, and I’d get even fewer opportunities to see Haruto. I began to argue with Kizaki.
“If Section 0 is putting a mark on Haruto, do you think I could be in charge of that role?”
“No.”
Kizaki rejected me instantly. But I refused to back down.
“Why? I know Haruto better than anyone else in Section 0. I’d be able to talk to him about all kinds of things, and I might even be able to solve the mystery of this incident and clear him of suspi-”
“That’s exactly why, Rinko Daimon.”
Kizaki interrupted me.
“You’re too close to Haruto Souma. If you were to lower your guard around him, there’s a chance he could start another incident.”
“Are you serious…? Don’t tell me you doubt Haruto too!”
“Haruto Souma is a prime suspect right now.”
Kizaki’s sharp voice stabbed into my ears.
I tried to argue again, but the overwhelming silence from the other end told me that it would be useless no matter what I said.
Once I fell silent, Kizaki’s voice continued once again.
“As a detective, you have a responsibility to deal with this case as calmly as possible. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way.”
After declaring that in his indifferent voice, Kizaki hung up.
“Ahh, damn it!”
After getting hung up on, I directed all my anger to slamming the steering wheel in front of me.
I wonder just how many times I’ve hit my steering wheel up to now.
“As a detective, you have a responsibility to deal with this case as calmly as possible.”
I didn’t need Kizaki to tell me something as obvious as that. I’ve already been dealing with Haruto with the intention of being as calm as possible. I’ve been worrying about him calmly as a detective, and I calmly came to the conclusion as a detective that it’d be better if I stayed by his side as well, and in order to prove his innocence as a detective as calmly as possible…”
Actually… maybe I only thought I was tackling all of this calmly.
Despite being a detective, I’ve been prioritizing my feelings towards Haruto above all else. I want to do whatever I can to help him. I want to stay by his side even if it means abandoning my duties. I want to be there for him as much as I can…
Kizaki must’ve said those things to me because he completely saw through my feelings.
The moment I realized that, I grew incredibly embarrassed and buried my face into the steering wheel with an exasperated moan.
Sorry, steering wheel… I’m always taking it out on you, huh?
Just then, the phone I threw onto the passenger seat began ringing.
I reflexively fixed my appearance despite there being no one around to see me and quickly picked up the phone. It was from Mayu.
“I was able to successfully transfer my magic to the two of them with my belt. It wasn’t nearly enough, but I think they feel a little better now.”
I grew relieved after hearing that, and my annoyance from earlier began to settle down a bit.
“Don’t push yourself. Make sure you hold onto some magic for yourself too.”
“It’ll be okay. We’ve decided to stay at the hospital for the night. Nitou said that he didn’t want to leave Yuzuru, and I think it’d be safer anyway if we were to all stick together.”
“Good point. Well, don’t hesitate to call me again if anything happens.”
After hanging up, I looked at the digital clock on the dashboard.
It displayed that it was 11:35. Another 30 minutes and the date would change. Looking back on it, today’s really been a long day.
The empty parking lot was deathly silent in the middle of the night, with not a soul to be seen. Thick clouds began to cover the night sky visible from the windshield, obscuring the stars.
It was like a representation of my feelings.
I started the engine and took off wildly as if to blow away my depression.
Upon entering the streets, I saw that small droplets were falling onto my windshield.
(Rain, huh…)
I’m already feeling depressed enough as is, can you not please not make it even worse for me? I stepped on the accelerator so I could reach my house before it really started to pour.
However, the rain began to quickly pick up, as if to match my car’s increased speed, and soon enough there was water pouring down my windshield like a waterfall.
(Did the forecast mention anything about rain this bad tonight…?!)
Even if it did, I’m sure I never had the time to check. I let out a sigh as a turned on the switch for the wipers.
No matter how much the wipers did their job, the endless stream of rain covering my windshield showed no sign of stopping. The heavy rain that obstructed my vision began to feel like a large wall blocking my way, mocking my powerless and driving me further into depression.
Mayu, Yuzuru, and Yamato are all magicians, so they’re capable of fighting alongside Haruto, as well as defeating Phantoms. Nitou might always compete with Haruto and act on his own all the time, but you’re always able to count on him when you really need to. And even Koyomi, who disappeared from us, is still supporting Haruto from inside his heart…
But even though I’m alive and well and capable of being at Haruto’s side, I can’t even be there for him when it counts the most. I tried to tell myself that I’ve at least been there to watch over him, but perhaps that never even benefitted Haruto in the first place…
As if to agitate my already intense self-loathing, the rain continued to fall even harder.
Suddenly, something jumped into my headlights.
“!”
I quickly slammed the breaks.
I could see someone crouching in the headlights. My tires slipped, but I managed to just barely avoid hitting them.
I opened the door and ran into the rain.
“Are you okay?!”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I was taken by surprise by the face that looked up at me while saying that. It was Haruto.
“Sorry for scaring you. I recognized it was your car so I just ran in without thinking…”
“…What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you…”
Haruto stood up and looked at me with an unusually serious face.
“…Can we talk alone?”
I gave Haruto a ride, and after a little while, I stopped next to a large park with an abundance of trees and turned off the engine.
I was at first planning to stop at a family restaurant, but Haruto’s words gave me the impression that he didn’t want anyone to get in the way, and for a second, I even thought about bringing him to my house… But I realized I wouldn’t be able to focus on what he had to tell me since I’ve never had a man over before, so I decided that it would be best if we just talked in the car.
Haruto was silent ever since he got in my car. He was probably exhausted from walking in the rain. As he sat in the passenger seat, I glanced at him from the side, thinking it would be best if I just waited for him to start talking.
The soaking wet Haruto was in the middle of drying his head with a towel I gave him. He must’ve ran out of Omokagedou, since his outfit was exceptionally light, consisting of only a pair of denim jeans and a single t-shirt, which was wet from the rain and sticking tight against his toned body.
“Thanks.”
Haruto returned the towel he used to dry his head.
As I took back the towel, suspicion arose in my head as I glanced at him again.
(Is this really the Haruto I know…?)
If the Haruto that attacked Mayu and the rest really was a Phantom or something, then there’s a chance this Haruto is a completely different person. But I don’t want to doubt someone who was looking for me in the rain. But if I were to think about this calmly as a detective, then it clearly doesn’t make sense why Haruto would be here if Shunpei was supposed to be keeping watch on him…
I sneaked some glances at Haruto to see if there was anything off about him.
But the Haruto in front of me really didn’t look any different from the Haruto I knew.
“Oh, I know…”
I recalled that the Haruto that attacked Mayu had the ring of Hope on his finger.
Haruto was supposed to have hid that ring deep inside his heart so that no one would be able to take it, so I had no idea why the Haruto that attacked Mayu had such a thing. But if this Haruto did have that ring, it would serve as strong evidence of his identity.
However, the fingers lying on Haruto’s thighs didn’t have the ring of Hope on them. In fact, he wasn’t even wearing the Driver On ring that’s meant to summon his magic belt.
“Where’s your ring…?” I asked timidly.
After staying silent for a bit, Haruto eventually replied with a sad smile.
“Right… Even you’re cautious of me after what happened, huh?”
“T-That’s not it!”
When I violently shook my head in denial, he murmured in response.
“…What do I have to do to make you believe it’s me?”
As he hung his head, his profile covered by his wet hair almost looked like a puppy that had been abandoned in the rain.
Haruto rarely ever complained. Or rather, it could be said that he absolutely hated the idea of letting people see his weak side. The fact that he was letting me see him like this was proof of just how defeated he was. My chest tightened as I painfully understood the loneliness and unease he was going through. For just a moment, I mentally apologized to Haruto for ever doubting him.
When Haruto raised his face again, he looked at me with sorrowful eyes as he opened his mouth.
“There isn’t anyone else I can depend on anymore… You’re the only one left…”
A mix of indescribable happiness and sadness raced through my body, driving me crazy. I felt overjoyed from hearing that he needed me, and all that melancholy from earlier instantly dissipated.
It’s almost laughable how simple of a woman I was, but that’s just how powerful his words were to me.
The final hope… Those words floated up in my mind in large font.
Haruto was staring intently at my face.
Feeling like he was seeing right through my feelings, I couldn’t help but turn my face down in embarrassment.
Suddenly, I lost balance and fell backward.
By the time I realized that my seat had collapsed, Haruto had gotten on top of me.
“Huh? W-Wait…”
Shaken from the sudden development, I almost let out my voice, but then Haruto tightly embraced me, robbing me of any words.
…Haruto’s t-shirt that came into contact with me was wet and cold, but I could feel his body warmth seeping into me from behind it. His heartbeat that I could faintly feel from our touching chests and his breath that brushed my cheeks from his lips sent my heart racing.
Haruto’s hand slid between my thighs.
I reflexively grabbed that hand with a jolt.
“You’ve wanted this too, haven’t you, Rinko…?”
This time he put his hands on my blouse.
“W-Wait…”
Ignoring my words, Haruto violently tore off the buttons.
I tried to push his arms away from opening my blouse, but I was no match for a man’s strength. He then tightly pressed his lips against my now exposed chest.
“Stop… Why are you doing this?!”
I can’t deny that I didn’t mind the idea of doing this with him, but I still desperately fought back.
Just then, the door next to me suddenly opened up, and Haruto was dragged off my body and thrown out of the car.
For a second, I had no idea what just happened, but when I heard the person who opened the door saying “Are you okay?!” to me, I realized that I had just been rescued.
But when I looked at the face of the person who said that to me, I was once again struck with surprise. My head fell into confusion for a second, and I began looking at both of their faces alternatingly.
The Haruto that was lying in a puddle of rain after getting tossed out.
And the Haruto that saved me who was looking at me with a worried face.
I was looking at two Harutos at the same time.
Kamen Rider Novel Translations 