In a moment like this, the first person who came to Natsumi's mind was, naturally, Raven. She desperately hoped he would appear and save her, but she had no idea where he had disappeared to.
"No, I need a lawyer!" Natsumi shouted quickly.
The police station was surprisingly reasonable and arranged for legal counsel. As luck would have it, that lawyer turned out to be Tsukasa Kadoya. The moment he walked through the door and saw Natsumi's hands in cuffs, a look of schadenfreude crossed his face. He intentionally adopted a teasing tone to mess with her.
"Wait, Tsukasa, do you actually know how to defend someone in court?" Onodera asked, looking skeptical.
He couldn't help but feel a bit slighted. Why was it that every time they traveled to a new world, he ended up as a vagrant with no identity, while Tsukasa always had a fancy new role? First a police officer, then a violinist, and now a lawyer.
"Of course. There's nothing I can't do, except take a decent photo," Tsukasa replied with supreme confidence. "Even if it means defending such a vicious murderer."
"Hey! What are you talking about?! I'm not a murderer, and I'm not 'vicious' at all!" Natsumi glared at him fiercely.
Just then, a young man wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt entered the interrogation room.
"Who are you? You don't look like a cop," Tsukasa noted.
"My name is Shinji Tatsumi. I'm an assistant to the victim, Chief Editor Momoi," the man answered.
"So, did you witness this culprit using brutal methods to murder a defenseless woman?" Tsukasa asked, intentionally prodding.
"Hey! Are you here to help me or just cause trouble?" Natsumi shouted in frustration.
"No," Shinji Tatsumi shook his head, standing up. "By the time I arrived at the office, the police were already there. The cause of death was a puncture wound to the neck from a sharp object."
"And she just happened to have a fork in her hand," Tsukasa added.
Natsumi tried to explain, "That's because she was giving me strawberry cake!"
"Strawberry cake? Well, that's the death penalty for sure," Tsukasa joked, continuing to tease her.
This time, Natsumi didn't lose her temper. Instead, she said calmly, "I only wanted to ask about the Riders of this world."
Deep down, she felt a profound sense of grievance. It seemed only Raven could truly offer her any comfort.
Step... step...
A figure dressed in the same lawyer's attire as Tsukasa walked toward the interrogation room door.
"Sorry I'm late."
The newcomer was none other than Raven. After emerging from Helheim and learning that Natsumi had been embroiled in a murder case, he had fashioned a lawyer identity for himself to blend in. For someone possessing the Power of Creation, such a task was child's play.
"Raven-san!" Natsumi's eyes lit up instantly, as if she were seeing a glimmer of hope.
"You're a lawyer too...?" Yusuke Onodera stared in utter disbelief at the attorney's badge pinned to Raven's chest. Dammit, why?! Out of all of them, he really was the only one without a formal role.
"Are you here to defend this culprit as well?" Tsukasa sat calmly to the side, taking a sip of coffee.
"Defend? There's no need for such a hassle," Raven said nonchalantly. "Even if Natsumi were the killer, it wouldn't matter. All we have to do is defeat every other Rider in this Rider Battle."
"But Raven-san, you have to believe me, I really didn't do it!" Hearing Raven speak like that, Natsumi felt so wronged she looked ready to cry.
"There, there." Seeing her distress, Raven reached out and stroked her cheek. Her skin was smooth and tender; she felt wonderful to the touch.
"Does that mean you've also been chosen as a Rider?" Shinji Tatsumi asked, looking at Raven with curiosity.
"'Also'? Does that mean you're a Rider too?" Yusuke turned to Shinji in surprise.
"Yeah." The man pulled out his Card Deck. Embossed on the front was the emblem of a dragon's head. His identity was clear: he was the primary Rider of this world, Kamen Rider Ryuki.
Raven smiled thinly. He had actually been looking forward to obtaining Ryuki's cards. Now, the opportunity had presented itself. All he had to do was give him a proper thrashing, and those cards would be his.
"So, as long as one wins the Rider Battle and becomes the final victor, they can determine the outcome of the trial," Tsukasa mused. "That makes things much simpler."
"If that's the case, the real killer will definitely be participating in this battle," Yusuke realized.
"Exactly," Raven agreed.
"But who could the real culprit be?" Yusuke wondered aloud. An excited expression crossed his face; he seemed genuinely interested in this Rider Battle. He felt he needed to contribute and couldn't just keep standing on the sidelines.
Later, the group left the police station. Before they had gone far, they spotted Kamen Riders fighting within the Mirror World.
"That is the Mirror World," Shinji Tatsumi explained.
"Interesting. Let's go take a look," Tsukasa said. Without a second thought, he walked up to a car window, produced his Decadriver, and performed his Henshin. He passed through the glass and successfully entered the Mirror World.
Seeing this, Raven stepped forward. Decade's ability allowed him to cross into any world, and the Mirror World was no exception. For Raven, entering was even easier, after all, he was a God.
Unfazed, he revealed his Amazon Driver. With a light twist of the grip, he completed a low-profile Henshin and followed Decade into the mirror.
"Why are their transformation methods so strange...?" Shinji Tatsumi muttered, looking at his own Card Deck. It felt like they were on a completely different system. "Whatever, I'm going in too."
As Ryuki entered the Mirror World, only Yusuke Onodera was left outside.
Assuming that any Kamen Rider could simply enter the Mirror World, he didn't think twice. He transformed into Kamen Rider Kuuga and, mimicking the others, charged headfirst toward the car's mirror.
BANG!
Instead of passing through, he shattered the window. With his head stuck through the rear pane of the car, Yusuke was left completely dazed.
"But... why?!"
He truly couldn't understand. If they were all Riders, why was he the only one who couldn't get in?
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