The City of Hinata was actually a rather nice place to visit. It was a bustling place that was founded as a hot springs resort town and people often came to visit said hot springs even now. It was also a great place for students because the prestigious Tokyo University was only a short bus ride away while there were good cram schools for students who wished to try their luck in applying for the famous university. At the moment, it was currently summer and some people were dressed in summer yukatas to help with the heat. However, an odd point to note was two figures whom were walking down the streets dressed in clothes one wouldn't normally think of summer.

The first figure was a young man with glasses. He was average looking with short brown hair. Of course, his choice of clothing would be considered odd and retro. He wore a black long sleeved shirt with a red tie, a white vest and pants along with leather shoes. He also wore a white fedora on his head which he seemed to take some pride in wearing as he protected it from blowing off in the summer wind. Anyone who was familiar with the outfit could tell he looked like a detective of some kind, but most people wouldn't believe it considering he looked to be exactly twenty years old.

His companion was dressed just as oddly. He wore a red and white striped sweater with a sleeveless blue coat that came with a hood, black shorts that came down past his knees, striped red and white socks, red and white sneakers, cut off gloves and was holding a book in hand. His eyes had not left the book. His black hair was messy and held to the side with a hairclip. It was an odd ensemble, but with kids these days, nothing seemed to be too odd.

The pair was walking down the street even though their clothes would have had them in agony in the heat. However, neither of them seemed to care. The boy with the book was still buried in the information within it, but was somehow managing to avoid walking into things as he went. The fedora-wearing young man just kept his hands in his pockets as he kept an eye on his traveling companion. The pair was somewhat quiet, enjoying the summer sunshine. A pair of girls walking by giggled and waved shyly at the pair, only for the fedora-wearing young man to wave back, his companion too absorbed in his book to notice.

"So what do you think Granny called us for anyway, Phillip?" asked the fedora-wearing young man.

"I cannot be certain," the bookworm, Phillip, answered. "Despite everything I have learned about Granny Hina, she still has something new to surprise me with. All I can safely assume is that it is something of importance if she wanted us to come and meet her. Usually she'd just say what she wanted in her letter and leave us to get whatever she needed."

"True, true," the fedora wearing young man nodded.

"With this in mind, I can safely conclude that we will find out when we get there," Phillip nodded, snapping his book shut.

The two young men came up to a large set of stairs which went up a large hill. Not even stopping like some people would at climbing the mountain of stairs, they began their ascent. They chatted slightly as to why this Granny Hina had called for them, but neither had much of an idea. Reaching the foot of the stairs, both of them took in the image of a red building. The building itself looked old and had the appearance of a traditional Japanese inn. Trees gave a serene image which the cherry blossoms would only enhance when the time came around. It was a very beautiful place.

"Granny is gonna be surprised, isn't she, Phillip?" asked the fedora wearing man. "We made good time getting here."

"Yes," said Phillip, smiling fondly. "I sure hope we can see her."

"Well, she is your favorite old lady," said Keitaro. "She gave you your first book after we rescued you."

"Well, let's not keep Granny waiting, Keitaro," said Phillip. "I wonder if she's going to call you halfboiled."

"Hey, I'm a hardboiled detective now, Phillip. Make no mistake of it," said Keitaro, sounding offended.

"Hai, hai," nodded Phillip.

LOVE HINA/DOUBLE TROUBLE

Chapter 1: Here Comes the Two Detectives in One.

Written By: Kamen Rider Chrome and Ten-Faced Paladin

The front door of the inn was opened, revealing the main entryway. There was a step where guests could remove their outdoor shoes and don pairs of indoor slippers for walking through the building. There were several pairs of shoes, indicating that people were there. Several pairs of indoor slippers were also present which the pair put to good use by putting on after they removed their outdoor shoes. Politely removing his fedora, the first young man sighed as he placed it on a coat hanger.

"Keitaro, doesn't it seem a little empty to you?" asked Phillip Urashima curiously.

"A little, but the inn wasn't doing too well last I heard," Keitaro Urashima replied as he stepped onto the wood floors. "Granny Hina? Yoohoo? Anybody home?"

"Looks empty, but there has to be someone here. There are shoes next to the door." said Phillip as he followed his brother. "Maybe she's sleeping in her room. She is an old woman."

"An old woman who can still kick our butts," Keitaro reminded, still feeling the sores from their last sparring session. The Urashima-Ryu was not a fun style to learn.

"I land on my feet. You land on your butt," Phillip reminded.

"Yeah…yeah…" Keitaro grumbled, trying to repress that particularly depressing memory. "Well, since we're here I say we should check out the hot springs. What about you?"

"I think I would rather explore. It's been a long time since I've been here. I miss this place," said Phillip.

"Well, I'm gonna take a nice and relaxing dip," said Keitaro grinned. "It's been too long since I've been in a hot spring and I'm not going to waste the opportunity."

"Don't stay too long or you'll be really hardboiled," chuckled Phillip, walking towards one of the hallways which were located in the building.

Keitaro gave a snort and headed for the hot spring as Phillip vanished into the hallway, his eyes on his book. "Now, has anything changed, I wonder?" he mumbled to himself. "Maybe we should've gone to the tea shop to see if Auntie Haruka was around?"

-ONSEN-

Keitaro slid open the door to the onsen, his eyes widening in delight as he saw the gran space. It was a large pool with steam rising off of the heated water while rocks could be seen rising out of the water. There were plenty of places to sit down and relax with the steaming water. "All right! It hasn't changed a bit!"

Quickly returning to the changing room, Keitaro stripped his clothes off before grabbing a towel and practically dove into the water. Sighing in bliss, he leaned up against one of the large rocks rising out of the water. Heaving another sigh, he set all the stiffness and pains leave his body while he soaked. The waters of Hinata Inn were considered to be very therapeutic and people would come a lot just to use them. It really made Keitaro wonder why the place had begun failing, but he wasn't a businessman so he really wouldn't know.

"Ah…feels good…" sighed Keitaro as he was submerged in the water. "This is the life."

He thought h could just melt in the hot water when he heard a splashing noise. Fearing an animal or something fell into the waters (trees being abundant around the fence which shielded the springs from prying eyes), Keitaro turned to see what it might have been.

'Oh…my…god,' he gaped, blood threatening to trickle out of his nose.

"The waters are nice, aren't they?" a girl smiled as she sank into the water next to the gaping Keitaro. She had long red hair which reached down to her waist and nothing but curves as far as he could see. Her breasts were a nice handful, but the good parts were being shielded from sight with the way she was holding her towel over herself and the clouded water kept her lower bits covered. Keitaro wasn't sure if he should be thanking Kami for this opportunity or admonishing himself for walking into the women's side of the springs. How could he have missed the sign?

"Taking a soak during the day is heaven isn't it?" the girl smiled, stretching and making her chest that much more noticeable. Keitaro feared of losing too much blood on the spot and dying from the stimulation.

"Best of all, I think my boobs got a little bigger," the girl smiled, presenting said boobs for inspection. Keitaro almost fainted at the sight. Trying to get his senses back, he almost died when he felt the girl lean up against his back while heaving a sigh of her own. "Still, they're not as big as yours though."

'Wait…she thinks I'm a girl?' Keitaro thought with dismay. 'Okay, I know I'm not the most masculine guy around but I know I look like a guy!'

"Say, let's give 'em a squeeze so I can make sure, huh?" the girl grinned, practically tackling Keitaro's back, trying to reach for his front. The young man gave a choked cry while struggling to keep her hands away from anything that would give him away as a male.

"Huh? What's this hard thing?" the girl blinked in confusion. "It's getting bigger and bigger."

'ACK!' Keitaro cried out mentally.

The girl disengaged from Keitaro and moved back to where she had been sitting and reached to the stone island. She procured a pair of round glasses which Keitaro assumed she had brought in with her. Placing the frames on her face, she turned back to see just who she had been trying to do a boob check with. Her eyes widened and her face paled when she saw a definitely male young man sitting in the water across from her.

-GRANNY HINA'S ROOM-

"Ah, found it," mused Phillip. He opened the door and went inside. "I hope she has updated her collection."

Then he heard a very loud feminine scream.

"IT'S A PERVERT! A PEEPING TOM!"

"Looks like that will have to wait."

Phillip exited his grandmother's room to try and locate the source of the noise. He didn't have to wait long before he found his brother streaking through the hall in only a towel. Blinking in confusion, Phillip watched him go. He didn't know his brother had such odd tastes. Hearing feminine cries, he turned back to see five young women chasing after his brother. The first had long red hair and was wearing a sweater and skirt. The second had short blonde hair and squinty eyes, but she was wearing a black sweater with jeans. The third young lady had long black hair wearing a kendo training outfit and wielded a wooden sword. The third girl seemed to be more amused than angry and was tanned with blonde hair, wearing a junior high outfit. The last girl seemed to be just a tagalong with short dark hair and wearing a simple shirt and skirt combination with an apron. The whole lot of them dashed past Phillip in pursuit of his brother to the top of the building.

"Well, it seems Keitaro's luck is holding true," Phillip blinked.

"I'll say," a mature voice spoke up.

Phillip turned to see a woman in her twenties walking up the stairs. She had short dark hair and was wearing a back t-shirt with a denim skirt and black stockings. She had an apron on which had 'Hinata Tea House' printed on the front. A cigarette was hanging from her lips as she walked along the halls. Her eyes were on Phillip as she gained a fond smile.

"It's good to see you again Phillip," she smiled at the young man.

"It's good to see you too Auntie Haruka," Phillip smiled.

WHACK!

Phillip blinked when a paper fan smacked him on the head courtesy of Haruka Urashima. The elder woman sighed as she placed her weapon of choice back in her pocket with a sigh, "Don't call me aunt. You know I don't like it. Now come on. Let's save your hapless brother before those girls murder him. The mess would be too much to clean up anyway."

"Hai, hai," Phillip nodded as he and his aunt headed for the roof.

Both got to the roof where a large deck with railings all around was situated. At the far end was Keitaro, kneeling and looked somewhat scared for his life as the girls surrounded him. Phillip scratched his head at the sight while Haruka took a drag of her cigarette and sighed.

"The kid can take on Dopants at the drop of a hat but when it comes to angry women he's hopeless," she sighed. "Ah well. Better save his ass then." Stepping forward, she whistled sharply, gaining the attention of everyone on the rooftop. "What do you think you're doing to my nephew?"

"Great timing Haruka!" cried the redhead. "We caught a pervert!"

"Aunt Haruka! Save me!" Keitaro cried, reaching out desperately to his aunt.

In a flurry of movement in which only professional athletes could match, Haruka dashed forward, leaped over the girls, and smacked her nephew in the head with her papers fan all without losing a single ash on her cigarette, "Don't call me aunt. I'm still young after all."

"I suppose that's true," Phillip nodded as he walked towards the group, getting attention brought to him.

"Another one!" the sword girl growled as she took a combat stance.

"Ease up," Haruka frowned, making the kendo girl frown deeper before sheathing her weapon. It was no surprise to either boy since they knew Haruka was accomplished in their family style. Probably one of the best ever since Granny Hina. "Keitaro and Phillip aren't here to cause trouble. Granny Hina invited them here."

"WHAT?" cried the redhead. "You can't be serious! This is a girls' dorm!"

"Girls' dorm?" Keitaro and Phillip blinked.

"You guys didn't notice the sign out front?" Haruka asked with a raised eyebrow. "Keitaro's one thing since he sometimes goofs up, but I'm surprised you missed it Phillip. Usually you don't miss anything that has words written in it."

"Um…" the bookworm blushed in embarrassment.

"Ano…" Keitaro gaped in shock. Their grandmother had called them to a girls' dorm? She hadn't mentioned that in the letter.

"Anyway, let's take this downstairs before my first nephew gets a cold or something," Haruka shrugged. "Then we can talk this over like civilized people."

"Hai," was the general consensus

"NO WAY!" shouted the fiery redhead who was introduced as Naru Narusegawa. "They can't stay here!"

The group had relocated to the main living room with Keitaro still reeling in shock about the revelation of the inn turned girls' dorm. Phillip and Keitaro were seated in chairs with the rest of the girls circled around them. Keitaro was thankfully back in his outfit, which the tanned foreigner Kaolla Su thought made him look like a cool detective. Phillip had retrieved a book from Granny Hina's room and was reading it while Naru lost her temper again.

"And why not?" Keitaro glared at the enraged girl. "Granny invited us here!"

"Because you're a pervert!" she shot back.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who went groping around, missy!" Keitaro shouted back. Naru's face flushed at the memory, but her glare didn't lessen by an inch.

"Relax, you two," said Haruka as she drew another cancer stick. Before she could actually light it, Phillip took her cigarette away from her in a flash of movement.

"Cigarettes lead to mouth, lung and throat cancer, as well as the inability to have children," said Phillip as he tossed the item into a wastebasket before returning to the book in his hands. "And, they smell bad."

"If you weren't so cute…" muttered Haruka. Phillip and Keitaro were probably the only two people who she'd not smoke for if they asked. Everyone else was casually ignored. "Anyway, my mother asked these two to stay here while she's away. I just got the fax this morning. I was going to let you all know, but apparently these two arrived quicker than any of us thought."

"I do not accept this!" shouted Naru, slamming her palms down on the table.

"Quiet down," said Phillip almost absently. "I'm trying to read."

Naru glared at the bookworm.

"I have to agree with Naru on this issue," the kendo girl, Motoko Aoyama spoke up. "This is a girls' dorm now. Men should not be allowed here,"

"Unfortunately, you have no say in the matter," said Phillip as he closed his book. Keitaro saw the look in his brother's eyes. He was about to use his brains.

"What did you say?" Motoko threatened, her eyes turning as sharp as steel.

"Hinata-Sou is the property of the Urashima Clan and seeing as Keitaro and I are of the Urashima Clan we do belong here. In addition, whether or not you agree or not, the fact of the matter is that Granny Hina asked for our presence and also we are family. Thus, family takes precedence over tenants. Despite your familiarity with Granny Hina, we are her grandsons and as the saying goes, 'blood is thicker than water'. I may also stress your status as tenants. This is OUR home and you are merely renting. As far as your rights as tenants go, you cannot overrule the say of the landlord, namely Granny Hina. Also, remember that Granny Hina gave you a home to stay in this city, and by not allowing Keitaro and I to stay would mean you are being ungrateful. Out of common decency, the least you could do is to let us stay as repayment for her to let you stay, unless of course you would rather dishonor Granny Hina's request which just shows you don't really respect her as you say you do." Phillip paused to take a sip of tea. "Nice tea."

"No matter how many times I see that, it's still creepy," Haruka chuckled with a sigh.

"I live with the guy," Keitaro laughed.

"Why you-!" Naru sputtered as her friend, the blonde, squinty eyed Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno held her back from doing anything rash. Motoko was sending the bookworm her own death glares. However, the kendo girl realized that she did indeed owe Granny Hina more than just money for letting her stay at the Hinata-Sou. She was still a guest to Granny Hina and thus had to respect her wishes. If she truly did invite these two…men into the dorms then she had no choice but to permit it. It didn't mean she had to like it though.

"Besides," Haruka shrugged. "I doubt a pair of Tokyo U graduates will try anything funny."

All action in the room froze as four of the five girls looked up in sheer shock at the two young men who were sitting in front of them. In a flurry of movement, Motoko, Naru, Kitsune, and the last resident Shinobu Maehara were in front of the boys, "TOKYO UNIVERSITY?"

"Yes, we graduated from Tokyo University," Keitaro and Phillip smiled with a touch of smugness.

"That's bull!" Naru snapped. "You guys are too young! No way could you have graduated already!"

"You'd be surprised," Haruka replied, stepping beside her nephews. "Phillip here is a damn prodigy and earned a literature degree. Thanks to him, Keitaro discovered he had a knack for the books and both got onto an accelerated learning track. Keitaro has a law degree and Phillip has his Masters in literature. I gotta tell you, we're pretty darn proud of them both."

"Law? Literature?" Motoko gaped. "T-the two of you?"

"That's right," nodded Phillip. "I love to read."

"Emphasis on the word 'love'," snickered Keitaro. "You're a damn bibliophile."

"I'm surprised you know the meaning of that word, Keitaro," retorted Phillip.

"Hey, I'm a law graduate. I got some brains under this hat," Keitaro argued.

"If only it applied to your fashion sense," remarked Phillip.

"Oh, like you're to talk," Keitaro snorted.

"Focus," said Haruka, waving her paper fan again. The brothers Urashima nodded.

"Oh, right," Keitaro rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I graduated and I took law…though I don't plan on becoming a lawyer."

"Why not?" questioned Kitsune curiously. This guy, if he as telling the truth, was a sure fire way for her master plan to succeed. Of course, it was sure fire provided that this guy became a lawyer or someone of a high income. Still, he wasn't too bad on the eyes and maybe if she could just convince him to try for a law practice…

"Because…" Keitaro tapped his glasses. "I wish to be a hardboiled detective!" He took out a magnifying glass and twirled it around in his hand.

Minus Phillip and Haruka, everyone blinked.

"Hard…boiled?" said Shinobu.

"What's hardboiled? Is it good to eat?" asked Kaolla Su.

"No it's not something to eat," Keitaro huffed while crossing his arms. "In any type of situation, the heart won't tremble. This is how men can be within other men...hardboiled. You can find the definition in the book "The Long Goodbye". That is how I define that word."

"With your clumsiness it's more like you're halfboiled," snickered Haruka.

"Oi!" Keitato snapped. "Not half! HARD! HARDboiled!"

"Seriously? You? A detective?" Naru snorted. This guy looked nothing like the cool detectives she had seen on television. He may have had the clothes, but he seemed way too dorky for anyone to take seriously as a detective.

"You'd be surprised," said Keitaro. "Before we got here we solved a few cases."

"Like what?" questioned Naru, still not buying the detective idea.

"Previously unsolved cases," Phillip answered. "The ones that lack evidence and clues. Those sort of cases. We assist the police from time to time. During our studies at Tokyo U, Keitaro interned at the local police station and I went with him. We managed to solve a few cases that they were having trouble with"

"A likely story," Motoko huffed. No one really listened, being too busy focusing on the two young men in front of them

"And today we set up shop here!" boasted Keitaro.

"Really?" asked Haruka, interested.

"Hey, I gotta make money somehow," shrugged Keitaro. "Besides, I need to get a start somewhere. It might as well be here since Granny Hina invited us to stay here. Best of all, there's enough room for Phillip's whiteboards and the books he collects. Mom and Dad were getting kind of upset with all his stuff cluttering the store."

"And I doubt that neither of you wanted to take up the family business helped," Haruka added, earning nods from the boys.

"I'm looking forward to working here," the bookworm smiled.

"So, you've both seriously graduated?" Naru asked, still stuck on that and the detective points. Tokyo University was the school she was studying to enter and finding out these two guys had done it so quickly even though she was top in the nation was rather upsetting to her.

"Yes," answered Phillip and Keitaro in unison, but Keitaro was polishing his glasses while Phillip's eyes were still on his book.

"By the way, Haruka-san, what did Granny Hina want us to come here for?" asked Phillip, suddenly remembering why they had come to the Hinata-Sou in the first place. "We didn't get much information save for her asking us to be here. She didn't even hint at the reason like she usually does when she teases us."

"Oh, that's simple," said Haruka. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a few papers. Some of which were a deed to the property itself. "You see, Granny Hina decided she wanted more kicks in life so she converted the place into a girls' dorm before she took off on a world wide sightseeing tour. With her away she needs someone to look after the place. Since I have responsibilities in the tea shop…"

"She wishes for us to take her place," concluded Phillip. He chuckled. This was just like the old woman, always blindsiding you. "Granny Hina sure knows how to surprise us."

All five of the girls and one of the two young men sat in stunned silence,

-GRANNY HINA'S ROOM-

"Oh man, what was Granny thinking?" Keitaro moaned as he lay on a futon he rolled out for himself. "She knows I wanted to open up a detective agency. I can't do that if I'm being busy running a girls' dorm!

"What an interesting group of people," said Phillip as he began to read the tenants' files, ignoring his brother's disappointment. Each girl had a rather colorful history in more ways than one. One was the heir of a prestigious dojo in Kyoto, another was the top high school student in the nation, and if his memory served him right, another was a princess of a foreign nation.

"Well, that redhead nearly tried to kill me," said Keitaro. "Calling me a pervert…che! I think she put a hole in the wall trying to punch me."

"Well, you did see her naked," Phillip reminded.

"I was in there first! Sides, she was the one who touched me! I could report her for sexual harassment!"

"I don't think she'll like that," remarked Phillip as he closed the files.

"So, what have you learnt?" asked Keitaro.

"The basic information of each of our tenants," answered Phillip. "Are you planning of learning more?"

"Well, we could use your access to the Gaia Library for that, but not right now. Maybe we should get to know them first like normal people," suggested Keitaro.

"If they allow you. From what I've observed, Naru Narusegawa and Motoko Aoyama dislike us," said Phillip. "Mitsune Konno, Shinobu Maehara and Kaolla Su would seem pleasant, but…"

"But?"

"I'd be careful of Konno-san. She looks shifty," warned Phillip.

"I'll keep that in mind, Phillip."

As Keitaro walked out of the room, Phillip opened the files again. "An interesting group indeed…" He mused. He then looked up to see a hole in the ceiling. "Huh? What's that hole doing up there?" It looked covered by a board of wood but it didn't look secure. Curious, he stood on the table in the room so he could reach the hole. Examining it, he found that it went through to the floor above it and that a plank was covering it.

"Interesting," Phillip commented as he pushed the board away. Sticking his head through the hole, he discovered that it led to another room. An occupied one if the personal items all over the room were of any indication. "This must be one of the tenants' rooms."

As he was about to leave, the front door of the room opened. Phillip looked ahead to see none other than Naru Narusegawa walking inside grumbling to herself. However, she instantly froze when she saw the young man coming out of the floor of her room. Instantly she began to tremble with fury as this boy just barged into her room without any sort of permission. Not to mention that her room was anything but clean and having a boy seeing her dirty laundry was embarrassing.

"Oh. So this is your room," Phillip spoke absently as he watched Naru's fragile temper snap.

"YOU PERVERT!" Naru shrieked, charging at the Phillip, aiming to kick him straight through the goalposts of life.

Thinking quickly, Phillip released his grip on the floor and allowed himself to fall through, landing on the table, but thankfully not breaking it. Naru on the other hand had kicked nothing but air before she lost her balance and fell backwards, landing on her butt. Groaning from the pain, she sighed as her anger lost force and dwindled. Crawling over to a doll she kept on the board, a squirrel thing she called Liddo-kun, she cuddled the plush toy, "Things just aren't going my way today Liddo-kun."

Keitaro scratched his head before replacing his fedora. While he was always glad to visit Hinata-Sou, he wasn't terribly interested in running it. What he wanted to do was open a detective agency with Phillip and tackle crimes like his late mentor did. He was already on friendly terms with most of the local policemen since he did help with those unsolved crimes. While Hinata Hot Springs seemed like a peaceful place, one did never know what went on underneath. Of course, the detective agency idea seemed a little far away at the moment since Granny stuck him with the landlord job and his parents still were trying to pressure him into going with the family business.

"Well, maybe I can open an office here anyway," Keitaro shrugged to himself. "The landlord thing I can do on the side for extra cash or something."

"Why, hello there, Mr. Hardboiled Detective," said Kitsune as she sauntered towards him.

"Oh, hello, Konno-san," greeted Keitaro.

"Oh, call me Kitsune. Everyone else does," said Kitsune, smirking. "So, what are you doing all on your lonesome out here?"

"Just looking out at the scenery," answered Keitaro. "It's been awhile since I was here. Not much has changed." He smiled slightly. "Well, since I am now gonna be the place's landlord and manager, I might as well help out. So, Kitsune, what can I do for you?"

"Well, there are a few things exactly." She leaned in closer until their faces nearly touched. Keitaro blinked. Was she coming onto him?

Well, if she was gonna play him, why not do the same?

"Well, if that's the case, how about I treat you to say…a dinner and a movie?" Keitaro suggested.

Kitsune blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, I'm new in town and I was hoping to look around," said Keitaro. "And having the company of a beautiful woman would be great, wouldn't it?"

Kitsune blushed. 'Wow, he's got a sharp tongue like his brother of his, and he doesn't dress too badly either.'"So, your treat? You sure you can afford my tastes?"

"I may have some cash from a few of my old cases. How about it? Wanna paint the town red, Kitsune?" Keitaro smiled.

"I guess I can accept an invite like that, especially from a cutie like you," said Kitsune. 'Maybe I can put the moves on him later. If he's buying me dinner then I can't refuse.'

"Come on, let's go then," said Keitaro.

Phillip exited the room and walked out the hallway, reading a book.

"Heyas, Phillip!" an excited Kaolla Su came jumping at him from behind. He ducked underneath and she went flying over him, landing on her butt. "Owies…" she groaned, rubbing her butt.

"Ah, Su-san," Phillip recognized the MolMol princess from the information. "Good evening."

"Hi!" Su waved. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, just reading," answered Phillip.

"Hey, wanna see something fun?" asked Su.

"Maybe," answered Phillip as he closed his book. He'd read her profile. She was supposed to be a genius. Might be an interesting observation. He then spoke in her native tongue, "Lead the way, Su-san."

Su gasped, surprised. "You can speak my language?"

"I can speak a lot of languages," Phillip replied.

"Cool! So, wanna see what I wanna show you?"

"As I said, lead the way."

"And he was in my room, Motoko!" complained Naru. The Tokyo U hopeful had gone to complain to someone about what had transpired in her room, but her best friend was nowhere to be found so she had to go to the next best person. Her comrade in pervert bashing arms, Motoko.

"While I agree that entering your room uninvited is grounds for punishment, it sounds to me that he did not know it was your room," Motoko sighed. In truth, she almost had jumped to her feet and went pervert hunting when Naru came charging into her room proclaiming about Phillip snooping in her room. However, remembering Phillip's explanation as to why he and his brother should be allowed to stay, she decided to be logical. Of course, that just meant she would have to keep a sharper eye on the pair of men should they honestly do something wrong. When they did though, retribution would be swift and powerful.

"Well…he did kind of crawl in through that hole in the floor," Naru admitted, losing some of her fire. She then gained it back quickly, "But he could have been planning on doing something!"

"As he is a man that is likely," Motoko nodded. "However, one cannot punish someone for something he may or not be intending on doing unless he is caught actually committing that act or trying to commit it. I would suggest blocking that hole with something heavier though so to keep that man's hands away from your personal property. We both know how some men enjoy stealing women's undergarments."

"Rrrr," Naru growled, remembering that one guy who tried to make off with their laundry. That old guy was pretty spry for someone so small and shriveled. Pure luck allowed Motoko to send him sailing through the sky with their undergarments free. Of course, Motoko burned hers after finding which ones the old freak had touched.

"We must also remember that Granny Hina invited them here," Motoko reminded her friend. "I think we can trust her judgment about these two for now. However, if they prove to be untrustworthy then I shall be the first to send them out."

"So how do we get them to leave or prove they can be trusted?" asked Naru.

"Well, scheming is not my area of expertise," Motoko admitted. "However, I believe a series of grueling tasks should be enough to convince me."

"Sound okay I guess," Naru nodded. "But we'd better pull out all the stops or we'll never get the answers we want."

-OUTSIDE HINATA-SOU-

Both Keitaro and Kitsune were already heading down the stairs for their date. Kitsune had probably planned for it to happen since she didn't take very long to get ready. She had quickly changed into a white button up shirt which hugged her curves and black pants which seemed almost like they were painted on. She wore black high heels which gave her a few inches in height and matched her to Keitaro. Both had left a short note in the kitchen where at least Shinobu would find it and tell everyone else and they were out the door. It was only a short walk to a nearby parking lot which the inn used to use for guests where Keitaro's ride was.

"And this is my ride," said Keitaro as he showed Kitsune his bike. It was a Honda CBR1000RR motorcycle. The front half was black with a sharp 'W' shaped ornament and the back half was green. There was a silver 'W' stamped on the bike as well.

"Nice bike," Kitsune admired. She liked a guy who had his own wheels. Keitaro chuckled and handed her a helmet as he removed his fedora.

"Shall we?" Keitaro said charmingly as he put on his helmet and mounted the bike. Kitsune strapped her own helmet on and got on behind him, wrapping her arms behind him and pressing closely against him so her breasts were pressed against his back. She took some extra effort to make sure he could feel them. She had figured she might as well make the guy 'comfortable'.

"You got it, cutie!" Kitsune giggled.

The bike then shot forward with the two riding it, Kitsune letting out a loud 'whoop!' as they zoomed down the road towards the city to have some fun.

"So, this is your room?" Phillip asked as he pushed a large banana leaf away from his face, being led deeper into the jungle by Kaolla Su. Su had certainly been creative in decorating her room. Somehow she managed to turn it into a personal jungle. How she managed to make so much space was a good question Phillip would research later. It promised to be fun.

"Yep! It feels like home!" said Kaolla Su.

Phillip chuckled. "I can imagine. MolMol does have a lot of banana trees. And it's very efficient if you want a snack." He plucked a ripe banana from a tree. "Fresh too. It's amazing you can sustain these trees indoors. Does it use an artificial light source that emulates the sun?" Su was proving to be more and more interesting by the second.

"We're almost there!" Su chirped.

"So, anything you'd like to watch?" asked Keitaro. The two were standing in front of a Cineplex. It hadn't been too hard to get to the Cineplex and it wasn't that far either. A number of movies were showing so that was always good.

"Actually, I want to cut to the chase," said Kitsune.

"About what?" questioned Keitaro, turning to his sudden date.

"Why are you so gung-ho about being a detective? I mean you're smart, a Tokyo U graduate, and you got a law degree. You could become a big shot lawyer in some law firm or set up a practice of your own. So, why do you want to be a detective so much?"

Keitaro sighed. He figured this was coming but somehow it was still hard to deal with, "You really want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Well, I guess I could tell you," Keitaro took off his fedora and gazed at it fondly before spinning it on his forefinger. "It's because of my mentor and godfather."

"Godfather?" blinked Kitsune.

"Yeah," Keitaro admitted. He recalled all the fond memories he had of the man. "He was a detective too and a great one. I really looked up to him. He would tell me all about the exciting life of a detective and the cases he solved. Solving mysteries and puzzles as well as uncovering the truth. Also, he wasn't one of those crooked types. He became a detective to fight crime, making sure the truth is revealed and the culprits are caught." He took hold of his fedora and replaced it on his head. "A real hardboiled kind of guy…"

Kitsune was amazed. So his life was based on another man's legacy and from the way he spoke of him he was a great man. "Wait…was?"

"He died while on the job," Keitaro finished, making Kitsune gasp in shock. "So, what movie do you wanna see?"

"You choose," said Kitsune. "Hope there's a detective movie."

"Let's hope there is," nodded Keitaro. "Bet I can guess who the killer is before they solve the mystery in the movie."

"Don't do that," Kitsune frowned. "You'd ruin it."

"Hey, I want everyone else to have a good time too," Keitaro said, raising his hands in front of him. "I'm not a glutton for punishment."

"That's a very impressive contraption, Su-san," said Phillip as he looked upon the machine. It looked like it used to be a washer machine before it was outfitted with robotic joints and pieces which gave it the ability to move. Imprinted on it was a symbol composed of three eyes. Phillip recognized it as the symbol of the MolMol royal family. "But what is it and what does it do?"

"This is Washer-chan!" Su grinned. "I made him after some old guy tried to steal all of Motoko, Kitsune, Haruka, and Naru's underwear! I figured with this baby any panty-pincher wouldn't stand a chance! He even has surface to air anti-pervert missiles!"

"Missiles?" Phillip blinked. Looking up, he saw a rack of missiles rise from the washing machine/robot's back. "Interesting."

Kitsune had to admit that while this wasn't the most romantic or the most expensive date she had ever been on, Keitaro knew how to treat a lady. He probably had experience after drawing in women with his law studies or the way he dressed. Still, he didn't stare at her boobs once or tried any sleazy moves or even anything even hinting at trying to feel her up or sleep with her like some guys she met while bar hopping. Speaking of bars, Keitaro had brought her to a classy restaurant/bar that she had never been to before.

"Just where is this place?" Kitsune asked as Keitaro brought her inside. It looked like a western style pub that had all sorts of western decorations in it. Not enough to look tacky, but enough to look truly western.

"Just a place I found that Tokyo U students and graduates like to go," Keitaro grinned. "Me and Phillip used to go here when we needed a break. Well, I usually ended up here. Phillip has never drank in his entire life. Doesn't seem to need it to relax."

"Well, he doesn't know what he's missing then," Kitsune giggled as the pair found a private booth.

Kitsune had to admit that this was turning out to be one of her better dates. Considering how much of a gentleman Keitaro was being towards her, she was seriously considering taking a gamble on him and seeing where she ended up. After all, detectives got big bucks if they were good at what they did. If Keitaro and Phillip really did solve cases with the police already, then they had the goods. If given half the chance, they really could become great and if she got her hooks in early, she'd have a great guy all to herself.

"So what kind of cases have you worked on anyway?" asked Kitsune. "You and your brother mentioned you worked with some unsolved cases before."

"Well, not just any cases, but important ones too," Ketiaro replied. "Do you remember the Windscale Department Store terrorist?"

"Oh! You mean the guy who blew up all those stores?" asked Kitsune. "Sure I do! I loved to shop there before the chain here in Hinata went down. You guys actually figured out who did it?"

"Sure did," Keitaro nodded. "His name was Yosuke Togawa. He used to be an employee at Windscale until he was fired for some reason that the company didn't want to divulge. He got his hands on a …special, explosive and started getting back at his employers. Phillip and I managed to narrow down the suspect list to just him. We also managed to catch him in the act of going after his fifth target."

"Wow," Kitsune gasped.

"However, he managed to get away when a then unknown partner picked him up and took off before the police could get there," Keitaro continued. "Which led to our second case, who murdered him after he was taken away?"

"You mean…?" Kitsune gasped. This was better than some detective shows she's watched.

"His partner in crime took him out," Keitaro nodded. "It turns out he had a girlfriend named Meibi. She used to be a top designer at Windscale and was fired with her boyfriend. Again the reason why wasn't clear. However, she and her boyfriend decided to get back at the stores by working together. Sadly, he got too into it and they had disagreements. So, she called the police and reported him missing which we unknowingly solved our third case by finding him. However, by finding him, Meibi took him and murdered him. Phillip and I managed to track her down, even though I personally felt bad about doing it. She was a really nice woman when she met us to thank us for finding her boyfriend."

"Oh wow," Kitsune sighed softly.

"But enough about me," Keitaro ginned, tipping his fedora. "What about you? You seem like a rather interesting woman."

"Well, you don't even know how interesting I can be," Kitsune smled while leaning forward. Keitaro grinned when he waved for a waiter. It looked like it was going to be a fun night.

However…

"TSUNAMI!"

Phillip was examining the combat washing machine with Su climbing it like a set of monkey bars. However, his examination was interrupted by a buzzing sound in his pocket. Reaching into said pocket, he produced a black phone. Opening it and typing numbers, a screen popped up on the display. On a part of it was a large blue dot with a black dot practically beneath it.

"What's that?" asked Su curiously.

"Something bad," Phillip frowned.

Screams and cries came from the centre of the room where it seemed like a man had turned into a pillar of water. There was the form of a human before it seemed to be swept away in the sea spray and water. The water then surged as a new form came out. It was heavily muscles with white sea foam lining the muscles of a humanoid figure. The shoulders looked like they had spikes which were designed after furious waves. The back was covered by the same spiked waves with white tips that were rather large. The head of the creature looked like a giant triangular wave which was white at the top and two white eyes in the middle of it all, making it look sinister.

"I'll drown you all!" the Tsunami Dopant cried, sending water surging from its body and knocking everyone away in its waves. Keitaro and Kitsune quickly stood up in their booth seats to avoid the water which almost hit them.

"Dopant!" Keitaro frowned at the monster.

"Huh?" Kitsune looked to Keitaro oddly.

The Tsunami Dopant roared and Keitaro acted quickly. He took out a USB Memory Stick and slid it into the side of his camera.

"BAT!" the camera announced as it transformed into a robotic bat. It flapped its wings and took off towards the raging Dopant. Confused, the monster eyed the machine before the robotic animal triggered the flashbulb with blinding flashes of light, disorienting the Dopant and make it rub its eyes to try and get the blindness out.

"And again!" Keitaro slipped in another USB Memory Stick into his cell phone.

"STAG!" the phone transformed into a robotic stag beetle which flew at the Dopant and attacked it with the Bat Shot. The Dopant roared from the unexpected attack then fled, disappearing in a tornado of water. When the water dispersed, it was instant rain, inside the entire pub of all places.

"So…a Dopant is here too…" frowned Keitaro as he touched the brim of his fedora. Looking down to the suitably shaken Kitsune, he gave a sigh of regret. "It seems I'll have to take you home early Kitsune. It looks like I just got a new case."

"Bwuh…huh?" the squinting blonde blinked.

After parking the Machine HardBoilder in the parking lot, Keitaro accompanied Kitsune up the stairs. She had been frightened by the sudden appearance of the monster and she knew she hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol and had been lucid the entire time.

"Are you OK, Kitsune?" asked Keitaro.

"Kei…what was that thing? You called it a…Dopant?" Kitsune asked.

Keitaro frowned. "It's just something Phillip and I bumped into a lot in the past, that's all." He needed to talk to Phillip so they could investigate who the Dopant was and what they were after. "For now I think it's best you just forget about what you saw, for your sake."

"But-" she began to protest.

"Don't worry about it. Oh, and minus the part where that thing attacked I had a good time with you. Hope we have more chances to go out, Kitsune," said Keitaro with a wink.

Kitsune blushed and gave a nod. 'You're a mystery, Keitaro Urashima.' She knew there was more to him than just a graduate of Tokyo University. She'd seen the type of gear he had; a camera that could turn into a bat and a cell phone that could turn into a Stag Beetle. He was definitely worthy of more investigating. 'Wonder what else do you have on you, Mr. Hardboiled?'

Keitaro closed the sliding doors and locked them together as he turned to face Phillip. "Phillip, we got a Dopant."

"I know," nodded Phillip. The whiteboards in the room were already filled with information on tsunamis. Nothing too specific, just random tidbits of information Phillip kept seeing in his head. Where he had gotten the whiteboards was a mystery. However, there were symbols made up of three eyes in the corner of each whiteboard. A certain MolMol princess had more than a small hand in getting the equipment for Phillip.

"Time to access the Gaia Library, Partner," said Keitaro.

Phillip nodded and closed his eyes. His spirit then left his body as he astral projected himself someplace else. Once he opened his eyes, Phillip found himself standing before rows and rows of bookshelves with millions of books in them. This was the Gaia Library, containing all the information on Earth. Phillip did have the information, but he couldn't access it all at once. He needed keywords to find the proper bits of information.

"Start Search…Memory…Keyword: Tsunami," began Phillip. As soon as he said the word, numerous groups of bookshelves began rising up and vanishing while the ones that remained were grouped closer together for easier access.

Back in the real world, Keitaro asked, "How is it going?"

"So far so good," replied Phillip. Most of the bookshelves had been eliminated, but there were still too many sources. "Another keyword?"

"Tokyo U," Keitaro supplied. It was a shot in the dark. The Dopant was angry and Keitaro thought Tokyo U was a connection. After all, it attacked a bar where the regulars were usually Tokyo U students and graduates. Unless it had something against alcohol or bars, it was the only clear reason why it attacked. This Dopant had something against Tokyo U.

Phillip nodded and put in the keyword. The shelves began reacting again and vanished, leaving a much smaller amount than before. Soon, there were four bookshelves worth of books left standing before Phillip. "Still need to narrow it down."

"Student," said Keitaro.

The shelves shifted again, leaving a single bookshelf gones. From one shelf, a book hovered out towards Phillip's waiting hands. It was a large leather book entitled 'Names'. Phillip took it and opened it up. "These are the names of all Tokyo University students for this year and also those who failed to enter. It's a long list. Any other keywords?"

"Well, aside from those connections the Dopant was angry for some reason," said Keitaro.

"So, the 'Tokyo U' and 'Student' connection is just a guess?" replied Phillip.

"A hunch, really. A gut feeling, actually," said Keitaro. There had to be something else. "Try…Expelled."

The book in Phillip's hands became blank save for a list of names…only 5 names though. "These students were expelled from Tokyo University this year. Kai Aikawa, Naomi Suzuki, Kenjo Tatsumi, Kenta Kasumi and Tatsuya Mizuki."

"Better than nothing," said Keitaro once he wrote down the names in his notebook. "OK, come back, Phillip. We got suspects to question."

Phillip returned from the Gaia Library, his eyes opening in the real world and asked, "So, how was your date?" He smirked.

"It was…nice." Keitaro then said, "Well, I guess I gotta go search the scene then. Maybe the Dopant left something."

"I'll try and track down these people as well," said Phillip. "I'll even question them."

"Would be easy if we had Kanako with us. She's always good at undercover," remarked Keitaro.

Kitsune, meanwhile, was telling the girls all about her date with Keitaro. Well, when she mentioned she'd gone out with Keitaro, Naru just assumed the worst.

"Did that pervert try anything?" the redhead growled out angrily.

"No, in fact he didn't," Kitsune sighed. Honestly, as good a person as Naru was, when she stated her opinion about someone she refused to change it for anything. Add to the fact Keitaro had set off her temper and he had a bomb waiting to go off in his hands. "In fact he was a complete gentleman. He didn't once try anything on me."

"A rare quality in a male," Motoko frowned, still gripping her sword. "Either that or he is simply lowering your guard so he can enact his lewd ideas."

"That's not the point!" Kitsune frowned. "The point is that something really weird happened at the bar after we saw the movie."

"Weird?" asked Shinobu.

"We were at the bar, and I was sober thank you very much! We didn't even get a single drink when I head something shout 'Tsunami' and suddenly there's this big funnel of water in the middle of the room." Kitsune explained. "I'm freaking out when this…thing stepped out looking like a living tsunami when it starts flooding the place. Then Keitaro slips this USB thingie into his camera and it transforms into a bat to chase the damn monster. He does the same to his cell phone and it turns into a stag beetle that attacks the monster. I guess it wasn't expecting it since it ran, leaving all of us soaked."

"Wow! That sounds so cool!" Su giggled. "I wish I was there! I could have tried some of my inventions on it!"

"Kitsune…" Naru grimaced. "Are you sure you didn't have anything to drink?"

"YES!" the blonde snapped. "I know what I saw!"

"I believe you," Motoko nodded, gripping her blade tightly. Everyone turned their eyes to the young woman who they thought would be the least likely to believe their partying friend. "It has long since been established by my school that demons can manifest in different ways such as inanimate objects or through a medium like an aspect of nature such as stone or grass. This beast that Kitsune has seen apparently manifested itself through water, more specifically, perhaps through the forces which govern a tsunami." Standing up, Motoko drew a real blade out of the wooden sheathe. "As the heir of the Shinmei-ryu school, I must go out and destroy this monster before it harms anymore innocent people!"

"You're going to what?" Naru gaped. "Motoko you can't be serious!"

"I am always serious when it comes to my duty," Motoko said with a voice as sharp as steel.

Any further conversation was suddenly cut off when Keitaro bounded down the stairs and was making his way to the door, only absently tipping his hat to the girls as he went by.

"Hey, Keitaro, where are you going?" asked Kitsune.

"I got a case to solve," he told her before exiting Hinata-Sou, leaving the girls blinking in confusion.

"Well, Keitaro-sempai is a detective after all," Shinobu commented, thinking it would explain his sudden change in behavior.

When Keitaro returned to the scene, he saw police there. "It never gets old," remarked Keitaro. Sighing, he walked towards the yellow tape which blocked the entryway. Looking inside, he spotted someone he recognized. "Oi! Mikio!"

Turning, a middle-aged detective who had a backscratcher on his person turned to see Keitaro. Smiling, he waved the young detective in past the guarding officers. Mikio Junno was the detective that Keitaro had officially been interning under along with Phillip. The man wasn't afraid of trying new tactics to solve cases. It was him who gave Keitaro and Phillip their first chance which resulted in the pair tracking down Yosuke and cementing places of respect with the detectives in the precinct.

"Ah, Keitaro-kun," the elder detective smiled as the young man got over to him. "I'm surprised to see you again so soon after you graduated. Started that agency yet?"

"Not quite yet," Keitaro sighed. "Hit a few snags along the way."

"Well, I still say you should join the force," Mikio smiled as he and Keitaro examined the scene.

"You know what I said the last time," Keitaro retorted to his former boss.

"Yes, yes," Mikio nodded. Straightening up, he looked to the scene. "So, assuming you're here then you're either on a case or somewhat involved in this?"

"I was here when it happened, but I was on a date at the time and had to take her home," Keitaro shrugged. "I hope you don't need me as a witness statement."

"No, no, we don't need that," Mikio answered as he and Keitaro walked around the bar, looking for clues and such. "No one died this time so we don't have to be so extensive."

"This time?" Keitaro asked with a frown.

"In the past few weeks there have been cases where buildings have been flooded and numerous people have drowned or were hurt by rampaging waters. We can't figure out where so much water is coming from," Mikio sighed. "Most of the places hit were cram schools or educational facilities."

"Any connection to Tokyo U?" asked Keitaro, deciding to test his hunch.

"You and Phillip have a hunch eh?" Mikio smirked. "Actually yes there is. All of the cram schools hit, the majority of their students apply for Tokyo U. The educational facilities were buildings where Tokyo U students take classes outside the main campus. It doesn't take a Toudai graduate to see the connection."

"So my hunch was right," Keitaro nodded. "Now if we can only find out a clue to the identity of this one."

"You'd have my eternal thanks if you did," Mikio smiled. "Hopefully you and Phillip-kun haven't gotten rusty during your exams."

"You wish," Keitaro laughed. Mikio chuckled and walked off to get some more statements, leaving Keitaro to look at the scene. He easily recalled the position where the Tsunami Dopant was standing when it changed. Walking over to the spot, careful not to slip on the standing puddles, he looked for any clue which might help. Sometimes detective work was part skill and part luck, but if you had both, you could be great. Keitaro looked over the bar counter and spotted something on the ground. Curious, he walked to the bartender's side and found himself looking at a student I.D. card which someone had dropped.

"This is…" Keitaro read with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's see," Phillip nodded as he read over the data he had collected. Footwork wasn't usually his thing so he did his searching through a phone line. He had the phone numbers of al five suspects at his disposal and he had called all five if them. They weren't exactly pleased to recount how they got expelled from such a prestigious university, but they recounted the tales…most of them anyway.

"Kai Aikawa, expelled for cheating in an exam," Phillip read. "Naomi Suzuki, expelled for sleeping with a teacher. Kenjo Tatsumi, expelled for sexual harassment of female students. Kenta Kasumi, expelled for malicious destruction of property, and finally for selling exam answers…"

"…Tatsuya Mizuki," Keitaro read, finding a name and picture of said student. If Tatsuya had been expelled, then why was he hanging out in a Tokyo U student bar? News travels fast on campus and if you were expelled, people would learn how and why. Since the crowd was Tokyo U students, they would have recognized Tatsuya on the spot.

"I think we've got our criminal," Keitaro frowned as he hailed a CSI officer over and pointed out the card. He would tell Mikio about the connection later. If this guy proved to be a Dopant, then he was going to try to target the school or something connected to it again.

"Time to prove how hardboiled we are," Keitaro frowned as he tipped his fedora.

Keitaro returned to Hinata-Sou later that night. Searching for the suspect at their home would be pointless. The best thing he could do is wait for another Dopant alert. Right now he was tired and his suspect must've been tired as well, especially if they were using a Gaia Memory. A direct download into a human body tended to put on some serious fatigue.

"Now we wait," sighed Keitaro as he headed up to his room. He saw Kitsune waiting in front of said room, blocking the doorway. "Oh, hey, Kitsune."

"Keitaro, what is a Dopant?" questioned Kitsune. Blunt and straight to the point. This was something she couldn't afford to skirt around with. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"I thought I told you to forget about it," said Keitaro.

"Sorry, but I…I can't," admitted Kitsune. "If I saw something like that while I was drunk I'd just forget it and move on, but I was sober and you mentioned Dopant when you saw it. Now…tell me what is a Dopant?"

"It's best you don't know," Keitaro said seriously. Anyone who dug into Dopants either wanted to become one, or ended up playing victim to one.

"But…"

"Goodnight, Kitsune." Keitaro tipped his hat and entered his room before closing the door.

"Kei…" Kitsune frowned. She then walked away. She then stopped. She recalled Motoko's announcement to hunt the monster and then turned back to knock on his door. The door slid open slightly.

"What is it?" Keitaro asked.

"I…told the girls," she admitted.

"And…?" He didn't sound mad.

"Motoko's gonna go out and hunt it down since she think it's a demon," she confessed quickly.

Keitaro was silent for a second.

"I see. Thanks for the tidbit. Goodnight." He closed the door.

Keitaro was definitely a mystery.

-TOKYO U-

Motoko walked through the quiet streets with Shisui at her hip, ready for anything. A demon had begun rampaging in her city and she was duty bound as a member of the Shinmei-ryu school to put a stop to it. This would be the first time she would actually do battle against a demon, but she had been training all her life and was an experienced exorcist having worked for several shrines whilst growing up. She also had tutelage from her sister, who was called the Undefeated of the East before she retired and handed the title of heir down to her.

She had suspicions about the pervert who claimed to be a detective and his probably equally perverted brother. They knew something and they weren't sharing it. Kitsune's description of events revealed that Keitaro knew about this monster and its properties. Obviously the fool intended to fight it on his own or perhaps alert the authorities. That was unacceptable. To defeat a demon you needed a demon slayer like her. There was no alternative.

Fortunately, before Keitaro could meddle, Motoko knew where the beast would likely appear. She had attempted to interrogate his academic brother when she heard him muttering through his door. He kept speaking about tsunamis, Tokyo U, and expelled students. To that end, Motoko reasoned that the source of the demon was a student who was expelled from the prestigious school and had obviously summoned the beast to get vengeance. Well, she Motoko Aoyama would cut down the monster and the evil person who saw fit to summon such a creature.

Walking up the steps towards the school, Motoko frowned when she saw someone standing in front of the main hall. He was dressed in a blue sleeveless shirt with jeans and chains hanging from his pockets. His hands were covered in black fingerless gloves. In one hand he was clutching something tightly as he was apparently glaring at the school. Motoko could tell this man was the one responsible for the demon. The hateful aura he gave off could be from nothing less than a demon.

The man turned and watched Motoko approach with her hand on her sword. He didn't seem wholly concerned about the obvious threat she represented.

"I used to go to school here you know," he snorted. "Saved every yen I had to do it. A country bumpkin managed to get his way into Tokyo U. Imagine my parents' faces. They were so damn proud. I moved in and had to spend so much to get tuition. Of course, when it seemed like I could do it that's when the bottom fell out. Pop lost his job and didn't seem too concerned about getting another one. Guess he figured a Tokyo U student could get a cushy job and support him instead. He started sucking our cash away and soon I was barely able to afford another semester. I didn't have a choice. I needed money fast or else I'd never get anywhere. So, I swiped some answer keys and started selling them. I was rolling in dough soon enough. More than enough for more years here. Then someone had to squeal. I got caught, busted and expelled. Stupid school. Stupid fees. Stupid Pop. They didn't care that I was desperate. Financial aid wouldn't even touch me thanks to my Pop's credit rating. Well, tonight is when I'll get it all back."

Motoko slowly began drawing her sword.

"I used all that money I got and bought something REAL special," the man grinned. Opening his hand, he revealed what looked to be a dark blue USB drive that was framed with white ribs. There was a letter T imprinted on it with the top that looked like waves of some sort. The word 'Tsunami' was also written on it. "This will get me back everything I deserve." He then pressed a button on the device.

"TSUNAMI!" Taking the activated machine, he revealed a tattoo which looked like a USB port on his arm and pressed the front of the drive against his skin. Blue flashes of energy broke out of the device while it was absorbed into his body. The man's form seemed to turn into water as it shifted and changed within a funnel of rain. His form grew and morphed until it broke free, revealing the Tsunami Dopant, snarling at Motoko.

"I guess I can take you down first!" the Tsunami Dopant snorted as he clenched his fists.

"I will exorcise you first demon!" Motoko frowned as she gripped her sword and charged.

Both combatants charged at each other.

Keitaro heard his phone go off and he grabbed the device, opening it to reveal a blue dot right at the Tokyo U campus.

"Here we go," he frowned before dashing out of his room.

Motoko grunted in pain as a surge of water sent her skidding across the ground. She had underestimated this monster. He was much faster than she anticipated. Her vision was blurry after being hit with so many high pressure water attacks. She hadn't even been able to unleash her Ki attacks like she had planned. The monster seemed to actually be toying with her as he pounded the daylights out of her. So much for her first successful demon slaying.

"Sister…" she muttered under her breath.

The Tsunami Dopant snarled and reared back his fist for another shot when something interrupted. This interruption came in the form of a high speed collision thanks to a green and black motorcycle which collided against the Tsunami Dopant, sending him flying. As he crashed on the ground, the rider of the vehicle got off and removed his helmet. However, Motoko's blurred vision prevented her from seeing who her supposed savior was.

Keitaro removed his helmet and looked over to the downed Motoko. She seemed a little dazed, but alive. That was good. He could tend to her later after he dealt with the Dopant who was targeting the school.

"Oi, Dopant!" he called out.

"Have you come to hinder me!" the Tsunami Dopant yelled angrily, getting to his feet. "This school and everyone in it deserves to be wiped out! I wasn't supposed to be expelled!"

"Sorry, but whether or not you deserve to be expelled is none of my concern," said Keitaro seriously. "You've been harming innocent people and so I will stop you…no."

Keitaro smirked as he took out a red colored device that was shaped like a U with two slots in it. He then placed it on the front of his waist, allowing a black belt to be generated and wrap around him, also forming a rectangular slot on the right side of his belt.

"We will stop you," Keitaro corrected.

Back in their shared room in Hinata-Sou, the same belt formed around Phillip's waist. "So, it's time, huh, Keitaro?"

"Yes," answered Keitaro as he took out a black and purple Gaia Memory with a stylized 'J' and marked 'Joker'. However, unlike the Tsunami Gaia Memory, this one seemed like an actual USB drive rather than the evil-looking piece of machinery that the Dopant had used beforehand. He pressed a button on it.

"JOKER!" the Gaia Memory announced.

Phillip raised his own Gaia Memory, green and with a stylized 'C' that looked to be made of wind and marked 'Cyclone'. He pressed a button on it as well.

"CYCLONE!"

The two young men then pointed their occupied arms out to the side before both crying out at the same moment, "Henshin!"

Phillip slipped his Gaia Memory into the right slot of the belt buckle. The Cyclone Memory then vanished. Suddenly, Phillip fell backwards, unconscious, onto the floor.

It was at that moment when Shinobu came to fetch Phillip to eat. "Phillip-sempai?" She saw him on the floor and gasped. She knelt down in worry. "Are you asleep?" She checked and shook him gently. "Oh no!" He wasn't asleep. He was completely unconscious. "This is bad!"

Back with Keitaro, the Cyclone Memory had transferred to the right slot on his Double Driver. He pressed down on it to secure it and then slid the Joker Memory into the empty left slot. He then pushed the slots apart, making a 'W' shape out of them.

"CYCLONE-JOKER!" the belt announced. The symbols on the Memories appeared and smashed together, creating a burst of energy which circled around Keitaro.

A strong wind suddenly blew, causing dust, rubble and debris to go flying in all directions. The same dust, rubble and debris spun around and around Keitaro before composing onto his body and forming into a suit. The suit of armor covered his entire body and looked streamlined. The left half was completely black with purple highlightning on the shoulders, wrists, ankles and chest. The right half was completely green, with yellow highlingting on the shoulders, chest, wrists and ankles as well. A silver stripe ran down the middle. The helmet had a pair of round red eyes and the sharp 'W' shaped antenna, which could be mistaken for a 'V', was set on his brow with a red stone under it. Hanging from the right side his neck was a long silver scarf that was like a cape as it was blown by the wind.

He'd become Kamen Rider Double.

"Now…Time to Count your Crimes," said Double in both Phillip and Keitaro's voices as he pointed at the Dopant. Double then rushed at the Tsunami Dopant and swung his fist into the Dopant's face, sending him staggering back. Double laid down the punches in a barrage, forcing the Tsunami Dopant to back away.

"Damn you!" the Dopant roared. "Take this!"

Punching forward, the Tsunami Dopant shot several bursts of water that left deep craters in the ground. Double dodged and rolled around the attacks, proving how nimble he was in the process. Still, the rate of the shots was preventing him from getting closer to the enemy.

"Reminds me of the Magma Dopant," Double spoke in Keitaro's voice with his left eye flashing.

"Then we already know what to do," Phillip's voice replied with the right eye flashing as he spoke.

Double's green arm reached to his belt and set it back in its U position. He then yanked out the Cyclone Memory and placed it somewhere behind his back. He then retrieved a red Gaia Memory with an H on it that looked like it was on fire. The word 'Heat' was printed on the bottom as well. He then pressed the button which activated the drive.

"HEAT!"

Double then placed the drive in the vacant spot before setting the Double Driver back in its W position.

"HEAT-JOKER!" the green side of Double shifted as it changed color. The scarf vanished as the green sections turned to a fiery red. The yellow highlighting on the right half of his body also shifted into a golden orange color.

"Now, let's continue," Double nodded before he charged again. The Tsunami Dopant roared before unleashing more water bullets. However, Double was ready as he swung his red arm. Fire enveloped the limb as it cut through the air, exploding against the bullets and evaporating them as the impacts struck. Double dodged another water bullet before he reached the Tsunami Dopant and punched him in the face, making another fiery impact. Several more fiery punches to the torso and a final fiery kick to the face sent the Dopant flying before he hit the dirt, hard.

"Now for the finale," Double nodded as he reset his Double Driver and removed the Heat Memory and produced the Cyclone Memory.

"CYCLONE!"

"CYCLONE-JOKER!"

The red side of Double returned to its default green form as his silver scarf reappeared.

"Memory Break time!" said Double as he withdrew the Joker Memory and slipped it into the slot on the right side of his belt.

"JOKER: MAXIMUM DRIVE!"

Harsh and violent winds whipped around the area as Double rose into the air. He then came rushing down towards the Tsunami Dopant. He seemed to hover in the air for a moment before repositioning himself with both feet aimed at the struggling enemy. The winds then gusted again, sending the Kamen Rider flying at the Dopant.

"Joker Extreme!" His body split down the middle and both halves came down, the feet crashing into the Dopant, resulting in a huge explosion.

Double, now with both halves together, hovered down to the ground and watched as the Tsunami Dopant reverted to his human form of Tatsuya Mizuki. The Tsunami Memory was ejected from his body and it shattered to pieces, leaving an exhausted Tatsuya and a broken piece of blue plastic and metal behind.

"Case…" Keitaro's voice began.

"…Closed," finished Phillip's voice.

The authorities would show up soon and pick up Tatsuya. He would be arrested for mass murder, destruction of public property, and using an illegal Gaia Memory. Keitaro had already made the call when he was on his way to the school. They were probably going to be there any moment. With the evidence Keitaro and Phillip provided to Mikio, the former Tokyo U student would be behind bars in no time.

"Okay, let's go home," Double nodded as he turned his attention to the groggy Motoko who was trying to get to her feet. "Hey, are you okay?" he questioned.

"Raaaagh!" was the kendo girl's only reply as she lunged at the Kamen Rider with a wide swing, aimed at his neck.

"Woah!" Double cried as he dodged the blow and got some space. "Hey! I was just asking! What's your problem?"

"I am not fooled by your tricks, Demon!" Motoko spat as she gripped her sword, albeit wobbily.

"Demon? Hey, we saved your life! That guy would have killed you!" Double retorted.

"I know the tricks of your kind," Motoko replied as she raised her blade in preparation for another attack. "You only stopped him so you could take me yourself!"

"Believe what you want," Double sighed, ignoring the girl as he headed for his bike. Mounting it, he looked back at her. "Have a nice walk home!"

Hitting the ignition, the HardBoilder's engine roared before Double took off like a shot down the street. Motoko was left behind, slumping in relief. Despite her bold words, her confidence was shaken.

"I need more training," was all she could mutter to herself.

Keitaro had already set up his office. Although it wasn't like the way he wanted it to be, it would suffice for now. He had his computer set up to write his reports, his books in the shelf and also the whiteboards Phillip would need when he did his data searching. Phillip was sitting in the corner, quietly reading a book.

Keitaro was of course typing on the computer. As he was doing so, Haruka entered. "So, you dealt with that Dopant?" asked Haruka.

"Yeah, sure did," said Keitaro. "Of course, Motoko didn't like seeing Double."

"Called us a demon," added Phillip.

"So that's where she went. Ah well, I wouldn't worry about her words. I'd care more about her sword," Haruka shrugged as she stepped into the room to admire it. "So, you got your office set up, I see."

"That's right, and I just finished the sign," said Keitaro.

Hanging next to the Hinata-Sou's sign was another sign. It read "URASHIMA DETECTIVE AGENCY" and written in a bracket was "Hardboiled Detective Extraordinaire".

Motoko's eyes had landed on the new sign as she had dragged herself home at long last. Normally she might have growled or go to deal with the two men who thought they could just do what they wanted since they were related to Granny Hina. Right now though, after her defeat and utter failure of fighting her first demon, she just wanted to go to bed and get some rest. Soreness and disappointment did not make great companions. If she were a lesser woman she might have cried under it all.

"I'll deal with them later," she sighed as she opened the door.

"MOTOKO!" Su's excited squeal rang out.

GLOMP!

"Ow! Su! My ribs!"

Later, Phillip was having his own turn on the computer inside his shared room as he made up an email to his grandmother.

Dear Granny Hina

Hello, it is one of your favorite grandchildren, Phillip. We arrived at the Hinata-Sou like you asked us to. However, you neglected to mention you turned it into a girls' dorm. Keitaro got into one of his situations and the tenants were likely to try killing him. However, Aunt Haruka managed to calm things down. However, I do not believe that Naru or Motoko are very fond of us at the moment. Su and Shinobu are very nice and Kitsune…she seems fond of Keitaro.

During our first night Keitaro found a Dopant so we had our first case in our new detective agency. I have already written up a report and filed it under 'T' since it was a Tsunami Dopant we had to fight against. Motoko seems to be under the impression that Dopants are demons and that as the heir to her school, she must fight them. She actually found the Tsunami Dopant before we did and attempted to fight it. Keitaro arrived before she was badly wounded and we transformed and beat it. Still, Motoko attempted to attack us, believing us to be a demon as well. Now that the case has been solved, Keitaro and I have officially opened our new detective agency. I hope we do well.

Until next time

-Phillip

Smiling, Phillip clicked on the 'send' button which sent the email off to wherever his grandmother was at the moment. He hoped he read her message soon. He liked hearing from her.

"Phillip-sempai?" Shinobu's voice called from behind the door. "Are you ready for dinner now?"

"Hai," Phillip nodded, standing up. "I can smell it from here."

Ten-Faced Paladin: Well, here it is. A Double story from two authors working together. I hope you guys enjoy this story. It's kind of refreshing not to do a Ranma cross. Keitaro needs some support too. Anyhow, I hope you like this. Say Chrome, would we be considered halfboiled or hardboiled to keep making all these Kamen Rider fics?

ZK Chromedragozoid: This idea just came to me one day. Thought it might work and so I asked Paladin to help. Two writers for a Double story. Interesting, huh? Well, hope you guys will enjoy reading this tale. And as for the answer to your question…halfboiled, perhaps?