Kamen Rider Spirits Chapter 23: Rumi

**Rumi** is the sixth chapter of the *Forget Memories* arc, the twenty-third chapter of Kamen Rider Spirits overall and the final story of the fourth tankobon volume.

## Plot

The body of the old man is found in a park and the area becomes a crime scene as the Tokyo Police Department examines the scene and takes evidence. The police don't seem to care too much, calling the old man "just some bum" and have yet to identify him. Murasame observes this from high above a skyscraper.

In Badan's secret base, Ambassador Darkness is reattaching a severed finger, pleased as it completely regenerates back onto his hand. He says that with this power his dreams will never be broken again and Needle confirms to him that LaMoore has this power as well but on a much weaker level.

In Shinjuku, bystanders are horrified and distressed seeing a mummified corpse in clothing that smells like rotting flesh walking around. He is in reality LaMoore who watches a TV news report at an electronics store window on the man he murdered, former business mogul Kanetomi Hideyoshi. This stirs his mind back into consciousness as LaMoore remembers that he killed him. At the clinic, Dr. Kaido is shocked to hear the death of Mr. Hideyoshi and curses him a little as Rumi is out looking for him to deliver his medication.

Rumi is searching for Mr. Hideyoshi and runs into a young boy, knocking him onto the pavement. The boy, named Lee, fakes his arm being broken to try to get some money off of her. Despite at first wanting to help Lee, Rumi then sees through his ruse and walks off. Lee attempts to threaten her, only to have several of Shinjuku's homeless and working class citizens who visit the clinic form an angry mob to protect Rumi and beat the kid up. Rumi hates this and tells them to stop and the group apologizes to her. Lee says he'll remember this and runs off. Rumi asks her friends if they have seen Mr. Hideyoshi, but they claim none of them have seen him today, but as Rumi walks away it is revealed they were lying and didn't have the heart to tell her as they heard the news that Mr. Hideyoshi was killed.

Lee is walking around trying to find money as he cannot pay the rent, he is alos very hungry. He takes his frustration out by kicking a can, which scares a black cat in his path. He sympathizes with the cat, as like him, the cat has no home or knows when his next meal is. He notices the cat is going too far out into the street and a truck is going to hit it. Murasame appears and uses his cyborg enhanced speed and reflexes to catch the kitty, saving it and climbing up an overpass bridge to take it to safety. At first the cat is happy, but becomes scared as it senses that Murasame isn't human when he tries to pet it, so the cat scratches him and runs off much to the sorrow of his rescuer. Lee witnessed the heroic act and is impressed by Murasame, plotting to use him somehow to gain a profit so he can eat. Murasame asks the boy if he knows Dr. Kaido, Lee lies and says he does to take advantage of him.

Under a bridge, LaMoore is recovering and passing the time by disposing of the remaining bodies of the dead Commando Roids by tossing them into the river. Rumi sees a shadow under the bridge and thinks it is Mr. Hideyoshi at first but then sees the figure is a stranger and tries to run. LaMoore uses his tongue to try to impale her, but luckily Rumi trips as she is running and he misses. LaMoore confesses that he murdered the old man, "filled him full nice holes" as he smiles wickedly.

Lee is faking trying to find Dr. Kaido with Murasame following, Lee is wondering what he can do to get out of this as Murasame is determined to find Dr. Kaido. He then sees something scaling up a building, he thinks it is cool and that maybe they are shooting a Spider-Man movie. Murasame uses his enhanced vision to see it is LaMoore as Chameleon Roid and he has a hostage. He transforms into ZX and startles Lee as he leaps up and is witnessed by a crowd. He land on the side of the building and catches Rumi when LaMoore drops her. ZX gets Rumi away from LaMoore, but suddenly his body begins rejecting his cybernetics again and his power weakens, as he once again slowly de-transforms back into Murasame and he starts falling.

In Badan's base, Ambassador Darkness is displeased to hear that ZX has a 1% rejection rate and is only 99% compatible.

As he is falling, Murasame wonders why his body is acting like this, only to her Rumi stir and call out for Mr. Hideyoshi as she cries. Murasame grabs the side of the building and grinds to a stop while still clinging tightly to Rumi, frustrated he cannot fully control his transformation as it kicks in again when he remembers Mr. Hideyoshi's words about having something to protect. LaMoore tries to attack ZX but gets hit by a counterattack of Cross Shurikens and ZX finishes him by throwing a Focus Bomb which blows LaMoore up. Rumi awakens from her shock and finds herself on the roof of a large office building sitting next to a strange man in a tattered cloak, wondering how she got here and who the man is.

In a Badan laboratory, scientists are tending to a cyborg in a regeneration tank: Eisuke Mikage. The scientists note that the skin is discoloring as a side effect of the regeneration. Despite deterioration, the doctors say Eisuke is still alive, believing it is because of a grudge against ZX for his betrayal.

## Characters

### Allies

* Rumi Ichijō
* Dr. Hajime Kaido

### Enemies

* LaMoore
* Commando Roids
* Ambassador Darkness
* Needle

## Notes

* Lee's mention of filming a Spider-Man movie is fitting of the time period, as the first *Spider-Man* movie had been released in theaters worldwide six months prior to the fourth volume's release. *Spider-Man 2* was announced by Sony a month before the manga was printed and in the early planning stages and a teaser trailer for that film would debut in movie theaters one month later.