I want to become a Kamen Rider

The twilight flowed along the highway like melting caramel, casting molten gold patterns on the heavy motorcycle Fan Kang leaned against. He was about to embark on his return journey, standing outside the road.

The country beneath his feet also has highways, though they are narrow, expensive, and mostly four-lane. This is why he was standing outside the highway with his train station in such an unusual manner, because he didn't want to pay and planned to evade the toll.

The Kamen Rider who saves the world is forced to evade highway tolls because he can't afford them. Hmm, that's pretty far-fetched. And considering the number of times he's defeated, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with him calling himself the Kamen Rider who saves the world.

Which time should we choose?

The spirit stone at his waist was gilded amber by the setting sun. The heat emanating from the asphalt road distorted the outline of the tollbooth in the distance. He counted the thirteenth truck that roared past, estimating the best time to break in without being caught on camera or affecting road safety, when suddenly a cool touch pressed against the back of his neck.

"This is a gift from a good apprentice to his master."

The black-haired girl held up a can of lemonade and handed it over generously, while holding her phone in her other hand. Her eyes flickered slightly, as if she had seen some special information on it.

"I'm not your master."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to Master and not call you that anymore..."

The annoying, cheap apprentice drawled out the news she had seen.

"The seventh sighting by a Shocker combatant this month. It happened in Chiba, where a festival is being held, and there are crowds of people gathering. Shall we go, Master?"

"Go."

"Since you've already answered, let's go together then."

Without asking his opinion, the guy casually climbed onto the back of his motorcycle.

The twilight turned the girl's hair a flowing gold. By the time he cast a look of disgust and displeasure at her, Mizutani Migen had already obediently sat down and even took out a helmet in the color scheme of Kuuga and put it on.

"Get off. You should be able to afford the highway tolls, right?"

"Save me some money, sir."

Seeing the unmoved girl, Fan Kang, who was in a hurry, sighed.

After we got to know each other better, I always felt like this guy was getting more and more outrageous.

"Sometimes it's a shame that your personality and appearance don't match at all."

"I only act like this in front of my master. It's all to increase my master's favorability, unlock higher levels of martial arts, and advance towards a higher realm. By the way, what does my master think a girl like me should be like?"

"A Yamato Nadeshiko, usually as cold as ice, but actually blushes at the slightest touch?"

"These days, where can you find girls like that?"

I poured the lemon soda down my throat. It felt really good to drink soda on a hot summer day. Although I don’t really want to admit it, my impression of it definitely improved.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the girl naturally placed her hand on his waist.

"Let go of my hand, are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"I'm the girl, and we're about to get on the highway. My driver will definitely take advantage of being a Kamen Rider to speed on the highway, so I have to hold on tight to be safe."

His reasoning was sound and undeniable; all one could do was criticize this grinning guy.

"I have a feeling that your methods of trying to win people over are starting to resemble selling your body..."

"If it works, I wouldn't object to it..."

"Why don't you give me a negative answer, you idiot?"

The twilight shattered into purplish-blue fragments amidst the roar of engines, and the searchlights at the tollbooth stretched the motorcycle's shadow into a twisted blade, but only captured it for a fleeting moment.

The moment the girl clung tightly to Fan Kang's waist, the spirit stone burst forth with red light. As they sped along, the red light was dragged out as a blur, like lava carving burning tracks across the asphalt. In the rearview mirror, the lights of the vehicles far behind them formed a pale, shimmering river, as their motorcycle swam upstream against the torrent of light.

“We need to speed up.”

The girl instinctively leaned against his back, and he twisted the handlebars sharply, the motorcycle swerving through the bend. Sparks flew from the tires rubbing against the ground, and "Gollum," moving in tandem with the motorcycle's swerve, let inertia throw it into the air—

"Transform!"

Two clear shouts overlapped and pierced the night sky.

Kamen Riders should travel in their own way, especially when someone has almost pushed the belt and "Golem" to their limits. Speeding on highways, having "Golem" detach from the motorcycle and fly over obstacles, and jumping between skyscrapers when activating the Rising Azure Dragon form can all be considered ways to travel.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to temporarily suppress that era of rampant demons and monsters with the strength of a single rider.

The value of things is defined by people. The reason why Kuuga is the strongest Kamen Rider in the world at this moment is not because Kuuga is the strongest Kamen Rider in terms of performance, but because the strongest person fights in the form of Kuuga.

It was because of the presence of that clueless guy who insisted on following along that a lot of untimely noise was added during the journey.

"Ahhh, Master, slow down."

"Was I driving too fast...?"

"Master, we're going to fly! Ahhhhhh!"

"It's too fast, waaaaaah!"

The heavy motorcycle tore through the night, like a quenched longsword slicing into solidified ink.

Having finally entered a relatively smooth section of road, the terrified girl couldn't help but protest:

"Was it really necessary to drive this fast, you bad driver..."

"I'm asking you, what are we going to do now?"

"..."

"It's about saving lives."

A simple question and answer.

"If you put yourself in the shoes of the person being rescued, would you complain that the person who came to rescue you arrived too quickly? Sometimes, being just two seconds faster can save a life that is about to be lost."

"An irrefutable argument," Mizutani Migen said with a shrug.

This man is always like this, acting as if he caused all the suffering, even when it has nothing to do with him, yet he works so hard, as if something is urging him on from behind.

She couldn't help but complain:

"It's all the fault of Japan's incompetent police."

As soon as I said that, I regretted it. My mentor was sure he would say something like, "The police also tried their best. There's nothing we can do about supernatural phenomena. We should be more understanding of public officials," and so on.

"Yeah, the Japanese police are useless."

Did she hear wrongly?

Then, the man driving the motorcycle started complaining and attacking the Japanese police.

"Most police officers in other countries are quite capable, but in this country, I sometimes can't help but wonder what their police are doing all day long. It's one thing if they can't beat the Gurongi or monsters, but they can't even stop the Shocker combatants. Are all those salaries just going to be wasted?!"

It seems the master has a lot of opinions about the police.

"Recently, there's been news about some genius high school student solving cold cases and receiving police commendations, right? I was shocked when I saw it. I can't believe they dared to report it, and they even looked so smug. So you police officers can't even compare to high school students? You're no good at fighting Grongi, you're useless against monsters, and you can't even stop a Shocker combatant. You're just a bunch of trash!"

"I don't know how they can be so shameless?!"

He talked on and on, his words flowing like a river. The master should be considered well-mannered, as he didn't directly use foul language, but he still couldn't stop complaining and grumbling.

Finally, even the knights who had previously said they would forgive him started complaining as well.

"And what about those high school girls who are busy with school? If everyone shares the work, wouldn't the problem be solved? How can we possibly defeat all the monsters and dark forces by passing the buck and hesitating with these worms?!"

"puff."

Mizutani Migen laughed, which annoyed Fan Kang.

"Hey, what are you laughing at? Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

"No, it's just that I realized my mentor sometimes complains about his colleagues who don't work hard or the police officers who don't do their jobs properly, just like an ordinary person."

"I'm just an ordinary person."

She was a little surprised.

"Hiss, Master, in what way do you seem like an ordinary person?"

"Then what kind of person do you think I am?"

"Hmm, severing all emotions and desires, not even feeling a spark when held by a beautiful girl like me, as if carrying the fate of an entire world on one's shoulders, burdened with deep-seated hatred, a saint sent down by heaven to save humanity?"

"First of all, who would call themselves a beautiful girl? Secondly, I feel scared when I fight the weakest Grongi. You're completely different from the person you're talking about who only exists in your imagination."

The roar of the engine tore through the night, and the driver started rambling.

"Master, there's a limit to your nonsense. Someone like you who kills Gurongi like it's nothing, would you be afraid of Gurongi?"

It was supposed to be a joke, but the master's tone was very serious.

"No, I mean it. I get scared every time I fight those scary, filthy things. I feel disgusted when I fight demons. I want to back down when I wrestle with the Unknown."

"..."

“A long, long time ago, I was actually a very timid person. It was only after experiencing some things that I became the person you see now. It’s not that I became fearless. Even now, when I see a particularly powerful Gurongi or encounter a very formidable opponent, I still feel fear. It’s just that I have slowly learned to suppress my cowardice and squeeze out the courage to fight.”

"..."

"It took me a very, very long time to become the person you described who kills Gurongi without batting an eye."

This should have been a rare opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with her master without any joking around. If it were a dating sim, it would have been the perfect chance to win over her master. She should have taken this opportunity to say something nice to increase her favorability, but Mizutani Mikoto didn't do that.

Half of it was surprise, and half of it was relief.

I was surprised that my master was an ordinary person, but I was also glad that he was an ordinary person.

"Thinking about it carefully, who would want to fight such a dangerous enemy? There's no salary, and no one will praise me... But I often receive thanks and respect. If I hadn't really had no other choice, I would have quit long ago."

The person who was saying this was desperately rushing towards the location where the Shocker fighters had attacked.

Hmm, as expected, Master is a proud and aloof person.

Isn't it true that a man's arrogance isn't cute at all?

When Mizutani Migen was thinking strange things, Fan Kang felt helpless and sincerely advised him:

"So I'm just an ordinary person driven to the brink by your so-called destiny of saving the world. It's rare to have someone I can use, so even if you don't deliberately try to increase my favorability, I will still do my best to teach you. I don't understand the thought process of a martial arts idiot. Anyway, don't do things like today in the future. When your chest touches my back, I will still feel secretly happy. That's just how men are."

"In the future, when facing other people, you should also be more vigilant and careful."

"I intend to try my best to be an upright person, but I can't guarantee it. After all, being upright is not about cutting off emotions and desires, but about frankly facing your own desires, following the rules when you should follow them and trying to control yourself when you shouldn't. But I can't always control myself."

"Just do your best in life."

Mizutani Migen felt something was off. These words didn't sound like the advice of a master whose favorability had increased, but rather like the life experience being passed on by a dying person to a junior.

The atmosphere was strange, so she decided to change the subject.

"My master said before that what determines whether someone is a Kamen Rider is neither this outfit, nor that belt, nor the mask on their face. So what is it? What is it that determines whether someone is a Kamen Rider or not?"

Fan Kang didn't intend to answer the question, so he blurted out:

"Where am I supposed to find a template for you in a short time? This is a question without a standard answer..."

He wasn't planning on answering.

I hadn't originally planned to.

But when they finally arrived at the scene of the Shocker attack, the scene was chaotic and terrible.

Flames danced a soul-summoning dance on the ruins of the festival, and tattered lantern paper curled into gray butterflies in the heat.

The smoke of battle tore through the embers of the Chiba Festival. They walked forward, and there were not many corpses in the pool of blood on the ground, but more of the foam from the bodies of the defeated Shocker fighters gradually dissolving.

"Have the police arrived?"

"Those useless cops can't do it."

They were already the fastest; the knight who had been pressing down had rushed back from afar with all his might, and there was no way that reinforcements could arrive faster than him, unless that person was already there.

Fan Kang squatted down, and the spirit stone rippled at his waist.

He picked up the broken plastic mask, and a piece of Shocker combatant's weapon fragment was still embedded in the crack of the red eyepiece.

In the distance came the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances, while closer—behind the burning stalls and shelves—a faint sob could be heard through the crackling flames.

The knights walked toward the fire, pried open the twisted, makeshift door, and moonlight poured down through the hole in the ceiling.

A man knelt in the middle of the ruins, his blood-soaked, scarred chest exposed beneath his faded and tattered knight's T-shirt.

The man's left arm was bent at an odd angle, while his right hand tightly protected the crying little girl in his arms. Beneath the child's hand, which was clutching the hem of his clothes, blood seeped from the bandage, leaving specks of crimson.

"Everything here..."

The girl was speechless with surprise, because the person was not one of the many colleagues she knew who had obtained the power of Kamen Rider.

"..."