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Hiromi's faith in heroes began to waver. He always liked to believe that there would be someone to show up and save his small town from all the disappearances.
Someone to come in and not only find the missing people but to put a stop to evil bad guys behind it. To bring justice to those who disappeared and never returned.
However that was not the case, slowly but surely people started to disappear, mostly just people who had little to no family or elderly people who were a few years away from passing.
No one could prove for certain that they was missing. It’s just that as weeks went on, the town started to feel smaller, as if the population was slowly being drained to where no one passed by a stranger on their way through town.
Everyone continued to go on as if nothing happened, as if the missing people never existed. Maybe once in a while someone’s name was brought up, only to be dismissed by ignorance.
Hiromi used to be one of those people, till the nice old lady he befriended disappeared and never came back. Everyday on his way home from school, he’d stop by her shop to say hi.
She wasn’t popular, or even well known. But she was nice and always gave Hiromi discounts when he bought sweets from her. She was energetic and always wore a smile on her face, her store was almost always open.
She even let him hide away in the backroom when bullies were chasing him from school. But one day, she wasn’t there. She was just gone, nothing left but a shop devoid of people.
Hiromi even tried to investigate the shop, to see if maybe she was just hurt and couldn’t get help. But not a sign of her was to be found. Days turned to weeks as no one noticed the old lady’s shop get dustier and dirtier.
Hiromi would stop by, just in case she was back. She never was. He’d always leave money on the counter for the sweets he took and apologized for not paying her in person.
Hiromi even tried to report it to the police, but without a name or address they couldn’t search for her. That is when Hiromi started to hope for a hero to come, to bring back the nice old lady who sold him candy and talked to him all the time.
But hope wasn’t enough, as weeks turned to months, then turned to years. Over that time, more people from foreign cities started to move in, claiming that the big city was too much and wanted to live in a rural town.
The disappearances only increased, but at the rate it was occurring people were hardly aware of it, most of the ones going missing just newcomers. The town’s folk just wrote it off as the city slickers finding out that they weren’t cut out for a rural life and bailing.
Hiromi thought so too. That was until one evening, when Hiromi was going home late, because he had gotten detention for defending another kid from bullies, he noticed some strangely dressed people passing by.
Immediately, Hiromi’s brain put together that these people were suspicious. He tailed them quietly, taking note that they were heading towards the section where all the newer housing was built.
One of the strangely dressed men knocked on the door. Hiromi couldn’t tell what the conversation was about as he was too far from earshot, but it was easy to tell that the suspicious people were getting annoyed.
“Looks like I found a little spider on the wall” A voice said behind Hiromi. Before he could even react, Hiromi had lost all feeling in his body, then his mind slipped into unconsciousness.
Faintly he heard talking, but he couldn’t hear it properly. The next thing Hiromi knew he was being shaken violently. “Hey kid! Kid, are you okay?” A voice shouted.
Hiromi’s eyes shot open, his breathing frantic as he looked around. He wasn’t home, where was he, why did his body hurt, who was this man yelling at him, what was he saying, why was it so hard to breath.
“Oi! Breath, focus on breathing. In 10 out 10” The man said. Hiromi just nodded his head and did as told to. Slowly just breathing in and out. After a few breathing exercises, Hiromi was able to think again.
“Who are you?” Hiromi chocked out. The man opened his mouth to answer before shouting from outside the room could be heard, as the trampling of feet coming closer could be heard. Hiromi’s heart started to beat faster in fear as he clung to the stranger.
“Don’t worry kid. I’ll get you out of here safely. Just close your eyes and stay here. Can you do that for me?” The man asked. Hiromi nodded weakly and shut his eyes closed covering them with his hands, curling up and just wishing he was home, being hugged by his mom.
“Good. This won’t take too long” The man said. Hiromi could hear siring blaring. “Demon’s Driver. Kabuto! Deal” a robotic voice chimed as the sounds of violins and drums rang throughout the room.
Against his better judgement, Hiromi peaked through his hands. “Henshin” The man called out. Suddenly a giant beetle erupted out of him along with a cloud of smoke. The cloud of smoke suddenly seemingly consumed the man.
“Bane Up! Hakai! (Break) Sekai! (Broke) Kikikaikai! (Broken) Kamen! Rider! Vail!” the voice from before announced. As the smoke took shape, Hiromi watched in a mix of fear, confusion and awe as a armored warrior stood.
“It’s the Kamen Rider! Kill him! Kill anyone who’s still alive!” A voice shouted in fear. “Shut your eyes kid. You’re too young to see what’s about to happen” The Kamen Rider said.
Hiromi flinched but complied as he shut his eyes tightly. And he kept them shut, regardless of the screams and sirens blaring. Hiromi staying still and kept his eyes shut.
Suddenly the screaming stopped, as Hiromi felt himself getting picked up. “Karizaki is not going to be happy about this when I report back to Weekend. Come on kid. Let’s get you home. I’m sure your mom’s worried about you” The Kamen Rider said, muttering the first half of the sentence to himself.
“You’re a hero. Aren’t you mister?” Hiromi asked softly. Hiromi opened his eyes, only for a hand to cover them. “No. I’m just a man trying to make amends for the sins of others. A real hero. Is someone who does what they feel is just to keep the innocent safe, they devote their lives and bodies to fighting the evils of this world. A person who will lay down their life to protect all they hold dear” The Kamen Rider explained as he took Hiromi out of the facility.
The trail of bodies from both humans and demons laid out, the destruction and carnage something that no child should bear witness to.
Hiromi was returned home safely, and his mother grabbed him and held him tightly sobbing, thanking the man who brought him back. “He’s a good kid. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a hell of a young man” The man said smiling. Hiromi’s mother nodded in agreement.
Hiromi took the man’s words to heart, and began to look ahead to the future where he too could become a hero that inspired others to make a change.