The rain had dried from the streets, but the memory of it clung to the city like smoke. Ryotaro crouched at the edge of the old accident site, Hardboilder's engine cooling behind him. His gloved fingers traced the scars in the guardrail—steel bent by force, scorched black by fire.
The Orphnoch who crawled from this wreck was only the first move. What mattered wasn't the pawn. It was the hand that pushed it forward.
The mastermind.
Ryotaro's Denden Sensor chirped softly, picking up faint electromagnetic residue along the asphalt. He knelt, eyes narrowing. "No ordinary truck. Military-grade shielding. Whoever staged this wanted it clean. Professional."
He flipped open his leather notebook.
Investigation Log – Case #002
Incident: Fatal crash staged as accident.
Victim: Male, mid-forties. Transformed into Orphnoch.
Suspect: Professional driver, military-tech equipped vehicle.
Motive: Trigger Orphnoch awakening? Or targeted hit?
He clicked his pen shut. "Pieces fit too neatly. Someone's guiding this."
The night was silent. Too silent.
Ryotaro's neck prickled. He didn't need the Sensor to know he was being watched.
"You're getting good at this," came the gravel-rough voice.
Ryotaro stood slowly, turning toward the shadow across the street. A cape unfurled like a second night sky, and the familiar cowl gleamed in the dim light. Batman stepped forward, silent but heavy, like a predator closing distance.
Ryotaro's pulse spiked, but his mask stayed calm. "You really like following me, don't you?"
Batman's eyes glowed faintly white. "You left enough signs. You wanted me to follow."
Ryotaro chuckled softly. "Or maybe I just don't care who's watching."
The Dark Knight didn't smile. He closed the gap with deliberate steps. "I know who you are."
Ryotaro tilted his head. "A high school transfer student? Or the boy playing detective in his city? Or you can called me Kamen Rider."
"Code Name" Batman replied. "But not only that. You've been… altered. Your physiology isn't natural. The way you move, heal, fight. Tell me where your powers come from."
Ryotaro's heart jumped, but his expression remained unreadable. 'So he's already pieced it together. Of course he has. It's Batman.'
He turned his gaze back to the road, the broken rail glinting under moonlight. "I didn't ask for this. Someone gave me this power. Not as a gift. As a weapon. To fight against something bigger than me. Bigger than you."
Batman's cape rustled in the night wind. "An organization."
Ryotaro's lips curved faintly. "You know more than you say."
"I've seen others like you," Batman said. His voice was calm, but his eyes narrowed. "Metahumans twisted by outside forces. Some try to be heroes. Most become something worse. Dangerous. Unstable. You're walking a knife's edge."
Ryotaro finally turned to face him fully, his eyes sharp. "And you came here tonight to push me off it?"
Batman's answer was a single word: "No."
He took another step forward. "I came to ask you to join something bigger than your one-man crusade."
Ryotaro blinked. "Bigger?"
"A team," Batman explained. "Young operatives like you. Trained, guided. You'd be working alongside others who carry burdens of their own."
Ryotaro raised an eyebrow. "Sidekicks. That's what you mean."
Robin's smirk flickered in his memory. Ryotaro almost laughed.
Batman didn't flinch. "Call it what you like. But they'll need someone with your instincts. Someone who doesn't just fight—someone who thinks."
Ryotaro looked back at the rail, at the silent memory of a man torn from his family, turned into a monster. "Tempting. But I already have… responsibilities."
"You mean school," Batman said flatly.
Ryotaro chuckled, shaking his head. "I have to blend in. My uncle worries. My mother sends money so I can study. If I suddenly disappear into some secret clubhouse with other costumed kids, do you know what happens?"
Batman didn't answer. He simply watched. That piercing, unblinking gaze that could strip flesh from lies.
Ryotaro frowned. "…You're not going to say anything?"
Batman's silence was heavier than words. It said: I know you're making excuses. I know you want this. I know you can't run from it.
The boy clicked his tongue softly, breaking the tension. "Fine. But don't expect me to wear matching uniforms or shout team slogans."
Batman's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Agreement?"
"Agreement," Ryotaro said. His voice was calm, but his chest tightened with something strange. Reluctance? Excitement? Fear? Maybe all three.
He slipped his notebook back into his coat. "When?"
Batman finally looked away, toward the horizon where the city lights flickered. "Independence Day. The League will gather. You'll be introduced."
Ryotaro blinked. "Wait—you're dropping me in front of the Justice League? Just like that?"
Batman's reply was stone-cold. "You wanted a bigger board. This is it."
For a moment, Ryotaro stared. Then he laughed softly, shaking his head. "You really don't let people choose their pace, do you?"
Batman's cape shifted. "Neither do the enemies we face."
The silence stretched again. Ryotaro finally gave a slow nod. "…Alright. Independence Day. But don't expect me to smile for the cameras."
Batman's gaze sharpened. "No one will."
And then he was gone. One flicker of cape, one whisper of shadow, and the rooftop was empty again.
Ryotaro stood alone by the scarred guardrail, the night breeze tugging at his coat. He let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"…A team."
The word felt foreign. He had always worked alone, with only his uncle's simple trust keeping him tethered to normalcy. Yet now… Batman had cracked open a door to something larger.
He looked down at his hands. The Gaia Memory pulsed faintly in his palm, its glow reflecting in his eyes.
"Independence Day," he murmured. "Introduced to gods in capes. And me? Just a pawn carrying borrowed power."
He pocketed the Memory, turned back toward Hardboilder, and swung into the seat. The engine growled to life, echoing through the empty street.
As he rode away, his thoughts refused to quiet.
If Batman trusts me enough to extend this… then the enemies ahead must be worse than I imagined.
The city lights blurred past. For once, Ryotaro felt something like nerves. Excitement. Fear.
Maybe, just maybe, both.
Elsewhere – The Watchtower
High above Earth, the Justice League gathered in quiet conversation. Wonder Woman's voice carried steady, questioning. "Are you certain, Batman? Bringing in a child with powers we don't fully understand?"
Batman's reply was as cold as the void outside. "I'm certain of this—he's dangerous if left alone. Better to keep him where we can watch him."
Superman's eyes narrowed faintly, but he said nothing.
In the shadows, Batman's hand hovered over a console—already updating the files. A new codename added to the roster.
Kamen Rider.
*********
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