"Ummai! Hahaha... I never thought that my son could make a dish this delicious"
The oldest man in the family swallows a fried fish that has been spiced to three types of taste. It can be said that this is the father in the family.
"Umn... Sometimes it really is a wonder where you learned how to cook this kind of dish"
The only women in the family and the wife of the oldest man make a wonderful face. It feels like her son really reaches a new level of cooking every time she tastes the cooking.
"Do you really ask mom, of course I learn to cook from watching mom cooking everyday"
*pang"
"That hurt!"
"Oh you and your sweet mouth, it's really the same as your father"
"Of course he learns from me, I can be more sweet than that in words mother"
"Why don't both of you save it for after this mom, dad. We are eating right now"
The youngest of the family butt in when it seems that both parents want to continue more.
They continue eating while laughing.
-----_----------------------
"Mom! I'm gonna go out, it might be late when I get home"
A young teenager that dresses modestly with a shirt and jeans is running toward the door as though he is late for something.
"Did you go PC bang again? Get home by 10pm or else young man!"
A woman that seems to be in middle age answers back before reminding her son to come back home early.
"No mom, I am not going there today but I will try to get home fast!"
Finishing wearing the shoe for outside, he opens the door and runs outside toward his destination.
The new name that I got in this world, Igarashi Rul. Family name Igarashi, First name Rul.
Today or this morning can be said to be the last of his memory transition to this new body. He is able to remember everything from the last life.
Even though there is some blur in his memory, he felt that he remembered all of it.
No, it does not feel awkward. When the memory came it did not feel foreign to him, it felt more like that feeling always there. It's just that he cannot remember why he felt that.
After he was able to recover the previous life memories, most of the questions that he had before have been answered.
The feeling that something has already been done before, the feeling of doing it again. A deja vu.
Running. Of course not.
He takes the bike and rides it toward the old church. It is the church that has already been abandoned.
Yeah, i know that the church is the place where the fallen angels make their nest.
But. One thing that most people might overlook.
The story has not begun yet.
The school of Kuoh Academy is still only a girl school now.
So he ride toward the old church believing that it a safe place right now.
15 minute later.
Screech!!
Stopping the bike in front of the church, he takes time to see the surroundings.
Now that he takes a look at it, this place really looks creepy.
In the show, the church looks creepy.
"But this is another level of creepiness"
More menacing when seeing in person. He swallow it up and goes to park the bike.
He then walk toward the back of the church.
The church looks old and more menacing close up. Adding with no one to maintain it, it became more broken from disrepair.
The door that lead to the church look broken with few hole here and here.
He then walk beside the church.
Screeeeeee!!! thump!!!
"Argh!!!"
A girly sound broke out when a loud sound broke out suddenly.
Igarashi jump back quite hard and look toward the source of the sound. When looking he saw that there a small window that broke from its hinge that open and closing.
' So the sound came from the window. Wow, this place really look like a haunted house. It like something gonna jump out from there'
Taking a deep breath he continue to walk and come out to a clearing behind the church.
There a lot of big tree behind that most of the small plant seemingly died from unable to get sunlight. Not only that, the ground are full of dead leaves that blanket it.
"This is a good place"
Talking to himself he put one hand on the head to recall the memory.
"How to do it again?"
'Breath in, breath out'
'Try to feel your inner power. Wow, it really sound like a scam'
'Ok, ok. Need to focus'
1 minute later.
2 minute later.
3 minute later.
"Ah! Why I cannot felt anything? It must be already 1 hour that I am here"
"Hah!"
He lied down on the ground and look toward the sky. Nothing can be seen except for the leaf and more leaf.
Nothing to see in other word. Well a guy can enjoy the scenery of natural greenery.
He tried to remember, the ability of Kamen rider from the world of kabuto. The personality. The way they act. Their principle.
It feels like he had an epiphany.
He stand up suddenly and he felt a tingling in whole body.
A belt materialize on his hips.
He run his own fingertips along the belt. Feeling the crass, cross section and the design of the belt.
He open up the front of the belt and call in his heart while slowly closing his own eyes.
'COME!'
A small circular portal open up and something coming out of it.
It bounce once and it bounce twice before it land gently on his own left hand that he hold up at his right shoulder.
He then open his own eyes and see the grasshopper that rest on his hand.
The Hopper Zecter
Then he call it.
"Hen!... Shin!"
Then he slide the Hopper Zecter into the belt buckle.
Then a voice announcement sound.
[HENSHIN]
A green comb like shape begins to fill up his body and turn a grasshopper shape helmet to the whole body with yellow grasshopper leg that protrudes out at his leg.
Then the announcement continue.
[CHANGE KICKHOPPER]
And just like that.
A Rider born in this world.
Great! Here's the continuation of Chapter 1 – The Day the Past Returned in light novel format, picking up right after Rul's transformation into Kamen Rider KickHopper.
---
The moment the transformation completed, a strange silence blanketed the clearing.
Not the silence of peace.
The silence of awe. Of tension. Of stillness before something grand.
I moved my arm. The armor followed effortlessly.
No weight. No drag.
It was like it was part of my body.
I took one step forward—and felt it.
Power.
From the soles of my boots to the tips of my fingers, a current of raw energy surged through me. Controlled. Tamed. But waiting to be unleashed.
He move his own palm infront of him and clench it. This armor felt like apart of his own body.
This is real, I thought.
This isn't a dream.
He then look toward the Hopper Zecter on his own belt, then he remember something about this Zecter buckle abilities.
"Clock Up…"
Touching the buckle and slip the finger while pressing the button on the belt-strap's end of the right side at the top called Trace Switch.
Click.
A faint beep echoed from the belt. Then—
[CLOCK UP]
The world shattered.
No… it slowed.
Raindrops froze in midair. Leaves swayed like molasses. A beetle hung suspended in flight, wings unmoving.
I took a step.
The earth beneath my foot crunched slowly, the sound stretched into a surreal echo.
"…Unbelievable."
I stopped. Clicking the Trace Switch again.
[CLOCK OVER]
Time resumed.
The leaves fell. The wind blew.
Reality snapped back into place as though nothing had happened.
But I knew better.
I stood there in the woods, panting slightly—not from exhaustion, but from exhilaration.
This power… it didn't belong in this world.
It came from fiction.
From a show I used to watch while eating cheap convenience store ramen after another failed job interview.
And yet here it was. Real. Tangible.
Was it a gift? A curse? Or just… a coincidence?
I didn't know.
But I did know one thing.
"…If I have this power, I won't waste it."
Not for justice.
Not for glory.
But for the people who sat across from me at the dinner table, smiling, laughing, and joking like nothing could ever go wrong.
For them, I'd use this power without hesitation.
Even if it meant killing.
Even if it meant becoming a monster.
---
I cancelled the transformation by sliding out the Hopper Zecter from the Zecter buckle.
With a faint hum, the armor dissipated into green particles and vanished into the wind. The Hopper Zecter bounce a few times from his hand before returning to its small dimensional portal.
And I stood there.
Just a boy again.
No different from any other teen in Kuoh Town.
Except I knew I wasn't.
"…This place is still too dangerous to use as a training ground long-term."
I glanced back at the church. Its dark, rotting doors seemed to leer at me now.
No. I'd need somewhere else. Somewhere quieter. Somewhere no one ever went.
But for now, I'd done what I came here to do.
I turned, pulling the bike from the handle to stand it back up, and started pedaling home.
The sun was setting, dyeing the sky in a soft blend of orange and gold.
I couldn't help but stop and pull out my video recorder.
Click.
A video of the sunset. Just like always.
Grandmother once said,
"The sun may set, but as long as you keep walking, it will rise for you again."