Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider (東島丹三郎は仮面ライダーになりたい)

This is it.

How the hell's he live out here? There's jack shit around.

He's got the mountains and the river.

That's plenty.

Sounds plenty inconvenient.

But perfect for training, I guess.

Sorry for dropping in suddenly.

We need to stay here for a while.

I brought some food!

Whoa!

What are you doing?!

Bastard.

You have the nerve to show your face to me?!

What?

W-Whoa...

I heard from Mitsuba!

Apparently the Bat Man got the better of you?

And Tackle was injured badly in the fight.

Th-That's...

Transform! V3!

Wh-Whoa! Let's not fight!

You have no right to call yourself a Rider right now!

Now, on your feet!

I'm going to beat your Rider love back into shape!

V3...

Screw Kick!

That was for Tackle.

And this...

Is for me!

And so is this!

Also this!

And last...

One for me!

Wh-Whoa...

So, you put your tail between your legs and ran here?

It's not that! I was bringing him to—

No excuses!

Risking your life against evil organizations to defend the world!

Isn't that what a Rider does?!

I like the look in your eyes.

I guess your Rider love isn't dead after all.

In that case, give me everything...

that you have!

Rider...

Transformation!

Kamen Rider!

V3 Screw—

Rider...

Punch!

Impressive!

But the fight has only begun!

Okay, knock it off!

V3...

Rider...

Dammit, fine then!

Yeeeenough already!

Electric Heat Chop!

Punch!

You're that Shocker combatant from the other day.

What're you doing here?

You just noticed?

He's been through a lot,

and now he's determined to take Shocker down.

Please. It'll be a while... but let me hide here.

Besides...

We brought food!

So be it. A temporary ceasefire.

For now, come in.

I see.

That explains why a Shocker combatant is determined to bring Shocker down!

Yeah.

My guys sacrificed themselves to let me get away.

But I'm their aniki. I'm supposed to be the one who protects them!

Tojima knows this story, but...

This house used to be where my grandparents lived.

When I was a kid, they were both killed by the Bat Man.

Ever since, I've been determined to get strong!

And if you're frustrated, too, then you need to get strong!

I'm sorry about before.

Attacking you out of the blue like that...

The Bat Man.

Was he as strong as I remember?

The way Shocker waged battle was incredibly organized.

I think we can't beat them if we try to do it individually.

We're allies. We need to work together.

Allies, huh?

I'll never live down the fact that I turned and ran from Shocker,

even if it was to protect my allies...

I don't ever want to run again.

So, I need to get stronger!

Please. Let us train with you.

Thanks for the food!

We'll start training tomorrow! Don't expect any mercy!

That works for me!

What's wrong? You're not gonna eat?

Well, the inside of my mouth is all torn up

from when you two laid into me...

You won't have any strength if you don't eat!

You need to do it, for the sake of your so-called guys!

You've taken such good care of us until now...

He's right! This is the least we can do!

Thank you for everything!

Why'd they let me escape?!

Wh-What's wrong?

Giving their lives for a scumbag like me...

You stupid idiots!

It's only natural to risk everything to protect someone you care about.

Th-They care about me?!

When I couldn't do a damn thing for them?!

Okay.

Why don't we have another match with these bento boxes on the line?

Sounds good.

Let's do it!

Do what?

The three of us will fight. The winner gets the remaining two bento boxes.

But... there's two of them! Why don't you just each eat one?

Not the point!

The winner... gets to eat both.

Who gives a shit?! And who'd wanna eat three lunches?!

You're so pitiful, Shocker!

Are you seriously fighting again?!

It's because you refused to eat!

This will help us train and build strength.

Two birds with one stone.

Can I really keep up with these freaks?

This is the Combat Girls' agency.

It's huge!

A building like this, in Tokyo?

They've gotta be rolling in it.

According to Tojima-san,

their manager-slash-agency head is the Bat Man...

Morio Koda. That's apparently his name.

Have you heard of him, Yukarisu?

No, this is all new to me.

I see. He seems pretty well-known in the industry, though.

He makes plenty of appearances in the media...

And seems to use his position to do whatever he wants.

What a creep!

And is it me, or are there a lot of pics of him with girls in swimsuits?

Ew! They're all Shocker combatants!

EVENTS SPONSORED BY MORIO KODA

Ugh, he's running all kinds of events, too.

JEWEL NIGHT COMBAT GIRLS CUP

Jewel Night? I wonder if that's another idol group.

THIRD JEWEL NIGHT COMBAT GIRLS CUP HOSTED BY ACRUX ENTERTAINMENT

It's not that.

Jewel Night is a popular online battle royale game.

This agency even runs events for video games?

Looks like there's one coming up this Sunday.

Okay. There might be clues.

I'll check it out.