Chapter 4: Race of the Riders!
Kamen Rider Ichigo hummed "Let's Go! Rider Kick!" to himself as he cleaned his trusty motorcycle, Cyclone. A happy sigh escaped from the original Kamen Rider as he scrubbed the bike's windshield with a sponge. Ichigo had the distinguished honor of being one of the first residents of Toku Town alongside his partner Kamen Rider Niigo. He fondly recalled the two of them racing around town on their bikes, zipping through the streets and making jumps through the air! It wasn't long before new Kamen Riders arrived and made Toku Town their home.
"And I run the place where they can get their rides fixed." Ichigo chuckled as he looked at a photograph of all the current Kamen Riders. It was one of many framed pictures that depicted the various Kamen Riders posing in front of Ichigo's motorcycle shop. The latest picture included Kamen Rider Zero-One. "So many riders now. And it's been so long since I last raced. . . "
Ichigo's musings were interrupted when he heard a motorcycle approaching his shop. Stepping outside, he saw that it was Kuuga on the Try Chaser. The first Heisei rider hopped off his bike and waved at Ichigo.
"Mornin' Grandpa Ichigo!" Kuuga greeted! Earning a chuckle from the first rider. Ever since the Heisei riders had started living in Toku Town, they'd taken to giving Ichigo the nickname "Grandpa Ichigo" due to how much seniority he had. "Going out for a drive? Cyclone's looking extra nice today!"
"Just reminiscing, Kuuga." Ichigo replied as he walked over to his trusty Cyclone. "It's been so long since I last raced through Toku Town. Nowadays I'm busy greeting new riders and helping to maintain their machines."
"Hmm." Kuuga scratched his head in thought before a lightbulb went off! "Hey! Why don't we have a race to see who the fastest rider is?!"
As if to answer his reply, a red-and-black blur sped up to the pair! Another of the insect-based riders, Kabuto, stood with his arms crossed.
"Not really much of a question there." Kabuto said as he raised his hand to the air in his iconic victory pose. "With Clock Up, my speed's unmatched. Then there's Faiz with his Axel Form, but it only lasts ten seconds."
"True. And your Hyper Form can time travel." Kuuga nodded. "But I'm not talking about a foot race, Kabuto. I'm talking about a motorcycle race! Think about it! All of us Kamen Riders racing on our bikes to see who's the fastest! The last big get-together we had was when Zi-O closed down the Heisei era."
"Hmm." Kabuto put a hand under his chin in thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Drive pulling up in the Tridoron. "Oh. Well this presents a possible problem."
"Ichigo? Kuuga? Kabuto?" Drive asked with a puzzled look. "Why are you staring at Tridoron?"
"We're going to hold a race for all the riders to participate in." Ichigo answered. "Most of us have motorcycles, but you have a car. We might need to cut you from the race, but we're not certain."
"That also brings up another question." Kabuto said as he dragged out a chalkboard from out of nowhere. "Some of us have multiple riders belonging to our seasons. Agito has four. Ryuki has thirteen, now sixteen with both Alternatives and Abyss. And so on and so forth. I don't think we have a race track big enough for that many bikes. It'd be a train wreck." For emphasis, Kabuto drew a massive pile-up of bikes and event he Den Liner was in the pile.
"Then I believe we now have a set of ground rules." Ichigo nodded. "The race will only feature primary riders. Second, no use of unique powers. Only the pure skill you have with your vehicle. The race will be held next Sunday!"
"Great!" Kuuga cheered! "But how are we going to tell everyone about this?"
"Easy. Fliers." Kabuto answered as he activated his Clock Up to begin making the fliers for the race!
Once the fliers has been created, they were posted all over town courtesy of the many secondary and extra riders that lived in Toku Town. Needless to say, all the riders were excited for the coming race! Days passed in the blink of an eye, and Sunday soon arrived! The race stadium was packed with sentai teams, extra riders, ultra warriors, kaiju, and numerous mooks and grunts that served the villain factions.
Meanwhile, on the racetrack, the rumbling of bike engines filled the air! Every primary Kamen Rider was gathered at the track from Showa to Reiwa. Each rider was revving their engine in anticipation! Their hearts beating fast as they saw the light gradually count down towards green! When the light did change, the rumbling of engines turned into a full-blown roar as the riders battled for the lead! Drive was drifting at the turns while Fourze used his bike's thruster for a boost! Riders with card-based powers like Ryuki, Blade, and Decade used cards that boosted their bikes' speed! However, the increased speed presented a new challenge: maneuvering.
Riding motorcycles meant that the Kamen Riders had to deal with high speeds and maneuvering on a daily basis. But when you factor in going at super speed, turning and weaving through city streets gets a little bit more difficult. Especially when you're racing against over twenty additional racers. Needless to say, the fast lane ended pretty quickly for the card-based trio. Ryuki, Blade, and Decade all collided with each other and spiraled out of control and off the race track! All three having swirls in their eyes as they stumbled off of their bikes and soon collapsed onto the ground!
Another difficulty faced by some of the riders was that the thrusters or boosts they used tended to consume a lot of fuel. Fourze soon found this out when his bike's thruster sputtered and the gas gauge fell to empty. Shrugging, Fourze just took to cheering on his fellow riders! Pumping both his fists in the air with excitement! Then there were riders that tried to show off like Wizard. At one of the jumps, Wizard did a few tricks on his bike in the air. While the crows was amazed, Wizard panicked when he saw that his bike had touched the ground before he had!
"Well, might as well bow out in style." Wizard shrugged as he used one of his spell rings to vanish in a firework burst! After his little exit performance, Wizard pushed his bike over to the other eliminated riders. "And I do need to set up the fireworks for when the top 3 cross the finish line."
Back at the race, three riders were neck-and-neck for the lead. Ichigo, Kuuga, and Zero-One were battling it out for first place! It was a tough question of who would triumph. The original rider who had years of experience? The rider who led the Heisei generation with no fear and no pain? Or the first rider of the Reiwa era who would lead the way for his own generation? The victor would be decided by whoever crossed the finish line first!
All three riders were on the last lap, and on the final straightaway! Each of them went full throttle on their bikes! Despite this, they were still neck-and-neck with each other! All three crossed the finish line, but it was unclear who finished in first! Out of the three of them, Zero-One was the most anxious. The poor rider was sweating bullets as he waited for the video footage! Ichigo and Kuuga noticed the young rider's distress, and went over to his side.
"What seems to be on your mind Zero-One?" Ichigo asked as he placed a hand on Zero-One's shoulder.
"Gah! Ichigo and Kuuga!" Zero-One yelped from the contact! "I'm just a little nervous about the victory results from the race, that's all!"
"Feeling a lot of pressure as the new kid, huh?" Kuuga chuckled before patting Zero-One on the back. "This race was purely for fun. No need to worry about who finishes first!"
"More importantly, you should not worry about representing your generation." Ichigo said sagely. "Because I see the spirit of what it means to be a Kamen Rider in all who've come after me. Including you."
"Really?!" Zero-One beamed!
"Of course, it does help you brought back the grasshopper theme." Ichigo chuckled. "Oh. It appears the video result is being displayed."
The riders and the audience waited with baited breath to see who had won. As the footage played, the victorious rider had won by a hair! It was Zero-One! The whole stadium erupted in cheers as Zero-One was hoisted up by his fellow riders!
"You slowed down a little to let him win, didn't you?" Kuuga whispered to ichigo.
"Let a grandfather spoil his grandkids, Kuuga." Ichigo silently chuckled.