This year… marks a VERY important milestone for the Kamen Rider franchise. It marks the 20th birthday of Kamen Rider Kuuga. I'll admit that, beyond a bit of the second episode, I've never actually watched Kuuga. Yet again, a story I have little qualifications for. I seem to have a bad habit of doing that. However… I'm still doing it. Why? Because Kamen Rider means a lot to me and it'd be worth it to celebrate this milestone for who is, officially, considered the first Rider of the Heisei Era.
This will certainly be a bit of an interesting story given what I have in mind. Also, while this will be focusing mainly on the Kuuga cast, there will be elements that tie into other events across the franchise. However, it will stay focused on the cast of Kuuga. You'll see more what I mean as this story goes on.
With that having been said, I hope that you all enjoy this little one-shot in honor of Kuuga's 20th, as well as the franchise's 49th, birthdays. I do apologize about this being late, but there was real life stuff that kept this from being on time. Then I kept getting occupied with school. It is what it is.
Disclaimers: Kamen Rider belongs to Toei, Bandai, Shotaro Ishinimori, etc. Special thanks to KKD Silver for helping me to write some scenarios that occur within this one-shot.
[Mt. Kurogatake Ruins Excavation Site. January 28th, 2000. 10:45pm]
"How deep are these ruins?" one excavator couldn't help but ask as she and another were looking around at some of the hieroglyphs.
"Hard to say, but we've got to be getting close to the center," another one informed as he set up some lights so they could see more of what was around them.
"Hey, we're gonna pull out!" the person in charge shouted out.
"Really?" the one setting up the lights questioned.
"The news says it's gonna rain pretty badly soon, so we need to leave with what we've got and come back when it clears up," the person in charge explained.
Various excavators sighed in response, but began to pack up what they did manage to obtain and any supplies they had brought with them. One person set up a small security camera not too far away from the entrance before they headed off as well.
[Mt. Kurogatake Ruins Excavation Site. January 29th, 2000. 2:33pm]
An individual wearing a mostly black outfit walked towards the ruins. While the security camera couldn't get a clear enough look at him, there was something about the way he walked that indicated a smug expression was on his face as he entered the area. A few minutes later, somebody else came running into the ruins.
"Those two people… we never found out who they were or what they were doing there. Our best guess about the first person who entered, based on the limited remains of the security cameras that were within the ruins, is that he had some sort of ties to the Unidentified Lifeforms. The other person…? Nobody's really certain…" Officer Kaoru Ichijo narrated.
The cameras within the ruins ended up shorting out due to a large blast of red and yellow energy that caused a partial cave in of the ruins.
[Mt. Kurogatake Ruins Excavation Site. January 29th, 2000. 3:45pm]
"What do you suppose those people were doing in here…?" one person couldn't help but ask as they dug through some of the rubble.
"It doesn't look like anything was stolen, so… maybe there were some really enthusiastic people who wanted to look at the ruins early?" one person speculated.
"Maybe they were those… villains from the 70s… whatever their name was…" another one commented, "You know… those guys fought by the Kamen Riders…"
Some other people within the ruins just laughed in response.
"What?" the person who suggested the theory stated.
"Kamen Riders? You have GOT to be joking…" one woman commented.
"The Kamen Riders are real! Sure… they haven't done anything in nearly six or seven years, but still!"
Some other people only laughed in response before they continued onwards. Eventually, the path was clear enough for them to be able to see a sarcophagus. The team quickly got to work moving some of the rubble out of the way so that they could get a bit closer to it.
"Haruta, your end ok?" one person asked.
"It's fine, but is Akiyama-san's ok?" another archeologist responded.
The team continued to work for a bit before one female scientist walked over to admire the sarcophagus and look over some of the ancient symbols that were on it. The head of the team then walked over to the woman's side.
"Professor, preparations are okay," the woman informed.
"It's okay here, too!" another woman added.
The professor then looked over to somebody with a camera before smiling a bit, "Good, we're opening it."
"Ok!" the crew quickly responded.
Lights were then turned off and a red one was turned on. Everyone in the crew got on some night vision goggles before they then opened up the sarcophagus to see a man with what looked to be some kind of a belt on it.
"To think that something like this was made in Japan…" the professor commented.
"Sensei… this is completely different from everything else on Earth, isn't it?" one archaeologist asked before they got a good look at the belt.
"This doesn't say 'you'll be cursed if you touch this', does it?" one person asked.
"It's already been touched. Enough messing about, give me a hand," the head of the project requested.
"If only we knew the trouble that would spawn from opening that sarcophagus… if only we knew…" Ichijo said in a somber tone.
[New Tokyo International Airport. January 29th, 2000. 4:05pm]
Yusuke took a look around the airport before he walked off with a smile. He eventually arrived outside and noticed a young boy was outside there, crying. Yusuke approached the young boy and began to talk to him a little.
"Even though I knew he would be coming around… I doubt Yusuke would've ever predicted what would end up happening to him back then…" Sakurako commented.
"It may just be me, but I've always thought that guys who could smile through hardships were cool. When I was young, I got lost on a peak called Annapurna in Nepal. I thought I was going to die, then. I was so scared that I cried. But just then, the young guide who was with me, even though he was just the same as me, he just said 'It'll be ok,' and smiled. I thought it was pretty cool," Yusuke told the young child before a bit of a look of realization kind of came to him, "But I guess losing your mama and papa is pretty bad…"
As the young boy continued to cry, Yusuke got an idea and got in front of said kid to juggle, making a funny noise for a bit. The boy stopped and looked, seeing Yusuke juggle before the man stopped, smiling and giving him a thumbs up, the boy soon doing the same.
"Same…" Ichijo concurred, "But, still, he became a new hero…"
"A new legend…" Sakurako added.
[Nagano City, Nakagosho, San Marco Church. February 1st, 2000. 5:02am]
"That Unidentified Lifeform would've killed me then… if not for Yusuke…" Ichijo narrated.
The fire within the church had managed to start to spread onto Ichijo's uniform, making him yell out in pain, as Unidentified Lifeform #3 approached him with a clear intent to kill. Ichijo could hear the creature seem to speak to him as it approached before, suddenly, the doors flew open and somebody rode in on a motorcycle. As the motorcyclist tried to stop, though, he ended up falling off. His motorcycle then went tumbling into some of the chairs and then right into the fire before exploding. The Unidentified Lifeform quickly moved back away from the blast as Yusuke got his helmet off.
"Keiji-san!" Yusuke yelled at the detective before he quickly took off his own jacket to try to use it to stop the fires.
"What happened next… is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life…" Ichijo admitted.
Yusuke managed to stop the fire and then turned towards the monster.
"What are you doing here?!" Ichijo shouted.
The Unidentified Lifeform then tried to attack them both, but Yusuke managed to get both himself and the detective out of the way in the nick of time.
"I'm going to fight!" Yusuke shouted.
"You're still saying that?!" Ichijo questioned as he tried to hold Yusuke back.
Yusuke still managed to stand up and stared down the Unidentified Lifeform, "It's for everyone's sake!"
He then dodged a blow, but ended up getting closer to the fire as a result, "I don't want to see anyone's tears!"
The Unidentified Lifeform got close to Yusuke and grappled with him, yet the young man continued to speak, "I want to see everyone smile!"
He was then knocked back towards the detective. However, Yusuke simply looked towards him and knew what to say, "Dakara mi tete kudasai! Ore no... henshin! (So have a good look! At my… henshin!)"
Yusuke then stood up and spread his hands to the side as the belt, the Arcle, formed around him with a red gem that began to glow. With his hands cupped around the gem, the glow ended before Yusuke shot his right arm across his chest and had his left over the center of the buckle, both hands and arms moving back to their respective sides slowly at first in a dynamic pose to the sound of a beating heart, the flames roaring quietly behind him, and a pulsing sound growing. He then slammed his left forearm down the button on the side of the belt with his right hand before resuming the fight, punching the Unidentified Lifeform and blocking as the pulsing sound increased in speed. Yusuke roared in rage as the suit formed on his body with a black bodysuit, and armor on his chest, shoulders, wrists, ankles, and head like before, but now the white was red, and the horns were much larger. The pulsing ringing sound ended before he threw the Unidentified Lifeform aside, posing, and now ready to fight.
Unidentified Lifeform #3 managed to get back up and looked towards the now transformed Yusuke. It then said something in a shocked tone, but the only word that was clear to the two humans was "Kuuga".
"...Kuuga?" Yusuke repeated, "I see… so this is Kuuga?"
"I was too stunned to say anything when that was happening. Just… something about that moment resonated with me. And it will remain with me for the rest of my days…" Ichijo narrated, "At that moment… a new Kamen Rider was born."
[Downtown Tokyo. February 2nd, 2000. 8:35am]
Kuuga drove down the streets on the TryChaser 2000. He paid no real mind to people on the streets gawking at him before he had to come to a stop and could hear some of them.
"Is that… a Kamen Rider?" one civilian asked.
"No, it's an Unidentified Lifeform! Don't make it angry!" another person responded.
"But he looks like a Kamen Rider! He's got the bug motif, the belt, the motorcycle... everything that points to a Kamen Rider!"
Kuuga simply looked in their direction, a tilt of his helmet implying confusion, before he sped off.
[Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library. February 2nd, 2000. 8:42am]
Yusuke looked around the library for any signs of a computer. Eventually, he came across one and searched for any information about Kamen Riders. He saw that the Kamen Riders were all superheroes that looked like bugs of some sort, most commonly grasshoppers, and they all rode motorcycles. Yusuke gave a contemplative look at this information, then he looked over to the Trychaser with a look of wonder.
He muttered to himself about the possibility of also being a Kamen Rider before he noticed the time and quickly ran out of the library to head off elsewhere.
"He may have never called himself one, but he's a Kamen Rider through and through…" Sakurako stated.
"He certainly proved it when he approached the final battle with the last Unidentified Lifeform…" Ichijo added.
[Mt. Kurogatake. January 14th, 2001. 05:44am]
"We arrived back where it all began for the final battle. He wanted reassurance that, if he became the invoker of the ultimate darkness, then somebody would be able to stop him. I honestly couldn't believe what he was asking me, so I decided that I would apologize for what role I played in making him be there just in case. Then he was ready for that battle…" Ichijo narrated.
"I dragged you into this…" Ichijo concluded.
Yusuke was quiet for a moment, but then simply smiled at his friend, "Thank you. But… I think it was a good thing. After all, it let me meet you, Ichijo-san."
"...Godai..." Ichijo muttered.
As a sign of both good will and of no hard feelings, Yusuke proceeded to give Ichijo a thumbs up. After a bit of silence, Ichijo proceeded to return it.
"Jaa... dakara mi tete kudasai... ore no henshin," Yusuke told him. Ichijo gave Yusuke a nod in response before the latter walked forward and went through the transformation motions that were almost second nature to him at that point. Yusuke then transformed into the most powerful form of Kuuga, the Ultimate Form. Kuuga then gave one last look over to his friend before he walked towards the final Unidentified Lifeform…
"It was a long battle, but Godai-san had managed to win. After that, though, he ended up leaving Tokyo…" Ichijo continued, "We didn't see him again until around… 2009, I want to say."
"That's right. His sister was getting married in the middle of August and he showed up," Sakurako recalled.
[Nagano City, Nakagosho, San Marco Church. August 23rd, 2009. 04:10pm]
Yusuke sat next to Sakurako in the front row and they watched Minori walk down the aisle towards her soon to be husband. Yusuke, out of curiosity, whispered to Sakurako in order to ask about how Minori had met the guy.
"Well… there was going to be some movie based on the Kamen Riders and he was casted to play Kuuga. Minori was brought on in order to make sure they captured your likeness properly… then the whole movie was scrapped, but she hung around the guy," Sakurako whispered.
Yusuke gave a small nod and then looked over to the man, Onodera Murai, simply proceeding to observe his future brother in law as the ceremony continued. He didn't really say much as things proceeded onwards until it was around the point where the priest asked something.
"If anybody has anything to say, speak now or forever hold your piece…"
Yusuke proceeded to stand up, earning some confused looks from everybody around them. However, all he did was give his signature thumbs up before sitting back down.
"The ceremony went off without a hitch and Yusuke ended up sticking around for a little while. However, a week later… his life would change forever…" Sakurako stated in a saddened tone.
[Mt. Kurogatake. August 30th, 2009. 11:10am]
Yusuke and Sakurako were simply wandering around the base of the mountain and taking in some of the sights that had formed over the past few years. As they roamed near the base, though, a strange sort of mist appeared in front of them. Yusuke defensively stood in front of Sakurako as they watched the mist seem to wave and distort in front of them. Out of the mists eventually emerged some sort of a wolf monster that approached them. Yusuke and Sakurako quickly exchanged looks before the latter ran off and Yusuke motioned for his belt to appear.
"Oh…?" the monster muttered.
"Henshin!" Yusuke shouted before he transformed into Kuuga Mighty Form.
"Kuuga…" the monster stated, "You're not going to stop me this time, Kuuga!"
"Eh?" Kuuga responded, giving a slight turn of his head.
"That pink akuma won't be here to help you this time!" the wolf monster shouted before it charged towards Kuuga, "DIE~!"
Kuuga dodged out of the way of the monster's attack and responded with a quick kick to the back. He charged forward, only to get grabbed by the monster and flung back. Kuuga managed to quickly regain his balance and managed to get a clean punch off on the monster.
Their battle continued to be a stalemate, neither really gaining an advantage or a disadvantage as time went on. The wolf monster simply growled as it stared at Kuuga. It then dashed forward at a speed that Kuuga wasn't able to see where he was, and then the monster struck Kuuga. Kuuga ended up falling to his knees and turning back into Yusuke, but before the monster would strike a killing blow… he disappeared into the mists.
"YUSUKE!" Sakurako yelled, running towards his now unconscious body.
"I never recall being that scared before that point… and I didn't exactly know why I was so scared when that happened…" Sakurako recalled.
[Kanto Medical University. September 8th, 2009. 10:04pm]
"Yusuke was thankfully taken to the hospital shortly after that and he was still alive. He took a while to finally regain consciousness, but I was there the evening when it happened…" Sakurako stated in a calm tone.
Sakurako, alongside Minori and her husband, simply were waiting around the hospital waiting area. After a while, a doctor emerged from the room where Yusuke was staying in. He quietly motioned for them to walk over and then allowed them into the room, where Yusuke was now conscious. Sakurako quietly walked over to Yusuke and proceeded to hug him. Yusuke, while a bit surprised, simply let her do that.
"But… we were all in for a surprise following that calm…" Ichijo added on.
[Kanto Medical University. September 18th, 2009. 11:00am]
"What do you mean he can't talk?" Ichijo questioned the doctor.
"The attack he took completely shattered his voice box. It is not repairable, so Godai-san is no longer able to talk," the doctor explained.
"Would a transplant do anything?" Ichijo then questioned.
"No, it wouldn't…"
Ichijo was simply stunned into silence upon hearing that. He then turned towards where Yusuke's room was and could see that Yusuke was reading books on sign language. Without another word, Ichijo simply proceeded to leave the room…
That evening, Sakurako approached Yusuke's room. She could see him reading the books and, after a moment, she walked in. She gave a very simple sign to say 'hello' to him. Yusuke smiled at her and proceeded to sign back to her, indicating he was happy to see her.
"Sometimes… you don't need words…" Sakurako smiled.
[Miho Beach. January 29th, 2011. 6:35pm]
The two happily walked out onto the sandy beach and saw the setting sun. Sakurako gave a happy smile at it, while Yusuke simply hung back a bit behind her and smiled at her.
After a bit of silence, Yusuke lightly tossed a rock towards the water and it skipped for a bit. This made Sakurako turn towards him and then notice something. Soon enough, she was hugging Yusuke, and now had on an engagement ring.
[Nagano City, Nakagosho, San Marco Church. April 2nd, 2011. 4:00pm]
Yusuke stood at the altar in a bit of a calm, yet nervous, manner. He just kept his hands close to where he could generate the Arcle in case of an emergency, but he slowly moved them away so as to try his best to not worry about it. Shortly after, the piano began to play as Sakurako proceeded to walk over to his side.
"It honestly was a truly amazing day… and it's one I will never forget…" Sakurako narrated.
The priest soon enough asked for the exchanging of vows, and Yusuke simply gave a thumbs up towards Sakurako.
"It was just so… Yusuke…" Sakurako smiled.
About an hour and a half had passed and the party celebrating the wedding was still going on. Some guests had headed out, most notably one with wildly sided blonde hair that was soon followed by a younger guy with black hair that was telling him to slow down, though Yusuke paid it no real mind as he continued to focus on his new wife.
"Godai Sakurako…" she muttered, "Going to take a bit of getting used to, but I know that I'll cherish it."
Yusuke could only nod and smile in response to that before the two kissed happily.
"That night will always be a special night in my heart. It's the second best day of my life… just behind the day our family got bigger…"
[Kanto Medical University. March 22nd, 2014. 11:10am]
It was a mostly calm and quiet morning within the hospital. Yusuke simply sat outside from where Sakurako currently was and was just looking around, trying his best to remain calm. His hands were shaking a little, his eyes were nervously looking around, and he just seemed very concerned.
A few doctors walked past Yusuke, quickly giving some 'congratulations' to him, before they headed off about their business. Yusuke simply sat on his own, continuing to stir, as he simply waited.
It had been about an hour before Yusuke was finally allowed into the room and he saw a smiling Sakurako with a young baby boy in her arms.
"Hi…" Sakurako whispered, "Come here…"
Yusuke nodded gently and proceeded to get closer to the two, smiling at his new child.
"So, what do you think you're going to name him?" a doctor nearby asked.
The couple exchanged a look before Yusuke proceeded to make out signs to spell out the kid's name.
"Y-U-K-U… Yuku, huh?" the doctor smiled.
Sakurako nodded and then looked to her son, "Welcome to the world, Godai Yuku…"
"He insisted on included something related to his Rider name since he felt like it would be a kind of badge of honor for our child to carry… we ended up agreeing to use 'Ku' in the name and then I thought up 'Yu', and we put it together…" Sakurako narrated, "Yusuke didn't stay around for long because… something Rider related in another city, Zawa something, got his attention. After that, though, things got quiet until… I want to say… December 2018. I… can't remember the date very clearly and the experience is very blurred, but I recall a little bit of what happened because Yusuke recalled it."
[Downtown Tokyo. December, 2018. Time Unknown]
Yusuke, Sakurako, and Yuku watched as people had stopped fleeing in fear, indicating that help had arrived.
"I knew that the Heisei Riders would be here for us!" one older person said to two young kids, before somebody in the crowd shouted out "Kuuga~!"
Yusuke, with a smile, quickly summoned the Arcle and pressed down on it. He then walked over, transformed into Kuuga Mighty Form, and he just looked towards the crowd.
"WOAH~! KUUGA!" one person in the crowd shouted out, as the entire crowd erupted into cheers.
Kuuga simply gave his iconic thumbs up towards the crowd before he turned to see some monsters were approaching.
"Kuuga~!"
Without a single bit of hesitation, Kuuga charged forward…
"After that fight, Yusuke's powers had began to… act strangely. Sometimes, they would work, sometimes they wouldn't. We never found out why that happened, though, because… one day, they were functioning fine again. In spite of that strange occurrence, he wanted me to assure all of you that he will always be ready…"
[Shibuya Library, Shibuya City, Tokyo. January 28th, 2020. 12:10pm]
The scene now focused on the present day, with Sakurako and Ichijo at the front of a room and nearby a poster with Kuuga Mighty Form on it.
"And those, ladies and gentlemen, are amongst the many tales that are in Godai-san's book," Ichijo concluded, "We thank you all for being here for the launch of the book. If you have any questions, do let us know."
The press then began to snap pictures, and a few reporters attempted to ask questions, but they were all blurred due to how loudly they were all speaking.
"Where is Godai-san right now?!" a person in the crowd quickly shouted out, loudly enough for Sakurako to make it out.
"He's making preparations for a trip we're taking tomorrow. However, that's all I can say," Sakurako informed with a somewhat coy look.
[The following day… 8:00am]
Yusuke, Sakurako, and Yuku all arrived outside the base of Mt. Kurogatake.
"It's huge…" the six-year old Yuku remarked in amazement.
"It sure is," Sakurako nodded.
Yusuke simply gave his own nod, taking his young son's hand, and guiding him forward.
The inside of the ruins where the Arcle had been discovered were now covered in some dirt and dust owing to the lack of entry, but the sarcophagus of the original Kuuga remained visible in spite of that. Yusuke walked on up to it and gently dusted it off so that Kuuga's symbol was now visible.
"What's that…?" Yuku asked.
"It's where we originally found your father's belt," Sakurako calmly informed.
"Sugee…" Yuku gawked.
"And we may have found similar ruins elsewhere, so I'm eventually going to be going to investigate them," Sakurako informed.
"Where are you going to go…?" Yuku worriedly asked.
"Relax. We haven't finalized anything just yet. We're trying to do it as safely as we can so the incident from so long ago doesn't repeat…" Sakurako elaborated, gently taking her son's hand, "Don't want to cause your father any more problems."
"It'll be fine. He's Kuuga after all," Yuku smiled.
Yusuke gently scratched the back of his head, amused at his son's comment, before he walked off towards the exit of the cave and saw the rising sun. He then saw something unusual not too far away from where they were.
"Something the matter?" Sakurako inquired.
Yusuke gave a nod of his head and then a thumbs up.
"Kick bad guy butt, dad!" Yuku cheered.
Yusuke simply smiled before he went through the motions to summon the belt and posed…
"Henshin!" both Sakurako and Yuku said together.
With that, Yusuke pressed down on the Arcle and turned into Kuuga Mighty Form. He gave a small look towards his family before he headed off…
This story is dedicated in loving memory to my grandfather
August 13th, 1932-January 30th, 2020
Yeah… that was one of the big reasons this story wasn't finished back in January. The sudden hospitalization and death of my grandfather. Plus, school was starting back up, so I had a lot of things going on at the time that kept my attention away from this. Then the world started to go to heck in a handbasket and things continued to be a mess. Before I'm asked, no, my grandfather did not pass from the disease in the pandemic. We don't know what he passed from, but it was some sort of illness. I had debated doing something more geared towards passing, only to decide to go with what my original plan was. Just… put it in what my most recent work was going to be at the time.
One thing I decided to challenge myself with was something that occurred in Heisei Generations Forever, with how Yusuke's only reused audio line was just some battle kia. How would you write a story without your main character being able to talk? I wanted to give myself a bit of a challenge and an in-story reason why Yusuke didn't say anything. Of course, moot since old audio from him was used in the Zi-O movie and Reiwa The First Generation. Another thing was trying to make the plot around the idea of this being an actual 20th anniversary special on a DVD or something, and somewhat use it to expand what Yusuke has been up to since the end of his era since we haven't gotten anything in-universe yet.
I'll openly say that I've not watched Kuuga yet, but it is something I do intend to eventually do. We'll see when that gets to happen. Maybe next year.
So, one thing I ended up deciding to include, was a nod to AR Kuuga. The guy that Yusuke's sister married would be "played" by that actor. I know he's not the original one, but he's still a part of the Rider family in a way, so including him felt like something I should do.
I think my favorite part was sort of showing that, even without the ability to speak, Yusuke is still making others happy and living his life to his fullest. I think the best example would be the fact he has a child. Just… cute imagery to have. And, before I'm asked, I had no idea what to name the kid apart from including 'Ku' somewhere in his name and 'Yuku' was just the best I could think of.
Happy (very late) 20th birthday, Kamen Rider Kuuga. Thank you for what you've done for the franchise.
Just Live More.