"I'll be graduating soon, so that's nice. Still not exactly sure what I want to do, but Alicia's helping me out with that." I say in front of the grave of a close friend. "She already knows what college she wants to go to. It'll be hard without her around to cheer me up, but I'm sure it'll be fine."
Turning to my left, I look at the old rider standing next to me. "Did you ever lose someone?" They simply nod at my question. "Does it ever stop hurting?" Every time I look at the grave, I want to bawl my eyes out.
The rider shakes their head as rain trickles down on mine. I raise my hand to feel it. Shoot, I didn't know it was going to rain. But as the thought pops into my head, an umbrella hovers over me.
"Thought you might need it. You alright?" Otto asks. As usual, he doesn't see the rider as they vanish.
"I'm fine. Just felt like talking to him." I continue to look at the grave. "Wish I could've done something. And I know it's not my fault, but I can't shake that feeling."
Otto puts his hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to explain it, not to someone as smart as me. I think we all feel the same way. Also, I need to talk to you about something."
The rain pours down harder, crashing against our umbrellas. "Sure, man. What's on your mind?"
"Some of my relatives contacted me, and they're willing to give me a place to stay. I think I'm going to do it. I never really got to know my extended family very well."
"That's great! Guess that means Sophie'll get their old room back." I say, but Otto looks down about something. "What's wrong?"
"They live in a different part of the world, so I'll have to move. Pretty far away." He says.
"Oh." I can't bring myself to say anything else. How am I supposed to react?
"It's not like I'm moving right away. It'll be a few months before that happens. And I'll always be a call away. Want to walk?" I nod and we leave the graveyard, walking across the sidewalk.
"I know. Guess I'm just a bit worried. Alicia and Sophie are going to college, and you're moving now. Still not sure what Carol and Mason's plans are. I never had too many friends, and now most of you guys will be gone for a while."
"You really think I won't visit? It'll be awhile before that, though. What are your plans?"
"No idea. I was hoping things would just figure themselves out, but not much has actually happened." There's a child playing next to the road, their ball getting closer to it as it bounces.
"You'll find something, don't worry. It's just a matter of time." He says, a car is speeding down the road in front of us.
The kid's ball bounces onto the road, and they follow as the car continues to speed towards them. "Kid, move!" A belt forms around my waist as I run in between the two. "Transform!"
Crashing into my arm, the car stops in its place. "A-Are you okay?" A man gets out of the car, running away with wide eyes as he sees the large dent in the front of his car and the monster standing there. "You shouldn't run into streets like that."
"I-I'm sorry…" The kid shakes.
"Do you know where your parents are?" They nod at my question. "Then go find them. That's enough playing for today."
I return to my human form as the kid runs off. "Guess people still aren't used to it?" Otto asks.
"Some people are, some people aren't. I'll take what I can get." I say Otto just gives me a concerned look. "If I were that bothered by it, I would've said something, promise."
"Are you used to it?" He asks, handing me the umbrella I dropped.
I shrug, "kind of? It feels a little weird, but I'm still basically human. Alicia's been showing me the ropes." The moment I mention her name, something clicks. "Oh my god!"
"What?" Otto asks.
"I have a date today! I'm going to rush home and try to get as changed as I can. Can you-"
"Call Alicia and tell her you messed up?" Otto interrupts.
"There's a reason you're the smart one." I say before sprinting off.
"I never said I would!" Otto yells.
But I was already out of earshot, and I knew he was going to call her. So I rushed home as fast as possible, crashing through the door. I barely even notice parents as I rush to my room, forgetting that Sophie had friends over. Speaking of which, they already have more friends than me.
Sophie looks at me with a lack of surprise as bust the door open. Their two friends look a lot more surprised. "Did you forget about your date?"
It wasn't hard to guess they'd already knew. "Do you know where my dress is at?" They're already tossing it and the red scarf from Christmas at me.
"And take a shower. Your hair is even more of a mess than usual."
I rustle my hair. Guess they have a point. "Thanks, you're the best!" Before Sophie can say anything else, I'm already off to take a shower and change.
Popping out of the shower, the first thing I do is go back to my room, crashing through the door again. "How do I look?" I look around. Their friends had left. "Shoot, I didn't make them leave. Did I?"
Sophie gives me a thumb up to my former question. "No, you had come home around the time they planned on leaving." They seem hesitant to speak for a second. "I've been meaning to tell you something, and this actually seems like a perfect time."
"I always have time to listen. What's up?"
"It's about what I told you, me not being a boy or girl."
"Oh, is this about telling mom and dad? Totally fine if it isn't, but I'll help however I can."
Still not sure if I've done the best job with helping Sophie. I think I'm doing decently?
"No. I don't know if I'll ever be ready to do that, but I have a better idea of what I am." They take a deep breath. "I'm non-binary. I don't know the specifics within that, but I know that I don't fall under the typical boy or girl."
"Oh, cool! Well, I'm happy for you. Just bring me anyone who says otherwise and I'll change their mind."
"That won't be necessary." They let out a soft laugh. "Don't you have a date? I won't hold you up any longer."
"Right, I'll see you later." I say before rushing out of the room, almost crashing into my dad. "Woah!"
"Watch where you're going." My dad laughs. "You aren't forgetting anything, are you?"
"No, dad. I've gotta get going." I say. Dad waves bye as I rush out the door.
The rider appears next to me as I run, keeping up no matter how fast or slow I run. It turns its head to look at me in silence. "What? Don't tell me you're disappointed about me being late." It turns its head to look forward without answering, but I feel like they are. "You could've reminded me."
I see Alicia outside the mall, on her phone. She looks up to see me as I run towards her. "Sorry, I know I'm late."
The ladybug pops out of Alicia's hair to look at me and sigh. "It's fine, Otto already told me."
I look at the rider, "see? It was fine." They vanish. "Don't just disappear!"
"We still can't see them, huh?" Alicia says.
"Guess not. Do I still look crazy when I talk to them?" I ask. Alicia nods. "Great. How come Agent Braid or your brother don't have a weird partner?"
"Otto and the Mr. Lockmen are still looking into it. But it has something to do with our connection with the disc. It's like we bonded with them more than the others."
"That's cool, but I wish mine would actually show up for ya'll. I don't want people thinking I'm crazy."
"I'm sure they're just shy. Just give it some time." She takes my hand and walks into the mall. "Maybe try being nicer to them. Arguing won't get you anywhere."
"Fine, but they already left, so it doesn't matter."
"Okay, I'll stop bothering you about it. Let's have some fun!"
Alicia drags me around the mall, trying out food, clothes, whatever catches her eye. I don't mind though, the only reason I came here was to spend time with her. Although I stop her when we almost speed past the arcade.
"Hold on, we can't come to the mall and not spend some time here." I say.
"Y'know, for someone who doesn't own any games, you sure do like the arcade." Alicia says.
"Cause I like going when I'm with you or with other friends. Doesn't have to be you." I feel my face get a little red.
"Didn't know you enjoyed losing so much." She pulls me into the arcade. "But I can make that happen."
As expected, I lose almost every game we play. But seeing her laugh after beating me is always nice. The rider pops out for a moment to watch. I couldn't tell why.
"And that's another win for me. You feeling tired yet?" Alicia says as she mocks me.
"You think this is enough to bring me down? It'll take a lot more than tha-" My phone cuts me off. "Hold on."
It's Agent Braid on the other end. "Chase, are you doing anything important right now?"
"Why?" Usually I'd just say yet, but if Agent Braid is calling, that probably means it's not something I can ignore.
"I have an offer for you I wanted to talk about, in-person, if you're free." She says.
"Everything alright?" Alicia asks.
I move the phone away from my ear. "Apparently, Agent Braid has an offer she wants to talk about."
"And if it's her, you should probably hear what it's about, right?" Alicia says. "Don't worry, I had a lot of fun. Want to walk there together?"
I put the phone back to my ear. "I'll be there in a bit."
"Let's not keep her waiting." Alicia says, grabbing my hand as I hang up.
"Sorry about ending early. I was really looking forward to this." I say as we exit the mall.
"We'll get our time eventually, but I don't want you missing anything important. There'll always be time to go on a date."
We spend some more time talking, time passing by as we get to the MDF. It's been a bit since I've come here. Coming here always reminds me of Agent Hammer. The guard notices us and waves.
"It's been a while. What brings the hero back to our little base?" They ask.
"Agent Braid asked to meet with me. It's important." I say.
"Well, don't let me keep you. She was talking to someone inside." They move to let us in.
"I hope Ms. Braid is doing okay. It's probably been a lot taking charge of this place by herself." Alicia says.
We hear a familiar voice as we enter. "Figure out where the energy is coming from. We need every hint we can find." Agent Braid says to a scientist before letting them go back to work.
"Ms. Braid!" Alicia tackles her into a hug.
"Hey! Sorry for calling you down here." Agent Braid has a mischievous smile as her eyes dart from Alicia to me. "Don't tell me. Was I interrupting a date?"
"Yep! Chase was all excited for it as well, even though she almost forgot." Alicia pouts.
"A date that we could continue if you don't have anything else to talk about." I say.
"Okay, okay. You're no fun." Agent Braid clears her throat. "Chase, have you thought about your future at all?"
"That's it? Not really. I mean, I have, but there hasn't been much progress." I say.
"Good, that makes asking this a lot easier. Do you want to work for us?" She asks.
It takes a minute to register what she had asked. Work for them, as in the MDF? Like doing full-time hero work?
"Wait, seriously?" Alicia speaks up before me.
"You've got the exact qualities we look for. Of course, there would be training and paperwork involved. But if you're willing to accept, we'd be glad to have you join us." Agent Braid says.
"I-I don't even… what would I do?" I ask.
"Mainly, you'd do what you did before, just on a larger scale. Alongside trying to find the remnants of Shocker, there are different monsters in other areas of the world. You'd be the MDF's official Kamen Rider."
"Yes, obviously I'll do it." My excitement wears down as I look at Alicia. "Wait, wouldn't it involve moving around a lot? I don't want to-"
Alicia cuts me off. "Would it kill you to do what you want for once? It'll be fine. We'll always have ways to talk."
"And it's not like you'd always be on missions. We'd deal with actually finding the monsters. You'd get sent to take care of them. You really think I want to separate you two?" Agent Braid says.
"In that case, there's no way I'd say no. I mean, I have to talk to my parents, but this is like a dream." I say.
"Great. Now, I still have work to do. It's been hectic around here. Hopefully, we'll be working together soon." Agent Braid says before walking away.
Alicia and I walk outside, sitting down so I can think. "This definitely changes things." I say.
"Don't forget about us when you're a big shot hero." Alicia can't help but laugh.
The rider appears in front of me, but Alicia can't see them. "I don't know, the popularity might get to my head." I say jokingly, resting my head on her shoulder.
Not sure how things a gonna go when everyone leaves to do their own thing. Only being able to call them is gonna suck, but at least I can still talk to them.
"This hero stuff never really ends, does it?" I ask the rider. They nod. "Great, cause I love this job."
AN: With April coming to an end, here's the epilogue to Kamen Rider Reborn. I'm not sure when the next content for Reborn will come, but in the meantime, tomorrow will be the debut of Kamen Rider Pop! Thank you all for reading, and hopefully I'll see you again next time.