Clear skies open up on a peaceful Japan. One particular city of note, Zenyatta City, is home to the ZOO Corporation. ZOO is a multi-media conglomerate with a piece of every conceivable industry on the planet. Vehicle manufacturing, smartphones, and advancements in medical science and education, just to name a few business ventures.
This monolith of a company fully funded, and developed Zenyatta City, making it the marvel it is today. It didn't take long for people to flock to Zenyatta for a piece of the good life. ZOO's main headquarters stands in the middle of the city. Anyone that lives in Zenyatta can lead peaceful lives with clear open skies, revolutionary technology, and quality of life service. And if they ever forget who to thank for it all, they just need to look up and see the colossus looming between it all.
It's another chill day in Zenyatta. Every day people are living out their lives with barely a care for them. With the sun out, and the weather reaching a new high, it's a perfect day for everyone to get out and enjoy themself.
A group of young kids, around elementary school age, are playing around in the park. About three of them in total kick a ball around near the park's water fountain. Random adults come and go, passing them as they try to avoid hitting the ball too close to them, not wanting to get in trouble.
One of these adults looks like a drifter. Looking like something from a Clint Eastward movie, they wear a long poncho and a western cowboy hat. Their face is also obscured by a pair of aviator sunglasses, the reflective kind. He carries around a guitar case but puts it down at his feet as he takes a seat on one of the benches directly in line with the water fountain.
Through the corner of his eye, he can't help but glance up at the tower in the distance. Despite being a few streets away, it feels like it's just on the doorstep. He lets out a hard sigh before reaching under the poncho to pull out a small metal tin. He opens it, revealing a few pre-rolled cigarettes. He removes one and puts it in his mouth but stops short of lighting it when he sees the children playing. He grumbles before neatly tucking it behind his ear.
He reaches for his guitar case to leave but gets distracted by one of the kids falling over on the floor. They tripped while trying to tackle the ball away from their friend, and skinned their knee on the brick floor.
The kid clutches their knee. While the injury isn't serious, it was enough to draw a faint amount of blood from the scratches. His friends try to console him as the fallen child fights back the tears welling in their eyes.
While they struggle to think about what to do, the sounds of light strumming can be heard. It starts getting louder, grabbing their attention. They turn to the drifter, sitting there resting his legs on the open case, he plays a classic method on his guitar.
With a genuine smile on his face, he plays a little more, getting more into the song. In perfect English, he sings along with it. "Because maybe, You're gonna be the one that saves me, And after all, You're my wonderwall."
Through his sunglasses, he glances over to see all three kids watching in awe. The injured one has stopped crying from the fall. He brings the song to a sudden but natural conclusion as his goal was achieved.
One of the kid's steps forward, "So was amazing, Mister." The others nod in agreement, just as moved as their friend.
The drifter removes his sunglasses, showing off a pair of soft eyes. "Thank you. But that was just for the pain," he says. Reaching into the case, he grabs around for a small plastic packet. He pulls out the packet, a small travel medkit used for camping. "This should clear that up nicely." He tosses the packet over to the kid and lets them do the rest.
He puts his guitar away. Closing the case, it flashes a name tag with the drifter's name, Miyamoto Tatsuya.
Locking the case up, this time he's ready to leave. That is before a woman can be seen chasing after someone. "Stop him! He's taken my purse!"
Everyone watches as they cut through the park, coming the way of the water fountain.
Tatsuya taps his fingers on his knee and waits. He's contemplating stepping in. Glancing up, he can see the desperation in the woman's face and tone, her voice sounding like it's cracking. She falls behind, the thief lasting longer than her in terms of stamina.
Deciding to intervene, he kicks his case in the way right as the thief passes him by. Not expecting the interference, it's too late for them to stop, or leap over the case. The thief misses their footing on the guitar and trips over, landing almost face-first into the tile floor.
The thief is quick to recover, but Tatsuya is already in their face, standing in their way of trying to flee. "This doesn't concern you. Just back off."
"I know, but," Tatsuya can't think of anything to say in retort besides shrugging their shoulders, "Just can't."
"So be it," the thief takes a swing at him.
Tatsuya is quick enough to get out of the way of their fist. After dodging, he moves back in a way that blocks their passage.
The thief tries again, adding more force into their swing. Tatsuya ducks under their arm, and comes behind them. The momentum carries the thief and knocks them off balance.
Tatsuya grabs them by the scuff of their shirt, and pulls them back, preventing their fall. "Careful. You almost had another fall."
Now the one that's getting desperate, the thief flails their arms, hoping at least one of them would connect.
Tatsuya waits for the right moment to act. He grabs the hand holding the purse out of the air and then grabs their collar. He flings the thief over his shoulder, throwing them onto their back while relieving them of the purse.
The owner of the nurse finally catches up to them. Her face was red with exhaustion, but clearly grateful for the assist. She's accompanied by a patrolling police officer, one that heard her cries for help earlier.
"Here's your man, officer," Tatsuya gestures to the thief. They lay on the floor in a daze, their eyes spinning. "And I believe this is yours," he tosses the purse over to the woman.
She catches it and bows, thankful that someone stepped in. "Thank you. You were,"
Tatsuya holds his hand up to cut her off, "It's nothing. Really."
The police officer manages to pull the thief back onto their feet, "I'll take it from here." He looks at the thief in disappointment. The officer seems to be familiar with the thief. He cuffs their hands and drags them away from the park.
Tatsuya reaches down to pick up his guitar case, and walks away, tipping his hat to the woman and kids before taking his leave. As he walks away, he slyly pockets a 500 ten note he swipes from the purse before putting his sunglasses off.
While making his casual retreat, he is unaware of his being watched from afar. Standing in the shadow of ZOO headquarters, a woman stalks him. She stands out from the others thanks to her long, brightly colored hair, and her pale blue maid dress. In her hands, she carries a metal briefcase with the ZOO logo embedded in the side.
Leaving the park, the police officer continues to pull the thief away. "Honestly, Ren. Third time this month. Is this really what you want to do with your life? You don't want more in your life than to steal petty change?"
The thief is silent, acting more like a teenager caught smoking by their parents. A figure emerges from the shadows, a grey and rustic-clad Kamen Rider. One with a snake-like motif in the helmet. They approach the two from behind without alerting either of them to their presence.
The officer sighs, "A car will be here shortly to take you to the station. I'll be sure to inform your parents of this. Why can't you just…,"
The officer's train of thought is cut off by the figure from behind. The officer lets out a sudden gasp of pain before dropping to their knees. Ren is immediately concerned. He tries to catch them as they fall but is grabbed from behind by the figure.
The Kamen Rider grabs them by the neck and holds them back, making them watch as the officer lies passed out on the floor. "Oh, don't worry about him. He's not dead. And won't be, as long as you stay still." The Rider's tone is toxic as if every word they spit out is venomous.
Ren stands still as the Rider pulls out a headpiece. He can see small transparent snakes wrapped around their arm.
Without any resistance, the Kamen Rider straps the headpiece to Ren's ear. It locks in place, allowing for severally belts to strap themselves around his head. He tries to scream but as they consume him, his voice is lost. The belts seemingly disappear.
The Rider lets go of them. "That's better. Now then," they reach behind themself and pull out a ZoPhone, "Go have fun."