On a summer holiday in Tokyo, Japan, two little boys were riding their bicycles. They were going to a newly-opened arcade center at a mall downtown.
“Come on, Taro!” a 14 years old boy shouted happily to the other boy. “We can’t miss the opening! Go faster! Faster!”
“Alright, I’m trying my best!” the other boy replied. Kimura Taro was his name. A 10 years old boy. He tried his best do keep up with the first boy.
Few minutes later, they arrived at Arcade Arena, the arcade center, and there were so many children and young people. The arcade center was filled by a lot of children and young people who wanted to play video games to waste their time in a summer holiday.
The two boys were playing at the arcade center for few hours and finally, they play an arcade shooter game and they seemed very good at it. Taro got the second place in the rank, but the older boy got the first place.
“Very good, Nii-san!” said Taro happily to the older boy. That was his older brother. “But I’ll defeat you someday.”
“Alright, alright….” said his brother and smile. “Hey, Taro. Someday, I will make the best game in the world. That game will feel so real for the player and it will be better than every other game in the world.”
“That will be awesome, Nii-san!”
“Yep. And you know, as my brother, you’ll be the first one who ever play the game beside me.”
“Thanks, Nii-san.”
“Now, let’s go home before Mom get mad at us. And we’ll come back here again next week.”
“OK!”
Eleven years later….
A young man seemed enjoying his time at modernize Arcade Arena. He plays a classic arcade shooter game very well and he wins the first rank. There are more variations of arcade video games than before. And he has conquered every single one of it. His name is always on the top rank in every arcade machine at Arcade Arena. Kids who usually play at Arcade Arena call him the Game Master. He is Kimura Taro.
“Now I beat you, Nii-san,” he said proudly.
But suddenly, his face turns sad. It’s because his older brother, Kimura Henji, has never go home or even call him. Since the death of their parents, Taro is living by himself and Henji got a job at a famous game developer company to make his dream, which is to make the best game ever, come true. But it has been two months after his unknown condition. The last words he ever said to Taro through the phone are, “Taro, I’ll be busy at work for one month and I’ll stay at my office to finish my game. I want you to take care of yourself and don’t play video games too much. OK?”
“Nii-san… I want you to go home and test your game,” he whispers while he sat down on a chair on the corner of the room.
“Taro-kun,” said a voice. A girl’s voice. It was surprising and drives his mind back to the earth. “Are you alright?”
“Who?” he grasped. “M-m-me?”
“You look so sad, you know?”
“Sad? No! Of course not! Why the Game Master of Arcade Arena is sad? No way, Young Lady. Now way!”
He showed his happy face and laugh. It was a fake laughs to make himself forget about his own sadness.
“Now, is there any new arcade machines to be conquered by me?” he asked the girl.
“You’re kinda weird, Taro-kun,” she said. “Now, I have to work.”
“What? You work here?”
“Of course! Can’t you see my outfit? But it’s just for this summer and it’s a part-time job.”
“I can see that. Hey, Kyoko-chan! Do you have any new arcade machines for me to be conquered or not?”
“I don’t think so. You’ve already ‘conquered’ them all. Don’t you suppose to get a job this summer? I’m sick of seeing you every day walking around here.”
“What do you mean? I’m a gamer. I live to play games. And I hate working on summer holiday.”
“Alright. Suit yourself.”
Kyoko knows Taro because they attend the same university and Taro seems to have feelings for Kyoko but he has no guts to tell her.
In the afternoon, Kyoko has finished her job and she was going home alone. On the way, two creepy guys were trying to rob her and rape her but at the same time, Taro –who was enjoying his takoyaki, saw what happen to Kyoko.
“Kyoko-chan!” he shouted and run to save her. He dropped his takoyaki.
“Who the hell is this guy!?” a creepy guy shouted.
“Yeah, who the hell are you?” the other creepy guy asked rudely to Taro. “Are you gonna save this girl, huh?”
“Stay away from her, you pervert!” Taro shouted.
“Taro-kun…,” Kyoko whispered. She can’t believe what she saw. Kimura Taro, the person she knew as a slob and cares about nothing but video games, was trying to save her from two creepy guys.
“So, you’re trying to be a hero, huh?” a creepy guy asked rudely.
“You’ll be dead, boy,” the other creepy guy said with his evil smile.
They beat Taro together and Taro was injured badly. Blood came out from his nose and lips. He got bruise on his face and arms.
“No!” Kyoko shouted. “Stop it! Please, stop!”
“You stupid loser!” the creepy guys said and laugh. “You are pathetic!”
And then, the creepy guys ran away.
“I… will… kill you… both!” Taro shouted. He didn’t care about the pain. “Hey! Come… back! Come back… here… you… maggots!”
“It’s over, Taro-kun,” Kyoko kneed and helped Taro to stand up. “Don’t push yourself. Let me take you to hospital.”
After that….
“Thanks for saving me, Taro-kun,” Kyoko said when she and Taro went home together from hospital.
“No,” Taro replied. He got bandages on his hands and face. “I failed. I lost. I’m a joke.”
“Taro-kun, what happened? You seem so sad today.”
“Today is my brother’s birthday.”
“Your brother? Henji?”
“Yes. And he leaves me alone and I don’t know what he’s doing now.”
“Well, that must be hard. He’s working at a game company, right? Maybe, he’s trying to make the best game ever.”
“I hope so.”
When Taro arrived at home, the phone rang. Could that be Henji calling? Taro quickly pick it up.
“Nii-san!” he said happily.
“Taro, it’s Naomi,” a woman’s voice said through the phone. She worried. “There’s something happen to your brother.”
“Wha-what happened? Tell me!”
“I will, but you must go to Virto Digital first. And I’ll tell you everything.”
“Virto… Digital?”
“Yes. Please come here quickly! I need your help.”
Then, Taro rushed to Virto Digital. He went up to the fifth floor. To his brother's Game-Testing Lab.
“Where’s he, Naomi-san?” Taro asked eagerly when he arrived at Virto Digital studio. “Where’s he?”
Naomi looked sad and she pointed to a big black chair with some kind of machine that connected to a main computer. On the chair, there was a man sitting unconsciously with a wired device on his head. It was Kimura Henji.
“Nii-san!” Taro didn’t believe of what he saw. He shook his brother's shoulders and hoping that he can see him open his eyes.
“He’s in coma,” Naomi explained. “But his vital signs are alright.”
"Coma?" Taro seemed confused.
“She’s right, Taro-kun,” said a nerdy-looking man who sat in front of the main computer. “Oh, I’m Kuroda Yoshi. Nice to meet you.”
“Is there any way to cure him?” he asked. “Like get him off that chair or something?”
“No!” Yoshi said. “If you put him off that chair, his nerves system could be harmed and he could be dead.”
“What are you talking about?” Taro confused.
“That’s the connector between the real world and the virtual world your brother, me, and Naomi-san created months ago. That chair is called ‘Bridge’ and the game is called ‘The Riders Virtual World.’ It’s still on development state and not ready yet because it still have bugs and I also detected VirUS. It’s my term for Virtually Unwanted System. But I don’t know why Henji-san logged into the game. He said he want to save someone.”
“Uncle Gonji…,” Naomi said. She seemed remembering someone.
“Who’s that, Naomi-san?” Taro asked.
“He’s the original owner of this company and he’s also my uncle, the man who gave me this job.”
“Did he entered the game?”
“Yes, but unfortunately he stayed there too long and died because of neurotic system failure. When he was still in comma, Henji tried to save him and build another ‘Bridge’ but it was too late. Uncle was dead and now Henji is in comma. I’m afraid he… he’ll be… like Uncle.”
While Naomi told the unfortunate event, tears ran down from her eyes and she started to cry.
“Naomi-san…,” Yoshi said.
“Don’t be sad, Naomi-san,” Taro said. “I’ll save Nii-san and bring him back to the real world before it’s too late.”
“Thank you, Taro,” Naomi said and wiped her tears with her hands.
“Now, Taro-kun,” Yoshi said while he typing some codes into the computer. “I’ve designed you the Rider Armor to protect you. It’s based on Henji-san and Naomi-san design. Once you enter the world, you can’t return until you finish the game.”
“That’s no problem.”
“Oh, and there will be a quick hints to help you to run the game.”
“OK. Now, What should I do?”
Taro looked at the “Bridge” so eagerly.
“You must sit on a ‘Bridge’ and place the connector on your head,” Naomi explained. “Then, you just have to relax and let Yoshi send you to the virtual world and check your vital sign on the screen.”
“OK, I understand,” Taro replied.
Then, Taro did exactly like what Naomi told and few minutes later, Taro entered the virtual world successfully.
“Wow!” he grasped. “This is so cool!”
Taro dressed neatly. He wore a black tuxedo, a red tie, and he brought a gun.
“What the heck am I?” he confused. “Am I a mafia?”
Suddenly….
“Taro-san,” said a girl. Her voice was so familiar to Taro.
“K-K-Kyoko-chan,” Taro seemed surprised because he saw the girl she like dressed like a celebrity.
“You must come with me to Tokyo Plaza. I need to buy some things.”
“M-me? With you?”
“Of course! You’re my bodyguard, anyway.”
“So, I’m a bodyguard,” Taro whispered to himself.
“Now, get into the car!” Kyoko said and it makes Taro fells awkward.
“Yes, Kyoko-sama. Should I drive, Miss?”
“No, I have my own driver. You’re here to protect me, not to drive my car.”
“Alright, then.”
On the way to the Plaza, the car attacked by a group of Yakuza. They brought guns and samurai swords and they dressed like mafia. The driver was shot in the head but fortunately, both Kyoko and Taro were saved. They got out of the car right away and find a safe place to take cover. They were in shock. But then, Taro remembered about the Rider Armor that Yoshi told. He tried to find out how to summon it. And Taro noticed something. He wore a fancy digital watch on his left wrist and a unique belt with big buckle.
He examined the watch and turns out it can be opened. Inside it, there’s a chip with “LEVEL 1” written on it.
“What’s this?” he asked. “What am I suppose to do with this chip?”
Right after that, a virtual screen popped out from his watch. It was written about how to use the Kamen Rider power.
“Kamen Rider… Data,” he whispered. “I must try it.”
“Taro-san, I’m scared!” Kyoko said. She began to cry.
“Please don’t cry, Kyoko. I promise to take you outta here.”
He handed his gun to Kyoko.
“Just stay here and use this to protect yourself,” he said.
“But…,” she said. Her face showed that she’s in a deep shock and so scared. “Taro-san!”
“Don’t worry about me, Kyoko-hime. I’ll be alright!”
Taro walked into the battle field. He picked the chip out of the watch, and he shouted….
“HENSHIN!”
He put the chip into its slot on the upper-side of the belt's buckle and pressed the button with logo “1” on the upper left side of the buckle. On his head, there was a floating blue-colored word that said “Level 1: Jumper.”
Finally, the gasper was opened and a logo came out with beeping sound and it covered Taro’s chest. He turned into Kamen Rider Data!
He walked toward the yakuza men and said "Let's play!"
He can defeat the yakuza men easily but then, the yakuza boss came. He's a big old man in a tuxedo with a samurai sword.
"I can't believe you can defeat my men here, Young Man," the boss said and showed is scary grin. "But you can never defeat me!"
Suddenly, the yakuza boss's body became blurry and turned into a one-eyed monster with a long sword.
"A monster?" Taro confused.
The monster attacked Taro with his sword but Taro can evade his attack. It goes on and on until Taro exhausted.
"Damn... how am I suppose to fight this guy!?" He check everyhing on his rider armor.
Fortunately, he found a black button on the top-left of the buckle. He pressed it and a blue sword came out in front of him.
"Cool!" he said.
Taro quickly fought back, but the monster still can hit him. Taro was exhausted and then fell to the ground. He can't control his power yet.
"She's mine now," the monster said.
The monster took Kyoko to his hideout.
"No!" Taro replied. Even it took a lot of his strength to speak.
"Taro-san!" Kyoko shouted. "Help!"
"Kyo...ko, I... will... save... you," Taro said.
TO BE CONTINUED.... (つづく....)
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