The Adventures of a Dumbass and His Pet Grasshopper

Purpose (missing scene, ep 3)

Synopsis: Houtaro starts questioning if he was truly meant for all of this after he wakes up from being poisoned

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"I acted like I knew everything about the Chemies... when in reality..." Houtaro trailed off, averting his gaze from Apparebushido.

He let all of this get to his head, didn't he? He thought just because he was given this power that somehow he knew everything. That he couldn't possibly be wrong. And yet... here he was now. Almost ended up dead because he had been an idiot.

Minato-sensei hadn't seemed that upset. But, Houtaro knew the words he had spoken were meant to be taken a lot deeper than he probably had. Maybe it was a mistake for him to be chosen for this? Everyone else here was far more experienced than he was.

Why was a nobody like him even chosen? Shouldn't someone that already had extensive knowledge about the Chemies be chosen for something as important as this? Then again, it didn't seem like most of the alchemists were on good terms with the one who gave him this stuff in the first place.

But still, was he really cut out for this? This job wasn't all fun and games like he had tried to make it. Lives were on the line now. People could very well die because of the Chemies falling into the wrong hands.

"Hopper!" A sudden voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Eh? Hopper?" Houtaro was greeted by Hopper1 landing on his chest.

"Hopper..." Hopper sounded upset.

Was Hopper able to tell that he was feeling down? Was it trying to cheer him up? Or was there something else that made Hopper decide to come talk to him? Houtaro reached out a hand and scratched Hopper on the head.

"Do you think me being chosen was a mistake?" Houtaro asked quietly.

"Hopper!" Now Hopper sounded mad.

Houtaro cracked a smile. "Right... you're part of the reason I'm a Kamen Rider. Guess you'd not think like that."

Houtaro looked back at Apparebushido. The Chemy was silent still. Would he ever be able to befriend this one? He had felt so confident when he had asked Minato-sensei to let him do this but now... his doubts were starting to get to him.

Still, he had made friend with some Chemies already. Hopper was very clear proof of that. If he had managed to do it so far, then he could do it again. He had to. Hopper believed in him. He didn't want to let Hopper down. Hopper chose him with Steamliner for a reason. He shouldn't be thinking so negatively.

"I... can't let everyone down." Houtaro forced himself to sit up. Hopper slid onto his lap.

"Hopper?" Hopper nudged him, seeming a bit worried.

Houtaro patted the Chemy on its head. "I'm okay. I feel a lot better now. We have an enemy to defeat, don't we? We can't let something so dangerous run around freely."

"Hopper! Hopper!" Hopper jumped up into the air and flew around him a few times.

Houtaro glanced back at the card in his hand. "Apparebushido... I swear I'll prove myself to you. I'll become your friend... your comrade. We'll fight together."

The Chemy remained silent. But, at least he wasn't getting attacked this time. That was progress. Or, at least they were back to where they had started at.

Houtaro put Apparebushido back into his pocket and stood up. He was unsteady on his feet for a moment. Perhaps he stood up too fast?

"Hopper?" Hopper flew in front of his face.

Houtaro smiled. "You know what, Hopper? I think I just had an idea about what to do. You believe in me because you see something in me. So, I need to make Apparebushido see something in me that it likes too."

"Hopper!" Hopper seemed happy with his determination change.

"Let's go. We have a lot to do."

Hopper went back to its card. Houtaro took a deep breath. Time to prove that he was someone Apparebushido could trust. And then he would prove to everyone else that he was the right person for this job.

Even if his views on things were vastly different, he'd show them he wasn't wrong for thinking this way. Chemies weren't just tools for use. They had feelings. They had hearts. They could care about people too! He was going to befriend every Chemy he could and show everyone that it was a possibility.