Kamen Rider: The Third

by Sir Koji

Kazami Shiro continues his fight against Shocker without the aid of Hongo or Ichimonji, two years after the events of The Next. Takes place after the Director's Cut. Kamen Rider alumni cast, as with the other two movies.

This is a project I've wanted to do for some time, and I finally did it. I rewatched both The First and The Next for this, so I hope the feel of the combat and dialogue fits, but considering this is now Shiro's movie, and he wasn't in enough of The Next to get a proper character establishment (besides his changing at the end), this may be different than expected. This uses monsters from the V3 TV series, just like the last movie, along with characters from it, characters from the past movies, and a character from the original series, who needed to be included on the Shocker side of things.

Riderman appears here; his costume is "updated" as is everyone else's. His costume was based off of a custom SIC figure, which could be found doing a Google Images search for "SIC Riderman Killing Monkey". Based on the description and the available images, you'll find it. The cast is also made of KR alumni, like the previous movies. Yuki Joji is Kousei Amano (Garren; he aged, so his aged picture is the one I worked off of for his physical features), Ken Sakuma is Ryohei Odai, Junko Tama is Gamou Mayu (Kasumi Takeshi, Hibiki).

Just to note; this takes place after the Director's Cut of The Next. Ichimonji is dead. The first scene is just Hongo and Shiro's last dialogue together from that movie.

Kamen Rider The Third

"What about you? What will you do next?"

"I will live. …like you."

---

It has been two years since Takeshi Hongo, Hayato Ichimonji and the newest traitor, Shiro Kazami defeated Shocker and their plans to use nanobot technology to remodel the Japanese populace. Shocker has attempted to continue their plotting over this time, but thus far, they have been unsuccessful in their twisted and dark endeavors.

With the death of Ichimonji, and the reluctance of Hongo to search out and fight the organization, that left the fight to one man; Shiro Kazami, V3.

The man calling himself an avenging demon.

---

"If only it were true, Hongo," Shiro said softly to himself, reflecting back on the words that that man had said to him when they had parted ways two years ago. The last time he had seen the first Hopper, and also the last time he had seen the second, whom he didn't believe could still be alive, knowing what he knew about the old processes of the Kaizo Ningen that Shocker created.

He wanted to live an ordinary life. He wanted to be able to start life anew, as Hongo had done. But Hongo hadn't had to do what he did. Hongo didn't have to murder his own precious sister who had been tormented and twisted mostly because of Shocker.

He was an avenging demon. He couldn't have a normal life, not that he hadn't tried. His mind flashed to Junko Tama, a woman whom had tried to pursue him. Under normal circumstances, he was sure he would have gone after her. If nothing had happened at ExaStream, he was sure of it. But something had happened; things had changed.

Now, instead of possibly enjoying the company of a beautiful woman who adored him, he was crouched behind crates at the docks, watching as black suited Shocker Combatmen patrolled the area, waiting for a shipment to come in from a foreign branch of Shocker's. He clenched his fists as he saw the boat coming in. It was time to act.

He stood up; his full height still hidden by the crates, keeping him from view of the Shocker soldiers. They wouldn't give him too hard a time, but if he wasn't fast enough, the shipment could get away from him while he would distract himself fighting. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen.

A familiar feeling, reaching down to his shirt and pulling it up to reveal his Double Typhoon belt. He had one chance at this, striding out from his hiding place as soon as a Combatman walked past. This was the gap he needed in their lines.

One well placed punch to the back of the neck did it for him. Of course, he used his other hand to secure the head, listening to the snapping of bone. Others heard, some saw as he was doing it. Regardless, Combatmen were shouting out with their "Eey!" sounds as soon as he had committed to his act.

As the body fell in front of him, in front of his belt, the two turbines began to spin. As Combatmen rushed for him, he started to run for them, and then leapt up, easily vaulting over them with his augmented body, adding a great deal of power to his legs.

He was a Hopper, after all.

As soon as he landed behind them, he was suited. His twin green scarves trailed down his back from his jump, dancing over the scratched out remains of the Shocker emblem that had once adorned his back. He rose, spinning around, the eyes of his helmet flashing emerald green in the darkness as he ran forward, giving a ferocious punch to one Combatman's head, dropping him.

He whipped around, throwing a roundhouse kick into another's, flipping him to the ground. As soon as his foot touched down, his leg was coming back up to parry a punch. He drew his leg away from the blocked fist and lashed it out, catching the man in the side of his chest, right next to his heart, listening to the snapping of bone as he sent he man stumbling aside.

As he whipped around to continue fighting, he could see the bodies of the killed Combatmen dissolving around him. The poor warriors; they had no chance. But they weren't alive, so he had no reason to feel sorry for them.

He punched one in the chest, sending it flying back. Without looking, he kicked back to take another down. He span around to give three swift punches to one more, and then mule kicked a fourth.

He was a Rider of skill, keeping himself firmly routed to the ground, keeping himself always aware, always ready to counter or block an attack. He was also a Rider of strength; using ferocious, power packed strikes. He balanced them both out by using said powerful strikes with accuracy and planning, launching them at specific spots on the enemy for a quick win. A quick kill.

After dropping the fourth from his mule kick, they stopped coming. He could see out of the corner of his eye that the Combatmen on the boat were waiting there, their shipment behind them, waiting to be picked up by a forklift. It was a large crate, contents unknown. Shiro had gotten lucky when he found out about this; he could be there to do something about it.

"Is that all?" he questioned the twenty-odd Combatmen who remained, "Is that all the fight you can give me? You're nothing compared to the Kaizo Ningen. You're nothing compared to the Hoppers.

"To me."

He didn't know what to call himself; themselves. He collectively referred to Hongo, Ichimonji and himself as the Hoppers for obvious reasons. But that name was the name given to them by Shocker; it wasn't a name to be proudly worn. It was no symbol or badge of honor to be a Hopper.

Rather, it was a reminder of what they were. What they fought for, and why they fought. But a new name was needed; a proper name for what they were. Hopper and Kaizo Ningen weren't it.

He drew his arms up into his stance; bending his right elbow and keeping the elbow on down slightly bent forward. He ran his left hand – bent with the elbow on down to face that arm – down to the start of his gauntlet on his right arm, keeping his pointer and middle fingers spread up, while his other two were curled in. On his right arm, he had the same fingers up, the rest curled in. His helmet's eyes flashed again as he did this pose.

And then he was off.

---

"Do you have any idea what that man is possibly trying to accomplish?" the young woman on the screen asked.

The older man who watched these monitors, who appeared in turn on their monitors, shook his head, "I'm afraid I do know what he is after."

"You're afraid?" the third, the young man, questioned with a hint of admiration, "Then Hopper Version 3 is as strong as we believe him to be if he can even frighten Doctor Shinigami!"

"Silence!" Shinigami snapped, "He does not frighten me!"

The woman adopted a soft, sly smile, "What is it he's after?"

"Business as always, eh?" the young man questioned her.

"He's after me," Shinigami said confidently.

"How do you know?" the young man turned his attention now to Shinigami, propping his feet up on something and leaning back in his chair.

"I was responsible for the nanobot technology," Shinigami answered, "I saw the damage that was done at Legend of Gathering. I saw everything on the security systems. I saw that…mutant thing that he faced. His sister. If I had to guess, he's coming after me."

"Because he could possibly think you caused everything?" the young man questioned with a grin, "Naive!"

The woman had a point to raise, "But it technically was all Doctor Shinigami's fault. Even if it is naïve to blame it all on him, he is still the origin. I can see why Shiro would come after you like this."

"Taken to calling him by name?" the young man teased.

She didn't say anything back. Instead she continued to address Shinigami, "He's getting close, wouldn't you say?"

"Unfortunately he is," Shinigami admitted, "I don't know how he's managed to root out so many of our men who can talk, but he has. He's closing in on this facility, based on the last few I've lost contact with."

"Move," the man said.

"I refuse to be intimidated by that man," Shinigami hissed.

"Don't worry, then," the woman stated, "Another Shocker commander is coming to your base from overseas. He'll be there in a few days, and he'll be able to assist you, should V3 arrive soon."

"Back to title," the man said.

"You mean he's only going to be here for a short window of time?" questioned Shinigami.

"No," the woman said, "Indefinitely, until V3 is eliminated."

"And this man is named?" Shinigami questioned.

"Colonel Zol," she told him.

---

Shiro walked down a street, hands in his pockets, ignoring people as he went. He was lost in his own thoughts at the moment. As usual, he wondered about Chiharu, and her murderous ways. Could she really help what she had done? He never wanted to think of his sister, his precious sister, as a monster. But what else had she been? Not physically, but what she was; a killer, inadvertent, he hoped.

Once more Shiro could only think that the specters that had killed for her were buildups of electromagnetic energy subconsciously created by Chiharu through the nanobots, appearing where people played "Platinum Smile" because of her strong ties to her final song, and manifesting through the devices that the song was played off of; computer, CD player, whatever it was. And for any other cases, he figured something else was there to draw energy off of, and negative feelings caused the creation.

After all, Shocker created Kaizo Ningen like Chainsaw Lizard, who regenerated her chainsaw limbs out of nothing, and Scissors Jaguar who, like Lizard, summoned his blades out of seemingly nothing and nowhere.

But right now there was no point in thinking about it again. That's all Shiro was doing recently; thinking about Chiharu. When he had tried to live his own life, he had done just that. He had started living again. But now that he had become an avenging demon out for Shocker, Chiharu was all that filled his mind, all that kept him going.

Right now it was time to think about something else. He looked up and stopped outside of the former ExaStream building; his former company. He stared for a few moments, longing filling him, nostalgia flooding back.

"This is where I saw you last, Chiharu. Before Shocker twisted you."

People continued to pass by as he stood and looked. He had no reason to enter, especially since the building was owned by another company now. But just standing there, looking at it. That was enough for him right now.

"I thought I would find you here, Shiro-kun," a woman behind him said, adding a little laugh, "You kind of stick out with that vest."

He turned around to see a woman standing there, around twenty six years old. She was beautiful to behold; he had always thought so. Her radiant face, her cascading brown hair, the sense of refinement she had in her clothing choices. She struck him as someone he could get close to, if he wasn't after Shocker.

He never cared to confirm or deny anything to Junko Tama. He never cared to tell her to leave him, stop annoying him, or to keep coming. He didn't care enough to tell her anything.

He cared enough, at least, to keep her out of the conflict. He cared enough to do that by being cold to her, indifferent. It would keep her away, but also keep her coming back. While that could be dangerous for her, it would keep her available for the day he could finally stop his revenge, for the day his thirst would be quenched by eliminating Shocker. Then, if he desired, he could be with her.

"Junko," he said, indifferent, not bothering to use an honorific. He put his hands into his pockets and started to walk down the street. He knew she was following him, even without looking back. He continued to speak, looking straight ahead, "How's Takayuki-san?"

She smiled with some forlorn. He was more interested in her brother than he was in her. Why did he always ask her about him? He could just as easily find Takayuki himself and talk.

"My brother is fine," she told him, "I keep telling him every time I see you. He doesn't really ask much about you, though."

"Did he tell you to tell me that?" Shiro questioned, still not looking at her.

She nodded, "Yes, he did. Why?"

"I think he has some grand idea that when I find out he doesn't care about me, I'll stop asking about him."

"And what good would that do?" she questioned, drawing her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Then I'll start asking you about yourself," Shiro commented offhandedly, "He's trying to push me to you, or something." Shiro looked up; keeping his head leaned back as he stared up at the sky between words, "But…"

"But what?" she asked, rushing and getting in front of him so that he would look at her when he lowered his head.

He didn't give her that satisfaction. He lowered his head and turned around so as to not look at her, "I have business to attend to," he told Junko, "Please, you should leave."

"Shiro-kun!" she grabbed his arm, "Why won't you tell me anything?"

He gently pulled his arm free of her grip, "Please, leave me."

As he started to walk away from her, he heard her calling after him, "Shiro-kun! Shiro-kun!"

But he didn't answer her. He had maters to attend to.

Those matters involved Shocker. As he walked off, away from Junko, he made his way towards his bike. He swung his leg over, sat down, and pulled his helmet on, driving off as Junko decided to run after him, to the spot where he had parked. He felt a slight pang of guilt for having to just leave like that, for being colder than usual, but he would get over it, and so would she, as much in love with him as she was.

As he continued to drive, he focused on his goal. He remembered it; stolen from one of the men accompanying the Combatmen and the shipment of…whatever it was Shocker had been transporting that night. There was going to be a meeting at a public location, so Shiro had to intervene; he had to go after the Shocker agent that was to be met. If he could get that man, he was sure he could find Doctor Shinigami; the man who caused Chiharu's change, the man responsible for his own change.

For so much death. But that's not what Shiro was interested in. He was interested in stopping more, yes, but he was interested far more in avenging Chiharu.

The noise of his motorcycle enveloped Shiro's senses. Gunshots managed to overcome the sounds, forcing him to abruptly stop and listen.

"Shocker," he guessed, starting again and driving, taking the first right he could, heading for the source of the sound. As he drove towards it as fast as he could, he pulled his shirt away to reveal his Double Typhoon belt. He sped up, the twin turbines spinning as he went.

As soon as he turned a corner, coming around from behind a building, going right for the source of the gunshots, he was suited, complete with helmet. He drove faster and then leapt off of his bike, letting it sail forward, crashing into a handful of Combatmen who were involved in a fight with a series of men in SWAT gear, armed with handguns and stronger caliber machineguns, assault rifles.

Shiro took about three steps towards them before he stopped walking. He watched, his scarves blowing out behind him from the wind. The men were backing away, keeping up a good distance from the Combatmen, who continued to drop and evaporate upon being killed.

Shiro ran forward, punching a Combatman twice rapidly in the head, taking him down. He span around, grabbing another and throwing him as far as he could, sure that his body would break on landing.

He grabbed one man's shoulder, "Who are you people?" Shiro demanded.

The man – Japanese, like all of them – looked to him, "Who are you, then?" he demanded, "A Shocker?"

"You...you know about Shocker?" Shiro questioned him.

"We're an Interpol team," the man told him, "After the event two years ago, of course we know about Shocker! We're here to stop them!"

"Why? Did you hear something?" Shiro pressed, grabbing him again and making him incapable of firing.

"Let go!" the man shouted, pushing him off, lifting his weapon at Shiro, "And who are you anyway?"

"An escaped Kaizo Ningen of Shocker's, fighting them for revenge," Shiro told him, "V3."

"Right…we heard about you guys," the man said, hesitantly lowering his rifle. He span around and lifted it again, firing on the assembled Combatmen, "If you're fighting Shocker, then help us save our bullets!"

"These are just small fry," Shiro told him, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm interested in the Shocker agent that was supposed to be here with them."

During a lull in the fire, the man pointed out, "That what you're talking about?"

Shiro looked at where he was directing. A man was approaching, wearing a suit and carrying a suitcase. He seemed unfazed by the destruction around him, by the fighting. He looked directly at Shiro, ignoring everyone else, and then let out what looked to be a sigh. It, of course, couldn't be heard from this distance, over the gunfire.

They were in the middle of a street. Traffic was nowhere around them. There were no doubt police blockades up to prevent civilians from getting to this area.

"That has to be him!" Shiro muttered to himself, clenching his fists, listening to the leather squeak as he did so, "The man I seek."

The man continued to ignore the fighting. He crouched down and laid his briefcase on the ground, snapping it open. One Interpol agent got around and lifted his weapon to the back of the man's head, "Freeze!" he shouted.

"I wouldn't do that, were I you," the man, middle aged, told him.

"Why not?" the Interpol agent demanded, "I have the weapon here!"

"I am the weapon."

He span around, knocking the rifle aside. It went off, cutting up the ground in a spray of bullets. He gripped the man's face in his powerful hand, plunging his fingers into the man's face, feeling bone snap as he crushed the man to death with his overwhelming enhanced strength.

As the man fell to the ground, another Interpol agent was rushing over. Their orders were apparently to capture and interrogate, not to kill, or he would have fired. Shiro ran for him as well, beating two Combatmen aside to keep moving. Two more got in his way, but they stood no chance.

Not against his skill. Not against his strength.

He skidded forward, smashing a fist into each one's gut, throwing them back. He continued to run for the man; sure he would get there before the agent.

The man lifted his head up from what he was doing on the ground, in his briefcase. His head was covered in a green, beaked and mottled mask. Two large eyes adorned either side of the beak, red rimmed with white screens for his actual eyes to see through. The beak had a line of a mouth beneath it, which could presumably open and close as he wished it to. There was nothing more to it; no chains to act as chainmail, nothing to protect his neck, which would be otherwise exposed due to the smaller size of the helmet.

But as he rose to his full height, his entire suit was revealed. He was clad in a primarily green suit with some other colors, like red and yellow. He was completely mottled, with what looked to be large sized scales or imprints to represent such across his body. He wore green combat boots that looked rather enforced almost up to his knees, from which point the leather bodyarmor appeared more durable than any Shiro had previously seen any Kaizo Ningen use before.

It still looked to be leather, or a similar material, with zippers and chains crisscrossing both legs, and even down to the boots sometimes. Starting below his waist were the scale-like features of a shell, rippled yet to show muscular definition along his chest and abs, but armored. It looked worn, as if he had been struck many times, but there was no other damage, no cuts or other marks.

The shell-like torso armor went up to his neck, covering it in the front. Even at the neck he looked completely armored by the shell design of his suit. His arms looked like his legs; less armored, but still more armored than any other Shocker. Zippers and chains crisscrossed his arms for apparently nothing more than design and appearance. He wore gloves that went almost all the way up to his elbows; chains and zippers along those as well. Each finger was tipped with a slight claw.

Along his back was a large shell. From the front, it was hard to tell much about it, but Shiro was sure that it would be an impossibly strong defense. It looked to cover the back of the man's neck, keeping him safe on all sides, if the suit itself didn't cover the back of his neck, for whatever reason. The one thing that really stuck out to Shiro that this guy would be dangerous was the large bazooka mounted on his back, protruding up over his head when he stood erect. The man was getting down onto hands and knees, looking ahead, the weapon going right over the back of his head. He was going to fire into the Interpol team.

"Watch out!" Shiro screamed at them as he continued to race for this Kaizo Ningen. He had to stop him, to spare others, but mostly to get information from the man. If he had any weakness that this team could exploit, at this point, they were likely to kill him. He would be too dangerous for them to try anything else.

As if to prove his point that they wanted him dead, everyone focused their attention on him, sure that their bullets could pierce him. They couldn't.

A round was expelled from the bazooka, flying towards the assembled Interpol agents. Shiro couldn't do anything but get himself out of the blast radius so he would have a chance.

He heard a motorcycle. He glanced to his side to see Hongo riding in, fully suited. He drove his bike up, off a jump, and into the air, in front of the round. It was a foolish move, but Hongo was like that; he would do what he could to save these people.

Shiro wouldn't.

He managed to catch the round in one hand and throw it aside, to where nobody was. The resulting explosion still knocked agents down, but it didn't do much else, other than leave a large hole in the ground.

Hongo landed his bike and skidded it to a stop. He ran towards Shiro and the enemy, catching up to Shiro quickly.

"Hongo; I'm surprised to see you," Shiro commented.

"You bailed us out last time," Hongo replied, looking at him. Shiro could see that his helmet and suit were much more damaged than the last time. He must have been involved in some fights since then, or they had just naturally fallen into a state of disarray, "I had to return the favor, unless Ichimonji has, in which case I'll go."

"You shouldn't joke; it doesn't suit you," Shiro said, stopping suddenly, letting Hongo keep going. He span around, elbowing a Combatman in the head, dropping him suddenly. Hongo noticed, but kept going, stopping right when he reached the enemy and threw a kick.

More Combatmen were flooding in from seemingly out of nowhere. Shiro drew his fists up into a fighting stance, "Come on; how many of you do we have to kill until Shocker realizes you're a waste!" Shiro shouted, rushing into them, giving out quick punches, flipping them with the sheer force he delivered into their bodies, brutally taking them down.

Shiro kept looking to Hongo. He would have fought the Kaizo Ningen himself, but if Hongo was offering, that was good enough for him. As much as he wanted his revenge, he may go overboard and kill the man, not getting any information that way.

Hongo wouldn't outright kill him, though. Shiro could intervene when he had to.

Hongo's kick missed as the man dodged to the side. He threw a punch with his right, but Hongo blocked by lifting his left arm, letting it graze off of his arm and deflecting it to the outside. He drove an uppercut into the man's chest, but nothing happened.

"I'm too strong for you!" the man shouted at Hongo, his mouth opening. He slammed his head down, biting Hongo's right shoulder. Hongo shouted in pain, falling to a knee as his suit was torn. Blood ran down both the front and back of his shoulder as the wound was opened wider by the man's attack.

"You may be the perfect Kaizo Ningen, but you're the lowest tier; did you know that?" he questioned Hongo, his mouth and his helmet's beak obviously having no connection, "Anyone created with nanobots is your superior. I am your superior!"

Hongo was gasping out his words between his similar gasps of pain, "You may be," he gasped out in pain, "superior, but…," another.

"But what?" he hissed.

"You lack my skill!" Hongo shouted, finding his strength. He rammed his left fist into the side of the other warrior's helmet, rattling him, breaking the beak away, but opening the wound even wider in the process. Hongo shouted in pain, grabbing his wounded shoulder with his left hand, blood streaming out from under his gloved hand as he failed to apply enough pressure.

The other cyborg got to the ground, aiming his weapon at Hongo. Hongo looked up, realizing it too late that he wasn't the target.

"No!" Hongo screamed, his voice and single word carrying on, elongating the word far past the simplicity of itself.

Shiro smashed his way through two more Combatmen and broke into a run for the Kaizo Ningen, attempting to stop the attack. But he was too late; the shell ejected, flying past Hongo, who couldn't stop it. Shiro was too far away to attempt to stop it. The shell struck the ground, exploding in the vicinity of the Interpol team, blowing them away as they focused their attention on the Combatmen, not the cyborgs locked in combat.

Only one man had survived; being far enough away. It was the man Shiro had spoken to. He only survived because Shiro had pulled him away to talk. He was lying on the ground, covered in blood, blood seeping through is uniform. He was groaning in pain, on the fine line between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Hongo managed to get to his feet. He moved his arm away from his wound and ran towards Turtle Bazooka as he rose. He swung his left fist forward, catching the Turtle in his chest, but only knocking him back a single step.

Shiro tried to get to them, but the Combatmen were focusing solely on him at this point. "Move you worthless trash!" he shouted, lashing out everywhere, keeping his guard up, blocking everything, never letting himself be struck by an attack; always blocking, "I don't have time to waste on you!"

He would deliver single, powerful blows. Most of the time they probably wouldn't kill, since he didn't have the liberty of choosing his target location anymore, only that he would strike. He pushed through them, rushing towards Hongo and Turtle Bazooka.

Hongo blocked a swipe of his claws and delivered a punch with his right, hiding the pain. But the blow barely had any strength. He threw a punch with his left, but even with strength, Turtle's armor was too thick.

He grabbed Hongo's shoulders and rammed his head into Hongo's, causing Hongo to shout in pain, "Tell me something, traitor!"

"What?" Hongo hissed, trying to break free of his grip, but failing.

"Are you ready to die?"

He pushed Hongo away and crouched down, firing a shell. It only had to travel about three yards before it crashed into Hongo, causing him to give out an otherworldly scream of pain that managed to overshadow the sound of the explosion.

Shiro stopped suddenly, his eyes widening under his helmet as he saw what happened to Hongo. "Hongo!" he screamed out, "Hongo!" He took off running towards Hongo, forgetting about Turtle Bazooka and his threat for a moment.

He saw a pit where Hongo used to be, and slid down into it. It wasn't very deep, but he slid down to get through the dust. There was nothing; no signs of the first Hopper, except for a shattered chunk of his helmet.

"Hongo…," Shiro muttered, lifting it reverently into his hands, looking at all that remained of an ally, of a man who had helped him to see what he had to do in this world.

He could hear the other Kaizo Ningen laughing. He let the piece of helmet remain in the pit as he walked out, covered in dust. His head was partially dropped, his arms hanging down at his sides. His scarves were blowing behind him, pushed off towards his right from the wind. He lifted his head, the eyes flashing emerald.

"I'm going to kill you!" Shiro screamed at him, racing forward. He slid and punched him once in the chest, but it didn't do anything. The man in the other suit simply laughed hollowly, thanks to his helmet and the beak being closed.

Shiro shouted, adding another punch, and then another, but to no avail.

"You won't get me that way," he hissed to Shiro, backhanding him across the face. Shiro went down, rolling aside. He pushed himself up and swayed as he stood on his feet.

"If that won't work, then I'll add more punches," Shiro hissed to him, "I will break your shell and kill you!" He ran forward, shouting in a rage.

The man who was a composite of skill and strength had just lost all thoughts of skill. He as focusing now only on strength, only on smashing through Turtle Bazooka. He shouted and threw a punch, but the other man caught it in his left hand.

"Weak," he hissed, ramming his knee into Shiro's gut, knocking him back after doubling him over. He let go of the fist and rammed his own fist into Shiro's head, taking Shiro to the ground, making him roll away.

"I am not weak!" he screamed, pushing himself up. He looked up at Turtle Bazooka. His eyes flashed emerald again as he ran forward. He leapt up and came down with a knee aimed for his head.

The Turtle stepped back and twisted to the side to avoid it. He rammed an uppercut into Shiro's gut, doubling him over again. This time he put both of his hands together, interlaced the fingers, and smashed both fists into the back of Shiro's head, putting him to the ground.

He stepped on the back of Shiro's neck, "It'll be so simple to just kill you right now, just like this," he hissed, "Do you want me to just break your neck? Or do you want to be blown up like that other fool?"

Shiro could hear a heavy panting now coming from behind Turtle Bazooka, and a voice, "You had best move, or we're all going to blow."

"What?" Turtle demanded.

"I have a grenade. I drop it down your bazooka, we all go up, right?"

It was the Interpol agent who survived. Shiro placed the voice. The man was a fool for trying this, but if it worked, he would have to thank him. But if it worked, what was he going to do? Was he going to try to fight again, or was he going to have to retreat for now and figure out how to defeat this man's armor later?

"You won't kill us all," Turtle hissed.

"You wiped my entire team out; what good am I now?" the man questioned.

"My armor will let me live," Turtle told him.

Blood was streaming down the man's face. He closed that eye, "If you're so sure, then let's test it out, shall we?"

Turtle lifted his foot away from Shiro's neck. The man move with him, keeping his threat up. Shiro looked up, seeing that the man had a grenade in his right hand, right over the bazooka, while his left held a handgun, pointed up at the grenade. It might miss, but if it managed to hit, then the damage would be tremendous, if he didn't get a chance to wait for the grenade to blow on its own, as he noticed the pin was missing.

Turtle stepped away from them. The agent kept his weapons up, his left eye still closed due to the blood running down. Shiro wondered if his shot would be affected.

"Go!" the man shouted at Turtle Bazooka.

"Do you really think you can order a Shocker?" the Turtle screamed, going down to his knees, about to plant his hands on the ground to level his bazooka at them.

The Interpol agent seemed to be faster. He threw the grenade towards the Kaizo Ningen and lifted his firearm, putting a single bullet into the grenade as it was right in front of Turtle. The explosion threw the agent to the ground, but Shiro only felt the shock of it. When the smoke cleared, the Turtle as getting away. There was a bloody trail following him.

"You…you wounded him," Shiro muttered, planting his fists in the ground as he pushed himself to his knees. How did an ordinary man do that? Why couldn't I break through him? Why?

The agent approached Shiro, holstering his gun, "I'm surprised it worked, to be honest," he told Shiro, collapsing beside Shiro, "My team…," he looked up at the sky, tilting his head back, looking with his single good eye at the moment.

"You just lost, what, eleven men?" Shiro questioned him, sitting up and sitting back, leaving his helmet in place, "Yet you have no emotion over it? You just seem like…it's a natural occurrence, like the rising of the sun."

"Well, they're dead, what can I do about it?" he questioned Shiro.

"You raise a good point, but it's a flawed point."

"Flawed?"

"You could go after that Kaizo Ningen for revenge."

"Are you going to go after him for revenge? For that other Hopper?" the man questioned Shiro.

"Yes," Shiro said, "But my revenge is against all of Shocker, not a single man like that. My revenge runs deeper, much deeper."

"How deep?" he questioned, but Shiro just kept silent, not answering, "Ok, fine."

Shiro continued to remain silent. The man sighed and tried to wipe the blood off of his face.

Shiro stood up and walked towards his bike. The man pushed himself up and walked after him, "Wait! V3!"

"What?" Shiro questioned him, not turning around.

"I have no team."

"I know," Shiro answered, "You don't need to state the obvious."

"You're going after that guy!" the man shouted, "Take me too! Let me help you!"

"I don't need your help," Shiro told him, turning to look at him, "I don't need it. More importantly, I don't want it."

"I wounded him when you couldn't!" he pressed.

"I'll break the bastard's armor," Shiro said, clenching his right fist.

"Sakuma, Ken," the man said.

"What?"

"That's my name," Ken answered, "Look; I don't need your name outside of 'V3'. I just want to work with you! Together I'm sure we can bring this guy down, and get a shot in at Shocker! That's what my team was here to do! Strike at Shocker. I'm sure I have information that you want, if you're after them as well."

"Like what?" Shiro questioned him.

"I don't have anything big for you, like the location of a base or facility, but I do have chatter that we picked up between Japan and Germany."

"What would I care about such chatter?" Shiro questioned him, sitting on his bike, ready to leave at any moment.

He ran a hand through his matted down, bloodied hair, "Look, I'll hold off on telling you that. It might be my biggest piece of leverage."

"Leverage?" Shiro almost laughed at him, "If I don't know the details of international communications, you think that's leverage?"

"It involves the Shocker elites," Ken told him seriously, in a dark tone of voice, "I don't know what you want to do. Maybe you want to just destroy Shocker, maybe you're after someone at Shocker. I don't know, but this could be of use. But you'll only get the information if you let me go along with you."

Shiro didn't say anything as he considered what Ken was saying. I'm after Doctor Shinigami, one of the elites. The man in charge of the operations, the technology, the nanobots. He's the one I'm after. But…if he has information on elites, and from international communications, could that mean that Shinigami might be leaving for Germany? That someone is replacing him?

And if nothing else, perhaps the data holds some relevant information. It doesn't have whereabouts or anything for me, but it might allude to something. Maybe a location where the new guy is coming in at, or where Shinigami will be if he's leaving, if he leaves by plane, or boat, or something.

Shiro looked at Ken and considered for another few moments, then gave a slight nod, "Fine; come with me. Just don't expect to tell everyone at Interpol who I am when I have to reveal my identity to you. I expect this to all be kept between us."

"Understood," Ken said, walking towards him, "So; both of us on your bike?"

Shiro shook his head, "I'd rather not, but you can't exactly walk there, with the condition you're in."

"Thanks for caring," Ken said.

"I meant that you'd attract attention, and people would wonder why a bloodied man was coming into my home."

Ken shrugged to him, "Fine; I don't care if you care or not, a ride is nice, at least."

He got on behind Shiro and held on. Shiro grabbed his extra helmet and pushed it to Ken, "Better wear that."

Ken sighed and pulled the helmet on, "It takes away the cool look."

It was Shiro's turn to sigh now. This was going to be an annoying partnership, wasn't it?

---

Shiro sat back in a chair, resting his right elbow on the arm, placing his cheek in his palm, crossing one leg over his other as he looked at the man sitting in the other chair not very far away from him.

Ken Sakuma had cleaned himself of the blood and was now wearing black clothes that were under his bodyarmor, at least giving him something clean, allowing him to appear rather presentable, especially without the blood.

He was older, possibly in his early to mid thirties. His face had youth to it, yet it had an edge of experience, an edge of age. Brown hair was swept out of his face and carried down to just above his shoulders, making him look fairly out of place as a government agent like he was. Shiro figured that one should probably look a bit…better, for lack of a better term that he could come up with at the moment.

"Kazami Shiro," Ken said, looking around the large room of Shiro's mansion, "I can't imagine someone like you is V3. It's…surprising, to say the least."

"You know of me, then?" Shiro questioned.

"ExaStream; the entire staff just vanished. Of course I know of you," Ken told him, "As an Interpol agent, I take my job very seriously. I remember faces and names very well."

"You investigated that incident, then," Shiro said, "Why?"

"Why not? Does it sound like something for the police to investigate?" Ken questioned him.

"Actually, yes, kind of," Shiro answered.

"Well, we would have let them. But we found out about Shocker at that same time, because of the nanobot incident. We started to connect things, and we found ExaStream."

"You thought they were connected because they happened so close together?" questioned Shiro.

"We were right, as it turns out," Ken told him, "You know that."

Shiro nodded, "You were right. Only myself and my secretary survived. I had to kill her myself when she fought for Shocker after I defected." He sat straighter up, putting his arm down on the rest, "You're not going to arrest me, are you?"

"No, of course not," Ken told him, "I don't care if you worked for Shocker; you're fighting them right now. To me, that's what matters. Not who you were, not who made you what you are. Who you are now.

"Besides, I hardly have the ability to take you in. You'd kill me long before I could place you under arrest."

"You have that right," Shiro told him, not joking, being completely serious, "I can't let anything happen until I crush Shocker and avenge my sister. Until that day, I cannot fail; I cannot allow myself to be stopped."

"You're out for revenge, just like me," Ken told him.

"You?"

"My team," Ken explained.

"You want revenge for your team?" questioned Shiro, "You were bonded that closely with them?"

"Of course!" It was as if Shiro just didn't understand, "Aren't you close to the other traitors? The warriors you fought beside? You're brothers in arms, just like my team and I were!"

"Brothers…in arms…," muttered Shiro, looking away. He and Hongo and Ichimonji weren't close. He had saved them, they had taught him lessons, but that was about all there was to it. There was no closer bond; just that.

He didn't have the same bond that Ken did with his team.

"No," Shiro said simply.

---

"Shiro-kun!"

Her voice pierced his solitude. It wasn't a bad piercing; it was rather nice to hear Junko Tama's voice again. He may not want to get too attached to her, but he did enjoy her around, time to time. It was…nice, to have some sort of normalcy to life, to his life, after Shocker destroyed it.

Even if he didn't return her affection or attention, it was still nice. It meant that he had something to root himself down with; something to connect him to a normal life. It may not be the strongest lifeline, due to his feelings on his end, but it was a good lifeline to have, none the less.

Junko came up behind Shiro, hooking an arm through one of his as she reached him, hanging off of it, "Shiro-kun, I'm so happy to see you! I didn't think I would for a while after yesterday."

He decided to humor her and have a conversation, rather than toy with her, "So, you thought that I would decide to stay locked up at home, rather than come out and do errands, just due to the small chance I would run into you again? All because yesterday I had to run off instead of talk to you? Because I had important work to get done?"

"Well, when you put it that way…," she muttered.

He smiled, "Junko," he made sure to attach no honorific to her name, "why are you always looking for me like this? Some would call it an obsession."

She made a face when he said that, as if confused, "I don't understand what you mean, Shiro-kun."

"You went out of your way to find me; it seems like," he explained, "I doubt we were both out two days in a row in the same place. Maybe today, but I was at ExaStream yesterday…what reason would you have or being in that area? It seems very clear to me that you were looking for me."

She sighed, "Ok, maybe I was, but today I really wasn't looking for you. Not after yesterday, since you seemed…mad, maybe."

"Hurried," he said.

"Right, you were in a hurry. I guess I just made a mistake."

"You did," he said without a hint of emotion.

"Right…," that was awkward on his end, making it harder on her. He had said it like that intentionally to make her response harder. "Well, what are you doing today? You said you had errands. I find that a bit hard to believe."

And this was the Junko Tama that made him appreciate her more. The woman who wasn't just fawning over him, but the one who would have conversations with him, who would move away from her affection and focus on something more practical, even if it wasn't all that important this time.

"What? You don't think I run errands?" he questioned her.

"You're Kazami Shiro; I don't think you do that yourself," she told him.

"I don't have servants or anything of the sort; you do realize that, right?" he questioned her.

"Well, I didn't think you did," she retorted, "It still doesn't seem like you. But then again, you have to get food and stuff somehow, considering you're living alone."

"I didn't feel like making my guest run the errands," Shiro said, seeing how she would react to those words.

"G-guest?" she asked, showing some fluster, looking away a bit. He could see a bit of a blush coming to her face, likely out of annoyance and potential jealousy, "Who?"

He smiled, deciding to push it a little farther, "Someone strong, of good moral standings and principles, someone not taken by who I am as a wealthy man."

There, that would be vague enough. Ken was strong, had strong moral standings, being Interpol, and wasn't interested in Shiro's wealth; rather, his identity as V3.

But he decided to let Junko think it could be a woman.

"So…what's her name?" Junko asked.

He smiled, actually enjoying himself. Sure, he was toying with her, but they had been having a rather decent conversation. He guessed this was why he let her stick around him, instead of just making her leave him alone.

"Sakumo, Ken."

She had a confused look, and then one of relief complete with a sigh, "Shiro-kun, I thought you were speaking of a woman."

"I know," he said simply, his smile fading, "I let you think that."

He realized his smile faded. Why? Did he subconsciously not like lying to her about something like that? Did admitting that he was making her think that on purpose make him take his own smile away? Take away the thing that showed that he was happy or pleased?

Well, that was interesting.

"Why?"

Her voice was different that time. It was a bit pained, more than usual when he toyed with her. It was as if he had done something bad to her. He basically had.

He lowered his voice, as if afraid to have someone hear him admit this, "I'm sorry, Junko."

He still refrained from using an honorific. He had wanted to use 'san', but decided against it at the last moment, right before he started speaking. It wasn't a conscious reason he wanted to use that, it was subconscious once more.

What was going on here? Did he like her company more than even he himself thought? Was the idea of hurting her so terrible, that even a lie would have to be covered by such respect? Not that she didn't deserve respect, though. But that wasn't the way he spoke to her. She knew that, she expected that.

What if he had said her name with an honorific of any sort? What would she feel then?

Hope. Hope that they could be together.

He couldn't give that sort of hope. Maybe someday, not today.

"So…what errands do you have?"

He hadn't realized how much silence had filled the gap between them. He must have been thinking about her longer than expected. His smile slowly returned to his face.

If he had known that he had been thinking about her for that time, she would certainly have gotten her hopes up so high. She would have been so happy, and would have only been crushed when he didn't do anything about any sort of feelings he had for her.

He couldn't crush her like that.

"I need to get food," he told her, "As it turns out, I'm rather low. If it were just me, I'd manage, but Ken was injured, he needs to get his strength back."

"Injured?" her concern rose in her voice, "How?"

"Accident on the job," he left it at that. It wasn't a lie, technically, "He'll be fine in a day or two; nothing serious."

Well, it was kind of serious, but Ken was strong. Even though he was struck by the shockwave and the fringe of an explosive like that, he was healing up well. It was amazing. Ken attributed it to his strong will and constitution. Shiro figured as much.

"Well, that's good," Junko said, "How do you know him? Is he a friend of yours?"

"I only just met him yesterday," Shiro answered honestly, "I decided to bring him back home to help him, since it was partially my fault he got hurt."

"Shiro-kun! A conscious!" she was elated by that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned, rather annoyed. Was she implying that he had no conscious? That he didn't care about other people?

"My brother told me that you only really care about friends and family as of late. Ever since Chiharu died…," she trailed off, "I'm sorry."

"It happened," he said, "I have to live with it. But…you could say that Takayuki-san is right. I only started to care or my friends, when I lost my only family." He would have to admit that he didn't care much for other people; only friends. Even strangers he wouldn't bother to help, not with his overwhelming focus on Shocker.

"Yet you find this stranger, help him and make him a friend?" Junko questioned him, "But then again, you did say he got hurt helping you. I imagine that was out of your control; him helping you, and getting hurt."

"You could say that," he replied.

"So, all it takes for someone to become your friend is for them to get hurt? Or rather, to help you in a big way?" she questioned him.

"I guess," he replied, "Right now, anyway. I don't have time, otherwise. Why do you ask such a question?"

She smiled at him, "I'm trying to figure out what I can do for you that's big enough so that you acknowledge me as a friend. I figure that's a good enough start, anyway."
He stopped walking. She kept going, but was stopped by his stop, as her arm was still linked through his; he had never bothered to remove it himself.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, "I was kind of joking," she explained.

He looked at her, his smile appearing a bit broader, "Junko, you shouldn't say such a thing."

"What do you mean?" she questioned him, "What thing?"

"We are friends."

Those simple words brought so much joy to her beautiful face. She looked to be almost in disbelief, in fact. But, even with that joy, there was silence between them.

"Thank you, Shiro-kun!" she slipped her arm free of his and threw both around him in an embrace, "That means so much to me!"

He smiled a little more, despite not really wanting to. He fought back the smile, awkwardly putting his arms slightly around her. Then he put them more firmly around, only to take a light grip of her and pull her back, away from him.

"Junko," he said, looking into her eyes, "I do mean that, just don't get carried away trying to find something more than that in my words."

"I understand," she said, still exuberantly happy, "But this is just the start! I'm sure of that!"

He would have liked to have said "We'll see,", but that would have given her too much hope for the time being. Instead he just remained quiet and started to walk again, "Come on, if you still want to join me."

"Right," she started after him again, slipping her arm once more through his. He didn't mind, once more. He actually liked it, though he wouldn't admit that to her.

As they continued to walk, she turned to him to speak, "Shiro-kun," she never finished her sentence as an explosion occurred in front of them, sending debris flying, sending smoke everywhere, sending a shockwave at the two of them from being so close. Shiro gripped her, trying to protect her from the debris and as much of the shockwave as he could, but they were both thrown aside, landing on the hard ground on the street, blown away from the sidewalk.

A car was coming, unable to stop. Shiro pushed himself up with Junko in his arms. He leapt, using his augmented body to clear the car, landing on the opposite side of it as it slid to a stop, trying to avoid hitting them as well as avoid the debris that was covering the street from the explosion. It managed to slide and spin to the side, managing to remain on all four wheels.

He set Junko down, her body shaky and unsteady after the explosion, after witnessing the jump that Shiro made. He turned around, facing away from her, walking towards the rubble and the explosion.

"Shiro-kun!" she called.

He looked back at her; "Go!" he shouted, running towards the site of the damage, lifting his shirt to reveal his belt as he ran.

"Shiro-kun! It's dangerous!" Junko shouted, running after him.

However, Junko was stopped by the driver getting out of his car. He grabbed Junko, "That's dangerous! We have to get away!" he was saying.

"No! I can't let Shiro-kun go over there alone!" she was shouting at the man, "Let me go!"

"It's dangerous!"

"I don't care!" she wasn't having any success breaking away, however, and was pulled away. However, as the smoke began to be sucked away, as if by turbines, she saw Shiro standing in armor, affixing a helmet over the top of his head and snapping the mouthpiece on, twin scarves blowing in the slight wind.

The smoke was converging on him, being sucked away into the belt on his waist. He never looked back; he only walked onward, away from her as she shouted his name vainly.

Shiro as V3 walked around, his eyes scanning for the hidden enemy. He looked onward, straight ahead, "Turtle! I know you're here! Come out!"

"Turtle Bazooka," the man growled as he emerged from behind a car, fully clad in his armor. He dropped down; aiming at Shiro, "Let me show you why my name doesn't work like you said it!"

As the shell was fired, Shiro ran forward. He leapt up, kicking off of it, driving it into the ground. The explosion carried him forward, having timed it perfectly. He lashed out with a series of bicycle kicks at the crouched Kaizo Ningen, throwing him back, unable to properly defend himself. He rolled, having trouble with the actual act of rolling due to his shell and mounted cannon. He managed to get up and throw a punch, but Shiro blocked it with his forearm, letting it slide to the side.

"Not going to work," he said, returning the punch with his free right fist into Turtle Bazooka's face, sending the other warrior stumbling back. Shiro walked towards him, standing tall, his scarves carrying out, "Do you know why?"

Turtle Bazooka shouted and ran forward, throwing a punch. Shiro dodged back and stepped forward, throwing another, but his punch didn't seem to do anything against Turtle Bazooka's chest. Turtle Bazooka gripped his fist and arm with both hands and rammed his head into Shiro's knocking V3 back.

"No, tell me!" Turtle Bazooka shouted, running forward and doubling over, ramming a shoulder into Shiro to throw him back. Shiro hit the ground hard and rolled, groaning in pain.

Shiro slowly rose to his feet, swaying. He knew that he wouldn't be blown away that easily; this man wanted an answer, if only to prolong Shiro's misery and pain.

"Because by attacking me, you attacked the woman I was with," Shiro said, "I won't let that stand."

"Oh, really now?" questioned Turtle Bazooka. He reached up, snapping his fingers. Shiro looked around, hearing "Eey!" coming from all around as Shocker Combatmen started to flood out of hiding places, out of the nearby buildings, to get at him.

Shiro span to his side, throwing a punch into one's chest to throw him back. He span around, throwing a roundhouse kick into another's face to flip him around and make him land awkwardly on his neck.

As he fought through the Combatmen, Turtle Bazooka was getting low, aiming his bazooka for Shiro, who was locked in combat with three Combatmen. The Combatmen were skilled, but Shiro was just too good, being made of superior technology and also having a fighting style that easily tore through their ranks.

It was time for V3 to die.

Gunshots rang out. Turtle Bazooka didn't lose his focus as Combatmen dropped, but Shiro regained his focus on Turtle Bazooka at this point, thanks to not having the Combatmen distracting him.

Shiro ran for him as Ken raced in, firing on the Combatmen. He kicked one aside and fired as he stumbled back, dropping him. He continued to fight at close range, despite his wounds, kicking at them to shoot them afterwards.

He wasn't a great fighter, the Combatmen having the edge. He took a few hits, but his gun kept him doing fairly well, able to shoot them down before they became too problematic.

"I'm here to back you up!" he shouted back to Shiro. Shiro had noticed that he didn't wear his bodyarmor or anything more than earlier, just black light clothing. He didn't look the part of an Interpol officer, but he was doing his job rather effectively.

Shiro reached Turtle Bazooka and kicked up before he could fire. The bazooka was knocked out of alignment, making a shot improbable at this point. Turtle used his lower position to spring up and tackle Shiro, knocking him back a handful of steps.

Shiro whipped around, throwing a roundhouse into Turtle's face. This caused the Kaizo Ningen to stumble away. So the head really was the weak point, it turned out.

"Why don't you just give up?" Turtle questioned, "You got two good hits in this fight; you'll get no more!"

"Oh, I think otherwise," Shiro said, drawing his right arm up and drawing his left up onto it as usual, his eyes illuminating into a deep emerald. He clenched his fist, drew his left arm back, and ran forward, ready to use a Rider Punch and throw all of his strength behind it, aiming for the head.

"Shiro-kun!"

Her voice slowed him. He glanced to his side, seeing Junko standing a ways off, despite the fighting, despite the danger. He slowed a little more, his strength wavering.

"Got you!" Turtle Bazooka shouted, grabbing Shiro's helmet in his hand, then ramming an uppercut into his gut with his free hand. Shiro shouted out and fell to a knee, his weak punch crashing into Turtle's chest, but to no avail.

"Junko! Run!" he screamed, taking another punch.

"Shiro-kun!" she shouted at him again, "I can't leave with you fighting like this!"

The gunshots were getting closer. Slowly but surely Ken was being pushed back, almost all the way to Shiro.

"Shiro! We have a situation here!" Ken shouted to him, dropping his clip and reloading, drawing back on the gun, and continuing to fire.

"I know," Shiro answered. He glanced back to Junko, seeing the eeying Combatmen rushing towards her.

He pushed himself away from Turtle Bazooka and Ken, running for Junko. He grabbed a Combatman by his neck and threw him aside, spinning around to kick another in the neck and take him down.

He ran past the last one, slid to a stop, and elbowed him in the face to drop him. He grabbed Junko and pulled her away, "Go!" he shouted to her, "It's not safe here!"

"Then why are you staying? Why are you fighting?" she questioned him, "If it's not safe, then why?"

"Because I was made to fight," he said, "And now, my mission is to fight these people! This is my mission, my duty! I have to do it!"

"Why?" she pleaded, "If you keep fighting, you'll die! I watched! You can't beat that turtle guy!"

"I can; I just don't have a full plan yet," he told her.

"I saw the news," she was starting to come to tears, "I heard that they found the bodies and remains of people with guns, and a witness saw the man in armor that's been around for a few years, fighting. He saw that man get himself killed! But it wasn't you! It was someone else!"

"Hongo," Shiro said, giving a name.

"Yeah, it had to be this Hongo person," she told him, "He's fought for years; we know about him. We've seen him fight! But you can't throw your life away just the same! Please! For me!"

"I'm fighting on," he told her, putting a hand to her shoulder, "For Hongo's sake, and for revenge."

"Revenge?"

"These people caused Chiharu to die," he said, turning back, showing the scratched out remains of the Shocker emblem to Junko as he walked away, "I need to claim revenge for everything I've lost because of them!"

"What did you lose?" she questioned him.

"My sister. My career. My humanity. My life."

He looked back, as if he was going to say something else. He said it to himself, but not aloud.

My chance to be with you, should I so choose.

He turned back, "Go, for your own safety. I have to stop that cyborg!" he ran off, leaving Junko safe for now. She watched, and then ran off, heeding his warning to flee.

As Shiro returned to the fight, he saw Ken stumbling around, taking another punch to the face from a Combatman. He span around, taking a backhand from Turtle Bazooka, throwing him to the ground.

Shiro shouted and leapt forward, driving a kick at the other cyborg's chest, but it only took him a step back. He landed and whipped around; throwing a roundhouse at the head, but it was blocked.

"You're too weak!" Turtle Bazooka shouted at him, throwing his leg down and stepping forward for a punch.

Shiro ducked back to let the punch sail past. He gripped the arm with both hands and drove a kick at the right side of Turtle Bazooka's chest, holding the left arm. His foe had to rotate slightly from the combination of what Shiro did. He slammed his kick down at the back of Turtle Bazooka's left leg, dropping him to a knee.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Kaizo Ningen shouted.

Ken looked up to Shiro, his face covered with blood from being attacked. He lifted his gun and continued to fire on Combatmen, keeping them at bay and their numbers low.

"I'm stopping you," Shiro said, "You see, you're like me. We're both made with nanobot technology, meaning that we don't need blood transfusions. That's rather unfortunate that I can't just run you out of time, but I have another idea."

He used his superior positioning to send a kick into the bazooka and the shell, shattering the bazooka with the force of his kick, damaging the shell as well, and subsequently the suited man's back.

Turtle Bazooka cried out in pain and fell forward as Shiro released him. Ken continued to back towards Shiro as Shiro moved towards Turtle Bazooka, Ken constantly firing.

"Now what?" Turtle Bazooka demanded.

He reached down, pulling Turtle Bazooka up and kicking him away. He ran forward and leapt up, throwing one leg forward, landing a kick on the same spot the bazooka used to be, throwing the spun around Turtle Bazooka forward, onto his face.

"That," Shiro said, "Without that weapon, your back is exposed. Sure, you have thick armor back there, but your back is still your back. Your spine is still your spine. A strong enough kick placed right there will still do the desired damage, and it did."

Turtle Bazooka came up and ran for Shiro, throwing a punch. He blocked by catching the fist, and leaned back, ramming his knee up and flipping the other cyborg over his top, landing him on his back between both himself and Ken.

Ken fired three more shots, taking down the last of the Combatmen. He span around and aimed his gun down at Turtle Bazooka's face, whatever good that would do.

Shiro stood over him, drawing his fist back and sending it flying down for the face. This would be the kill.

Or not.

Turtle Bazooka lashed out his leg, taking the punch off course and crashing it into the ground. He lashed out, knocking Ken away, and then once more to knock Shiro away. Turtle pushed himself up and away from the two downed fighters. He looked around, and then ran off, seeming naked and powerless without the use of his namesake weapon.

Shiro pushed himself up and watched him go. He looked to Ken, "We have his weakness."

"If we can exploit it," Ken replied, looking at where Junko had been, "That woman?"

Shiro looked at him, but didn't say anything. He pulled his mouthpiece off, his helmet off over his head, and walked away, helmet tucked under his arm.

"Ok then, whatever," Ken shrugged, following after him, in need of cleaning himself once again.

---

Turtle Bazooka walked into the science lab of the Shocker base, a fairly bleak and depressing room, dark and metallic, filled with tables holding different objects, the walls filled with shelves and more objects for the various pursuits of these scientists, from pure mechanical to biomechanical that most of the Kaizo Ningen utilized in their creation.

"Back already, Sho?" one white haired older white labcoat clad scientist questioned, looking over his shoulder. The scientists of this section didn't wear the Combatman gear, but rather that was confusing, so they wore garb that would show them as scientists. It was just easier that way for all involved. And besides, it was difficult at times to do work with a gasmask on.

Taira, Sho. The man behind the mantle of Turtle Bazooka. He lifted his mask off of his head and tucked it under his arm, "I need repairs," he growled, turning around to show the scientists what had happened to him. He felt some shame, but nobody commented.

"So, someone managed to defeat you?" one scientist questioned, walking over a bit closer. He was in his early thirties, with his eyes looking older, that part of his face not faring as well with age. Black hair covered his head, showing the life of youth, unlike some of his face.

"Quiet, Yuki," growled Sho, "When I want some smartass's opinion, I'll talk to you. Right now all I want, all I need, is repair."

"Right," the older scientist commented, "Joji-san, please find a replacement bazooka for Sho-kun."

Joji Yuki nodded, "Yeah," he turned and walked off, heading off towards the supply areas in the next rooms, searching for the desired weapon.

The older scientist shook his head as he watched Joji leave, "He's going to be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Sho questioned, bored as they waited, simply indulging the other man in conversation.

"He's a good scientist and fighter, but he's too…well, he's too much of, as you put it, a smartass," the scientist told Sho.

"Should just kill him," Sho said.

"He's a good scientist," the other scientist said, completely serious, as he knew Sho was, "And besides, I'm too old to do such a thing."

Sho smiled grimly, "I'd love to do it."

"No," the scientist told him.

In a minute Joji returned with the large bazooka in his arms. He laid it down on a clear spot on one of the tables, "There," he said, "Now, should we put this guy back together? Or are you getting rather accustomed to being naked?" he questioned directly at Sho.

"You were the slow one," commented the older scientist, directing Sho to go into the next room.

Joji Yuki looked to him, "I don't like you."

"The feeling is rather mutual," the older scientist said, hauling the bazooka with him as he followed Sho.

Joji followed the two of them into the next room, where Sho sat in a reclining chair that used to be used for the blood transfusions of the Kaizo Ningen before the nanobot technology was put into standard use. This one had a slit in the back for such a repair to be made, running all the way up through the headrest for just such an occasion. He sat straight up, head resting on the two sides that allowed a gap to exist between them. The older scientist and Joji crouched, starting to do what they could to repair the basic damage on the warrior's back, and then attaching the new bazooka into the armor, and into Sho himself, so he would have absolute control over the weapon.

As they worked, one of the screens flashed to life, showing the figure of Doctor Shinigami. "Identify yourself for me," Shinigami said.

"Turtle Bazooka," Sho answered simply, using his Shocker name, rather than his human identity, as would be proper here.

"Ah, yes," Shinigami said, nodding, "I have use of you, as the man who killed Hopper."

"What do you require me to do?" Sho asked.

"I require you to eliminate V3."

"That's rather obvious," Sho answered him.

"But he's providing trouble for you, is he not?" Shinigami questioned, "You tried to kill him already, and have failed thus far. So, allow me to give you a gift to help you in your mission."

"A gift?" Sho questioned curiously.

"Yes," Shinigami looked to Joji Yuki and the older scientist as they got up from behind the chair, "Give him what I had you prepare."

The older scientist nodded, walking out of the room for about ten seconds, before returning with a small handheld device.

"This is but one part of the plans we have in store for you, Turtle Bazooka," Shinigami explained, "That is the trigger device of a hydrogen bomb. Your body is going to gain a deadly upgrade with the explosives packed inside of you. This way, even if V3 is getting the better of you, you win by taking him with you."

There was no room to object, not that the thought to object ever crossed Sho's mind. He nodded a single time to Shinigami, and then looked at the man on the screen.

"Doctor Shinigami, I pledge myself to whatever you think is the best approach. Please, allow me to be your representative in the world of life by taking the life of V3, and everyone else unfortunate enough to be in the area, should I have need to use the bomb."

"You will make me very happy, if you use the bomb," Shinigami said, "So many lives; Shocker will have left a large mark on Japan as a result."

"I hope to please," Turtle Bazooka said as the screen faded away. He rose off of the chair, feeling his newly mounted bazooka. He turned to the two scientists, "Give me the explosives; I want to become a walking bomb."

---

The heart of the city was a busy, bustling location, filled with people all going about their daily business, whatever that may entail. Among the bustling people was Junko, going about her day, like the other people, not noticing a specific man with a briefcase walking among them until it was too late.

He just stopped in the middle of an intersection where people were walking, and crouched down, propping his briefcase open. People took glances over, but paid little heed to this man. That was a mistake.

He tucked his head down, as if looking at the contents of his case. When he pulled it up, it was clad in a green, turtle-themed helmet. He rose, suited up as Turtle Bazooka, now making people take notice.

"I want your screams!" he shouted, firing a shell straight up. People saw the explosion in the air, screaming, panicking, running and trying to escape, if not for the Combatmen who were starting to appear. Some attacked the civilians, easily taking them down with their superior bodies, killing some of them.

Junko ducked behind a parked car and pulled out her cellphone. She looked back, but Turtle Bazooka hadn't yet taken notice of individual people. She had to call Shiro, and hope that he wouldn't ignore her call.

After a little time, his voice came on the other end, "Junko? What is it?"

"I'm in the middle of the city," she whispered, trying to keep panic down, trying to keep her voice calm, "That turtle thing is back. Please, you have to get here!"

"I'm coming."

He hung up, despite the fact that he didn't let her answer. She knew it was important, but she was going to plead with him to stay on the line with her. She looked at her phone, almost devastated by that. She felt alone now, in danger.

A Combatman found her a few moments later, grabbing her by her shirt and pulling her towards the other people who hadn't gotten away. She shouted, trying to break the grip, but she couldn't. She feared she would die.

Turtle Bazooka looked at the people as they were gathered around, nodding a few times every few minutes. After maybe five minutes, he made the comment, "This will be a good group," he dropped to a knee and leveling his namesake weapon at the people, "Die!" he screamed, "Show humans what Shocker does! Scream as you go to hell!"

The people did start to scream, fearing that their lives were about to end.

The sound of a motorcycle could be heard above the screaming. Shiro rode in, crashing into two Combatmen to drop them as he rode for the missile. He leapt off of his bike, coming in at the side. He let the bike go at an angle to take care of the Combatmen with the hostages, while he lashed his leg out for the bottom front of the missile, redirecting it up.

He landed, span around, and elbowed a Combatman in the face as he tried to attack. Shiro walked towards the Kaizo Ningen, even with the people still surrounded by Combatmen behind him.

"This time it's going to be different," Shiro told Turtle Bazooka, "I'm going to win, and you're going to experience hell."

"I don't think so," Sho replied, gesturing to the people behind Shiro, "What of them? Are you condemning them to your fate?" he dropped back down to a knee to emphasize his point.

"No."

Gunshots. Combatmen were going down as Ken moved in. The Combatmen were confused, allowing the people to get free while Ken shot, killing the Combatmen to stop them from pursuing or attacking Shiro from behind.

"You brought your pet, I see," Sho growled, firing his missile.

"Move!" Shiro shouted back, running for it. He leapt up, flipping over the missile and continued I a dead run for the other cyborg. He couldn't afford to try to stop the missile, and just let another get fired at him during that time. He had to get at Turtle Bazooka and do what damage he could as fast as h could.

Shiro slid forward, ramming a fist into his foe's chest. As he stumbled back, Shiro jumped forward, driving his other fist into the chest again, making Sho go a few more steps back. He came forward for another punch, but was stopped by Sho's punch instead.

As Shiro stumbled back, Sho came forward, punching him in the upper chest, spinning him to the ground. Shiro rolled aside and lashed a leg up, but even though it connected, it didn't do anything to the thickly armored Turtle Bazooka.

"Come on!" Sho screamed at him, grabbing his leg and pulling up, yanking Shiro off of the ground into the air. As Shiro was up, he gave a kick, but it didn't do anything. On the other hand, Sho's punch to his chest sent him flying. "You're too weak! How can you even hope to fight me?"

Shiro pushed himself up, glancing back at the people whom had been about to be executed. He looked forward to Sho, "Because I have people to fight for," he said, swaying, his upper body bent over a bit, his scarves blowing in the light breeze. The eyes on his helmet burned emerald in color as he ran forward, knowing how hopeless a direct attack would be.

Sho proved that fact by delivering a punch to Shiro's face, throwing him spinning to the ground. But he rolled forward instead of back, lashing out a kick for Sho's knee. The surprise didn't break it, but it took Sho down to one knee. Shiro used the surprise to quickly come to his feet and deliver a punch to Sho's face, not that it did too much. It knocked him back, but didn't do the desired damage.

"I applaud your effort, Hopper," Sho told him, using his Shocker codename and leaving off the specific title he bore, "but it won't work! Not against me!" he lowered himself to aim his bazooka.

Shiro shouted to the people who were still around as it was fired. He rolled to the side, taking the glancing side of the explosion, being tossed aside. He smashed through a car, flipping it with him, almost on top of him, but it stopped short.

Shiro just lay there for a moment, looking up at the blue sky. He thought, That blue sky is one thing I fight for. The freedom for all, and for my own revenge. I want Chiharu to look down from that sky to me, and know that I did all I could for her. For her…to preserve everyone else's lives, their happiness.

Their own blue skies.

He reached his hand up, looking at the back of his gloved hand, at the scratched out remains of the Shocker emblem. He knew he had to win, no matter what. No matter what, he couldn't quit this hopeless fight.

"Is that all you can do?" Sho shouted, getting ready to fire again.

"No," he whispered, rising, his scarves blowing as the wind picked up, his helmet's eyes glowing emerald. He walked forward, the lonesome warrior no longer as he realized something. He wasn't fighting only for revenge, but he was fighting for everyone. He was fighting primarily for Chiharu, but she stood for others, as he did at a time.

As Hongo always had.

But Hongo was gone now. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but now he had to. He was taking Hongo's place as the protector of the people.

"Come on, Hopper!" screamed Sho, firing.

Shiro walked towards it, sidestepping at one of the last moments and shooting his and forward, grabbing the shell and throwing it back with all his might, adding spin to it. It exploded in the air between the two combatants, bringing up dust, bringing up small shards of debris, causing a small pit between them.

"No," he said softly.

"No?" Sho questioned, "You won't fight?"

"Not with the name you give me. Not with the name that Shocker branded me with," Shiro told him.

"Your name is the reason you won't fight?" demanded Sho, "Tell me, you want a new name before you fight? Are you so vain?"

"I have a new name," Shiro told him, "As does Hongo – his soul rest in peace – and Ichimonji, should he live. The three of us are no longer the Hoppers of Shocker. We are heroes, heroes who hide behind our masks.

"Kamen Riders."

Sho grunted his disdain and annoyance, "Whatever you are, you'll die just the same!" he screamed, firing another round.

"No, I don't think so!" Shiro shouted, running forward. He slammed his palm into the front of the shell, giving a slight push up, sending it spinning up and off course. It exploded in the air, partially concealing Shiro in the explosion itself. In the confusion, he reached Sho, driving his palm into the other man's face as hard as he could while driving his other fist into his gut. The combination didn't seem to do much, if anything, except force Sho a few steps back.

Shiro leapt up, flipping over him and landing, spinning in one smooth move. He slammed the side of his fist into the bazooka, cracking it down the entire frame from the sheer force he delivered. As Sho span to try to face Shiro – armor weighing him down, as defense was too much of a weight – Shiro lashed his left leg out, kicking the back of Sho's knee, dropping him to it. He used his right leg to strike at Sho's face, sending him stumbling to the ground, stuck on the cracked bazooka, and on his shell.

"Are you like a turtle, stuck?" Shiro questioned, dropping to one knee and throwing a fist into Sho's face as hard as he could, hearing bones crack in the man's skull.

"You call yourself a hero, yet you resort to such an underhanded and brutal attack?" Sho questioned him.

"I'm a hero, you're a villain. It's as simple as that. I just have to defeat you for the sake of the people I protect!"

"The people you protect?" Sho laughed, "I thought all this time you were fighting for your dead, worthless sister!"

He froze. This man knew of Chiharu? Shocker had told him about that?

"Shut up," Shiro hissed, his fist wavering as he was about to strike the man again.

"She was worthless. She had the potential to be so much, according to Shinigami, yet she did nothing! She was just a monster! One that killed random people, yes, but not people important to Shocker's mission. Her random kills weren't something that progressed our agenda, other than instilling fear. In that way, she helped us, but for the most part, no! She was nothing! Thanks for killing her; it would have looked bad for an experiment of ours to have failed so miserably! Even if it was only accidental."

"Shut up!" he screamed as loudly as he could, delivering punch after punch into Sho's face, damaging the helmet of Turtle Bazooka, finally seeing the other man's left eye. Bones continued to shatter under each punch that was thrown, but the man didn't seem to be dying. Shiro wanted him to hurt; a quick death would cheapen this.

"A vengeful hero, wow!" Sho laughed at him, "I wonder what the people are going to think?"

He kept screaming, punching Sho continually, but he just would not die. Why wouldn't he die?

"Let me tell you something, V3," Sho said, changing the name he called Shiro, "If you come close to killing me; if you leave me on the doorstep of death, then you will die too."

"What?" Shiro questioned, answering him this time.

The damage to the other man's helmet let Shiro see his mouth. He was smiling. Why was he smiling like this?

"Your goal is Doctor Shinigami, is it not?"

"Yes."

"You won't get him. You'll get another shinigami, though. Another god of death!" Sho laughed at him.

"What are you talking about?" Shiro demanded.

"Keep going and you'll find out!" he laughed.

Shiro hesitated at that moment, allowing Sho to kick him in the chest and knock him back. He rolled onto his side, getting to his hands and knees, and then properly rose to his feet, "You're going to die, V3! You and most of this city!" He threw his hands out to his sides, laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Shiro shouted at him.

"I may not have the power of a full, proper hydrogen bomb, but I have enough power to level this place!" he laughed at Shiro, "And you're at ground zero! There will be nothing left of you!"

A bomb?

Shiro looked around, and then ran. He could hear the other man's laughter still resonating after him.

"Run if you want! It won't save you!"

Then Shiro saw what he wanted. His bike. He leapt up, using a strong jump to get above it, and then spin around in the air to land on it the right way. It hurt a bit coming down, but he hadn't had time to properly mount it as he revved it and road around the bend for the other Kaizo Ningen.

Sho was standing there, arms thrown to his sides. He was still laughing, getting ready to detonate himself, no doubt. Was he wondering what Shiro was doing? Or did it take that long to detonate?

Whatever it was, Shiro had to act fast. He lowered his body on his bike and went faster; as fast as he could go.

As soon as he was going fast enough, he turned a bit so he would go to Sho's side. He threw his fist out and punched as he passed Sho, keeping the fingers on his right hand stiff and out straight, cutting through the other man's armor like a knife through butter with all of his speed. He felt something inside and grabbed it, yanking it free as he passed Sho and slid to a stop, hoping he had done it.

He looked at the device in hand. It wasn't a bomb, he was pretty sure of that. What he figured it was was a detonator. Without it, the explosives lining the other cyborg's body couldn't detonate, and his attack would have left Sho mortally wounded, he was sure.

Even the nanobots wouldn't be able to heal something like that. They may have fixed his broken bones from Shiro's earlier strikes, but he couldn't live long enough to get such a wound fixed. Shiro shook his hand, splashing the other man's blood onto the ground at his side. He looked at the device in hand, and tossed it aside.

"You bastard…," muttered Sho, blood running down his mouth, out the broken mouthpiece of Turtle Bazooka. He fell to his knees and collapsed, not exploding. He was simply dead; that's all there was to it.

"You fought a Kamen Rider. And you lost," Shiro told the dead man, pulling his mouthpiece off and pulling his helmet up off of his head. He walked towards the corpse, looking down at it and kicking it to roll it over, making sure to see what he could through the large wound in the man's chest, but even in death the nanomachines were fixing him up, closing the wound too much for Shiro to see anything.

He sat back on the balls of his feet and sighed. He would have to either dispose of this body, or let the authorities handle it very carefully. Or get Ken; as an Interpol agent, it was possible he knew what he would be doing here, but he wouldn't bet on that.

He rose to his feet and walked towards his bike. He looked around at the destruction from the fight, from Turtle Bazooka, and then called out, "Ken!"

He called out two more times, finally seeing the other man walk out, "Sorry, I was evacuating people," Ken commented, not wearing his gun in his holster. When he saw Shiro looking there, he commented, "Yeah, broke it on a Combatman's head when I ran out of ammo."

"Whatever," Shiro shrugged, directing at the corpse, "He had explosives inside of himself, I'm willing to bet. I don't think he was lying when he said that, anyway."

Ken nodded, looking at the body, "You want me to look at it?"

"If you knew what you were doing."

"I don't," he replied, "Sorry."

"Then we'll have to make sure the proper authorities look at it," Shiro said, getting on his bike, "You coming?"

"Shiro," Ken said, looking back, "You should wait a second," he gestured for someone to come.

Shiro leaned back for a moment on the bike, dreading this. He had it figured out. And sure enough, a moment later Junko walked out, joining Ken and walking towards Shiro.

"Shiro-kun…you saved us!" she said, running to him, stopping right before him and the bike, "I didn't see it all, but you were amazing!"

Even when he had lost it? Even when he had torn the man open to end the fight? Was he still amazing then? He had done what he had to do, but did she know that? It seemed like it, unless she was just fawning in general over him.

"How much did you see?" he had to ask.

"Not a lot, I saw you winning against him, fighting him evenly and getting him with some kicks. I saw him dropping and dying at the end, too," she told him.

Good. She hadn't seen him lose control. That was very good, even if he didn't care too much, he didn't want her to see that.

"Shiro-kun?"

"Sorry, what?"

"You're not talking," she said, "Why are you so quiet?"

"It's nothing," he assured her, "I'm just a little tired and wounded."

"Let me see your wounds," she offered, "I think I could help!"

"You don't know what you're doing," he told her, "You just want to be near me."

"I can try!"

"They'll be dealt with." He was tired of talking to her. He looked past her, "Ken!"

Ken nodded, running over. He put a hand to her shoulder and nodded to her, stepping past and getting on the bike, wearing no helmet. Shiro put his Rider helmet back on so he wouldn't have to carry it, and then drove off without another word to either of them.

Junko stood and watched them go, filled with some pain at seeing Shiro just leave, filled with awe as well, having seen him fight like that.

"Kamen…Rider…," she whispered, having heard the name he had given himself.

---

Shiro pushed his chair out and sat down, folding his legs under the table and folding his arms a bit, looking off a ways and sighing, the music drifting around him doing nothing to lighten his annoyance.

Junko didn't seem to mind pulling her own chair out and sitting down. She didn't call him on not acting like a gentleman and pulling her chair out for her. She didn't call him on his seemingly rude behavior; appearing like he didn't even want to be there.

She was just too happy that she had finally gotten him to go out on a date with her. It had taken a few days after he killed that turtle cyborg, but she was sure that it had nothing to do with his going out with her. The only thing she could think of if it involved that monster was if he had felt relieved she was alive. That didn't explain why it still took a few days of her asking.

But she was just happy that they were together right now. Maybe – hopefully – this would lead to something more. She was smiling across the table to him, but he wasn't even looking at her.

As ever, he was dressed nicely. She had purchased a new dress for this alone, deciding that he was important enough – this date was important enough – to by an expensive, beautiful dress, rather than wear something she already had.

After a minute or two of him just looking off, not even touching his menu to look at it, she leaned forward, "Shiro-kun?"

He glanced to her – that was it; a glance – and questioned her, "Yes? What is it?"

"You haven't touched your menu; you aren't looking at me. Is something wrong?" she asked. The second part sounded kind of selfish of her, but it was a valid point. Why go out with someone if you weren't going to look at them?

"Oh, sorry," he said, picking up his menu.

At least he was apologetic.

"Shiro-kun…is there something wrong? Please, be honest with me," she said.

He tilted it down so he could look at her, "Yes, something is wrong."

"What is it?" she asked him, "I can try to help."

"You can help, actually," he said, getting her hopes up, "And it won't require much work to do it."

"What is it?" she asked.

"You have to leave me alone," he told her simply.

"Leave you alone…?"

"Stop coming to me. Stop talking to me. Just stop your involvement with me altogether," he told her. She didn't know it, but she was important to him. He did have some feelings for her, even if for the most part they were superficial and based on his friendship with her brother, "I've tolerated it before, even when I was fighting, but now things are different. You were almost killed the other day, and…"

"It wasn't because of you!" she told him, "I was just there when it happened! It wasn't the fault of trying to be with you!"

"I know, but next time, it very well could be," he told her, his arms still folded across his chest, keeping her away, almost, with his body language as well as his words, "If you try to be with me, you'll be in greater danger than an ordinary person."

"What about that Ken man?" she questioned him.

"He's Interpol; he knows the risks."

"So do I!"

"He's trained for the risks. This is his job," Shiro told her, "It's different, Junko."

"Shiro-kun!" she pleaded, "Please! Please don't push me away like this! You always do…but it's never anything I can't get past. But…but this time…"

"I'm sorry if it hurts," he told her softly, "I really do. I don't want to hurt you, but I will hurt you with my words, if it keeps you alive."

She fought back her tears as she looked at him. He could see the dampness of her eyes, "Shiro-kun…you're doing this because you care."

He nodded slowly, "Yes. But not in the way you want me to care about you. I'm sorry, but that's something that isn't possible for me."

"Right now? Or forever?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"If it's only for now…will you find me again, when your fight is over?" she asked him softly.

"My fight may never be over," he told her, "I may never have time to find a woman for myself. To find a real life to live."

"But if you can?"

"I'll let you come again," he said, "When the danger has passed."

He probably only said that to make her get away from tears, she figured, but she appreciated his words just the same as if she had known they were genuine, "Ok…and…this is a onetime thing, then?"

"Yes."

That hurt. He spoke with such certainty that they would never have a relationship. How did he know? Did he have absolutely no feelings for her whatsoever? But…but he cared! He was trying to keep her safe by keeping her away! She was the only person he had told, she was sure. But then again, she didn't know of any of his other friends, if he had any.

"Did you tell brother to stay away?" she asked.

"Your brother and I aren't close enough," he commented, "He has no problem not being near me."

That meant something. Her brother and Shiro were good friends, but he said they weren't close enough. That could mean that either they lacked a closeness they once had; that he just didn't come to see Shiro anymore, or it could mean that she was closer to Shiro than her brother, Takayuki, was. And she knew that Shiro and Takayuki were good friends, so that meant a lot, in a way, depending on what it meant. It was confusing.

"Shiro-kun?"

"What?"

"…are you going to stay for the duration of our date?" she asked.

"This is no date," he said, dashing her dreams right there without second thought.

"…Shiro-kun?"

He gave her silence as an answer.

"Please…for me…can we call this a date?"

Her voice was shaking; her eyes were growing wet again. Shiro sighed and unfolded his arms. She could hear his feet shifting around underneath the table as he unfolded his legs. He looked into her eyes, and nodded once.

"Yes, if it would make you feel better…this is a date."

"Really?" she asked him, filled with hope, filled with pleasure.

"Yes," he said, "Just don't cry."

Was that the only reason he was submitting to it? It mattered to her if it was…but…he was calling it a date. But she didn't want something so superficial as a reason as just to make her not cry, just so she wouldn't cause a scene of any sort.

"Is that the only reason you refer to it as a date for me?" she asked him, "So I won't?"

And to her surprise, he answered, "No."

"Then why?"

He smiled slightly, and then, as if he realized he was smiling, he got rid of it, "Because, there is a reason I keep you away from the fighting as of now. I do care about your wellbeing…and about you. You're a precious life, Junko, as anyone is, but I know you better than I know most other people. So I will let it be called as you wish just for that purpose."

"Because you do care about me a bit?"

"Yes."

She would take that as a small victory. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded, smiling to him, "Thank you, Shiro-kun."

He nodded to her, "Just don't make this more than it is, Junko."

"Trust me, I won't," she assured him. And she wouldn't; she would respect his wishes right now. She wanted nothing more than for him to have feelings for her, so how better to make that happen than by respecting what he said? What he wanted?

And so that's what she did. Over the entirety of their dinner, she would respect his wishes. They would speak more about rather trivial matters, which Shiro didn't seem to want to talk about, probably because of how pointless it seemed to him.

When she thought about it, it did seem rather pointless. She was talking to him about things in a normal life, and his life was anything but normal. He was Kamen Rider V3; a Kaizo Ningen, a cyborg, a modified human, an avenger, a hero. He wore many masks by donning his mask; he had many faces to present to the world. But right now, he didn't seem to decide on what mask to show her.

If only he would drop it and show her his human face. She could see it, but she didn't understand it, because he didn't properly represent it. Or had he been fighting for so long, become so hardened by battle, that he had forgotten how to be a proper human being? Did he only know how to be a fighter, a soldier, now?

That was a real disappointment. A true shame. He was a beautiful man, a beautiful soul who cared about his sister, who cared about his employees, who cared about people. Shocker robbed it all from him, leaving him as this man whom now sat before her, telling her only little about Shocker, about his fights.

All she could extrapolate was what she had already thought about; how Shocker had taken from his life. He didn't tell her everything about Shocker, she knew, and she didn't expect everything. She expected little, and got little, because it wasn't her place to know anything.

"Shiro-kun…," she started, but was unable to finish.

He set his empty plate aside, "Yes?"

"I'll stay away," she said softly, "Until you let me come back."

"Thank you."

For the first time that night, he smiled. A real smile that he meant. And it was directed to her.

---

Shiro left first, walking out with hands in pockets. He heard a voice, "Shiro!"

He turned around, seeing a man standing by the door of the restaurant. He walked out a little from the dark, showing his familiar face and features.

"Ken?" Shiro asked, walking towards him, "What is it?"

Before he could get anywhere close to Ken, Junko came out. Ken lifted a handgun and shot once, the sound making Junko freeze. The bullet missed Shiro's head, but grazed his cheek, cutting him. It healed instantly with the nanobots, however. Shiro knew Ken wasn't trying to kill; it was a diversion shot.

He saw Ken grabbing Junko by her throat, pinning her against his body with his arm. She cried out and tried to hit him away, but he wouldn't move. He started to laugh softly, switching hands to hold his weapon in his left, lifting it up towards Shiro.

"I wouldn't move," he said simply, coldly.

"Ken!" Shiro shouted, "Why are you doing this? What are you doing?"

"V3…you're a fool."

He kept his arm up, but loosened his grip, letting the gun fall. He moved his hand to the inside of his jacket, pulling something large out and flicking his wrist, as if to open it. He lifted it to his head, pulling it on over his face with his only hand, while his right hand was out of the way as the right arm pinned Junko to him.

It was a mask.

"Ken!" Shiro shouted.

The next thing he saw was a Kaizo Ningen holding Junko as a hostage; not a man holding her as his hostage. He was in the form of a buffalo; that much was clear. His legs wore thick brownish red colored boots with what looked to be hooves in the toes, probably for kicking. His legs were rust red in color, with silver steel armor on the sides, giving him more protection than just the leather armor would. There were chains on the outsides of his legs, on the plate armor, going around the fronts and backs of each leg, attaching to the leather armor on the insides of his legs, as if to provide light protection in the form of chainmail.

His arms were much the same; silver steel armor on the outsides, with the leather armor being rust red in color. Again, chains crossed from the plate to the inside of the arms. Each of his fingers were tipped in silver, no doubt steel, for stronger physical strikes if he used his fingers, rather than his fists for whatever reason.

His lower chest had the silver platemail encompassing his entire stomach area. Rising up, segmented by a small gap in the armor, was more steel, rising up from his upper chest to his shoulders, widening out as it went up his body, being no doubt the thickest armor he wore. At each shoulder, at the very top of each piece of this larger armor, was a cannon.

Junko's head was right next to the one on his right shoulder, due to how he held her.

His mask – helmet – was a buffalo head. Rust red/brown, with a protruding snout, and burning yellow eyes which protected his own eyes. Two large horns erupted from atop his head, twisting forward and partially down, due to the twist.

"V3…die!" he screamed, firing from his left shoulder, unleashing a small missile that flew with incredible speed. He wasn't just shooting projectiles; he was shooting explosives.

Shiro pulled his shirt away and rolled aside as the missile struck where he had been. He ran out of the smoke, snapping his mouthpiece on. He was about to come into striking range when he saw Ken's right fingers in the hollow of Junko's throat; a silent threat.

He slowed down, stopping for a moment. Ken took that moment and twisted his body, throwing his left fist into Shiro's gut, throwing him back. The pure, brute strength of Ken as Cannon Buffalo was just too much. This man was the strongest he had ever fought before, in terms of pure strength.

"I don't know how you killed Turtle Bazooka," Ken said, almost offhandedly as he approached Shiro, "You're far too weak to have killed someone of his caliber. Granted, I saw it happen, I know how it happened, but that you could pull it off just amazes me!"

Shiro staggered to his feet, swaying a little, "He underestimated me, and my resolve. You're not making the situation any easier on yourself, Ken," Shiro said.

"How's that?" Ken questioned.

"You're holding her hostage. That's only going to prod me on; make me fight harder," Shiro told him.

"I figured it would be something as clichéd as that," commented Ken, "That's why her head is at my cannon. That's why my fingers are ready to crush her throat. Face it; that just won't work. You don't have the speed to make that true."

Shiro knew that Ken was right in this situation. What could he do? He had to think of something, or he would be used for target practice. And how long would it be until Ken told him to stop moving or he would kill Junko?

This was not a good situation in any way. There was no plausible way for Shiro to keep fighting.

"Are you really ok with using a hostage to get at me?" Shiro questioned Ken.

"I have no problem with it," Ken told him, "As long as I kill you; that's what matters!" A missile flew from his left cannon again for Shiro. Shiro rolled to the side to avoid it as it exploded against the ground, spraying debris in all directions, some of it bouncing off of Shiro's side.

"Is that it? One missile?"

Why was Shiro prodding him? He knew this was no ordinary fight, so why have that edge of cockiness? He couldn't risk it; not here, not in this fight.

Ken laughed at him. He threw Junko aside and ran for Shiro.

"Junko, run!" Shiro screamed at her, getting up and running at Ken. He threw a punch, but Ken caught it in his fist and squeezed, causing pain in Shiro's fist as the steel fingers dug into him through his glove.

Ken used his other fist to punch Shiro once in the gut, throwing him back, but yanking him forward again with his grip on Shiro's fist. He punched again, dropping Shiro to the ground, and then stomping on him with his steel toed boot.

"You're too weak!" he laughed at Shiro, "You can't hope to defeat me!" He bent over, aiming his right shoulder cannon for V3's mask, "Die." Shiro could see the missile getting ready to launch at almost pointblank range. Death.

Shiro threw his left fist up, punching that spot on his foe's armor. The shot didn't do much, but it staggered Ken back just enough to redirect the missile, sending it at the restaurant, unfortunately. It struck the side, causing an explosion, causing damage, causing screams to come from inside, now that they could hear the explosion over the music that had been playing, preventing them from hearing the others.

Shiro was going to take advantage of any confusion that Ken had, but the man had none. He laughed, lifted his foot, and smashed it down again on Shiro's chest, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Nice move there; but it wasn't very effective," Ken told him, stomping once again to hear the other man scream out in pain.

"You're a monster," Shiro hissed at him, though he wasn't sure why. Then he added onto the end of it, "I'm a Kamen Rider. We kill monsters."

"That was truly very lame," Ken told him, lifting his foot off and reaching down, grabbing Shiro by the neck and lifting him up. He punched Shiro as hard as he could in the chest, throwing him away, watching his body bounce off of the ground a few times.

Ken walked towards him, and then span around. He fired a missile, causing Shiro to hear Junko's screams.

"Junko!" he screamed out, struggling up to his knees. He looked, seeing that she was fine. She hadn't gotten very far away, and the missile had kept her from continuing with her escape.

She couldn't leave Shiro; not that easily.

Ken walked over to her, grabbing her again and dragging her over, "Shiro-kun! Help me!" she was crying out to him.

"Junko!" he shouted, running towards her, despite the danger it would present to her. He didn't care; he had to save her, "Junko!"

"Shiro-kun!" she extended an arm out.

"Enough of this," Ken muttered, shaking her as hard as he could with his grip on her collar, trying to take care of her and get her to quiet down. Shiro ran forward and punched, but Ken took it without pain. He saw Shiro look to Junko; so close, but he couldn't get her.

Ken kicked Shiro in his chest, knocking him back. He fired a single missile, smashing it into Shiro's chest, throwing him out of the explosion, a large black mark from it on his chest. He hit the ground and rolled, end over end, his scarves tangling up over his head. He ran his hand up, knocking them away, and struggled up to his feet.

"You have to keep fighting, Shiro-kun! No matter what!" she shouted to him, "Forget about me if you have to! Just fight him and win! Because you are a Kamen Rider! Don't forget that!"

"Shut up!" Ken shouted, backhanding Junko to keep her quiet.

"Junko!" he screamed, knowing that a blow like that from a Kaizo Ningen could have shattered her skull, or done irrevocable damage, or killed her. He ran forward and shouted, sliding into a low kick, but Ken dodged back.

He rammed Junko's head against his left shoulder, "Try to come at me again, and she loses her head," Ken threatened Shiro.

Shiro was close, but still crouched. He could put a lot of strength into a leap, tackle him, and shift Junko's position. There was no way she would be assured death if he did that; it was possible, but not a certainty, as it would be right now if he fired.

He could do it. He knew he could. The eyes on his helmet lit up in the night as he was preparing to pounce, to free Junko, despite the threat. He cared about her and didn't want to see her die, but he knew he could do this.

He couldn't move. He couldn't bring himself to jump. He wanted to; he could do it. He just couldn't.

Ken laughed, "Smart move," he told Shiro, walking away, keeping Junko as his prisoner with an arm around her neck, "I'll kill you later, when it sinks in on you what happened here. I want to kill you when you're at your lowest!" he laughed.

"Ken!" Shiro shouted after him.

Ken stopped, "What?"

"You were the leader of your team, right?" he questioned.

"I was."

"Then how could you let them all die? I assume the turtle spared you for a reason."

"You're right. And I could let them die because I'm a Shocker; not an Interpol agent."

"But they were your comrades!" Shiro shouted at him, trying to keep him talking while he tried to get his body to move. Ken wasn't looking back, so he could try to sneak up on the other man, "How could you just let them die like that? Men you served with? Men you knew?"

Ken simply laughed, turning back at this point to face him, fully turning around. Shiro could see blood running down the side of Junko's face. He kept his rage bottled up at this point, despite the pain he saw Junko in. He wanted to get back at Ken, but couldn't, not while he was being watched.

"I could have them be killed because I'm a Shocker. I already told you that. They meant literally nothing to me; they were less than a pebble beneath my boot. They were absolutely nothing."

Shiro still couldn't move. He had nothing to retort with. No answer. That was it.

"Goodbye, V3," Ken said, walking off with his hostage in tow.

Only after Ken was gone completely – about five minutes later – Shiro was able to get up. Why? Why now?

"Junko-chan…," he said softly.

He wasn't able to give chase to Ken because he cared about her. That was it, wasn't it? He couldn't let her die, he couldn't let her die.

"Junko-chan…no. Not after Chiharu…I can't let another woman I care about die because of me. Not by my hand, or simply because of me."

---

"You do understand that the goal is the death of the Hoppers, right?" Yuki Joji questioned Ken when the man returned.

Ken let Junko slip to the ground and pulled his helmet off, letting it drop to the ground at his feet. He grabbed Yuki by his collar and lifted him off of his feet, glaring at him.

"You are but a lowly scientist, and I am the peak specimen of Shocker technology. You have no right to question my ways," growled Ken.

"Did you forget that we scientists allowed you to become the peak specimen?" questioned Joji, showing no fear.

"Show me the respect I deserve, or die. Remember, scientists don't get opinions," Ken told him, tightening his grip. Joji could now feel the steel fingers biting into his flesh as Ken pushed harder.

"You don't scare me, Buffalo," Joji said softly.

Ken threw him across the room. Joji smashed into a labtable, smashing the glassware on it, cutting Joji's body up. But Joji had too much pride; he didn't cry out in pain, he didn't show any pain. Blood ran down his white labcoat as he came up to a knee, panting. Scientists rushed to his side, except for the older one, who walked to join Ken.

Ken pointed to Joji, "Teach him some respect. I don't like the way he talks to his superior."

Combatmen came to Ken's side. They walked towards Joji, pulling him away from the other scientists who seemed to side with him. Joji was shouting after Ken, "You're weak! Do it yourself! Do you need these Combatmen to do your own dirty work? Maybe they should kill V3 for you as well! You're weak, Ken! Weak!"

Ken didn't care about his words. The older scientist remained by his side, and then turned his head, "You did the right thing, Ken-sama."

Ken grinned, "Ken-sama…I like the sound of that."

"I'm pleased that you do," the older man said, clearly only wanting to be on the side of the powerful. He didn't mind Yuki Joji, but he didn't like him. He didn't hate him either. He just didn't mind.

They could hear Joji's screams of pain from the other room. The old scientist soon turned away and walked off, while Ken stood there, grinning viciously for that man's insolence.

---

In the other room, Joji was held up by two Combatmen while another two beat him across his entire body. His face, his chest, anywhere and everywhere. They hit him again, sending him stumbling out of the other two's grips, into the wall. He pushed himself off of the wall and punched one Combatman, but his surprise only lasted for a moment. The other one gripped him again and pushed him at the other two, who started to beat him to the ground, kicking him, punching him while he was down.

The one who Joji struck got up and grabbed Joji by the throat, lifting him up and smashed him into the wall as hard as he could. He pulled back and threw Joji to the ground, letting him roll across the ground. He ran after him and kicked the other man while he was down.

Yuki Joji's screams permeated the room. The four Combatmen continued to beat the downed scientist, showing no restraint, showing nothing but rage at Joji's resistance, and pleasure, at getting to do this as a job, outside of their mundane guard duties.

They continued their vicious work, covered in Joji's blood. The man was unresponsive on the ground, but he was breathing shallowly, he just wasn't moving.

The four Combatmen walked out of the room, leaving him barely alive as a lesson. Joji waited for the door to close before he groaned in pain. That's all he would let himself do; he wanted to scream, but he refused to. He refused to let Ken or anyone else hear his screams, hear his pain. He kept it as silent as he could.

He was a scientist for Shocker; a loyal member of the organization, but this had gone too far this time. Ken was technically his superior, but he refused to acknowledge that man. He hated him with a passion now.

He would never bow to a man like that. He wasn't thankful for the work that Joji and the other scientists did, so why should he retain any sense of loyalty? He had had no love of Sho either, but he didn't have this same blinding hate. This was a different feeling he had about Ken Sakuma.

Joji looked around. This room was another lab, but it wasn't in use at the moment. It was still filled with technology.

Technology with which to take revenge with.

He stumbled towards a table, falling over it. He felt around, barely able to lift his head to look. He found something and pulled himself up higher, looking down at the table, at the object which he had found.

It was a large, silver laser weapon, partially segmented and ridged, with a ridge or blade along the end, ending in a point. This was a powerful weapon that hadn't moved past the test stages, prepared for mass production by Shocker for the Combatmen, or for Kaizo Ningen. It was going to be later determined based on how powerful the production models were, and if it was worth weakening them for the Combatmen to use.

There were a few prototypes in this lab. None of them were up to standard, as they were filled with bugs, all of them capable of malfunctioning. But this was his chance. This was the one thing that could let him take revenge against Ken for what he had done.

He lifted the weapon into both of his arms, and then looked at the wires protruding from the end. He pried the end open, sliding his arm inside of it. He closed it, feeling it biting into his flesh, and then he felt the laser activating. Lights blinked up and down the length of it. Wires moved, digging into his arm, into hi flesh.

He lifted it up, feeling intense pain, but it was pain he could deal with. He walked towards the door, taking grip of the firing mechanism inside of the laser itself. He would just have to lift it and shoot. There was no way Ken would be able to survive a shot of this weapon. Just one shot.

"I'm no ordinary scientist, Ken," Joji muttered to himself, stumbling and falling into another table. He pushed himself off of it with his left hand. He swayed some more, feeling blood running down his left arm, hearing his blood drip on the floor.

He looked at his right arm. Blood was everywhere due to all of the biting into his flesh. He didn't care; he had a job to do. He wanted to get it done, but the door was still a ways away.

He probably couldn't reach it before he passed out from blood loss or pain. The pain of his beating, and the pain that this laser was giving him. But he had started; he had too much drive, too much pride, to just stop now and give up. He could make it; he had to.

He made it about halfway to the door before he stumbled forward, his head jerking forward, blood escaping his lips, splattering all over the ground. He reached his left hand up and felt his mouth, feeling the blood still running down.

He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't strong enough to make it. Not as he was right now. The beating, the laser…it was too much.

He fell to the ground, lying in his own blood, feeling it going through his jacket and his clothing beneath it. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, fully aware that he could choke on his own blood like this, if it kept coming up his throat.

No. He couldn't give up, or Ken would win.

But he couldn't get at Ken. Not right now, not like this.

He rolled back over and climbed to his knees. He swayed for a few moments, waiting until the room stopped spinning before his eyes before walking towards a labtable again. He fell over the top of it, panting, reaching out for something, before taking grip of the cold metal object.

He lifted the scalpel up, and lowered it to just below his elbow. He drew it around, starting with a slight incision, shutting out the urge to cry in pain. He kept cutting, hearing the blood dripping down onto the table.

He knew he should have sterilized first, but he had no time, no way to do it. He was going to die if he tried to waste time doing that.

This laser was experimental for a reason. It, combined with the beating that left him on death's door, was too much for his body to handle.

"I am strong…," he muttered softly to himself, "I'll show you, Ken. I'll show all of you my strength."

He knew nobody was bound to come into this currently seldom used lab, or question where he was, after knowing of the beating. He had time; all the time he could want or need to focus on his revenge.

First he needed a new arm…

---

Shiro was looking at his hand, flexing his fingers and making a fist, then unfurling his fingers.

His strength was returning. It took two days since he lost to Ken, and he didn't know if Junko was dead or alive. His wounds had healed much earlier, but his strength hadn't yet fully returned until today.

"She has to be alive," he said quietly to himself. He wouldn't be able to live with himself for getting her wrapped up in this only to die because of him. He wanted her nowhere near this conflict. She had agreed to stay away.

This wasn't fair.

He got off of his couch and walked to the door, looking out from his large home, out at the expansive yard that gave the private chateau a great deal of its beauty. He had come back here only after Ken took Junko away.

"I came here after Shocker," he said softly, "I came here after Junko was taken. I come when evils befall me, it would seem." He wanted a smile to come, even a hint of one. None would, even at his own small observation which he did find…humorous, to a degree.

His mood was too low for any sort of smile.

"Sakuma, Ken. Cannon Buffalo. Your death shall be the sweetest of any Shocker's that I have wrought."

---

Shiro grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into a wall, then punching him in the gut once.

"You had better talk," Shiro told him, "I don't think your friends at Shocker can come to your rescue fast enough. In fact, I can assure it," he said in deadly hiss.

The man was a Shocker supporter whom Shiro had come to know the location of. Whenever he needed information on Shocker's moves, he would go to such a person whom he had managed to track down on his own, or using his money.

This man was one he had yet to use. After they were used, they were discarded, but left alive. Shocker usually saw to execution, if they ever found out. And after each one, they would tell the others not to give out information.

It was a little hard for an ordinary man not to give out information when a Kaizo Ningen was assaulting them like this. They wanted to live; Shocker be damned.

"Ok, ok!" he shouted, "Just stop hitting me!"

"That's better," Shiro said, dropping him. He didn't like to have to do this, but they weren't innocent. He needed answers, and this was the best way.

"There's a shipment of arms and nanobots arriving today," he told Shiro in fear, backing away against the wall that he had just been slammed into, "They'll have arrived by now. I can tell you the route the trucks are taking to the base."

"Do that," Shiro said, "And tell me where the base is, if you want to live to see the sunset."

"Well, I only know the route," he said, afraid that Shiro would kill him, "I don't know where the base is. They didn't tell me the entire route, so they could keep the base location secret."

He sighed, "Fine. Route?"

The man explained where to find the two trucks, "The nanobots are stored inside of missiles. Shocker plans on firing them to attack other countries and Japan itself. The nanobots are meant to swarm and infect, making more people like you."

Shiro figured. "They're launching an attack," he said. That concerned him more than the nanobots overall, "You had better not be lying me about where they are."

"I swear I'm not! I'm telling you what I was told!" he shouted, just wanting to survive this encounter.

Shiro nodded as he walked towards his bike. He pulled his helmet on, "You planning on surviving unmodified?" he questioned he man.

"Y-yes!" he answered, just wanting to get Shiro to leave, compliant.

"So you must know the target locations," Shiro said.

"If you stop them first, it's not relevant," he said, then was afraid he had misspoken to Shiro about relevancy.

Shiro nodded in agreement, "You're right." He revved the bike, "But they are relevant. I want to know where, so I know what sort of attack was planned. Attacking officials in their government buildings? Attacking heavily populated areas? What?"

"Population over governmental importance," he told Shiro.

"More soldiers," Shiro muttered, driving off to intercept.

---

He slid to a stop, in full armor. He waited in the middle of the empty street. There wouldn't be many people coming this way; it was out of the way, with wide streets and old buildings abound. Based on what he knew, they wouldn't have gotten this far yet. He could wait and ambush them.

Minutes ticked by. No sign of them.

"They couldn't have passed," he said to himself, riding on ahead, just to see if they were out of sight, around a turn. When he went around the turn, he saw the two trucks. One of them was tipped on its side; the other was behind it, stopped, the doors flung wide open.

Combatmen were all over the place. Some were jumping off the side of the fallen truck, jumping out of view. The cab was in his way, so he couldn't see what was happening between the cab and trailer. Apparently a fight was going on. That's where everybody was; that's where bodies were being expelled from.

"…Ichimonji?" he pondered, driving as fast as he could ahead. Hongo was dead, so this could only be Ichimonji.

Hopper 2.

It had been two years since he had seen the other man. Why hadn't he heard of him fighting? Seen him? How did Ichimonji get here first?

Or could it have been Hongo? Could he have somehow survived his fight with Turtle Bazooka? Survived the explosion?

Whichever one it was, Shiro was pleased. He had a comrade now to help him get Junko back, and to strike at Shocker. But…now he couldn't follow the trucks. He had planned on using his stop as a distraction. He could interrogate a human driver, but a Combatman wasn't going to talk.

In that case, he would have fought and let one truck get away, then follow after dealing with the Combatmen who opposed him. This complicated matters. It complicated finding Junko.

As more Combatmen ran into the blind spot, just as many were expelled at various rates of speed. They were all dead; that was certain. Blunt damage from brute strength, it appeared.

It had to be Ichimonji.

As soon as they heard the bike, some Combatmen ran off towards Shiro. He pulled back, performing a wheelie to cut through a few of the Combatmen, and kept driving. He leapt off of his bike, landing atop the fallen truck, on the side of the cab, as his bike crashed into other Combatmen to take care of them.

He turned to look at his comrade. Ichimonji or Hongo.

Neither.

Shiro leapt off, throwing a kick at a Combatman, bashing him against the side of the other truck, killing him. He took two punches from two more, but bashed their arms down and returned punches in kind, taking them down. He span around to give a roundhouse to another, then turned it into an axe kick to take care of him.

Two more grabbed him from behind, but he rammed his elbows into their guts and span around, giving a chop to each one's throat to drop them.

He turned to look at the other man, who was simply punching and throwing a few kicks with his right leg out. He clearly favored his right side.

Whoever he was, he was like a Hopper in appearance. A Shocker Kaizo Ningen, no doubt.

He had white boots that went up to about the halfway point between his ankle and knee. The leg part on his left looked dirty, while the boot, the foot, looked silver; clean. On his right leg he wore a metal brace over his boot. From his ankle on up to his knee, it was metal and studded for kicks.

He wore a black bodysuit after that, up to his waist. It was leather, bodyarmor, like the others. He wore a brown belt with a white center with a blue sideways triangular piece running over it, the point going towards his left. There were a few holes along it, and the marks on the white unable to be seen. He wore pouches on either side of his belt.

His chest armor was white and red. He had the large armor over his upper chest, with grooves along them, and beneath that, over his stomach, was armor that was set closer, not protruding out as far. There was a triangular part of his armor that rose up from the center, white with red, white, red; banded.

Behind it – on his sides and back – the suit was black. He hadn't seen the man's back yet, so he had no idea if he had a Shocker emblem or the Hopper marks that appeared like wings.

The arms were black suited as well, with the shoulder armor that Shiro and Hongo had, which Ichimonji lacked. The shoulderpads looked the same as always; black with silver/white bolts along the outside. He had white gloves, darkened from combat by the look of it, with the ends reaching nearly to his elbows.

His collar was pulled up to protect a much of his flesh as it could, just like the three Hoppers wore their suits. His helmet was blue, silver and red, lacking a mouthpiece, letting the man's face be partially exposed. His chin was resting in a chinstrap, so part of his lower face was covered, but not much; though that proved it wasn't only a helmet that was partially placed on. He had to put his chin in, meaning the helmet was designed like that from the start, to support no mouthpiece, if so desired.

The helmet was primarily a metallic blue, with black lines running through. Two crimson eyes were set on either side of the "V" shape that came down the top. The "V" ended just above the gap for his mouth, with a silvery white outside, and a crimson center. Two antennae protruded up above the eyes, in the silver of the "V", pointing up and out.

He had a white scarf knotted around his neck; two tails hanging down his back, somewhat ragged from battle. Unlike Shiro's scarf, this was knotted together so they hung together, instead of on opposite sides of his back.

The man fought like a monster. He would grab Combatmen with one hand and beat them mercilessly with the other; usually his right. He would usually add kicks from his armored leg for good measure, but his right punches usually did it alone.

As Shiro fought opposite of him, he occasionally glanced back to the man. Now he saw him approaching slowly, beating fighters aside with ease, fighting with a mix of a savage style, with some hints of form mixed in, making for an odd looking style. From brutal strikes to more skillful moves, he fought like a mix of Hongo and Ichimonji.

A mix that stood opposite of Shiro, who was a mix of their attributes.

As the two fought, Shiro continued to see him coming closer and closer, never uttering a word. Whoever he was, he was good, and might know more. He was clearly a Shocker, and he was fighting Shocker forces. He might have just escaped from the base, or come from there and just become a turncoat.

Or it could all be one large trap for Shiro. Combatmen were easy to create; the Kaizo Ningen not so much. Shiro could eliminate all of the Combatmen he wanted, but Turtle Bazooka's death was something completely different.

Shocker probably wanted revenge – not just to kill Shiro as they always did, but revenge – and might use such a trap to get it.

Shiro whipped around, kicking a Combatman aside just as the man reached him. He seemed to know that Shiro would do it, for he made no moves to attack that man, unlike all of the other Combatmen he had attacked and eliminated.

"Who are you?" Shiro questioned him, spinning around to block a Combatman's punch. Another lashed a kick out, but Shiro parried by drawing his own leg up. He pushed both back and leapt up, giving a spinning roundhouse to drop them both.

The man blocked a punch with his left and returned to the gut with his right, throwing the Combatman aside as if he were nothing. He didn't answer.

Shiro regarded him warily, "Who are you?" he once more questioned.

This time the man answered. He answered with a punch which sent Shiro reeling, sending him into the standing truck. As soon as he hit it, the force was enough to make it rock. Not a gentle rock; a violent one, as if it could tip.

Shiro saw why he favored his right arm; it was powerful.

The man rushed for him again. Shiro leapt up, kicking off of the cabin of the truck and pushing himself at the other man, driving a kick into his chest. He stumbled back and sent out a backhanded fist with his left. Shiro prepared himself for a powerful blow.

Nothing. It was ordinary, like a man. Not a Kaizo Ningen of this man's apparent level.

He favored his right arm, after all. Maybe he was limited somehow.

He lashed out his left leg for Shiro, forcing him to block. As soon as it was down, he twisted and threw a right handed punch out, sending Shiro stumbling back. He ran forward, twisting to lash his right leg out, striking Shiro in the side of his left leg, bringing him to that knee.

A punch from the right. Shiro fell onto his back. He lashed his legs out, propelling the man over his body, making him land away. He had twisted in the air and pushed off with his right hand, flipping to land on his feet instead of his chest or head.

"You're good," Shiro told him, coming up and bringing his arms into a fighting position.

The man said nothing. He ran forward, throwing a right handed punch. Shiro deflected it down and threw his own punch at the man's chest. When the blow connected, he fell back. Shiro pressed his advantage and leapt forward with another punch, throwing him to the ground.

"You're not as strong as the others I fought," Shiro commented, finding even the Combatmen as having stronger bodies, as being harder to take down when he got past the defenses of this man.

The man pushed himself up, "Unlike you Kaizo Ningen, I'm human," he growled, finally speaking.

"Human? You?" Shiro questioned in genuine surprise.

The man lifted his right arm, bending it at the elbow, looking at his hand. He flexed his fingers, then closed his fist and glared at Shiro.

"You're going to die here, Hopper 3."

"You're a little full of yourself," Shiro told him.

"I'm just determined," he said, running forward, throwing a punch. Shiro blocked it down and out, throwing an open palm strike at the man's upper chest, throwing him back, making him land hard and get turned around.

"Why is a human wearing gear like that?" Shiro questioned him, "Why is a human fighting Combatmen like this? Just what is going on?" he demanded.

He heard a soft click. Then another one.

When the man span around, his right arm was gone. From the elbow on down, there was a large node. Part of the arm remained, but most was enveloped by the node. From the end of the rounded attachment – which appeared to be his arm; not his arm being enveloped by an object – was a wicked blade. It was a crescent, one side longer than the other, all of it razor sharp in appearance.

"Power Arm," the man said, racing forward, drawing his arm up in front of himself. As soon as he reached Shiro, he slashed out in a wide arc, forcing Shiro to jump back. He took a step-drag forward and threw a punch into the side of the man's face, forcing him to stumble.

He used that stumble to whip around, slashing Shiro across the chest with the blade. Shiro cried out as it bit into his flesh, leaving a line of blood along his chest armor. Shiro ran his hand along the wound, looking at the blood as it stuck to the fingers of his glove.

"You're going to lose," the man told him, lifting his Power Arm, blood still dripping down, "A Hopper cannot defeat me."

"And who are you, then?" Shiro demanded, "Who can stand against a Hopper, while not being a Kaizo Ningen?"

"Riderman. Listen well, V3; Shocker is mine to defeat. Mine to destroy. They took years of my life, and then they left me for dead to thank me for it. This is my revenge, and you're in my way."

"You were part of Shocker?" questioned Shiro.

"I was."

"You know where the base is, then?" Shiro hoped to talk him out of fighting, or at least, get the base location and win this fight.

"I came from it," he replied evenly.

"Then why didn't you just take revenge when you left?" Shiro questioned, "If you were there, and you're his good, then why not just attack from within?"

"Because I was left for dead," Riderman told him, slowly approaching, his Power Arm down, letting blood drip onto the ground, "Had I turned up two days later – today – then I would have been eliminated on the spot. You check in with Shocker; you don't play at being dead and then try to come back as yourself."

"Very specific," Shiro pointed out.

"That's the gist of it, and my situation," Riderman told him, "But the point stands. Shocker would have executed me on the spot for no reason other than my secrecy. My wounds would have killed me, and had I turned up alive, they would have wondered what had happened. Kill first; questions later."

"Riderman, why don't we go together after Shocker?" Shiro questioned him, "Why do we have to fight?"

"Because I want to show them my strength. They're bound to know something happened to their trucks by now; I want them to see me, not as who I was, but as a man they don't know the identity of. I want them to see me kill you, the thorn in their side. I want them to know who I am when I unmask myself at the end, and they realize they were slain by the scientist they left for dead for speaking against a Kaizo Ningen on his foolishness of leaving you alive."

He lifted his arm, looking out over the tip of the longer blade of the crescent. The eyes of his helmet glowed at that moment, "I want them to feel the humiliation I felt when I was dragged off to die. I want them to know what revenge looks like.

"I want them to feel fear as I return to reap my revenge with their greatest technology."

"Greatest technology?" Shiro questioned, slowly backing away, keeping pace with Riderman to keep the conversation from becoming a fight instead. He felt he could win, but didn't want to chance it.

"This arm of mine," he explained, "Why do you think it can beat you around so easily? Why do you think only my arm can hurt you?" He ignored the fact that his right leg was plated just to be able to wound a Kaizo Ningen with kicks, as it wasn't relevant.

"I don't know," Shiro told him, wanting to keep him talking rather than guess at things he could only scratch the surface of.

"This is the greatest technology that Shocker possesses," Riderman said, "It was going to be abandoned, but I decided to use it."

"Why was it going to be abandoned?" questioned Shiro, "Surely Shocker would want power."

"Oh, they did," he answered, "But their precious experiments died when they tried to use the technology. It was too strong, you see. Remodeling a human with this technology is fatal; it's far too powerful. That's why it's only my right arm; I can use it to its fullest, and I get to live at the same time! Shocker would never go for it; they would view it as weak.

"Wait until they die by my hand."

"You want to prove your worth as a man they left to die, and their abandoned technology," Shiro stated, trying to keep Riderman talking.

"It's…poetic," Riderman said, running. He slashed for Shiro, who dodged back and lashed out a kick. Riderman stepped back to avoid it and leapt forward, swinging his arm down, the blade just missing Shiro.

Shiro rammed his right arm and right knee onto the weaponized arm to keep it down, then used his left fist to backhand Riderman in the head. Riderman stumbled, letting Shiro press the advantage.

He delivered two sound punches into Riderman's chest, letting the man fall back before pressing on with his next blow. After the second punch, he step-dragged forward and gave a side kick to Riderman to send him flying back, landing him on his back.

"Where's the base?" Shiro questioned, "Tell me so I can rescue Junko! I'll gladly let you go and destroy it after that."

"If you can win, I'll tell you," Riderman hissed, rising and lifting his weapon arm up.

"I think I won," Shiro said, "Because if I hadn't held back, you'd be bleeding internally, no doubt. I can win at any time."

"Prove it!"

It was a challenge to Shiro more than anything. Riderman rushed him, swinging down. Shiro dodged back and punched him in the chest. As Riderman stumbled back, he span around and stumbled. He head two more soft clicks, and when Riderman had turned back around, lifting his right arm up, there was a black machinegun attached to his arm. He tilted his head so he could see Shiro, then opened fire.

The bullets tore up the ground as he had trouble controlling it with just one arm. He turned his body to face Shiro, bracing the weapon with his left arm, keeping it properly aimed. The hail of bullets struck Shiro before he realized that Riderman had gained control of the situation. The bullets didn't do much to his armor, but the continual spray did the damage. His already cut portion was taking the worst of it as his flesh was hit by a few bullets. He cried out, falling to his knees, lifting his arms to cover himself from the bullets.

Then they stopped. He heard the clip drop and saw Riderman removing another from one of his pouches as he looked up. As soon as it was loaded, he readied it, and aimed it again at Shiro.

"You stand no chance, V3," Riderman told him.

"I won't accept that," Shiro said, rushing him before he fired.

Riderman opened fire, but Shiro used his enhanced body's legs to move to the side, running in an arc around Riderman, just keeping ahead of the spray. He slid and dashed for Riderman, ramming an elbow into his shoulder, flipping him to the ground. He reached down for Riderman's scarf and hauled him up, holding him there, keeping his arm down.

"You got me," he told Shiro softly, a smile forming on his lips.

"What?" Shiro questioned at the smile.

He heard a click. He looked at the arm, watching it fall to the ground. The man was missing anything below the elbow. Shiro looked up into Riderman's face, seeing the eyes flash again, and then heard another click as his left arm secured a new arm into the remains of his right.

This arm was a long silver/gray laser weapon, with ridges and blades along the end, holes running along it. Energy was charging into it as he lifted it up and rammed the tip into Shiro's chest.

"Bye, V3."

As soon as it started to charge, Shiro pushed Riderman back and leapt back to put distance between them. The blast went off towards Shiro, grazing him along the left side of his body. He screamed in pain as he hit the ground, his screams increasing in strength and timing. Now he was in a constant state of screams after only a few moments.

It was the worst physical pain he had ever felt. And that was only a graze, compared to what the real thing would be.

Riderman walked towards him, shaking his head, "Sorry, but you lose," he commented offhandedly, reaching for his arm and twisting it slightly, pulling down, unsecuring it. Shiro blinked, finding him fitting his normal arm back on with a twist and upward push, hearing the click.

"Please…where is the base?" Shiro gasped between screams.

"You want to rescue the woman that Ken brought back, right?" Riderman asked him, turning his back on Shiro, "Revenge is mine to take, not yours, got it?"

"Fine!" he shouted and then screamed in pain.

Riderman smiled and turned back to Shiro, "Now that we understand each other, I'll tell you, if only because that wound will keep you from following me. You did lose, though, but I'll make an exception. Follow this road into the mountains, and when you see a boulder that has a flat side – perfectly flat – that's it. That's the door. The flat side holds control panels, but for someone like us, we can just force our way through."

Shiro put it to memory as Riderman walked off, back towards the trucks. He pulled up Shiro's bike and drove towards him, stopping just after him, "I'm taking this." He sped off, leaving Shiro to scream in pain alone.

He rolled over, slowly pushing himself up. His wounds could heal, and they had, but the pain lingered. His nanobots couldn't remove that much pain that quickly with their properties.

He looked back at the destruction, and wondered about the stable truck. He knew he couldn't waste his time taking care of it, so he simply ran over and tipped it with his right arm alone. He turned and ran down the road, following after Riderman, determined to make it.

He pulled his mouthpiece off, and then slid his helmet off over his head, looking up to the sky once with his normal eyes.

The sun was high. He looked back at the road ahead and put his helmet back on.

"I won't let you spend another hour in that base, Junko," he said softly to himself, pushing himself as fast as he could go.

---

After about twenty minutes of running, he was following into the mountains. He slowed down when he saw a tunnel up ahead, and beyond that, his bike.

Where was Riderman? Why was the bike abandoned? Or was the base there?

He ran up, determined to find out what had happened. Once he had passed the tunnel, he looked at the wall of rock to his side, but saw nothing about what Riderman had said about the entrance.

He heard something behind him. He whipped around, taking a missile to his already severely damaged chest armor. He was thrown back, smashing hard against the ground and rolling a bit, groaning in pain.

"There you are," Ken hissed, throwing Riderman to the ground. Shiro looked up, seeing an imprint where Ken had clung to the side of the tunnel. He had already defeated Riderman, that was clear.

If he could defeat Riderman, then how cold V3, still pained, fight? Riderman had a lot of options, while V3 had only his single option of fighting with his body. Riderman had tactical weapon options. But he would persevere in order to win, in order to get Junko freed.

Ken walked past Riderman, towards Shiro. He threw his arms to his sides, letting missiles fly for V3. Shiro ran towards them, keeping his eyes on them as they started to turn towards him, ready to add their strength together.

He leapt and flipped over them, letting them crash together behind him. His scarves were blown around as a result, but they kept clear of his eyes and arms. He ran forward, sliding and throwing a punch at Ken's chest.

Ken batted his arm away with his left and shot his right out, grabbing Shiro by the throat. He lifted Shiro up and then let go. As Shiro fell, he shot his left fist into Shiro's gut, throwing him back.

Shiro smashed into the ground and rolled. He pushed himself slowly up, but saw Ken's back to him. He saw Riderman slashing with his Power Arm. Ken was apparently fearful of the blade, but eventually managed to get a grip on it and snap the blades off. He laughed and rammed his head into Riderman's chest. He didn't get thrown back, rather, he gripped the horn with his left hand, while his right arm struggled to get pressure on the other horn so he could hang on.

Ken grunted with effort, throwing Riderman off, towards Shiro. Riderman rolled and stopped next to Shiro, looking at his broken weapon and cursing at it.

Shiro came up to a knee, putting a hand to Riderman's shoulder, "We have to get out of here," he said.

"No," Riderman told him, getting up and pulling his arm off. He lowered it, and then brought another arm up from pretty much out of nowhere. Possibly from his belt buckle. He attached the Machinegun Arm and opened fire.

The bullets did nothing to the steel plating that Ken wore over his bodyarmor. He walked towards them, not even mocking Riderman's attempts. Instead he let two missiles fly.

"Riderman! Come on!" Shiro shouted at him.

Riderman turned his attention to the missiles, shooting them down, then focused on Ken again, but nothing, not even on the head.

Shiro grabbed Riderman by his scarf and pulled him. Riderman stumbled, but then complied, running with Shiro, away from Ken.

"Come and fight me!" Ken shouted, "Cowards!" He let loose two more missiles.

The two were already turning around the bend by the time the missiles hit the road. They didn't do anything to the two fighters.

Shiro pointed up ahead, about half a mile on this straight bend. As they ran to cover that distance, Shiro stopped and climbed, with Riderman right behind him.

It was a cave, created from a landslide or something. Just a hollow, with rocks on the sides to support a rock that sat atop. It wasn't much, but it was something. And they were moderately sure that Ken wasn't pursuing them.

Shiro pushed his back against a wall, pulling his mouthpiece off and then his helmet, setting them in his lap. He looked across the fairly small "cave" to Riderman, who had his normal arm again and was reaching up and pulling his helmet off, letting the chinstrap come forward as he pulled. He set it in his lap and looked to Shiro.

He was an older man, possibly in his early thirties, with his eyes looking older, that part of his face not faring as well with age. Black hair covered his head, showing the life of youth, unlike some of his face.

"So, who are you?" Shiro asked Riderman.

He almost laughed at Shiro, based on how his face looked. He let out a mutter, then spoke to him, "What sort of question is that? We were fighting not more than half an hour ago, and just got beat by another guy and ran for our lives. You ask who I am," Riderman laughed, shaking his head.

Shiro looked out the mouth, paying him little heed, "I want to know how to address you, instead of "Riderman"."

"That name suffices," the man told him.

Shiro looked at him, "I don't want to be called V3. Kazami Shiro; Shiro, to you."

The man looked out now, "Joji Yuki; call me Yuki."

"Yuki, then," Shiro said with a nod, "So, you said they left you for dead. How did that happen exactly?"

"I already told you; I was a scientist. I spoke against Ken for not killing you when he had the chance, and Ken didn't like that. He had Combatmen beat me to near death, everyone expecting me to die after it. I nearly did, but I held on." He lifted his arm, as if admiring it, closing his fist, "I saved myself, made myself stronger."

"And now you want revenge," Shiro said, "That's all that's motivating you."

"It's all that motivates you, isn't it?" Yuki questioned him, "I don't believe about that woman. We've watched you, Shiro. I don't know everything, being a scientist, but you seem driven by revenge more than anything else."

"I was," Shiro admitted, looking out at the sky to his side, "But…no more. I'm just trying to save a civilian who has nothing to do with this."

"Even if people have nothing to do with Shocker, they'll be drawn in all the same. What did you say her name was? Junko? Will you save all of the Junko's of the world? That's a long list, Shiro."

"She's in this because of me," he explained, "That is why I will save her."

"Admirable," Yuki muttered.

Shiro shot him a look, "At least I'm fighting for something better than revenge."

"But for two years you fought for revenge alone, did you not?" Yuki questioned him, "I've been planning revenge for two days, fighting for it for less than one. You can't compare yourself to me."

"Maybe I can't, but you could learn from me," Shiro said.

"Learn what from you?" Yuki questioned, as if the very idea sounded disgusting to him.

"To fight for something important," Shiro offered.

Yuki shook his head, no hints of amusement anywhere on his face, "No. I like revenge."

Shiro nodded absently, looking outside, "If that's what you want, then go ahead. Revenge brings you nothing, though. I know that. I claimed revenge many times…but nothing helped fill in the void that Chiharu's death left."

"You slew her with your own hand, didn't you?" Yuki questioned, having no tact.

He was reluctant to answer, then nodded, "Yes. I had to, for what you people had done to her."

"We?" Yuki questioned, "No. She was just a failed experiment, like everyone else at ExaStream. If we had managed to capture her as well, we would have made her into a Kaizo Ningen, and then she would still be alive. It's because she left that she died. By your hand. Had she remained, she would have lived."

"Or someone would have killed her in the battles following," Shiro put in, "And I would still be working for Shocker, no doubt. None of that is a good option to think about."

Yuki shrugged, "Then so be it."

In the silence, Shiro rubbed his left shoulder, "What did you do to me?" he questioned, "That laser? Is something…different about it?"

"Pained?"

"The nanobots took most of it, but then they stopped," he told Yuki.

Yuki shrugged, "The nanobots must be…tired, so to speak."

"Tired?"

"The pain was immense, yes?"

"Yes, but…"

"They managed to relieve it through secretions they give off, reacting with your body chemistry. They create their own supply by existing within your body. They must have run out and not made more, possibly because it would endanger your life in doing so."

That made enough sense to Shiro for him to nod, "Ok, I'll believe that."

Yuki sighed and stood up, his head just missing the rock above them, "Well then, should we go and see if we can't bring that bastard down?"

Shiro looked up and down his body. He was covered in black marks, just like his own armor was. No cuts; just a lot of damage visible from the missiles. He had just tucked his helmet under his arm for holding.

"Neither of us are in very good shape," he told Yuki.

"I don't care," he replied, standing at the lip, "Oh, the laser. It's just a very powerful weapon, that's all. You'll see how powerful when I use it to kill Ken."

Shiro got up and tucked his helmet under his arm, just like Yuki had done. He stood at Yuki's side, letting the breeze wash over him, as it did Yuki.

Both of his carves and Yuki's single scarf with the two tails blew, never touching another scarf. When the wind died, Shiro put the top of his helmet on over his head and affixed the mouthpiece while Yuki pulled his helmet down, over his head, and set his chin into the strap.

The two of them came down from their hiding place and made their way down the road, ready at any moment for Ken to appear. Shiro heard a click, seeing that Yuki was securing his Machinegun Arm.

"You sure that can work?" Shiro questioned.

"It can hold him at bay long enough for us to find something to work," Yuki said.

"What about your laser?"

"I'm letting it charge," Yuki told him, "But that's our last option. Our primary options are you."
"Me?"

"Your enhanced strikes, like your kick," Yuki explained to him, "I have a feeling that would have an easier time smashing through the armor.

"We'll see how it happens," Shiro said as they turned the corner, finding Ken standing where he had been, still fully suited as Cannon Buffalo.

"Still here?" Yuki shouted to him.

"I've been waiting for you two," Ken commented, "I knew you wouldn't leave me as a loose end. Let's say you manage to get to the base; then what? You have to keep looking over your shoulder for me. Shiro; you're too proud to let me live."

"You have that right," Shiro told him, "I'll kill you! You took Junko; you played me for a fool. You slaughtered your own team!"

"What's the problem in that?" questioned Ken, seeing the obvious anger in Shiro's body language; the way he was clenching his fists.

"They were your men; you shouldn't just leave them to die like that," Shiro said, "I would never do that."

"We're different, V3," Ken told him, "You cared about your employees. I don't care about my people, because they aren't my people! Shocker is!"

"Enough of this talk," Shiro muttered, walking towards Ken, "Let's finish this already."

"I agree," Ken said, taking a few steps forward. He was ready to charge; lowering his torso to rush and ram them.

A soft click, then another.

Ken glanced to Yuki, watching the machinegun come up. He opened fire on Ken, leaving him stunned where he stood for a moment; but only one. He charged, the spray of bullets doing nothing to slow the Kaizo Ningen.

Yuki kept firing; never slowing. He braced his right arm with his left to take the recoil away, keeping up the fire, sure that he could slow Ken.

He couldn't.

Shiro ran out, beside the spray of bullets. He leapt up and threw a kick into Ken's side, sending him stumbling around. Yuki never missed a moment; turning instantly to fire on Ken, despite it doing little to nothing.

"Do you two think such a weak combination can stop me?" Ken shouted, breaking into a fit of laughter, "You're fools! V3; Kazami Shiro. You were one of our best, but you're nothing now. Our technology advances faster than you could dream!"

"That's why I'm here," Yuki hissed, changing his arm to his Power Arm. He rushed Ken, throwing a right kick up, striking his foe's arm, sending Ken stumbling a single step. He used his momentum and swung his arm down in an arc across Ken's chest, sending him stumbling back.

"I don't know who you are, or how your weapon is that powerful, but it makes no difference!" Ken shouted, tackling Yuki to the ground. He punched Yuki once in the chest, just below the throat, causing an unearthly scream to part from Yuki's lips. A crack was heard, and Ken could feel the bones breaking from his punch, his fist still rooted on Yuki's chest. He pushed harder, feeling more damage, hearing louder screams.

"You're nothing!" Ken laughed in his face.

Shiro grabbed Ken, one hand on a horn, one on Ken's right arm. He yanked and span, throwing Ken aside. He rolled, nearly going over the side of the road, down the cliff, but he didn't. He picked himself up and threw his arms aside, sending missiles flying.

The two missiles exploded, sending Shiro and Yuki flying back, battered. They crashed into each other and into the mountain wall behind them, sliding down with rocks falling down around them.

"Do you see now?" questioned Ken, walking towards them, "Do you understand my power? Do you understand how powerful Shocker is? How weak the two of you are? You are nothing! You are bugs beneath my heel; waiting to be crushed."

A soft click. Another. Yuki lifted his arm and fired, the bullets trailing up for the right shoulder cannon. "No!" Ken screamed.

An explosion. Ken stumbled around, nearly falling over the side. He regained his footing, cursing. He looked at his shoulder cannon; seeing it blackened, damaged.

"How did you manage that?" questioned Shiro.

"I was one of the scientists building him, working on him," Yuki explained, "When you're a Shocker scientist, you don't forget details. I didn't forget how he works. I know the signs for when he's going to fire."

"You couldn't have stopped an earlier attack?" questioned Shiro.

"I had no chances the other times. This time I was paying attention. I knew he would try that."

Yuki stumbled out of the rubble, showing no signs of pain from his broken bones, but Shiro was sure he was in excruciating pain. Shiro ran beside him, putting distance between the two of them and Ken, despite the foolishness of that. Ken was a ranged fighter; he could handle them from the distance.

"What are you going to do?" Shiro asked, drawing his arms up, in case they were rushed, or he would have to rush.

"You'll see," Yuki answered.

Ken was walking to the middle of the street, staring them down. He went down, ready to charge like a bull. He started to run as fast as he could, ready to gorge them.

Ken couldn't see. Yuki removed his arm. Shiro glanced over, seeing blue sparks flying from both ends of the arm. Shiro looked back to Ken, who was closing the distance. There was still some distance between them.

The next click caused Shiro to look to Yuki. The Laser Arm was attached again, charging light into the length of it. They both looked to Ken, watching him slowing, sliding to his feet, and firing missiles.

"It was a ploy!" Yuki shouted, lifting his arm. He pushed his left arm under his right, attempting to brace it as he unleashed his strongest weapon. The laser flew down the road, missing the missiles; all six of them. It crashed into Ken, dead center on his chest. Yuki struggled to control the awesome power of his laser, his right arm visibly shaking. He shouted, losing it, swinging his arm aside. The laser cut through the rocks of the mountainside, bringing them tumbling down towards V3 and Riderman.

The six missiles came at the two. One hit Shiro in the chest; the other five crashed into Yuki as the rocks came down on the two of them, burying them in rubble.

It took time for it to settle, but there it lay for a few minutes. Emerald light could barely seen from the rubble as Shiro's eyes glowed. He pushed boulders aside as he came up to his feet. He pushed boulders aside and reached inside, pulling more away as he reached for Yuki, pulling the other man out.

Yuki looked terrible. His helmet was cracked, his skin cut around his exposed face. Just moving him it felt like he had a handful of broken bones in various parts of his body, aside from what Ken had already broken.

"V3…listen to me," Yuki hissed, grabbing at Shiro's collar to lower him, using his left hand to do this, for obvious reasons.

"Yuki, what is it?" Shiro asked him, unsure of how he could get a grip with his broken arm and hand.

"Keep following this road. The Shocker base is inside of the mountains. But not here; you have to keep going. It was hidden along the main road for the sake of transportation."

"You already told me most of this," Shiro told him, "The smooth boulder is the door. Why?"

"Because I don't want you to screw this up," Yuki told him, "I can't fight, not with this broken body of mine. You're the only one left to take the revenge that we both crave. So do that for me."

"You think I'd forget such important instructions?" Shiro questioned him, understanding where Yuki was coming from, but he was feeling like an idiot, and he didn't like it.

"No…I…I just want to talk. While I can speak, I at least know I'm alive."

"Yuki…"

"So, you're that insolent scientist, are you?" Ken laughed.

Yuki managed to raise his head and look. Shiro turned to look as well, both of them watching as Ken picked himself up. He was alive; his chest badly damaged, but it was by no means a fatal wound.

He could kill them both, if he could withstand such an attack. Yuki was half dead, if not more, and Shiro couldn't stop him, he knew that much.

"I'm immortal, and you clearly aren't," Ken said, pulling his mask off, letting it drop to the ground. His face was cut up, flesh burnt and peeling from the heat of the laser. It began to smooth over, reforming and healing due to the nanobot technology inside of his body. He smiled grimly, saying nothing.

His face said it all.

Death.

Many more missiles were fired, one after another. They came crashing at the two fighters; it was obvious they couldn't stand such an attack. Ken had won here, as soon as contact would be made.

Yuki managed to climb to his feet. Bones could be heard snapping slightly as he rose, as there was silence hanging in the air. He lifted his arm, focusing the laser, and he fired once more. It fired, striking Ken once in the chest, but not with a full stream. It died out instantly, the laser exploding on his arm, leaving him with a small stub under the elbow.

"Go," Yuki said softly to Shiro.

When Shiro didn't move, Yuki span around and pushed him aside, feeling bones cracking even more as he pushed with his broken arm and hand. Shiro stumbled away as Yuki turned to the missiles, taking them all. He wouldn't have been able to dodge, so he took all of them to save Shiro.

As Yuki fell, Shiro stared at him. He had just sacrificed himself.

"How many more must die because of me…"

Chiharu. Possibly Junko. Hongo. That Interpol team. Yuki.

"No more."

Shiro started to run for Ken, knowing he would probably die in the attempt, but it was all he could do. His eyes erupted into emerald light as he ran, ready to throw everything into one final attempt on this man's life. One final attempt to kill him and avenge the people who died because of him.

Before he could make it half way towards the smug Ken, Ken shouted and was thrown forward. He stumbled, whipped around, but took a roundhouse kick to the face, going down.

Shiro slowed down. He had just seen a ghost.

Hongo; suited up. He turned his head to Shiro, and then removed his mouthpiece and helmet, "Shiro," he said, "I can handle him. Go; you know where the base is, right?"

"Hongo…how…?"

"I followed you; heard some stuff," Hongo said.

"No! How are you alive?" he shouted.

"It takes more than that to kill me. To smother justice," Hongo said, pulling his helmet back on and attaching his mouthpiece, "Now go! Hurry!"

Shiro ran away from the fight. He didn't know if Hongo could do it, but he trusted that the combination of the laser – as much of the damage that was still there, anyway – and Hongo could do it. He trusted Hongo completely, even if he himself was stronger.

He slid to a stop and crouched beside Yuki, who was still breathing; his chest rising and falling. He could hear hard breathing, pained and labored. Yuki looked to him and spoke.

"When you get past the boulder, keep moving forward as fast as you can, just in case. Combatmen may or may not be there, but they wouldn't be expecting it to be breached. There are cameras, but if you hurry, you can get in before they realize it; no blind spot.

"When you get in," he took a few breaths, "keep going straight. You'll find yourself in a large room. Take the first right to get to the main labs, which is where that woman was, last I saw. There will be scientists, and some may try to stop you. Some will leave, some will call for help. Do whatever you feel you have to.

"If you go back to the main room, the left door is the one to the main control rooms. Nobody important is in charge at this base, but you can probably find some data on the computers that can help you. As for destroying the facility…I don't know."

"Anything else?" Shiro asked him.

"Shinigami may or may not be there. He was coming; I don't know if he arrived yet or not," Yuki said, "If he has arrived, be very careful."

"I'll remember," he said, committing it to heart. He wanted Shinigami, but he knew that the man may be too powerful, if he was a Shocker elite.

He started to walk away, leaving Yuki lying on the street, taking in air, despite his broken and battered body. Shiro stopped and turned to Yuki, who was reaching up with a trembling hand to pull his helmet off, letting it roll away from him.

"Yuki," Shiro said.

"You're still here?" Yuki questioned, looking up at the sky with his own eyes, not the eyes of his helmet as he lay there, ready to die, "Go!"

It must have taken all of his remaining energy to shout, after having removed his helmet. Shiro still stood there, not that Yuki could see.

"Yuki," he said again, "You've shown me something. You've shown me drive beyond that of a Shocker; beyond a Kaizo Ningen. You could fight them. You had a reason for fighting them, and made it work. It's the same reason I once had. It's not a good reason by any means; revenge. But it is a reason. I see that now. Yuki…you've shown drive beyond whatever you title yourself.

"You aren't Riderman. You are Kamen Rider 4."

Hongo. Ichimonji. Himself. …Yuki.

Yuki laughed. Why was he laughing?

"I'm no…Kamen Rider, as you call it. You call yourself that title to avoid Kaizo Ningen, fancying yourselves as heroes. Maybe you are…but I'm a dead man. Dead men destined for hell can't be heroes. I'm Riderman; that's all."

Shiro looked at him. He could see Yuki close his eyes as his chest went down as he exhaled. He didn't inhale; didn't open his eyes again.

"Goodbye…Kamen Rider 4."

---

Combatmen walked around the hallway and the rooms beyond, hidden behind the stone entrance, awaiting the overdue delivery of nanobots and weaponry. A faint sound could be heard outside; that of an engine. Not a truck.

Two Combatmen rushed towards the entrance in preparation for whatever it was, while others moved around, unaware of a possible disturbance, while yet others went to check cameras. They would see Shiro riding up on his bike, driving straight for the entrance. He jumped the bike, lifting himself off of the seat, his hands still on the handlebars. He lashed his leg out, leading with a kick to shatter the entrance with aloud crashing sound. The debris took the two Combatmen down who were standing nearby.

He pulled himself back onto the bike and continued down the hallway, putting his body low, pressed against the handlebars. He sped up, crashing past various Combatmen, sending them flying around as he smashed into them, wasting no time fighting.

As soon as he saw the large room coming up, he slowed up turned sideways abruptly, leaping off. The bike kept going, crashing into three Combatmen as it skidded along the ground, taking them down, allowing Shiro to land with no enemies close, and run off to the right, as told by Yuki. As he ran inside, he saw scientists running away, none of them eager to fight. Combatmen were coming from around the room, though there weren't many in total; perhaps ten at the most.

He glanced back, seeing some coming from up the hallway, and others coming from the room to the left. He turned to the group in this room and drew up his arms into his fighting stance, his eyes flashing emerald.

Combatmen on both sides rushed him. He ran forward, through the dark metallic room. He slid forward, driving a left hook into one's face, flipping him around and dropping him to the ground. He span around to give a roundhouse to one behind him, flipping him into another, taking them both down. They were trampled by others.

As they circled him, they all started to take swings at him. He would duck a swing, only to be kicked in the back by another. He stumbled forward, into the grip of another, then hit back towards another, only to be struck again and fall to the ground.

While on the ground, they started to kick him while he was down. One reached down for his scarves, hauling him to his feet. He took another series of punches to the chest and was thrown out of the ring, sliding across the ground and slamming into a hard labtable.

As they came towards him again, he struggled up. He swayed, finding himself weakening quickly.

"I don't have time for you!" he shouted at them, running forward, practically doubled over. He slid forward and span around to deliver a mule kick to one, then completed his rotation to duck and uppercut one, avoiding the enemy punch at the same time.

He leapt forward, kicking one in the chest with force enough to send him flying out of the room, into the central room that led to the hallway and two other rooms. He took a few hits to the back and stumbled, falling to the ground and rolling forward.

He saw them coming for him, shouting out with cries of "Eey!"

He panted. How was he losing? Combatmen were nothing to his combination of skill and power. He had never had trouble like this before. Granted, he was weakened and wounded now, but that wasn't a great excuse.

"I'm not fighting for revenge anymore," he said softly to himself as one picked him up by his raised collar and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling back. His helmet fell to the floor, rolling away from him, while his mouthpiece fell down his chest, landing in front of him. He fell into another Combatman who hit him forward. He tripped and stumbled on his mouthpiece, falling into a fist to the gut.

As Shiro fell to his knees, blood escaped his mouth. He started to cough, finding more blood coming out of his mouth at the same time.

This wasn't possible. How was he losing?

Was revenge really that powerful for him? That no longer fighting for it would weaken him this much? Did Yuki have it right, fighting for revenge?

Yuki had ended up dead.

He was kicked in the face, falling to the ground. He just wanted to lie there for a while, to rest, to close his eyes.

"Soon," he said softly to himself. Soon his life would end, and he could rest.

His vision started to fade as he grew weary of the fighting. He was almost ready to just submit, to let Hongo play the role of the hero. He saw something ahead. Lying on the floor, against a labtable was one of Junko's earrings, barely visible, only a slight amount of light reflecting off of the gem set in it.

---

"You have a sister, don't you, Takayuki-san?"

He nodded, "Junko. You know, I think you might like her, Shiro-kun."

Shiro sat back in his chair, "Takayuki-san, do you have to call me that? And stop trying to set me up with women. I'm too busy running the company."

Takayuki leaned back in his chair in front of Shiro's desk, "I figured you had changed our mind, since you were asking me, Shiro-kun."

"Stop it," Shiro said, not that he really minded or cared. Takayuki Tama was a good friend, after all.

"Ok, why did you ask about my sister?" Takayuki asked him.

Shiro opened a drawer, pulling out a small box. He put it on the desk and pushed it over to the other side. Takayuki leaned forward and took the box, sitting back in his seat and opening it. He let out a low whistle when he saw what was inside.

"Where did you get this?" Takayuki asked.

"A customer gave it to me as a gift," Shiro told Takayuki, "I offered them to Chiharu, but she said she couldn't accept them."

"These look like real emeralds," he told Shiro, holding up one of the earrings for a better look.

"As I was told, they are," Shiro answered.

"Have them checked?"

"No."

"You trust him, then?"

"I do," Shiro said.

"Ok, so why didn't Chiharu-chan want them?" he asked.

Shiro smiled a bit, "She told me they were too nice as a gift to my sister. She told me to give them to a woman."

"I assume she wanted you to find a girlfriend and eventually a wife, right?" Takayuki asked

"That's what I assume," he answered, shrugging, "I have too much work to fret over things like she does." He smiled again, "To think she's younger, yet she looks out for my happiness like that." He shrugged, "I'm happy as I am."

"So you're giving them to me to give to Junko?" he asked, as if to make sure.

"Yes; take them," Shiro stated.

Takayuki gained a sly smile, "Junko may start to wonder."

"Wonder about what?" asked Shiro.

"What sort of man you are, Shiro-kun. She may take it as a declaration of love, seeing as how nice these are, and she was technically the woman chosen to receive them."

He sighed, turning around in his chair and looking outside, "Let her, then," he told his friend, "I'll be fine."

---

Shiro slowly got to his hands and knees. He saw a Combatman standing there, reaching down to grab a scarf. Before the hand gripped it, Shiro slammed his elbow into the Combatman's closest knee, shattering it. As he fell, Shiro rammed his fist into the man's throat to throw him aside, killing him upon contact.

Shiro came to his feet and turned to the Combatmen. He drew up his arms into his fighting stance again. He saw two rushing him. One sent a high kick, the other low. He caught the high kick on a wrist, and lifted his leg to avoid the low. He slammed his foot into the low kicker, hearing cracking. He pushed back at the other one and drove his other elbow into the chest to eliminate the threat.

As the other Combatmen amassed in front of him, in one large group, he stood there, waiting for them to come. When they didn't, he walked forward, slowly. They backed away at his every step.

He crouched to pick up his mouthpiece, and then walked towards his helmet, picking it up and pulling it over his head. He affixed the mouthpiece, standing for a moment with his back to the Combatmen, the scratched off Shocker logo staring out at the Shocker Combatmen. He turned to face them, his eyes shining as he rotated to them.

"Come."

The Combatmen didn't move.

Shiro walked towards them, then ran. They started to back away, while some decided to fight, and ran towards Shiro. He would easily avoid any blows they threw, taking them down with swift blows, brutal, focusing on power more than anything else.

He span to another, who had picked up a pipe from somewhere in the room. He sidestepped the swing, letting the man stumble forward. The Combatman span to Shiro and swung to his side, but Shiro stepped back to avoid.

He leapt forward and swung down, but Shiro span to the side again and drove a kick into the Combatman's chest, hearing snapping, and watching him stumble back, clutching his chest, and then falling.

It ended quickly. The rest fell in rapid succession from brutal punches, kicks, elbows and knees to upper chests and heads, unable to do any damage to Shiro at his point. He looked around the room when it was over, watching the last bodies disintegrate.

Shiro walked across the room, crouching and picking up the earring. He saw another room just around the corner. He walked over and glanced inside, then pushed it open and stepped in.

It was dark; he couldn't see much of anything. If this was a lab, he had no idea. He turned to the side, seeing Junko sitting in the darkness, her hands and legs tied in chains, trailing off somewhere behind her. She couldn't focus her eyes on whoever it was, but had clearly heard the fighting outside.

"What's happening?" she questioned, "Tell me! What happened out there?"

"Junko, it's me; Shiro," Shiro said, feeling around for any light source. He finally found one, casting dim light from the ceiling.

"Shiro-kun!" she exclaimed when she saw him. He was like an angel of light walking into her world of darkness. He was her savior, and she was his, in another sense.

He crouched down, pulling off his mouthpiece and helmet, just to show her, to confirm it. He set them aside. She knew not to speak; this was important, and Shiro seemed focused. He took hold of the chains at her wrists, snapping them by pulling them. He did the same for her legs, freeing her of her bonds. He pulled his helmet back on and affixed his mouthpiece, then remained crouched, picking her up into his arms. As he rose, he looked to her face, "We're getting out as fast as we can; this place is still very dangerous. Just stay close, if I have to set you down to fight. Don't run off and hide; you may be attacked. If you stay close, I can keep my eyes on you."

She nodded in understanding, and added, "Shiro-kun…thank you for saving me. It means a lot that you would risk your life."

She could see the damage he had taken to his suit, since she had seen his suit after their dinner. It was apparent that a lot of it was new damage. His face may have healed from the nanobots, but his suit was tipping her off.

He nodded to her, "You're Takayuki-san's sister. I had to save you," he said, walking out the door, back to the main lab he had fought in. As he headed for the other main room, she turned to him.

"Shiro-kun, that's not the only reason…is it?" she asked softly.

"No."

"Just that? Just no?"

He sighed, "Junko-," he was about to add an honorific when he saw someone walking into the room from up ahead. He was clad in a military uniform; tall black boots, white pants tucked into them, leading up into a blue military jacket with white shirt visible coming up to his neck. He had a belt slung around his waist, and then over his left shoulder, connecting to his waist belt. He wore white gloves, displayed a prominent mustache, and wore a blue cap with gold trim and emblem on the forehead.

Shiro stopped as this man entered, slamming a riding crop into his leg with every few steps. He looked at Shiro, then glanced to Junko, but didn't care. He focused his eyes on Shiro, speaking with a German accent overlaying his occasionally bleeding through Japanese voice as he spoke Japanese with a German voice.

"Kazami Shiro; Hopper Version 3. The traitor, like the other Hoppers," he stated, slamming the crop against his leg again, "I'm honestly surprised you're still here; that you didn't already flee."

"I couldn't leave without Junko," Shiro told this unknown man.

"The woman? You're weak,V3," the man stated as a sneer more than anything.

"This is no weakness of mine, whoever you are," Shiro said, "It makes me human to care. Makes me more than a Kaizo Ningen bred only for destruction and combat, to serve the will of Shocker. It makes me a man who can cast away the sinful name and take on a new one to stand against Shocker as."

"Tsk."

He glared at Shiro, "You've made your choice, then. I was hoping you would come to your senses. I'll just have to kill you, then."

"Kill me?" Shiro questioned, "So you're a Kaizo Ningen as well, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. As head of Shocker's German branch, of course I was modified," he told Shiro.

"Just who are you?" Shiro questioned.

"Colonel Zol. I was sent here to assist Doctor Shinigami with a "bug problem". He failed to mention that there were still two bugs."

"I didn't know about his survival until earlier, myself," Shiro said, cursing that this man knew Hongo was alive. There went that surprise, if Hongo got here anytime soon.

"I don't care," Zol told him, "I don't care what you think, or what you know. I'm here for one thing only; your head."
He dropped the crop. He reached up, pulling away at the neckline of his white shirt that rose up his neck. He pulled it down with one hand while opening his jacket with the other.

Shiro set Junko down, "I said before to stay close; I changed my mind. Get away from here; get out if you can," he told her, "Just be careful."

"Shiro-kun, what's happening?" she asked, "Why are you sending me away now? Is he…"

"He's far too dangerous," Shiro told her, "He's a head of the terrorist organization. I can't risk you nearby. Run!"

She ran off, trying to skirt around the combatants by going to the side of the room. Shiro stood there as this man pulled his shirt off to reveal a heavily muscular, golden brown armored form.

He wore boots to just below his knees; steel toed; it all looked reinforced as well, in leather like most of the suits were. The boots were golden brown, but with a darker brown than the rest. This rose up into leather legs which looked to be molded into an almost furry pattern, very muscular in design and detail, with steel studs running up the front and sides of the legs, and probably the backs.

He wore a large belt around his waist, possibly as a version of what the Hoppers wore. It was leather tooled; brown leather with steel studs running along the length of it, with a shield-like pattern on the front in silver, all steel by the look of it. Probably for defense more than anything else, though it was just out of place, for the most part. It was probably used just like the belts of the Hoppers due to that.

His chest armor was rather like the Shiro's; armor on both sides, with an opening up the middle. It was rippled, just like Shiro' armor, but in the golden brown and fur design. The center was open, black. At his breasts, the armor spread out, going up to envelop his shoulders by going wide like that, but his arms were left bare, just black and furry like the rest of his body appeared to be. His arms were thickly muscled; the leather barely covering his physique by the look of it. His fingers had claws tipping them. Up his arms were steel studs, like his legs.

Instead of the high collar of leather, his was fur. It made a "V" onto the top of the center of the chest, sloping around, rising higher in the back, visibly, as he didn't stand directly facing Shiro. Part of the man's neck was still visible, but his short cropped hair was completely covered by the monstrous golden brown wolf's head that he wore as a mask. The eyes were his; following Shiro as the Hopper circled him, getting a look at his foe.

He had two large ears sloping out to either side of his head, and a projected snout. His mouth was set into a permanent growl, fangs exposed, all of them appearing metal, so his mouth could presumably open for biting attacks.

"Well, what do you think of me?" Zol growled to Shiro, turning to match Shiro, who continued to walk in a circle around the Colonel.

"I'm impressed; but looking fierce and being fierce are two different things, Zol," Shiro told him.

"Trust me, when I become the Gold Werewolf, I'm fiercer than you could imagine," Zol growled at him.

"Let's find out," Shiro said, knowing he had no choice but to fight.

Zol looked at him, his eyes, which should have been vibrant, as they were his, not his mask's, looked dull. There was no indication of an attack.

Yet, before Shiro knew it, Zol was in front of him, slamming his right palm into Shiro's chest, throwing him across the room. He smashed into a labtable, going down, the impact into the table, desensitizing him.

Zol was atop him again, pulling him to his feet by his collar. He span, throwing Shiro to the other side of the room, into the wall, which began to crack and fracture. Shiro pushed himself away, noticing that Junko had escaped the room, and hopefully the base. He ran forward, but Zol was there, in front of him. He slashed his right arm at a downward angle, cutting Shiro, causing him to cry out in pain as the blade-like-nails dug into his flesh through his suit.

The next thing he knew, Zol was biting his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. Blood ran down in rivulets on either side of Shiro's body, causing him to cry out.

"You're nothing!" Zol sneered, "And when I'm done with you, you weak, weak excuse of a Kaizo Ningen, I'll kill that girl!"

"I won't let you touch her!" he hissed.

"Oh, is this were the cliché happens?" questioned Zol, "I made you mad by threatening someone close to you, so you gain the strength to defeat me suddenly? It's not going to happen! You aren't strong enough, V3!"

He rammed his fist into Shiro's gut, wrenching Shiro free of the fangs. H smashed across the ground, sliding and rolling. His shoulder was really torn up from that; from having the fangs forcefully removed through the flesh and bone itself.

Zol walked towards him, slowly this time, not using his speed. He kicked Shiro in the side, letting the steel toes do their work. Shiro cried out as he was rolling across the ground, away from the other man.

"Is this the extent of your ability?" Zol questioned, "Shinigami could have done this himself!"

Shiro picked himself up and struggled for Zol, each step an effort. He saw that Zol made no moves against him.

He put all of his strength into his legs, running forward. He was a Hopper; his legs were his greatest tool.

He span and threw a roundhouse kick into Zol's chest when he had arrived. He had put everything he had into it, but Zol showed nothing in his eyes. He hadn't moved. He just stood there, his chest flexed outward. Shiro's leg was there, but nothing.

"The extent of your ability is nothing to me. No more than a fly is a threat to a dog. Except you're less than that; a fly can annoy, at least."

He slashed Shiro across the chest, from left shoulder to right hip. Blood and suit flew out from under Zol's claws, dropping Shiro to his knees. He put his hands down, stopping himself from falling completely to the ground, at least.

Zol lashed a leg up, kicking Shiro in the upper chest, throwing him across the room. He slammed into a wall and fell into a hallway, looking and seeing a door. Not the room where Junko had been, but another.

He saw Zol approaching. He picked himself up; at least Junko wasn't targeted. He pushed the door open and slumped down at a table, falling on it. He panted hard; he couldn't keep fighting.

"He's too strong," he muttered, "I can't do this. Yuki; I can't take the revenge against Shocker that you wanted. I'm not a fighter for revenge any longer; I can't do it."

He saw Zol's shadow through the window atop the door. When Zol tore the door off of its hinges and let it drop aside, light came into the room. It wasn't much, but Shiro saw what was on the table.

It was the laser weapon that Yuki had used. It looked slightly different, but it was the same sort of weapon.

"Are you here to fight with me, Yuki Joji? Kamen Rider 4?" he said softly, taking the weapon into both of his hands reverently.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" Zol demanded, his voice booming in the confines of this smaller lab.

Shiro picked it up, holding it in both hands. He aimed the tip for Zol, finding a slot for his am. He rammed his left into it, feeling the trigger mechanism. He took grip of it and started to charge it, feeling it vibrating, humming.

"Try it, I'm not afraid!" Zol boasted, running at the speed of a normal man, not his incredible speeds from earlier.

"Fight with me…Riderman…Kamen Rider 4…Yuki Joji."

As soon as it was moderately charged, Zol was upon him. He fired, slamming the laser burst into Zol's chest, sending him flying back, crashing through the top of the wall above the door, into the hallway, and into the other wall. The laser continued, the stream breaking at points along the edges, but the main stream staying strong.

Finally it died down, sliding off of Shiro's arm. He stumbled towards the door, gripping the frame for support as he looked into the next room for Zol.

There was no next room; it was a drop. He looked down it, into the room below. It was a boiler room of some sort, it appeared. There were Combatmen rushing around, Zol's body slammed into machinery, crushing it. The Combatmen seemed worried about that, working at other consoles and machinery, trying to do something.

It was getting hot.

Shiro stumbled out of the small hallway, into the main lab. He stumbled towards the larger room that divided the areas, towards his bike. He had to hope Junko had escaped. He had no time to check the computers in the other room, unfortunately. He just had to escape.

He picked his bike up, but couldn't seem to get on it. He was shaking, his body fairly unresponsive.

"I'll ride, you hold on."

It was Hongo standing here. Hongo got onto the bike and held out his hand behind him. Shiro looked at it for a moment, and then took it, using it to guide him down and sit. He held on tight to Hongo's waist as the other man turned the bike and drove off down the path.

"Hongo…did…," Shiro couldn't speak.

"Talk when we're out," Hongo said, picking up speed. When the entrance came very close, he cut off their speed and turned abruptly, so that when they were carried out, they slammed onto the road and carried themselves down towards where Hongo had faced Ken in their last battle.

He slid the bike to a stop, swinging himself off, and helping Shiro to get off. Shiro pulled his mouthpiece and helmet away, falling to the mountain at the side, slumping against it. He looked at Hongo; his suit incredibly battered and damaged, filled with cuts, holes, his scarf torn apart, his helmet severely damaged. The fights with Turtle Bazooka and then Ken had done their share of damage.

"Shiro-kun!"

Shiro looked back to see Junko running up the road towards them. She threw her arms around him, pressing herself against him.

"…Junko-chan…," he said softly, his voice weak. Weak from the fighting, weak from seeing her safe again, weak from everything, just like his body.

She didn't seem to hear his use of the honorific. She just hugged herself to him.

Hongo removed his mouthpiece and helmet, "Well Shiro, looks like you found yourself some semblance of a life after all."

"I didn't," Shiro admitted, "But…I can try, now."

"I didn't get at their computers," Hongo said.

"Neither did I."

"Then we don't know about their next moves," Hongo said, "So…are you giving up?"

"No," Shiro said, "I'm going to be like you. I'll fight them…but I'll also have my own life." He moved himself away from Junko, reaching into his left glove with his right, pulling out the earring and handing it back, "I found this."

She gently took it from his gloved hand and looked up into his eyes, "Shiro-kun…I always treasured these, after learning about you. Thank you for finding this for me." She reached up to attach it as Shiro turned back to Hongo.

"I was coming in to help you, when I saw her," Hongo said, "I got her out and told her to get away from the entrance. By the time I got her to safety, just to be sure, you were done."

"Did you…see Zol?" Shiro asked.

"Zol?" questioned Hongo.

Shiro looked ahead, "Never mind," he commented, "I'll tell you about that later."

There was a loud cracking sound, and then an earsplitting explosion. The ground shook, almost dropping the three of them to the ground. Up ahead they saw a fireball racing away from the mountain, just able to see it from around the bend. They heard rocks up ahead falling into the road; almost saw the ones near where they were falling. But they managed to remain in place, fortunately.

"There goes our easy information," Shiro said.

"Nothing is ever easy involving Shocker," Hongo commented.

"You're right," Shiro said, "But then again, if it was…we wouldn't be the heroes that we are."

Hongo added a nod with a bittersweet smile, "Our heroics can only stem from the taint and evils of Shocker. It's not a good tradeoff. I'd rather not be a hero and just be a teacher, if it would mean Shocker didn't exist."

"I think any of us would have traded in our mantles to return to our old lives, in exchange for Shocker's lack of existence," Shiro said, "Even Ichimonji."

Hongo's bittersweet smile remained, "You…haven't seen him, have you?" he asked, sounding distant, worried.

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Ichimonji?" asked Junko.

"My best friend," Hongo said, "My partner. Another hero. I don't know where he is, what he's doing…or even if he's alive or dead. I miss him; I missed him in this fight."

"I miss him too," Shiro said, "Even if I barely knew him…I do miss him. Another champion in our fight."

Hongo nodded, "He would have liked to have been called that."

"You speak like he's dead," Shiro pointed out.

"I don't want to think it, but I have no choice but to," Hongo said, "He wouldn't have lasted four years without a transplant. He would have been here, were he alive. He was either too weak to fight – which wouldn't stop him anyway – or he's dead. He has to be…," Hongo couldn't even bring himself to say it.

Shiro laid a hand reassuringly on Hongo's shoulder, "I too just lost a partner. He wasn't a partner like Ichimonji was yours…but I felt like he was. I do understand, Hongo."

Hongo gave him a small smile, showing regret, "I'm sorry for your loss, whoever he was." He turned to Shiro's bike, looking over it, "Your bike looks fairly trashed. You might just want to stop and get a new one. Visit Tachibana; he'll get you a good one."

Hongo walked off, down the path, leaving his helmet behind on the road.

"Hongo!" Shiro called after him. When he stopped, Shiro continued, "This is how we end our meeting? You tell me to get a new bike, and then walk off?"

"I guess so," Hongo answered, looking over his shoulder to Shiro, "Heed my words; get a new bike."

Shiro had to smile to him, "Keep on living your life."

Hongo's smile turned genuine, and he continued to walk off.

Junko finally spoke up, "Shiro-kun…what happens now?" she asked softly.

He turned to her, taking her right hand into his left, "I'm going to take you for a drink, Junko-chan. Sincerely; I mean that."

Her face lit up, "Really? Do you mean that, Shiro-kun?"

He nodded once, "Yes. I mean that."

He turned, leading her away down the road, leaving his bike and his helmet, letting his twin scarves fly behind him in the slight breeze, with Junko at his side.

---

Three screens flashed to life.

"You look terrible," Youth commented.

Zol stood watching the three. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye; his mustache was burnt, he had cuts over his face which were slowly healing from the nanobots, but at least one was bound to leave a scar. His clothes were burned, leaving him almost naked before them, as he wasn't wearing his armor.

"Just get on with the reason you called this meeting," muttered Zol.

Youth leaned back, "You see…"

Lady folded her arms over her chest, "You, Colonel Zol," she turned her head to look at another screen, "and you, Doctor Shinigami. You both failed."

"How did I fail?" demanded Shinigami, leaning towards a screen, "I had little to do with this plot! I only assisted Turtle and told Buffalo to infiltrate!"

"Zol was your emissary," Youth said, waving a finger towards Shinigami as if to scold him, "Where he fails, you fail. We lost an entire base because he didn't just finish off V3."

Zol let out a low growling sound, "There was no sport in directly killing him! You're no warrior; you don't understand!"

"I may not be, but I do know that Shinigami's recent plans haven't been working out very well, and you, working on his behalf, have also failed here. From a managerial standpoint, things aren't looking that good."

"You both must shape up. Quickly," Lady commented.

Youth gained a grim smile, "Yes; very quickly."

"Why is that?" Shinigami questioned. Zol had yet to reach his base, but soon would. He had gotten moved during the incident of Riderman's birth, and Zol hadn't been told. Zol was now at another base on his way over. That made this next comment rather confusing, but no less frightening.

"Great Leader is very displeased," Lady said.

"He's coming very soon to oversee things as a result," Youth said, his grim smile fading.

"Work it out. This is your last warning," Lady said, reaching over and switching herself off.