We who concieved this idea, wrote it down, and editied it do not own Kamen Rider OOO or Ikki Tousen. We merely created and maintain this fic for fun and hope all of you enjoy it too.
OOO: Medals of Ikki Tousen
Chapter 3: Of Deals, Books, and Shark Attacks
Written By: Ten-Faced Paladin and Kamen Rider Chrome
Edited By: Shadow Element 13
Idea Provided By: Tailsmo4ever
In Previous Chapters…
Saying that the status quo of the war of the Fighters had been shifted was a bit of an understatement at the moment. Monsters that were almost as old as the war itself suddenly appeared and didn't waste anytime in making their mark. They had already proven to be more than capable of handling even the top-ranked Fighters. Uva busted up Saji really hard, forcing the womanizer to the ground and be used to produce one of the destructive Yummy. No doubt he would have quite the story to tell when he recovered from the beating. Kakoton of Kyosho didn't fare any better. Cazali took him down in a matter of five seconds, a feat which a grand total of ONE fighter could claim. Ryomou of Nanyo tried to subdue their Yummy with one of her dreaded submission holds. Unfortunately, it turned out to be completely ineffective, and that left her bare-chested as a result of the surprise counterattack. Chou-un of Seito walked away from the same Yummy which had then evolved with several cuts on her body, a feat which no other Fighter could claim credit for.
Only Hakufu Sonsaku could claim to be an exception. With the help of the rebel Greeed, Ankh, she was able to become the armoured defender, Kamen Rider OOO. With the power unlike anything the Fighters wielded before, she put it to the test fighting first the Bear Yummy who harmed her cousin and then a Bee Yummy which attacked her school. Normally Hakufu would have nothing to do with killing a person. However, with the Yummy threatening her family and friends, she made her choice and destroyed both without batting an eye.
The dust had officially settled after the first two Yummy attacks, but the story has only just begun.
Kougami Foundation HQ
Kougami grinned as he watched OOO's fights with the Bear Yummy, the Bee Yummy and Uva, actually pausing in the midst of making another cake to watch. He already knew how powerful the bubbly gang leader was on her own, but he also knew how much more power she had as OOO. The possibilities were infinite and the mere thought of so many possible beginnings brought a smile to his face. "This is excellent, Satonaka-kun! Who would have guessed that the power of OOO would fall into the hands of the Legendary Sho Hao?" He continued to smile as he got up and walked to the window to see the sunset. "She has the skills and the power, but not the technology or the know-how. That is where our equipment comes in. The situation couldn't be any better since we are collecting more Medals!"
"Yes. We are certainty gathering more Medals," Satonaka agreed, stacking the Cell Medals that they acquired from the first Yummy attack from her table. Just as she was about to place another Cell Medal on the top, the stack collapsed over. Satonaka slumped in disappointment.
"Have Goto-kun follow and watch over Hakufu Sonsaku and Ankh until further notice," Kougami said, staring at the skyline for a moment. It was only for a moment, because he turned around to pour powder into his newest cake mix and said, "Now then… whose birthday is it tomorrow?"
"Hai! It is the manager's," Satonaka answered, picking up a small notebook filled with birthdays of major employees.
Kanto
"Ankh-chan! Pay attention!"
The sun was vanishing over the horizon as Hakufu and Ankh walked back to the Shu household where the bubbly blonde called home. The leader of Nanyo was talking quickly to her possessed cousin about the dos and don'ts when concerning the household in which his body had come from. While Hakufu was trying to stress the importance of following her instructions, Ankh was content to ignore her as he toyed around with one of the Cell Medals that they had managed to gain with the defeat of the Bee Yummy earlier in the day.
"Ankh-chan! You're not listening!" Hakufu whined.
"Why should I?" asked the Greeed. "Who cares if your mother figures out I'm not really your cousin?"
"I care!" Hakufu snapped. "She's already going to flip once she hears about me fighting monsters and stuff! Who knows what she's going to do if she finds out her nephew is being controlled by one!"
"Again, why should I care how a human reacts to me?" asked Ankh.
"Because she'll flip and go on a rampage or something!" cried Hakufu. "She'll probably spank me for letting it happen or worse! Who do you think taught me how to fight?"
"So she probably sucks at it too," Ankh shrugged.
"Hey!"
"Oh do shut up!" the bird-like Greeed in human form sighed. "If you'll pipe down I suppose I'll try to keep my head down. I am no saint though. Do not expect me to act like your gutless wonder of a cousin simply so to make you feel better."
"Don't talk about Kokin that way!" Hakufu growled. "Or else I'll kick your butt so hard that Yummy will have gotten off easy!"
"Without these you won't," Ankh snickered, holding up the Taka, Tora, and Batta Medals. "You may still have the Driver, which I want back I might add, but I hold the Medals which power it."
Hakufu puffed up her cheeks childishly. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you, Ankh-chan."
"Don't worry about me, Hakufu. I can take care of myself. Besides, how bad can this mother of yours be?"
"You have no idea," Hakufu grumbled.
Seito Shrine
Chou-un grimaced yet again as she finally reached the shrine which she and her friends called home. The cuts she had received from the bee monster were better, but still were affecting her. Reaching the front door, she slipped inside before setting her bags on the ground so she could get out of her shoes. As she did so, she could hear the rapid padding of feet approaching long before the owner of the feet reached her.
"Ryuubi-san!" a childish voice cried before a young girl who was probably elementary school age with pale green hair tied up in two ponytails appeared at the door. She was dressed in a white and blue fuku with a yellow ribbon, the colours of Seito Private School. She blinked for a moment, the bright smile on her face fading and turning to shock. "Chou-un! What happened to you?"
"Koumei," Chou-un nodded, slipping out of her shoes and reaching for her indoor slippers. "Go collect Ryuubi and the others. Something very strange happened today and I think it was an omen for things to come. I will explain everything when they're together."
"But…Ryuubi-san hasn't come home yet," The small girl, Koumei, answered. "Kanu-san and Chouhi-san aren't home either. It's just me, Kouchu, and the other monks right now."
"What?" Chou-un asked, stopping her movements, one slipper on as she reached for the other. If her eyes were open, she would have blinked in shock. "But they should have been back hours ago. Did you call their cell phones?"
"Not yet," Koumei answered. "Kouchu suggested that Ryuubi wanted to stay to read a book and knowing her, that's probably true. But still…"
"Now I'm getting even more worried," Chou-un frowned. Slipping on the slipper, she grabbed the bag of goods and stood up. "Koumei, try to call Kanu and the others while I go tend to my wounds. Once they're taken care of and we haven't heard from them, I'm going straight to Seito to see what the problem is. Something's wrong, I can feel that much."
"Right," Koumei nodded, padding away so to find her cell phone.
Chou-un frowned as she started making her trip towards where the first-aid kit was kept. Putting the supplies away would have to wait until later. Although Ryuubi had been known to not want to move as she was reading a book she was particularly interested in, none of her three bodyguards really indulged her for this long. Then again, knowing Kanu's not-so-secret affection for the glasses-wearing leader, she may have simply used her puppy-dog eyes and made Kanu cave for once. Still, after the events she was witness to that day, she wasn't going to leave anything to chance.
Shu Household
Hakufu and Ankh stood in front of the large house which Kokin's family had called home for generations and where Hakufu and her mother were living at the moment. Hakufu was quite visibly nervous about trying to pull one over on her mom concerning her cousin while Ankh didn't seem capable of caring any less about the situation than he already did. The only bright side to the situation was that the two didn't have to deal with Kokin's father on top of dealing with Goei. The elder Shuyu had strangely announced that he had been touched by the country lifestyle and promptly left to become a farmer. They hadn't heard from him since and he was assumedly doing well enough for himself since he had yet to return. It still left Goei to deal with and that in itself was a dangerous enough task with the sensitive information Hakufu had concerning her cousin.
"Okay," Hakufu sighed, taking a calming breath. "Here we go."
"Whatever, I'm hungry. Let's go," Ankh shrugged as he strolled towards the door.
"Ankh-chan! Wait! I have to go in first to make sure it's safe!" Hakufu cried, attempting to catch up with the possessed teen. The strawberry blonde pushed back the Greeed, making the bird-like kaijin grumble with a deep frown. Reaching the door, she slid it open before loudly proclaiming, "Tadaima!"
"Welcome back!" walking into the entry hall with a ladle was a woman who, while obviously older, still maintained a youthful look to herself despite her years. She had short auburn hair which spiked cutely near the bottom and also wore glasses which helped her with a sensual mature look. She also wore a black kimono with a red obi. If it weren't obvious enough by the ladle, the apron over her clothes and the kerchief over her hair indicated that she was cooking dinner at the moment. Her name was Goei, Hakufu's mother and the one who taught her daughter plenty of what she knew about martial arts next to a certain old man who lived in the mountains.
"Well, seems you two had an adventure today," Goei commented, noticing the scuffed up clothes that Hakufu and 'Kokin' were wearing, especially the claw marks on the front of her nephew's uniform. It likewise didn't escape her notice that her nephew now had blonde hair. "Care to tell me why your hair suddenly changed colour Kokin?"
Frowning, Ankh opened his mouth to speak, "It's-!"
"It's because he lost a bet with Saji!" Hakufu quickly piped up. "Kokin had to dye his hair since he lost! Saji said something about being able to draw in girls like he could with the right hair colour or something, yeah!"
"Oh?" Goei asked, an eyebrow raised. "Kokin seemed handsome enough to me before." Shrugging, she gestured the pair inside. "Okay then, well, dinner's going to be ready soon. I've got some hot gossip I've been dying to share since you two left today!"
"Okay!" Hakufu smiled, a nervous sweatdrop on her forehead. Skipping into the house with a sullen Ankh close behind, the teens slipped into their indoor slippers and headed towards the main living room which lay past Goei. The strawberry blonde seemed relieved that her ruse had worked and was ready to enjoy dinner so long as Ankh didn't do anything stupid. The possessed young man merely stuck his hand in his pockets and followed his 'cousin' since he didn't know where anything was despite it being his host's home. Walking past Goei, he was suddenly halted when the older woman's hand suddenly lashed out and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. Before any protests could be made, the Greeed was hoisted off of his feet and slammed into a wall before Goei got up to his face, her eyes dangerously narrowed.
"Oi!" Ankh grunted. "What's the big idea?"
"Oh boy. Busted," Hakufu whimpered, showing an unusual amount of insight.
"You may have fooled Hakufu but you haven't fooled me!" Goei frowned darkly, her grip on Ankh's shirt tightening. "Who are you and what have you done with my nephew Kokin? I expect an answer!"
"Let me go you blasted woman!" Ankh declared hotly. Clenching his right fist, Cell Medals began wrapping around his arm up to his elbow, coated with a red aura. The Medals were there for a moment before fusing together and becoming Ankh's true form. Lashing out, he grabbed Goei's neck, attempting to push her back. "Now!"
On a regular woman, this kind of intimidation tactic might have worked. However, Goei was far from ordinary. As a mother and wife of a Fighter, she knew her way around martial arts, having taught them to her daughter in the past. Despite her flirty and somewhat ditzy nature, she had experience with combat. Grabbing Ankh's wrist, she twisted it in order to force him to relinquish his grip before slamming the possessed young man into the ground with a…
POP!
Kokin hit the ground in a slump, his hair back to normal and his magatama its regular colour again. He was clearly unconscious, but he was free of Ankh's control at the moment. Blinking at the sudden change in the young man whom she thought was impersonating her nephew; Goei looked at the red 'glove' that she had removed from the body. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw that it was tapping its finger against its thumb in clear frustration.
"Would you be so kind as to put me back?" the red arm asked, agitated.
"What on earth?" Goei gasped, dropping the arm. A Fighter's mother and wife she may be, and very used to odd things, but talking dismembered limbs was not one of them.
"Humans!" Ankh snorted, floating towards Kokin and reattaching himself back to the unconscious Fighter's arm, affecting the change in looks once again.
Make that flying, talking dismembered limbs. Goei just blinked in complete shock at what she had witnessed, completely unsure as to what to say for once. Having just witnessed a flying and talking arm take control of her nephew's body, this was understandable, "Wha…what…H…Hakufu…what's…going on?"
"Ummm…" the strawberry blonde sweatdropped as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Mom…meet Ankh-chan. He's going to be staying with us for a while."
"Charmed," the red Greeed sneered.
Seito
"This is getting ridiculous. We're going to be late and what is she doing? She's reading more of her books. If she was practicing fighting for once I'd understand, but this? Sheesh!"
The halls of Seito were more or less abandoned for the day and it was quickly becoming nightfall, making the hallways seem that much bigger and echoing. Walking down them was a pair of female students who were both donned in Seito school uniforms. The first girl had brown hair which ended at her neck and spiked slightly at the tips. Her eyes were an almost amber shade of brown and she seemed to have a healthy figure for a girl her age. Her name was Chouhi Ekitoku and she was one of the three Fighters in charge of protecting Ryuubi Gentoku. Chouhi was what one would call a bossy individual, especially when it came to trying to get Ryuubi to act like the Fighter she was supposed to be. Still, she was one of Ryuubi's best friends and she was darn proud of it. She only tried to make Ryuubi more of a Fighter so often because she didn't want to see the glasses-wearing girl hurt when they weren't around to protect her. Chouhi was also very powerful in a physical sense, able to throw people several stories up into the air, and had done so in the past, revealing that she was indeed powerful like the first Chouhi Ekitoku. It certainly helped her cement her position as one of the top Fighters in Seito like her namesake as one of the Five Tiger Generals.
At the moment she was indulging in her sweet tooth with a small bag of cookies while she complained once again about Ryuubi's habits. Next to her was a girl who was a bit taller than her and wearing the same uniform, although it was scandalously shorter, revealing more of her legs and her entire stomach. She had tanned skin, hinting at a possible mixed heritage along with long purple hair which flowed down her back and almost touched the floor, tamed only with a simple silver band to keep it from flying in all directions. One of her eyes was covered by her hair, likewise her silver magatama, making her appear more mature and exotic. Gripped in her hand was a naginata, tipped with a dragon's head with a curved blade coming out of its mouth. This girl's name was Kanu Unchou and she was hailed as one of the most powerful Fighters, one of the top five in Kanto. Kanu was usually a somewhat controlled individual and didn't often get emotional about anything, but when her honour or Ryuubi got involved, that changed. Kanu was fiercely loyal to Ryuubi and held a deep affection to her. It was really no secret, but no one who knew about it called her out on it and others who knew her but didn't know it were just dense in the first place. Still, it allowed Kanu to believe that no one knew about her feelings, which she preferred.
"It's just the way Gentoku is," Kanu shrugged in response to Chouhi's complaining. "She's probably just found a book which she found interesting and lost track of time or something."
"But she didn't even bother coming to class today!" Chouhi grumbled. "Granted she's the Leader and gets a bit of leeway sometimes but that's just not like her!"
"That I can agree with," Kanu admitted. "Still, we can just retrieve her now and find out her reasons later when we get back to the shrine."
"We don't have time for that! She could go blind if she reads without resting!" Chouhi snapped.
"What are you going to do?" asked Kanu.
"Drag her away from her books and knock her out so she can get some rest. Then when she wakes up I'll shove food down her throat!"
Kanu frowned. "That isn't very respectful…"
"Screw respect! Call this an intervention!"
Chouhi entered the library to see, as expected, Ryuubi reading. There were stacks of books all around her and it was like she hadn't even left the spot. Kanu took one look at the sight and pondered if Chouhi's idea at an intervention wasn't such a bad idea anymore. From the way Ryuubi was hopping in her chair slightly, she may not have even left to go to the bathroom unless she absolutely could not hold it any longer.
Chouhi, seeing that her point was made, walked over to the occupied leader and took her arm, "Okay Ryuubi. Enough is enough! It's time to go back home to the shrine. Now come on!"
"No!" Ryuubi resisted, trying to take her arm back, but Chouhi kept her grip strong and attempted to yank the bespectacled girl out of the chair. Her grip and insistence to stay at the table with her books was certainly strong, but Chouhi was several times stronger and slowly winning the fight. She would have won quicker, but she didn't want to hurt one of her best friends. "Leave me alone!"
"You can read more tomorrow but now we gotta go!"
Ryuubi continued to resist, her desire to read more strengthening her. Kanu watched on in increasing concern. This was not like the Ryuubi Gentoku she knew at all. True, reading took up a higher priority than most things in her mind, but the bespectacled girl was usually compliant when her bodyguards advised her to do something. Ryuubi knew there were times for reading and times for going without, but this Ryuubi in front of her seemed to be unable to make that distinction. It was as if reading was the beginning and end of all things to her and she was incapable of doing anything else unless it helped her read even more.
Above the struggling pair, one of the dozens of eggs which were suspended on the roof, bigger than the rest, broke free from the bindings in which kept it suspended. Thanks to Mezul's power, it went unnoticed as it silently dropped to the ground. Once there, the egg began to swell and grow at a rapid pace. Finally, the soft casing of the egg broke, revealing what was inside.
And then it wasn't so unnoticeable anymore.
Shu House
Hakufu gave her mother the summarised version of the events which had taken place lately, beginning with when Hakufu found Ankh's Core Medal, which was followed by the Bear Yummy's appearance, Hakufu transforming into OOO and Ankh taking over Kokin's body. She also told her mother about her fight with the Bee Yummy, seeing no reason to lie to her mother since her secret as OOO and Ankh were already blown wide open.
Goei was taking things rather well, or at least she seemed to be.
"Hmmm," the elder woman frowned. She looked pretty calm, but she was slightly pale from hearing what had happened to Kokin. She was all for smacking the disrespectful Ankh out of the boy, but doing so would condemn him to death.
"Um…Mom?" asked Hakufu, finding it strange that her mother had been silent for so long.
"So…just to make things clear, you and these other Greeed have been freed from an eight century long sealing into the modern day," Goei spoke up, her voice calm and serious. "However, in an attempt to prevent your comrades from gaining an advantage over you due to your…weakness, you stole their Core Medals, which as I come to understand is the source of their power. The monster attacks are in turn caused by these Yummies who the Greeed create in order to find you and collect Cell Medals to keep their bodies going. Am I missing anything?"
"That's about the gist of it," Ankh shrugged, admiring the rings on his true hand.
"I see," Goei frowned. "Then just why of all the people in Kanto did you decide to ask my daughter to help?"
"Because she seemed strong enough and she was pretty much the only person there who I could ask," Ankh answered. "Well, that and it seemed like she was probably the only person who was stupid enough to actually listen to a floating arm on how to fight a monster."
"Hey!" Hakufu snapped, glaring at her possessed cousin. "Stop calling me stupid! Besides, people who call other people stupid are the really stupid ones!"
"Not if the people they call stupid truly are stupid!" Ankh snapped back. "And half the things I've seen you do in the one day since meeting you seems to confirm it!"
"Why you-!"
"Toh!"
"Ow!" Hakufu and Ankh both cried out as Goei landed perfectly aimed karate chops into the middle of their heads. Seeing that both her daughter and possessed nephew were subdued for the moment, she sat back down and composed herself.
"Ankh-san, I will not have you calling my daughter stupid, even if she is sometimes," Goei spoke, making both Ankh and Hakufu frown at her, one of the few things they would end up agreeing on in the days to come. Goei then glanced at her daughter, "Hakufu, while I don't like the thought of you going out to fight monsters when you just had just finished getting out of that Ukitsu incident with Rakuyo just before, there's probably not much I can do to stop you. So, I give my blessings."
"I would have made her do it anyway old woman," Ankh grunted.
"Toh!" another karate chop to the head.
"Ow! Blast you!"
"Ha ha! And you call me stupid! Even I learned not to call Mom old, even if she is!"
"Toh!"
"Ow! Mom!"
"Suck it up, girl!"
Ankh grumbled and rubbed his head. One of the downsides of possessing someone was that if something happened to the body, he'd feel it as if it were his true body. Mumbling about how insanity seemed to run in Hakufu's family, he resigned himself to wait for dinner. It wasn't like he could go anywhere else anyway. He didn't have a clue about the kind of world he had awoken to, but he didn't think very much of it, filled with so many unnecessary noises and places. It was a far cry from the old days. On the other hand, his former comrades were likely as off balance as he was and with any luck they would last longer that way since…
*Jingle, Jingle, Jingle*
"Yummy!" the bird Greeed gasped.
"Huh?" Goei blinked, looking away from her squabbling daughter to see her possessed nephew. "Are you looking forward to my cooking already?"
"No! Another Yummy's appeared!" Ankh frowned, standing up. "Let's go Hakufu!"
"What? Again?" Hakufu whined. "Ankh-chan, don't your Greeed friends have anything else to do besides cause trouble?"
"No, now let's go!" the possessed boy huffed before he grabbed Hakufu's arm and began to drag her from the room.
"Come back soon! I'll have dinner ready!" Goei waved after the pair, but the worry was deep in her voice.
Outside the house, Ankh and Hakufu spotted two familiar looking vending machines put up for their convenience. Obviously whoever was providing the equipment knew where Hakufu lived and prepared accordingly. The worrisome part was that the machines weren't there when the pair had arrived at the Shu House so obviously someone had followed them and reported the position.
"Wow, I guess we have our ride." Ankh rolled his eyes and provided Hakufu with a Cell Medal as they approached the vending machines. "So, Ankh-chan, do you know where the Yummy is?"
Ankh put the Cell Medal into the vending machine and pushed the large button, watching as it changed into a motorbike. "Just follow my lead." He got on. Hakufu stared. "What?"
"Are you sure you know how to drive that thing?" Hakufu asked as she activated the other Ride Vendor.
"How hard can it be?" the bird Greed shrugged as he mounted the machine, finding a helmet placed on the handlebars to use. Slipping it onto his head, he reached to the handlebars and gunned the ignition. "Seeing you do it was education enough for me."
"Wow! You are smart!" Hakufu grinned, leaping onto her own machine and claiming the helmet. Safety for her noggin confirmed, she gunned her own ignition. "Let's go Ankh-chan!"
With a dual roar, both motorcycles began shooting down the road, the boy leading the girl towards their destination.
Seito
Chou-un dashed through the streets, racing towards her school as fast as she could. As she patched up the scratches and cuts she received from the bee monster during the day, Koumei came to her and told her that she hadn't been able to contact Ryuubi, Chouhi, or Kanu. All she had received was a ringing tone before she was told that the number she had dialled was unavailable. Leaving her wounds half treated, she instantly began leaving, telling Koumei to get Kouchu so that the both of them could get a group of their Fighters to head to Seito in case things were really bad. She had been running non-stop every since.
Sprinting around a corner, she recalled that she was getting close now. Not being reliant on her eyes, she memorized the turns and pathways which lead to Seito rather than using her sense of sight. It would be no doubt troublesome for those who were untrained, but simple enough for one such as her. However, while she was indeed very close to Seito, she was hearing noises which were knew to the Seito grounds. The first was the faint noise of jingling coins, far too many to be in someone's pocket, and the other seemed to be…running water?
"What on earth…?" the silver-haired beauty frowned as she came across Seito's front gates. Dashing onto the school property, she headed for the doors where she hard the noises of coins and running water. However, before she could reach the front doors, said doors slammed open with a torrent of water spilling out into the yard.
"WOOOAH!"
…bringing two of her fellow Fighters along for the ride.
With wet and soggy thuds, Kanu and Chouhi crashed to the muddle ground. Both were soggy and wet, making their outfits cling to them in provocative ways in which men from all over would have enjoyed. However, neither was looking at their best. Both girls were sporting round bruises as if they were hit with something round like a ball at high speeds. Their outfits were also filled with cuts, some of them in provocative places and some of them weren't. Both girls were panting and quite obviously in pain if the mumbles and groans Chou-un could hear were any indication.
"Dammit," Chouhi grumbled, struggling to her feet. "I didn't sign up for weird crap like this!"
"It doesn't matter!" Kanu snapped, using her naginata to help support herself. "Gentoku is still inside and we have to get to her!"
"I know that!"
"Kanu! Chouhi!" Chou-un called, running over to her two waterlogged friends. The two wet girls took notice off her and relaxed only slightly. "What's going on? Where is Ryuubi?"
"Still in the library!" Chouhi answered. "It's like she doesn't even know that all this weird stuff is happening. I don't know what is up with her, but I know those things inside are the ones doing it to her!"
"Things?" asked Chou-un.
The sound of jingling coins grew even louder in Chou-un's ears before the sounds of footsteps on water accompanied it. Chouhi and Kanu both tensed, preparing to fight again with Chou-un drawing her sword, sensing that a fight was approaching. Stepping out of the front doors and onto the muddy ground was a creature which was white on the front, but gray as steel on the other parts of its body. Shark-like fins extended from its back as well as its shoulders, giving a fish-like appearance. Around its neck and waist were steel rings, decorated with chains. Similar steel rings were around its calves and biceps. Its face though was shaped similarly to a shark's, complete with a large nose with large nostrils. Its eyes were narrowed and triangular while its mouth with in a perpetual frown, accented with sharp teeth. It walked on two feet like a man and had two arms like a man, but it obviously was not one.
It was not alone either.
As the first shark monster exited the school, similar monsters followed it, stopping at the door as the first monster exited to face the three Fighters. Chou-un grimaced, being reminded of the bee monster she had faced earlier in the day. Upon noticing that the silver-haired Fighter was in attendance, a second shark monster stepped out of the building, walking up to its brother to face down the three Fighters.
"Great," Chouhi scowled. "As if one wasn't hard enough!"
So focused were the three Fighters on the approaching pair, they didn't notice the banners of blue, green, yellow, and gray unfurling from the rooftop of their school.
Atop of Seito, far above the impending fight of the three Seito Fighters and two Yummies, the four Greeed lounged about, a pile of Cell Medals available for their devouring pleasure. Mezul sat daintily on the edge of the roof, the fencing around her seat torn away so she could see unobstructed. Gameru was kneeling at the pile of Cell Medals, grabbing handfuls of them. Cazali simply rolled a single Medal across the floor as he lay on his side while Uva paced restlessly, occasionally tossing back a Cell Medal through his mouth plate.
"Itadakimasu," Gameru announced for a third time, gulping down a handful of Cell Medals which made his uncovered sections glow with silver energy.
"I must admit, you really know how to make a splash Mezul," Cazali chuckled, looking up to his female comrade.
"Of course!" the fish Greeed giggled. "I knew right away when I saw that little girl that she'd be perfect for collecting a number of Cell Medals. Now we get to use this place filled with my cute Yummies while we watch three more little girls try to take it back. Free entertainment is such a wonderful thing."
"Hmph! We should be looking for Ankh!" Uva snorted.
"And we will," Mezul replied. "But Cell Medals are just as important as the Core Medals are. Ankh will still be there when we wrap things up here. In the meantime, let's just enjoy the show those three little girls down below can give us, ne?"
Uva gave a growl, but didn't reply. He was still stewing over being beaten by OOO and it was putting him in a right foul mood. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the fencing around the roof and looked down at the streets around Seito, nowhere near the fight. However, he did take notice of a trio of Shark Yummies slipping out of the school and heading down the streets. All three simply dived to the ground, splashing into it as if it were made of water, actually leaving wet trails as their dorsal fins cut through the surface. It was enough to grab Uva's attention at the least.
"Oi, Mezul. Where are those Yummies going?" asked the insect Greeed.
"Hm?" Mezul blinked, looking on her comrade's direction. "Oh, those ones are going to get the little book girl some more books so she can keep making more Yummies for us."
"Hmm," Uva pondered. If those three Yummies were going to actually leave the area, then the chances were that Ankh would be able to sense them if they were closer to him or simply because they caused enough of a ruckus OOO wouldn't be able to not notice them. Either way, this might be his chance to get some payback! Smashing open the fencing in his way, Uva leaped from the rooftop and began to follow the three Yummies by hopping from rooftop to rooftop.
"I wonder where he's going," Cazali muttered.
"Itadakimasu!" Gameru cried again, gulping down more Cell Medals.
"Gameru-chan! Save some for others!" Mezul scolded.
"Hai…Mezul…" Gameru obeyed.
"Good boy."
Meanwhile, Ankh and Hakufu were speeding towards the place where Ankh had sensed the Yummies with him in the lead. At first he thought they were dealing with one big Yummy like the Bee Yummy from earlier, but that changed when a small portion of the feeling broke off to go elsewhere. "Looks like there's more than one," he murmured. That could only mean that it was Mezul. She had the ability to mass-produce Yummies from a single host. He then sped up, the thought of Cell Medals in mind.
"Ankh-chan! Matte!" Hakufu shouted as she sped up after her partner.
Ankh sped his machine up, cutting around corners and streets as Hakufu struggled to keep up. Really, didn't Ankh have any respect for her cousin's body at all? He was driving so recklessly! Still, Hakufu gunned the accelerator so that she would be able to keep up with him. The pair raced through the streets, incredulously not bringing the attention of the police. Then again, the police weren't very responsive to acts of delinquents since all of them were afraid of getting involved in the war of the Fighters.
Racing around yet another corner, Ankh abruptly came to a halt. Hakufu almost crashed into him from the halt, but she managed to hit the brakes before her front tire bumped into his back one. "Hey! Ankh-chan!"
"Be quiet and pay attention!" the bird Greeed snapped, pointing ahead towards the rows of stores which populated the streets. Hakufu looked ahead and blinked when she was one of the stores had a front window smashed open and water splashed all over the otherwise dry street. At first Hakufu was wondering why she was looking at what looked like a robbery, but the question died in her throat when she witnessed three Shark Yummies step out of the broken window, their arms filled with books of all sizes.
"Oh! The Yummies!" the strawberry blonde cried, dismounting and tossing her helmet aside.
"Yes. Mezul's work," Ankh nodded, presenting the Taka, Tora, and Batta Medals. "I trust you know what to do by this point?"
"Right!" Hakufu nodded, taking the Medals. Retrieving the OOO Driver, she strapped it to her waist. Quickly slipping the Medals into place, she locked the Driver into position before grabbing the O Scanner and swiping it across. "Henshin!"
"TAKA! TORA! BATTA!"
"TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!"
She ran towards the Shark Yummies as OOO's armor started to envelop her, transforming her into OOO. Leaping into action quite literally, she aimed a kick that sent a Shark Yummy falling backwards into the other two, causing them to drop their ill-gotten gains. They recovered and climbed to their feet, glaring at OOO. One Shark Yummy communicated with the other two who started picking up the books on the ground before diving straight into the street like it was water and surging away, leaving one of their own to deal with OOO by itself. OOO would've gone after the other two but she was being kept busy as this Shark Yummy swiped at her with its claws. She blocked and then used a haymaker that sent the Shark Yummy flying. It growled and started to attack in a frenzy, rushing at her and then biting her in the arm. "OW!" OOO cried out in pain. Acting quickly, she used one of her Tora Claws to slash it across the face, making it release her from its jaws. She then used the other set of Tora Claws and started to slash away at the aquatic Yummy. Each strike drove the Shark Yummy further and further back, making Cell Medals drop to the ground.
Ankh watched, tapping his fingers impatiently on the bike. "Oi, finish this quickly! We have to catch those others and find out where they're from!"
"You try and fight!" OOO snapped as she used a series of kicks that caused the Shark Yummy to stagger back with each blow. She then drew the Medajilabur and slashed the Shark Yummy across the chest, sending it reeling. With each blow, more Cell Medals dropped from the Yummy.
"Time to finish this," declared OOO as she took three Cell Medals from the Medal Holder mounted on the left side of her belt and put them one by one into the Medajilabur. Then, she grabbed the O Scanner and held it over the Medajilabur's Medal chamber.
"TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!"
She swung the Medajilabur and sliced the Shark Yummy across its body. To her understandable shock, the Yummy's body seemed to slide on the angle of the cut she made. At the same time, everything else that was in range of the cut began to slide along the same angle. OOO feared for a moment that she'd single-handedly destroyed a portion of the neighbourhood, but the buildings, trees, lampposts, and everything which had been affected by the cut suddenly slid back into place, undamaged. The Shark Yummy on the other hand screamed out as its bisected body exploded, sending a rain of Cell medals to the ground.
"All right! That was easy!" OOO cheered, jumping on the spot.
"Mezul's Yummies aren't known for their durability," Ankh shrugged.
"That is why I came."
Ankh and OOO turned to see Uva walking out from one of the alleyways, his fists clenched as he stared down OOO from the distance between them. OOO could feel the anger practically rolling off the insect Greeed as he stared at her. Even someone as dim and naïve and her could tell that he had nothing but murderous intent aimed at her. Gulping softly, she prepared herself for what she knew was to be another hard fight.
"Well Uva, come to lose again?" Ankh snickered.
"I underestimated the little girl before," Uva growled, slowly beginning to advance. "I won't make the same mistake twice! Now give me my Core Medals!"
"Come and take them!" OOO taunted, raising her blade.
Uva's answer was to bellow loudly as he charged at OOO with his blades raised. He slashed wildly at the armoured girl, attempting to either kill her or remove the OOO Driver from her waist so he could get his Core Medal back. OOO fought back, trying to get the enraged Greeed to back off or at least damage him so she could get some Cell Medals or perhaps even a Core Medal out of the exchange. That was sure to get Uva to back off.
"Uva-chan, I don't have time to play with you! I have to get those other Yummies!" OOO cried.
"Play? PLAY? Do you honestly think I'm playing with you?" Uva snarled, taking another swipe at OOO's head. The Fighter ducked underneath the blow and rolled away, but as she got up she was kicked in the torso and sent sprawling thanks to Uva's reflexes. Even worse, the Medajilabur was sent skidding down the road as it was knocked from OOO's hands.
"Ouch," the armoured girl muttered, trying to get back to her feet quickly so she could defend herself.
OOO knew that she was in deep trouble with little chance of getting out. The only reason she drove Uva off last time was because she managed to hit him with a sucker punch to a soft spot and make a wound that spilled out precious Cell Medals. She doubted that she would be able to pull off another punch like that again. If she wanted to survive, she would have to play it smart and that meant using the skills that Kokin taught her.
Standing up, OOO took a deep breath and began moving into a martial arts stance. She had learned plenty about martial arts from her cousin since she started going to Nanyo. Of course, she still fought the way she liked out of habit unless it was really serious. Raising her left arm above her head and letting her right one rest by her waist, she began to control her breathing, trying to pool her chi, what little she managed to learn to control over her training. She really couldn't afford to linger with Uva so she would have to hit him hard enough to break his skin and spill out Cell Medals again. She just hoped that Uva wasn't a martial artist or else she was going to be in trouble.
"Don't just stand around! Fight him already!" Ankh shouted, worried about losing Core Medals unless OOO fought Uva.
"DIE OOO!" Uva bellowed, lunging at the armoured girl, rearing back his bladed arm to strike her head. At the very last moment she ducked under his bladed arm and countered an open palm strike straight into Uva's chest. The blow was so powerful that was sent sailing backwards, a look of shocked disbelief on his face as Cell Medals started to spill out of his chest like a fountain. Not only that, a single Core Medal was also unleashed which Ankh quickly took notice off. Shooting his Greeed arm at the Medals, he absorbed several Cell Medals as he made a grab for the green Core Medal before returning to Kokin's body.
Uva hit the ground in a heap, the wound on his chest quickly closing. However, the damage was done. He had lost dozens of Cell Medals and even worse, one of his Core Medals had gone with them! Groaning, his left arm began to give off black smoke. To his horror, the black armour of his left arm began to dissolve into Cell Medals which dropped to the ground in a heap, leaving Uva's arm as bare as his legs, revealing black flesh with aged brown bandages. "No!"
"Uva, if you don't want to lose anymore Core Medals, I suggest you withdraw," warned Ankh. "Or else OOO here is, as the humans in this time say, going to kick your ass six ways to Sunday."
Uva growled as he considered his options. This OOO definitely had a lot of skill and strength to be a match for him. If he prolonged this battle, he could risk more of his Core Medals. She had already gotten one of his Core Medals, making her a larger threat than before, especially to him! "I'll remember this, OOO! Ankh!" he threatened before he leapt away, bouncing off the side of a building before vanishing out of sight. It was all OOO could do not to drop to her knees with a sigh of relief.
"Now that we've had that taken care of, we better head to where those Yummies went," said Ankh to OOO.
"You don't have to tell me twice," said OOO as she ran to get the Medajilabur back before she could leave. However, as she managed to grab the blade, a black car turned onto the street. At first OOO thought it was just someone who was using the same road and this she went to move her Ride Vendor, but when the car parked in front of the pair, she began to think otherwise.
When the car came to a stop, the driver's side opened to reveal a woman in a white jacket and skirt who was keeping her face blank. Calmly stepping to the back door of her car, the woman opened to door before she retrieved what looked like a television screen of some kind and returned to place the screen on the trunk of her car, a stand on the back of the screen keeping it up. Ankh and OOO blinked in confusion at the item before the screen came to life, revealing a man in a suit who seemed to be making a cake.
"Ah," the man smiled, apparently able to see the two through a live connection. "Hakufu Sonsaku-kun of Nanyo Academy and Ankh-kun of the Greeed? Ah, I'm glad Satonaka-kun was able to find you both so quickly! Let us begin by celebrating this first meeting!" Placing his whisk down, he lifted up what looked to be a party cracker before setting it off, sending streamers flying out. "Happy Birthday!"
"Yay!" OOO cheered before she froze. "Hey, it isn't my birthday though!"
"Baka," Ankh snorted.
"Isn't the first time two parties meet like a birthday?" asked Kougami. That thought gave OOO pause as she turned it around in her head. If that was true then she had a lot of birthdays to remember. That and a lot of birthdays she didn't get invited to or get presents for! She just hoped her allowance would be able to cover it…
"Who are you?" demanded Ankh, growing impatient.
"Please allow me to introduce Mr. Kousei Kougami, founder and president of the Kougami Foundation," the woman introduced, gesturing to the man on the screen. "His company is also the one responsible for the equipment that has been made available to you."
"You mean the sword and the bike?" OOO asked. "You made all this?"
Kougami confirmed, "That is right. Amazing isn't it? After witnessing what you have accomplished, I think it's time we have a formal arrangement made. In exchange of you using our Medal System, we would like you to give us Cell Medals in return." OOO blinked at the terms of the deal, wondering why they wanted Cell Medals for themselves. They weren't Greeed after all. Ankh on the other hand quickly grew into a fury, his kaijin arm rising in preparation for a possible attack.
"Don't screw with me!" he bellowed. He was about to walk forward, but was stopped when several bullets impacted the concrete in front of his feet. Turning, OOO and Ankh spotted a man in a black motorcyclist outfit holding a gun with the barrel aimed straight at Ankh. The pair recognized him as the man who had given OOO the Medajilabur and taught her how to use the Ride Vendor. Of course, that was Goto, trusted employee of Kougami
"Don't lose your temper. As far as I'm concerned, you're still like those other Greeed," stated Goto.
"You!" OOO recognised. "I forgot to thank you for the bike and sword, so thanks." Goto didn't respond as he kept his eyes trained on Ankh.
"Consider your options, Ankh-kun. The Medal System is really a convenient tool for you to have. It's not free, though." Kougami explained, still making his cake as if a Greeed wasn't about to go postal on his assistant. "It's not like I'm asking for all of the Cell Medals you obtain. You need them too of course. All I am asking for is a portion of them. That way, everyone gets something they want."
"How many are we talking about here?" asked Ankh.
"How about…seventy percent?"
Ankh slammed a fist on the Ride Vendor's gas tank. "Hell no!"
"Ankh-chan, don't be rude!" OOO snapped. "Every time we destroy a Yummy lots of Medals come out anyway! That leaves a whole lot of them left for you even if Kougami-san takes a lot more of them. I don't think it's too much to ask for. We get all this cool stuff out of it too!"
"Thirty percent of the Cell medals we do get go to me? Do you realize how little that is?" demanded Ankh. "It would be months before I even complete my whole arm, never mind my entire body! I'm not going to accept a deal like that!" Snapping his head to the image of Kougami, he was tempted to tell the man to go to hell, but the equipment which he made available to OOO and their usefulness couldn't be denied. As greedy as Ankh was for Cell Medals, he wasn't blinded by it. "Fifty percent!"
"I'm afraid I must respectfully decline," Kougami answered. "Fifty percent just wouldn't be enough to justify the costs of using the equipment. Especially in situations like the one currently occurring down at Seito Private School."
"Seito?" OOO blinked, recognizing the name. "Wait, that's where Kanu goes! She's one of the strongest Fighters of all!"
"Indeed. Unchou-kun's legend and skills are indeed great," Kougami nodded. "However, Shiryuu-kun, Ekitoku-kun, and herself are currently fighting off those Yummies and despite valiant efforts, are not faring well."
"W-what?" OOO paled. While she and Kanu had only met during the Big Fighter's Tournament, and promptly got her butt kicked by the taller girl, she didn't really have any hard feelings about it. The fight had been one of the most exciting she had ever been in and she had been hoping to get a rematch one day. To hear she of all people was having trouble with the Yummy was a little frightening.
"Need proof? Allow me to show you," Kougami spoke before pressing a button on his desk. The image on the screen quickly changed to a camera view of the front of Seito. Visible outside of the front doors were three Fighters going against a pair of Shark Yummies…and slowly losing. OOO could recognize Kanu among the trio along with the silver-haired girl from the shopping centre while the third she had never met before. All three were fighting hard, but none of them were able to even wound the Yummies while they kept getting attacked by several high speed black balls which exploded like water balloons, soaking them. The screen quickly changed, returning to Kougami's office.
"As you can see, even OOO would have trouble with such odds, which is where my company's inventions come in," the corporate leader explained.
"Ankh-chan, we have to get going! Just give Kougami-san the seventy percent! All this stuff will be able to make up the difference for us in no time!" OOO pleaded.
"Nnnn!" the bird Greeed grimaced, glaring at the man on the screen. "Fifty-five!"
"I must insist on seventy!" Kougami replied, his face serious.
"Ankh-chan!"
"Kuso!" Ankh hissed. "Sixty percent! That's as high as I'll go!"
"Ah-ha! Done!" Kougami grinned. "Sixty percent of all Cell Medals go to my company! I look forward to a fruitful venture with you both. However, as an act of good faith, I must insist that the Cell Medals from the Yummy you just defeated go to my company. To seal the deal, so to speak."
"They're yours!" OOO cried, grabbing the Greeed's arm. "Come on Ankh-chan! I don't know the way to Seito and you know which way the Yummies are!"
"FINE!" Ankh released all the Cell Medals which they had gained earlier, the same ones that Uva had lost as Ankh claimed the Core Medal. Hearing the Medals jingle as they hit the ground was almost like punches in his possessed gut. It pained him to lose something so precious but at least he got something out of it. Not on his terms since he'd rather have the Cell Medals AND the equipment but as OOO insisted, they had to compromise. At least this way it would be marginally easier to get more Medals.
Both teens mounted the Ride Vendors and hit the ignitions before swerving past Satonaka's car and down the street, Ankh taking the lead so that OOO would know which way to go.
"A successful deal Kougami-san," Satonaka complimented her boss as she and Goto stepped out into the viewing of the screen.
"Indeed!" Kougami grinned, stirring his cake batter. "Goto-kun, Satonaka-kun, if you two would be so kind as to collect the Cell Medals at your position please? They will be of great use for future projects."
"Yes sir," both nodded before Kougami's image winked out on the screen.
Ankh and OOO meanwhile kept driving, swerving past parked cars and the odd moving one as they made their way towards the Yummy nest which was coincidentally the base of one of the three most powerful groups of Fighters in the Kanto area. It wasn't the fact that she was going to meet up with Kanu again or have to fight more Yummies that got her nervous. Not those facts by themselves anyway. It was the fact that those same Yummies were able to beat a Fighter like Kanu who was hailed as one of the top fighters in all of Kanto. She was a Fighter who by reputation hadn't lost a fight before, although that could possibly be a rumour.
Racing around yet another corner, the pair came to a stop next to the gates of Seito and came onto the scene of a brawl. Two Shark Yummies were fighting the three Seito girls and it was quite obvious that they were winning. All three girls were panting, covered in bruises, soaking wet, and had several rips in their outfits. They were also panting, short on breath and obviously beginning to get tired. However, that didn't compare to the mob of Shark Yummies that were just inside the school building itself, looking like they were enjoying the fight itself.
"That…is a lot of Yummies," OOO gulped.
"There are too many of them to be just for a small nest," Ankh frowned, keeping his helmet on in case the three Seito girls saw him. He didn't want his host to get recognized by them on the off chance they met up on the street he took Kokin's body. They may know him for all he knew. "Mezul must have made this nest shortly after we escaped that damn tomb. They've been incubating for the better part of the day. That building is probably filled to the brim with them."
"Oh boy," OOO shivered.
"Well? Don't just stand there!" the red Greed barked at the armoured girl. "Go get them already!" He tossed a coin into OOO's hand. "Use this!" OOO stared at the Kamakiri Medal and nodded before he took out the Tora Medal and replaced it, taking the O Scanner as she slanted the OOO Driver's buckle. She then scanned the device over his belt.
"TAKA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA!"
The tiger on her chest's emblem was soon replaced by a mantis as the Kamakiri Arms replaced the Tora Claws. The Kamakiri Swords were then gripped in her hands as she charged at the two Shark Yummies. The mantis on her chest glowed, energizing her blades as she leapt. She then came down, cutting the two Shark Yummies down the middle before they exploded into Cell Medals. The three Seito Fighters gaped at the appearance of the armoured Fighter.
"What the-?" Chouhi gaped.
"Who-?" Kanu blinked.
"Her again," Chou-un frowned, unsure what to make of the arrival of the one heard called OOO. Oh the mysterious figure would fight the monsters. That much she felt she could be sure about. The question was if she was willing to help save Ryuubi or was simply there to fight the shark monsters.
A roar from within the school alerted the trio of Seito girls that the presence of the armoured fighter had simply put the monsters within into a rage, possibly at the slaying of their two brethren. The doors were once again forced open as what seemed to be a small mob of the Shark Yummies came pouring out. They were all making snarling noises and didn't look one bit happy at the sight of OOO in their midst. The three Seito girls felt despair begin to fill their hearts as they recalled how simply two of the monsters were able to keep them busy, even managing to come close to beating them. Their chances against a mob were practically zero.
"Oh man," OOO gulped. This did not look good.
The Shark Yummies charged at OOO and the three Seito Divas in a rush, shooting black orbs from their mouths in the process. Those with weapons attempted to block the projectile attacks, but each one hit with the force of a bullet and splashed like a water balloon, soaking the faces of the people they hit and distracting them, unless their eyes were already closed like Chou-un. However, it was a suitable distraction which allowed the Shark Yummies to strike as one, pounding each of the collected girls with several mob strikes, sending each of them sailing out of the gates of Seito. Skidding would be a more accurate term since their soggy bodies allowed them to slide for a short distance.
"I'm surrounded by idiots," Ankh grumbled, looking over to OOO and the three Seito students. Raising his hand, he produced the new Core Medal which they had obtained from Uva. "Maybe it's time to test these out." His arm shot towards OOO and knocked her in the back of the head.
"Ow!" OOO grunted as she felt Ankh hit her. "Ankh-chan!"
"Here, use this!" said Ankh, holding up the new Medal, revealing it to be marked with a Kuwagata beetle.
"Isn't that the one we got from that bug guy?" OOO asked.
"Yes! Now hurry up!" he insisted.
Nodding, OOO stepped towards the gates of Seito once again, ignoring the gaping looks of Kanu and Chouhi as they stared at Ankh's true form floating in the air. Facing off against the mob of Shark Yummies, the armoured girl reset her belt once again, this time removing the red Taka Medal before replacing it with the green Kuwagata Medal. Setting the belt on an angle again, she didn't notice the three Medals beginning to shine in their spots. With the buckle in place, she raised her O Scanner.
"She can't honestly be trying to beat all of them," Chou-un grimaced, snapping the attention of her friends from Ankh to OOO once again. Chouhi tore her gaze away from the floating red arm before gazing at OOO standing in front of the Shark Yummy mob.
"Is she stupid or something?" the snack-addict gaped. "All of us together couldn't even stand on our feet for a whole minute! She doesn't stand a chance!"
"On the stupid part I agree," Ankh commented, floating closer so he could see the impending fight better. "However, right now I'd say her chances of winning are pretty darn good."
As Chouhi tried to argue, with an arm of all things, Kanu and Chou-un turned their attention to the impending battle. The silver-haired girl actually opened her eyes, revealing crystal blue irises and slim narrow pupils as they both took in the sight of OOO standing along against the mob.
Suddenly, as one, the mob began to charge again. This time they weren't shooting anything at her, favouring to attack her physically with their own hands and feet. OOO on the other hand didn't even move a step. Instead, she brought the O-scanner up before swiping it across her belt, making three chiming noises.
"KUWAGATA!"
"KAMAKIRI!"
"BATTA!"
"GATA-GATA-GATAKIRIBA! GATAKIRIBA!"
Like before, three Medals depicting the ones on OOO's belt appeared in a horizontal line before colliding with her chest and changing her armour. This time, the top section of the emblem on her chest changed from a red bird to a dark green pair of kuwagata beetle horns. Her helmet likewise changed, the entire face being turned green with a mouth plate that had a single line running through it like a beetle shell. Her eyes had turned orange and a pair of green horns like a kuwagata beetle's emerged from the top of her helmet.
OOO had achieved the GataKiriBa Combo!
Inhaling deeply as her body trembled with power; OOO reared back and let loose a savage scream, "RAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The raw power, rage, and primal energy transmitted by that scream caused the Shark Yummies to actually pause in their charge, finally showing some kind of emotion other than a kind of smugness of leering over an inferior opponent. It even caused the three Fighters by the gate to flinch, having rarely heard a powerful voice such as that before. They had really only ever heard it once, but that was all they needed to hear to know a comparison.
As her scream died down, OOO glared at the mob of Shark Yummies before she charged at them with a ferocious battle cry. A few steps into her charge, her body flashed bright green before two perfect copies of her emerged and took up the running pace next to her. Soon their bodies flashed, each creating two more copies. Each clone would in turn create two more clones that would then create two further clones of their own. Where it at first appeared that one person was going to go and fight off a mob of monsters, it now appeared to be a war between monsters and humans about to go into full throttle with Seito as the prize.
"Wha…wha…what…WHAT THE HELL?" Chouhi gaped, quite loudly, mimicking the thoughts of her two more silent companions quite nicely.
OOO and her clone army started to fight the Shark Yummy mob with pure ferocity. Some fought unarmed while others fought wielding the Kamakiri Swords. Either way, the Shark Yummies were in for the fight of their lives. One by one, the Shark Yummies' numbers dwindled as they were punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, head-butted, thrown down, and slashed. Each of the Shark Yummies perished, leaving behind Cell Medals. Still, the Kamen Rider army continued to take the Shark Yummy army apart with considerable effort, but they were still winning.
"Back off!"
"Ow! That hurt!"
"Take this!"
"Someone get this thing off my back!"
"I got it!"
"A little help please?"
"Boom! I got you!"
Kanu, Chou-un, and Chouhi could only gape in shock at what they were witnessing. Being Fighters, they were used to strange, fantastic, and dare one say magical things occurring around them. However, seeing someone in a suit of armour duplicate themselves into an army was something even they found difficult to swallow. Still, that was indeed what they were witnessing. It was certainly more brutal than most of the battles they themselves had fought in the past, but they couldn't tear their eyes away from it all. Kanu herself could only watch in total shock before a stray thought came screaming into her head.
"Gentoku!" she gasped. "Gentoku is still inside!"
One of the nearby OOO suddenly perked at the mention of someone being inside of the school. Punching her opposing Shark Yummy in the face, she turned to look at Kanu, "Wait, you mean someone's still inside the school?"
"Our leader Ryuubi Gentoku," Chouhi nodded. "She's stuck in the library and we think these things are using her to increase their numbers. There's some kind of huge egg sack hanging above her that these things hatch out of. There's no end to them!"
"Well there will be!" OOO growled. "Where is the library?"
"It's on the third floor near the front here," Kanu answered, realizing what OOO was asking. She would have preferred to save Ryuubi herself, but her limb were beginning to lock up from the stiffness and pain, not to mention all the cold water used against her by the Yummies. "Just follow the first stairs you find and turn left!"
"Got it!" OOO nodded before suddenly splitting into two. One clone continued the fight with the Yummy while the other went for the main building.
The newest OOO cut through the crowds of herself and the Yummies fighting one another, actually knocking down a few Yummies so to make her way. Reaching the front doors of the school, she kicked them off of their hinges in a huff before charging in. She managed to quickly find a set of stairs and was instantly running up them before any of the Shark Yummy could think of following her inside. Taking the steps two at a time, she came up to the third floor, bursting into the hall and charging to her left. The door to the library was thankfully clearly marked since OOO didn't have the patience to go searching for the moment.
Entering the library, OOO found a brunette girl with glasses hunched over a table with a book, seemingly unaware of the all out war which was going on just outside the window. Above her though was a giant sack of what looked like fish eggs held together with organic silk which kept it suspended from the ceiling.
"Ew," OOO grimaced. Inside some of the larger eggs she could see half-formed Shark Yummies made of Cell Medals stirring about. Gripping her fists, OOO summoned her Kamakiri Swords and made a charge for the girl and the egg sack above her. Taking a leap, she pushed her power into the swords, making them glow before she swiped at the nest of eggs, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. "HIYAH!" The nest promptly exploded, showing the floor with dozens of Cell Medals. Landing on the ground, OOO gave herself a pat on the back for ending the source of the Shark Yummies. Now all that was left to do was…
"Huh? What happened? Where did all these coins come from?"
Turning, OOO saw that the brunette had dropped her book and was looking around in total confusion as to what was going on. The girl then turned at noticed OOO, standing behind her and promptly gasped, "Ah! Wh-who are you?"
"I'm OOO and I have to get you out of here," answered the armoured Fighter. Several Shark Yummies had chased after OOO and entered the library. Ryuubi screamed at the sight of them while OOO kept herself standing in between the girl and monsters. The Shark Yummies fired their water bombs and OOO acted quickly, slicing the bombs out of the air, letting water splash to the ground harmlessly. "Okay, so the door's out." Allowing the swords to merge with her armguards again, she glanced at Ryuubi and then the window behind her. "Out the window it is then!"
Dashing at Ryuubi, OOO scooped the girl into her arms in a bridal fashion, making the bespectacled girl blush brightly. Charging at the pane of glass, OOO leaped and smashed it with her foot in a flying leap before passing into the open air, letting gravity take hold. Ryuubi didn't even get time to scream before OOO and herself were falling through the air. Despite the distance, OOO took it the fall into stride and landed lightly on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Ryuubi coughed slightly, the dust getting into her mouth, but as she was able to see with the dust clearing, she squeaked in fright at the sight of people in green and black suits fighting shark monsters.
"EEK!" the timid girl cried out, clenching her eyes shut while clamping onto OOO even harder.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you," OOO promised, making Ryuubi look up into the orange eyes of her helmet. The bespectacled girl blushed even more vibrantly than before, but the armoured girl didn't take notice. Instead, she began charging through the mob of combatants, her clones giving her cover while beating away the Shark Yummies who were still fighting despite losing their advantage. With so many giving her cover, OOO was able to break free from the mob and reach the Seito gates once again.
"Gentoku!" Kanu cried, struggling to her feet as she saw her leader and secret crush approaching in the arms of OOO.
"Kan-san!" Ryuubi smiled, still blushing, but very relieved. As OOO approached the group, she set the bookworm down. Ryuubi immediately moved into action and glomped onto the naginata-wielder. "I was so scared! There were all these monsters, and fighting, and then OOO-sama coming and rescuing me! I'm so glad to see you!" The bookworm continued to gush in non-linear rabbles as Kanu's face lit up like a Christmas tree, not that anyone else was noticing.
"Okay, since the girl's okay, I'm going to finish this!" OOO nodded before she charged back onto the battlefield.
Despite her chirpy/aggressive mood, OOO could feel the energy draining her. She had to finish this quick. Only a handful of Shark Yummies, but they had all converged into a single position and were shooting a veritable tsunami of their water bullets, attempting to destroy as many of the OOO army at once. Seeing the balls coming, all of the OOO grabbed their O Scanners and swiped them across their buckles, making a chiming noise.
"SCANNING CHARGE!"
The army of armoured Fighters then leapt high into the air and then came down upon the Shark Yummies to execute a series of flying kicks. The Shark Yummies were hit, one by one before exploding into a mass of fire and Cell Medals raining in all directions. Everything was silenced by the explosion, allowing the audience a measure of peace. As the flames died down, the image of OOO could be seen once again. This time, she was by herself, her army of clones being dismissed.
"Man…turning back…into one…is tough," she panted, attempting to stand, but finding that her legs were quite wobbly.
"OOO-sama!" a concerned voice cried. Looking up, OOO witnessed Ryuubi dashing towards her with her three bodyguards in tow. The Seito leader approached her first, offering steadying arms on her shoulders before Kanu and Chouhi both lent shoulders of their own. "OOO-sama, are you okay?"
"I'm…okay," OOO nodded. "Just a…little tired. I'm fine…really."
"Well you don't sound okay," Chouhi frowned slightly.
"Don't worry…" OOO argued weakly. "Just need to…collect the…Cell Medals."
Watching from the gate and reattached to Kokin, Ankh just sighed as he witnessed not the sight of Fighters from different schools working together as they picked up all the Cell Medals littering the ground. A load of that many would go a long way to putting his body back together but sadly, that Kougami-teme had first dibs on sixty percent of the medals. Still, the forty percent left for him wasn't anything to sneeze at.
Wheeling his Ride Vendor to the schoolyard proper, Ankh hit the return switch on his machine, causing the motorcycle to flip onto its back wheel before unfolding back into a regular vending machine again. Scooping up a Cell Medal from the ground, mentally pegging it as one of Kougami's rather than his own, he inserted the coin into the machine. If he recalled right, the guy who gave them the sword hit a number of buttons which caused a number of those annoying canned robots to come out. Recalling the noises from the buttons, Ankh slapped the buttons connecting to the red cans. His guessing was quickly rewarded as a musical tone sounded off and dozens of red cans spilled out of the machine, making a small pile at his feet.
"TAKACAN!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ankh grumbled. Picking up a can, he pulled the tab before placing it in his hand. The little hawk robot unfolded and gave off a musical cry before looking up at Ankh for orders. Orders that Ankh himself didn't want to give, but he gave them anyway, "Listen up. All of the Cell Medals on this property are to be divided up. Sixty percent go to Kougami and the rest go to me. Got it?"
The red robot gave off a shrill cry before taking to the sky. The remaining cans all unfolded in response and flew after their brother. The birds were mobile in their air for only a moment before diving down on the scene. In a replay of the aftermath of the battle with the Bear Yummy, the birds began collecting as many Cell Medals as their little beaks could hold. Ankh merely watched as he tapped his foot impatiently, wanting his Cell Medals. Even as OOO and the Seito girls watched, the birds continued working, one even plucking a Cell Medal out from beneath Kanu's foot. With the last of the coins picked up, the birds began to fly again. Most of them began flying into the distance, but the rest flew towards Ankh who held his true arm out. Like clockwork, those birds began dropping Cell Medals into his waiting palm, making the entire limb pulse with red power. After each bird dropped off its cargo, it flew away to join its brethren in the distant sky. As the last of Ankh's share was dropped, the bird Greed remained holding only one Cell Medal.
"Oi! We're leaving!" he shouted out at OOO. "If you don't want to get left behind then come on!" Dropping the Medal into the Ride Vendor, he shifted it back to motorcycle mode and mounted it.
"Right, right," OOO grumbled, stumbling slightly as she went to retrieve her own motorcycle so she could get home.
"OOO-sama!" called Ryuubi. OOO turned to look at the girl who blushed. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Yeah, maybe," shrugged OOO. She got on her Ride Vendor and rode off, following Ankh.
"OOO-sama~" swooned Ryuubi.
"Who was that masked warrior?" asked Kanu.
"A masked rider…Maybe?" supplied Chouhi.
Shu House Once they returned home, Hakufu undid the transformation and collapsed on top of her motorcycle, leaving Ankh to drag her body back into the house. It really annoyed him that this girl would trouble him like this but he was impressed by how she handled the Combo. It was nothing to scoff at. The complete Combos were harsh on a body and could actually seriously wound someone if they weren't prepared for it. The original OOO managed to do that with ease several times over during his fights with the Greeed.
Despite the frustrations of the night, Ankh resigned himself to the fact that he at least got a decent haul and it put him that much closer to getting his body back. With that fact to keep him somewhat optimistic, he slung Hakufu over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and headed for the front door, "We're back."
"Welcome back," Goei's voice called from the living room. "You got a package while you were gone!"
Raising an eyebrow, Ankh stepped into the house and found where Goei was sitting. On the table was a parcel that was unwrapped to reveal a cake with strawberries decorating it with the fruits spelling out 60% on the white icing.
"A nice young man in a black motorcyclist suit dropped it off right after you left," Goei smiled, not even showing a moment of concern at seeing her daughter slung over Ankh's shoulder, out cold. Then again, she didn't have a scratch on her nor was there a scent of blood to indicate wounds while Hakufu's snores mixed with mumbles about food indicated her condition "It's very good! Good thing Hakufu's not awake or you wouldn't get any!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ankh grumbled. Setting Hakufu on the floor, her head conveniently resting on one of the pillows situation around the table, Ankh took his own seat and glared at the cake which currently had a slice taken out of it. It may have been sweet to Goei, but all it reminded Ankh of was the stupid deal he had been forced to make with the baking bastard.
"He also left another present," Goei continued, ignoring Ankh's sour mood. She revealed a black box with red ribbon on it she kept hidden beneath the table before presenting it for Ankh's eyes. Slipping the lid off, the box revealed a set of Candroids in three rows of four. The first two rows were the ones he was experienced with, the red and blue kind. However, the third row was green with grasshopper markings on the side. "He said something about this being a gift to commemorate the birth of a partnership." Looking at Ankh, she raised an eyebrow. "So what is this all about anyway?"
"Tsk!" Ankh growled. Wasn't there any escape from this frustration?
Elsewhere...
Inside an underground parking garage, the familiar colours of gray, blue, yellow, and green were draped over the few parked cars that were there as the four Greeed convened once again. As always, they were lounging and doing whatever they wanted. In this case, Gameru was drawing on a stone pillar with chalk he had stolen from somewhere while Mezul was lying on the hood of a particularly sporty vehicle, kicking her legs in boredom, seemingly admiring her outfit. Cazali seemed like he was ready to take a nap in the back of a convertible with its roof down while Uva was leaning against a pillar, rubbing his now bare arm.
"Looks like OOO got you good Uva," Cazali chuckled. "Didn't you learn anything from the first time you fought her?"
"Urusei!" Uva snarled. "You would have underestimated her too if you met her! She's just a teenage twit! How does someone as stupid as her get off and pulling moves like that?" The last part was spoken more to himself than to his comrades, but they all heard it anyway.
"It seems like OOO-shoujou is able to keep us guessing," Mezul commented idly. "She managed to steal a Core Medal from Uva and then use it to destroy all of my cute little Yummies. I must say she's an interesting little girl."
"On that, I can agree," Cazali nodded, pointing up at the ceiling. "You know, maybe after my Yummy gives us more Cell Medals, we can see how it would fare against her? That would be pretty darn interesting to me."
"Maybe, maybe," Mezul shrugged. "As for right now, I just want to relax. Getting so many Cell medals makes me sleepy."
Dockyards
Since Kyosho Academy was located near the sea, the school managed to pull the nearby dockyards and warehouses into their territory. The adults knew better than to try and mess with the Fighters and the teenage warriors at least had the decency not to destroy anything in the warehouses they were using to hang out or practice their fighting skills in. So as long as the Fighters didn't destroy anything or at least fixed what they broke, the dock workers would more or less ignore them. Usually they were safe havens for some of the Fighters who didn't feel like going home or simply wanted to hang out with friends and it was too late for any fun places to be open.
Tonight though, the peace would be shattered.
BAM!
CRASH!
WHAM!
BOOM!
"Outta my way!"
"Woah!"
"Look out!"
"Ton-chan's gone ape-shit!"
The front to one of the warehouses was wide open and several Fighters were running for it. Some of them were carrying wounded comrades while others were simply making a break for it, leaving everyone else behind. Inside of the warehouse though was a different story. The bodies of Fighters were littering the ground, battered and bruised, the lucky ones being unconscious while the rest were in too much pain to run or had a broken leg preventing them from leaving. Crates were busted open and in some cases their contents were shattered and spilled onto the ground.
In the centre of it all was Kakoton, bandages wrapped around him like before, even though his clothes were ripped in places and his hat was missing. His eyes were still shining with yellow light and despite the trembling limbs and blood dribbling from his mouth; it was like he was still ready for yet another fight. Despite the protests from his body, despite the protests from his trapped consciousness, he was compelled to fight just the same and take on all challengers. Raising his arms into the air, he bellowed out his battle cry to welcome all challengers.
"BASICS!"
To Be Continued…
Ten-Faced Paladin: Okay, here's chapter 3. Hope you all like the arrival of GataKiriBa! Also, for those who mentioned the unusual amount of Cell Medals that Gameru's Yummy made in Chapter 1, I say this. In episode 8 of Kamen Rider OOO, Ankh himself says that Gameru's Yummy burn through their own Cell Medals when they use their power. Taking that thought and considering just how often the Bison Yummy used its powers combined with how much it picked up and threw around, I concluded that it burned through all but one of its Cell Medals by the time OOO destroyed it. The Bear Yummy Hakufu fought in the fic on the other hand hadn't used its abilities nearly as much and as such had more Cell Medals inside of it.
Kamen Rider Chrome: I hope the wait wasn't too long for you. Paladin and I now present to you chapter three of this story. The appearance of GataKiriBa is just something we decided to throw in for the sake of the awesomeness factor. Next chap is gonna involve Cazali's parasitic Yummy so watch out for it.