Hey, everyone!
Welcome to chapter 17 of My Hero Academia Illegals: Vigilante Dark Drive.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
*Sounds*
[Belt-san/Kamen Rider System]
"Super Moves!"
{Television}
Outside of U.A. High…
"The barrier's down! Everyone, quick! Let's head inside!" Gang Orca calls the other Pro Heroes as they all finally begin to charge towards the Hero School's premises, not wasting any more time.
And more of them were being called, as they spoke, to the location as the situation seemed to take a whole new direction after a certain pair of vigilantes' involvement in this case.
The Pro Heroes became even more worried after seeing the figure of Kamen Rider Dark Drive kicking someone high in the skies.
Probably one of the main culprits behind the attack on U.A.
'And we're only able to enter now because someone must have probably defeated the ones responsible for the barrier.' Ryukyu thinks, cursing her inability to handle the situation. 'I wouldn't doubt it's the Kamen Riders doing once again…'
But that left Ryuko with other questions: What about every person at U.A. High? Are they safe?
She could only hope that the Drive Team's interference didn't get anyone killed today…
My Hero Academia Illegals: Vigilante Dark Drive
Drive 17: The long-awaited revelation I
With Kamen Rider Dark Drive…
[Well done! You defeated him!] Belt-san praised his operator as Kamen Rider Dark Drive relaxed his stance once it was clear that they managed to defeat the Terminus Roidmude.
*Thud!*
And speaking of the Executive, whatever remained of his damaged body falls before them, showing Drive and Belt-san that the mechanical monster wasn't completely destroyed despite being hit by the powerful Speedrop Type Next special finisher.
"Not yet…!" The Roidmude grunts as he tries dragging himself towards his masked opponent.
'He's still alive even after receiving that last attack!? His endurance is equal to All For One!' The chained Toshinori thinks, observing and changing his eyes between Terminus and Dark Drive's figures. 'Or perhaps even greater…!'
The Symbol of Peace now wonders if even his dreadful nemesis could defeat someone like the Executive ranking enemy.
But eventually, Terminus' body begins to show signs of crumbling away.
He has already reached his limit…
"No…" He mutters as the remaining strength finally leaves him, his mechanical body fading away as his Core's number is finally revealed to everyone.
"002…"
Dark Drive speaks first.
[Heart's number… I see… So he was not revived in this new world either…] Belt-san adds.
It honestly felt like a relief for the scientist to learn that Terminus replaced the Heart Roidmude, both because Krim didn't want to personally face yet again the monster that killed him and because he also wasn't sure if the Drive Team was ready to face Heart's Over Evolved state in case they had to face him now with their current equipment's level.
"Now then, let's get the job done for sure." Dark Drive comments as he pulls out his Blade Gunner before pointing it at the floating 002 Core, getting everyone else's attention along with their looks of concern.
'What is he planning to do?' Most simply wondered while some quickly caught on to the vigilante's intentions, soon looking horrified once more.
"Wait, Dark Drive! You won the duel!" All Might calls the vigilante, trying to break free from the crucifix. "You don't have to kill him! Stop!"
Despite not understanding how Terminus' body became a floating number, everybody of U.A. High soon realized that their tormentor was still technically alive.
And their principles and morals would not allow them to let the Roidmude be executed in cold blood regardless of everything he just made them go through.
Pony's legs began to shake as she fell on the cage's floor, grim memories coming over her already frail mind as Itsuka tried to comfort her classmate.
The two girls suddenly remembered how the black vigilante 'murdered' the Liquid Roidmude(034) in front of them without a single hint of remorse, not bothered at all with their pleas for him to show mercy to the late android.
"Stop, Drive!" Itsuka called, but the Rider promptly ignored her this time.
"The loser must receive a befitting end. Right, Terminus?" Drive asks his vulnerable foe.
Meanwhile, Izuku, Tenya and Shoto were equally conflicted about this as they remembered how the same vigilante actually saved Stain from Mashin Chaser back at Hosu City.
Why is he now doing the exact opposite?
The trio wondered if Dark Drive truly is a hypocrite, just like how Endeavor accused him of being...
But before the Kamen Rider could finish the job, a blast of cold air suddenly sends him away from the 002 Core.
"Ugh!" The Rider grunted as he took a few steps back while a black portal manifested before him.
Two familiar figures step out of the portal as the 002 Core is pulled into Roidmude 004's hand. Next to the Plain Spider Type was the golden Freeze Roidmude.
[You two…!] Belt-san became quickly distraught looking at the pair of Executives.
Did they come here to finish Terminus' service?
And the captive people soon began to become grim once again, believing that whatever hope they had of the Kamen Riders saving them was gone with the appearance of villain backup.
However, their concerns would not come true this time…
"Krim, bravo." Freeze clapped his hands in a round of applause, briefly confusing the humans as he used his taunting Makage Shoichi voice.
Seeing that the Kamen Rider didn't relax his stance, the Executive further clarifies:
"You won this time. And as promised by Terminus, we will let all the hostages go. And we won't lay a hand on U.A. High for some time either." Freeze then looks at the 002 Core in 004's hands. "However, I cannot let you kill Terminus yet. His ability to nullify Quirks is very essential to us."
"What? What's the catch here? This is too good to be true." Dark Drive questions, still wary of the new mechanical monsters before him.
"Ah, so you're the person that Krim selected this time to become a Kamen Rider." Freeze says, chuckling darkly as he looks at the vigilante in interest. "I wonder, how long will it take to break you? And what makes you different from Protozero and Tomari Shinnosuke?"
'Protozero? Tomari Shinnosuke? Who are they?' All Might thinks, the names clearly not giving him any particular clues for this situation.
Although he can't help but feel that the surname Tomari is familiar…
Where did he hear it before?
"No matter, this time's battle won't make a difference for our grand plan." Freeze said to Dark Drive and Belt-san as he and 004 walked back into the portal, the Plain Spider Type entering first.
"Today's revelations just make things more interesting for all of us." The polar bear monster tells them before sparing one last glance at Toshinori and Izuku, making the users of [One For All] very uncomfortable under his gaze. "I believe you all have more concerning matters to take care of first."
And with his piece of mind given, Freeze stepped into the portal as it disappeared before the humans.
"So that was 001… And he has already reached his Ultimate Evolution state." Dark Drive comments.
[Yes… Our mission will be far from easy. We still have a long road before us. And the Roidmudes already have a member for the Promised Number.] Belt-san grimly tells his operator.
With Kamen Rider Tracer…
After using her Ride Tracer's [Blaster Mode] to defeat the Malware Roidmude, Kamen Rider Tracer dismounted from her transformed Rider Machine as it reverted back into its bike form with a sidecar.
As the explosion created by the Tracing Pulse special finisher cleared up, Tracer saw that Malware was still standing before her, but now full of injuries across his mechanical body.
"How could I lose to a Quirkless… Human… Damn you…!" The Executive cursed the female Rider as he got on his knees.
His weakened body then begins to crumble away, revealing the frail 003 Core.
"Alright… Just one more attack should do the job." Tracer comments as she aims the Zenrin Shooter at the Roidmude's exposed 'soul'.
"Wait, you already defeated him!" Midnight tries to appeal to the female vigilante. "You don't need to kill him!"
'If only you knew…' Tracer laments that she can't explain her motives yet to everybody of U.A.
However, 003's Core is suddenly pulled away from Tracer as a black portal appears before her. Revenger, Tornado and the Plain Cobra Type Roidmude 009 step out of it as the 003 Core lands on the female android's hands.
"You won this time, Kamen Riders. But we will be taking Malware back with us." 009 tells the Kamen Rider, making a courtesy bow to her before showing her human form to everyone.
The humans become startled at this, most wondering if the woman has some sort of [Shapeshift] Quirk while others wonder why she just showed her human form for them. And the majority of the men there couldn't help but also feel something alluring coming off from the mysterious woman.
Maybe 009 decided to show them her human form on a whim because she was confident that this would not be enough to trouble her at all with her real identity…
"What? Are you serious, 009? Are we really going to follow up with Terminus' conditions?" The Revenger Roidmude questions her. "Look! We could easily just kill the Kamen Riders here and then the U.A. personnel next. It's not like they can put up a fight now!"
And it was true, both Tracer and Dark Drive were exhausted and injured from their respective fights while most of the people with Quirks were still trapped inside of Terminus' Black Box.
Additionally, for the captive people, their blood froze at the possibility of what Revenger just suggested, all of them imagining him brutally killing each of them while none of them were able to use their Quirks to fight back.
But that wouldn't come to happen as 009 shook her head towards the evolved Roidmude.
"Our lord's orders were very clear, Revenger. We aren't to interfere with Terminus and Dark Drive's duel." She reminds her colleague, placing a hand on the waist. "And should it come to be the Kamen Riders' victory, we are to retrieve Terminus and Malware's Cores and immediately leave U.A. High's premises."
"But…!" The 005 android still wanted to protest against this decision.
Tornado places a hand on his fellow Roidmude's shoulder before saying:
"You do understand that going against this means the same as defying the master's orders, don't you? I hope you truly understand things this time, Revenger." He speaks in a heavy tone. "It wouldn't do well to be petty like in your previous life."
At this, Revenger drops his head in obedience before looking away in annoyance.
009 focuses back on Tracer.
"Well then, as promised by Terminus, we'll let go of every hostage he made here." The female Executive tells the rookie Rider, a devilish smile on her face. "And we will leave U.A. alone for a while."
With this said, a portal opens before the Roidmudes as they prepare to leave.
'Damn…!' Tracer wanted to go after them and keep fighting, but she knew better than to push her luck in the current situation.
Because, if all the present Roidmudes suddenly decided to attack her there…
"Hey, where do you think you're going!?"
A loud voice calls 009 as all eyes turn towards Katsuki.
It seemed that he had momentarily recovered from his earlier shock.
The Roidmudes stop in their tracks as they turn around to face him.
"Bakugo, what are you doing!?" Eijiro tries to stop his friend from further provoking the Roidmudes.
But it didn't work well.
The blonde could always be stubborn in the worst possible moments…
"Do you think you bastards can just suddenly come here, mess with us and then leave!? Come back here! I dare you!" Katsuki snarled at the Roidmudes. "Fight me!"
"Bakugo, stop!" Aizawa also joins to make sure the explosive boy stays quiet, knowing better than to add more fuel to the fire.
Meanwhile, Tracer becomes grim as she becomes concerned that she will have to fight while needing to protect this annoyingly loud kid once again.
But in response, 009 simply showed a cold expression on her face as she used her piercing gaze to send fear toward Katsuki and the other hostages as a dark aura came over her. Only Kamen Rider Tracer was unaffected by it, simply glaring in defiance at the female Roidmude as a response.
"Know your place, vermin." The female android tells the ash blonde boy with a voice devoid of emotions.
This silences everyone and makes even the explosive kid somehow go quiet as he begins to tremble, making Izuku look at his childhood friend/bully in concern.
"You're not Medic, are you? " Tracer asks 009, pointing her Pat Megabo at the female android.
"No, I am not. But do not think that my new evolved form will be inferior to my previous incarnation." 009 replies, her golden eyes showing an eerie glow to the Kamen Rider.
"I'm not afraid of you, 009. We will be coming for you next. And we will terminate all 108 of you Roidmudes. The Kamen Riders will prevail over the Roidmudes again!"
"Hahaha!"
However, Tracer's brave words only seemed to amuse the other woman, confusing all the humans.
"Defeat us, you say? 108 Roidmudes? I see, so you still know nothing after all."
"What?" The vigilante is puzzled by the Executive's cryptic words.
"Do you really think that there's only 108 Cores? When did we ever say that?"
"W-What!?"
"Oh, please. And here I thought you would have caught on quicker that things are different this time, especially with the introduction of the Coreless Reaper Legion." 009 speaks, shaking her head in disappointment before explaining things. "Our master can always make new Cores whenever he wishes to do so. That's one of the reasons we lost in the past. Because we couldn't easily replenish our numbers. But that's different now in this new world."
"N-No… It can't be…" Tracer thinks in horror.
So the issue about the 108 Cores no longer works in this world!? So they really managed to fix this problem with the creation of new Cores!?
Meanwhile, the captive people could only curse at the lack of information on what the women were talking about, all of them hating to be left out of the loop.
And the female Executive was certainly taking some pleasure in sensing the distress within her enemy.
"I will see you around, Tracer." 009 tells her as she then shows a sickeningly fake smile at the captured humans' sight before disappearing into the dark portal alongside Revenger and Tornado, the gate next closing itself from everyone's view.
'More than 108 Roidmudes to defeat…!' Tracer couldn't help but think in concern as their battle was finally over, for now.
When the Roidmudes finally left U.A. High for good, all the hostages were released. And everyone trapped within the Black Box could use their Quirks once again after being freed from Terminus' prison.
Kamen Rider Dark Drive walked towards the still crucified All Might, now planning to release Toshinori as well.
[Toshinori… Just what happened to you?] Belt-san asks the Symbol of Peace, showing a sad emoji in the Drive Driver's display.
"Krim… I…" The No.1 Hero didn't know how to properly explain his currently weakened state to the older man, just looking away in defeat.
Dark Drive only sighs at this.
"We will talk about this later. Whether you like it or not." The vigilante warns the fragile man. "Since Belt-san will tell you about our situation, I also expect you to tell us about your condition as well, All Might. It's only fair, don't you think?"
"Fine…" All Might relents to the black armored warrior's request before finally glancing back at the sentient Driver. "Belt-san… Is that your alias, Krim?"
[Heh… Yes. I suppose you could say that.]
Dark Drive then prepares to cut the chains around Toshinori, but before he could do so, Belt-san stops him.
[Wait, check his behind his ear first.]
Ah, right! They needed to check that issue as well.
The vigilante obeys and checks behind Toshinori's ears, quickly finding out that there's a snowflake-like scar on the spot, much to his and Belt-san's dismay.
"It's no good. Freeze already tampered with his memories, Belt-san." Dark Drive tells his partner.
[I see… Damn it…! So 001 already got Toshinori…] Belt-san accepts grimly, making a distraught expression.
In the past, the Freeze Roidmude (001) was capable of spinning threads that alter a human's memory, using it to ensure that police forces and other people have little awareness of Roidmude cases.
He does this by generating small ice threads that enter the victim's brain and rewrites them. Victims of this will have a snowflake-like scar somewhere behind their ears that will suppress the memories.
However, it appears that this ability may not successfully work at times, given that even the slightest bit of coincidence that the victim fell can cause the true memory to surface. Also, as shown when Tomari Eisuke and then later his son were not affected, certain people with a level of resistance can also overcome this ability.
With the Freeze Roidmude being revived in the new world, it was to be expected that he would be also scheming things from the shadows as he made use of his memory manipulation ability. And unfortunately, Toshinori was one of the individuals that didn't have immunity against such power.
"My memories… They were tampered? What are you two talking about?" All Might asks the hybrid duo.
[Not now, Toshinori. But I promise to explain it later to you.] Belt-san assured him.
Although upset at the reply, the hero did not press any further for now.
Treating him comes first.
*Slash!* *Slash!*
Dark Drive cuts the chains around the crucified Symbol of Peace with his Blade Gunner, setting the older man down as he catches the weakened All Might.
"Here. I got you." The vigilante tells Yagi as he gently carries him towards everyone else.
"Thank you." Toshinori replies, coughing up a bit of blood.
"All Might!" Everybody from U.A. cried as they rushed towards the man, all looking at him in concern.
"Here. Take care of him." Dark Drive says as he hands the weakened body to Vlad King, who quickly accepts Toshinori but while still looking warily at the black vigilante.
The car-themed Rider ignores the looks that Sekijiro and the others were giving him as he walks away from them.
At the same time, Kamen Rider Tracer shows up, riding on her personal Rider Machine, as she stops next to her partner. And the NEXTridoron gets closer to its owner, automatically opening its driver's door so that its user could now leave the Hero School.
But before the pair of masked vigilantes could do so…
"Wait!"
Everybody turns to see that Izuku wants to speak with them once again.
"Hmm? What is it now that you want?" Dark Drive inquiries the greenette in return.
The boy had a hesitant look on his face before asking:
"A-About what you said back at Hosu… C-Could it be that you never tried to become a Pro Hero because you are Q-Quirkless?"
The mood became once again grim as everybody with Quirks looked uncomfortable now.
Right, not only they just learned that Izuku was Quirkless before gaining [One For All] from All Might, but there was also the fact that the people that just saved all of them also happened to be Quirkless as well.
As for Izuku, he has always been troubled by the Kamen Riders' ever since he first laid his eyes on them. His interest in them only grew the more he learned about and interacted with them…
But the astounding revelation that all of them were Quirkless?
Well…
"Not really." Dark Drive casually answers him with a shrug.
"H-Huh?" Izuku becomes confused with the answer.
"What? Didn't you pay attention to what I said to Terminus earlier? Nah, I could hardly care at all about this whole hero x villain thing."
"Yeah, that's right. It's no big deal, really. And honestly, it takes more than having a license and a Quirk to be a true hero." Tracer adds her piece of mind. "I believe that you don't really need a 'reason' to do the right thing, nor have some sort of 'grand' background."
"B-But… I-I…" This left Izuku and a few other kids dumbstruck, none of them having an idea of how to reply to this.
Those two seemed to have what he always wanted as a kid: The power to become a hero.
And yet, they were rejecting the very notion of this.
How could they!?
"..." As for Katsuki, he seemed to be quietly glaring at the masked warriors., finding their existence as something that truly shattered his beliefs.
A contradiction that shouldn't exist…
Weren't Quirkless supposed to be useless!?
Why!? Just how could they exist and deny his beliefs!?
"T-Then what are you after?" Toshinori asks next, looking directly at Dark Drive's visor while trying to get a glimpse of the masked man's silver eyes.
"I just have people I wish to protect. That's all." The black car-themed fighter answers softly. "That's why I had to become a Kamen Rider Dark Drive, because there was no one else suitable for this task. I don't really have any dreams about great tales of heroism or anything of the sort."
"And I just want to ease my partner's burden and fight alongside him." Tracer answers next, glancing at her companion. "Because this battle of ours is bigger than any desire of wanting to become a 'Pro Hero'."
The duo then prepares to leave right away, something that displeases most of the U.A. teachers.
"Stop! We're not done here!" Aizawa calls them.
"You might not be done, but I am." The black warrior dryly replies, dismissing the teacher of Class 1-A.
"Do you really think we're just gonna let you leave like last time!?" Sekijiro asks next, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"You two! Stand down! That's enough!"
The tension immediately disappears as all eyes now focus on Principal Nezu.
"Principal Nezu?" Hisashi looks at the rodent in confusion.
"Let them go, Aizawa. Kan." The mammal orders the two teachers as he sighs, surprising everyone else.
"What!? Sir, you can't be serious…!" Eraser Head looks at his boss in disbelief.
The principal shook his head at this.
"It's pretty clear that none of us could arrest these two even now. Even if we combined all of our forces." Nezu points out the unsaid gap of powers between them and the vigilantes.
Reluctantly, the two teachers of the 1st Year classes obey the principal as they stop their moves.
The two of them are also aware of how stronger the Kamen Riders are. But, call it either foolishness or bravery, Aizawa and Sekijiro still felt like an obligation that they should at least try facing Dark Drive and Tracer nonetheless.
"I suppose we also owe it to them after what they did to save us all." The principal of U.A. concedes as he looks at the masked fighters in understanding. "Although, I still expect your group to later give us an explanation about what exactly those Roidmudes are, Mr. Steinbelt."
[Of course, we will. But not here, principal Nezu. U.A. is not a safe place. Not anymore] Belt-san replies.
This makes the staff look down as they feel another blow to the hero academy's reputation.
"And one more thing, please do not talk about any of what happened here to outsiders." Tracer reminds the rest of them before tossing something to Midnight. "Secrecy is important now. More than ever. The last thing we need is for the wrong kind of people to learn about what has actually transpired here today."
The R-Rated Heroine examined what was apparently some sort of communicator device in her hands.
"We will contact you guys later so that we can set a date and time for a proper meeting." Dark Drive warns them.
The Drive Team then proceeds to leave, only to be greeted with the weird sight of Mei pressing her face against the NEXTridoron's window, trying to take a look inside the black Mercedes-like car.
"Amazing… So there are no Quirks involved but it's actually 100% technology? It's unlike anything I have ever seen!" She spoke aloud in awe as she kept examining the Rider machine.
"What-!? Hey! Stay away from my car!" An annoyed Dark Drive says, grumbling as he takes the pink-haired girl away from his personal vehicle before pushing her back towards everybody of U.A.
"Aww…" Mei pouted at this as Izuku quickly began comforting her with an awkward smile.
"*Sigh* Alright… Later." Drive makes a two-finger salute to the others as the Drive Team finally leaves U.A. High's premises.
Only this time the Ride Tracer and the NEXTridoron were actually flying away, heading high towards the sky's horizon as they disappeared from everyone else's view, surprising them one last time.
And both of the Rider Machines did not require assistance from the Ride Boosters in order to fly away.
"Of course! Of course those vehicles can also fly, because why not?" Aiwaza says in exasperation, shaking his head in exhaustion before face-palming himself.
These vigilantes were never out of surprises, were they?
"No! Come back!" Mei cried comically in despair as she didn't want the special vehicles to disappear yet from her view.
Ryukyu was now flying towards Ground Beta in her dragon form, having realized that was the area where the Kamen Riders were fighting against their mysterious enemies.
However, she becomes startled when suddenly stumbling upon a pair of flying vehicles on the way that were heading in her direction.
Wait…!?
More specially, weren't they the same vehicles that tore apart several heroes earlier…!?
'Those are-!' Ryuko could hardly process the vigilantes' sudden arrival as they quickly pass through her, leaving the dragoness behind to eat dust.
"Wait!" She thought about going after the Kamen Riders, but Ryukyu ultimately decides to go against this decision, with her main priority still being of checking the condition of everybody of U.A. High that was made hostage.
And so, the Dragoon Heroine resumes her fly towards Ground Beta, silently vowing to do her best the next time she ends up facing the Kamen Riders.
Later…
Steinbelt Manor - Living Room
Having successfully escaped from the premises of U.A. High after saving everyone from the Roidmudes, the Drive Team safely returned to their base of operations for a well-deserved chance of rest and recovery.
"Ah… Man, I'm beat." Yuuki comments as he lazily sits on a nearby couch, his eyes seemed to close at any moment as he never felt so tired in his life.
"At least… Everyone is… Safe…" Yuriko tells her partner as she sits next to him with a tired smile, she was also exhausted as her head was trembling back and forth.
Belt-san turned back into his human, being the only one amidst the trio that wasn't physically tired.
"You two have done more than enough. You can leave the rest to me, Yuuki. Yuriko." The scientist tells the detectives as he was about to leave the living room to do something else. "I will…"
However, as Krim turned back to face the duo of ravenettes, he found out that they had already passed out there on the couch, both now sleeping with peaceful expressions on their faces.
Moreover, Yuriko was sleeping with her head resting against Yuuki's shoulder. Which might actually look cute from an outsider's perspective.
Krim couldn't help but smile softly at this as he nods in understanding, having a familiar sense of déjà vu as he briefly imagines the police detectives as Shinnosuke and Kiriko respectively, almost imagining Yuuki and Yuriko as a couple.
Just like his old friends from his previous world…
Immediately snapping out of his memory lane, the bespectacled scientist snaps his fingers as he calls for certain individuals to take care of the Quirkless Riders' injuries.
"Please take care of their wounds." He tells the approaching figures as he glances back, only to find a trio of Plain Type Roidmudes looking back at him.
Each of them represents one of the three basic Types, with all of them carrying first aid kits…
Back at U.A. High...
The 1st Year Hero Course students and the extra ones(The Big Three, Mei and Hitoshi) sat in the large classroom next to the nurse's office, in complete silence for what felt like hours.
The downed All Might was moved quickly and silently, using the school's special tunnels to get there, with all of the students following them.
No one had spoken a word to each other since Terminus utterly dominated them, making the entire U.A. High hostage before the Kamen Riders arrived to save them…
Izuku had especially been quiet, staring into space in the chair he was sitting in.
Aizawa, Midnight, Present Mic and Vlad King went to discuss what happened with the rest of the faculty while Recovery Girl stayed behind to look after Toshinori, and Principal Nezu had gone to make calls.
The teens didn't bother changing out of their costumes, being too shocked by everything that had just happened.
"... So," Togaru said, finally breaking the silence as he looked at Class 1-A. "When were you all going to fucking tell us about Midoriya's Quirk? That he got from All Might!?"
He wondered if some of them were also aware of the greenette's situation.
"Kamakiri, this isn't the appropriate time for-" Itsuka said, before Neito interrupted her.
"No! This is the perfect time to talk about it! How on earth did you get the Number 1 Hero's Quirk!?" Neito said, pointing at Izuku. "Is it your fault that the man's weakening!? What makes you so deserving of his Quirk when you had none!?"
"Whoa, Monoma, that's crossing the line!" Setsuna said, getting up to protect Izuku. "I bet there's way more to this than you think!"
"Yeah, you don't understand this at all! There's a lot of complexities about this entire situation!" Momo added. "Midoriya didn't really have the liberty to tell any of us here!"
"... Some secrets should be kept secret," Yui whispered, looking to the ground.
She felt bad for being relieved that none of hers were shared.
"Right, this is something I don't think we should know," Manga said, as a stop sign appeared on his face. "Knowing something as big as All Might's Quirk being inheritable is serious stuff-"
"Oh, come on!? Really!? We're all classmates here, so why shouldn't we know!?" Sen said, scowling. "Especially with something as important as All Might getting weaker and that his Quirk's someone else's now!?"
"Guys, guys, let's calm down!" Denki said, sensing the rising tension.
While he was upset about a huge secret that he was being kept out of, he decided to try getting everyone to calm down, with Kosei following his lead.
"We're all just a little rattled by what happened, let's not turn on each other-" Kosei said.
"Kaibara's right, we're all heroes-in-training here!" Tetsutetsu shouted, pointing to the greenette in question. "How come you got to be in on this secret!? What makes you all so special!?"
"Hey, leave him alone!" Eijiro said, the two activating their Quirks so that they can butt their heads together hard. "Not everyone needs to be in on secrets! There's a reason secrets are secrets! We have to respect that!"
"Oh, looks like we finally found something different between the two of us!"
"Yeah, looks like we do! I only wish it was something trivial rather than this!"
"It's kinda true. I mean, Terminus was just revealing stuff that we didn't want the others to know," Kojiro sighed. "I mean, I'm glad that he didn't reveal everyone's secrets when he could have, but still, it was enough..."
"I think something as important as this should've been told to us all, though," Mashirao said, crossing his arms.
"There are just some things we're not supposed to be privy to," Mezo said, his arm's mouth sighing.
"I disagree. Something as important as this... it should be discussed with all of us, I think," Jurota said, adjusting his glasses.
"Why are we all arguing about this!? I wish we didn't know any of this!" Minoru said, chewing on his gloves' fingertips so much that he could break holes into them. "The U.S.J. Incident was one thing, but this is even worse! What kind of crazy shit are we going to get pulled into now that we know!?"
"I understand that you had your reasons for keeping it a secret, Midoriya." Tsuyu said, looking at the former Quirkless. "But... I wish you could've at least given us a chance."
The Hero Course students bickered and bickered, until they all heard the hiccups of Pony's tears as Mina and Ochako patted her on the back. Koji meanwhile had managed to find a mouse from outside and gave it to Pony for her to pet. They slowly stopped, as some of them wiped their own tears away, whether they were of frustration or sadness.
"Guys... guys please..." she said, rubbing her eyes. "I... I know that you're all upset, but All Might... And what happened here today..."
"... Are you alright, Tsunotori?" Juzo asked, getting closer to the horned girl. "What Terminus said... Do you really think that we don't accept you because you're half-American?"
Pony nodded sadly. She struggled to find her words again, though in Japanese this time.
"I... I know I'm not the best at speaking Japanese... I'm... I'm probably-"
"Hey, don't talk like that," Itsuka said, looking at her. "We're your friends, Tsunotori. Terminus might've exposed your secret fear, but we all want you with us!"
"And you too, Aoyama! It doesn't matter if you have a birth defect that affects your Quirk!" Mina told Yuga.
"... Really?" Yuga whispered, having sat on the ground, hugging his knees to his chest.
"Really," Tenya reaffirmed. "I'm deeply sorry that I or anyone else involved with the Stain fight how deeply involved we actually were in, but the law-"
"We get it," Hanta said, rubbing the back of his head. "We... probably will need to keep quiet about it too, huh? Just about everything we learned today, I guess."
"... So you're nervous about your height?" Kyoka said, looking at Minoru.
"So what if I am!?" Minoru replied. "It's- It's not fair that I'm this short! I love girls, but I'm never getting a date, so why not indulge in looking at cuties!?"
"At least we understand why you go all in on the pervert thing," Kyoka said. "Honestly, can't blame you for feeling like you'll never get a girlfriend 'cuz of it. Just... go a little lighter on it."
"My secret was probably obvious, to begin with," Mashirao said, looking to the side. "Compared to everyone else, I've probably got the most boring Quirk. Just a tail, and nothing else."
"Hey, I think you're pretty stand out!" Toru said, sitting next to him now, with only her gloves and shoes being evidence that she was there. "Meanwhile, I can't even be seen thanks to my Quirk. Sure, it's great, but Terminus was right, sometimes I do wish I could turn it off..."
Shoto looked away, ashamed of his scar and his family's secret being exposed the way it was. By a stranger, no less…
"Todoroki..." Momo said, as she, Tenya, and Denki approached him. "Are... are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened?"
"Yea, is... is what Terminus said the reason why you didn't like using your fire?" Denki said, as he thought back to Shoto snapping at him about the question he gave at the Sports Festival. "Because of your family?"
"... Yes," Shoto said softly. "I... I told Midoriya about it as a declaration that I could beat him without using my fire, but in the end... He proved to me that I was holding myself back. Midoriya forced me to use my fire side…"
"Shoot man, I'm... I'm really sorry that I asked that before," Denki apologized.
"No... it was a secret that I wasn't ready to tell others... Even now, I'm not sure if I was ready..."
"The only person here to blame is Terminus!" Mina said, getting up, indignant about everything. "Secrets aren't wrong to have! We all have our reasons to not tell anyone anything! And he- And he has no respect for that!"
"Yeah, we shouldn't be getting mad at each other!" Eijiro said, nodding in agreement. "We should be getting mad at him-"
The door slid open, and All Might stepped inside, his eyes pointing to the ground as he entered.
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"What are you doing!?" Recovery Girl said, whacking him on the calves with her cane to stop him, though his stride went uninterrupted. "You need bed rest!"
"All Might," Katsuki said, finally stepping up from the corner he picked to seethe in. "Tell us, why did you pick Deku of all people to inherit your Quirk!? There're more people who deserve it! When did you do it!? Since the Sludge Villain Incident!? So why-"
"I... I suppose it's because I saw myself in Young Midoriya. How he leaped into action to help you, despite having no Quirk himself. I wanted to give him a chance to become a hero, like how I was," All Might said, as Izuku perked his head up, finally paying attention to what was going on. "You see, I was Quirkless like him."
The Hero Course students stared at him, astonished at this admission.
"And as a young man his age... I burned a fire for justice and peace. My predecessor saw that, and she chose to give me the chance to chase my dream, all so I can make this world a peaceful one. So that I could take down a villain hidden in the shadows. Since you all know now, I'll come clean about it all. But please, if you want to blame anyone, don't blame Young Midoriya. Blame me."
"This Quirk of mine... came from the beginning of this era of Quirks. It's quite possibly one of the first Quirks to have manifested in the world, in fact. I've told them all the name, [One for All], and how it worked, but... I had yet to tell about its origins, and why secrecy was needed."
Izuku realized that Toshinori never did really fully elaborate on [One for All] to him. Everybody listened closely as the weakened man sat down on a chair.
"At the beginning, there was a man with a Quirk known as [All for One], who chose to embrace it as his name as well. In the era where the meaning of 'human' became unclear, he took advantage of the chaos to instill 'order', gathering followers who he manipulated into committing wicked deeds for him. He would take Quirks that he wanted, and could give Quirks others. With that power, he could give multiple Quirks to people, but the strain of having more than one Quirk would be too much for many of them, turning them into mere puppets, unable to even speak for themselves-"
"Like the Nomu!" Izuku said, connecting the dots.
"Exactly. But there was a time where the Quirk he gave blended with another, creating a new one altogether. You see, All for One had a younger Quirkless brother. He was frail, weak, and small. But in his heart, was an indomitable will and thirst for justice. He opposed his brother, seeing his acts as the ruthless deeds they were. One day, All for One imposed a power accumulation Quirk onto his younger brother. Whether it was out of kindness and love for his brother or an attempt to make him submit, I don't know."
"Accumulation?" Neito said, recalling how he planned to later copy Izuku's Quirk, now realizing that it was based around accumulating power, making it useless to him.
"Indeed. But a miracle happened! For the Quirkless brother wasn't actually Quirkless, but had one that could transfer itself to others!" All Might said, to everyone's shock. "This nigh useless Quirk and this power accumulation Quirk fused together, creating the power that I once held that I entrusted to Young Midoriya. This Quirk came to be known as [One for All]. On his own, he realized that he, as the first user, could not make full use of his Quirk's own potential, so he entrusted it to another! And then that user entrusted it to another! Thus began a legacy that All for One himself created, a legacy that was formed to beat him! I was the eighth holder, and Young Midoriya is the current ninth holder."
"If he was from the beginning of the Quirk age, he must be super old!" Denki said, trying to process what All Might had said. "And you said you're the eighth! How could he be alive by then!?"
"All for One is a man who could take Quirks from others. He had gotten his hands onto a Quirk that stopped his aging process, making him almost immortal. Years ago, All for One and I clashed. He injured me, taking out a large portion of my digestive and respiratory systems, making me waste away to what you see now..." All Might said, pointing to the spot that Terminus had been attacking. "But I struck him down for good. Or at least, I thought I did. With what I've seen of those Nomu, and from what Terminus had said, I have no more doubts that he survived our battle."
"Wait, do you mean you tried to-" Toru said, picking up on the word choice.
"Kill him? Yes," All Might admitted. "I know that in this age of heroes, killing someone is taboo, but someone like All for One... couldn't be left alive. And sometimes, ending a villain's life is the only course of action to take..."
"That is true, since Dark Drive and Tracer had to do that with all those villains they faced so far," Tsuyu said, suddenly reminding everyone about how the two had taken down dangerous threats without hesitation.
Could this be the reason the vigilantes kill those Roidmudes?
"So why keep it secret?" Mina asked.
"Think about it, guys. This is a Quirk that gains power over time and grows with each passing user," Momo said, pointing at her brain. "If everyone knew that the Quirk of the Number 1 Hero could be passed down to others, don't you think that there'd be people attempting to force him to give it to them?"
"And the world needs to think that the Number 1 Hero is a natural born Quirk user, too. Knowing that by technical artificial means that I gained my position could throw everything into chaos," All Might elaborated.
"Much like how it did with us..." Yosetsu said, growing ashamed of what he said earlier.
"Not to mention the dangers of knowing about [One for All]'s existence. This Quirk's unable to be taken by any means unless willingly and knowingly by the current holder, and it must be through consuming something from the previous one, like a hair or blood. Though it can be forcibly given, too. Like, say, a girl forcing you to take her Valentine's chocolate that you don't want,"
"What a cute metaphor to go with for something as heavy as this..." Ochako whispered.
"As I was saying," All Might said, coughing into his hand. "Knowing about [One for All]'s existence is dangerous. All for One seems to be... particularly drawn to it, as its nature makes it the only Quirk that he can't take. There's always a chance that All for One would go after those secret keepers to get to Young Midoriya, which was why for my time, I kept it only to a select few-"
"Such as myself," Principal Nezu said walking in, with Detective Tsukauchi and Gran Torino following him.
"Hey, it's that detective from the U.S.J. Incident!" Toru said, recognizing him.
"Seems like all of your students have a good memory, All Might," Tsukauchi said, lifting his hat politely at the girl.
"So the principal's been in on this!?" Sen said, staring at the small white creature.
"Who's the old guy?" Yosetsu asked.
"That's Gran Torino, Midoriya's workplace mentor," Tenya said.
"Yea, he was All Might's mentor," Izuku said.
He added in a whisper to the others:
"Apparently All Might's afraid of him..."
"I am. Recovery Girl, Detective Tsukauchi, and Gran Torino are also some of the few who know about [One for All]. I actually suggested to All Might to work here as a teacher so that he could find a worthy successor to [One for All]." Principal Nezu explained. "It would explain why he wasn't working as often, since his power has been weakening for some time. But he just happened to find Mr. Midoriya before then."
His words sending bolts of shock and jealousy through the students. Most of them thinking "It could have been me?"
"I even thought about passing [One For All] to young Togata." Toshinori said as everyone looked towards Mirio in surprise.
"M-Me!? But why, All Might!?" The 3rd Year couldn't help but ask.
"Mirai… Sir Nighteye told me about you and recommended you as my successor."
"W-What!? Sir did!? So he's also one of the people that know about your Quirk?" Mirio questions as Toshinori nods in confirmation.
'Sir Nighteye… All Might's former sidekick…' Izuku thinks.
Sasaki Mirai, also known as Sir Nighteye, is a Pro Hero and Mirio Togata's mentor. He was also formerly a sidekick and was considered to be the brains behind All Might.
Nighteye was a huge fan of All Might prior to their partnership. He wanted to be of use to his hero and approached All Might to be his sidekick. Initially, the hero refused because of his rule to not take on sidekicks. However, Nighteye was incredibly persistent and All Might finally accepted him to be his sidekick. From then on, they worked together as a team for five years with Nighteye supporting All Might with his intellect. Six years before the events of the story, they had a falling out when their values conflicted in regards to All Might's injuries.
It was around the time after All Might had gotten his wounds from All For One, Nighteye had pleaded with All Might for him to retire and find a successor with similar traits to himself. Nighteye believed that by retiring, All Might's legend would live on and that he would only damage the citizens and other heroes who look up to him if he pushed himself. All Might refused his partner's advice for fear of another villain as powerful as All For One rising to power in his absence.
During their conflict, Nighteye brought up a future he saw of All Might via his Quirk, Foresight. According to All Might, Nighteye saw a future where he would clash with a villain and meet a gruesome demise. As his Foresight was never wrong, he did not want to see All Might's death. From there, they had a fight and separated.
Their falling out had left a sour taste for All Might, as afterwards, he felt rather awkward with the idea of meeting his former partner and sidekick again.
"I… I will probably have to ask Sir about this later…" Mirio muttered as Nejire and Tamaki looked at their friend in concern.
"Yes. Everyone, please don't blame Young Midoriya for me becoming weaker," All Might sighed. "My power had been weakening since that battle years ago, to the point where I can only work for a limited amount of time now. Even if I had kept [One for All], I wouldn't be able to draw out any more of its power like before-"
"You idiot!" Gran Torino scolded, smacking All Might in the leg with his cane. "I could handle that some kid and the rest of their friend's group knowing about [One for All], but then you had to go and let the entire UA Hero Course kids know about it!"
"I-I-I'm sorry, Gran Torino!" All Might said, as the kids watched the Number 1 Hero grovel a bit at the small old man, who kept smacking his leg with his cane. "I didn't mean to, I-"
"No, don't," Gran Torino sighed. "Honestly, I should've figured that there was the possibility that Terminus guy knew about [One for All] already. Maybe his group even knows my real name, after all, and I haven't even been active for some time before taking the kid in. We're just lucky that he's not out there right now exposing you."
"Still, this is unprecedented," Detective Tsukauchi said, shaking his head. "The fact that Terminus can slip through UA's security like that with his powers isn't good. And the fact he actually injured the staff and students here is much worse since that means he can and could target you all."
"I believe I have an answer for that," Principal Nezu said, as he looked at his students. "You see, for quite some time, I've been discussing with the faculty about possibly turning U.A. into a boarding school rather than a day school, ever since the U.S.J. Incident, in fact. It wasn't until today that I decided to take the plunge for it."
"So we're gonna be living at UA now?" Setsuna asked. "That's... kinda cool!"
"We'll roll this out slowly, starting with only the Hero Course students, before making our way through the rest of the school. It'll take some time to build the dorms, even with Cementoss's assistance. Of course, we'll be asking your parents' permission for this, since this is very much on short notice. This way, we can keep an eye on all of you." Nezu continues, sending a look toward Mei and Shinso.
"But wouldn't us being all in one place make us even more of a target!?" Minoru said, still trembling.
"Perhaps it can, but it will be easier to protect you all in one place instead of being spread out across the city," Principal Nezu said.
"We won't be revealing what happened today to the public, since that could cause too much worry about the possibility of Terminus and his allies attacking anyone at any time. Only us will be aware of this. With the fact that there were zero witnesses besides you all."
Right…
And the staff of U.A. still had to prepare a plausible explanation of what happened here today to the other heroes that were watching the situation from outside before they also prepared themselves to handle the negative reactions that the media would throw towards them later.
The Hero Course students turned to each other and murmured, wondering how to feel about all of the things they had just learned today.
"I'm... I'm sorry," Izuku finally said, softly.
His hands balled up tight, as tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry I never told anyone else in our classes about One for All... I... I'm sorry that I lied about my Quirk, and that I'm actually Quirkless, I... I-"
"It's alright, Deku-kun," Ochaco said, lowering herself to look at the green-haired boy in the eyes. "You… You had your reasons not to have told us, since All Might did ask you to keep it a secret."
"It isn't like you didn't earn your place, Young Midoriya," All Might said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Remember, you spend all those months working nonstop to turn your body into a proper vessel for [One for All], and you've earned your entry into UA fair and square."
"But what about him breaking all of his bones? You never broke any of your bones, All Might!" Eijiro said, remembering when he saw Izuku destroy the Zero Pointer.
"Well, that's because I sorta just finished my training right before the exam," Izuku admitted. "I hadn't had any time to actually train using [One for All], since I had to focus on making my body stronger... Otherwise, my limbs might've exploded off, period."
"I think the 'bones breaking' thing is pretty close to that," Tsuyu pointed out.
"Sorry we said all those things, Midoriya," Kinoko said, looking ashamed. "I guess... a lot of us were just hurt that something this big was kept from us for so long."
"Yeah, a lot of it was uncalled for..." Mashirao added, as those who were angry about being kept out of the secret of [One for All] followed with their own apologies.
Even Neito apologized, especially when he saw Itsuka's hand raised to chop him on the neck.
"I suppose my guess that you and All Might were related wasn't far off, then," Shoto said, as Izuku thought back to their conversation at the Sports Festival, and some held back a snicker at the implication of Shoto asking Izuku if he was All Might's secret child.
"It's... it's alright, I understand you all," Izuku said, smiling sadly. "I wish I could've told you all earlier..."
A while after the talk with the kids, in UA's Conference Room...
"So that Terminus guy can break in here any time again if he wants!?" Present Mic asked, after being caught up with what happened and what the others were discussing.
Principal Nezu, Detective Tsukauchi, and All Might joined them shortly after Aizawa and Vlad King finished talking to them, with All Might confirming everything.
Only those that now knew about [One For All] were present for this meeting.
"All that money we spent on upgrading the security's gone to crap, then!" Hizashi despaired.
"This is... This is even worse than we could've imagined," Vlad King muttered, his fists tightening. "To think that even with our security upgrades, this guy can come in and out any time he wants!"
"We're still lucky that the Kamen Riders also appeared to stop them." Midnight said, crossing her arms. "I don't buy that it's just some sort of 'show' or that he simply wants to 'indulge in world's darkness', though. A guy like that has got to have something bigger in mind."
"And I should have known that Malware would've also gone after the students after the Hosu City Incident..." Aizawa whispered. "I... I just didn't think he could do it at any time."
"This just means that the proposed plan of making UA a boarding school rather than a day school needs to be a reality," Principal Nezu stated plainly. "We'll start off with only making it required for the Hero Course students, under the premise that we're testing it, before fully implementing it for the rest of the school. We can protect and keep an eye on the students more easily this way."
"I'll ask Cementoss to work on that as soon as possible," Sekijiro stated, knowing that Ishiyama's Quirk will assist the creation of these dorms greatly.
"And the Kamen Riders and those Roidmudes now know about All Might's injuries and weakness, so that's a big concern," Aizawa grumbled. "Those guys got way too many aces in their sleeves..."
"At the very least, they are holding off on telling the world about my secret," All Might said, not knowing what to expect from these other groups. "I suppose that they are just waiting for the right opportunity for it..."
"I hope that opportunity never comes, who knows when it'll be..." Midnight said, her brow furrowed. "But the safety of our Hero Course students comes first for now."
"I'll get to sending emails to the parents of all students across the Courses about the change to a boarding school," Principal Nezu said. "It'll be good to let every student know about this, even if we're only testing it with the Hero Course students for now. Eraserhead, Vlad King, you'll handle meeting with their parents to get their approval-"
"I'll go with them," All Might said, as he shifted into his muscle form. "After all, I'm sure that they'll be won over with my winning smile!"
"Fine with me," Aizawa sighed. "This is going to be troublesome..."
"No doubt," Vlad King agreed.
"Speaking of which…" Aizawa trailed off before glaring at All Might. "We need to talk about Midoriya's condition."
Aizawa sat down in his seat, feeling both pleased and annoyed as a result of his rather earth-shattering talk with Midoriya, All Might, Recovery Girl and Nezu.
'[One For All].'
Aizawa thought, still digesting the information of Midoriya's Quirk, a Quirk that can be passed down and grown stronger through generations, the Quirk of All Might.
As the information he was told, mere moments ago, was settling in his mind, Aizawa nearly wanted to groan in frustration, for missing the signs that should have been obvious and his own foolish actions.
He knew that there was something going on between Midoriya and All Might throughout this whole year, from All Might's clear favoritism and closeness to the boy, to even the similarities to both their personalities and Quirks.
He should have known that All Might saw Midoriya as some successor to him, the similarities similar to himself and Shinsou(he now saw the potential in the purple-haired kid and wanted to give him a chance to join the Hero Course), but to think that it went as far as passing down his own Quirk to a 15-year-old boy was something he did not expect.
At that reminder, Aizawa groaned internally, again, this time at both All Might and himself. He didn't realize just how much of an idiot and poor teacher All Might was until now, training the boy for 10 months to just handle his power and not tell him anything about how to use it throughout that time and give him the bare minimum of information on how to use it, much less give the Quirk to him on the same day as the Entrance Exam.
What made him more frustrated was his own foolishness, believing Midoriya to have been some slacker who didn't train his Quirk at all for 15 years, when, in fact, he had only got it a few hours ago.
And worse, going so hard on said recently newly Quirked kid during his Quirk Apprehension Test. He didn't know who he wanted to strangle with his scarf, All Might, himself, Nezu, for keeping this information about his student from him, or Midoriya for doing the same.
"You're not happy about the way I trained him before taking the Entrance Exam, are you?" Toshinori questions Eraser Head.
"That's putting it lightly." Aizawa said acerbically, leveling a glare at All Might. "You honestly sent him into the Entrance Exam with a Quirk he'd never used that could hurt him that badly, and you didn't even give a proper explanation about what those 'repercussions' might be?"
Yagi's shoulders were hunched, and he looked as weary as his skeletal body suggested.
"I honestly didn't realize that Young Midoriya would experience such an intense blowback. I experienced injuries when first learning to control [One for All], but they were not as grievous as Young Midoriya's.
I didn't account for how much [One for All]'s power would increase when I passed it on; that was an incredible oversight on my part. As for not having used it before, I had to make absolutely certain his body was ready for it. I wasn't about to risk him suffering permanent damage by passing it too soon.
There simply wasn't enough time for both. I offered to try and get the boy in through recommendations, but he wanted to take the test along with the others. He wanted to make sure he'd gotten in on his own merit, and not just because I pulled strings."
Aizawa looked at All Might for a minute, then sighed.
"I can respect Midoriya's choice on that matter, but the excess of power, and the injuries it causes, still needs to be addressed. He's not always going to have access to Recovery Girl." Said heroine making a noise of agreement.
Yagi nodded gravely.
"Of course. I was hoping that Young Midoriya simply needed a longer adjustment period than I did, but I will try to think of some way to address the issue sooner. Though, if we do go into the future with this viewing, then it might show us how to better train his Quirk."
"Best to hedge your bets and try to think of one in the meantime anyway." Present Mic pointed out.
Aizawa thinks about the Problem Child of his class and thought:
'If what they told me is true, then the first time he used it must have been when he saved Uraraka. It explains why he had so little control over it during the Entrance Exam and my fitness test. He only had a Quirk for less than a year and he already has shown impressive growth and skill to keep up and even surpass his other classmates.'
"And there's also the fact that we later need to talk with Mr. Steinbelt so that he can finally explain to us what exactly are the Roidmudes and the Kamen Riders." Nemuri comments as she looks at Nezu, who was inspecting the communicator device that Kamen Rider Tracer gave her.
"..." Tsukauchi remained quiet at this, suddenly remembering about the talk that he had with Chief Tsuragamae, the man dog revealing things to him about the truth behind this whole matter…
'And to think all this time… Tomari and Shijima were the Kamen Riders Dark Drive and Tracer, protecting everyone from the shadows…' The detective thinks solemnly as he thinks about how to confront the duo in question with this information when he next sees them.
*Beep!* *Beep!*
Suddenly, the communicator begins to beep, alerting everybody there, before producing a holographic screen showing Krim Steinbelt in his office.
"Krim!" Toshinori exclaims in surprise.
{Hello, Toshinori.} The scientist greets him back with a small smile before taking a look at the others within the Conference Room. {I wanted our little reunion to have been under much better circumstances… But I supposed that would be impossible now that things have escalated to this point...}
"Are you finally ready to talk with us, Mr. Steinbelt?" Nezu asks, looking seriously at the mysterious CEO.
{Yes, of course. Now then… Are you all ready to set a date for our meeting?}
Everybody nods at this as they set a proper time for this long-awaited talk, aside from a few other crucial details.
{Good, good. Now then… I must ask you all to come to my Manor on the outskirts of Musutafu City. You must all be aware that it is too risky to speak at U.A. High. Information can easily be leaked from your side after all.}
While some were offended by his words and were wary of the location, All Might quickly agreed with the suggestion without hesitation.
"Yes, we're aware." Toshinori agrees, sounding depressed at the thought of the Hero Academy no longer being considered a safe place.
They will have to work even harder to better upgrade the school.
{Alright. And remember, I want you to bring everyone relevant to this. Not just the people present in this meeting room.} Krim says, showing a list of people that he wants to attend the meeting before taking a look at Tsukauchi. {You've already been informed about part of the details I presume, detective Tsukauchi?}
The question makes the others look at Naomasa in confusion.
What was Krim talking about?
"Yes." Naomasa confirms. "Chief Tsuragamae told me about the details."
"Wait…. The police chief is also involved in this?" Midnight questions as the detective simply nod to her in response.
{Yes, Kenji will be one of the people attending this meeting.} Krim tells her. {Well then, before I leave, there's one more detail: I will send someone to escort you all to my location. Any questions?}
"Krim… Just… Why? Why did you never tell me about any of this?" Toshinori finally asks the questions he has been wanting to speak about for some time now. "We could've helped you…"
He looks at the older man with a look of hurt, feeling betrayed by the scientist.
The scientist sighs softly at this before replying:
{Maybe, Toshinori… But not in the way you expect… The Roidmudes are not the kind of enemies that someone like you can defeat. Only the Kamen Riders can counter their danger… You saw that especially after facing Terminus, right?}
Nobody had a counterargument for this, finding no errors in what the bespectacled man pointed out. But this still made them distraught over their inability to fight against this new group of villains.
{But I promise, Toshinori. I will tell you everything you need to know.} Krim assures him with a sad smile before ending the call as the holographic screen disappears.
(Elsewhere)
BGM: Kingdom Hearts OST - Organization XIII theme
In the white round room of their hidden fortress, some of the top members of the Roidmudes met with each other.
The ones attending the meeting were their mysterious leader, the Plain Type Roidmudes 004, 006, 007 and 009, who was in her human disguise.
"The Kamen Riders know the truth now. No matter how many of us they defeat, their efforts will do nothing to stop our plans in the end. This new knowledge will make them that much harder to control." 009 says, referring to the revelation about how more Roidmude Cores could be produced whenever their leader wanted.
"And what does it really matter? Whatever their circumstances, the Kamen Riders have never been able to help themselves from saving people from the Roidmudes. It's what their pure little hearts want." 007 tells her in response.
"There, the dice has been cast. Things are in motion. They cannot stop this." The Cobra figure of 006 says, now playing with some dice.
"Nothing is set in stone. If the dice aren't in your favor, you will share Terminus and Malware's fate." 004 tells 006.
"The fun is in not knowing, isn't it? What is the point of betting on something if you already know the outcome?" The Plain Cobra replies in return to the Spider Type.
"Are you sure that defeating them won't derail the Organization's plan?" 007 asks their mysterious leader.
The mastermind was taking into consideration the idea that the rest of their kind will faster evolve with a sense of danger around(The Kamen Riders being the source of it), all in order to get the Promised Numbers as soon as possible. This was also one of the reasons why the Roidmudes never tried to wipe the remaining Quirkless from the world.
After all, didn't Freeze and Heart obtain their respective golden forms through fighting Kamen Rider Drive?
"If they are to die so easily then the Kamen Riders are of no use to us." The master simply says from the tallest seat. "As for the four of you gathered here, I want to know about the progress of your evolutions."
"I already have an idea about what my evolved form will look like, my lord." 004 affirms.
"Me too." 006 says next.
"Myself included." 009 assures their master.
They then looked towards 007, who remained briefly silent before replying:
"I need more time." He says. "But I will have a form decided by the end of this week, my lord."
"Good." The mysterious leader replied coldly. "Although, it's about time we soon introduce a new player on our side."
He produces a hologram on the palm of his hand that shows the picture of (Kamen Rider) Gold Drive.
The next day…
Afternoon
A large group of people was assembled in front of U.A. High's front gates as they were expecting someone to come over.
The groups consist of Classes 1-A and 1-B, their respective homeroom teachers, All Might in his skeleton form, Recovery Girl, Midnight, Present Mic, Power Loader, Mei, Hitoshi, the Big Three and Principal Nezu.
These were some of the individuals that Krim requested for the meeting. Although the adults were reluctant about bringing the kids, they ultimately complied with the scientist's demands.
*Vrooom!*
Suddenly, a car parks on the other side and a man steps out of it.
He was a man in his early twenties, having delicate facial features and light brown hair, which was kept in a mildly short, spiky cut, with spiky strands covering his forehead, and other, longer ones jutting upwards from the top of his head. He has brown eyes that were covered by azure-tinted sunglasses with a thin frame.
His attire was a green coat with a wide collar, complete with prominent, spiky, brownish-white fur trimming lining the hood, over a light red shirt covered in many flower-like motifs, black pants and whitish sneakers, each adorned by a pair of light green stripes.
Most in the group were certainly taken aback by the man's appearance, having expected someone with a more professional-like look actually come for them.
The man stops over the assembled people, greeting them with a friendly smile.
"Thank you for your patience, everyone. I hope you guys weren't waiting long enough. My name is Saijo Shinji." He introduces himself. "Krim asked me to escort you all to Steinbelt Manor. It's nice to meet you all."
'So this is the person that Krim was talking about… Certainly not what we would have expected from someone working for him.' Nezu thinks before greeting Shinji, offering one of his tiny paws for the man to shake. "The pleasure is all ours, Saijo-san."
Shinji then takes a look at Toshinori, simply nodding to the Symbol of Peace with a knowing look.
'That man… He seems to be aware of my situation.' Yagi deduces warily. 'Did Krim tell him about my body's problems?'
Given their past story and how the scientist was one of the people responsible for saving everyone at U.A. from the Roidmudes, Toshinori did trust Krim.
But he couldn't say the same for this Saijo. What made the scientist trust this person with his secrets?
"Now, if you may follow after me." Shinji tells the group as he gets in his car.
As for the rest, they got into some buses that the staff of U.A. has prepared for the trip to Steinbelt Manor as they soon followed after Shinji's car.
They eventually made it to Steinbelt Manor, the vehicles passing through the front gates before parking in front of the large main building.
"This place… It's even bigger than my house." Momo couldn't help but make a comparison as the others looked at her with surprised looks before remembering her rich background.
'Right…' The majority of Class 1-A thinks in deadpan.
*Vrooom!*
However, everybody suddenly notices that another car parks next to them. From the vehicle, five figures emerged.
Detective Naomasa, the Police Chief Tsuragamae Kenji, Sorahiko, Tensei and Sir Nighteye/Mirai.
Needless to say, the additional presence of some of these individuals startled the U.A. group even more.
So they were also going to attend the meeting?
"Nii-san!? What are you doing here!?" Tenya questions his brother, rushing immediately towards Tensei.
Ingenium only looked back softly at him before looking at the other students as well.
"Tenya… So it's true that you and your friends also got involved with the Roidmudes again, huh?"
Tenya made an uncomfortable look at this, not sure of how to tell his brother about the recent incident as he was told to keep secrecy of the whole thing.
"It's fine. I have learned about what actually happened during the second attack of U.A." Tensei reveals, shocking the others that didn't come with him, minus Shinji, who kept a neutral face at this.
"Y-You know!? Is that why you are also here!?" Tenya questions as his older brother nods in response.
"Yeah. A 'friend' of mine asked me to come…" Tensei answers cryptically while smiling fondly.
As the brothers kept talking, Mirio approached Sir Nighteye.
"Sir!" The blonde greets his mentor. "So they also called you for this?"
"Mirio…" Mirai looks at the young man before him, wondering how the user of [Permeation] is handling the revelation about All Might and [One For All].
He has also been informed of what happened at U.A. by both Gran Torino and Nezu, having received an invitation to join this meeting.
That said, his eyes soon meet Toshinori's fragile form, becoming grim with the information that someone like Terminus made short work of the Symbol of Peace.
Yagi seemed to notice his gaze as he looked back at Mirai, things between them soon becoming awkward once more as neither of them knew how to approach each other to have a talk after so long.
'And that must be Midoriya Izuku…' Nighteye thinks, frowning as he looks at the greenette in question. 'Still… Why him? Why not Mirio?'
Both Izuku and Mirio seemed to notice this, the former sweating nervously as he felt that Nighteye looked at him in disapproval while Mirio was upset with the way his mentor looked at his inexperienced kouhai.
'That's Sir Nighteye… All Might's former sidekick!' Izuku thinks, feeling intimidated by the man's piercing gaze.
'I should have a talk about this later with Sir… That I would have still refused to take [One For All].' The blonde thinks deeply.
Naomasa and Kenji saw Nezu and the rest of the U.A. staff with him come closer to the two of them.
"Principal Nezu. Everyone. Woof!" The Police Chief greets them cordially, making a light bow to them.
"Chief Tsuragamae." The principal greets back. "I have been informed that you're also involved in this. May I ask how?" Nezu asks, not beating around the bush.
"Well, Krim and I are old friends." The man dog started, surprising them. "As for why I agreed to help him, you should hear his side of the story first."
He then takes a look at Naomasa before resuming:
"I also brought Tsukauchi here into this meeting because he is someone that I'm sure we can trust with keeping secrets," Kenji says before taking a look at Toshinori. "Especially considering how he is a close friend of All Might. Woof!"
"So you know about it as well." Nezu points out.
"Yes, Krim told me about Yagi-san's body's state."
"I see. So do you know who the Kamen Riders are?"
"Of course. But it's not my place to reveal their identities. Woof!" The Police Chief replies, causing some of the teachers to frown at the omission of information.
"Will Mr. Steinbelt tell us about them?"
But before the many talks between the assembled could continue, the front doors to the Steinbelt Manor suddenly open, grabbing everyone's attention.
Two individuals step outside to greet everyone there.
The first person was a woman in her early twenties.
She has short dark blue hair and her bangs are parted into two strands. Her skin is fair and her eyes are greenish-gray. She wears red-framed eyeglasses, which were currently left on top of her head. The woman's attire consists of a white shirt with a cream jacket, short gray pants and black-heeled shoes.
The second individual was a man in his mid-twenties. He has short spiky dark brown hair and black eyes, having an average height and slightly-tanned skin. His attire consists of a black vest over a dark blue shirt, a light blue tie, and a pair of black pants.
Shinji walks next to the two individuals, standing next to the woman.
"Thank you for your patience, everyone." The woman announces. "Krim is ready to see you all. If you could all kindly follow after us."
"Before we go, may I ask who you two are?" Toshinori questions, looking warily at them.
"I'm Haibara Kanade. I'm Krim's secretary at Steinbelt Corporation." The woman, now known as Kanade, introduces herself first as she smiles gently at them.
"Yo. Name's Tachibana Shinra. I'm another employee for Krim. I work at Steinbelt Corporation's R&D team." The second person says, greeting everyone casually with a two-finger salute.
Shinji nods at the two of them before gesturing for the others to follow after him, Kanade and Shinra as the three of them entered first into Steinbelt Manor's building.
"This way, everyone."
Some of the people gathered there were still wary of getting inside of the manor, feeling that there must be some sort of trick waiting for them there. However, their curiosity eventually gets the best of them as they all eventually follow after Krim's workers.
The large group is led to an auditorium within the mansion, each of them having been provided with a seat.
In front of them was a stage with a podium in its center.
Shinji, Kanade and Shinra were sitting on the left side of the podium while there were two empty seats on the other side, making some in the audience wonder if they were to expect someone else besides Krim to show up.
*Tap* *Tap*
And speaking of the man himself, Krim finally shows up before everyone there as he stands on the stage, getting close to the podium.
'Krim…' Toshinori looks apprehensive at the scientist, wondering what Steinbelt will tell them.
*Snap!*
The CEO snaps his fingers as a screen lights up next to him, showing no one other than…
"David?" Toshinori and the others became briefly startled that even his old partner would be attending this meeting through a video call.
So Krim also contacted him for this event?
{Toshi!?} David Shield becomes equally shocked to see his friend, in his weakened state, while several other individuals were looking back at him in curiosity.
"Good, so we can finally start this meeting." Krim suddenly speaks, interrupting them. "But first…"
Steinbelt then looks at All Might before focusing his gaze on Midoriya, making both of them nervous.
"You did promise to tell me more about your situation first, Toshinori. It's only fair, don't you think?"
But the Symbol of Peace became initially hesitant upon seeing that some of the present individuals did not fully know about the truth behind [One For All] yet, such as Ingenium, Power Loader, David and the trio working for Krim.
"All Might… What should we do?" His protege asks him, wondering if they should really share the secret behind their Quirk.
After thinking for a moment, Toshinori finally decides to do so. This is the only way for them to get the answers they so desperately need from Krim after all.
"Very well, Krim. I will tell you about [One For All]."
"Toshinori!"
"All Might!"
David, Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye were all looking horrified with his decision while the others that already knew simply became nervous about what would happen next once Steinbelt heard what he wanted to know.
And so Toshinori starts to talk about the full truth behind [One For All] once again…
Krim is a good listener. He lets him talk, he waits as All Might gathers his thoughts while the others that were learning about the Quirk were not faring much better, all of them looking at the Symbol of Peace in disbelief upon learning how he got his Quirk from Nana.
But the CEO is quiet as Toshinori speaks. There's a considerate expression on his face. Sometimes he starts to open his mouth as if he wants to ask questions, but he always stops himself, waiting for him to finish.
Toshinori is grateful for his patience and willingness to listen.
And as for Krim's reaction when he is done telling his story with All For One…
"I see…" Was the scientist's initial response as he looked at Toshinori before focusing on Izuku, his expression softening on the boy. "So you have also been tasked with such a responsibility. Just like him…"
'Him? Who is he talking about?' The greenette wondered.
{So... that's really how your Quirk works like?}
David asked as he shifted from All Might and Izuku.
{You've passed it down to someone else? And I... suppose it wouldn't be right to ask Midoriya to hand it back over to you, huh?} David said, feeling ashamed that the thought even came into his head.
"Even if he did, my body wouldn't be able to handle [One for All] anymore in this state," All Might said, shaking his head. "But I promise you, [One for All] is in the best hands that I can trust."
"Mr. Shield!" Izuku exclaimed, the quiet boy catching the scientist off guard. "I... I know that you're afraid of what the future would be like without All Might... but I promise you... that I'm more than willing to take that burden off his shoulders!"
"Thank you for telling me the truth, Toshinori." Krim thanks the No. 1 Hero before looking at everyone else that learned the truth behind [One For All] just now. "And you don't have to worry about the others that learned the truth just now. Everyone present here might become essential, in one way or another, to fight against the Roidmudes. That's why you have all been called here."
Not everyone was convinced of these words as the majority of the group was looking at the CEO's employees with wariness, but ultimately decided to not voice an objection against it.
At least not yet…
"And what about you, Mr. Steinbelt? Are you finally ready to share your secrets with us?" Principal Nezu asks the CEO.
"Of course." The scientist nods back to the tiny principal.
"But before you do, there's something that I have been wanting to ask for a while." Aizawa cuts him. "How exactly do you know All Might? What is your relationship with him?"
This question soon grabs the curiosity of the majority in the room since they indeed had no idea about Toshinori and Krim's connection.
Krim smiles softly at the audience before explaining:
"Well… I met All Might- No. I met Yagi Toshinori during the time he stayed in the United States, a few years ago. During college days, to be more specific." Krim starts as he looks between said Symbol of Peace before taking a glance at David. "But we only got to actually know each other through a common acquaintance between the two of us."
"A common acquaintance you say? Who, Mr. Steinbelt?" Izuku questions.
"It was David. He is the one that introduced Toshinori to me." Krim reveals as he looks fondly at David, shocking everyone even more.
"W-What!?"
"A-And how exactly do you know Mr. Shield, Mr. Steinbelt?" Izuku asks.
This time, Toshinori decides to answer:
"Well, before coming here to Japan… And before even starting Steinbelt Corporation… Krim was actually a College teacher back in the United States." All Might says. "Can you guess who also happened to be one of his students, Young Midoriya?"
As realization hits them, everyone looks between David and the older scientist.
"Eh!? No way!? Krim Steinbelt is David Shield's mentor!?" Many murmured amongst themselves at this newfound revelation.
"It's not really that big of a deal, you know. And not really a secret." Krim reminds them, dismissing everyone's surprise. "I simply don't see the point of telling this to everyone unless they ask me about it. And neither did David."
{Professor… *Sigh* I can see you haven't changed at all either after all these years, huh?} David was amused by how calm his mentor could act sometimes. {Oh well, I introduced Toshinori to Professor Steinbelt back during our college days to help him get used to English. When he first came to the States, Toshi still had a bit of trouble speaking our language fluently.}
"Yes, that's right. It was certainly a blessing to meet Krim back then and it helped me to know that he could also speak Japanese very well whenever I needed his help translating some things to me." Yagi adds.
"Right, though I suppose a lot of my habits must have passed on to you since you now tend to apparently mix Japanese and English together when speaking, right?" Krim asks the blonde man, receiving a nod from him.
{And as for me… Everything I know today, I learned from Professor Steinbelt himself…} David explains proudly before his expression soon changes into one of disbelief. {Although… After learning how he is apparently behind the Kamen Riders' arsenal, I don't know what to think. I can clearly see that he hasn't revealed everything he knows to the rest of the world…}
He looks at his mentor with an expression of hurt, not sure of whether to feel amazed or jealous of Krim's inventions.
"David…" He looks back at his student with a feeling of guilt.
"And after he apparently finished teaching David Shield's class and attending his pupil's eventual graduation, Mr. Steinbelt suddenly retired from his teaching position." Nezu interrupts them, surprising the ones that didn't know about this. "But he would later come to create Steinbelt Corporation, an IT company that would come to become a major part of the world, now possessing over 30% share of the global network today. The company now plays an important role in our society's infrastructure. I must say, that's quite a change from a technology professor to a CEO in a span of years."
'And I still don't know why the Professor decided to suddenly quit and move to Japan…' David thinks in distress.
What else was he keeping from them?
If All Might held Nana in high regard as his mentor, David used to do the same for the role Krim had in teaching him.
"Who are you really, Krim Steinbelt?" Nezu asks, sporting a serious expression.
But that did little to worry the CEO as he simply stared at the mammal with a neutral expression on his face.
" I am interested in how a Quirkless man goes from being a regular, unassuming baseline human, to one of the most dangerous people on the planet in the span of a few months. All thanks to the Kamen Riders' arsenal and how you apparently had a hand in it." The principal continues firmly.
"Tell me, are you Kamen Rider Dark Drive?"
Everybody becomes tense as Nezu finally asks the question that they want to hear. David and Toshinori were looking at Krim in apprehension, wondering how he is going to explain himself to everybody there.
The scientist sighs before taking a look at everyone gathered there.
"Well, I could 'lie' and tell you that's who I am. When I'm actually a brilliant artist, or even a scholar." He starts, making some feel uneasy. "I could tell you that I dream of world peace, when I'm actually planning for its destruction."
While his words now definitely disturbed the kids, all the adults could tell that Krim was simply 'acting', not being serious at all about his sudden 'evil' claims.
Where is he trying to get at? They wondered.
"The truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear." The bespectacled man finished.
*Poof!*
Krim then closes his eyes before changing into his Drive Driver form, now floating above the podium.
"W-What!?"
The audience's jaw dropped at this, unable to make sense of what they just witnessed.
Until…
"*Gasp!* Wait… That's the device Dark Drive has strapped around his waist." Izuku is the first to note.
"It was you the whole time, Krim!?" Toshinori asks next.
But then, his expression becomes one of confusion.
{So you weren't a Quirkless after all? Why would you hide your own Quirk?} David asks, feeling equally puzzled upon witnessing his mentor's apparent Transformation Type Quirk for the first time.
[Who said this is a Quirk?] Belt-san asks them back with his own question.
Huh? Wait, what?
They all look in confusion at this.
[Didn't I tell you two to always keep an open mind, David? Toshinori?] The sentient device asks, now sounding disappointed at the two of them. [I always told you two about it, didn't I? Quirks aren't everything.]
"You're lying!" Katsuki suddenly screams, pointing an accusing finger at Belt-san. "How can you possibly become a flying belt without a Quirk?"
"Kaachan…" Izuku looks at his classmate in exasperation, hoping that the ash blonde teen doesn't start trouble there.
Belt-san makes a ಠ_ಠ emoji in response.
[*Sigh* An ignorant one I see. There is so very much to learn. And you understand so little.] Belt-san remarks, further angering the explosive boy. [One who knows nothing can understand nothing.]
"What did you say…!" Katsuki growls, threatening to hurt the living device with his explosions.
[Think about the attack back then… If this form of mine really was a Quirk, wouldn't I have also been affected by Terminus' power?]
This makes Katsuki shut his mouth as the others widen their eyes in realization, thus proving that Krim is indeed telling the truth.
[Well…?]
"Shut up…" The blonde grumbled, looking away and not apologizing while some in the audience looked in disapproval at his attitude.
'Disrespectful brat...!' Shinji, Kanade and Shinra think in unison, looking at said boy with furious looks.
"Ahem. Anyways, leaving the disrespectful kid aside("Hey!" Katsuki cried.)... Krim, if you could tell them about the gravity of the situation? Woof!" Kenji clears his throat as this makes everyone anxious.
[Of course, Kenji.]
Belt-san then projects a giant holographic screen above him, which would serve as a projector of sorts that would show his memories for everyone in the audience to see.
[The Roidmudes were created by my colleague, Professor Banno. They were a new type of android, capable of evolving.]
The screen shows Plain Type Roidmudes 001, 002 and 003 walking in the darkness provided by the night
"WHAT!?" The audience is astonished with the first revelation.
"A-Androids!? The Roidmudes are not people!?" Mei couldn't help but ask aloud, becoming amazed at the discovery despite the monsters' evil nature.
{Professor Banno? That name doesn't ring any bells.} David comments, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
Strange…
If this person was associated with Krim, he would have known who this individual was.
"I see… So it's true. My theory about the Roidmudes not being human at all…" Tensei speaks grimly, not sounding surprised at all with the discovery.
"Wait, what? What are you talking about, Nii-san?" Tenya inquired as everybody soon turned towards the Turbo Hero.
Tensei then proceeds to talk about his discoveries and theories that he earlier talked about with a certain pair of police detectives…
Needless to say, everybody was astounded with his conclusions.
"Why haven't you told anybody else about this? Besides those police detectives?" Aizawa demands from the man.
"The Kamen Riders told me how dangerous it is to get involved in this." Tensei started. "But I'm not afraid, nor hesitant, to share this info because the Roidmudes might target me later. But because they might attack my loved ones and friends as well."
Everybody's blood ran could at this, understanding the implications behind it.
'Nii-san…' Tenya was partly touched but also upset at Tensei's decision to try to protect him and the others.
Wasn't he also a future hero in training?
He wanted to protest against it, but the recents events with Stain and Terminus soon reminded Tenya that he was still no match against the most dangerous villains…
"But I thought the police detectives, Tomari and Shijima, would later at least share my discovery with the rest of you." Tenya tells Aizawa in confusion, mentioning him, Yagi and Nezu. "I wonder why they didn't? Maybe they forgot or still didn't have time to share this information with you guys?"
'Or maybe they purposely had a reason to not talk about this right away to us… To hold information from us…' Nezu thinks as he looks suspiciously at Krim, not voicing his doubts for now.
Belt-san then resumes speaking…
[The Roidmudes' development eventually hit a dead end. And so, Banno begged me to use my high-powered Core Driviar engines in his Roidmudes.]
"Core Driviar? What's that?" Power Loader questions as he, Mei and David become interested once again.
"It's the source of power for the Kamen Riders' equipment." Shinji explains as Krim begins to talk about his inventions to everybody.
"Core Driviar… What amazing technology…" Mei commented as she became even more interested in Belt-san.
[I also knew that using them would cause the dangerous [Heavy Acceleration] phenomenon… But I ended up bowing to my friend's wishes.]
"[Heavy Acceleration]?" Itsuka parroted.
"Ah! I remember now!" Izuku suddenly spoke. "That's what Malware said [Slowdown] was actually supposed to be called back at Hosu!"
"What!?"
The audience looks in confusion towards Belt-san, demanding him to give an explanation.
The connection between the Kamen Riders and the Roidmudes is because they both share the same source of power!? Is that why the vigilantes can move freely during the time distortion and fight against those villains!?
"So does that mean this is all your fault!?" Neito suddenly asks, pointing a finger at the Drive Driver.
"Monoma! That's enough! Let him explain!" Sekijiro warns, silencing his student.
But the damage was done, most of the kids were now looking angrily at the scientist, ready to blame him for everything.
[But eventually, a certain incident led me to end my partnership with Banno.] Belt-san comments, making a grim emoji.
{What? Why?} David asks, not being the answer he was expecting to hear.
[...] Belt-san doesn't reply, simply opting to show, in the memory screen, how Banno treated the previous 002 Roidmude before he evolved to Heart.
Heart, originally designated as Roidmude 002, was among the first Roidmudes produced by Dr. Banno Tenjuro.
002 was later forced to take on the appearance of Hiroi Shinzo, an investor who once refused to fund Banno's research, and endured severe torturing from his creator if he were actually Hiroi.
The audience gasped at the display of torture Banno was inflicting upon 002. All Might was even starting to compare the man to All For One in levels of cruelty.
"How horrible…" Ochaco commented, covering her mouth with her hands.
Izuku quickly came to comfort his friend.
The memory screen shows that while Krim Steinbelt rescued 002 at the last second, he eventually ceased his partnership with Banno after witnessing the man's insanity.
And the Plain Spider Type and the other two first Roidmudes(001 and 003) were later installed with an evil chip, which gave them negative emotions, like humans, and would allow them to evolve through said emotions.
"Those evil chips… Are they the reason the Roidmudes are hostile towards us humans?" Mei asks Belt-san with an expression of concern, her enthusiasm now gone.
[Indeed.] The Drive Driver replies. [And several years ago, Roidmudes 001, 002 and 003 rebelled… They murdered their creator, Professor Banno, and then came after me.]
The memory screen then shows the first trio of Roidmudes attacking Krim's former mansion in the previous world, setting the place on fire before preparing to kill him as the scene horrified the audience even more.
Heart is shown next, which surprises the audience, kneeling before the dying Krim.
"But didn't Mr. Steinbelt came to help him before? And he is still there to kill him?" Mina points out in disbelief.
They were clearly not able to understand yet how Heart could murder the scientist in cold blood…
[And that is where I died…] Belt-san speaks grimly as the memory screen now shows the Drive Driver. [But I had already prepared this belt, a vessel for me to download my consciousness into.]
"Hold on, what? Wait… Did you just say…" Denki trailed off.
[That I literally died once? Yes.]
"What!?" The audience looks horrified at the man.
{Y-You… You literally died before? But then how are you standing here now with a human body now!?} David asks his mentor.
"Y-Yeah! You have a human body now, don't you!? Wait… Don't tell me it's some sort of android body!?" Power Loader questions Krim next.
"Are you some sort of A.I.?" Mei asks next.
[I'm getting into it…] Belt-san calms them first before continuing. [As you have seen, I have a hand in the creation of all Roidmudes… This is a guilt that will haunt me forever… And that's why I must take responsibility for this.]
"So you are trying to 'atone'. That's why you are doing this." All Might concludes, looking at the sentient device with a look of pity. "But this isn't entirely your fault, Krim. It's because of Banno that the Roidmudes went evil, right?"
"Yes, that appears to be the case." Naomasa adds his input. "President Steinbelt hasn't said a single lie so far."
"But that doesn't mean he has been fully honest either. Why you didn't seek out our help, Mr. Steinbelt? We could have still aided you." Nezu adds.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Midnight demands next suddenly. "So many people died because of the Roidmudes! We could have saved them!"
[No, you couldn't. At least not in the way you believe. Because you 'heroes' aren't fit to fight against the Roidmudes. You would have only increased the number of casualties.] Belt-san affirms grimly. [I think all the recent events so far have made that clear, right?]
Everybody frowned at this.
"But that's because we don't have access to your technology, unlike the Kamen Riders." Aizawa argues as the others seem to nod in agreement. "And when you withhold resources from us, you're just giving advantage to the Roidmudes, Steinbelt."
Belt-san scoffed at this.
[You don't get it, Eraserhead. Do you? More weapons don't solve problems, they just make things worse! Giving technology recklessly to you people is not the solution!]
"And you believe the Kamen Riders are the answer!? Why use them? Do you think vigilantism is the answer!?" Sekijiro questions him next. "We should be the ones doing this job! Not them! It's our duty to protect the people!"
"Did you already forget about what Terminus said back at U.A.? 'Only Quirkless people can become Kamen Riders'. And only the Kamen Riders can rise to stand up against the Roidmudes."
A man's sharp voice suddenly speaks, grabbing everyone's attention as two new individuals entered the room: Yuuki and Yuriko.
The ones that were acquainted with the pair of detectives became surprised by their presence while the ones unfamiliar with them simply wondered who the two of them were.
"..." Yuuki and Yuriko ignored the looks that everyone was giving them as the officers simply sat on the two free seats to Krim's right.
While the veteran investigator looks at the gathered people with an apathetic face, the rookie detective looks nervous at the assembled audience.
"Who are you?" Vlad King asks the male detective, narrowing his eyes at the new face.
"Detectives Tomari and Shijima…" All Might is the one to identify them.
"The same detectives we met at Hosu." Shoto says next as Tenya and Izuku nod in agreement.
Itsuka, Pony, Nezu, Aizawa and Tensei also looked at them with familiarity, wondering what the duo was doing there.
'Wait…' Toshinori suddenly realizes as the gears in his brain begin to shift. 'They are a man and a woman…!'
"What's your Quirks?" He bluntly asks them, eyes going wide in realization.
Yuriko looks immediately hesitant to respond to this question while Yuuki simply grins knowingly at the Symbol of Peace.
"Why ask a question to which you already have the answer, All Might?" The man dryly asks Yagi back.
"They are Quirkless…" Naomasa immediately answers as everyone turns to face him. "Both of them are…" He soon looks at them in disbelief, his expression being one of betrayal.
One by one, everyone there starts to understand the hidden truth as they look at the detectives, completely speechless.
"Right… I always considered the possibility that the truth would eventually come to light." Yuuki says, sighing as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "But I hoped that it would be after we defeated all the Roidmudes."
"Yeah. But there's no turning back now, is there? Tomari-san." Yuriko asks her partner.
Izuku points a shaking finger at the two of them.
"I-It's you two…" He says, feeling partly hesitant. "You two are the Kamen Riders! Dark Drive and Tracer!"
"Well, guess the cat's out of the bag now." Yuuki replies casually before taking a glance at Belt-san. "Are you sure this is for the best?"
[We will need all the help we can get to fight against the Roidmudes from now on. Especially after the second attack on U.A.] The Drive Driver answers replies before taking a glance at All Might. [And sooner or later, Toshinori would make the connections about our identities. Just like how he did just now. Terminus gave him a lot of hints. There's no turning back now for any of us.]
"I guess you're right." Yuriko nods in agreement before looking at Tensei. "And he isn't the only one that was getting close to the truth, right? Ingenium-san."
"Yeah. So I guess this must be the reason you invited me, huh? Detective Shijima." The Turbo Hero inquired from her, still surprised to learn that the detective was the female Kamen Rider.
'So she is the 'friend' that Nii-san was talking about earlier? The one that invited him to this meeting…' Tenya concludes.
"To think the Kamen Riders were this close to us all the time… And we would've been none the wiser if it actually wasn't for Terminus' attack at U.A." Nezu comments, sounding disturbed.
"And they were fellow police officers nonetheless… I have been told the truth beforehand by chief Tsuragamae." Naomasa says as the others look at him and then at the man dog in question. "But I wasn't able to actually accept it until I finally heard the truth from you, Tomari."
"Well, here I am now. The man you've all been looking for." Yuuki makes a dramatic pose before adopting a serious expression. "I'd rather we just skip the formalities. Happy now?"
Aizawa and Sekijo both looked annoyed with the man's attitude, now starting to see some resemblance between him and the black masked vigilante everyone's talking about.
In return, Yuuki looks at the two teachers in question with a flat look.
"Now then… Where was I? Ah, yes. Do you guys understand why only Quirkless people can become Kamen Riders? Wanna take a guess?" He asks them.
"It's because of our Quirks, isn't it?" Yagi questions, looking grimly at his weakened hands.
[Exactly.] Belt-san says.
The sentient Drive Driver then explains how the Quirks are hindering their potential, making them unable to truly pose a threat against the Roidmudes.
This shocks the people with Quirks, even more, rendering them speechless.
'No… Our Quirks are getting in the way…? It can't be…' Many wondered in disbelief and denial.
But at the same time, none of them had counterarguments for Krim's theories as he kept presenting several pieces of evidence to support his claim.
They then heard a scoff as they looked at Katsuki, who was gritting his teeth.
"So a bunch of weaklings like them can be handed power like a toy?" He muttered, glaring at Yuuki and Yuriko. "What type of dumb shithead do you think I am to buy-"
"Don't you fucking say another word, you little shit," Shinra said, gritting his teeth as Kanade and Shinji held him back.
"What!? Mad that I'm pointing out that losers shouldn't try and half-ass their way into trying to be heroes!?" Katsuki said. "They are using a power that isn't theirs to begin with!"
"Kacchan, that's-!"
"Stay out of this, Deku!"
"That's some massive bullshit you're spouting out-" Shinra growled, before All Might came in between them.
"There is no need to say such things, Young Bakugo," All Might said sternly.
Katsuki scoffed and turned his eyes away, though the Steinbelt Corporation employees threw him a nasty glare.
"Man, it's really ridiculous how some people here on this new Earth think highly of their Quirks..." Shinji muttered, only Shinra and Kanade hearing him.
"What's your deal?" Yuuki said, looking at Katsuki with an unimpressed look. "You scared that we're probably better than you?"
Yuriko was also looking at the boy in disgust, shaking her head in disapproval.
"As if!" Katsuki said. "I worked my ass off on my own to get as good as I am!"
"Yea right! You and most of the humans here on Earth got lucky and got super strong Quirks!" The male detective retorted. "I actually worked to prove that I earned my powers, unlike you."
"Oh, you think so, huh!?" Katsuki said. "I've been waiting for this moment! I can finally meet you, beat your ass and make you wish that you stayed Quirkless! You're cheating! You simply got handed a fucking power like this as if it were a fucking toy!"
"Oh fuck off!" Yuuki retorted. "I actually worked to become a Kamen Rider, thank you!"
"As if! Me and all the fucking extras here actually took our Quirks and improved them!" Katsuki shouted. "All you did was get lucky to be handed a power that you would never have had!"
"Yea, you all totally earned the powers that you all got because of fucking genetic luck!" Yuuki said. "What about the Quirkless who'd never get the chance to be heroes like you all!? What about the 'useless' Quirks like turning into a guinea pig or just glowing in the dark!? So many of you talk big, but the truth is that you all got lucky!"
"Alright, now I'm really mad!" Tetsutetsu said, glaring at the veteran detective. "What do you know about working hard, bastard!?"
"It takes more than just being physically strong or having great intelligence to become a Kamen Rider." Yuriko cuts him off. "You need to have a strong heart in order to become one."
"A strong heart?" The steel boy repeated.
"And what exactly are the connections you two have with Mr. Steinbelt, Shijima?" Tensei asks her. "Why did he choose you two to become Kamen Riders?"
"..." Izuku becomes focused on this as he wonders how the CEO chose those two Quirkless people to become Dark Drive and Tracer.
And why not him?
What made them different from him?
[I met Yuriko a few months ago. But the moment I learned about her aspirations and hopes, I realized the potential she had to become a Rider.] Belt-san said, talking about his and Yuriko's connection.
"Yeah… I… I just wanted a chance…" The woman says, looking at her hands. "To prove that I could make a difference despite not having a Quirk. I joined the team because I wanted to become a heroine in my own way… As a Kamen Rider."
Both Izuku and Toshinori seemed to sympathize with her as she told more about herself for the rest to hear.
And when it was about Yuuki…
[I have known Yuuki for way longer…] Belt-san says. [After all, he is my son.]
"What!?"
Everybody looks incredulous at this, looking between the Drive Driver and the police detective.
"I'm adopted." Yuuki clarified as this made the others quickly relax.
{Y-You have a son, Professor?} David couldn't help but ask his mentor. {Since when? A-And why you didn't tell me before?}
[I adopted Yuuki shortly after I left the United States and decided to live in Japan. Seeing how you and your wife had Melissa… Well, let's just say I got inspired to get a family of my own, David. As for why Japan of all places? Let's say that I have a lingering attachment to this country.] Belt-san explains, the memory screen showing Krim meeting a young Tomari Yuuki at an orphanage. [I also saw a unique value in him that nobody else did. That's why I chose him. Not just because he is a Quirkless like me. As for never telling you about Yuuki, I just never found the right moment for us to catch up with each other. There's been so much going on and I was so busy…]
{I see…} David seemed to accept the reply, although he displayed a look of hurt in his face for being kept of such an important secret.
"So… Did you choose Tomari because he has the potential to become a Kamen Rider?" Tensei questioned.
"Not really." Yuuki answered, surprising the Turbo Hero. "We actually only learned about the Roidmudes a few years later."
"Speaking of which, what exactly are the Roidmudes' after?" Nezu questioned. "That's something we still don't have a clue of."
[They want to rule the world by causing the Global Freeze…] Belt-san answers gravely.
"Global Freeze?" Izuku asks.
Krim then begins to talk about the Global Freeze to everyone there as the memory screen starts to show how the Roidmudes attempted to cause the first Global Freeze in Krim's previous world, causing much destruction and loss of a lot of human life.
"No…!" The kids looked horrified at the sight while the adults were not faring much better.
But the memory screen would then show Kamen Rider Protodrive arriving on the screen to fight back against the monsters.
More specifically when Shijima Kiriko was attacked by Roidmude 010(Paint)...
"A black armor? Is that Dark Drive? Is that you, Tomari?" Naomasa asks Yuuki.
[No, that was his predecessor.] Belt-san explains. [The first to take the mantle of Drive.]
"There was another Drive!?" Izuku and the others questioned.
The memory screen then shows Protodrive rescuing Kiriko.
"That woman… She actually looks a bit like Shijima now that I take a close look at her." Tsukauchi comments as Kenji agrees with him. "Is she a relative? I don't remember seeing anyone like her in the police force."
'That's Shijima Kiriko…' Yuriko contemplated the woman that was likely her counterpart in Krim's original world.
And most of the hero kids were certainly touched with the way Protodrive arrived to save the policewoman, carrying her in bridal style during the rainy weather of the first Global Freeze's night.
[Back then… There was a lone warrior fighting to protect everyone… He was Protodrive… I managed to finish him before the Global Freeze so that we could fight against the Roidmudes. Together, this was the start of our battle to eradicate the Roidmudes.]
"It was thanks to their efforts that the Global Freeze was avoided." Yuuki comments.
"And none of the heroes would have been able to actually do a thing about it considering that we still can't move during the [Slowdown]." Sekijiro says, cursing the Pro Heroes' own inability to handle this situation.
[And our enemies were the ones who started to call us Kamen Riders. That is what the Roidmudes refer to their nemesis as.] Belt-san continues.
"He sounds like an awesome person!" Eijiro says. "Where is he by the way?"
Suddenly, Belt-san adopts a grim look as the others soon notice what that expression probably meant.
The red-haired boy winced at the prospect of bringing a bad memory up.
[Unfortunately, despite having fought them off, he lost his life.] Many gasped at this. [Unlike Yuuki and Yuriko, he didn't have the means to destroy the Roidmudes for good.]
"What do you mean?" Aizawa asks.
Belt-san explains about the Roidmude Cores, telling the group why the Kamen Riders are the only ones that can kill the mechanical monsters.
"But they shouldn't be killing in the first place!" Tenya argues.
"I…" Izuku grimaced as he gripped his knees. "I… I don't think I could have done that in the Kamen Riders' position. It may be kind of weird but I don't want to take lives as a hero. Even if they are not real 'people'."
"Hm…" Yuuki's eyes narrowed as he leaned back in his seat. "In the end, you have to win or people are going to die, Midoriya Izuku."
"A-And I… I think I get that, at least," the moss-headed boy said. "I… I want to make sure that no one's life is taken to save the day. Is… Is that selfish?"
"A bit," Yuriko said, getting a snort from her partner while the moss head slumped. "But it's the proper mindset. No one wants to take a life but it's simply the luck of the draw for most people. Probably the only few who don't get as many opportunities to deal with this situation are All Might or Endeavor."
"And I will do what I must to win this war. Listen, I get that you don't trust me or like the fact that I'm a vigilante. It's something I've expected since becoming Dark Drive. But I'm not going to force you all to stay quiet about this. If you want to tell everyone the truth about me and get me kicked out, I'm fine with it. I'm not that popular to begin with." Yuuki tells the audience, surprising them.
Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes as he listened to the vigilante's words. The car-themed Rider was telling the truth, that he wasn't going to make them stay quiet, nor avoid trying to get him arrested.
Why..?
"But if you remove us... I wonder... Who is going to take care of the Roidmudes?" Yuuki hummed as this made everyone remember the disaster with Terminus and how they were only saved thanks to a Quirkless vigilante.
A subtle reminder that they still couldn't beat the Roidmudes with their Quirks...
"But still… Why then? Why did you never seek our help in the first place, Krim? We could have helped! Even if we can't fight directly against the Roidmudes, there must be something that we could have still done to help." All Might argues.
"All Might, there's another problem with that." Shinji says as everyone suddenly turns to face him, Shinra and Kanade. "The Roidmudes also have the ability to take human forms, making them harder to distinguish from humans. Do you have any idea how bad that actually is?"
The brunette asks as he fully explains about the androids' ability to perfectly mimic anyone they want.
And apparently, in this new world, even Quirks could be copied without any issues by them…
Everybody's blood ran cold at this implication.
"Ah, it's true! Now I remember how a Roidmude apparently copied Stain's appearance back at Hosu." Tensei says, looking grimly. "Are you telling me that Roidmude also copied his Quirk!?"
Shinji only nods gravely in response.
"This is bad… It sounds like some sort of [Perfect Mimicry]." Nezu points out. "They can copy anyone's appearance, memories, personality and even Quirks!?"
"Oh no…!" Midnight whispered in apprehension.
"Yes. And that's why it's very hard to know who exactly we can trust because the Roidmudes have eyes everywhere…" Kanade says gravely next. "The government, civilians, Pro Heroes and even spies amongst the criminal underworld. They already infiltrated all parts of society."
Suddenly, the mood around her, Shinra and Shinji changed as the trio became serious.
Raising from their respective seats, they shocked the audience even further with what they did next…
"That's right… The Roidmudes can easily blend amongst humans…"
The three of them suddenly changed their forms, each of them transforming into one of the three Plain Type Roidmudes.
"Just like us…"
The Closing Screen of this chapter shows Shift Hooking Wrecker, Rolling Gravity, Signal Magarl and Shift Wild, side by side, with the logo of Kamen Rider Dark Drive behind them.
Roidmude Casualties: 011†, 013†, 015†, Iron(029)†, Liquid(034)†, 042†, 054†, Judge(065)†, 071†, Beast(077)†, 083†, 088†, 093†
Count at the end of the chapter: 95 out of 108?
My Hero Academia Illegals: Vigilante Dark Drive
Drive 17: The long-awaited revelation I
- End -
Author Notes:
Thank you for reading!
If you guys have any ideas or suggestions that I could use for this story, you're free/welcome to share!
1- I wonder, how many of you readers already suspected that Terminus' Core was the 002 one? Yes, that's right. He will be replacing the Heart Roidmude in this story. I supposed this fits since both of them are powerful fighters on their own, the two of them proving to be a real threat to the respective Kamen Riders that each of them fought against.
2- To clarify things, the three Roidmudes that 'appeared' in the last part of this chapter are the same ones that treated Yuuki and Yuriko's wounds earlier after they left U.A. High to recover in case someone might have not realized this.
3- As for Tsuragamae Kenji already having an idea about the Kamen Riders, his role in this story will be similar to that of Honganji Jun in the Kamen Rider Drive's TV series. He already met with Krim sometime before the events of this story started.
4- Now I also finally confirmed that (Kamen Rider) Gold Drive will appear later in this story. However, I'm already warning that he will not be a resurrected Banno. His role and identity will be very different.
5- The question about Krim and All Might's relationship was finally revealed: Both of them knew each other because of their common acquaintance, David Shield. With the famous Support Items designer also being a pupil/apprentice of Krim while Toshinori was Belt-san's student in the English language. One of the reasons I decided to make this special connection between them was because of one trait both Belt-san and All Might share: The two of them tend to make a mix of Japanese and English words when speaking sometimes(You will only notice that All Might does this if you watched some of the first episodes of MHA in the Japanese dub).
6- At last, the long-awaited meeting between the Drive Team and the people of U.A. happens! I know that a lot of questions have yet to be answered, as well as some proper interactions with certain characters have yet to happen as the Heroes and the U.A. kids learn more about the gravity behind the Roidmude situation. But I decided not to put everything in this chapter because it was getting too long. I will try to finish the rest of the long-awaited talk in the next chapter as I now need some time to brainstorm a few more dialogues to use in this story.
Question Corner!
(Please answer this in the Reviews if possible):
[No questions at the moment.]
Review Time!
kamenrider50q: No idea.
Kamenmaximus: Thanks for answering the questions and offering some nice ideas! This will greatly help me later in the writing of the next chapters!
Guest DCDGojira: Thanks!
I checked the fan art that you made in your Deviantart account in regard to my Kamen Rider stories. And I gotta say, the drawing looks amazing!
#2nd review: Thanks! I will try to check this info later.
#3rd review: Ok.
#4th review: No. I think I already have something else in mind planned for the person that will take the role of Kamen Rider Mach.
Dr. Exposition: Yes, and you have certainly brought up several important things that should be explored in this story.
I agree with you in regards to the idea of Quirkless people having limitless potential.
They will be treated like manifestations of the Fool Arcana:
[The Fool is card zero of the Major Arcana, representing the point where everything begins and ends and begins again. This tarot card is a sign of unlimited and endless potential. It's a cosmic invitation from the universe to start your next adventure!]
For'Sleep 3rd: Glad you liked the chapter!
Yes, I really liked making use of One Piece elements during the making of some chapters, especially the last one.
Yes, Terminus and Malware lost the fight at U.A., but they still managed to acquire useful data from the Kamen Riders.
Thanks for also answering the questions and offering some nice ideas! This will greatly help me later in the writing of the next chapters!
No, I will not make use of the idea of a Yakuza being given the chance of becoming a Kamen Rider. The Drive Team will have another way of having someone keep tabs on the criminal underworld. And yes, Kamen Rider Lupin and Mashin Chaser also have their ways of being aware of what happens within the criminal underworld.
#2nd review: Thanks for offering your opinion in regards to the Quirkless manhunt issue. This will help me later.
silverstudent: Yes, I agree with you. Those with 'non-flashy' Quirks should at least train and learn some martial arts in order to evolve, gain some experience and mature.
Yes, I eventually plan to make special 'crossover arcs' in this story where certain characters and Kamen Riders from my other stories will visit the people of this story's universe for one reason or another.
HelixZi359: You brought up several important questions in your review. I will not give spoilers and simply try to answer all of them through the writing of this chapter and the next ones.
jetslinger333: No. While that is interesting, I feel it would be too cruel to the U.A. people.
But there will come when the Terminus Roidmude will eventually reach his golden Over Evolved ultimate form and be capable of literally destroying people's Quirks(resulting in a permanent loss of their superpowers) without killing them.
#2nd review: What I said in the first review.
But yes, the MHAverse characters will slowly learn the essential that being a hero means more than having a Quirk as they observe how the Kamen Riders fight.
SynchroRegis: It was time for the long-awaited reveal. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Bia1230: Thanks!
Guest: No idea.
Recentreader325: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed this chapter!
You brought up several important questions in your review. I will not give spoilers and simply try to answer all of them through the writing of this chapter and the next ones.
Well, yeah. I also think that Dr. Ujiko Daruma would certainly be angry at Krim and what the Kamen Rider System is capable of doing.
Toa Solaric: I will just go with the idea that everyone was so focused on the fight to actually pay attention to the fact that Belt-san was calling Yuuki by his name.
brave kid: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed this chapter!
hafizfaishal1402: Yeah, I agree with you. It's a shame they don't properly explore the idea of other Quirkless characters in the anime/manga besides the main relevant ones.
#2nd review: I agree with some of the issues you pointed out about them, although I still like Izuku and All Might.
#3rd review: Thanks!
#4th review: It's okay. We all have to vent at some point.
#5th review: I don't think I really have a favorite. There are some things I like and dislike in each Kamen Rider series that I have managed to watch so far.
yogaratw607: Ok, thanks for at least trying to answer some of the questions.
No, I have no interest in having a character from the Yakuza helping the Drive Team and the rest of the good guys. I already have someone else fulfill the role of information broker for them.
Obsidian Nova Arc: Thanks for offering some cool ideas, although I'm not exactly 100% sure if I will be able to make use of all of them.
In regards to Roidmudes copying dead people, they can't scan corpses since this wasn't shown in the Kamen Rider Drive TV Show. The closest thing to this possibility would be Roidmude 004's case, who scanned Krim's data when the latter was already on the verge of his human body's death. But the Himiko idea could be possible if I make a Roidmude of her that can read/scan people's information through the blood she consumes, regardless if the person is alive or dead.
Ross7404: I'm sorry, but I have no interest in making either of them appear in this story.
#2nd review: Sure, I plan to eventually make use of Kamen Rider Drive: Type Special later in this story.
Guest W: It's fine, I will do what I can to always reply whenever someone reviews my story. ;)
Yeah, maybe I will do something involving an Octopus Roidmude idea or perhaps something like a person from another world showing the Octopus Vistamp to the Drive Team, just to get exasperated reactions from Krim.
Thanks for the support! I will always try to update this story as soon as I can.
D3lph0xL0v3r: Thanks! By the way, I sort of forgot if you were going to only use the pun whenever Mei was in a chapter or not. XD
FUUTO-PI-IS-OUT: Yeah, finding out about Dark Drive's identity is the least of Toshinori's problems for now.
Thanks for answering the questions. This will help me later when I start writing the other chapters.
Guest(2): They technically aren't vigilantes by following this logic, which is something that I will address later in this story.
Thanks for offering some ideas for the Shift Cars, although I'm not sure if I will be able to really make use of all of them.
starwing1995: What? Why would I even make use of a random fact such as this one? This really came from out of nowhere.
Guest(3): Thanks!
Ultra Bro: Thanks! Yeah, but that would actually be the case if everyone at U.A. High were Gates.
FanSuperAnime: Thanks! I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
The Knight Galahad: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the previous one. And I will also remember to try taking into consideration some of the points that you presented in your review.
I'm not sure about what to do with Kamen Rider Lupin's Rider Machine yet, but I at least have one or two ideas for Kamen Rider Chaser's Ride Chaser and what forms his bike could take.
No, the Mach Driver Honoh can't access all the weapons in the same system. For example, in the previous chapter, Kamen Rider Tracer uses the Zenrin Shooter that originally belonged to Kamen Rider Mach.
Alright, thanks for offering some suggestions for possible weapons.
Guest(4, 5 & 6): I'm sorry, but I'm currently not interested in making use of these ideas that you presented.
Gremory D. Kelvin: Thanks! I'm glad to know that you liked this story. I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
Lycrow: Maybe. Sure, I guess.
Guest(7): Don't worry, I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
Guest(8): Thanks! I'm glad to know that you liked this story. I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
Guest(9): Don't worry, I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
Guest(10): Thanks! I'm glad to know that you liked this story. I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
CrazyHeartAttack: Thanks! I'm glad to know that you liked this story. I will try to update the next chapters as soon as I can.
Phantom Thief of Hearts: Thanks! I will reveal Tsuragamae's role in the story later.
Yeah, the Meta Liberation Army will hate the Kamen Riders once they learn why Quirkless are the only ones that can access the Rider System.
Thanks for also trying to answer the questions!
#2nd review: Thanks! Yes, and now Krim will have to eventually reveal the truth to everyone there at Ground Beta.
I just thought that Izuku wouldn't pay much mind to Krim since he isn't technically involved in anything related to the Hero Community.
About Izuku being a hypocrite, I think that it's not really something that should apply to him since he technically never got over the idea that he could become a Hero without a Quirk. So that's why he feels helpless there alongside the others that lost their Quirks.
#3rd review: Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for sharing your opinion in regards to some elements of the chapter and its questions.
So, what do you guys think? Please give me some reviews if possible.
If you are interested, please go check my other stories.
Also, thanks to everybody that followed, favorited the story and gave reviews.
See You Next Time