WARNING: I do not own Kamen Rider or Infinite Stratos. They are the property of Toei and MF Bunko J. Kurogasa Kururugi is owned by KRDuelist. Cody Aldrich is owned by striberx.
Kurogasa opened his eyes as he was waking up from his sleep. Everything seemed dark at first, but when his vision focused, he blushed slightly when he noticed Houki hugging him. She was in her pink yukata, but much of her cleavage was exposed.
Did she… smother him in her chest, the whole night? Kurogasa then looked up to see Houki sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to wake her up, but at the same time, he wanted to get out of her chest, not that he didn't like it, it's just that he needed breathing room.
But any movement he tried to make, she made a soft groan before smothering him more, as she smiled. She seemed to be enjoying this, even when she was asleep. She somehow even removed the other bed so there was only one in the room for them to sleep in, though likely that was by Tabane's request at his expense.
"H-Houki…?" Kurogasa managed to say.
"Five more minutes, Kuro…" She responded softly.
"No seriously, I can't breathe…" He muffled out.
"Ten more minutes…" She responded, snuggling him more.
"Houki…" Kurogasa muffled out again as he tapped her arm repeatedly.
"Mmmmmmm…" Houki finally rubbed her eyes as she woke up.
"What is it, Kuro?" She murmured sleepily, as she looked down only to realize that her childhood friend was turning very blue and was flailing erratically in her arms.
"Wah! I'm sorry!" She gasped, letting go of him.
"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH…" Kurogasa gasped in a lot of air as he was able to finally able to breathe and sitting up on his knees, as did Houki. "I thought I was gonna die…"
"I'm so sorry… I remember Chifuyu used to do that, and… I wanted to try…." Houki blushed.
"Y-You learned that from Chifuyu-neesan?" Kurogasa looked bewildered.
"Y-Yeah…" she nodded.
"O-Oh…" He blushed. "I mean… I don't mind… just try not to suffocate me again…"
"Okay…" She nodded as the two were silent for a bit.
"Um… have I ever told you how soft they really are…?" He muttered.
This made Houki's blush deepen much harder as she got up, "I'm going to prepare for class!" she yelped. She then immediately went to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. This made Kurogasa sit up and look at the bathroom door with an incredulous look.
"Was I… too forward…?" He muttered.
SONG: Zero ~Hajimari no Basho~ - Ayumi Miyazaki
/PRELUDE/
As various bits of code began to appear, the opening soon shows off the various IS units and Risers as the camera flew across the water before it arrived at the main team standing tall in front of IS Academy before turning up to the sky as the title is formed.
/Tsuyosa no kagi wa kioku no nani
Chirabatte kakera hiroi atsumete/
It soon jumps to Kurogasa and Ichika standing atop a cliff as the former watched the ocean view, while the other looked towards the Rising Hopper key in his hands as he holds it up to the sky. It soon shows Houki and Linyang arriving to join the boys while Laura and the Sarashiki sisters watched them from afar. It then changes to Cody walking through IS Academy as he becomes haunted by a shadowy figure before Laura holds his arm, causing him to calm down for a moment before Cecilia grabs his other arm, leading to the Frenchwoman getting jealous much to the American's dismay.
/Zutto zutsu ita mama no aimai na kanjou
Mote amashitenai de toki hanateru to/
Afterwards, it shows Chifuyu, Maya, and Rex as they look over the class as they turn to Aruto and Izu, who welcome Class 1-A as they arrive at class. However afterwards, it jumps to a scene of Phantom Task looming over the protagonists as they prepare to transform.
/Dakara shinjite tada shinjitai sou
kono negai wo/
As a burst of colored light appeared, it soon shows off Thouser as he thrusts his Thousand Jacker forward like a lance, causing several Phantom Task IS pilots to fly as Laura and Rin arrive to fire their weapons at the enemy. Silver Gospel arrives soon after, battling against Cody as he fires off his Shotriser as he, Cecila and Laura provided cover fire.
/Kokoro ga zero mo kakagetara hajimaru/
It then jumps to Charolette and Houki charging into battle, clashing their weapons against Squall and Reiko, the two performing a tag-team maneuver as they blast the foes away.
/Mienai sekai no naka de
yasashii yuu kimochi yore ba/
Finally, it shows Kurogasa flying through the battlefield, changing forms as he teams up with each of his allies before joining up with Ichika as they leap towards Madoka, who is ready for them.
/Soko ga hajimari no basho/
The two shout as the trio clash, causing the screen to flash white as Kurogasa wears the Zero-One Driver and performs the signature pose while Ichika summons Byakushiki's claw, allowing the camera to pan out and reveal the rest of the cast alongside all of Class 1-A.
Chapter 3:
Howl of the Wolf
Meanwhile, Rex was in the office doing some morning paperwork before a holographic appeared in midair next to him, indicating that there was a call for him.
"'Ello?" he asked as he answered the call and a familiar girl with robot bunny ears appeared.
["Hey there, Rexy-poo!"]
The boy rolled his eyes, "Hey there, Tabane…" he greeted, "And why are you calling me in the middle of work?"
["Awww, don't be such a spoiled bean, Rexy-poo! Can't I ever talk to my best friend?"] Tabane pouted childishly.
He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah. You know I'm just teasing you, right?" he said with a bit of a smirk.
["Mou~ now you're being a meanie."] Tabane said, but smiled being in her perky mood again. ["But serious talk, Rexy-poo. I got more Progrise Keys ready for Kuro-kun!"]
"Sweet. Just send them by here and I'll be sure to give them to 'im when I see him." he noted as he finished his papers, "There's a basic IS demo happening later today after all."
["Oh, one more thing. A certain someone is coming in today."]
'Oh boy…' Rex thought. "Is it who I think it is?"
["Yep yep!"]
Rex breathed a large sigh of regret, "Yare yare daze… this is not going to end well. Is it?" he pondered.
["That's why you're there to make sure he behaves like a good boy should. Besides, if he doesn't, I'm gonna take away his snackies."] Tabane smiled without any form of shame.
"And this is why the Fuwa family wants you as far away from their daughter as possible…" he quipped with a shrug after completing his paperwork.
["Oh, and you have my permission to kick his butt if he keeps on misbehaving."]
"Hey, that's what I was hired to do back at ZAIA. Make sure no-one ends up making a repeat of the war that nearly ended humanity." Rex noted.
["Yup! Yup! Just make sure that when you do, to leave some for me."]
"Yeah sure." he said as he got up, "Anyways, I gotta get going. Call you later."
*YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN!*
Kurogasa yawned as he sat in his classroom with his head down. After breakfast, Houki didn't really talk much to him. Maybe because of how embarrassed she still was when he complimented how soft her bust was. He knew he was a slightly awkward kid, but he didn't think it would come back to haunt him.
"I gotta apologize to her later…" Kurogasa mumbled.
"You okay, Kuro?" Ichika asked.
"Not really… I um… I shouldn't say…" He blushed.
"Huh? Why not?" Ichika asked.
"You didn't do anything perverted, did you?" Cecilia asked.
"Gah! What!?" Kurogasa panicked, as he looked to see Cecilia standing at his seat. "No, of course not!"
"Hmm… while that doesn't sound convincing… Just make sure you keep it in your pants, ok, Kurogasa?" She said, as her tone changed from yesterday.
"Um… okay?"
She nodded before walking to her desk. Ichika was confused, "What's up with her?"
"Not sure and at this point, I'd rather not know…" Kurogasa answered.
*DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG!*
"Alright class, settle down." Chifuyu said, as everyone took their seats as she looked normal as ever. "Now before we start class, we have a new transfer student coming in today. I know it's strange that we would receive new students, especially during this time of the year, but due to special circumstances, this transfer student needed to be taken in as soon as possible."
The class looked at each other confused. Did something really bad happen? The door then opens as who walked in was a young man, around the same age as Kurogasa and Ichika. He had short, yet messy dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Though his face looked to be a mix between relief yet boredom.
"Go ahead and introduce yourself."
"Yo, I'm Cody Aldrich. Nice to meet you all… I guess?" He introduces, shrugging softly as he didn't seem that impressed by the class. Of course, this made some of the girls squeal in delight while others seemed to be slightly impressed or not bothered by his introduction. As for Kurogasa, he couldn't help but feel something off from this person.
'What's this feeling I'm getting…?' Kurogasa thought to himself as he felt wary.
Cody looked at Kurogasa, as he gained a competitive glare as he did the 'my eyes are on you' gesture to him. Kurogasa felt a freezing chill down his spine. 'The hell? Why is it like he's here to kill me…?'
Cody soon took his seat next to Ichika as the class soon began, with the usual. Yet every chance, Kurogasa saw Cody glaring at the teen, intensely. Something was up and he seemed to have this aura of a raging fighter in his eyes, as he seemed to want to just jump up and punch him.
"Alright kids! Get into your gym uniforms!" Rex informed them as he entered the room, "We're having an outside demonstration."
"Already?" Ichika got out.
"It's standard procedure, Ich. Not much I can do." the teaching assistant shrugged.
Kurogasa looked back to Chifuyu who merely shook her head. But he couldn't help but wonder why all of a sudden.
Soon, the whole class lined up outside in a large dirt field outside the school, one of the many training areas created for pilots. The whole class were in their IS and Raider undersuits, with most of the boys having a black device with a red button around their waists and a black and crimson bodysuit, while the girls' suits were a simple navy blue. Houki's personal undersuit had red lines as opposed to the standard blue, while Cody's was a gray version of Kurogasa's undersuit.
"For today's lesson, we're going to perform some basic operation controls with the IS and a Riser." Rex said as he joined Chifuyu and Maya, the teaching assistant wearing a black and gold version of their tracksuit, "It's tradition 'round here to see if you got what it takes to operate either system and with the upcoming Class League tourney coming up, it's best you get some sparring in before you regret it."
He soon eyed the crowd and looked at four individuals, "Orimura, Alcott. You're on Team A. Michigana, Yumizuru, you're Team B."
"Not a problem!" Cecilia affirmed before her earrings began to glow.
"Engage, Blue Tears!"
Soon, the pieces of her Blue Tears unit appeared.
"On it!" Michigana agreed as he took out a red Progrise Key with a bull printed on it, as did Yumizuru whose key was sky blue with a Rockhopper penguin on it.
BLOW!
HURRICANE!
Finally, the two boys inserted it into the device on his belt and pressed the button on top.
"Jissou!"
Soon, two mechanical animals appeared and jumped into the boys, transforming into their new armor with the shared silver and gray body armor.
RAIDRISE! CRUSHING BU~FFA~LO~!
[This charge attack will send you flying.]
RAIDRISE! STORMING PENGUIN!
[The winds are at his command.]
The first of the boys was outfitted with a pair of red thrusters on his arms, a pair of large hoof-like hoverboots, and a buffalo helmet with yellow eyes and large red horns. The other gained a light silver chestplate that had a front and back skirt, light blue shoulders, a pair of penguin wing-like arm blades, and a rockhopper-like helmet with a red visor.
Finally, it was Ichika's turn to transform as he raised his arm brace, but nothing happened. The male IS user groaned, "What's the matter with this darn thing?"
"Move it, Orimura!" Chifuyu shouted, "Any experienced pilot should take less than a second to transform."
The male IS unit nodded before he focused his mind on his IS unit.
"Engage, Byakushiki!"
His body was quickly enveloped in light, before his armor appeared.
"Alright you four! Show us what you're made of and don't get yourselves killed, understood?" Chifuyu said.
"Yes ma'am!" They said in unison.
"Good, now get into position!" she called out.
Soon, Ichika and Cecilia went to one side while Michigana and Yumizuru went to the other side.
"Everyone ready? FIGHT!"
Michigana started the conflict by charging forward, aiming right for Ichika. Once he got in close, the buffalo Raider delivered a ramming headbutt, to which Ichika had to bring up his energy shield to block the attack but was skidding across the ground.
"Not this time!" He said, as he broke the deadlock by smacking the buffalo Raider away.
He then quickly drew out his sword and dashed forward, delivering a quick series of slashes towards Michigana. The buffalo Raider in turn, delivered a strong forward headbutt that knocked Ichika back, causing him to slightly fly wrong before he righted himself.
'Man that was close!' the boy thought before he brought up his guard, 'I'm still getting used to the IS, but at least my opponent is grounded this time.'
Meanwhile, the penguin Raider tossed out several mini cyclones at Cecilia, who was using her IS' various ranged weapons to keep her opponent at bay. Afterwards, the penguin Raider quickly rose the sky blue current he created to ram into her.
'So, he's trying to exploit my lack of close-range options? We'll see about that!' the heiress thought.
She then fired out several missiles towards the penguin Raider, forcing him to bob and weave through the barrage, slowing him down significantly.
"It's not called the Rockhopper Penguin for nothing!" Yumizuru said as he began hopping on top of the missiles, pushing them down to the ground as they exploded on impact.
Thinking fast, Cecilia brought up her optic drones and began firing them at the Raider, getting a clean shot that knocked him off the current.
"Perhaps you should look where you leap, lest you fall to your doom!" Cecilia taunted him.
"Why you!" the penguin Raider growled before he brought up both of his arm blades and began twirling them, creating a larger cyclone that he tossed right at the heiress.
Cecilia soon felt the cyclone hit, sending her off her flight pattern. Ichika quickly spotted this while he was dodging Michinaga's dash attacks, done by using the thrusters on his armor.
"Alcott-san!" he called out before he got knocked to the ground by Michinaga, who merely smirked.
"Come on kid, are you even trying?" the buffalo Raider taunted him.
'Crap, I gotta do something or else it's game over for the both of us!' the lone male IS pilot noted.
Ichika soon felt an idea come into his mind. After regaining his balance, the lone male IS pilot soon began to wave an imaginary cape in front of himself.
"Toro! Toro toro!" he shouted, goading the buffalo Raider into attacking him.
"Really? You're going to pull this trick?" Houki noted.
"Come on, charge at me! I dare you!" Ichika taunted Michinaga, a confident smirk on his face.
Michigana scoffed at this display but he respected the lone male pilot for it. So he started to power up another charge attack in response. While performing the taunt, he looked to Cecilia who was preparing for another cyclone attack from Yumizuru.
"Time to send you back to Earth!" the Rockhopper penguin Raider chuckled as he geared up for his attack.
Once both attacks were primed and ready to go, the buffalo Raider dashed forward in an attempt to impale the younger Orimura while Yumizuru tossed out his cyclone.
Ichika's smirk soon became cocky, 'Like clockwork.'
With one quick spin, the lone male IS pilot dodged the attack and sent Michigana into Yumizuru's cyclone, sending him into the air and before crashing to the ground in a dazed heap.
"OLE!" he cheered, briefly bowing towards his classmates.
Chifuyu rolled her eyes, while everyone else cheered the younger Orimura on.
"Seriously?" Kurogasa deadpanned groaned, as a sweat drop rolled down his face, 'I guess his mind is still as sharp as ever when it comes to battle.'
"Nice one, kiddo!" Rex cackled.
"You're wide open!" Ichika heard.
Turning around, the younger Orimura panicked as he saw Yumizuru charging right for him with a bobsled attack.
"Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!" he panicked.
"Don't falter now, Orimura! Adapt and overcome!" Chifuyu called out.
As the penguin Raider drew closer, Ichika quickly readied himself to try and cut through the attack. However he would never get the chance as Cecilia sniped the Raider, interrupting his flight pattern and sending him crashing behind the younger Orimura.
"You moron, do you know how much it costs to fill up a hole this size?" Chifuyu chastised Yumizuru, who was left in a middling crater after the crash.
Ichika, while relieved, was a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to land a hit.
"Uhh… I kind of had that." he told the blonde heiress.
"We have to watch each other's backs, you know." Cecilia pointed out, "Now, are you alright? Have you been injured during the fight?"
Ichika was slightly stunned, "Uhh… no. I'm fine honestly." he reassured everyone, "Though I think Yumizuru-san and Michigana-san might need some help at the nurse's office." he pointed out.
"Ugh…" Chifuyu sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Relax Chifuyu, a dent like that won't put a scratch on the school's budget." Rex waved off casually. "That being said, the winners of this match are the IS Team!"
"Yeah! Beat that, boys!" One girl cheered.
"We told ya the IS are way better!" Another added.
"Oh, go blow it out your asshole! We had that one!" One boy shouted in anger.
"Yeah, one of your pilots was one of us!" another pointed out, singling out Ichika as he was faced with the fact he was, at least as far as he knew, the world's only male IS pilot.
"Uhh…" Ichika got out.
"Tch… the pilots of this generation have stooped to this low? How pathetic…" The new transfer, Cody, suddenly spoke out, earning the group's attention.
"And you can do any better?" Cecilia questioned the American.
"Get it in your heads. These are weapons of war." Cody said. "It's not used to see who has the bigger dick or tits. It's about victory and nothing else. So unless you want to start getting used to last place, I suggest you all stuff it and let your skills do the talking; or maybe everyone here's full of hot air and can't even fight?"
"Now hold on, just a minute!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Enough!" Chifuyu shouted at the class, causing them to shut up.
The blonde turned away in a huff. "This exercise was pointless." He said, turning around to leave.
"Where do you think you're going, Aldrich?" Rex asked.
"Leaving, obviously. Because these numbskulls have no idea of what they're doing." He said, pausing in his tracks. "It's a waste of my time and my patience is getting very thin. Unless someone in the class thinks they have the balls to face me, I'm out of here."
…
…
…
"Hmph, thought-"
JUMP! AUTHORISE!
"Henshin."
PROGRISE! TOBIA GA RISE! RISING HO~PPER~!
[A jump to the sky turns into a Rider Kick]
"You want a challenge? I'll give you one." Kurogasa said suddenly, having transformed into Kamen Rider Zero-One, "Unless you want to run with your tail between your legs?"
Everyone was surprised by this, while Cody… merely chuckled.
"Finally, and here I thought transferring here was pointless." he noted before he gave a wild grin… and took out… a Progrise Key?! And not just any. The Progrise Key itself was blue in color and it had the markings of a wolf.
"Now let the hunt commence."
BULLET!
"That's-!" Ichika got out.
"You… you're…" Kurogasa frowned behind his mask. "Now it all makes sense. You transferred here because of that. You wanted this fight between us to happen, didn't you?"
Cody said nothing as he pulled out from his holster, a familiar futuristic gun with a black body and a blue faceplate. In a quick motion, the American popped the key into the open slot and opened the front plate, revealing a robotic skeleton of a wolf underneath.
AUTHORISE!
KAMEN RIDER. KAMEN RIDER. KAMEN RIDER. KAMEN RIDER.
As the standby noise played, he slowly pointed it at Kurogasa, before saying…
"Henshin."
He then pulled the trigger.
SHOTRISE!
A bullet shot out of the gun, which flew erratically where some of the students had to dodge the bullet's trajectory. However, it was only for a brief moment as the bullet went flying back to Cody. Without flinching, the American literally punched the bullet, shattering into gears and various parts of what would become the armor, before converging onto his body, forming it.
SHOO~TING~ WO~LF~!
[The elevation increases as the bullet is fired]
He was now donned in a white and blue armor, with the blue mostly being on the right side. It also had some features and curves to resemble a wolf. The visor eyes of his helmet were slightly cupped and curved downward to resemble a wolf's gaze, while around the helmet had the fur points and ears of the creature.
"No way, that's-!" One of the girls got out.
"Kamen Rider… Vulcan…" Houki muttered.
"Dammit…" Chifuyu was about to intervene, but Rex held her back. "What are you doing?"
"I think we should focus on the class' safety. Given how strong Zero-One and Vulcan were back then, I think things are about to get ugly and fast." he warned her before the young man stepped in between Kurogasa and Cody, "Stand down, you two. This is a quick spar, not a death match." he snarled at the pair, "So I suggest you don't try and kill each other the moment I say Go."
"Don't worry, I won't kill him. Doesn't mean I won't break him." Cody said.
"If things go too far, I can activate the school's killswitch and shut down your Risers in an instant." Rex warned the boy, "And let's best not get her involved, will we Aldrich?" he warned him in an equally battle-ready, but still angry tone.
"Tch…" Cody clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Kuro…" Houki murmured worriedly.
"Before we start, answer me this, Aldrich-san. You're here for the sole reason of targeting me. Why?" Kurogasa asked, "What the heck did I ever do to you? We just met."
"Hrmph… My reasons are none of your business." Cody scoffed. "If you want to know, you'll have to beat me within an inch of my life. Even if you do, I'll probably still never tell."
"Fine. Be that way. Either way, I won't let you do as you please just because everything here isn't up to your standards." Kurogasa said, before getting into a fighting stance.
"Riders ready?" he asked the two as they took their places on the battlefield.
"FIGHT!"
Vulcan quickly started things off, firing several shots at Zero-One. The grasshopper Rider dodged the first few before the wolf Rider aimed at the boy's knee, sending him tumbling away.
"Hey, what was that for?!" the grasshopper Rider shouted.
"All's fair in war!" Vulcan reminded him, "Gotta adapt or you're left in the dustbin of history."
"Temeeee!" Zero-One growled before he leaped forward, spinning around with his Attache Calibur before landing a downwards slash on the wolf Rider. Vulcan slid back from the blow, shaken, but still ready to fight.
"Huh, going for the big moves already?" he chuckled before quickly dodging another strike and firing a couple of shots into the grasshopper's side, "That means you're wide open afterwards!"
Zero-One got back to his feet, but he could feel the sting of the bullets. As he prepared to switch to Flying Falcon, a bullet dissuaded him from switching forms.
"Ah ah ah!" the wolf Rider scolded him, waving his finger in disapproval. "I ain't letting you pull off a gambit like that."
Rex was surprised, 'Huh, looks like the kid knows when to interrupt a form change, and if Zero-One can't form change…'
"Then he's a sitting duck." Chifuyu finished, surprising the teaching assistant, "That was what you were thinking, right?" she asked him.
"Yeah, that's the weakness of multiform Risers. Jack of all trades, master of none." Rex said, "Take away those trades, and he's a sitting duck. Also, don't read my mind. I feel violated…" the teaching assistant said before shivering.
Chifuyu merely chuckled, "Honestly, I was thinking the same thing."
"Che… in that case…" Zero-One growled, before he used the power of Rising Hopper to jump up really high where bullets can't hit.
WING!
"Here we go!" Zero-One said, before scanning the Progrise Key.
AUTHORISE!
He then flipped the cover over and switched keys.
PROGRISE! FLY TO THE SKY! FLYING FALCON!
[Spread your wings and prepare for a force.]
"Huh, well then. Time to knock you out of the sky!" the wolf Rider declared before taking out a key of his own, one an ash grey with a gorilla on it.
POWER!
He then swapped it out for his normal wolf key and fired.
SHOTRISE!
As the gray bullet whizzed around the sky, Zero-One quickly dodged it, only for the bullet to come back to Vulcan. The wolf Rider then proceeded to punch it away as his armor changed, gaining a set of black and red armor with two large gauntlets and a gorilla-like helmet to the wolf Rider.
PUN~CHING~ KONG!
[Enough power to annihilate a mountain]
He then threw two punches, firing off the gauntlets as Zero-One dodged them. At least, he thought he did, but upon seeing the gauntlets course-correct, the grasshopper Rider quickly began flying around to try and throw the gauntlets off his trail. He was unaware that Vulcan began aiming for him and, with one good shot, knocked Zero-One off his flight pattern.
The gauntlets began to near him, the grasshopper Rider needed to act now. So, as he began to regain his flight pattern, Zero-One flew past Vulcan and led the gauntlets into the wolf Rider. The one-two surprise punch knocked Vulcan to the ground.
"Hah! How do you like that?!" Zero-One taunted as he uprighted himself in midair, before taking out his Rising Hopper Progrise Key. "Now let's see how you deal with this!" He said, before scanning it.
BIT RISE…
BYTE RISE.
MEGA RISE!
KILO RISE!
GIGA RISE!
TERA RISE!
As he scanned the same key over and over again, the power in his legs began to glow brighter and brighter. After the final scan, he slammed the Falcon Progrise Key to initiate it.
FLY~ING~ TERA IMPACT!
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Zero-One yelled as he dove down for his Rider Kick, with his wings spread out.
"Is he nuts?!" Ichika gawked.
"Fine, I'll go all-out too!" Vulcan declared before pressing the button on his Driver.
POWER!
Vulcan's gauntlets soon began to glow bright as he aimed his dominant hand.
Chifuyu's eyes quickly widened, "They're gonna destroy the courtyard if those attacks connect! Maya, activate the override function!"
"I'm going! I'm going!" Maya panicked as she desperately typed furiously on the keyboard.
"Rex, be prepared to transform in case it doesn't activate." Chifuyu told the teaching assistant.
"You don't have to tell me twice." he noted as he gripped something in his pocket.
As the attacks got closer and closer, neither Rider was letting up with their final assault. Luckily, before the attacks could hit, their armor suddenly disappeared and Cody was met with a non-transformed dropkick instead.
"Uwhoooooa!" Kurogasa cried out, as he sloppily fell on his ass, despite connecting with the attack. "Ugh… not what I had in mind…" he grumbled as he got back up, with the help of Houki and Ichika.
"Jeez dude, what were you thinking, man!?" Ichika berated Kurogasa.
"Uh… the guy's being a prick?" Kurogasa confusedly answered, "Plus it felt like he was trying to kill me so, yeah survival instincts kicked in hard."
Rex snarled at the two, "What the fuck did I just say about not trying to turn each other into chalk outlines? You could have taken the whole class with you with that stunt!" he yelled at the two Riders. "Kururugi, Aldrich, you're both on thin ice here!"
"Uh… sorry…" Kurogasa muttered.
"Hmph, like I give a fu-"
*WAPISH!*
"OW!"
"Aldrich, you got one strike from me. Two more and I'm sending you packing. Got it?" the teaching assistant warned him.
"Hmph…"
"Alright, this class is dismissed for the rest of the day. Chifuyu, you handle Kururugi's punishment while I handle Aldrich's." Rex said.
"You sure?"
"Don't worry, I got this. You just look out for Kururugi." Rex told her before he grabbed the gunner by the back of his shirt, "Come on, kid. We're gonna have a long chat." he said before he began dragging Cody away from the courtyard.
Chifuyu in turn, turned her attention towards Kurogasa.
"Um…" Kurogasa gulped.
He wanted to say something, but knew he shouldn't. This was the second time he let his emotions get the better of him, even going against the warning set out before the match began. So at the very least, he should just take his punishment like a man and hope that it was tolerable.
The boy bowed down, "I'm sorry…" he said, "There's no way I can excuse my behavior this time around."
Chifuyu sighed, shaking her head. "This is your spat with Alcott all over again…" she groaned, "Kururugi, you need to keep that temper of yours in check. There's no telling what will happen to you now that you're Zero-One."
"What do you mean by that?" Houki asked.
"I'm sure you know about Ark-One." Chifuyu frowned.
Ichika did a double take, "You don't mean that psycho Rider form from the Humagear Wars?"
"The very same." Chifuyu nodded. "And while Hiden-san took measures by upgrading ZEA to prevent that from ever happening again, there's no telling what would happen if Kururugi were to allow Ark-One to take control of him." She then turned towards Kurogasa, "That's why you need to make sure that your emotions don't get the better of you." she then cupped the boy's face, "I never want you to become a monster."
She then hugged the boy, which Ichika and Houki joined in with the same feelings as the elder Orimura sister. "Minna…" He muttered, "Hontou ni sumanakatta…"
The three held the hug for a while… until Ichika and Houki felt an itch at the back of their heads. For Ichika, it was an overwhelming feeling to protect, while for Houki it was a strange sense of jealousy. Upon looking where Kurogasa's head was…
"Kuro… where do you think your head is?" Houki growled, with the sound of Ichika cracking his knuckles heard in the background.
"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.
He then saw that he was face-first in Chifuyu's chest for a moment before Ichika grabbed him by the head and pulled him away.
"Kurogasa Kururugi? Do you remember what I said about my sis when we were kids?" the lone male IS pilot asked in a strangely menacing tone.
"Uh…" Was the smartest thing Kurogasa could say.
*SMASH!*
"YEEAOOOOWWW!"
"GET BACK HERE!"
Cecilia looked to find Kurogasa being chased by Houki. At first things were okay, but then she saw Ichika was also hot on the grasshopper Rider's trail, both he and Houki brandishing bokken and paddle as they tried to strike at Kurogasa when he got near either one of them.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kurogasa frantically cried out as he tried to save his skin.
"Oh you'll be sorry alright!" Houki shouted. "After I shove my kendo stick up your asshole!"
"GET IN LINE! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT SIS IS OFF-LIMITS!" Ichika roared in response.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Cecilia could only feel a sweat drop drip down her head at what she was seeing. Of course she expected Houki to be this violent towards Kurogasa, but Ichika? She was surprised that the boy had a mean bone in his body.
"Honestly, do all Japanese act like that when it comes to matters of the heart?" She sighed.
*WHAM!*
"The hell is wrong with you, Aldrich?!" Rex demanded after slamming Cody's back to a wall, "It hasn't been a day and already you've gotten into trouble! Honestly, do you want to stay a Kamen Rider, or do I have to take drastic measures to make sure you stay put?"
"Hmph, you disciplining me isn't gonna change anything." Cody scoffed. "And besides, he needs to awaken to his full potential."
"By provoking him?!"
"He's the one that started it. I merely gave him what he wanted."
"Because he's trying to make heads or tails about you!" Rex said.
The teacher's assistant sighed before he let go of the gunner's collar.
"Look, at least give your classmates a chance. They're new to this just like Kururugi, so I expect you to be on your best behavior this time." He said before he turned towards Cody, "Or else…"
"Or else what?" Cody asked.
Normally, Rex's eyes seemingly looked closed at all times. However, on the rare occasion that he's worked up, the Crownless King's piercing red eyes often strike fear in his opponents or those who've crossed him, and his eyes were wide open after seeing their previous fight.
"Or else I'll make you wish you stayed dead." the Crownless King warned him.
"You and I both know what he is and what he's capable of. The fact that he's hiding it like a coward pisses me off. So not only am I going to give him a reality check, I'm going to force him to accept who he really is, one way or another."
"He's not a weapon, he's a kid just like you." Rex reminded him.
"And yet Hiden Intelligence, its very technology used as a means of war at one point saved his life."
"Life isn't as black and white as you think, kiddo. The sooner you learn that, the longer you'll get to enjoy life." Rex said before he walked away, eyes closed once again.
"You're wrong… my life's already done… so I have nothing else to lose."
The next day…
*DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG!*
It was lunchtime as Kurogasa was eating lunch with Cecilia as they sat with each other. But the grasshopper Rider hasn't really eaten his food.
"You seem distracted, Kurogasa." Cecila noted.
"Huh? Oh, sorry," He apologized. "Yesterday was… eventful…"
"No kidding. Who'd a think the new transfer was Isamu's ward?" Ichika said, "Though to be honest, dude's a lot angrier than Isamu-san was in his prime."
"No kidding…"
"KUROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
WHABAM!*
"OHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kurogasa cried out in pain as he tumbled on the floor from a blur of brown pigtails and white as everyone else in the cafeteria looked on. "Ow, Lingyin, how many times do I have to tell you to stop- huh? LINGYIN!?" He looked to see a young teenage girl with light brown hair tied in twintails with a yellow ribbon at both sides and is quite petite. She has green eyes and usually wears her IS Academy uniform. Her uniform seems be specifically altered for her as her sleeves are detached from the uniform.
"Hehehehe, finally you notice me, Kuro-niichan." Lingyin giggled happily, nuzzling into his shirt.
"Wait, Lingyin?" Ichika looked bewildered.
"Oh, now you notice me…" Lingyin huffed. "Ichika no baka…"
"How the heck am I an idiot?!" He gawked before he raised a finger, "Don't even start, Kuro." the lone male IS pilot warned Kurogasa, who was about to speak up, "A-Anyways, what are you doing here?" he asked the little pilot.
"Oh, being the representative to China." she shrugged.
"You're China's rep!?"
"Mhm! Which means we get to hang out more!" She said, hugging him happily again.
"Hey, just what do you think you're doing!?" Houki huffed, walking over to the two.
"Hm? Who's the hag?"
"Hag!?"
"Lingyin, don't be rude." Kurogasa admonished. "This is Houki Shinonono, she's my first childhood friend before I met up with Ichika and you."
"Oh, so this is Houki? Hmm… not impressed." She huffed, looking away from her.
*SNAP!*
"Ita~i!"
"I said don't be rude." He pouted at her after flicking her forehead, "But I'm getting off-track, what the heck are you even doing here in IS Academy? Besides being China's rep?"
"Well, I just transferred here today." Lingyin revealed to the group.
"Wow, that's great! Say Lingyin, is your family is still running the restaurant?" Ichika asked as they all sat down together at the table having their fair share of lunch.
"Mhm! Still running strong as ever!" Lingyin beamed. "Although…"
"Hm? What's up?"
"The thing is… my parents divorced."
"I see… I'm sorry to hear that." Kurogasa apologized. "So your dad's running it all by himself, huh? Must be tough."
"It is… it's why I became a representative… to help them both live easier." Lingyin said.
"I guess I could understand that."
"At least you could still see them whenever, right?" Ichika cut in with a weak smile, 'Wish I could do the same…' he thought to himself.
"Yeah." Lingyin nodded, "Speaking of, how are your parents Kuro?" she asked curiously.
"They're doing alright. Working as usual." Kurogasa said sheepishly. "Honestly, they really need a vacation…" He sighed exasperated.
"You're telling me. I can't imagine how hard Kyoshiro-san and Yukina-san are working given their current project." Houki noted, "Still, you never really brought up Lingyin when we reunited last week." she asked Ichika.
"Oh really? Must have slipped my mind, hehehe…"
"You totally forgot…" Kurogasa deadpanned.
"Dude, I saw you became Zero-One before school started. How the heck would I bring up Lingyin after seeing… that?!" Ichika pointed out.
"Wait what?" Lingyin looked shocked at Kurogasa.
"Uh… ehehe… about that." the grasshopper Rider said sheepishly, holding out his Progrise Key. "Aruto-san named me de facto CEO of Hiden Intelligence." he admitted to her.
Lingyin, after a brief shock, quickly looked at the device to make sure it was legit. Sure enough, her brother's figure wasn't pulling the wool over her eyes.
"W-Wow, talk about going up in the world." She gasped.
"Believe me, I was in shock too. I thought Aruto-san was really joking about it, but it's true." Kurogasa said, "I'm the new Zero-One."
Lingyun couldn't help but smile before bringing Kurogasa in for a big hug.
"I am so proud of you, Kuro-niichan!" she cheered, much to Houki's chagrin.
Ichika caught this, but mostly kept it to himself. The lone male pilot knew it was wise to not point it out to her, he wanted his spine to be right where he liked it after all.
"Uh… thanks." Kurogasa chuckled sheepishly. "So yeah, a certain older Shinonono sent me here for safety reasons. Though I think it's more like her keeping me here so she could try to have her way with me…" He shuddered.
"As if anyone else would do that." A voice called out, as Cody came into view with a bag of food in hand.
"Excuse me, don't you know it's rude to cut in on a conversation?" Cecilia huffed.
"Isn't it rude to act superior 'spite the fact your country is struggling to be on top?" He quipped back. "No wonder the Queen abandoned you all the way back then."
"Why you-!"
"Calm down, Cecilia." Kurogasa frowned, as Lingyin got off of him and stood up.
"I don't know what your problem is, but it's clear that you have no business with all of us." Lingyin huffed.
Cody stared at her for a moment before he looked around, "Okay, who brought the Smurf into this place?" He called out.
"Who are you calling a smurf!?" Lingyin snapped as she was about to pounce him, but Ichika held her back.
"Rin, calm down!" Ichika grunted as he struggled to hold her back.
"Let me at him, let me at him!"
"You're right, Smurf was uncalled for. More like a rabid chihuahua." He snickered.
"Oooh, that does it! I'm gonna kill you!"
"Enough," Rex said, as he arrived and grabbed Cody by the ear. "You need to back off Aldrich. You're already on thin ice after yesterday after all." The teaching assistant's cold glare then turned warm when he turned towards Lingyin, "Sorry for the inconvenience miss. He transferred here yesterday." He apologized on the gunner's behalf.
"I don't like him." Lingyin huffed.
"And you don't have to, unfortunately." Rex smiled. "Even still, I can see that your trip here went off without a hitch?"
"Yup!"
"That's a relief." Rex sighed, "Still, you should all report to your classrooms soon kids, class is about to start." he reminded the group before making his leave.
"Hmph. You got lucky…" Cody scoffed. "Just you wait. I'll show how pointless you are, Kururugi. Pointless enough to show that you don't belong in this place." Cody said, issuing a challenge to him. "Unless you want your pack of kittens to fight me instead?" He said, glancing at the three girls.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Kurogasa growled, clenching his fist.
"I'm saying that you're too weak, kid."
"Hey, Aldrich! I said go to your class!" Rex shouted from a distance.
"Tch." Cody clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Just give it up and wait for Tabane to get you back on your feet, at least then you'll be able to feel something." He said before walking away.
"Just who does he think he is, anyways?" Lingyin huffed.
"I don't know. But I'm not giving him any satisfaction." Kurogasa said, as he couldn't help but watch the gunner walk away before he finally decided to head to class with Ichika and Houki.
*DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG!*
The final bell had rung and all the students left class for the day, on their way back to their dorms. As for Kurogasa however, he stayed behind to talk with Chifuyu about Cody.
"Something wrong?" Chifuyu asked.
"Yeah, Cody. He seems hellbent on battling me for no reason." Kurogasa said. "I don't know what he's trying to pull but I'm not giving him that satisfaction."
"I don't know the details either. Tabane said its only for a 'test'?" Chifuyu sighed.
"Great… that's just like Tabane-neechan, not telling anyone anything until the last minute just for the hell of it." Kurogasa sighed, scratching the back of his head. "You sure she didn't tell you anything else?"
"Only that if you fight him, its going to be like facing me." She responded.
Kurogasa's forehead suddenly turned blue while his face went pale. His memories went back to the ridiculous Spartan-like training she gave him back in the day as a kendo practitioner and it wasn't pleasant at all.
"Okay, at least I somewhat know what I'm getting myself into." Kurogasa cringed.
"Just understand, regardless of what he does to get to you. If you ever do fight him, don't underestimate or blame him for anything. Tabane only told me one thing about him."
"What would that be?"
"He has no family."
"No family, huh?" Kurogasa muttered as he looked down, "Just like us…"
"But unlike us, he has no one to turn to. So if anything, all of this is something either for attention or wanting to be needed."
"Right…" Kurogasa muttered.
"So whatever he does? Don't blame him too much."
"I don't know. It might be difficult." He said, as he looked at his hand. "Because with the way I am now… If I ever-"
"I know…" She said softly, hugging him from behind, "But I also know you'll be okay."
"It's not just that… I never told Houki or Ichika about it." Kurogasa said. "If push comes to shove, I have no choice but to win, if it ever happens."
"Just be careful, ok?"
"I will." Kurogasa nodded, before he gently let go of Chifuyu and went on his way. The elder Orimura could only sigh in worry. She knew that Kurogasa wasn't the only one suffering, Cody was as well. What she was really worried about was if Kurogasa had the resolve? Because when she had to save him, it was only her that she had to go through grief and pain. But now, with everyone else in the equation, how would they handle it? She wants to protect Kurogasa more than anything in the world. She would let the whole world burn before she saw him hurt.
Kurogasa walked down the path that led to the dorms as he did, he thought about the things that Cody had said.
"I want to show how pointless you are, Kururugi. Pointless enough to show that you don't belong in this place."
"I'm saying that you're too weak, kid."
"Just give it up and wait for Tabane to get you back on your feet, at least then you'll be able to feel something."
"Hm…" Kurogasa hummed in thought, before he stopped walking. "I know you're there. Come on out, Aldrich."
"Had enough alone time with your crush?" Cody asked, walking into view.
"What's it to you?"
"Just making sure that you're not going to regret facing me is all." He shrugged.
"Regret?" Kurogasa got out, as he turned around to face him. "Not at all, in fact, I pity you facing me."
"Ho~? Someone has an arrogant tune." He smirked.
"Call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day, you're not getting what you want." Kurogasa said, before walking off.
"I always get what I want. And if you can't bear to face me? Then maybe one of your friends can? Like… that kendo-girl?" He taunted.
Kurogasa stopped walking when he heard that. He clenched his teeth as he tried to keep in his anger while his fist shook. But in the end, he kept walking away.
"Tch… well, you're a tough nut to crack." Cody clicked his tongue in annoyance.
In the distance, Rex was left annoyed by the pair's hostility towards each other.
"Ugh, this is gonna take longer than I thought." he grumbled to himself before looking towards the kids, 'If these kids don't put those grudges aside, then they're just inviting Ark back to our world.' he worried.
"I see that you're not the only one who sees the potential danger." An arriving Chifuyu observed.
"Not like I can look away, these two are edging towards becoming enemies." Rex said, airing out his worries about the par to his fellow staffer. "At the very least, Kuro is trying to avoid any conflict with Cody. So… I guess that's good?"
Chifuyu sighed at this, "How long till they arrive?" She asked.
"If I had to guess, three days max." Rex recalled as he looked at his pad for notes, "After all, transferring from one of the lesser piloting schools to IS Academy takes time."
"Right, I figured as much…" Chifuyu nodded in understanding. "When they arrive, make sure they stay on top of Cody."
"That much I can make happen." Rex noted before he left, but not without Chifuyu noticing something in his pocket.
"Is that Maya's glasses?" she asked the teaching assistant.
"Uh…"
"Stop. I don't wanna know." She raised her hand.
"We're not like that…" Rex deadpanned with a straight face, "Seriously, she keeps losing these things, it's insane."
"Oh…" Chifuyu blinked.
…
…
…
…
"Someone has a dirty mind…"
*WAPISH!*
"OW!" Rex briefly shielded his head as Chifuyu lowered her arm, "Wow, can't take a joke can you?"
"Shut up…"
SMACK!*
"OW!"
Three days later…
"Hey, what's going on here?" Kurogasa asked as he and the rest of the students were at the training field.
For some reason Ichika was in his Byakushiki while facing off against… Lingyin? And she was also in her IS. It was a Close-Combat 3rd Generation type provided by the Chinese government that had a color scheme of maroon, black, and dark orange. She was equipped with a pair of Chinese scimitar which could be combined to double-bladed form with blades on both ends and the hilt between them, a state of the art Impact/Shock Cannon, a package that allows the Shenlong to have an increase in functionality, and a Thermal Diffusion Impact Cannons that allows it to have 2 pairs of empowered impact cannons that can shoot out bullets covered in scarlet red flames, instead of the usual invisible shockwave bullets.
"Oh Kurogasa. You're just in time." Cecilia called out.
"Is that Lingyin's IS?" Kurogasa asked, approaching her.
"Yeah…" Houki nodded before sighing, "Ichika's big mouth got him into this mess."
"What did he say?" Kurogasa groaned.
"He accidentally called her short." Houki said.
"Oh…" Kurogasa said, before shouting to her, "Hey Lingyin, kick his ass real good!"
"Oh c'mon man! Cut me some slack!" Ichika cried out.
"You're such a savage…" Cecilia sighed.
"Hehe…" Kurogasa chuckled nervously, before turning to his childhood friend. "Hey, Houki?"
"Yeah?"
"Did uh… Did Cody approach you in any way?" Kurogasa asked. "Like… he threatened to fight you?"
"Hm? No, he hasn't. Why? Did he threaten you?" Houki asked, looking concerned now for him.
"He's tried to goad me into fighting him again, but I refused, so he thought he could threaten me by threatening you."
"Maybe what he said to you was an empty threat?"
"I hope so…" He muttered.
'Alright Orimura, gotta remember that she's got the long range advantage. I just gotta close the gap and try and keep her from firing those cannons.' Ichika strategized.
And so the fight between Ichika and Lingyin went on and at first they seemed evenly matched. Surprisingly, Ichika is doing exactly what Chifuyu had taught him, applying everything that he learned in class and practices and using them against Lingyin. Maybe Ichika wasn't such a total loss after all. He's at least trying and adapting to his fighting style and taking Lingyin's fighting style into account as well.
"Seems like this is gonna be my win, Lingyin!" Ichika said, quickly forgetting about his arrogance in his skill.
"Nope! Mine!" She said as he had their thermal cannons at the ready.
They charged up to the max and with the squeeze of the trigger, two large energy beams shot out, colliding with Ichika's shield that instantly depleted.
"Gahhhhhh!" Ichika cried out as he went down in smoke to the ground.
"Winner, Lingyin." Chifuyu called out, declaring the petite pilot the winner.
"Well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…" Kurogasa deadpanned.
"Ugh, I should have moved a bit to the right…" the lone male pilot groaned to himself. He then got back to his feet as Lingyin landed.
"Hehe~ and since I won, you owe me a lunch date!" Lingyin winked.
"Whew… putting the moves on Ichika already?" Kurogasa said, wide-eyed.
"I can already see a bloodbath in Ichika's future." Houki sighed, as she could tell what's next given the jealous look Cecilia seemed to be giving Lingyin. And from the looks of Ichika's scared expression, the pair could tell that he was thinking the same thing.
"Alright, now that you're done, it's my turn."
They looked to see Cody jumping off of the stands and onto the battleground below.
"What the- what's he doing?" Houki thought out loud.
He soon made his way to where Lingyin was as she and the unarmored Ichika looked to him, "What do you want?" Lingyin scoffed.
"Simple. A Match." He said, as he brought out his ShotRiser and pointed the barrel at her. "And you're my target, shrimp."
"Excuse me-"
*BANG!*
One shot was all it took as it hit one of her thermal cannons, it suddenly short circuited and-
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
"LINGYIN!" Kurogasa shouted as he rushed towards the battleground and rushed over to her fallen form who was out of her armor. "Oi, Lingyin! You okay?! Talk to me!"
"She's fine. The explosion only knocked her out." Cody said, twirling the gun in hand.
"You could have killed her!" Celicia snapped.
"Her shields would've saved that." He responded, nonchalantly. "Though her size could've also missed any problems too."
"Ugh…" Lingyin groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.
"See? Smurfette is fine." He pointed out.
"Lingyin, you okay?" Kurogasa asked.
"Ugh… did someone get the number of that truck?" she groaned, slightly stunned from how that went.
Kurogasa sighed in relief, knowing she's alright before looking at Cody. "Just how far are you going to go with this nonsense!?"
"Until I get my match." He responded, "And since you're unwilling to? Little gargoyle here is gonna be my match instead." He said, pointing his barrel at her once more.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" A familiar voice shouted as Ichika suddenly rushed at Cody and swung his sword, only for him to miss.
"Ho~? Seems somebody has a backbone after all." Cody said in amusement.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you hurt Lingyin!" Ichika shouted.
"Angry are we? Hehe, interesting. Then you can be my match instead." He proposed, aiming his gun at him now.
"Ichika! Get out of there!" Kurogasa shouted.
"No way! Not after he hurt Lingyin!" He shouted before he charged in and swung his sword again at Cody, only for the latter to dodge again.
"Very well! You shall be my first challenge, kiddo! Let's see how well you handle this wolf?"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" An angry Rex shouted as he stepped between himself and Kurogasa, "My patience is wearing thin with your insubordination, Aldrich! If you want a match then you got it. However… Kururugi will not be your opponent."
He then loomed over the boy as the class could feel the teaching assistant's rage, "I am." he said with cold intent.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Welp, things are definitely heating up.
Anyways, yeah we got more stuff ready with both Vulcan AND Lingyun (Rin for anime-onlys like me)'s debut. Sorry it took a long while to get to this one, both Duelist and I were busy with stuff IRL so we didn't have the time to work on this one. We also get the debut of this world's Raiders, who now have semi-IS inspired designs her to fit their new status as the male equivalent, with a cameo from Geats' Michinaga here too. There's also a big plus here since, iirc, both of Kurogasa's parents are alive and well here, just a bit more hardworkin.
Not much else to say here, so next time Cody faces off with Rex as Kamen Rider Thouser makes his grand debut, along with the secret behind Kurogasa's
Until next time, this is HackerEX logging out!
See ya!