GROWN UP CHAPTER PART 1: REVERSAL

When Shinichi accidentally pushed a glass over the table and broke it, he reached down to pick up the pieces only for the pieces to be pulled back together and the glass to fly back up to the table. Shinichi blinked when he saw this. "What the-?"

"Shinji, did something break?" he heard his mother ask.

"Uh…no," he answered quite uncertainly. "OK, weird," he murmured.

After his little discovery, Shinichi had gone to the shrine to talk to Rika and Hanyuu about it, like he always did.

"Time reversal?" Rika asked. "Isn't that already one of your powers?"

"Small scale," Shinichi clarified. "I broke a glass and when I reached for the pieces they came back together and the glass flew back up the table."

"An interesting power," said Hanyuu. "Usually your powers work on a larger scale."

"It reverses the time of the entire Earth," said Shinichi. "I've never really reversed time at that small a scale."

"I'd learn to control it, if I were you," said Rika. "We don't want you accidentally turning people into babies."

"I don't think I can reverse time that far…without help," said Shinichi, looking towards Hanyuu.

"Just practice," Rika advised.

"I'll try, but I don't know how far I will go with it if I don't know the full range of my abilities," said Shinichi.

"What are your abilities so far?" Hanyuu asked.

"I can assume the form of other Riders, and I can reverse time," Shinichi listed, "And well I can wield the Higurashi no Yaiba and power up."

"Is that all?" Hanyuu continued to inquire.

"I feel there is something more to my abilities but the NEO-NUMBERS aren't talking," Shinichi replied.

"Understandable," Rika nodded. "I mean you did kill them."

Shinichi grimaced, "Must you keep reminding me?"

"It's not like you don't think the same thing," stated Rika. "They don't fully trust you."

"I doubt I deserve any, but if I'm ever going to defeat GIN-SHOCKER I need any edge I get." He checked his watch. "Well, I gotta go. I have a training session scheduled for today."

"Alright, come at me!" Showa challenged as he was surrounded by the NEO-NUMBERS. They were all in Rider form and had their weapons at the ready. Slasher had his chainsaws, Arachnea had her 8 Kama, Carmen had her scythes and Musician had his military fork out. Armadillo had no weapon. He himself was a weapon as he was a living wrecking ball.

They were in the junkyard which was least likely place in the entire village where they would not be disturbed. There was still the forest, the mountains and the area surrounding the swamp but for this training session, Showa/Shinichi felt that the junkyard was appropriate.

The purpose of this present exercise was for Showa to discover more of his powers. Earlier that day he'd called the NEO-NUMBERS for a meeting. He had shown them the contents of the file Garoh had given him. In the file were GIN-SHOCKER's plans, all of them, in full detail.

No matter what they had to put a stop to GIN-SHOCKER for good, starting with Gebok. He was the main threat here. However, he also had the surviving NUMBERS still working for him. They could be trouble.

"Now!" Showa ordered and his fellow NEO-NUMBERS attacked. Slasher swung his chainsaws at Showa who ducked and sent him staggering with a kick. Musician swung his military fork horizontally at Showa's head but No. 13 blocked with his forearm before driving Musician back with a forward kick. Arachnea and Carmen attacked him together, swinging their blades. Showa dodged as he backed away from them and jumped as Arachnea swung and sent her extendable scythe blades flying at him. He landed a distance away from them but then jumped to the side as Armadillo came rolling straight at him to run him over.

Showa gritted his teeth. Fighting several opponents at once had him playing defense, especially if they worked together against him. He had to even the playing field, somehow. Suddenly, a thick fog covered the junkyard. "An illusion," he concluded. That was Carmen's specialty. She was fooling his eyes and hiding from sight using her illusion powers. Showa then saw several flower petals slowly flutter down around him. When they touched his armor, they exploded, causing sparks to fly. He tried to move but he was stuck. Looking down he saw thick webbing sticking his feet to the ground. He cursed. The illusionary fog was used to conceal Arachnea's attack. He could here the whirring of a chainsaw and also Musician powering up his attack. His military fork always vibrated whenever he powered up one of his sonic blasts, creating a shrill ringing sound. He also knew Armadillo was prepared to ram into him.

"Not if I can help it," said Showa. "Let's Ride: ZX." His armor transformed into the red and white armored and green scarf-wearing Rider known as Kamen Rider ZX. Reaching down to his knees, he removed the two oval shaped items which were actually bombs. He then dropped the bombs at his feet just as he felt the presence of his attackers approaching.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The huge explosion broke the webbing to shreds and sent Showa flying up into the air. The shock of the explosion had also caused Carmen to drop her illusion, leaving all of them visible. He the grabbed the oval objects on his elbows and ripped them off. They then turned into four-pointed shurikens. With a toss he sent the shurikens flying, striking against the NEO-NUMBERS and ricocheting off each of them, causing sparks to fly. When he landed, the shurikens returned to his hands and he placed them back onto his elbows.

Of course only one of them wasn't affected by the shuriken assault and it was Armadillo who was rolling towards him. Armadillo was strong and fast but if one could see him coming, his attacks were useless. Armadillo's attacks only worked if he had the element of surprise. Right now, he didn't. He was coming straight for Showa who already had a counterattack in mind. He thrust both his palms out and stopped Armadillo in his tracks. The Pill Bug Rider was still spinning but that was just causing dust to be kicked up due to friction. He then pushed himself upward and over Armadillo, letting him roll out of control and hitting a pile of garbage which collapsed on top of him.

Showa landed on the ground only to be hit in the back by Musician. He whirled around and aimed a fist at the Cricket Rider, only to have his punch deflected by a sound barrier. Musician then struck he ground, causing vibrations to put Showa off balance. Showa thought quickly and changed forms. "Let's Ride: Skyrider!" He transformed and hovered above ground. That way the vibrations wouldn't reach him. Seeing this, Musician began to send sonic blasts at him which he dodged with ease in the sky.

Showa should've been watching his back as Arachnea and Carmen leapt off a pike of garbage and struck him in the back, knocking him back to the ground and forcing him back to default form. He picked himself up and saw Slasher with his chainsaws. He swung at Showa repeatedly, only for him to dodge the attacks. Showa found an opening and decked Slasher in the head before kicking him in the gut. Musician, Carmen and Arachnea soon joined him and Showa was stuck fighting four opponents since Armadillo was incapacitated. He whirled around and backhanded Carmen before using a back kick that hit Arachnea hard in the gut and sent her flying. An uppercut found its way into Showa's chin, sending him toppling over. Showa grabbed Musician's military fork and ripped it out of his hands before using it for himself. He swung it around, hitting Musician over and over in the face before jabbing it into his stomach. He then lifted Musician up and tossed him above his head.

Armadillo had caught his second wind and was rolling towards Showa. Showa sidestepped the huge ball and watched as Armadillo ran over Musician and knock over Carmen and Arachnea like a pair of bowling pins. Slasher came at him against and swung but Showa jumped and kicked Slasher upside the head again and then used the military fork to vault over him and behind him. He whirled around and tripped Slasher with the military fork.

5 hours later, the winded NEO-NUMBERS were lying on the ground, gasping and panting for breath. Sweat covered their bodies and soaked their clothes. This made the girl's clothes stick to their bodies. Yokoshima leered at them and got red handprints for his trouble.

"OK, that was an intense training session," breathed out Shinichi. He sat up, his muscles sore. "It's getting late. I should head back home." He stood up and said, "Later, guys!" He slowly walked away in exhaustion.

"He…still has…energy?" questioned Michiru in disbelief.

"I…hate him!" huffed Daichi.

As soon as Shinichi reached his apartment, he gave his mother a tired greeting and a wave.

"Shinji, where have you been?" asked Shiori.

"Training," he answered. "I really need a bath." He walked towards the bathroom and closed the door.

Shiori looked to the clock. "He was out so late as well." She was well aware of her son's duty as a Rider which meant he needed to keep his skills up by training himself. He wasn't carefree like most boys his age. He had a huge burden which made Shiori sympathize for her son.

"He's not my little boy anymore," she reminded herself. "Oh, Shinji…"

Shinichi sat in the tub just relaxing as the warm water undid the knots in his muscles. He had some bruises from the training session but he could already see them fading. He credited that to his enhanced genetics and cybernetic enhancements. He was meant to fight for GIN-SHOCKER and so accelerated healing was definitely a good trait to have, especially after dangerous missions. He sighed and continued to relax.

He just couldn't relax completely, however. He had to stop GIN-SHOCKER's plans. It was his responsibility as a Kamen Rider. When he opened his eyes he saw a silvery veil form not too far away from him. "Oh, don't tell me."

"Hey, Shinichi!" Hitomi greeted as he appeared.

"I'M TAKING A BATH HERE!" Shinichi snapped as he saw his friend appear. Hitomi had the ability to travel between worlds by summoning the silver veils. They were rifts in the dimensional wall that separated all the dimensions. Hitomi would find these rifts and they would bring him into this dimension. For some reason, he would show up where Shinichi was. Sometimes he would appear in the middle of the fight and use his hammer on the enemy. He was a good ally to have, but he sometimes had bad timing.

"Oh, cool! Can I-?"

"OUT!"

"How do you manage to always drop in where I am?" asked Shinichi.

"I guess it's because I sensed you out," said Hitomi.

"And how do you control those veils?" asked Shinichi.

"Well, that's an interesting story," said Hitomi. He showed Shinichi his charm bracelet. "You see, this thing lets me summon those veils. The guy who fixed it for me told me if I wanted to find someone I had to focus and this will transport me to that person's location."

Shinichi had heard weirder. Right now, Hitomi was in his room. Since Hitomi didn't have any place to stay in this world, Shinichi had invited his friend to stay the night.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Hitomi.

"Sleep," Shinichi deadpanned as he yawned. "There's a spare futon in the closet."

"OK," Hitomi nodded. He went to the closet and pulled out the futon before unrolling it. "Well, good night," Hitomi said as he shut off the light.

"Good night," Shinichi responded as he closed his eyes.

Shinichi learnt another fact about Hitomi. He snored really loudly. Shinichi covered his head with his pillow to try and drown out the noise.

The following morning, Hitomi was feeling refreshed. Unfortunately, Shinichi wasn't. The two warriors sat at the table as Shiori prepared breakfast. Hitomi was eager for some food while Shinichi could just stare incredulously to his friend/ally/comrade. Shinichi had bags under his eyes and his twin ahoge hung limply over his face.

"Here you go," said Shiori as she put a plate of pancakes in front of her son. The pancakes, all 5 of them, were piled up.

"Thanks (yawn) Kaa-chan," said Shinichi. He picked up his knife and fork and began to cut the pancakes up for consumption.

"Shinji, didn't you get any sleep last night?" asked Shiori.

Shinichi cast Hitomi, who was blissfully eating his own pancakes, a glare and answered, "Something just kept me up." He had nearly been late for work too. "But I'm a genetically enhanced and cybernetically modified super-soldier, so I don't need much rest." 'Of course I wished I could've gotten some sleep.'

"Well, maybe you should rest today," said Shiori. "I mean your friends can take care of those monsters without you, right?"

Shinichi just shrugged. The NEO-NUMBERS could take down Darklings and Darkloids on their own. It felt good to have a team. Now the duty of protecting Hinamizawa and Okinomiya didn't fall solely on his shoulders anymore. "Right…" he agreed, reluctantly. He was used to being a protector, actually.

"Hey, Hana?" began Michiru.

"Yes," replied Hana.

"Have you noticed how cute Shinichi has become?"

Hana gave her banana-loving friend a look. "You thought he was cute when he had the emotions of a rock, right before he killed you."

"Yeah, but he was still cute," Michiru retorted.

The two girls were at the Irie Clinic. Not many patients came so they were relegated to inventory and filing.

"And I'm not?" asked Yokoshima as he came to them with a mop and bucket in hand.

"Well, you're cute too, Yokoshima," said Michiru. "Just…you're not my type."

Yokoshima blinked and said with a sour expression, "That…hurts."

Hana decided to speak up, "Do you think he's serious about fighting Gebok?"

"After all the shit that psycho's been putting him through? Yes," confirmed Yokoshima.

"Well, we do have to help him. GIN-SHOCKER forced us to do horrible things," said Michiru.

Hana grasped her shoulder. "Yes, and the things they did to us were just as horrible…"

"Well, when are we going to tell him where Gebok is?" Michiru asked.

"When he's ready to face Gebok," Hana answered.

Chiaki was at Mion's uncle's shop. He was actually having a game of cards with his employer. Since he could not speak without writing out his responses, he would need to pause and put down his hand to reply to Yoshirou's inquiries. It'd been months since Chiaki first arrived in this place. At first he'd intended to kill BLACK 13. He would've never believed how much his killer had changed since the last time. The BLACK 13 he knew never showed emotion, ever. In those years within GIN-SHOCKER, BLACK 13 had never been anything more than Gebok's puppet.

BLACK 13 was just like them. A victim of circumstance. It was because of BLACK 13 he had this job and earning a steady income to buy food and supplies. He still lived in his campsite in the forest, though. He loved living in the great outdoors. His fellow NUMBERS never understood that part of him.

His friendship with Hanyuu had been growing too and Chiaki noticed that Hanyuu would one day grow up to be a beautiful woman. That thought made Chiaki feel a bit uncomfortable. She was still a child, albeit a cute one, but she was also growing up and would become a teenager. She was already starting to fill out.

Bad thoughts. He needed to focus on his cards.

Daichi loved animals. It was people he couldn't stand. He barely tolerated their presence. To him, humans would betray him, like his sister had and BLACK 13. However, after finding out that the treatment had turned Shinichi into an emotionless ice-cold killer made him reevaluate his earlier opinion of Shinichi. They weren't close. Heck, they weren't really friends either. They were just allies with a common enemy.

Looking towards the animals in cages, he frowned. He wished he could give them all a home but his place wasn't so big. He made enough just to pay rent.

Shinichi's idea to stop GIN-SHOCKER was an interesting one, but could they actually do it? GIN-SHOCKER was a huge organization and there were only 6 of them. 7, counting that weirdo with the hammer but he always dropped by unexpected so Daichi didn't feel that he was reliable enough.

But to fight GIN-SHOCKER? The idea didn't really sound so bad…

"HITOMI NO BAKA!" came a loud yell from outside the apartment. Shinichi immediately shot up from his chair, as did Hitomi.

"What the hell is that?" exclaimed Shinichi. He looked at Hitomi who seemed absolutely terrified at the sound of the voice.

"Um…I gotta go!" shouted Hitomi as he ran from the table and darted straight into Shinichi's bedroom.

"Who could that be?" Shiori asked, stunned by the loud shout.

"I'm about to find out," muttered Shinichi as he opened the door. "We're having breakfast here. So do you mind-?"

WHAM!

Shinichi suddenly found himself as the recipient of a vicious head butt. "Out of my way," said the attacker. Shinichi got a good look at the attacker. He wore a large black leather jacket and white shirt, as well as tight-fitting blue jeans. He had short blonde hair and black eyes, with a mole underneath his right eye. The attacker walked into Shinichi's room and shut the door.

"NO! RUI, PLEASE WAIT!" screamed Hitomi in pure terror.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

All was silent. The door to Shinichi's room opened and the attacker, Rui, walked out, dragging Hitomi by the hair. "I'll be taking my idiot boyfriend now," said Rui as he closed the door, leaving a very confused Shiori and Shinichi in his wake.

"Boyfriend?" Shinichi and Shiori blinked.

"Didn't know he swung that way," commented Shinichi. There was another knock at the door. "OK, who is it?" asked Shinichi. He blinked. In front of him, standing in the doorway, were two beautiful young women close to his age. One had long blue hair and the other hair light purple hair and sporting a pair of black horns.

"Shinichi, help us!" the purple-haired and black-horned woman exclaimed in panic.

Kamen Rider Chrome: Who's asking for help? What's going on? Read the next chap to find out.