I do not own Kamen Rider Drive or Monster Musume. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for profit. If you have a problem with that then go elsewhere, otherwise please enjoy.
Rider Musume
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 3: Over at the Office
*BREET! BREET! BREET!*
Kurusu mumbled and reached for his alarm, slapping the button to stop the annoying noise that woke him up. As his entire body came online, he suddenly realized that he couldn't move so well. Thinking that he may have tangled himself up in his sheets during the night, he reached to pull them away only to feel...snake scales?
"Mnnn."
Kurusu's eyes snapped opened and he looked to see what was going on. To his horror (and secret pleasure) Miia was in his bed with him, wrapped around him comfortably wearing only a nightshirt which was obviously unbuttoned, threatening to let her chest spill out while riding up on her admittedly very nice hips.
Kurusu withheld the urge to cry out in surprise and get away, mainly because he didn't want to let anything start poking Miia. Having Miia sleeping with him, spilling out of her nightclothes, was something of a turn-on. Worse, being a leg man and Miia having a rather exotic bottom half, it just made temptation that much harder to deal with.
"Miia," he sighed, shaking her shoulder. "Come on Miia, it's time to get up."
"Mnnn, just five more minutes Darling," Miia mumbled, trying to wrap more of her coils around him. "And five more degrees."
"Come on Miia, I can't get up until you do," Kurusu huffed, gently nudging Miia so she slipped off of him. Enough so he could sit up anyway. "What are you doing in my bed anyway?"
"Well," Miia lay down next to Kurusu, her boobs threatening to spill out of her top in the process. Not that Kurusu was noticing such a little detail...well, not so little. "It was cold last night and I just couldn't warm up so I decided to come sleep with you."
"Oh," Kurusu nodded. "Okay then, I'll fix up a warm bath while you get dr-WAUGH!" His offer to help Miia warm up the practical way was interrupted when the Lamia's tail wrapped around him and pulled him down into her embrace, using her now exposed boobs as part of the fleshy prison.
"No way Darling!" Miia practically purred in delight as she smothered Kurusu in her cleavage. "I want you to warm me up!" She shuffled a little to get comfortable, incidentally smothering Kurusu's face even deeper into her boobs. Once comfortable, she gave a pleasurable sigh of comfort, "Mmmm! You're so warm. I feel like I'm coming to life already."
Kurusu's thoughts were less than relaxed.
'B-B-B-BOOOOOOOBS!' were his first thoughts. Fortunately, he managed to get some measure of control despite the practically unheard of and heavenly soft F-cups being pressed into his face. "No, don't think about luscious boobs! Try to escape the snake tail first and then you can enjoy it! Escape first, perv later!'
He suddenly choked when he felt Miia's tail tighten even more around him, worse yet, around his neck! His vision grew a little fuzzy as he struggled in Miia's iron grip and soft bosom-y prison. Getting desperate, he began patting Miia's arm while attempting to loosen her tail, incidentally massaging his face with her boobs...a shame he was losing feeling in his face due to the blood beginning to be cut off.
"Oh Darling...zzz...I'm not in the mood," Miia's pleased mumblings indicated she had fallen asleep, making Kurusu gape. His vision blurred and thus he struggled more, but Miia's unconscious reaction was to simply tighten her tail more so he couldn't escape.
'Crap! Miia, wake up already! I'm gonna black out!' Kurusu mentally cried, unable to talk with the tail around his neck. Reaching out, he tried to find some sensitive spot or loose section he could use to wake Miia up and escape. His fingers landed on the tip of her tail in his search. With no other ideas, he grasped it tightly and squeezed, thinking it might help.
"AH!" Miia gasped, her eyes suddenly snapping open and a rosy red blush touching her cheeks. "D-Darling...m-my t-tail is sensitive there.."
'Found a soft spot! Yes!' Kurusu mentally cheered. He gripped her tail tighter and tugged it a few times for good measure.
"OOOOOAAAHH!" Miia cried out, trembling. Kurusu figured he nabbed Miia's critical weak point when he felt her coils loosening even more.
"*Wheeze* finally!" he croaked when the section of tail around his neck loosened. Shaking the fuzz out of his vision he looked to Miia, "Okay, now can HUFF!" His words were cut off when Miia promptly smothered his face into her chest once again.
He struggled, but froze when he heard Miia panting quite audibly, and not out of feeling discomfort. Moving his face, his eyes bulged when he saw that far from in pain, Miia seemed to be on the other end of the spectrum with flushed cheeks and being short of breath.
'Okay, not quite the weak point I had in mind,' Kurusu lamented, now quite mortified at his position.
"Darliiiiiing!" Miia groaned, tightening her hold once again. Out of reflex, Kurusu squeezed the tip of Miia's tail again. What happened next, Kurusu was pretty sure he almost died. Miia let off a wail and squeezed all of her tail, making Kurusu feel like he was about to have all his filling squeezed out like a toothpaste tube. Miia collapsed onto the bed next to him, Kurusu feeling sure that he could see the spirits of his ancestors waving to him.
"Oh Darling," Miia groaned.
"Am I interrupting something? My grandson looks like he's about to choke."
"Eh? Mr. Belt?" Miia blinked, lifting herself up to see where the familiar red robot was, but could not see the mobile platform anywhere. She then realized the second half of what Krim had said and looked to Kurusu, gasping when she saw him turning blue.
"I...need...AIR!" Kurusu gasped out and Miia realized what she was doing. Crying out in fright, he quickly began to uncoil from him, letting the unnatural shade of blue vanish from his features while he gasped for breath.
"Ow," Kurusu frowned, examining the imprint of Miia's scales on his chest, arms, and neck in the bathroom. "Well, it was easier to deal with than that Wire Roidmude."
Sighing, Kurusu glanced at his renovated bathroom. To be honest, the room was huge and with a massive bath. Of course, with the size of Miia's tail, it had to be massive so she could fit inside and be capable of bathing and warming up like she needed. Being a Lamia, space was a must when it came to her getting around.
"Man, I hope Mom and Dad don't flip out about this when they come back," Kurusu sighed, movng to the bathtub and hitting the taps to begin filling it up. "Mom's wanted to renovate for a while, but she probably didn't have this in mind."
"Is the bath ready yet?" Miia's voice asked as the door into the bathroom opened.
"Yeah, just about," Kurusu nodded, checking the water levels before turning the water off. Standing up, he turned to leave and give Miia some privacy, "It should be-WOAH!"
"Thanks Darling!" Miia beamed, naked as the day she was born while tying her hair up into a bun. Kurusu liked to think of himself as a gentleman and an all-around decent guy, adding serious when he became a Kamen Rider. But, he was still a young man and when presented with a naked woman, his mind went into reboot mode.
'Huh, so her human half is all the way down to her pelvis while the snake scales begin on her hips and wrap underneath...that...to begin the snake half. Cool...and kinda hot and...NO YOU PERV! STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT! SHE'S FORBIDDEN!"
"Hey Darling, is it true that there's mixed bathing here in Japan at famous hot springs?" Miia suddenly asked, snapping Kurusu from his hormone-induced comatose state. Shaking his head, he realized Miia had slithered right past him and entered the bath while he had been gaping. She was obviously enjoying it, but just as obviously uncaring of how he could see her breasts floating in the water.
"Uh, yeah," He nodded, just glancing over his shoulder so he could see Miia, but not see her. "Anyway, you seem fine here so I'll go get started on break-WAOH!" 'Not again!'
His attempt to escape was met with failure as Miia's tail took hold of him and dragged him into the hot water where she wrapped her arms around him before sliding her hands underneath his shirt. Kurusu coughed some water out of his lungs before looking to his houseguest, "Miia, what the heck-!?"
"I just figured we could try mixed bathing here," Miia smiled, pressing up against Kurusu's back. The young man gulped, realizing he officially had nipple contact. "I mean, I came to Japan for the full emersion and all that." Miia trapped Kurusu's arms with the end of her tail before she maneuvered his shirt off, going for full body contact. "I wouldn't want anyone else to be my partner anyway. You can be my first...in everything…"
"Miia-chan, you know the rules!"
"Eh? Mr. Belt?" Miia looked up, not seeing the familiar machine.
'Great timing Grandpa!' Kurusu mentally thanked, reaching out with his foot of all things to the tap which controlled the shower head. With a bit of effort, he turned the cold water on which made a spray come from the mounted shower head straight down on the pair. For Kurusu, it was nothing, but for Miia…
"AHHH! COLD! COLD! COLD!" she cried, diving into the water and freeing Kurusu from her clutches. She came back up well outside the spray while Kurusu got out of the bath and headed for the door. "Darling! What gives?!"
"Mixed bathing is not a service we provide here," he retorted stoically before heading out of the bathroom.
"Geez! And I thought I was cold-blooded!"
Kurusu sighed as he closed the bathroom door remaining silent. For a moment he just stood there, gritting his teeth before he growled and promptly began banging his head on the wall to get rid of the numerous ecchi images of Miia which were now imprinted in his brain. Naturally he had a lot of material to go through after that morning alone. After a few slams, he calmed down, albeit with a steaming lump on his forehead.
"Getting a bit frustrated Kurusu?" asked Krim in his Type Speed Shift Car which rolled up next to him.
"Not funny Grandpa," Kurusu groaned, standing up. He and the Shift Car headed to Kurusu's room so he could change his clothes. "Miia's going to be the death of me if this keeps up, either from strangulation or just hormone overload."
"Well, Lamias are a rather passionate people," Krim laughed, his Shift Car generating a tiny highway to drive at face level with his grandson. "It stands to reason once she fell for you she'd make sure you knew it."
"Oh, I get it," Kurusu sighed, reaching his room and going straight for the closet. "But the problem is all the rules for the Homestay Program. I make a move on her and she gets deported while I get thrown in jail." he tossed his wet clothes into a hamper and came out with a new outfit on. "Not to mention I've got responsibilities as Drive. If I get jailed, there's no one left to stop the Roidmudes."
"That would be a problem," Krim agreed.
Kurusu shook his head one last time to get the images of nude Miia out of it before heading down to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. Turning on the television, he saw that the news was about ANM48 and their new song once again while describing the Treaty. Somehow, the news of the fight in the middle of the street between Drive and the Clamp Roidmude was missed, or rather suppressed. No one wanted to rock the boat and report fights between humans and apparent Liminals it seemed. That was good, since the people at large wouldn't know about Drive or the Roidmudes, but it was also bad since it meant the Roidmudes could keep going practically undetected.
"Man, keeping up with all this is going to kill me," Kurusu sighed, scooping cooked rice out of the cooker.
"Mou, don't say that. Miia will be sad." a new voice suddenly spoke.
"WAAAH!" Kurusu cried out, once again caught by surprise. Whipping around, fully prepared to throw his bowl of rice as a distraction before he could transform. To his surprise, he recognized the person sitting at his kitchen table. "Wuh….Smith?!"
"Don't tell me you forgot about me," the female agent grinned, lifting a cup of coffee which she swiped from Kurusu's coffee machine. "I'm your Interspecies Cultural Exchange Coordinator. Of course you'll be seeing a lot of me."
"Yeah...but...what are you doing here now?" asked Kurusu, feeling a little tense.
Smith smiled before she noticed the rice in his hands, "Oh, am I in time for breakfast?"
"You came for FOOD?!" Kurusu gaped. What kind of agent did he land?!
"Well, that and to make sure you didn't get up to any prohibited activities," Smith replied, her voice growing stern while she stared at him from behind her glasses, making her look that much more intimidating in the process. Kurusu broke out into a bigger sweat before she let it up with a sigh. "And since you seem to be ignorant about the laws considering the exchange…"
"Ignorant?!" Kurusu cried. "Smith, the only reason Miia's here is because you got the wrong house and didn't want to do more paperwork about the mix up!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Smith replied plainly, looking away from Kurusu. "Anyway, I'm here to make sure you aren't breaking any laws." she sipped the last of her coffee. "Refill please?"
'She's mooching off of me!' Kurusu groaned internally, but went to refill the agent's coffee anyway. She was the one who could take Miia away and despite it nearly being a week since she arrived, he did like her presence.
"Anyway, I'm just here to check up on her," Smith continued as Kurusu refilled her cup.
"She's in the bath right now. Perfectly fine when I last left her," Kurusu answered.
Smith grinned before leaning in closer to him, "You do realize that 'harm' includes popping her cherry, right?"
"I WOULDN'T DO THAT!" Kurusu cried, leaping back from Smith with a bright red face.
"Oh? But she's come onto you right? Lamias are known to be pretty passionate. She also has all the right parts so she's able to 'do it'," Smith teased, standing up. "It would be a real shame if you did since if a human took the chastity of a Liminal representative, there'll be this whole political mess to it, the least of which would be her being deported and you getting arrested." she chuckled as Kurusu paled slightly. "So, are you two banging or what?"
"NO!" Kurusu snapped.
"But you've thought about it," Smith grinned. "I mean, sure her bottom half is a snake's, but she's got great hips, huge boobs, and a pretty face. From what I've been hearing, she's totally into you too." Smith leaned in again, "And you are a total softie. Easy prey."
"Guh…" Kurusu blushed.
*WHIP-KRACK!*
"PRGH!" A heavy hit with the strike of a whip smashed into Kurusu's face, knocking him down with a swelling cheek while Smith blinked at what had happened. She looked to what had hit the poor host and saw that it had been Miia's tail. Following it, she saw that Miia had entered the room, the only thing protecting her modesty being a large shirt that her wet body was soaking through, giving some transparency.
"And just what do you think you're doing?!" Miia huffed, slithering across the room. She quickly scooped Kurusu up, apparently not noticing that she had practically K.O.-ed him. "I don't care if you are my coordinator Ms. Smith! Lay one finger on my Darling and I'll make you pay!"
'I do not like the sound of that crack,' Smith thought, looking at how fiercely jealous Miia was over the agent's teasing of her Darling. The guy was having a tougher time than she realized. "Relax, I was just kidding." Smith's face did grow more serious, causing Miia and Kurusu to blink, "In all seriousness though, there is one thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Eh?"
Brain was sitting at a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee. While Roidmudes like himself had no reason to eat or drink, Brain actually enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. It was the favorite beverage of the man whose image he had copied. He considered having a cup at a cafe while working to be intellectually stimulating, so he adopted the habit himself. While Brain disdained humans, he wouldn't say that they were entirely useless either if they could create such places.
His intellectual pursuit was halted when another person approached his table. He was dressed rather outlandishly, looking like he had stepped out of an American film with dusty pants, a tan shirt with a brown leather jacket. His face was shielded by a red bandanna and he had a cowboy's hat perched on his head. He looked the part of an American cowboy save for two features, one being the fact that he was clearly Asian with the shape of his eyes while the other was that instead of a gun on his hip, he had a whip instead.
"You called for me, Brain-sama?" he asked the green-clad Roidmude.
"That I did, Wire," Brain nodded. Operating on his tablet, he brought up what looked like a written report, "I find this proposal of yours to be interesting. You say it might be possible to evolve several Roidmudes at once through this method?"
"If my calculations are correct, then yes," Wire nodded. "The only details about this plan is that I need the proper equipment, and a place to broadcast. After that, everything should take care of itself."
Brain nodded, looking over calculations and examples, "It is a tempting target. Should it work, we will be able to push our plans ahead by a significant margin on the timeline."
"Yes, but I have one concern..." began Wire.
"You are referring to the Kamen Rider," Brain concluded. "No doubt he would interfere if he caught wind of this. Do not worry. Your plan will not be interrupted as he will be preoccupied."
"The Grim Reaper?"
"Indeed."
"Then I shall begin immediately," Wire nodded.
Kimihito Residence
"A Liminal hunter?"
"Yes," Smith leaned back, sipping her coffee. Breakfast was in full swing and the agent was obviously eating heartily despite the seriousness of her news. "Just a while ago there were sightings of some guy in a red suit of armor fighting a bunch of Liminals and from all intents and purposes, looking like they were trying to kill each other."
"And you think this guy was hunting Liminals?" asked Kurusu, a stone sinking in his stomach.
"Either a specific breed or just Liminals in general," Smith nodded. "Although we aren't sure what kind of Liminal he hunts since we never saw the ones he was fighting before."
"So...what does that mean for us?" asked Miia. She likewise was feeling apprehension that the government was onto her Darling, but for the sake of her love she would keep his secret.
"Just keep an eye out for anybody suspicious," Smith replied. "Forewarned is forearmed and all that. If you do see this guy though, just run. Who knows what kind of crazy he is if he's running around in some kind of whacky suit.
'Whacky suit?' Kurusu felt his eye twitch at the description. Sure, the Drive Type Speed suit had a wheel across it, but that didn't make it whacky!
"Anyway, that's what I came to announce," Smith finished, gulping down the last of her (usurped) share of breakfast. Patting her tummy with glee, she stood up. "And seeing Miia-chan here in good health and happiness just makes my job that much easier! So I'll leave you two to your love nest." Then with a wave, she was gone.
"Gah!" Kurusu groaned, just knowing that Smith was teasing him directly. The giggles Miia elicited from the thought of her and Kurusu in a love nest just made the reasing effect worse. Sighing, he dropped his head, "It's too early for this."
"Eh heh," Miia giggled. "Oh don't be such a sourpuss Darling! It's perfectly natural for us to show off a little of our relationship so people can see."
"Relationship, right," Kurusu rubbed his face. Just what he had been warned not to do when he got railroaded into the Homestay Program in the first place. If this kept up Smith might suspect something going on and really put the scrutiny on him, risking his identity as Drive. Just perfect…
"Still, I'm a little worried now," Miia admitted, prompting Kurusu to look up from his internal despair. "I mean, the police now know about you. Aren't you worried that they might try to arrest you if you fight Roidmudes in public again?"
"A little," Kurusu scratched his head. "But that was a risk I was willing to take when I first wore the armor. On the other hand, the Roidmudes will want to keep their heads down too since the government is keeping such a close eye on non-human events."
"I guess so," Miia nodded with a frown. "The Roidmudes wouldn't want people to get wise on what they do until it's too late, wouldn't they?"
"Exactly," Kurusu nodded. Further talk was interrupted by his watch beeping and he huffed when he saw the time. "Shoot. Okay, I have to get ready for work."
"Work?" Miia blinked as Kurusu stood up. "Oh, I didn't think you had a job Darling. I thought you were a student or something."
"Well, not yet," Kurusu admitted as he brought his dishes to the sink. "Not sure what I want to study so for spending money I intern at the Kurama Driver's License Center. Basically, when paperwork is filed, I send it to where it needs to go."
"Oh," Miia nodded. "Okay. Can I come?"
Kurusu stopped, "Uh…" Normally that wouldn't be a bad question and Kurusu liked to think his co-workers were professionals and dedicated to their jobs. On the other hand though, many of them were single and hadn't had a girlfriend in a while. Miia on the other hand was a total babe, even if she did have a snake body, and would garner a lot of attention. Not the pure kind either, "Um...how about I ask my boss and we'll see?"
"Okay!" Miia smiled. Internally, she was grinning as it would give her the chance to start trying to make packed lunches like she'd heard about in mangas. She especially wanted to try making love-love messages out of the food.
Kurusu came to a stop, parking the Tridoron outside the License Center. Stepping out, he was dressed in respectable slacks and a white button up shirt with a red tie. He was a little worried about just leaving Miia at home, but he knew that his grandfather would be able to keep an eye on her and be the voice of authority if it was needed. Despite being trapped inside a belt, it didn't take away from Krim's ability to do things. It just made it more challenging.
Walking through the front doors, Kurusu waved hello to some of the free tellers and they returned the gesture. He stepped through a door into an employee's only area, seeing some of his co-workers having some coffee as they waited for the paperwork they needed to file to come in.
"Morning everyone," Kurusu nodded to his friends.
"Hey, big bad vacation man," one of the men laughed. "Heard you took a few extra days off. What was the emergency?"
"Ah," Kurusu scratched his head again. "I got shanghaied into the Homestay Program. You know, letting a Liminal move into your house as an exchange student?"
"Really?" asked another co-worker with a grin. "So what'd you get? Is it a girl? Is she cute?"
Kurusu twitched at the 'what'd you get' comment and decided to tweak the guy a little, "She's a Lamia, her name is Miia, and she's one of the prettiest girls I've ever met."
"Ah man! Why's the kid get all the luck?!"
"Okay, enough chattering!" someone new spoke up, a middle-aged woman pushing a trolly of papers into their little cubbyhole. "First sets of paperwork that needs filing. Get to it!" as the group began to get up, the woman looked to Kurusu, "Kimihito-kun, you're being assigned elsewhere."
"Huh?" Kurusu blinked. "I am?"
"Yes," the woman nodded. "It seems our office space is being rented out by a group from the metropolitan PD. You're going to be filing their paperwork exclusively."
"Um…" Kurusu began, but then nodded in acceptance. "Okay. Where do I go then?"
"The closet office space," the woman answered, causing Kurusu to chuckle.
The Kurama Driving License Center was a relatively new building, only a few years old. As such, it worked on open space concepts so the people who went there for driving tests wouldn't feel confined and the people who worked there wouldn't feel so cramped together. However, there was one portion of office space which, compared to the rest of the offices, really did seem more like a closet or storage space. Regulations prevented anyone from using it as anything else but office space, but no one who worked there was all that interested in moving into it. The place was small, only had a few small windows, and kami forbid someone pass wind in there.
"Okay," Kurusu nodded, not envying the renters. "So who are these guys?"
"Well, officially they're called the Special Investigation Unit," Kurusu's superior explained. "Unofficially, they're the group of police officers who are a little too odd for the regular beat cops would go on."
"What?" Kurusu blinked.
"Well, with how all sorts of Liminals are trying to get used to human society and such? Sometimes there's friction and sometimes there are incidents," the woman explained.
"But don't they have the Mon Squad for that?" asked Kurusu, remembering once seeing a squad of Liminals who took care of Liminal crimes on the news.
"Yeah, but they're for serious situations," the woman answered. "The police force decided that they needed a better squad for investigating Liminal crimes that don't need the Mon Squad to take care of. Regular police work and that sort of thing."
"Okay…" Kurusu nodded. "So, why call them odd?"
"Because while the higher ups in the police force thought it was a good idea, a lot of the people in charge of supplying the unit with officers weren't as enthusiastic about it. Apparently not a lot of cops wanted to get involved in the political mess pursuing Liminal crimes would bring," Kurusu's superior explained.
That had Kurusu nodding. With the new laws prohibiting violence between Liminals and humans, there was still a lot of loopholes which could be exploited by either side. If human police officers did have to subdue a Liminal criminal, that crook could make all kinds of outrageous claims of abuse and end up making a political mess for the police involved as well as their superiors. Since a lot of the higher ups no doubt liked their jobs or had their eyes on promotions, they wouldn't want that happening to them. Too many cops that high up were more like politicians than policemen.
"So anyway, when a callout came for this unit, the commissioners didn't want to end up ruining themselves when these guys will eventually cause problems with Liminals so they sent the officers and experts who are known to cause trouble or are just plain weird in the first place and give them some plausible deniability," The woman shook her head. "So we have a new police unit which has top of the line funding, but manned by the quirkiest bunch of cops you'd have ever seen." She grinned at Kurusu, "And they want you to be their intern. Lucky you."
"Eh heh he heh…" Kurusu chuckled weakly with a sweatdrop rolling down his head. "Well...I'll just...go report in then."
"May the gods be with you."
Kurusu nodded and set out for the side of the building which was away from the main offices of the License Center. Walking down a hallway, he quickly found a posting board with a badge-like logo declaring the next door to be the office of the Special Investigations Unit. Bracing himself to face weirdos, Kurusu stepped into the door and knocked on the side, "Hello?"
"Ah, our new intern! Come in, come in!"
Kurusu blinked, recognizing the voice. Stepping into the office, he found it had been quickly set up to allow maximum space with two desks on either side and another desk at the back of the room. Filing cabinets were placed at the sides, but the paperwork and such wasn't being allowed to pile up like it would in some small units. Also personal effects were around each desk. Naturally there were people at them, but Kurusu didn't notice them in favor of seeing the man at the desk in the far back, "Uncle Jun?!"
"Hey Kurusu-kun!" the older man sitting at the captain's desk smiled with a wave. He was an older man, just hitting his sixties, with gray/black hair which was slicked back professionally. He seemed quite energetic and happy-go-lucky for a police captain, but Kurusu couldn't remember him any other way. He wore a bright red tie on his white shirt and also wore a spring jacket with the emblem of the Special Investigation Unit on the front. "Looks like a bit of good luck did come my way. I knew wearing the red tie like my horoscope suggested was a good idea!"
"Buh...wuh...I can't believe this," Kurusu gasped, approaching his new boss. "I didn't know you were leading up a unit like this!"
"Ah, well, you can't expect this old man to be out of tricks yet!" Chief Jun Hongangi grinned, leaning back in his chair. "It's good to see you again Kurusu-kun."
Jun Hongangi and Kurusu had a bit of a history together. Jun and Krim had been colleagues together back in the day and often worked together on a number of projects. In his younger days, Kurusu had gotten to go to work with his grandfather and met the man, eventually calling him Uncle Jun. They had lost touch for a while after Krim 'died' and then Kurusu began focusing more on his education. He had no idea that Jun was leading up a Special Investigations Unit!
"Eh? The new gopher is the chief's nephew?" asked a man in a brown suit at another desk who looked quite bored.
"Oh, nothing like that," Jun waved it off. "Kurusu-kun's the grandson of an old friend of mine. When I heard he was working here, I just had to get him in on our work. Everyone, meet Kurusu Kimihito."
"Ah, so sneaky of you chief," a woman at another desk grinned. She had shoulder length brown hair and was in a word, cute. Cute as in, really damn cute. She wore a professional skirt and blouse, but over it she wore a white lab coat with her ID clipped on the front. "Getting your nephew in on the action as a career boost."
"Ah, nothing so serious like that. Just an old man wanting to get back in touch with his honorary nephew," Jun waved it off. "Anyway, let me introduce you to your new co-wrokers."
Jun gestured first to the woman that spoke who smiled and waved to Kurusu, making his blush a little, "This is Rinna Sawagami, our mechanic. Don't let her cute face fool you. She's a genius when it comes to machines."
"Hi~!" Rinna beamed, making Kurusu grin.
"Next to her is Kiriko Shijima," Jun continued gesturing to a woman with brown hair tied in a buna and also dressed impeccably as a female member of the police force. Her uniform didn't have a hair out of place. She was also filling out a number of papers, her handwriting as sharp and perfect as her appearance was. "She's our number one officer of the force, able to bring down the unruliest of crooks!"
"Hello," the serious woman nodded politely before she got back to work.
"And over here we have our resident network researcher, Kenta Imai," Jun introduced, gesturing to a man who looked like a total otaku, wearing casual clothed and thick black glasses who was tapping away at his computer. Still, he was friendly enough and stopped to greet Kurusu with a grin.
"Hi! Just call me Kyu Saijo," he smiled. "Everyone else does."
"Wait, the internet writer?" Kurusu blinked, causing Kyu to grin proudly.
"And lastly from the First Division, we have Genpachiro Otta," Jun gestured to the man in the brown suit.
"And the only one who gives this unit any bit of seriousness," Genpachiro huffed. "And it's Lieutenant Otta to you! Bad enough I have to spend time in this occult club when I could be investigating real crimes."
"Oh yeah?" Rinna grinned. "And what about all the crimes that could be committed by Liminals now? Some people say those could be magic."
"Bah!" Otta huffed. "Liminals are obviously real so they don't count as magical anymore!"
"That's just nitpicking!" Kyu frowned, almost pouting. "Since Liminals revealed themselves, there's whole worlds of research and investigation going on into old myths and stories told all over the world! Stories we called fantasy before could be really proven real!"
"An otaku's wonderland no doubt," Otta grumbled.
"Okay, okay, let's not cause trouble here," Jun spoke up. "It'll throw off the Feng Shui. Now that everyone's met Kurusu-kun, we can get back to work."
"Yes," Kiriko nodded finishing her paperwork. Leaning back behind her desk, she brought out a stack of papers. "I need these all filed. That's your job Kimihito-san."
"R-right," Kurusu nodded, rolling up his sleeves.
"Me too Kurusu-chan!" Rinna announced, lifting her own sizable stack up.
"Ditto," Kyu lifted another stack.
"Get to it gopher!" Otta ordered, lifting yet another stack.
Kurusu sweatdropped. Well, this was his job and he needed the money to pay for food so Miia could eat. The budget his parents gave him wouldn't cover him and Miia.
In the city itself, there were a range of stores that one could visit for whatever they needed. One in particular was an electronic supply store. It didn't really stand out. It had sales and a wide range of wares for sale. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really seem all that unique compared to the flashier and department chain stores which existed elsewhere. However, it was in a convenient spot and with the diverse supply, they managed to get a fair bit of business.
Now that convenience was about to bite the employees of that particular store in the ass.
*SHOOM!*
The entire store suddenly began moving in slow motion, the customers and staff unable to move. Several began to panic as they tried to understand what was happening to them. That was when the door to the store opened and three men walked inside, entirely unaffected by the strange phenomenon going on around them. They were pretty generic, nothing about them standing out. If they walked into a crowd, it would be a simple thing to lose them unless one was paying close attention to them.
Seeing people unaffected by the strange event caused the witnesses to correctly believe they were responsible for it. They were immediately afraid that they were going to be attacked by the men, but those fears proved to be false. Rather than try to harm the people slowly panicking, the three men merely grabbed shopping baskets before they began going through the aisles. They scooped up a large number of equipment, cables, and even smashed open a display or two to pick up some high-performance laptops.
Filling up on their desires, the three men exited the way they came. Once they were gone, the slowdown effect vanished, allowing the people to return to their normal speeds. Many of them panicked and moved to get as far away from the area as they could. One of the braver employees dared to glimpse outside to see if the thieves were still around. Seeing th ethree were gone, he looked to one of his co-workers who was deeper in the store.
"Call the police!"
"How did I get roped into this?" Kurusu asked aloud.
The call had come to the Special Investigations Unit on a Slowdown, a time in which all things just seemed to slow down. During which, the victims, when they came out of it, reported that three men had entered the store a stole a bunch of merchandise. Considering the supernatural event, it immediately went to the Special Investigations Unit and Jun immediately set Genpachiro, Kiriko, and Kurusu on it.
"We're the only field officers the unit has Kimihito-san," Kiriko reminded him as they examined the inside of the store. "And the field experience will do you good."
"But I'm not even a police officer," Kurusu tried to argue.
"With us, you are, so no complaining!" Kiriko retorted sternly, lifting her handcuffs in a threatening gesture.
Kurusu gulped and got back to work. Kiriko was definitely a severe woman and crossing her was just a bad idea overall. She wasnt' shy in using those cuffs to detain someone who got out of hand. She did it to Genpachiro enough times when he and Kyu began getting into arguments over the validity of myths and legends.
To be honest, Kurusu was glad to be out in the field working the scene. He could tell from the initial reports that it was a Roidmude that had done the robbery. The chance to actually investigate it firsthand instead of waiting for his grandfather to download the reports was going to make hunting the Roidmudes much easier than before. His only real complaint...
"But do we have to do it wearing these?" Kurusu asked, feeling absolutely ridiculous. Strapped to his back was a cybernetic backpack-like device which connected to a vaccum cleaner/metal detector-like attachment in his hand. Strapped to his head was a collander-like helmet that had a small eyepiece attachment covering one of his eyes. It frankly looked weird and more like Kurusu and Kiriko were trying to cosplay as some kind of character rather than investigate a crime.A few of the spectoators outside had laughed at them when they strapped on the equipment which just brought Kurusu's ego down even more.
"This is specialty equipment invented by Rinna-san," Kiriko answered, slowly passing her own device over the shelves where merchandise had been stolen. "It senses Slowdown particles. If we can get a sample of them here, these devices will allow us to possibly pick up on the trail of the thieves."
"Oh," Kurusu sighed. "Well, so long as there's a reason for it…"
As the duo continued their scans, Genpachiro was interviewing a staff member who had been present when the robbery happened, "Okay, so just what exactly happened? The Slowdown happened and then what?"
"Well, a bunch of guys came in and began taking stuff," the clerk shrugged. "I can't say they stood out too much. I couldn't really see their faces and they dressed like anyone on the street would. They were so average it was kind of weird."
"Average, right," Genpachiro nodded, diligently taking notes. He may not have believed in monsters and supernatural nonsense, Liminals notwithstanding, but he was a police officer and he would always do his job right. "So what did they take?"
"Well, we did a count and they didn't take a whole lot," the clerk shrugged. "A few laptops, routers, and connection cables. They didn't even get the really expensive ones you'd figure would be on some black market. They just grabbed the ones which would ge tthe job done best and left."
"So they were here for equipment, not money?" asked Genpachiro.
"Didn't even touch the registers," the clerk shook his head. "Came in, took what they needed, and then left again. I think they plan to use that stuff for something instead of selling it for cash."
Genpachiro frowned, "Hey, I'm the detective here. I'll do the deductions," He dismissed the clerk and tucked away his notebook. Walking over to where Kiriko and Kurusu were working, he couldn't help but snicker at how ridiculous they looked, but supressed it for the sake of professionalism, "Looks like these guys were aiming for equipment to use, not some quick cash."
"Hm. Strange," Kiriko pondered. "Our readings are showing Slowdown particles all over, but they're all over the place. So it proves there was more than one. We should begin scanning outside and see if there's a trail."
"Yeah, you two do that," Genpachiro nodded, not believing their methods would uncover anything.
Kiriko pulled Kurusu outside who was sure he heard some of the people watching the investigation chuckle at their getups. She quickly pointed to the left, "You scan that way. I will go this way. If you see anything suspicious then come back and inform me. You aren't a policeman, remember that."
"R-right," Kurusu nodded.
Setting on the trail, Kurusu kept his metal detector going, looking for the particles which would reveal where the Roidmudes had come from. A Slowdown did leave a unique signature, but it wasn't like a trail of breadcrumbs. Once the Roidmudes shut down their powers, th etrail would end. At best, it would just tell Kurusu which direction they came to the store from.
"Okay you guys, which way did you come from?" Kurusu frowned, looking at his readouts. Walking past an alley, he stopped when the signal cut out, indicating that there were no more particles. Looking around, Kurusu sighed, "Okay, you guys came in from here. But which way did you go?"
*Wee-ooo wee-ooo!*
"Huh?" Kurusu blinked, hearing...a miniature siren? Looking down, his eyes widened when he spotted a small police car driving towards him with its lights flashing. "Ah, Justice Hunter! I didn't know you were back in town!" He kneeled down and scooped up the tiny car, letting it rest flat in his palm. "What are you doing here?"
*Beep-beep!*
"Oh, you completed your investigation and were on your way back when you heard the call for officers to investigate here," Kurusu nodded. Like his grandfather, he was fluent in the language of the Shift Cars. It was part road sign, part gestures, and the tone in their personal car noises. Justice Hunter was just one of the easier ones to understand. "Well, glad to have you on the case. Did you discover anything yet?"
*Wee-ooo! Beep!*
"You've picked up the trail?" Kurusu blinked, but then his feature turned stern. "Okay. Lead the way. Let's nip this in the bud before it gets worse."
Hunter spun around and drove off Kurusu's hand, generating a tiny highway as it drove through the air. Kurusu jogged after the tiny machine, prepping himself for a fight. As he followed Hunter, he quickly pulled out his phone and began typing a hasty message.
Kimihito Residence
"La, la, la-la," Miia hummed as she sifted through her belongings, looking for her next outfit which she would try to get her Darling hot and bothered over. "Hmm, should I go with the sarong like at home or maybe something more modern? Or maybe I should go for something out of that cosplay stuff? Would Darling like that?"
It was definitely a good question as far as Miia was concerned. Her Darling was off earning a living and risking his neck to fight against the Roidmudes. So that left it up to her to make sure that he came home to a warm and relaxing atmosphere. Therefore, as far as Miia was concerned, there was nothing more relaxing than coming home to a sexy wife who would tend to your aching body. And if it managed to get Kurusu more into her, well, Miia couldn't be faulted for his good taste.
"Miia-chan, I'm heading out," Krim's voice eched from the hallway. "Kurusu and I should be back later."
"Okay. Give Darling my love," Miia smiled, still working on her next outfit.
Krim gave no indication if he heard and soon, the squealing tires of the Tridoron echoed before the red car could be seen racing down the streets. Miia was preparing another top when she blinked, "Wait, Mr. Belt and Darling together? Another Rodimude?!"
Miia whirled around and slithered out of the room, grinning as she realized this was her chance. With Kurusu coming home no doubt tired but excited over his victory, his adrenaline would be through the roof, making for a perfect opportunity to advance their relationship!
"And now, for the hearty dinner!" Miia grinned, heading for the kitchen.
Kurusu followed Hunter through several alleyways before coming to what looked like a basketball court several blocks away from the crime scene. Coming to the area, Kurusu hid behind a corner to see what he was dealing with. Near the benches in one corner were three men, rather plain-looking as they had what was obviously a horde of computer equipment with them. Funnily enough, it seemed that the trio were struggling to try and figure out how to set it all up.
"Oh come on!" one of them cried. "We're super-advanced robots aren't we? Can't we figure out a little laptop like these ones?"
"Don't look at me," another retorted. "I didn't think tech was interesting since I AM tech!"
"Ditto," nodded the third. "I prefer sports."
'I don't know if I should find this funny or sad,' Kurusu thought to himself.
"You all are idiots," a new voice spoke. Coming into the court from another entrance was a man dressed quite similar to a cowboy, save for the fact he held a whip. Kurusu's eyes narrowed at the man, positive he had seen the cowboy before. "How do you expect to evolve with attitudes like that?"
"Whatever," one of the trio grumped. "If you're so smart then you can do it!"
"Very well," the cowboy nodded before he became engulfed in pixels. With a flash of the numbers 071 flashing in the middle of it all, the man came out as an Evolved Roidmude.
His torso looked like a copy of the human body of muscle, although instead of muscle tissue, wires were instead used. From his collarbone area, two thick ropes of cords emerged and hung over his shoulders before coiling down his arms, ending in wire-like whips which Kurusu remembered sparked with electricity when they struck something. His hands ended in metal gauntlets which resembled a basic Roidmude's hands, but without the gun barrel gauntlets. It's legs were much the same, wire-like muscles with Roidmude feet. It's head was hard to determine since it's entire cranium was covered in thick wires which copied hair in the form of dreadlocks and hung down to the base of its neck.
"Not this guy again," Kurusu grimaced.
He'd fought the Wire Roidmude early as Drive, back while he was still getting used to it all. The Roidmude had beaten him black and blue with a few electrical burns for good measure. He'd managed to destroy the Wire Roidmude's body, but in his eagerness to play Kamen Rider, Kurusu hadn't listened when Krim tried to tell him about the Roidmude Cores and didn't destroy it. Thus the Wire Roidmude got away to live another day. Krim had given him a stern talking to for letting that happen.
Wire flicked one of his whips and the tip connected to the laptop with a click. For a moment, the screen flickered as data raced across the surface, it's purpose unknown. For several moments, Kurusu tried to hear or see what the Roidmudes were up to. However, that was when the screen of the laptop changed to a camera feed...one which was looking right down at Kurusu.
"Oh, we have a little spy!" Wire looked up, gazing right at Kurusu. The other three Roidmudes grunted and looked in the same direction. Wire disconnected from the computer and faced Kurusu directly, "Ah, if it isn't the little Kamen Rider too."
"What?!" the three Roidmudes gasped.
Seeing he was busted, Kurusu shed his detection gear and stepped out to face the four. He looked calm and collected, but he was already sweating on the inside wondering where Krim was. "It's been a while, Roidmude 071. Wire, right?"
"Ah, so you do remember me," Wire chuckled. "You've finally stopped goofing up on the job, or so I hear."
"That won't happen this time," Kurusu retorted.
"I'm sure," Wire nodded. "Well, I have things to do and have no time to play with you, Kamen Rider." he closed the laptop and packed up the bags. "My three lackeys will keep you entertained though. If you can keep from goofing up with them, I may find it worth my while to entertain you."
Wire lashed out with one of his whips, catching the edge of a rooftop before he hoisted himself up and over, vanishing from sight. The three remaining Roidmudes, knowing their orders, got up and began to advance on Kurusu. Their bodies flashed with pixels before taking on their true Roidmude forms, in this case being two Spider-types and one Cobra-type.
"Great," Kurusu grimaced, tensing up.
*VROOOM!*
The staredown was cut off as the Tridoron drove up to the court, ending up in a parking lot. Kurusu immediately saw his chance and dashed for the machine. The three Roidmudes attempted to follow, but the Tridoron let off a blast from it's headlights, knocking all three of the machines away.
Kurusu quickly reached the door and opened it, finding Krim in his station, "Great timing Grandpa!"
"Of course," Krim grinned before Kurusu removed him and exited the car. "Ready Kurusu?"
"Oh yeah!" Kurusu nodded, wrapping the Drive Driver around his waist. Once it was secure, he turned the Advanced Ignition Key.
"START YOU ENGINE!"
"Henshin!"
"DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!"
A flash of red and the racecar-like armor formed over Kurusu, transforming him into Drive. Flexing his fists, he stared down the recovering Roidmudes, "Kamen Rider Drive, let me take you for a ride."
The three Roidmudes weren't impressed as they charged for Drive. The Kamen RIder acted fast and blocked the first blow before kicking that Roidmude away. The other two came in as a pair, shoulder checking him to try and lnock him back. Drive grunted, but only skidded back a few inches. Grunting, h e smashed his elbow into one Roidmude's head, causing it to grunt before he slugged it across the face. He then grabbed the shoulder of the other before a push spun it around and he knocked it away.
The Roidmudes recovered as Drive charged at them, but rather than charge back they instead pointed their hands at him. Shots rang out from their fingertips, causing Drive to cry out with pai nas he stumbled back while the bullets struck him.
"Eugh," Drive grunted. No matte rhow many times he'd suffered it, being shot by the Roidmudes still hurt! "Fine, going to need Justice then! Let's-!"
*Vrooom! Hiss!*
Drive was interupted as from behind the three Roidmudes were attacked from behind by something. They droped or strumbled away, grasping at their backs with cries of pain. Sparks flew from several more impacts as they shouted out in cofusion and pain over what was attacking them. Frankly, Drive was a little confused as well until he noticed something small in the chaos. From the writhing Roidmudes, another Shift Car came zooming up to Kurusu at high speeds.
"Viper?" Drive blinked, recognizing the newest Shift Car on his team. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be undergoing tests."
*Vroom! Vroom!*
"You followed Grandpa because you figured I was in trouble," Drive shook his head.
"Well, look at it this way Kurusu. With Viper here we can collect more field data," Krim offered.
"I guess," Drive huffed before he plucked up Viper, causing the Shift Car to hiss in delight. Bringing up his Drive Brace, he removed the Type Speed and insterted Viper. "Well, might as well roll with it."
"TIRE KOUKAN! STRIKING VIPER!"
The tire bounced into the court and slammed into Drive, locking into place with a hiss as the eyes of the serpent flared an emerald green.
"Don't think that scares us!" shouted the Cobra-Type Roidmude. "I'm a snake too you know!"
"Well then, let's get along!" Drive retorted, charging for the three.
Drive met the three as one of the Roidmudes swung at him. Thanks to his enhanced reflexes, Drive ducked under the blow before striking two blows in the vulnerable underside. A sizable blast of sparks came from the impact, causing the Roidmude to scream and stumble away. The second attacker came for his strike from behind, but Drive noticed him and kicked backwards to stun him before a roundhouse kick across the face knocked him flat onto his black with a blast of sparks. The final Roidmude attempted to merely shoot at Drive from a distance. He got a few shots in, knocking Drive back before the Kamen Rider got his senses back. With Striking Viper's reflexes, he managed to see the path of the bullets and dodge them, not from sheer speed, but just from sharper reflexes. Charging at his attacjer. Driver dodged several more shots before unleashing a combo of punches which knocked the Spider-Type Roidmude back in a heap.
"Testing time!" Drive called, hitting the decisive switch on his Drive Brace.
"HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE! STRIKING VIPER!"
The tire spun and unleashed the giant snake which made up the tire. The Roidmude cried out as the serpent towered above it with a menacing hiss. It swiftly lunged for the Roidmude, but instead of attacking with it's fangs, it wrapped the end of its tail around it, pinning it in place.
Drive saw his cue and dashed for the snake's tail. A short jump and he was on it's treadmarked back. A flash of red brought two pillars of red tires to either side that roared to life in high speeds. Drive was immediately launched through them where he followed the snake's back like a roller coaster track. More tires appeared, keeping his speed up until he reached the head of the snake which towered above the Roidmude where he leaped off. The snake them launched a strike, impacting Drive's back who came down in a high speed flying kick, crashing against the Roidmude before it let out a scream and went up in an explosion.
The flames were quick to die as Drive stood up. Behind him, the viper let out a hiss before diving back into Drive's armor, becoming the Striking Viper Tire again. In front of Drive, a warbling Roidmude Core numbered 012 wobbled in the air before exploding, ending that particular machine once and for all.
"012!" cried the other Spider-type Roidmude.
"You bastard!" shouted the Cobra-type.
Drive let out a breath before he turned to face the two remaining Roidmudes. Both machines flinched and looked like they were ready to keep fighting. Drive clenched his fists and prepared to likewise do the same.
"GUN!"
Several shots suddenly rang through the air, impacting Drive, eliciting a cry of pain before he fell over clutching his torso. The two Roidmudes stopped, surprised at the intervention and turned to see who had come to their aid. Drive likewise managed to look up to see who had attacked him.
At the entry to the basketball court and standing next to a dark purple motorcycle which was painted with silver skull images was the new arrival. He was dressed in purple leather biking gear and in his hand was a purple handgun-type device which was styled similarly to a brake handle. His features were stern and wished nothing but harm on Drive.
"Who…?" Drive grunted, getting to his knees.
"Oh crap! It's the Shinigami!" cried the Spider-Type Roidmude.
"Run!" suggested the Cobra-Type. Both Roidmudes quickly ran towards the nearest alley like their rears were on fire. The mysterious biker didn't bat an eye as he kept his gaze, and his weapon, trained on Drive.
"Kamen Rider," he spoke, walking towards the basketball court. "Once again you've destroyed one of the Roidmudes and ended their lives. That is a crime which must be punished."
"What?" Drive asked, standing up. "Punished? I don't even know who you are!"
The man stepped into the basketball court, weapons till raised, "I am called Chase, the one who protects the Roidmudes."
"Protects the-?!" Krim gasped.
"Huh?!" Drive gasped.
Chase didn't respond further but instead drew back his pistol, the Break Gunner, before he pressed the barrel of it against his palm.
"BREAK UP!"
Chase was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of purple as pieces of armor appeared in purple wireframe before attaching to his body not unlike how Drive would transform. Once it was finished, a new being stood in front of Drive.
At first glance, he appeared to be the combination of a robot and the purple motorcycle in a high speed crash. The torso armor was purple, but almost random in its placement, barely looking like real armor. The shoulder plate held the silver skull image from the motorcycle. On his back a tire was mounted, one fit more for a motorcycle than a car with silver piping strewn on his body. His arms and the rest of his body was black metal on a bodysuit accented with bits of purple metal, but with no belt. Lastly his head was composed of silver components, looking like an engine block. It should have had two eyes, but one was covered by black components while the other as an orange disk.
"I am also called Mashin Chaser," the machine-man introduced. "The one Roidmudes call the Shinigami!"
"HUH?!" Drive gaped, backing away from his new opponent.
"I don't believe it!" Krim gasped. The armor, the style of transformation, he could recognize his designs in it as clear as day! He'd only built one system before Drive and it had been lost during the Global Freeze, hadn't it? "Did...did the Roidmudes salvage the Proto-Drive system?!"
"Now I will punish you for the murders of two Roidmudes, and the attempted murder of many more!" Mashin Chaser bellowed, charging for Drive with his weapons raised.
"Woah! Wait a second!" Drive cried out.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
To Be Continued...
A/N: Well, Drive is in trouble now since Mashin Chaser is on his tail. The protector of the Roidmudes isn't going to let him go without a fight. Also, just what is it that Wire is planning with his fellow Roidmudes? If it works, it could speed up the evolution process by a significant amount. That can't be allowed lest another Global Freeze happens!