Sento Kiryu: Last time on "Building a Hero!", Izuku Midorya learns more about Build from the genius scientist Sento Kiryu, who has taken All Might's apprentice as a lab assistant, as they work together to solve the mystery behind the organization and its leaders!
Izuku Midoriya: From what Mr. Kiryu had taught me, I learned about the powers of the Fullbottles, the Build Driver, and tech!
All Might: What's more, I learned that one of my old high school chums, Souichi Isurugi, was Sento's beneficiary! And that Lil Misora is the one responsible for providing Mr. Kiryu the Fullbottles!
Ryuga Banjo: What is this?
IM: The recap for the last chapter.
AM: It a way for our audience to stay up to date, as well as provide a form of entertainment!
RB: Seems a little frivolous if you asked me.
SK: Oh, and that's the murder convict Ryuga Banjo, who I so mercifully saved out of the goodness of my heart from being kidnapped by three Smashes at once that were created by one of the members of the organization, Meta Bolt, after he spent some time crying about it.
IM: Indeed, as it turns out, Mr. Banjo was taken from the prison he was kept in by the organization and put through the same experiment as Mr. Kiryu and I!
AM: Not to mention that he revealed to me some startling information that my good friend Tsukauchi wasn't even present at the interrogation about the murder of Takumi Katsuragi! What could this possibly mean!? Found out, in this chapter of "Building a Hero!"!
RB: I wasn't crying!
SK: You responded way too late for that.
"Seriously, Sento? Another guy who you revealed your secret to?" Souichi said, rubbing his temples after taking him aside to give him a stern talking to. Ryuga, for the most part, was just in the workshop poking around. He was also given new clothes, since the white cotton ones he had been wearing were dirty and torn up. "And not just that! It's Ryuga Banjo, a murder convict!"
"Well what else should I've done? Let him get arrested again and experimented on?" Sento said, casually brushing it off. "Murderer or not, and I'm thinking not, he's Midoriya's and my best bet to finding out where the organization is. He managed to escape from there, with his memories intact. So if we just jog his memories a bit, we can find out about these guys and why they keep making Smashes!"
Sento watched as the pieces clicked in Souichi's head, and the two rushed over to talk to Ryuga. "Can you start from the beginning?" Sento said, looking Ryuga straight in the eyes. "Tell us everything."
"The beginning? Okay," Ryuga said, taking a deep breath and sitting down. "I was born in Yokohama, a healthy 3.2 kilograms-"
"Not that far back!" Sento said, smacking Ryuga in the head with a rolled-up piece of paper.
"You said from the beginning!"
"You should've figured from the context clues and situation that that's not what I meant!"
"Well I-"
The argument was cut short when the Purification Chamber's made a ringing ding that echoed through the workshop, startling Ryuga, while Sento's characteristic giant grin spread across his face and a cowlick sprung up from his hair. "Finally!"
He rushed over to the Purification Chamber's microwave, and pulled out two new Fullbottles. The first was a light blue that was shaped like a diamond, and the second was yellow that was shaped like a bee.
"So we got Diamond and Bee, huh?" Sento said, going over the two newly acquired Fullbottles. "Oh, I am feeling good about these ones!"
Misora, for the most part, walked out of the Purification Chamber, yawning as she repeated her mantra. "Tired... Sleepy... Want my money, Sento... I'll finish the last one later..."
"Who are you!?" Ryuga said, looking at the Purification Chamber and pointing at the tired girl who just came out of it. Misora, for the most part, just gave him a powerful stink eye before squaring up to him, surprising Ryuga who just backed up in response to the short girl threatening him.
"I should be the one asking that..." she said, exhausted. She made it past him and her father, and went into her room, closing the door shut as a loud thud came from her room, no doubt her collapsing onto her bed out of exhaustion.
"Just what's going on?" Ryuga muttered, when the minifridge entrance opened, and All Might walked into the Build Shop.
"Sorry about that, everyone," All Might said, adding in a laugh. "Would've been here sooner, but Mr. Himuro wanted to check up on me to make sure I wasn't injured!"
"Aaah, All Might!" Ryuga said, squaring up to prepare for a fight. All Might simply laughed, and shook his head. "Don't worry, Banjo. I won't turn you in! At least, not yet. It seems like you have a connection to the organization behind all the Smash incidents, not to mention what you said earlier has peaked my interest. Now, if you don't mind, I need to make a personal call. Mr. Kiryu, can I borrow your bedroom?"
"Sure, go for it, All Might," Sento said, as All Might walked over into the hallway and entered Sento's room, closing it.
"Man, who would've thought that All Might would've been working with a crazy vigilante?" Ryuga muttered, watching him disappear.
"I'm not crazy," Sento said. "And the reason why he's working with us, is that we have the same goal of finding the organization behind the Smash incidents. His apprentice is just like us, he was experimented on, and wants answers about what happened."
"All Might's got an apprentice?" Ryuga said, when the entrance opened again, and Izuku came down the stairs.
"I got those Smash victims away safely, Sento," he said, as he shifted his gaze between Sento and Ryuga. "So... we're really doing this? I-I mean, not to say that what the organization had done isn't bad, but this is Ryuga Banjo, a convicted murderer-"
"I didn't kill anyone!"
"Holy crap it's that murderer!"
Everyone looked at the stairs, and saw the former Rock Smash standing on it, with the former Bee Smash behind him and the former Antler Smash closing and locking the entrance.
"What the- Midoriya, you were followed!?" Sento said, while Souichi sighed exasperatedly in the back. "I know there's been a string of people finding out who I am, but even I have a limit!"
"I-I didn't! I kept checking behind me to make sure that I wasn't!" Izuku said, panicking at the revelation that he was followed.
"We didn't," the pink girl said, apologetically, when she pulled out a business card. "You dropped this, and we looked up the address, and when we got to the window we saw you coming down here. We just wanted to thank the Kamen Rider for saving us."
"What!?"
"Oh no, that's right! I kept a copy of cafe nascita's business card in my pocket to remember the address!" Izuku said, realizing his giant blunder. "I should've just kept it on my phone!"
"This place is super cool! I wish my place had a secret lair like this," the horned girl said, mildly oblivious to the situation.
"Argh, this is getting too much to handle," Sento said, as he went to sit on the couch. "Alright, let's just get this over with. My name is Sento Kiryu, and yes, I'm Kamen Rider Build."
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya," Midoriya followed, still embarrassed about his blunder.
"I'm Ryuga Banjo, and I'm not a murderer," Ryuga added, crossing his arms.
"Souichi Isurugi, and I need a drink," Souichi said, muttering as he went to the kitchen area and pulled out a couple canned coffees.
"Oh, uh, I'm Eijiro Kirishima," the boy said, pointing to himself.
"I'm Mina Ashido! Me and Eijiro have been classmates, since like, we were little," the pink girl said, cheerfully.
"And I'm Pony Tsunotori! I just moved here from America a few weeks ago, and I didn't think that I'd go crazy like that," the horned girl said, laughing a bit.
"So, what do you guys want to know? I'll answer as best as I can," Sento said, rubbing his temples. "I'll admit, this isn't how I expected my day to go. Probably can't get any worse than this-"
"Dang it, come on! Open up you stupid door!"
Everyone froze, and looked up. "Oh lord, were you three followed!? Come on!" Sento said, climbing up the stairs.
"No, we weren't! We kept looking to make sure," Eijiro said, as everyone followed him. The sight they saw was definitely not something they expected, as a paper-thin woman with short wavy hair had gone under the door's crack, struggling to open the lock with her thin fingers.
"Oh, uh... hi, Build?" she said, grinning. "I'll admit, this isn't the entrance I wanted, it was gonna be much more dramatic than this..."
"Okay, who are- wait, you're that reporter from last night," Sento said, as he started to recognize her. "H-how did you know where to find me!?"
"Oh, you dropped this," the reporter said, slipping her flat hand into a pocket in her jacket, and pulling out a crinkled business card. "After you detransformed and called those officers, remember?"
"W-what!? I don't carry business cards on me! Why would-"
"Oh, right," Souichi said, as a realization came to him. "I put that in your jacket so that you could advertise cafe nascita..."
"Owner!" Sento said, appalled.
"My bad!" he replied, putting his hands together.
"Um... can you open the door for me, since we all established that I know about you now?" the reporter said, still fumbling with the door's lock.
"Alright, but first, tell me who you are, and what you want," Sento said, crossing his arms.
"Well, my name's Sawa Takigawa, and I'm a freelance reporter," the paper-thin woman said, sticking her flimsy hand out to shake. "As you can see, my Quirk's, well, Elasti-body."
Sawa Takigawa! Quirk, Elasti-body! It allows her to flatten, stretch, and do all kinds of elastic-y things with her body! Combine that with her job as a reporter, it lets her do a lot of sneaking around! Just don't expect her to be able to infinitely stretch, shapeshift into different things for too long, or have any dexterity while she's flattened!
"... Nah, not doing that," Sento said, going back down. "I'm already in trouble with the media, why would I let that happen?"
"Wait, come back!" Sawa said, flimsily waving him to come back. "I promise you, I won't reveal your identity! Please, I really need a story! The past couple months haven't been that great," Sawa said, pleading. "Besides, I won't be like those reporters who've been besmirching your good name!"
"... Fine, but I'll need to look through your articles and notes and edit them so I won't have you like, revealing too much about me or my team. There's a lot we need to keep secret," Sento said, looking at her as he unlatched the door, letting Sawa into the Build Shop as she inflated herself back to normal.
"Alright, I'll explain as much as I can later, but I need to ask Banjo something. Do you remember anything particular happening before you were kidnapped from the prison?" Sento said, returning his attention to Ryuga.
"Nothing really. I was busy moving some boxes when some fat guy with a big horn came from behind and hit me with a handful of like, sleeping powder," Ryuga said. "That was some powerful stuff, too. Only really got a glimpse of him before I went unconscious. Probably could remember him accurately if I saw a picture of him or something."
"I think I can do something about that," Sawa said, smiling. "I'm good at snooping around, so I'll find some info without any trouble. Now, tell me about everything you can about your role as the Kamen Rider and the Smashes..."
All Might sighed, punching in the numbers to his friend Tsukauchi's cellphone. There was a commotion going on outside the room, but he decided that it wasn't too important to pay attention to. After all, they did bring in a "murderer" into the Build Shop, of course there would be trouble. Still, what Banjo said earlier troubled him. Months ago, when he was arrested, All Might tried asking questions about him, and was told that Tsukauchi was there and it was all taken cared of, and that he didn't need to worry. So hearing otherwise by the felon himself was a blow.
Plus, it had been some time since their last chat, so the idea of asking him about it never crossed his mind until now.
"What is going on..." he thought, as Tsukauchi picked up. "All Might, it's been a while! Sorry I haven't called you in a while, been picking up some suspicious dealings going around, and with Ryuga Banjo on the loose, it's been pretty hectic here. How've you been?"
"Oh, I've been fine," All Might said, chuckling. "Been taking it slow. Finally found a successor, so I've been training him on my off-time. Speaking of Ryuga Banjo..."
"Yea, I heard about it from the officers that were there, about how you chased the Kamen Rider and Ryuga but got attacked by some Guardians when you landed on them by accident and got distracted by them letting the two escape. So sorry about that, gotta ask Namba Industries to take care of that problem."
"Yes, well, there's that, and well... Something Ryuga Banjo said has bothered me..."
"Really? Must've been something serious if it's gotten you upset, All Might."
"Indeed. I was told by another officer that you were there at his interrogation, but when I mentioned how your Quirk revealed the truth, he said that there wasn't a Tsukauchi there. Is... is that true?"
The other end of the line went dead silent. All Might clutched his chest, fearing what Tsukauchi would said next.
"Is that what you were told? That I was there? I wasn't."
A pit in what's left of All Might's stomach fell. "I was personally told that there was already enough evidence of Ryuga Banjo being Takumi Katsuragi's murderer and that I wasn't needed to help out. That's troubling."
"And that's why I called you on your personal phone, to make sure that you weren't being listened to," All Might said, his left hand curling his fist. "It's just as I feared... something bigger's going on in the background, much more than I thought at first..."
"Hm... I'll help you as much as I can, but if there is something going on within the police force, my hands are going to be tied. Not to mention this is hearsay based on a convict's words, so that will be trouble on its own," Tsukauchi said. All Might sighed. He figured as much, but he needed confirmation from Tsukauchi if he really wasn't present for Banjo's interrogation.
"Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for Banjo either way. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise," All Might said, clutching his fist. The two said their goodbyes, and hung up. He pinched his forehead, as he thought over the situation once again as the complexities have gotten worse. The Smash incidents, the organization behind them, their victims, and now apparently they have connections to the police, since they seemed to have taken Ryuga Banjo from prison and used him for their experiments as well. Not to mention that they told him and Tsukauchi different stories. It was a good thing that their friendship wasn't known at all, or else they'd have never known about this discrepancy.
Still, it didn't sit well with him at all, the thought that even the police were involved. Who knew how far this organization's hands reached? There could even be government officials participating in this, and the thought that these people would be eager to throw away the lives of their civilians was sickening.
His thoughts were interrupted when the commotion outside got louder. With voices he didn't recognize. He decided to muscle up, in case if there was any trouble brewing outside.
"So this machine and some girl help make your Fullbottles?" Eijiro said, looking at the machine. "And you make them from those essences you take from Smashes?"
"Yep, you're taking this pretty quickly," Sento said, smiling, though it turned into a frown quickly. "Unless that knucklehead."
"I'll understand if you let me go!" Ryuga said, struggling against his chains. On the suggestion of Souichi, he had been chained to one of the pillars, since the others were a little uncomfortable with him walking around. "This isn't cool!"
"Hahaha! What is going on out here?" All Might said, coming out of the room. Everyone excluding Sento, Souichi, and Ryuga froze at the sight of this.
"All Might's here!?" Eijiro said, his eyes wide. Mina, for the most part, just sat there, mouth agape.
"He's in on this whole Kamen Rider biz?" Pony said, almost giddy with excitement.
"Oh man, this scoop's getting better! At least, it would be if I could reveal more about it!" Sawa said, scribbling down notes as fast as she could.
"Um..." All Might said, looking at Sento.
"Dropped business cards," he said, plainly.
"Huh," All Might said, looking at the four newcomers. "Well, despite my grin, I can't say I'm totally happy with this predicament! Mr. Kiryu and I have agreed that, in spite of our positions as the Number One Hero and the vigilante Kamen Rider, it is in our best interests to figure out what is happening with the organization behind the Smash incidents, as they have taken my apprentice and experimented on him as well! So this needs to be kept quiet! Think of this as a... secret mission!"
"Wait, 'apprentice'?" Eijiro said, thinking for a bit before he looked at Izuku. "You're All Might's apprentice!?"
"Y-y-yes, I am," Izuku said, smiling nervously. "I-i-it's just circumstantial, we meet when he saved Bakugo and me from that sludge villain-"
"Wait, you're that kid that rushed in at that sludge guy months ago?" Mina said, gasping. "No wonder I thought I recognized you from somewhere!"
"Wow Midoriya dude, you're way cooler than I thought!" Pony said, pumping her fists.
"So I'd take it that you're Sento's apprentice, too?" Sawa said, writing it down. "This is getting better and better!"
"Hey hey hey, like I said, don't write everything down without my approval," Sento said, pulling her notepad away to look over it. "You can write that... not that... this is alright... nope... nada... fine. But like All Might said, you all can't be blabbing about this to anyone. We've kept this whole operation under wraps for a long time, and it isn't like we're telling you all this because we want to. I need you all to promise me that you won't, alright? Especially you, Miss Sawa."
"Of course you can trust us!" Eijiro said, slamming his fists together, before flinching and wiggling his hands for a bit. "Oh right, temporary Quirk loss..."
"Yea, that's gonna be tough to explain to my parents," Mina said, looking at her hands and feet. "On the plus side, no need to worry about accidentally ruining my favorite clothes or shoes for a few days."
"D-don't worry!" Izuku said, trying to smile. "When it comes back, it'll be better than ever! You could probably do things you couldn't do before even!"
"I dunno," Eijiro said, scratching the back of his head. "Don't know how getting harder would be like..."
"Yea, and stronger acid? Doesn't necessarily sound good for a hero, you know?"
"Ooooh, do you think it'd make my horns bigger!? I'd love to have bigger horns to fire with!"
"Well, we'll see about that when they come back," All Might said, giving them a reassuring laugh. "So I take it that you're all going to go to hero school then?"
"Oh definitely! I'm planning to go to U.A.! It's the best of the best, and I figured that I should aim for the top, even if I'm not nearly as flashy as others!" Eijiro said, grinning widely.
"Me too! I figure that with U.A., I'd be able to figure out more ways to use my acid without needing to worry about hurting people!" Mina said, making finger guns and pretending to shoot them.
"And I want to go to U.A. to learn how kick butt!" Pony added, doing a high kick and hitting the pillar with the restrained Ryuga.
"Hey hey hey, watch it!" he said, as he ducked his head to avoid the hoofed girl's feet. The group laughed a bit, before Izuku looked at the clock.
"Whoa, it's getting late, I got to get going," Izuku said, as he picked up his bag.
"Yea, same. My parents are not gonna be happy hearing about my Smash-ification and stuff," Eijiro said, nervously laughing.
"Oof, mom's probably gonna flip, too," Mina said, grimacing.
"My parents will probably just spoil me silly," Pony said, bonking her head with her right fist and sticking out her tongue. "Since I'm the only one in our family aiming to be a hero and all."
"Yea, you guys better get going," Sento said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't want you guys to spend too much time here when you're all students."
"Don't worry, we'll come back first chance we get!" Eijiro said, getting pumped. "I want to stop those jerks from doing this to other people!"
"Yea, go Team Build!" Mina said, pumping her fist into the air.
"'Team Build'?" Sento said, quirking his eyebrow.
"Yea, since you're Build, and you got Mr. Isurugi, his daughter, Midoriya, All Might, Miss Takigawa, and us as your team, we're Team Build!" Mina said, grinning.
"Hm... I like it! Team Build it is!" Sento said, puffing out his chest in pride.
"Wait, what about me?" Ryuga said, his brow wrinkled. "Why am I not a member of Team Build?"
"Um, uh, well, uuuuuuh-"
"I think it's 'cuz you're a criminal?" Pony said, as Mina nodded to confirm.
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You keep saying that, but there isn't any proof otherwise..." Eijiro said, scratching his head.
"I'll show you all! Just let me go and I'll prove it! Somehow!"
"Banjo, let it go. People need time to get to trust you, don't try forcing it. Just relax for now," Sento said, patting him on the head, a little condescendingly. "Just think about stuff that makes you happy."
Ryuga opened his mouth to interject, but closed it and sighed. "Now, with that settled, you all need to get going."
The members of Team Build all said their goodbyes, and went up the stairs, though All Might was the last one to go.
"Mr. Kiryu, I need a word with you for a moment," he whispered, looking at him. "Make sure that the others are gone before I leave, since I can't go through the door with my muscles like this."
"Alright, we'll talk in the kitchen supply closest," Sento said, immediately understanding the urgency in All Might's voice. "Just stay here, and I'll make sure they're gone."
"Hm... so your friend Tsukauchi, who has a lie detecting Quirk, wasn't there at Banjo's interrogation, but yet that was what you were told?" Sento said, after All Might told him everything. "And he was told that there was enough evidence to implicate Banjo for Katsuragi's murder?"
"That's right," All Might said, having released his muscle form minutes ago after the confirmation that everyone was gone. "But because my friendship with Tsukauchi isn't known, even to the chief of police, I don't think they counted on giving conflicting stories to the two of us. It took me some time to find out though, since it's been a while since either of us had any free time to talk to one other."
"I can't believe it, with this information, it just confirms that there are governmental agents involved with the organization," Sento said, scowling a bit. "First, someone must've committed Katsuragi's murder and pinned it on Banjo to get him arrested. Second, they used their connections to the police to make it so that he could be taken to jail, where they then kidnapped him to experiment on."
"But why now? Why not the moment he was arrested?"
"Probably to avoid suspicion. High-profile murderer sent to jail, only to mysteriously disappear the second he was there? The question really is why him in specific? What makes Banjo so special that they had to go through all that trouble? I mean, thinking about it now, some of the kidnapped people they used for the experiments must've been prisoners. That way, they could go under the radar without anyone noticing."
"That doesn't explain why they've taken to using regular civilians and heroes-in-training, though," All Might said, clutching his fists.
"Hm... it is possible that those ones are just because their Quirks are more impressive," Sento said, his hand to his chin in thought. "There have been some really unimpressive Smashes before, and the toughest ones I've faced tend to be the ones who have their eyes in the hero business."
"So we have to keep an eye out for the youths, then? Those bastards. To think, the people that are supposed to be helping protect citizens are involved in this monstrosity!"
"Don't worry, we'll get them soon and make them pay. Your tip really helped out, All Might. While Tsukauchi's hands might be tied in how he can help, it's enough that we know to be a little more wary of the police, as much as I hate to say that," Sento said. "We just got to keep doing what we've been doing for the past few months; you fight to protect the people as the Number One Hero, and I fight to protect the people as the vigilante Kamen Rider."
All Might nodded, knowing that this was going to be the best they could do for now. And with Ryuga Banjo as their lead, they'll need his help more than ever now.
Izuku stared at his phone, looking through the new numbers that were inhabiting it. Eijiro's, Mina's, Pony's, and Sawa's were now all on it, having exchanged them so that they could talk to each other more (though with Sawa, probably not as much considering how much older she was than him).
"This is the first time I've gotten the numbers of people my age," Izuku thought, since his old friendships pretty much ended before he had ever gotten a cellphone. "But am I really their friend? We only got to meet because they were turned to Smashes, and I'm not sure if that's really a good case to be friends-"
His thoughts were interrupted the moment his cellphone sprung to life by vibrating in his hands. He checked it, and saw that he had gotten a message from Pony. He opened it, and saw that it was a group message between not just the two of them, but with Eijiro and Mina as well.
rodeo_poneo: hey u three!
all_might_jr: Pony? What's with the message?
red_riot: nice username midoriya, figured you'd go with something like that, being all might's apprentice
all_might_jr: I'm planning to change it. Had it for a long time before becoming his apprentice, it's kinda embarrassing now.
asshidity: i think it's cute
rodeo_poneo: totally!
all_might_jr: I digress. So why are you sending a message to all of us?
rodeo_poneo: i just wanted to get to know you all better, since being turned into smashes probably isn't the best relationship starter, ya dig?
asshidity: yea, i can see that. i mean, we're all on team build now, so we should get to know each other better!
red_riot: i can get behind that!
all_might_jr: Alright, but let's not mention that too much, since our texts might get recorded and everything.
rodeo_poneo: oh that makes sense
asshidity: yea definitely
red_riot: can't let that happen
Izuku chuckled as he texted Pony, Mina, and Eijiro back and forth. It was nice, having people his age to talk to for once. Sure, Mr. Kiryu, Misora, and All Might were all great, but he was still a lot younger than them, so it was good change of pace for him. He learned about Eijiro's own admiration for the old hero Crimson Riot, Mina's love for dancing, and Pony's family life (like how her brother was apparent a death metal singer and her mom was a model). He went to bed feeling pretty good about himself, since he finally found some people who were like him. Maybe this whole "Team Build" thing and getting experimented on wasn't so bad after all. He had a pretty good feeling about everything.
"Come on, let me go," Ryuga said, still chained to the metal frame pillar. He had been there all night, as Sento, Misora, and Souichi had all gone to sleep without untying him.
"I'll let you go after I come back from work," Sento said, as he grabbed his phone from his workbench. "Until then, Misora's gonna be teaching you about how the Fullbottles, Smashes, and the whole purification process, since the Owner's gonna be at his second job. Seriously, how long will it take for you to get it?"
As Sento went up the stairs, Misora came out of her room wearing thick rimmed glasses and holding a chalkboard with drawings and writing and a ruler, appearing as if she tried to dress as a teacher, but she was still in her pajamas, just with a yarn coat over them. "Alright, class is in session," she said, smirking.
"Ooooh, come on," Ryuga moaned. "First you tied me to this, and now you're torturing me?"
"Hey, this is all a visual aid to help you understand. I figured you'd be the type of person who'd understand more from visual teaching. And be glad I'm doing this out of my own free will," Misora said, crossing her arms. "I bet you that a lot of my fans would love to see me dressed like a teacher."
"What?"
"Nothing. Anyways, this is how it goes," Misora said, holding the chalkboard up and began to point at it with the ruler, though Ryuga grabbed it with his feet, and started to read it outloud, since it kept moving around too much for him to understand.
"Organization makes the Smash by using gas on victims... Smash-ified victims go on a rampage until Build stops and fights them... Build takes the essence using an Empty Bottle which makes it into a Smash Bottle... Build takes the Smash Bottles and has them purified into Fullbottles," he said, as he followed the diagram that Misora drew up.
"See? Now you're getting it. And the main way the Smash Bottles get purified is by me, using my bracelet and the Purification Chamber," she said, pointing at her bracelet and then at the Purification Chamber, when her phone's notifications went off. She took it out of her pocket and checked it, when Ryuga started to get an idea.
"Seriously? That's how Fullbottles are made? By you?" he said, sneeringly. "I don't think so."
"You saw me get out of that Chamber yesterday after the Diamond and Bee Fullbottles were purified."
"Hm... I don't think so. After all, I didn't see you make it, I just saw you come out. Besides, how could a tired shut-in like you could do that? I bet that you're just saying that 'cuz you're full of yourself."
"Oh, you want proof?" Misora said, a little incensed by his disbelief. "I'll show you. You're gonna owe me a lot of money after seeing this."
Misora put her phone down and got up to grab the Antler Smash Bottle from the workbench, and placed it inside the microwave part of the Purification Chamber before opening the door to it. "Just you wait and see, Banjo," she said, before the door closed shut. When he confirmed that the door was closed, he reached for her phone with his feet, and, with surprising dexterity, pressed numbers into it before pushing the call button and leaned towards the phone as close as he could.
"Kasumi? Kasumi, are you there?" Ryuga said, hoping to hear her voice. It had been forever since he heard her. They hadn't let anyone visit him in the facility for some reason, and it killed him that he couldn't see her.
"Ryuga!? Ryuga is that you!? Help me, please!" the voice on the other side cried.
"Kasumi!? What's going on!? Kasumi!" Ryuga said, as panic settled in.
"Ryuga Banjo..." a new voice said. It was modulated and garbled, though nevertheless had a sinister intonation to it. Ryuga felt like he heard this voice before, but he wasn't sure. "If you want to see your girlfriend again, come to the address texted to you. It might be the last time you'll ever get to see her."
The call ended, and Ryuga shook with fury. The organization had clearly taken Kasumi as a way to get to him. But he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Not when she was in danger. Mustering all the strength he had, Ryuga started to push against his chains, straining until they finally broke. He grabbed Misora's phone, watching as the location the man mentioned popped up in her text messages, and he looked around to see what he could use to get there, and saw another phone on Sento's workbench, this one resembling the one that could turn into that motorcycle he would use. Next to it was that Phoenix Fullbottle from the day they met.
"That will do," he muttered, grabbing the two of them, and he rushed upstairs and out of the Build Shop. He was coming to save Kasumi, consequences be damned.
Sento was typing away at his work computer, reading all the data and observations that had been recorded about the Pandora Box as fast as he could in order to catch up to the other scientists. So far, it wasn't too much to go on, though that's to be expected with unknown alien technology. Even the metal wasn't an alloy found anywhere on Earth (someone came up with the name "Pandorium", and while that was a useful name, it sounded more like it involved pandas than anything), but that whatever the Box was made for, it was capable of generating a great deal of energy. But for what, now that was the mystery everyone was stuck on.
"So how're you adjusting to the workload, new guy?" a plain-faced coworker, Eita Kawai, asked, as he handed him a coffee mug. "I've heard about how much you wanted to work on the Pandora Box Observation and Testing Team, but really, there's not much to find for now."
"Nonsense, this is fantastic!" Sento said, smiling. "To think, that we have evidence that there was life on Mars at one point! Though that does beg the question of what the Pandora Box could be used for..."
"Personally, I think it might've been just a generator," a bird-faced coworker, Shinga Kuwata, interjected, typing away on his computer with his feathered fingers. "It's what Katsuragi told me before he was fired, and he was a genius, so he was probably the one who's right on track."
"That's Katsuragi's theory?" Sento asked, raising an eyebrow. "Makes sense, though what kind of generator would make something like the Skywall?"
Before anyone could come up with an answer, Sento's phone started ringing. "Hello?" Sento said, picking it up. "He WHAT!?... Okay, yea... I'll head over soon."
"Sorry, an emergency came up," he said curtly, getting up. "Dog escaped... My sister and her friends are really, really panicking, so I need to head out to help search. He's a real, real important dog, too."
"Do you really think you should-" Eita began to say, when Gentoku entered the room.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking at the three of them.
"Dog escaped, and my sister and her friends need my help to find him," Sento said.
"Hm... normally, I wouldn't let any of my scientists leave early, but considering how much you've been helping the Institute since you've came, and the fact that you've proven yourself to be one of, if not the, smartest people here, I figure I can give you some extra perks," Gentoku said, patting Sento's shoulder. "Just be back here for the rest of the work day when you're done."
"Thanks, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can!" Sento said, putting his overcoat on and rushing out.
"Hey boss, can I have some extra perks? I've been here like, since the beginning," a scientist asked, looking at Gentoku.
"I dunno, have you made any new progress on the Pandora Box yourself? Or on other old experiments?"
"No..."
"Then there's your answer."
The school day had come and gone for Midoriya, and he went to the train station to meet up with All Might when he got a call from Misora.
"Midoriya? Thank goodness I got you," she said, sighing. "Listen, Banjo escaped while I was purifying the last Fullbottle you guys got."
"What!?" Midoriya said, accidentally getting stares from some nearby bystanders, reminding him to speak in whispers. "How did he? He was chained to that pillar."
"Well, he broke through the chains while I purified the latest Fullbottle, so he's a lot stronger than he looks. If you were wondering, it's the Deer Fullbottle. Don't worry, I already called Uncle Toshi and Sento about this, and they're on their way to capture him. Kirishima and the others found out when they got here, so they're off to try and help, too. I figured that with you being Uncle Toshi's apprentice and all, that you'd want to help out, too. I'll send you the GPS location, since he took my personal phone, that jerk."
"Thanks, I'll call you later when we get him," Midoriya said, and as they hung up, he got Ryuga's location, and started to make his way over there. "What's going on with you, Mr. Banjo?"
Ryuga drove as fast as he could on the weird smartphone-motorcycle that Sento had built (seriously, how did that work?), passing by countless people (thank goodness he was wearing a helmet that obscured his face and all). The guys who had taken him had Kasumi in their grasps, and it aggravated him. It was infuriating how they were using his girlfriend to get to him like this. It wasn't fair, she didn't do anything wrong. If anything, all the "problems" she's caused for him have been made by others. He took a deep breath, as he remembered everything that had went wrong in his life like it were yesterday.
"That's right, sir! It was all him!" Breaker Box said, pointing to Ryuga. He had just clocked in that day, so he had no clue what was going on. He just saw some bigwigs from the Hero Boxing Association talking to his boss and some of his other coworkers. "He's the one that's been rigging boxing matches!"
"Wait, what?" Ryuga said, pointing to himself. "I haven't done anything like that!"
"Don't lie!" Big Blue, one of the other sidekicks, said, crossing his arms. "You told me that you needed money for your girlfriend's medicine, so I've been throwing my matches so you'd get some money!"
"Me too!"
"Same here!"
"It was all Banjo's idea!"
"I haven't done anything like that! It's true that my girlfriend needs medicine, but I wouldn't-"
"Mr. Banjo, with all due respect, all of the evidence we've gathered about this match rigging had led to you. Not to mention, it's their word against yours," one of the bigwigs said, robotically (since that's what his Quirk made him look like, Ryuga supposed). "We have no choice but to revoke your boxing license."
"Wait, you can't do that-"
"We'll also have to ask that your hero license is suspended as well, since we don't think having an ex-boxer who broke rules isn't hero material," another one of them said, pushing up her glasses. "We've already contacted the hero offices about that, and they agreed to do so."
"But I haven't even-"
"Consider your career postponed, Mr. Banjo," the robotic bigwig said, as they walked out. "We won't be seeing you anytime soon again."
Banjo stared at the ground. It all happened so fast, and he didn't even have the chance to defend himself. The dream job he had been working for, gone in an instance.
"Sorry about that, Banjo," Breaker Box said, putting a 'reassuring' hand on his shoulder. "They were getting close to finding out about our group and I, so I had to make you the fall guy."
"Wait, so you've really been-"
"Yea, and I promise you, I'll send you a big paycheck to make it up to you soon. You're a real big help-"
"I don't care about the paycheck!" Ryuga snapped, making everyone back up a bit. "I always wanted to be a boxer and a pro hero, and now my chance is gone! Do you have any idea how hard I worked for this-"
"Yea, and trust me, with your Quirk, you really didn't have too much of a chance in either of those," Breaker Box said, flippantly. "I did you a favor by making you a fall guy. But like I said, I'll send you a big paycheck for this. Or you can choose to not take it, and not be able to pay for your girl's medicines. What will it be, Ryuga?"
Ryuga gritted his teeth, knowing that any money he'd get, whether he liked it or not, would be helpful for Kasumi. So he reluctantly stuck out his hand, and shook Breaker Box's with it.
"Ryuga, are you alright?" Kasumi asked, as Ryuga looked through all of the job ads on the table. "You should take a break, you know, and relax a bit-"
"I'm fine, Kasumi," Ryuga said, putting up a smile. "Just a little frustrated, you know. I've been job hunting for weeks now, and I still haven't find anyone that'd take me on."
"... I'm sorry about what happened."
"Kasumi, don't say that. I already told you, it's not your fault."
"But they still used me to pin all of that match rigging on you," Kasumi said, biting her lip. "Maybe... maybe if I ask my dad for some money, he'll-"
"We will not go to your dad," Ryuga said firmly. "You've already told me how much you don't like him, and I don't like him that much either. I'll think of something..."
Ryuga turned back to his job ads, clutching his forehead in thought as he scanned each ad over and over again. "You know what, you're right. I think I could take a break. Wanna go on a picnic?"
Kasumi smiled a bit, when her phone rang. "Hold on, I'll take this. Go ahead and pack some food, I'll be ready in a few minutes."
After a train ride to Kasumi's favorite cherry blossom tree and setting up the blanket and food, Ryuga took a deep breath as he laid down on the blanket while Kasumi walked around the tree. Despite the rocky last couple months, he could still smile while Kasumi was around.
"Hey Ryuga!" Kasumi said, surprising Ryuga by dumping a bunch of cherry blossom petals onto his head. "I got some great news! You know that phone call from earlier?"
"Yea?"
"Well, it was about a job opening! It was an assistant position for a scientist named Takumi Katsuragi. Apparently he heard about you, and a friend of his asked me to tell you about it!"
"Really?"
"Yea. Isn't that great?"
"It is, but it's kinda weird. What would a scientist want with a former pro hero boxer sidekick like me?"
"You don't want it?"
"Nah, I'll take it, just wondering how he found out about me? Oh well, I guess I can just ask him when I come."
"Great! Now let's get back to our picnic, shall we?" Kasumi said, her smile continuing to brighten up Ryuga's day. "It's not everyday we get to see this ol' cherry blossom tree bloom, isn't it?"
"Don't worry, even if we missed it, we can just come back and watch it again, right?" Ryuga said, raffling Kasumi's pink hair. The two laughed, as the petals flew around them.
The next week, Ryuga had left earlier than usual, since the address he was given was quite a distance away from where he lived. "This is the right apartment..." he muttered, knocking on the door.
"Hey, Mr. Katsuragi? It's me, Ryuga Banjo. I'm here about the assistant position your friend called my girlfriend about," he said, waiting for a response. Nothing. He knocked again, and twisted the door knob. To his surprise, it was unlocked. "Mr. Katsuragi? I'm Ryuga Banjo, and I-"
Ryuga froze. There, on the ground near the couch, was a dead man who was stabbed in the back, blood oozing out. Before he had a chance to process what was happening, a troop of police burst into the room, pointing their guns at him.
"Ryuga Banjo, you are under arrest for the murder of Takumi Katsuragi!"
It was still unbelievable to think that he was just set up like that. As he entered another abandoned factory, a troop of Guardians popped out of nowhere to stop him. "Halt, you are trespassing on private property. Leave at once, or be punished."
"Sorry, but I got places to be!" Ryuga cried out, trying to weave through the pillars in hopes that it'll confused the Guardians. It didn't, and they shot in front of him, forcing him to come to a screeching stop. "Crap!"
As the Guardians surrounded Ryuga and prepared to capture him, Build came screeching in on his motorcycle, tackling some of the Guardians out of the way before pulling out his weapon and inserting a white hedgehog-shaped Fullbottle into it.
"Ready, go! Vortex Break!"
Build pointed his weapon, and fired a series of needle-like projectiles at the Guardians, knocking them back before grabbing Ryuga. "What are you thinking!? You're wanted for a crime! What would make you come out of the Build Shop in the first place!"
"You wouldn't understand! They got Kasumi!" Ryuga said, punching a few Guardians away from him. Build shot a few more Guardians, before finally processing what Ryuga said.
"'Kasumi'?" he said, after they finally got rid of all the Guardians in the building. "Who's Kasumi-?"
Suddenly, they heard a commotion going on outside, and the two rushed outside to find a new troop of Guardians. The troop came to a stop, and before their eyes, they watched as the troop began to come together, and formed a giant bipedal tank-like robot.
"Huh, that's new..." Build said, looking at the giant robot. "No matter, nothing that Build can't handle. Let's try out glistening muscles!" he added, pulling out the Fullbottles in his belt and replacing them with Gorilla and Diamond. "Gorilla! Diamond! Best Match!"
"A Best Match? Yes! Let's do it!" Build said, cranking his belt. Two new runners formed, with the brown Gorilla Halfbody forming in front, while the light blue Diamond Halfbody forming in the back. "Are you ready!?" "Build Up!"
The runners slammed together, forming Build's new armor. Replacing Rabbit's red was Gorilla's brown, his left eye resembling a gorilla flexing its massive left bicep, while his right arm now had a massive armored fist with a piston attached to it, and an armor plate resembling the right pectoral muscle rested above Build's real one. Tank's blue was replaced with Diamond's lighter blue, with a diamond-like shoulder pad, and three gem-like decorations on the left side of his chest armor. "The Shining Destroyer! GorillaMond! Yeahhh!"
"Now I've found-" Build began to say, when All Might came from the sky, and landed nearby. "Never fear, for I AM HERE!"
"New threat detected; commencing arrest," the giant Guardian robot stated, aiming its guns and firing at All Might, but this left it opened to an attack by Build at its legs.
"Hey, Mr. Number One!" Build said, as he started to smash through the Guardian's leg. "Seems like this thing's defective and going after people it shouldn't! Mind if we take it down?"
"No worries!" All Might said, leaping on top of the Guardian and pulling off its guns. "This Guardian feature seems more dangerous to the everyday civilian in the first place! I'll have to ask Mr. Namba and Mr. Himuro about removing this for the sake of the people!"
Together, All Might and Build made short work of the combined Guardian robot, tearing it apart like tissue thanks to the sheer strength of the Number One Hero and Build's newest Best Match, showcasing its power to convert things into diamond with Diamond's BLD Prism Glove and breaking them apart with Gorilla's Muscle Glove. Ryuga ran inside, watching them ripping it apart, and got back onto his motorcycle and prepared to drive off when Izuku and the three other teens came in.
"Don't take another step!" Eijiro said, trying to be threatening, though without his Quirk he couldn't really do much to back it up.
"Yea! Escaping like that really wasn't smart of you!" Mina said, also trying to be threatening.
"You'll have to go through us!" Pony said, mimicking a karate pose.
"Mr. Banjo, why did you leave the Build Shop like that?" Izuku asked, his fists clenched. It was clear he didn't want to fight, but he was definitely ready if it came down to it. "Not only are you wanted by the government, you're wanted by the organization behind the Smash experiments! We can't help you if you recklessly-"
"Shut up!" Ryuga said, silencing all of them. "You don't understand, they got Kasumi, I need to-"
"Then explain to us, so we can understand you."
Ryuga turned around, and saw Sento and All Might approaching him from behind. "You have people around you that can help, so why not ask for it?" All Might said, laughing. "After all, that's what we heroes do!"
Ryuga looked around, trying to figure out a way to leave without anyone following. When it became clear that there were no such openings, he sighed. "Fine. Alright. That organization took my girlfriend, Kasumi, and gave me an address to go to. I need to be there, so I can save her. But I need to do it myself. This is my problem, and I need to solve it myself-"
"Why, all the more reason that we need to help!" All Might said, smiling, though it was straining behind all the anger he was feeling. "After all, a hero's duty is to stick his nose into problems that they're not involved in!"
"All Might's right," Sento said, walking to Ryuga. "We'll help you out. After all, you're our lead to the organization, and it's not like the Kamen Rider can refuse to let something bad happen to anyone, either!"
"... Thanks," Ryuga said, as he got on his bike. "Don't know about the kids, however. It might be dangerous."
"Indeed. I think you four should stay behind for your safety," All Might said. "We'll come back for you soon="
"Are you kidding? We want to help!" Eijiro said, as the other three nodded in agreement. "Besides, being involved with Team Build, we're already kinda breaking the law, so why just let us sit out on this?"
"All Might, I'm your apprentice, and I've been at yours and Mr. Kiryu's side since the three of us met, I don't think this time would be any different," Izuku said, bringing up a good point to the senior hero. "At this point, I think it's my duty to observe what's going on!"
"Alright, you do bring up a good point. However, like usual, if the situation escalates, I'll take you and the other three out of the area as fast as I can," All Might said, conceding to Izuku's point. "So let's start heading to the location. Can't keep Mr. Banjo's lady waiting too much longer!"
Ryuga drove in front of Sento, leading the others to the location that was sent to him, which was an empty construction lot surrounded mostly by forest and some errant buildings. He looked at a nearby apartment building, and realized where they were. He and Kasumi had been looking at those apartments to move into right before he lost his licenses, which had put their plans on hold. Before he could ruminate on his thoughts for much longer, something had thrown fireballs into the apartment building, setting it ablaze.
"Those apartments!" Mina shouted in horror, as more fireballs flew into it.
"I'll handle it!" All Might said, letting go of the four teens. "You four stay back! Don't get involved with saving Ryuga's girlfriend or following me! That's an order!"
The four teens nodded in agreement, and All Might leaped off, rushing as fast as he could as firetruck sirens went off in the distance. As soon as All Might left, however, fireballs flew into the construction lot, forcing them to run. Ryuga turned around, and saw a Smash approaching them. Its head was a huge, bulbous ball with holes all over it. Its shoulders were equally as large, resembling grenade-like structures, and its right arm resembled a flamethrower.
"So it was a Smash throwing those fireballs. Guess we'll call this one the Burn Smash with that in mind," Sento muttered, putting the Build Driver on. He took out his Rabbit and Tank Fullbottles, when the air began filling with sinister laughter.
"This isn't your ordinary Smash, Kamen Rider," a voice said, as the group looked around. A gas cloud appeared behind the Smash, and when it dissipated, a man in black had appeared. He wore silver armor with pipes sticking out of it like exhaust ports, with bat-wing like blades on his gauntlets. His chest armor had a yellow bat insignia resting on it, while his visor matched it.
"The bat man!" Izuku shouted, as they steeled themselves. The bat man stared at them for a bit, processing what he just called him, before chuckling. "Night Rogue, actually."
"You..." Sento said, staring him down. "You're the one who took my memories!"
He slammed the Fullbottles into his belt and started cranking the handle. "Rabbit! Tank! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Transform!" he cried out, as the runners with the Rabbit and Tank Halfbodies formed. They slammed onto him, and he rushed towards the Burn Smash and Night Rogue, swinging his fists at them. "The Moonsault of Steel! RabbitTank! Yeahhh!"
"Nuh uh uh, Kamen Rider. You should calm down. After all, you might just hurt poor miss Kasumi here," Night Rogue taunted, stunning Build, which allowed the Burn Smash to throw another fireball into him, knocking him back.
"That Smash... is Kasumi?" Ryuga said, falling to his knees. His chest grew heavy, and his eyes started to water. "No..."
"It's alright! I'll just extract the essence!" Build said, replacing Rabbit with Hedgehog. "Hedgehog! Tank! Are you ready?" "Build Up!"
Rabbit's red was soon replaced with white, and Build's shoulder armor became spiked. On his fist was a boxing glove-like armor that was also spiked, and his left eye changed shape to resemble a white spiky hedgehog. He ran towards the Burn Smash and Night Rogue, though he had taken out his gun and shot the ground. "Do that, and she'll die."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Tell me, have you ever encountered a Hazard Level 1 Smash?" Night Rogue asked, freezing Build in his place.
"Hazard Level 1?"
"Of course you haven't, my organization and I don't normally use them for a good reason. The subject's weak constitution offers zero resistance to the dose of Nebula Gas they're exposed to. Within seconds of Smash-ification, the host dies, their body and soul dissipating. What you're fighting right now, is basically a zombie," Night Rogue said, to everyone's horror. "Normally I'd avoid using anyone determined to be a Hazard Level 1, but taking the suggestion of my cohorts, I figured that this should be the exception. After all, Ryuga Banjo needs to be punished for running away."
"No way," Eijiro said, staring at the Burn Smash.
"It's too late?" Mina said, covering her mouth.
"Oh no..." Pony said, as she looked between Ryuga and the Burn Smash.
"Kasumi..." Ryuga said, tears streaming from his eyes. Izuku, for the most part, was silent. He never realized that there could be people who would die from being turned into Smash. His fist curled, but before he could say anything, Build screamed in fury, and rushed towards Night Rogue.
"Tch, you're gonna have to do better than matching random bottles to beat me," Night Rogue said, dodging each punch. He materialized his blade, and started parrying Build's attacks.
"How dare you," Build growled, as sparks flew between their weapons. "People aren't just yours to experiment on and throw away!"
"Like you'd understand what I'm planning. I'll do whatever it takes for my goal, and if that means sacrificing a few people, so be it," Night Rogue said, knocking Build back. "I think we're done here. You can clean up that mess, Kamen Rider."
Before Build could retort or get up, Night Rogue swung his gun, creating a gas cloud that covered him. "Remember this, Build. There's no such thing a world without sacrifice," Night Rogue finished, before he disappeared. Build looked around, and returned his attention to the Burn Smash, who surprisingly had been docile for a while. In fact, it seemed to look like it was struggling to hold back, as fire spewed out of its arms and shoulders.
"Is... is she holding back?" Build said, watching the Burn Smash struggle. To his shock, the Burn Smash started to strike itself, aiming its fire towards it and avoiding everyone around it. "She should've lost any resemblance of control or personality... is her love for Ryuga helping her?"
"Kasumi, please, open your eyes," Ryuga said, sobbing. "Didn't we promise to stay together? That we'll go back to that cherry blossom tree you love? I wanted... I always wanted to be better for you... So please, stop..."
The Burn Smash stared longingly at Ryuga, fire erupting from it, before standing up, and opening its arms. Its breaths were heavy, and it seemed to struggle holding its position.
"Do you... want me to extract your Smash essence?" Build said, as the Burn Smash seemed to give a resemblance of a nod, before losing control again and launching fireballs again, though they didn't hit anyone. Build glanced over to Ryuga, who seemed to realize that there was no other way to save her.
"Kiryu... please... stop her," he choked out. Build simply nodded, and switched out his Fullbottles. "Rabbit! Vacuum! Are you ready?"
As the Burn Smash fired more fireballs, Build stuck out his Long Range Cleaner, sucking them in and storing them in his Trash Converter. He pressed the button on his chest, releasing the fire into a vortex above him. He took out his Fullbottles, and swapped them out for Gorilla and Diamond. "Gorilla! Diamond! Best Match! Are you ready? The Shining Destroyer! Yeahhh!"
Once the runners encased Build in his GorillaMond armor, he started to crank the Build Driver's handle, preparing for a Vortex Finish. "Ready, go! Vortex Finish!"
He pointed to the fire vortex above him, converting the flames into diamonds that spun in a vortex, which he pointed at the Burn Smash. The diamond vortex picked the Burn Smash up, spinning and dealing as much damage as it could while lifting it into the air. As it floated in the air, a glowing woman was separated from the Smash, landing beneath it. Build took notice, and rushed underneath the vortex, blocking it and the Smash from landing onto her.
"Kasumi!" Ryuga cried, as he rushed to her side. He looked up to Build, who was clearly struggling to hold the vortex and Burn Smash above them.
"Sorry, this is all that I could do on short notice!" Build said. "If you need to say anything, say it now!"
"Ryuga..." Kasumi said, as she stared at her lover. "I'm so sorry... your life... your life must've been so troublesome because of me..."
"Kasumi, don't say that... I already told you, none of it was your fault," Ryuga said, struggling to hold his tears back. He caressed her pink hair, and wiped the tears that were flowing out of her crystal blue eyes. "You were the best part of my life, Kasumi. You've always been."
"But your license revocations... and that fake job offer... and the money you spent on my medicine... all of it happened because of me," she said, her breaths growing short. "I shouldn't have trusted that man... Nabeshima... I should've known that it was too good to be true..."
"It's alright, Kasumi, it's alright," Ryuga said, hugging her tightly. "None of it was your fault. None of it... The life I had with you, I'll do it all over again! So please, don't go... don't go..."
"I'm sorry, Ryuga," she said, morosely, as she looked at her hands, which were dissolving into light. She knew that she was running out. "I think... I have to..."
She glanced over to the four teens, who were too stunned to see this side of Ryuga. "You four... I know it's selfish of me to ask... but can you watch over Ryuga for me? I think... I think he could use all the friends he can get... I love you, Ryuga... So please... please move on, for me..."
Kasumi closed her eyes, and went limp, her body finally completely dissolved into light. Ryuga sat there, trembling as he watched the light float to the sky. "But... we promised... to see your favorite cherry blossom tree bloom next year... we promised..."
Once Build saw that Kasumi disappeared, he knocked the diamond vortex and Burn Smash away, finally finishing the Vortex Finish. The Burn Smash laid there, motionless, allowing him to extract the essence with no problem. Once he finished, there was no trace of the Burn Smash or Kasumi left. As Build took off the Build Driver, everyone stood there, trying to process what happened, when All Might landed nearby.
"I am here!" All Might said, but before he could laugh, he noticed everyone's downtrodden faces. "What... what happened while I was gone..."
"All Might..." Izuku said, as he struggled to spit out the words choking him. "Ryuga's girlfriend... she... we..."
"It's alright, my boy," All Might said, lowering himself to assure Izuku. "You all don't need to tell me what happened right away. I... I can surmise what happened... Mr. Kiryu, what shall we do now?"
"... We head back to the Build Shop," Sento answered, walking over to Ryuga. "Get up, Ryuga. We need to go before any Guardians or police officers get here..."
"... Leave me alone," Ryuga said, as he curled into a ball. "Kasumi's gone... there's nothing left for me... I don't care anymore, it's fine that-"
"It's not fine!" Sento said, pulling Ryuga up to look him in the eye. "Nothing about this is fine! But you heard what she said... She said to move on..."
"How can I move on, when she's gone!?" Ryuga barked, pulling his arm away. "I can't just forget about her! I just can't-"
"Moving on doesn't mean to forget her, Ryuga. It just means that you have to live on, for her sake," Sento said. "So you should move on, and live for her. You don't need to forget her, but that doesn't mean you should stay stuck in the past, lamenting her forever. And I promise you, we'll take down the organization for what they've done. They won't get away with this."
Ryuga stared at Sento, and silently got up. The two walked over to the motorcycles, and put on their helmets before driving off, and All Might soon picked up the teens, and leaped after the motorcyclists.
Once they made it to cafe nascita, Ryuga and Sento went down into the Build Shop, while the teens and All Might sat in the cafe. He had been informed about Night Rogue, the nature of people with a Hazard Level of 1, and the fate of Ryuga's girlfriend Kasumi. Silence had befallen the room, as everyone struggled to figure out what else to say.
"All Might," Izuku finally said, looking at his mentor. "Has there... has there been anyone you couldn't save, no matter how hard you tried?"
All Might looked at his young protege, as he struggled to find the right words to say. "... Yes, of course. As the Number One Hero, I try my best to save as many people as I can. But regardless of how many I save or how often, there will always just be that one where circumstances won't allow me to. Be it that I wasn't nearby, or was occupied, anything. A hero's life is a tough one, and as much as I want to save everyone, I know that it's just not possible. That's why I'm Number One, so I can inspire others to help where I can't be. I am but one person, so I hope that there are others who are willing to take it upon themselves to do good where I'm not."
"... Back there, I was so helpless," Izuku said, clutching his fist. "All I could do was just stare... I couldn't fight Night Rogue, I couldn't save Miss Kasumi... I couldn't do anything meaningful..."
"It's not fair!" Eijiro said, as indignation got to him, and he stood up in anger. "We were right there, and we couldn't do anything! We couldn't... we couldn't do a single thing..."
"... I want to get better," Mina said, firmly. "I want to get so good, that Night Rogue and his friends would think twice before Smash-ifying anyone else ever again."
"Same!" Pony said, trying to get back to her gung-ho attitude. "Those guys won't mess with anyone else after we stop them in their tracks!"
"I need to get better, and I need to get better soon," Izuku said, getting up. "I can't call myself your apprentice if I can't save anyone that's right in front of me like that! I just can't..."
"Now that's what I like to hear," All Might said, laughing a bit before checking the time. "I should leave soon, I'm sure that they're wondering where I am at my office. Take care, young heroes."
The teens said their farewells to All Might, and as he left, the four teens shifted their gaze to the minifridge door. "I guess... we should check up on Mr. Banjo," Izuku said, walking and opening the door as the other four followed suit.
After spending some time to himself in his room (thank god they finally gave him a place to sleep in), Ryuga came out, and saw Sento sitting in a chair facing the Purification Chamber. "Hey, Kiryu... Thanks for what you did earlier today. I know that there wasn't much that you could to save her, but I appreciate you for giving me that chance to talk to Kasumi one last time... I know I don't know much, but I'll do my best to help you and those kids out with finding the organization. After all, my beef with them is bigger than ever now."
He looked at Sento, who sat there, still. "Um... Hey, I'm thanking you for what you did today. Are you seriously going to-"
Ryuga walked around to face Sento, only to notice his eyelids were closed and he was softly snoring. "He's asleep!?"
That's when the Purification Chamber went off and those four teens came down the stairs, surprising Ryuga. Sento, on the other hand, sprung awake, and a tuft of hair stuck out of his head and a manic grin spread on his face. "The new Fullbottle's done!" he said, rushing over to the Purification Chamber.
"Seriously?" Ryuga muttered, staring at Sento with disbelief. "You and those Fullbottle things, I swear..."
Sento opened the microwave door, and pulled out the new Fullbottle, only to be slightly perplexed by it. "A dragon?" he said, as he ran his fingers over the dragon image on the blue Fullbottle. "Is it because of Ryuga's name..."
Misora walked out of the Purification Chamber, and looked to Sento, not saying a word, before redirecting her gaze at Ryuga, who had gone to sit on the couch. Sento followed her gaze, and realized what she was thinking. "Hey, Banjo, take this," he said, tossing the Fullbottle to him. "Since it was made with Kasumi's Smash essence, I think you deserve to hold onto that."
"Really?" Ryuga said, glancing at Sento before fixing his gaze onto the Dragon Fullbottle.
"Yea, thank of it as her love for you. She loved you so much that it created this Fullbottle," Sento said, scratching his head.
"Kasumi..." Ryuga said, holding the Fullbottle in his hand tighter.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, you haven't tested it yet and-" Izuku began to say, but Sento stopped him.
"It's alright. I think that it'll be in good hands for now," Sento said, sighing. "Besides, I'm not feeling any Best Matches with Dragon for now."
"Mr. Banjo?" Pony said, looking at Ryuga. He picked his head up, and stared at her. "I'm... sorry for misjudging you."
"Yea, me too," Eijiro said, as Mina nodded in agreement. "We were so caught up in thinking about you being guilty, that we didn't realize that you were still, well, a person."
"... It's alright," Ryuga said, sighing. "I just... so much happened within this past year or so, and I... I dunno, it's hard to really say."
"Can you tell us about her? About Miss Kasumi?" Mina said, as she sat down on the ground, intent on hearing his story. Before he had the chance to answer, Sawa came walking down the stairs, smiling.
"So it might have taken a while, but I found out information about the man who might've taken Banjo to be experimented on. Out of the thirteen guards that were on the clock while looking after Banjo, only one matched his description. One Masahiro Nabeshima," she said, producing the photos and information she scoured to Sento and the others. Ryuga got up, and snatched the photos from her. "That's him! That's the guy that shoved that sleeping powder in my face!"
"'Nabeshima'... Ryuga, that was the name that your girlfriend mentioned! The one that said he had a job for you!" Izuku said, as he remembered the last words Kasumi had said.
"Nabeshima..." Ryuga said, seething as he gritted his teeth.
"Looks like we're finally getting somewhere," Sento said, as the others smiled, as they finally got some good news. "And it all starts with Nabeshima!"
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- Hey guys, sorry that this took a while. A lot of things happened. My dog died of old age at the beginning of August, and I took some time to myself to grieve. Then my family went on the week-long vacation we've been planning before that, so that also took a lot of my time. But after this, I'm planning on going back to trying to stick to the schedule I planned out for myself.
- After I finished my vacation, I decided that I'll be sharing "Building a Hero!" and any related stories that come out of it to Spacebattles, since I want to try and get some more engagement with the story.
- I know I mentioned that I would explain why Build has names for his Vortex Finishes in this chapter, buuuuut I ended up kinda forgetting about that while writing this chapter, and before I knew it, there wasn't really any space to give an explanation about that. Oh well, next chapter for sure.
- I hope that the string of people joining Team Build doesn't feel too forced. I always wanted those three particular characters to join first out of Class 1-A and 1-B, and I kinda wanted it to be early.
- Next chapter will be kind of a breather, with the characters going over some of the revelations and such. At least in the beginning.