Sento Kiryu: Last time, on "Building Up A Hero!", I tried to search information about Blood Stalk and his connection with Takumi Katsuragi, but nothing came up!
Izuku Midoriya: Instead we found out that there's a fourth Transteam Gun suit that exists, Steel Force!
Mina Ashido: The only good thing about that is that there isn't any user for it yet, right?
Itsuka Kendo: That video log was from before Katsuragi supposedly died, right? That means they could've found a user for it now.
Pony Tsunotori: At least we haven't faced off against them, that would be a nightmare, having to deal with four Faust leaders instead of three.
Ryuga Banjo: Hey, aren't we forgetting the biggest thing that happened last time?
SK: Oh right, and Sawa revealed herself as a spy to us after being turned into a Smash!
RB: Not that! That I became a Kamen Rider now, too! After encountering Kasumi's sister at their family grave, I remembered the type of hero that Kasumi loved, and I was able to change into a Kamen Rider too!
SK: Yea, one that thought your name was "Kamen Rider Build Ryuga Banjo Edition". It was obviously Cross-Z! It's the name of your dragon!
RB: Well excuse me for not realizing that!
Sawa Takigawa: Ugh, were any of you guys this sore after getting your Smash essence extracted?
Eijiro Kirishima: Oh yea.
Setsuna Tokage: It's not fun getting beaten up unknowingly and then regaining awareness afterwards.
Ochako Uraraka: The temporary Quirk loss isn't that great, either.
Misora Isurugi: You better tell us the truth, Sawa!
STa: Of course I will! In this chapter of "Building Up A Hero!"
RB: Are we really going to ignore my transformation!?
SK: It's old news already.
"I'm... I'm a spy for Namba Industries," Sawa said. Everyone had gathered at the café, All Might in his muscle form, while Ryuga was off to the side, eating some noodles since he hadn't had anything to eat the entire day. Ochako had bought some mochi to share with everyone. "It wasn't a coincidence that I was attacked by that Smash that day. I always knew that this was the Kamen Rider's base."
"So I didn't drop a business card that day!?" Sento said, sighing out of relief that he didn't mess up. "Thank god!"
"No, you did," Sawa said, deflating Sento. "That was a coincidence that I used to my advantage. And I certainly didn't expect All Might of all people to be involved. I hadn't divulged in any information over him to Mr. Namba. I couldn't do that, not to the Symbol of Peace, even if it was my job to hand over everything I learned. He had me spy on you since he couldn't trust Night Rogue to tell him everything."
"Wait wait wait wait, are you saying that Namba Industries, one of the premier hero support companies, the manufacturer for Guardians, not to mention all sorts of other tech like car parts and appliances, is involved with Faust!?" Izuku said, his eyes becoming saucers in shock.
"Yea, why would that company be involved with something like Faust!?" Ochako said, taking a bite of mochi as it stretched. "Mr. Namba is so friendly and grandfatherly in all those commercials I see!"
"And they always talk about how they send all their employees on paid scholarships to I-Island with guaranteed jobs, and that they only get the best and trusted suppliers for their materials," Setsuna added. "Are you really saying that Namba Industries is a part of Faust?"
"More like Faust is a part of it, Namba Industries is the biggest sponsor for them," Sawa said.
"Not surprised," Souichi said, grabbing a canned coffee. "I've heard some really sketchy stuff about Namba Industries. They use Namba's friendly and grandfatherly appearance and his whole message of 'all employees are family' to hide the fact that they do some real nasty things under the radar, like using and selling dangerous support tech to low level thugs and criminals to test how they work. And Namba Industries' influential enough that the three prime ministers don't try to mess with them too much."
"And the fact that the Guardians are always so easily hacked by the Faust executives..." Itsuka muttered. "That makes total sense!"
"So Namba was lying to me about the safety of his Guardians!?" All Might said, gritting his teeth. "How dare he!"
"Wait, if you're Namba's spy, and Faust is working with him, doesn't that mean that they know where the café is!?" Eijiro said, as the teens looked at him with horror.
"Yes. They've left you all alone so that they could observe you, though it seemed like only Night Rogue was impatient about it," Sawa said.
"Well, I guess we shouldn't worry too much about them breaking in, then," Sento said, shaking his head. "But I am going to have to upgrade the security around here..."
"I'm... very sorry about all of this," Sawa said, frowning. "The truth is... I only became a spy to get into Mr. Namba's good graces to prove that its darker side exists for an investigation..."
"That's a very convenient story for you," Misora said, distrustfully. "Becoming a spy to spy on us just to spy on Namba? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
"I understand, which is why-" Sawa reached into her bra. Ochako covered Izuku's eyes, Misora covered Sento's eyes, Souichi and All Might turned their heads around, and Setsuna launched her fingers into Ryuga's eyes.
"OW! Why did you do that, I was going to look away!"
"- I have this. It should have a recording of what happened to me while I was there," she finished, pulling out some sort of flash drive recorder. "I hid it in my bra in the hopes that if I ever get captured, that no one would look there. Thank goodness, too, since Faust's scientists aren't in the habit of changing underwear when forcing their victims to change clothes."
Itsuka and Setsuna shuddered at the thought, having been the only ones who were captured by Faust and put through the Nebula Chamber. "Yea, very lucky for us."
Sento motioned Misora to bring her laptop to him, and when she did, they inserted the flash drive into it. Sento pulled up the media player and hit play, though only audio worked.
"Please! Stop! No! No no no! I don't want this!" Sawa's voice came from the recording, her pleas filling the background.
"So you're certain that you've secured the Pandora Box?" an old man's voice said.
"I take it that's Namba," Sento said, crossing his arms.
"Of course, sir. I made sure to put it back where it belongs, like what we've discussed," Night Rogue said.
"Good, good, right where everything began. That should be easy to keep an eye on, then."
"So he really is working with Faust," All Might trembled, trying to keep calm. "How despicable."
"Not like we can come forward with that evidence, he'd probably say it's fabricated," Souichi sighed, shaking his head. "Quality isn't stellar."
"But what did they mean by 'where it belongs' and 'where everything began'?" Izuku thought aloud.
"If it's about the Pandora Box, then maybe we should think about where it's been..." Misora said, going back to her chair.
"Can't be the Institute, they just went through the trouble of stealing it," Souichi shrugged.
"What about the research lab it was at?" Pony pointed out. "Like, the one where Katsuragi's dad worked at?"
"That abandoned place? That's... that's it!" Sento said, hitting his left palm with the bottom of his right fist. "No one's been there since the Skywall Incident, and it's where it was at being researched on! We'll have to go there again, Banjo! The Pandora Box is there waiting for us!"
"What about us? What can we do?" Mina asked, as the teens looked at him.
"Nothing. You guys are going to go to school, and not participate in Kamen Rider activities now that Banjo's a Kamen Rider, and we know that KeyDragon isn't a Best Match I can use," Sento said. "I appreciate that you all want to join in, but you're all still students, and this is technically vigilante work until we figure out a way that we can be considered some sort of 'secret' hero group or something."
"Hm... I wonder..." All Might whispered to himself, before shaking it off. "Mr. Kiryu's right. We've had an extraordinary string of events that required your help, Young Midoriya, but now that Mr. Banjo's a Kamen Rider, we can focus on your legal education, my young protégés."
The teens looked at each other, and sighed, knowing that the adults were right. "Alright, but if there's any trouble and you need help, don't hesitate to send me a message!" Izuku said, looking at them all.
"Of course," Sento said, smiling. "Now, you guys go on home, while we figure out what we can do from this point on."
The Next Day...
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Utsumi asked, as he walked into Namba's personal koi pond and garden that he had created at his headquarters.
"Ah, Nariaki, how good to see you," Namba said, as he tossed some bread crumbs into the water for the koi to eat. "Your boss and I have been talking, and we need you to do something for us."
"What is it, sir?"
"You see, when the time comes, we need you to-"
Utsumi walked through the streets, his chest heavy. What Namba and Gentoku wanted from him was... was a heavy order. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to go through with it. But he needed to, since it was coming from his bosses. He couldn't say no.
As he walked through the front doors of the Institute, he saw Sento at the front desk, seemingly begging to be let in.
"Come on, I haven't been officially fired yet! At least let me go and check if I've left any personal belongings!"
"Sorry, Mr. Kiryu, but I've been told that you-"
"What seems to be the problem?" Utsumi asked, walking up to them.
"Oh! Mr. Utsumi, it's nothing. Just a disgruntled fired scientist that-"
"I'm not disgruntled! I just want to check if I've left any personal belongings here!"
"I'll allow it. I'm the head's personal aide, after all," Utsumi said, as Sento did a small fist pump of victory. "Come on, let's go get your things."
Utsumi walked off, Sento following him close behind as they walked into the Pandora Box Observation and Testing Team's office, which was empty thanks to the Pandora Box's theft and everyone going on "vacation" since there was no point in researching something that wasn't there anymore. Sento went to his former computer, and started typing on it while going to the file cabinets and pulling out some big folders.
"You're not actually here for any personal belongings, are you?" Utsumi said, looking back at him while adjusting his glasses by pushing the frame's arm with the base of his left palm. "I never once saw you bring anything personal here."
"... No, I wanted to get a quick look through some old files on the Namba General Research Lab. You know, the predecessor to the Pandora Box research before the Institute's establishing," Sento admitted, sighing. "I wanted to find some things out about it, like how they kept the Pandora Box and whatnot."
"Why?"
"Well, I was thinking that if I took what they did and attempted to improve it, maybe when the Pandora Box is found we use that new security measure instead! And maybe Mr. Himuro would give me my job back!" Sento said, half lying.
"I see..." Utsumi muttered. He went to Sento's computer, and typed in a code, pulling up the floorplans of the abandoned lab. "It was in basement level 3."
"But there's only two basements I see here with these pictures," Sento muttered. Utsumi typed another code in, and the floorplans revealed an additional basement level, and pictures that proved its existence. "Whoa! How did you know about that-?"
"There's a lot of things you learn when you're at my position," Utsumi said, sighing. "Had to work my way up the ladder to get here, much like you did. At least, before you tripped and fell backwards."
"Pft, ow, that hurt," Sento said, pretending to stake himself in the chest. "Who knew you had a sense of humor?"
Utsumi turned around, and sighed. "If you got what you wanted, you should leave soon."
"And there's the coldness again. Just what are you like, really?" Sento asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not important..." Utsumi grumbled. "In the end, you and I are in the same cage."
Sento crossed his arms, confused at what he meant by that. He shook it off, and downloaded the specs of the abandoned laboratory.
"So why'd you even go and try to expose Namba's dark connections and whatnot?" Misora said, sitting on the Build Shop's couch with her giant patchwork rabbit plushie, glancing at Sawa every now and then, who was chained up to a pillar much like Ryuga was before. Meanwhile Ryuga himself was in his room, napping. "Seems like a lot of work for just a freelance reporter's investigative article."
"... 3 years ago, there was a gas explosion at one of Namba's testing labs," Sawa said, taking a deep breath as she recounted her sad story. "11 researchers died as a result. One of them... one of them was my father. They wrote it off as an accident, but when I looked through some of my father's personal journals, I found out that they had been working on using Nebula Gas in their support gear. That Namba wanted to be the first company that used the Skywall's gases to create powerful tools. Something must have went wrong during testing or building those experimental support gears."
"Because the explosion destroyed a majority of the lab, any computers, the only scientists who knew, and any traces of that experimental support gear, I couldn't prove any of it. So I decided to become a spy by entering Namba's company, and worked my way up to the top to get close enough to find out more information and to expose them. But I never thought... I never thought that I'd find myself in the company of wonderful people for a secret project Namba was funding," Sawa said, her hand trembling. "I didn't want to hurt any of you because of how much I got to know you but I... I was too far in with Namba to give up. I guess I got too close though, and now look where I am."
Misora bit her lips, as she looked guiltily at Sawa. So she spied on them in order to work her way to Namba's good graces. All to expose them for what happened to her father. She... couldn't exactly hate that, could she? She got up, and went to unchain Sawa.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm still upset," Misora stated, as the chains fell off Sawa. "But... I can't say that I'm lying if I don't feel for you. And you did do a lot for us, even when it wasn't advantageous to you..."
Sawa looked at Misora, speechless, before giving her a small sad smile. "Thank you."
The teens came down into the Build Shop, where they saw Sento, Ryuga, Misora, Sawa, and Souichi talking and discussing in front of the glass dry eraseboard, which had papers taped to it and diagrams.
"Getting somewhere with the Pandora Box retrieval mission?" Setsuna said, grinning.
"Yep, thanks to my former boss's aide, I got some potential information on where they might have stored the Pandora Box in the Namba General Research Lab," Sento said, showing them some pictures of the secret 3rd level basement. "There's no doubt that it must be there. We're going to grab it as soon as we can, since we can't risk Faust moving it to a new location."
"Your former boss's aide? Does that mean that he's-" Itsuka started to say.
"A part of Faust? I... don't know," Sento admitted. "He's hard to read a lot of the times, so there's a chance he is, but, well, he helped me with this when he didn't need to. So I think for now, he's not involved."
"So how are we gonna get in? I'm pretty sure two dudes walking up to an abandoned lab is going to be suspicious," Ryuga said, crossing his arms.
"Easy, we wear construction worker costumes. You still have yours, right? I just need to get one, too, and-"
"Oh, I've got a second one," Souichi said. "Got those on a 'two for one' deal from that costume maker who owes me."
"Good. Then we'll start 'Operation Get the Box Back' today!" Sento said, puffing out his chest before realizing something. "Midoriya, you need to lend Banjo your Build Driver. I'm still making his. It should be finished soon, though."
"Alright, I understand," Izuku said, nodding as the Battler Beetle dropped his Build Driver into Ryuga's hands.
"Don't worry, I'll bring it back without a scratch!" Ryuga said. "Let's get ready to get that Box back."
"And I should get to another part time job soon, good luck guys," Souichi said, as he went up the Build Shop stairs.
Sento and Ryuga entered the abandoned lab's property once again, not expecting to be back here after getting Mrs. Katsuragi's flash drive. Luckily it was still empty and without any guards, no doubt to avoid suspicion about why an abandoned building would need security. The two went to work, pretending to work on the front door until they undid the lock, and began their descent towards the 3rd level basement.
"So far, so good," Sento said, as they broke into the 3rd level basement to look around, their flashlights on. "Just gotta find where the Pandora Box could possibly-"
"I'm impressed that you've found this place. I don't know how-" the lights turned on, and Night Rogue and a troop of Faust-controlled Guardians came walking down the stairs, "- but you're certainly not welcomed here. I'll have to ask that you two leave. Now."
"Not on your life!" Ryuga said, as the two slapped their Build Drivers on. Sento pulled out the Crocodile and Remote Control Fullbottles, while the Cross-Z Dragon landed in Ryuga's hand in its adapter mode while he took out the Dragon Fullbottle. They shook their Fullbottles and twisted their caps open, and inserted them.
"Crocodile! Remote Control! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Wake up! Cross-Z Dragon! Are you ready?"
The two cranked their belts furiously, as navy blue runners formed around Ryuga, while purple and blue runners formed around Sento.
"Transform!"
"The Coastal Radio Wave Man! CrocodiCon! Yeahhh!"
"Wake up burning! Get Cross-Z Dragon! Yeah!"
Their runners slammed together and formed their armor. Build's right arm and left leg were a dark metallic purple, with his right gauntlet resembling a robotic crocodile skull with its jaw pulled back all the way, with scale-like armor on his bicep, and his shoulder armor and left foot resembling crocodile heads. His left arm and right leg were a dark blue, with his gauntlet having buttons like a TV remote, boxy shoulder armor, and button-like markings ran down his right leg. His helmet's right eye was shaped like a remote control with a circular arrow pad, and the left eye was shaped like a purple crocodile with its mouth opened.
"I've found the winning formula!"
"I've got the feeling that I won't lose!"
The two charged at Night Rogue and his Guardian troop, Cross-Z taking on Night Rogue himself and Build taking on the Guardian troop. The Faust executive and Kamen Rider traded blows evenly, much to Night Rogue's frustration. "So this is the limitation of the Transteam Gun..." he muttered, as he summoned his Steam Blade and struck Cross-Z. "But I still have more experience than you at this!"
"Even if that's true, I'm not giving up!" Cross-Z shouted back, summoning his Beat Closer, the two trading strikes with their blades. "I'm going to stop you and Faust from hurting anyone else!"
Build punched and kicked Guardian after Guardian. One swung down its rifle's blade onto his head, but Build grabbed it in time with his right hand, when the crocodile skull-like gauntlet opened up and clamped down onto the rifle, snapping it in half. "Ooooh, this is a powerful glove!" he said. "I wonder if..."
Build shoulder tackled another Guardian, and like he thought, the crocodile head-shaped shoulder armor opened up and bit down onto the Guardian's arm, tearing it off. "Nice!"
He pointed his left hand at some Guardians in front of him, pressing the power button. The Guardians deactivated, and Build pressed it again, activating them, and they turned on Night Rogue, firing several rounds before breaking down. "And I can temporarily control Guardians!? Cool! Though I guess that won't win any pros over..."
He pointed it at Night Rogue himself. Nothing. "Dang, so I guess it won't work on actual people..."
"Gah!" Night Rogue cried, as he was forced back by their attacks. "No... this can't keep happening!"
"Seems like you're in a sticky situation, Rogue."
Night Rogue turned towards the stairs, and saw Meta Bolt and Blood Stalk walking down. Meta Bolt popped his neck, as he stared at Cross-Z. "So, you really did turn into a Kamen Rider, huh, Banjo? Congrats!"
"Yea, and it'll be me who'll take you guys down!" Cross-Z shouted. He inserted the Lock Fullbottle into the Beat Closer's slot. "Special Tune! Hippare! Smash Hit!"
"Easy, we're not here to pick a fight with you," Blood Stalk said, holding his hands up. Meta Bolt turned towards Night Rogue, and fired his Steam Rifle at him, striking him in the chest. "It's him."
"You-!"
"I hadn't finished venting my grievances with you!" Meta Bolt shouted, running towards him and slashing Night Rogue with his Steam Rifle. "You're not the only leader here!"
"Yea, keep him busy, Bolt!" Blood Stalk said, as he looked around the room, and noticed a faint outline of a panel to the wall right of him. "Because I think I just found where it is..."
Blood Stalk ran towards the wall, and with his Steam Blade, broke open the panel, revealing the Pandora Box, the Fullbottles, and even one of the missing Pandora Panels. "There we go! Now, come to-"
Cross-Z yelled a war cry as he charged at Blood Stalk with his Beat Closer. Blood Stalk only had enough time to grab the Pandora Box as he was forced to back up and away from the Kamen Rider, though Cross-Z didn't let up on his assault, as each slash made sparks that resembled locks. Build took this opportunity of the Faust executives being occupied to look into the wall.
"What the-!? There're missing Fullbottles! Ninja, Gatling, Robot, they're gone! And I didn't even get the chance to connect NinninComic's sword to the Ninja Fullbottle!" Build cried, though he noticed a new Fullbottle amongst them. "But there's Train! Yes! A silver lining for now!"
He took the lime green Train Fullbottle and pulled out his azure Pirate Fullbottle, and replaced the Crocodile and Remote Control Fullbottles with them.
"Pirate! Train! Best Match! Are you ready?" Build began to crank the Build Driver's handle, creating an azure blue runner in front of him and a lime green runner behind him. "Build Up!"
"The Punctual Rebel! PirateTrain! Yeahhh!" The runners slammed onto Build, forming the Best Match's armor that they had seen in Katsuragi's Project Build files. He pulled out his Drill Crusher (since Katsuragi mentioned that this Best Match needed a weapon, and he had yet to make a specific one for PirateTrain), and charged at Night Rogue and Meta Bolt. The Drill Crusher's blade spun as he struck the two with it, knocking them back.
"You FOOLS! Focus on the Kamen Riders and stop fighting me!" Night Rogue demanded, though Meta Bolt ignored his order and kept attacking him while dodging more of Build's attacks.
"Well, I've already got my hands on the Pandora Box, so Ciao!" Blood Stalk said, pulling his Transteam Gun and swiping it, disappearing in a cloud of gas before Cross-Z completed his sword swing.
"And I think I've vented enough for now, see you!" Meta Bolt stated, following Blood Stalk's example, leaving Night Rogue alone.
"THOSE TWO-!"
Cross-Z went after Night Rogue, starting to overpower the lone Faust executive, while Build went to the wall and grabbed all of the Fullbottles there and the Pandora Panel. "Well, it isn't the Pandora Box, but we at least got back some equally important things! Let's go, Cross-Z!"
Build swapped the two Fullbottles in his belt with the Panda and Rocket Fullbottles.
"Panda! Rocket! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Build Up!"
"The Blasting-Off Monotone! RocketPanda! Yeahhh!"
"Take my hand!"
Cross-Z finished his slash on Night Rogue, and ran over to Build, grabbing his hand as he was handed the Pandora Panel to hold, and the two blasted out of the basement, leaving behind several holes in the floor.
"NO!" Night Rogue shouted, as he ran to the exit holes and flew up through them. When he reached the outside, there was no sight of the two Kamen Riders anywhere. "DAMMIT!"
"You guys did it!" Mina said, as Ryuga laid Faust's Pandora Panel next to the one they had, and placed all the Fullbottles he had onto the table. Everyone had gathered down at the Build Shop, ecstatic over this victory. Sawa was sitting off to the side while everyone was busy looking at them, with All Might was near the stairs, in his muscle form as to not reveal his weakened state to her.
"Sort of. They managed to take the Ninja, Robot, and Gatling Fullbottles somewhere else, but at least we got Train now," Sento sighed, shaking his head. "Not to mention that Stalk and Bolt managed to run off with the Pandora Box somewhere... Seems like there's a lot more infighting amongst Faust then we think."
He headed to his workbench, and began finishing up the weapons he made for NinninComic and PirateTrain. "Good news is that these weapons I've been working on will be finished in a second, and I'll be able to link them to their corresponding Fullbottles! Except for Ninja..."
"Still, this is incredible!" Pony said, as she held the Deer Fullbottle made from her Smash essence. "Not only do we have the Fullbottles, but we also got Faust's Pandora Panel! We're finally on the road to beating Faust!"
"Yea, those guys are going down soon, I can feel it!" Setsuna said, smirking.
"While that's being a bit too optimistic, it does feel good that we've deal an even bigger blow to Faust than previous times," Misora said, smiling. "I should get to purifying those Smash Bottles-"
"Actually, I think you could hold off on that for a bit," Sento said, stopping her. "I've got the feeling that with all the trouble that we've been giving Faust as of late, they might make another Smash to try and recoup their losses."
"Alright, if you say so," she replied, shrugging. "Can't believe you're willing to hold off on making new Fullbottles."
"Hey, I'd rather make a lot at once rather than one at a time," Sento said, as he clicked the final pieces of NinninComic's sword and PirateTrain's bow-based weapon. "FINISHED!"
"This is NinninComic's sword, the 4Koma Ninpoto!" he said, picking the sword up. It had a yellow blade with a silver tip that resembled a fountain pen tip, with four comic panels on the flat sides of the blade. The handguard was purple, and the handle had a yellow trigger and silver pommel. "It has four Jutsus depending on how many times you press the trigger! One press is Clone Jutsu! Two is Fire Jutsu! Three is Wind Jutsu! And four is Stealth Jutsu!"
He swung the blade around excitedly, forcing everyone to back up. "Whoa, Mr. Kiryu, calm down!" Ochako said. But he didn't.
"And this is the Pirate Hassyar!" Sento said, picking up the bow-based weapon. It was shaped like an anchor, with pointed blades at the tips of the bow. It had a boat-shaped decoration, with a train-shaped device on top of it. "Not only is it a bow weapon, but it's also bladed! It's got four Departing attacks depending on how long you charge it by pulling this train back! All Station Train, Express Train, Rapid-Service Train, and finally the finisher Pirate Train!"
Much like the 4Koma Ninpoto, he swung the Pirate Hassyar around excitedly. "Sento, come on! Quit that!" Misora scolded.
"Sorry, I'm just super excited about these! Now to connect them to their respective Fullbottles... and Ninja when I get that back..." he muttered, as he went to work on connecting his new weapons to their Best Match's Fullbottles.
Sawa looked at the Pandora Panels, and took a deep breath. "I think I have an idea about something. I just need to borrow the Pandora Panel real quick."
"Those insufferable bastards," Gentoku growled, as Utsumi tended to his wounds alone in his office. It was the only place where he could do so in peace now. He heard a knock on the door, and he put his shirt and uniform jacket back on, after Utsumi finished wrapping his torso with bandages. "Come in."
Mr. Namba walked inside, closing the door behind him as he took a seat in front of Gentoku's desk.
"Mr. Namba, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon-"
"So. I see that you've lost the Pandora Box, the Panel, and some of the Fullbottles you've taken from the Kamen Rider. Or should it be Kamen Riders now?" Mr. Namba said, cutting to the chase. "The security cameras in the third basement showed me as such."
"I... yes, my fellow two executives took the Box from our agreed hiding place, and the Kamen Riders did take the Panel and Fullbottles... But I can assure you, I'll take them back! So don't worry-"
"There's no point in being concerned, though I suppose since it was taken from our 'abandoned' lab, we should need to... take the precautions we planned now."
The End of the Week
Izuku and the teens rushed into the Build Shop, envelopes from UA in all of their hands. They had all promised that if they had gotten anything from UA to meet at the Build Shop to share it with the others. It killed Izuku to wait to open it, especially since he wanted to share it with his mom. At least she understood what he planned to do.
They sat down on the couch and floors, hands shaking as they held their envelopes. Misora joined them, hoping for the best for the younger teens.
"So... do you want to go first, Midoriya?" Eijiro said, gulping. "Since, you know..."
"Y-yea..." he answered. He took a deep breath, and opened his envelope. He pulled out a little holographic disc, and set it on the coffee table before pressing the button to activate it.
"Hahaha, it is I, All Might, recording a personal message for you, Izuku Midoriya!" a recording of All Might said. They had expected him to record the letters, since him revealing to be a teacher at UA through the students was an exciting way to do it. "I'm here for one reason only! To become a teacher at UA! Hm, what's that? Hurry it up? Why? I have how many to record? Oof."
"Well, in any case, you passed the written exam! However, your score of 25 points on the practical exam wouldn't cut it," All Might said, as everyone stared at Izuku and Itsuka, who both got 25 points. "Sorry, Midoriya, but hey, we both tried out best-"
"That is, if this were the end of it!"
"Huh?"
"You see, we have a special clip to show you!" the All Might recording said, whipping out a remote to turn on a screen behind him. It was of Ochako standing at a doorway.
"Wait a second, they were recording me!?" she said, her eyes wide, as they all stared at her.
"Hi, um... My name's Ochako Uraraka. I... I have a request to make. You see, during the practical, there was this kid, um, he was plain-faced, with freckles, and curly green hair? Not much to look at at first glance?"
"I am so sorry, but I didn't know your name at the time," Ochako hastily apologized, her face beet red.
"This kid, he saved my life by destroying that zero point robot! And like... I just feel guilty for making him lose time to break ones that had points... I don't know how many he got, but... could you give him some of mine? Please. He really deserves it! He saved my life!"
"You see that right there? Your heroism moved her to try and give you some points... Unfortunately, that was a request that we couldn't fulfill. HOWEVER! Destroying robots wasn't the only way to gain points!" All Might said, grinning as he paused the recording of Ochako. "You see, we had a panel of three judges that not only judged you all based on your combat ability and the amount of points you attained, but on 'rescue' as well! For what's a Hero Course that rejects those with the desire to help others!?"
"Izuku Midoriya! Based on your performance and selfless desire to save a girl without worrying about gaining more points, this panel of judges has awarded you a full 60 rescue points! Bringing your total on the practical to a whopping 85, the highest score in this year's entrance exam for non-recommended applicants! For Ochako Uraraka, we shall be giving her 45 rescue points for not only saving you in your time of need, but for her selflessness in attempting to share her points with you, bringing her total to 73! Both of you have made it in! Izuku Midoriya, welcome, to your Hero Academia!"
Everyone's jaw dropped. He made it. He made it in. Soon, everyone tore at their envelopes, all receiving the good news.
"Eijiro Kirishima-"
"Mina Ashido-"
"Pony Tsunotori-"
"Ochako Uraraka-"
"Itsuka Kendo-"
"Setsuna Tokage-"
"Welcome, to your Hero Academia!"
"We did it! We did it everyone!" Mina yelled, whooping and cheering as she hugged all of her friends. Izuku's eyes welled up with tears of sheer joy at the discovery that he didn't fail.
"Hell yea we did! We're all in UA!" Eijiro said, grinning.
"Congratulations, you all!" Misora said, smiling and clapping for the younger teens.
"Indeed!" the real All Might said, climbing down the stairs. "Congratulations on all of you getting in! I was waiting for you all to be finished with your letters so you could all be surprised!"
"Did you know about the rescue points, Uncle Toshi!?" Misora said, lightly smacking him in the arm jokingly. "You could've told us to spare everyone from anxiety!"
"I couldn't! It's all kept a secret! All alumni and students are specifically asked not to divulge in telling future applicants about the secret rescue points system! It's in order to encourage genuine selfless rescues!" All Might laughed, shaking his head. "Even Souichi's kept that part a secret, despite dropping out."
"It's true, they make a big deal about it in those actual letters you have," Souichi said, as they all read the physical letters that came with the holographic projector.
"Oh yea, you're right, 'Do not divulge in any information about the secret rescue points system to anyone outside of UA'," Itsuka said, reading it aloud.
"Oof, those are some big punishments for revealing anything about it," Mina said, looking through the list of things that would happen if they did.
"Wow, no wonder no one ever talks about it," Pony said, with Misora peeping over her shoulder to read it as well. "Wouldn't want to get 'disbarred from any and all future UA events such as reunions and Sports Festivals' among other things."
"Ooooh, yea, that's understandable now," Misora said. "Those are some pretty big events to get disbarred from. Would miss out on a lot of networking opportunities and potential sidekick recruits."
"That's intense," Setsuna said, reading over Izuku's letter, and then hers again. "Mine doesn't mention anything about it. Probably 'cuz I was a recommended student and our practical was different."
"You see? It'd be awkward if the Number One Hero wasn't allowed to go to any events from his alma mater!" All Might said, chuckling a bit. "Anyways, I got to get going. Nezu and I are going to see the Prime Minister and see how he's doing, and I only stopped by here first to see your reactions and to congratulate you all."
The teens said and waved goodbye to All Might as he walked up the stairs and got out the fridge door.
"Wait, wasn't Miss Sawa trying to see the Prime Minister, too?" Pony said, as the others turned to her.
"Yea, that's right..." Setsuna said, crossing her arms.
"Do you think it has something to do with the pictures she took of the Pandora Panel Mr. Kiryu and Mr. Banjo took from Faust?" Mina asked.
"Wait, where are those two anyway?" Eijiro added, realizing that they were gone.
"Oh, they said something about accompanying Sawa to the Prime Minister today and left," Misora said, remembering what the two had told her.
"So why are we here again?" Ryuga asked, this time disguised as a food delivery man, complete with a Pizza Hut hat and a special food container on the back of his Machine Builder (which he dubbed the Machine Cross-Zer, despite it not having any differences besides color).
"You forgot already!? How!? I've told you this five times before we left and on the way here! We're here so that Sawa can try to get the Prime Minister to help us! If we get his help, we'd be able to operate as a secret hero operation rather than actual vigilantes! That way, we don't get arrested for saving people!" Sento said, pitching his eyebrows. "Honestly, sometimes it's like everything you hear comes in one ear and out the other."
"That's not how ears work, I think."
"It's an expression."
"A weird one."
"I- You- whatever, fair enough."
"So how long do you think it'll take her to convince him?" Ryuga said, looking up at the hospital.
"Hopefully not too long..."
"This Panel was found at the 'abandoned' laboratory that Namba Industries owned," Sawa said, showing Prime Minister Himuro a picture of the Pandora Panel Sento and Ryuga took from Faust. "I believe that the organization that's behind the Smash attacks has been working with Namba."
"What!?" Prime Minister Himuro said, his brows furrowed. No one was supposed to know about the missing Pandora Panels. How did she find one of them?
"And Namba Industries worked together with the government on the Pandora Box research before the Institute's establishment, right? I believe that... that this means that there's a potential link between the organization and the government," Sawa said, taking a deep breath to remain composed.
Prime Minister Himuro narrowed his eyes at her. For her to suggest that the government could have a hand in this-
"Ludicrous! Can't be true," he muttered, handing her phone.
"But sir, you have to investigate it! How else could this organization have the resources it has?"
"I should be asking you that! Just who are you? And why do you have that Panel? Where did you get it and how did you know about it? I should-"
"HAHAHAHA, Prime Minister Himuro!" All Might said, opening the door with Nezu next to him. "It seems like you're beginning to get better!"
"All Might, what a timely surprise," Prime Minister Himuro said. He pointed at Sawa. "Take this woman to the police, she's-"
"- A part of a secret operation I've been a part of, and meaning to tell you," All Might said, sighing. Prime Minister Himuro raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by this. "Miss Sawa, may Principal Nezu and I have some time alone to explain to him about it?"
"O-of course, All Might," Sawa said, walking out of the room and closing the door. All Might took a deep breath, and released his muscle form, relaxing into his skeletal form.
"A secret operation? What is that about?" Prime Minister Himuro asked.
"Months ago, I had an encounter with the Kamen Rider," All Might said, scratching his head.
"What!? And you didn't apprehend him!? Why on earth-"
"He figured out about what happened to me. How I've been... losing power and weakening. He's a very astute observer, and a scientist as well."
"I-impossible, so is he blackmailing-"
"Nothing of the sort, sir," All Might said, holding his hands up to stop him. "In fact, we're willingly working together to find out more about Faust, the organization behind the Smash attacks. He revealed his identity to me in order to gain my trust, and I returned it. He's told me how his technology is the only way Smashes are returned to normal, and that he can't share too much about it in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands."
"I hadn't told anyone else about this besides my apprentice that I've told you about, a few victims who happened to regain enough awareness to see the Kamen Rider and I working together that ended up joining my apprentice, Recovery Girl, and Principal Nezu, who she insisted learn about this as well."
"We've discussed this long and hard, but we came to the conclusion that you must be let in as well," Principal Nezu said, hands behind his back. "We know that what we've done is severely illegal, but trust us when we say that the circumstances around this organization and the Kamen Rider are beyond any legalities and rules in place. And through our work, we have found out that not only are there Faust agents in the government, but potentially in UA as well."
"... I see," Prime Minister Himuro said, processing the information. "And I assume that the Kamen Rider took this Panel from this Faust group?"
"Indeed. According to him, there might be infighting amongst the Faust leaders, since one of them, Blood Stalk, took the Pandora Box when they attempted to retrieve it at the same time as the Panel, while another one, Meta Bolt, fought against the main leader, Night Rogue," All Might said. He decided to withhold the fact that his own son, Gentoku, was in charge of Faust. The man's heart might not be able to take it. "We've done well against them so far, but we need to keep going at it. And to do that, we need to keep it a secret operation still. The Kamen Rider is willing to talk to you about everything as well."
"Hm... and what about Ryuga Banjo? There've been reports that he's working with the Kamen Rider."
"We've talked to him, actually. And we've discovered that he was most likely framed for Takumi Katsuragi's death in order for Faust to take him from the prison he was serving his time in," Principal Nezu explained. "We've talked to Detective Tsukauchi, who we were told had been involved with the interrogation, but he revealed that he was personally told that they didn't need him because there was enough evidence to convict Banjo. We weren't able to contact him closer to the day of the murder due to the police giving him a lot of work until recently. That discrepancy was what we needed to start getting answers about Faust."
"I see... and does Tsukauchi know about this operation yet?"
"No, I hadn't told him. You know how he is with vigilantes, sir. But I plan on telling him soon, if you give us permission to continue our work with the Kamen Rider."
Prime Minister Himuro took a deep breath, and sighed. "Alright. I will-"
There was a knock on the door. All Might reassumed his muscle form as a security agent for Prime Minister Himuro stepped in. "Phone call for you, sir."
He handed a cellphone to the bedridden man, who answered it. "Prime Minister Himuro speaking. Yes? You did? I see... Good work, goodbye."
He handed the cellphone back to the agent, who left the room. "They've found one of Faust's lairs at a dam and this Night Rogue is there. So that's one of the leaders taken care of."
"They did?" All Might said, confused. "How is that possible, we've yet to find another one of their bases."
"Hm... this is peculiar. Maybe we should let the Kamen Rider get involved, won't you agree, Prime Minister?" Principal Nezu asked.
"... Fine, but I can't tell the police and guards not to fire on him, since we'd need to keep up appearances," Prime Minister Himuro said, shaking his head. "Hopefully this will be a big enough blow to Faust's operations..."
"We won't rest until they're defeated, sir," All Might said, as he and Principal Nezu gave him a polite bow before leaving.
Sento and Ryuga drove off towards the dam where they were told that the Faust lair was located at, with Sawa, All Might, and Principal Nezu following in a car. They came to a stop and got off their vehicles, where they saw a crowd of news crews, Touto military officers, and Guardians were standing outside, a barricade set up in front as officers went inside the dam. At the front was Gentoku, speaking through a radio.
"Don't let these villains escaped! We must assure the people of our country that they are save from this organization, and to take back what they've stolen!" he barked through the radio.
"Wait, how is that mustache guy out here? Didn't they find Night Rogue inside?" Ryuga said, as Sento and All Might stared at him. The dam's entrance exploded, startling everyone, and Night Rogue stepped out of the smoke, tossing aside an unconscious and injured officer in front of him.
"I am Night Rogue, leader of Faust!" Night Rogue said, his voice booming. "You fools think you understand what my organization's aim is, but it's far above what your insignificant minds can comprehend!"
"Fire!" Gentoku shouted, as officers and Guardians fired their rifles at the Faust leader. He took the bullets, and fired at their feet with his Transteam Gun, before leaping into the air and landing on top of the dam.
"Looks like he's found a fall guy to be Night Rogue," Sento muttered. He looked around, and went deep into the nearby woods, transforming as swiftly and quietly as he could into Build. "You stay here, I'll go handle this..."
"Panda! Rocket! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Transform!" he whispered.
"The Blasting Off Monotone! RocketPanda! Yeahhh!"
Build took to the air and landed in front of Night Rogue before he had a chance to get any further. "You're not going anywhere, whoever you are!"
"I am Night Rogue! Did you not hear earlier-"
"Yea, I heard, but I know that whoever's behind that mask, isn't the real Night Rogue," Build said, pulling out the Panda and Rocket Fullbottles out and swapped them for the Pirate and Train Fullbottles. "So I guess we'll have to fight to figure it out."
"Pirate! Train! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Build Up!"
"The Punctual Rebel! PirateTrain! Yeahhh!"
The white and light blue of RocketPanda was replaced with the azure and lime green of PirateTrain. He held his right hand out, and his new Pirate Hassyar was summoned into it. Night Rogue pulled his Steam Blade out, and the two charged at each other, striking each other's blades. As their blades were locked in a clash, Build pulled the train on the Pirate Hassyar back.
"All Station Train! Departing!"
He released the train, as two blue balls of water-like energy shot out from the Pirate Hassyar's front, flying directly into Night Rogue's chest. Before Night Rogue could recover, Build pulled the train back again, holding it for slightly longer.
"Express Train! Departing!"
He released the train, firing three blue balls of water-like energy this time. Night Rogue managed to knock one away but the other two landed on him. Build pulled the train back again.
"Rapid-Service Train! Departing!"
When he released the train, four blue balls of water-like energy were fired. Night Rogue tried to dodge all of them, but he was still hit by all of them when Build pulled back the Pirate Hassyar's train again, holding it for much longer this time. Night Rogue combined his Steam Blade and Transteam Gun into his Steam Rifle, and spun the valve.
"Elec Steam!"
"All Station Train! Express Train! Rapid-Service Train! Pirate Train! Departing!"
Build released the train, as a giant lime green energy projection of a train flew out of the Pirate Hassyar, flying around Night Rogue as he shot at it. Azure energy discs flew from the train, striking Night Rogue and disarming him of his Steam Rifle before the train energy projection itself rammed itself into him, knocking him into the railing of the dam's walkway. Night Rogue groaned as his armor dissipated, revealing-
"Utsumi!?"
The bespectacled man struggled to get up, and he turned to face the people down at the base of the dam.
"What the-!? Isn't that the acting Prime Minister's assistant!?" one of the news reporters said, as cameras clicked and recorded. "He's the one behind this organization!?"
"So that's the game they're playing..." Principal Nezu whispered. "They must be using this as a way to pretend that Faust has been dismantled so that the government and heroes don't interfere with their plans again..."
"So they're using a patsy to take the fall for Himuro!?" All Might muttered, clutching his fist. "Even if they do... we won't be far behind!"
Ryuga glared at Gentoku. He won't get away from his actions, even if he used someone else to take the blame.
"That's right, I, Nariaki Utsumi, am the leader of Faust!" Utsumi screamed down to the news crews. "Ever since the Skywall Incident... I've created Faust, all for my own ambitions! To advance science! To figure out a way to reunite the three countries, even if by militaristic force! There's no ends that I'd... that I'd..."
Utsumi's hands trembled as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Smash Bottle full of unfiltered Nebula Gas. Build ran and pulled the Smash Bottle out of his hand.
"I'm not letting you die like that!" he said, putting it away to dispose of it later. Utsumi ran off, disappearing into the nearby forest, with Build giving chase.
Utsumi ran and ran, until he came to a stop at a bridge as Build caught up with him.
"I wonder..." Utsumi said, trembling. "I wonder where I've lost my way..."
He looked over the bridge's railing at the river below them. "I... I just wanted to laugh at nonsensical trivia... cry over troubles... to live a simple life, no matter how mundane..."
Build stared at the distraught man, unsure of what to say. "Don't end up like me... Sento Kiryu."
"You knew who I was?" Build said, softly.
"There's a lot of things you learn when you're at my position," Utsumi said, sighing. "Listen, there's still time for you to turn back! Just leave this-"
A bullet was fired and pierced through Utsumi's right shoulder. The force and pain of being shot knocked Utsumi over the bridge's railing, and he fell into the river below.
"Utsumi!" Build shouted. He tried to look for where the man fell, but the speeding waters of the river had already swept him away. Build turned around, and saw Gentoku and a Guardian troop at the end, with all of them pointing their guns at Build.
"It's a shame that he betrayed our country like that," Gentoku said, sighing.
"You-! How could you do that!? He was-"
"- a necessary sacrifice for this country. You'll learn eventually that there is no world without it," Gentoku said. "Now, it's time that you-"
"Acting Prime Minister Himuro! There's a situation at the dam! Another leader of that organization is here!" someone said over the radio. Gentoku's eyes widened, and Build took this opportunity to change forms.
"Panda! Rocket! Best Match! Are you ready?"
"Build Up!"
"The Blasting Off Monotone! RocketPanda! Yeahhh!"
He flew up into the air, as Gentoku and his Guardian troop ran back to the dam, where he saw Meta Bolt, standing at the top spinning around holding a Steam Rifle in one hand and a Transteam Gun in the other. No doubt that was his own Steam Rifle that Utsumi dropped when he was knocked out of his transformation.
"So you went and just died like that, did you, Night Rogue?" Meta Bolt said, shaking his head. "What a shame! Maybe if you thought ahead more often and let us handle things the way we wanted, Faust wouldn't be down a leader!"
"Faust?"
"Is that their organization's name?"
"That's right! Faust is an organization dedicated to advance science! To figure out how to reunite the countries by any means necessary!" Meta Bolt said, as the cameras clicked and flashed. "But don't worry, Night Rogue! I'll carry on for you! After all, Faust is more than just you! I, Meta Bolt, will make sure that your efforts will not be in vain! You may not have lived to see this day, but your will lives on!"
Meta Bolt swiped his Transteam Gun and disappeared in a cloud of gas, as the reporters and military officers looked at each other and muttered about this turn of events.
"Do you think that was planned?" Ryuga said to All Might and Principal Nezu.
"Considering what you've all told us about the three Faust executives, he probably took advantage of this to establish himself as the new 'leader'," Principal Nezu said. "Only time will tell how this will affect Faust and Touto..."
Gentoku stroked his beard, silently seething at Meta Bolt. Of all the things he's done, this by far has been the most infuriating thing he's done. Going so far as to usurp his leadership like that! That preposterous ingrate! He'll have a word with him soon enough. And when he does, he'll make sure that he'll never forget his lesson.
"It is sad to think that there was a governmental figure such as my assistant who led this... Faust organization. To terrorize your own people in such a way is incomprehensible. I assure you all that all precautions and actions are being taken to make sure that Faust is taken down," Gentoku said in the press conference as everyone watched the Build Shop's TV. "One leader is down. But rest assured, this Meta Bolt will not escape retribution. He will be made to pay for what he's done."
"I guess we have to thank Meta Bolt for thwarting Mr. Himuro's plan of 'destroying' Faust," Sento sighed, still bummed out about not being able to save Utsumi. "At the very least, he proved that there's more to them than just Night Rogue."
"Yea, but now everyone thinks that he's the leader of Faust," Setsuna pointed out. "So it's not like he did it out of altruism or something."
"The Prime Minister's son at least took care of any potential suspicions that he could be involved," Itsuka said, crossing her arms. "That's probably was at least one of the goals he had for this."
"What he said about making Meta Bolt pay for what he's done is probably more related to the fact that he 'usurped' him, instead of the horrible things he's done," Misora added.
"This really puts a damper on the whole 'we're all in UA now' celebration, doesn't it?" Mina said, downcast. "And we just brought all that food upstairs to celebrate, too..."
"Hey, don't let this ruin your mood!" All Might said. "You teens done well to get into UA! And we're still on our way to dismantling Faust for good! Now let's go upstairs and enjoy this victory for you all!"
"That's right! Let's celebrate your UA acceptance! There's no point in moping around," Sento said, forcing himself to cheer up a bit. "Let's go upstairs before all that food you got gets cold!"
Everyone followed Sento as he walked up the stairs, with All Might leaving last. Soon enough, everyone was grabbing something to eat from the table, while Ryuga was stacking food on his plate.
"Don't eat that much you musclehead!" Sento scolded, slapping him upside the head. "This isn't just food for you, you know!"
"Hey, the only stuff around here to eat often is instant noodles, I'm famished!"
As everyone laughed at the two bickering men, Sawa sighed and headed towards the front door, her hand tightly grasped around her purse's strap. She couldn't stay here, she didn't-
"Hey Sawa, where're you going?" Misora asked, stopping Sawa in her tracks. "Aren't you gonna stay for their celebration?"
"What?"
"Yea, we can't eat all this food on our own!" Mina said, grinning. "Well, maybe Mr. Banjo can."
"Which again, don't hog so much food, you musclehead!" Sento said.
"Lay off me!"
"You... you want me to stay?" she whispered. "Even after what I did?"
"Of course!" Pony said, nodding. "You helped us out a lot, even if you were spying on us!"
"And you really helped us with that Pandora Box situation, too!" Izuku said.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand why you wanted to get dirt on Namba," Misora said, shrugging.
"You've been with us for so long, it wouldn't be right to kick you out, especially after all the help you gave us," Sento said. "You're our family now, and well, consider this place your home now, too."
"My... home?" Sawa said, as she looked at all the smiling faces.
"Yea, so come on and get something to eat before Banjo eats it all!" Setsuna said, motioning her to join.
"For the last time, stop piling all that food onto your plate!" Sento scolded.
As everyone laughed as the two squabbled, some tears dripped down from Sawa's face, before she smiled and joined them.
"I'm... home."
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- Sorry it took a long time to write this chapter of "Building Up A Hero!". "Ultraman Hero Academia" got a lot of focus in the past few days, 'cuz I was getting really into it. I guess for the moment I'll just consider "Building Up A Hero!" on a semi-hiatus. I'll be working on it for sure, but UHA has really become my focus at this point. I mean, counting this chapter, I'm at 13 chapters compared to the 20+ of UHA.
- I decided to partially change Kaizoku Hassyar to Pirate Hassyar, since I didn't like the name the Over-Time subs went with (which is what I base some of my names from), but I still wanted to do a little translation of my own.
- I've been looking forward to writing that ending scene with Meta Bolt. I always figured that this would be something that he would do, especially with how much he comes to blows with Night Rogue taking control of Faust, in spite of them being 'equals'. Not to mention that it was always kinda funny how Gentoku tried to write Faust off as being "destroyed" when people have seen Blood Stalk, meaning that there was at least ONE more member of Faust around. Like you'd THINK that the Prime Ministers would be asking about him.
- I figured that with Principal Nezu and All Might vouching for Team Build, that Prime Minister Himuro would be fine with making Team Build a "secret hero force", though not without the stipulation that he won't stop the police, soldiers, or Guardians from attacking Build or Cross-Z so that no one would be any more the wiser. So they won't be getting 'truly' arrested, but they will still be shot at since only a few would be in on the 'secret operations'.