Hello everyone Blueheartz here and welcome to Chapter 2 of Rabbit! Rose! BEST MATCH! I'm extremely happy at the positive reception this story has gotten already and believe me I'm itching to write out more
Now then for the Reviews:
(Cluster225): Oh no, never. I'm not exactly a big fan of switching Kamen Rider or other Character roles unless the ideas genuinely sound appealing. And with what I have planned for this story, it would be criminal if I left him out. And yeah, Salem's reaction to this will be interesting when I get to that
(DCDGojira and merendinoemiliano): Thank you both!
Now with that all said and done, on to Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: The Newest Key/Runaway Dragon
Sento: Last time on Rabbit! Rose! Best Match! I, the genius physicist, Sento Kiryu, have met Huntresses in-training Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long after the latter had been turned into a Smash, which I soundly defeated.
Yang: Sento what are you doing?
Ruby: Wait, is this one of those cool anime recaps?
Sento: Ah, a woman of culture I see! These are necessary for those who missed the previous chapter.
Yang: Wouldn't that make the last chapter redundant?
Sento: Don't sweat the details
Ruby: Maybe we should sweat about the escaped murderer running around Vale?
Ryuga: Hey! I didn't kill anyone!
Sento: Ah ah ah you're not supposed to appear yet! Let's get on with Chapter 2!
Yang: ...How did he even get in here?
Ryuga: How am I supposed to know?!
A lone man stood in an elaborate clock tower, staring at the emerald-green forest that lay below him. In his left hand an intricately designed cane and in his right, a mug full of coffee. On this day, however, the man's grip on the mug had been tighter than ever as he lamented in frustration the events that had been playing out these past few days.
The recent insurgence of the Smash and the citizens of Vale being experimented on right under his nose. The most recent victim was a future Beacon alumni, even if her name had been quickly removed from the article that was posted, and infuriated him to see such youth being treated so callously.
Not to mention he was worrying about the long-term effects of these events, as one reporter had put it, the fear and paranoia being spread by the Smash were making them living beacons for Grimm. While his efforts to keep the Grimm out of the city have succeeded so far, if this continues he doesn't know how long those defenses will last.
Then there are the reports of a kidnapping in Mistral and an escaped convict running around Atlas. He can already imagine Leonardo's paranoia and James' distress from the two events. He would liken all these events to be her doing but she was never one for experimentation. And the victim of the kidnapping was a Faunus of relative unimportance. So it unnerved him that there may be a new player entering the game here.
Two players, if the images the man displayed on his scroll said otherwise. As he watched the blue and red rider in action from the footage they got, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin, just couldn't help but wonder.
"Who are you? And what is your goal...Kamen Rider Build?"
A new day passed in the alleyway of Cafe Nascita as the rising sun illuminated its bright red banner.
Sento was woken up by the sound of knocks coming from the door to the basement prompting him to put on his shoes and answer it. "You two couldn't have arrived any later?"
"Ever heard of the saying early bird gets the worm? Nice to see you too Sento"
"Yup, good morning Sento!"
Oh yeah, there was that new development. Huntresses-in-training Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long were now secretly working alongside Sento to put a stop to the bat man and his colleagues, the same colleagues who experimented on Sento and Ruby for reasons currently unknown. Both of them have lost memories on a varying scale, Ruby only lost her memories of the experience while Sento lost all memory of who he was. Together, all 3 of them have teamed up to personally pay back those masked guys for all the damage they caused to their lives.
Thus, Sento introduced them to Cafe Nascita's secret basement, which Ruby called Build's Super Hero Lair.
"I still can't believe how amazing this place is!" Ruby said as she stepped down the stairs with Yang and Sento
"Oh yes, feel free to marvel at my genius, though I would prefer it'd be done later in the day" Sento snarked, still somewhat sleepy from having been woken up early. Although my offer still stands, we still have plenty of room down here for me to construct two rooms of your own" Sento offered
"We appreciate it Sento but we're not all too keen on giving our Dad more gray hairs by suddenly disappearing from our apartment" Yang scratched her head sheepishly.
"Yeah I'm kinda not supposed to be out in Vale anyway but Yang convinced Dad to let me go with her so I can see her off when Beacon's initiation starts," Ruby explained.
Oh yeah, Ruby and Yang told him that Yang was attending Beacon Academy soon and their dad was letting them stay in Vale ahead of time since Ruby would've gone crazy without Yang to keep her company. They even took the time to show him their weapons, Crescent Rose and Ember Celica.
Sento was honestly amazed by their craftsmanship. They had clearly put a lot of time and effort into creating their weapons. In respect, Sento had shown them his weapon, the Drill Crusher. He remembered Ruby and Yang being impressed with its craftsmanship, with Yang considering that not a lot of people willingly use a drill as a weapon. Although after seeing how easily Ruby's Crescent Rose can shift from a scythe to a rifle, Sento noted that the Drill Crusher could use a few more upgrades. Maybe he could figure out how to incorporate two Fullbottles at the same time!
"Oh, that reminds me! Penny!" Sento called out. Penny quickly stepped out of her room, still clad in sleepwear. "I have a new Fullbottle essence I need you to purify"
"Oh with pleasure friend!" Penny smiled and grabbed the bottle in his hands before stepping up to the strange machine in the center. She placed the bottle in the microwave compartment on the side before stepping inside the machine as the door closed on her.
"Ummm, what's happening?" Ruby asked, slightly worried that Penny stepped inside that weird machine with no regard for her safety
Yang's eyes flashed red at a misguided thought of what could be happening. "Are you experimenting on her too?!" She snapped
"Woah woah woah, let's calm down now" Sento raised his arms to placate Yang. "Allow me to explain" Sento paused a bit to allow Yang to take a breath. When she calmed down and crossed her arms, he continued. "These bottles contain undiluted Nebula Gas which is used to turn people, like what happened to you, into Smash. Penny can purify the Gas and turn them into Fullbottles" Sento held up the Rabbit Fullbottle as an example.
"And how is she able to do that? Is that her Semblance?" Yang asked
"That's what I thought too but no. Penny doesn't have a Semblance, at least not to my knowledge. Her power to purify the Fullbottles comes from that golden bangle on her wrist. Using it on its own takes a lot of energy out of Penny, which is why I created this machine to improve the process and lessen the exhausting effects" Sento smiled as he hugged the machine. "Isn't it just beautiful? It's amazing right? It's the best right? I'm a genius right?"
Yang sweatdropped before turning to Ruby and the sweatdrop only grew when he saw Ruby share in his admiration. 'Oh my god, I found an adult Ruby...just great...'
Getting the conversation back on track, Yang put a hand on her hip and said "So then do we know where that bangle came from in the first place?"
Sento broke out of his trance and leaned back on the machine. "Nope. Penny says it just showed up on her wrist one day. But she also gave us a key clue on our enemies" That got Ruby and Yang's attention as Sento narrowed his eyes in contempt. "That bat man and his colleagues had been using her to consecutively purify Fullbottles, uncaring of its effects on her health. Which is why we have her in hiding. This is also why you two can't go blabbing about this to anyone. Understood?"
Ruby and Yang nodded determinedly and Sento smiled proudly. The profound moment of resolution between the three of them was sharply interrupted by the shriek of Ruby as a loud DING! Sounded out in the room
Yang stood there with a blank look as Ruby shook like a poor bystander in an active earthquake in her arms. "W-w-what was that..."
"The Fullbottle finished purifying" Sento answered simply as he opened the microwave compartment and grabbed the new Fullbottle. It was yellow like the Light Fullbottle but also slightly darker in color.
With the purification process finished, the big machine door opened, and out stepped Penny who still retained her smile. "I detect the Fullbottle element to be Lion Sento!"
"Lion huh?" Sento smiled. "Can't wait to test it out!"
"Now if you all will excuse me, I must recharge to prepare for the next Fullbottle he'll have me purify" Penny announced before walking back into her room and shutting the door.
"...Why does she-"
"She always talks like that don't question it" Yang lowered her hand. Ruby raised her hand "Yes?"
"Before you ask your question Ruby can you please get off of me" Ruby quickly hopped out of Yang's arms with an embarrassed shake and then continued with her question
"So how does transforming into Build work? Can we do it?" She asked. Yang's blank look turned to one of curiosity as she nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, why don't you just give us those driver belts and let us transform into Build too? That would probably shut up your worries about us getting hurt" Yang said
"Appreciate the sentiment but that's not possible for 3 reasons." Sento raised 1 finger "I personally believe you two aren't ready to be Kamen Riders yet." He raised another finger "I don't have the materials available to create 2 Build Drivers right now." He raised one last finger "And on top of that, you need to have the required Hazard Level"
Yang and Ruby's postures lowered in disappointment. But one part of Sento's explanation caught Ruby's interest in particular. "What's a Hazard Level?"
"It's a measure of resistance to Nebula Gas for any individual" Sento explained, walking up to his whiteboard like a school teacher. "I don't truly understand the specifics behind it yet but you need to be at a certain Hazard Level threshold to use the Build Driver otherwise you'll just get shocked. It's not fun"
Ruby grumbled and tried not to think about the math behind it. Yang patted her head in sympathy before turning back to Sento. "So does that mean we have Hazard Levels? We were both hit with Nebula Gas after all"
"You should. Just letting you know right off the bat, Ruby's going to have a higher Hazard Level than you" Sento said looking over his Fullbottles. "Even if parts of your personality and your Semblance persevered through your Smashification the fact remains that you still turned into a Smash, so your Hazard Level isn't very high"
"Aw, man..." Yang groaned comically
Sento paid no mind to her distress and grabbed a dark red Fullbottle. "Ruby, catch!"
Ruby perked up from her distressed mindstorm and quickly caught the dark red Fullbottle. "That's the Rose Fullbottle. I haven't found any Best Matches for it yet so you can take that one"
"Why? Don't you still need it?" Ruby asked
"Again, no Best Matches for it right now. So, no. Plus, you don't need the Build Drivers specifically to use the Fullbottles". Sento then grabbed the bright red Rabbit Fullbottle. "Observe" He shook the bottle and twisted the cap. Then he disappeared in a red blur.
Yang and Ruby were caught off guard by how fast Sento moved until he moved into view right in front of them. "Woah! You moved super fast!"
Sento chuckled to himself. "Well, I highly doubt that I can move as fast as you. But that's the special thing about Fullbottles, by simply shaking them you can gain access to the abilities they grant"
Now Yang was hooked. "Hey, Sento...mind sparing a girl her own Fullbottle to try?" Yang tried to butter him up
Judging from the blank look he sent her, Sento wasn't amused by this. But he didn't deny the idea. "Hmm, well I do have plenty of Fullbottles I have no Best Matches for yet. Oh, why not? Let's do a little experimenting"
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all current citizens of Vale, in its underground, a young man dressed in only dirty white pants and shoes was racing down a dark corridor filled with water. His breath was rapid and panicked, eyes darting left and right to check if anyone was following him before racing further down trying his best to ignore the blaring alarm ringing in his ears.
This was the current state of one former MMA fighter, escaped convict, and murderer. One Ryuga Banjo.
Planting himself against the wall to catch his breath, Ryuga turned his head up to stare out at the light at the end of the corridor. Taking a deep breath, Ryuga steeled himself before rushing through, finding himself inside an old factory. He heard the sound of Vale's Guardians patrolling nearby and placed himself on the side of a truck to hide himself. His mind was going a mile a minute from the events that had just transpired but right now he needed to focus on getting out of here...but not while shirtless.
He eyed a small garbage pile full of clothes. Dirty...but they'll do.
He quickly grabbed one and put it on as the sound of the Guardians got smaller. He approached the truck again and prepared to move further out for freedom.
"Fugitive Detected"
Ryuga's head whipped upwards and he quickly rolled to dodge a swing from a Guardian perched on the roof of the truck. He quickly stood up to run but was caught off by a second guardian on a motorcycle and a third one aiming at him from behind. Ryuga quickly got into a fighting stance. He was not gonna let them take him again. He will fight his way out and see her again!
The day was going by relatively slow. Ruby and Yang were spending time with Sento experimenting with the Fullbottles. Finding Best Matches, experimenting with Fullbottles outside of the Build Driver, and testing their Hazard Levels.
Yang was currently twiddling the Lion Fullbottle in her fingers while checking the news on her scroll. "What do you usually look for when you try to find Best Matches?"
"A common connection. But even then that isn't easy to find. I have to go through complex calculations and formulas to try and find the right Best Match" Sento wrote down a few more notes before typing in his computer.
Ruby was playing around with the Rose Fullbottle's ability to grow thorny vines on her body. Yang and Sento had joked how they were practically a Best Match and Ruby couldn't help but agree. "Do you think we can possibly use these Fullbottles in our weapons?"
"Like how we use Dust?" Yang said, pondering on that idea
"It's plausible. I built my weapons around being able to use Fullbottles in tandem with the Build Driver. If you bring your weapons down here, I can modify them to use Fullbottles too" Sento offered
"That'd be really great Sento, thanks buddy" Yang smiled but jumped back when Ruby suddenly grabbed Sento by the collar and glared at him, or attempted to anyway.
"I'm only doing this so that I can use Fullbottles with my sweetheart. Don't you dare hurt Crescent Rose otherwise, got it?"
"Got it" Sento shook a bit.
'Jeez Ruby...' Yang smiled amused at the scene before her as the news feed on her scroll began to play.
"We now take you to Vale's Morning news. Recently, former MMA fighter Ryuga Banjo escaped his incarceration in Atlas"
"Great, first the Smash and these masked guys, and now an escaped murderer is on the loose. Is the entire world just going to shit?" Yang grumbled
"With the existence of the Skywall and the Grimm, I'd argue that it already is," Sento dryly remarked as he kept typing.
"Well isn't that why we're here?" That got Sento and Yang to turn to Ruby who stopped fiddling around with the Rose Fullbottle. "Aren't people like us here to make the world better?"
Yang couldn't help but smile at Ruby's optimism.
Sento looked down at his computer in thought before he smiled and ruffled Ruby's hair garnering a "Hey!" from her as she comically tried to push him away. "Don't ever lose that worldview." He then typed in one last command before his computer lit up with a Ding! "And done!"
"What were you even doing while we were experimenting?" Yang asked
"Encoding the Build Phone with a different Fullbottle" Sento said as he unplugged a bright red Fullbottle from the computer. "What Ruby told me about the Build Phone's flaw with the Light Bottle made me rethink my choice of Fullbottles to power it. That's why I've programmed the Build Phone to be compatible with all of the Fullbottles we have currently. As of right now, its primary Fullbottle is Engine"
"Cooooool" Ruby admired
"Sweet. New improvements to your ride are always good" Yang nodded in understanding. But then a sly smirk grew on her face.
"Bumblebee is still better though"
"Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that" Sento rolled his eyes before closing his computer and grabbing some toast. "Come on, we've spent enough time down here. If we're lucky I can convince Owner to make us some pancakes"
"Yippee, free pancakes!" Ruby cheered and rushed after Sento up the stairs. Yang sighed good-naturedly and moved to follow them, she and Ruby forgot to eat before they came here and she wasn't gonna pass up free food, crouching through the small refrigerator entrance that led to the basement. The 3 of them walked behind the counter on the upper floor until suddenly-
"Buon Giorno my lovely children!" Out of nowhere, Soichi popped up across from them, startling Sento and Yang while making Ruby physically jump. "Haha, still got it!"
"Whyyyyyy" Ruby sniffled as Yang patted her back comfortingly
Sento was quickly unamused. "Ha ha, very funny Owner," He said dryly. "Oh yeah, Penny finished purifying the latest Fullbottle from yesterday" Sento motioned to Yang and she held up the Lion Fullbottle
Soichi gazed intently at it and smiled with pride. "Bravo my dear Sento, bravo" He motioned for Sento to take a seat as he looked over to Ruby and Yang. "And how are you two enjoying our hospitality?"
"It's quite nice over here. Sento's been very kind of us" Ruby smiled
"Yeah I wasn't exactly expecting Build's home base to be in a Cafe but I'm not complaining. This place is great" Yang added.
"Good good. It's always nice to hear of people having a wonderful time in my cafe." Soichi smiled. "Are you girls hungry?" When he received two nods he immediately went behind the counter. "I'll whip up something for you two. On the house for now.
"Wait what? No pancakes for me?" Sento said confused
"Sento, let me treat my guests in peace young man" Soichi deflected making Sento sulk comically. "Ah don't give me that look. I'll make you some pancakes some other time. But let's get down to business, any progress on your memories?" Ruby and Yang turned to Sento as he placed a hand on his head in thought
"Well...I remember those gas-masked scientists...human testing...those 3 masked men..." Everyone watched Sento with bated breath before they all collectively groaned when they realized that Sento had made no progress.
"You sure you can't remember anything?" Yang frowned
"Nope, nothing. Every time I try to dig deeper there's just an empty white space waiting for me, like I'm staring into the void" Sento grumbled
"Well, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape over it Sento. You've got plenty of time. That's the reason why you created Build remember?" Soichi reassured him
"Easier said than done. All the people that get turned into Smash don't remember anything when I turn them back to normal" Sento took a bite out of his toast in frustration. Ruby and Yang couldn't help but share in his frustration, especially Ruby since she could barely remember her experimentation as is
"There has to be something we can do. We're never gonna get anywhere just scavenging around for clues" Ruby said, slightly perking up when Soichi handed her and Yang plates full of pancakes.
"Well, I'd hate to temporarily take off your thinking caps but there's something we need to address. And it mainly involves you Sento" Ruby, Yang and Sento perked up in confusion at Soichi's sudden change in tone, their gaze following him as he went and grabbed a slip of paper off the table near the entrance of the cafe. "Sento, I'm afraid you've racked up a year's worth of rent"
Ruby, Yang, and Sento's eyes bugged out of their heads at the numerous amounts of Lien on each paper. "What rent?! You were charging me?!"
"Of course, I was," Soichi said as he placed a hand on his left shoulder. "I was willing to house Penny due to a favor from an old friend, especially since my wife is out on vacation with little Misora in Vacuo. But I'm not soft-hearted enough to let an amnesiac stay free of charge"
"Ooooh..." Yang winced in sympathy and patted his right shoulder. "Sorry about that bud"
Ruby's eyes were glassed over as she looked at the Lien signs. "I never want to experience that kind of debt..."
"And hopefully you never will!" Soichi gave her an encouraging thumbs-up
"Owner...is this why you made me get that job at that institute?" Sento asked.
"Institute?" Ruby asked
"Vale Institute of Advanced Matter Physics" Soichi clarified
Yang whistled in an impressed tone. "Damn Sento, shouldn't be surprised given how smart you are but still, managing to get a job there of all places?"
"Speaking of, isn't today your first day?" Soichi said making Sento gaze at him in confusion. "I remember letting Ruby and Yang in at 6. And you start at 8. How many long were you guys down in the basement?" Sento's eyes widened in realization looking down at his watch and realizing that it was indeed 8 o'clock.
"Oh, crap!" Sento bolted out of his seat and flew right through the door. In the distance, Ruby, Yang, and Soichi could hear the distinct Build Change! followed by the revving of the Machine Builder before Sento drove away.
"Ah, time sure does fly when you are experimenting huh?" Soichi smiled amusingly
"Yeah I guess so" Ruby giggled as she took a bite of her pancakes. "Do you have anything to drink?"
"Plenty of milk and juice in the other fridge "Milk please!". And what about you Yang, care for some coffee?" Soichi asked. He blanked when Yang pulled out a can of coffee from under the counter. Soichi immediately understood where she got it from, as there was only one other person(besides Penny) who refused to drink his coffee, and comically turned crestfallen. "Damn you Sento..."
Ruby sweatdropped a bit while Yang visibly struggled to hold in her laughter. She'd have to thank Sento for this later. Soichi was a damn good cook but he was also a god-awful coffee maker.
"So you're the one who aced our test?" Gentoku said as he and Utsumi led Sento down the main research office. "How wonderful. Although for your career choice you wrote, "probably physicist"..."
"Couldn't be helped. I have amnesia after all" Sento clarified.
Gentoku looked back at him in surprise. "Really?" Though he was quick to shake off his surprise. "Doesn't matter. So long as you can get results, we'd be happy to have you. So for your first job, we'd like you to analyze this" Gentoku placed his hand on a computer that showed the hologram of one familiar box. "Obtained on Mars, dubbed Pandora's Box. It's said that the box contains a material capable of producing far more energy than Dust ever could" Gentoku explained as the scene changed the two of them staring right at the box through its containment.
"That's amazing" Sento admired ruffling his hands through his hair. "To think there was a culture greater than anything on Remnant...!"
"And the Skywall tragedy?" Gentoku tested. Sento quickly ran back up to meet with Gentoku, unaware of his ahoge sticking up from his hair which nearly made Gentoku break his serious demeanor with a snort.
"I've read about it. At the Mars return ceremony, Pandora's Box glowed and the Skywall appeared" Sento said
"It wasn't just the Skywall," Gentoku said walking around Sento. "The people exposed to the light from Pandora's Box started acting strangely. It was like all of their aggressiveness was forced into the open. Those who were known as good people became the complete opposite under that light. And because of that energy, Remnant was completely split into 4." Suddenly, Gentoku's phone rang pausing his rant so he could answer it. "What? Of course" Gentoku and Sento turned to the nearest monitor that was showing a news broadcast.
"There has been a jailbreak in the Atlas Penitentiary. The escaped convict is Ryuga Banjo, age 23. Ryuga Banjo was convicted for the murder of Takumi Katsuragi and was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment"
"Ryuga Banjo..." Gentoku muttered in thought before turning to Sento. "That man he killed, Takumi Katsuragi, was one of our researchers" He clarified.
"Hmm," Sento nodded and focused back on the report. Gentoku was about to turn away, as this report meant Banjo was still in Atlas and was nothing to worry about until the report continued with some shocking new info.
"Recently we have received reports that Ryuga Banjo has made it into Vale" That sentence made Gentoku and Sento's eyes widen as they took in the displayed footage of Ryuga beating the mechanical daylights out of Vale's Guardians. "This footage was taken at around 8 A.M. today. All kingdom guardians were notified of Ryuga's arrest as a precaution but he has managed to perform the impossible and somehow escape to a different kingdom. After putting up a violent resistance, he destroyed the guardians attempting to arrest him and made his escape"
"How did he..." Gentoku was speechless. Atlas was an entire landscape worth of travel away from Vale and Ryuga managed to make it here...
"That's amazing!" One of the researchers spoke up. "He defeated those guardians with his bare hands..."
"I'm still wondering how he managed to make it to Vale when he was imprisoned in Atlas. That just makes no sense" Another researcher spoke up.
"But we can't deny the footage. However he did, he's here now. We've got an escaped murderer running around Vale!" A third researcher panicked
Sento was quiet as he observed the news report. Though he slightly jumped when he heard a loud You Got Mail! notification from his phone. Stepping aside from the growing crowd of researchers, Sento opened the mail app and read the recent email from Soichi.
-Did you see the news report about the escaped convict? There was a Smash response from Ryuga Banjo.- Soichi Isurugi
"Ryuga Banjo. Age 23. Mistralian. A former martial artist who was permabanned for fixing fights. He was later incarcerated for the murder of Takumi Katsuragi last year" Penny explained as she stood behind Soichi sitting at a computer.
"The sensor is responding but there aren't any eyewitness reports of a monster. He might not have become a Smash yet. I hacked into the GPS of the motorcycle Banjo stole, it just recently stopped moving but I'll send you the data anyway" Soichi explained over the phone as Sento rode down to the location sent to him on the Machine Builder.
"Did you tell Ruby and Yang about this?" Sento asked. He wasn't willing to get them involved with an escaped murderer, especially if said murderer was a ticking time bomb for a Smash transformation.
"They left before the report got updated. Yang got tired of being cooped up in the cafe so she took Ruby with her on a joyride" Soichi said
"Make sure to let them know anyway and tell them to stay away. I don't want them to get involved in this" Sento said before picking up speed as he closed in Ryuga's location.
"WOO!" Yang whipped her golden locks of hair around after taking off her helmet. "Nothing like a wonderful joy ride to clear the mind"
Ruby didn't exactly feel the same as she had swirls in her eyes. "Everything...is spinning...Yang...help-"
Yang helped her up off the bike and sat her down on a nearby box. "Just take a sec to sit and relax Sis. Rides over"
Ruby took a few deep breaths and smacked her hands over her cheeks. "Ok. I think I'm good! Are you sure this was a good idea, Yang? Isn't your license technically suspended?"
"They can't prosecute me if they can't find me," Yang said confidently, looking at her nails in disregard of the authorities. "Plus it was just a short ride-"
"I'd hardly call an hour of driving around a bunch of abandoned buildings a short ride-"
"And we'd be back before they know it" Yang waved it off as she grabbed her bike. "Now come on, let's-" Yang was suddenly interrupted by the sound of broken machinery. Confused, the two girls moved from their spots, carefully approaching the sound of the noise before gasping at the sight of a destroyed guardian lying against the wall.
Yang looked back at Ruby and activated her twin weapons, Ember Celica. "You made sure to bring your weapon this time right?"
Ruby nodded seriously and grabbed the rifle off of her back, Crescent Rose in its rifle mode. The two of them slowly followed the path of carnage that were the destroyed guardians, being sure to stay quiet as they also heard grunts and roars of exertion from someone. Hiding behind some barrels, Ruby and Yang perked their heads up and witnessed the sight of Ryuga Banjo standing over a destroyed guardian, panting heavily as he threw one more punch at it to make sure it stayed down. Just one look from Ryuga and you can tell the man was very panicked. But just because he was panicked that didn't mean his senses were down.
He quickly got himself into a boxing position as his eyes darted around after hearing the sound of mechanical parts shifting and looked for the source. "Show yourself! I don't care how many of you mechanical assholes throw at me. I'm not going back to those scientists!"
Ruby and Yang shared a wide-eyed stare at that piece of information. Look at that, a genuine clue. Slowly Ruby came out of her hiding spot while aiming at Ryuga's back. "Freeze!"
Ryuga jumped and looked back in shock to see two kids staring him down. "The hell? They sent two kids after me?!" He exclaimed but still put his hands up as he didn't want to be shot
"Alright murderer" Yang and Ruby came out of their hiding spots with Ruby still keeping her rifle locked on Ryuga while Yang was punching her fists together. "You're staying here for the authorities to pick up"
"Murderer?! I didn't kill anyone!" Ryuga yelled
"That sounds like something a murderer would say" Ruby admitted
"And how would you know that?!" Ryuga yelled at her causing Yang to get into a fighting stance. Ryuga growled at her but slowly got into his own, despite Ruby's rifle still being aimed at him. "I don't care if you riddle me with holes...I'm not going back to them...I can't let them catch me again"
Ruby sighed and let her aim slacken a bit. "Look. We don't want to fight if you don't. We just want to ask you something first. You mentioned something about not wanting to go back to those scientists."
"No duh I don't want to!" Ryuga said, noticing her aim slacken but still kept his guard up seeing as her big sister was still ready to fight at any moment.
"Well, do you know where they are?" Yang bluntly asked
"No. I ran like hell after I escaped and I never looked back. Why do you two want to know so badly?" Ryuga said
"Well...it's because I might be just like you. I was-"
Ruby was interrupted by an engine revving as a motorcycle stopped behind him. Sento stepped off and took off his helmet as he approached Ruby and Yang. "I didn't want you two to get involved but I guess I should be thankful you've got him kept here. Now we just need to wait until Vale's authorities arrive"
"No way! You can't take me back! I'm not going back!" Ryuga yelled in defiance before kicking Ruby's rifle away knocking her off balance while simultaneously weaving the right hook Yang threw at him. Rolling away from them both, Ryuga made to run away to safety
"I don't think so" In a red flash, Sento was suddenly in front of Ryuga holding the Rabbit Fullbottle in his hand before kicking Ryuga in the face, sending him to the ground. Before he could even get back up, Yang tackled him and pinned his arms together. "Let me go!"
"Not happening buddy! My sister was trying to avoid a confrontation like this you know" Yang strained as Ryuga struggled to break his arms free of her grip.
"Sento" Ruby came up to him after recovering from Ryuga's surprise attack. "I don't think we should take him to the authorities yet...he knows about those scientists"
Sento raised an eyebrow as Ryuga looked up at him. "Yeah, how the hell did you do that? Did they experiment on you too?! That didn't look like a Semblance!"
Sento eyes then widened as he truly realized what Ruby was talking about. "Did you see anyone else there? Like a bat man, zebra man, or a cobra man?"
"I don't know!" Ryuga yelled out exasperatedly
"Still this is good news!" Sento smiled which Ruby and Yang soon shared. "We finally have a lead!"
Their happy moment was soon interrupted by the roar of a strange blue and yellow being with large blocky arms as it charged forward and slammed into Sento knocking him into a car.
"Sento!" Ruby jumped over to help him up as he clutched his side in pain
"What the heck is that thing?!" Ryuga backed up into a fighting stance which Yang quickly shared
"A Smash!" Sento called out. "A person who's been changed into a brutal monster. It's no use talking to them until they're defeated!"
"Then why are we still talking then?" Yang charged forward and threw a left and a right hook at the Strong Smashes stomach, emptying rounds from Ember Celica at the same time. However, the Strong Smash tanked them with ease. Raising its arms high into the air, the Strong Smash slammed down on Yang before knocking it into that same car.
"Yang!" Ruby called out in concern
"Ok...that really hurt...I feel like he threw a damn bus at me..." Yang groaned feeling her aura take a heavy hit
"Holy crap..." Ryuga uttered in fear as the Strong Smash continued to approach it. However, he soon steeled himself and threw numerous relentless punches at it, uncaring if he wasn't doing any damage. "Damn it! I won't let any of you stop me! I'm going back to her! I'm taking my life back damn it!"
However, his efforts were for naught as the Strong Smash simply waved its arm and swatted Ryuga away like a pathetic fly. Clutching his shoulder in pain, Ryuga lay on the ground helpless at the hands of the Smash as it menacingly approached him.
But its approach was soon stopped by several bullets colliding with its face dealing genuine damage and sending it stumbling back.
"Sorry for the wait Ryuga" Ruby apologized sheepishly as she removed the cartridge of fire Dust bullets from Crescent Rose. She looked at them a bit sadly until she felt Yang place a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll help you buy more when we're all done here" Yang reassured her before they both turned to Sento. "Let's leave things to Sento here"
"Indeed" Sento heard them and sent them a cheeky smile. "Facing a Smash without the proper Fullbottles is admirable. But facing one head-on without any weapons?" Sento turned to Ryuga. "You've got a lot of guts"
Ryuga remained speechless as Sento stepped up in front of him. "Leave the rest to me" He took out the Build Driver and connected it to his waist. "Now then, shall we begin the experiment?" He smiled before taking out the Rabbit and Tank Fullbottles, shaking them as numerous mathematical equations appeared out of thin air and surrounded him
"Oh brothers math! Noooo I hate math!" Ruby cried out in pain at seeing the equations
Yang just had a blank look of confusion on her face. She hated math too but there was something else that was concerning her. 'Where did the equations even come from?'
When Sento finished shaking them, he twisted the Fullbottle caps and inserted them into the Build Driver.
Rabbit! Tank! BEST MATCH!
Sento began to smile confidently at this announcement as Ryuga stood up in a mix of confusion and awe. Sento then grabbed the Vortex Lever and turned the crank.
Plastic model runners came out of the Build Driver, forming Build's signature red and blue armor in the front and back.
Are You Ready?
"Henshin!"
The runner slammed onto him, combining the armor as the belt confirmed the finished transformation.
Hagane no Moonsault! RabbitTank! Yeahhh!
"So that's how he transforms! That was so cool!" Ruby was completely fangirling now from witnessing Build's transformation in the flesh
Yang was more subdued by she'd be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. "Well damn" Yang applauded in respect.
Ryuga was so confused his face couldn't even express the amount he was feeling currently. "What is that..."
"Not a what. Who. I am Kamen Rider Build and the law of victory is set." Build declared confidently before rushing forward, the spring on the Rabbit Halfbody boosting his speed as he threw numerous punches at the Hard Smash's face
The Hard Smash tried to retaliate by throwing a large hammer arm but Build used the large arm as a platform to jump over it and kick it again.
"Even with this form its defenses are impressive. I'll need to weaken it faster...hey Yang!" Yang looked over to him. "Do you still have the Lion Fullbottle on you?"
Yang quickly dug into her pocket and found the Fullbottle lying at the bottom. "Yeah! You need it?!"
Build nodded and opened his arms. "Throw it!"
Yang reeled her arm back and tossed the Lion Fullbottle. Build caught it in both hands before removing the Rabbit Fullbottle. He then twisted the cap of the Lion Fullbottle and placed it in the Driver.
Lion!
Cranking the Vortex Lever, the model runners popped out again this time forming the Lion Halfbody.
Are You Ready?
"Build Up!"
The Model Runners slammed on Build again, replacing the Rabbit Halfbody with the Lion Halfbody and, to Ryuga's further confusion, playing a different jingle for the trial form.
"Now let's see you handle this" The Strong Smash roared and threw a punch but this time the shoe was on the other foot. Even in its nonsentience, the Strong Smash let out what sounded like a surprised gasp when Build barely moved from its attack.
"My turn" Build threw his own punch and this time the Strong Smash went flying a few feet back. Charging the Gold Lio Gauntlet with energy, Build crouched down and delivered a rising uppercut sending the Strong Smash flying high into the air.
"Holy shit/crap!" Ryuga, Yang, and Ruby all yelled out in shock at Build's power
"While I wait for him to come back down" Build removed the Lion Fullbottle and grabbed the Rabbit Fullbottle once more to turn back into RabbitTank. As the Strong Smash crashed back down into the ground, Build was still cranking the Vortex Lever charging the driver with energy.
"I'll finish you with this. So just wait a sec"
Ready, Go!
Build jumped up and made a pillar rise from the ground as an energy chart formed and trapped the Strong Smash in place.
Vortex Finish!
Build jumped up and slid down on the graph before inflicting a powerful kick upon the Strong Smash engulfing it in an explosion as Build landed safely.
"And that's that" Build raised an empty bottle and absorbed the Smash essence leaving behind a man in a similar garbs to Ryuga.
Ryuga seemed to notice the similarities too as he remembered seeing that guy while he was being experimented on. Ryuga sped walked over to him as he began to regain consciousness and kneeled. "You were experimented on by those gas mask guys too..."
"What?" The man said confused. "What are you talking about? Where am I?"
"Don't play dumb!" Ryuga grabbed his shirt
"He's not playing dumb" Ruby called out making Ryuga snap his head towards her. "Apparently whenever Sento removes their Smash essence, the victims don't remember anything before it"
"If he really was experimented on as you said, then he has no memory of it now" Yang added, crossing her arms in sympathy. Compared to these other Smash victims, she was lucky.
"But it's true...it's all true...you all need to believe me!" Ryuga cried out. "Why would I lie about this!"
"I believe you" Ryuga didn't know if he heard that right as all eyes turned to Ruby. Disbelief marred his face as he stared at her in shock.
"I'm just like you...they experimented on me too. They did the same to Sento and he has no memory of himself now" Ruby explained, the mention of Sento prompted Ryuga to turn to Build who appeared to be deep in thought.
Carefully, Ruby approached Ryuga and placed her hand in his. "You kept saying you have someone to return to. And we can't allow whoever these people are to keep continuing their experiments. We'll help you if you're willing to help us..."
"Ruby..." Yang was speechless, unsure of the decision she was making.
Ryuga shared the same stance. Without even registering his thoughts they became a swirl of emotions, as tears began to edge through his eyes. "I'm a worthless piece of idiot garbage...who doesn't even know what he did for his life to turn out like this...but you're right...there is still someone I want to return to..." Ryuga then gave Ruby a tight hug as tears began to flow thoroughly. "Thank you...for believing me..."
Ruby honestly wasn't expecting him to hug her so she just awkwardly patted his back. "Yeah it's...no problem..."
Yang was struggling to keep her eye from twitching as Ryuga buried his face in Ruby's shoulder. Build looked at the scene in silence, still in thought from what Ryuga had told them until the sound of sirens brought the scene to a halt.
To Ryuga's horror, a squadron of Vale Guardians rapidly approached them with a large cop car driving in the middle of them.
"So you're the Kamen Rider. I've heard about you" A familiar voice spoke, as the window to the car rolled down, revealing Gentoku Himuro in the back seat. Gentoku and his assistant Utsumi stepped out approaching the group behind the squadron of Guardians.
"You and these kids have done well to subdue Ryuga Banjo. We'd like for you to hand him over to us now"
"Wait but this is all a mistake! Ryuga didn't kill anyone!" Ruby tried to defend him
"That isn't gonna work without evidence Rubes..." Yang whispered
Gentoku wasn't convinced in the slightest and instead scowled at Ryuga. "On top of murder, you're now feeding lies to the youth? How despicable can you be?"
"Lies? I'm not feeding crap! I'm telling the truth damn it!" Ryuga yelled at him
"Tell that to the judge" Gentoku dismissed him as the guardians aimed their rifles at Ryuga.
'Crap...this isn't looking good...' Ruby thought as her eyes scanned the situation. 'We can't let our only lead on those scientists be taken away...Ryuga still needs to return home...if I try to defend him further Yang and I will be fugitives and-'
"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A loud groan soon interrupted everything as everyone all turned to find Build squatting down on the ground
"This. Sucks. I am so going to regret this later"
Build Change!
The Machine Crusher formed in front of Build as he mounted it and turned to Ryuga. "Get on!"
Without a second thought, Ryuga ran up to the bike, and Build drove off. Ruby and Yang had to quickly duck out of the way as the Guardians shot after them.
"What?! Why did the Guardians shoot at the kids?!" Gentoku yelled at them
"I'm sorry sir, the Guardians were programmed the target at all costs. As those two girls were innocents, they weren't even acknowledged" Utsumi said as he tapped on his tablet.
Ruby and Yang had ducked for cover as the Guardians mounted bikes and drove after Build and Ryuga.
"No use in us staying here, come on let's meet Sento back at the cafe" Yang patted Ruby's shoulder and left to grab Bumblebee.
Ruby lingered a bit before looking back in the direction Build had driven off. 'Please be safe you two'
"I don't feel safe at all!" Ryuga yelled out as Build smacked away a Guardian that latched on to him, sending it tumbling into a few other bikes that culminated in a massive explosion. "Holy crap that was scary..."
"I already regret this. The media hated Build as is but now all the good opinions of me are gonna tank by helping you out" Build groaned.
"Gee, thanks..." Ryuga rolled his eyes before looking back and seeing that no more motorcycles were driving after them
"A vigilante isn't supposed to collude with a murderer it breaks all common sense. That's it. All positive opinion of me, kaput"
"Ok, I get it already!" Ryuga yelled out. "Look if you're so concerned about your public opinion tanking, then why the hell did you save me?"
"Because I agree with Ruby. I believe you" Sento said. "A real idiot doesn't acknowledge that he's an idiot. And a real liar doesn't stick to the same story over and over with the utmost belief in it"
Ryuga looked away for a bit as Sento continued "You're my and Ruby's best bet to finding out who this organization is and what their goals are"
Ryuga contemplated that. He wasn't lying at all when he said he had someone he needed to return to. But so long as he was a fugitive, she would always be a danger if she was near him, especially if those scientists came after her. "Fine. But I already told you and those girls, I don't remember where I was when I escaped and I don't know how to get back there"
"That's fine. We'll just take a few trips down memory lane. No pressure" Sento smiled. "So with a new member of the team established, let's start on the right note. I'm Sento Kiryu"
"...Ryuga Banjo"
"Well, Banjo. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you don't make it a habit to keep your fly down in important moments like these" Build smirked.
"Wait what the hell are you-" Ryuga looked down and to his horror, his pant's zipper was in fact down.
"What?! For how long?!"
"I noticed it when I first arrived so you probably had it down while fighting Ruby and Yang too."
"And you didn't say anything?!"
"Of course not. It's not my job to remind you to zip up your pants, I'm not your parent."
"Why you little-!"
"Heyheyhey stop that you idiot! I'm driving!"
Atop the Skywall watching Build and Ryuga as they drove away, was Night Rogue. "Did you get what I asked you to?"
Coming from behind him was Graph Knight who held his scroll in his hands. "It took a long ass time but yeah. We've got her"
"Mistral's security is supposed to be the worst of the Four Kingdoms. Perhaps you should go to Stark for more lessons in hacking." Night Rogue taunted and this time he could see the scowl Graph Knight gave him under his helmet
"Fuck off Rogue. I got what you wanted" Knight growled as he all but threw his scroll into Rogue's hands displaying the information of a young Faunus girl.
"We've got her locked up in one of our facilities. You just need to say when" Rogue nodded satisfactorily but felt Graph Knight grab him by the bat insignia on his chest and pull him closer. "You really make me sick Rogue"
Graph Knight's anger didn't even faze Rogue as he patted him condescendingly on the shoulder. "Remember what I told you before? Sacrifices"
Graph Knight growled under his helmet but relented his grip.
Night Rogue dusted himself off as he turned a side-eye to Graph Knight. "Besides, you don't have much room to speak with what you have planned for that Cat Faunus. You'd garner all of the hatred of the White Fang with what you're doing now"
That struck Graph Knight silent and he only made an angry grunt before walking away.
With Graph Knight gone, Night Rogue turned back to stare out at the City of Vale. "The war has begun..."
And with that Chapter 2 is finished! I'm on a roll with these chapters huh?
So I decided to split Episode 1 of Build into two chapters, to establish the world setting and build up(no pun intended) our characters for the trials ahead. I'm beyond excited to express what I have planned for this story so thank you all so much for reading!
Next time on Rabbit! Rose! BEST MATCH!
Ryuga: It was Kasumi who sent me to that room where the scientist was killed...
Yang: You need to keep going.
Ryuga: It doesn't matter anymore...
Sento: If you're caught now then you'll stay a murderer!
Ruby: You have to live on, for her sake!
Chapter 3: Dragon's Love/Tearful Goodbye