Story: My Hero Academia: Over Quartzer
Storylink: s/13149653/1/
Category:
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Author: SkyRig
Authorlink: u/4746382/
Last updated:
Words: 32738
Rating: T
Status: In Progress
Content: Chapter 1 to 3 of 3 chapters
Source:
Summary: Izuku Midoriya wanted to become a hero. However, two strangers tell him otherwise, claiming he will become a demon. One wants to kill him, and the other wants to change his fate. What path will Izuku take? The road that leads him to that of a villain? Or will he rise up and become the greatest hero in history? Rejoice! For the birth of a King!
*Chapter 1*: The Hero of 2018Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Kamen Rider. Each belongs to their respective creators, Hirokoshi and Toei. Any relations to places and/or individuals, living or dead, are coincidental.
Special thanks go to my friend Gabriel, who contributed the most to this story with his knowledge of Kamen Rider Zi-O.
Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Remember what that special something was? Well, I'm publishing it early! I'm not back from break yet, but I figured I could give you something to tide you all over.
That, and well... I need to take some extra time off. At the time of this writing, it has been a day or so since my great-grandmother died. Keep in mind that I had just arrived here in Seattle and got settled in my friend's place when I got a phone call from my mother. She told me she found my great-grandmother dead in her bed, not breathing or anything.
Let me tell you, it is a fucked up way to find out.
So... Yeah. I'm going to be out on break a little longer than anticipated, even when I get back home, as I will be taking care of the funeral arrangements and all that. In the meantime, please enjoy what me and my friend Gabriel have written for you. Beta-ed slightly, and with approval from Striberx! Thanks goes to him also for giving me his thoughts on this.
Please, enjoy and tell me what you guys think
Boku no Hero Academia X Kamen Rider Zi-O Crossover:
"My Hero Academia: Over Quartzer"
The world was gone.
Gone, in that life was held by the throat and slowly choked to death. The surroundings had been reduced to scorched earth and destroyed ruins. Buildings were dilapidated, fire lapping away at the earth. The sky was cold and gray, water splashing down on the approaching army. At their side were machines, standing ready and armed for war.
There was no joy. No happiness. Only bitterness and anger.
This was what the world had become. A shadow of its former self, reduced to a cesspool of hate and despair.
At the center of it all, he stood there, staring at a set of statues. Reminders of an era that had become bittersweet memories that everyone yearned to return to. These heroes, once held in high regard and embodiment of legend, stood in various poses, all of which representing strength and hope. They were of different backgrounds, but they all shared one thing in common:
The belts around their waists. They were of different designs, but each was of great significance.
These were the heroes the world remembered. The heroes that the world had lost.
They were the Kamen Riders.
And they had long since passed from this world.
Sensing their approach, the regal figure turned and faced the approaching army. His pose was lax, as if he considered them to be of little concern. The commander of the group stood at the head, shouting something before the machines at their sides changed, eyes glowing. They prepared to charge, weapons primed and ready.
The rain continued to fall, not diminishing the flames. It was as if the rain served no other purpose than to represent the tears of the departed. At first, the man was unconcerned with this group of hostiles, but then saw the machines charging.
They neared, ready to snuff out his life. He merely gave them a side glance before he raised a hand in a leisurely manner.
He flicked his wrist. A film of distortion ran across the air, and in the next moment, the machines were thrown into disarray. They were thrown across the field, into the air and smashed into the ground. The opposition was left stunned and disoriented, but they soon roared in defiance.
They attacked together, and moved together. Fire danced in their palms. Ice spread across their arms. Stone caked their bodies. Wind gathered at their fingertips. Shadows moved at their beck and call. Their mind took form and gathered pieces of debris and scrap. Thunder sparked around their bodies.
Yet all of it was useless in the face of one who fought through such adversity. There was not a sliver of tension, almost as if he didn't consider such large numbers to be a threat. Instead, he merely turned to face them in fall and spread his arms out, as if welcoming their attacks.
And then he showed them what hell really looked like.
She didn't understand what had just happened. One moment, the regal figure that brought about this horrible future just stood there and welcomed the entirety of their attacks without resistance. Then, in the blink of an eye, every last one of them was wiped out. Their bodies lay on the ground, broken and defeated. Their Quirks were ultimately useless in the face of such a powerful foe.
She looked at him, who simply stared at the sight brought upon by his own hand before he craned his head. Her breath was caught in her throat.
He was looking at her.
"You could never hope to defeat me." he told her, his voice somehow both soft and chilling. "Do you know why?"
"Because in this world...there are no heroes."
It was once said that all men were not created equal.
The first known report of individuals suddenly developing superhuman abilities, like breathing fire or moving objects with their mind, was a newborn child in the city of Qingqing that was bathed in light.
The world experienced what could only be called a "genetic revolution" on a scale that had never been seen before.
These superhuman abilities were henceforth called "Quirks," and those that possessed them had the capability to use them for the sake of others.
In short, what had once been an idea in comic books had become reality.
Heroes had become reality.
However...those without powers are no longer the norm.
They are the Quirkless.
Among those without powers were those who were unknown in the eyes of society: the masked heroes who fought for the sake of justice.
Though they were Quirkless, they are recognized as paragons of righteousness and justice.
They are the "Kamen Riders."
Time has begun to resume.
And now, a new Rider is about to be born.
Rejoice...for the birth of a king.
Episode One: The Hero of 2018
Ever since he was a child, Izuku Midoriya had dreamed of becoming a hero.
Every day, whenever he returned home, he would always ask his mother, Inko Midoriya, if he could use the computer. He wouldn't look up things online by himself by the time he was halfway done with Elementary School, but before and after that time, he would watch one video without end, over and over.
A video that had signaled the career of one of the greatest heroes in the world. The Symbol of Peace, All Might.
"There's nothing to worry about anymore! Because, I Am Here!"
Following such words were booming and hearty laughter, all delivered with the widest smile.
To be able to smile in the face of such danger, and to possess such strength. Truly, All Might was an idol that all aspired to be like. Izuku was of no exception.
However, his dreams had been crushed when a visit to the doctor had told him that he would most likely never become a hero. All because he had an extra bone in his foot.
"I'm sorry, Izuku..."
Those were the words he didn't want to hear, but couldn't refute. The words that his mother tearfully gave him when he asked her if he could ever become a hero.
Being Quirkless in society had little options, as the most ideal occupation in today was the Heroics Department. Anyone and everyone with a powerful enough Quirk signed up for any school that offered them the chance to become a Hero for whatever reason. As a Quirkless individual himself, Izuku realized that his options were severely limited.
Yet, even so, he still so deeply wished to become a hero. To achieve that goal, however improbable it was, he took up self-defense classes and martial arts. His training was grueling, in no small part to his sensei, but he wanted to believe it was worth the money he saved up.
He also received endurance training in the form of his former childhood friend and now recent bully Katsuki Bakugo's explosions. Whenever Katsuki would pick on someone, Izuku would always run to their defense, even if he was a sniffling and shaking mess that could barely put his fists up. Inko would constantly fret and cry over the many bruises and burns he sported, but he always told her the same lame old excuses.
Mitsuki Bakugo, Katsuki's mother on the other hand, knew he was covering for her son's stupid actions and constantly berated on him, leaving him usually simmering and in a foul mood. He typically avoided people for a while before eventually falling into his old ways.
By the time his last year in middle school arrived, Izuku had become competent enough to take on low-level bullies by himself with little difficulty. He had even managed to develop a sizable small fanbase among his female underclassmen when they saw how he sported a rather impressive yet still childish muscular frame. It wasn't anything that would put him on the "total hottie" scale as they once put it, but enough to garner notice.
Izuku also found it embarrassing how they called him cute too. He really tried to ignore that kind of stuff.
It was around the start of middle school that Izuku learned that the school he wanted to attend as now accepting Quirkless individuals. It was surprising to hear, but it was far from unwelcome. In fact, he had been quite ecstatic.
Of course, he wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible. After all, if Katsuki found out he wanted to go to the same school he was going to try out for, chances are, he'd probably go home sporting a few more bruises and burns.
There was only ten months left until the school year was finished. Ten more months until Izuku would finally take a step towards a dream that was still so far out of reach. As a result, class was positively charged with excitement, especially as the teacher had made things even more heated when he mentioned how they shouldn't really bother filling out their career choices forms when he noted how they all would more or less try out for the Heroic Department.
Katsuki, being the lively spitfire he was, had more or less asserted his dominance to everyone by claiming them all as extras. Naturally, that put everyone off and they immediately tried to pick a fight.
Until the teacher off-handedly mentioned how he wanted to apply to Yuuei. The very same Yuuei Private Academy that Izuku wanted to attend, for it was the most prestigious academy in all of Japan. Its halls had produced some of the greatest heroes the world had ever seen, chief among those being none other than the Symbol of Peace, All Might himself.
And then the teacher mentioned off-handedly again how Izuku also wanted to apply for Yuuei. Everyone in class either stared at him with empathy, pity or were just snickering to themselves for trying to go for such a useless dream.
Katsuki, naturally, was livid. Any other time, he would have just blown up his desk and ridiculed him, knowing full well that Izuku wouldn't have the guts to fight back. However, things were not like that. Not when Izuku knew how to fight back, and had the courage to stand against his bully.
After school was over with, both boys found themselves brawling it out behind the school, near the little pond with the koi fish the Swimming Club had decided to look after. Katsuki's irritation with Izuku was more pronounced than ever, as shown by how vicious his blows were. His blazer was burned and sported a few scorch marks.
At some point during the middle of their scuffle, one of his notebooks had been thrown out and ended up caught in the crossfire, burned to the point where it was almost charcoal. Izuku, being incensed, fought back harder and repaid Katsuki for the action with a right hook that caused him to develop a black eye.
Both boys were exhausted. Izuku more so, because he fought the hardest between them. Sweat caked his skin while his whole body ached. Katsuki looked a little winded in comparison, but he didn't have much gas left in the tank.
"You stupid Quirkless shit." Katsuki growled. "Why won't you go down?!"
Izuku panted as he stood up, wiping the blood from his lip while he continued to stare back at Katsuki. "W-why not?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky. "I told you before, d-didn't I? I'm going to Yuuei!"
"With what?! You think just because there are heroes that don't have Quirks, you can suddenly do anything?! Get real!"
Katsuki was about to lunge for him again, but the fight had been cut short when a teacher had heard the commotion and pulled the two apart. Izuku was given only a light scolding, no doubt because they knew he was the victim in all of this, but Katsuki was given a much harsher one, even given detention.
Judging by how he fumed as he stomped away, shooting a glare that more or less told him "your dead" Katsuki was far from happy. Izuku watched him leave before he sighed heavily and fell flat on his rear.
"Why does Kacchan have to be so…?" he muttered under his breath, hanging his head low.
He just didn't understand why his friend had become so aggressive towards him. He knew Katsuki could be hard-headed. It was pretty much his defining trait, along with his insistence that heroes could never lose. Yet at some point, when they were children, even after his treatment towards Izuku turned cold when he discovered his Quirk and Izuku Quirkless, he started to become more aggressive. Harsher towards him.
Izuku just didn't understand the reasons behind his anger. Even if he did, there was probably no way Katsuki would allow him to help or clear it up. Sighing again, the green-haired boy stood up and dusted off his clothes, idly noting how he'd have to use his allowance to order a new uniform. Again.
He walked over to the pond where the koi fish were, finding his burnt notebook being nibbled on. He smiled sheepishly as he picked it up, wiping off some of the water. "It isn't fish food." he chided the fish, despite knowing that they wouldn't hear him. He opened it up, checking to see how bad the damage was. Despite being thoroughly soaked, the burn damage wasn't too bad. Some pages were ineligible, but otherwise it was fine. One page in particular had Mount Lady, the newest hero in the city, drawn on it along with little ramblings and analysis Izuku had written.
As he prepared to put it away, he paused and noticed something else in the pond. Curious, he pulled it out. It looked like some kind of toy. What, he didn't know. It was pretty big, maybe the size of a softball. The design reminded him slightly of a watch, complete with a little button at the top. However, there was no face on it. Just a blank slate of sorts.
"What is this?" Izuku couldn't help but wonder, finding some odd fascination with it. "Does this belong to someone?" If so, he should probably turn it in to lost and found.
As he was about to put it away in his pocket, someone spoke up behind him. "Today looks like it will be a special day for you, Izuku-sama."
Jumping in surprise, and of fright, Izuku turned around. There was a man leaning up against the wall. He was maybe in his mid-to-late twenties, with wavy hair mostly pulled to the right side of his face. The left side was neatly combed and pulled back over the ear. He was dressed in rather odd clothing as well. A green jacket with little open cuts on the sleeves, a navy scarf around his neck and black jeans with large black boots.
'I-Izuku-sama?' Izuku wondered in his mind. He had certainly not been called by that honorific before. This man was unfamiliar to him, and he was certainly not a member of Orudera's staff faculty. "Wh-who are you?"
The man smiled widely as he bowed his head. "I am Woz. It's an honor to meet you." he greeted in a polite tone. "You should hold onto that, Izuku-sama. It may be quite useful to you in the future." Izuku tilted his head, wondering what the man was talking about. More questioned were darting around in his head. "Ah, but do be aware of the red robot, yes? We wouldn't want you to be killed prematurely before you have a chance to realize your dream."
"What? What do you mean by-"
Izuku's mind suddenly went blank. His functions just stopped, then rebooted. When his brain finally caught up with him, the man named Woz was gone and out of sight. He looked around, but there was no sight of him anywhere, leaving him to scratch his head in confusion. Did he just hallucinate or something? Maybe Katsuki hit him harder than he thought.
He looked back at the small watch-like toy in his hands. He was tempted to send it to the lost and found, but something about it felt odd. It was compelling, as if it were asking him to take it. The man's words also called back to him, adding to the feeling.
Just how was his day going to be special?
Shaking his head, Izuku absent-mindedly stuffed the toy in his pocket and slipped his burnt notebook in his backpack, slinging it back on his shoulders and leaving Orudera for home.
If only he knew what would be waiting for him.
The year 2018 was certainly an odd place, of that Tsukuyomi was certain of. Especially as a mass of green-and-brown wearing jeans with a set of gigantic teeth and eyeballs just rushed past her with money in its grasp.
She had only just arrived in the city, and already she was seeing for herself what kind of time the "Golden Age of Heroes" was like. It was nothing like home. In spite of the sludge being an obvious villain, the people were unconcerned with his presence. In fact, they looked almost inconvenienced by its presence.
She, on the other hand, found it fascinating. "Judging by its current state, he is capable of changing between a semi-solid and liquid form." she noted as she observed how it moved, running down the street as fast as possible in an attempt to make off with the horde of cash at its disposal. "But how far can it expand? What're the applications?" She stopped herself and sighed. Dammit, she was doing it again. Her uncle really did rub off on her. "Focus, Tsuku. You're not here to take notes on everyone with a Quirk you see."
She came here for a purpose. To find someone and help change their fate. Presuming it wasn't already too late. She dearly hoped that wasn't the case.
That, and she needed to find them before he did. Remembering her comrade's words, Tsukuyomi let out a groan. Just what was going through that boy's mind, she wondered.
As she was about to leave, she saw a disheveled man, short and lanky, emerge from the grocery store. He saw the sludge villain running, and then his form trembled. At first, she thought he was the easily scared type, but then she saw his body expand. His loose fitting clothes suddenly became strained to fit his hulking frame.
Her jaw dropped. "Oh my."
Today really wasn't Izuku's day. He had been walking home from school and suddenly found himself in the middle of being choked to death by something putrid and foul. It was so sudden and abrupt that he had no idea how to react until it was too late. Something thick and slimy was forced down his throat, drowning him and suffocating him. The smell was nauseating and was burning the inside of his nose.
When he realized what was happening to him, he kicked and flailed as hard as he could, trying to escape and pull the sludge off of him.
"Shit, kid, hold still!" a harsh voice snapped at him, hoarse and sounding as if it were submerged in water. "It'll only take 40 seconds or so! Good thing I found you when I did. You're a real hero, kid. I wasn't expecting him to show up here! Now, just hold still a little longer..."
Like hell he was going to let this thing do...whatever...he had planned. Still struggling, Izuku looked at whatever it was that had him trapped and was trying to kill him. It was entirely made up of sludge, but it was clearly because of a Quirk. There was a gaping mouth lined with teeth and giant eyeballs.
Was he a Villain? He had to be, otherwise he wouldn't be doing this. Plus, his words insinuated that he was being chased, perhaps by a hero. Considering the incident from this morning, it had to be either the local heroes like Kamui Woods or Death Arms, maybe Mount Lady.
Either way, if he only had 40 seconds, then he couldn't wait for them to get here. Instead, Izuku took notice of the fact that while the rest of his body seemed to be liquid and constantly shifting, the eyes and mouth were not. They were physical and solid. So he took complete advantage of that and put his self defense classes to use and swung his leg upward and over his shoulder, ramming his foot right into the Sludge Villain's eyeball.
"OW!"
His grasp on him weakened immediately. He pried himself out of his grasp and hit the ground, coughing harshly. His throat was burning. He felt sick. He could still feel little trickles of the sludge in his throat. His stomach was lurching, threatening to make him vomit.
"Son of a..." the Sludge Villain growled, a muddy hand clutching his bruised eyeball. "You're gonna pay for that, you shitty kid!"
Still weakened by the Sludge Villain's attempts to do something to him, he put his fists and took a stance, ready to combat him. Even if his attacks could do nothing to the main body he could at least ensure that he could buy time for the heroes to arrive.
Then he paused, finding something slowly appearing out of thin air, as if from a mirage. He blinked, once, twice and three times before his jaw dropped. The villain noticed this and looked behind him. As soon as he did, his jaw opened to reveal a black hole and his eyes threatened to pop out from its sludgy body.
It was a mech. An honest to god mech. Nowadays, mechs hardly belonged in TV shows and anime anymore, due to the emergence of Quirks and whatnot. Even so, they were still a rare sight. This one was dyed in crimson, quite bulky with large fists and menacing yellow eyes, strangely in the form of hiragana, that glowed ominously.
Izuku could swear those eyes were locked onto him.
Before the Sludge Villain could do anything, it slammed its fist into him, reducing it to splatters across the pavement. Puddles and stains splashed against the walls and ceiling, with the eyeballs and mouth in different pools of muck.
It was over in a single hit. Either the villain was quite fragile, or the mech was that powerful.
He stammered, unable to form the proper words of gratitude, but for the sake of it, he tried to do so anyway. "Um, th-thank-"
His eyes widened as the machine pulled its arm back, and then thrusted it forward, aiming right for him.
"EH?!"
Izuku backpedaled and moved away as fast as he could, just barely avoiding the metal fist. However, the force behind the blow that struck the concrete sent him flying. When he hit the road, he landed on his back, causing it to flare in pain. He groaned and looked up, finding the machine to be slowly approaching, eyes still locked on to him.
'I-I don't understand...' Izuku thought in terror, his body shaking. 'Why-why is it after me?! Is it a Villain after all?!'
He tried to get back up on his feet, but he found them far too weak to stand. His earlier fight with Katsuki, plus his struggles with the Sludge Villain from earlier, had left him too utterly drained. His body was just too exhausted to fight back anymore.
The red machine that would kill him loomed like a spectre of death, once more raising its fist. The boy shut his eyes, lowering his head and just waiting for the end to reach him.
It would never touch him, for the fist was blocked by two hands made of flesh and bone. The air trembled as the metal fist was stopped in its tracks. The owner of these hands, bearing a toothy smile on his face, spoke to Izuku behind him.
"Young man, it is alright now." Izuku's eyes widened. He could never mistake that voice, having heard it so many times before if only in video form. Slowly, he raised his head to find a broad man standing before him, composed of rippling muscles that gleamed in the sunlight. "Do you know why?"
All Might looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Because I Am Here!"
All Might.
That was a name almost everyone was familiar with. The Symbol of Peace that founded the Golden Age of Heroics. It would not be an understatement to say that, without All Might, Heroes would never have received such rapt attention or the recognition they deserved. One might say that his prowess and status rivaled even the Kamen Riders themselves.
But at this moment, All Might's status and abilities were irrelevant. Not when his target was right there.
He had to admit, seeing him outside of his armor and his younger self was certainly something. At first, he doubted if he had the right person until he noticed the Ridewatch sticking out of his pocket. It was inactive, but it was definite proof that the person in front of him was indeed the person who turned his world into hell.
Still, he would definitely take no pleasure in what he was about to do. God, just looking at him as he was now was enough to make his hands shake. There was hesitance growing in his heart, but he squashed it almost immediately.
This had to be done.
He struggled at first, prying the Time Mazine's fist out of All Might's grasp, but he succeeded and backpedaled. His focus was on Izuku Midoriya, but he soon found himself staring in surprise as a familiar white cloak came into his field of vision, taking the boy by the hand and pulling him away.
"Tsukuyomi..." he muttered with a frown. As he had thought, she had come here with him as well.
No matter. Whether she liked it or not, he would succeed in his mission. He would defeat All Might and complete his task.
Izuku Midoriya had to die.
Izuku had thought his life was strange before, what with being born into a world where having superpowers was commonplace and not having powers was not. But nearly getting killed by a sludge monster and then almost killed by a giant red robot? That was certainly not what he had been expecting.
Nor had he expected to be rescued by his childhood hero, All Might.
All. Might.
He cursed himself for his weakness, and hoped that the man would be alright. Wait, who was he kidding? This was All Might he was talking about for crying out loud! The strongest hero in all of the world! There was now way he could lose. Izuku had seen many videos of his feats and actions, and practically chronicled every waking moment of his career ever since he first learned of the man when he was old enough to use the internet.
The idea he would lose now was ludicrous, but even so, he wished he could have gotten an autograph first! That would have been incredible! It would be a family treasure to be passed down for generations!
Hm? Wait a second, when did he get back on his feet? And who's hand was he holding?
"Are you alright, Midoriya-san?"
The person holding his hand turned to look at him and he promptly froze.
Oh.
Oh dear.
It was a girl. An honest to god girl that was not a classmate or his mother.
She was a beauty, too. There was something oddly alluring about her appearance, far different from most women he usually saw per chance when walking home and whatnot. Fair skin, slightly older than him by maybe two years or so and jet black hair that fell to her shoulders, wearing a dress that came down to her knees with a white cloak wrapped around her. It was an odd choice of fashion, but Izuku could say he had seen weirder, given what sorts of outfits heroes wore.
No, wait. There was something more important right now. Like, the fact she was holding his hand!
"Midoriya-san?" the woman tilted her head. "Are you okay?"
"Grbl..." he said in reply. Oh, god, this was bad. This was the first time a girl, an actual girl that he didn't know whatsoever and a total stranger to boot, was talking to him! And he couldn't even form a sentence!
The woman's tilt increased. "Are you...alright?" she asked before she seemed to realize something and then sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What am I saying? Of course you aren't alright. You were nearly killed a moment ago." She then turned to the side, muttering something underneath her breath. "Dammit, Geiz. What are you thinking?"
Geiz?
Trying to get his brain back into working order, Izuku cleared his throat and finally managed to get his voice back. "I'm sorry."
"What?" the girl blinked. "Why would you be sorry for almost getting killed?"
Ah, that had been on reflex on his part. He almost did it again, but he caught himself in time. "Sorry. I'm just… This-this is weird. Like, really weird. What was that thing?"
"Ah, that." the girl sighed again. "That was a Time Mazine."
"Time...Mazine?"
"I...think it would be better to show you."
From there, the girl, who called herself Tsukuyomi, had explained a few things to him after she rescued him from his apparent pursuer. She hadn't explained who they were, but Izuku had a feeling she would get to that.
Time Mazines were mechs that, for the most part, had the function to traverse time and space. The idea that such a thing was possible was incredible to Izuku. There were time manipulation Quirks, and he even recalled that there was a Kamen Rider who could stop time, but there was technology capable of feats like this. He wouldn't have been able to believe it entirely until Tsukuyomi showed him.
She apologized profusely when he almost found himself being reduced to Tyrannosaurus Rex food.
Tsukuyomi was not from his time, as he had guessed when she revealed the capabilities of the Time Mazine. Rather, she was from 50 years into the future: the year 2068. According to her, it was a time period of both strife and progression, as evident by the creation of such incredible machines. The strife part came into the fact that Tsukuyomi was a member of a resistance cell fighting back against an evil dictator.
That, of course, was when Izuku started asking questions.
"Wait, the world's ruled by a dictator?" Tsukuyomi nodded. "But, what about the heroes or Kamen Riders?"
She sighed deeply. "They...were wiped out. The heroes had long since started to become weaker as the years went on, and the Kamen Riders..." Another sigh, this one much more saddening to hear. "They were the first to oppose him, but they were all defeated."
"All of them?" Izuku whispered in shock and disbelief. "Even-even Kuuga?"
"Even Kuuga."
That...that was terrifying. No, scratch that, that was absolutely nightmare inducing. Besides All Might, Izuku had followed the exploits of the Kamen Riders, primarily those of the Heisei Era as information of the Showa Riders were quite scarce since they predated the age of when everyone were Quirkless. The Kamen Riders were all Quirkless in some form of another, especially the likes of Kamen Rider Drive, who was a police officer and Kamen Rider Double, who was a mere detective (well, two detectives). They were proof that his dream, in some way, was obtainable.
And none of them were as powerful, or as strong, as Kamen Rider Kuuga. At least to his knowledge. The fact that Tsukuyomi told him that this apparent dictator defeated even the strongest Rider known to him was enough to make him tremble slightly.
Just what kind of future waited for them later down the road?
"This...dictator sounds scary." he said. "So, did you come to the past to try and stop him or something?"
"In a manner of speaking." Tsukuyomi nodded. She proceeded to take out some sort of device and messed with it, pressing a few dials before a holographic image appeared. "This is the man who rules the world in my future."
The first thing Izuku took notice of was the golden belt around his waist. The design and fashion, and the way it was seemingly built, was enough to clue him about the identity of this mysterious warrior. The second thing he noticed was the fact that he was decked out entirely in gold. The only thing that wasn't gold was the faceplate, which was black with a red visor, acting like eyes and written in katakana.
"Kamen Rider…" Izuku read the visor before he blinked. Then he balked. "Wait, the tyrant fifty years from now is a Kamen Rider?!"
The time traveler nodded gravely. "Yes. His name is Oma Zi-O. The Demon King of Space and Time. He is the most powerful Kamen Rider in history, and his strength is second to none."
His mind was reeling. He could swear there was steam pouring out of his head. Okay, this was too much. Far too much. He needed time to process all of this. Tsukuyomi had been quite patient with him and she waited for him to calm down. When he did, he took slow and deep breaths.
"Okay… This is a lot to take in." he stated the obvious. "But, Oma Zi-O? I've never heard of a Kamen Rider like that before." And he would know. He practically knew the names and abilities of virtually almost every Kamen Rider in existence. Barring those from the mysterious Showa Era, of course.
"Because at this point in time, he has yet obtained the Rider System he needs to utilize his power." Tsukuyomi informed him. "However, I know for certain that today is the day that the world will learn of his existence. Also, he was only known as Oma Zi-O when he came to his rise of power in my time. He was originally just called Zi-O."
Time King? Well, wasn't that ominous, especially if he was going to be called Oma Zi-O. That sounded far too much like "Maou."
"But...you're here to prevent that, right?" Izuku asked. Tsukuyomi nodded strongly, determination burning in her eyes. "If you showed your Time Mazine to the heroes and this data, then I'm sure you could-"
She stopped him right there. "Midoriya-san, the circumstance behind Zi-O is...complicated." she admitted, earning a confused look. "I already know who he is."
"You do?!"
"Yes. He is right in front of me." Izuku blinked in confusion and looked around. They were still in the Cretaceous Period. Or at the very least very early in that time period, given there were a few dinosaurs roaming about, and to his relief not a single Tyrannosaurus Rex. There were no other men in the area, so he looked back at Tsukuyomi. "It's you."
"Eh?"
"Izuku Midoriya." she spoke gravely as she pointed a finger at him. "You will become the one who will rule the world in fifty years. The Demon King, Oma Zi-O."
"…eh?"
As she expected, Izuku had reacted rather poorly to the revelation that the future she had been born into and experienced came about at his hands.
Actually, scratch that. He looked downright terrified.
"What?!" he cried in absolute shock, disbelief and horror all at the same time. The color in his face had drained away and he was shaking like a leaf. "What-what do you mean?! That-that's ridiculous! I-I-I couldn't possibly be a Demon King!"
"I understand it is hard to believe, but-"
Izuku shook his head. "No-no, you don't understand! I literally can't be Oma Zi-O! I don't have a Quirk, much less a Driver!"
This time, it was her turn to be shocked. "W-what?" she choked on the air, staring at him with large eyes. "You-you're Quirkless?!" Izuku bobbed his head rapidly and her jaw dropped. He was Quirkless?! What the absolute hell?! This was not what she knew about Oma Zi-O! She knew from personal records and intel that the man had a Quirk, on top of possessing capabilities one might expect from a Kamen Rider, especially one of his caliber.
But, Izuku Midoriya was actually Quirkless?
'What if he's lying? What if he's only pretending to be Quirkless?'
The thought certainly was possible. A clever ruse, but given his personality based on what she's seen so far of him… Well, if he was, then it really made her question a lot of things. Was he perhaps a late bloomer? Admittedly, her knowledge on Quirks was limited to what little she knew, considering the current state of affairs in her time, but she knew that some individuals manifested Quirks very late in their life. Perhaps Izuku Midoriya's hadn't surfaced yet.
By the time she was out of her line of thoughts, the poor boy was still hyper ventilating and mumbling to himself, looking cross between terrified and dismayed. Not that she blamed him, considering she had just dropped a bombshell on his head.
Maybe she should have used a little more tact.
"Calm down." she said, trying to be as assertive as possible. He wasn't listening. Her eyebrow twitched and before she realized it, a violent roar ripped from her throat. "I SAID CALM DOWN DAMMIT!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Tuskuyomi cursed her violent outbursts. Especially in situations like this. "I'm sorry for yelling. I tend to be rather...loud whenever I feel a little frustrated. And please let me finish. What I said is true. You will become the Demon King, but as I told you before, I'm here to prevent that from happening."
"H-how?" A fearful look came over him as he took a step back away from her, raising shaking fists. "A-are you going to kill me?"
"Have you obtained a Ridewatch recently?"
He blinked. "A-a what?"
"Ridewatch. It would look something like this." She pulled out her personal Ridewatch from her cloak, holding it out for him to see. Judging by the look on his face, he had clearly seen one – or perhaps found one himself. "This is what will allow you to use your Driver if you ever obtain it. It's also the key to summoning my Time Mazine."
Izuku stared at it for a while before he pulled out one of his own. It was blank, thankfully enough. Meaning that he had yet to unlock its true potential. She snatched it out of his hands and threw it as far back as she could, letting it soar in the air before it found itself dropping into the ocean.
"E-eh?"
Tsukuyomi breathed a sigh. Step one of her plan to ensure Izuku Midoriya did not become Oma Zi-O was complete. Without the Ridewatch, nor a Driver, the odds of him becoming that horrible man would be extremely low.
Even so, there was that small chance. And given the state of her Time Mazine, she wouldn't be able to make any giant leaps across time like this one anytime soon. She would be unable to see the fruits of her labor, so for now, she would see how things progressed.
Besides, she couldn't leave his side just yet. Not when Geiz was still out there. Hopefully, she would be able to make him see reason.
Battling All Might had been far more troublesome than Geiz had expected. Truly, the man was worthy of his reputation as the strongest hero of the Golden Age. Perhaps he might have stood a chance if he exited the Time Mazine and fought the man himself, but he wasn't about to expose his face.
Considering his target had escaped and that his reserves were running low, and that he couldn't risk any damage to his Time Mazine, he was forced to pull back and left the area quickly. No doubt Tsukuyomi had already escaped with Izuku Midoriya.
"Oma Zi-O..."
Geiz spoke the name in such a way it might have been poison. The memory of his comrades, wiped out in a single moment, was still horribly fresh in his mind. All of that level of destruction and chaos, all done at the hands of one man. And worse, it was the future that would await this world, all at the hands of a single boy.
A boy who looked like he couldn't hurt a fly.
Geiz grimaced as he slapped a hand over his face. "Why couldn't you have looked more imposing?" he silently questioned. Izuku Midoriya looked so horribly frail that he might as well be a Quirkless normal kid who couldn't possibly have any hope of being such a menace. Yet the information he and Tsukuyomi and the Resistance gathered said otherwise. "Tch."
He shook his head and looked down at the city below him. For a moment, he wondered what kind of future the world would be like if Oma Zi-O had never appeared. Would it be like this? The past was so beautiful, if maybe a little cluttered. The Golden Age of Heroes was wondrous, with so many people walking about and the world thriving with life. If this was Heaven, Geiz wondered if his future could be called Hell.
The only way to ensure that Hell would never come to pass was if Oma Zi-O ceased to exist. All he had to do was kill Izuku Midoriya, and his future would be averted. His world would no longer exist as it did now.
'But if Tsukuyomi's plan succeeds...'
It was abysmal, but it was certainly a thought. Ever since they discovered the identity of Oma Zi-O, they had been butting heads as to whether or not he should be eliminated or persuaded to take a different path. Tsukuyomi advocated the latter, but his superiors thought otherwise. What if it was only a short-term effect? What if he could quickly fall into his old ways?
Hence his presence here. His orders were simple enough. Just three simple words: "Kill Izuku Midoriya." To be honest, he didn't enjoy it as much as Tsukuyomi thought he did. In fact, he hoped that she would succeed, but he had to follow his orders.
Even if he didn't agree with them himself.
"What a pain." Geiz muttered as he stood up. He would have to search for Izuku Midoriya again, and eliminate him when Tsukuyomi wasn't around. That was his most likely opportunity. Until then, it was the waiting game. As he prepared to leave in search of his target, the ground beneath him quivered slightly, in conjunction with something exploding in the distance. Smoke could be seen rising, with a faint orange glow surrounding it.
Ever since this morning when Katsuki learned that Izuku fucking Midoriya wanted to go to Yuuei, he was stuck in a bad mood. No matter what he did, from hanging out in the arcade for his usual hours to letting out his frustrations on the bastard in question, he could still feel irritated.
It irked him to no end.
"Don't you think you were a bit harsh on Midoriya, Bakugo?" one of the fucking fleas that hung around him asked. He didn't understand why they hanged around him so much, even after he threatened to blow them to kingdom come and sometime later followed up on those threats. It was like they were parasites or something. "I mean, sure, he's Quirkless and all, but..."
"Did I ask for your opinion, numb nuts?" Katsuki growled. The flea shut up. The smartest thing he's done all morning. Just thinking about Izuku was enough to set him off these days. He honestly didn't take that idiot, but ever since that day in the river, he just couldn't stand him. Everything about that day pissed him off.
His fingers twitched madly. He wanted to blow something up. Just anything for him to vent his frustrations on.
"Maybe he doesn't actually want to apply for the Hero Course." the other flea suggested, making him pause briefly as he gave the idiot a moment of his time. "I mean, sure, it's a Heroic Training School, but it's also a high school. They do have academic courses."
Katsuki stared at him a moment longer, then scoffed. "You're an idiot." he said bluntly. "You obviously don't know Deku in the slightest. Even though you sit next to the little shit." But he did. He knew damn well that Quirkless idiot fully planned on signing up for the Hero Course, because that had been his dream. Even though he had no Quirk, he wanted to become a Hero. And that drive only gotten stronger when he heard about the Kamen Riders – the Quirkless Heroes from before the age of Quirks and the Silver Age. "That dumbass wants to sign up for the Hero Course, and when he does, I'm gonna watch him go splat."
"Unless the test is easy." He snarled and glared at the flea again. "W-well, you never know! I mean, he's kinda ripped like you are!"
"What part of, he's Quirkless, do you not get you fucking moron?!"
His anger flared and he couldn't stop himself. He just kicked at something, a small tin can, and it promptly bounced off the ground and struck the wall. Then it sank into a body of sludge.
'Wait… Sludge?'
Katsuki looked up, and found a gaping mouth with pearly white teeth and bulging eyes looking down on him with glee while the rest of its murky body loomed over him, ready to swallow him whole.
"Finally! A meat suit with a little fire in 'em!"
This was what led to the current situation. The one that Toshinori Yagi, All Might, had been helpless to aide his fellow Heroes in.
The streets were destroyed. The concrete pavement was demolished and cracked and uprooted from the Earth. Shops were partially destroyed and scorched in black soot. A few cars were overturned and lying on their sides. Fires were breaking out all over the place. Kamui Woods was darting all over the place, rescuing stragglers from explosions and the fire while darting around in search of others in need of rescue. The newer hero, Mount Lady, was unable to do anything but shield the crowd of bystanders when an explosion came far too close for comfort or when a piece of debris came flying their way. Death Arms was busy trying to contain the one behind all this damage, but it was clear he was able to do little.
The Sludge Villain, the one he had been chasing earlier and had escaped in his battle with the red mech, had a hostage. A kid that could apparently create explosions. He was using him as a meat shield, and from the look of things, he was a valuable one.
'This is all my fault!' Toshinori cursed himself. His scar throbbed and burned, making him curse in anger. 'If only I hadn't spent so much time fighting that machine! I've already used up all the time I have!'
This was the worst. He should have known this would have been the outcome. His injuries had always been so crippling, but now he was starting to realize just how liable he really was. If only he still had enough time to take down that sludge murky bastard and save the kid!
"Why aren't the Heroes doing anything?!"
"They can't! That villain has a hostage!"
"Is he some kind of supervillain?!"
"Dammit..." Toshinori slammed his fist against the street lamp next to him. The metal was barely event dented and his hand throbbed in pain. He gripped his scar even more tightly. "Dammit!"
And he was far from the only one feeling like this.
Tsukuyomi had explained the plan to him, but Izuku still felt his mind was in some kind of haze. Even as they returned to the present day, he had barely said a word to her.
'I...rule the world?' The image of his future self, this Oma Zi-O, lingered in his mind. 'But, no that can't be right! There's no way I could be like that! I'm Quirkless for God's sake! I don't have any power! I can't-there's no way I could...'
Denials were flooding his thoughts. He was trying desperately to ignore everything that had been dropped on his shoulders. Today really wasn't his day. First Katsuki found out about his decision to enter Yuuei, then he almost got himself killed by this Geiz character, and now he found out he was going to be some kind of dystopia ruler. He wanted to become a Hero, just like All Might and the Riders. Becoming someone like Oma Zi-O was not what he had in mind in the slightest. Actually, it sounded like some kind of sick joke.
That's all this had to be, right? Just some kind of joke! He couldn't turn into some evil overlord. He was...okay, he would say it. He was too wimpy to even think of becoming some kind of overlord. And he was meek! He could barely talk to someone without going into some kind of stutter.
Just what was he supposed to do? God, what was he supposed to tell his mother?!
"Are you alright, Midoriya-san?" Tsukuyomi's voice broke him from his thoughts. Bless this woman's soul, she still sounded so kind and caring for him. Even though he might possibly responsible for ruining her life.
"I'm still...processing all of this." he told her with a sigh. By now, he no longer had any trouble talking to her without fumbling. Now, he was just concerned with the information he had been presented. "I don't think you're lying, but… Me? Becoming this Oma Zi-O person?! I-I don't… I don't understand it. I don't have a Quirk, and last I checked, I don't even own a belt."
"And hopefully, you never will." Tsukuyomi huffed, folding her arms. "And even if you did, it wouldn't actually matter. Without the Ridewatch, the belt is useless."
From what she said, it seemed like that toy, or Ridewatch, was a transformation trinket. Kind of like Kamen Rider Build's Fullbottles or Kamen Rider Drive's Shift Cars. To be honest, he was kind of hoping to see what exactly they could do, but given what that entailed, it maybe have been for the best.
Tsukuyomi had more or less assigned herself the role of being his guardian. Ensuring that he would never stray from the path. It was a tall order she was undertaking, and he even questioned if she was actually willing to ensure that her plan went through. Especially as it meant she would have to monitor him for long periods of time. Perhaps even all of his life. And she showed the exact same determination as she did when she told him about her future and how she would do whatever it took to ensure he would never become Oma Zi-O.
Barring killing him, of course. Thankfully, even Tsukuyomi would never stoop so low, but she did warn him about Geiz. A comrade of hers from the resistance, who had been ordered by their superiors.
Now, if there was anyone Izuku was scared of in regards to people from the future, it was most definitely the higher ups of this resistance. What kind of people asked them to kill a middle schooler, future evil overlord be damned?!
The young woman's face softened, and opened her mouth to try and asauge his worries when the ground beneath them suddenly rumbled. An explosion sounded off not too far away from them, causing them to gasp in shock.
What was happening? Was there an incident? Was there another villain attack? Izuku's body had moved on autopilot, legs sprinting to where the explosion occurred. "H-hey, wait!" Tsukuyomi cried, rushing after him.
They soon reached the source of the disturbance. A large crowd of bystanders had gathered before what could only be described as a stalemate. Backdraft, Death Arms, Mount Lady and Kamui Woods were all gathered, but were helpless before the carnage in front of them. To Izuku's surprise and shock, the sludge villain from before was there, smack dab in the middle of it all.
No, more than that. He was the cause of it all!
"B-but how?" he questioned in shock. "I thought that red Time Mazine knocked him out!"
Tsukuyomi cursed. "He must have escaped while Geiz and All Might were battling! Damn that idiot! Ooh, when I get my hands on him!"
'But why aren't the heroes doing anything?' Izuku questioned, suddenly confused by the event in front of him. Mount Lady was protecting the gathered crowd from flying debris and small explosions while Kamui Woods made it a point to avoid any and all bursts of flame while trying to find a way to get at the sludge villain. Death Arms was searching for an opening, but every time he got close he suddenly backed away. Backdraft was trying to douse the flames, but each explosion only served to increase their size. 'And where is All Might? He must have been chasing after that Sludge Villain earlier, so where is he?'
He sincerely doubted that the hero could not notice this. Actually, was it his imagination, or did those explosions seem oddly familiar to him.
"What's going on?" someone in the crowd questioned. "Why aren't the heroes doing anything?"
"They can't." another answered. "He's holding somebody hostage. Some poor kid!"
Izuku's eyes widened at that. A hostage? His mind raced back to when the Sludge Villain had him in its grasp. Suddenly, fear gripped him. His hand went up to his chest. His hands were shaking. "I'm sorry..." he whispered under his breath, looking down. He couldn't watch this. Behind him, Tsukuyomi put a hand over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Just-just hold out." The poor guy couldn't hear him, he knew. But even so, he wanted him to know. "Just hold out… A hero-a hero will come."
Another explosion. Then, a familiar scream rang in Izuku's ears. One so frighteningly familiar. "LET ME GO YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Izuku's head snapped up. His heart sank. Katsuki's mouth was clogged by the sludge, forcing him back.
For a brief moment, Izuku saw the cocky facade and confidence that the ashen blonde often wore on his sleeve vanish. Instead, all he saw was a look of fear and panic. He was scared out of his mind. His eyes were watery. They were begging.
'It's...Kacchan.'
"Dammit!" Death Arms cursed as he leaped away, avoiding an explosion from the Sludge Villain's arm. "I can't get close enough! How the hell is he using the kid's Quirk?!"
'That's Kacchan.'
Backdraft doused another flame, only for another to shortly sprout into existence. "Everyone, please stay back!" he shouted at the crowd. "Curses! At this rate, they'll be more flames than I have water!"
'Can't you see him? That's Kacchan right there.'
"I can't get close!" Kamui Woods said in dismay as he grabbed the last of the stragglers away, putting them in the crowd. "Wood and fire do not mix! I'm sorry, but another hero's got to handle this!"
'He's going to die. He's going to die.'
"I can't do anything..." Mount Lady bit the bottom of her lip, cursing her own weaknesses. "These streets are just too narrow!"
'Why? Why aren't you doing anything? That's Kacchan. He's dying! So why…?!'
His heart was thumping in his chest. Noise was becoming increasingly louder. His hands shook, but not out of fear or horror. His eyes were overshadowed by his bangs. There was something rising in his chest. Something he couldn't explain. It was the first time he had ever felt like this before. It was bubbling and rising like mad. His teeth were clenched.
Before he realized it, he suddenly found himself screaming so hard that his throat burned.
"WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING?!"
The outburst took Tsukuyomi by surprise and backpedaled away from him. He was panting, sweat dripping from his forehead. Then he realized what he said. No doubt everyone was staring at him in shock and confusion.
Then he heard it. Nothing. No words, no whispers. Not even the cackling of flames. Slowly, he raised his head.
The world was frozen solid. Everything was drained of color, becoming dull gray. Katsuki was still struggling to break free and the heroes were trying to find some way to help. The crowd was still looking on. But they were all so still. Even the flames had not flickered and danced.
Time had stopped.
"What…?" Tsukuyomi breathed. "But-how is this possible?"
Then a noise came from behind them. The sound of clapping. "Ah, what beautiful words that resonate with the heart. A shame they cannot hear such a wondrous and scathing question that would make them question what they know." Izuku turned around. Approaching him was Woz, a book in his hand and a wide smile on his face. "After all, heroes must be willing to take risks, no?"
"E-eh? Woz-san, how're you-"
"You!" Tsukuyomi suddenly put herself between him and Woz, eyes narrowed sharply. A weapon was suddenly in her hand. It was bizarre, resembling some kind of phone with a watch on it, distinctly shaped like a gun. "Why are you here?!"
Woz's smile grew. "Ah! Tsukuyomi-chan, long time no see. How is Geiz-kun doing?"
"I am most certainly in no mood for games!" she growled, an edge clear in her voice as her finger squeezed the trigger. "Answer me, Prophet of Oma!"
Izuku choked. "Wait, y-you're from the future too?!" he cried in shock. "Y-you work for Oma Zi-O?!"
"I serve Izuku Midoriya-sama." Woz replied, never losing his smile as he bowed deeply. "And no one else. You are the one whom I have sworn my life to."
Should...should he feel flattered? Actually, how was he supposed to feel about this? On the one hand, he never received such treatment, but on the other hand, he served his supposed future self.
How confusing.
No, wait. Now was hardly the time to be thinking about stuff like this! If time was stopped, then that meant the heroes could save Katsuki, right? "Woz-san, c-can you resume time for the heroes?"
"I'm afraid not." Woz shook his head, causing his heart to sink. "The only reason you and Tsukuyomi-chan are able to move is because you two possess a Ridewatch."
"What?" But that couldn't be right. Tsukuyomi threw his away. He shouldn't have it in his possession. Digging into his pockets, Izuku's eyes widened as he pulled out a familiar black, blank Ridewatch. "Eh?! B-but how?!"
Woz chuckled. "You can't fight fate so easily, Izuku-sama. That Ridewatch is tied to you. Even if you could part with it, it remains part of you. You and that Ridewatch are bound together." He then stepped forward. Tsukuyomi scowled and leveled her weapon at him. "The heroes are useless, as you can see for yourself, Izuku-sama. They are hesitant to throw themselves into danger. But what about you?"
"W-what?"
"Don't listen to him, Midoriya-san!" Tsukuyomi told him heatedly. She never once took her eyes off of the man in front of her. "He isn't to be trusted!"
"My, such harsh words. Especially coming from the daughter of one of the most famed Heroes in our time." the prophet smiled wryly. He didn't heed her warnings and stepped closer. "You already have the means to save Katsuki Bakugo from his fate, Izuku-sama. So what is stopping you? Why hesitate?"
"B-but I…"
The image of his future self – of Oma Zi-O – flashed in his mind. The power that one man displayed as he effortlessly wiped out the strongest the resistance had to offer. He wanted someone to save Katsuki. He wanted to save his friend. But if he used the Ridewatch…
"If you continue to hesitate, that young man will die." Woz reminded him. "You only have a single chance. And that chance is now before you. Heroes must be willing to take the risk, yes?"
He glanced at the scene behind him. His eyes were locked with Katsuki's.
The decision was made almost instantly. "I… I don't have a Driver." he said. Tsukuyomi looked at him with large eyes of disbelief. "I can't do anything."
"You don't have to worry about that." Somehow, without her even noticing, Woz was right in front of Izuku. In his hand was a velvet cushion. On top of it was a belt with a clear white design, resembling the decoration of a watch with an LED screen in the center. On either side were round slots, no doubt where the Ridewatch would be inserted. "The Ziku-Driver is yours to command, Izuku-sama."
For a moment, Izuku's breath was hitched. He dared to say it was beautiful. He reached out to grab it, but Tsukuyomi's hand grabbed his wrist. "Don't." Her face was written with worry and fear. Fear for not just herself, but for him as well. "If you put that on, you know what will happen! Midoriya-san, I know you are a good person, even if we've only known each other for a few hours! I know you don't want to become Oma Zi-O! So please!"
Izuku stared at her for a moment, then smiled sadly. "Thank you, Tsukuyomi-san." he said with gratitude, gently prying her hand away from his. He held it, not shaking or stuttering. "But… I don't want to see Kacchan die."
Tsukuyomi's breath hitched.
He grabbed the Driver from the cushion. It felt heavy, if only perhaps he knew of what consequences he might suffer.
"If..." he swallowed the lump in his throat, looking at the Ridewatch in his hand. "If saving Kacchan means that I become a Demon King, then… Then…!"
His eyes hardened. His heart steeled. And Woz smiled widely in approval as his thumb pressed against the ruser.
"Then so be it!"
He pressed the button, and the Ridewatch flared to life.
『 ZI-O 』
Time resumed. And when it did, the crowd gasped as a new figure had intervened. In seconds, Katsuki Bakugo was ripped away from the Sludge Villain's grasp, and the muck himself was thrown back. Death Arms stared in shock, wondering when this stranger had intervened. The ashen blonde teen coughed haphazardly, his nostrils and throat burning in pain from the suffocating torture he had been subjected to. Shaken and slightly dazed, he looked up to find someone next to him, standing beside him protectively.
"W-who…?"
The new arrival was obviously a hero, or perhaps a vigilante. Perhaps new blood, due to the fact that they had never seen him before. The suit had a clock-like theme motif, even bearing a resemblance to a Rolex watch. It was jet black with a silver band going down the middle with silver trims along the shoulders, accented by pink highlights. The same accents could be found over his hands and around his forearms and at his calves. The faceplate was white and bearing a clock-motif to it, with a purple visor done in katakana style. Around the new arrival's waist was a strange belt.
"Y-you..." the Sludge Villain wheezed, feeling as though he just had the wind knocked out of him. "Who the hell are you?!"
The figure stepped forward and raised a hand, index and thumb stretching out.
"Kamen Rider Zi-O!" he declared for all to hear. "Sanjou da!"
[Opening Theme: Over "Quartzer" - Shuta Sueyoshi feat. ISSA]
[Instrumental]
A clock ticks by. With each passing second, a Rider's face flashes by, starting with Kuga and ending with Build.
(Oh, yeah. Ohh…)
Izuku's face is shown, slowly raising his head to face the camera before it flashes to Geiz, who in reverse looks away.
Isshun de tsukamitoru no sa Are you ready?
(Are you ready?)
Izuku is found training in his sensei's dojo before time freezes, revealing Zi-O behind him, also in the midst of training.
Atarashī rekishi wa soko ni Feel it! Feel it!
(Crazy baby!)
Geiz walks through the ruined remains of his destroyed world. Time freezes and Kamen Rider Geiz walks past him, Zikan Zax in hand before stopping abruptly and look at the camera.
Hikari wo kate ni kasokushite
Konomama Shout it out! Shout it out!
Ima wo susume yō
Yuuei Academy is shown with all of Class 1-A in front of it, standing proudly before the scene shifts to the bar used by the League of Villains, all of whom stare back imposingly. Flames consume the scene before it reveals Oma Zi-O sitting atop a gilded throne, head resting leisurely in his hand.
Madō hi mo
Ikudo tonaku
Asu no tobira tatake
Mitsumeta sono saki ni
Tobikonde mitara
Believe Yourself!
Izuku and Geiz stand back to back towards each other, holding their respective Ridewatches while the background shifts, changing from the present day with battles raging to the future in its ruined state. The two raise their heads before rushing past each other, now clad in their respective Rider armors.
Now, Over "Quartzer"
Toki no ame
Surinukete Tomo ni
You, Over "Quartzer"
Mirai wo koe yō
The Riders of the Heisei Era appear, one by one in the middle of battle with their Kaijin Rider counterpart before the battle changes to Class 1-A battling their own foes.
Kako no ishi wa
Uso de wa azamuke nai
Kanjiro sō Nexus Future
Now, Over "Quartzer"
Mabayui sekai
Misete
The final scene shows Izuku and Geiz battling each other while Woz and Tsukuyomi watch on before a dust cloud washes over the area. Izuku finds himself rushing out of it, running towards Oma Zi-O, who sits atop his throne before extending a hand towards him as if in greeting. Izuku jumps up and cocks his fist, ready to fight his future self before the scene is closed shut, revealing it to be part of Woz's book.
The world is revolving
Time and space are shifting
Destiny calls, will you answer it?
Next Time!
"Kamen...Rider?!"
"Rejoice! For the birth of a new Kamen Rider, one who bends space and time to his will!"
"I will save you…Kacchan!"
Next Episode: The Hero of 2018, Part II!
"Go beyond! Plus Ultra! !"
*Chapter 2*: The Hero of 2018 Part IIDisclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider or My Hero Academia. Both belong to Toei and Horokoshi respectively. Special thanks goes to my friend Gabriel for his knowledge in Kamen Rider Zi-O and my friend Daemon of Wrath for his massive contribution for this chapter!
Author's Note: Well, this has been a long time coming. Jesus, when was the last time I updated this? Better late than never, I guess! Jokes aside, a big reason why this chapter was delayed for so long was mainly because of me being lazy, preoccupied with my more popular stories, my recent bout of depression and mulling over where to take the story.
As you guys will see with this chapter, I will not be following the complete storyline of Kamen Rider Zi-O, but rather my own unique spin. For starters, Another Riders will be made in the present. Also, Tsukuyomi and Geiz's origins will be changed as well. I don't want to deviate too much from the source material, though. Rather, I have to try and find a balance between the new and the old. This was the big reason why I put off continuing this story for so long.
To be frank, the fight with the Sludge Villain kind of feels a bit weak to me. I think me and Daemon could have done better, but I really wanted to just get this out to you guys and show that this story isn't dead yet.
One more thing. The past few days, I've been getting massive spam from this really annoying troll. His messages are short and the PMs are all pretty damn vulgar, ranging from "let me fuck you" to "I'll fuck you over and over till bleed," some even being written in a foreign language. I've blocked him, but he still messages me using different accounts. If my guess is right, this is also the same asshole on certain fanon wikis who's been tampering with other characters' pages, goes by the username Shinji Ikari999. I tried getting him to stop, but his reply was "fuck you fuck you fuck you" over and over again!
As for the profiles he's been using to spam me, they are Iron Man26, Mad Villain, and Tiber Septim26. If you guys have received messages from this troll before, alert the admins and send screenshots of the messages if ya have to. I don't know about you guys, but he's seriously annoying. This isn't just trolling, this is just harassment.
Enough ranting, enjoy the chapter!
Boku no Hero Academia X Kamen Rider Zi-O Crossover:
"My Hero Academia: Over Quartzer"
Previously, on "Over Quartzer!"
"You could never hope to defeat me. Do you know why?"
"You think just because there are heroes that don't have Quirks, you can suddenly do anything?!"
"Today looks like it will be a special day for you, Izuku-sama."
"You will become the one who will rule the world in fifty years. The Demon King, Oma Zi-O."
"Kamen Rider Zi-O! Sanjou da!"
In this world, eighty percent of the world's population are blessed with superhuman capabilities. The remaining minority are the Quirkless, the normals.
However, there are heroes in this world who do not possess powers. These Quirkless heroes are the Kamen Riders.
The world is shifting, and time has begun to move. Destiny now calls.
Rejoice, for the birth of a King!
Episode Two: The Hero of 2018, Part II
Izuku's mind was racing a thousand miles per minute as he suddenly found himself in what he could only call the most stupid decision in his life. The only thing that was screaming out to him was, I will save you...Kacchan!
To the onlookers, who watched with intrigue and awe at his sudden arrival, it looked like he knew what he was doing.
That couldn't be farther than the truth. He just reacted and his body moved on its own before he could try and think up a plan. He could swear he saw Tsukuyomi looking on worriedly in the background.
Still, at least Katsuki was out of the line of fire. That was something.
"Kamen...Rider?!" the Sludge Villain growled angrily. He had been so close to getting his hands on a suitable body to hold on to, and all of a sudden, this guy showed up. Suffice to say, he was livid. He knew of the Kamen Riders before, the powerful vigilantes that at one point had been called urban legends, but he was not about to let one of them get in his way. "Beat it, newbie!"
"Don't think so!"
Death Arms, who had been on the sidelines up to this point, finally saw the opportunity he needed to intervene. With a hefty haymaker, he delivered a solid blow to the Sludge Villain's body. Despite being mostly liquid, its body was still partially solid. The blow created a hole in its body, and the villain felt it in full as he found himself pulling back while the hole healed up. Death Arms went in for another strike, but the villain reeled back and bounced away. It was about to attempt an escape, but it was quickly barred by Kamui Woods, courtesy of him sending out tendrils of wood.
"You won't escape!" the wood hero declared passionately.
Death Arms looked over his shoulder. "Backdraft, get the kid out of here!" he called to his companion. "Rider-san, will you assist me?!"
Izuku didn't hesitate. Underneath the suit, his whole body was shaking like a leaf. This wasn't one of his spats with Katsuki. This was actual combat. A life or death battle. Yet even so, he couldn't pull back. Not now! With a nod, he rushed in, together with Death Arms.
Here and now, he was going to take a step towards his goal, and change his fate. He wouldn't allow himself to become a Demon King.
He would become a Hero!
Tsukuyomi didn't know how to feel about what was transpiring before her. One half of her was filled with dread, wondering if this was how Oma Zi-O was to begin his reign. Another half could only watch with awe as Kamen Rider Zi-O, Izuku Midoriya, took to the stage and fought together with Death Arms. Since there were still fires raging about, Backdraft was focused on protecting the civilians and putting them out while he dragged Katsuki Bakugou out from the danger zone. Mount Lady was also out of action, instead defending the civilians on her side from incoming threats. Kamui Woods was at least able to provide support by preventing the Sludge Villain from escaping.
Part of her felt like she had failed. In fact, she thought her plan had failed right from the get-go. She thought it would be enough just to separate Izuku from the Ridewatch, but evidently, she was wrong. It was attached to him, and as of now, it couldn't be separated. Now, whether she liked it or not, Izuku had embarked on his path.
Still...what was this relief in her chest?
"Aah~! How magnificent!" Woz cried with enthusiasm, his body shaking in delight. "Rejoice! For the birth of a new Kamen Rider, one who bends space and time to his will! Kamen Rider Zi-O!"
Tsukuyomi groaned as she face-palmed. Thankfully for her, the civilians were too focused on the battle transpiring before them to take notice of Woz's fanboying. She knew the man was an adamant admirer and supporter of Zi-O, but she didn't think he was this bad.
"Do you have to be so embarrassing?"
"I see nothing wrong in announcing the arrival of Izuku-sama, nor his first battle." Woz replied smoothly. "Also, try to look a bit happier."
She glared at the Prophet of Oma. "Because of you, Midoriya-san is going to become Oma Zi-O!" she hissed angrily. If she could, she would have made his stupid face explode. Sadly, she didn't have the necessary equipment to do that. And even if she did, she knew she would lose.
"Izuku-sama would have become Zi-O, with or without my assistance. All I did was just offer him the tools necessary to embark on the path."
Tsukuyomi would have said more, but a familiar face in the opposite end of the street came to her attention. Her heart was caught in her throat.
"Geiz...!"
'I have no idea what the heck I'm doing!' Izuku cried in his mind.
He hastily jumped back to avoid another swipe from the Sludge villain. Even thought he transformed and wore an advanced suit of armor, he still had no idea what to do with it! While he knew how to fight somewhat, he had no idea what to do! While the armor augmented his strength and speed, it didn't mean much of he couldn't utilize them effectively.
"Hold still you freak!" The villain roared before he backed away from Death Arms' punch.
The Pro Hero continued to throw punch after punch, but the villain continued to either evade or shift its body in a way that made it impossible to tell whether or not the man actually did lasting damage. Any blows that landed on its watery body either sank into it or slid right off. Izuku's mind was scrambling, looking for anything about the villain that could offer him or the pro hero an edge. No villain was invincible. They all had a weakness. Every quirk had a weak link in the chain that could be exploited.
He just needed to figure out what that link was.
The villain shrank back, avoiding a roundhouse kick from the transformed Izuku before seizing the opportunity by wrapping his body around him. "Zi-O!" Death Arms cried in worry.
Izuku gritted his teeth, feeling the sludge villain tighten his grip. "I got you now!" the monster snarled. Unlike the last time Izuku had been caught by him, he had wisely moved his physical traits away from view. He couldn't do what he did then and attack the villain's eyeballs and force him to-
'Wait, that's it!'
"Death Arms-san!" Izuku shouted. "His eyes and mouth! Target his eyes and mouth! They're not liquid!"
The Pro's eyes widened in realization before nodding. The Villain immediately panicked before he tried to suffocate Izuku for blurting out his weak point.
Keyword being tried as he was unable to injure the boy through his Rider Armor.
His futile actions ceased as Death Arms delivered a devastating blow to the villain's eye. The force of the impact and the strength behind the blow forced the villain off of the new Kamen Rider, his eyeball and a portion of his body flying off and splattering against the wall. "Gaaaah! You bastard!" the villain cursed as it picked itself back up and reformed, albeit lacking an eyeball and looking positively livid. He quickly snatched up the missing piece of his body, reintegrating it back with him. "I'm gonna make a meat suit out of at least one of ya!"
"Che! You can try!" Death Arms challenged as he pounded his fist into an open palm. Likewise, Izuku adopted a battle stance; feet firmly rooted into the ground, fists raised and shoulders squared.
'Remember, don't let your fear get to you.' his sensei's words echoed back to him. 'Keep your breathing steady, fists clenched, and shoulders square. Above all else, don't let your foe out of your sight. And most importantly...'
He sucked in a breath, calming his nerves before tightening his fists.
'...never, ever let the idea of defeat cross your mind. Instead, focus on what might happen should you let your foe escape you. Defeat can be a stepping stone towards a greater victory, but a failure will be a far greater shame than losing a battle.'
Death Arms twirled around to deliver a haymaker, again aiming for the villain's eyes. Having learned his lesson from the first time, shifted his physical body parts away and across his body, easily avoiding another permanent blow and the man's fist sinking into his body. He was just about to take advantage and wrap himself around Death Arms and attempt to make him his new personal meat suit, but found himself being assaulted instead. Izuku had struck from behind with an ax-kick, powerful enough to kick up a small gust of wind and create an indenture in the concrete. The villain's body split in half and freed Death Arms, who quickly put space between him and the sludge villain.
Izuku likewise did the same. The Pro Hero and himself had the villain flanked. Without Katsuki, he was nowhere near as dangerous as he was now.
'Okay, Izuku. Think.' his brain told him. 'The villain's body is made entirely out of sludge. Semi-solid and mostly liquid. His body can reduce the kinetic force of any attacks he takes, but a strong enough attack and force his body to break apart. The only parts of his body that are completely solid are his eyes and mouth, but he can move them to anywhere on his body. There has to be a way to keep him from moving those parts and keep him stationary. There has to be a limit to how much damage he can take before his body loses stability. Come on, come on! Think!'
As his brain went into overdrive, he took the moment to be aware of his surroundings. What could he use to immobilize the villain? While they could keep attacking him to wear down his stamina, it was hardly a flawless plan. They had no idea how long the villain can keep fighting under these conditions, they may end up wearing themselves out before then.
But then a thought occurred to him. Earlier, the Villain was insistent on finding a host once he pulled Katsuki free. Why was that? Granted, he knew next to nothing about the walking pile of muck and had only guess work regarding his Quirk, but there must have been a reason as to why he needed someone to act as a meat puppet. Maybe he needed something from them, maybe something more than just being a body he could dispose of later.
Unfortunately, Izuku didn't have time to think any further as the villain changed targets and lunged at him. To his shock, the villain's arm morphed and began to twist, forming a liquid drill. He jumped back and evaded, watching in horror as the sludge villain's makeshift weapon cut into the ground.
"What the hell?!" Death Arms cried. "How'd he do that?!"
"My body's more than just sludge, muscle-head!" the sludge gloated. "Now hold still while I put a hole in ya! One way or another, I'm getting the hell out of here before All Might shows up!"
"In your dreams!" Izuku taunted, only to be thankful that his new helmet could hide just how pale his face went as the villain roared and leaped at him again, diving out the way.
'Me and my big mouth.'
As the fight progressed and the crowd watched in baited breath, some wondering who the new hero was, two people were watching other than those from the future with curious interest.
"Interesting. It looks like he can shift his body into weaponry based on how much liquid he has stored up. The way his arm formed into a drill and spinned, it's similar to jet cutter. But how can he do that? How fast can he create such a reaction to make his body that deadly? Can he project a water jet cutter of his own or does he require an external force? How much liquid can he store up?"
"Oi, Sento! Would you quit rambling and tell me why in the hell we haven't jumped in yet?!"
"Would you pipe down, musclehead? Don't you see that this isn't exactly the best time or place to transform?" The first person, Sento, advised.
The "musclehead" as Sento called him, a man with brown hair wearing a blue-and-white jacket with a plaid jacket wrapped around his waist, glared at him and bared his teeth, looking ready to throttle him before he grimaced and reigned his temper in. "Tch, fine. But we could just slip away and transform where nobody can see us. So, again, why are just watching a newbie get his ass kicked?"
"Two reasons." Sento raised a finger. "One, I want to see what our new kouhai can do. I'm very interested in seeing what kind of arsenal or abilities his driver has, and this is the perfect chance to see what he can do. Secondly, I'm not concerned he'll lose."
His friend was unimpressed by his reasoning. "Are you being serious? I admit, he's got some good form, but he's clearly never had to fight like this."
"Ah, but my dear Banjou! Take a closer look. What do you think he's doing while not dodging for sheer life?"
"What?"
Sento grinned. "Not every battle can be won with fists. Sometimes, the only way to win is by using your head."
The sludge villain brought down an ax that had formed from his body, with Izuku narrowly avoiding the attack. Death Arms threw a punch and landed a solid blow on the liquid limb, the force enough to splatter and separate and send the now dismembered limb splattering to the ground before going for another punch, aiming for one of the eyes and missing. To his chagrin, the splattered remains already returned to the main body and reformed.
The villain's mouth formed a leer. "Is that all you got?! I may not have a meat suit yet, but I ain't defenseless ya pricks! I can do more than just make you my plaything! Now sit still and let me make you into a niiice meat suit!"
"My god, do you ever shut up?!" Death Arms growled, growing frustrated.
Izuku shared his sentiments. This fight had been going on for a while now, and the fact that they were battling in an arena surrounded by flame was not helping matters. He could feel himself sweating underneath the suit's protection. The only saving grace was that Katsuki, the source behind the battlefield, was no longer present after being pulled away by Kamui Woods. Backdraft was still in the process of putting out the fires, but at the rate things were going the sludge villain would most likely have escaped them by the time they got the fire under control.
'Come on, Izuku! Think!' the green-haired teen thought to himself desperately. 'His body is made out of liquid, he can control the velocity and pressure and turn himself into a walking jet cutter, and the only parts that we can do permanent damage to are his eyes and mouth that keep moving all over the place!'
There had to be a way to keep him still or knock him out, but what could it have been? How could he find his Quirk's weakness?
'...wait, if his body is made out of water, or sludge in this case, then does that mean...?'
He looked around the ruined arena, hoping that there was something they could use. To his relief, there was just a thing. He was a bit hesitant to use it, however, as he sincerely doubted the public would appreciate greater collateral damage to the area than what had already been done.
Still, what other choice did they have?
"Death Arms-san," Izuku called. "I have an idea..."
Unbeknownst to the whispering fighters, the sludge villain was panting heavily. It was hard notice, given the state of his body, but the surface of his body was starting to dribble down to the ground. 'Agh, this is bad. I'm losing abrasive and fast. Need to get out of here and refuel. Just need to give those jokers the slip, but not before I at least get a hit in on one of these jokers!'
Given how his body was made of liquid, he was susceptible to factors that influence its structure. One of those factors was temperature. Seeing as how he was inside a ring of Fire exerting himself by keeping the Heroes off of him, his body was gradually vaporizing. As a result, it was losing viscosity due to the heat, making it harder to control his own body and remain stable. If this dragged on, he will be reduced to a puddle of runny liquid.
He had to deal with these heroes quick, then get the hell out of dodge! The longer this went on, the more likely All Might was going to appear any minute. And he was sure as hell not going to stick around for that!
Just as he was about to get ready for one last offensive and break through, Death Arms gave Izuku a savage grin. "Not gonna lie, sounds crazy... But hell, don't got much choice. Follow my lead, Rider-san!"
Izuku nodded and once again fell into a combat stance. The villain narrowed his eyes. Just what were they up to? Well, it didn't matter. He'd end this quickly!
He formed two more weapons with his body. One was a drill while the other was an axe. Like whips, the limbs shot out to strike down the two Heroes. Death Arms and Izuku rolled out of the way, avoiding the incoming attacks by rolling out of the way. The ground beneath them was sliced apart before the villain took the opportunity presented to him. Despite his body being made of sludge, he was very quick and managed to get four steps behind the two before Death Arms suddenly lashed out and roared, his arm tearing through his legs and forcing him to splatter to the ground.
The villain growled as his body reformed and became annoyed by their intervention, shifting around and swinging his ax arm in the hopes he would decapitate Death Arms then and there. If it were a normal person with an average Quirk, then they would surely die. But Death Arms wasn't an average person. His Quirk enhanced his abilities, yes, but he was also a Pro Hero for a reason. He ducked beneath the swing and retaliated with a roundhouse punch straight through the chest.
"You idiot, when will you learn?!" the Sludge Villain sneered as the hole in his chest quickly filled with his sludge. Death Arms evaded another strike and threw a second punch, but again his fist did little but blow off chunks that quickly returned to him. "For a Pro Hero, it looks like you're just all muscle and no brain!"
He reared an arm back and formed a drill to impale Death Arm's skull, only for Izuku to quickly step in-between them. A swift uppercut diverted the direction of the drill, but it brushed against his shoulder, causing the young teen to grit his teeth. Despite the suit's defenses, he could still feel the pain. He imagined it would have been a lot worse if he didn't have the armor.
"Rider-san!" Death Arms cried in worry. "You okay?"
"I'm fine...!" Izuku assured him before turning his attention to the Sludge Villain, eyes narrowed beneath the helm. "That attack...it wasn't as sharp as the other attacks. That means, you're running on low on fumes. No, more than that, you're weakening!" The Sludge Villain's eyes widened. "The reason you need to use someone's body is because you can't control the temperature of your body! When heated, sludge can turn into water vapor and combustible cases! However, if you used someone's own body and manipulated their internal temperature, you could cool yourself off! Being surrounded by hot flames like this means you can't maintain your solid form for much longer!"
"Y-you...!" The villain's teeth grinded against each other irritably. "Tch! So what if you figured it out?! This changes nothing!"
Izuku smiled slightly and took advantage of the villain's careless mistake. He swung his leg upward and managed to blow apart the front of the sludge villain's body, causing it to stagger back in surprise. Before he could reform the bits that had been blown off, Death Arms followed up with two swift punches to the arms. Realizing that they were trying to separate his body faster than he could rejoin with his splattered fragments, the villain decided to cut his losses and bounce away, narrowly avoiding another punch from Death Arms.
Of course, what he failed to realize was that this was all part of the plan.
"You ain't getting away that easy, ya slimy muck!" Death Arms roared.
The Pro Hero proved he was much more than 'dumb muscle,' grabbing a slab of debris that was peeled from the concrete during Katsuki's attempts to escape, throwing it straight at the villain. This took the walking sludge by surprise and quickly lost his shape, diving to the side and evading the thrown chunk of rock that shattered upon impact. He reformed quickly enough, but failed to notice Izuku rushing at him from behind and delivering a kick mid-jump, hitting him in both of his eyes.
This stunned the Sludge Villain long enough for Death Arms to deliver another series of blows at his body. Izuku noticed that Death Arms' swings were growing slower and lacking in weight. Some of the blows tore off smaller chunks of sludge than normal, others failing to do any damage at all and just sank in the villain's body.
'Death Arms-san is getting tired.' Izuku grimaced and turned his attention back to the keystone behind his plan. 'We have to force the villain closer. If we can do that...!'
The question was how? Death Arms was losing steam and the while the villain was too, he wasn't losing it fast enough. What could he use to draw him closer? Izuku quickly scanned his surroundings, thinking of a way to solve this. As he was, he happened to catch sight of something. It was hard to see with all of the fire and smoke, but it looked like there was someone on a rooftop.
"Gah!"
He couldn't think more on them further as Death Arms' yell made him turn around. The Sludge Villain, clearly winded and aggravated and growing more desperate, had morphed his hand into a pair of claws and slashed at the Pro Hero's shoulder, easily cutting straight into his flesh. "Death Arms-san!" Izuku cried in worry.
"Kekekekekeke!" the Sludge Villain laughed. "Looks like I'm not the only one running low on gas! Too bad for you, I still got plenty left! And don't forget this body is made outta sludge and filth, piss for brains! Better get that wound checked for infection!"
Death Arms glared hatefully at the villain as it made its escape. Izuku cursed and was about to give tend to Death Arms, the health of the Pro Hero worth more than some villain that would probably end up caught whether or not he did manage to escape, when something extraordinary happened.
Namely, a bolt of yellow shot past him, narrowly grazing his helmet, and struck the Sludge Villain dead in the mouth. The attack caught him completely off-guard and did more than just knock the mouth right off of the villain. It even shattered some of his teeth as Izuku saw several white bits go flying. Red mixed with the disgusting brown water that made up the villain's body. And that was not the only bolt, either. Several more rained down upon the villain, each shot fast and strong enough to blow holes in the villain's body, faster than he could reform. One bolt even managed to knock his eyeball out of his body and bounce off into the ruined sidewalk nearby. The bolts continued to rain down, whittling down the villain's body and forcing him back.
'Who's doing this?' Izuku thought as he attempted to follow the tracks behind the bolts. His eyes fell upon the figure on the rooftops. 'Are they a Pro Hero? But which one? Snipe? No, can't be. He operates in the Kanagawa Prefecture! That's nowhere close to here!' He immediately shook his head. 'No, forget that! They understand the plan! We just need to get him closer!'
More and more bolts fell upon the villain. Even when the Sludge Villain attempted to try and get out of the way, a bolt came flying and struck either his arm or leg, whichever was more outstretched. They had him completely boxed. Eventually, the Sludge Villain found his body being splattered on something behind him. When one of his eyes managed to return to him, it went wide with fear.
Izuku smirked. 'There!'
He let his instinct do the rest, just as the final nail in the coffin shot through the air and pierced a hole through the Sludge Villain's stomach and into the tanker right behind him, spilling gasoline into his watery body. His thumb pressed up against the button atop the Ridewatch before he proceeded to press the button on top of the Driver.
『FINISH TIME』
Various purple characters surrounded the sludge villain, locking him in place. Izuku ran forward before jumping high into the air. He spun his Driver after it tilted.
『TIME BREAK』
The surrounding characters converged before shooting past the target and branded themselves on the sole of Izuku's outstretched foot. Power surged through as his descent accelerated and his kick landed a direct hit on the villain's tangible parts, creating a purple explosion.
However, that was not the only thing that happened.
Izuku's plan revolved around his guess about the Sludge Villain's quirk. His body was liquid and semi-solid, and if his guess was correct, he could take other liquids into his body. He suspected this was how the Sludge Villain was capable of making his body parts obtain the sharpness of a water jet cutter. Water by itself was harmless unless it was mixed with the right things. If mixed with a form of abrasive, and with the correct conditions and equipment, a water could become sharper than a sword. Going with this, assuming the villain could indeed absorb other liquids into his muck-like body, Izuku devised a plan.
That was to say, take a page from Katsuki's book and blow the villain to high heaven.
Whether it was by luck or by coincidence or god-given intervention, a tanker just so happened to be in the middle of the disaster zone that had become the ruined shopping district. It was even luckier for him that the explosions caused by Katsuki's frantic attempts to escape the Sludge Villain's grasp didn't blow it up either.
The villain's ability to freely manipulate his body and regather any part of his body that went flying was annoying and made the attempt to get him closer to the tanker harder than it needed to be. The fact that someone had intervened at the last second when Death Arms was injured had allowed Izuku to deliver the finishing blow.
His kick didn't just stop at the villain. In fact, the newly born Kamen Rider had severely underestimated the power behind the famed Rider Kick that he had seen so many times on TV, performed by different Kamen Riders.
Izuku's Rider Kick had not only smashed through the villain, but also tore a hole straight through the tanker. Moments later, when his feet touched the ground, the tanker exploded into a giant ball of flame. The explosion was of a force that surpassed what even Katsuki was capable of at present, rocking the ground beneath his feet and obliterating some of the buildings surrounding the tanker.
His face fell in horror as the ball of fire dimmed, but in its place was a small scorching crater.
"Oh no. No no no. Oh, god." His stomach lurched, head spinning. "Please don't tell me I just-!"
"Unfortunately, the walking pile of sewage is still alive, Izuku-sama."
"GAH!"
Izuku leaped into the air and let out a shrill scream as he turned around. Behind him was Woz, smiling proudly as he looked upon the destruction Izuku had brought about. "An excellent first battle, Izuku-sama. Oh, I can hardly wait for the day when your glorious road to kingship begins in earnest."
"W-wait, what do you mean?" Izuku asked fearfully. "Didn't you see how big that blast was?! With how close he was, there's no way he could have survived!"
Woz merely gave his lord a smile and instead pointed to the wreckage. Izuku followed his gaze and found his heart sagging with relief. The Sludge Villain had been reduced to literal puddles on the ground, some of his pieces even splattered across the ruined cars and buildings nearby. One particular puddle had his eyes with literal swirls in them, implying he had been knocked unconscious.
The young teen heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh, thank you god." He then stopped when he noticed something else. The flames had not flickered, nor had Death Arms made any attempts to move. His expression was still, and some of the onlooking civilians' faces were open as if they were in the middle of talking. "Wait, did you stop time again?"
"But of course." Woz replied. "A Kamen Rider you may be, you are still technically acting as a vigilante. It wouldn't do very well for you to be arrested, correct?"
Izuku paled. While the Kamen Riders themselves were officially recognized as heroes themselves, some of them were technically acting as vigilantes. There were some key exceptions such as Kamen Riders Double and Ex-Aid, both of whom were employed by the government in spite of a technicality on the former's part, and had received a license to commit heroic acts. Others, such as Wizard or Kiva, did not have licenses and were not officially recognized.
However, technically speaking the Kamen Riders could not be touched by the law. As per the laws regarding the usage of Quirk and heroic actions without a license, a person was not allowed to use their Quirk in public unless there were special circumstances involved. While the cases of Riders such as Wizard and Ghost could be argued, the law could not legally touch them.
That did not mean they couldn't be arrested and questioned.
"Shall we?"
Izuku wordlessly nodded and quickly fled. Woz watched him go with a smile before he turned his head to where the interloper responsible for Izuku Midoriya's victory was.
"Some thanks are in order, I suppose." he remarked as if speaking to the individual in spite of the distance between them. "It's good to see you again, old friend."
His smile grew a little bigger when he could swear he felt animosity and anger aimed towards him.
Geiz sighed deeply as he removed the belt from his person. In an instant, his armor dissipated and vanished into light. He stared at the absolute wreck that had become the shopping district and birthplace of the man destined to become the Demon King of Time, unsure of whether or not he had just doomed himself or the world. On the one hand, he had a clear opportunity to kill Zi-O at his absolute weakest. He was vulnerable in his current state. On the other hand, the Sludge Villain would have escaped and gone on to terrorize the populace again.
In the end, he chose the lesser evil.
As he slipped the belt away into his bag and the Ridewatch in his pocket, he felt someone approach him from behind. He didn't need to turn around and see who it was. "So, he became Zi-O."
Behind him, Tsukuyomi winced. "Don't you start."
"You and I both know that plan was unrealistic from the start." Geiz continued, his voice even and cool in spite of the conflicted emotions in his chest. "Keeping the Ridewatch away from him until Oma's Day passed was a fool's errand in every possible way."
"You don't have to rub salt in the wound!" Tsukuyomi snarled. "Dammit, Geiz, I know what the risks were! And I had to try something! At the very least, I wasn't going to kill him for something he hasn't done!"
The unspoken 'yet' hanged in the air like a haunting reminder of what was at stake. Their future was on the line, and they had to do something to save it. For the Resistance, the easy solution would be to kill Oma Zi-O before he could rise to power. That was why he came here as per his orders. Tsukuyomi wanted to guide him to the correct path in the hopes he could be someone better, someone else.
Geiz grimaced, remembering just how timid and utterly normal Izuku Midoriya was. Nothing at all like the absolute monster that laid waste to the world.
"...why didn't you take the shot?" Tsukuyomi questioned him. Geiz looked at her in confusion. "It would have been easy for you to kill Midoriya-san easily, especially right now."
Geiz closed his eyes. "...my orders were to kill Oma Zi-O." he stated. Tsukuyomi opened her mouth in protest until he continued. "I didn't see Oma Zi-O. I only saw a reckless vigilante who needed help. Nothing more, nothing less." He ignored the stunned look on her face as he walked past her, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. "I will follow my orders, but only if he proves that, even for a moment, he will become Oma Zi-O. That's it."
Tsukuyomi stared at him for a moment, then let out a sigh. "I see." It wasn't what she was hoping for, but she supposed it was better than nothing. At the very least, Geiz was willing to compromise. Then again, she saw for herself how conflicted he was about this whole affair, even more so now that he had met the young Izuku Midoriya.
Still, there was one thing she needed to make perfectly clear before he left.
"...where the fuck do you think you're going?"
Geiz froze. Dread began to seep into his being as he looked over his shoulder. Tsukoyomi was smiling, but her eyes were burning hellfire.
"W-whoa, hang on a second here. Let's talk about this-"
"Oh, there will be plenty to talk about alright." Tsukuyomi hissed as she cracked her knuckles. "Right after I finish kicking the shit out of you for nearly getting gramps killed that is!"
Geiz could only whimper and ready himself for the beating of his life, once again reminded that while she had inherited her mother's looks, she was definitely her grandfather's granddaughter.
Unbeknownst to Woz or Geiz or Tsukuyomi, there was another present that had been watching the maiden battle of the King of Time with interest.
"So, that's Tid's candidate..." the man hummed, watching Izuku Midoriya quickly make his exit from the battlefield before a cold look appeared in his eyes. "No matter. This changes little. All things must follow the flow of time. Even you, Oma Zi-O."
Izuku panted as the adrenaline of the fight finally left him. The green haired teen was slumped against the wall, free from his transformation. In his hands was the Ridewatch he used to transform.
Even after what just happened, everything seemed so surreal to him.
It felt like a dream and promptly waking up from it. He had heard of the phrase "power high," but what he just experienced back there was incredible. Granted, he felt as though he hadn't fully utilized the suit's potential, but if given the time needed to test its capabilities, what could he accomplish with it? The idea excited him, especially when he realized that this was his chance. He had training and was proficient in combat, but regular and above average physical strength and techniques had little applications against an enemy that could, say, manipulate the weather or conjure fire or turn somebody to ice. He needed something more than just strength.
And this was it. This was his chance at becoming a hero! He could-
"You could never hope to defeat me. Do you know why? Because in this world...there are no heroes."
The words spoken by that golden-armored figure, a god in the visage of a terrifying devil, brought him out of his thoughts and towards a chilling realization. His hopes blown away and replaced by dreadful fear while looking at the Ridewatch as if it was cursed.
He almost forgot what Tsukuyomi told him earlier. That by accepting this power, he would be walking towards the path of damnation. His dreams of becoming a hero, was that what would set him on this path? Was he so desperate to save people that it was this desperation that would make him into that?
Would he really become Oma Zi-O?
"Izuku...I'm so sorry!"
"You think you can become a hero, just because there a punch of Quirkless people who can fight back?! Get real!"
The words of his mother and Katsuki echoed in his mind. The words that replayed in his mind whenever his powerless self was brought up. Every time he remembered hearing those words, he wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear. For the longest time, the crushing realization that he didn't have any power at all made him helpless.
Then...
"Chou, henshin!"
"I'll fight to protect dreams."
"I'll fight fate and win!"
"I'm well-trained."
"I am the man who walks the path of heaven, and rules over everything."
"Ore, sanjou!"
"Now, count up your sins!"
"If someone reaches out for my hand, I'll take it. Because not taking that hand...will be my greatest regret."
"Uchu kitaaaaaa!"
"Saa, showtime da."
"This...is my stage!"
"Let's go for a ride!"
"My life is burning bright!"
"I'll clear this game with no continues!"
"Shall we start the experiment?"
He learned that he was not the only one. The other Kamen Riders...now his predecessors and senpai...were in the same situation as him. Many of them lacked powers. Yet through their determination, courage, and power of will, they became heroes. They became protectors. It didn't matter that they weren't pro heroes or were Quirkless. They fought to protect because that was who they were. Because it was the right thing to do.
Was that possible for him as well? Even with this power that had damned him?
"Even so..."
Izuku clutched the Ridewatch tightly.
Even if this power would corrupt him, he still accepted it. All to save his friend in spite of the gap that formed between them. And Izuku would gladly do this a thousand times over.
Because it was what All Might would have done, right?
"I'll become a hero." he whispered, eyes alight with resolve. "Even if I become a demon, I swear! I'll become a hero! A hero who wears a smile, no matter what!"
As if in response to his declaration, the Ridewatch let out a faint glow.
The following day had been a storm of epic proportions. When Izuku had returned home and his mother frightened out of her mind about why he was so late, followed by a chastising of epic proportions when he told her he had been where the epic battle with the Sludge Villain had taken place, the news had been doing a report. Katsuki was in the hospital being treated for his injuries, but he would be returning home before the end of the day since they weren't so severe. A lot of people and heroes present for the catastrophe were praising him for his resilience and his Quirk, which was practically made for combat.
However, the real meat was the appearance of the mysterious new Kamen Rider who made his grand debut. Several stations offered their opinions and thoughts about this new vigilante, but for the most part everyone was being cautious. While the Kamen Riders were well-known and respected by the general public, it was because people already knew about them and their abilities, some even aware of who was behind those helmets. Two Riders, such as Gentaro Kisaragi and Sento Kiryu, were known to be Kamen Riders Fourze and Build respectively and were even licensed heroes themselves. Gentaro Kisaragi was a teacher at Amanogawa High School and Sento Kiryu the physicist teacher at U.A. Academy.
Kamen Rider Zi-O, however, was a new mysterious face that didn't stick around for people to get a good read on him. Death Arms and Kamui Woods offered their sincerest thanks for his intervention, but at the same time they also wished for Zi-O to reveal his identity and become a proper hero instead of acting outside the law.
Of course, Izuku already had this plan in mind. He wasn't going to reveal his Rider identity right away, not until he had joined U.A. With this power, that dream was well within his grasp. He just needed to survive Katsuki's explosive attitude and his sensei's rigorous training.
'Speaking of sensei, I should probably visit him soon.' Izuku thought to himself as he remembered his fight with the Sludge Villain. 'I need to get used to using the armor as soon as possible, not to mention broaden my horizons.'
At any rate, he wasn't going to let his newfound fame and scrutiny get to him. He would continue his high school life as normal and wait until he had a better understanding of his powers. And who knows? Maybe he could meet with some of the other Riders and teach him how to use this power? Well, that was assuming they wouldn't report him that is. He had to be really cautious about how he was going to train himself in the usage of his new powers without letting go of his resolve.
As he waited in his desk and went over the materials in his notebook (for class, not heroics), he heard the door open and people rush out of their seats. Looking up, he saw a disgruntled Katsuki Bakugo. His eyes were still angry, but he also looked incredibly tired as he was no doubt still recovering from his encounter with the Sludge Villain. The students rushed to him and started pestering him, either asking him questions about what it was like to fight a villain up close, if he was okay or if what Kamen Rider Zi-O was like.
That last time, it turned out, was a landmine. The second somebody asked that question, Katsuki's explosive mouth flied open and roared. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! WHO CARES ABOUT HIM?!"
Izuku sank in his seat and desperately tried to look as if he wasn't interested. If Katsuki didn't hate his guts now, he sure as hell would the second he learned who Zi-O actually was.
The commotion didn't last for very long as the teacher entered the room. The morning routine began as usual as the students took their seats and bowed respectfully. Looking over the students, the teacher nodded to himself and began. "Before we begin, I have an announcement for you all." he began. "We have a new student joining our class today."
Whispers began shortly after. Izuku was just as curious as the rest, since they were in their last year of Junior High. It was odd that someone was joining their class in the last leg of the year before they began their lives in high school.
"Come in!"
The new student stepped into view. He wore the Orudera uniform, but it was open to reveal the button-up dress shirt. Over the uniform was a black jacket with red highlights, the sleeves possessing what looked like a clock design. His face looked like it was etched in marble with utterly how indifferent he was, hair short and eyes cold.
"This is Myokoin-kun," the teacher patted the transfer student's shoulder. "Treat him kindly, everyone."
"...Myokoin, Keita." the transfer student said after a moment. "Nice to meet you."
The students broke out into whispers upon seeing the new arrival. Izuku, meanwhile, stood silent as the eyes of the transfer student slowly shifted over to him. The green haired youth felt himself freeze under his sharp gaze. He didn't seem completely hostile. More like...cautious?
But why?
"Does anyone have anything they'd like to ask Myokoin-kun?" the teacher asked.
Several hands were raised. The teacher nodded to one of them and the student stood up. "What's your Quirk?"
Izuku winced. Somehow, he had a feeling somebody was going to ask that question. Not unexpected, though, seeing as how depending on the person's Quirk, they would definitely be considered to be Pro Hero material. In truth, he had to admit he curious, but he wanted to be respectful. Today was his first day here and he didn't want to be rude.
Keito answered the question regardless. His response was shocking. "I was born Quirkless."
"...EEEEEEHHHHHHHHH?!" The class exclaimed in unison. The new transfer was Quirkless? But it was so rare!
Izuku stood up straighter. This kid was just like him. Without a Quirk. Without a power.
"So he's just like fucking Deku?!" Katsuki yelled.
Keito grunted. "Is that everything?"
The teacher, embarrassed and surprised by Keito's indifference, nodded while clearing his throat. "Erm, right. W-why don't you take a seat next to Midoriya-kun?"
"Sure." Keito shrugged and walked over to the aforementioned student. Midoriya sat still as a rush of thoughts ran through his mind. The transfer was coming here. What should he say? Should he try to make friends right away? Or should he give him space? He still couldn't believe he was Quirkless like him!
While he was muttering to himself, Keito silently took his seat, only mildly disturbed by the rapid mutters.
And so class continued like normal...
The second break time was issued, Geiz left the classroom as fast as he could before his classmates could pester him. If this was what it was like to be a fish out of water, he would very much like to go back in the water. Why were people so fixated on him being born without a power?
At any rate, he was glad that the hacking tool the Resistance issued him proved to be of use. It was remarkably easy hacking into government records to create his own identity and infiltrated Orudera Junior High. With this, he could now monitor Izuku Midoriya more closely.
While the major downside would be interacting with many overly curious students during the course of his mission, he figured it was well worth it. He would be able to observe Midoriya and determine whether or not he will turn into Oma Zi-O in the end. Right now, all he can do is wait and see what happens.
Now came the major question: what do to while he observed what came next? How could he anticipate Izuku Midoriya's next move? What would he do, now that he had the power of a Kamen Rider? Would he seek out the other Riders, or would he use the opportunity to begin activities as a vigilante?
"Hey. extra!"
Geiz stopped and sighed. He looked over his shoulder and saw him. The man who in the future would become one of the greatest heroes the world would ever know.
Katsuki Bakugo.
'Of all people, why him?' he lamented mentally while keeping his face neutral. "What is it?"
"Where you do plan on going?" Katsuki asked him flatly.
Geiz raised a brow. What was the point of that question? Moreover, why was someone like him asking him about his future? After a moment, he came to a realization. Izuku Midoriya was Quirkless, but he had expressed his desire to attend U.A. Academy. To say that U.A. was a prestigious academy where many a great hero was born would be putting it mildly. Katsuki Bakugo made it clear that he was going to U.A., and as far as he was concerned, he was the only person from Orudera that would make it in. His abilities and smarts certainly made that possible, and he would even score at the top of the entrance exam.
In short, depending on his answer, Katsuki might try and set an explosion off in his face. Not that he cared what he thought. What mattered was his mission and nothing more.
"...my choice of high school is none of your concern, Bakugo." Geiz stated before he turned on his heel. "If that's everything..."
"Hold it!" Katsuki grasped him by the shoulder. The moment he made contact, instincts hone through years of combat took over Geiz as he grabbed the limb and spun it around before pinning it to Bakugo's back. "What?!"
"Just what are you trying to pull?" Geiz glared. "I have neither the time or patience to deal with your pompous attitude. Nor do I care whether or not I somehow manage to hurt your ego." He shoved Katsuki away, forcing the blonde to stumble before he wheeled around and glared at Katsuki, eyes promising nothing short of bloody murder.
"Y-you..." Explosions popped off his hand. "You're fucking DEAD!"
Izuku jumped when he heard the unmistakable sound of explosions going off just outside his classroom. Painfully familiar explosions.
"Shit, Bakugo is pissed!" someone said. "Who's he picking a fight with?!"
"It's that new student, Myokoin!"
Izuku's eyes widened in fright. "Oh no!" On instinct, he leaped to his feet and ran towards the source of the explosions. What was Katsuki thinking?! Keito was Quirkless! Moreover, he just got released from the hospital! He was in no condition to fight!
He reached the hallway where Katsuki was fighting Keito, ready to jump in and intervene, only to skid to a stop and stare wide-eyed at the sight he was greeted with.
Namely, the sight of Katsuki Bakugo being sent flying.
The spiky blonde was momentarily stunned before he ignited his palms and used the force to slow down and land back on his feet. He shot a sharp glare at the transfer student, who simply brushed some dirt off his shoulder.
"Y-you son of a...!"
Keito, in response, glared back.
Izuku wondered whether or not he was dreaming. Keito looked relatively unharmed, save for the small burns on his jacket. In contrast, Katsuki was sporting several bruises. That didn't make sense for Izuku, since the fight couldn't have started more than two minutes ago. Being in such a foul mood, Katsuki would have surely gone on the offensive more than usual, and yet he was the one who was sporting more injuries that Keito was.
"Geez. First day and he's already gotten into a fight?"
The green-haired teen blinked. That voice sounded familiar. He turned his head and balked. "T-Tsukuyomi-san?!"
Right in front of him was the girl who unveiled the truth of his supposed future to him. Unlike before, she was wearing the female version of the school uniform albeit with her white cloak draped over her shoulders.
"What? But h-how?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Tsukuyomi deadpanned. "I enrolled. Admittedly, I miiight have broken a few laws by falsifying my registration. It isn't like I can just tell people I'm from the future, now can I?"
"FALSIF-!"
His outburst was silenced when she covered his mouth with her hands. "Shh! Keep it down! Do you want to blurt it out for the world to hear?!" She whispered harshly. Izuku nodded. Tsukuyomi sighed as she removed her hands from his mouth. "Anyway, do I even want to know how this fight started?"
"I-I'm not sure, but shouldn't we stop this?" Izuku suggested. "Kacchan is seriously angry! I haven't seen him this angry in a long time!"
"Oh, it'll be fine. Geiz can handle himself." Tsukuyomi waved her hand in dismissal. Seeing the confused look on his face, she elaborated. "That's Myokoin's actual name, by the way. I'm not sure why he called himself Keito, but I'm sure he has his reasons. He's also a Kamen Rider like you."
Immediately, Izuku's eyes sparkled. "Wait, really?! Wh-which one?!"
"Kamen Rider Geiz. And yes, he did use his actual name as his Rider identity." Tsukuyomi giggled at his reaction before she turned her attention back to the ongoing fight.
Katsuki let out a battle cry and propelled himself forward with his explosions, shooting straight for Keito - or rather Geiz. He swung his arm forward for a lariat, only for Geiz to duck underneath the swing and roll away. Using his momentum, Katsuki set off several explosions with his left hand, spinning around to deliver a roundhouse kick mid-air. Geiz countered by grabbing his leg and swinging him straight towards the ground.
Infuriated, Katsuki bounced off the ground and leaped away from Geiz. The latter kept a level stare and never once let his guard down. Meanwhile, the explosive blonde looked ready to kill the man in front of him with extreme prejudice. Izuku had no idea what could have set Katsuki off, but whatever Geiz had said, it really got under his skin. Once more, Katsuki lunged at Geiz, this time favoring an ax-kick straight down on top of his head.
Geiz side-stepped, the foot easily breezing past his face before he spun on his heel and rammed his knee into Katsuki's unprotected backside, knocking him away and sending him back to the ground. Acting quickly, he set off an explosion towards the ground and bounced off, spinning back around to face Geiz directly once he landed on his feet.
It was a testament to how much Katsuki knew his Quirk witth how he used it to control his momentum. Despite the usage of Quirks being rather limited due to laws and school restrictions, this didn't stop people from using them in private. The scuffles between him and Izuku also helped Katsuki improve to the point where he had learned to control the size and force behind his explosions, as well as control how much sweat he used up when setting the explosions off. However, the fight was also a testatement to how well trained Geiz was. He had no Quirk, yet he was able to easily fend Katsuki off.
"Is Geiz really Quirkless?" Izuku asked.
Tsukuyomi shrugged. "He was born that way, yeah. But just because he doesn't use any super powers doesn't mean he isn't helpless."
Izuku did not doubt that. Given the time period they came from, it made sense that Geiz was strong. He imagined such a time would have been even harder for Geiz, forced to struggle and fight for survival in a world fraught with such danger to the point where he felt lucky he did not live in such a time, only to immediately feel shameful afterwards in knowing he was also responsible for that period of suffering.
"Still, though..." Tsukuyomi marveled. "I'm amazed he's lasted this long. Though Geiz would still get his ass kicked if this was gramps two decades from now."
"Yeah." Izuku nodded in agreement. Then he froze. Surely, he must have misheard her. Like a rusty machine, Izuku's head slowly and painfully turned to look at Tsukuyomi. "W-wait, what did you just say?"
"Oh, did I not mention that?" The girl smiled bashfully as she scratched the back of her head. "Katsuki Bakugo is my grandfather. My full name is Tsukuyomi Bakugou...er, Midoriya-san?" Izuku gave no response. Worried, she tapped him on the shoulder, only to panic when he fell perfectly still like a statue towards the ground, face frozen and eyes totally blank. "M-Midoriya-san?!"
Before Izuku fainted, he wasn't sure what astounded him more. The fact that Katsuki was capable of getting married and having children, let alone grandchildren, or that he apparently married the incarnation of Buddha herself.
Next Time!
"I've got the winning formula!"
"Y-you're Sento Kiryu! The narcissistic genius physicist! Kamen Rider Build!"
"Congratulations. As of today, you are the new Kamen Rider Build."
Next Time: The Best Match of 2017!
"Go Beyond! Plus Ultra! !"
*Chapter 3*: The Best Match of 2017My Hero Academia x Kamen Rider Zi-O Crossover:
"My Hero Academia: Over Quartzer"
"In this world, over 80% of the population has been blessed with a unique ability. In this day and age, the occupation and actions of those in comic books has become a reality. In this world of superpowers, heroes and villains have become part of everyday life."
Amid the blank white space, occupied only by glass-like constructs resembling pillars and archways, a familiar face stood in this place. He flipped through the pages of his book, yet he spoke as though he were addressing some unseen listener.
"However, 20% of people are not blessed with these so-called 'Quirks.' They are known as the powerless. The crippled. The Quirkless," Woz continued and stopped his page flipping. Printed on the page was an armored figure that was dual-colored and themed; one half of the armor was blue with thick-plated treads on their right foot while the other side was red with a spring around their left ankle. "But, among those Quirkless individuals are those who pursue the path of justice. In fact, in spite of not possessing any powers, they make up for it with other means."
The white realm shifted slightly. One of the pillars of glass seemed to move about; pieces of its construction shifted about and moved. An image appeared on its reflective surface; a man wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt with a hoodie beneath a beige coat and jeans, his tennis shoes different colors; one blue and one red. The man stared seemingly back before a glare ran across the reflection. Once it passed, the dual-colored armored figure stood in his place.
"Some of these heroes even possess abilities that are not Quirks, but instead some other kind of power." Woz snapped the book shut and turned to address his unknown listener. "And today, my king will encounter one of these individuals. Before you bear witness to this meeting, I have a question to ask you."
A smirk spread across his lips, just as the blue-and-red armored figure stepped into view behind him, craning his head and also staring back.
ARE YOU READY?!
Episode Three: The Best Match of 2017
It had been two days since the stunning revelation that Izuku Midoriya, the newly born Kamen Rider Zi-O, received. His head was still reeling from what he had learned.
"To think Kacchan would get married…" Izuku muttered as he walked to Orudera Junior High, still dazed and in full-on rambling. "I wonder who could put up with him. N-not that Kacchan is a bad person, he can just be a little difficult is all. I-I mean, chances are there are a lot of girls who would like him if they got to know him. But how would he actually reciprocate their feelings? Actually, does Kacchan have a type? What kind of girl would he like? Someone like him? The opposite? What would he-"
"Would you please stop?" Izuku jumped. He turned to find Tsukuyomi giving him a semi-annoyed glare as she walked up next to him. "It is way too early for you to doing that."
"S-sorry," Izuku said on auto-pilot.
Tsukuyomi rolled her eyes before smiling wryly. "Well, whatever. Anyway, Midoriya-san, do you have any plans today?"
"Well, ideally, I want to visit my sensei." After reviewing his performance against the Sludge Villain thanks to the numerous videos out there on the net, Izuku realized he was in desperate need of touching up on his martial arts. He noticed so many mistakes and stumbles in his form that, if his sensei ever saw it, he would be disappointed. Maybe throttle him and then re-train him from the ground up. "If I'm serious about becoming a hero, much less a Rider, I need to get better."
Tsukuyomi raised a brow. "You have a sensei?" 'Odd, I don't think that was ever mentioned in our reports,' she thought to herself. 'Then again, the reports also didn't tell us Midoriya-san was Quirkless.'
That thought was still bugging her. Even during the ages when Izuku Midoriya was still considered to be a hero, he was confirmed to possess a Quirk. There were a lot of theories about what his Quirk might have been; Invicibility, Super Strength, Enhancement; the list went on and on, but there was no definitive answer. Officially, his Quirk was known as "Super Power," but Izuku Midoriya never specified about what his Quirk could do, nevermind the fact that he possessed a myriad of abilities that didn't belong to any normal Quirk. It was one thing to be throwing around heavy punches that could shatter ten-inch walls of steel, but it was another thing entirely to be creating whips of black energy from your body or suddenly becoming capable of flight. And those were just the powers Tsukuyomi could name off the top of her head.
She still believed it was possible Izuku was lying about being Quirkless, but she also couldn't disprove the theory that he was a late bloomer. For all he knew, his Quirk hadn't fully awakened yet, despite the fact that he was only a year away from entering high school.
'The downside of a dystopian future everyone: the piss-poor lack of information and intelligence,' Tsukuyomi muttered sarcastically in her head.
"Y-yeah. My dad introduced me to him when I told him I wanted to become a hero, even though I was Quirkless. He actually runs a dojo not far from here. I can introduce you and Myokoin-san to him, i-if you'd like!"
The girl smiled. "I think I'd like that. What's his name?"
Before Izuku could answer her question, the two heard the unmistakable sounds of explosions occurring not far ahead of them, following by a string of violent and vulgar curses. They both sighed as they approached the source of the noise and saw an infuriated Katsuki Bakugo attacking an equally irritated Geiz Myokoin, who was busy dodging said explosions.
"Again?!" Tsukuyomi cried out in frustration. "For Pete's sake…!"
Izuku could only laugh nervously, wondering whether or not he should intervene.
I'm still not entirely sure what Geiz-san said to make Kacchan so angry, but ever since then, he's been less focused on me and more interested on pummeling Geiz-san. In fact, in these last few days that passed since my first transformation as a Kamen Rider, Kacchan hasn't said so much as a word to me and was entirely focused on picking a fight with Geiz-san.
Before I realized it, watching my former friend picking a fight with someone from the future was slowly becoming the norm.
It was a little jarring, honestly.
But, as interesting as it was watching someone who technically my senpai at my age fighting someone as strong as Kacchan, today had a handful of interesting events waiting to happen. Namely that I would have the chance to meet one of the people who gave me hope.
Hope that, even without a Quirk, I could still become a hero.
"A science fair?" Izuku looked up from his notebook, staring at Tsukuyomi curiously. "N-not that I mind hanging out, but why there?"
"As much fun as it is keeping you from becoming the world's greatest supervillain since All For One-"
'All For One? Who's that?' Izuku wondered. 'A villain whose going to appear several years from now?'
"-even I want to appreciate the sights. I mean, it's not everyday that you get to travel to the past, especially the Golden Age." Tsukuyomi reasoned. "Besides, I hear Sento Kiryu is going to be one of the judges."
Whatever thoughts the green-haired boy had about this 'All For One' character went flying out of the window as he shot out of his feet, his eyes sparkling. "S-S-S-Sento Kiryu?! Y-you mean Kamen Rider Build?! The physicist teacher at U.A. High School?! That Sento Kiryu?!"
"Do you anyone else who calls themselves a narcissistic hero of justice?" the future granddaughter of Katsuki Bakugo replied dryly, amused by Izuku's reaction. "I take it you're interested?"
Of course he was! This was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! He would have given up an arm and a leg just to even have a chance at seeing the Kamen Riders in person, even from a distance! His excitement faded slightly when Izuku remembered something important. "How would we even get inside the fair? I mean, don't you need tickets and passes to get inside?"
Tsukuyomi merely smiled as she produced what looked like a tablet from her person, giving it a few swipes before she proceeded to perform a magic trick; namely by pulling out three plastic cards with a strap and three slips of paper.
Izuku stared bug-eyed at her, gaping like a fish. "H-how?"
"Just a little fiddling with future technology is all." Tsukuyomi grinned before handing Izuku a pass and ticket. He took both items with shaky hands, holding them close to his chest as if they were priceless artifacts. "We'll go after school. Meet you at the front gate?" Izuku bobbed his head up and down so fast she only saw a green blur atop his neck. Stiffling a giggle, she left the classroom and exited the hallway.
As she reached the stairwell, she saw Geiz waiting for her, leaning up against the wall adjacent to the flight of stairs leading down to the first floor. Upon noticing her, he peeled away from the wall and walked with her.
"So, how did it go?" Geiz inquired.
Tsukuyomi smiled slightly. "Went off without a hitch. If all goes well, Midoriya-san will be meeting with Build. A first step in the right direction if you ask me."
Seeing as her original plan of keeping him from accessing a Ridewatch had failed, Tsukuyomi had to switch tactics. After discussing it with Geiz, the two had decided that the best course of action would be to have Izuku Midoriya come into frequent contact with the past Kamen Riders. From what little records they could scavenge, even though Izuku Midoriya possessed such incredible admiration for the Kamen Riders, he had little interaction with the majority of them. He would cooperate and fight alongside them on occasion, but those moments were far and few in between. Admittedly, though, these interactions occurred when Izuku Midoriya was already a Pro Hero.
Ideally, Tsukuyomi hoped that repeated interactions and exposure to the Heisei Kamen Riders while he was still learning would create a positive influence on the young Rider and lessen his chances of becoming Ohma Zi-O. Of course, there was no guarantee it would work, and there was always the possibility that plan could potentially backfire on them.
In the end, the two needed to have faith and prayed Izuku would take whatever advice he could get from his senpai to heart.
"How exactly do you plan on getting him to meet with all the Kamen Riders?" Geiz asked Tsukuyomi as they walked, keeping their voices low. "In case you've forgotten, almost no one knows about Decade and Gaim rarely ever shows himself. The rest of the Riders are either recognized vigilantes, government officials, Pro Heroes or scattered across Japan."
"It's a work in progress!" Tsukuyomi snapped irritably. "No plan survives first contact. At least with some of the Riders, I might be able to pull something." Her face darkened. "Right now, my biggest worry is Woz."
Geiz scowled. "Let me deal with him."
"Are you sure? The two of you were-"
"As far as I'm concerned, Tsukuyomi, that person isn't my friend. And he hasn't been a friend for a very long time."
After school was over, Izuku informed his mother that he wouldn't be back for a while and told her he received a pass and tickets to a science fair and was invited by a friend. Thankfully, his mother gave him her blessings and he was free to go with Tsukuyomi and Geiz.
One train ride later, and Izuku found himself gaping at the building in which the science fair was being held.
"This...this can't be...can it...?"
The building he stood in front of was in fact two, separate towers connected by an enclosed bridge that ran between both of them several stories up in the air. It was the Hero school he could only dream of attending.
U.A. High. The place where Pro Heroes were made. The school where his idol, All Might, graduated from. He had stood rooted to the spot for several minutes as the fact registered in his head.
"T-t-t-t-t-the science f-f-f-f-f-f-fair," Izuku stammered, face covered in sweat and his whole body trembling in both excitement and anxiety. "It-it's b-b-b-b-b-being held a-a-at U.A.?!"
Tsukuyomi smiled. "I forgot to mention that, huh? Sorry about that, but it's a good surprise, huh?"
"What's the big deal?" Geiz raised a brow at the building, not seeing why Izuku was so excited about it. To him it just looked like a fancy building. "U.A. is just another hero school, right?"
The green-haired boy stared at the time traveler as if he had grown a second head. "U.A. High School is one of the biggest and most prolific hero schools in the country! It has a three percent acceptance rate, and several top pro heroes work here as teachers! It's produced some of the greatest heroes the world's ever seen! The Flame Hero: Endeavor and the Number One Hero: All Might both graduated from this place! It's practically the golden standard for heroes-in-training!"
"And three members of its faculty just so happen to be Kamen Riders," Tsukuyomi added helpfully. "Sento Kiryu, Kamen Rider Build, is the Physicist and Science Teacher. His assistant, Ryuga Banjou, Kamen Rider Cross-Z, serves as the P.E. Teacher and trainer. There's also Gentaro Kisaragi, Kamen Rider Fourze, who is the school counselor and Home Economics."
"I've only dreamed of going to this place..." Izuku whispered. He never would have imagined he would be able to set foot in its halls, especially here and now. "Haaaah! I'm so nervous! A-am I underdressed do you think? W-w-w-what if we get kicked out?"
"Calm down, Midoriya." Geiz chided him. "The only way they'll kick you out is if you cause trouble."
"Enough, boys. Let's head on inside."
Izuku quickly followed after Tsukuyomi and Geiz, merging with the rest of the oncoming crowd of people also attending the science fair. They had just made it to the front entrance when someone rudely bumped into Izuku, knocking him off balance and falling into someone behind him, knocking them both to the ground.
"I'm so sorry!" Izuku said immediately after he recovered, scrambling to his feet and offering a helping hand to the person he knocked to the ground. He paused for a moment and stared, noting just how thin the man was. His chunks sank so deeply in that he could make out the cheekbones. The man was also sporting dark rings beneath his eyes, looking as though he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days. "A-are you alright?"
"No no, it's my fault," the man assured Izuku before accepting his hand. The latter winced as the man pulled himself up. For someone so thin, he had an incredibly strong grip. "More importantly, young man, are you alright? You took a much nastier fall than I did."
"I-I'm fine."
"That's good. I take it you're here for the science fair?"
"I-I'm just here with a few friends from school. She said she wanted to come," Izuku told him. "But she didn't tell me it was going to be here at U.A.!"
The man smiled wryly. "A fan of heroes, I take it?"
"It-it's my dream to become a hero, just like All Might!" Izuku said passionately. "I'm just hoping I can pass the entrance exam when it's time. I've heard it's insanely tough to get into the Hero Course."
"You aren't wrong about that. The Hero Course tends to have a bit of a high standard, though that's sort of to be expected." The man paused for a moment. "I'm sorry. You're probably not interested in hearing an old man like me ramble on. Aren't your friends waiting for you inside?"
"Ah! That's right! I need to find them! I'm sorry, Mister, but I gotta go!" Izuku bowed politely before diving deeper into the crowd to find the two time travelers.
The man watched the green-haired boy vanish from sight and sighed slightly to himself. "A hero just like All Might, huh? Hmph. If only you knew..."
The science fair was being held in the gymnasium, which Izuku was positively floored upon seeing. It was five times bigger than the one at Orudera, and the ceiling much higher. The gym was jam-packed with several booths. At each booth were students, all wearing different uniforms. Some were students of U.A. High School, evident by the gray-and-black blazers they wore. Izuku couldn't help but notice that the items and inventions on display by the students of U.A. were more sophisticated and complex compared to the rest.
"There's so many! Is every school in the prefecture participating?"
Tsukuyomi shook her head. "From what I gather, it's only schools in the neighboring cities that are part of the science fair, as well as some schools near the coastline. Also, notice how the projects from the U.A. students are better than the others? Those guys are all from the Support Course. They're mostly showing off their inventions to investors and heroes attending the event, but they won't be part of the students being judged."
"Oh, I see. The Support Course students get to show off their inventions, while everyone else can show off their own inventions."
"Right. And if what I've heard is true, then the top three get letters of recommendation. The students have to make their inventions by using their Quirks."
Izuku frowned. "I thought you weren't allowed to use your Quirk unless you were attending a Hero School?"
"There are exceptions, but they're pretty rare," Tsukuyomi replied. "Though I've also heard such schools are mainly private academies and incredibly strict in Quirk usage."
Geiz raised a brow. "And how do you know all of this?"
"Easy. I studied. Something you should be doing instead of wasting your time picking fights with my grandfather."
"It isn't my fault Bakugou has a problem with me."
"This is the worst!"
14-year-old Momo Yaoyorozu looked up from her work to see her classmates fretting over something. Their project for the fair, a perpetual motion experiment of sorts, was set to be active in the next few minutes once the judges arrived. It wasn't overly complex in her opinion, something even a grade-schooler could do if they were given the right materials, but for some reason her classmates were looking at it with confusion.
She stood up from her seat and approached them in concern. "Is something wrong?"
"It's not working," a male classmate of hers with spiky hair told her, the gills on his neck twitching and closing. "We were running last-minute check-ups, and we tried starting it up. We can't get it to start up!"
Another classmate, one with snow-white hair with frost flakes falling from the tips, looked at Momo pleadingly. "Can you take a look at it, Yaoyorozu-senpai?"
"For the last time, Kana-san, I'm not your senpai. We're in the same grade," Momo told her for the upteenth time before looking at the experiment. "Let me take a look."
Not far away, a student wearing a white high-collar jacket with a school emblem emblazoned on the breast pocket looked on expectantly. Sweat was pouring down his face. He was holding something in his hand.
Momo did a thorough look at the parts of the perpetual motion experiment her class designed, examining each and every piece carefully as though she were looking for faulty equipment. After a minute, she found the problem. "There's a piece missing," she told them. "The custom battery Tokinawa-kun made for us is gone."
"Are you serious?" the snowy-haired student cried in dismay. "We only had one of those batteries! Wh-what're we going to do now?!"
"The judges'll be here any minutes!"
The student in the white jacket smiled wickedly, as if pleased with this turn of events.
He turned to leave, having seen the fruits of his labor, only to stop when he heard Momo speak up. "Hold on a second." He stopped and looked back. To his confusion, Momo took out a small notebook from her purse and skimmed through its pages. Once she stopped midway through it, she read the contents carefully before she snapped it shut, returning it to her purse. The student watched in shock and horror as a myriad of lights poured out from her hand, along with an item identical to the one he had been holding this whole time.
It was small enough to fit in someone's hand; a bronze-colored battery with thin bands wrapped around the bottom and top. Unlike the one in his hand, which looked as though it were jury rigged, the one Momo was holding was more sleek and looked like it was made by a professional.
She slipped the battery inside their experiment and performed another quick check. Satisfied with what she saw, she activated the experiment.
The perpetual motion experiment developed by Momo Yaoyorozu and her class, little more than a glorified pendulum knocking back and forth between two steel plates that created a warped but beautiful clanging sound each time the pendulum struck the plates, roared to life.
"You did it! It works!" Momo's classmates jumped up and down in joy while some of them swept up the girl in a grateful hug. "It works! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Y-you're welcome!" Momo replied as she was set back down. It was a good thing she kept her notes on her person. She needed a thorough understanding of the molecular structure and function of an item if she were to remake it with her Quirk, Creation.
Essentially, she can utilize the body fats and lipids in her body to synthesize inorganic materials or elements. She then applies it further by using her knowledge to shape them into proper items. In this case, a battery.
It was an incredibly useful and versatile Quirk, and given her upbringing, it was only natural that Momo intended to apply for the Hero Course once she graduated.
The white-clad student who watched them from afar, and also the one who sabotaged their experiment in the first place, glared daggers at Momo Yaoyorozu while grinding his teeth together so hard one might fear they would crack from the pressure.
'This can't be happening! I went through all this trouble, and this is what happens?!' He turned on his heel and stomped away. He was not finished yet, however. He still had one more trump card left to play. 'I won't let her get away with this! I swear, Yaoyorozu, I will make you grovel at my feet! I will never forgive you!'
"So, what do you think of my baby!"
"You're what?"
Geiz wasn't sure what to think. One moment he had been sticking close to Izuku Midoriya, not about to let the future tyrant out of his sight, when all of a sudden some random woman with pink hair and crosshairs for eyes comes out of nowhere and kidnaps him before shoving some weird piece of equipment in his face. It resembled some kind of gauntlet, but he couldn't be sure. It was too bulky, it had far too many exhaust pipes sticking out of it, and what he assumed were the "fingers" looked more like warped tubes of metal that would a person's fingers if they attempted to don the damn thing.
"What am I even looking at?" Geiz paused for a moment and shook his head. "You know what? Nevermind, I do not have time for this. Go bother someone else!"
He attempted to pull away from this crazy woman and search for Tsukuyomi and Izuku Midoriya. "Attempted" being the key word here. No sooner had he turned to leave did the pink-haired woman somehow slide into his field of vision. "Oh, come on! Don't be such a sourpuss! Aren't you the least bit curious to see what this incredible piece of technology can do?!"
"No, I'm not! Now would you PLEASE unhand me?!"
"I just want you to check out my baby! I worked so hard on it for this year's science fair. Pretty please?" With each sentence, she moved her face closer to his. Geiz had to lean back to maintain his personal space. This girl sure was persistent.
"...if I say yes, will you leave me alone?" The girl nodded exuberantly. Geiz sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Fine. What am I looking at, exactly?"
"You, my friend, are looking at my prototype Booster Gauntlet. It's made to support the hands of people with strength based Quirks to minimize strain while maximizing punching speed and power!"
"Does it work?" he asked in spite of knowing the answer.
The girl grinned from ear to ear as she pressed a button on the left side of the gauntlet. From there it...
Geiz blanched. "...is it supposed to make those sounds?"
"No idea!"
"What?! You mean you never tested it before bringing it in here?!"
"Never got the chance! Just finished last minute before the convention started!" The girl laughed as her gauntlet continued to sputter and rattle.
"Hit the deck!"
Acting quickly, Geiz grabbed the girl and hit the ground. At the same time, he kicked the gauntlet into the air. It promptly sparked and exploded. Thankfully the blast was small and didn't damage anything in the gym. The explosion caught several people off guard, but mainly the attendees of the fair. The others in attendance didn't seem too concerned about something suddenly blowing up.
Geiz lifted himself off the floor and glared at the woman, who for reasons he couldn't begin to fathom was still smiling. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"This isn't the first time one of my babies went off," the girl told him. "A shame! I had high hopes for that one. Oh well! Back to the drawing board!"
"What is wrong with you?!"
"Absolutely everything and nothing!" The girl bounced up to her feet and dusted herself off. "Failure is the mother of invention! At least that's what Thomas Edison says. Now, if you excuse me, I have a new baby to make before the judges get here."
The girl gave him a two-finger salute before she proceeded to walk away back towards her booth. Geiz gawked and stared in disbelief. There was no way that girl was sane. Did she have brain damage or something, or was everyone in 2018 insane?
'She reminds me far too much of Doc Hatsume,' Geiz grimaced while shaking his head. He wasted too much time humoring that nutcase. For now he had to find Tsukuyomi and Izuku Midoriya and-
*BOOM!*
Another explosion, far larger than the one created by the girl's gauntlet. It was powerful enough to rock the whole gymnasium, sending most of those present sprawling to the ground. Geiz managed to keep his footing and stood upright. He turned on his heel and looked to where the explosion occurred.
The far back of the gym was thrashed. The infrastructure was intact due to having been built to take some serious punishment, but several booths and stalls were obliterated and destroyed. Smoke was starting to fill up the area. It was difficult to see who was injured and who wasn't, though he could make out something stepping out into view from the smoke. An armored figure clad in blue-and-red armor with a jet-black body underneath, the right arm little more than a blood-red spear while the left arm was garbed in thick plating. The helm was chrome-shaped with a red-and-blue visor.
"What the hell is that?" Geiz frowned heavily. He almost mistook it for Build, but the armor was wrong. Maybe it was a cheap knock-off or a villain ripping off his esthetic.
Whatever the case was, they sure as hell weren't here for the science fair.
Sirens and bells went off in Izuku's hears as his vision came into focus. He and Tsukuyomi had been checking out one of the booths at the far back of the gym, a pendulum that never lost its movement while banging into steel plates, when a blast went off practically right next to him. Everything was burning white. It hurt just to move.
"W-what happened...?"
As the whining noise in his ears faded and his vision returned, he found the majority of the booths in the back of the gymnasium ruined and reduced to splinters. The villain Izuku assumed was responsible stepped out into view; at first glance they looked like Build, but the armor was wrong and their left arm was that of a blade.
The fact that a villain was here, in U.A. High, was enough to make Izuku pull himself up on his feet in spite of the pain he was in. "How did a villain get inside? Did they blend in with the guests?"
The villain paid no heed to Izuku or anyone else around him. Instead, their focus was on a single individual; a girl wearing a black school blazer over a sailor fuku with a wild ponytail. The moment he saw the villain poise their blade as if to strike her, Izuku's body was moving faster than his brain. He jumped up and threw himself at the girl, pulling her down with him and evading the blade. The villain stumbled as though they were thrown off by the weight of their weapon.
The green-haired boy scrambled back to his feet, glaring at the villain while putting himself between them and their quarry.
"Get out of my way...!" the villain snarled.
Izuku's response was to take out the Ziku-Driver from his school bag and the Ridewatch from his pocket. He heard the girl behind him gasp and the villain still, but he honestly couldn't care about the fact that he was about to transform in front of someone and potentially risk them exposing him. All he could think about right now was protecting her. With that in mind, he slapped the belt over his waist and activated the Ridewatch, sliding it into the slot and pressing the button atop the belt. Behind him appeared a holographic clock whose hands spun wildly before stopping at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position.
『 ZI-O 』
"Henshin!"
Izuku spun the buckle. Following this, the Driver bellowed,
『 RIDER TIME 』
The clock broke apart as the armor manifested over Izuku, first encompassing his legs and working its way up to his body. Once the helmet was formed and the last of the silver bands latched themselves onto his body, purple katakana slammed onto the faceplate of his helm, forming the visor.
『 KAMEN RIDER ZI-O 』
Once his transformation was finished, he raised a hand, index finger and thumb extended. "Kamen Rider, Zi-O! Sanjou da!"
The girl, Momo, looked up in awe. Meanwhile, Tsukuyomi pulled herself up and pushed away a piece of a wrecked booth off her. She sat up and saw Izuku in his transformed state facing off against the warped form of Build. "What in the world?" Tsukuyomi blinked in confusion, unsure of what was happening. Her gaze fell upon who was behind Izuku and gasped. "T-that's-!"
The villain recovered from their shock. "S-so what if you're that new Rider?! I won't let you stop me!"
They rushed at the rider and brought their blade down, only for Izuku to catch the blade mid-swing, both hands pressed against both sides of the blade. He looked over his shoulder and shouted at the girl behind him, "Hurry and go!" Momo snapped out of her stupor and nodded, quickly making her getaway while Izuku protected her.
"No!"
The villain pulled away and rushed after Momo, only for Izuku to perform a flying-kick to his unprotected back that knocked him to the ground. "Lesson one I learned from sensei!" Izuku growled, blocking the villain's line of sight and assuming the proper battle stance. "Never turn your back to your enemy!"
"Damn you! You're ruining everything!"
Geiz came to a skidding halt when he arrived on the scene to see Izuku battling the strange new enemy. Tsukuyomi was nearby, helping anyone who was trapped or wounded get out of the way. "What's going on?" he asked quickly. "Any idea what we're dealing with?"
"No idea!" Tsukuyomi gritted her teeth and pulled an unusually large piece of steel, likely from one of the experiments being shown off here at the science fair, off of one of the guests. "Mido-" She cursed her near slip-up. "Zi-O is fighting him, but I have no idea if that armor is part of his Quirk or something else! And that's not all! He's after Yaoyorozu-sensei!"
Geiz's eyes widened. "Creati is here?!" Tsukuyomi nodded. He cursed under his breath. "That changes things." He pulled his backpack from his shoulder, producing a Driver not unlike Izuku's own as well as his own Ridewatch. In contrast to Izuku's, which was white with the face of Kamen Rider Zi-O printed on it, his was red and bore a face with a yellow visor that read 'Kamen' in hiragana. "Leave this to me and Zi-O."
"You can't expect me to-!"
"You didn't bring your Driver with you, right?" The girl bit her lip and bowed her head in shame. "And you can't use your Quirk without the right equipment. Just leave this to me and Zi-O, alright?"
"Fine. But don't you dare take this opportunity to-"
Geiz cut her off as he slapped the Ziku-Driver over his waist and turned the Ridewatch to reveal its faceplate. "That depends on him." He pressed the button atop the Ridewatch.
『 GEIZ 』
He slid the Ridewatch into the leftmost slot and slammed his fast on the button atop the belt before grabbing both sides of the buckle, inhaling deeply before opening his eyes and glaring at the target before him. Behind Geiz was the holographic image of a clock, though in contrast to the traditional version that appeared with Izuku, his was more modern , akin to a watch with a timer in the middle. "Mission, start. Henshin!"
『 RIDER TIME 』
Rings of red and gold erupted from the clock, encircling Geiz and solidifying into bright red armor that covered him from the neck-down, a black strip running down the middle of his chest and down to the waist with silver anklets around his ankles. On his upper torso as a silver harness of sorts, wrapping around his shoulders. The last piece of armor to form was the helmet, completely black save for the white faceplate. Yellow hiragana slammed over the faceplate and formed into a visor that read "Kamen."
『 KAMEN RID~ER GEIZ 』
With a scream, Geiz charged into the fight and punched the monstrous-looking Build copy in the face. The blow knocked him down while the Rider stood next to Zi-O.
"Myo-I mean, Geiz!" He exclaimed.
"Don't take this the wrong way. I still don't trust you." The red-armored Rider replied. He then pulled out his weapon of choice: a red and black axe with the word 'axe' written in hiragana on the blade.
『 ZIKAN ZAX 』
"I just figured you need a hand taking this punk down." Geiz did not wait for a response as he charged back in and swung his axe blade onto the monster's chest.
The villain recoiled from the blow and stumbled back. "A-another one?! W-who are you?!"
"Kamen Rider Geiz," the red-clad rider replied coldly. "And it will be the last thing you remember."
'Where on Earth did he pull that from?' Izuku couldn't help but wonder.
Together, the two Riders combatted the blue-and-red villain. In contrast to Izuku's hand-to-hand combat approach, where his training in the martial arts proved beneficial in defending and countering the villain's attacks, Geiz was relentless and brutally efficient. No strike was aimed blindly or with wasted movement. Each hit was precise, always aimed at either the villain's exposed weakpoints or at his own blade. Izuku was awed by his fellow Rider's combat ability. Where did he learn to fight like that? It definitely explained how he was able to keep up and fend of Kacchan every time they brawled. He wondered if he could teach him how to fight like that...
...then again, given his previous demeanor towards him, it was unlikely.
Izuku ducked below a wild swing before throwing an uppercut to the monster's chin. Geiz capitalized on this stagger by slamming his axe into its face. The monster collapsed once more before Geiz kicked him away.
The villain was quick to recover and pulled themselves back to their feet before screaming and charging at them. They went in for a thrust. Izuku side-stepped and elbow-striked the villain in the temple, disorientating them and leaving them open for a roundhouse kick, followed by a one-two punch. He stepped back when he saw Geiz come in with a knee-strike to the abdomen. Izuku heard the distinct sound of something cracking when the blow connected. Geiz didn't stop for a second and swung the axe down on their shoulder, dragging it down across their body and creating a line of sparks. Another swipe to the head caused the villain to fall to the ground, wheezing and pitifully scrambling to get up.
The red-clad Rider scoffed. "I have no idea whether or not you're human or not, but it's clear you don't know the first thing about fighting." He threw his weapon aside and pressed the buttons on his Ridewatch and Driver. "I'll make this quick."
『 FINISH TIME』
"Guh..." the villain warbled as they rose to their feet. "I-I won't let you interfere. I won't let anyone upstage me ever again, you hear me?!"
"Upstage?" Izuku frowned beneath his helmet. "Again?" Seconds later his eyes widened when he saw the villain produce something from behind his back, something he recognized immediately. "Is-is that a Fullbottle?!"
Geiz paused momentarily. A mistake the villain capitalized as it shook the Fullbottle, twisted the cap, then proceeded to jam it into their chest. The villain screamed as power surged throughout his body. The result from the bottle injection was a mutation of his form. His feet grew tank treads while his sole, human-like arm shapeshifted until it had a tank barrel extended. A wave of energy surged around him, nearly knowing Zi-O of his feet.
Geiz growled as he continued his finishing move before the effects fully set in. He grabbed both ends of the buckle and was about to pull when the villain chose at that moment to raise its newly-enhanced arm and fire off a salvo, too quick and sudden for him to block or evade. It hit him dead-on and exploded point-blank, knocking him off his feet and straight into a wall. His body bounced off and hit the ground in pain.
"Geiz!" Izuku cried out in concern. He was about to rush over and help him up when the growl of the villain reminded him that he was not out of the woods. He turned just in time to see the villain in the air with its blade raised. "Oh no." He ducked beneath the swing and fell into a somersault, rising to his feet and went in for a right hook. The fist hit its target, but the villain's head barely moved at all from the impact. "Oh, this is going to hurt, isn't it?"
"Get out of my way!" With a shrug, the villain knocked Izuku off of him and swung its tank-arm into the rider's head. Izuku fell to the ground, cradling his helmet and trying to get the stop the bells in his ears from ringing. "I don't have time to deal with you!"
"You don't say? Mind if I join in, then?"
"Wha-"
A large brown fist collided with the villain's helm just as it turned around. Unlike Izuku's earlier assault, this attack held much more strength and succeeded in staggering the villain. They stumbled back and fell against a fallen metal beam from one of the booths for support, shaking it off and glaring at the new arrival.
They gasped. "Y-you?!"
"I have no idea how you got your hands on a Fullbottle, and as much as I would love to know why you decided to crash this year's science fair," Build rammed his large fist into his diamond-armored hand. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"
"Why?! Why does EVERYONE insist on getting in my way!" the villain howled irritably. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you, do you hear me?!"
"Give it your best shot, kiddo." Build replied cheekily.
"Gragh!" The villain roared angrily as he swung at Build. But the Rider simply blocked it with his Diamond arm before countering with a Gorilla strength-infused punch to the chest. The villain gasped before raising its tank arm and firing. Build extended his Diamond arm and transmuted the surrounding debris and air particles into diamonds. The projectiles ricocheted off the hard surfaces multiple times before rebounding into the Villain, blasting it back.
The shards cut into the villain's body, bits and pieces of its armor being torn off. Build quickly closed the distance between them. The villain attempted to defend itself by swinging its canon arm, only for Build to grab it mid-swing. The villain started to panic and tried to pull away, but Build's grip was too strong.
"My turn."
Build's gorilla hand gripped the handle on the side of his belt and started to crank. Appearing all around them were mathematical formulas and equations, seemingly blocking off any and all escape routes.
『 READY, GO!』
"The laws of victory-"
『 VORTEX FINISH! YEAHHH!』
"-have been decided!"
He rushed up to the villain and punched him into the air using his Diamond arm. As the villain flew, his body became encased in a brilliantly cut diamond. As he fell back down, Build wound his Gorilla arm back as he gathered power. With one solid punch, he struck the descending diamond so hard that it shattered to pieces. The resulting impact triggered an explosion that swallowed the villain. Moments later, the villain came crashing back down to earth, body cracked and motes of light floating off of their body.
Izuku and Geiz, who recovered from the villain's assault, looked up and gasped. Izuku more so as stars began to shine in his eyes. Comically, the starry-eyed look replaced the katakana on his helm. Tsukuyomi, who had been watching the fight from afar, smiled. Next to her was Momo, who was looking on in awe.
Build took out an empty bottle from his person, twisting the cap and aiming it at the villain. The particles radiating from his body were sucked inside the bottle, as was the rest of their form. The armor dissolved and flowed into the bottle. Once all of the essence was gathered, Build twisted the cap shut. To his surprise, the villain's actual form was revealed to be that of a student wearing a white blazer with a high collar.
Momo gasped upon seeing who it was that attacked her. "Wait a minute, aren't you-"
The student whimpered as he picked himself up, fleeing the area. Momo attempted to chase after him and get some answers, but Build caught her arm. "Don't worry," he told her gently. "He won't get far. After what just happened, the faculty is going to be all over this place." Momo looked as though she wanted to argue, but relented and bowed her head. "Good girl." Build then turned his attention to Izuku and Geiz, who promptly froze when they realized their situation. "Now, as for you two vigilantes..."
This was officially the best day ever.
Izuku always believed that the best thing that could have ever happened to him was getting All Might's autograph (something that he was certain would only happen in his dreams), but this was admittedly leagues better.
Here he was, together with the two time travelers and a curious Momo Yaoyorozu, sitting across from the one and only Kamen Rider Build in a cafe not far away from U.A. High School.
"Close your mouth, shounen (boy), you'll let flies in." Sento chided Izuku lightly. The green-haired boy jolted from his daydreams and realized that his mouth was open. Worse, he was actually drooling! He hastily wiped the drool from his both, his face bright red, much to Tsukuyomi and Sento's amusement. "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting the new Rider in town to be a middle-school student. How long have you been a Kamen Rider?"
"A-a few days at most!" Izuku half-shouted. "I started a few days ago!"
"Ah, that would explain it." Sento smiled. "I guess I should introduce myself to your friends, then. Let me introduce myself. I'm-"
"Y-you're Sento Kiryu!" Izuku interrupted, too excited to notice and unable to control his excitement. "The narcissistic genius physicist! Kamen Rider Build!"
"H-he even got the 'narcissist' part right...!"
"Well, he isn't wrong," the cafe owner laughed as he set the group's orders on the table. He looked to be in his early to mid-forties, hair slicked back with round glasses over his face and a spiffy fedora hat atop his head. "You are a little full of yourself, Sento-chan. Especially since you got hired by that mouse to be a teacher at U.A." Sento pouted slightly while taking his coffee cup from its saucer, though not before eyeing it warily for some reason like he was expecting to be poisoned. The cafe owner smiled at the group of teens and tipped his hat. "Nice to meet you kids. My name's Soichi Isurugi, owner of this fine establishment."
"A pleasure to meet you," Tsukuyomi bowed her head. "I am Tsukuyomi."
"Myokoin, Keito," Geiz replied stiffly.
Momo bowed her head. "Momo Yaoyorozu, third-year at Kuzunoha Private Academy."
"I-Izuku Midoriya, third-year at Orudera Junior High School!" Izuku introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, Isururgi-saaaaaaAAAH!" Izuku yelped and reeled back, pointing a finger past Isurugi and at the counter. "I-I-Isurugi-san! A girl! There's a girl coming out from your fridge!"
The two whirled around to see a young woman with short, black hair and a cute face crawl out from the refrigerator door. The other teens were equally surprised by her sudden appearance. Where did she come from?
"Hm? Oh don't worry about that, Midoriya-kun. That's just my lovely daughter, Misora." Isurugi smiled as his daughter stood up and dusted herself off.
"I think he's more surprised by the fact of how she got here instead of who she is." Geiz replied as he still stared at the fridge.
"Oh, that's just a secret passage to my lab downstairs." Sento answered casually.
"You have a lab underneath us?" Momo questioned.
Isurugi nodded. "Of course. It used to be Sento's home until he and Banjou finally got a job. It also doubles as a bunker in the event an alien from another planet that can summon black holes and eats planets for a living ever comes by."
'That sounds oddly specific!' thought everyone except Sento.
Sento cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Now then!" he clapped his hands in an exaggerated manner. "Let's get down to brass talks. For starters, Yaoyorozu-chan, was it? It looked like you knew that guy."
Momo nodded. "Yes. He's from a rival school. His name is Masao Kurumi."
"How did he turn into a monster?" Izuku asked. "Was it his Quirk?"
"I can assure you that it wasn't. From what I've been told, Kurumi's Quirk is to re-arrange the structure of any non-living thing he touches without affecting its mass."
Sento hummed. "Interesting Quirk. But, to answer your question, Midoriya-chan, he became what is known as a Smash Organism." He took out one of the Fullbottles from his pocket and handed it to Izuku, who accepted it. It was red with the image of a rabbit printed on the casing. "Recently, someone got it in their heads that they can strengthen themselves by applying the essence of a Fullbottle into their body, causing them to transform into a Smash. Or rather, a Neo Smash as I like to call them."
"Why's that?"
"Let's just say the Smash I used to deal with before I came here are a bit different than these ones," Sento said cryptically before continuing. "The Fullbottles I use are filled with a substance known as Nebula Gas which, which when refined, can apply a beneficial effect to the user. For example, when I use the Rabbit Fullbottle, I can move faster." He took the Fullbottle back from Izuku, then took out the Fullbottle he used to capture the essence emitted from Kurumi. Unlike the Rabbit Fullbottle, this one was more round and had spiderwebs on the casing. "Recently, however, Fullbottles like these have been hitting the streets. Two-bit criminals and kids looking for cheap thrills use them to turn themselves into Neo Smash, though the effects usually last for a few hours at most. Think of it like the Quirk-enhancing drug Trigger, except it turns you into a monster than boosting your Quirk."
"How long have these things been circulating?" Tsukuyomi asked, wanting to learn more about this time period.
"It's hard to say. But based on whatever information we could gather, it started to gain traction about a couple of months ago."
"That's pretty recent. Have you found the source yet?" Geiz inquired.
"So far, no. We're still trying to track down the distributors, but it just seems like they pop up everywhere in the country. It's hard to find a pattern. But we did bust a few individuals who have been dealing them." Sento replied. "However, when we analyzed the Nebula Gas we extracted from previous users, we found that the strain of gas used is different from the previous one."
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked.
Isurugi sighed. "It's a bit hard to explain, but to give you some idea, Nebula Gas, in its raw state, has the same effects as the refined stuff Sento-chan uses with the Build Driver. However, when directly exposed to the stuff raw, your personality undergoes a change. More aggressive, hostile."
"The Fullbottles being distributed use something similar, but it's more artificial. I haven't had much to work with, but from what I was able to find out, these Fullbottles expose the user to the full effects of the modified Nebula Gas. Except instead of turning you into a volatile cocktail of bottled-up anger, it actually dampens their Quirk and boosts what's already there." Sento rubbed his chin. "Now that I think about it, Kurumi sounded incredibly frustrated. The way he fought was desperate."
Izuku frowned. "Now that you mention it..." He looked at Momo. "Yaoyorozu-san, it seemed like he was going after you specifically."
"Me?"
"Yes. It seemed like he was fully intent on attacking you for whatever reason."
"Do you have an idea of how that might be?" Misora included herself in the discussion by asking her.
"Hm..." Momo frowned deep in thought, trying to think of a reason why Kurumi was so intent on attacking her. Then it finally clicked. "I think I know. It might be what happened at last year's Science Convention."
"Last year's?"
Momo nodded. "The science convention last year was being held at Shiketsu, though it was mostly part of a charity event after the villain attack in Hokkaido."
Izuku's expression turned somber. "I remember that. A member of the Chinese Mafia was trying to broker a deal with a yakuza family in Sapporo when the heroes chose to bust the operation, but the villain had a Quirk that caused his strength to increase seemingly without end. By the time All Might and Endeavor showed up to apprehend the villain, over forty percent of the city was in demolished. The death toll was over two thousand."
"Yes. Shiketsu decided to host a charity event, and the science convention was part of it. Kuzunoha was chosen to participate, as was Irezumi, the school Kurumi attends." Momo creased her brow in thought, trying her best to recall the convention last year. "If I remember right, Irezumi was disqualified when it was discovered that one of the students participating in the event was revealed to have plagiarized another school's invention.
Geiz narrowed his eyes. "Was it Kurumi?"
Momo shook her head. "No. It was his step-brother, Yukihasa. The one who reported the plagiarism was my senpai, who asked me to help out in the convention that year."
"Is it possible that Kurumi thinks you were responsible for his brother being disqualified?" Tsukuyomi reasoned.
Izuku tilted his head. "But, wasn't it Yaoyorozu-san's senpai who reported the plagiarism? If that's the case, wouldn't Kurumi go after her senpai?"
"Well, my senpai already graduated. But Kururmi was aware I was associated with her back then. It's likely he's targeting me if only for the fact he wouldn't be able to take vengeance on her."
"Tch. Talk about petty." Geiz frowned. "It was Yukihisa's fault in the first place, and it all led up to this."
"He probably thinks he's getting revenge in his brother's place," Momo surmised. "I heard Yukihasa was hospitalized in a traffic accident several months back." The girl frowned and looked down at the table, her expression mirrored by her reflection in the coffee cup. "Even so, for him to go this far..."
"He let his resentment blind him. And now he has to face the consequences of his actions." Sento responded. "My co-workers at U.A. have already found him and took him in. He's being detained at the moment before they come to a consensus of appropriate punishment."
"Why? Didn't he blurt out his attempt to murder someone after attacking people at a public event?" Geiz asked.
"He is a minor," Izuku pointed out.
Masao Kurumi curled up into a ball as he sat in the corner of the makeshift room he had been placed in. Actually, it wasn't a room at all. Just a cell made out of cement, courtesy of Cementoss.
He couldn't believe this had happened. Everything had gone completely out of control. His attempts to sabotage Yaoyorozu's science experiment failed spectacularly all because he didn't think of what her Quirk could do. He even went so far to use that bottle he found in his brother's room, and even that did nothing to help him.
"If it hadn't been for those damned Riders, I would've made her pay!" Kurumi hissed. "If it weren't for Yaoyorozu, we would have won!"
Contrary to what the group believed, Kurumi wasn't angry that Yaoyorozu, who wasn't even the one who reported the act of plagiarism but still part of the group responsible. What Kurumi despised was that Yaoyorozu had ruined Irezumi's chances at victory. Unbeknownst to anyone but the Kurumi siblings, the science experiment that was used that year was actually a creation of Kurumi's, not Yukihasa.
Kurumi had been the one who made it, inspired by another invention from years past, but decided to take it further In addition, his brother, Yukihisa, had been wanting to win at the science convention so he would have a surefire chance to get into any Hero school of his choosing. So, Masao helped his brother out by giving him the credit for his work.
However, it didn't even work out because another school happened to have made a similar invention to theirs. And then Yaoyorozu and her group assumed that they had plagiarized that school's work just because they happened to see it first.
It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair!
"This is wrong. It's all wrong!" Kurumi clutched his head. "If only it weren't for Yaoyorozu... If only I had power!"
"That can be arranged."
Kurumi yelped and looked up. There was no door or opening inside this cement cage, yet someone was inside the room. A boy, barely older than fifteen or so, clad in a blue high-collar ensemble with shorts, rings decorating the sides and shoulders of his attire. He had a lolipop in his mouth and was sporting a chesire-like smile.
"W-who are you?" Kurumi asked. "How did you get in here?"
"I have a lot of ways," the boy replied. "My name is Heure. You said you wanted power, right? What if I told you I could make you into a Kamen Rider?"
"A Kamen Rider?" His mind flashed back to the very same Rider that ruined his plans. "Why would I ever want to be one of them? They ruined everything!"
"It's a simple reason: Power. Kamen Riders are undeniably powerful. I'm sure you learned that for yourself." Heure grinned. "You lost because the power you had could not match a Rider's. But what if you had the power of one? I'd say the odds would be stacked in your favor."
Kurumi frowned in thought. The kid had a point. If he wanted to exact his revenge, he would need power. If this kid could offer him that power, even more than what he got from his Fullbottle...then who was he to say no? "...what are your terms?"
"Ever heard the saying, you scratch my back, I scratch yours?" The boy smiled cheekily as he took something out from his pocket and threw it at Kurumi's feet. It looked like the same watch that green-haired kid used, only its faceplate had a twisted, demonic looking version of Build, complete with fangs. "So, what do you say?"
Kurumi picked the watch up and stared at the watch for a moment before looking up at Heure. "I use this...and I can get back at her?"
"That depends on you." Heure replied.
Kurumi looked back down at the watch. He stared at it for a few more seconds before a manic grin spread across his lips.
He pressed the button atop the watch.
『 BuiLd 』
Then, as if instinctually, he shoved the watch into his chest. It phased through in a swirl of distorted purple.
"Guh! Graagh!" Kurumi screamed as waves of dark energy washed over him. His body then became enveloped in a swirl of dark miasma. It soon dispersed, revealing his new body. Like the watch, his visage was that of a demonic Build with a fanged mouth and warped armor pieces. Even the Driver and Fullbottles inside it were distorted. Across his chest on the right pectoral was the word: BUILD!
With power surging through his body, the transformed Kurumi roared. Heure's smile turned ecstatic, watching as Kurumi stumbled and growled and hissed, his breathing labored as though he were struggling to breathe.
"Congratulations!" Heure exclaimed with malice. "As of today, you are the new Kamen Rider Build."
Next Time!
"Hey, Sento! Why the hell is there a monster version of you loose on campus?!"
"I... I can't transform anymore?!"
"If I can't save one person, I don't deserve to be a hero, much less a Kamen Rider!"
Next Time: The Best Match of 2017, Part II!
"Go beyond! Plus Ultra! !"
Holy shit, this actually updated. In no small part thanks to Daemon of Wrath helping me wrap this up.
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the third chapter of Over Quartzer and the first half of the Build Tribute arc, or at least my version. I hafta say that this chapter was a bit fun to write and I really want to get straight into the next chapter, but I need to focus on my school work. With that in mind, I will be going dark in the next few days, so don't overreact if I don't update anything.
Now, to answer any future questions people might have in regards to some of the things that were mentioned this chapter.
First: The identity of Izuku's sensei. It is a canon character, but as for which series they belong to I can't say. Their identity will be revealed after the events of the Drive Tribute arc.
Second: The "illegal" Fullbottles are not a one-off thing. They will appear in later chapters and will have a more prominent role in the "Movie" Arcs such as Over Quartzer's version of the Heisei Generations FOREVER movie and the MHA movies, mainly the first one.
Third: I've said this before in previous chapters (I think?), but the Another Riders that will be featured in this fanfic are made in the present day. Though that isn't to say that Izuku and co. will be traveling to the past to deal with certain problems or gain new information and whatnot.
Fourth: Yes, Izuku will STILL get One For All, but the circumstances as to how he obtains it or the reasons WHY he still gets it when he's a friggin' Kamen Rider, much less the King of the Heisei Kamen Riders, will be revealed later down the line. I will say that I was a little hesitant to have Izuku inherit One For All since that would just blow him straight into OP territory (and god forbid it's Izuku in any upgrade form past Zi-O II and at 100 percent, that's Kuuga Ultimate shit right there), and I also want to give a good excuse as to why he would even have it when, again, he's a Kamen Rider.
One more thing before I finish. Well, two things. In regards as to how Zero-One will be implemented in any capacity in this fanfic...it won't. This is Heisei Era, this is Zi-O. Though that isn't to say that Zero-One won't be featured. It's just not going to be canon Zero-One. The First Generation Movie will be a crossover between my fanfic and TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere's Kamen Rider Zero-One: Edge of Dawn. Speaking of, give that girl and her story some love people. She is a freaking good writer, and apparently, so do the people over at the Kamen Rider Heisei fanfic rec. thread over on Spacebattles.
Also, to the author of Heisei Hero King. While I do appreciate the fact that you took inspiration from my work, and while you did make some differences, I would like to ask that you MAYBE make some changes to the first couple chapters of your fanfic. I don't mind it, but you never know when those fucking plagiarism hounds will come knocking on your doorstep. Also, DAMN YOU FOR GETTING TO THE BUILD ARC BEFORE ME! EN FUCKING GARDE, KNAVE!
P.S. Fate/stay night: Dragon of the Seventh Heaven, will be updated when I get back from my self-imposed hiatus. NOW STOP ASKING!