Kamen Rider Decade the Neo: Chapters for the World of Heroes

by Chris Chronos

Set in the world of MHA. After his demise at the hands of Ohma Zi-O, Tsukasa Kadoya (KR Decade) is "respawned" in an unfamiliar reality where nearly everyone has superpowers AKA "Quirks", while Tsukasa himself has been stripped of his dormant powers, alongside the Decadriver. Now Tsukasa must survive in this new world and find the answers with just the Ride Booker and Rider Cards.

3. Ep 3: What is the League of Villains?

Kamen Rider Decade the Neo: Chapters for the World of Heroes

仮面ライダーディケイド the Neo: 英雄の世界の章

Quick A/N: Hello, people! If you find this story to your liking, please hit that favorite/ follow and share this to your friends as well! I need strong support to keep my morale up and going! Thanks!

Beforehand, let me remind you that this chapter has tons of fillers before we get to the action part. It's a subtle nod to the fact that we're "building up a hero"!

"Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us into something better."

— Superman (Superman vs. The Elite)

"... Make it sunny-side-up, and I want tea for the drinks."

Morning light streamed through the windows of Nascita, the quaint café that clung to its charm like an aging actor refusing to leave the stage. The air smelled faintly of fresh bread and burnt coffee grounds. Behind the counter, Soichi Isurugi froze mid-motion as Tsukasa Kadoya placed the order.

"This is a cafe, my boy," Soichi said. "Why don't you give it a shot? My original coffee blend! Nashita de nani shita?!"

Tsukasa tilted his head. "Nashita de nani shita? Is that a name, or are you asking me a question?"

A snicker broke the moment. The part-timer, Eiji Hino, giggled in response to Tsukasa's reply, earning himself a glare from his boss. Eiji went back to wiping the tables.

"Oi, it's the name of my blend!" Soichi said before calming himself. "Now, care to give it a try?"

"I just wanna start my day well with something refreshing," Tsukasa said dismissively.

Soichi leaned over the bar to approach Tsukasa and narrowed his eyes, grinning. "It is the kind of coffee that transforms mornings into miracles. I can guarantee… That my Nashita de nani shita is refreshing."

Tsukasa glanced at the clock mounted on the wall behind Soichi. The man was pushy, and while the boy had little patience for theatrics, he didn't have the energy for an argument either. He just wanted breakfast, then off to school..

"Fine," he relented, waving a hand dismissively. "Make it a… Nascita de nani shita or whatever."

A grin spread across Soichi's face. "Correct answer! Eiji, wash your hands and get brewing. Time to create a masterpiece!"

"You're not doing it?!" Tsukasa exclaimed in disbelief.

But with all said and done, the (former) destroyer of the worlds just gave up and waited for Soichi and Eiji to finish his breakfast. It made sense then, somewhat, as Soichi did the frying and Eiji made the brewing.

Soichi simply turned to the griddle, humming to himself as he cracked an egg. The sizzling sound filled the air, a stark counterpoint to the quiet clink of cups and the hiss of the espresso machine. Eiji worked diligently, his movements practiced but still tinged with the hesitancy of someone relatively new to the craft.

"Here it is!" Eiji announced, setting the steaming cup on the counter with an eager smile. "Try it, Tsukasa-kun!"

"Well, Eiji-san, since you're the one who made it," Tsukasa said, reaching for it.

Though he acted all cool, he still reached for the cup; the rich aroma had already captured him. It was hauntingly familiar, a ghost of mornings long past, spent sipping coffee brewed by Old Man Eijiro. It was irresistible.

Tsukasa took a sip, letting the warmth spread through him. "This is…"

"So good it's otherworldly, right?" Soichi chimed in, sliding the sunny-side-up egg onto a plate. "I keep screwing up my scales. Maybe I'm getting old already, haha."

Tsukasa swallowed, savoring the flavor, while Soichiro put down the plate before him.

"Eiji-san," Tsukasa began, looking up.

"Hmm?" Eiji said, his gaze shifting between the cut-off Soichiro and Tsukasa, the destroyer of conversations.

"Did you look for jobs in better cafes?"

The boy's words were honest, blunt… and sharp like the owner's onion-only knife. Eiji blinked, stunned. Soichi let out a long, exasperated sigh, clearly unbothered by the jab. He was used to Tsukasa's bluntness by now.

Eiji scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "Well, I have my own reasons."

Tsukasa didn't press further. He picked up his fork, poking at the sunny-side-up and fried rice underneath.

I hope he will brew me a coffee everyday…

"Dad!" A young woman called out as she stormed into the cafe in cartoony pajamas. Her tone changed, softening for a moment as she glanced at the room's other occupants.

"Oh, good morning, guys. Eiji-san and Tsukasa-kun are already here. Heh."

Her shift in tone lasted only a moment before she turned her glare back to her father, Soichi.

"Wh-what's the matter, Misora-chan?"

This was Misora Isurugi (石動 美空), the owner's dear and only daughter.

She was a reserved, rather cute young lady with short black hair and issues. She usually didn't seem to be the same breed as her dad, but she was weird in her own way. Like, her mysterious source of income Tsukasa and Eiji didn't dare question about?

"Where," she began, her voice like ice cracking, "is the cosplay set I bought yesterday?"

Cos… c-c-cos… Eiji Hino blinked, looking at Tsukasa as he processed the information. The latter shrugged off the part-timer's gaze and focused on gulping down his breakfast, acting like he didn't hear the exchange.

The dad hesitated, visibly sweating. "I told you, that's weird! Who wants their daughter to dress like Donald Duck?!"

D-donald what?

Eiji looked at Tsukasa again. The latter was unfazed, throwing in one spoonful after another into his buccal cavity.

"Dad, it's not Donald Duck. And I got so much money. From my streams. I bought it with my own money because I know fans would love it!"

So she streams… Eiji wondered. What does she stream?

"Earnings don't justify crazy things you need to do to achieve it!"

Okay, Soichiro had started sounding like a dad now. It was probably what both younger men thought. Until the next sentence.

"And why…" Misora continued, frowning. "... would you set me up a date with that Kazumin guy?"

The father, however, puffed his chest proudly. "Hmph, that kid's not half-bad. He's got farms and some big businesses. And…"

Tsukasa almost choked on coffee, nearly spitting it all over Eiji, who was right before him. Eiji himself side-eyed his boss in surprise, but he knew it was so in-character.

"Bet you got bribed like two hundred thousand yen," she said, deadpanned.

"Wha— Of course not!" Soichi exclaimed, then promptly ruined it by mumbling, "…Maybe."

"Now who is the greedy one?" the daughter said, shaking her head gently. "Tell me where my cosplay set is."

Soichi sobbed, faking his tears dramatically. "Really?"

"Yeah, for real. Tell me."

"Behind the cupboard. Mine."

"... next time when you set up a date for me," Misora whispered after calming down. "Confirm if they are my type first. Tall, handsome, nerdy and intelligent. I will tolerate a bit of autism, well it depends."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Soichi cut her off, his eyes wide with horror. "Misora-chan, don't tell me… you're in love with that homo scientist who lives one floor above Tsukasa?!"

Okay now… Tsukasa stared blankly at his half-emptied coffee cup. That was too much information.

"Who said he's gay?!" Misora snapped, looking even more upset. "And no, I'm not in love. It's just a coincidence… just maybe, because he's just around, but I can't stand that guy."

Curious and honest, Eiji asked the question Tsukasa wanted to ask. "So who is this guy you two are talking about?"

"Sento-kun," Misora grumbled. "He lives on the third floor. He's… weird. Really smart, too passionate, and… I'm not educated enough to describe him accurately."

Okay, that's a flag. Tsukasa noted to himself. I don't know if it's Green or Red.

Soichi nodded in agreement. "But he's a genius. Young physicist, multiple awards, a real high achiever. But he's ga—"

"Dad!" Misora yelled. "You can't just assume someone's… you know. This thing… whoever he chooses to be with. You can't judge it. It's none of your business."

"Heh, I don't know," Soichi said, glancing back at Eiji and Tsukasa hoping they could help him out of this one… as they are closer in age to Misora. The youths averted their eyes, refusing to help him out.

"I mean, he does have this weird relationship with Banjo," Misora continued. "But they are nothing like that. Banjo is a musclehead who can't find a better friend than Sento. And Sento is probably asexual. Physicsexual. Or sciencesexual? He just holes up in his apartment everyday—"

Somehow… Tsukasa mentally commented. This became a gossip party. Misora-san is spilling not just beans but all dirt about Sento. My apologies, the guy I haven't met.

"Stop!" Eiji cut them off. "Misora-chan, Owner-san, don't you feel bad for gossiping about Sento-san? You can't talk about… people like that."

His voice became deflated once he realized what he was doing. The ever sincere and diligent Eiji Hino just couldn't resist it.

The room fell silent, filled with thick, awkward silence. Tsukasa grinned and put down the utensils.

"So then…" he said, standing up and reaching for a bento box on the counter. "I believe President Hiden pays my bills and meal costs."

The bento box made by Misora.

"He sure does," Soichi said, nodding.

Tsukasa turned his back and walked away, grabbing the door knob. The trio watched his every move in silence…

"I have school to go. So see ya."

As the boy left, Soichi shifted his gaze between Eiji and Misora.

"So… who else is going to school?"

Eiji raised his hand awkwardly. "Part-time university student. Day off today."

Misora just glared and left. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Sleep? Misora-chan? It's already blah blah o'clock!" Soichi's soft scoldings went unheard.

Episode 3: What is the League of Villains?/

Who is the First Kamen Rider of This World?

第3話: 「敵連合とは何か？/

この世界の最初の仮面ライダーは誰か？」

"Kamen Rider… Fourze and Kamen Rider Ooo…"

Tsukasa muttered, looking at the new KamenRide cards he had recently unlocked. Fuwa, seated in the driver's seat with one hand on the wheel, glanced sideways at the cards curiously as he drove.

"New riders of yours?" He asked.

Tsukasa held up the first card, revealing a rider clad in a white suit that resembled an astronaut, complete with a pointed, rocket-like helmet and orange accents.

"This one's Fourze. Space-themed Rider with a lot of utility and tools… and he uses cosmic power."

"That sounds… big…"

Tsukasa flipped to the next card. This rider had a black undersuit adorned with armor pieces in three distinct colors—red, yellow, and green—with a circular, medal-like design at the chest.

"And this guy's Ooo. He combines the powers of animals. Three at a time, to be exact. Same-colored sets make powerful combos."

He had unlocked some of Fourze cards, most of which being AttackRides. In comparison, the unlocked Ooo cards numbered below a dozen.

This will do, for the time being.

"So basically, Zero-One but better, ain't it?" Fuwa jokingly said, sounding quite uncharacteristically.

It seemed that since Tsukasa opened up to Fuwa more, the latter also became more relaxed around the former destroyer of worlds.

"Heh, you can say that again," Tsukasa said, "but mastering Astroswitches and Core Medals is going to be a pain."

"Oh…"

Fuwa wished to know even more about Tsukasa's Kamen Riders, but didn't want another informational overload for his brain.

"... So since you have been to other worlds and met a lot of riders," he then began. "Which rider would remind you of… Me?"

Tsukasa slid the cards back into the Ride Booker and put it away before answering thoughtfully.

"Hmm… I guess you sound like Vulcan sometimes."

"Oh, tell me about him."

Tsukasa recalled. "He was Zero-One's lackey… Sort of."

"..."

Fuwa didn't argue as he had long accepted he had been a lackey… for starters, President Aruto Hiden. Was it a coincidence that the boy also mentioned that the President shared the same name as Zero-One…

"He was a stubborn and fearless man, a bit hot-headed, too," Tsukasa continued, with Fuwa nodding in approval. "You see, Zero-One Driver has a condition for use. You need to be a President of a Company to access its abilities and functions."

Fuwa nodded along. "I don't understand what you're talking about but please go on."

"And each Progrisekey needs to be authorized before use. But Vulcan began as an unofficial rider, meaning he wasn't allowed to use his Driver and keys. But he forcefully opened the Progrisekeys with brute force and authorized them by himself."

"Is that all?" Fuwa asked.

"Yeah?"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"What a scary man," Fuwa commented thoughtlessly as some vocabularies like Driver and Prog—something key had left him confused.

"Anyway, do you have any place where I can test out my quirk?" Tsukasa said. "Now that I have Astroswitches and Core Medals…"

"Hmm." Fuwa slowed the car as they neared the school's main gate, scanning the scene ahead. He promised anyway. "I can probably find something. Leave it to me."

"I'm grateful," Tsukasa gave a nod that barely passed as gratitude.

The older man smirked, knowing it wasn't everyday that the boy would thank anyone at all. He was about to tease him when his gaze fixed on the swarm of reporters clogging the school entrance. They surrounded a trio of students, bombarding them with questions.

"Oh, great," Fuwa muttered, pulling the car to a stop a few dozen meters away. "I see a problem."

Tsukasa leaned forward, noticing the chaos. At the center of the crowd were Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida, their overwhelmed faces a sharp contrast to the reporters' aggressive persistence.

"These kids…" Tsukasa grabbed his backpack hastily.

"You know them?"

"They're my classmates."

Fuwa's curious expression had been quickly replaced by a huge knowing grin.

Fuwa's curiosity morphed into a sly grin. "I should meet them sometime. Give them a little talk about keeping up with you."

"What are you? My father?"

"Still, I would love to—"

The door slammed close with a loud bang as Tsukasa made his exit, grabbing some attention from the headline hunters. He quickly assessed the situation from afar, picking up the chaotic mix of voices and noises as he took steps forward.

Now I get the gist of it, he mused.

"How is All Might's class?!" A member of the press asked, almost pressing a microphone against the three students' faces. "Will you tell us what the Symbol of Peace is like as a teacher?!"

Talk about pushy.

The students stammered over their responses, their voices barely audible over the noise.

"I… Ah…" "He made me recognize–" "He's very muscular—"

"Asking those three idiots isn't going to help you."

Kadoya Tsukasa stepped into the crowd with the arrogant opening statement. "They don't know anything. Let the poor students go."

"Tsukasa-kun…"

Iida faltered. Normally, he'd retort at someone interrupting like this, but with Tsukasa, he simply let the Kamen Rider take the reins.

The journalists turned their attention to the newcomer. "Who are you? Are you a Hero Course student too?"

"Look at me, I'm…"

Tsukasa held back his urges to say something corny like "Just a passing-through student".

"... The highest-scoring student in All Might's class!" he instead confidently declared, with a face that screamed "I have no enemies".

"Wh-what?!" The journalists began to surround Tsukasa instead, pressing the microphones against all over his body.

Tsukasa threw a wink at his classmates. The bait worked perfectly.

"Now that you've heard it, you can see why those three don't compare to me—wait, hold on! One at a time! Stop pushing!"

The overwhelming barrage of questions quickly had Tsukasa regretting his boldness, but before things could spiral further, a low, gravelly voice cut through the chaos.

"Please don't cause chaos near the school premises."

The crowd fell silent, turning toward the source of the voice. There, standing by the gate, was a man with tired eyes, a scruffy beard, and a perpetually disheveled demeanor.

Tsukasa looked at the individual, who was then standing before the trio at the gate. It was none other than their sharp-tongued homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. He looked like an angel now.

"You are making our students late for their class," he said, "That's not a very good impression, people."

The reporters hesitated, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Now you guys, go," Aizawa said, pointing behind him with a thumb. "Kadoya, you, too."

"H-hai, sensei!" "Hai!"

Iida and the two gestured at Kadoya before running away. Tsukasa also shrugged off the journalists swarming over him and passed by Aizawa with a grateful nod.

"Sensei? You don't look like a teacher," the female journalist tried to press a microphone against Aizawa who easily dodged it. "Are you a teacher of UA?! Can you tell us about All Might?! What's he like as a teacher?!"

"Well, then, All Might isn't here today so," Aizawa walked away dismissively. "We can't answer anything. Please don't disturb our classes anyway."

"Hey, just a little time is fine!" The female journalist yelled at his back, following him. "Just let us see him! —"

But as she attempted to step into the campus, the alarms buzzed, with red signals flashing around the gate. In a split second, metal barriers dropped emerged from the ground and surrounded the school, effectively shutting off the gate.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!"

Not my problem. Aizawa Shouta couldn't care less. But leave it to that eccentric Principal to pull something good out of his crazy paranoia.

"Uh, I must say…" Iida said, bowing before Tsukasa. "Thank you for your assistance, Kadoya-kun. That was very courageous."

"That was more of a self-sacrifice," Tsukasa grumbled. "Don't mention it. I'm never doing it again."

They all were unaware of a certain white-haired villain lurking around near the entrance of the school.

- [ Time skip ] -

"So… yesterday, All Might and I watched your mock battles," Aizawa-sensei said, as soon as the homeroom began, his tone as dry as ever. "I wasn't any part in evaluating you, but it's my job to relay the feedback to you kids."

Of course, he started with the most problematic kid.

"Bakugou."

The blond stiffened at the sound of his name.

"Stop acting like a 7-year-old. You're wasting your own talent."

Bakugou's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. Instead, he averted his eyes, his expression uncharacteristically awkward.

"I know." Was all he said.

"And you," Aizawa's gaze turned toward the greenette. "Midoriya. Are you always planning to destroy your arm? If you keep going like that, you'll never get terribly far. I've said it before. Don't make me say it a third time. Once you've cleared that hurdle, you'll be much more flexible, so I need to see some sweat out of you, Midoriya."

He actually gave some good advice! Tsukasa internally praised.

At the beginning, he seemed much more strict and inflexible, borderline "irrational" but over time he had become soft, Tsukasa noted.

"Yes, sir!" Midoriya replied with relief.

Aizawa moved on, addressing each student with his typical bluntness. He gave pointed critiques, quick praise where it was due, and clear expectations for improvement.

And he'd said he wasn't part of the evaluation.

And then. Last but not least, the main man.

"And,... Kadoya Tsukasa."

"Yes, sir." Tsukasa sat upright, calm and composed, ready for whatever was coming, like the Batman.

Ha, a pop culture reference!

Aizawa's expression didn't change as he said, "Good job."

Everyone was silent, waiting for the teacher to go on. But…

Hmm, is that all? Tsukasa blinked. Is that just what he gotta say?!

Aizawa knew the kids would anticipate more comments on Tsukasa's performance as he had displayed the greatest potential and capability during the mock battle. But at any rate, he wasn't going to praise the boy out of his way. It would be unnecessary and irrational.

"... And I hope to see you keep it up." Was the follow-up.

Straightforward. No frills, no praise beyond what was necessary. It was classic Aizawa, and Tsukasa had to admit he respected it. No fluff, no jokes. Just plain, honest feedback. Not bad, sensei.

Though it would only add to his ego and arrogance.

"Thanks," he muttered in response.

"All right, then," the teacher continued, jumping straight into another topic. "You need to pick a Class President."

"Finally something school-like!"

Immediately after, chaos broke out. The class erupted instantly.

"I want to be Class Rep! Pick me!" "Me too!" "I want to do it, too!" "I'll be the leader!" "Let me do it! Me!"

Almost every hand shot up, including Midoriya's, though his was hesitant and shaky. Everyone was pitching themselves, eager to claim the title. But of course, they couldn't all be Class Presidents. A decision had to be made somehow.

Tsukasa, however, remained still, his arms crossed. Not even a flicker of interest crossed his face.

The former destroyer of the world would not think twice if he were specifically given the position served on a tray to him. However, he was too prideful to "beg" for it. Not to mention he wanted to avoid "pain-in-the-neck" things at school if possible, as his life was already messy enough.

"Silence, please!"

Everyone turned their gaze at the one whose cry cut through the chaos. It was the serious no-nonsense elite student, Iida Tenya, with his hand held as high as he could sitting.

"It's a job with the serious responsibility of leading others," he explained, his voice steady and firm. "It's not a job for anyone who wants to do it."

Okay, he makes a good point.

"It's a role that requires the trust of those around you," Iida then proposed a solution. "If we want to use democracy to decide on a true leader, then we should hold an election to choose one."

"YOUR HAND'S RAISED THE HIGHEST!" a chorus of voices called out in unison.

"Why'd you suggest that if you clearly want the job?!" Kaminari, the electric blond, added.

Tsuyu Asui (蛙吹 梅雨), the frog-quirk girl with dark green hair, tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "We haven't known each other for that longer, so how can we have trust or anything, Iida-chan?"

"Exactly," Kirishima, the spiky red haired boy, chimed in. "If that's the case, everyone would vote themselves."

"That's precisely why, don't you think," Iida replied, undeterred. "The ones who receive multiple votes can be considered the most suitable candidates. What do you think, sensei!?"

Aizawa looked like he couldn't care less as he zipped himself up inside his banana-shaped sleeping bag.

"I don't care as long as you decide before the homeroom is over," he said, before dropping to the floor for a nap.

Truly a teacher of all times!

"Thank you very much, sensei!" Iida replied with a sharp bow, taking the response as approval. "Then it's decided! We'll hold an election!"

And so… Moments later…

"For real?" Tsukasa chuckled, looking at the board where the election results were laid out. Written with chalk.

Kadoya Tsukasa… 4 votes.

Yaoyorozu Momo… 3 votes.

Midoriya Izuku… 2 votes.

"You gotta be kidding me! Who voted for Deku…?!" Bakugou wasn't even mad about Tsukasa getting it.

Meanwhile, Iida the organizer himself gathered zero votes, leaving him in despair. "Zero votes…" he muttered, trembling. "That's only expected of a person's calling."

He didn't even vote for himself, huh… Tsukasa noted, mildly amused.

For Tsukasa, the result wasn't unwelcome. If the class wanted him as their leader, he'd take the role without complaint. Plus, it's not anything evil like Dai-Shocker…

… but why? Why did he still doubt he would do it well?

"Well, I guess that settles it," Tsukasa said, stepping up to the front of the class. Yaoyorozu joined him, her expression poised and composed.

Aizawa, still looking like a worm in his sleeping bag, stood up just to declare Tsukasa's and Yaoyorozu's reign before going back to napping.

"You heard him," Tsukasa smirked, "Starting today, I'll lead you all. I don't know how long this journey together will last, but… it's a journey all the same."

The class fell silent, unsure whether to clap or cringe at the oddly profound statement. Okay, that was weird, but… it worked.

Well, if it's Kadoya, it's still understandable. Yaoyorozu didn't find her defeat particularly humiliating. She'd rather have Kadoya Tsukasa as an underling or a bodyguard of hers, but she also knew he shone brighter as a lone wolf serving no queen. It was honorable to lose to a truly capable person.

"I was right…" Iida muttered, clenching his fists. "I was right to vote for Kadoya-kun!"

Is it that dramatic? Kaminari thought. I wonder who his other voters are though.

To answer the electric blond's question…

The realistic guy, Ojiro Mashirao. If there hadn't been anyone, he'd have been going to vote for himself, but he gave it a second thought. He'd been given a choice, and he wanted to use it to push forward someone worthy. He had been defeated by him the previous day. Granted, it was humiliating, but still a good lesson. And then he'd written down Tsukasa's name.

Shoji Mezo. Normally, he doesn't express himself so much. But this time, he saw something new after that overwhelming defeat. And so on a whim, he decided to vote for the Kamen Rider. For Shoji, "whims" were worth so much as wishes.

And his last voter was Hagakure Toru. Her reason was also similar to the guys'. But she was invisible… so no one could really tell what her intentions were.

"Let's make this a productive and successful year together, everyone," Yaoyorozu concluded the speech.

With this, the homeroom was wrapped up.

- [ Transition ] -

If anyone asked Tsukasa whether he wanted to eat lunch with "friends", his answer would be a firm no.

First of all, he didn't have friends, and secondly, he had another more personal reason.

It was this… Bento!

"Misora-san… did it again."

Tsukasa sat alone at a secluded table, staring at his luxury lunch box filled with a kiddy, borderline childish meal. He wasn't a good guy, he knew. But he wasn't so awful of a person that he would throw away the bento filled with her good will.

Looks so tasty and alluring…

It was so warm and… dangerous! Could almost melt his heart.

He poked one of the octopus wieners (Tako Sausages) with his chopsticks before popping it whole into his mouth before anyone noticed—

"Oh, so you brought a bento from home, huh?!"

The former destroyer of worlds nearly choked on the sausage, startled by the sudden voice.

"Your mom must be really sweet. Good for you."

Tsukasa turned to see the owner of the voice, who in another second had already taken his seat next to the boy. It was the overly friendly and eccentric teacher from another day, Gentaro Kisaragi.

His uniform was a bit dirty though.

"Oh, don't mind it," he said as he set his tray on the table. "I just played soccer a bit with some students. I don't know which class they are from though."

Who asked?

After recovering, Tsukasa continued stuffing his mouth with food, half-ignoring Kisaragi's existence. In comparison, Kisaragi looked painfully oblivious as he set down his lunch tray.

"This morning, you know… I had to teach Natsumi's class. Oh, you even have Karaage! Your bento looks so nice, man. Wieners, Karaage, Tamagoyaki and broccoli! It looks crazy nutritious!"

(Karaage = fried chicken, basically. Tamagoyaki = rolled omelette, often served as rectangular slices)

As a revenge, Tsukasa glanced at Kisaragi's lunch tray, which threw out all the praises about the boy's bento. The teacher's lunch was all nutritious and luxurious dishes and side-dishes, beautifully plated like a five-star meal: saffron rice, seared salmon with yuzu sauce, roasted vegetables, miso soup, and matcha panna cotta with berries for the dessert!

So it wasn't just a random gag when those girls talked about how good the canteen's desserts were.

Gotta remind myself to tell Misora-san to stop making me lunch. Tsukasa took a mental note and stuffed a chunk of Karaage into his mouth. —

"Oh, Natsumi!" Kisaragi suddenly called out, waving enthusiastically. "Hey, over here! Sensei's got a spot for you—yeah, right here! Tons of empty seats!"

Hadn't even started on his meal yet, Tsukasa choked on food, again, thanks to Kisaragi. Without even looking up at "Natsumi", the boy began to pack his bento up and attempted to leave… only to be stopped by a hand that gently grabbed his wrist.

"Don't run away. Face it," the teacher said calmly.

"What nonsense?!" Tsukasa tried to shake him off, but to no avail.

"Face it!" Kisaragi repeated, his voice soft and considerate. "Whatever's weighing on you—fear, hesitation—it'll keep following you if you don't deal with it. I don't know what's between you two, but I know running won't fix a thing."

Tsukasa froze, startled by the words. Natsumi had already taken a seat across from him, her presence pulling him back into the moment. He stopped resisting and sank back into his chair as Kisaragi let go.

I'm not a coward. Tsukasa repeated the mantra in his head. I'm not a coward. I'm not a coward.

She was important. She had been a large part of his journey and life. She had corrected his mistakes, pulled him back on his path, saved him from an abyss, and accompanied him on his otherwise dry and deserted solitude. And running away from someone who looked just like her… was a way to thank her?

He wasn't sure if she was the same Natsumi. No, she wasn't the same Natsumi. But what Kisaragi said had made him begin to suspect if "leaving her away from trouble" was just an excuse to avoid facing her and thus ultimately his past.

Kadoya Tsukasa, perhaps, was a normal, awkward highschooler like anyone else.

"Hey…" She greeted him first, with an awkward smile, still warm and genuine.

The boy quickly masked his unease with a smirk.

"Hey, I believe we've met before, Natsumi-kan?"

"Natsumikan?" she echoed, puzzled. "Is that… supposed to be my nickname?"

Natsumikan = a type of Japanese yellow citrus.

"Yeah… because it sounds funny? Heh. Can I call you that?"

Kisaragi, watching the exchange, felt his smile twitch. He was starting to regret bringing the two together.

"Okay, that's cool," Natsumikan just accepted it. "That aside, I… would like to thank you for saving me during the exam."

"... yeah. That was me."

Her gaze drifted to his bento, eyebrows raising slightly at the childlike spread. She didn't comment, though her expression said plenty.

Tsukasa ignored it, picking up his chopsticks.

The table fell into an awkward silence, broken only by the soft clatter of utensils. Tsukasa focused on his meal, while Kisaragi, the self-proclaimed "friendship master," struggled to dispel the tension.

"Then why did you leave so suddenly?"

As Natsumi asked, Tsukasa, unfazed, ignored her question and focused on his meal. Kisaragi understood the change in atmosphere. Normally, he might excuse himself and leave, but now he realized it wasn't a good idea to leave the two kids to their own devices.

"Because I wasn't interested in staying," Tsukasa eventually replied, a smirk playing on his lips. "Not everything needs a reason. I was tired, that's all."

Natsumi's brow furrowed slightly, but she masked her doubt with a polite nod. "I see. Well, since you already know my name, why don't you tell me yours?"

Tsukasa, again, acted like he either didn't hear it or didn't care enough for it to respond. Sensing the rising tension, Kisaragi acted quickly, grabbing an omelet from Tsukasa's bento and popping it into his mouth.

"Hey!" Tsukasa glared, annoyed.

"Anyway, man, I'm so jealous of you, Kadoya-kun," the teacher said with an exaggerated grin. "Getting into the Hero Course with the highest scores in history… You must have an amazing quirk, too!"

"Highest scores?!" Natsumi looked astounded.

"Yeah, Kadoya-kun scored like 140 points? I'm not sure, but I don't have an amazing quirk so I'm stuck in this job. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love teaching you kids!"

Gentaro Kisaragi, Quirk: Spaceman (スペースマン). — capable of holding breath for over 12 hours, even in a vacuum off-world atmosphere or underwater. But that's it. Since it lacks an actual combat application, Kisaragi wasn't fit for heroics.

Not that he found it particularly miserable. But he wanted to keep that conversation going on somehow.

"So, Sensei," Natsumi asked, raising an eyebrow, "you know his name already?"

"Yeah…" the teacher admitted with a proud grin, pointing at himself with a thumb. "I did my homework. This arrogant lad, his name is Kadoya Tsukasa—"

Before he could finish, an ear-piercing alarm blared across the campus, cutting their lunch short.

"... oh, this is bad," Kisaragi muttered as everyone around them panicked.

"What's going on?" Natsumi asked, looking around anxiously. Tsukasa, however, remained calm, taking another bite of his lunch until someone accidentally bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going!" Tsukasa snapped.

"Hold on, let's first see what's going on," Kisaragi said, calming the two teenagers.

"Look!" Natsumi abruptly pointed toward the doorway. "There's someone on there!"

Tsukasa's gaze followed her fingers and then smirked upon seeing what she saw.

"Everyone!" Iida Tenya called, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hall as he stood on an "Exit" signboard above the doorway.

His legs were shaking as he pushed himself to the way so he wouldn't fall down. But his voice was loud, his words were clear.

"Everything's fine!" He continued, trying to calm down the audience. "It is just the media! There is nothing to panic about. Everything's fine!"

Kisaragi judged it from Tsukasa's expression.

"You know that guy?" he asked.

"He's in our class," the boy muttered.

"What a good kid, isn't he," Natsumi commented.

"This is U.A!" Iida continued his speech. "Let us act in a way befitting the best of the best."

Hmm… I guess there's someone else who's more suitable to lead people… Tsukasa couldn't imagine himself standing there and looking over the audience and calming down the chaos.

"Oh, it seems the cops are here…" Kisaragi said, hearing the sirens. "It doesn't seem to be anything dangerous."

"But school has just begun," Natsumi said, looking uneasy. "Whatever incident that is, it's going to make people wary."

Tsukasa silently sat down and finished his bento, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. So much for a quiet lunch.

- [ Transition ] -

"Why don't you all shut up and make some space here?!"

Through the cacophony of sirens and the clamor of reporters, the bellowing command of the angry male police officer silenced the unruly media mob and grasped their attention. Fully prepared and dressed in anti-riot armor, fellow policemen stationed between the school building and the journalists.

"Do you know what you all just did?!" The police officer barked. "You trespassed onto private property! Grr!"

Murmurs rippled through the group, but none dared to speak up directly.

"What is this guy?" "What a jerk." "He's acting like… blah blah…"

It only irritated him more.

"Enough!" he snapped, turning to his subordinates. "Get them all into the vans. I want statements from every single one of them. No exceptions."

"Yes, sir!" one of his officers responded, immediately moving to follow orders.

As the reporters were rounded up and herded into police vehicles, the officer finally began to relax, his stern demeanor easing slightly. He dusted off his gloves and turned toward the sound of soft footsteps approaching.

"Thanks for your swift assistance, Officer Terui," Nezu said.

Ryu Terui (照井 竜) turned around to see the mouse-bear Principal and some teachers of U.A. He wasn't personally acquainted with the teachers, but he recognized them as Pro-Heroes: Midnight, Cementoss, and then Juusan-gou (13号 Thirteen). Thirteen was a "Rescue Hero", wearing a white space suit design using what appears to be a puffy jacket instead of an actual suit, a black helmet with white eyes, and a pair of yellow boots.

[ Quick A/N: Now that I rewatched the anime, I noticed Thirteen (Anan Kurose) actually uses Juusangou (Thirteen in japanese) as her hero name. That's why some translations use "No. 13" as her hero name because it is actually a Japanese name. To make it clearer, Aizawa Shouta uses the english name, Ireizā Heddo (Eraser Head イレイザー・ヘッド) as his hero name.

Thirteen, later revealed as Anan Kurose, is actually a female character so I will be using feminine pronouns for her. ]

"No, don't mention it; it's my duty," Terui replied, softening his expression. "Still though, how come… this happened?"

Nezu's face darkened, his usual calm marred by an unsettling mix of curiosity and fury.

"That's precisely what I intend to find out," he said. "A standard press group wouldn't have the resources—or the gall—to breach our defenses. Someone orchestrated this."

Even the angry Terui, no stranger to tense situations, felt a chill crawl down his spine at the sight of Nezu's expression.

"Did someone evil slip in… or was it intended to be a declaration of war?" the Principal mused aloud, his voice chillingly even.

"Whatever it is, we'll make sure they talk," Terui said, averting his gaze. "Leave that part to us. I'll send over the findings as soon as we have them."

It was a good thing that U.A. was a hero school operated by heroes. In an incident like this, the Pro Heroes involved could also be informed of the findings from police investigations.

Nezu nodded. "Much appreciated, Officer Terui."

Terui Ryu excused himself and walked away.

I so don't want to get on that side of the Principal. He noted to himself.

After lunch break…

As the chaos from the earlier break-in settled, Aizawa took over the class for some announcements regarding the break-in. It wasn't much of a speech, just reminding his students to be on guard.

"Okay, that's it. It will be a self-study—"

"Sir?"

Aizawa paused mid-sentence, raising an eyebrow as Tsukasa raised a hand. "What is it, Kadoya?"

"I have a request," Tsukasa said, his tone formal yet confident.

Aizawa gestured lazily for him to continue.

Without hesitation, Tsukasa walked to the front of the class, standing beside his teacher to face his peers.

"As the current acting Class President…" he said. "I believe my class has reached a consensus on who is worthy of being it."

"You wanna step down or something?" Aizawa picked up his sleeping bag. "Please don't be wasting my time."

"Actually, I do," Tsukasa said, "As future heroes, we must acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses. Leadership is about putting the right people in the right places. Well, I don't deny that I'm the strongest here…"

"Grrr…" Bakugou gritted his teeth, swallowing his growl. That arrogant fker…

"I've realized there's someone here better equipped to lead."

A ripple of murmurs passed through the room.

"I'm talking about Iida."

At this, Iida stiffened in his seat, his face a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

Aizawa's eyes wandered across the room. He, too, had heard of how Iida had handled the student body during the "emergency" though he himself, together with Yamada Hizashi, had been handling the press out there.

"I…" Midoriya raised his hand shakily. "I agree! Uh, it's not that… I mean you're not. Not suitable to be our President, but I also think Iida-kun is… he's shown great leadership, especially during the incident earlier. H-he is…"

"Better," Tsukasa finished his sentence. "Anyone else? No, it's okay. You can still consider this as voting."

Aizawa lifted a brow, looking back at Tsukasa. He was amused by high schoolers for once. This kid… wanting to step down from the role and now acting like a proper Class President. What does he even want to accomplish?

"Me, too, uh! I wanna vote for Iida!" Kaminari spoke up.

"Counted." (Tsukasa)

"Me, three!" "Me, four!"

After all that, Iida got 17 votes; Tsukasa got 3. Quite surprising. But the most surprising thing was one lone vote for Bakugou… cast by Bakugou himself. We don't talk about him.

"So sensei," Kaminari asked. "How are we going to handle it?"

"You decided this," Aizawa said with his usual unimpressed expression. "Figure it out yourselves."

"You're right…"

Tsukasa gestured for Iida to join him at the front. The bespectacled boy hesitated before stepping up, clearly overwhelmed but trying his best to appear composed.

"Come on, Yaoyorozu, you too," Tsukasa called, motioning for the Vice President to join them.

Momo blinked, surprised. "But… Iida was elected. Doesn't that mean—"

"Relax," Tsukasa interrupted with a smirk. "You're staying as Vice President. If I step down without setting this up, the position goes to Bakugou, which I'm sure everyone won't like to happen."

He didn't pull any punches; he spoke very matter-of-factly. Almost mockingly so.

"What you'd say, you punk!" Bakugou growled and stood up, earning glares from Tsukasa and Aizawa in unison. Seeing everyone was against him, he calmed down and sat back down.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want to be someone's aide," Tsukasa said, before leaning toward Yaoyorozu, whispering, "no offense to you, Yaoyorozu-san."

"It's… fine," she replied.

"So the current Vice President will retain her position," Tsukasa continued, turning back to the class. "Is there anyone who disagrees with that?"

Silence.

Iida was kinda amazed by Tsukasa's display of handling skills. Kadoya Tsukasa now wasn't just a confident and arrogant dude with a sharp tongue that rivaled his homeroom teacher's. He understood how to sort out the problem like a Pro.

Of course, Iida would've loved to work alongside a great man like Tsukasa… even as an aide. And he was more than delighted to be acknowledged by everyone in his class.

"Good." Tsukasa clapped Iida on the shoulder, snapping him back to reality. "You've got this, Mr. President. Don't let us down."

Iida adjusted his glasses, his hands trembling slightly. "I… I'll do my best! Thank you, everyone, for putting your trust and faith! I will… carry on and uphold this burden! These responsibilities with my life!"

"No, it's not that serious, man," Kaminari teased.

"This is the fiery and manly passion of youth!" Said you-know-who.

The former destroyer of worlds returned to his seat, watching the scene with a faint smile. For all his confidence and sharp wit, he had a knack for reading people—and for putting the right ones in charge. It was the same way he solved the personal issues bothering his fellow Kamen Rider of the A.R. worlds.

One problem solved, he thought, leaning back with a satisfied smirk.

- [ Pause & Play?! ] -

In the evening as usual, Fuwa was waiting for Tsukasa near the gate. The two made eye contact and then wordlessly jumped into the respective seats. The retorts and tiny, petty arguments were getting old already.

"Oh, about that training site you asked me for…" Fuwa began as he started the engine. "I've already found one."

"How fast and reliable of you," Tsukasa mused.

"It's, uh… a warehouse. One I forgot I owned," Fuwa muttered.

"Hmm?"

The older man sighed, brushing off the question as he rephrased himself. "I've got a warehouse. It's big. And empty. Almost completely empty."

That earned a chuckle from Tsukasa—a mocking, playful sound that only seemed to irritate Fuwa further.

"Fuwa-san, aren't you a security guard? And you own a… Heh, warehouse?!"

"Cut it out," the older man grumbled.

The drive to the warehouse was relatively uneventful. The outskirts of the town were quiet, almost eerily so, with the kind of stillness that came with isolation. Finally, Fuwa pulled the car to a stop in front of their destination.

"So, as it happened," Fuwa began as he stepped out, fishing a set of keys from his pocket, "President Hiden gave me ownership of this place. Rich people…"

Does he think he's Batman or Ironman or something! He thought, but wasn't amused. If it were a joke, it would be a big unfunny joke. Then again, the President was notorious for jokes that never landed.

Shaking off the irritation, Fuwa unlocked the doors and pushed them open with a metallic groan. The warehouse yawned before them, its vast interior echoing emptiness. There were a few unused wooden boxes Fuwa couldn't care less about.

"There you go," Fuwa said, gesturing broadly. "Use it to your heart's content. I won't need this place anyway."

"That will be a great help."

As the older man left, Tsukasa opened the Ride Booker and slid out an Ooo KamenRide card, which turned into three medals of different colors: red, yellow and green— alongside a sleek black belt with three circular slots for medals, and colorful runes around them. To the right side of his waist attached a round flat device with a handle.

"Okay…" he exhaled and inspected the medals. The symbols on the medals were pretty direct and easy enough for him to make a guess.

The red one is Taka (Hawk); the yellow one is Tora (Tiger); and the last is Batta (Grasshopper).

Flying Falcon, Flaming Tiger and Rising Hopper.

He recalled Ooo's transformation jingles so he could insert the medals into the correct slots. And then tilted the buckle before scanning the medals with the round device, which made delightful noises.

"TAKA! TORA! BATTA!"

- [ Transition ] -

Tsukasa had arrived back home quite late that night.

Ooo had a lot of combinations so it wasn't that easy to master the Driver and core medals. He silently praised Kamen Rider Ooo for being able to fight using these things.

"Ah, Good Morning," Soichi greeted him as the boy entered the cafe. "You came back home pretty late last night, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I did."

There was no apology whatsoever. Tsukasa replied flatly, dropping into a seat at the bar, looking tired like someone who had gone out drinking the previous night.

Soichi raised an eyebrow at the lack of explanation but decided against prying. Instead, he swiftly prepared a vibrant fruit breakfast and set it down in front of the boy before he could even order.

"Eat up and freshen yourself," Soichi said. "Growing boys shouldn't stay up too late. Understand?"

Tsukasa was in quite a grumpy mode. Why is everyone acting like my dad now? Because I don't have parents?

Tastes good though. Soichi wasn't that good at brewing coffee. But like father like daughter, both he and Misora were good cooks. Of course, not as good as Tsukasa, but still remarkable.

As he ate, Soichi leaned on the counter. "Miso soup? Coffee? What'll it be?"

Tsukasa glanced around. "Eiji-san not here yet?"

"Why you looking for Eiji, I can make you coffee fine!" Soichi sulked.

"And Misora-san?"

"... she's out shopping with that homo— I mean, Sento-kun," Soichi cleared his throat. "Apparently, something exploded in his room last night so he's looking for furniture replacements."

"Oh, isn't it a big deal?"

"Sure, but I'm not the landlord," Soichi shrugged. "He allowed it so I don't have any particular reason to object to little experiments. That might even make my cafe more popular if Sento-kun gets featured on TV."

"Fair point."

Tsukasa didn't even disagree.

"Oh, but…" Soichi brought up a lunch box wrapped in clothes and put it down on the counter. "She made lunch for you."

Tsukasa reluctantly reached for it.

"Is there any reason why she is doing this for me?" He asked, feeling the warmth from the bento. It was fresh and hearty.

Soichi leaned forward with a judgemental expression. "Hmm… I'm not sure, but then again, you happen to be a tall, quirky, intelligent young man. With a good career laid out no less."

Tsukasa shook his head gently. "How old is she even?"

"No worries, she's still in your acceptable age range."

"Oi, you're crossing the line," Tsukasa retorted. "Misora-san will scold you, old man."

"If she hears it, that is. Just make sure the word doesn't go out."

But Tsukasa couldn't get what kind of person Soichi Isurugi really was. He imagined any father would be hella mad if anyone spoke of their daughter like that. Now Soichi was the one talking like her daughter was into a younger man that was Tsukasa…

Maybe that was just a harmless joke.

But if Misora even happened to overhear that, Tsukasa Kadoya would flee without a second thought before she dropped a nuke on Soichi.

"Then… uh, anyway," Tsukasa said. "Tell Misora-san she doesn't need to make bentos for me anymore."

"Oh, okay, why not?"

"Well…" the boy stuffed a spoonful of fruit salad into his mouth. "... We've got a Pro Hero in the school canteen. Lunch Rush. He's making our lunches, so…"

"My Misora-chan won't be as good as him, of course, but…" Soichi rubbed the back of his neck. "She'll be mad, you know."

"Look who's talking."

- [ Transition ] -

At school. After lunch break.

"And so if you've looked at the schedule, you'll see that we're going somewhere for the afternoon Heroics lesson. You'll be supervised by a three-man team: myself, All Might, and another hero."

Aizawa Shota, also known as the Pro Hero Eraserhead, preferred to stay out of the media spotlight. Yesterday's mess with the press must've been bothering him. Usually, his voice was laced with fatigue and disinterest, but today he looked more serious, although his gloomy aura remained.

"It's a Rescue Training session," the teacher said, comically holding up a card that said "Rescue".

"Rescue Training sounds a bit difficult this time around…" Kaminari remarked.

"Totally!" Ashido agreed.

So no fighting. Nice. Tsukasa looked outside the window, unable to gather his thoughts. Being sleep-deprived wasn't a nice feeling. Normally, his body could handle several sleepless nights during his hardest battles. But now a few hours of sleep wasn't enough to vitalize his teenage body.

It sucked to be a high schooler.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," the teacher interjected, silencing the class. "This time, it's entirely up to each of you whether or not you wear your costumes. Some of your costumes probably aren't adapted to the task at hand, after all."

He then pressed a button on a device that seemed to be a remote control and made the closets slide out of the wall. Tsukasa lazily looked at his suitcase among the many in those closets.

"The training area is fairly far away, so we'll get there by bus. That's all for now. Go get prepared."

Everyone else got up from their desks to get their costumes. Tsukasa yawned and stretched in his seat.

"Kadoya-kun, are you not getting it?"

Tsukasa half-opened his eyes to see Yaoyorozu acting like the Class Vice President that she was. He rubbed his eyes and waved his hand apologetically.

"You look… sleep-deprived."

"Unfortunately, I am," he whispered and got out of his seat. "And it was worth it."

Yaoyorozu didn't really understand what he meant. But she decided to leave him alone.

On the other hand, Iida was even more hyperactive after accepting the class representative position. Stationed at the entrance of the bus, he firmly insisted that everyone board in an orderly fashion. However, his lecture proved unnecessary—it turned out to be a commuter bus with an unconventional layout. The seats in the middle were arranged in two facing columns, fixed along the inner walls, making the usual boarding formalities redundant.

"Then I'll be taking this one first, hehe…" Ashido said, sitting down in one of the middle seats.

"Me here, me here!" Aoyama Yuga, the blond foreigner kid, also took the place next to her.

Wanting to get some sleep on the way, Tsukasa went all the way to the back and took the furthest seat in the corner. Yaoyorzu sat down two seats away, giving him some personal space. But the stoic Todoroki wordlessly took the seat between them.

The situation became even more disastrous when Bakugou sat down right in front of Tsukasa.

"What, you got a problem?" Bakugou growled, glaring at Tsukasa who groaned.

"No, nothing, we cool," he yawned and put on a old-fashioned fedora hat on his face as he leaned back. "Now zip it and leave me alone."

Miraculously, Bakugou Katsuki calmed and sat his butt down without another complaint. Iida and Yaoyorozu secretly sighed in relief.

She guessed Tsukasa was going to be out of commission on this trip for whatever reason.

Todoroki Shoto didn't come sit here for any particular reason, but he was anyhow taken aback by Tsukasa's lack of excitement and passion. Not that Todoroki himself was particularly interested in the session. He just wanted to find out…

… what kind of person the man who he could acknowledge as far powerful than himself was.

Meanwhile the middle seats just screamed fun with all the excitement radiating from chatter and noises from the crowd.

"Your Quirk reminds me of All Might's."

The frog girl, Asui Tsuyu was the one who set Midoriya on fire.

"Is… Is that s-s-so!? Haha, but…"

There definitely was something behind it.

With Midoriya stuttering in the middle seats, Momo could faintly hear Tsukasa snoring.

"B-but if we're going to talk about strong quirks…" Midoriya tried to divert the conversation. "Kadoya-kun's Quirk is… definitely one, right?! It's also super versatile and super strong. I think he has a lot of uses for each of his transformations—"

"Stop, Midoriya-kun," Kaminari intervened before it went out of hand. "You don't need to explain the details."

"Hmm, now that I think about it…" Asui cupped her chin, giving another honest opinion. "I think he reminds me of both All Might and… Endeavor… Actually, more closely, you know, half and half."

Some students glanced at Todoroki who had only the faint idea why.

"Asui— Tsuyu-san, you're also going down the spiral," Iida said bluntly. "Don't tell me… Are you a nerd like Midoriya, too?"

"I'm just being honest," Asui said. Her expression was always hard to read.

I'm saved… Midoriya internally sighed as the storm had safely passed.

Some students began to notice Tsukasa had already trailed off to the dream realm.

"Oh, damn," Mineta remarked. "Life is so nice for people with god-tier quirks."

"He probably worked hard last night," Iida said defensively. "People aren't strong just because they have powerful quirks."

"Speaking of Kadoya…" Kirishima began. "His, you know, announcements… or something that's very Japanese! They sound really nice and hard! I don't know how to describe it but… it's just really cool and badass."

"Totally agree with you there, man," Kaminari said. "It just adds to his cool factor. But I wonder if that feature is implemented for other utilities."

"Pretty sure we all have questions about that," Ojiro said.

"A-actually…" Midoriya said, opening one of his notebooks. "I noted down all of those phrases and jingles."

"You did?!"

While everyone else in the front section started reading Midoriya's notebooks about Tsukasa's transformations in turns, Yaoyorozu found her thoughts wandering elsewhere—but still focused on him.

She wasn't a quirk specialist, but she prided herself on being well-read and observant. Her own quirk wasn't naturally suited for direct combat; she'd had to strategize and train hard to match those with more straightforward, aggressive abilities. Yet even with all her knowledge, she couldn't make sense of Tsukasa's abilities.

Transformation that made him look like someone in a costume, stat boost, multiple abilities, and… she was pretty sure that was a "support gear" and not an extension of his body. If that was the case, how did it interact with his quirk? It all could be explained as magic. But that wasn't an acceptable answer.

Everything about his power, and his attitude and personality, was a mystery.

And yet, there he was—taking a nap on board without any care or knowledge of people gossiping about him. How nice.

She shook her head and dropped her case, deciding to let her brain rest like Tsukasa did.

- [ Time Skip ] -

Soon they arrived at their destination for the day.

USJ - The Unforeseen Simulation Joint... a separate facility founded and managed by none other than the Pro Hero who specializes in rescue - Juusangou (Thirteen). From the outside, it was a gigantic dome - by gigantic meant it was really big. But the interior was even more impressive.

As Aizawa and the students walked into the building, Thirteen was already waiting for them inside.

Impressive. Tsukasa, while not showing it on his face, looked around interestedly. Just how much money was involved in making this into reality…

"It's definitely Plus Ultra!" Kirishima exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement and a touch of nervousness.

"We wouldn't expect less from the U.A.!" Iida added.

The vastness and detail of the USJ left them all in silent awe. The realism of the various disaster zones was both impressive and intimidating. The air was filled with a mix of smoke, the scent of damp earth, and the faint, salty tang of sea water.

"Above and beyond" was an understatement to describe the detailed infrastructure lying inside that dome.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Said Thirteen, dressed in her usual Pro Hero costume. Her voice also had a filter that made it sound like a synthesized radio-transmitted voice accompanied by a slightly metallic undertone.

Tsukasa chuckled inside as soon as he took a good look at the hero in a fluffy astronaut-like design. It reminded him of the friendly neighborhood cosmic superhero, Fourze. Coincidentally, the (A.R.) Fourze he encountered was also a High School teacher by the name "Gentaro"-sensei.

Hold on… Gentaro? Kisaragi Gentaro? No, it can't be.

His thoughts were interrupted by Thirteen.

"Welcome to the Rescue Training Lesson, Hero Course Students" she continued the intro. "As heroes, you'll face all kinds of environmental disasters—floods, fires, landslides, and more. That's why I created this U.S.J. - Unforeseen Simulation Joint, the practical training area where we can simulate all kinds of accidents and disasters and teach you how to respond effectively."

Midoriya's eyes lit up as recognition dawned on him. "It's the Space Hero: Juusangou! She's an angelic hero who does phenomenal work helping with disaster relief!"

Pro Hero: Thirteen, Quirk: Black Hole. — allows her to replicate a black hole suction effect from her hands. Thirteen uses her quirk for rescue purposes.

"I will be leading this session, with the help of your homeroom teacher and All Might!"

Aizawa interrupted her and leaned in for a whisper. Students didn't hear their exchange, but Tsukasa could guess, at this rate, All Might was late for some reason.

"Okay," Thirteen held up their fingers and looked at the class. "Before we begin, just one thing... or two... or three... or four... I'm certain that you're all already quite aware, but my Quirk is called "Black Hole", no matter what material may get sucked into its vortex, it will turn into dust."

"A perfect quirk to remove wreckage in disasters!" Midoriya excitedly commented, which Uraraka wholeheartedly agreed by nodding rapidly.

No doubt it was. Tsukasa tried to recall if there was anyone else in his memory who had similar abilities.

"Yes..." Thirteen continued. "But it is also a power that could easily be used to kill. In that way, it's no different from the quirks of everyone here."

Good point. The former destroyer of the world understood the entire "holding back" thing.

To sum up the rest of Thirteen's preface, with great power comes great responsibility. She explained to the students that they should use their powers responsibly.

"Your quirks emphatically don't exist to hurt others!" She concludes her speech. "Please leave this exercise having fully understood that your quirks exist to help people! That's all! You have my gratitude for listening so intently and patiently!"

"That was awesome!" "Bravo! Bravo!"

Tsukasa wasn't a big fan of long speeches. So he secretly praised Iida who was delighted by Thirteen's little speech.

The lively atmosphere of the class shifted in an instant, replaced by a tense, foreboding energy. The atmosphere in the facility immediately shifted drastically…

… some uninvited guests came over for a chicken dinner party. Tsukasa confirmed it from the looks of the supervising teachers.

On the plaza that was the center of the USJ appeared dark purple mist with a nasty aura and two two bright yellow glows that seemed to be the "eyes" of a creature or whatever… Anyway, that purple mist began to expand, forming multiple portals, and through them emerged a ragtag group of people who could only be described as villains.

Of course, since All Might isn't here… Tsukasa's grin vanished. Those portals scream nothing but trouble.

Upon recognizing them as uninvited personnels, Aizawa and Thirteen instinctively and dutifully took their stances before the students.

"Huddle together and don't move!" Aizawa-sensei shouted at the students, putting on his goggles. "Juusangou, protect them!"

"What's that?" Kirishima said, staring at the newcomers. "Is this like-"

"Don't move!" Aizawa-sensei repeated. "Those are villains!"

Within seconds, a good few dozens of "villains" flooded through the warpgate, including all kinds of weirdos and criminal lowlifes with weird fashion senses that advertised the fact ten times over. Well, among them five stood out. The princely man working with Narutaki. He wore a nice all-white suit that was almost shiny and non-villain-esque.

Next to him were two handsome humagears: Jin and Horobi, both in monotonous expressions, dressed in dark bodytight suits with… suspicious belts on their waists.

"Eraserhead and Juusangou…"

An ominous voice came out of one of the warpgates with a pair of glowing yellow eyes as it formed a vaguely humanoid shape.

"According to the teachers' curriculum we procured yesterday," said the Warpgate Man. "Mr. All Might was supposed to be here, and yet..."

"I knew it," Aizawa-sensei said. "So yesterday was the doing of you lots..."

"Where is he?"

Another voice, scratchy and almost childlike in its malice, cut through the room. The speaker was a pale, wiry man covered in grotesque hand-shaped accessories, one gripping his face like a mask Kinda cool, but in fact, creepy!

It was Shigaraki Tomura. Then… The warpgate was his henchman, Kurogiri.

"... We went through all this trouble," Shigaraki's tone darkened. "And rustled up so many of us to bring along. You can't tell me All Might, the symbol of Peace, isn't here... I wonder if he'll show up if we kill the kids?"

Tsukasa also cautiously entered a battle-ready stance upon hearing that. If it were a joke, it must be one hell of an unfunny joke.

Kadoya Tsukasa didn't like it.

"Sensei!" Momo's voice broke through the tension as she addressed Thirteen. "What about the Intruder Alarm Sensors!?"

"Of course, we have some!" Thirteen said. "But... !"

Of course, they came prepared. Tsukasa's eyes were fixed on the three handsome men that seemed out of place among the villains. Especially because they felt much more familiar and dangerous to him.

Those belts… Don't tell me…!

"An isolated space away from the school..." Todoroki tried to piece the puzzle together. "At a time when there's a class scheduled... It may seem out of the question, but they must have some solid objective."

"Unfortunately, they don't look hesitant to kill us," Tsukasa added. "We all must be careful."

Aizawa had already decided his further course of action. The sheer number of villains was daunting, but he had no choice.

"Juusangou, initiate the evacuation procedure!" Eraserhead said. "Try calling the school. These villains know how to get around the sensors! There's a chance there's an electrowave-type guy who'll try interfering! Kaminari, you too! Try contacting the U.A. office with your quirk!"

"Sensei!? Are you going to fight them alone!?" Midoriya suddenly spoke up, but with concern. "Even if you suppress—"

"Midoriya, don't waste time," Tsukasa said, grabbing his shoulder. "You go with Juusangou."

"B-but..."

"He's right," Aizawa-sensei replied. "A Hero always has more than one trick up their sleeves. Countin' on you, Juusangou!"

With that request, Aizawa jumped down the stairs, skipping steps and landed on the plaza.

"Then I will, too," Tsukasa said, taking out his Ride Booker.

"Bastard!" Bakugou growled. "You're not going anywhere without me! I will fight those lowlifes, too!"

"Hold on, kids, calm down!" Thirteen got between them. "No one's going anywhere! We stick to protocol! Escape is our priority!"

"She's right!" Iida added. "This is no time for recklessness!"

Tsukasa felt confident he could take down the thugs with ease, but as his gaze lingered on Thirteen's face, he decided against acting recklessly. He could try helping out Aizawa after other kids had escaped, and heck that would ease his heart a lot as well.

"Incredible…!" Midoriya muttered, eyes glued to the scene of his teacher fighting, astonished. "I forgot—"

"Not a good time, Midoriya," Tsukasa interrupted, tugging him back. "They're right. We should—"

But it was already too late. Before he could finish, the situation spiraled into chaos.

The worst-case scenario unfolded. The same ominous dark-purple mist that formed the villains' portals materialized in front of them, blocking their only escape route. The sight sent a chill through the group.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," came a calm, detached voice. It belonged to Kurogiri, his tone unnervingly polite yet devoid of warmth.

Tsukasa stepped in front of Midoriya protectively, his expression sharpening. "Is that so? Don't you think it's rude to barge in like this? You might want to work on your entrances."

Kurogiri's misty form began to solidify, revealing a vaguely humanoid shape—around his neck, or collarbone (?) wrapped a protective metal brace which covered up to just under his "eyes".

"Forgive me, but courtesy is on you," he continued smoothly. "We are the League of Villains. I apologize for the presumption, but we took it upon ourselves to enter the campus of U.A., the base of Heroes…"

Tsukasa narrowed his eyes, taking slow, subtle steps. From the looks of it, Thirteen didn't seem to be experienced in combat scenarios… So the absence of All Might was a major problem.

"... In order to engage with Mr. All Might, the Symbol of Peace… We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see. Was Mr. All Might not meant to be in attendance at this facility? Perchance, has something been altered? Ah well, setting—"

"You villains really like your monologues, huh?" Tsukasa interjected. His voice was casual, but his body remained tense, ready to act. "Save the speeches. You're not welcome here."

It was just enough to make Kurogiri lose his focus for a moment. That brief distraction was all Kirishima and Bakugou needed. Acting on impulse, Kirishima launched a powerful kick while Bakugou followed up with an explosive punch aimed at Kurogiri's "face." The coordinated attack startled even Tsukasa, who hadn't expected them to act so quickly.

"Bet you didn't think we'd take you out before you had the chance!" Kirishima shouted triumphantly.

But to an even bigger surprise, Kurogiri was pretty much unscathed. No, he wasn't hurt at all. He was just… mist after all.

"That was quite perilous," he said calmly. "To be expected, though you may be mere students, you are also the golden eggs of the hero world."

"That's no use!" Thirteen shouted, panic creeping into her tone. "Run, you two!"

"Running might not work either," Tsukasa warned, seeing that they had been surrounded by portals. "Be careful! We don't know what's beyond these gates!"

Iida activated his engine quirk and grabbed whoever he could. But he wasn't fast or strong enough to take away everyone.

"Dammit—!"

Bakugou and Kirishima got swallowed by the mist. And then Todoroki. Jiro, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari… And then Midoriya, Asui and the grape boy.

Shit I wish I had my Aurora curtains!

Tsukasa thought that bitterly in a split second before getting warped away with Ojiro to somewhere else.

On the battlefield below, Aizawa caught a glimpse of the chaos unfolding above. His jaw clenched as he dodged a blow from a hulking thug.

What's happening up there?! All Might! Where are you…

"Where are we…"

Ojiro dusted himself after landing in a pile of debris. It didn't feel so nice to get forcefully teleported.

"We're in the Fire Zone," Tsukasa said, opening the Ride Booker. "We need to get outta here—"

"Hold it. Not so fast," interrupted a smooth, authoritative voice.

Tsukasa and Ojiro turned to see a man stepping forward, flanked by a group of humanoid figures. The man, dressed in an immaculate white suit that practically glimmered under the fiery light, radiated an air of self-assured arrogance.

"Welcome to my grand, grand party, esteemed guests," he said with a grin.

"I'm not a fan of fighting children," he continued. "But you're all part of this little experiment."

Tsukasa signaled his classmate with a subtle nod to stay behind him as he asked: "Are you also a villain?"

"I guess I am now," the man said, accepting a sleek suitcase from a humagear. "I will let you know my name. Amatsu Gai (天津 垓)—remember that name. The name of greatness. Nice to meet you… or not."

"What are those… robots? Androids?" Ojiro tensed, his tail flicking as he assumed a defensive stance.

"Humagears…" Tsukasa answered grimly. "At any rate, they are not friendly. And robots. Treat them as training bots. You can destroy them all you want."

The Humagears formed a protective perimeter around Gai as he retrieved a metallic belt from the suitcase. Its futuristic design immediately reminded Ojiro of Tsukasa's transformation gear.

"Thousand Driver."

— Driver activation announcement.

It was quite flashy and metal but colorful and futuristic. Not as flashy as Hiden Zero-One Driver, too.

"I shall be this world's first Kamen Rider! Hahahaha!"

Kamen Rider? Tsukasa's mind worked quickly. With Narutaki's involvement and the Humagears, it all began to click. This guy was another dark Rider, likely brought in as part of Narutaki's schemes.

For a moment, Tsukasa felt a strange relief—facing another Rider meant he wasn't entirely detached from the entire Kamen Rider business.

But relief quickly gave way to caution. He had to stay alert and plan his next move.

"With this device…" Gai boasted. "I will become 200%... No, 1,000% percent stronger than an average Pro Hero. Mere school kids will not mean any threats to me."

The gold "Progrisekey" he brought looked quite different with a gray rhinoceros head painted on the front alongside other runes and a slight bit of decoration on the side. He set the key into the left side of the driver.

"Zetsumetsu Evolution!"

— Zetsumerisekey activation.

I remember now… Tsukasa narrowed his eyes. Back in Zero-One's world, there was this difficult weirdo who gave Zero-One a hard time…

"Kadoya, he is…" Ojiro said, pointing out the enemy was using the same "cassette"-like device as Tsukasa's.

"Stay back," Tsukasa merely commanded his classmate. "This guy is dangerous."

Seriously, huh, Narutaki… He didn't like the way his archenemy sent a Kamen Rider to fight mere high schoolers.

Or was that meant for Decade himself…?

"Breakhorn!"

— Progrisekey activation.

This key was also decorated like the first key and also gold-colored, with an insect-like creature painted among the symbols on it. Gai, this time, opened the key first before setting it.

"Henshin," Gai said with a proud smirk, inserting the key into his belt, making the buckle change shape with a flash of light.

"PERFECTRISE!"

"Oh, shit, what the heck is this?!"

As a large metallic-colored rhinoceros robot stomped around the place and a large wing-out caucasus flew around, Ojiro backflipped just in time to get out of the way and got behind Tsukasa, who calmly watched the scene break out. As circular holograms materialized around Gai, the robots then headbutted each other just above his head before breaking down into armor parts that would form the suit on his body.

"When the five horns cross, the golden soldier THOUSER is born. Presented by… Narutaki Corporation."

— Transformation announcement.

Oh yeah, fuck you, Narutaki. ONORE NARUTAKI!

"He… he transformed. He transformed just like you!" Ojiro gawked in disbelief. "Oh, no…"

He knew it was no joke. Tsukasa was a beast. Who knows how strong this new dude was going to be, but either way, it spelt trouble for him.

Thouser, now transformed, was a golden soldier, indeed. His armor was sleek and symmetrical, to note, colored mostly gold, silver and gray with a bit of purple highlights here and there. It also featured sharp, angular details, giving him a regal and futuristic appearance. A crown-like structure on his helmet featured five prominent horns—three black and two silver, while the chest armor showcases intricate layered plating.

And he came with a weapon… A gold lance! It was the Thousand Jacker.

"Perfect. This feeling is perfect," Thouser said, exhaling deeply as he inspected his new golden armor and gleaming weapon. "o hear of the legends of Kamen Riders and now become the first in this world… It's too perfect to handle! Hahaha! I am unmatched—the great—"

"Sorry but the title is already taken," Tsukasa cut in, picking a card from his Ride Booker. "This world's first rider… Is none other than me!"

"Wha—" Gai felt a bit pissed to be interrupted. But… soon he realized what backed the highschooler's arrogance.

With Gai's jaw hanging in his helmet, an equally strange belt materialized around Tsukasa's waist.

"Zero-One Driver."

Without hesitation, Tsukasa inserted the Progrisekey and called out:

"Henshin!"

"RISING HOPPER! A Jump to the sky turns to a Rider Kick."

— Transformation announcement.

"What!" Gai exclaimed. "I didn't hear about it! G-get them!"

Now standing in Tsukasa's place was Zero-One RIsing Hopper, the green-armor-on-black grasshopper rider. He then pulled out another card, which summoned a suitcase-like device that turned into a sword.

"Attaché Blade."

— Weapon activation announcement.

"Finally some rider action, huh… I don't hate it," Tsukasa said, testing the blade with a few practiced swings before slicing through a Humagear that lunged at him. "But this doesn't look good."

"Kadoya, what's the plan?!" Ojiro said, striking down an incoming humagear with his prehensile tail.

Zero-One clenched his grip on the sword.

"Protect yourself, Ojiro! I'll handle the biggest fish!"

With that, Zero-One leapt high into the air, sword raised, and came crashing down toward Thouser. Gai blocked with his lance, deflecting the strike and pushing Zero-One back. Not missing a beat, Thouser thrust forward, but Zero-One sidestepped, parrying with the Attaché Blade. He quickly reached into the Ride Booker, transforming it into a second sword.

"Dual-wielding now? How amusing!" Gai scoffed.

"Okay, I'm not sure I know what's going on," Ojiro said, turning his attention back to the charging humagears. "But on second thought, I guess I do!"

With a sharp leap and a mid-air spin, he decapitated one before fending off two more using swift tail strikes. The second and third humagears tried to grab onto him, but he shook them off with his martial arts.

"Nutauchi Senpū!"

As Ojiro fought against the remaining horde of humagears, Zero-One dual-wielded the swords and struck down many more that Thouser summoned, to give his classmate a breathing room. But it wasn't enough; they were obviously outnumbered… and outpowered.

That is, if he kept using Rising Hopper.

"This isn't working," Tsukasa muttered. Then, making a snap decision, he hurled his sword like a spear at Thouser.

The golden Rider deflected it with a smirk. "Pathetic—"

The distraction was all Tsukasa needed. He reached for another card from the Ride Booker (which is in blade mode).

"Progrise! FREEZING BEAR!"

— Transformation announcement.

And then this!

"Attache Shotgun."

— Weapon activation announcement.

"More tricks?!" Gai sneered. "Your cheap imitations will never match my and Narutaki's technology!"

Gai Amatsu/ Thouser taunted as he closed their distance while the green grasshopper rider switched his armor to the icy polar blue one, with a large black-and-blue shotgun in his hand.

As the image became clearer, Thouser charged in, with his Humagears close behind.

The taunts didn't work…

"BANG!"

Ojiro struck down the last humagear hunting him and looked back at Zero-One, who pulled the gun trigger on the villain.

"Kadoya…"

Just what's his quirk really? Ojiro wondered, panting. Huff, now he made weapons out of nowhere. It's cool, but… too weird.

But at this point, Tsukasa couldn't care less if he got exposed. Though the government would always be annoying to deal with in that scenario.

"Bang!" The shotgun fired a concentrated burst of energy, the recoil powerful enough to send Zero-One skidding backward. The shot slammed into Thouser, forcing him to stumble, though his armor remained intact. Zero-One quickly stood back up and reloaded another energy round, pulling the trigger again quickly after.

"Bang!"

Each shot pushed Thouser further back, cracks forming in the ground beneath his feet.

"You think that's enough to defeat me?!" Thouser roared, readying his lance for another charge. He groaned, pressing his chest where the pellets mainly impacted. He tried to see through his enemy, but failed— then he changed his approach and tried to defend himself from another shot with his sword.

"Here comes the finale! Brace yourself!" Zero-One confidently stated, sliding the Freezing Bear Progrisekey into the Attache Shotgun's rise slot.

Ojiro crouched behind a pile of debris to watch the fight. It was no longer the level he could jump in for back-up. For now, he must stay patient and let his classmate handle it.

At least he was level-headed enough to push the questions to later if he had any.

"Kiddo…" Thouser grunted as his lackey Humagears helped him back up. "This is showtime!"

He charged forward with a battle cry.

Zero-One remained calm, flipping the shotgun back into its suitcase mode to charge before swiftly returning it to its weapon form. Thouser was closing the gap fast—mere meters away now.

"FREEZING KABAN SHOT!"

— Kaban Shot, hell yeah.

As Zero-One pulled the trigger, bluish dust-like energy escaped the weapon's muzzle, scattering outward and toward Thouser and Humagears, encasing them in ice structures. The Humagears immediately powered down, frozen in place, and their glowing red eyes dimmed.

"You think this is the end?!" The now-frozen Thouser cried out. "It's not!"

Second phase boss fight!

"Jacking Break!"

— Special attack announcement.

With a burst of energy from his Thousand Jacker, Thouser broke himself free out of ice.

Okay, curse you, Narutaki!

Thouser's lance struck with blinding speed, and though Zero-One managed to block with his weapon in suitcase mode, the impact sent him staggering. Desperately, he tried to reload the shotgun, but Thouser's follow-up strike knocked the weapon out of his hands.

Zero-One shifted to rely on his Freezing Bear abilities, but the armor's slower, heavy movements couldn't keep up with Thouser's agility.

Crap, he got me.

He felt the lance press into his chest. He tried to counter, but it was too late—Thouser pulled back the lance's handle, absorbing the Freezing Bear Progrisekey's energy in one fluid motion.

With a smug laugh, Thouser kicked Zero-One back, sending him tumbling across the ground.

"Kadoya!" Ojiro shouted worriedly as Thouser charged his Thousand Jacker.

Zero-One stumbled, feeling an obvious decline in his own power. He underestimated Thouser… regretfully he must admit to it.

"How nice, how perfect!" Thouser rejoiced, inspecting his weapon. "This is just the perfect power made for me!"

"Don't come out, Ojiro! No matter what…" Zero-One commanded. "I can handle this one."

Still arrogant. Mistakes? They exist to make you better the next time. As long as I can make use of it, defeat is far from reality.

"Jacking Break!"

— Special attack announcement.

Thousand Jacker announced as Thouser pushed back in the handle.

"It's your lessen, kiddo!"

"Bit rise! Byte rise! Mega—"

As Thouser lunged toward him, Zero-One tried to power up himself for self-defense, but it was already too late. Thouser swung his lance, launching large ice projectiles at his opponent. Zero-One was overwhelmed and flung away by the sheer power of it, even getting forced out of his transformation.

"Ou…" Tsukasa grunted as he dropped onto the ground, surrounded by the debris.

Thouser's Freezing Jacking Break extinguished most fire in the area with a single slash.

Oh, no… Ojiro gasped at the scene, overthinking it. Kadoya… Even he is defeated. We are doomed! How is it going for others?! Dammit! Why am I so powerless!?

"Well, I don't stoop so low as to kill children," Thouser said with a cold chuckle. "But about these thugs… I can't promise the same for them."

Seeing Tsukasa defeated and Ojiro left alone, the thugs who came with the League of Villains finally came out of hiding. In full force, even. They all have different shapes and sizes and quirks! Most of them wore black—some in sleeveless spiky shirts with jeans and some with mohawks or outrageous hairstyles.

"Yo… kiddo!"

A gravelly voice barked from behind Ojiro, making him jump. A muscular thug, his face scarred and twisted in a sneer, had crept up on him. Ojiro quickly moved to stand his ground, shielding Tsukasa, who was still on the ground recovering.

"Lesson? Who gave you the right to teach me?" Tsukasa's voice broke through the tension as he rose to his feet.

Thouser stopped mid-step, turning back with visible annoyance.

"You okay?" Ojiro asked, his eyes darting nervously between the approaching thugs. They were completely surrounded now.

"I'm perfectly fine," Tsukasa replied, brushing the dust off his jacket with a smirk. He locked eyes with Thouser, as if he could see Gai's eyes behind the visor.

"And remember, Thouser or whatever… The only one who can lecture me… Is my teachers!"

Now? Really?! Is this really the time for a grand speech?! Ojiro widened his eyes in disbelief.

Tsukasa now had a new KamenRide card in his hand, which turned into a new Driver on his waist. It was bulkier than Zero-One Driver and actually looked older, with four slots (switchsockets), four red push switches and a display in the center and a handle on the right side of the driver. There were already four Astroswitches set in the slots.

(A/N: The slots "switchsockets" are actually shaped differently so the user can't insert wrong astroswitches.)

The four astroswitches in the belt (from left to right slots respectively) were: 1-Rocket, the orange switch; 2-Launcher, the blue switch; 3-Drill, the yellow switch; and 4-Radar, the gray switch.

It was the Fourze Driver.

"Big bro, what are we going to do?!" One of the thugs asked his leader, looking hesitantly at the two high schoolers. "Do we fight now?"

"You fool!" The boss hissed. "This is a Tokusatsu show! We wait until he finishes his henshin!"

"That's… actually a good point!"

What makes a good point?! Ojiro sweatdropped, utterly baffled by the exchange.

"A new belt?!" Thouser's voice was filled with jealousy. "Brat, who the hell are you?"

"Just a passing-through Kamen Rider," Tsukasa replied with a smirk, flipping the four switches of the Driver. "Try to remember that. Henshin."

When Tsukasa pulled the handle, there was no Progrise RIsing Hopper announcement. No giant animal robots. The totally different driver with totally different jingles.

"Three… Two… One!"

— Transformation announcement.

A male voice echoed from the Driver, accompanied by a techno space melody. A holographic ring shot upward from Tsukasa's waist, soaring high above him as thick clouds of smoke erupted like a shuttle preparing for launch. When the fog died down and dispersed, standing in Tsukasa's place was also a completely refreshing Kamen Rider!

Okay, this is new… different from anything Kadoya has shown so far! Ojiro blinked, catching himself staring at his classmate.

This was Kamen Rider Fourze.

An almost completely white Kamen Rider in an astronaut/ rocket-themed suit with orange highlights. Each of his forearm armor parts bore a large orange circle and a gray square respectively, while on his either shin were a large blue "X" and a yellow triangle. His helmet was even shaped like a rocket with a pointy top, and a fin visible on the either side of the jaw. His visor was two orange traditional bug-eyes, similar to Zero-One.

"He's transformed!" The thug boss shouted, signaling his forces. "Go, go! Fight! Get them!"

Okay, for real?! Ojiro shook his head gently,snapping back to reality just in time to dodge a tentacle from a thug with a land-octopus quirk.

"So then… Let me try this," Fourze said, pulling the second ("2") switch that was Launcher. It activated the astroswitch and formed the "Launcher module" —a blue box-like structure with five missiles loaded in it—on his right leg.

"Launcher On."

— Module activation.

"Launcher, fire!" Fourze chanted and stomped on the ground, which set the missiles off and launched them. But they shot off wildly, spiraling through the air with no clear aim. One flew dangerously close to Ojiro, forcing him to dive out of the way. As they exploded upon impact, the blasts were loud and chaotic, rattling the thugs and scattering them.

"Wh-what the hell are these?!" "Don't be scared! They're just mere students!"

Meanwhile, Fourze quickly reloaded the missile pods with his cosmic energy.

"Second round!" He chanted and fired again.

Ojiro had to dodge yet again; missiles rained down, scattering debris and sending thugs sprawling. Two were hit directly, knocked out cold as the remaining fighters scrambled for cover.

"What is this ridiculous power?" Thouser muttered, swatting a missile away with his lance before it could detonate near him.

"Jealous much?" Fourze taunted, activating his fourth ("4") —which was the Radar astroswitch.

"Radar On."

The Radar module that materialized on his left arm was a gray and black high-tech device with a monitor and a portable satellite-dish-like extension.

"Kadoya! Hurry up!" Ojiro called out, delivering a clean punch to a thug who had gotten too close before the guy could activate his quirk. "I need a backup—and maybe don't blow me up while you're at it!"

"Appreciate the feedback," Fourze replied cheekily; the Radar module having finished scanning and determining the positions of Thouser and others.

"Ojiro, withdraw now! Third bombardment!"

The tailman leaped out of the danger zone just as Fourze stomped his right leg again. This time, the missiles launched with precision, homing in on their targets. Explosions filled the air as thugs were flung like ragdolls, most knocked out before they could even react.

The final two missiles veered toward Thouser, who braced himself, ready to block with his lance. But Fourze wasn't done yet. Using the Radar Module, he manipulated the missiles mid-flight, causing them to circle around Thouser like drones before detonating behind him.

Caught off guard, Thouser was sent sprawling to the ground, groaning in pain as he tried to recover.

"That's… awesome," Ojiro remarked. "That was… weird cuz now you have more… abilities? But that helped!"

"Anyway…" Fourze chanted, reloading and firing the Launcher over and over again. "Fourth Bombardment! Fifth Bombardment! Sixth Bombardment!"

Missile after missile rained down, obliterating any resistance. Within minutes, the battlefield was clear, with all the thugs either unconscious or retreating.

Save for Thouser, who was still wide awake but that one hit from Fourze hit him hard enough to give a backache. He got back on his feet, supporting himself with his lance.

"You little… brat…" he hissed, his voice strained.

Fourze switched off the Launcher and Radar modules.

"Give it up," he said, striding toward his final opponent. "Thouser, was it? It would be nice if you could tell me what that Narutaki is up to—"

"Gotcha," Thouser pressed his Thousand Jacker against Fourze and pulled the handle.

"Kadoya! Look out!" Ojiro cried out worriedly. Did he fall for the same trick twice?!

"Hmm?"

But nothing happened.

"Huh? What?! Why isn't this working?!" Thouser barked frantically.

With a cheeky chuckle, Fourze switched on the rightmost astroswitch in his Driver, activating the respective module.

"Rocket On."

— Module activation.

"Because your fancy lance can only absorb Progrisekeys," Fourze said, as an orange rocket-like module was formed on his right arm.

"Rider Rocket Punch!" Fourze cried out as flames came out of the exhaust ports on another end of the module. He then landed the enhanced punch on Thouser, hurtling through the air before crashing to the ground.

The impact was enough to force Thouser out of his transformation, revealing Gai Amatsu, who now lay unconscious and defeated.

"Finally it's over!" Ojiro sighed in relief, collapsing to the ground.

Fourze—or rather, Tsukasa—canceled his transformation, the Fourze Driver disappearing as he panted lightly. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but unfortunately, it's not," he said, scanning the area. "We still need to find out if our classmates and teachers are okay."

Ojiro frowned, reluctantly pushing himself up. "... You're right. But can you keep going?"

Tsukasa smirked but looked noticeably winded. "Why wouldn't I be able to?" he said, though the slight tremor in his breath betrayed his fatigue. He sometimes forgot that this body—this fifteen-year-old frame—wasn't as resilient as he'd like to believe.

"... Alright. But seriously, take it easy," Ojiro cautioned.

"Don't worry," Tsukasa said, his smirk widening. "I know my limits…"

There was a pause, then a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

"... And I'll surpass them."

- [ PAUSE AND PLAY ] -

The world was never a fair place. It couldn't be. Not for everyone.

Among gamers who faced the greatest of foes, two types often emerged: those who relied on wits and resilience, and those who took their time to prepare, building their strength methodically.

Tomura Shigaraki was the latter.

"Get him, Nomu!"

Nomu… it was Shigaraki's little… big pet standing on all four, its muscles looking overgrown and bulked. Almost all black with a large beak-like mouth and exposed jagged teeth, and the brain was exposed, with an eye on either size of it, adding to its grotesque amalgamated appearance.

For the League of Villains to be able to defeat the Symbol of Peace, simple wits and resilience would never be enough. Thankfully, his "master" gave him time and resources to build his own little army for this grand conquest. But that also made him a little too overconfident in his own self and his "perfect" plan.

Aizawa Shouta had been completely overwhelmed.

For the first few minutes of the ambush, he had held his ground against the basic thugs, even with quirks. They had been terribly inexperienced and Aizawa could easily negate the quirks. Even those with brute strengths couldn't beat him due to the lack of brains.

But these humanoid robots they had brought were different. Was it a new technology? Or summons from a puppeteer quirk user? He couldn't tell. But, while a single one might've only caused annoyance at best, they had outnumbered him so hard and tired him out.

Just what the enemies needed to do.

"Master's summon is impressive," Shigaraki said, looking down at his captive, Aizawa. "But that old man… His summons are pretty good! I guess I don't dislike you, Jin. I like your stats."

"Noted," was all the humagear, Jin, said.

Aizawa coughed, blood splattering the ground beneath him. His body screamed in agony. He couldn't even muster the strength to scream. His ribs—maybe his arms too—were broken.

But he wasn't thinking about himself. Even as his vision blurred and his mind clouded with pain, Aizawa's thoughts were on his students. He strained to move, to see, to ensure their safety, but his blood-soaked hair and swelling injuries obscured his sight.

He had failed his mission as a teacher.

Where… is… All Might…

"You were such a dangerous thorn, Eraser," Shigaraki said, "for a moment, you scared me… But you are nothing. Your annoying powers don't work against my high-level summon!"

Even in this situation, Aizawa tried to scan his surroundings, worried about his students, but his long hair and blood flowing down his forehead had been hindering his vision.

"There is no point in leaving him alive," Jin suggested.

Shigaraki sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "Well then, let me fulfill that wish of yours, Jin. Nomu, cru—"

"Rider…"

He was interrupted by a fierce shout filled with rage.

"Rocket DRILL KICK!"

The words echoed like a war cry, and before Shigaraki could comprehend what was happening, a white blur streaked through the air. The Nomu, caught completely off guard, roared in agony as the figure crashed into its body, leaving a massive, gaping wound.

"What… Who is that?!" Shigaraki gasped, eyes widening in disbelief.

The Nomu staggered backward, its grotesque form slumping to the ground before its regenerative abilities kicked in, the wound beginning to close rapidly. Shigaraki and Jin looked at the individual who could damage the monster that much.

A monster for a monster…

The incomplete monster. "Kamen Rider".

Fourze stood a few meters away, his left foot planted in the floor. There was bulky yellow armor covering his left foot, with a metal drill at the end. It was the number-3, Drill Module. On his right arm was the active Rocket Module.

He switched off the Drill and Rocket astroswitches, approaching the teacher who had been barely hanging on.

"Sorry… I'm late."

This voice… Kadoya Tsukasa? What's with his transformation… I feel like I've never seen this one before.

Aizawa didn't have strength left in him to speak. To be frank, he wasn't sure what he needed to say…

Get out of here? Beware of Nomu's regeneration? Should I warn him about his capabilities I've seen so far?

At any rate, he couldn't say a thing, so it didn't matter anymore. As such, it would be entirely Tsukasa's decision… And Aizawa could guess the student wasn't the type to back down from a fight like this.

Faith…

Shigaraki's face twisted into an incredulous snarl. "What the heck is that guy?!" he shouted, turning toward Jin. "Jin! Do something! Stall him! Nomu's cooldown isn't over yet!"

"On it," Jin sent a command to the humagears in the area to gang up on Fourze.

"So that guy…" Tsukasa muttered behind his mask, observing the approaching swarm. "He is responsible for puppeteering these cringe robots."

"Launcher On." "Radar On."

— Astroswitch activation.

"You can rest assured, sensei," Fourze said as the modules appeared on his right leg and left forearm.

As the Radar locked on the targets, the missiles in the Launcher module went off, flying toward the hordes and exploding them. While it took a few more seconds to recharge, it was still an effective card to play.

However… At this rate, he wouldn't be able to defend himself and the gravely wounded teacher from Nomu.

"Third Bombardment!" Fourze cried out, launching another volley.

Despite his efforts, the Nomu's regeneration was already nearing completion. The massive wound inflicted by the Rocket Drill Kick was shrinking by the second. But he wasn't sure he could perform another Finisher yet. Even now, he could feel his legs shaking.

For the time being, I must ensure Aizawa-sensei's safety.

When a few waves of humagears had been destroyed, Fourze switched off the Radar module and took out a few more cards which then turned into astroswitches.

AttackRide: Flash.

AttackRide: Gatling.

One was the number "19" blue switch with a gatling-like device and the other was the number "17" yellow switch with an explosive flash bomb symbol on it. He also had the third switch hidden in his hand.

After granting himself a few seconds of downtime, he replaced the Rocket and Drill switches with the number "17" and "19" respectively.

"I will see… how you do against this one!" Fourze said, activating the new blue switch.

"Gatling On."

With it, a blue gatling-like gun materialized attached to his left leg.

Having recovered from most of its injuries, Nomu jumped right back into battle upon Shigaraki's command. But he was in for an unpleasant surprise.

Fourze stomped both his legs in turns, activating the modules with cosmic energy. Missiles streaked through the air, exploding in fiery chaos, while the gatling gun fired a relentless stream of bullets. Humagears disintegrated under the assault, their metallic forms shredded into pieces. Even Nomu, with its incredible resilience, cried out in pain as the continuous onslaught tore through its thick skin.

Worse yet, Fourze was relentless. He was a bit pissed off. He didn't let Nomu recover the slightest, continuously reloading the cosmic energy into his leg modules and then firing both again right away.

Shigaraki, now visibly agitated, ducked behind a nearby wall as debris rained down. "This is totally broken!" he snarled. "What kind of quirk is this?! Jin, do something—!"

Before Jin could respond, a stray missile struck him directly, obliterating his upper body. Sparks erupted as the Humagear deactivated, crumpling lifelessly at Shigaraki's feet.

I guess that will give time for us to retreat. Tsukasa thought, seeing Nomu grunt and tremble. For now, I must prioritize sensei's safety.

"Is it over? Nomu!" Shigaraki peeked out from hiding.

Of course, the League of Villains totally counted out the possibility that someone could bring a fricking Minigun and a Rocket Launcher to a quirk fight. No, even if some quirks could biologically replicate the effects of the military weapons, they wouldn't be as strong as military grade weapons.

But why… Why was this newcomer's equipment that strong? Shigaraki was only frustrated and clueless. And the more he felt frustrated, the more he wanted to find out about it… and even more he wanted to destroy his enemy.

Meanwhile, Fourze quickly switched off the leg modules and replaced the Launcher switch with the new astroswitch he was hiding: the number "21" purple switch. He then used both the cross and circle switches one after another.

"Flash On." "Stealth On."

A yellow module covered his entire forearm, with a large white light bulb-like device over his hand. Wasting no time, he carefully hoisted the gravely injured Aizawa into his arms.

Shigaraki, noticing the retreat, pointed frantically at Fourze. "Nomu! Stop them! Don't let them escape!"

But it was useless.

Suddenly, all he saw was bright white light. No, he had been blinded for a moment by an extremely bright flash of light. Almost like seeing the sun up close all of a sudden.

"What the—?!" Shigaraki stumbled, shielding his face.

Both he and Nomu were momentarily immobilized, disoriented by the sudden flash. By the time their sight returned, Fourze and Aizawa were gone.

Fourze retreated using the Stealth module, which absorbed the light and let him become invisible for about five seconds. But with the Flash module, he could extend that to ten seconds, which was more than enough for him to get out of the plaza.

Meanwhile…

Being a teleporter who could reach anywhere, Kurogiri's mission was to prevent anyone from escaping. Hence, he had to stay around the entrance and stall the remaining students and the rescue teacher. Despite having not much combat experience, Thirteen's quirk still proved to be a lethal threat.

"Black HOLE!" Opening a finger hole, she unleashed her quirk on Kurogiri, sucking him in toward herself.

Kurogiri tried to fly away, being constantly pulled back. But he was still strong enough to gather himself to some extent.

"Black hole…" he said, resisting the pull. "A quirk that sucks up everything and turns it all to dust. I see, it's such an astounding quirk! However, Juusangou! You're a hero who works to rescue people from disasters! As expected, your battle experience is less than half of an average pro hero's!"

Kurogiri opened a warpgate right behind Thirteen, connecting it with himself… so her black hole would affect on herself. The gravitational force looped back, pulling at Thirteen's suit, tearing fabric and threatening to consume her.

But before disaster could strike—

"Beat On!"

— Kamen Rider Fourze's switch-on announcement.

A sudden, powerful soundwave reverberated through the area, crashing into Kurogiri. The vibrations forced him to deactivate his warp gate immediately, freeing Thirteen from her own quirk's grasp.

"What… is that?!" Kurogiri groaned.

Thirteen deactivated her quirk and collapsed to her knees, her breathing heavy but relieved. Though shaken, she had avoided serious injury.

The source of the intervention soon became clear.

"Oh, no, Aizawa-sensei!" Ashido gasped upon seeing the culprit, who was the white Fourze, still carrying the bloodied and battered Aizawa in his arms.

"These injuries look terrible!" Uraraka said, her voice trembling.

Fourze gently put down the teacher and walked up to Thirteen. The beat module was a red device on his right leg, resembling a small subwoofer.

"It's sound," he said flatly in response to Kurogiri's earlier question. Turning to Thirteen, he asked, "Sensei, you okay?"

"This is nothing," Thirteen replied, steadying herself and standing. "How is Aizawa-sensei?"

As for Aizawa, Fourze had used his Medical switch for first-aid so while he was still unconscious…

"He will live," he assured them. "No need to worry about him for now. What's the plan?"

Thirteen looked at the bloody mess that was Aizawa, but she had another important matter in her hand.

She then said, "We need to get Iida-kun out of here to inform the school and call back-up."

Fourze looked back the remaining students on the platform: Shoji, Uraraka, Ashido, Sero (tape guy) and Rikido Sato (砂藤 力道), a tall, muscular young man with huge thick lips. Tsukasa assumed Sato had some kinda enhancement/ strength quirk. And Iida, of course.

Even if they were hero students, they hadn't been prepared for this disaster. Normally, Tsukasa could volunteer to break out of this facility and head to the school as he might be faster… However, he didn't want to leave the battlefield. It would be too much a risk to take to leave these kids alone with the villains.

"Huff… as if I would let you—" Kurogiri floated toward the students, but unfortunately for him, Fourze activated his beat module and unleashed more soundwaves on Kurogiri again.

"Iida!" Tsukasa shouted. "Leave this to us!"

Us? The remaining students exchanged uneasy glances, cold sweat dripping down their faces.

Iida hesitated for only a moment, then nodded. "Understood! I'm counting on you, Kadoya-kun!"

Revving up the engines on his calves, Iida bolted toward the entrance, determination blazing in his eyes.

Resisting the soundwaves, Kurogiri crawled as he would have to, if it was to prevent any single student from escaping at all. He disappeared from his spot as he used his quirk and teleported before Iida.

Oh no! Iida's thoughts raced as he hurtled forward at full speed. I can't escape!

"Magic Hand On!"

With quick thinking, Fourze used the Magic Hand module, which was a long manipulator arm sticking out of his right hand armor. The arm reached out, grabbing Shoji and launching him toward Kurogiri.

Shoji reacted instantly, spreading his six web-like arms and wrapping them around Kurogiri. This sudden assault forced the villain to halt and focus on escaping Shoji's grip.

"Go! Iida!"

Everyone! Iida turned up his speed again. Wait for me!

"This brat!" Kurogiri extended his mist-like body out of Shoji's grasp, heading toward the running student. Fourze unleashed Beat again, but it was no use. Kurogiri had grown used to it.

But someone else jumped into battle just in time.

"My turn!" Uraraka cried, and tapped Kurogiri's "body" —the metal brace around his collarbone— with her quirk. Even with his flight ability, Zero-Gravity made him begin to float away uncontrollably.

"Noooo!"

"Kadoya-kun!" Ashido warned. "The door is still closed! You must help him!"

"Rocket On!"

"On it!" Fourze switched out the Magic Hand astroswitch with Rocket and immediately after, launched himself toward the double door of the USJ entrance, slamming the metal with great force. The first contact left a dent in the wall but it wasn't enough.

"I won't let you go outside!"

Kurogiri was persistent, lunging toward the door. Now Sero—the tape boy with elbows the shape of cylindrical tape dispensers—extended his tape from the elbow dozens of meters and stuck it onto Kurogiri's metal brace. Sato stepped in and pulled the tape with all his strength, yanking Kurogiri, away from the door.

Time was running out. Iida was mere meters from the entrance, and the door still wasn't open. Fourze made a quick decision, switching out his left-leg module for the Drill module.

"Drill On!"

The drill spun to life as Fourze aimed his leg at the door. With one powerful kick, the drill tore through the metal, creating an opening just large enough for Iida to dive through and escape.

"No…" Kurogiri grunted. "This is Game Over. I must go and inform Shigaraki—"

BOOOOMMM!

The entire platform shook as someone made a landing on it. The students could see cracks in the floor, and then as the dust settled, standing in the small crater was another unwanted encounter…

"What the hell is that?!" Ashido exclaimed, pulling herself to her feet. "It looks so…"

"Ugly," Fourze finished it.

"Actually, I was going to say scary," Ashido corrected. "Is that the thing you and Aizawa-sensei fought?"

"Nomu, why are you here?!" Kurogiri then realized how Aizawa escaped Shigaraki and his goons. "Nomu wouldn't listen to my orders."

"Fire On."

— Transformation announcement.

Fourze transformed into FireStates, his vibrant red form with metallic silver armor on his shoulders and upper torso. His red helmet featured green eyes and pump-like attachments on either side, connected to white pipes that joined below his chin. His left forearm and lower legs were protected by white armor, while his right forearm was clad in red, complementing the fiery theme.

He stood in front of the students to protect them. The Nomu grunted animalistic cries and lunged at the bunch. Fourze pulled the trigger and unleashed his flamethrower at the creature, causing it to recoil in pain.

"Launcher On."

Switching modules, Fourze launched a barrage of missiles at the creature. Without the Radar module activated, the missiles lacked precision, but the sheer firepower was enough to keep Nomu at bay.

Kurogiri quickly intervened, using his warp gates to redirect the missiles back toward the students. Fourze reacted instantly and used his flamethrower to destroy the missiles, exploding them mid-way before they could cause harm.

"I don't know who you are, but you've proven to be a formidable threat to us," Kurogiri said, "Unfortunately, I will have to end you."

"Try me…" Fourze challenged, inserting the Radar astroswitch into the leftmost slot in the Driver. "Coward!"

"Radar On!"

"No more of your tricks will ever work on me again!"

"Bet!"

As the Radar module appeared on his left forearm, Fourze stomped his right leg that had Launcher module on. The missiles formed from his cosmic energy were fired straight toward the Nomu and Kurogiri without any flying off its route. Kurogiri quickly formed warpgates in response to protect himself and the monster, and then redirected them back at the students.

What he didn't expect was… The missiles were now homing projectiles, controllable from the Radar Module. Fourze had them locked on his two targets. As such, the missiles suddenly changed directions mid-way and headed back toward the villains. But this time, they turned around as the warpgates appeared a second time to block them. Instead of entering the portals, the missiles somehow found their way around the obstacles to their intended targets, exploding in their faces.

"Grr!"

Nomu merely grunted. Thanks to his heavily enhanced body and shock absorption quirk, it was nothing more than annoyance at this point. But as for Kurogiri, he didn't take the damage well.

"Third Bombardment!" Fourze shouted, reloading the Launcher module and unleashing another volley of missiles.

Kurogiri tried to fly away, but this time, four of the missiles were coming for him. One missile exploded at Nomu's torso, distracting it. Kurogiri quickly opened warpgates on the way to protect himself. But the same way as the first hit; the missiles redirected over and over again coming in and out of the portals, redirecting back toward Kurogiri, finally exploding at his face.

The impact dented the metal brace around his neck, essentially choking him. He was constantly covered in black mist so it was quite difficult to make out of it, but he still had a physical body, somewhat.

Tsukasa gambled based on that speculation alone. And he was correct. Kurogiri groaned and dropped to the ground. It took enormous effort for him to remain conscious after that.

"Ashido, Uraraka and everyone…" Fourze said, drawing a card. "I will take the battle elsewhere. Countin' on you for everything here… and that Kurogiri bastard!"

"Power Dizer!"

— Mecha activation announcement.

As the card vanished, a large yellow vehicle with weird robotic design appeared before the red Fourze. Normally, the sight would've sent the boys into awe-filled admiration, but it was, unfortunately, not the best time for it.

Fourze, still in his FireStates, jumped into the cockpit and closed down the door, before revving up the engine and crashing into Nomu. Before the creature could do anything back, the vehicle pushed it back and sent it flying back to the plaza.

"Pick a fight with someone your size, dumbass!"

As soon as the Nomu was removed from the equation, the remaining students charged toward Kurogiri who was attempting an escape. Thanks to Fourze, the earlier damage to his metal brace had left him struggling for breath, clouding his focus and coordination. Sero launched his Tape Quirk; Sato grabbed the tape and wrapped it around Kurogiri's "vital" part, that was his collarbone/ neck, a few times and then stuck the rest to the floor to make sure the villain couldn't escape.

"Kids… You're still Hero Course students…" Kurogiri rasped, seemingly catching his breath.

"Of course…" Mina retorted, stepping forward. She raised her hand, allowing a small amount of acid to drip onto the villain's mist-like form. The acid hissed as it ate away at his shroud, forcing Kurogiri to recoil in pain. "But we're still gonna make sure you stay down!"

On the other hand…

Power Dizer didn't have a flight function, but Fourze drove it off the stairs and then switched from vehicle mode to mecha mode, crashing the yellow mecha down on the confused Nomu.

Power Dizer was a combat mecha of Team Kamen Rider from the World of Fourze. It's power output was quite big so the user needed to possess immense strength himself to operate the robot. The cockpit could also reach extreme levels of high temperature, but Fourze's Fire States was resistant to heat, so it was a perfect match.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Kurogiri muttered, his composure cracking.

"Stay still…" Ashido threatened.

At that moment, Ojiro had just escaped his fire area and was meeting up with Bakugou and Kirishima. The three were all astonished to witness, even from afar, the giant yellow figure beating up what seemed to be a monster.

"What the hell is that?!" Bakugou questioned.

"I don't know what is going on, but…" Ojiro said, "isn't that where sensei was fighting?"

"But we can't see anything from here," Kirishima said. "We need to figure out some way to get there."

Ojiro speculated that the giant robot might be Tsukasa's stuff. And remembered what Tsukasa told him.

"Guys, I propose a plan we keep out of that and leave it to whatever that yellow guy is," he said. "We should meet up with other classmates in—"

At that moment, with an explosive shockwave heard across the facility, Power Dizer had been overpowered by the Nomu.

Fourze had had the upper hand in the first few minutes, but no matter how hard or fast Power Dizer punched, it barely did any damage. It was almost like all the impact was absorbed…

… that was it.

"Hahaha! That's Nomu's specialty!" Shigaraki cackled. "Taking hits! It was born to be a perfect sandbag against All Might!"

Shock absorption.

We are dealing with a pain in the neck… Tsukasa had hit a wall.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on Tsukasa. His body had been pushed to its limits from his earlier battles with Thouser and now the Nomu. Even if he was relying on rider power, his body was constantly on strain, his blood vessels, muscles and bones on the verge of screaming from pain and overload.

"Crap…"

He gasped as the Nomu grabbed one of the Power Dizer's punches mid-swing and tore the arm clean off.

Fourze yanked the levers, attempting a retreat, but the Nomu was too fast. It ripped away the remaining arm and pinned the mecha to the ground.

This is what he can do?! Tsukasa widened his eyes. How would I have stood a chance at all?! Of course, this was born to fight All Might…

It would've been far better if he had access to Kuuga. He wouldn't think even Punching Kong ever stood a chance against this brute.

As the possible strategies ran through his head, each one concluding in a dead end, the Nomu ripped apart the front of the cockpit, exposing him. Before he could react, the creature pulled him out of the robot by his neck.

"Now the cheeky little pro has been caught…" Shigaraki sneered, his grin stretching wider. His mocking tone only fueled Fourze's frustration. "Of course, you and Nomu are tens of levels apart! You aren't going to beat him with those pathetic stats."

I wanna switch to Magic Hand and punch that brat's face. Tsukasa thought, struggling in Nomu's grip. This is bad… I can't reach for the Ride Booker.

"Nomu, bring him to me!" Shigaraki commanded. "I'll tear that flashy armor apart myself."

What's his quirk again? Tsukasa hadn't given up yet. But it was too chaotic for him to think straight and act against the current situation.

Obediently, Nomu lowered its massive hand, presenting the immobilized Fourze to its master. Tsukasa feigned resistance, waiting for Shigaraki to reveal his ability. But the revelation turned into a nightmare.

As Shigaraki's pale hand touched Fourze's forearm armor,the contact point blackened and began to crumble into dust.

Holy…! Tsukasa felt his stomach drop. What's this quirk?! This is dangerous… no, this is lethal!

"This feels nice…" Shigaraki muttered, his voice dripping with malice. "Exterminating the annoying pest. That has been a good game."

The armor disintegrated down to his undersuit and later exposed his flesh. Though it seemed Shigaraki would have to touch his flesh directly to damage him… if Tsukasa was unable to counteract it, it would be game over for him.

"Not a very heroic farewell… but—"

Just before Shigaraki's fingertips reached Tsukasa, an unexpected miracle occurred.

"AttackRide: BLAST!"

— AttackRide announcement.

A familiar, perhaps even nostalgic announcement (VA: Mark Okita) rang across the plaza, with a few sparks of shots landed on Nomu and Shigaraki. The white-haired man rolled back and rubbed his cheeks, feeling the red fresh blood dripping.

"Grr! What the hell?!" Shigaraki roared, clutching his face.

That is… Fourze was also surprised. Kaito? Could it be him?

One of the possible users of whatever gun that opened fire on Tsukasa's enemies was his very long-term "acquaintance", Daiki Kaito, aka Kamen Rider Diend.

Nomu grunted in surprise and pain but the grip on Fourze barely lessened. However, his rescue hadn't been finished yet.

"PoppinGummy… JUICY!"

— Transformation announcement.

Okay, let's be real. It was a sound he had never heard of in his life.

"KickinGummy!"

With those two unknown phrases, a purple humanoid… that is… a dominantly purple Kamen Rider appeared out of nowhere, dashing toward the scene. With a powerful flying kick, he slammed into Nomu's chest. The impact was strong enough to force Nomu to release its captive, and Tsukasa tumbled to the ground, coughing but free.

Fourze immediately looked back at the newcomer… who was now standing in a small crater.

He was, indeed, a Kamen Rider he had never seen.

"Heard you needed help, senpai," the rider greeted in an upbeat tone as he approached Fourze. "I guess this seals the– Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!"

With an obvious panic in his voice, the newcomer came abruptly toward the red Fourze who now had an exposed arm. Fourze, not knowing how to react, just showed him his "injury".

The newcomer was a rider whose armor was purple with silver, blue and yellow accents, over a black bodysuit. The chest armor featured a gradient of blue at the top, blending into purple, and ending in yellow at the base, giving it a dynamic, layered appearance. The top of his helmet was also shaped to sport animalistic ears. He also had two prominent shoulder guards. His Driver, the "henshin belt", was a red mouth-like device with the upper side and lower side resembling jaws that adorned teeth. It had a handle on the right side to spin and charge. In the mouth-shaped structure sat a small purple packet-like device.

What stood out the most, however, was his right leg, which was encased in an oversized orange boot with white accents, reaching up to just below his knee.

"This is nothing," Tsukasa grumbled. "Anyway, who even are you?"

"Oh, where are my manners?!" The "boy" immediately bowed at his "senpai". "I just recently became a Kamen Rider. The name's Gavv—Kamen Rider Gavv!"

"Gavv…? Hmm, never heard of you…" Fourze rubbed his chin… to be precise the chin of his helmet.

"Maybe because I became a rider after your retirement, heheh…"

"Retirement? I'm not… retired at all," Fourze scoffed. "But that's good. We are now two versus two— Oi, look out!"

Upon Tsukasa's warning, Gavv inserted what seemed to be a small square packet into his red mouth-like belt and spun the lever. The packet was actually a Gochizo, one of Gavv's transformation trinkets.

"PunchinGummy!"

— Additional Gochizo.

With that, an oversized light-blue gauntlet materialized on his right hand, serving as his new fist.

The Nomu stood back up and lunged at the rider duo, but Gavv reacted quite differently from Fourze. He just stomped his huge boot on the creature. He then landed a punch on Nomu's face, causing it to grunt in pain. And then an uppercut on its jaw pushed it back and then dropped on its back on the floor, forming a crater from impact.

Even Tsukasa was amazed. New guys are crazy. Crazier than ever!

"Be careful," he warned. "That guy has Shockwave absorption."

"Is that bad?" Gavv asked.

"It means we can't just beat him with blunt force," Fourze said. "But it seems he's not immune to damage."

"Wha… what the hell is this guy?!" Shigaraki cried out of frustration.

"So that is like… a mindless monster?" Gavv commented, tilting his head. "Looks… pretty weird."

At that moment, his gauntlet and huge boot shattered into pieces, much to his surprise.

"Okay, that was way harder than I could handle," he whispered.

Weird… Tsukasa narrowed his eyes. Is he bypassing the shockwave absorption?

"That was nothing!" Shigaraki cried. "Nomu! Get up and get them!"

Before Nomu recovered, Gavv inserted a Gochizo into his belt and spun the handle.

"PunchinGummy!"

A new huge gauntlet formed on his right hand. Gavv attempted to punch the incoming threat, but Nomu grabbed his gauntlet and began to crush it with sheer overwhelming strength.

"Launcher On!" "Radar On!"

Fourze swiftly switched on two of his astroswitches and launched his go-to weapon that'd hurt the creature. The missiles flew straight toward the target, thanks to the Radar module.

However…

Nomu had remembered and grown accustomed to this pain. He stumbled and grunted, but then suddenly dodged the last missiles, forcing Gavv to withdraw before the explosions might've accidentally hit him instead.

"That guy might be the trump card they brought to fight All Might," Fourze remarked, reloading his launcher. And when he opened the Ride Booker to look for a certain card, he came across a few brand new cards he had never had before.

KamenRide: GAVV

AttackRide: PoppinGummy

AttackRide: KickinGummy

AttackRide: PunchinGummy

Final AttackRide: GAVV

Interesting. He thought. I should give it a try later.

He then pulled out another card.

FormRide: —

Gavv inspected his broken gauntlet before asking. "Who is this All Might person?"

"The strongest superhero in this world."

Gavv shook his head gently.

"That's going to be tough," he replied. "Oh, almost forgot it; the old man told me to suggest you could use your latest rider… Ozu or something."

"Os," Fourze repeated. "But I can't handle his power yet. It is still unstable. Who is that old man anyway?"

Gavv renewed his PunchinGummy gauntlet.

Fourze now looked around and saw an active Aurora Curtain. He couldn't see through it to the other side of the curtain.

Aurora Curtains are mirror wall-like dimensional summons that act as "bridges" for the users to pass through from one world to another. Especially handy in the multiverse of Kamen Rider. The curtains can also bring the user to another timeline or another point in time.

However, it wasn't everyone who could use these curtains. Tsukasa knew a few: himself, his secondary rider Diend, and his nemesis, Narutaki. And maybe some of the Dai Shocker generals.

If one was active here, someone had to be behind it.

"You can't… go there…" Gavv stopped him. "You must not! The old man told me… He's not ready to meet you yet!"

"Old man? Who? Diend? Daiki Kaito? Or Narutaki?"

"I–I don't know!" Gavv stammered, sounding both confused and sincere.

In fact, he sounded almost like an innocent child.

"Then how did you get here if you don't even know who sent you?"

Gavv shrugged with an innocent giggle, pointing at the Nomu who was being inspected by the white-haired villain.

Gavv shrugged with a sheepish laugh, pointing at the still-downed Nomu being examined by Shigaraki. "I just… heard one of my senpais was in trouble. So I came to help."

Tsukasa studied the younger rider, then sighed. "Fair enough."

Gavv was still bursting with energy, but Tsukasa felt every ache and fatigue weighing him down. His legs trembled under him, and it took sheer willpower just to stay on his feet.

Meanwhile, the Nomu's recovery between attacks was getting faster. Each downtime grew shorter, and its resistance to the riders' strikes was visibly increasing.

"Hey, Gavv," he said, "are you going to stick around for the end of this?"

"I don't know," Gavv admitted, "but I'm going to help you out as much as I'm allowed to."

"Good enough," Fourze said, the card in his hand finally shining. "Buy me some time."

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Shigaraki commanded, frustrated.

The Nomu unleashed an animalistic growl and charged. Gavv, armed with his Kickin- and PunchinGummy weapons, leaped forward to intercept it, positioning himself as a shield in front of Tsukasa.

As for Tsukasa, he cancelled his Fourze Fire States form and reverted to human, before another belt appeared on his waist. It was Hiden Zero-One Driver.

"Grr! I can't!" Gavv cried as he got pinned down by the monster. "Senpai! Please hurry up—"

"Everybody JUMP!"

The progrisekey in Tsukasa's hand was longer than his usual keys, with a foldable extension. He wiped the sweat drops off his forehead and inserted it into the Driver and folded the outer part.

"Gavv, you might want to get out of the way…" Tsukasa warned as he initiated the transformation.

"Wh-what? What do you mean, sen— woah!"

Suddenly, a swarm of whitish-silver, metallic grasshoppers—Cluster Cells—burst from the Driver, swarming everything nearby. But being the larger target, the monster got swarmed on by metallic hoppers, causing it to bleed and scream in pain.

"What the heck is this?!" Gavv asked after managing to barely get out of the way.

Tsukasa stood enveloped in a bright red mist, surrounded by holographic projections that shimmered and shifted around him.

If brute force doesn't do the job… it will get even more brutal.

"Henshin…" he chanted weakly, pressing the progrisekey.

"Metalrise! Secret material Hiden Metal! METALCLUSTER HOPPER!"

— Transformation announcement.

The swarms of Cluster Cells charged back to Tsukasa, attaching themselves on the newly formed bodysuit, completing the silver armor with light green highlights now covering his entire body. His eyes were round and now glowing red with a design resembling insect eyes.

"It's high quality." — the Driver finished the announcement.

"Just how many forms does this damned brat have?! That's totally cheating!" Shigaraki cursed.

But MetalCluster Hopper stood motionless, like a statue.

"Hello?" Gavv questioned. "What happened? Senpai?"

"That's our chance," Shigaraki took it. "Get 'em, Nomu!"

Having recovered from injuries, Nomu grunted and leaped toward Zero-One with incredible speeds. Gavv attempted to intervene, but frankly, it was too fast for him to follow. As usual, the brute monster tried to crush his opponent with brute force…

Yet Zero-One didn't budge. Not a step. Not even a flinch. The force drove him slightly into the ground, but he stood firm, an immovable object against the Nomu's overwhelming strength.

"Arghh!"

Tsukasa's agonized cry pierced the air.

Suddenly, the silvery armor on Zero-One's body began to liquefy, breaking apart into countless Cluster Cells. The swarm surged out like a living storm, enveloping the Nomu entirely. Before Shigaraki or the beast could react, the grasshoppers tore through the Nomu's body, shredding its internal organs and turning its once grotesque form into an even bloodier mess.

White bone jutted out as the creature's dark flesh was ripped apart. It screamed in agony as the Cluster Cells devoured it from the inside out, reducing its body to a horrifying shell.

"Grrrr!" The Nomu released Zero-One, staggering back as the swarm continued its merciless assault, flaying it alive.

"That's overkill!" Gavv exclaimed, horrified by the sight. "Senpai… Are you out of control?"

He was right.

Tsukasa's consciousness had drifted away to a totally different place.

"Where am I…?" Kadoya Tsukasa asked himself, seeing just an endless realm of darkness before him. He took a walk, and then ran, but it stretched boundlessly covering everything in the dark.

But it wasn't actually dark at all. He could see himself, his limbs and body properly if he looked down. But instead of his gym uniform, he was somehow dressed in a jacket and a magenta shirt underneath it, paired with dark pants.

"Where is this… Hello?! Is there anyone here?"

No echo replied. The space felt devoid of everything—light, sound, even existence itself.

Then, a cracking noise broke the silence.

Tsukasa turned sharply, and what he saw made his breath hitch. It was almost like something ripped apart the space itself. There was a brightening red tear-hole mid-air, from which black kanji-like thingies enveloped in red mist crawled out.

Sensing the danger, Tsukasa subconsciously stepped back. But whatever those thingies were, they overwhelmingly flowed out of the hole and covered him before he could decide to run away.

Ah.

He realized it.

That was why I hated to use this form.

He had never used this form before… But he remembered "Aruto" from Zero-One using it once. "Aruto" had been being devoured by darkness, until Tsukasa snapped him out of it with his Complete form and the power of 5 Kamen Riders in final form. Even then it was torture.

Just get me out of here!

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Looks like you're in a bit of trouble, Kadoya Tsukasa-chan."

The voice was unfamiliar—male, upbeat, and tinged with a cheerfulness so casual it bordered on irritating.

Tsukasa opened his eyes, surprised to find the dark kanji retreating from his face, giving him a clear view of the speaker.

"I believe this is our first time meeting…" the newcomer said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hiden Aruto, your guardian."

Well, that's new.

Tsukasa knew from Fuwa's words that the CEO was a young man, and he really turned out to be. Aruto wasn't a hologram; he was fully in person, wearing casual attire. But with a smile that was warm and almost obnoxious, especially when his listener was bound in place by evil kanjis.

"Not very nice to meet you here though," Tsukasa grumbled. "Where is this? Also, these guys sting."

Aruto merely raised a brow in response, his smile unfaltering.

"What can I say; oh, this is a place only few can enter," he said, "maybe just you and me even. Welcome to Zeark's blank consciousness!"

"Zeark? What is that? On second thought, I'd appreciate it if you could… get these things off me."

"I waited for the time you'd use Metalcluster Hopper…" Aruto snapped his fingers, dispelling the kanjis and the tear-hole right away. "Your response isn't that satisfactory."

Tsukasa brushed himself off, glaring at the now-cleared void. "So, this is where MetalCluster Hopper dragged me. Great. Care to explain what's going on? How come you know about my…"

"Kamen Riders?" Aruto chuckled lightly. "Your arrival to this world was foretold by a prophecy. Though only a few had the opportunity to learn about it, I was fortunate enough to be one of them."

Ah, another headache. Tsukasa shook off the thoughts. The same as what happened with Narutaki… I don't wanna pry into this.

"I believe we will have a formal meeting in person soon, Tsu-ka-sa-chan," Aruto said, turning away. "For the time being, you will have to return and take control of this new form. It's but another necessary step to become…"

Before Tsukasa could ask more, Aruto's form began to fade, glowing softly as his voice trailed off.

"See you soon…"

"Well, great…" Tsukasa muttered, inspecting his hands that began to turn into shiny dust.

Meanwhile…

"Stop! Stop! Senpai!"

Gavv's desperate cries echoed through the battlefield. The Cluster Cells had begun swarming toward Shigaraki, who raised his hand in a futile attempt to shield himself. But Gavv's shout drew the mindless swarm's attention back toward the riders.

At that moment, Zero-One visor eyes suddenly turned green…

"Huff…" Tsukasa said, panting. "I'm… back!"

The swarms shifted course, detaching from Gavv and returning to Zero-One's body. Gavv let out a relieved chuckle.

"Oh, that was pretty powerful…" Zero-One turned his gaze to the barely conscious Nomu lying in a pool of its own grotesque mess.

But its cell regeneration was already in action, quickly healing the wounds though it would take a while. At least Tsukasa was glad he didn't become a murderer.

Normally, rider-kicking the monsters isn't quite against the law. But in this world, laws work differently as Superheroing is a categorized profession. Tsukasa would need to mind them if he was going to be a "hero".

"Yeah, it looked straight out of a horror movie," Gavv remarked. "Though I've seen more unhinged things."

"I don't even wanna know," Zero-One replied with a dry chuckle. His attention then snapped to Shigaraki, who had turned on his heels to escape.

Tsukasa didn't hesitate. The Cluster Cells surged outward, almost as if Zero-One himself dissolved into swarms of metallic insects. In a flash, they propelled him forward at incredible speed, cutting off Shigaraki's escape route and slamming him against a crumbling wall.

"What's it going to be? Surrender to the police, or you will get hurt."

The villain's hands shot forward, his Decay quirk activating upon contact with Zero-One's chest. For a moment, cracks and corrosion spread across the silver armor. But the Cluster Cells responded instantly, detaching from the suit and swarming Shigaraki in retaliation.

Though Tsukasa kept his control in check, the metallic hoppers inflicted enough damage to make Shigaraki howl in pain.

"You little—!" Shigaraki gritted his teeth and scratched his face in frustration. "Shit… Sh, sh, sh, shit!"

Tsukasa's voice dropped into a low growl. "You know, I'm angry too."

He leaned closer, his voice cold and sharp. "If you were a Kaijin, I wouldn't have held back. You'd be nothing but paste. The only reason you're still alive is because I decided to spare you."

Gavv intervened. "Okay, I know this is… uh, not my place to say but senpai, you're getting sentimental."

Zero-One paused, exhaling slowly. He let the Cluster Cells withdraw from Shigaraki, reforming into his sleek armor.

Shigaraki coughed, blood dripping from his lips as he glared up at the Rider. "Who… who even are you?!"

"I'm… just a passing-through Kamen Rider," Tsukasa said, releasing the villain.

The sneer on Shigaraki's face twisted into something bitter and crazed.

"You're powerful now… but that power will corrupt you. No human can wield such strength without turning into a monster. That's why—"

POW.

That audible sound of Zero-One's fist colliding with Shigaraki's jaw cut him off mid-sentence. The force of the punch sent the villain crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

"Enough about me, idiot…"

Gavv glanced at the villain's dislocated jaw. "Okay, that's definitely going to hurt for a while."

The villain leader had been incapacitated; the battlefield fell silent. The Humagears were wrecked, the low-level thugs defeated, and the Nomu—while still twitching—was out of commission.

And… are we forgetting someone?

"Shigaraki Tomura… So our mission is an utter failure."

A dark purple warpgate—that of Kurogiri— suddenly appeared. He must've escaped the students!

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Gavv asked.

Kurogiri took away Shigaraki and vanished before either rider could react.

"Is this how it ends?"

"Yeah…" Zero-One muttered, looking around.

After double-checking there was no enemy left in the vicinity, Tsukasa reverted to human form. All of the sudden, the huge chunk of exhaustion and pain he'd been holding in caught up with him, making him stumble weakly. Gavv grabbed him in time before he fell over out cold.

"Whoa, careful, senpai! You okay?"

"I guess that's my limit…" Tsukasa said, his consciousness fading in and out. "I'm… Thanks for your help, Gavv."

"No, no, it's my honor to help my senpai!" Though my senpai is a high schooler who looks younger than me.

And last but not least, their peace would be distracted a second later.

"BOOOMMM! BOOOMM! BOOMMMM!" The explosive noises filled the air for a moment, causing the duo to turn their guards up again.

"What now?" Gavv muttered, shifting into a defensive stance as he scanned the area.

The duo turned their attention skyward, spotting bursts of fire and smoke tearing through the night. For a split second, Gavv instinctively set Tsukasa down on the ground, bracing himself for a potential new threat.

But then— his fears were unfounded.

"GRR!" A young but fierce cry set his entrance. "Where is that fking monster?! Get out, villains! I will fking roast you all!"

Huff… Tsukasa let out a sigh of relief. It was Bakugou who came in.

"It's not an enemy," Tsukasa said. "Maybe you should go now. We've already caused enough of a scene. The less anyone knows about you, the better."

"Okay… maybe see you, senpai," Gavv said before running into the Aurora Curtain that would immediately disappear after.

Bakugou, as always looking enraged and impatient, landed explosively on the plaza with trails of explosions as he surveyed the scene. His fiery eyes darted around, taking in the destruction—the shattered Humagears, battered thugs, and the grotesque, incapacitated Nomu.

Even he looked momentarily stunned.

"You took all this down by yourself, Kadoya?"

"There isn't anyone else, is there," Tsukasa said. "But I'm tired. I'm gonna…"

His vision became blurry as soon as he let his guard down. And it blacked out… He fell unconscious. The last thing he heard was Midoriya calling out his name.

- [ TRANSITION ] -

"Hey. Human Amatsu. Wake up."

A dull poke to his cheek pulled Gai from the edges of unconsciousness. He groaned, the ache in his jaw flaring as he shifted. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open, the blurry image of a figure standing over him sharpening into focus.

He remembered fighting a high schooler who turned out to be a Kamen Rider… And he stood no chance and got knocked out. His pristine white suit was now a mess of dirt and creases.

Bad luck, I guess.

"Oh, Horobi," he muttered, voice raspy. "How did it go?"

It was Horobi, one of Narutaki's ever-serious humagears, who had woken him. The artificial being's face remained unreadable as always, his tone flat and detached.

"The villains lost. Jin has been destroyed."

"... of course…" Gai laughed bitterly, the sound hollow as he lay sprawled on the ground. "Figures. Get me out of here. I don't wanna deal with the police."

Horobi reached for his waist, fastening a compact, belt-like device around it.

"As you wish, Human Amatsu."

Outside.

My entire body… Was it that bad?

Tsukasa had to gather all his remaining strength to open his eyes. Beneath his head it was warm. A flesh-like pillow— Hold up, he was really pillowing flesh!

It was somebody's lap. He looked up, and saw a well-endowed chest blocking his view. Tired as he was, he didn't know he should appreciate the view after all those fights or give whoever it was a talking.

"Sensei! Kadoya-kun is awake, I think!"

He recognized the voice as Uraraka's, but it wasn't the lady he was pillowing.

"Oh, sweet boy, welcome back," a familiar mature female voice of the lady greeted him. And then her face came into his view. "No worries, you're not seriously injured. You're just tired and went unconscious for a few minutes, sweetie."

This is… Midnight-sensei!

The sassy "R-rated" Pro Hero who teaches modern art history… Tsukasa didn't even want to talk about it. She wore a breastless, black leather leotard—similar in style to a corset—over a thin, skin-tight, white bodysuit. It was such a sight as he had to rest his head on her lap. A fanservice he didn't ask for.

"Sorry about that, Kadoya-kun," a male voice said. "You'll have to use her lap pillow for a while. The paramedics will be here soon. The emergency services are tending to those with more severe injuries…"

Tsukasa turned his head to see a short white mouse-like humanoid in a white shirt, a black vest and pants approaching him. He was surprised for a split second before remembering what kind of world he lived in.

"I'm the Principal of U.A. High. Call me Nezu. I would like to personally apologize to you later for the incident."

"Principal," Midnight interrupted. "I don't think Kadoya-kun is in a condition to discuss that matter."

"Oh… Later, then, Kadoya-kun. For now, rest easy and relaxed, okay?"

Nezu then walked away. Tsukasa saw a glimpse of other teachers, like Snipe, Cementoss and Present Mic. He wanted to ask how Aizawa's condition was, but his eyelids became too heavy. He dozed off again and fell asleep.

Toshinori Yagi, in All Might form, dressed in a bright yellow suit, placed his hands on his hips and scanned around what used to be a battlefield. The police, together with some other available Pro Hero teachers, were taking care of and arresting the thugs, and then moving the monster that had been supposed to fight him.

But unfortunately, he was late to his work… but not without reasons.

His eyes shifted between the Nomu and Tsukasa. He wondered if Tsukasa was experiencing heaven or just escaped hell… Not that he was interested in Midnight. But it was crazy to think that a kid could defeat the dangerous monster single-handedly, no matter whether he wielded great, unrivaled power.

"All Might-sensei…" Nezu called. "Do you find it scary?"

"I'm just surprised, that's all," All Might said. "Also, Principal, sorry about my late attendance. I had… specific reasons for that."

"No problem. I'm kinda angry though," Nezu said with a straight face.

All Might misunderstood it. "Oh, please forgive me—"

"Oh, no, I'm not angry with you, sensei," Principal Nezu said with a calm yet unsettling smile curling on his lips. "It's the villains who have drawn my ire. Were this a conflict between two yakuza clans, it would escalate into a full-scale war. And without hesitation, they'd stoop so low as to target children. I must admit… I am absolutely furious."

No doubt you are. All Might felt shivers down his spine. Nezu never fails to freak out his colleagues.

"All Might… and Principal."

A third voice entered their conversation. It was a tall, handsome man in a tan overcoat and matching fedora hat.

"Oh, you're here, Tsukauchi-kun," All Might said. Nezu merely greeted with a nod.

Naomasa Tsukauchi (塚内 直正) was a police detective and friend of All Might: in fact, one of the people who knew the truth about All Might's "condition".

"Is that the kid?" Tsukauchi asked, nodding at Tsukasa who was now out cold.

"Yeah, he's impressive, almost terrifying," All Might said, "Now that Nomu has regenerated most of his wounds so you missed the chance to see how grotesque it was after fighting the boy."

Tsukauchi shifted his gaze onto the unconscious Nomu who was now being supervised by one of his colleagues– Sansa, a police officer with an orange cat-like head.

"And I heard you were late, All Might," Tsukauchi said.

"About that, I made a police report," All Might said, his expression darkening. "I was stopped by [REDACTED]."

"Heh…" Nezu giggled upon hearing why All Might was late. Though he didn't intend to mock the Symbol of Peace.

"It's not funny, Principal," All Might said.

"No, no, it's not…" Nezu swallowed his laughter. "It's just… Never mind. It's nothing important. But I will count on the police for the villain league, Tsukauchi-san."

"It will be my pleasure to work with you," Tsukauchi said, walking away for more inspections.

- [ TRANSITION ] -

"Hidari! Hidari! Wait!"

When a voice woke him up, Tsukasa was lying on the bed instead, pillowing a proper pillow. Though it smelt a bit like medicine— hold on, this is… I'm in an ambulance?!

"You can't enter the crime scene! Hidari! Listen to me!"

Tsukasa heard chaos unfolding right next to his VVIP ambulance though he couldn't see what was going on. It seemed "Hidari", a sharply dressed man in his late 20s, donning a black hat, trespassed into the USJ premises like he owned the place.

"Oh, it's that guy…" Officer Sansa muttered with a weary shake of his head. "He's a real nutjob."

The one stopping this "Hidari" person was Ryu Terui, the officer who handled the riot yesterday, now dressed in a bright red leather jacket. His stern expression made it clear he wasn't thrilled about the situation, but Hidari didn't seem the type to take no for an answer.

"Shotaro…" Detective Tsukauchi stepped forward, recognition flashing in his eyes as he locked eyes with the intruder.

"Tsukauchi…" Hidari muttered.

"Hidari, listen to me," Terui snapped. "Just because my wife is your boss—"

"Can you shut up for a moment, Terui?" Hidari cut him off with a dismissive wave, receiving a glare from Terui in return.

"Tsukauchi, I brought permission," he confidently continued, handing a document to the detective.

Knowing this weirdo must've somehow gotten his hand on the case, Tsukauchi softened his expression and read the letter. Much to his disbelief, it was legitimate.

"You even got Honganji-san to sign off on this?" Tsukauchi muttered, incredulous. "Why is the NQSIU getting involved?"

"Honganji-san believed there might be non-quirk-related super criminals involved… Or something along that line," Shotaro Hidari (左 翔太郎) said half-assedly. "But their detective boy is out on some other important case so they hired our agency."

He turned to Terui, flashing him a cheeky grin of triumph. Terui Ryu scowled, muttering something under his breath as he stormed off.

"Those weirdos never run out of jobs," Tsukauchi let out a sigh of defeat. "You also need to let go of the past, Shotaro. On second thought, never mind—you're too stubborn for that."

Hidari's grin faded, replaced by a steely determination.

"You were there too, Tsukauchi," Hidari said quietly. "The three of us worked that case. I'm not going to let it go. They killed my partner. I owe it to him to find whoever's responsible and deliver justice."

Okay, now this is interesting. Tsukasa, resting nearby, caught every word of the exchange as he eavesdropped from the shadows.

Tsukauchi sighed again, his tone softening. "I know how you feel but…"

"Don't worry," Hidari insisted. "I'm hard-boiled. I'll… See it through!"

Being hard-boiled isn't going to save you in dangerous situations.

Tsukauchi glanced at Sansa, silently pleading for backup, but the officer merely responded with a shrug and tended to the students like he was busy.

"Alright," Tsukauchi relented, motioning for Hidari to follow. "Come with me. The monster they created—it's called Nomu."

"Nomu? Is that what they call it now?"

"Yeah, but… It's too similar to the monsters we faced in Naruhata…" Tsukauchi pointed at the defeated body of the amalgamated creature. "But much stronger."

Outside the USJ, Ryu Terui received a phone call from his wife, who was Hidari's boss. He leaned against a police car to answer.

"Hey, Akiko. Yeah, why did you let Hidari come here? Don't ask me questions!"

"I will ask you questions! I don't care!" The female voice barked through the phone. "Don't you dare treat Shotaro-kun like that. We are his only family."

Terui winced, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache brewing.

"That's why I don't want him to get tangled up in dangerous cases," he said. "Like what happened to Phil—"

"I won't hear another word, my dear."

"Wait, hang on—"

"End of discussion."

The line went dead. Akiko hung up on him.

Terui sighed, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Shotaro might not have been blood-related to Akiko, but to her, he was family—and, by extension, so was Terui. Deep down, he knew they both cared for Shotaro in their own way. Even so, that didn't make dealing with him any easier.

- [ Transition ] -

"Thanks for your advice, Eiji-kun."

A young woman's voice, thanking Eiji Hino, who returned the expression with his usual, earnest charm. There wasn't any flirting—Eiji wasn't the type to blur the lines of friendship like that. His heart was too pure for such things.

"No worries, Hina-chan," he said sincerely. "I'm just glad your brother's starting to recover."

Hina Izumi (泉 比奈) was a young woman, only one year junior to Eiji. She was also a student at the same university Eiji went to. They happened to have applied for the same archaeology program and hit it off, becoming close friends.

"Shingo-niichan is too stubborn," Hina sighed, "I told him to stop overworking himself, but it's like talking to a wall. For now, though, I've grounded him at home for a few days."

Eiji scratched the back of his neck, giving her a sheepish smile. "Uh, Hina-chan, you do know he's an adult, right?"

"An adult, sure," she replied, rolling her eyes playfully, "but with the maturity of a child sometimes."

But soon their plan to walk home together was halted.

"Are you Hino Eiji?"

The sudden interruption came from a tall, clean-cut young man with short hair and an authoritative presence. He was dressed sharply in a suit and tie, his demeanor calm but serious.

Eiji blinked, taken slightly aback. "Uh… yes, that's me."

The man reached into his pocket and flashed an ID card, proving he was on business.

"I'm Tomari Shinnosuke (泊 進ノ介), a detective from Non-Quirk Supernatural Investigation Unit of Musutafu. Well, there's only one unit so we operate in pretty much all of Tokyo."

Eiji's eyebrows lifted slightly, but he nodded. "Okay… what can I help you with?"

Shinnosuke glanced briefly at Hina, his expression polite but guarded, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter in her presence.

Hina caught on immediately and stepped back with a small wave. "I'll head home then. See you tomorrow, Eiji-kun."

"Yeah, see you," Eiji replied, watching her leave before turning his attention back to the detective.

Shinnosuke gestured toward a quiet area near the university building. "Let's talk over there. The reason I came here is mainly because I want to ask about that night."

"Oh…"

Eiji realized what Shinnosuke was investigating. But…

"I'm sorry but I don't really remember," he said, no lie involved, "I just woke up next morning there without any memories of what happened on the previous night."

Shinnosuke didn't seem surprised. Instead, he gave a slight nod. "Understood. Just tell me whatever you can recall. Even small details might help."

Eiji hesitated, his mind searching for fragments of a memory that didn't want to surface.

"All right," he said at last. "I'll try."

To be Continued…!

Next Episode! What Happens at the UA's Sports Festival? / Where is the Other Half of Double?

Author's Notes: I know I overdid this chapter. But the action scenes with limited trump cards up Tsukasa's sleeve was going to be a pain without other riders… So I'd say it went pretty well.

I must apologize for the My Hero Academia fans as the importance of MHA characters haven't been set clear after the three episodes. But rest assured, they will soon be appointed bigger roles in the story. The only hint I can give you without spoiler is that… Midoriya will be MHA version of Yusuke Onodera!

But who's the secondary rider? Is it Diend? Well, I will let you theorize on that question.

I have bigger roles and story arcs planned for most Class 1-A students and teachers and even characters from Vigilantes spin-off (because I'm a huge fan of Vigilantes), but we will have to get down to it step by step. Way too many characters and arcs from both MHA and KR to handle.

The funny thing is there were only a few police characters in MHA, which is why it's easy to sneak in police characters from KR, like Shinnosuke and Terui.

Also… as I don't have any editor or beta reader to discuss my story with, it's pretty crazy to be the only one who knows how my story would go, lol. I'm so much, this much on the verge of spitting out spoilers! Grrr!

Anyway, last but not least, thank you so much, each and every reader! Please follow/ favorite and share the fanfic and as you know, I welcome any critique or praise in the reviews! If you want to go further, you can join my Discord server—nothing much, but just DM me on Discord.

Thank you all, and this is not the end. See you next chapter.

Chris Chronos.

(Discord: christopherchronos09)