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natedogx15 · 5 months ago

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Kamen Rider Deku Mission 20: Training Test

Previous Chapter / AO3/ Master List

In Izuku and Shiki's class, the green-haired Kamen Rider is giving Sero a worried look as the other teen looks exhausted. The usually upbeat teen is now lying tiredly at his desk and barely managing to stay focused on the lesson.

Shiki also notices Sero's demeanor. However, since he didn't know the teen as more than Izuku's friend, he didn't know what to make of it. So, the two silently went for today's class to end before deciding to check on him.

"Are you alright, Sero?" Izuku worriedly asks as Shiki messes with his phone.

Looking up tiredly, Sero gives the two a lazy grin before saying.

"I'm doing fine. Just tired from all those trials your father and Mr. Shield are putting me through to see if I can use the next Hero Driver." Sero says with a slight yawn.

Hearing this surprises the two and causes Shiki to put his phone away, now more interested in the conversation.

"You're one of the new candidates?" He asks Sero with a raised eyebrow, having doubts since Sero seems relatively average.

"Yeah. I got on the list because I know Midoriya's identity and helped him stand up with K.E.M. But your Dad did say that I had potential when I was going through the trials." Sero happily says as he thinks about Hisashi's words toward him at the time.

Izuku blinks in surprise when he hears how Sero is going through a trial to be allowed to use the Hero Driver.

"What do you mean a trial?" He asks Sero in curiosity.

Sero is about to answer before Shiki unintentionally cuts him off to answer.

"It makes sense. Testing people would make it easier to know who can handle wielding the Hero Driver." Shiki nods, and Izuku looks at him.

"But we didn't do tests to get Hero Drivers." Izuku points out with a slightly uneasy expression.

"That's because of an agreement between the H.P.S.C. and your father. We were allowed to use Hero Drivers because of that. Plus, we've proven ourselves by defeating most of the Nomu who have attacked us." Shiki counters with a slight shrug.

Hearing this doesn't make Izuku happy, though. He feels it isn't fair that they haven't taken a test while Sero and the others are.

"Besides, there were two Hero Drivers and a lack of candidates. Now, there are three candidates." Shiki adds at the end before Shiki turns his attention back to Sero.

He's thankful everyone else, including the teacher, left. It lets them talk about this without worry.

"So, what are the tests like?" Shiki asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, there's a basic Quirk test. Our Quirks enter those Power Coin things, and then the two experiment to see what combination would strengthen them most and their potential. Melissa and Yaoyorozu did better than me since Melissa doesn't have a Quirk, and Yaoyorozu's Quirk is surprisingly well-rounded." Sero says with a slight shrug.

Izuku and Shiki nod at this. It seems like a reasonable test for the Hero Driver. They are surprised at how Melissa's Quirklessness helped so much.

"I guess being Quirkless comes in handy sometimes," Sero says with a slight laugh, deciding to joke about the situation.

The joke was poorly received, though. It gets Izuku to flinch and Shiki's eyebrow to twitch.

"It has a lot of downsides, though." Shiki bluntly tells Sero, causing the teen to laugh nervously instead.

"Sorry about that. I like to joke around a lot. It helps keep me calm, and I've been nervous about everything lately. I mean, U.A. is right around the corner, and now I might get picked to help you guys fight against villains. It's crazy." Sero states, causing Izuku to nod in understanding.

"It is, but it's also an amazing opportunity for us. We'll be able to do a lot of good with the Hero Drivers." Izuku agrees with Sero before Shiki continues off of him.

"Plus, we're getting something other applicants can't unless they commit vigilantism. We'll get the experience needed to be great heroes early. If you get picked, you'll have something over most people." Shiki brings up, causing Sero to sigh again.

"That's if I get picked." He tells them.

"So, what were the other tests?" Izuku nervously asks, trying to change the subject for Sero.

"There was a strategy test where we had to choose Power Coins based on different scenarios heroes would face. They even simulated the results. I did pretty good in that." Sero says happily.

"Nice. What kind of scenarios?" Shiki asks curiously.

"There was a burning building one. That one was pretty obvious. I picked the water Power Coin. But the test also had a time bonus. Melissa and Yaoyorozu chose Quirks that got the fires out faster than mine. So, they got bonus points." Sero sighs again at this.

"That's pretty cool," Shiki says, now more interested in this test than before.

Izuku isn't far behind him. However, Shiki's interest is entirely out of curiosity, while Izuku's is more about whether he should take this test to prove his worth.

"Today, we have a combat test; they want to see how well we fight," Sero explains with a slightly nervous look.

Hearing this causes Shiki to muse for a second before saying.

"I'll go with you; this sounds interesting," Shiki tells him with a slight smile, curious about what the tests will look like.

"Y-yeah, we'll go with you. I actually want to talk to my dad about something." Izuku nods.

"Cool. I could use a ride anyway." Sero says with a grin as the trio leaves the room.

-------------------

Soon afterward, Izuku and Sero arrive at Uncountable Enterprises. The Plus Striker only had enough room for two people, so Shiki had to take a different mode of transportation and would be here later.

The two go through the standard procedure until they arrive in the hallway to Hisashi and David's lab. Surprisingly, one of the doors, the one that they recognize usually gets bashed in by something, is closed off with tape.

"What happened there?" Izuku asks Sero as they listen to the different sounds around them.

"Your dad told us they've been put on probation for a while because of all the problems they've been having," Sero says with a grin as they pass.

Izuku gives the door a look of pity when he hears that, feeling bad for the scientists.

The two soon enter the lab to see Momo and Melissa hooked to some equipment with virtual reality goggles resting above their eyes as they wait for Sero to arrive. Hisashi and David sit at a table with computers in front of them.

"About time you arrived. Was traffic backed up?" Hisashi asks before he notices his son with Sero.

"Hey, Izuku. I didn't expect to see you today. Did Sero tell you about the tests?" Hisashi asks his son, causing Izuku to nod.

"Yes. Hikage is also going to be here." He tells his father, causing the man to nod.

"Great. You can sit over here while Sero gets ready." Hisashi says while motioning for Izuku to grab a chair and sit near the two men.

Izuku quickly does as he's told while Sero hooks up to the equipment next to the girls. The equipment includes suction cup-like devices attached to different parts of their body. The equipment collects data in real-time about their bodies and Quirks while Hisashi and David prepare a virtual situation for them to see while wearing the goggles. Under their feet are multi-directional treadmills meant to keep them in place during the test no matter how they move. Momo and Sero also have Quirk-suppression collars around their necks to prevent them from using their abilities.

"Alright, you three. Before we start, do you have any questions about this?" Hisashi asks, causing Momo to raise a hand quickly while Sero nervously raises his.

"Yes, Yaoyorozu?" Hisashi asks.

"How are these going to help us with the combat test? Are we not going to demonstrate how well we can use our abilities in combat?" She questions attentively.

"We're not going to have you all fight each other or any robots. Here, we'll simulate you fighting different Nomu from our gathered data. Of course, we'll be dumbing down the difficulty since this is only a simulation. This way, we can safely see how you all do before giving you the Hero Driver." David kindly explains to the three with a smile.

Hearing that explanation causes Momo to raise her hand again while Sero keeps his down, seemingly already getting his answer.

"Will we be using different powers from Power Coins during this simulation?" Momo asks again.

"Yes. Before the simulation starts, you'll choose among three different Power Coins to use with your Quirk. Try to use them as best you can." Hisashi orders before motioning for them to put on the goggles.

The three do what they're told and put on the goggles. Hisashi then presses a button to run the simulation.

-------------------

In Melissa's simulation, she finds herself in an empty storage area at the docks. There is a health bar and stack of three lives in the bottom left corner of her vision a health bar and a stack of three lives. She looks around for a second before three Power Coins suddenly appear in front of her face.

The Power Coins in question have a praying mantis, a whirlpool, and a laser as designs for them. It seems like she got one mutant and two emitter Power Coins for this simulation.

"Alright. let's see what I'm dealing with." Melissa determinedly says as she takes the virtual Power Coins and looks around for her opponent.

The second after saying that, the system alters her that something is flying toward her. She quickly turns around to see a crate flying at her right before it flies into her. Her virtual body gets sent flying through a wall. While lying on the ground, she notices only a quarter of her health is gone from that.

"I guess it's simulating me with Kamen Rider armor on." Melissa thinks as she's surprised by the low amount of damage dealt to her.

After she gets back up, she looks around for who threw that crate and sees a simulation of Mammoth Nomu charging at her. Seeing this causes her to panic and quickly run to the side, barely managing to avoid the charge and causing Mammoth Nomu to fly through the wall on the other end of the storage warehouse.

"Woah. That's a lot more terrifying than I thought it would be. Good thing it's only a simulation." Melissa says as she watches Mammoth Nomu re-enter the warehouse through the hole she made.

-------------------

In Momo's simulation, she's downtown. Unlike Melissa, she has a clear view of the Nomu. It's Terraswoop. The Nomu is circling the area as if waiting for something. A second later, Momo's Power Coins appear in front of her.

She has Shiki's Dragonfly Power Coin, the Overdrive Power Coin, and a Power Coin with an eagle head-shaped design. Momo quickly analyzes these Power Coins and notes possible ways she can use them based on the designs alone and what she's seen the other Kamen Riders do.

A second later, Terra Swoop dives toward her. Momo's trained reflexes kick in, and she dodges the swift attack. She then raises a hand and creates a staff within the simulation to protect herself. As she does, Terra Swoop flaps in the air while staring down at Momo, not saying anything and only staring the girl down.

"Alright. It's a flying villain. I need to figure out how to get her to stay on the ground if I want to counterattack." Momo mutters to herself as she glares at Terra Swoop.

-------------------

Sero stands atop a building, looking for the Nomu. His Power Coins have a lightning bolt, a shark head, and a drill design. He's the only one who hasn't had the Nomu immediately attack him and instead decided to get to high ground to try and find them.

"Man. Where is this guy? I wonder if the others are having as much trouble as I am?" Sero questions as he continues to look around the streets for his opponent.

Suddenly, Plant Nomu pops out of the ground, and some of her plant army comes out of the hole. Sero watches in shock as she returns to the ground, and the plant army looks around, probably searching for him.

"Oh man, of course, I get the one that can create an army. What is my luck?" Sero groans when he realizes who he's fighting.

-------------------

In the lab, the three spectators watch the simulations from their computers. Izuku and David immediately winch when they see Melissa get hit by a crate during her simulation. When it happened, her body had fallen on the treadmill.

"Good thing we decided to go with these simulations instead of actual combat practice," Hisashi mutters.

"Don't you think you gave them too much to handle?" Izuku asks, remembering his time fighting these three Nomu.

"Don't worry. These are dumbed-down versions of the ones you fought, and we gave them Power Coins that should let them win if used properly." Hisashi soothes his son's worries while David watches Melissa's battle. Worry and uncertainty are evident in his features.

-------------------

Melissa is running out of the warehouse and down the docks toward the ocean while being chased by Mammoth Nomu. While the three watchers were talking, she summoned the Power Blade and tried firing at Mammoth Nomu. However, none of the shots seemed to damage her. It does seem to slow her down slightly, though.

Now, the girl is trying to figure out a way to bring the Nomu to a complete stop. While running, she's going over her Power Coins and what she may be able to do with them to stop Mammoth Nomu. Luckily, like Izuku, she's grown used to analyzing Quirks thanks to her background helping create support gear for heroes. So, she understands what Quirks would work for different situations. Taking advantage of that, Melissa summons the Whirlpool Power Coin and inserts it into the Power Blade, causing bright blue energy to surround the sword. However, her battle knowledge isn't as good.

Turning around, Melissa thrusts the sword at Mammoth Nomu and sends a spiraling beam of water at the Nomu, doing her best to stop the Nomu with a head-on attack.

-------------------

"No, that's wrong," Izuku mutters before covering his mouth when he realizes it slipped out.

David and Hisashi look toward him with interest, and Izuku nervously continues.

"S-she should have used that attack on Mammoth's Nomu's feet to try and make them slip up," Izuku explains while trying not to meet the two men's eyes in embarrassment.

Hearing this causes Hisashi to nod and David to look back at Melissa's test.

-------------------

Sure enough, Mammoth Nomu is pushing through the attack toward Melissa, albeit slower than when she chased the Kamen Rider hopeful. As Mammoth Nomu does this, Melissa stands her ground and keeps attacking. This persistence seems to bear fruit, as the water hitting the ground and the force from the attack causes Mammoth Nomu to slip.

She falls to the ground, but Melissa still keeps up the attack. The wet ground and force behind this attack send Mammoth Nomu flying back until Melissa finally has to stop the attack.

The girl looks excited as she realizes she took down the Nomu.

"I did it, I actually did it!" She shouts in joy as she stares at the Nomu.

But this excitement is short-lived when the Nomu starts pulling herself off the ground. Seeing this causes Melissa to panic as she reaches for another Power Coin.

The Power Coin she grabs is the Laser Power Coin. She inserts it into the Power Blade's coin slot. This time, the barrel hilt of the Power Blade glows with golden white energy before she pulls the trigger. Instead of a bullet, a massive laser the same size as the Power Blade and far wider flies through the air.

The laser flies through the air quickly toward Mammoth Nomu as she finally gets up. The attack lands dead on and sends the Nomu to the ground again. However, it still isn't enough to defeat the Nomu. She pulls herself off the ground again and prepares to charge at Melissa to finish this. Something of note is that, unlike the real Mammoth Nomu, this one doesn't seem to be getting angry, though. In fact, she hasn't shown a shred of emotion since the test began. The simulated Nomu seems more robotic than the original, showing no emotions and only attacking Melissa.

Melissa notices this as the Nomu prepares to charge and has another idea.

"If it doesn't have emotions and intelligence, then its attack pattern will be more simplistic." She realizes as Mammoth Nomu charges forward.

As she gets close to Melissa, the Kamen Rider hopeful dives to the side, causing Mammoth Nomu to stop and charge again. Melissa then dodges again before trying to gain some distance while Mammoth Nomu chases after her. Melissa repeats this process of dodging before running until the results satisfy her. After confirming her theory, she smiles, knowing how to deal with Mammoth Nomu.

Pulling out her final Power Coin, Melissa inserts it into the Power Blade, causing the sword to glow dark green as Mammoth Nomu charges at her. This time, when Melissa dives out of the way, she keeps relatively close to Mammoth Nomu and slashes at the Nomu's leg. Thanks to the enhanced cutting power of the Mantis Power Coin, it manages to cut through Mammoth Nomu's defense and cause her to fall to a knee for a second. However, before Melissa can capitalize on this, Mammoth Nomu swings an arm behind her and nails the Kamen Rider, sending Melissa flying again and taking a chunk of her health.

Melissa slowly pulls herself up from the surprise while Mammoth Nomu holds her knee in simulated pain. Upon seeing this, Melissa looks for her Power Blade but notices she dropped it near the Nomu. Seeing this causes her to rush toward it to try grabbing it before the Nomu recovers. Fortunately, it seems like she's able to. After recovering it, she aims the barrel at Mammoth Nomu and begins firing upon her while the Nomu struggles slightly to pull herself up.

Energy bullets rain upon the Nomu as she struggles. However, her thick hide manages to cancel out most of the damage to the point where she doesn't seem affected. That doesn't last long when Mammoth Nomu's injured knee starts getting hit. Melissa takes this chance to pull out the Laser Power Coin and activate the finisher again. The laser flies at Mammoth Nomu and slams into her back. After getting hit, Mammoth Nomu bursts into pixels, signaling the end of the exam.

"I hope I did well," Melissa nervously mutters after realizing it's over.

-------------------

Simultaneously with Melissa's battle, Momo does her best to deal with Terra Swoop. The Nomu goes for another dive to try and hit the Kamen Rider hopeful while she rolls to the side. After which, she quickly turns to Terra Swoop to see the Nomu stopping her momentum and turning around.

Luckily, she has been spending time doing nothing. While facing this Nomu, she uses her Quirk to create an item to help her bring Terra Swoop down. The item in question is a net gun, which falls into the hand she's not using to wield her staff.

When Terra Swoop makes another diving attack to try and hit Momo, she aims it at Terra Swoop and immediately fires at the Nomu. She expected the net to capture Terra Swoop and cause her to crash into the ground. However, that didn't happen. Instead, it seems like an invisible force sends the fired net off course and over Terra Swoop's head, allowing her to slam into a surprised Momo. The attack sends the girl flying and causes her to crash into a virtual vehicle while taking a fair chunk of her health. While she pulls herself back up, Terra Swoop gets back into position to perform another attack.

"I need to find somewhere to hide and think up another plan." Momo thinks in a slight panic as she looks up to see Terra Swoop about to make another attack.

She pulls herself out of the car and runs for the nearest building, hoping the enclosed space will give her an advantage against Terra Swoop if the Nomu chases her into it. As she runs, Terra Swoop goes in for another attack. It's a close shave, but Momo manages to dive through some doors and under Terra Swoop's attack while the Nomu breaks through them and some of the wall around it. However, it seems the enclosed space is helping somewhat, as Terra Swoop can't gain any air thanks to the ceiling.

Now having a chance to attack, Momo charges forward with her staff and tries to slam it into Terra Swoop's midsection. Unlike the net, this attack doesn't change course. However, Terra Swoop uses her wings to block the strike before sending them out, causing a gust of wind to push Momo back.

"It seems like only ranged attacks won't work because they can somehow manipulate the flight paths to avoid them." Momo thinks as she pulls herself off the ground to continue the fight.

She cautiously begins circling Terra Swoop as the Nomu waits for Momo's next attack with wings out. Momo is studying the Nomu, looking for any weakness. However, she doesn't know a lot about Nomu and doesn't know what she's looking for. So, she instead decides to look at her Power Coins for something that will help her quickly. Of her three choices, she chooses the Overdrive Power Coin but notices she has nowhere to insert it.

Luckily, the Power Blade soon spawns to let Momo use the Power Coin. After doing this, the Power Blade glows cyan with energy, and Momo charges at Terra Swoop. She thrusts the tip forward and cuts through the wings of Terra Swoop when the Nomu tries to use them as shields to protect herself.

Without care, Terra Swoop swings her wings out and sends Momo flying back again, leaving the Power Blade stuck in one of the wings.

"I need to get it back." Momo mentally panics as she realizes she's lost the Power Blade.

However, a tip hovers before her, letting her know she also has a simulated Driver to use the Power Coins. Upon seeing this, Momo mentally berates herself for not thinking about that. It's a test for Kamen Riders, after all. However, that brings another question to her mind that causes her to hesitate. That question is what would happen when she goes for an attack like the Rider Kick. If Terra Swoop can manipulate projectiles in mid-air, she wonders what would happen if she attacked with a flying move.

That hesitation gives Terra Swoop a chance to attack. The Nomu flies toward Momo and grabs her by the shoulders before taking them out of the building. However, her flying is off from her damaged wings. Which means she's moving at a slower and more unstable pace.

Momo realizes this and decides to take the risk since she doesn't know what else to do. Pulling out the Eagle Power Coin, she inserts it into the simulated Hero Driver, and golden energy surrounds her fist. She looks at it momentarily before looking up at Terra Swoop and throwing her fist up. The energy flies off her fist and instantly morphs into an eagle before slamming into the body of Terra Swoop. The extremely close proximity seems to have made it so Terra Swoop's redirection Quirk didn't protect her. So, Terra Swoop takes the full brunt of the attack, sending both girls crashing with enough force to make Momo lose one of her lives.

Luckily, the impact is enough for Terra Swoop's virtual body to vanish in a burst of pixels, signaling that Momo's test is over. However, the girl doesn't seem happy with how the test went. She feels she didn't properly display her skills and made a terrible mistake not attacking Terra Swoop when she had the chance.

-------------------

In Sero's test, the only male Kamen Rider hopeful does his best by sniping at the plant army using the Power Blade. As he fires, the teen seems to be having a blast.

"This is like a zombie shooter game." Sero laughs as he has a blast firing upon the plant army while they do their best to scale the building.

While that's happening, Plant Nomu does her best to dig through the city and create more of her plant army. Those plant soldiers head in Sero's direction as the teen continues to shoot. As Sero notices more and more gather around him, he realizes he's had enough fun and decides to use his Quirk to send tape flying toward another building before he swings atop it to change positions. After which, he looks around for Plant Nomu and sees her fly out of the ground.

Not wanting the Nomu to escape and fail the exam, Sero uses his Quirk to zip across buildings while trying to figure out where she'll pop up. However, something unexpected happened. Like a dolphin, Plant Nomu flies out of the ground and launches toward Sero while spinning rapidly. The surprise from her sudden attack causes Sero to be unable to dodge, and he gets hit by the full strength of the attack. It causes Sero to crash into the ground while losing a quarter of his health. But that isn't everything. The plant army stalks toward him and surrounds him.

The plant army soon descends upon him and attacks him in waves, causing Sero to panic.

"H-hey, g-get off!" He shouts in desperation as he aims his elbow up and manages to launch a piece of tape that latches onto a building before using it to pull him out of the army's reach.

Taking a few moments to catch his breath while holding himself to the building, Sero looks at his health to see about three-fifths of it is gone. He looks down to see the plant army trying to scale the building to reach him and panics again.

"This really is like a zombie apocalypse!" He shouts in terror as he uses his tape to swap buildings and gain some distance from the plant army.

However, Plant Nomu reappears, launching herself at Sero for the second time. Luckily, this time, he manages to avoid her charge. After getting over the shock of everything and finding a relatively safe place, Sero realizes he dropped the Power Blade somewhere and looks back toward where he fell. There, he sees the Power Blade lying behind the plant army chasing him. In a swift, practiced motion, he launches another piece of tape and hooks it onto the Power Blade before pulling it back into his hand.

"Thank god for Midoriya's advice about training my Quirk," Sero says with a grin as he looks at the Power Blade before jumping off the building when Plant Nomu launches herself at him again.

"Alright. Power Coin time. Let's see how they handle this one." Sero says as he pulls out a random Power Coin and inserts it into the Power Blade without even looking at which one he grabbed.

He raises the gun part of the Power Blade as it glows yellow while waiting for Plant Nomu to pop out. He looks around nervously before turning around when he hears her behind him. However, bolts of lightning fly from the Power Blade instead of bullets. These bolts do not affect Plant Nomu. She continues her charge and slams into Sero with full force. The attack sends the teen flying and takes out one of his lives.

"Apparently, they can handle it pretty well." Sero weakly laughs as he realizes he might have made a mistake.

But he doesn't dwell on it long, quickly swinging back onto a building and out of the reach of Plant Nomu's army.

"This is way harder than I thought. How do those two deal with this?" Sero questions as he turns around and stares at the plant army with an uncertain expression.

He reaches to his side for his virtual Power Coins again to try and figure out what to do next. When they pop on the screen, he chooses the drill one this time.

"This one might do better." He says before inserting it into the Power Blade.

With that, Sero prepares for Plant Nomu's next attack and manages to dodge her. He then aims the Power Blade at her before firing as she dives into the ground. The energy bullets drill through the ground, and Sero can hear a screech from her.

"Alright!" Sero excitedly shouts, happy to have finally hit her.

He pulls out the Drill Power Coin again to reuse it since it's the only thing working for him so far. While doing that, he shoots out a strip of tape and attaches it to another building, preparing to use it to make a quick dodge when Plant Nomu charges at him. Soon, Plant Nomu charges again, and Sero pulls himself out of the way. Then he fires at her when she re-enters the ground. However, he doesn't manage to get a hit this time.

"Dang it!" Sero shouts when he realizes he couldn't hit her.

He then notices the plant army's numbers keep increasing as time goes on and realizes this might not be the best strategy. Running low on options, Sero decides to test his last Power Coin and causes the Power Blade to fire a giant shark-shaped bullet after he uses it.

"Woah!" Sero shouts with a grin as he watches the energy shark tear into the plant army.

It's displaying the same ferocity as a shark as it tears through them with its teeth. It manages to get rid of dozens at once before finally dissipating. Unfortunately, Sero's excitement while watching this massacre left him open for an attack. Plant Nomu capitalizes on this and drills into his side, causing him to fall and lose a quarter of his health.

"Oh, man." Sero groans despite feeling no real pain, imagining what this situation would feel like.

The plant army then tries to descend on him, but Sero manages to keep his Power Blade this time. He pulls out the Shark Power Coin again before using it to tear through the army and give him more space. He then launches a strip of tape to pull himself onto another building.

"Man. How am I supposed to do this?" Sero asks.

The plant army's numbers have lessened, but there are still so many. And he still has to deal with Plant Nomu's reverse whack-a-mole strategy. The only thing that has been working against her is the Drill Power Coin.

"Maybe I should use this against the Nomu instead?" Sero questions more than states as he pulls out the Shark Power Coin again.

He inserts it once again and waits for Plant Nomu to pop up. When she does, he immediately fires at her and watches as the energy shark charges at Plant Nomu. As the two clash, Sero and Plant Nomu drills through the energy construct, but not before it bites into her. The attack causes her to lose momentum and miss her mark, hitting the area under Sero.

Happy that the Nomu is finally staying above ground, Sero grins, jumps into the hole in the wall, and sees Plant Nomu lying on the ground. He grins upon observing her condition.

"Not so tough now." Sero quips before aiming the Power Blade at her and firing.

Eventually, he finishes her off, and she bursts into pixels. His victory signals the final combat test ending.

-------------------

In the lab, everyone, including Melissa, Momo, and a newly arrived Shiki, watches as Sero lifts his goggles to signal he's finished. He looks around in confusion for a second before noticing the girls looking at him.

"...I was the last to finish, wasn't I?" He asks nervously, causing Izuku to winch and solemnly nod to him.

"Dang it." Sero sighs in disappointment.

"Don't be too disappointed. You did a great job considering who you had to fight. That goes for all of you. It was impressive that you managed to handle the simulation so well." David compliments the three test takers, causing Sero and Melissa to smile while Momo seems to keep up a dutiful act before bowing.

"Thank you, Mr. Shield." She says in a formal tone.

"No need to be so polite. Anyway, thank you for taking this test. We'll go over the data and tell you the results later. For now, why don't you three get something to eat." David offers as he motions for them to leave.

Hearing his offer, Sero grins and heads out while saying.

"Awesome. The food here is great."

After saying that, he leaves the room for lunch. He's hoping food will ease his nerves. Soon, Momo follows after him. However, Melissa sticks around instead.

"You should get something to eat, too, Melissa. While it was only a simulation, you still worked hard." David tells his daughter, causing her to nod before leaving.

After the three leave, Hisashi grins at David and says.

"It looks like your daughter does have potential. She managed to finish the trial the fastest." He tells David, who sighs.

"We have to analyze the difficulty of each Nomu as well. It's not confirmed if she did the best in this test yet." David tells him while going over the data for the three.

Hearing this causes Hisashi to roll his eyes goodnaturedly as he hears his friend's protectiveness speaking. He then looks at Izuku and Shiki with a grin.

"So, what do you two need? Did you want to hear more about the tests?" Hisashi asks them.

"Yeah. Sero told me about them, and I was hoping you'd do something for me." Izuku tells his father, trailing off slightly out of nervousness.

"What do you need?" Hisashi asks Izuku curiously.

"Do you think you could let me try the tests out?" Izuku asks his father nervously.

"I figured you'd ask about that. Sure, we can do that if David is okay with it." Hisashi says as he turns to David.

"Sure. We already talked about this, and I said it was no problem. If it will help put your mind at ease, I'm more than happy to help." David tells Izuku with a smile.

Hearing this causes Izuku to grin, and Shiki nods along with him. Both are interested in seeing how they compare to the other three.

-------------------

Meanwhile, in Deika City, Geten's transformation deactivates as he stands over the destruction he caused while transformed. There are craters over the evacuated streets where Geten launched icicles. There are also pillars of ice running through buildings and an ice tower taller than Re-Destro's tower.

Marveling at the new strength of his Meta Ability after using the Proto Driver, Geten grins under the shadow of his parka hood. He can't believe how much his Meta Ability has improved with the Proto Driver. Truth be told, he felt like his ability was reaching its limit after awakening. So, having it grow stronger from the Proto Driver makes the fanatic ecstatic.

"With this, I might actually be able to fight All Might," Geten whispers as he stares at his hands.

He then clenches them in excitement as he realizes he'll be the one to lead the Meta Liberation Army to victory.

"How much further can I take this?" He wonders as he prepares for another round of testing, wanting to see more of his upgraded abilities.

-------------------

Inside his tower, Re-Destro watches as a literal mountain of ice rises from the streets before icicles the size of semi-trucks start appearing in the sky. Thanks to his years in the support business, Re-Destro has an idea of Geten's new capabilities.

"He can now use the moisture in the air. This is wonderful news. It makes our investment all the more worth it. With this and our warriors becoming Nomu, our vision's fruition will be ensured." Re-Destro celebrates his observations as he ecstatically realizes their victory may draw near once Geten can master the Proto Driver.

Re-Destro imagines the future after their victory. While doing so, he heads to his desk and opens a drawer with a false bottom to display an old picture of his ancestor. He keeps it close to fuel his motivation to continue his plans.

"Soon, the world will realize you were right. The world will change, starting with Japan, and people will get to use their Meta Abilities like they are supposed to." Re-Destro promises into the photo with a smile like a child about to make their parent proud.

-------------------

Back in the lab, Izuku and Shiki sit at desks with computers in front of them, preparing for their tests. The three Kamen Rider hopefuls watch them with curious eyes, wondering how they'll do with the tests. Hisashi and David are about to begin them behind the computers with the battle simulation data.

"Alright, you two. This first test will show us how you use Power Coins in specific situations. These situations will include ones outside of fighting Nomu." Hisashi explains as David types something on his computer.

"So, it's a basic situational awareness test." Izuku thinks to himself as the test starts counting down.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku tries to calm his nerves as he focuses on the test. He plans to do his best to prove he should use the Hero Driver, at least, to himself.

Power Coins Deku Rabbit, Draco-Breath, Charge, Marsh, Solidification, Unicorn, Overdrive, Wheels, Division, Bull, Barrier, Creation, Razor Edge, Mantis, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl

Chamber Rifle, Fierce Wings, Shadow Stalk, Gatling, Chameleon, Dragonfly, Sonar, Burrowing Drill, Sprouting, Terra-Wave, Deflection

King Explosion Murder Explosion

Next Chapter

#my hero academia #mha #kamen rider #original kamen rider #izuku midoriya #hanta sero #original male character #david shield #hisashi midoriya #geten #meta liberation army #melissa shield #momo yaoyorozu

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natedogx15 · 4 months ago

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Kamen Rider Deku Chapter 21: Trials

Previous Chapter / AO3 / Master List

On Izuku's test, the scenario of a speeding bus heading downhill toward pedestrians. As the bus charges at them, it suddenly freezes, and three Power Coins appear on the screen with a thirty-second timer. Izuku quickly scans the Power Coins and sees they have a bull, wall, and bridge. After analyzing these designs, he still has a lot of time left.

"Using the Wall Power Coin to stop the bus would probably be best. It'll stop the momentum and is likely more sturdy than the Bull Power Coin's power." Izuku thinks as he goes over the conventional way to stop a bus.

However, something seems off to him. He feels like there's something more he can do. He still has a little time left and uses that time to review the situation. He then realizes what exactly speeds toward the pedestrians. It isn't an ordinary car but a bus, meaning others could be inside. It also means it may not be something speeding away from the police. With five seconds left on the clock, Izuku finally decides to hit the Bridge Power Coin with this in mind.

He watches as the sequence continues and hears the Hero Driver sound effects go off. He watches as a bridge forms before the bus and causes it to drive above the pedestrians. The video continues, and Izuku can see the bus start losing control before rolling over. After it loses all its momentum, a perfect score icon appears on Izuku's screen before another scenario begins to play.

This new scenario is of a burning building like the one Sero told him about. Before he can do anything, a fireman appears in front of Izuku's screen.

"Hero. We've evacuated everyone from the building, but our trucks aren't enough to put out the fire." They inform Izuku before the Power Coins appear.

The Power Coins have whirlwind, ocean wave, and shovel designs. Izuku stares at them before thinking about the fireman's words.

"They wouldn't have added that if it wasn't important to the choices." Izuku thinks as he surveys the Power Coins again.

He then watches as a tower of wind surrounds the burning building. It creates a vacuum that eventually snuffs out the fire. Izuku gets another perfect score for his choice in Power Coins. The computer congratulates him for passing the first part of the test with a perfect score. It then warns him that the test's difficulty has increased.

The next part shows a gang pointing guns at Izuku's screen. When the Power Coins appear, Izuku notices the timer has decreased to twenty-five seconds. Slightly panicking when he sees that, Izuku quickly scans over the Power Coins. They have scale, dragon head, and spike designs. Nervous about the decreased time, Izuku doesn't analyze them as long and presses the Scales Power Coin to increase his defense.

Izuku watches as the gang fires on him before hearing what sounds like bullets bouncing off something hard. The screen moves closer to the gang, and Izuku watches as scaled limbs hit them. After a moment, another icon appears, this time saying passed. It then puts up another message saying the correct answer was the Spike Power Coin.

"The Kamen Rider armor would have protected the wearer from the bullets anyway. The Spike Power Coin would have created earth pillars to defeat the enemies simultaneously." The system informs him, causing Izuku to winch at his mistake.

"Nothing I can do about it. I can't let the timer get to me. It'll probably keep decreasing the longer this test goes on." Izuku thinks before the next question appears.

The new scenario is what looks like an investigation. Police cars are driving through the area, heroes and helicopters are in the air, and the public can't enter the area. An officer runs over to Izuku this time.

"Hero. We're in the middle of searching for a villain. The villain has a size-changing Quirk, making it difficult for us to find him." The police officer informs Izuku while holding up a bag, likely something the villain held beforehand before the Power Coins appeared.

It shows Chamber's Sonar Power Coin and two others. One is of a nose, while the other has a hawk design. Izuku stares at the Power Coins, uncertain about what to do. He surveys the police officer for any possible hints. As he does, he goes over what he knows about the Power Coins.

"I already know that the Sonar Power Coin doesn't help when there's more than one person around. Hawks are well known for their eyesight. They could possibly see the villain and capture them. But will that work with the Power Coins?" Izuku questions as he remembers how he's used animal-based Power Coins before.

He looks over the police officer for possible hints and questions why he's holding a bag. He doesn't have long to think about his options, though. He has to choose something soon. Biting his lower lip, Izuku decides to take a risk based on the bag. With less than five seconds on the clock, he presses the Nose Power Coin.

With a tense aura surrounding him after picking the wrong Power Coin last time, Izuku watches as the bag is held closer to his screen. After a moment, arrows appeared on the screen. Izuku's character follows the arrows before eventually finding a tiny person, no taller than a kitten, hiding underneath a dumpster. After discovering this person, a congratulations icon appears and tells him he made the perfect choice.

Smiling upon seeing this, Izuku can feel his confidence come back as he prepares for the next level of difficulty.

-------------------

In comparison, Shiki seems to have far more trouble with the test. He did well on his first question but didn't make the perfect choice on the second question. When the second level started, he didn't make the best choice on either of the two questions. Seeing his failure growing causes Shiki to scowl.

"At least I haven't gotten one wrong." Shiki thinks as he tries to calm down so he doesn't mess up on the other questions.

With twenty seconds now on the timer instead of twenty-five, Shiki's next problem has him facing two villains.

One villain is tall and seems to be wearing the red metal of a car as armor. The other has purplish energy orbs glowing around their hands. His choices include a barrier, an arm with spikes growing out of it, and a whirlpool. Shiki stares at them with narrowed eyes as the timer ticks by.

Unlike Izuku, he doesn't spend as much time considering his options. After a few seconds, he chooses the Whirlpool Power Coin. He watches as the ground around him starts swirling like water until it creates a whirlpool. The whirlpool grows until it reaches the two villains. However, the energy-wielding villain makes a floor of energy that floats in the air and allows them to avoid it. The car-armor villain isn't as lucky. They're dragged into the whirlpool and spin around Shiki. The teen then watches as the energy-wielding villain runs at him before getting hit by the car-armor villain as they're pulled around in the whirlpool, knocking the energy villain in, too. With that, a perfect score appears, causing Shiki to smile in satisfaction.

"Finally, another perfect score. I wonder how Midoriya is doing on his?" Shiki mentally muses as his test moves on to the next question.

The next test has him surrounded by rubble with heroes and first responders digging for anyone. One of the first responders runs to Shiki and tells him.

"Hero! We need your help to find the survivors. Hurry! We don't have much time." The first responder yells before the timer starts.

However, there's a surprise for Shiki this time. His timer decreased by ten seconds for this question. He's so shocked by the sudden change in pace that he instinctively scans the Power Coins with less attention to detail. He sees the first two Power Coins before pressing the second one out of worry for the time. The one he chose was one he knew well. It's the Fierce Wings Power Coin. After activating it, Shiki can guess that wings grow behind his character. Feathers shoot out and hit various pieces of rubble. In an impressive display of strength, the feathers help lift the slabs of stone and let the others around the area pull out any survivors. It takes a while before the completion screen appears.

However, it says complete over perfect while informing him he missed a Power Coin that gave the Shiki multiple types of vision that would have helped find all the survivors. Seeing this causes Shiki to sigh in annoyance, but he's still happy to have gotten it right. He wonders how Izuku is going to take the time-limit shift.

-------------------

The answer is that he isn't doing well with the surprise change. As soon as he notices the timer halved, he grows exceedingly nervous. However, he tries to take the time to look over all three Power Coins. The scenario he's facing is a stakeout. His choice of Power Coins consists of a bat, glasses, and what Izuku can only describe as a demon face in the little time he has to observe it.

With slightly over five seconds on the clock, Izuku's mind runs rapidly, trying to figure out what would be best for this situation. He's uncertain about the glasses and demon face. But the bat Power Coin shows promise to him, causing him to press that one. After which, he watches as the screen moves closer to the building. It gets close to an open window before it sounds like they say something. A radar with dots appears on the screen, showing what the echolocation finds.

The pass scene comes up, causing Izuku to sigh in relief. It goes on like this for the last six questions. Izuku and Shiki continue going through them as the time shortens by five seconds for every two questions they answer. The two questions after that surprise question were fifteen seconds each. The test itself was less than seven minutes. However, it felt like an eternity for the two taking the test, as it felt for the three who took it before them. When they finish the final questions, they have to lean back into the chair from mental exhaustion.

"Nice job, you two. Your results are amazing." David compliments them as he and Hisashi look over the teens' answers.

"Thanks," Izuku says with a relieved smile.

During the test, he managed to get all the correct answers and even a few perfect ones. On the other hand, Shiki is slightly scowling. At the end of the test, he got one answer wrong since the questions changed to have two incorrect answers and one correct instead.

"Alright. We'll give you guys a small break and continue the exam soon. Go and get something to eat and drink to cool your heads." Hisashi orders the two as he points to the door.

Hearing this, Izuku and Shiki leave their seats and head to the door, the other teens following after them despite already eating. The adults watch them go before smiling at each other. They're happy about this turn of events. Not only do their children have friends, but they now have data on the current Kamen Riders taking the exams to compare with the Kamen Rider hopefuls. It's a nice twist to help them consider their options for the next wielder.

-------------------

Down in the cafeteria, the gang of teens sits at a table after grabbing their food from the buffet.

"So, how do you think you did on your tests?" Sero asks the two Kamen Riders to break the silence.

"I'm not sure, honestly. I got all of the answers right, but..." Izuku trails off as he thinks about his performance.

"At least you didn't get an answer wrong at the end," Shiki tells him with a scowl as he remembers that time.

"It's alright. I got an answer wrong in the end, too. It's hard when the time limit is so short, and we have two wrong answers." Melissa says, trying to cheer Shiki up while the others nod.

"Yes. The decreasing time limit and surprise question in the middle of the test will often cause people to make mistakes." Momo nods in agreement, but if people look closely, they can see a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

She's disappointed in herself for falling into a similar situation as Shiki. Her studious and hardworking nature makes her feel worse whenever she makes a mistake.

"I'm pretty sure you did better than me still," Sero tells him with a grin before taking a bite of his food.

Shiki shrugs as he takes a sip of his drink. As the four talk, Izuku stares at them with a slight smile, enjoying the pleasant company.

"So this is what it's like to have friends." He absently thinks to himself.

While he does, he absently stirs his spoon in his soup as he remembers his time with Katsuki. He doesn't have long to dwell on the past, though.

"Midoriya? Midoriya?" Sero's voice rings out, causing him to jolt as he wakes up from his trance.

"Huh? Sorry." He instinctively apologizes as he looks at Sero to hear what he's saying.

"It's fine. So, what question did you think was the hardest?" Melissa asks with a kind smile.

Izuku pauses for a moment as he thinks about the different questions. Out of all the questions, it's hard for him to choose the worst. They were all difficult in their own ways. After a while, he finally chooses the one he doesn't think he could have answered right if it didn't appear at the start.

"I think mine was when I had to stop an out-of-control bus," Izuku tells them.

Hearing this causes the group to nod.

"Mine was terrible. I had to figure out how to stop a freaking tornado. A tornado." Sero repeats in a whiny tone as he remembers that.

"Mine was when I had to figure out how to stop a hostage situation without anyone getting hurt," Melissa cheerily says.

"I believe mine was when I had to find a size-changing villain," Momo states.

Izuku notices Shiki doesn't say anything and looks at him. Shiki seems confused but remembers that Izuku wasn't listening earlier.

"Mine was the one I got wrong. Which was having to stop a tsunami." Shiki says with a shrug before Sero suddenly stands up from his seat with a grin, aiming his arms at Shiki as if showing him off.

"See. Thank you. Those natural disaster questions were impossible." He tells the rest of the group excitedly while pointing at Shiki.

His boisterousness causes some in the cafeteria to look at them questioningly, in annoyance, or with fond smiles. The group continues to chat, with Sero sometimes releasing a dramatic reply. Eventually, they notice the time and head back up to the lab. When they reach the lab floor, they see a hole punched through one of the different lab doors. Curious, Sero walks toward the hole and peaks inside before anyone can warn him.

"Wait, Sero. You don't want to do that on this flo-" Melissa's words come too late as she and Shiki try to stop him.

A robotic fist flies out of the door hole and hits Sero dead on. The teen flies into the door on the other end of the hall and slowly slides down it in pain. As he does, his friends winch and give him a look of pity.

"That's a lawsuit waiting to happen," Shiki mutters as he winches at Sero's plight.

"Everyone who wants to enter the labs has to sign a waiver beforehand." Momo reminds him in a matter-of-fact tone as she walks over to ensure Sero is okay.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asks Sero worriedly as Shiki and Melissa help him up.

"I see stars." Sero groans before the group can hear yelling.

"What is up with this stupid robot? No wonder Ms. Hatsumi couldn't seem to get it under control! The thing's programming keeps short-circuiting!" Someone shouts in frustration as the robot's fist is getting pulled back through the door.

"Did you hear a banging sound after the robot threw a punch?" Someone asks worriedly.

"It was probably nothing. Let's focus on finding the issue with this programming." The first voice says dismissively, causing Momo's eyes to narrow at the unprofessionalism displayed.

She silently promises to bring that up with her mother before refocusing on helping Sero as the teen finally seems to recover.

"Let's just get him into the lab so he can lie down." Shiki sighs as he lifts Sero.

While leaving, Melissa decides now is the right time to advise Sero.

"This is why we have so many safety precautions around the lab. Since we work with support gear for heroes, it's pretty dangerous around here. After all, most support gear coming in seems meant for combat." Melissa explains to the group, causing Momo to nod in agreement.

Shiki winches as he remembers getting hurt for not following protocol while Sero groans. Both make a note never to break the rules here again. After that's settled, the group returns to the lab. Upon entering, Hisashi and David immediately notice Sero carried over Shiki's shoulder.

"What happened?" David worriedly asks while Hisashi looks past them and notices a hole in one of the doors outside.

"Looks like something went wrong in one of the labs," Hisashi tells him as he motions to the broken door.

David looks over the teens and scowls when he realizes what likely happened.

"I warned them that they should have requested better-reinforced doors." David sighs when he sees this before walking over to Sero.

He takes Sero from Shiki and gently puts him in one of the more comfortable seats. He then checks Sero's head. Luckily, it doesn't seem like there's anything serious.

"Looks like you'll be alright. But you may want to get it looked at by an actual doctor later just to be safe." David advises Sero, causing the teen to give a shaky thumbs-up while smiling lightly.

"Cool. Thanks." He mutters before relaxing into the seat to watch the other trials.

"So, would you guys like to continue, or do you want to hold it off until later so your friend can recover?" Hisashi asks while motioning to Sero.

"I'm fine to keep going," Shiki says with a shrug, believing that Sero will be fine and it would be a waste of time not to keep going today.

Izuku looks toward Sero nervously for a second before hesitantly nodding.

"Perfect. We already have the test set up. We're skipping the battle and synchronization test. We already have plenty of data from you two on those. So, we'll be moving on to the other test." Hisashi says as he motions for the two to sit at another table where he and David set up the next test.

-------------------

In the Bakugou family household, Katsuki growls in frustration as he tries to contact Slidin' Go again. He's been trying this for the last few days while refusing to talk to Shinonome. He wants to learn everything from Slidin' Go over her. At least, he did. However, he can't seem to contact the missing hero. He's tried dozens of times, but nothing. With a heavy growl in frustration, Katsuki finally chooses to call Shinonome as he realizes he has no other choice. Surprisingly, the call connects after the second ring before Shinonome talks to him in a tone like she's been expecting his call for a while now.

"Ah, Bakugou. I see you've finally decided to bless me with your time." Shinonome says in a tone full of sarcasm.

Hearing her tone causes Katsuki's scowl to worsen, despising how she's looking down on him but is holding his tongue.

-------------------

Not hearing him explode at her on the other end causes Shinonome to smirk, enjoying his seemingly docile attitude.

"I'm guessing you're wondering where Slidin' Go is?" Shinonome asks curiously despite already knowing the answer.

It's been the thing keeping her busy these last few days. Slidin' Go should safely get to Deika City soon, thanks to her. Now, she must ensure nothing gets tracked back to her. Luckily, it seems like she's covered her tracks properly.

"Where the hell is that bastard? He hasn't been taking my calls!" Katsuki shouts, causing Shinonome to pull her phone away from her ear.

She scowls at his sudden change in demeanor but keeps calm. She needs to get information right now.

"Slidin' Go has gone missing. I don't know where he is. It's what's been keeping me busy. I've been trying to find him and his replacement for you." Shinonome tells him in a matter-of-fact tone.

It's not a complete lie; she is trying to find a replacement teacher for Katsuki to continue his grooming process. But the problem lies in how she'll do that and with whom. It'll look too suspicious if the second person she chooses has to go into hiding. So, she has to be extra careful now. However, she can't leave Katsuki to his own devices, or he might become more of a problem for the Meta Liberation Army. So, she's also trying to find someone as quickly as possible. Another issue is that she can't think of many heroes affiliated with the Meta Liberation Army. Especially ones that might be able to reign in Katsuki's attitude. Of course, while it's not a complete lie, it's still a lie.

"What do you mean a new teacher?" Katsuki growls at her.

Hearing this causes Shinonome to smirk, deciding to have some fun this time to get some payback on Katsuki for all the problems he's caused her.

"Oh, what's this? Could it be that you grew attached to Slidin' Go? I can't say I expected that from you. I always assumed you didn't care about anyone or anything other than becoming the number one hero." Shinonome teases.

She hears Katsuki choke on his words on the other end and grins in amusement before pulling her phone away from her ear ahead of time.

"I do not give a shit about that lantern jaw bastard! He was just some no-name you made into a damn guard dog for me!" Katsuki snaps at her in anger.

"Then what's the problem with giving you a new teacher? It's not like I can let a wildcard like you run amok. You need someone around to get you out of trouble." Shinonome states before a thought comes to mind.

"Now that I think about it, I can throw Slidin' Go further under the bus since he's in hiding now. I could try playing off Katsuki's attitude as being corrupted by a possible corrupt hero. People will be more accepting of him and possibly his next teacher with that story." Shinonome mentally muses with a smile as she considers that option.

She'll hold off on it for now, though. Nothing is concrete yet, and it could bring unnecessary problems. She'll save that for if things seem to be getting worse.

"I don't want another damn teacher! I can handle this by myself. I'm good enough to handle anyone without help!" Katsuki yells into the phone.

Hearing this causes Shinonome to roll her eyes.

"While you're both strong and academically smart, there's more to being a hero than that. Why else do you think we have schools for heroics in this era?" Shinonome asks curiously.

Shinonome assumes Katsuki bit his tongue at the logic behind her words. After all, it's a good point. They're not in the era of vigilantes, where anyone could be a hero. However, it seems like Katsuki isn't willing to give up his stance on not needing anyone.

"All that bastard did was teach me about fighting other heroes and controlling public opinion. I don't need that shit!" Katsuki growls, showing his hatred for the lessons since they didn't do a lot to help him prove he's the strongest hero.

Hearing this causes Shinonome to grumble silently. It sounds like he won't put up with that training now. She'll have to figure out another way to get him to fight the other Kamen Riders since he can't rely on using his hatred for them with that training.

"Should I seriously consider replacing him now? I can probably use that corrupted hero story to give me a good reason to throw him away." Shinonome thinks to herself.

She'll have to weigh her options later. For now, she has to deal with Katsuki.

"Fine. I'll ensure your next teacher won't teach you about fighting other heroes. I'm sure Slidin' Go went over that enough. However, politics is an important part of modern-day heroics. You need to understand it. That's not something I'm willing to compromise on. If you don't like it, I can find a new candidate." Shinonome states.

Katsuki doesn't say anything right away to her words, and Shinonome decides to follow it up with something to drive the point home.

"That wouldn't look good for your story, would it?" She sarcastically asks to ensure Katsuki understands he doesn't hold any power here.

It seems to work, as she can hear Katsuki seething but not saying anything else to her words. Shinonome can tell he's unwilling to accept this but doesn't know what to do about it. Like an unruly dog tied to something by its leash, all Katsuki can do is growl at her in frustration.

"Fine! I'll take the damn teacher and keep up with the stupid lessons. But this one had better be better than Lantern Jaw!" Katsuki shouts into the phone before hanging up, leaving Shinonome to smirk as she stares at it.

"Nothing else to say? I guess he does understand when he's lost. Now, if only he wouldn't try to get the last word in like he's still in control. Oh well. I guess that's just part of his education at Aldera." Shinonome states before returning to scanning through Meta Liberation Army-affiliated heroes.

-------------------

Back with Katsuki, a vein is throbbing on his forehead as he's doing his best not to blow up his phone since he knows the old hag wouldn't let him have a new one if he did. He can't believe what just happened with Shinonome. The only adults who have ever really talked to him like that are his parents and Izuku's parents. Every other adult kissed up to him. So, having this complete stranger talk to him like that grates his nerves. What's more, knowing that he'll have to have another teacher instead of being left alone, like Deku and Pompadour, increases this anger.

Biting his thumb to try and quell his anger, Katsuki thinks back to his battle with Chamber and Deku's performance in different battles. He's wondering what's so different about him compared to them. They've grown from his first confrontation with them. Rapidly, at that. A feeling of inferiority grows in his heart as he imagines a scenario like his nightmare some nights ago, where Deku and Pompadour walk past him and steal his spot at the top. That scenario causes him to slam his fist into the desk next to the Hero Driver. After doing this, he looks at the Hero Driver with narrowed eyes as he realizes something.

He remembers Chamber's words about the Power Coins and how the other two Kamen Riders wielded them. Remembering this makes him realize how the two have grown so much. But it also brings in a line of thinking that he doesn't like. Realizing the source of their strength causes Katsuki to question whether or not he should start using other Power Coins. Just thinking about that causes Katsuki to bite his lower lip in frustration.

"I don't need anyone else's damn Quirk. I can handle this with my power and my power alone." Katsuki tells himself again, refusing to bend to that belief, at least for now.

However, something has cracked within him. This feeling of inferiority inside of him makes him question himself. He wonders if he needs to start changing as well. Things haven't been going well for him since he got the Hero Driver. It feels like a completely different life. One that's making him wonder for the first time in his life if he'll be able to become the number one hero.

-------------------

"Alright. For this next test, we'll test your observation skills on Nomu. As I'm sure you two know, the Nomu usually have hints about them that can help tell you what their secondary power is. This test will tell us how quickly you can figure that out from a glance." David tells the group before getting a raised hand from Izuku.

"Yes, Izuku?" David asks in a welcoming tone.

"How would that work? There are a lot of Nomu that we couldn't guess their secondary ability at a glance. Like the Pterodactyl Nomu. Will this really be effective?" Izuku curiously asks.

"It'll help give you a basic idea of what to look for. The powers are usually something that can compound with their first ability. You can make a guess based on that." David states, causing Izuku to nod before looking at his computer again.

"Alright. This test will be a short answer. You won't choose from a list of powers, but come up with them yourself." David warns the two, getting a look from Hisashi for that since he wants them to find out about it on their own.

Hearing this causes Izuku and Shiki to nod. The test then begins with each getting a different question. For Izuku, his first question is about a Nomu he's never seen before. It has a thin but muscular body and has two heads. One is a simple Nomu bird head, while the other looks like a rooster. There are even feathers growing on parts of the Nomu's body.

When Izuku sees the Nomu, he looks at it in uncertainty. He's trying to think of what power would go well with a rooster. He can only think of its morning call to wake farmers up. However, the feathers on its body make him wonder if the second Quirk has something to do with them. Such as being able to harden them and use them as blades like Paper Nomu did with his paper. After thinking for a while, he writes 'sonic scream' in the answer box. To his surprise, an option to add another answer appears below the answer box, asking him if he has any other ideas. With that, he writes down his second answer.

After submitting the answers, an arrow points at the feathers before displaying the answer next to the image. As Izuku thought, it seems the answer is the ability to sharpen and harden the Nomu's feathers to use them as projectiles. He's even given full marks for the answer despite putting in two separate answers. He's happy to see that and smiles as he moves on to the next question.

The new Nomu looks comparable to the last one. As such, he's skinny yet muscular but with gun muzzles for fingertips. There are also pieces of metal covering their body like armor, even covering the sides of the exposed brain while leaving the top open. Izuku stares at it with another uncertain expression, finding this question harder than the last.

"Could it be something with the armor?" He wonders, uncertain about what it could be.

He soon remembers when Shiki used the Dragonfly Power Coin to change his bullets' trajectories. While nothing demonstrates he has the powers of a dragonfly, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a Quirk that'll help him control his bullets. That line of thinking causes him to realize something. The Nomu might be able to manipulate metal. It would make sense. After all, there's metal adorning his body. If the Nomu's fingertips fire bullets, the metal might come from the iron in the Nomu's bloodstream. Having a Quirk that lets the user manipulate metal would allow the Nomu to control his bullets while also letting him possibly fly by controlling the metal on his body. It'd be the perfect combination for someone who fights at long-to-mid-range.

With that in mind, Izuku writes his answer before submitting it. And, like the last question, he managed to get this one right. Seeing this causes Izuku to smile happily. He's glad his hobby of observing Quirks is coming in handy for this test.

Meanwhile, Shiki isn't having as easy a time with the test. He's better at actual combat than studying opponents. He's not bad at it, but it's never been his forte. So, when the test started, he struggled more on the first question than Izuku. By the time he solves it and moves on to the second question, Izuku is already on the third. And by the time he's on the third question, Izuku moves on to the fifth.

The third question for Shiki displays a Nomu that Izuku would be familiar with since it was the second Nomu he ever fought. It's Overdrive Nomu. Shiki doesn't notice this and stares at the Nomu intently. He can't figure out much from Overdrive Nomu's appearance alone. He looks like someone who would be nimble. However, there's no indication that he has a power that'll increase his speed. He could easily have an elemental Quirk like wind or the ability to fire lasers from his mouth.

"I hate this kind of thing." Shiki groans as he writes down 'speed-enhancing Quirk' as his first answer before putting 'wind manipulation' as his second answer.

Luckily, his first answer is technically correct since Overdrive's main power is to enhance the performance of a person or object, including their speed. So, he's given points for his answer. His next question shows him a Nomu with a head that's a mix between a male lion and a bird. Unlike the other Nomu, this one is far larger and more muscular. His fingers have massive claws on them, each looking like they could easily tear off a body part with little effort. It's an overall ferocious-looking Nomu that could probably contest with some of the strongest Nomu he and Izuku faced aside from the Squid Nomu at the docks.

"Well, it's obvious that one of the powers gives the Nomu the strength of a lion. So, what goes well with a lion?" Shiki mentally asks himself as he stares at the screen with scrunched eyes.

He looks for any detail that might give him a hint. However, he's uncertain about what answer to put. That is until he notices how sharp the fangs and claws of the Nomu are. Even for a wild beast enhanced as a Nomu, Shiki can't help but wonder how sharp those natural weapons are.

"I mean, it would make sense." Shiki thinks before he decides to put 'enhanced sharpness' as his answer for the first box.

However, he doesn't immediately hit the answer button and looks at the second answer box, trying to figure out what else to put. He's unsure what else to put, so he wrote 'body strengthening' in the second box. Luckily for him, his first answer was correct. The Lion Nomu had an extra Quirk that allowed it to enhance the sharpness of its claws and teeth to enhance its deadliness.

Seeing this causes him to sigh in relief, but he then glares at the screen in frustration as he realizes he still has a lot of questions to answer. He realizes this will be a difficult test and gives up trying to match Izuku. From the beginning, he didn't think he could do it anyway. He remembers the amount of detail in Izuku's notes from that time Izuku helped him prepare for his fight against K.E.M.

This test takes far longer than the previous test did. Not only was there no time limit for this one. There were also more questions. Izuku is the first one to finish and feels good about his score. All of his answers were correct. Just remembering how well he did causes him to smile in anticipation.

"As expected, Izuku is the first to finish and it looks like he did amazing. He might have the highest score by far. Or tied for it, at least." Hisashi thinks as he inspects his son's data from the test while they all patiently wait for Shiki to finish his.

It takes a while for Shiki to finish his test after Izuku, much to his displeasure. However, he felt he did decently with this test. He got a few questions wrong, but a majority of them right. So, his score shouldn't be terrible if this is anything like a school test. With both Kamen Riders done, David stands from his seat and smiles at the two.

"Thank you for your hard work today, you two. We'll give you the results with the others at some point. For now, you're both done for the day." David says, causing Shiki to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Is there nothing else?" He asks in surprise.

"We don't need you to take the other tests since the results will be obvious. Besides, it's starting to get dark and it would be best for all of you to get home." David tells them in a parental tone, causing the teens to blink before they all, aside from Melissa, check their phones and realize the time.

"Shoot. My parents are going to kill me if I stay out any longer." Sero says in a panic as he realizes how bad this is.

Luckily, his parents have gotten slightly used to him staying out longer. He's spent much time outside telling them he's training for the U.A. entrance exam. They'll still get angry with him if he's out after dark without calling, but they won't be too hard on him. With that, he quickly runs out of the room before backtracking.

"Can you give me a ride back home? I came here on your bike." Sero asks Izuku after realizing this detail.

Izuku looks toward his father for permission, and Hisashi grins at him.

"Go nuts, kiddo. I'm not going to stop you. In the worst-case scenario, I added an emergency feature to the Plus Striker to save you if something happens." Hisashi nonchalantly tells his son while waving for him to leave.

Izuku nods before he and Sero run out of the room to the Plus Striker.

"You have a very hands-off parenting style," David tells Hisashi with a slightly disapproving tone.

"I just know what Izuku can and can't handle. If I thought he'd fail as a Kamen Rider at any point, I would have taken the Hero Driver back until he's better trained, at least. However, he's been successful for the most part. He even gave us a possible lead on who's behind these Nomu." Hisashi tells David with a shrug.

David sighs at Hisashi's reaction but doesn't say anything against it. He's not wrong. Izuku and Shiki have done a spectacular job handling the Nomu so far. And they'll only get stronger and have a new ally soon. However, he still doesn't like Hisashi's nonchalantness about the situation. Hisashi realizes this and sighs as well.

"Can you two give us some space?" Hisashi asks the remaining three teens, causing them to nod before leaving.

After they're gone, Hisashi continues his conversation with David to ease his worries.

"Look. The current hero world is a relatively safe place for them to get practical experience. With All Might around, crime is still at an all-time low. So, they only have to worry about defeating the Nomu and some politics. It's a nice situation that we may not have for long. Or do I have to remind you?" Hisashi asks while raising an eyebrow at David, causing him to flinch at what Hisashi is referring to.

Seeing this, Hisashi decides to continue with his speech.

"They need as much practical experience as possible to quickly grow before All Might retires and the world experiences a sudden uprise in villain activity. Once they get into U.A., they can hone that experience even further. I trust them to make it that far. They're smart kids." Hisashi tells David confidently.

"Aren't you worried about your son, though?" David asks him again.

"Of course I am. Like you're worried about Melissa. However, I'm confident in him and the chairman's grandson. That's why we're trying to give them every possible advantage in equipment while they're getting training from someone else. To ensure their safety while they fight." Hisashi tells David with a confident smile.

However, something feels off to David, and he narrows his eyes at Hisashi.

"Do you just want your son to become the next symbol of peace?" David asks Hisashi.

Hearing that question causes Hisashi to pause. After a moment, he finally answers.

"I can't deny that. But not Izuku himself. The world needs someone to look up to after All Might. That's how our society works. That's part of why I think we need to keep going with this Kamen Rider program. It's not like you're any better." Hisashi states, referring to David's Quirk-enhancing technology and its original purpose.

David winches at that but doesn't have anything to say against it.

"And you believe the Kamen Rider program will give us that symbol?" David asks Hisashi, causing the other scientist to nod.

"Exactly. That was our original plan, remember?" Hisashi asks back, causing David to nod.

"You're right." David agrees.

"Glad you're still onboard. And don't worry, we're not putting this pressure on only Izuku and possibly Melissa. They'll have a team backing them up. This time, there will be multiple symbols." Hisashi reminds David again to help put the man at ease.

It seems to work, as David looks like he feels better about the idea compared to before. He's been even more anxious about the concept since Melissa was a candidate for the next Hero Driver.

"...you're right." He finally says in understanding.

"I'm glad you understand. Before we continue, though. How are the Hero Driver upgrades looking?" Hisashi asks, wanting to change the topic to something to help prove his point.

"I've been looking them over. The best options currently are the vehicles for Chamber and our next Kamen Rider. Upgrading the Hero Driver itself is a delicate process." David informs Hisashi, causing him to nod.

"We'll have to stick with that then." He nods while mentally going over what they can make for Chamber.

He and David have been holding off on giving Chamber a vehicle since he has the Fierce Wings Power Coin and is better at fighting than Izuku. They've spent that time trying to develop an upgrade for the Hero Driver, wanting to improve the Kamen Riders' performance for future enemies. So far, they've been trying to make the Hero Drivers be able to withstand using Finishers with multiple Quirks at a time. However, that isn't going so well.

"We'll just have to keep trying. Hopefully, we can make another breakthrough soon before anything else happens." Hisashi adds, causing David to nod with a serious expression.

Power Coins Deku Rabbit, Draco-Breath, Charge, Marsh, Solidification, Unicorn, Overdrive, Wheels, Division, Bull, Barrier, Creation, Razor Edge, Mantis, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl

Chamber Rifle, Fierce Wings, Shadow Stalk, Gatling, Chameleon, Dragonfly, Sonar, Burrowing Drill, Sprouting, Terra-Wave, Deflection

King Explosion Murder Explosion

Next Chapter

#kamen rider deku #kamen rider #mha #my hero academia #mha au #original kamen rider #izuku midoriya #melissa shield #david shield #hisashi midoriya #sero hanta #momo yaoyorozu #katsuki bakugou #hero public safety commission #meta liberation army

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