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natedogx15 · 2 months ago

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Kamen Rider Deku Chapter 25: Karma

Previous Chapter / AO3 / Master List

It's been a few days since Skeptic's secret mission. The Meta Liberation Army executives are all in a meeting room without Re-Destro again. Most of them are wondering what's going on. Skeptic is the one who called them here today. However, the man himself hasn't shown up.

"So, what do you think our lanky friend wants to discuss?" Curious asks Trumpet in a playful tone as she taps her hands on the table to pass the time.

Trumpet shrugs at her question, unsure himself. The man might have an idea, though.

"He probably did something after our last meeting. Hopefully, we don't have to worry about the consequences of whatever he did." Trumpet says slightly grimly as several scenarios run through his mind.

"I doubt you have to worry about that. Skeptic is quite proud of the fact he's only ever failed once. Whatever he has to show us, I'm sure it'll be nothing bad." The blue-skinned executive eases Trumpet's worries with her accurate words.

The two are silent for a few moments after that. That is until something occurs to Trumpet.

"Have you seen Geten since his battle with All Might?" Trumpet asks with slight worry in his tone.

When one of his subordinates showed him the video of Geten's disappointingly one-sided battle against the hero, he was worried about the condition of the Meta Liberation Army's ace. However, he trusts Geten's ability to survive while injured. The ice-wielding ace isn't so weak that a few injuries will let someone kill him in an ambush.

"Yes, actually. Skeptic and Re-Destro told me he returned safely and is licking his wounds." The female executive waves his concerns off with a carefree smile to help ease his worries.

Trumpet nods when he hears this. Curious sees some of the tension leave his shoulders. It causes her grin to become slightly more teasing. She doesn't say anything, though. Instead, she lets Trumpet stew in his thoughts as they wait for whatever Trumpet wants to talk about.

As the two do their own thing, Skeptic eventually enters the room with his laptop and the USB stick he got from his assault team.

"I'm glad you two could show up." The lanky executive states as he sits at the head of the conference table and opens his laptop.

"So, what are we talking about today? Does it have something to do with All Might's display of power?" His female coworker asks with a grin that shows her namesake.

Skeptic scoffs in annoyance at this question. Something Curious was after.

"Of course not. The grand commander would be here otherwise," Skeptic states in an annoyed tone.

"Then it's about something you did after our last little meeting." Trumpet theorizes with a pleasant smile that hides his unhappiness with Skeptic's possible movement.

Skeptic doesn't acknowledge his statement. Instead, he focuses on his laptop. After tapping a few keys, the conference room screen lowers, and the projector activates. Soon, the other two executives can listen to the bits of the audio recording of Skeptic's Assault Squad while they are on the mission. The two listen in silence before staring at Skeptic when they end.

"What did you do?" Trumpet demands answers from the lanky executive with a slight glare.

However, there isn't any real venom behind his words or actions yet. It's more curiosity right now. Skeptic still being around and not hiding shows that everything went well. So, for now, he'll trust nothing horrible coming out of this mission, despite the risks it held for the Meta Liberation Army.

"I had some of our Warriors infiltrate the organization, creating the Nomu. You'll be surprised at what I discovered." Skeptic states before bringing up the images he has of the scientists.

"Who are they?" Curious asks.

"Right now, they're the only two members I know about. The scientists are trying to improve the Nomu by combining it with the Kamen Riders' technology." Skeptic explains before Skeptic changes slides and shows information on Abraham.

"The first one is Abraham Samuel. He was originally helping create the Kamen Riders before going into hiding after giving our agent one of the Hero Drivers and what happened with King Explosion Murder." Skeptic explains while emphasizing their Kamen Rider's name in annoyance to show his annoyance with the teen.

"I remember him. Shinonome sent me images of him when I asked." Curious nods in acknowledgment while Trumpet stays silent.

Skeptic nods to her before changing the slide to information on Dr. Garaki.

"That brings me to the next scientist. I didn't realize who he was at first. However, I did after a little research." Skeptic states before different facts about the man appear next to his picture.

"He's known as Ujiko Daruma. He's the Jaku Hospital's board chairman and a well-known researcher in Quirkology, genetics, human anatomy, and medicine." Skeptic explains as he shows off the various achievements.

"Well, it seems obvious what his connection is." Trumpet says with a slight chuckle at how on-point the man's background is.

"Yes. I'm sure the Hero Public Safety Commission has been watching him because of this but haven't found anything yet." Skeptic agrees with the man.

"That just shows you how cautious and secretive this man is." Curious agrees with them.

"What are you planning to do with this information?" Trumpet asks his colleague.

"Right now, I'm investigating Jaku City before we do anything. The secret location of the Nomu lab might be somewhere in that city." Skeptic explains, causing the other executives to grow slightly more tense.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Trumpet asks him cautiously.

Skeptic scoffs at the man's reluctance to do anything. Not that he doesn't understand, given the risks involved. But he already has everything prepared beforehand, and Trumpet should realize that.

"I know what I'm doing. I already have countermeasures ready." Skeptic informs the man in a condescending tone.

"While that may be true. You're taking too many actions without the grand commander's approval. This risks destroying the Meta Liberation Army by exposing us to an unnecessary risk." Trumpet states in a firm but calm tone, trying to get Skeptic to see his reason.

Skeptic seems to freeze at what Trumpet might be inferring.

"Need I remind you that I've hardly ever failed?" Skeptic growls at the man.

Trumpet holds his hands up in defense but keeps a good-natured and relaxed aura about him to show he's not intimidated by the other executive's attitude.

"I know, I know. But there are second times for everything. Who knows, you might be like Icarus and fly too close to the sun before falling into despair." Trumpet tells the man in a relaxed tone, causing Skeptic to scoff.

"I doubt it. Icarus was a young fool who didn't understand anything. I understand everything I need to. That's why I'm trying to get as much information as possible for us." Skeptic explains to the other executives, causing Curious to smile.

"I thought that was my job. Would you like some help with it?" She asks him.

"Obviously not. The more people who know about this, the worse the risk. I'm only explaining this to you now because I know you'll get suspicious later." Skeptic states in annoyance.

"You can't blame us~" Curious states in a slightly sing-song tone as she stares at him.

Skeptic rolls his eyes at her from under his bangs before continuing the presentation. The new slide shows different information from the data that his team brought back.

"My team also brought me some valuable data. It had information on the Protodriver given to us, which will let me disable any safety features added to work against us should we betray them." Skeptic explains while some schematics show for the others to see.

Trumpet has a hand to his chin as he nods, while Curious feels tempted to start writing this down in her notebook. She can't help but find this information interesting despite not knowing anything but the basics of technology and not being a scientist. Skeptic sees this, and Curious can feel the glare on her from behind his bangs.

"Don't even think about it," Skeptic growls at her, causing Curious to smile before playfully raising her hands as she leans back in her seat.

"So, are you planning to have Geten attack them?" Trumpet asks, already knowing Skeptic's train of thought.

Skeptic gets even more annoyed at his question.

"Of course I am. Wasn't that obvious? Geten will search for a way to redeem himself after his failure against All Might. I'm offering to help him with that." Skeptic growls at him in annoyance, much to Trumpet's amusement.

Feeling they've had enough fun, the two executives listen to the rest of Skeptic's presentation in relative peace. They try not to do anything to make him annoyed, which is a difficult task for a high-strung person like Skeptic. By the end of it, Skeptic revealed more data about the Nomu he managed to analyze, among other things, including some blueprints on Giran's body from the various tests he went through.

"Does he have a weakness, though?" Trumpet asks after seeing Giran's parameters.

It's scary to think how strong the Nomu is. It doesn't seem like there are any notable weaknesses other than durability. But that's mitigated through Giran's psychic powers, letting him create invisible armor to protect the body.

"Aside from Meta Abilities meant to cancel others or limit mental-based ones, I haven't found one besides his lower durability," Skeptic explains with a grimace, not liking the words coming out of his mouth.

"However, Geten's abilities enhanced by the Protodriver should be more than enough to handle him. While it wasn't enough to fight All Might, Geten still has the strength to defeat anyone else easily. I highly doubt they have anyone capable of facing him." Skeptic states as he brings up clips from Geten's battles with the Kamen Riders and All Might.

"But, do you think it'll be worth attacking them? While their research is valuable, we still can't fight All Might. His strength is still unrivaled. It might not be the right time to fight another group and risk revealing ourselves." Trumpet points out, making Skeptic scoff.

"They likely plan to betray us anyway. We've lost some of our own forces to them. So, it's only right we attack them before they can do anything permanently damaging." Skeptic explains to his cautious coworker.

Trumpet nods at his reasoning but still worries about what this could mean for the Meta Liberation Army. Hopefully, his worries will be unfounded.

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

Chairman Hikage is tiredly rubbing his eyes in annoyance as he stares at the evidence Erasure Head brought him. He can't believe how deep this conspiracy goes. What have his informants and spies been doing this whole time? They'll be lucky if an entire army hasn't been created, with how long this new Meta Liberation Army has been moving while unchecked.

Chairman Hikage can already feel a migraine coming on as he imagines dozens of scenarios. Next to him, Hawks has a carefree and amused grin as he stares at Chairman Hikage. Don't get him wrong. He's also brainstorming different ideas of what could come from this for modern hero society and what they can do to stop it before it gets too bad. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't find his boss' reaction hilarious.

"Look on the bright side, Chief. We're learning about this before All Might's inevitable retirement. If that ice guy Shiki fought with the others is on their side, we're in a good position." Hawks tries to console the man in a casual tone.

"Do you think you could beat him?" Chairman Hikage asks, confusing Hawks for a second before he realizes he's referring to if he can beat Geten.

"If you mean if I can defeat the ice guy. That's a toss-up. I think I can get a few sneak attacks off on him. However, I'm not the best with the cold. In terms of speed, I would say I'm faster. However, in overwhelming power, he outclasses me by far." Hawks states humbly, causing Chairman Hikage to sigh.

"We need to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible. The world can't afford this kind of chaos right now." Chairman Hikage tells Hawks, causing the top-class hero to nod in agreement.

"Should I infiltrate their group?" Hawks asks the man in a sudden grim tone.

To his surprise, though. Chairman Hikage shakes his head while waving him off.

"No, I don't think that's the best idea yet; they'll likely be on guard for spies, and I doubt they'll accept you with open arms. It would be best to keep you in reserve while we prepare for war." Chairman Hikage states, despite being reluctant to talk about something like war.

"War?" Hawks asks, causing Chairman Hikage to nod.

"We'll have no choice but to strike first if we want to quell the revolt before it happens. The last Meta Liberation Army managed to go against the world for several years before its defeat. I'm not willing to let that kind of group rise again to disrupt the world. We'll have to crush it first. Call up All Might and the other top ten heroes. We'll need their strength if we want this done." Chairman Hikage tells Hawks, causing the man to smile and give a mocking salute.

"Aye, aye, captain," Hawks jokingly acknowledges the order before leaving the office.

As he leaves, Hawks pulls out his phone to call all the best heroes he knows he can trust. Meanwhile, Chairman Hikage watches him go with a calculating expression, trying to figure out how they can stop this army with minimal damage. Heaven knows how many groups are waiting to come out of the shadows when it seems the heroes of Japan are weak. That's not considering what this will do to the trust in heroes or how many innocent people might get hurt. Hopefully, they can keep most of the army in a secluded area and prevent any open war in other cities.

"I wish I didn't need to take this position." He groans as he feels another headache coming on.

The giant of the older man hoped his time as head of the Hero Public Safety Commission would be quiet and short until someone younger and trustworthy appeared. However, that didn't happen because of the Nomu and now this. The Kamen Rider program he invested in hasn't been going so well, too. Likely because of the Meta Liberation Army. If the documents are to be trusted.

That brings him to another problem that he can finally deal with. What will he do with Kamen Rider King Explosion Murder? He has probable cause to take the Hero Driver away since the evidence shows Katsuki Bakugou might be compromised. He also has reason to believe Shinonome is part of the Meta Liberation Army because of her connection to the missing, and likely traitorous, Slidin' Go and choosing Bakugou herself. However, he feels the situation with Bakugou has become more delicate since he's the victim of long-term brainwashing through the school system. So, he doesn't want to destroy the young man's career chances yet.

"I'll have to speak with Midoriya and Shield about this." He murmurs to himself as he tries to figure out what to do aside from taking the Hero Driver from Bakugou.

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

Meanwhile, the boy in question is going through inner turmoil as he realizes how much of a gap is between him and All Might. Don't get him wrong, despite what some might believe, he's not stupid enough to assume he's at the level of the number one pro-hero when he hasn't even been to hero school. However, even with the Hero Driver enhancing his powers, the gap between them is like an endless chasm. All Might defeated Geten without getting a scratch, while he and the other Kamen Riders could barely do anything to the guy.

That's what leads him to where he is now. The teen is in his secret training spot deep in the forest, where he and other kids explored growing up and where Izuku tried to help him after Katsuki fell in a ditch. He uses this area to fuel his determination to be the best and prevent anyone from looking down on him. You can tell how often he's used this place by the scorch marks on the trees and ground from where he's used his Quirk.

The teen is shooting his Quirk directly in the air, pushing himself and trying to keep it at a level where people won't get suspicious. Not that it's easy, considering how loud his explosions can be... along with his yelling.

"Die!" Katsuki screams into the air as he launches more attacks, singing some leaves above his head.

Katsuki's breathing is slightly ragged as he stares up to watch some leaves fall from his attack. He tsks in annoyance before aiming his palms in the air again. To his evergrowing annoyance, he couldn't find anything online about Quirk awakenings. He found some similar things and a few theories, but nothing concrete. So, he doesn't know where to start his awakening other than what Geten talked about.

All he has to do is push past the limit of his already incredible Quirk. He can do that. He has to. No matter what it takes, he will get past that point. He'll prove that he doesn't need any other Quirk but his own. That line of thinking causes him to growl as he looks toward the ditch where Izuku helped him. He then thinks about how Deku confronted him and tried to win, then when Chamber almost beat him when they fought at the old factory. He can't help but realize how those two have grown despite not having Quirks.

Thinking about that causes Katsuki to snarl in frustration. Why does it seem like they're growing while he isn't. Sure, he's still arguably the strongest. However, that's arguable now. His pride won't accept that. He needs to put the other Kamen Riders back in their places below him. With that in mind, Katsuki finally has enough and leaves the forest to continue his formerly favorite pastime, picking on Deku.

He'll show that annoying pest that nothing will help him become a hero, even all the benefits his father gives him. Nothing is a substitute for being born with a Quirk, especially a powerful one like Katsuki's.

As Katsuki walks, a singed leaf blows into the same ditch he fell into as a kid. The water puts the flame on it out and then drags the leaf away.

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

Re-Destro is not a happy man. The constant failures of their group are starting to take their toll on him. Geten's failure is especially so. Since they took this job, nothing seems to work out in their favor. It's making him worry about the future of their group and what the original Destro might think of him for the constant failures.

As such, Re-Destro has decided to take drastic actions for the safety of his group. By drastic action, he means he's temporarily changing targets from the Kamen Riders to give them more time and a win.

"Are you in position?" Re-Destro asks someone on the phone.

"Yes, sir. I'm at the Hero Public Safety Commission's headquarters in Musutafu." A baritone male voice states on the other end, causing Re-Destro to smile.

"Perfect. Has anything happened there?" Re-Destro asks his spy.

"It seems the chairman has been talking with Hawks. Whatever they talked about caused Hawks to leave the office in a rush." The spy states, causing Re-Destro's eyes to narrow.

Re-Destro takes a moment to think about his spy's words. What could they have talked about that would have caused that kind of reaction from the chairman's bodyguard? A few ideas come to mind, some less pleasant for them. But he puts those away for now.

"We'll worry about that later. Begin the operation." Re-Destro commands.

"Yes, sir." The spy dutifully states before hanging up.

Re-Destro gains a wicked smile, knowing they'll be the first to make a decisive action with this next move.

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

In the sky, a man in urban camo clothes with light skin, blue eyes, sharp features, and messy brown hair is looking at the H.P.S.C. building, using what looks like a jetpack to stay afloat in the air. He keeps a fair distance from the building so no one is alerted while spying on them using high-tech binoculars.

After getting word from Re-Destro to proceed with the plan, the man lands on a roof while pulling out a Nomu Coin with a cactus outline on the face.

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

Shiki practices his shooting while in his Rifle form in the headquarters training room. The memory of what happened during their confrontation with Geten is still fresh in his mind and causes him to miss a shot.

"Ugh!" Chamber frustratedly shouts as he throws the Ultra Magnum to the ground and turns off his armor.

He knows he can do better. But he's having trouble doing that while remembering All Might and Geten's strength. Geten's words about Quirks evolving are also on his mind. He wonders what it would be like if he could use Quirks like that with the Kamen Rider system.

Shiki isn't a fool. He knows his weaknesses are a lack of power and movement. He fixes the latter with his Chameleon form, but it sacrifices range and power to use. So, he needs something to close the gap in power with at least K.E.M. If he had that, he wouldn't feel so inferior to the other Kamen Riders.

The truth is, Shiki feels he's the lesser Kamen Rider between the three of them. He doesn't have Katsuki's natural strength or Izuku's intelligence. Plus, it seems like Izuku has gained All Might's favor while they were training. But he doesn't hold animosity toward Izuku yet. All he wants to do is improve to impress All Might himself. So far, he's enjoyed Izuku's company. Shiki feels Izuku is the one who can best relate to him since they're both Quirkless. As such, he doesn't want to ruin that out of jealousy. Seeing All Might's display of power makes him want to be acknowledged even more now.

As this thought runs through his head, he has to fall to a knee as the building suddenly starts shaking. In less than a second after feeling this, the alarms suddenly go off in the complex.

"What's happening!?" Shiki shouts in alarm as his face is the definition of panic.

"Is someone attacking us? That can't be right. This is the Hero Public Safety Commission building with tons of heroes around. Plus, we have a member of the top ten heroes." Shiki thinks as he runs out of the training room and toward the exit.

He thinks he needs an outside view of the building to understand what's happening. However, what he sees when he leaves is shocking. The humongous visage of his grandfather is in the air while held by the throat of a Nomu with a rocket on its back and spikes coming from its body.

The Nomu has pale green skin, a featureless face, and brown pants with spikes running through them. There are also metallic bracers on the Nomu's arms with hole-shaped gaps to ensure spikes run along his arms despite the protection.

When Shiki sees his grandfather in the beast's grasp, he gasps in worry before looking around for Hawks.

"Where is he?" Shiki mentally wonders while placing the Hero Driver on his waist to transform.

Pulling out the Rifle Power Coin, Shiki inserts it into the Hero Driver and starts his transformation.

"Rifle + Quirkless, blank match."

"READY, AIM. I'VE GOT YOU IN MY SIGHTS, SNIPER RIFLE!"

"KAMEN RIDER CHAMBER!" The Hero Driver announces as his Rifle form covers his body.

Not wasting time, Shiki pulls out the Fierce Wing Power Coin and inserts it into the Hero Driver.

"FLYING POWER FINISH!" The Hero Driver announces as red energy wings appear on Chamber's back.

With a flap of his energy wings, Chamber takes off and flies toward Cactus Nomu to save his grandfather.

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

Meanwhile, Izuku walks with Sero to Sero's favorite internet cafe to hang out. It's mainly to cheer Sero up after David told him he wouldn't get the new Hero Driver.

"This sucks." Sero lightly complains as the two walk down the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry." Izuku apologizes to Sero as he sees the other teen's disappointment.

"It's fine. Do you know who got the Hero Driver, though?" Sero asks, causing Izuku's head to shake in surprise.

"No. I thought you did." He tells Sero before he gets a notification.

He quickly pulls out his phone and is shocked by the Nomu alert. He has to double-check to ensure the location is correct since it's telling him the Hero Public Safety Commission building is under attack. After realizing it's right, he looks to Sero apologetically and desperately.

"I'm sorry but I have to go." He tells Sero before running off.

"What's going on!" Sero shouts after him but Izuku doesn't answer as he turns the corner to reach where he parked the Plus Striker.

He's so focused on getting to where the Nomu is that he doesn't notice who he's trying to run past until they stick their arm out and lariat him. With a groan, the teen tries to pull himself up before getting grabbed by the collar. Then, the teen meets an angry Katsuki's face.

"Deku!" He growls at the teen in a voice that promises pain, the same one Izuku is all too familiar with.

"What, Ka-Bakugou?" Izuku asks in a slight panic as he tries to get out of the teen's grip to no avail.

Hearing Izuku call him by his family name instead of the old nickname, Katsuki gets even angrier and throws Izuku into a wall. Izuku is shocked to be suddenly assaulted again and looks up at Katsuki with a fearful yet questioning gaze. He's wondering if the other teen got the alert about the Nomu or not. However, he sees the expression on Katsuki's face and can tell the teen likely hasn't.

"Fight me, Deku!" Katsuki demands while holding a hand up and creating some explosions for intimidation.

"We can't fight right now, Bakugou! There's a Nomu at the Hero Public Safety Commission building!" Izuku urgently tells Katsuki to get him to see reason.

But the other teen doesn't seem to be listening. Instead, he grabs Izuku by the collar and throws him into an alleyway where people won't see them fight. Izuku looks up in time to see Katsuki throwing himself at the downed teen and trying to slam an explosive palm down on him. Izuku barely manages to roll out of the way in time before kicking Katsuki in the face, causing the other teen to stumble while holding his nose.

Katsuki pulls his hand away from his nose to see blood on his palm. Realizing Deku managed to dodge him and make him bleed, Katsuki looks at the other teen in shock as Izuku gets up and takes a fighting stance. Biting his lower lip, Izuku stares back at Katsuki with a determined expression.

"It's like I told you before, Bakugou. I'm not afraid to stand up to you anymore and prove I can be a hero. You can't stop me!" Izuku shouts at Katsuki with a tone full of conviction while his legs shake in fear and anticipation.

He realizes he can't talk Katsuki out of doing whatever he's trying to do. However, he's not willing to give up without a fight. If he has to go through Katsuki to get to the Hero Public Safety Commission building to help Shiki, he will.

Katsuki growls when he sees Izuku's determination. He's sick of seeing the other teens and up to him so much after being under his heel for so long. It isn't right. He's supposed to be a useless Deku who can't do anything. Not this confident hero who is constantly getting in his way.

"You damn nerd. You think you're worth something now? You're not. You're still a worthless, Deku! You can't do anything!" Katsuki shouts at Izuku as he charges at the teen again and prepares another explosive palm.

Katsuki is still underestimating Izuku, though. He swings wide, expecting Izuku can't do anything against him like in the past. However, the present Izuku is far different from his past self. The teen quickly slides forward and shortens the distance between them before throwing a jab into Katsuki's unsuspecting face. The impact uses Katsuki's momentum to enhance the effect and causes Katsuki to stagger back, much to both teens' surprise.

Katsuki holds his nose again, feeling more blood gush out, before staring at the surprised Izuku with eyes of pure hatred and a hint of surprise. Deku actually managed to throw a decent punch, and that kick from earlier wasn't a lucky shot. Now that he knows that, he only gets more frustrated at the proof that Izuku has grown. He then realizes he might need to take the nerd more seriously. He hates that.

"You're dead, Deku!" Katsuki shouts as he launches himself at the teen again.

Izuku tenses as he prepares another strike. But Katsuki knows what to expect now. He launches himself above Izuku with an explosion before grabbing the back of the other teen's collar and slamming him to the ground. He adds extra force behind this blow by spinning them using his explosions before throwing Izuku.

Izuku holds his back in pain while gasping for air as that attack knocks the wind out of him. Seeing Izuku's pathetic state, Katsuki grins down at him, enjoying seeing Deku's proper state.

"How do you like that, you damn nerd? Did you think learning how to fight would help you beat me? You can try as much as you want, but I'm still the best!" Katsuki shouts at Izuku to get the point across.

Izuku doesn't say anything. He's too busy trying to pull himself off the ground. But he stares at Katsuki with eyes filled with flames from his determination. Katsuki stares into these eyes with a scowl.

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

Back at the Hero Public Safety Commission building, pedestrians on the streets watch a mid-air battle between Chamber and Cactus Nomu. The Nomu is doing his best to avoid the feathers from Chamber's energy wings and the bullets the Kamen Rider is firing at the Nomu while he holds Chairman Hikage.

"Drop him already!" Chamber demands in a slightly desperate tone as he chases the Nomu before needing to swerve to avoid getting hit by some needles.

Chamber recovers to see Cactus Nomu charging at him while drawing back the arm holding Chairman Hikage.

"If you want him back so badly, you can have him!" The Nomu shouts as he throws Chairman Hikage at Chamber, causing the Kamen Rider to panic and lower the guns they are about to shoot in favor of catching him.

Unfortunately, that leaves him open for an attack, and Cactus Nomu capitalizes on it by launching tons of needles from the front of his body at Chamber. The needles don't seem to be aimed anywhere in particular aside from at him. It's just a random barrage that Cactus Nomu hopes will bear fruit.

It does work, though. Despite Chamber's best evasion efforts and using some energy feathers to block the attacks, it isn't enough. The continuous barrage of attacks overwhelms Chamber, and some needles hit the energy wings, causing them to disperse.

"Crap! What do I do!? How do I land without letting Grandpa get hurt?" Chamber's mind panics while running a mile a minute to come up with a solution.

However, the chairman's advanced height makes it difficult to think of a solution. He can't use his armored body to break the fall. That is until he remembers K.E.M.'s movements in his panic. Those movements give him an idea. Acting quickly, he turns his body to face the ground and fires off his head cannon. The force from it causes the two to slow down. Seeing that it's working, Chamber keeps firing until they're safely on the ground.

After landing, one of the patrolling heroes runs over to Kamen Rider Chamber to check on the chairman. The hero isn't that notable to the Kamen Rider, but he's dressed in a cowboy outfit with a futuristic visor over his eyes.

"Is he alright?" The hero asks while looking at the still-breathing Chairman Hikage.

"I think so, but please get him to safety," Chamber tells the hero.

The hero tries to take the chairman, but his size and weight make it difficult for the hero to do anything with him. More heroes see this and run to help, but Cactus Nomu prevents this by firing needles in their path. Chamber quickly fires back using his arm and head cannons but can't seem to hit the flying opponent. Cactus Nomu easily maneuvers to avoid the shots before firing some of his own. Unfortunately, Chamber doesn't have as easy a time avoiding the attacks. The barrage soon hits him, and he crashes into the ground, much to Chairman Hikage's horror when he sees it.

"Sh-shiki." He calls out to his grandson in worry as Chamber pulls himself up.

Not hearing his grandfather's worry and refusing to give up, Shiki pulls his body up and pulls out the Dragonfly Power Coin before inserting it into the Hero Driver.

"DRAGONFLY POWER FINISH!" The Herodriver announces as dark blue energy glows over Kamen Rider Chamber's body before he aims his arm and head cannon at Cactus Nomu.

He fires a constant barrage from all three weapons at Cactus Nomu. The dark blue energy bullets fly with constantly changing trajectories. Kamen Rider Chamber expects it to work the same way it's worked before. Rarely has anyone managed to block or avoid the attack. Even Geten had difficulty dealing with it despite all his power.

However, that doesn't seem to be the case with Cactus Nomu. The flying Nomu spins around rapidly while releasing a constant barrage of spikes. Despite the best efforts of the weaponry, none manages to hit him. The best result Chamber gets is some of the bullets getting close to Cactus Nomu.

Realizing his Rifle form might not be enough, Chamber changes plans and pulls out the Chameleon Power Coin. Rolling out of the way of a few needles, Chamber inserts it into the Hero Driver.

"You can't see me? Where am I? I'm on the wall! I've got you in my sights!" The Herodriver sings as Kamen Rider Chamber changes forms.

"Kamen Rider Chamber!" The Herodriver finishes as the change does.

Chairman Hikage watches as his grandson seemingly turns invisible before pulling out his phone and calling Hisashi.

"Midoriya! Where is Deku and that fourth Kamen Rider you told me about!? My gran-Chamber is fighting here by himself!" Chairman Hikage shouts at the man as soon as he picks up, barely catching himself before he reveals his grandson's identity to any of the heroes helping him.

"I don't know where my son is. But our other candidate is on her way." Hisashi tells Chairman Hikage, causing him to scowl further.

"Well, tell them to hurry." He demands as he sees Cactus Nomu attacking randomly to attempt to hit Chamber.

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

Speaking of Izuku, one of Katsuki's explosions throws the teen into a wall. Izuku leans on it in pain as Katsuki charges at him. At the last second, Izukku dives to the side to avoid the attack before Katsuki launches after him by using his other palm to propel himself in the direction Izuku runs.

That's what Izuku was after, though. As he dove away from Katsuki's attack, he pulled out the Herodriver. When Katsuki tries to follow him, Izuku turns around and slams the side of the Herodriver into Katsuki's cheek. The impact sends Katsuki's head into the brick wall next to him for further damage, causing him to back down and give Izuku room to breathe.

"This is pointless, Bakugou. We should be working together and stopping the Nomus." Izuku tries to reason with Katsuki while the blonde teen is disoriented.

Katsuki holds his head in pain and gives Izuku a heated glare that only gets worse when he sees what the green-haired teen hit him with.

"There's no way I'm working with a worthless Deku who has to use his bastard's equipment to be worth anything!" Katsuki shouts his displeasure toward Izuku as he pulls out his Herodriver.

Izuku's eyes widen as he realizes things are escalating dangerously fast. If Katsuki recklessly uses his enhanced Quirk to attack him, Katsuki might destroy buildings or hurt innocent people again.

"Please calm down! Innocent people could get hurt! It's our job to protect people, not fight each other!" Izuku shouts at Katsuki to try to get him to stop.

Katsuki doesn't want to stop, though. Realizing this, Izuku places his Herodriver on his waist simultaneously with Katsuki, and the two pull out their signature Power Coins.

"Rabbit + Quirkless, blank match." Izuku's Herodriver states as he inserts the Rabbit Power Coin.

"Explosion + Explosion, identical match." Katsuki's Herodriver states as he inserts his Power Coin.

"JUMP, JUMP, REACH FOR THE MOON, JUMPING RABBIT!" Izuku's Herodriver announces excitedly.

"BOOM, BANG, DESTROY WITH A BLAST, UNMATCH EXPLOSION!" Katsuki's Herodriver aggressively shouts as he transforms.

"Kamen Rider Deku!"

"Kamen Rider King Explosion Murder!"

The two former friends now face each other while their armors obscure the other from seeing their faces. The tension is palpable between these two. Finally, K.E.M. makes the first move, charging forward. However, Deku doesn't let him set the pace and doesn't try to counterattack. Instead, he jumps over K.E.M. and onto a wall. K.E.M. tries to chase him with his explosions, but Deku is already one step ahead of him by jumping off a wall. K.E.M. is surprised that Deku is charging toward him and barely reacts in time.

The rabbit-themed Kamen Rider throws a hard kick toward K.E.M. while flying to him. K.E.M. uses his right palm to propel himself to the side and avoids most of the kick. But the top of Deku's food manages to hit his side and send him flying into a wall. It's K.E.M.'s turn to pull himself off the wall as Deku charges at K.E.M. Instead of ducking to the side to avoid Deku's oncoming punch, K.E.M. grabs Deku's arm before spinning his body and using explosions to increase his momentum before throwing Deku to throw the other Kamen Rider out onto the street.

Deku pushes himself off the ground in time to see K.E.M. launching himself in the air before diving at him.

"Die!" K.E.M. shouts as he slams both palms forward and hits Deku with a massive twin explosion.

Deku is now lying in a crater from K.E.M.'s attack as the other Kamen Rider towers over him. K.E.M.'s not done, though. He grabs Deku by the neck and growls at him face-to-face.

"Do you get it yet, Deku? No matter how hard you try, you can't beat me! You are nothing!" K.E.M. shouts before slamming an explosive palm into Deku's side and sending him crashing into the pavement a few feet away.

Despite K.E.M.'s words, Deku pulls himself off the ground and turns around to begin the fight again. He's unwilling to accept those words, just like when they were kids. Seeing this causes K.E.M. to scowl. But before he can do anything, he suddenly hears what he thinks is hooves and machinery moving. He turns around to see the Plus Striker making its move toward him. As it charges, it launches multiple energy bolts, causing K.E.M. to propel himself in the air to avoid it. The Plus Striker takes the chance to rush to Deku and throw him in the driver's seat.

Seeing Deku rely on his father's reactions again causes K.E.M. to scowl. While it proves him right, it still annoys him.

"Damn it, Deku! Quit hiding behind that pile of scrap and fight me!" K.E.M. screams at Deku to try to get him to get off the Plus Striker.

Deku stares at K.E.M. for a moment, debating about what to do. He can probably escape by riding the Plus Striker and getting to the Hero Public Safety Commission building. However, K.E.M. will likely follow him there and might fight him and Chamber. But he's unsure whether he can defeat K.E.M. right now, either. Either way, K.E.M. is a problem he'll need to deal with.

"What should I do?" Deku mentally wonders as he stares K.E.M. down.

K.E.M. is getting tired of Deku's hesitance. He wants the other Kamen Rider to hurry up and get off the Plus Striker so they can continue their fight. He's hesitant to attack for once because he knows the Plus Striker is faster than him and can probably escape if he moves rashly.

"Hurry up and get off, Deku! Don't even fucking think about running away this time! We're going to end this fight now!" K.E.M. once again screams at Deku to get him off the Plus Striker.

The Plus Striker seems to growl at the aggressive Kamen Rider while pulling back as if getting ready to charge. K.E.M. gains a savage grin under his helmet at this. If the Plus Striker does charge him instead of running, he's confident he can dodge and knock Deku off the mechanical steed.

"Come on, you overgrown lightning rod! Come at me! I'll bet you're as useless as your worthless owner!" K.E.M. taunts the Plus Striker aggressively and mockingly.

The Plus Striker's ego seems dissatisfied with this. As it's about to charge, though, Deku stops it. He doesn't want to recklessly charge at the other Kamen Rider, knowing K.E.M. is more intelligent than he looks and behaves.

"No, no, no. We can't charge ahead recklessly. We need to think about this." Deku tells his mechanical partner as he keeps it from charging.

The Plus Striker doesn't seem happy about this. However, it does listen to its Kamen Rider and backs down. Seeing this causes K.E.M. to scowl, finally having enough of waiting.

"Get over here, Deku!" K.E.M. screeches as he launches at the other Kamen Rider and his steed.

The Plus Striker doesn't hesitate to fire some energy bolts at the approaching Kamen Rider. However, K.E.M. uses his explosions to avoid all the shots while continuing to close the distance between them. Seeing this, Deku tries to have the Plus Striker rapidly back up to regain some distance while equipping the Power Blade to help hit the other Kamen Rider from a distance.

Despite the Plus Striker's impressive speed and K.E.M.'s constant need to dodge, the aggressive Kamen Rider continues to close the distance between them since he's moving forward faster than the Plus Striker can while moving backward. Deku sees this and quickly reaches into the Power Coin holder attached to the Plus Striker and pulls something out to give them the edge over K.E.M. He then inserts it as K.E.M. is right on top of the two.

"Die!" K.E.M. screams as he stares down at Deku.

"Barrier Power Finish!" Deku's Herodriver shouts as a light blue barrier covers the Plus Striker and blocks K.E.M.'s attack.

The barrier manages to hold against K.E.M.'s strike and gives the Plus Striker a chance to counterattack by firing another energy bolt. The energy bolt hits the surprised Kamen Rider and sends him flying to the ground. Seeing his chance, Deku wants to finish this quickly and pulls out the Rabbit Power Coin before inserting it into his Herodriver while crouching on the Plus Striker.

K.E.M. pulls himself up in time to see Deku jump off the Plus Striker and launch himself at K.E.M. with dark green energy surrounding him and his Herodriver shouting.

"RABBIT POWER FINISH!"

At the speed Deku is flying, K.E.M. knows he can't avoid it while they're so close. The Kamen Rider can do nothing but growl as he realizes he might lose to Deku.

"Dek-" He goes to shout while trying to throw a haymaker to intercept Deku.

However, he can't finish the word or action before Deku's foot crashes into his chest in a brutal flying kick. When the kick makes contact, Deku and K.E.M. get engulfed in an explosion, and K.E.M. goes flying. Surprisingly, he didn't get kicked out of his transformation from the blow. That said, he still feels the damage. The explosive Kamen Rider is having trouble getting up as Deku lands on his feet.

"Deku," K.E.M. growls as he tries to pull himself up but can only manage to push his arms up.

Deku stares at the sight before him with a shocked expression under his helmet. He can't believe he's done this to Katsuki. The sight of K.E.M. being so weak and vulnerable and knowing he did that alone makes the sight all the more strange. Instead of continuing the battle, Deku has to take a moment to stare at himself as if he's realizing something for the first time.

"I have gotten stronger." Deku acknowledges as he stares at his armored hands before looking down at his Herodriver.

Memories of his past surface. The first one is how he didn't awaken a Quirk and told for the first time to give up. Then, it's how he and Katsuki started drifting apart. Next, it's how Izuku tried to help Katsuki out of the ditch, only for the other teen to slap his hand away. His mind then remembers how Katsuki started bullying him after that. Eventually, his mind flashes to when his father took him out of Aldera, and he never saw Katsuki again before their first confrontation as Kamen Riders.

After flashing through all the memories between him and Katsuki, his mind thinks about everyone who has supported him. Those being his father, mother, All Might, and Shiki. Every one of them helped him in some way to make him who he is now. That thought causes Izuku to smile before getting interrupted by an irate K.E.M.

"Don't look down on me like that, Deku! I'll kill you! You haven't beaten me yet! I'm supposed to be the next number-one hero!" K.E.M. shouts as he manages to recover enough to pull himself off the ground shakily.

Deku stares at K.E.M. in a slightly tense manner. However, a lot of his previous fears are gone. He can see his earlier attack still affecting K.E.M. He also realizes he's not the same person as before. That said, he knows K.E.M. is still dangerous and does stay on guard. He also doesn't enjoy seeing his former friend in his current condition and decides to try talking him down.

"Bakugou, please stop. There's no point in us fighting." Deku tells Katsuki, causing the other Kamen Rider to scowl further.

"Don't fucking give me that shit! Don't act like you've already won!" K.E.M. shouts at Deku as he tries to take steps toward the rabbit-themed Kamen Rider.

He only makes it a couple of steps before tripping and crashing to the ground again. His body is refusing to listen to him. K.E.M. doesn't understand why, though. He's never felt this weak before. Even when he fought older kids growing up, he's never been this beat up. He can't stand it. He hates feeling so weak, so useless. It makes him feel like Deku. That's something he can't accept.

"Damn it. I'm going to be the next number-one hero. I'm going to be the strongest. You're just supposed to be a pebble on my way there." K.E.M. growls as he tries to pull himself up again.

Deku can't help but sigh when he sees the other Kamen Rider won't let up.

"We shouldn't be fighting. We're supposed to be protecting people. That's what All Might does. He protects people with a smile that brings comfort to everyone." Deku tells K.E.M. in a quiet yet confident tone.

"Shut up, Deku! All Might is the person who shows everyone he's the strongest by crushing any villain who gets in his way! He's the pinnacle of strength who everyone respects and fears! No one questions that he's the strongest! That's why he's the best!" K.E.M. shouts back at Deku.

"You're wrong! All Might is the best because he cares about everyone he saves. He works hard to protect everyone so they can keep smiling! Sure, he's strong and defeats every villain that he fights! But that's not what makes him great!" Deku suddenly shouts at K.E.M., surprising the other Kamen Rider.

Caught off guard by Deku's sudden yelling, K.E.M. is unsure what to say, giving Deku a chance to continue his tirade.

"You never understood that! A hero's job is to protect people! They go around fighting villains to protect people! Why did you forget that!? All you ever did since getting your Quirk was bully others! What makes you think you can be the next All Might? You're no better than the villains he fights!" Deku accuses K.E.M. as he shouts at him and demands answers from the other Kamen Rider.

K.E.M. can't believe Deku is speaking to him like this. He still can't bring himself to say anything as his mind is still trying to register the current situation. It's like their roles in life have suddenly reversed. He's now receiving a lecture about what he's like while Deku stands above him. He hates it, especially after Deku called him a villain.

"Don't fucking call me a villain, Deku! I'm going to be the next number-one hero! I'll prove to all these extras that I'm the best and destined to replace All Might!" K.E.M. shouts back at Deku.

Deku grits his teeth in frustration when he hears K.E.M.'s words, showing a rare moment of anger.

"How can you expect to do that? You could barely do anything to the ice Nomu with our help, while All Might easily beat him! You're nowhere near as strong as All Might and nothing like him!" Deku lets out his pent-up frustration with K.E.M.'s goal.

Despite how great he thought Katsuki was, he never thought Katsuki could become the next All Might. It was primarily because of his attitude and how he treats people compared to the hero. However, Deku also wasn't sure if Katsuki could ever be strong enough to surpass All Might. He never voiced these concerns, not wanting to hurt Katsuki's feelings or acquire more of his fury. However, now is different.

"You can't be like All Might! You might become the number-one hero someday, but you can never be like him! Nobody will look up to you because of how you treat people! You might not even make it into the top ten! There are plenty of people with powerful Quirks like yours! You're not as special as you think you are!" Deku shouts at him.

That does it. Hearing Deku doubt how incredible he is triggers K.E.M. to stand up. He finally processes everything Deku said to him and is about to erupt from how bold the other Kamen Rider is now.

"Don't get cocky, Deku! The only reason you took me down was because of that pile of scrap metal behind you! If it were just you and I, I would crush you!" K.E.M. shouts as he builds the strength to push himself off the ground and stand again.

If nothing else, his ego makes him tenacious. He's unwilling to accept things that don't fit into his view. Deku's words energized him enough to let him continue fighting. He charges at the other Kamen Rider but barely manages to dodge the energy bolt launched by the Plus Striker.

"Stay out of this, you sci-fi reject!" K.E.M. shouts at the mechanical steed.

The Plus Striker growls at him and prepares to charge before Deku puts a hand in front of its face. As much as he'd like to end this quickly, he feels he has to finish this himself. With that thought, he gets into a fighting stance while equipping the Mighty Knuckle.

When K.E.M. sees this and how the Plus Striker backs away, he grins, believing Deku fell for his goading. However, he learned his lesson about Deku. Despite hating it, K.E.M. needs to keep a cool head to win. He still feels the damage from Deku's finisher. While Deku is likely hurting as well, it's probably not to the same extent. So, he charges at Deku while preparing to deal with another set of jabs.

Unfortunately, the damage also affects his mind, preventing him from considering how Deku might counter another way. It also doesn't let him remember Chamber's words when they fought in the factory. Instead of jabs, Deku grabs K.E.M.'s oncoming right before turning and using his entire body to slam K.E.M. into the ground.

"What?" K.E.M. mentally questions as Deku follows his throw by drawing his arm with the Mighty Knuckle back and throwing it into K.E.M.'s face.

There's a shockwave as K.E.M.'s head slams into the ground with tremendous force. Afterward, Deku retracts his fist and stares at Katsuki as his transformation ends and he's unconscious. Deku stares at Katsuki's form with a sad expression behind his helmet. Despite everything, he hopes Katsuki will listen to him this time and possibly become a better person and hero. He knows everyone can change. Hopefully, Katsuki will take this chance to wake up and change. After all, it's probably the first time anyone has ever beaten him, and it's by the person he looked down on most.

He is taken out of his thoughts when his phone rings from within the suit. To his surprise, the armor connected to the call, and a screen pops up in his helmet with his father's image.

"Izuku, where are you? Hikage is shouting at me for you to get to the Hero Public Safety Commission's headquarters to help his grandson deal with the Nomu." Hisashi tells his son in a tone of urgency and worry.

Hearing his words causes Izuku to jolt in surprise, forgetting about the Nomu during the last moments of his confrontation with Katsuki.

"S-sorry! I'll head over there now!" Deku lets out a panicky shout as he's about to get on the Plus Striker.

"What are you doing?" Hisashi demands with a lighter, angry, fatherly tone over one of regular anger and annoyance.

Deku has to pause as he weighs the pros and cons of telling his father what happened. He still doesn't want Katsuki to get into trouble for this. However, he doesn't want to lie to his father after everything Hisashi has done for him. Finally, his familial piety gets the better of him.

"I-I might have fought Bakugou." Deku stutters out.

"What!?" Hisashi demands in surprise.

"Yeah....." Deku awkwardly draws out the response.

"Are you okay?" Hisashi worriedly asks his son.

"Y-yeah. I-I won." Deku reveals, causing a long pause as Hisashi registers what his son said.

"What?" Hisashi asks again, this time in slight astonishment.

There's another pause before Hisashi says something Deku hoped he wouldn't.

"Grab his Herodriver, then. I want you to bring it back to us." Hisashi commands his son in a no-nonsense tone.

"Do I have to? I think this might help him wake up." Deku tells his father.

"No, I'm not risking that, especially after everything we've learned about the Meta Liberation Army. Take his Herodriver, now." His father commands in a tone that leaves no room for argument.

"Alright." Deku sighs before grabbing the unconscious blonde's Herodriver.

He gives his old friend a look of pity before walking away.

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

Back with Chamber, he's having trouble dealing with the high-speed flight and rapid-fire long-range attacks from Cactus Nomu. Luckily, Chameleon form is making it easier for him since Cactus Nomu doesn't know where to attack him. Cactus Nomu tried to go after his grandfather again, but Chamber stopped those attempts through surprise attacks and restraints.

Speaking of the chairman, he is safely away from the fight and guarded by some heroes. However, he remains worried about the direction his grandson's fight is taking.

"Where are the other Kamen Riders?" Chairman Hikage wonders before something unexpected happens.

Chunks of destroyed buildings and objects get enveloped with raspberry-pink energy before launching toward Cactus Nomu. The Nomu crashes into the ground below, but Chamber is too caught off guard to take advantage of it. Instead, he turns to see who's helping him.

He's met with the visage of a new Kamen Rider with thin raspberry-pink armor over a black bodysuit with white lines running vertically down it. Over her armor is a gold chest plate with shoulder pads that curve upward. She's also wearing silver boots with black soles that reach to before her kneecaps. Around her waist is a similar silver utility belt. Her helmet design lacks weaponry or animal appendages like his and Deku's. Instead, it has a set of goggles resting above her wide yellow eyes. But the most eye-catching thing about her compared to the other Kamen Riders is the black cloak she wears over her body.

From what Chamber knows about the three Kamen Rider candidates, he has a good idea about who is under that suit. His theory is soon proven right when he hears Melissa's concerned voice.

"Are you alright?" She worriedly asks him as she runs over to him.

"Yeah, thanks." Chamber thanks her.

"No problem. There's nothing to worry about. Do you know why?" Melissa asks.

Chamber is about to ask why before he realizes where she's going with this. In the next second, Melissa stands in front of her while proudly resting her hands on her hips in a heroic pose.

"Because Kamen Rider Psiren is here!" She confidently states as she stares at the downed Nomu.

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 (Out of Commission) Explosion

Psiren Unnamed Psychic Quirk

Next Chapter

#kamen rider deku #mha #kamen rider #original kamen rider #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugou #melissa shield #original characters #hero public safety commission #meta liberation army #hisashi midoriya

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natedogx15 · 7 months ago

Text

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

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#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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