OOO: The Medals of Ikki Tousen

By Tailsmo4ever, Ten-Faced Paladin, and Kamen Rider Chrome

Chapter 14: Of a Disciple, a Crash Landing, and the Gachapon Rider

"Thanks for the help... Onii-chan."

"Bacho-chan... you really need to learn how to pick your fights. You have to count the number of people you face before you go and act."

In a grassy field, several armed thugs laid wasted and beaten; the aftermath of a gang fight. In the center of it was Bacho, breathing heavily with a few scratches visible on her a face. Next to her was an older boy with a strong resemblance to her. He wore a white coat over a black shirt with blue jeans. His hair was brown and spiky, while his eyes were amber in color. He seemed to be a little on the skinny side though. A golden bead hung from his left ear, signifying his role and rank.

"It's not my fault! You know I suck at math!" Bacho whined.

"Don't be dumb!" Kansui scolded. "If I hadn't been here who knows what would've happened?"

"But I know I can always count on you, Onii-chan!" Bacho beamed.

Kansui sighed. He got to his feet and helped his baby sister up . Walking around the unconscious thugs and into the field, he continued lecturing her. "If you wanna get stronger, fight stronger individual Fighters. Fighting huge fractions of thugs isn't bright unless you know you have the skill to do that."

"But doesn't my power come from my Magatama?" Bacho asked, holding her hands behind her head.

"Not all of it," Kansui replied. "Some power comes from the soul you inherited. But true power comes from training, and lots of it."

"Well, it's like I said. If I get into trouble I always have you," Bacho insisted.

"I'm not gonna be here forever," Kansui sighed, "One of these days you'll have to fight on your own."

"Huh? You're gonna leave?" Bacho asked, aghast.

"Geez sis, you're such a baby," Kansui shook his head, "Always needing her Onii-chan to hold her hand wherever she goes. I guess that potty training was for nothing."

"Hey, I'm not a baby anymore!" Bacho growled, "It's just that I'm glad to have a big brother like you, that's all!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kansui laughed. "That's all the more reason why you have to-" Kansui was suddenly cut off by a loud cough erupting from his throat. Each cough seemed to get progressively worse as he hunched down.

"Hey, Onii-chan, what is it?" Bacho asked, blinking. "What's the matter?"

"It's... it's..." Kansui coughed loudly. Bacho watching fearfully as blood escaped from his mouth. He suddenly fell to the ground, unmoving, as blood starting pouring out.

"Kansui? Kansui! Speak up!" Bacho pleaded, kneeling over to him. She took his bloodstained hand into hers as she took to shake him awake. "Hang on! I'll try and call for help!"

The world around her suddenly turned dark, the green grass she was once on turning into a black void. Sensing a presence, she looked up. Standing before her, there was a tall shadowy figure with glowing yellow eyes, his aura filled with nothing but malevolence.

"Are you the one who did this?" Bacho asked, gritting her teeth. "I'll get you for this! I'll make you pay!"

"Is that what you desire?"

Bacho spun around and gasped in fear. The green bug man stood before her with a green aura whipping around him. He slowly pointed at her, "I will release that desire of yours." In the darkness behind him, several glowing eyes suddenly appeared. Giant bugs darted out of the shadows and flew directly at Bacho.

"No... NOOOOO!" Bacho screamed, finding the strength in her legs being sucked away by the flying insects. Bacho heaved and huffed as she ran through the endless darkness, trying her hardest to escape from the insect swarm. The insects seemed to get closer and closer with no sign of slowing down. Bacho clenched her eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

However, there was a suddenly bright light before her. A light so pure and warm, it drove the bugs away. Bacho looked back at the bugs in bewilderment and then turned back to the light. She couldn't see anything clearly because of the glare, but she could make out the silhouette a man in armor holding a spear at his side. Bacho couldn't help but smile as she rushed into the light...

"Ah!" Bacho woke up in a start, cold sweat beading down her face. She wiped her forehead and stared down at sweat-covered palm. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself. Looking around, she found herself in an unfamiliar room with a lot of books lying around. "How did I get here?" She looked down, and realized that she was sitting in a futon, completely nude. "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! I'm naked?! Someone undressed me?!" she shrieked, covering her chest with the blanket. "Oooh, I'm so gonna gut whoever did this!"

There was a knock on the door. "Good morning!" a female voice greeted. The door slid open, and an unfamiliar girl with glasses walked inside. "Oh good, you're awake," she smiled.

"W-who are you?" Bacho asked.

"I'm Ryuubi Gentoku," the girl introduced herself, kneeling in front of her. "You're lucky I found you when I did. Sleeping in the middle of the street during a rainstorm isn't very bright, you know. I'm surprised you didn't catch a cold!"

"Uh... yeah," Bacho nodded slowly. "You brought me here?"

"I did," Ryuubi nodded, "The trip back here was a bit slow, but I can't ignore someone who needs help."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it," Bacho said, looking down.

"Is something the matter?" Ryuubi asked, concerned.

"I..." Bacho clenched her eyes and palmed her head. "...I screwed up. I did something really stupid. I went after someone and because of that a lot of people got hurt."

Ryuubi gently enveloped Bacho in a hug and patted her back, "There, there. It's fine. Even if you make mistakes, it doesn't mean you can't make up for them."

Bacho didn't know what to say to that, "...I..."

Ryuubi gently released Bacho and asked, "Oh, would you like something to drink? Or eat?"

"I could use a meal, yeah. And some clothes," Bacho confessed. She really didn't feel comfortable sitting in front of a stranger with only a blanket to preserve her modesty.

"Oh, right! You're clothes are in the wash. They should be ready soon," Ryuubi told her. "I didn't get your name though."

"Ah right, I'm Bacho Mouki!" Bacho finally introduced herself. "Nice to meet ya, Ryuubi-san."

"Bacho...?" Ryuubi knew that name all too well. In Chinese, that translated to Ma Chao. In the days of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Chao was one of Liu Bei's loyal Tiger Generals. He was known for his skill and brutality, and it came to the point that he was known as Ma Chao the Splendid. "Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you Bacho-san."

Meanwhile, Uma stood outside the shrine, pocketing his hands. He could sense the desire from Bacho, allowing him to track her. He smirked before he walked away. Her own desire was still running rampant within his two Yummies. Soon they would be able to generate a lot of Cell Medals for him, and draw OOO and Ankh out into the open. That would be when he would strike and take back his Core Medals, and be one step closer towards becoming whole.

"You know, you didn't have come with me, just sayin'," Shamoke told Chou'un.

"Point. But curiosity got the better of me. Kanu and Chouhi would be watching Ryuubi anyway, so that would give me a bit of free time," the swordswoman told him.

Shamoke, Chou'un, and Kuma-chan stood in front of the main building of the Kougami Foundation. Shamoke had gotten an email on his phone saying he had an appointment with the man in charge of it all, Kousei Kougami. Shamoke certainly didn't remember ever sending the guy a request for an appointment, but somehow he knew how to contact the Barbarian King and schedule an interview.

"Do you know what this might be about?" asked Chou'un. She had been there when Shamoke had gotten the message so she was rather curious and invited herself along to the event.

Shamoke looked back down to his phone, "Well, it sounds like they are interviewing me to test some kind of new equipment they've got or something. It's not exactly clear about what it is or what it's supposed to do."

Chou'un pondered the message and turned to face the building, "Well, I suppose there is no point in delaying things. Kougami has been somewhat honest with us so far, so we can at least hear him out."

"True that," Shamoke shrugged. The pair and their pet bear walked into the building and met with the a receptionist at the front desk, not being immune to the odd and frightened looks people gave them as they walked with the bear. The woman at the desk, trying very hard not to freak out at the sight of the bear, directed them to the elevator and instructed them to take it to the top floor, where the man in question was waiting for them. They went into the elevator and rode it up to the top floor. As soon as they got off, they were greeted by a woman in a white blouse and black mini skirt. She gave a bow and greeted, "Welcome, Shamoke. Kougami-kaichou has been expecting you."

"Well, the pleasure is all mine," Shamoke chuckled, unabashedly glancing up and down at Satonaka's form. He flinched in pain as he felt something jab into his toe. Glancing at his side, he saw Chou'un giving him a disapproving frown with the sheath of her sword pressing against his foot.

"Please, follow me," Satonaka said, not even reacting to the perverted Fighter.

The secretary led the three through the main doors, coming out into a large office. At the far end, in front of a large window was the man in charge of it all. He wore a red suit and was in the midst of decorating a cake he had been working on. There was a disk record player loudly playing "Happy Birthday" in the room.

"Uh…" Shamoke blinked.

"Welcome Shamoke-kun! And I see you have brought the great Chou'un Shiryuu-kun with you as well!" Kougami greeted cheerfully, not even reacting to the sight of Kuma-chan. "I was just placing the final decorations on the cake which symbolizes our future and what our fates have in store for us!"

"'Kun?'" Chou'un cocked her head in confusion at the suffix.

Shamoke blinked again, but couldn't reply, "Well...uh, okay. So...what's the deal with all this? Why'd you call me?"

"Well, I simply have a proposition for you," Kougami said. "You both are aware that Nanyo's Hakufu Sonsaku-kun is the current holder of the OOO Driver, correct? As it stands, she is the only one at this point who can destroy the Yummies and fight the Greeed on even ground."

"Yeah, threw us all for a loop that day," Shamoke said. "We've been training a hell lot just catch up with her."

"Ah ha! You desire to become strong so you can defend your kingdom!" Kougami laughed. "Then you are in luck! Today by admitting that desire, you and Seito will have the first of our newest product! The Birth Driver!"

"What?" Shamoke and Chou'un gasped.

Kougami gestured to his secretary who retrieved a metal briefcase. Bringing it up to the Seito Fighters, she opened it up to to reveal a mechanical belt with a gold knob on the side and a green and white gachapon orb in the middle. On the right side was a slot which looked like it was part of a coin slot for a vending machine. Also inside the case was what looked like a heavy gun with a slot where the barrel of the gun ended and a slot at the back which had an opening of some sort. A handle for the ammo casing near the front was a clear cannister. Also inside was a stack of ten Cell Medals.

"Okay," Shamoke blinked, "So, wait, is this thing like OOO's armor?"

"Precisely! And I will happily give it to Seito if you can prove you have the strength to use it!" Kougami grinned.

"And how would he do that?" asked Chou'un, cracking an eye open to see for herself. She easily saw the ramifications of the technology being offered to Seito, but she also knew there had to be a catch.

"Simple, Shiryuu-kun. I will loan this equipment to Shamoke-kun to deal with the current Yummy which was spawned yesterday," Kougami explained. "If he performs well with the equipment, he and your fellow officers surrounding Gentoku-kun may have it as my gift to you!"

"So you're saying that if we can use this thing to kill the Yummy that showed up, me and the other Tiger Generals can use this thing to help Sonsaku?" Shamoku asked. "Looks like Chouhi was spot on when she kept talking about super armors."

"So it seems," Chou'un nodded. "I think we can agree to this deal."

"Don't forget to read the manual," Satonaka commented airily.

"SUBARASHI!" Kougami cheered, clapping his hands. "Now that we have given birth to our partnership, you both should probably know that the newest Yummy came from one Bacho Mouki-kun."

"Bacho Mouki?" Shamoku blinked.

"So that last of the Tiger Generals has finally appeared," Chou'un frowned, "That is the host this time?"

"Indeed," Kougami nodded, "Yesterday she went on a one-man raid in Kyosho Academy to assassinate Motoku-kun, but she ended up being thrown out. Uva seemed to find her desire fascinating and created a Yummy out of her. She tried to fight the Yummy herself, but the previous battle she had at Kyosho weakened her and she found herself outmatched. I believe Gentoku-kun was the one who found her."

"So that's why she didn't show up for practice," Chou'un sighed.

"Ah, and the Yummy split itself in two for some reason," Kougami added.

"Wait, what?" Shamoke blinked. "It split itself?"

Kougami nodded, "The first time such a thing ever happened too. Mouki-kun must have a very powerful desire for such a thing to happen!"

"Then we best start looking for them," Chou'un said, closing the briefcase and taking it into her hand. "Thank you, Kougami-san. We will make sure to use the Birth Driver responsibly."

"I'm sure that you will!" Kougami smiled. "Oh, and one more thing." He reached under his desk and pulled out a small case. "As a sign of good faith, here is one more present for you."

Shamoke took the box and opened it up. His eyes widened when he saw a blue Core Medal inside. "Is this what I think it is?" Shamoke asked.

"It most certainly is. Be sure to give it to Sonsaku-kun. I'm certain she will need it," Kougami said.

"Yeah... right," Shamoke nodded. "Thanks for everything, sir."

"And please take the cake with you! I'm certain that Ekitoku-kun would especially enjoy it!"

"Will do," Chou'un said.

Hakufu and Ankh were heading for Kyosho, intent on warning Sousou about the latest Yummy which was now gunning for him. Ankh couldn't honestly care less, figuring Sousou could look after himself, but if the Yummy was gunning for him than finding the Fighter would mean finding the Yummy and getting what Cell Medals it had accumulated. Still, a particular sticking point for the two of them was the Yummy's sudden split into two Yummies. They would have gone yesterday, but the sudden rainstorm made that impossible.

It bothered Ankh to be honest. A Yummy had never done that before in his life and he hated unknowns happening. Usually a Yummy could only be born from a single desire and couldn't split itself. Mezul's Yummies were an exception, being an egg which could spawn multiple Yummies, but it still kept to that rule as they were the same type. Uva's Yummies never showed that kind of replication ability.

"Hey Ankh-chan, how come the Yummy split up like that anyway?" asked Hakufu in confusion.

"For the third time you twit, I! Don't! Know!" Ankh huffed. "This never happened before even back during the king's time!"

"Hmm, well that's not good," Hakufu frowned in deep (for her) thought. After a bit of time, Hakufu blinked as an idea hit her, "Hey Ankh-chan, Yummies come from a person's desire, right?"

"Duh," Ankh scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Well, okay, so…" Hakufu mumbled, trying to give words to her idea. "Well, I know that sometimes when I want something, I sometimes need to do something else to be able to do it. Like getting stronger so I can fight more exciting people. You know a desire for one thing to go for another desire."

Ankh raised an eyebrow and stroked his chin. That...was a good theory. If the Cicada Yummy was born from someone's desire to be strong for the sake of killing Sousou, then possibly once it accumulated enough Cell Medals, the true desire behind the first would be able to spawn its own Yummy to pursue it. If that theory was right, then it made sense why Ankh had never seen such an event before. Usually when one had a desire, they went for that one rather than pursue a lesser desire to accomplish the first.

"That...is a good theory," Ankh nodded. "I guess you aren't completely stupid then."

"Hey!" Hakufu huffed. "I'm plenty smart when it comes to stuff I care about!"

"You're just so simple you don't care about much," Ankh retorted.

"Right!...hey! You just called me stupid again didn't you?"

"And you noticed? You must be getting smarter after all."

Puffing her cheeks, Hakufu suddenly put Ankh into a headlock, causing the possessed boy to wave his arms wildly. "You know, you can't keep insulting me! It's not very nice!"

"Ack! Let... go... girl...!" Ankh heaved in her chest.

"Not until you say sorry!" Hakufu demanded.

As Hakufu continued to smother her possessed cousin into her tatas, his right arm flashed red. Ankh's true form popped out of the arm and immediately floated over Hakufu's head and whacked it.

"Ow!" Hakufu cried, nursing the goose egg on her head.

"You seem to be forgetting that the body I'm using is being kept alive thanks to me," Ankh snipped.

Hakufu looked at Kokin's limp body in her arms and frowned. "People who call other people stupid are really the stupid ones," she gurgled.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll try and keep the insults to a minimum," Ankh sighed. "Of course, that will depend on you." Ankh floated back to Kokin's arm and merged back with it. Kokin's eyes shot opened before he removed himself from Hakufu's funbags and readjusted his shirt.

The pair continued on their way and eventually reached the school. Already, they could see several of the school's Fighters standing on guard. They noted that they were more tense than normal, as if expecting an imminent attack.

"Looks like those guys are on danger alert," Ankh remarked.

"I wonder what happened here," Hakufu thought out loud. "Was there a fight?"

Ankh deadpanned, "Are you seriously asking that? Have you forgotten where we are?" Kanto was Fighter central. They had fights nearly all the time. Of course there was some kind of fight.

"Considering that Kyosho doesn't really have a reason to go against us anymore, it kinda raises a few eyebrows," Hakufu shrugged. "Let's go check it out." She yelled at a random dude, "Hey, what happened here? You look like you guys are scared of something."

"Oh, it's you. We thought that crazy girl came back."

"Crazy girl?" Hakufu tilted her head to the side.

"A girl who went by Bacho Mouki came here seeking to claim Sousou-sama's life," an unfamiliar female voice said. Being pushed by another Fighter in a wheelchair, a young woman neither Hakufu nor Ankh had seen before came up to them with her hands folded neatly on her lap.

"Bacho Mouki?" Hakufu asked.

"That was who she claimed to be," the wheelchair-bound girl nodded. "Fortunately, one of our own sent her away. I'm surprised that the great Sho Hao finally graced us with her presence now. I am Shibai Chuutatsu, Sousou's strategist."

"Ah, nice to meet ya," Hakufu greeted. "Anyway, we have something urgent to tell Sousou."

"Sousou isn't here right now. If you have something to say, you're free to do it here," Shibai answered.

"Well..." Hakufu hesitated slightly, but nodded, "He's in danger. There are a couple of Yummies who are after him and they're pretty tough. That Bacho girl you mentioned might be the host."

Shibai nodded, "I see. Thank you for the information, we will be sure to keep an eye open for anything."

"Really? That's it?" Hakufu blinked.

"She said they can handle it," Ankh said bluntly as he turned around. "Personally, I don't know how that'll work but she seems confident enough. Now we can go."

"Uh, yeah!" Hakufu nodded. She turned back to Shibai, "So, let us know if anything happens!"

Shibai nodded, "We will." Her job done, Hakufu left the school with Ankh. As she watched them leave the school grounds, she smiled as her eyes glinted strangely.

Seito Shrine

After Bacho got herself situated, Ryuubi led the girl through the Seito Shrine. Bacho had gotten dressed in a white blouse with a yellow and blue striped tie draped over it and a blue mini skirt to complete her outfit. As they were walking, Ryuubi took the time to start a conversation.

"So what exactly were you doing out in the middle of the street?" she asked.

"I guess I got a bit tired," Bacho said, rubbing the back at her head. "I was getting into fights all day yesterday that I guess I wore myself out."

"You were getting into fights?" Ryuubi blinked. "Who were you fighting?"

"Well..." Bacho began, "It began when I went on a raid on Kyosho Academy."

"Kyosho?" the Seito leader gasped. "You went on a raid to Kyosho? Why on Earth would you go and do that?"

"It's because... I was looking for Sousou," Bacho sighed.

"SOUSOU?!" Ryuubi's eyes widened underneath her glasses after hearing that Bacho tried to pick a fight with Kyosho's strongest Fighter and leader, "You fought with Sousou?!"

Bacho shook her head, "No. He wasn't there. One of his goons kicked me out before I could. Literally." Ryuubi gave a sigh of relief, satisfied that Bacho didn't get into a Fight with Sousou. That sigh seemed to come too soon when Bacho continued going on. "But then that's when I ran into one of those monsters I kept hearing about."

"Monsters?" Ryuubi turned to face Bacho was her face turned grim. "Bacho, what did this monster look like?"

"It was tall, and was wearing parts of green armor over a black body. It looked like a bug on two legs," Bacho explained. She frowned worriedly as Ryuubi's face turned slightly pale, "You... know?"

"Yes, I do," Ryuubi nodded. "That was Uva. He's an artificial life form called a Greeed. He and three others like him are the reason why the Kanto region is infested with monsters right now."

"Geez, so the rumors were true after all," Bacho frowned.

"Did Uva put a coin inside your head, and make a mummy come out of you?" Ryuubi asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Bacho nodded. "He said that the mummy was born out of my desires. It started going around beating people up. I tried to fight it, but it was like that thing knew what I was gonna do blow for blow. Then it morphed into a black and white bug." She smacked her palms against her head and clenched her eyes, "I'm such a idiot. Am I really that self centered that I would pick a fight with anyone just so I could get stronger? Even complete strangers?"

"It's not your fault. The same thing happened to me," Ryuubi's comment made Bacho blink. "Another one of the Greeed also used my desires against me. I was so caught up in what I was doing that I didn't even realize my friends were getting hurt or that the school was in danger. But still, everyone said it wasn't my fault because I wasn't being myself."

"So... all these monsters... are they really using people to make more of themselves?"

"Pretty much. They seem to focus on the Fighters more since they think our desires would be greater than the average person because of the war."

"Damn," Bacho frowned.

"Yes. That's why we've temporarily put the war on hold so we could focus on the Yummies and Greeed," Ryuubi replied. "For the moment, Kyosho is our ally along with Nanyo."

"Huh, didn't know that," Bacho blushed slightly.

"Not surprising, since the other lesser schools don't know so much about what's going on," Ryuubi replied.

"That does make sense, when you think about it," Bacho nodded in agreement. Given how a lot of the lesser school are more concerned in gaining power, they likely wouldn't know so much about the monsters targeting them. She herself didn't even encounter one of them until her attack on Kyosho. The fact the monsters seem to be looking further into stronger Fighters might be the main reason why all three major schools have aligned with one another.

"Anywho, why don't you stick around? We could always use some more helping hands," Ryuubi requested.

"Sure, I may just do that," Bacho smiled. As they turned over a corner, they found themselves facing Kanu, "Huh?"

"So that's why you skipped out on training, Gentoku," Kanu sighed. "Look, I know you don't care so much about fighting, but you need to build up your strength. We need to use every moment of peace to prepare for the next Yummy."

"Well, yeah but I was looking after this girl," Ryuubi defended. "I found unconscious in the middle of the rainstorm. She was soaked to the bone so we came back and took a bath."

"I don't approve of you picking up strange girls and spending the night together."

"Eh?" Ryuubi asked.

"Did you..." Kanu asked, blushing, "Did you do it... together?"

"Do what together?" Ryuubi asked cluelessly.

"Take... a bath," Kanu said, averting her visible eye. Bacho blinked and looked at Ryuubi, and then looked at Kanu. She was already able to put two and two together.

"Oh, of course not!" Ryuubi laughed. "I just lent her my panties!"

"Your... panties?!" Kanu gasped in disbelief.

"I had to, hers were soaking wet and dirty," Ryuubi reasoned.

"You can't just let random girls wear your panties!" Kanu exclaimed, blushing brighter. "And who is she anyway?"

"Um, her name is Bacho Mouki," Ryuubi said, gesturing at the girl.

"Bacho Mouki?" Kanu blinked. "I see. Welcome to Seito, Bacho. My name is Kanu Unchou."

"Oh, I already know who you are," Bacho smiled, running up to Kanu and taking her hand, "You're the legendary undefeated warrior goddess. I really can't believe I finally get to me you in person!"

"The... pleasures all mine," Kanu smiled back, surprised by the girl's outburst.

"She said Uva made her into another Yummy host," Ryuubi added, her face solom.

"Oh," Kanu blinked, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, I guess it's no good to dwell on it," Bacho sighed. "Besides, the next time those Yummy things show up I'll..." her words trailed off as she spotted something behind Kanu, "Is that what I think it is?" She darted around Kanu ran into the field. Looking where Bacho was running off too, both Ryuubi and Kanu saw Bacho running up to a male Seito student with lots of sweets and candy in his arms.

"Hey, Kan-san. Who's that?" Ryuubi asked.

"I believe his name is Gama," Kanu said. "He transferred to this school with his sister Mizu some time ago."

"How did you get that gummy candy? It just went on sale!" Bacho cried, eyeing the candy in Gama's arms with a watery mouth. "And that plum flavor candy was out only for a few days! It's sold out everywhere! Can I have some? Pleaaaase~?"

Gama looked at Bacho, then glanced at his candy, and then looked at Bacho again. "Uh-uh!" he denied, jerking the candy away from her.

"Oh, come on! Are you really gonna eat all of that? Have a heart, dude!" Bacho practically begged.

Gama's studied Bacho, as if he was contemplating what to do. He sighed and picked two packs of candy and handed them to Bacho, "Take them."

Bacho squealed happily as she grabbed the candy, jumping up and down for joy. Gama simply shrugged and went on his way. Kanu groaned, "Well isn't that nice, Ekitoku now has a new friend."

Ryuubi simply gave a small laugh. Her laugh was cut off when a sudden buzzing sounded. Kanu looked down, she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a grey Candroid. It jumped upwards and transformed into its gorila form, which landed in her hand and began hooting loudly.

"A Yummy is coming?" Ryuubi gasped.

"And from the look of things, it's close," Kanu frowned. Looking to the sky, she saw two objects flying into view before suddenly dropping down with dust kicking up around them. As the curtain of dust settled, the Cicada and Cricket Yummies stood in clear view.

Bacho, having heard the sudden boom, turned and frowned as she saw the embodiments of her desires. "So you actually came all the way here, huh?" she said, putting away her snacks.

"Stronger...stronger…" the Cicada Yummy grumbled.

"Kill Sousou…" the Cricket Yummy groaned.

"Gentoku, get behind me!" Kanu ordered, moving in front of her leader with her naginata bearing out. "Bacho, what are you doing?!"

"It's from my desires that those things were born," Bacho frowned, walking towards the two advancing Yummies. "Now I know how destructive that desire was. My brother wouldn't ever want me to be that way no matter what happened. I will avenge my brother, but I won't sell my soul to do it!"

"Your brother wouldn't want you to fight alone either!" Kanu protested, running over next to Bacho. "If those Yummies do in fact have your skills, then fighting them on your own is too dangerous!"

Bacho nodded and moved into a stance. "Alright, then. Let's kill these things before they hurt anyone else!" Kanu moved into a stance of her own in agreement. The twin Yummies snarled before charging at the Fighters with killer intent.

And then were promptly knocked aside by sudden slashes and blunt blasts.

Blinking in confusion, both Bacho and Kanu waited for the dust to the dust cleared in front of them, they saw Shamoke, Chou'un and Kuma-chan standing before the Yummies, with Shamoke's arms lit up in red chi, Chou'un's hand griping the hilt of her blade, and Kuma-chan snarling at the the Yummies. Kanu couldn't help but wonder what the box and briefcase they were each holding were for.

"Is that a... bear?!" Bacho gapped.

"Sha-chan! Chou'un-san! You came!" Ryuubi cheered.

"Yeah, seems like we arrived just in time," Shamoke nodded, looking back. "We were just about to set up a plan to go hunting for those Yummies. Guess they came to us. Convenient."

"Time to put this thing to use," Chou'un added, pulling out the Birth Driver from the briefcase and putting it into to the Barbarian King's hands.

"Is that...?" Kanu began. Shamoke handed the box to Kanu.

"Hang on to this," Shamoke told her. Looking at the belt, he felt a slight glimmer of doubt, wondering if technology really could match up with the magic and alchemy that made up the Yummies. He then crushed that doubt, pressing the Driver to his waist and allowing a belt to wrap around him, fastening it into place. He then fished in his pocket, withdrawing a Cell Medal marked with a scorpion. He casually flipped it into the air before catching it, "Henshin!" He inserted the Medal into the slot on the Driver, making a sound not unlike a coin being put in a vending machine. He then gave took hold of the knob on the side and gave it a twist. A round circle with an image of a Cell Medal on top appeared in front of the Driver as a hologram.

*CRANK!*

*CRANK!*

*POP!*

The centre of the Driver opened with a flash of light, creating an orb of green and white energy around Shamoke, causing Kanu to quickly back away on reflex. Several green and white gachapon balls flew from the belt, landing over his head, shoulders, forearms, knees, and on his back. All of them opened at once, unfolding into pieces of armor which began covering his frame. His head was the last portion, as it was being covered in a cybernetic helmet.

Once complete, the orb surrounding him vanished, revealing the completed suit. It began with a black bodysuit as a base. Over his arms and legs were silver gauntlets and greaves, all of them with green and white gachapon balls embedded in them. Another set was on his thighs, each with an orb in them. His chest armor was one half green while the other half was silver with another orb embedded over his heart. His shoulder plating was silver with more orbs embedded in it. His helmet was mostly black save for a segmented silver mouthpiece. His eyepieces rose up and looked like horns while portions over his face lit up as the armor came online. The final decoration was the green and white circle mounted between the horns like another gachapon ball.

"HUH?!" Bacho exclaimed, her eyes nearly bulging out.

"What is that?" Kanu asked in wonder.

"Oh wow! You're just like OOO-sama now!" Ryuubi gasped in shock.

"Heh! I guess so," the new Rider clenched his fists and rotated his shoulders, getting a feel for the suit. "Okay, listen up you piles of loose change! There's a new Rider in town and his name is Birth! Kamen Rider Birth!"

The Yummies looked less than impressed and launched energy bombs and a sonic scream at the technological Rider. Birth quickly rolled to the side and came to a stop near Chou'un. The silver-haired fighter had already retrieved the other weapon from the case, the Birth Buster, before tossing it into Birth's hands.

"It's loaded! Fire away!" Chou'un called.

"Right!" Birth nodded, getting into a kneeling stance before he pointed the weapon at the Cicada and Cricket Yummies and opened fire. Cell-Medal shaped energy projectiles fired from the barrel of the gun, dropping used Cell Medals into the clear chamber at the front of the gun. The shots were accurate and impacted against the Yummies in showers of sparks, eliciting cries of pain from the monsters. One nasty shot got it in the Cricket Yummy's head, knocking it backwards to the ground.

"Ha! Works like a charm!" Birth laughed, standing up. He took note that the weapon was out of ammo and removed the chamber on the front before dumping the used Medals out. Each of the Cell Medals crumbled into dust as they hit the ground, their energy used up. "We have any more?"

"That was the only bunch we had. The rest are in the Yummies," Chou'un shook her head. She reached into her pocket and produced one Cell Medal she had on hand. "You're going to have to use the CLAWS system and get some more."

"Now that's more my style," Birth chuckled, taking the Medal. Heading back into the thick of things, he inserted the Medal into his Driver before twisting the knob a second time.

*CRANK!*

*CRANK!*

*POP!*

"DRILL ARM!"

The Driver spoke the words as the gachapon orb on his right forearm armor began to glow blue before it popped out of its socket. It then split open, spilling out a multitude of machine pieces and components, all glowing blue, before they gathered around Birth's forearm and hand, assembling into a large drill with some blue accenting.

"Okay, here goes!" Birth huffed before he charged at the recovering Yummies. Rearing back his drill-covered fist, he jabbed the drill into the Cricket Yummy's chest. At the same time, he activated the machine, causing it to roar to life with a loud whine. Sparks flew from where it was stuck in the Yummy, drilling through its hide and causing Cell Medals to spill out. Rather than fall to the ground though, the Medals were instead drawn to the silver body of the weapon, sticking to it like metal would to a magnet. The Cricket Yummy lost a good portion of itself before it launched another shriek knocking Birth back.

"Ow, dammit!" Birth grunted, lifting his arm and feeling the weight of all the extra Cell Medals on it. Chou'un was by his side again as he brushed off the Medals, letting them clatter to the ground. She quickly grabbed a handful and dropped them into the Birth Buster's loading chamber again before Birth dismissed the Drill Arm, letting it disassemble and vanish back into his arm pod again.

"Try the other function. The more abilities we show, the greater the chances Seito gets to keep this," she reminded her fellow Fighter.

"Right. Then let's start earning!" Birth nodded, taking the gun and the separated chamber back. Looking at the downed Yummies, now sagging as so much of its mass and power was removed, He attached the ammunition pod to the front of the Birth Buster's muzzle, showing six bullet chambers all aimed at the Yummy. "Here we go!"

Energy from the medals began to collect at the front of the Birth Buster, taking the form of a spinning Cell Medal. Once all of the Medals were drained and the shot prepared, Birth braced himself and pulled the trigger. At the same time, the Cricket Yummy quickly stood up and got behind the Cicada Yummy's back, and planted its hand against it, causing both Yummies to glow in a bright yellow color.

"CELL BURST!"

The shot, taking the form of a blast of power, fired straight through the air before colliding with the Yummies. It buffered against the Yummies, trying to break through. Finally, there was a bright explosion of flames.

"Yatta!" he cheered, but then stopped to rub his shoulder, "Ow! Man, the kickback on this thing is a bitch!"

"Shouldn't there be Cell Medals raining when a Yummy is destroyed?" Chun'un asked, noting the absence of Cell Medals falling onto the grass.

Birth blinked. She was right. Usually when Yummies were destroyed, Cell Medals would come raining from the sky. Looking at the flames, he saw them quickly blow away. Standing in the smoke was the lone Cricket Yummy, glowing in bright yellow light. The Cell Medals resulting from the Cicada Yummy's destruction piled up in front of it before they were gathered up and absorbed by the Cricket Yummy.

"Aw, hell," Birth frowned.

"This is... unexpected," Chou'un frowned.

The Cricket Yummy crossed its arms and released them as it gave a shout, causing a shockwave to echo around it. The Fighters all shielded themselves from the boom. Its wings ejected from its back before it flew into the sky.

"They merged. That sure ain't good," Birth sighed. He pulled out the Cell Medal from the Birth Driver, and it vanished into golden dust as its power was spent. The power source gone, the energy orb surrounded him again as wireframes formed around the suit. In a flash, the light vanished and Shamoke was himself again.

"Chou'un, Shamoke," Kanu finally spoke, "What just happened?"

"To make a long story short, the people making the motorcycles are allowing Seito to use the Birth System," Shamoke said, pointing at the belt around his waist. "If we can kill those Yummies, they're willing to let us keep it."

"That means that now we have a new weapon to fight the Greeed and Yummies," Kanu concluded.

"Indeed," Chou'un concluded.

"Oh... my... GOD!" Bacho finally squealed, having witnessed the whole thing in silence. "That was, like, the coolest thing ever!" She darted at Shamoke and examined his belt at all the angles, even poking at it. "It's real metal! It looks like a collectable but it's really real!"

"Uh, yeah, it's real alright," Shamoke nodded, looking at the girl in confusion.

"Oh, man! This is so cool, you're like a real live superhero!" Bacho gushed.

"I assume that this is Bacho Mouki?" Chou'un asked, noticing the excited girl.

"She is," Kanu nodded, "We should call the others and tell them that we had an encounter with the Yummy."

"Yeah, good plan," Shamoke agreed. "Hey, Ryuu-chan. Stay here with Kuma-chan, alright?"

"What? But I want to see OOO-sama again!" Ryuubi whined.

"Sorry Gentoku, but Shamoke is right. It's very likely that the Yummy has become much stronger now that it has combined with its comrade," Kanu agreed. Ryuubi sulked sadly. Kanu sighed as she handed the box to her leader. "We'll give our regards to he... him for you, promise."

Ryuubi nodded slowly, "...Alright."

"Okay, let's go!" Shamoke nodded.

"Hold on! I'm coming with you!" Bacho urged.

"Huh?"

"It's my fault that thing is on a rampage and attacking people in the first place!" she reasoned. "The least I can do is help!"

"Should we let her?" Chun'un asked.

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Shamoke shrugged. "Alright, let's move!"

Red Brick District

"Stronger...Must get stronger...to kill Sousou..." the Cricket Yummy said as it landed in a populated area. The people saw the monster and screamed as they began to flee. The Yummy grabbed a bench and broke it in half before tossing the halves away. It then fired a violent and deafening sonic scream. Buildings were hit and began to collapse at the monster went on a rampage. It went after the stragglers, pulling a man by the back of his jacket and sized him up. "Weak! Worthless!" the Cricket Yummy tossed him but the man was rescued as Hakufu jumped in the way and caught him. The two went tumbling along the ground.

"Get out of here! Run!" Hakufu shouted and the man didn't argue as he ran off.

"OOO..." the Cricket Yummy identified as Hakufu strapped on the OOO Driver.

"Ankh-chan!" shouted Hakufu and Ankh tossed her the Core Medals she would need for this fight. She got the text saying the Cricket and Cicada Yummies had both merged. She had seen the destruction it had caused and she wasn't about to let it cause anymore. Hakufu caught them and quickly slipped them into the slots before scanning them with the scanner. "Henshin!"

"TAKA! UNAGI! TAKO!"

With the armor fully form, OOO ripped the Unagi Whips from her shoulders and began lashing at the Yummy. The Yummy rolled left and right away from the electrified whips before jumping forward to attack OOO with a flurry of kicks. OOO spun and backflipped to a safe distance before lashing her whip again, this time catching the Cricket Yummy's leg. She gave a sharp tug and swung the Yummy over her head before slamming it to the ground, with a deep crater forming underneath it as a result, and then leapt on top of it with her elbow digging into its back. Snarling, the Cricket Yummy ejected its wings and flew up into the sky, with OOO crying out in surprise as she was taken along for the ride. They both flew into the side of a building and crashed right into it. OOO was planted on the side and was about to topple off. However, the suction cups on her feet took action and quickly rooted her onto the building.

"Woah, that was a close one," OOO sighed, rubbing her shoulder. "The Tako Legs really are handy!"

"Girl! The Yummy's circling back!" Ankh called, standing on another building some meters away.

"Roger that!" OOO's visors glowed red as she locked onto the Cricket Yummy as it turned around and came flying back at her. The Cricket Yummy's hands glowed as it blasted energy bombs at her, forcing OOO to shield herself as the explosions erupted around her. Taking a chance, she executed a powerful leap and lashed her whips around the Yummy. Electricity sparked around the Yummy, causing it to shriek from the pain. OOO then swung around the Yummy and flipped through the air before her legs split into tentacles.

"OK, you big glowworm! Come and get some!" OOO shouted, propelling the tentacles to glide at the Yummy. They spun around the air shooting lightning and bombs at one another. OOO managed to get in clean hits with the tentacles each time she came close, ripping out Cell Medals from its body. The Yummy managed to keep her at bay with sonic screams and returned its own licks with energy bombs.

It was at that moment that Shamoke and the small band of Seito girls came across the fight along a top of another building.

"She needs help!" Chou'un alerted.

"Well, time to get to work!" Shamoke strapped on the Birth Driver and inserted a Cell Medal before he spun the dial. It gave a loud "pop" before the gachapon sphere in the centre opened. The armor soon materialized around his body to transform him into Kamen Rider Birth. Pulling out the Birth Buster, he took aim at the Yummy. Squeezing the trigger, he fired several shots at the Cricket Yummy. It screeched out as it fell to the ground with a loud boom.

"Eh?" OOO blinked in bewilderment. The tentacles reshaped back into her legs as gravity took hold, allowing her land back onto the streets in a crouch with a crater forming under her feet.

"Yo." OOO stood up and turned and saw Birth standing next to her., "Hope you don't mind."

"I sure don't, but who are you anyway?" OOO asked.

"It's me, Shamoke of Teikoku Academy," Birth said, patting his chest, "Though at the moment, you can just call me Kamen Rider Birth."

"Ahh! Sha-chan!" OOO smiled, "So you're a Kamen Rider too!"

"Hold on, another Rider?" Ankh frowned as he jumped down to face Birth, "How come I haven't heard of this?"

"Hehe, that Kougami guy had his tech boys build this thing," Birth grinned, "He said he's willing to let Seito keep it if we prove we can handle it."

Ankh clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Him again." It seemed that Kougami took pleasure in throwing surprises his way and getting on Ankh's nerves. It didn't take long for Bacho, Kanu, and Chun'un to leap down to meet the group.

"Hey, I know we're all getting gushy here, but that thing is getting back up!" Bacho pointed.

The Cricket Yummy growled as it stood back on its feet, the yellow light from its body becoming more rampant as it got right back up. And then, much to the shock of the Fighters, its body expanded as the amount of Cell Medals in its body reached critical. It got down on all fours as its body became more insect-like with a shining silver exoskeleton and bright metallic wings. On the end of its insectoid legs was a skeletal human hand. And it had a human's skull for a head with big compound eyes as its jaws bifurcated to reveal rows and rows of sharp teeth. The Giant Cricket Yummy gave an earth shattering roar, causing the windows to shatter and the ground to rip apart.

"Damn, another kaiju!" Kanu hissed.

"This isn't good!" gasped OOO.

"No kidding! How about some help, sempai?" Birth asked. OOO blinked and cocked her head.

"Eh? Sempai?"

"You're the first Rider in Kanto. I should show you respect." He pulled out a blue coin, a Core Medal, and flicked it to her. "And, I think you might be needing this."

"Hold on, is that what I think it is?" Ankh asked, widening his eyes.

"Not the time to be in demand, Ankh-chan!" OOO replaced the Taka Medal with the final blue Core Medal into the OOO Driver's slots and tilted the buckle. She then swiped the O-Scanner over the Core Medals, causing it to call out their names.

"SHACHI!"

"UNAGI!"

"TAKO!"

"SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA!"

As soon as the new crest formed together, it collided with OOO in a splash of water, signalling a new combo. Now OOO was sporting a new mask, this one in blue and white colors. There was a cap-like shape on her head that resembled a fish's fin and her eye pieces have turned yellow. On the top section of the O-Lung, there was an image of a blue orca.

"Huh..." OOO glanced at her armored arms curiously, "This combo... feels more comfortable than the others. Like it was meant for me."

"Those are Mezul's Medals that you're using," Ankh said. "ShaUTa is called the Marine Combo for a reason. It must be tuning with your latent hydrokinesis."

"Awesome! I must get a really big power boost from this!" OOO grinned.

"Both of you, get going," Chou'un said, gripping her sword, "We'll cover you."

"Got it!" OOO and Birth nodded. OOO's body liquefied into water and she shot up into the air like a geyser. At the same time, Birth took another Cell Medal and loaded it into the Birth Driver. He twisted the dial and there was another "pop" before the cybernetic voice called out.

"CRANE ARM!"

The Receptacle Orb on his right shoulder opened up, glowing green as mechanical components, also glowing in green, spilled out. The parts covered his right arm and formed into a large grappling hook with green accents. He armed it at the Yummy and fired the crane at it. It hooked on to the head and quickly retracted, pulling Birth upward.

"That belt is powered by Cell Medals?" Ankh frowned. His thoughts were rudely interrupted by Kanu, who grabbed him by the back of the shirt and leapt after Birth with him in tow, followed by Chun'un, "Oi! I can jump on my own, woman!"

The Giant Cricket Yummy's back opened up, and launched several missiles into the sky. OOO zipped around in the air as the explosions erupted around her, narrowly missing each blast. She darted down into a divebomb, becoming solid again, and flipping her whips at the antennae, grabbing hold of them as her feet morphed into tentacles. "Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!" she rattled out, as her tentacles repeated kicked against its face. The Giant Cricket Yummy roared angrily as its wings snapped from its back and it started to take off from the ground. Its hands reached upward as it grabbed OOO into its palms, trapping her. The Giant Cricket Yummy gave a laugh as it had her helpless.

Or so it thought.

"Bye-bye~!" OOO waved, vanishing from its grip in a splash of water.

Meanwhile, the Fighters were already jumping across the large back of the Yummy, leaping over the mass to deal with the beast their own way. Sensing this, the Yummy let loose a roar and shook its abdomen. Piles of Cell Medals gathered around it before they morphed into miniature versions of the Giant Cricket Yummy. They were the size of dogs but were as mean as wolves. The Cricket Yummy drones attacked the group ferociously, with bites of their strong jaws.

Birth blasted at the several miniature Cricket Yummy drones with his Birth Buster and knocked even more back with his Crane Arm. Kanu and Chun'un were with him, each striking down the Yummies with their bladed weapons. Even Ankh was there, taking down the Yummies with Kokin's martial arts knowledge. Deciding to try something new, Birth channeled his chi into the Crane Arm, causing it to glow bright red. He swung the arm outward, creating a large arc of crimson energy that wiped out the remaining Yummy drones cleanly.

"Nice!" Birth grinned, glancing at the Crane Arm, "I could get used to this!"

"HELP ME!"

Birth and the other Fighters (or two Fighters and one Greeed) looked down at the Giant Cricket Yummy's abdomen. There they saw Bacho trying to hold on to dear life, panicking as the G-force was threatening to throw her off. Just how had she gotten herself in that predicament?

"Crap! Hang on!" Birth shouted as he reared his Crane Arm back for a throw. However, he didn't have to as a surged water came out of nowhere and grabbed Bacho before she could fall. It zipped around the air before landing onto the Giant Yummy, reforming into OOO as she carried Bacho in her arms.

"You okay?" OOO asked.

"Uh... yeah," Bacho nodded, blushing as she looked at the large yellow eyes. She quickly scurried back to her feet.

"If this thing continues to fly, it could be too dangerous for us to land," Kanu urged. "We have ground it now!"

"In that case, this is now or never," Chou'un agreed. Her sword began to glow deep blue as it began to resonate with her chi. However, it was starting give a rather unholy aura. And then it started to lengthen.

Longer...

Longer...

Longer...

"Is that... some kind of illusion?" Ankh gawked.

"Chou'un can control the length of her sword?" Birth gasped.

"It's the first time I'm seeing it for myself," Kanu replied. Her naginata seemed to shake as her grip around it tightened, "Even my Green Dragon is reacting to it."

"HAH!" Chou'un shouted, swinging her sword as he eyes actually snapped open. The blade cut through one of the wings, causing it to fall loose and turn into Cell Medals. The Yummy screeched in pain as it nearly tumbled out of the air if not for another wing quickly growing back into place. "My weapon is the Muramasa, Zanryu," Chou'un explained, answering their unspoken questions as her eyes closed again. "As one of the 16th generation of the Muramasa Clan, I inherited it last year." Another swing of her sword, and the other wing was cut off. Again, there was shaking in the air before another wing grew back. "Well, are you just going to stand there are we going to squash this bug?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Birth shock out of his stupor and loaded another Cell Medal into his Driver.

"CATERPILLAR LEG!"

The Receptacle Orbs on his knees flashed purple before popping open, and purple components materialized before covering his legs, forming large silver boots with purple accents and tank treads under his feet. Birth gave a roar as he spun around in place, the Caterpillar Legs ripping out the Cell Medals. The Cell Medals that spilled out instantly stuck to the Caterpillar Legs as if they were magnets. The others didn't stay idle as Bacho and Ankh gathered chi into their hands before slamming it down on the back, causing Cell Medals to explode outward. Kanu joined Chou'un in slicing off the wings of the Giant Cricket Yummy, trying to stop them from growing. OOO once again a jet of water was she shot around the Yummy, slashing her whips around anything soft spots she could find.

Flying over the Yummy, OOO spotted a building with a helicopter landing pad. "Hey, guys! I found somewhere we can land the Yummy without getting hurt!" she waved and pointed.

"Nice!" Birth grinned, taking a Cell Medal from the Caterpillar Legs, "Alright, sempai. We need you land this thing there! We're gonna finish it off in one blow!" He inserted the Medal into his belt and twisted the knob.

"BREAST CANNON!"

The Receptacle Orb on his chest glowed red before it opened, releasing red machine parts that covered his chest, forming into a fearsome looking cannon with a red stripe over the barrel. As it needed both hands for it to operate properly, the Crane Arm vanished in mechanical parts and slipped back into the orb on his right arm.

"Hehehe... Breast Cannon," Birth giggle pervertedly, "I still can't get over that." He pulled out two more Cell Medals and loaded each of them into the Driver before turning the knob again.

"CELL BURST!"

OOO flew over the Giant Cricket Yummy's head and wrapped her tentacles around it. She swung her whips around the antenna and channelled lightning though it stunning it enough to take control. At the same time, Birth grabbed two more Cell Medals and loaded it into his Driver.

"CELL BURST!"

Ankh narrowed his eyes as the Breast Cannon began to build crimson energy. "How many Cells does that thing need?"

"What's he doing?" Bacho asked, holding on due turbulence.

"He's preparing for Birth's finisher!" Chou'un said, digging her sword into the monster's back as she held on.

"Come on... come on...!" OOO growled, directing Giant Cricket Yummy to the helicopter pad. Birth loaded another two Cell Medals into the belt and turned the knob.

"CELL BURST!"

"Almost there...!" Birth strained, watching as the energy on the Breast Cannon grew stronger. OOO finally reached the top of the building and crash landed the Yummy, kicking up the concrete as it skidded onto the pad. That was everyone's cue to jump off it and onto the roof. Birth dropped down with a hard thud and placed two more Cell Medals into the Driver and then turned the knob.

"CELL BURST!"

Birth smirked as the energy on the Breast Cannon began to ripple. "Yosh, charging complete!" he shouted, gripping the handles on the sides.

"Great! Let's do it, Sha-chan!" OOO nodded, swinging the O-Scanner over the blue Core Medals.

"SCANNING CHARGE!"

OOO shot into the air like a geyser and lashed her whips around the Yummy. Lightning raced around it, stunning it, before she pulled it up towards her. Her legs turned into tentacles and spun around like a drill as she took aim and then ripped right through the Yummy, tearing a hole through it. At the same time, Birth took aim with his suit's accuracy systems and locked on.

"BREAST CANNON SHOOT!" Birth roared, pressing the trigger on the right handle. A large crimson plasma energy stream blasted out of the cannon, the kickback causing him to recoil backwards. The output of the beam was so intense that everyone shielded themselves from the wind. It ripped through the sky as air could actually be seeing being cut through. It smashed against the Yummy and enveloped it into its beam, causing a large fiery explosion and a rain of Cell Medals.

"Yatta!" OOO cheered as the Cell Medals rained around her.

"Whew," Kanu sighed, wiping her forehead, "Crisis averted."

"Heh, call it that if you like," Ankh snorted, gazing at all littered Cell Medals on the ground. He was so looking forward to collecting the loot.

"CRANE ARM!"

Sadly, the Cell Medals were pulled towards a crane that was attached to a cable.

"Oi, give those back!" Ankh demanded.

"Sorry, but I need to earn my use of this Driver!" Birth apologized as he gathered the Cell Medals using his Crane Arm.

"Hey, how about you give us our cut?" OOO asked. "We did part of the work too."

"Hm, I guess I can leave you guys a few," Birth decided. "Fair is fair, after all."

"SUBARASHI!" Kougami cheered as he watched Birth and OOO working together on his computer screen. "The birth of a new unity! It's a beautiful thing indeed. Birth and OOO, united as one! This way, they will have an even greater desire to defeat their foes!"

Satonaka would've commented, if she wasn't too busy eating cake. Even though she knew it would all go to her hips, she just couldn't help herself. Even her dislike for sweets wasn't enough to keep her away. Kougami's cakes were so delicious.

"Perhaps another cake is needed to celebrate this new partnership? What do you think, Satonaka-kun?" Kougami asked. Satonaka's mouth was full so she answered with a thumbs-up. "SUBARASHI!"

In his lab, Dr. Maki was studying the footage. But it was different from Kougami's. It was the footage captured by Birth's helmet camera and the footage was all of OOO. "The Marine Combo, ShaUTa," Maki said to his doll. "This data will be useful in developing the new system."

The Birth Driver was not his true masterpiece. It was something that Kougami insisted on to be made. What Maki wanted to perfect was the Haka System, and to do that he needed combat data from the field.

"This should conclude our field test then. We shall continue observation on OOO and Birth."

Around the same time, Ten'i had already returned to Kyosho and delivered her report on what she learned about the Kougami Foundation to Shibai. She had her fingers tented together as she listened with interest, the gears in her head already turning. Once Ten'i had finished, Shibai made her decision.

"So then, we will need to find the missing element needed to complete these new Core Medals if Kyosho is to gain access to the next anti-Greeed weapon. That is now our new primary objective," Shibai said, glancing at the steel canister Ten'i was holding.

"Are you certain that this is a good idea, Maria-sama?" Ten'i asked.

"If we are to find the weaknesses of these homunculi, we must take some necessary risks. What better way to find such weaknesses than to use reverse engineering?" Shibai reasoned. "According to the doctor you spoke with, the chi of a certain animal type is needed for the process to be successful. That means we need three animals of a same class and category."

"What about arthropods?" Ten'i suggested.

"Hm... unless there is such a Greeed that hasn't been found yet, that does sound like a good suggestion," Shibai pondered. "And I have the perfect people for the job."

Sensing a presence behind her, Ten'i swirled around. Standing in front of the doorway, were two boys and a girl. At first glance, it appeared that the trio were monks, being dressed in the black robes, wearing the bamboo hats and wielding the staffs that ones in that profession would hold. A second glance showed that they were not exactly that, each of them sporting gold magatamas on their ears. The boy on the left had a shaved head, but easily the biggest of the three with his muscled frame. The boy on the right had short black hair and sported an aura of power around him which gave him an air of smugness and downright arrogance around him. The girl in the middle had messy black hair and naturally considerable beauty, but she did not broadcast it, instead appearing as humble as any monk would. The casual observer could mistake them as monks, or apprentice monks, but to anyone else the trio were most definitely Fighters.

"The Three Pillar Gods of Kyosho," Ten'i whispered in awe.

The next day, Nanyo had returned to order and classes had resumed. Among the crowd of students, Hakufu was happily munching on a breakfast bun with Ankh and Chuubou closed behind, Ankh looking less than enthusiastic as he lazily walked with his hands behind his head.

"Hey you! Good morning!"

"Huh?" Hakufu blinked. A blur dropped before her and stood up. "Um, you're Ba-chan, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Bacho nodded. "I have something to ask you. Take me in as your disciple!"

"Huh? Me?" Hakufu asked, pointing at herself.

"I'm super glad that you saved me from falling off yesterday. I decided that if I want to get stronger, I have to be trained by the best!" she bowed, "Please train me, Master Sonsaku!"

"Bacho Mouki is one of the Tiger Generals of Ryuubi Gentoku," Chuubou stated. "Why would you want Hakufu-neesama to train you? Wouldn't it be better if Kanu-san was your master?"

"Kanu is strong, that I know. But I wanna learn something that hasn't been brought to the Tiger Generals before! There's no better way than by asking one of Seito's allies!" Bacho explained.

"Yeah, speaking of Seito how are they doing? Did they get to keep that Birth Driver?" Hakufu asked.

"Oh yeah. A woman came by with a tablet showing a weird old guy in a red suit congratulating us on our 'birthday'," Bacho air quoted, "I wasn't paying much attention to most of it though. Me and Chouhi were kinda busy with the cake Shamoke-san and Chou'un-san brought."

"Yeah, the cake boss really likes making cakes," Hakufu nodded with a smile, "If we keep doing a good job, he'll make more for us!"

"Really? He sounds like a cool old guy!" Bacho beamed, "I wonder if he does internships..."

"Oh, goodie," Ankh scoffed, "We have another nutcase on our hands."

"What was that?" Bacho snapped, glaring at Ankh, "You wanna get in a fight?"

"You wanna start something? Interesting!" Ankh retorted, flashing his Greeed arm and promptly making Bacho scream out, "Do you have the guts?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR ARM?!"

Hakufu chuckled nervously, "We really have to deal with this from now on, don't we?"

"It seems that way," Chuubou nodded, smiling.

Goei sighed as she looked up at the sun with her hand over face. "It's really hot today," she sighed to herself. "I should think about heading to the beach sometime. Maybe I could snag a nice guy." As she turned back to do the laundry, a wizened old man dressed in a sun hat, green shirt and black khaki pants walked into the yard.

"Hey, Goei! You're looking well I see!" the old man greeted.

Goei stiffened and turned around, "Oh, Master Chokou. It's been a while."

Shikou Chokou was the old mountain hermit who taught Hakufu just about everything there was to know about fighting. Despite his appearance and age, he was still strong and active enough to give the youth a run for their money. That, and his obsession with girls' underwear could put many female Fighters on edge, much to Hakufu's annoyance. Both Chokou and Goei sat down on the porch, each sharing a slice of watermelon.

"So, how is your daughter? Has she fought any kaijin and kaiju lately?" Chokou asked, dropping the bombshell.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Goei said, coolly munching on watermelon slice. "Yes, the recent uproar of monster attacks is something that's never happened in any of the past Fighter wars before. I mean, she's adapting sure. But I still can't help but fear for her anytime she fights one of the monsters. Fighters such as Ukitsu are one thing, but no one knows anything about these creatures."

"Believe it or not, Goei," Chokou paused to spit several seeds from his mouth, "These monster outbreaks have happened before."

"Really?" Goei blinked. "You mean like the Dopant attacks in Hinata and Fuuto?"

"There's that," Chukou nodded. "But this has been going on for a very long time now, all the way back to the 1970s."

"Seriously? That long?" Goei gasped.

"Heroes in masks riding on motorcycles fighting organizations of monsters preying on the innocent," Chukou hummed, "And each one with a story of their own to tell. And now, Hakufu has joined that legend. The moment she put on that belt, her fate, as well as the fate of others, had forever changed. Now Fighters from all over are gathering together and growing stronger much faster than they normally would. They will have to prepare for a battle unlike anything our ancestors have ever witnessed before. Is it good? Bad? I can't say for sure. The future is now a blank state for everyone."

"Is there anything that we can do?" Goei asked.

"I have already spoken to Shifu about it," Chukou nodded. "It seems I'm going to have to resume training the girl if she is to stand a chance against this new threat. Her dying is no longer an option. If she loses, it will be a tragedy not just for you. The whole world could be at stake."

(LINE BREAK)

Across the street corner from Nanyo, someone was watching Hakufu and Chuubou trying to break Ankh and Bacho up from their scuffle. The air faded as color slowly formed into a very tall figure. And not just any figure. It was a Kaman Rider.

The Rider wore a glowing orange bodysuit underneath white chest armor, which mimicked pectorals and abs. It also wore white bracers, and boots. Its fingertips were curved, as if they were claws. The helmet was white with glowing orange eye visors and a pair of antennae. Oddly, the mouthplate moved as if it were a mouth on its own, moving up and down like it was segmented. Then there was its scarf, which glowed with a bright orange light, moving freely and wildly as if it were fire. Lastly, there was a belt around its waist with a core in the center that glowed as if it were filled with hot magma. The mystery Rider gave a small growl as it eyed the four teenagers, creepily sounding like several clicking noises.

Chukou sighed, "Funny thing. She is to be a hero who unites the people. Perhaps this is what her fate also has in store for her."

Goei shrugged, "We may never know."

To Be Continued... in Love Hina X Ikki Tousen: Kamen Rider Core...

Core Medal Count:

Red (Ankh): Taka x2

Yellow (Kazali): Raion, Tora, Cheetah

Green (Uva): Kuwagata, Batta

Blue (Mezul): Shachi, Unagi, Tako x2

Tailsmo4ever: Who was that? Another Kamen Rider? What purpose does he have?

KR Chrome: Well, this was an interesting chapter to work on. We had a midair fight scene and Birth has made his debut. Not much else to say.

TFP: Well now Kamen Rider Birth is on the scene and it seems there is another player waiting in the wings? But who is he?