CHAPTER 2

You know, he wonders how much budget this school really has to make hallways that were more than two times his height, and he was standing at a good 179 centimetres too. Scratching the back of his neck, he wondered if this was the right decision to even make…

=

=

=

"You want me to what?"

Tsukasa stared at the ROB who shrugged, tapping away on his controller.

"Tl gl FZ, nzpv hlnv mvd uirvmwh, nzbyv vevm tvg z triouirvmw."

Go to UA? That's…

"I'm not type of person to be a hero though. And for the girlfriend part… I have it under control."

He ignored the eye-rolling of the ROB as he mashed the Smash Button, causing his character in the monitor to scream out a "Falcon Punch!". Sigh, virgin for 32 years, god that is sad.

"Kovzhv, blf wlm'g szev gl szev z svzig lu z svil, qfhg nzpv gsv nlmvb zmw vmqlb."

Fair enough, the heroes in this world do make a ton of money from advertising and merchandises alone… And money was nice too. Could fund his photography hobby… Hmmm… But the photographs that he takes already pays him really good.

He sold a recent one for about 14,000 Yen to some travel agency, it was his best one yet of his 4 years of this hobby, a nice Polaroid picture of the mountains from the hiking trail near Osaka, from his school trip. He was just that guy, even if the shot itself used some of his Rider Energy that he had, making the picture even more detailed and vibrant.

But still, it was just a hobby. He needed a good stream of money if he wanted to start his Get Rich plan to get rich.

"… Eh, sure, why not. I get to fight baddies with my Blackrose DecaDriver too."

That is such a good name.

"Gszg'h z dvriw mznv."

Hey, what's with that deadpanned look? The name fits the driver! Black, red, and green? Totally a black rose.

"Whatever, man, you just can't see my genius in action."

He saw Jeff rolled his eyes before briefly snapping his fingers. A second later, a file appeared in front of him. He'll read it later, time to Falcon Punch this Kirby from existence!

=

=

=

So, yeah. Here he was in UA, embarrassingly lost. The security guard at the gate was real kind, giving him the directions to the testing area, but come on, be more specific, would you?

"Turn left, go straight, and then take another right"? What kind of instructions are these? Which left, there were so many hallways!

Oh, man, he was so going to be late to the practical test. And why were all these rooms empty?! He just needed directions…

"I see that you're lost!"

The sudden sound caused him to whip his body in that direction, his arms getting into a guard position as he analysed everything in a second.

A… bear? Mouse? Looks like both combined, and he was wearing a suit. An expensive one from the quality. The creature looked really familiar, where had he seen this little thing before? —

"Very fast reflexes, and you seem to have an analytic mind! A very rare trait for a 14-year-old! Usually children your age would bulldoze through their obstacles without analysing the situation! Though your awareness needs some work."

…OK, who the hell is this guy — animal — mascot? Eh, I'll call him a guy for now.

"Sorry, but you are?"

"Ah, my apologies! Ahem, am I a dog? Am I a bear? Am I a mouse? That's up to you, but I am Nezu! Your future principal of this school should you pass the Entrance Exam!"

Tsukasa's eyes widened as he bowed slightly.

"Crap, sorry for not recognizing you, sir."

"It's no problem, Mr. Tsukasa! No harm done! Now, shall we?"

He wanted him to follow? Alright then. He nodded as the principal started walking forward… Wait a second, how the hell did he know who he was? Wait, dumb question, he's the principal, he must have read his file or something.

"I do admit that the hallways are quite confusing, so when you start your classes, I do recommend saving the map that you will receive in your email!"

"Sir, you're saying as if I've passed the exam already."

Nezu tilted his head.

"And why not? Your written test has been excellent, especially your English essay on "The Modern Heroes". Very interesting take, Mr. Tsukasa."

Ah, that essay. To be honest, he eye-balled it with his own opinion that Heroes need the motivation since humans were greedy people. Altruistic people were one of millions.

He was greedy too, he wants money, he wants to enjoy being a Kamen Rider, and he wants to travel the world for his photography. It was a win-win-win, with saving and helping people as a bonus for the job.

"Thank you, I had to erase a few paragraphs to make it… family-friendly."

"No doubt, and for how I think about your examination… You will no doubt pass the practical exam with flying colours, especially with that "quirk" of yours."

… Was it just him, or did the principal just deepen his voice when he said the word "quirk"?

"Oh, thank you, sir."

"It is a simple fact, Mr. Tsukasa. Ah, here we go!"

In front of them both was a large red door with the words "Practical Exam Hall!" stamped on very crudely with those alphabet-shaped balloons. Huh, guess the budget was real low. Nezu then gave him a card with his name, ID, and a single capital alphabet under Battle Centre. Turning to the principal he gave a slight bow.

"Thanks for the help, sir."

"Oh, it was nothing! Good luck in your exam, though I doubt you will need it!"

=

=

=

By the time he entered the room, the person presenting the whole shtick already finished his speech as he told the hundreds of students in the room (Wow, there was a lot) to go to their respective Battle Centres, leading them to buses that will bring them there.

OK, info gathering time. How to get into this school?

Uh huh… Points… Robots… 0-Pointer robot? Hmm… They were going to fight robots? That's pretty cool. He'll have to adjust, then. Using his power, he brought out his Rider Booker. It had the same colour scheme as his Blackrose DecaDriver, mostly black with white and red accents.

What's different about this Rider Booker was that there was an extra slot behind the book where you can put a Weapon Card in while not in Decade. Depending on the card, it will transform into the respective Rider's special weapon, like Ryuki's SwordVent or Blade's, well, blade.

Hmm, long-ranged or close-ranged? Eh, he'll use his spin wheel later.

Why not transform, you may ask? It's a little overkill, don't you think? Besides, his body was fit due to him training his Kamen Rider forms, and he had some Rider Energy inside of him.

Rider Energy is the energy that the DecaDriver uses to transform into any Kamen Rider. Think of Rider Energy as electricity, and that the Driver is the application. Rider Cards are basically batteries that store Rider Energy.

Each time a card is used, like AttackRide or FormRide, Rider Energy is used from the buckle to replicate attacks or change forms. FinalAttackRide Cards use a shit-ton of Rider Energy, though, so no spamming it.

Ahem, so, if he uses Weapon Cards, he would have to use his own Rider Energy that he had, and since it was a fraction of what Rider Cards had, he had about 10 minutes before he drops to the ground.

Well, he could use the Rider Booker's normal Blaster Mode, but that's boring.

Reaching said Battle Centre, his was at "D", Tsukasa couldn't help but whistle at the size of the Battle Centre. It was a whole damn city, he took back everything he said about the budget, Nezu was swimming in government taxes.

Taking out his Polaroid camera in his pocket-dimension, he took some pictures with a low-angle to really emphasis on the size factor of the gates that separated them and the Battle Centre. Grabbing the photo, he hummed.

Damn, this picture is good. He wondered how much this would pay — 

"Excuse me! You are violating the terms and conditions of the school Entrance Exam!"

The sudden yelling voice behind him caused him to look back with an annoyed face. Just when he was satisfied with a nice picture in a while…

A boy with glasses that screamed tidiness glared at him (Glared at him! What did he even do?) as he did some chopping motions with his arms.

"Section B-12, anyone other than school students and staff members are not allowed to take any pictures of school grounds unless given permission to! Please remove the picture and hand it over to the overseer of the exam!"

Processing what the rude boy just said, Tsukasa snorted with disbelief before continuing to take pictures of the grounds, ignoring the boy who started shouting louder by the second. He could tell that the boy was itching to grab his camera, from the tensing of his fist to the boy language the guy was screaming.

The heck was this guy's problem anyways? He looked over at the overseer, the one who followed along in the bus. Their eyes met, and Tsukasa raised his camera to emphasise on it. The overseer didn't do anything, so taking pictures should be alright then.

The rambling stopped and silence returned. Fucking finally, the dude was yelling at the top of his lungs. He tilted his head, damn the glasses boy was now attacking another kid. Something about interfering with some girl.

How rude, maybe the kid was just helping the girl out.

The gates to the Battle Centre suddenly open wide, as Present Mic yells to start.

The man said start already, so Tsukasa instantly ran into the Battle Centre, dodging the surprised people who were standing still. Fools.

"What are you waiting for? The exam has already started! There's no countdown in missions, ya know?!"

The voice from the P.A. screamed, and just like that everyone else started running through the gates. The Entrance Exam is now at full swing.

============================================

Read future chapters early in Pa**eon.

pa tre on . com /damaine_n

(remove all the spaces)

============================================