IMPORTANT
This special chapter was written as a gift for a friend and long-term reader of this story; PikaBrine_MC!
I may post other special chapters in the future, but for now, enjoy this story!
The OC Hero Gyroball is an OC created by PikaBrine_MC! Check out the story on AO3 to see some cool fanart!
All other OCs here are mine.
The Immortal and Eternal Hero: Izuka Midoriya
Special Chapter: Pangolin Paradise
Fourteen year old Izuka Midoriya was excited, eagerly looking out the window of the small private plane she was currently flying in. She was excited because this would be her first trip outside of the Japanese Mainland, to one of the small islands on the west coast. Not only that, but this would be her first Junior Internship with a non-U.A Pro Hero since the Moncalama Debacle, which had soured Izuka's parents on letting her out of the city, let alone the prefecture for almost a full year. Since spending the Weekend with Water Hose, Izuka had Internships with Present Mic, Midnight, Hound Dog, Blood King, Power Loader and Ectoplasm, and while Izuka had loved it all, she craved to see a new part of the world, even if it was still in Japan.
Izuka turned to Shota Aizawa, who as always, was accompanying her. "Tell me about it again!" she begged with her best puppy dog eyes.
Aizawa sighed; "For the hundredth time, we are going to Amidal Island, specifically Cape Padmei. It's a tropical island, famed for it's semi-active volcano and jungle, as well as it's beaches. The Hero we're visiting is an acquaintance of mine from way back in the day. Beyond that, he asked that he be allowed to introduce himself."
"I've never been to an island before… have you been to Amidal Island before?" Izuka asked.
"No I haven't. I live in the city and do my best work in places like that. An island with only a few resorts and a single port town isn't really where I'd shine." Aizawa said, "Plus I burn like crazy."
Izuka giggled and snapped a picture of the ocean view with her phone, so she could show Kacchan when she got home. Aizawa left her to her own devices for a few minutes, then decided now was as good a time as any for a lecture.
"Remember Izuka, this is an important weekend. If we get through this without any major incidents, your parents have agreed to let you go on other Internships outside of Tokyo and Musutafu." he said, "Now what are the rules?"
"Come on Sensei! You've made me say these rules every time since Moncalama!" Izuka whined.
"Yes, and we remember what happened then, don't we? You ran head first into a fight!" Aizawa snarkily reminded her.
"It was one time!"
"You died, Izuka! One time is already too many!"
Izuka pouted, then sighed and obediently went through the rules; "Do everything I am told by you or the Pro. Stay where one of you can see me at all times. Alert you or the Pro is I see illegal activity and don't try to solve it myself. If I'm ordered to run away, then run away and don't fight. Don't get myself killed..."
Aizawa nodded approvingly; "Good, though I think we should add a new rule about whining about rules!" he joked, making the girl giggle.
It was only another twenty minutes before the plane landed in Cape Padmei's Airport, and Aizawa and his young charge grabbed their luggage (they had packed light, so everything fit into their backpacks) disembarked to find their Pro Hero guide. The Airport was fairly small with only a few planes in an out each day, so there weren't many people around to clutter up the place. Izuka looked around eagerly, hoping to spot a Hero she recognised, when she suddenly found who she was looking for.
A massive humanoid Pangolin was standing a little ways off from the terminal Izuka and Aizawa had emerged from, clutching a small paper sign with the words "Aizawa and Midoriya" on it. He was wearing large blue shorts with an extended waistband (for his tail) and a light blue shirt with the back cut off and strapped to his chest with elastic bands (to accommodate his plate-like scales). The shirt was edged in orange and also featured a green emblem that cut into the collar, with a large orange P emblazoned on it. As a Pangolin-like person, he was covered in thick dark brown plates that coated the top of his face, the outsides of his limbs, his back and his long Pangolin tail. His soft underbelly was a sandy brown. His hands and feet were tipped in long claws, which looked deadly, but from the delicate way that the man was holding his little sign, he had excellent control.
"There you are." Aizawa said, leading Izuka over to the man.
The man looked to the pair and smiled, waving his claw; "Shota! I'm glad you made it okay! This must be Little Izuka!" the Pangolin Hero greeted, his voice softer than one would think from his stature. He bowed his head politely to Izuka and offered one of his hands for her to shake; "Nice to meet you, I'm-"
"The Protecting Hero: Gyroball!" Izuka squealed. She swiftly pulled out her notebook and showed the hero his page. "I recognised you right away! You're the amazing hero that specialises in mountain and jungle rescue!" she said, rattling off facts as she always did in her Fangirl Mode. "You're the 23rd rank Rescue Hero! I can't believe you offered to let me intern with you this weekend!"
Gyroball was taken aback by the girl's sudden excitement, but smiled shyly at the praise. "That's very nice, Miss Midoriya! My name is Pingbi Chuanshanjia. It's kind of a mouthful though, so please just call me Pingbi, or Pinecone if you like! My friends call me that and I think we'll get along well too." he introduced as Izuka gently shook his hand, being mindful of his claws.
"Wow, I never expected you to be here! I heard your office was in Hokkaido." Izuka said.
"It was, but it was really just because it's where I got my start as a hero. I worked with Wrecking Ball as a Sidekick and stayed up there for a while after I went independent, but the climate didn't suit me. I did a lot of work in the mountains there, but I operate best in warmer places, so I moved here! Plus, Amidal Island is a major trade port between here and my home country of China." Pingbi explained as he led the two visitors out of the airport and into the warm sun of the island.
"Huh, I forgot you were of Chinese Descent..." Aizawa muttered, looking around. There were several cars parked, but none that looked like it could fit the large Pingbi. "Where's your vehicle? Or are we walking?" he asked.
"I don't need a vehicle! You'll be riding the Gyroball Express!" Pingbi smiled. The large hero picked up Aizawa in one claw and Izuka in the other, "This is why I asked for you to pack light! I can only carry two average sized adults at a time. Thankfully Izuka is small!" he explained.
"Oh no! You aren't going to!?" Aizawa exclaimed as Izuka's eyes widened with excitement.
"Here we go!" Pingbi cheered, jumping and rolling himself into a ball with the two passengers held comfortably in the middle. With frightening speed, Pingbi began rolling down the road, keeping pace with the cars around him. The whole ride from the airport to Pingbi's home and agency only took about ten minutes, and the whole time Izuka and Aizawa were spinning around inside the ball, the former squealing with delight while the latter groaned repeatedly. Finally, they came to a stop at a cliff side building on the outskirts of Cape Padmei. Pingbi unrolled and deposited the two heroes back on their feet, where they both staggered about while Izuka giggled.
"Hehe That was fun!" Izuka smiled.
"Ugh, never again..." Aizawa complained.
Pingbi chuckled and fiddled with his collar, producing a small bag that was tied to the lining of his shirt; "This little bag contains special incense that can nullify nausea, so people can ride around with me! It's no fun cleaning up when somebody gets sick..." the Pangolin Man said, shuddering at what was likely an unpleasant memory.
"Anyway, let me show you around! Welcome to the Gyroball Agency, also known as Pangolin Paradise!" Pingbi said, waving his arms at the building.
It was a large, three story building that was brightly painted and had a cartoon Pangolin (perhaps a cartoon of Pingbi himself) painted over the entrance, proclaiming "Welcome to Pangolin Paradise" in bold letters. As Pingbi escorted Izuka and Aizawa inside, they were met by a lot of noise and people. Several young men and women, as well as young children were running about, dressed in the same uniform of white shorts and pale blue smocks, along with a funny little helmet modelled on a Pangolin. As well as that, there was a large playpen against one wall and numerous large cages against a neighbouring wall, filled with actual live Pangolins.
"Oh! Pingbi! Welcome home. Everyone, Pingbi is back!" a young lady shouted.
"WELCOME HOME PINECONE!" the crowd shouted.
"Hi everyone! These are my guests for the weekend; Shota Aizawa and Izuka Midoriya! Young Izuka is my intern for the weekend, so please be nice and help her out." Pingbi said, gently patting a claw on Izuka's head. The girl squeaked and bowed to the crowd.
"Hello! Thanks for having me!" she said.
The crowd shouted their own hellos and got back to work (or play, in the case of the children). Aizawa watched them for a moment while Pingbi spoke with a few of the little ones, then turned to the Protecting Hero: "Quite a lot of people you've got here." he said.
"Yeah, they're all volunteers that help out with my Preservation Work." Pingbi explained; "The kids are here as part of a combined day care and pre-school program. They help out, have fun and learn some valuable skills."
"You do Preservation Work?" Izuka asked.
"Yep! My Quirk makes me basically a giant Pangolin, so when I was a kid, I did a lot of research on them. I learnt that Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world! In a lot of countries, they are used as a source of meat, and their scales are highly valuable for use in certain types of natural medicine. Not only that, but after the beginning of the Quirk Era, it was discovered that the unique type of Keratin that makes up our scales is also effective and suppressing or nullifying a person's quirk factor, a bit like Eraserhead's quirk. Because of that, two of the eight species of Pangolin in the world have become extinct..." Pingbi said sombrely.
Izuka looked down, "That's awful..."
"It is, but we're doing what we can to help. Scientists in the States came up with a way to synthetically produce the keratin, which is now used in all Quirk Suppression Devices across the world. I've set up this paradise to take care of and slowly rehabilitate the animals we recover from illegal trafficking operations. All the animals you see here were rescued from such operations and will stay here until it's safe to return them to the wild." Pingbi grinned.
Aizawa nodded; "It's not well known in Japan, but in the rest of Asia, Pingbi is famous for his fight for the rights of Exotic Animals. He specialises in busting trafficking schemes as well as Mountain and Jungle Rescue."
"That's wonderful!" Izuka cheered, "Even Animals need Heroes! You're awesome Gyroball!"
Pingbi squeaked and rolled up in a ball, shyly staying like that while one of the female volunteers chuckled at Izuka's bewildered expression. "He's a bit shy around newcomers and gets embarrassed easily by compliments. He'll calm down and come out shortly. In the meantime, would you like to see some of the animals?"
Izuka patted Pingbi's scaly hide and nodded, eagerly following the volunteer to the pen were several young Pangolins were playing. They were adorable animals, even with their sharp claws and thick scales. It made Izuka sad to think of people killing these little creatures for their scales. They seemed quite sweet animals and had gentle temperaments, preferring to roll up like Pingbi had done as opposed to striking with their claws when frightened. After some prodding from the Volunteer, Izuka gently ran her hand over one of the creatures, amazed at how smooth they were on the top of the scales, and how sharp they were on the edges. "They're so cute!" she exclaimed as a Baby Pangolin licked her finger with it's long tongue.
"They are fairly harmless animals." Aizawa nodded, "They're also commonly called "Scaly Anteaters" though that name is less popular these days."
The Volunteer nodded; "That's because they are part of a different group of animals from Anteaters. They may be similar on the outside, but they're actually very different taxonomically."
At that moment, Pingbi finally unrolled and shyly walked over to Izuka, bowing his head in apology "Ehehe, sorry for that!" the Hero said bashfully, "Even after all my experience as a Hero, I still get shy when complimented. Come on, I'll show you the rest of the Agency!" he said, leading the two away and leaving the Volunteers to their work.
The second floor of the Agency was where the Hero Work was done; it housed a couple of desks, a whiteboard with a series of photos and documents stuck to it, like the board of a detective and a small training area. "This part doesn't get used much, only when I take on the occasional intern or sidekick. My current Sidekick is out doing some important work, but you'll meet her tomorrow." Pingbi explained. The top floor of the building was Pingbi's private quarters and his home. It was modest, though everything was fairly oversized to accommodate his large form.
"Well, this is it! My house! It's not much, but it works for me! I only have the one guest room, which is where my sidekick lives, so Izuka, you'll be staying in her room with her and Shota, you'll be sharing with me!" the Hero smiled.
"Thank you for the Hospitality." Izuka and Shota said together, bowing politely.
Pingbi waved them off with a chuckle, directing them to sit on his large and overstuffed sofa while he sat on the edge of the coffee table… for all of a second before the thing collapsed under his weight. Aizawa sighed and rubbed his face while Izuka squeaked and began fussing over Pingbi, helping the chuckling hero back to his seat. "Whoopsie! I always forget not to do that..." he laughed nervously.
"And yet you remember not to leave anything on the table because you know you'll break it." Aizawa deadpanned.
Pingbi smiled; "Yep!"
"You've had that habit since you were in school..."
Izuka perked up at that, "Oh right! You said on the Plane that Pingbi was a friend of yours! Where you classmates?"
"No." Aizawa said, "We met at the Provisional Hero License Exams, and while he was still in Hokkaido, I helped him out on a job. Some A-Rank Villains were getting involved in the Illegal Pangolin Trade and Pingbi doesn't like fighting, so he reached out for help. I answered, we busted up the villains and their crew, then parted ways. He calls sometimes, but that's it."
Izuka tilted her head, "So you didn't go to U.A, Pingbi?"
"Sadly not." the Pangolin Hero said, "Remember how I said I was originally from China? Well I was born in Qingqing City..."
"The birth place of Quirks!" Izuka exclaimed.
"That's right!" Pingbi said proudly, "I was even born in the same hospital as the first quirk user, the Luminescent Baby! It was several generations after of course, but I'm still pretty proud of that! Anyway, I was inspired to be a hero because of that and what I learned about the Illegal Animal Trade. Since U.A is the most famous and highly rated school in the eastern Hemisphere, I moved to Japan to apply! Sadly, I just barely missed the cut off point, so I was rejected."
"Really? But you seem like someone who'd do really well!" Izuka said.
"Thank you for the compliment, but back then, I was a lot less together. My Japanese was poor and I was still debating on whether I should be a combat or rescue hero. Because of that, I hesitated and fumbled in the Practical Exam, so it was my own fault in the end. Still, I wasn't discouraged! I applied to Ketsubutsu Academy instead and got in! Like Shota said, we first met at the Provisional License Exams and I sort of broke a table then too! We met again in the incident he mentioned, since he was recommended to me by a classmate of mine and a friend of his; Emi." Pingbi smiled.
"Emi?" Izuka looked to Aizawa.
"Emi Fukukado. More commonly known as Ms. Joke." Aizawa said with a sigh.
"The Smile Hero! Cool!" Izuka cheered.
"I know right? She always used to cheer me up. She comes and visits whenever she had vacation time." Pingbi smiled, "Speaking of her, Shota, she asked me to give you a message."
Aizawa groaned; "Oh god, what is it? If it's another marriage proposal, I'm leaving." he complained, making Izuka gape in surprise.
Pingbi laughed but shook his head; "No no, it's nothing like that. She wanted me to say she bought shoes from a Drug Dealer. She doesn't know what he laced them with though, because she's been tripping all day!"
Aizawa groaned and hit his head against the wall while Izuka and Pingbi giggled together like a pair of loons. It was more because of Aizawa's reaction and the silliness of the joke than any actual humour, but it still did the job and even Aizawa could hold in a wry smile as he watched his young charge giggling alongside the cuddly pangolin.
"Okay okay, enough of Emi's bad jokes. Pingbi, you asked specifically to have Izuka and I come here. Why?" Aizawa asked.
Pingbi sighed and sat on the floor, "It's because I need your help, Eraser, and I thought it would make a good experience for Young Izuka, since she already had Combat Experience from the Moncalama Incident. The thing I need help with would have her in a supportive role." he looked to Izuka; "The Izumi family; Water Hose are acquaintances just like Shota. We worked together once to evacuate a forest camp ground up in Hokkaido after a large forest fire flared up. I heard how you saved their lives, plus Mandalay recommended you highly. The Pussycats and I also have a working relationship, since we both specialise in mountain rescue." the Hero explained.
Shota narrowed his eyes; "You are aware that if there's an incident, Izuka has orders to retreat."
Pingbi nodded; "Of course. When the Junior Internship was approved, I was informed of her quirks, namely her Linking powers and Immortality. The role she would play is purely support; I have zero intention of letting her get involved with a dangerous situation." the Hero promised, losing a degree of his kindly mannerisms as he spoke.
"I remember the rules, Aizawa-sensei. I'll help however you want me to, Gyroball!" Izuka said determinedly.
Pingbi smiled; "Good. Now here's the deal..."
Pingbi had called Aizawa and Izuka to assist in breaking up another Illegal Trafficking Ring, similar to when he and Aizawa had worked together in Hokkaido. The Criminals had assembled on Amidal Island and had two known bases; a Warehouse on the docks of Cape Padmei, and a cave system that could only be accessed by sea. The Warehouse was a front for the ring's legal face company, while the cave was where they stored their illegal wares and kept records of their shady dealings. According to Pingbi's investigations, the dock workers would move the legal wares from the warehouse on to the criminals' ship, then the criminals would sail to the cave and have the illegal wares replace the legal ones. The ship would then sail to wherever it was selling or buying illegal items, do their business, and sail back, dropping off any illegal wares at the cave before bringing the money and legal wares back to port. The plan was for the Heroes to hide aboard the ship before it sailed to the cave, then bust out and defeat the more dangerous criminals while Pingbi's sidekick led the local police into the caves through a series of tunnels she'd been digging in secret (which was where she was currently, finishing it up). Pingbi would be the shield, protecting Aizawa from any dangerous weapons and Mutant-Types, while Aizawa would focus on doing most of the fighting. Izuka's only job would be to distract the enemy with her fire by flying safely out of range, and once the criminals were dealt with, she'd be tasked with assisting in collecting and cataloguing the illegal merchandise and generally doing any odd jobs that Pingbi or the Police needed her to do.
"Sorry it's not very exciting, but it's important work." Pingbi said apologetically.
"That's fine! If I can help in anyway, then I'm happy!" Izuka smiled.
Shortly thereafter, the trio ate dinner, or more specifically, Izuka and Shota ate dinner while Pingbi made himself a special smoothie. His quirk: Pangolin, essentially made him identical to a Pangolin with only a few minor human features (such as his improved balance, allowing him to walk on his hind legs easily) and as a side effect of this, Pingbi had no teeth and thus had to eat everything in the soft forms like mash, sauce, soup and smoothies. Once they finished eating, Pingbi explained another, lesser used part of his quirk: a skunk-like stink attack. Pangolins had glands near the anus that produced a noxious smelling chemical and shoot it like a spray, but since Pingbi was still technically human, his own glands were in his armpits instead and after a lot of practice, he was able to loosely control the effectiveness of the stink attack. His tongue could also shoot out well over ten feet and he had excellent control over it. As Pingbi explained it, he admitted to disliking both the spray and using his tongue, as he felt they were "rude" but he would use them if he had to.
After spending an evening working out the kinks in the plan and telling Izuka stories of their past heroic exploits, the two heroes tucked the girl into bed and soon retired themselves, ready for the bust the next day. When Izuka awoke, she squeaked as she was startled by someone else being in the room, and more specifically, being an inch from her face and watching her sleep.
The other person, a girl, giggled and ran around Izuka in a circle, smiling and repeatedly saying "Hi!". The girl was roughly 5ft 2 and her face was that of a long-tailed Chinchilla, and she had the long tail sprouting from her tail bone too. The rest of her body was that of a lithe young woman, though every exposed inch of skin was covered in a thinner variety of Chinchilla fur. She was wearing a Chinese style dress in dull gold with red detailing, and it was split down one leg to allow her to run and kick more easily. The girl wore a small diadem too, with the letter "C" engraved into the stone over her forehead.
"Um, hello? Are you Pingbi's sidekick?" Izuka asked.
The Chinchilla girl cheered and nodded; "Yes! My name is Chi Chi! My Hero name is the Excited Hero: Sand Chi! Chi Chi works with Master Pinecone!"
Izuka smiled politely; "I'm Izuka Midoriya! I don't have a Hero Name yet! Wow, you're really young! You must be a prodigy!" she said. Chi Chi looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, at least going by her height and youthful voice since Izuka couldn't really tell based on her Chinchilla face.
"Hahahahaha! Chi Chi is 20 years old! Chi Chi is an adult!" the Sidekick replied hyperactively.
At that moment, the bedroom door opened and a groggy Aizawa walked in. "Chi Chi, Pingbi asked you to wake Izuka, not the entire island!"
"Hahahahaha, sorry Mr. Eraserhead!" Chi Chi replied, picking Izuka up and depositing the smaller girl on her feet; "Little Izu is awake! I'll go help Master Pinecone!" she laughed, then happily trotted off, leaving a bewildered Izuka and a groaning Aizawa.
"I need more coffee..." Aizawa sighed, "Get dressed Izuka. The ship is set to depart in two hours and we need to eat and prepare."
"Yes Sir!" Izuka replied, rushing to change into her U.A Gym Uniform. When she went out to the living room, she found everyone around the table in the kitchenette. Aizawa was nursing a cup of coffee while Chi Chi was gleefully ploughing through a plate of bacon and eggs. Pingbi was by the stove, frying up Izuka's portion. He was wearing his Hero Uniform, the same as yesterday, but this time he had a little chef hat and oversized apron with the words "Kiss the Cook" on it, but someone had stitched a patch over the word cook, replacing it with Pangolin, so the apron now said "Kiss the Pangolin".
"CUTE!" Izuka thought with a blush.
"Good Morning Izuka! Sorry if Chi Chi troubled you at all. She's a very hyper young lady." Pingbi greeted, gesturing for Izuka to sit while he dished up the food.
As they ate, Chi Chi introduced herself properly and explained a bit about herself; "Chi Chi looks like a Chinchilla 'cause Mom's quirk was "Chinchilla!" Chi Chi's quirk is actually Dad's though; "Sand Storm!" It lets Chi Chi control sand and dirt super well!"
Pingbi nodded along, "Chi Chi's mother used to babysit me when I was a little Pangolin back in China. Chi Chi used to always trail after me when she was a baby, and when she was old enough, she followed me to Japan and attended Ketsubutsu as well. She became my sidekick right out of school. Her quirk actually allows her full telekinetic control over earth, but only if it's smaller than a marble, however there's almost no limit to how many individual bits she can control at once, so she uses her quirk to control sand. She's been the one digging the tunnel that the police will use today."
"Yeah! Chi Chi also made all the burrows for the Baby Pinecones down stairs!" Chi Chi cheered.
"Oh, you mean the Pangolins?" Izuka asked.
"She does. Chi Chi is… quirky, if you'll excuse the pun. She insists on calling me Master Pinecone as she likes to think of all Pangolins as my children…" Pingbi explained.
Izuka nodded and continued eating, then once she was finished, the four of them moved out to begin their mission. Chi Chi went to meet the Police Assault Squad, who had been put up in a Vacation Resort not far from where Chi Chi's tunnel began. Since they wanted the element of surprise, instead of Pingbi taking Aizawa and Izuka to the docks in his ball form, he had hired a truck that could carry him in the back safely, while Aizawa drove. They arrived on the docks just as the Criminals' ship was being loaded by the dock workers, but that was when they hit their first snag.
"Look." Shota whispered, pointing to the crates being loaded; "Izuka and I can hide amongst that easily, but there's no way you won't be noticed." he said to Pingbi. The crates were roughly casket sized and contained long rolls of cloth… Izuka and Aizawa could fit in such a box, but Pingbi wouldn't stand a chance.
The Pangolin Man frowned and scratched his chin; "The shipment is different. They were supposed to be transporting Buddhist Statues, not cloth. The timetable mush have changed. Shota, you continue the plan and sneak aboard; once the ship sails around the cape, I'll hop in the water and swim after you. I should be able to keep pace without alerting the enemy. Izuka, I'd rather you stay with me than Shota. If Shota is discovered, he'll have trouble fighting the entire crew and protecting you."
"I can do that. I'm a fair swimmer." Izuka nodded.
"No, you'll ride on my back. No offense, but I can swim a lot faster than any normal person." Pingbi said, flicking his tail for emphasis. "Shota, when you arrive at the cave, stay hidden. We'll signal you when we arrive, then we can attack from two fronts."
"Got it. Izuka, Gyroball's in charge; obey his every word!" Shota said, before ruffling her hair at her nod and stealthily climbing through a window of the warehouse. Izuka watched with amazement as Aizawa-sensei effortlessly moved through the shadows, knowing exactly when to pause and when to move. He snuck past the workers and quietly opened one of the crates, disguising his noise by using his capture weapon to make another crate fall over. While the workers were distracted by that, he slipped into his own crate and buried himself within the rolls of cloth, so even if someone opened the lid, they wouldn't see him unless they dug through the contents.
Fifteen minutes after his successful infiltration, Aizawa was loaded into the ship, along with the last two crates, and the ship set sail. Once they were sure Aizawa was onboard, Pingbi and Izuka snuck away through the back alleys of the docks until they reached a secluded beach.
"This is a popular make out spot for the Island's Teenagers. I come here occasionally to break up raves." Pingbi explained as the two sat in the surf, waiting for the enemy ship to sail around the cape and out of sight. Pingbi was paddling up and down the length of the small beach, amazing Izuka with his speed; the man was big and heavy, yet he moved incredibly swiftly, even on land. It was odd, since Izuka was used to massive people lumbering about without much grace. Once the enemy ship sailed out sight, Izuka sat on Pingbi's back and held on to his collar tightly as the man began swimming with incredible speed. His powerful tail swished to and fro in the water, propelling them forward at speeds that could match slower speed boats. It didn't take them long to round the cliffs and spot where the ship was sailing, at which point the Hero slowed down and stuck close to the cliffs to avoid being noticed. For a few minutes, the ship paused, ceasing all movement in a seemingly random spot.
"The ship's scouts are looking around to ensure no one is watching." Gyroball explained quietly. Izuka was out of sight behind the rocks and while Pingbi's head was exposed, his colouring made him blend in with the cliff face, so anyone seeing him from this distance would just assume he was a rock. Then, to Izuka's surprise, the ship started up again and sailed into the cliff wall, disappearing from sight as if the wall wasn't even there. "Hologram." the Hero explained as he rapidly began swimming to the spot the ship had entered.
Izuka's eyes widened; if these crooks could afford a hologram emitter of that scale, they must be pretty well off, which means their business was a success. Gyroball swam around the cliffs, patting the walls with one claw to see where the hologram started. Upon finding the spot, he poked his face through and saw the ship had docked in the cave hidden by the hologram and some shady types had already begun unloading. "Izuka, get in the water and swim beside me. We'll be less obvious with you beside me at this point."
"Yes sir." Izuka whispered, quietly lowering herself into the sea and followed Gyroball through the hologram into the cave.
The mouth of the cave was really just a massive cavern with a small enclosed beach and a makeshift wooden dock. Beyond the beach, towards the back of the cavern was a series of huts, bunkhouses and warehouses, and a lot of shady looking people were milling about. At the very back of the cavern was an opening that lead to the rest of the cave system, but Izuka was more focused on the beach, where the illegal cargo being shipped was waiting to be loaded. Stacks of cages full of creatures such as Pangolins, large tortoises, several types of monkey and even some large cats, including several wildcats and even a poor emaciated tiger. As well as these animals was several other packages, containing things such as drugs, illegal weapons and furs. A pair of elephant tusks were also propped up against the cages, the blood on them attesting to the fate of their owners.
Izuka felt sick, but kept her composure while Gyroball's eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight. The two stayed silent, hidden behind a series of stalagmites, awaiting the signal from Chi Chi. Once she sent Gyroball the All Clear, they would jump in and begin the attack, but first, they needed a way to signal Shota. Gyroball grumbled to himself for forgetting to decide on a signal, but Izuka had a solution.
"We can use these." she smiled, pulling a small bag of glass beads from her pocket.
"What are they?" Gyroball asked.
"Special firecrackers." Izuka said, "My boyfriend has produces Nitroglycerin from his palms, so for my last birthday, he mixed some of it with some colouring powders and put it inside these beads. When one breaks, it'll make a small colourful explosion. If they hit someone, they'll cause tiny burns, but they do make a loud pop! Aizawa-sensei would recognise it right away; he's seen me play with them before!"
"Excellent! On my signal, throw some at the crates being unloaded." Gyroball ordered.
Moments later, Gyroball's phone vibrated, signalling that Chi Chi and the police had entered the cave system and secured it. Sure enough, when the Hero peaked out from his cover, he saw Chi Chi hiding in the cave opening at the end of the cavern.
"Izuka, now!"
Grabbing a handful of her beads, Izuka tossed them as best she could, causing them to rain down on the crates and explode in a rainbow of colour. Everyone in the cavern turned to see the multicoloured explosion and at that moment, all hell broke loose. Chi Chi and the Police charged into the cavern, shouting orders to surrender. Aizawa kicked his crate open and immediately lassoed himself onto favourable ground atop the ship whilst also ensuring the crew didn't try and sail off. Izuka flew up to the ceiling of the cave where she could use the Stalactites for cover, and Gyroball leapt onto the shore and flashed his claws to intimidate the criminals.
The weak-willed or unarmed criminals either gave up immediately or tried to run away, frantically swimming away only for the sand of the beach to grab them and pull them back thanks to Chi Chi's quirk. The more hardy crooks immediately pulled their side arms or activated their quirks, starting a small shoot out with the police, though this proved fruitless as Gyroball rolled between the police and the criminals, tanking the bullets that bounced harmlessly off his thick plate armour. Those using their quirks found Eraserhead erasing them, leaving them easy prey for Gyroball to bowl over.
"This is my super move: Gyroball!" the Hero cheered, rolling himself into a ball and ploughing through the ranks of the gang, knocking many out with the force of his attacks. Izuka helped out too, firing small fire balls at anyone trying to sneak around the heroes and police, often taking them out with sneak attacks before they could do the same to the good guys. Very few took notice of the girl, but those that did would take pot shots at her, only to almost immediately be bombarded by the full force of Gyroball, who would furiously knock them flying like skittles in a bowling alley. The Police raided the huts and bunkhouses, arresting people as they went, including the boss of t he whole smuggling ring, who turned out to be a small time gang boss from Korea and he was little threat, using paid muscle rather than his own power.
The only problem was a pair of enemies that weren't mere criminals, but full on Villains. The first was a person with some sort of Octopus Quirk, and the second was a nearly skeletal man that thoroughly confused everyone with his odd mannerisms.
The Octopus Villain didn't actually cause much in the way of harm; he burst out of one of the warehouses in the cavern and soaked the people near him with ink, then jumped and dived into the ocean. Gyroball tried swimming after him, but even his speed was nothing compared to the aquatic villain and the criminal got away. "Damn it." Aizawa frowned, "That was Innsmouth! He's a wanted smuggler." he said as he kicked a thug into the dirt.
Gyroball sighed and swam back to shore, headbutting another thug as he jumped out of the water. "Forget him for now. There's no way we'll catch him now. Focus on these guys!" he shouted.
That was the moment the Skeletal Villain appeared. At first, the Police thought he was a victim held captive by the smugglers; he was incredibly gaunt and looked as if he'd been starved. The man was basically just a skeleton that had skin stretched over it, and the man's skin appeared to be for another person much smaller than him. He wore a dirty black businessman's suit and his distorted features were Japanese in origin, with thin and patchy black hair and dark, deeply sunken eyes. When an officer had approached to offer him help, the man screeched and grabbed the officer's gun. Rather than use it however, the man caused the gun to glow and then melt, covering his hand and turning his left index finger into a twisted mimicry of a fire arm.
Thanks to Sand Chi's quick thinking, the officer was saved from death as a sand wall rose up between him and the villain, blocking the bullets fired at him. When the Villain ran out of ammo, his finger returned to normal and the gun he'd stolen dropped to the ground, now empty. Sand Chi and the officer retreated to a safe distance as the man screeched again, then turned is attention on the other heroes, namely Gyroball.
"You bastard… you woke me up! I only just got to sleep after three consecutive all-nighters… I'm going to kill you for that." the Villain growled.
Gyroball frowned and waggled his finger (claw?) at the villain; "None of that! I won't tolerate bad language around children! Surrender and you won't be harmed." he ordered, holding his claws out menacingly. This was a bluff; Gyroball almost never used his claws for combat, since they were deadly sharp and he often had trouble controlling his strength when fighting… it could kill someone, which was why he preferred to just body slam his opponents with his sturdy body.
Strangely, the Villain looked around and spotted Izuka, bowing his head to her; "Sorry kid, don't copy my language." he said, then turned to the hut he'd emerged from. The Villain put his hand against it, and just like the gun, it glowed then melted on to his body, covering him in armour made from the wood and clay that had made up the hut.
The Villain looked at Gyroball and made a "Come on" gesture with his hand. "I'm Nobuhiko Okamoto. I suppose I have to use a Villain name too? I guess Yoroi works." he said, then ran at the hero. Gyroball rolled up to tank the blows from the heavy clay fists, then sprang up and headbutted the villain's torso.
Yoroi staggered back, both his fist and chest armour cracked from the hard impacts with Gyroball's scales. As far as the Hero could tell, Yoroi's quirk allowed him to touch objects and turn them into armour, gaining their properties as he did so. Gyroball doubted he could do so with living things, but he wasn't willing to risk it, so instead of simply attacking and knocking him down, the Hero slowly backed away, luring Yoroi over to Eraserhead, who was almost done taking out the Small Fry. Yoroi seemed to realise what he was doing though, and instead of pursuing Gyroball, he turned back to attack Sand Chi and the Police. With Yoroi's attention off him, Gyroball decided to attack, rolling up and using his Super Move to smash into the villain's back. The damage already done to the armour caused it to break under the force of the blow, and Gyroball was shocked at the result. Rather than the armour simply crumbling off like he'd expected, when it was destroyed, the fragments glowed and reformed themselves into the original object, in this case a hut. The reformed hut hit the ground and smashed, kicking up a cloud of dust and giving Yoroi the opportunity to run and touch the Smugglers' Ship.
"That's just not fair..." Gyroball gaped, watching as a giant man rose from the sea where the ship had been. Yoroi was encased in a massive suit of armour so big, he was mostly just a person piloting a robot. It resembled a generic robot with block limbs and the bow of the ship sticking out of the chest. The ship's twin smoke stacks were now part of the man's shoulders and the robot's face was a crude metallic replica of Yoroi's real face.
Aizawa had luckily jumped off the moment he felt the ship melt beneath his feet, but those unfortunate enough to be still on board were screaming from within the hulk of twisted metal, unharmed but trapped. The lucky ones were on the bow and could jump off into the sea below. Aizawa cursed and tried to erase Yoroi's quirk, only to discover he couldn't because he couldn't actually see the Villain amongst the metal. "Gyroball! I can't erase his quirk if I can't see him! Bust a hole in that thing!" Eraserhead shouted.
Gyroball squeaked and jumped over a flailing swing from the massive suit of armour; "How tough do you think I am? Clay and rocks are one thing, but I can't smash steel!"
Sand Chi tried to trip him by manipulating the sand of the sea floor beneath him, but Yoroi was simply too big and heavy. Izuka even tried to help by shooting fireballs at the limbs of the armour in an attempt to perhaps melt the joints and lock his movements, but she couldn't create a fireball hot enough to seriously effect steel and couldn't safely get close enough to use a more concentrated flame. However, seeing this gave Gyroball an idea….
"Izuka, hit me with a fireball!" the Hero yelled.
"What!? Why!?" Izuka shot back, retreating from a massive kick.
"I want to see if my scales can resist your fire!" Pingbi replied.
"Now!? This isn't the time to satisfy your curiosity!" Aizawa roared, spending all his time pulling people away from the Villain's attacks. At this point, it was clear that Yoroi couldn't really see thanks to his massive armour, so he was just swinging blindly.
"I'm not curious! If I can resist her fire, she can launch me at this thing's chest and hopefully either do enough damage to break the transformation, or bust a hole you can see him through!" Pingbi shouted back.
Izuka gulped, but then shot a fireball at the Hero, careful to aim for his back and not his soft underbelly. As he hoped, Pingbi found that the flames didn't even twinge, so he rolled into a ball. "Cover me in fire then hit me at the villain!" he ordered.
Izuka obediently coated the Hero in flames, thanking the heavens that his scales made him fairly heat resistant. She maintained the flames with her control, then took a run at him and kicked him like a giant soccer ball, using what little of One for All she could safely control. Her training since Moncalama had let her use about 8% safely, but that was more than enough to boot Gyroball directly at the Villain's chest.
"Team Super Move! Sun Gyroball!" Pingbi declared as he was shot straight into the villain's chest, destroying much of the bow of the ship. Pingbi ended up embedded there, unable to move or unroll himself, but he'd done his job; through the hole he'd torn open, Aizawa could see Yoroi's true body. Activating Erasure, Yoroi's quirk stopped working and the ship snapped back to it's original and undamaged form. Yoroi landed hard on the deck, and the now freed Gyroball landed hard on his back, knocking the villain out with a swift smack from his tail.
With Yoroi defeated, the entire mission came to an end as those Criminals still free surrendered almost immediately. Apparently seeing a giant flaming pangolin slamming into a bizarre ship robot was a stark reminder that these petty crooks were dealing with people out of their league.
Izuka sighed with relief as the Police hauled away the last of the enemies and she could begin the more peaceful work of collecting evidence and taking care of the captive animals. During the search of the boss's office, they found that he kept files on most of his gang so he could blackmail them if they ever tried to leave his service. The file on Innsmouth only revealed that the Smuggler Boss had hired him to help slip drugs into Japan since the villain was skilled at evading the coast guard. It stated that Innsmouth had siblings that worked alongside him, but nothing else was known about him. The file on Yoroi was much thicker; it seemed that Nobuhiko Okamoto was just a Japanese Businessman that had become addicted to some sort of Quirk Booster drug named Trigger. He worked for the Smugglers since they kept him supplied with it, though the side effects was the cause of his bizarre appearance and less that lucid mannerisms.
Much of the evidence Izuka had to help gather was files and ledgers, while the police and senior heroes dealt with the illegal contraband, but to be honest, Izuka was happy to avoid touching some of the things being smuggled. The animals were in fairly poor condition and she was happy to try and comfort the more docile ones, since her evolution made her almost completely immune to disease. It took hours for the police to haul away all the criminals, then process all the evidence they'd obtained and the Heroes ended up eating lunch in the cavern before getting back to work. It was late evening by the time they were finished, and the four heroes could make their way home.
Izuka was exhausted, but she stayed awake and aware for the whole walk back to Pingbi's place. "What'll happen to the animals and the stuff we confiscated?" she asked.
"The drugs, furs and ivory will be kept until the trials, then safely destroyed. The weapons will likely be destroyed too, but occasionally the police will keep them to replace their own equipment, if the government approves. As for the Animals, they'll all be seen to by Veterinarians. It's sad, but a lot of them will likely die due to disease or infection. Those that survive will be rehabilitated and then either released to the wild, placed in a sanctuary or given into the care of a Zoo with a vulnerable animal protection program. Some of the Pangolins we saved may end up living at my place." Pingbi answered.
"Chi Chi hopes a lot of them will live. We all worked hard to save them after all." Chi Chi mused, trudging along behind Izuka. The Hyperactive girl had used up almost all her energy and was now droopy and lethargic.
Aizawa took the opportunity to pat Izuka's head; "You did good today. I don't expect you'll get any praise or notice in the media like you did in the wake of Moncalama, but your contributions will be noted. Personally, I'm just happy you didn't get hurt…"
Izuka chuckled; Aizawa had a right to be worried about that! While she hadn't died on an Internship since Moncalama, she'd gotten hurt in some way every time. She'd accidentally been deafened by Present Mic's excited screeching, smacked her head on a table after getting knocked out by Midnight's quirk, got a chunk of metal stuck in her when one of Power Loader's inventions malfunctioned and even passed out from blood loss from helping Hound Dog see to injured animals.
"You both have my thanks." Pingbi smiled back at Izuka and Aizawa; "You were a big help. I was worried that with just myself, Chi Chi and the Police, the enemy would overwhelm us and it looks like I was right. I know the Internship is meant to last all weekend, but you can take tomorrow off if you like. It'll mostly just be some administration work and report writing." the man offered.
Izuka smiled politely, but refused the offer. "Thank you Pingbi, but I'd like to keep helping."
The Pangolin man chuckled and gently petted the girl's head. By the time they got back home, it was nearly time for bed, so Izuka was fed dinner and sent to take a bath with Chi Chi before being tucked away in bed. Chi Chi used Izuka as a cuddly toy and ended up sleeping beside her, hugging the small girl the whole night.
The next day, Pingbi, Shota and Chi Chi wrote official reports for the mission, and while Izuka wasn't an official hero and thus couldn't really hand in a report, Shota had her write one that her parents and teachers could read, stating it would be good practice for the future. Once the reports were taken care off, they all headed to the Police Station to handle the last of the aftermath by giving statements to the police, detailing exactly which criminals had surrendered, fought or attempted to flee (since they'd be charged with different crimes in addition to the Smuggling). Izuka wasn't asked to assist here, so she instead filled the time by making a page in her notebook for Sand Chi, updating the page on Gyroball and acting as a willing secretary for the police, running around the station grabbing coffee or delivering notes and reports. The Police were happy to have the eager girl scurrying about, lightening the mood and making their lives easier, so Izuka found herself being spoiled rotten by the officers, who kept slipping her candy and spare change in thanks. One officer even let her keep his cap, so long as she promised to wear it for the rest of her visit to the station, since it was a cute sight. Even Pingbi spoiled her, taking Izuka for an expensive local ice cream as a token of thanks for her help.
And so, it was with some sadness that Izuka and Aizawa prepared to board their evening flight back home. They had both bought souvenirs for their friends and family, and Izuka had both Pingbi and Chi Chi sign her notebook (funnily enough, despite not being able to easily hold a pen, Pingbi could write extraordinarily neatly by dipping a claw in ink and using it like a quill).
"It's been nice to have you with us, Izuka." Pingbi smiled, his eyes shining at the girl.
"Yeah, it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot." Izuka gave him a watery smile, "I'm kind of sad that I have to leave!"
Pingbi nodded in agreement; "I know. I hate to see you go, but you have important things waiting for you back home, right? Your parents and boyfriend for one."
Izuka blushed and gripped the parcel in her hand. It contained Katsuki's gift; some local candies and a model kit for a replica Pingbi (as the Island's hero, they had a lot of merchandise of him that was locally made, most of which Izuka had exhausted her pocket money buying).
Aizawa smiled and shook Pingbi's hand; "Thanks for the experience. It was good for her. Call on me again if you need my help."
"Like wise. Good luck out there, Eraserhead! And Izuka, I'll be watching your career carefully! Do me proud and remember; Praise the Pangolins!" the Protecting Hero laughed.
"And the Chinchillas!" Chi Chi added, reluctantly letting go of Izuka, who had become her favourite cuddly toy in the last day.
Izuka tearfully waved and boarded the plane, and soon they were on their way back to mainland Japan. Pingbi watched the plane disappear into the distance with a small smile on his face. In the months to come, the Pangolin Man would hear of her exploits at the USJ, the Sports Festival and the Chaos that came after and through it all, he kept his faith in the little hero that had assisted him. Pingbi and Izuka would meet again for sure!
But in the meantime, Izuka's Junior Internship with the Protecting Hero: Gyroball came to a peaceful end.