Chapter 52: Mission: Failed
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! The pacing of this chapter is weird but that's mostly because the things that happen in this chapter are like... mostly talking. I'm really trying to cut down the parts that don't really involve Pokemon since they're very similar to what the show or the manga just is, but to make up for it I added more insight into what the Shie Hassaikai are planning. I hope you enjoy!
Also, to that one person who is still asking, I don't watch One Piece.
On Izuku's first day of internship, Nighteye called him, Mirio, and Bubble Girl to his office. "Today, we're just patrolling and surveillance. Bubble Girl, you'll come with me. Mirio and Midoriya will go on their own."
"Surveillance?" Izuku asked. "Nighteye's Agency is undertaking a secret investigation." Bubble Girl said. Nighteye flipped open his book and showed him a picture of a man with a bird-like mask. "It's on the Shie Hassaikai. The underboss, or the number two in the group, is a man named Chisaki. You should be able to recognize him from this mask."
"So if these guys are being investigated by a Hero agency, then these guys must be laying low," Izuku said. Bubble Girl nodded in response. "That's because they disintegrated a long time ago. But this man, Chisaki, has somehow managed to gain more forces. Recently, he even tried to get in touch with the League of Villains, but we don't know how it went."
Izuku's eyes widened in shock. The League of Villains?! He had such vivid memories of his terrifying experiences with them, but for a Villain group like Chisaki's, it only made sense.
"Right now, we don't have any evidence to definitively confirm what they're planning," Nighteye said. "Therefore, the Shie Hassaikai is close to being a completely blacklisted group. We can't treat them as basic Villains. Our goal is simply to learn more about them. Do not let them notice your surveillance."
After a few more minutes to go over the details of the search, the two groups headed their own ways. They were to just look like normal Heroes patrolling the city, no need to cause any ruckus. Izuku had his Riolu walking beside him while Mirio had Marshadow. They weren't exactly the most menacing-looking Pokemon, but they at least established that these two weren't to be messed with.
It was pretty nerve-racking being on the streets like this. Patrolling was such a basic Hero activity, but Izuku was nervous about walking around in public like this. Not to mention the fact that people seemed to recognize him from his performance at the Sports Festival.
"Man, I'm pretty nervous," Izuku said. Riolu climbed up his shoulder to comfort him, and Mirio just continued smiling. "You patrolled the streets in your first internship, right? Did something happen back then?"
"N-No, it's just that when I was interning back then, we didn't really try any basic Hero activities for some reason. It was almost completely training." Mirio laughed and looked at Izuku. "That's pretty odd, but don't worry. It's Sir Nighteye that's in charge of actually monitoring the target. We're just here to patrol around. I'll be able to teach you a lot."
As the two continued walking, Izuku couldn't help but remember the things Nighteye had said. Was Mirio really meant to inherit One for All? Did he really deserve it more? Moreover, why didn't All Might tell him? Why did Nighteye have to be the one to confirm this? What… what exactly happened between All Might and Nighteye?
"By the way, we haven't told each other our Hero Names yet," Mirio said, bringing Izuku back to reality. "O-Oh yeah, I guess you're right. I'm Deku!"
Mirio looked at him for a moment. "Deku? Really? As in… like… wooden puppet? You sure?"
"Yes!"
Mirio just smiled and nodded. "I'm Lemillion. I know we can't protect everyone, but my goal is to save a million people." Izuku now got a better look at Mirio's Hero Outfit. He had a yellow visor that connected to a headgear of sorts. His suit as a whole was similar to his but much more white with yellow and green accents. He also had a red cape and red gloves. The most notable thing though was the yellow "1,000,000" etched across his chest.
"While we're walking around and patrolling the streets, we need to stay alert, got it, Deku?" He said. Izuku smiled and nodded.
The two continued walking, but not even a few seconds later, Izuku felt something hit his leg. It wasn't strong at all and it didn't even make him move, but when he saw what hit him, he was a little shocked. It was a young girl. She had light gray hair and was wearing a plain white dress. Honestly, it looked more like an oversized t-shirt than an actual dress.
Riolu instantly jumped down to try and help her while Izuku got on one knee to check up on the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He reached out his hand to help her up, but the girl moved back, seemingly out of fear. Riolu tried to reach out to help her as well, but she did the same to him.
Izuku was naturally confused by this. "Can you stand up? Is everything alright?" He grabbed onto her to try and pick her up, but he could feel her trembling. Something was obviously wrong here. He noticed that she had several bandages on her arms and legs, and her face showed nothing but fear.
"Hey, don't do that." They suddenly heard the voice of a man. Izuku and Mirio looked to where the girl came running from and saw someone emerging from the darkness of the alleyway. "Don't trouble Heroes like that."
The two were completely shocked. It was… Chisaki?! The two didn't know what to do for a moment, so they just stood where they were without even saying anything. Even Riolu and Marshadow stood their ground, still unsure of what to do. "Hero, please excuse my daughter for disturbing you. She's been pretty rowdy lately. I'm sure you've seen all the bandages she's received from running and playing around."
Mirio walked over to Izuku and put his mask back over him. "Why was your mask down? You just adjusted it to fit better, right?" The boy was completely shocked at how calm Mirio was. He still had the same smile on his face as he turned towards Chisaki.
"We should be the ones to apologize! We bumped into her." Mirio said. That's right… Izuku couldn't give away that they were looking for Chisaki. If he found out, he'd throw the whole operation out the window. "By the way, based on that cool mask you got, you wouldn't happen to be part of the Shie Hassaikai, wouldn't you? You guys are pretty famous around these parts." Yes, just gather information for now. No need for confrontation.
"Yes, but please don't mind my mask," Chisaki said, giving a soft laugh. "I'm just a bit of a clean freak. I'm meeting you two for the first time, though."
Mirio laughed and nodded. "That's right! We're newbies around here so we're pretty nervous." He kneeled down and pat Izuku on the back. "Anyway, let's get up. We got a whole day's worth of work ahead of us!" Mirio wasn't being stupid. He knew that Chisaki was suspicious of them.
Riolu caught on and climbed back up Izuku's shoulder, ready to leave once more. Marshadow remained vigilant, ready to climb into the shadows to fight, but without orders from Mirio, he remained still. "So what agency do you two come from?"
"Oh, we're just students! Just doing our career fair with a couple agencies here and there. Please excuse us but we do need to finish patrolling before noon so we can get back to our other activities. Let's go!" Mirio started to walk away, signaling it was time to go.
"Y-Yes!" Izuku tried to stand up, but the girl didn't let go of him. She gripped onto his costume, practically asking the boy not to leave. Riolu noticed this too and when he realized the fear the girl felt, he readied himself. Mirio stood still with his back facing them, but he was ready in case things got dirty.
"S-Sir… your daughter seems… uhm… awfully scared." Chisaki squinted his eyes and clenched his fist. "It's because I just scolded her for running around." Mirio looked at Izuku and shook his head. Stick to the mission. Don't make things difficult. "L-Let's go!" Mirio said, desperately trying to get the boy to drop it.
"B-But these aren't the types of bandages a kid gets from playing around," Izuku said. Now, Riolu climbed off his back and showed Chisaki his anger. "That's just because she's quite reckless. She trips and falls a lot."
"But a child like this, shaking without even saying a word. I don't think this is normal." Chisaki dropped his act and looked down at the boy. "Don't tell me how to parent my child, kid."
"R-Right! Everyone's got different ways of raising their kids! Best not to pry or anything." Mirio said. He was desperate to get Izuku out of there to the point that he nearly sent Marshadow to do something. Chisaki was clearly on high alert now and they had done everything they could. They didn't want to get into a fight with him and he wasn't gonna be giving away any information. They just needed to go.
However, in Izuku's mind, it was more suspicious for a Hero to just leave a scared child like this. He wasn't gonna just abandon this little girl like this. "Sir… what have you done to this child?"
There was a moment of silence before Chisaki just let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Man, you Heroes really sweat the small details. Listen, I get it. We'll attract too much attention here. I'll explain more if you follow me." He walked back into the alley.
Mirio and Izuku looked at each other for a moment before nodding. Izuku picked up the girl and they followed the man, with Marshadow and Riolu leading. "Honestly, I've been a little troubled with all of Eri's issues lately." He said. So that was her name, Eri.
"No matter what I say, she always rebels." Izuku and Mirio both wondered if it was abuse or anything like that. "Oh, so you're looking after her alone. That must be pretty tough." Mirio said, trying to ease the tension.
"Yes, I don't really get kids these days. They always think they're so great with those crazy dreams of theirs." He said, placing his hand in his pocket and very subtly revealing the blue glow of his Pokeball. Eri saw this and instantly pushed herself off of Izuku. Riolu and Marshadow briefly tried to stop her, but she just ran past them and up to Chisaki. "Oh, done with your little tantrum?"
Izuku and Mirio were speechless. What… just happened? "She's always like this. Sorry for troubling you two again. Continue working hard, newbies." Chisaki said as he grabbed Eri's hand and started walking away.
"W-Wait!"
"Stop." Mirio held his hand over Izuku and stopped him from running after the two. Riolu and Marshadow looked back at their trainers waiting for any kind of orders, but nothing came. "Don't follow. Didn't you notice? There was a blue glow coming from his pocket. He purposefully lured her back here and showed his intent to hurt her. If we follow him, it'll be harder to pin him down. Stick to Sir Nighteye's orders."
Meanwhile, Nighteye and Bubble Girl were investigating a nearby house. "Who would've known? Their turf is so… tiny." She said. They had spotted several Shie Hassaikai members entering and leaving the house, so much so that they were confident in saying that it served as a base of operations. "The house seems so normal too."
"We've been watching them for a while now, but their numbers seem to be dwindling," Nighteye said. He continued observing until Bubble Girl let out a loud gasp, getting his attention. "S-Sir, it looks like Mirio… he seems to have met Chisaki."
The two groups met up at a nearby intersection. Nighteye and Bubble Girl were surprised to see both Izuku and Mirio seemed to be a little rattled. "I'm sorry. We've got a situation, but it all happened so fast." The older student said.
"No, please. Neither of you did anything wrong." Nighteye said. "Truthfully, I didn't actually expect either of you to run into Chisaki. I should have prepared you two better in the occasion that it did occur."
"Well, whatever the case, it's good that you two are safe. You'd be in a lot of danger if he tried to fight you." Bubble Girl said. Izuku placed his hand over his chin and thought. "He didn't seem too dangerous, though. I think there's a good chance Mirio and I could've fought him there."
Nighteye pushed up his glasses and shook his head. "Just last week, there was a robbery at a local convenience store. Chisaki and his gang members were pedestrians and they watched. Nobody knew what had happened when suddenly, a strange-looking Pokemon attacked. People say it was extremely tall and looked almost alien-like. It had a large white spiky ball at the top of its body with three long wire-like limbs that it used to wrap up the Villains and shock them. Chisaki was suspected of owning the Pokemon, but they couldn't prove anything as he and the Pokemon had disappeared shortly after."
Bubble Girl nodded and let out a sigh. "The thing is, the police haven't been able to arrest Chisaki both because he's been able to avoid them but also because they don't have any concrete evidence that he was responsible. Truth is, we feel like there's something much more sinister going on here, which is why the Nighteye Agency is keeping an eye on them. We don't really know what they're up to, but we know that they're dangerous."
"A-Ah, that reminds me," Mirio said. "It's not all bad. We did get a little more information. Chisaki has a daughter." Izuku nodded and continued the explanation. He explained how Eri was covered in bandages. He told them about how she seemed terrified but willingly left to go back with Chisaki due to a threat of violence. "If only I had been able to do something…"
"I'd advise you not to be so arrogant," Nighteye said, shocking Izuku. "Haste makes waste. The closer you get, the faster he runs. Right now, you aren't strong enough to save anyone you want, anytime you want. Right now, our agency is trying to get others to join us."
He turned back to the two students and let out a sigh. "You two made the right decision. We have to predict our enemy's movements and plans. As is, we don't have enough information to take on the Shie Hassaikai. You aren't ready to save anyone whenever you feel like it. The most terrifying Villains will be hiding in the dark. At times like this, it's best to let them have a brief moment of victory while we plan our next move."
The very next day, Izuku decided to confront All Might about what had gone down between him and Nighteye. According to All Might, after his battle with All for One, Nighteye used his Gardevoir to see into All Might's future.
While it was blurry, he saw nothing but death and violence waiting for the Hero. Terrified by what he saw, Nighteye begged All Might to retire and to stop while he still could, but naturally, All Might refused. He continued being the number one Hero, but he also kept Nighteye's words in mind. He looked for a successor, and that's how he arrived at UA.
"Togedemaru recommended me Togata." All Might explained. "However, before I even got the chance to meet him, I met you and Riolu. I'm truly sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I knew how it would hurt." The man said.
Izuku clenched his fist and shook his head. "Don't you remember what you told me before the Sports Festival? I still have to show the world that I'm here! I need you to be there when I do it!"
All Might smiled and let out a sigh. "Honestly, I took it pretty well when Nighteye told me my future. When I faced down against All for One again, I thought that was the end. Yet, here I am, standing in front of you. It's all because of you that I get to be here today. It's because of you that I had the will to fight and stand by your side."
The man placed his hand on his student's shoulder and laughed. "You know, I don't really believe in fate. I believe we shape our own destinies. Who knows? Maybe we've already changed the future. All I know is that I won't be dying anytime soon."
Izuku looked down, but after a moment, he looked back up to his master with determination. "All Might, we don't know if Future Sight has changed yet, but I promise you this. No matter what happens, I'll do my best to change your destiny!" All Might smiled. "Thank you, Young Midoriya."
Meanwhile, in a dark room, Chisaki entered. Following him was another man in a bird mask, the very same one who had shot Mr. Compress' Beheeyem. He carried Eri in his hands and flipped on the switch, revealing the room to be an observation deck of sorts. One wall was nearly completely glass, overlooking another room below.
The room below them was a lab of sorts. At the edge was a large glass case, big enough to be a large room in and of itself. Inside were three men, each wearing their own masks. They had their own Pokemon, being a Haxorus, an Arcanine, and a Copperajah. The rest of the lab had several scientists running around, but the main attraction was the Pokemon placed at the very center, chained by its arms and legs by large, blue chains.
The Pokemon was large, dwarfing the scientists around it. Its body was pitch black and it was shining as if it was made out of a crystalline-like material. It was shaped very strangely as well. Its body was very triangular, with another triangular-shaped helmet covering its small head. Protruding from its body were two thin arms that connected to much larger hands. Its hands were black for the most part, but it had palms glowing with white light.
Growing out of its hands were large crystals. They started off white at the bottom, but as they reached the top, it transformed into a pitch-black color. It also had two legs, but they didn't seem to be shaped to allow it to walk. Rather, they seemed more like claws.
Its face was interesting as well. Its face was mostly just made out of the same black crystal material the rest of its body was made out of, but it had several triangles of different colors scattered about. The top half of its face only had triangles formed together to make eyes, but the bottom half had different triangles spread around almost randomly, not forming any kind of body part.
Overhaul walked over to the table in front of him and pressed a button before turning to the microphone. "You know what to do, or else the girl gets hurt." He said, motioning to Eri. The Pokemon looked up at him and grunted before slamming down on the ground. The white crystals on its hands as well as its face began to light up, shining with several colors.
Suddenly, within the glass casing, a blue portal opened up. Out of it came a very feminine-looking Pokemon. It had a very slender figure and long limbs. Its body almost seemed similar to a dress of sorts. It also had a strange winglike structure coming from the top of its head, forming into a look very similar to a long and beautiful haircut. It also had two antennae protruding from the top of its head.
One of the scientists spoke into the microphone. "We have another UB-02: BEAUTY. Also known as Pheromosa." The man said. "It is a Bug and Fighting-Type Ultra Beast. It uses its speed and attack to strike hard, but it has very weak defenses."
Haxorus struck it with a Dragon Tail before the Pokemon could even react, allowing Arcanine to use Flamethrower and Copperajah to finish it off with a Heavy Slam. One of the men threw a strange-looking Pokeball at it, the very same one that Overhaul kept his Naganadel in.
Pheromosa was absorbed into the ball, finishing the capture. The three men walked out and handed the Pokeball over to one of the scientists. "Mission successful, sir. We captured the Ultra Beast." The scientists said, looking up at Overhaul.
The boss nodded and pressed the button once more. "Very good. We'll conduct more tests tomorrow. For now, keep Necrozma in check and study it more."
"Understood, sir."
Overhaul released the button and sat down in a nearby chair. He looked over as a scientist placed the strange Pokeball into a box filled with others just like it. The box was labeled "OCCUPIED BEAST BALLS" and he closed the box before another man came and brought it out.
"Looks like our plan is coming along." The man holding Eri said. Overhaul nodded before letting out a sigh. "Be on your guard. Something is coming, I can feel it."
