Drageria

Ch. 30: A Strange Reputation

Drageria is a place of many strange and wonderful things. Unique landscapes, strange creatures, unusual plants, a seemingly unrealistic sense of peace and equality between all who live here, the dragons, and their God-level leader. But one thing has been making waves in the whole kingdom for quite a while now. A group of young soldiers whose names are gracing the lips of all after one particular day out on the job. A group of soldiers consisting of Kirishima, Shinso, Momo, Uraraka, and Izuku.

Why are these five suddenly so popular in a wonderful land like Drageria? Well sit back and I'll tell you all. This all started with one event that quickly went downwards in a spiral of insanity! A simply even, or rather request in which things took an unexpected turn for the unknown. It all started with the impromptu leader of the group, Izuku, waking up to start his day as a soldier.

Normally his days were quiet and boring. Not much happens in Drageria, and that's good. But it doesn't mean he'll let himself go full from lack of action. He would normally get up, bathe, eat, and be out of the castle and onto the streets where he would patrol the towns.

Since the attempted invasion from Japan and subsequent rebuilding of the main town, alongside his 10-month training period away from civilization, the other four township sections being made to help deal with the town's overcrowding and overpopulation were finally finished and people were already moving in. Now there was far more found to cover and make sure things started at peace, which they normally were. Anything that did happen was normally taken care of quickly and Izuku hadn't had such an event happen yet. But today was different.

As he was dressing in his uniform, he heard something flap a pair of wings and land on his open window sill. Looking behind he saw a small creature that resembled a bird…mostly. It was shaped like a partridge and colored like one too, but that's where the similarities ended. It has no feathers, just skin, zygodactyl feet, and wings like a bat. But instead of having the typical five fingers with a membrane in-between, all of its fingers had fused into one with a membrane stretching from the wing tip to the upper hip. In addition, it had no eyes or nose, just a mouth that encompassed its whole head, a human mouth.

Izuku knew this creature as a Mouthpiece, a strange creature that could replicate any sound it heard. So it was used for sending secret messages, like a walkie-talkie.

The Mouthpiece opened up and in Tachibana's voice, it said, "Izuku, could you come to my office.", And the bird flew off.

Izuku quickly dawned on his uniform and ran out of his room, still trying to fix on his boots as he ran towards the tallest part of the mountain castle. Once at the huge door, he fixes himself up before going inside and then knocks before he gently opens it.

"Lord Tachibana? You called for me?", Izuku asked while peeking his head in.

"Yes yes yes! Come in quick quick quick!", Tachibana waved him in with a hurried tone.

Izuku quickly came inside while closing the door behind him and saw Tachibana hunched over his desk, filled with papers as usual, with his fingers crossed and eyes lowered and serious.

Taking a breath, Izuku asked, "Is everything alright?"

"No-I mean-yes. Sorta.", Tachibana babbled out, waving the question off and leaving Izuku confused. "Listen, I have a very special assignment for you and only you to undertake. Can you do this?", He asked Izuku in a serious tone.

Izuku stood at attention and with a smile he stated, "I'll do my best!"

Tachibana slapped the desk and exclaimed, "Good! Then what do I want to do.", He said with a pause, driving Izuku's suspension upwards. "Is go out.", He said while leaning in while Izuku did the same. "And get me.", He emphasized the last part while Izuku stood there with the tension killing him, as he finally said, "A pizza."

"You can count on wait, huh?", Izuku quickly fell off just as easily as he was brought up.

Tachibana practically jumped over the desk grabbed him and exclaimed between grit teeth, "Please Izuku! I need this!"

Confused and freaked out, Izuku asked, "Why do you need a pizza? And why can't you just get one yourself?"

"It's Arete!", He yelled while throwing his arms up.

"Arete?", Izuku replied back.

Tachibana nods and explains, "Yes! Ever since the Festival of Cakes, she's been having me on my yearly purge!"

"Your…purge?", Izuku asks back, getting even more confused.

"Yes! Purge! She has me eat nothing but healthy foods for a month! It's all practically rabbit food! It's only been two weeks and I'm dying!", He tells him while holding up a half-eaten bowl of lettuce.

"But….you are the king, yes?", Izuku questions his silly logic.

"I might be a god, but that woman is a devil! Plus.", He told him while getting quiet and waving for Izuku to come closer. Once there he whispered to him, "She scares me.", Making Izuku shudder as Tachibana told him in a serious tone, "Please Izuku! Just go out and grab me a pizza and bring it back, sneakily! I just need that and I'll be good to go for the next two weeks.", Izuku gulps at the seeming gravity of the task and hands him a small pouch of money while telling him, "Take this money, go to the spot I've marked on the map, and tell it's for me! And tell him to put everything on it that isn't green or a fruit!"

Izuku looks at the pouch and asks, "Can I bring anyone else along?"

Tachibana quickly nods his head and tells him, "Yes! Use them as alibis and cover-ups if it makes your job easier. Just get me that pizza!", He then leaned in again and said in a quiet tone, "And whatever you do, don't let Arete know-."

"Let me know what?", Arete asked while opening the office door.

Izuku quickly hides the coin pouch in his coat while Tachibana resisted the urge to scream in panic, all before stating, "How much I love doing paperwork! Yep! There's nothing like being the king I am and doing all this tedious labor for the benefit of my people!"

Arete narrows her eyes, shrugs, and then walks in, passing Izuku, and going to his side to talk about the paperwork he was doing.

Izuku then casually turned around and started to walk out.

Just before he left the threshold of the office, he heard Tachibana say in his mind, 'Help me Izuku! You are my only hope.'

With that, he quickly left and made his way down to the exit at the foyer. This should be an easy task overall. It was Arete who was the problem, but he'd figure that out later. As he went down some stairs, looking over the coin pouch he was given he heard someone shout something.

"Incoming!", Yelled a voice as he quickly ducked to avoid an object flying past his head.

Crashing into a wall nearby, Izuku quickly turned his head to see Kirishima embedded in the engraved stone.

"Hi Midoriya!", Kirishima greeted him with a smile.

"Hi Kirishima.", Izuku replied

"That hurt.", Said Kirishima.

"I can see…", Izuku stated while looking at his implanted body. "Training with Rapa and the Dark Knight?", Izuku asked.

"If I wanna be the best, I gotta fight the best!", Kirishima told him while pulling himself free.

"Hey, Kiri! You are okay!", The voice of Rapa called.

"I'm good.", Kirishima called back.

Once he was free and dusting himself off, Izuku inquired, "Say Kirishima. Could I ask you something?"

"Sure.", He agreed.

"I have a super secret and special mission from Lord Tachibana. And I need help!", He told him in a serious tone.

Kirishima looked surprised but quickly changed to determined as he pointed to himself with a thumb and a tooth smile, and practically yelled, "You can count on me! I'll help you with your-!", But Izuku quickly pushed him before he could spill the beans. Kirishima realized this and nodded with a fake zipper over his mouth.

He then cupped his hands and yelled, "Um, I'll help you! Rapa, I'm helping my friend with something!"

"Okay kid, good work today! Go and take a break.", Rapa yelled back.

The two then made their way down the stairs, through the foyer, and out the large doors. Once outside and away from any ears, Kirishima decided that now was a good time to ask about specifics.

"So what's this secret mission?", He asked his shorter friend.

"We're going to get a pizza for Lord Tachibana.", Izuku told him casually.

Kirishima stopped in his tracks and began to bust out laughing like he never had before! He laughed for so long and hard that he fell over! He waited for Izuku to start laughing with him but seeing his serious neutral expression, Kirishima finally stopped his fit.

After clearing his throat and breathing a bit he finally realizes, "Oh you're serious.", Izuku bods, and Kirishima follows up saying, "Why can't he-?"

Izuku cut him off and told him firmly, "I'll tell you after. The only requisite is that we can't let Arete know."

Before Kirishima could ask why, they heard a female voice say to them, "Hello boys."

The two swivel their heads to see Momo standing on one of the flat-elevation landings.

"Oh, hey Momo. What are you doing here?", Ozuna asked the tall girl.

"Just finished dropping off some reports from yesterday, and I got lost looking at the view from this height.", She told them while looking out.

The two boys looked out with her and saw an amazing view. From their vantage point, they saw the entirety of the town below in all its glory, alongside the dock system and far out into the sea where they could just see the raging storm that encircled the island and protected them. It was truly picturesque and easy to get lost in. The wind blew gently over them as they continued their sightseeing of their new home.

"Wow. It sure is beautiful.", Izuku spoke in a whisper.

"So what are you two up to?", Momo asked them.

Before Izuku could reply, Kirishima blabbered out, "We have a secret mission from Lord Tachibana. Wanna join?"

Izuku glared at Kirishima, while Momo agreed, saying, "Sounds fun."

Izuku sighed at Kirishima's big mouth and let the girl join them on the pretense that Tachibana told him to bring anyone to make it easier. From there the three teens made their way down the mountain slope and out into the town where Izuku took out his map and began to navigate through the streets and less crowded crowds.

"So what are we doing exactly?", Momo finally inquired.

"Getting Lord Tachibana a pizza.", Kirishima babbled out again, getting another glare from Izuku.

Momo opened her mouth to speak but when she did, a male voice came out of her and said, "A pizza, seriously?"

Izuku jumps in fright, hearing the voice from behind him. He spins around and meets his eyes with Shinso, yelling, "Ah! Shinso!"

"Is he just running out of ideas for us at this point?", Shinso asked in his usual tired voice.

"No it's not like that.", Izuku defended and was not able to process what was going on.

"It's a secret pizza.", Kirishima clarified, making Izuku also his forehead

"And since he knows, I guess he's a part of our mission as well.", Momo inquired, making Izuku moan in anguish at his secret mission not being so much of a secret anymore.

After this little hiccup, Izuku stood at the center of town trying to decipher the map he was given. After a bit of walking back and forth to make sense of it, he finally stopped and studied hard.

"So where do we go from here?", Shinso asked while getting bored.

Izuku scratched his head and then pointed in one direction while saying, "The pizza place is…..that way."

Just before they left the area, Shinso stopped them and asked, "Uh, guys. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

The other teens stopped and turned around to see what he was talking about. First laying their eyes on his confused and shocked expression, then follow his gaze, only to gain the same expressions.

"Is it Eri and a bunch of kids playing hopscotch with Prince Landon?", Momo asked back, only to get a silent nod from him.

And what she said was true. Lay before then was the sight of Eri playing with a large group of other children. Amongst the children was Landon, who was happily playing along despite the fact his giant claws could fit in the small squares. Nevertheless, he was happily flopping his tongue all about as the children screamed and played with him or on him. Off to the side were several guards surveying the sight with The Keeper, the man in charge of taking care of the dragons.

Now that Izuku could get a good look at him, he was a bit underwhelmed by how he looked. Like last time he wore a full body cover coat with a headpiece made of scales, gloves, boots, and a mask. Put together he looked like a plague doctor but the mask looked a bit more draconic.

After witnessing this, Izuku just told them, "Let's just move on.", And with that, they left in silence.

The four of them walked through the streets with Izuku at the lead and looked between the map and the streets in front of him in a bid to make sure they were on the right track. After a short time of walking, they came to one of the rebuilt market sections, and looking up from the map, Izuku saw a familiar face.

Standing at one of the stands and walking off with a biscuit and a cup of hot something, was Uraraka. The girl that Izuku wouldn't let anyone know he held a form of interest in.

Izuku felt his face flush up with happiness at seeing her and before he realized what he was doing, called out, "Oh look! It's Uraraka."

This got the girl's attention and she turned her head to see her friends. Smiling, she swallowed whatever was in her mouth and jovially called back, "Oh! Hey you guys, good morning."

"What are you doing out in this area of town?", Momo asked her as Izuku stands there, his tongue in his throat from gawking at how cute she looked with crumbs on her face.

"Just grabbing some breakfast before going on my rounds. What are you guys up to?", She asks while finishing off her biscuit.

"Secret pizza mission for Lord Tachibana.", Kirishima once again admits, making Momo create a roll of duck tape to shut his mouth.

"Sounds delicious. Can I join?", She asks excitedly.

Before Izuku could Juno the opportunity to agree, Shinso got to the punch and huffed, "Since you know the secret."

From there the five of them made their way behind Izuku who, after using the map, finally found the pizza place. After making double sure it was the spot on the map, they walked inside the shop. Even after looking at the hanging sign that read 'Pizza'. When inside they saw how it looked like any pizza parlor you see in any part of the world.

Behind the counter was a tall Italian man with green eyes and long blonde hair. When he saw them and smiled with his gold teeth, he chuckled and greeted, "Ah! Welcome to Gyro Zeppillie's pizza parlor. How can I help you?"

"I'm here at the request of Lord Tachibana, he-.", Izuku began to say while taking the coin pouch out.

Only for the man to swipe it and place an already-made package pizza in front of him, while saying, "Would like a large pizza with everything that isn't green or fruit on it.", Izuku stood there in silence with the others, only blinking as the man told him, "Every year Lord Tachibana is put on a purge by Lady Arete. And every year, he can't take it after two weeks and sends someone to secretly bring him a pizza to tide him over till the end of the month. It's a secret tradition around here.", He told him with a wink.

Kirishima's eyes glittered as he repeated whimsically, "Secret tradition."

The pizza man then waved them off while saying, "Well, good luck getting past Lady Arete. She's a real bloodhound if you get my meaning."

As they left the parlor, Kirishima asked the group, "Did he just call her a dog?"

"I think he meant she could sniff this stuff out.", Shinso corrected him before the girls got upset for her.

"Well, no time like the present. Can I count on you guys to help me cover this up from Arete.", Izuku asked his four friends, leading them to look at one another before looking at the green teen and nodding in unison. Izuku smiled and proclaimed, "Then let's go!'


Sometime Later

Tachibana sat at his desk, hunched back in his giant chair, drumming his finger irritated and impatient while Eri sat in his lap. Before he stood four teenagers in awfully worse wear. Scared and bruised, cute and scraped, tattered and dirty clothes, rips, and tears, and missing parts of the uniforms. They were a wreck, but not as much from the scrapes of information he heard about them. Bits and pieces that even he couldn't make into a coherent story, so he got it from the source. So now here they are, the fiber troublemakers/heroes.

After a long and tense silence, Tachibana finally sighs and asks, "Okay. Do the five of you want to explain to me what the heck happened?"

"Well…hehehe, it's a funny story.", Kirishima nervously tells him, rubbing his head as his half-destroyed hat falls off.

"Oh really? Then humor me.", Tachibana said in a serious tone while sitting up and increasing the size of his ears, saying, "I'm listening."

After taking a shaky breath Izuku finally caved and explained, "Well, you see, it all started in town."


Hey everyone I'm back with an idea of how to take the story. Now this chapter was supposed to be much much longer, but then I thought, do I want to go through that much mental anguish and fall off it for several months…NAH! So yeah this is going to be broken up into several parts, not sure how many. Anyhow, thanks for waiting, hope to see you at the next one. Plus Ultra!