The original work was written by Op Taipan.
土
BOOK ONE:
EARTH
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
ORIGINAL EARTHBENDERS, PART 3:
TOU LIE ZHE
Two individuals leaned against the walls of a large warehouse, talking amongst themselves. Their appearance wasn't noteworthy, their faces even less so. They wore a matching uniform, a brown jacket made from dirty leather, and pants made from the same material on their legs. One of them held a taser in a holster on his thigh, while the other had the tips of knuckledusters poking from his pockets. A green hanzi simple was sowed into both of their jackets, above where the heart is, presented proudly for all to see.
The open space was big, housing many different crates of various equipment, food, and the occasional weapon. A large metal gate was at the room's edge, meant to allow trucks to load and unload cargo into the large space.
At the center of the room laid a large metallic box. It was the biggest in the room, capable of housing any truck that has ever set wheel in the warehouse itself. The sound of flesh hitting metal never failed to come from that container, for the one within it never stopped pounding his fists against the black metal.
*Bang! *
*Bang! *
*Bang! *
"Man, he's really going at it." Mukankei lamented.
"Tell me about it." Detarame, the other guard in charge of the prisoner nodded back, "Do you think kidnapping the kid was worth it? We tried to use earth-related quirks before in those tunnels, didn't do much good to the guys we sent."
"Beats me." Mukankei shrugged, "The boss seems to think so. And I guess trying with the kid won't hurt anyone. Though I am worried that the feds will start to look for us, someone is bound to notice a kid is missing."
"Don't worry about it," Detarame dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Kidnapping kids, or people for that matter, isn't our motif. We wouldn't exactly be the first suspects for it. Not to mention the police probably don't know we even exist! Much less being aware of this base! But I have been wondering about something... " The man scratched his chin, "Tekubi said that the brat held his own against Akuru, what kind of eight-year-old can go against a grown man?"
Mukankei rolled his eyes. "Big shock. Anyone with a few brain cells and a doughnut to distract him can take that guy on no problem, even a fucking brat!" He grumbled, "I just hate him! He can freaking fly! And what does he do with it?! Nothing! He just rolls around eating junk food all day!"
"I can't really disagree..." Detarame deliberated, " There was a time when Aruku was the second in command though. *Sigh...* How the mighty have fallen..."
Mukankei raised an eyebrow, "Really, then what the hell happened?" he asked.
"The Badger incident," Detarame spoke, his voice grave as if he just remembered the day his best friend died. "Those monsters down there crushed his legs under 15 tons of earth, it's a miracle the guy can even walk-"
*BAAAAAMMMMMMMMM! *
Just then, the sound of a truck colliding with a wall drummed through the warehouse, its' source emanating from the large cell in the room's center.
"Eeeeepp!"
"A-are we sure that thing can hold him?" Mukankei asked in a low tone, hand over his frantic heart.
"Don't be stupid, of course it can!" A voice shouted from the doorway.
Turning around, the two found Tekubi entering the warehouse, a small cage held in his hand like a sack of potatoes.
"That cell was designed to hold those giant Badger creatures we caught three years ago." He explained. "It can't be controlled by their quirks and it can take blows from them no problem! What can a child do to escape it? Especially one that's also chained up?!"
"Oh. When you put it that way-"
"Just shut up and listen!" Tekubu grumbled and walked in.
He placed the metal cage on one of the many wooden boxes in the storage facility.
"What's that?" Detarame asked. He couldn't see what was in the cage when Tekubi's body covered it.
"New merchandise." He answered, shifting to the side so that the guards could have a look for themselves.
Inside was a small rabbit. The rodent was covered in white and fluffy fur that would probably be nice to snuggle into if not for the fact is was riddled with dirt. Beady black eyes stared in fear at the large man, its' pink nose sniffing the foul air apprehensively. The most prominent feature about it was its' ears, they were the same length as the rest of its' body, stretching across the cage's floor.
It backed itself into the cage's corner, trying to get as much distance as possible from the gunpowder-colored-haired man.
"The guys on lookout at the cave's entrance caught it about an hour ago. The stupid rat fell into our trap hook, line, and sinker. Normally, we would throw him with the others, but the rodents' cages are under maintenance. Man, that place smells..."
Turning to leave, Tekubi cast the guards a last glance. "Someone should come by in an hour to take it. Until then, it's staying here, got it?"
The guards nodded, "Yessir!"
"Good. Also," He looked to the cage that held their green-haired prisoner. He was still pounding on the walls. "See if you can get the brat to shut up. I have to deal with enough loud morons as is."
"LET! *BAM! * ME! *BAM! * OUT! *BAM! *" Izuku pounded against the wall, screaming at the top of his lungs. The boy rammed his shoulder against the wall, again and again, and again, anything to get their attention. "PLEASE! *Bam! * Please…" He fell to his knees.
The boy had been doing this for hours, pleading with all his heart. He felt defeated. His voice was hoarse, his palms were bruised, and his knuckles were bleeding. Sweat rolled off his body almost as fast as tears did, pooling on the cold metal floor.
He choked back a sob before breaking and letting it out. He curled onto himself, hugging his knees and bawling. His eyes were forced shut, fighting the rivers of tears that flowed from them. His mind was abuzz, every thought hurt him and worsened his crying, no matter how hard he tried to clean his head.
He couldn't get that picture out of his mind. The one that showed all those hurt animals like they were a prize; like the one who took it should be rewarded for torturing all those innocent creatures.
But he couldn't.
That damned picture was all that he could think about, despite only ever truly looking at it once.
He remembered every damned detail like it was inscribed into his mind with a chisel. The Catgator that had all of her teeth removed; The Shirshu without a nose; All those poor Lop-eared rabbits without feet or ears; The wingless wolf-bats; and the Singing Groundhogs that looked more dead than living.
They were all looking at him, begging of him for help with their hollow faces that looked oh so close to giving up on life.
Then he saw Chima.
But not the Chima he remembered.
He looked worse than all the other animals combined. He was missing legs; eyes; ears; teeth; tail; everything that wasn't vital. Entire patches of fur were gone from his body, ripped off his skin, and taking his flesh with them.
The once-proud Badgermole shifted his head to face Izuku, creating a squishing sound that nothing alive should be capable of. His face was more sunk than the titanic at sea, mere skin on bone with nothing in between; He let out a gurgling groan as if he was choking up on his own blood. Water mixed with blood dripped from empty sockets, pooling with the red puddle underneath his body.
His head fell and his breathing stopped.
He was dead.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Izuku eyes opened wide and he screamed, white ethereal light illuminating the pitch-black cell for just a second. His blood boiled and his heart raged. He couldn't take it. HE COULDN'T TAKE IT!
*BAAAAAMMMMMMMMM! *
His curled fists rammed into the wall, shaking up the entire cell.
*Inhale…*
*...Exhale…*
*...Inhale…*
*..Exhale…*
*...Inhale…*
*...Exhale…*
*...Inhale…*
*...Exhale…*
The boy's hands were still on the wall, picking up the vibrations he caused to ripple through the wall of processed earth. He remembered that feeling; He felt the vibrations course through his hands. Continuing up his arm, finding themselves on his shoulder and finally dropping down, pulling into the base of his spine like they had done so many times before on earthen floor.
He blinked, eyes still producing tears and hands on the wall.
There was a dent on that wall.
"Tōu liè zhě? I didn't know they were active in Japan…" Naomosa Tsukachi skimmed through a thin file and hummed to himself. The newly-promoted detective sat at his desk, sipping coffee and going through multiple files as fast as he could.
"Hey there, Tsukauchi!" A hearty voice called out. A balding man approached him, his eyes warm and his smile fond. He wore a dark suit below a black waistcoat, his tie as upkept as a tree in a royal garden.
Lifting his head, Tsukauchi scrambled to stand up and bowed to the man, "Good evening, Tanuma-senpai!"
The now recognize Tanuma shook his head, "I thought I told you to drop the 'senpai'. I may have been a detective longer than you, but we are still partners. Lighten up!"
Tsukauchi chuckled and rubbed his nape, "I'll try and remember that."
"Anyhow, what are you doing?" Tanuma asked, "Your spirit is way too high for someone who's first-ever shift as a detective is the night shift."
"Well, since we didn't get a case yet, I thought it would do me good to read through the police archives. Get myself familiar with what I'm going to go up against, you know?"
Tanuma let out a hearty laugh, "Eager as ever I see. But don't get ahead of yourself, we don't get much action here in Naruhata."
Tsukauchi could only nod in agreement, "True. But reading those files has been illuminating for me. You knew the Tōu liè zhě are active here?"
Tanuma raised a brow, "Yes, though their presence here is not that strong. Most officers and heroes haven't even heard of them. Where have you?"
"I think I read about them in a book once…" Tsukauchi hummed, "But I can't seem to remember much other than them being an organization of poachers…"
"You know, its' funny. They are pretty big outside of Japan. But in it? No one heard of them." Tanuma deliberated, "Guess we really do live in a bubble…"
"How big are they exactly?" Tsukauchi asked eyeing the folder he was holding, "There isn't much about them in the archives…"
"In the Japanese archives, you mean…" Tanuma corrected. "I'm willing to bet the Chinese and Russian archives are swimming with files about them. As for your question: The Tōu liè zhě is the world's largest poaching organization by far, spanning most of south-east Asia, the Indian peninsula, China, and northern Asia.
"THEY ARE THAT BIG?!" Tsukauchi gaped, his jaws threatening to hit the floor. "When?! How?! How can one organization grow to be so powerful?!"
"Well, it didn't happen overnight." Tanuma explained, "And it's not like they started from scratch. Poachers were always major players in the criminal world of south-east Asia. When quirks started to appear governments may begun to collapse but criminal enterprises got acclimated pretty quickly, since having a quirk or not didn't really hinder their goals that much."
"Okay, I follow…" Tsukauchi nodded for him to continue.
"One of the exceptions to that, however, was the poaching market. Quirks may have been most commonly found in humans, but other animals developed them as well. Their numbers were scarce, amounting to no more than a few dozens in millions; But that rarity only made them more coveted, more coveted than any animal from before the era of quirks."
"That means that they had an entirely new commodity to sell!" Tsukauchi exclaimed, having realized where the story was going.
"Precisely." Tanuma nodded. "To this day, quirked animals and quirked animal parts are among the most desired items on black markets, and the most expensive.
But there was a problem. Handling a quirked animal is different than regular animals. They are harder to capture, more difficult to tend to; some required specialized equipment just to be kept in captivity! No gang had the resources to go after them alone, they had to work together.
A couple of gangs in China decided to join forces. Together, they created a monopoly of selling quirked animals and quirked animal parts on top of their regular poaching, gaining power at an astounding rate. Back then the craze about quirks was even more substantial than it is now, quirked animals, in particular, were the subjects of quite the attention from the public, everyone was looking for them. It was thanks for that demand and the fact that the unified gang was the only provider, that in less than a decade, the entirety of the poaching market in China was under their thumb.
They called themselves the Tōu liè zhě, the 'poachers' as if they owned the very definition of the word. After that, they expanded, establishing branches in multiple countries. And now, here we are." Tanuma finished the tale, taking a deep breath of air.
They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, Tanuma was taking a smoke and Tsukauchi reeling from the truth he had just learned.
"Welp, on that sobering note, I'm going off to get some coffee, want some too?"
The novice detective looked into his mug. It was empty. "Sure, I think I need it. Maybe my first case will come in soon. Help me to get this off my mind…"
The leader of the Japanese branch of the Tōu liè zhě sat in his office, staring at a screen. He clenched his fists from underneath the desk, trying to keep a neutral expression and mask away any sign of apprehension and nervousness.
He was antsy and restless, eager to continue with his plan. That boy was what he waited for for years, an opportunity of a lifetime. Unfortunately, he also had to keep up appearances, as they were just as important to the plan as the boy.
He was participating in a video conference. On his screen appeared the faces of the various branch leaders of the Tōu liè zhě organization, two dozen in number. He watched on in a frown as the leader of the Hindi branch continued to list off the many gains he and his branch managed to reap.
"Thank you, Nabu." A gentle voice spoke in Mandarin. She was an elder Chinese woman, reaching her seventies in age. Her dark hair was tight and well-groomed, held in a bun on the back of her head. A cub of tea rested on her desk, vapors gently flowing out of it. At first glance, she could've passed off as a harmless grandma with a face that was always locked in a polite smile.
None of the people in the conference thought so.
"You know how to continue from here. Contact your handlers and have them transport the merchandise into my branch's care."
"O-of course, Madame Gao." Nabu bowed to the woman, speaking in Hindi.
"Now, then…" Madame Gao, leader of the Chinese branch of the Tōu liè zhě, turned to look directly at him, "Shuzumu, please report the progress you have made in Japan."
The Japanese leader took a deep breath and straightened his hair before speaking, "Security-wise, we couldn't hope to be in a better place. Our facilities remain unnoticed and our presence is so well concealed that our operatives are capable of walking in broad daylight without being compromised. In ad-"
"That is all well and good, Shuzumu." Madame Gao cut him off and the man had to bite his tongue to not curse out loud, "But I asked for progress, not for what we already know."
"Very well, Madame Gao." Shuzumu sighed, "Unfortunately, I can't report on many gains in terms of acquiring new ware. Our resources are almost depleted, and I can't risk initiating any large-scale operations in fear of bankruptcy. That is why I ask for yours, as well as the other branches', aid to restore the Japanese branch into economic stability."
The smile on Madame Gao's face disappeared, replaced with a stoic frown as she eyed the younger man. "I'm afraid that is not how our organization works, Shuzumu. We might all bare the same name, but we are not all united under the same flag. Every one of the branches is its' own organization in and of itself. The Tōu liè zhě is merely an agreement to stay outside of each other's way, as well as to lead the authorities away from our personal. One's gain here does not equate to everyone's gain."
Shuzumu wanted to scoff. 'Sure, that's maybe what's written on the goddamned paper. But we both know you run this show. Everyone's gain here is your gain.'
"I am well aware, Madame Gao. But I believe that helping the Japanese branch could have a positive effect on all the other branches." Shzumu persisted, not missing the detail that some of the other branch leaders chuckled.
"Japanese law enforcement has never encountered Tōu liè zhě tactics! We could use all those resources it would take to throw them off our trail towards expansion! If we had the resources, my branch could organize massive operations one after the other without the police and heroes figuring out wh-"
"ENOUGH!" Madame Gao yelled and Shuzumu fell silent. The elder woman shook her head, "Shuzumu, I don't believe I ever told you this story…"
"There was a snake, in the village where I was raised… who mistook an elephant as prey. It died… with its jaws wide… clenched around no more than the elephant's foot, betrayed by ambition." She took a sip from her tea slowly, sighing when she was done, and then stared into Shuzumu's eyes, challenging him to refute her.
"You have failed to mention a few details in your little sales pitch, Shuzumu. Whether you forgot to, or deliberately did so is something only you know. Let us start with the obvious, your branch's output."
"Tsk!"
"Over the last seven years not only had your branch had the lowest amount of merchandise go into circulation by sheer numbers but also compared to the amount of manpower you had available.
In the last three years, in particular, things have gotten worse in terms of production. Most of your exports have been low-quality parts that came from sick and injured animals, having a minuscule worth compared to that of those who came from healthy ones. All of that atop the fact that your expenses have only risen in that time, even overtaking other branches, all of whom have higher turnout than your branch."
"And that is without mentioning that Ussuri Bear you let escape." A bearded man with slicked-back black hair whispered-yelled in a Russian accent, garnering a few chuckles from the other leaders.
'Damn that Kraven!' Shuzumu yelled in his mind.
Madame Gao ignored him. "And, of course, there is the All Might problem."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
"That man alone is responsible for the collapse and subsequent arrests of more than fifty different criminal organizations in Japan and the United States. The Tōu liè zhě has been lucky enough to remain under his radar up until now, but you operate right in his territory.
If you were to make the slightest mistake around him, All Might will lock his sights on us. There would be no telling how much damage he could do. And you want to expand further into Japan? Risking our discovery to him?"
"Where are you going with all of this?" Shuzumu asked, "All of us are aware of what you said."
Madame Gao shook her head as if she was disappointed with her grandchild. "What I am trying to say is that you are like that snake in my story. Your delusions and fantasies may be grand, boy. But you are in no position of power, nor do you have any card of worth up your sleeve. I hope I don't have to repeat my story for you to remember how it ends.
For both the snake and you."
With that, she cut the feed and the screen went dark.
The meeting was over.
"That old cunt…" Shuzumu cursed once he was sure the computer was off; you could never be too careful with these guys.
"I take it the meeting went about as well as ever." A voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Shuzumu didn't even bother to say, 'Come in', Tekubi already opened the door, knowing his boss wasn't a man of formalities.
"I swear if the sea of China wasn't separating us she would've already been turned into a sizzling corpse!" Shuzumu grumbled before taking a deep sigh to calm himself. "That doesn't matter. For now, they are clueless as to what we are planning, that's all that matters."
"Speaking of the plan, I came to ask you something." Upon getting a nod from Shuzumu, Tekubi continued, "We are already at full capacity with the cages. And now that the brat is here, I doubt we could stand the influx of new animals once it starts flowing. What are we going to do with the animals we have?"
"I took care of that." Shuzumu replied, "I already found some buyers away from the Tōu liè zhě's territory in America and Africa. Once the brat starts to cooperate, we will sell off all the animals we already have and amass a small fortune.
'We will use it to upgrade our facilities as we continue to exploit those tunnels for all their worth. Even if only a quarter of what the survivor told us is true; then by the end of the year, we would have hundreds of quirked animals in our grasp. We could start taking over the other branches of the Tōu liè zhě, buying off their loyalty or sending others to eliminate them, one by one.
And once that cunt had seen her entire empire shrivel up and die…
We are coming for her.'
*Inhale...*
*...Exhale*
Izuku breathed in and out, focusing on the metal around him. He stomped his foot and pounded with his palms against the walls, shaking the metallic plates that made his prison. Closing his eyes, the boy felt the vibrations of the metal through his fingers, trying his hardest to grasp at it.
But he felt nothing.
It wasn't like the first time. When his mind was in disarray and he felt his heart ready to explode, he felt the same as when he used his quirk. The vibrations allowed him to visualize his surroundings, they coursed through his body like electricity through a cable, he managed to move the metal, bending the plates just the tiniest bit.
Now the vibrations stopped in his palms, like what you felt when you stood on a wooden floor whilst loud music was playing. The metal remained strong and unmoving in the face of his attempts, the clanks of his fist against it sounding like a mocking laugh.
He was so excited at first, not only at the new possible aspect of his quirk but mainly for the chance to get away and find Chima. Now the excitement became desperation. 'Please... This is got to work!' The boy pleads, his lower lip quivering and tears stains, fresh and old, adoring his cheeks.
*BAM! *
He tried again, ramming the back of his hands against the wall. At first, he didn't feel anything, the metal didn't react to his attempts and merely remained as it was. But just then, he felt the tiniest speck react to his pleads. An area below his right hand, smaller than a grain of sand, reacted. Izuku could feel the vibrations from there clearly. They traveled through his body the same way as earthen vibrations did.
Despite the darkness, hope shone in his eyes.
He stroke that area again. Feeling equal parts relief and equal parts joy when he felt that the same patch of metal reacts to him. It was accompanied by something else, the boy could pick up another patch of earth, about the same size as the first. It was a few ways to the boy's right so that his hands weren't directly above it, but he could feel it nonetheless.
It pulsed when the vibrations coursed through it, giving off a signal like a cell site. That signal was then caught by the patch below Izuku's hand, which then was picked up by the boy. It felt a bit weird to read, as it traveled through a none-earthen surface but there was no mistaking that the place from which the signal came from was earthen, something that Izuku could control.
So he pounded again against the wall. And again, and again and again. With each strike, the boy found more and more patches of earthen material within the walls.
They were impurities within the metal. As numerous as grains of sands on a beach but infinitely times smaller. They covered every square centimeter of the wall, acting as receptors and distributers of the vibrations the boy sent through them.
Those vibrations coursed from one impurity dot to the next, creating a pathway for the boy to read in the darkness. He now felt where the walls were, could tell how high the ceiling was, see the amount of damage he previously did to the wall without touching the dent itself!
He was ready.
Izuku curled his fingers and focused on reaching out to the impurity dots in the wall instead of the metal itself. His grasp slowly spread out, one dot after the other came under his control.
*Inhale...*
*BAM! *
He slammed his bare foot against the metal floor, getting one last image of the wall before he exhaled and made his move, 'Please... Move!' The boy thrust his hands against the metal.
*BAM! *
The hands pushed against the wall, willing the impurities within it to move with them. The metal caved in, dragged outwards like a marionette after the patches of earth Izuku bent.
The boy pressed a hand against his handy work. The dent in the wall grew larger and its' thickness was just the tiniest bit thinner.
He smiled before punching the wall again.
"You know, it's actually pretty cute." Mukankei stared at the rabbit in the cage, the animal backing away from the man. "Think I can keep it if I ask?"
"*Pfffttt...!* Hahahahaha!" Detarame burst out laughing. "Yeah, like you could just take away merchandise and keep it as a pet!"
"Than what if I buy it?" He put a hand into the cage, reaching towards the rabbit.
"With what money?" Detarame deadpanned. "You know how expansive is an alive quirked animal without any maims?! That bunny probably costs a house! Probably even more if his quirk is strong!"
"First of all, it's a rabbit." Mukankei corrected, "Secondly, it just got long ears. Wouldn't exactly call that a 'strong' quirk. I mean look at it! Does it look like it could hurt a fly?" It was at this point that the man's hand was inches away from the rabbit's head, intended to pet it.
The rabbit, however, had other plans.
*Crunch! *
"GAH! SON OF A BITCH!" Mukankei cursed aloud and pulled his hand away, inspecting the bleeding bite mark the rabbit left on his hand.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Detarame laughed, " Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the poacher of the century, right here!" He gestured to Mukankei.
"Sure, laugh it up," Mukankei grumbled, "Stupid rab-"
*BBBAAAAMMMMMM!*
Just then, yet another pound was heard from the metallic prison, cutting off Mukankei's rabbit cursing. "Uggghhhh..." He groaned, " Really?! This is getting annoying!"
Fed up, Detarame walked towards the cell and slammed his fist against the metallic wall, "Oi, brat! Shut it! I had enough of this, you hear?!"
He got no response.
A tick mark appeared on Detarame's head and he pounded on the cell's wall again, "When I ask you something you answer brat! NOW ANSWER!"
Again, the boy remained silent.
"That's it!" Detarame yelled, starting to walk around the cell towards the door. "I had enough of your shit, brat! If you think you can do what you want here than I-"
It was at this point that Detarame made it around to the other side of the cell, where the door should've been. Instead, he found a huge gash there, cutting through the wall; metal chains and cuffs rested on the floor, broken as if All Might himself ripped them apart. The man's eyes bulged, "What?! How did he-". He darted his head from left to right, trying to find the escaped kid, only to see an earthen fist headed straight towards his face.
"Grah!" Detarame yowled as he went sailing through the air, crashing into a pile of wooden crates and sending broken planks everywhere. "The brat's got out! Sound the alarm!"
Mukankei took off towards the red lever on the wall, almost tripping in his haste. But before he managed to reach out for it, a wall of earth had risen diagonally from the ground, blocking his path.
The wall stretched across half of the room, separating Mukankei from the lever and ensuring no one would know about what was happening. Mukankei turned right and saw the green-haired boy they brought in, standing near where the wall began. The kid glared at him, body locked in a rooted stance and gauntlets of earth covering his forearms.
The boy stomped on the concrete floor, lifting chunks of earth into the air and launching them at the poacher.
Mukankei jumped to the side, his balance woozy and clearly not that of a trained fighter. Despite this, he remained on his feet and managed to sheath the taser from its' holster. He aimed the organization's most common weapon at the boy and fired.
The kid crossed his arms together, shielding his chest and head as the metallic tip of the caple poked into his gauntlets, not making it all the way through. Before Mukankei got the chance to recall the cable, the boy yanked at it with all of his strength, powered further by the earth covering his arms. The plastic arms got pulled out of the poacher's hands, getting caught by the green-haired boy.
Mukankei gasped in surprise as he saw the weapon's metallic core ripped out from it seemingly on its own, leaving behind a large hole on the plastic exterior.
The quirkless man now stood unarmed, clearly outmatched in both power and skill.
"Where. Is. Chima!" The boy demanded, scowling at Mukankei.
From the corner of his eye, Mukankei could see Detarame silently getting up, trying to not alert the boy. The man trod carefully between the wooden splinters decorating the floor, not an easy task when you were as clumsy as he is.
Mukankei needed to buy time, so he decided to humor the boy's question."Chima? You mean the quirked Badger we brought with you? It's somewhere in the facility, probably in the lower levels with the other large animals."
"Where are the lower levels?!" The boy demanded, seemingly not aware of Detarame who was closing on him from behind.
"I see no reason to tell you," Mukankei smirked as he saw Detarame right behind the boy; Knuckledusters equipped and ready to strike the boy down. "Take him down!". Detarame put all he had into the punch, pouncing on the boy and preparing to assault him with all of his weight.
The boy sidestepped the attack as if he knew all along that Detarame was behind him. Overextended and in midair, Detarame was unable to protect himself as an earth column nailed him in the gut. He was launched forward, crashing into Mukankei and causing them both to tumble and roll on the ground.
Before the two could get up, they felt the ground beneath them shift and contort. It climbed up their bodies and limbs like a swarm of ants, encasing their bodies. Before they knew it, both were trapped in earthen prisons, only their heads not buried.
"HELP!" Mukankei yelled out, hoping someone would hear him. "THE BRAT HAS ESCAPED, WE NEED REINFORCE-"
Anything else Mukankei wanted to say would have to remain unsaid as the greenette locked earth cuffs around their mouths, gagging them. Making sure that the gags would hold, Izuku waited apprehensively to see if someone heard the guards' cries.
Breathing a sigh of relief when no one came, Izuku plopped to the floor and panted heavily, coming down from the adrenaline high. 'At least I know Chima's in the building,' he consoled himself as he shed the earth gauntlets. 'Hopefully, the other animals are here too... But where are they?'
Izuku got up and took a deep breath, ignoring the two men who tried futilely to take off their gags. The boy stomped on the ground as hard as he could, focusing his entire being into his seismic sense, trying to reach as far as he could.
What he felt almost made his jaw drop. The facility he was in was huge. Reaching several floors below the surface and so deep that the lowest one was out of his reach. The boy himself was found above ground, in a warehouse at the edge of the building. Past the metal gates that were to his left the outside world could be found. To his right was the way deeper into the facility.
He knew where he was going. Either he leaves with Chima or he won't leave at all.
"*Squeak!*"
Izuku jolted when he heard the high-pitched squeak coming from seemingly nowhere. Darting around and ready to throw a rock at an enemy, he found himself face to face with the white rabbit. The small quadruped was leaning against the cage's walls on his frontal paws, looking at Izuku with hopeful eyes. It let out another squeak and the boy let out a relieved sign before approaching the cage.
"They caught you too?" Izuku asked as he approached the cage, the small rabbit not backing away from him. Griping at the bars, the boy closed his eyes and concentrated on the metal. To the shock of the gagged guards, the metal began to creak and groan as it was bent by the boy, creating an exit large enough for the rabbit.
"*Squeak!*"
The rabbit let out a joyful squeal as it jumped out of the cage and at the boy. Izuku caught it, laughing as the small creatures snuggled into his chest before widening his eyes when the rabbit's long ears curled around his back. 'I never saw a Lop-eared rabbit like this before... Is it another quirk?'
Deciding that now wasn't the time for it, Izuku plopped the rabbit back down and walked towards the wall that separated the building from the outside. The rabbit wasn't far behind him, watching as he opened a small hole in the wall with his quirk, "Go ahead, you can't stay here." Izuku told the rabbit.
It looked at Izuku with its' big eyes for a moment, before going into the hole and escaping outside. The boy watched over the rabbit until it disappeared into the night, wondering if they would meet again.
Glancing one last time towards freedom, Izuku turned back and went deeper into the building, Chima awaiting him somewhere there.
Lop-eared rabbit
Quirk:?
Description: Not much is known about the Lop-eared rabbit's quirk. All that is known is that the rabbit controls its' ears with rather impressive dexterity.
Appearance: The Lop-eared rabbit is a small white quadruped. For all intents and purposes, it looks like a normal rabbit with a body and tail to match. The key differences between this rabbit and a normal one are that the Lop-eared rabbit has a slightly chubbier face as well as ears that are longer than its' body.
Affiliation:?
Age:?
Birthday: 17/11.
Length: 27 cm.
Favorite food:?
Favorite thing:?
Tidbit: Not at the Moment.
Yes, Izuku learned Metalbending.
In the original fanfic, that Rabbit is named Mimi. You'll see a lot more of Mimi.
