One thing you learn from tracking giant monsters is that they are creatures of habit. Territorial hurricanes, really.
I guess whatever remnant of animal instinct that's still firing inside their irradiated brains tells them not to stray too far from the nest.
Izuku read as he walked. It was funny, this incident in Vietnam forever changed the course of human history, yet few knew it even happened. Such was the case with most of the history involving monsters, with one notable exception.
Even modern education, much as it downplayed monsters in favor of quirks, couldn't ignore King Ghidorah…
"Hey Izuku!"
Izuku looked up from his book. "Yeah Zeni?"
"Me and the rest of the guys are going to the gym to spar! You wanna come?"
Izuku snapped his book shut. "Sure!"
A few minutes later, they entered the gym. The rest of his team was already there, watching the Ozakis going at it in the ring.
The Ozakis were a pair of fraternal twins with powerful quirks, a rarity in the AMF who's ranks were mostly those with weaker or no quirks. They had enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes, making them demons on the battlefield. At the base however, they had a tendency to fight. A lot.
The two's limbs blurred as traded blows, combining their powerful quirks with their formidable martial prowess.
Kazama forced his brother back and tried to kick him in the face. Before he could, Shinichi grabbed Kazama's leg, swung him into the wall then threw him across the ring.
"Come on! Get him Kazama!" said Akiba.
"Kick his ass Shinichi!" said Kisaragi.
Kazama landed in a roll, jumped against the wall and pushed off. Shinichi leapt at Kazama. The two collided mid-air, grappling as they fell. They hit the ground, got up, and began fighting again.
"So, Izuku who do you think's going to win?" said Zeni.
Yashiro rolled her eyes. "You only care about that because you bet on Shinichi," she said. She turned to Izuku. "But seriously, who were you thinking?"
"Not sure. Shinichi's more cautious and thoughtful, but Kazama's more aggressive and doesn't hesitate." (He kind of reminded Izuku of Kacchan, but with less bullying and screaming) "It could go either way. But if I had to guess today…"
Shinichi almost pinned Kazama, but hesitated. Kazama took advantage of this to throw him into the wall.
"Kazama maybe? Shinichi could still win but I think I'll lean toward Kazama…"
Sure enough, after several more exchanges, Kazama managed to finally pin Shinichi.
"Good job Kazama!" said Akiba.
"Good try Shinichi! You'll get 'em next time!" said Zeni.
The two got up and left the ring, Shinichi giving the tank team a brief nod while Kazama ignored them. The Ozaki's were infantry, fighting the monsters in close quarters with smaller arms, such as rocket launchers and flame throwers. Izuku had briefly considered joining up, but settled for learning how to use a rocket launcher while continuing to fight in his tank.
Akiba held out his hand. Zeni groaned and put some bills in it. Yashiro did the same.
After collecting his winnings, Akiba picked up a bow staff and stepped into the ring. "All right, who wants to try their luck with me? I'll take any of you on!"
Yashiro stepped up.
"Kick his ass Akane!" said Hayama.
"Show her what you're made of Akiba!" said Kisaragi.
Yashiro and Akiba faced each other. They'd be playing by the usual loose set of rules. Victory would be after either four strikes with the staff or one pinning the other. Punches and kicks were allowed. Made the fights more exciting.
Akiba started off with a vicious barrage. Akane parried his blows and got a glancing hit to his chest. (1-0)
Akiba went at her again, but she dodged most of his blows and parried the rest. Akiba kicked her in the stomach and knocked her to the ground, but she recovered before he could finish her. (1-1.)
"Which do you think's gonna win?" said Zeni.
"Akiba's bigger and stronger, but Yashiro's more flexible and skilled," said Izuku.
"Verdict?"
"Probably Yashiro."
"Then I'll bet on Yashiro!"
Silence. "You realize no one's going to take that right?" said Kisaragi.
"Ah man…" said Zeni.
Akane again went on the defensive, until Akiba leg himself open to a jab to the belly. (2-1) Akane tangled her staff with his, then maneuvered herself behind him and swept out his legs. Akiba fell to the ground, and Akane put her staff to his throat. Pin.
"Damn it," he said.
Yashiro smirked and helped him up.
Hayama said, "My turn." He took Akiba's staff and faced Yashiro. The two had trained together and knew each other's moves well. At first, Yashiro was able to outmaneuver his attacks like she'd done with Akiba. It seemed like she'd win. However, after Yashiro managed twisted Hayama's staff out of his hands, Hayama kicked out her knee and got her in a hold.
After several seconds of struggling, Yashiro tapped out.
"Good fight Akane!" said Hayama as he stayed in the ring. Yashiro held out her staff for Izuku. Izuku took it and stepped in. He had to admit, a part of him enjoyed the look on Hayama's face.
They squared off. Izuku circled Hayama, formulating a plan. Hayama was aggressive, but he knew Izuku's style. He wouldn't be ready for a direct attack.
Izuku opened with a feint for the face. Hayama readied to block but was open to getting his legs swept. He tried to roll away but Izuku landed a hit on his side as he got up. 1-0.
Hayama attacked this time, Izuku parrying his blows as best he could. He didn't have time to think, only react. Hayama left himself open. Izuku took advantage of this, hitting him in the gut. 2-0.
They faced off again. Izuku grinned, relishing the feeling of blood roaring through his veins.
Hayama waited. Izuku tested him with a few small strikes, but he didn't take the bait. Izuku went on the offensive, driving Hayam back. However, as he attacked, Izuku gave Hayama an opening. Hayama took advantage of Izuku's mistake, swinging at Izuku's face. Izuku blocked it but got hit in the stomach. 2-1.
Izuku shook his head. Easy Izuku. Don't get cocky. You've got this.
Izuku attacked again. Hayama blocked and countered with everything he had. They traded blows until Izuku managed to knock Hayama's staff away and leave his pointed at Hayama's throat. 3-1.
They began again. This time, Izuku started out more defensively before swapping to fight offensively. Hayama was caught off guard and easily driven back. He managed to twist the staff from Izuku's hand but Izuku disarmed Hayama too. Hayama tried to punch Izuku, but Izuku blocked it before kicking him in the stomach. Izuku grabbed his staff and pressed it against Hayama's chest. 4-1.
"I win," Izuku said with a smile.
Hayama got up. "I'll get you next time," he said. Which he'd said last time. Then he tossed the staff to Zeni. Zeni faced Izuku with a big grin.
"Don't hold it against me if I win. Sir.
Izuku grinned back. "Don't worry, you won't."
Izuku attacked first. Zeni was skilled, he was slower. Despite his best efforts, Izuku was able to get a few hits in. 2-0. Unfortunately, Zeni snuck in one of his own. 2-1.
Izuku parried Zeni's staff aside, but Zeni grabbed Izuku's arm and twisted the staff out and swept his legs. Izuku elbowed Zeni's ribs, yanked his staff from his hands and threw it away.
Zeni raised his fists. Izuku raised his. They were going bare handed now. This was going to be tough. Zeni may look chubby, but Izuku had acted as his spotter while lifting enough to know that beneath that fat was a considerable amount of muscle.
"Wanna know why in High School they called me the Bulldog?" said Zeni.
Izuku smirked. Let's do-
All at once the alarms started blaring.
Red alert. All units prepare for emergency deployment.
The entire group looked around for a brief moment. Then Izuku said, "You heard it, move!"
Within minutes, they were in their gear and racing down the hall. Izuku saw Kenji running the other direction with a panicked look on his face.
"Kenji! What's going on!" Izuku said.
Kenji staggered to a stop. "Several of the beacons went down!"
"Which ones?" said Yashiro.
"The ones watching Godzilla!"
Izuku felt his heart stop.
He slowly turned and locked eyes with the rest of his team as the reality sank in. If he crossed the border-
They sprinted for their tanks. They got in and went over their pre-fight checklist. All tanks were functional and ready.
They moved their tanks onto a carrier, then went back to pack their duffel bags. They had to be ready to move out at a moment's notice. That way if he crossed they could try to intercept before he reached a populated area. Sakaki's group were packed in a transport plane in case an attack happened before a ship could be reach it. Unlikely, but best to be prepared.
All of G-Force sat there and waited, hoping that the most dangerous creature alive stayed on the correct side of the border.
And if he did cross that he wouldn't get far. Because if he did, he'd be near impossible to track. And if they failed to track him-
Izuku had seen enough records of Godzilla attacking cities to know what would happen. It would be a massacre.
The Pacific, two kilometers inside the Safe Zone
A single boat darted across the ocean. It's sonar and Geiger systems swept the surrounding area, searching for their target. This was a scouting ship, meant to find enemies and run if threatened. They'd been sent across the border to see if the worst had happened.
They expected and hoped to find nothing.
After all, he hadn't been heading for the border, they told themselves. Why would he cross it the moment the beacons went down? It's not like he had any reason to.
Despite this, they felt doubt.
One of the crew looked up from his screen. "Sir! Receiving a low-level Geiger response!"
The captain nodded. "Follow it!" The ship changed course, chasing the weak trail like a bloodhound.
The captain fidgeted as images of the worst-case scenario entered his mind. Cities burned. Buildings toppled. Thousands- The captain shook his head. It was probably a false lead. He'd seen many over his career. They wouldn't find any monsters beneath these waves. He was sure of it.
Sure enough, after several minutes there was nothing on sonar. The Geiger trail grew weaker, then vanished altogether. It must have been water from where he'd actually been swimming carried by the currents. As he predicted. A false lead. Nothing to worry about.
Then they saw it.
Debris.
As they moved closer they were able to make out several scorched pieces of wood and a life preserver bobbing on the ocean's surface, the last remains of a dead ship. One of the crew held a Geiger counter toward the debris. It went wild.
"Could it have been swept here from the other side?" one said.
"No, said another. "It's too recent, and the debris too close together."
The captain stared, his mind trying desperately to come up with an alternative explanation for what he saw. He picked up this radio with a shaking hand. "This is Lizard One," he said, reciting their call sign on auto pilot.
"We read you Lizard One. What's your status?"
The captain took a deep breath. Part of himself begged him not to say it, as if doing so it would make it any less true. But it wouldn't. He was here, and he had to warn them.
The captain closed his eyes and said, "The wolf is in the sheepfold. I repeat, the wolf is in the sheepfold!"
I decided to make this a fun little spar between Izuku and his teammates. Give them some off-time together and see Izuku's hand to hand skills!
Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are wonderful things!
