"You're probably wondering who I am. The name's Sly. Sly Cooper. And I'm a thief, from a long line of Master Thieves.
Though, you might be surprised that this story isn't just about me. It's also about a little kid my friends and I took in as one of our own. See, in this world, humans and highly-advanced animals known as 'Beastkins' co-exist. My friends and I are Beastkins but our kid, Izuku, is a Human.
Now, you might be thinking:
'Wait. A kid? You have a kid? How? Why?' Well, it all began when we were starting out. In our teenage years...
COOPER
15-year-old Sly Cooper, alongside his best friends Bentley Wiseturtle and Murray Mali, had gone to Japan to steal a priceless statue of a famous thief from 200 years ago known as Oji Harima from the museum. The owner of said museum was a man of less-then-respectable scruples who wanted to show off the statue as a way of mocking the thief.
And that was the clutch: The owner being a shady scumbag. You see, that was the thing about the Cooper clan; they only stole from other criminals and those who could afford it. And while the latter part of Hariuma's story may have been, shall we say, muddied? The Coopers respected anyone who did the same as they did.
The heist had gone off without a hitch and even better, Bentley was able to expose some of the museum owner's dirty deeds to the authorities. Now, the three friends were readied for a relaxing day in the local natural park: Just the three of them, the beautiful scenery, and the chance to bathe and drink good water when things died down.
Bathhouses where pricy, you know! That and they needed to make their cash last.
However, what none of them expected was a little basket to be seen floating along the river. It was just close enough for Sly to pull it in with his cane, which he had inherited from his late father.
Inside was a human baby boy in a light green onesie. His chubby cheeks were dotted with freckles and a mess of fluffy dark green hair covered his head. His eyes were round and emerald in color.
"Who could have left this poor little guy floating down the river?" Bentley asked in shock and a small bit of anger. "This is not Momotaro or Moses!"
"Wait, there's a note here!" Murray said as he took a note taped to the top of the basket, and the three friends read it together…also noted the paper was stained with blood and tears.
"To whomever finds my Izuku,
My name is Inko. I can't tell you my family name and it doesn't matter. By the time this letter and my baby are found; I will be dead. There are villains after me and my husband who, for some reason, want our son. I don't know or care for what reason."
A large splash of red made the rest of the letter hard to make out; luckily Bentley had the tools needed to shine the characters through.
"This is my last and only request for the world: If not yourselves, please find someone who will care, love and raise my baby boy. Keep him safe and happy. Know that his mommy and daddy loved him more than anything in the world."
As they read the letter, the trio spied the baby trying to hide in his basket, tears escaping his eyes
"He looks so alone and scared...Can we keep him?" Murray asked hopefully.
Sly and Bentley pondered over things. They had only just recently left the orphanage they all grew up in to pursue the life of a thief just like Sly's family. It had been rather lonely just the three of them and they didn't want Izuku to go through what they did.
"Guess we're more alike than I think." Sly chuckled as he picked up Izuku, the baby reaching for him. "Don't worry little guy, we'll take care of you."
Murray picked up the basket, finding within yet some cash, a teddy of All Might and a birth certificate, with the family name singed.
COOPER
The next three years raising Izuku were challenging but worth it. Even with how young he was, he was quite skilled at analyzing things. It was because of this that he and Bentley spent long hours going over things whenever we were pulling off our heists.
Honestly, if it weren't for Izuku's own big brain, we probably wouldn't have gotten nearly as infamous as we are now. Yeah, hard to believe, but it's the truth; the kid always finds little things we miss.
But there were still a few other people who had taken a shine to him outside our gang...one of them being the lovely Inspector Carmelita Fox.
COOPER
Carmelita Montoya Fox was on the fast track at Interpol; barely out of the Academy and already she had earned enough respect and credit to be given her own crew for one of the biggest cold cases: The Cooper Gang.
She credited her hard work ethic to this fast rise, as well as her skill in combat with and without her shock pistol. But her superiors saw something else as well: Her kindness and genuine devotion to Justice.
Currently, she had been following a lead on a recent break-in attempt. Apparently, the thieves she was tailing had made off with a priceless First Nations totem…which it turned out, had been stolen, since the thieves had left a trail of clues to reveal that.
Despite this reveal, and the delight Carmalita felt when the 'owner' came under investigation, the law was the law, and it was in place for a reason. Hence, the Fox Beastkin's search for the theives. Maybe, if things worked out, these thieves could come work with Interpol as a way of paying back for their crimes.
She'd moved to scan the surrounding area for any clues; finding nothing aside from tire tracks. Then she heard a whimper:
"Sly? Bentley? Murray?"
Carmalita turned to see a four year old human boy with green, broccoli like hair, jade eyes and freckled cheeks, dragging an Zootopia blanket and holding an action figure of FathomCat. Tears stung those jade eyes as he glanced around for his, the Interpol Agent assumed, guardians.
"AYE QUELINDO! He's adorable!"Carmelita thought, barely fighting the urge to sweep him into her arms and hold him tightly and, if she had any say, professionalism be damned, never let him go.
"Nino?" She asked softly, bowing down to his level. "What's wrong? Are you lost?"
Izuku looked up at the Fox Beastkin woman. He had heard about her from Sly, Bentley, and Murray during their heists but had never seen her in person until today. He blushed as she was quite pretty, but didn't say anything just yet.
"I'm with Interpol," Carmelita assured the boy, assuming he was being quiet because he'd been told not to talk to strangers. "The police of the world, I guess you could say. I can help. I WILL help."
Izuku's sniffling stopped; he knew this lady was nice, but what could he say? He couldn't just tell her he was part of the thieves she had been chasing around these past three years.
His tummy then rumbled very loudly, making him blush in embarrassment.
"How about we get you something to eat first?" Carmelita asked, offering a hand to the little boy.
"…Arigato, Oneesan." The boy managed to say as he took her hand.
So, Carmelita treated herself and Izuku, as she learnt his name was, to sodas and burgers, already prepping to go through the procedure to drop him off at the nearest station/ inform his guardians, when nature called.
It was no more than two minutes, but when Carmelita returned, she found Izuku gone and a familiar card on the table: A blue card decorated with the image of a racoon.
All the card said was: 'Thank You for keeping him safe. We owe you'.
Then it all clicked into place:The Cooper gang. Rising up Interpol's most wanted list.
The Cooper gang had a little boy in their custody.
A little boy. Being raised by thieves.
…Honestly, too shocked to properly convey how she felt, Carmalita let out a furious but familiar roar of:
"COOPER!"
COOPER
And that was Inspector Fox's first taste of Izuku's natural charm. Even as she continued chasing after us wherever we went, it quickly became apparent Carmelita had a very large soft spot for the kid. Of course, I just loved how she got ticked at me whenever Izuku decided to tag along in person for our heists, citing it as 'child endangerment'.
Not our fault that the little devil always finds a way to sneak along with us when we go out into the field.
But that was in the back then. It's time to talk about the here and now. See, my family legacy had been stolen from me a long time ago, back when I was at the age Izuku is now.
And now...me and our gang were going to get it back.
Knightmare Lord A/N:
This is a reboot of Izuku of the Cooper Gang with a bit more inclusion from me. This time, it won't take place in the BNHA Universe and instead fully takes place in the Sly Cooper Universe with the addition of humans alongside anthropomorphic animals.
Mrotrax A/N:
Due to no longer taking place in the MHA verse, I decided to use animal cartoon references in place of heroism…not that izuku will not WANT to do good in this new life of his. If you have suggestions for shows/comics to use, feel free to leave them in reviews!
Also happy to have added Inko's letter this time around.
Hope you stick around and enjoy this Reboot, stay safe!