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Izuku fidgets and wiggles restlessly on the boat, the scent of the sea still heavy to him. His partner makes a purring cheer as she pokes at his cheek before rolling back down onto his lap. The nervous rookie lets out a quivering chuckle.
“Sorry Toge. Guess I’m just anxious.”
Togepi just gives him an unimpressed stare for a moment, then softens her gaze. Izuku takes that as a sign to continue.
“Toshi told me that the ranger I’ll be paired with in Fiore can be very… harsh? I asked Tamaki about him and he said that he’s sent a lot of rookies back to the academy, or in some cases had them turn their styler in permanently.” Izuku shivers before giving his partner pokémon a bright smile. “But I do feel better knowing you’ll be by my side, Togepi.”
The lil guy just smiles brightly and chirps.
“Hey Kid!” Izuku and Togepi look up to one of the higher decks to see Masaki jump down to them. “Fiore is in sight, straight ahead.” The older points to the front. “Our stop is almost here.”
Both Izuku and Togepi jump from their seats to run to the front of the ship, watching as the port and the mountains and forests and Fiore inch closer to their sights.
Izuku swoops down to scoop Togepi up, one arm pointing straight ahead. “Togepi, look! The port to Fall City is right there!” Another port in the far distance catches Izuku’s eyes. “Ooo- Summerland is over that way!”
Togepi chirps and purrs in shared excitement with her partner.
When the boat anchors at the pier, Izuku practically leaps from the deck as if the boat were on fire, hugging the tiny pokémon safely against his chest. Togepi cheers him on, encouraging him. Izuku looks down to read the name of the street he has scrawled across his forearm. Toshi’s handwriting is so-
Thud.
Izuku lets out a whine as he falls backwards. Did I run into a sign I didn’t see? Darn- Izuku gasps before checking his partner pokémon for injury. “Togepi, are you okay?”
The small pokémon just chirps in carefree happiness. Izuku lets out a relieved breath before looking up to see what he ran into.
He’s met with the cold, but tired eyes of an older pokémon ranger wearing a grey scarf with many layers.
The rookie quickly jumps to his feet, his Togepi still in his arms as he profusely apologizes.
“You must be Izuku Midoriya.” The ranger’s voice is gravelly and rough.
Izuku straightens to meet the other’s eyes once more. “How’d you know, Sir?” A Musharna floats, her mist surrounding the ranger.
The other sneers slightly, waving Izuku’s words off. “Aizawa. Aside from how you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings like any ranger with the most basic field experience would do,” the coldness sharpens slightly before just shifting to tired, “I’d recognize that shaky chicken scratch anywhere.” Aizawa points to the kanji on Izuku’s arm. “At least you’re on time. C’mon. It’s your lucky day.”
The ranger turns on his heel as he begins to briskly walk through the city, Izuku stumbling at first to follow closely. Izuku keeps at an even pace with Aizawa’s partner pokémon, his own still sitting happily in his arms.
“It’s not something too dangerous for a rookie, but do not let that be an excuse for letting your guard down.” Aizawa looks back, watching as Izuku holds the tiny pokémon close to his chest. “You’re not always going to be able to cradle your partner everywhere, Midoriya.”
“We know that, Aizawa.” Izuku and Togepi share a momentary glance. “That’s why we were sent here for more experience. This internship is for both of us to grow stronger. Till then, I’ll support Toge as much as she’s supported me.” His partner chirps in agreement and determination.
Aizawa just duly nods as he returns to their task at hand. Aizawa lowers his tone so only his companions can hear him speak. “There’s a hidden tunnel behind the city that leads to a pokémon sanctuary. There has been suspicious activity in different parts of Fiore, so we will be patrolling that pathway.”
Izuku nods as he stays on Aizawa’s heels, still by Musharna’s side. Izuku follows Aizawa down side streets, backstreets, small alleyways, until they hit back roads and dirt paths. When Izuku has long since lost track of any visible dirt trail, the path closed and hugged warmly by towering trees that replaced buildings sometime ago, Aizawa leads him to a small opening in the forest behind Fall City. He stops to check behind them as he signals Izuku to continue to the other side of the opening after Musharna.
Aizawa’s partner leads Izuku through a short burst of thicket, the trees barely allowing any room to maneuver through. The branches shake above Izuku, causing leaves to fall on him. The rookie looks up to see his temporary mentor jumping the limbs swiftly. They meet the ranger in the small breathing space between a wall of forest and a wall of stone. Aizawa leads the teenager down the natural hallway until they come to a perfectly round opening cut into the stone.
Izuku examines the marks along the tunnel’s beginning, seeing that it’s not perfectly round upon closer inspection. “Sir-” the glare from Aizawa earns a squeak out of him as he corrects himself, “Aizawa, these marks are fresh. The tunnel can’t be more than two or three years old.” Izuku looks back to the odd marks, “I can’t tell what pokémon dug this though…”
“That’s because it wasn’t done by a pokémon.” Aizawa takes out a small bottle of eyedrops from one of his pouches. “But it is a good thing you’re more perceptive than you first appeared to be.”
Izuku looks over to him, confused. “The ranger union made this?”
“No, thi-... somebody else did. To create the sanctuary. The Ranger Union doesn’t know about this.” The ranger blinks after the eyedrops land.
“Then who does?”
“Myself. My Professor. Toshinori.” Aizawa’s eyes cut to Izuku, the man’s gaze calculating and observant, reading into Izuku. “You. Torshinori told me I could trust you, but I had to meet you myself first.”
Most of the tiredness that had previously been in the man’s eyes has been replaced with a vigorously evaluative intensity.
Izuku feels a shiver run down his spine. Gulping, Izuku nods. The shift is small, but the teenager can see it-
The man’s eyes soften though his expression remains stoic, and maybe even the tiniest smile flitters once his gaze meets Togepi’s.
The spiky shell pokémon just cheers and laughs. The bell-like laughter eases any tension that had been trapped in Izuku’s form. He softly smiles down at Togepi. “I come from a very old village that is rooted to the core with lore. My mother always told me that all Togepi have really good intuition. I hatched this lil gal and took care of her myself. She has yet to ever be wrong about anyone.” Izuku peeks up at his teacher. “She really likes you.”
Aizawa huffs a short chuckle, reaching into a pouch to pull out a silver bell on a pink ribbon. He holds it out to Izuku.
The rookie reaches to take it after shifting Togepi into one arm. “What’s this?”
“A gift for you and Togepi.” Izuku gives him a bewildered look, but the other ranger doesn’t elaborate, he just turns and continues into the tunnel with Musharna by his side. Izuku ties the satin ribbon onto Togepi, letting the tiny pokémon follow the other two who are at a much more leisurely pace now.
Togepi runs ahead to be the leader, the bell releasing soft and gentle clicks with each step. The tunnel is large enough for Izuku, Aizawa, and his partner to walk side by side. The rookie takes the chance to take notes on Musharna in the notebook he carries everywhere with him.
Izuku is about to fill the new silence when Togepi suddenly gets a new rush of energy, running into a surprisingly fast roll farther down the tunnel and out of their sight.
“We’re not near the other end yet,” Izuku turns to Aizawa, who’s tensing up, “are we?”
Aizawa’s voice is grim, “No.”
Before Aizawa gets the chance to stop him, Izuku bolts after Togepi.
“Izuku, get ba-” Aizawa growls to himself. “Kid’s going to get himself in some serious shit if he’s not careful. Reckless.” Aizawa and Musharna rush after him.
When he rounds the corner, he sees a Staraptor and an Absol cornering Izuku with heavy malice. Farther down, Aizawa meets glowing yellow eyes-
“Oboro…”
The other instantly relaxes, putting his Quarterstaff away and eyes returning to their original blue hues. A Driftblim beside him relaxes as well. “Oh, it’s just you Shouta.” Behind his childhood friend, Aizawa sees a mop of black hair and red eyes staring curiously back at him.
“Hey Tenko,” Aizawa gives the young man a tired smile, “it’s nice to see you.”
The kid covered in scars leans out from behind his caretaker to give him a bright smile; on his shoulder is a newly hatched Wurmple and in his partially gloved hands is the kid’s Togepi happi- the kid.
Aizawa glances over to the reckless little shit of his. The Staraptor has wandered back to Oboro, but Tenko’s Absol is still snarling protectively in front of Izuku.
“Midoriya. This is your final warning.” Aizawa walks into Absol’s vision, careful of his blind eye. “Do not rush ahead like that. That was a reckless move.” When Absol catches Aizawa’s scent, he immediately tackles the man, nuzzling his nose into Aizawa’s scarf. “If they were actually poachers with ill intent, this would not have ended good for you.”
Aizawa is well aware that this is his first explicit warning, but if Izuku had gone running in like that and it wasn’t Oboro, Aizawa would have had a real mess on his hands.
The kid nods as he looks to the others. Tenko walks over to Izuku; when he speaks, his voice comes out just as scratchy as it usually is. “Sorry about scaring ya, Kid. We didn’t know you were with Shouta.” He holds Togepi out to him. “She’s your partner? At the sanctuary, there’s gardens and orchards. I think she’ll like some of the berries.” Tenko’s smile is small, but it’s much more genuine than when Aizawa first met the kid.
Izuku smiles brightly at Tenko as he takes Togepi back into his own arms. “It’s my bad, I shouldn’t have just run in and accused you of trespassing.”
As the two begin to talk back and forth, Aizawa relaxes. This kid.
“Finally got yourself a kid to teach, huh Sho?” Aizawa moves his gaze over to see his old friend smiling almost bittersweetly. “I always told ya you’d be a great teacher.”
Aizawa huffs a breath of laughter. “We both know you’re much better with children.” Aizawa lowers his voice so only Oboro can hear him. “He’s the first one I haven’t sent back to the academy on the spot. I don’t think Toshi’s word on the boy had anything to do with it, but I’m not completely sure where my gut is trying to lead me here.”
“This is the ball of sunshine my ball of sunshine has been talking about recently?” Oboro smiles, remembering the afternoons Toshi would spend going on about this kid. “Your gut has never been wrong Sho,” Oboro places a hand on his shoulder, “I believe in your abilities. If anyone can give him at least one cell of self-preservation and logical thinking, it’s you old friend.”
Aizawa exhales before nodding. “Thank you, Oboro. Stay safe in town.”
Oboro releases a bellowing laugh. “When have you ever known me to do otherwise?”
Aizawa throws the other a glare, his eyes landing on the scar running down the side of his face and over one of his eyes. “I won’t be there to get you out of it.”
Oboro waves him off. “Don’t worry Shouta, we’ll be back by twilight. Tenko!” The young man snaps his attention to Oboro. “Let’s roll.” Tenko bids Izuku farewell as he throws the hood of his cloak over his head, his Wurmple curling around his neck.
Izuku and Togepi wave as their new friends leave. Aizawa leads the way deeper into the tunnel.
“Are they the ones who dug the tunnel?”
“Tenko did.”
The kid’s eyes go wide. “All by himself?”
“At first. He’s much more powerful than he looks.”
“What do you mean?”
Aizawa inhales before he speaks. “Long story short, years ago a group began infusing the power of pokémon into people, Tenko and Oboro were two of the unfortunate test subjects. The government was of no help and they are actively being hunted down because they’re considered a danger to society.” Aizawa remembers the number of weeks he spent helping the ‘test subjects’ hide and relocate. “Tenko began this tunnel and some others helped him finish it or protected him by leading the authorities off his trail. The sanctuary is their home too.”
“Why wouldn’t the government help them? What about the Ranger Union? Isn’t it our job to help pokémon and people?”
Aizawa shakes his head. “There’s much more to this. The R.U. were forbidden to intervene. Professor Shimura was pissed. She had me go on a ‘silent mission’ with her, no communication to anyone else. She asked me if I would be willing to help.”
Izuku gasps. “Professor Nana Shimura sent you to break them out?”
The older ranger just nods. “Absol had been my old partner; when we came across Tenko, he wouldn’t leave the kid’s side. I rescued Musharna in that same mission. Along with many other pokémon that now live in the sanctuary.”
“The suspicious activity, you don’t think it’s-”
“I’m not sure.” Izuku gulps as he nods. The air is stifling, but only for a moment. Aizawa looks around the next corner before giving a small smirk to Izuku. “Chin up kid, we’re almost there.”
Izuku sees the blinding light of the exit as he turns the corner. He sticks close to Aizawa’s side, unable to see anything but the mid-morning sunlight running past him to burrow deeper into the tunnel’s darkness.
Stepping out of the blackness of the tunnel, Izuku has to take a moment to blink into adjusting to the bright light. He hears the rushing and crash of a waterfall before he sees it. There’s so much greenery-
As Izuku’s eyes finish refocusing, he takes a moment to take everything in: the waterfall crashing into a lake surrounded by bushes and trees of all types of different berries. There are houses built and carved into the cliff side. He can see flowers blooming in every nook and crevice around the encircled area, a staircase leading to the top near the waterfall. Near the lake in the bottom of the basin, Izuku sees a group of people and pokémon playing together.
“Welcome to the Sanctuary, Kid.” Aizawa ruffles Izuku’s hair as he walks past him towards the crowded orchid. “Let’s grab some lunch.” Musharna hums as she pushes him excitedly to follow her partner.
Izuku smiles as he runs after Aizawa. The ranger tosses Izuku a kelpsy berry before grabbing a small bunch of razz berries for himself and Musharna. The rookie sits and sets Togepi down next to him. Splitting the berry, he hands the larger half to his partner.
Aizawa and Musharna sit near them, still on guard, but relaxing a bit by Togepi’s influence.
The tiny pokémon cheers as she finishes the berry, laughing as she begins to glow brightly, the orb of light expanding then reshaping. The tone and pitch of Togepi’s laughter shifts as the light begins to fade, Toge having evolved into a Togetic.
“Toge-...” Izuku smiles, tearing up as he looks to Aizawa who gives him a small wink. Togetic squeals in delight as she floats and zooms with a strong burst of energy.
“You two have a good future ahead of you. I’ll teach you how to stick around long enough to see it.” Aizawa deadpans as he hands the newly evolved pokémon one of his berries. “You just have to pay attention and think about what I tell you.”
Izuku nods, his smile becoming brighter than before. “I’ll do my best Aizawa! Thank you so much for helping us!” Togetic chirps alongside her partner.
Aizawa just waves them off as he leans against Musharna, closing his eyes to rest for a few moments. “Keep your guard up and wake me if we’re disturbed.” The rookie stands to stretch before walking with Togetic to take notes on her new form.
Aizawa huffs a short fit of laughter as he watches them go off. Toshinori and Oboro are right. He can do this.