22

Izuku stepped into the living room, exhaustion weighing down his body and seeping through his cloak.

Aurora was curled into the couch, her green blanket wrapped around her. Low voices drifted from the TV-the baking show in a tent that she loved so much. The dim glow lit up Aurora's purple hair and half-closed eyes.

Izuku carefully unreinforced his horn and staff and placed them on the table before slumping down next to her. He leaned into her shoulder, feeling his muscles relax at the contact and his breathing even out.

"You didn't have to stay up for me." 

Aurora let out a tired hum, readjusting her blanket so that it covered his legs too. "I know. I wanted to, though."

Izuku smiled at the words, watching the contestant buzz around on-screen. "What're they making?"

"It's called 'carrot cake'. I've never tried it before, but it seems pretty popular on Earth."

Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would you put carrots in a cake?" He didn't know much about baking, but those two things...didn't seem to go well together.

He felt her shrug. "I have no idea. But it looks really good, doesn't it?"

A contestant put the finishing touches on a massive, double-layered cake as Aurora talked, the white frosting shining in the perfect lighting.

"This is your way of getting me to bake that, huh?" Izuku accused lightly.

"...That depends. Is it working?" 

"Yep."

"Then, yeah, I want you to bake carrot cake for me." Aurora admitted.

Izuku sighed in defeat. "Fine. Your wish is my command, Princess."

Aurora laughed, and the dark room got a few shades brighter. "Don't worry my loyal subject, I'll assist you. I know you're...terrible at baking."

"Hey, I'm not that bad-"

"You baked cookies for Akari once when she was 30. She thought they were rocks."

Izuku winced. Kids could be very, very cruel. "And that was like, two centuries ago! I've had lots of practice. Besides, you're not much better."

"True. It seems that all those sweet years of stealing cake instead of trying to bake some ourselves has finally come back to bite us."

"Now that everyone's back, I wonder sometimes about things like that. Did any humans notice our impact on the planet while they were gone? I mean, I don't really wreck things much-"

Aurora let out an unprincess-like snort. "Now that's just a complete lie-"

"-but we've lived here a long time."

"Speaking of humans...what made you use that much power? I could feel it from here." Aurora's voice was still light, teasing, but now there was a hint of concern behind it.

"It was really-" Izuku yawned wide, eyes drifting off the screen. Wow, he was tired . "-weird, actually."

Aurora shifted, letting his head fall from her shoulder to her lap. He stared up at her for a moment, her long starry hair framing her face as she looked down at him. What was he saying again? Ah, right.

"So, I met this funny bird guy..."

"By bird guy do you mean wings, or somebody like that Tokoyami kid you mentioned?"

"The former. They were super big and let him fly incredibly fast for a human. I'm not surprised that he's the third-ranked hero."

"That seems like a useful quirk, especially for stopping crimes." Aurora commented. Her smaller fingers gently ran through his messy hair, her purple eyes still fixed on his.

"Yeah. Anyway, we were talking and then this monster portal appeared right in front of us-there's no way that's a coincidence, even with my luck-and this strange monster came out. He was actually sentient and looked just like a mutated human. He had horns, though they weren't nearly as cool as mine."

Aurora blinked. "...I've never heard of a humanoid monster before. Are you sure he wasn't a god?"

"Completely, he even said so himself. His name was Briar-something, and his mana was just evil. I've only felt anything close to that from monsters. He said he was sent to kill me, specifically, so there must be more sentient monsters like him."

Aurora frowned. "More of them...that could be a big problem. He was strong, wasn't he?"

"His main thing was-" Izuku flicked his arms in front of his face, and they ached at the motion. "-sprouting arms from his body. So, he punched a lot , and by the time he hit one-hundred arms he was nearly impossible to handle."

"Wow. It's hard to imagine someone like that."

"Try seeing it in person." Izuku shuddered. 

"You didn't break anything, thankfully, but your arms are badly bruised." Aurora sighed. "I wish I was there."

Izuku smiled at the thought. "If you were, he'd be dead in literal minutes."

"All that time we spent training together, and you go off and fight the actual powerful enemies on your own." She traced his temple. "It's mean, really."

Izuku thought back to a short while ago. "You do realize that you just called your sister a threat, right?"

"To our safety? Of course."

Izuku laughed. "Alright. I'll call you for sure, next time." His voice slurred a little at the end, the familiar pull of sleep getting stronger. 

Aurora hummed, happy. "I'll hold you to that. For now, rest, Izuku."

He felt her pull the blanket over him. "But wait, isn't it going to be uncomfortable for you, if I sleep like this?"

"A little, yeah." Aurora admitted. "How about this, then-you owe me the lap pillow next time?"

"Sure." Izuku agreed almost instantly. The very definition of a win-win situation. 

"Wonderful. Now sleep , Izuku." Her voice came from above him, trying for stern yet instead sounding impossibly warm.

And Izuku closed his eyes with a smile.

Nezu's paws raced across the keyboard. He played the video footage a second time, caught between sharp alarm and pure fascination.

Midoriya was easily one of the most interesting humans he'd ever encountered.

Once he'd carefully confirmed the man wasn't a threat to his school, Nezu let him apply for a teaching position after witnessing his abilities. U.A University usually didn't work like that-Nezu was the one scouting out heroes, not the other way around-but he made an exception this time, out of curiosity. 

Midoriya turned out to be ridiculously qualified to teach a course on combat, both in skill and pure power. His quirk was an enhancer that could overpower the Symbol of Peace(and Yagi wasn't even weakened, anymore), and his magic...

Nezu's forced vacation had been enlightening on many accounts, but unfortunately, there were few magic users there for him to analyze. A world full of tech and information, yet lacking the one thing truly new for him to research. 

But Nezu knew the basics of mana, despite not having any aptitude for it himself. It was quite obvious that Midoriya's magic was far, far beyond the rest of humanity.

All of Midoriya's techniques were reinforcement magic. When he manipulated the air, he was actually carefully and precisely flowing mana into the air itself to solidify parts of the area around him. And somehow repeating the process on a large scale. Meanwhile, the humans around him were throwing around sloppy fireballs.

Midoriya's explanation was sound, at the time of their first meeting. If Midoriya drifted for twenty years, that was quite a long time for a human to change and grow. The five-year Drift period wasn't a fact, only an assumption based on his current evidence.

Yet the more and more time passed, and every single recollection stated the same amount of time off-world that Nezu and the rest of his staff experienced, Midoriya's claim grew less and less plausible.

It didn't take a genius to realize Midoriya was hiding something important. So, while Midoriya Izuku wasn't a threat, he was still an almost complete unknown. Nezu already hated those, but unknowns that were so powerful , well, it made his fur itch.

The strength and speed he normally displayed was incredible, but when Midoriya took out his weapon(a completely ordinary, if a little worn-down, metal staff) it exponentially increased.

There was no audio to be recovered, sadly, from Midoriya's fight with the humanoid monster. Nezu would have loved to know what the monster said. But the monster portal had opened directly on him, and the enemy had been powerful enough to contend with their now strongest hero. This not only proved Nezu's theories about monsters and their intelligence as a whole, but also that they desperately wanted Midoriya out of the picture.

All of these thoughts processed through Nezu's brain in seconds as he scanned through the video again, looking for any details he could've possibly missed.

"Aizawa, what do you think?" Nezu asked. The human had been silent next to him for quite a while.

"Adults are one thing, but his daughter's exceptionally powerful as well, and has the near-perfect control to manage all of that strength. Sometimes, I honestly feel like she's a lot older than the rest of my kids."

"As for that...battle. That monster had a huge amount of passive strength, and faster speed than Hawks. Then you have his enhancement magic on top of that, and the ability to manifest arms-combining to make a much, much more terrifying version of Shouji." Aizawa drawled, his hands playing with the hilt of his sheathed sword. "I doubt even All Might could face him alone, and even a team of top ten heroes would be in severe danger."

"Yet, our own Atlas killed him by himself, and only looks a little tired." Nezu said calmly. "I'm almost glad for it-this is the first time we've even seen him sweat."

"Even my Erasure would at most only stop the magic." Aizawa murmured. "So if a monster that strong shows up again, Midoriya's our only chance at killing them. We're basically fucked, otherwise."

"That certainly seems to be the case."

Aizawa let out a long sigh. "What a pain."

Izuku woke up to warm sunlight on his skin and hands threaded through his curly hair, still lying on an asleep Aurora. 

He stared up at his wife's sleeping face for a few precious moments before carefully sliding his head off her lap, her violet hair tickling his face. 

He untangled himself from the blanket as slowly as possible, folding it off to the side of the couch. Aurora let out a small murmur at the loss before she settled down again.

Aurora was an incredibly light sleeper, but if Izuku was anything, it was patient.

He took a minute to form a cradle under her legs and back with his arms to gently lift her off the couch. He held back a sigh of relief when she didn't stir, and carried her off to their room with soft, silent steps.

Akari usually ruined this part, rushing in and waking Aurora up(technically Izuku's fault for making his daughter into a morning person, if he was being honest). But right now she was at U.A University with Eri-there was no one to stop him from lowering his wife into bed and bundling her in the blanket like an adorable burrito. 

Izuku brushed the hair out of her face and stepped back, watching the lazy smile stretch across her face...before remembering that he had a job.

Damn it.

Izuku walked in through the door seconds before the meeting was scheduled to start. Most of the staff was already seated, sending him some weird looks as he walked in.

"Cutting it close there, huh, Midoriya?" Vlad King quipped. 

Izuku shrugged. "I mean, Nezu isn't here yet right?" Eraserhead wasn't here yet either, but well, that was Eraserhead. 

Vlad King, Ectoplasm and Power Loader were the only ones actually reading through the papers in front of them. Present Mic was humming some tune under his breath, completely zoned out, and Midnight was grinning at her phone. Snipe was cleaning one of his many guns. Cementoss was actually snoring, the long sound almost unsettling in the meeting room.

Once again, Izuku wondered how the man's biology even worked.

"Your mutation quirk lets you move at extreme speeds, Midoriya. As a result, you are usually quite punctual. Were you preoccupied with a powerful threat?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Ah, nah. I overslept."

Ectoplasm blinked. "...Oh. Well, I suppose that after such a fearsome battle, some rest is certainly earned."

It took a moment to click that Ectoplasm meant his fight with Briareus. They ended up causing a ton of damage to the city in public view-of course they all knew about it.

Izuku wouldn't call Briareus fearsome. An interesting enemy, sure, and definitely a threat. But compared to Sekhmet, he really wasn't much.

To the humans, Izuku mused, Briareus must be quite terrifying.

"Why's there a horn on top of your head?" Present Mic asked.

"Because I...have a horn?" Izuku answered, a little confused. What a weird question. 

Before Mic could reply Eraserhead strolled in, sending a look at Izuku that he couldn't decipher. Nezu hopped off the hero's shoulder and into his chair at the front of the table, flashing his usual smile at them. Cementoss blinked awake, disguising his nap with practiced ease(and fooling absolutely no one).

"Welcome, everyone." Nezu started. "Today we're going to discuss the sports festival, and our plans going forward with it-"

"To be clear, I'm heavily against holding it in the first place." Aizawa interrupted.

"-as well as any changes we may need to make this year." Nezu continued anyway. "Now-Midoriya?"

Izuku put his hand down. "Um...what's the sports festival?"

Eraserhead sighed. He seemed to do that a lot. "It makes sense that you wouldn't remember, with your...circumstances. Also, you really don't need to raise your hand like that."

"But wouldn't it be rude to just interrupt him, Eraserhead?"

Vlad King laughed. "He's got you there. Also, you don't need to call us by our hero names when we're not in the field. We have surnames, too."

Izuku blinked. "Oh, alright. I was introduced to all of you with those nicknames, so I kinda assumed you'd want to be called that..."

Snipe tipped his hat. "Snipe works just fine, for me."

Vlad King shrugged. "Don't worry about it, kid. Just call me Kan." 

Izuku frowned. "I'm-" How old was he supposed to be again? "-40 years old. Definitely not a kid."

"And you still look like you're twenty, so there." Vla-Kan retorted. 

Izuku blinked, not really sure how to respond to that.

"Why, are you jealous, Kan?" Mi-Kayama asked.

"Are you?"

Kayama's eye noticeably twitched, and Snipe chuckled.

Nezu coughed, lightly. "If we could stay on track, please. The sports festival is an event held every year for students to compete in various events. The festival is broadcasted and widely watched throughout Japan, giving students a chance to showcase their skills."

Izuku tilted his head. "But uh Nezu-wait, what's your actual name?"

"Nezu."

"...Do you have a hero name, then?"

Nezu nodded. "More accurately, a title. I am Mr. Principal."

Wow, that was a terrible name, even for Izuku-though he had enough tact to not say that out loud.

"Huh. Anyway, won't we just be showing off all our student's techniques and abilities? That sounds like a bad idea."

"Exactly." Aizawa muttered a little too loudly.

"And didn't the little listeners like, recently get attacked by villains? That could happen again." Yamada said.

"All valid concerns." Nezu acknowledged. "But this year's sports festival will be immensely important, being the first one since the Drift. We will show Japan that the next generation of heroes is strong enough to fight enhanced villains and monsters. The safety of our audience and students will be well-protected, with All Might, Atlas-" Nezu nodded at Izuku. "-and several other heroes on security, in addition to the ones attending."

No one protested further...though Izuku noticed the creature didn't say anything about that first issue.

"So we're going through with it, then." Cementoss noted. "What are we planning to change?" 

"Typically, we have three events." Nezu said, most likely for Izuku's benefit. "The first one is where competitors do their best to stand out in the crowd, and where we have the most eliminations. For example, a race. The second event is team-based, and very entertaining to watch. We see creative planning and the intelligence of our students here, as well as their teamwork, of course."

"It's also pretty chaotic. Hey, Nezu, can I be an announcer?" Mic asked.

"Obviously. you're always the-"

Mic pumped his fist like a kid getting exactly what he wanted for his birthday. "Yes!"

"On that note, Sekijiro and Shota. You'll both be in the box too as homeroom teachers."

"Alright, sure!"

"What a pain."

"What about the last event?" Izuku asked.

"The third event is always a tournament," Nezu answered. "With referees posted to moderate the fight and prevent any serious injuries-"

"That's us." Kayama chirped. Ishiyama nodded beside her. Their quirks were quite good for the role, Izuku supposed.

Nezu didn't even falter at being interrupted again. "-and a randomized bracket. Matches are simply decided by knockout or exiting the zone. We have a famous hero to give out medals for placing in the top three, after."

"Neat."

"I think we should do something big-it's been a whole five years since we hosted the event. Really give them a show." Kayama said. "We don't have to randomize the first two events- instead we can go all in on something in particular."

"We do have a huge budget this year." Kan mused thoughtfully. "It'd certainly be much more efficient than what I remember."

"Wonderful." Nezu clapped his paws. "Let's get to brainstorming ideas, then!"

"It's pretty simple." Izuku lied, like a lying liar. "All you need to do is just cross to the other side, and you get to leave class early."

They stood on a platform elevated above the gym, another one positioned a couple meters away. 

A long rope stretched across the gap, easily wide enough to step on. Below the rope was a soft pile of pillows for when they fell. Two air constructions, a few meters wide and elegantly reinforced to launch projectiles, were placed on the far sides of the gym. They went unnoticed by nearly all of his vict-students.

Ashido gasped. "Really, Atlas-sensei? Thank you!"

Izuku nodded with a smile. "Yep. Go one at a time, and make sure you balance yourself. Who wants to go first?"

A good amount did; his confident(Katsuki) or gullible(Kaminari) students. 

He picked Kirishima, the boy brightening up in a way that almost made Izuku feel guilty. 

Almost.

The redhead made the first step carefully, before another, and then another. His smile got a little wider, walking across a little faster as he crossed the middle-

A violet ball fired from the right air launcher, bumping Kirishima's shoulder and tipping the boy over, his arms shooting out to steady himself on instinct. He wasn't fast enough and fell backward into the soft pillows.

The class glared a hole into the back of Izuku's head. 

Izuku's smile grew wider. "Ah, I forgot to mention. Today, we'll be testing your agility and reflexes-with a fun variation on dodgeball! But on a tightrope!"

"Oh, god."

"What a mad banquet of darkness."

"At least we're going to land in pillows, I guess..."

"Sensei, that really just sounds like an excuse to throw things at us-"

"Shut up Fuji, you have fucking wings -"

"Wait, we can use our quirks, right?"

Izuku nodded. "Yes, Sero, quirks are allowed...though I might go a little harder on some specific people, to be fair." 

The statement was directed at Akari, but it was Fuji who wilted like a dying flower, hugging himself with his wings.

"I take it back. I'm so sorry, Fuji." 

"It's okay, Kaminari. I-I've come to terms with my fate."

Izuku rolled his eyes. His kids were all so dramatic. "Alright. Kaminari, you're next."

"Nooooo!" Kaminari wailed.

Kaminari's idea wasn't bad. He ducked under the first two balls, a light activation of his quirk in front of him making a sort of electric shield(support gear really was amazing), and blocking the third. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that Izuku was also firing from behind him and the next shot slammed into the back of his head.

Kaminari fell face-first into the pillows, unmoving. "Ow. I think it's over for me, guys. Go on without me."

Jirou snorted, and Fuji perked up. "Kaminari, if you're dead can I take your Pokémon ca-"

Kaminari stood instantly. "I survived!"

"Damn it."

Izuku called Yaoyorozu up just as Iida started to scold the boy for his language. 

He wanted her to go early and lack time to come up with a proper solution. While brilliant plans were excellent when you had the time, her quirk usage needed to be far quicker and reflexive.

Yaoyorozu made circular metal shields on both arms, walking forward in elegant steps. They took the impacts well, but each one nearly jolted Yaoyorozu out of her even pace. A ball past the middle clipped her leg, making her wobble unsteadily.

She adapted, throwing aside her shields to create a long bo staff. Held perpendicular to the rope, it helped her stay upright on the rope and easily deflect the balls on either side. All she needed to do was watch her feet for low shots, and she crossed with an audible sigh of relief.

Iida activated his Recipro Burst immediately, blazing forward in a flash of silver. A smart decision-even if his quirk stalled afterward, he'd be done for the day.

He slid down the rope in style, knees bent as balls shot past him. Iida was getting better at processing high speeds, Izuku noticed, firing faster to keep up. One got through his guard, nailing him straight in the face(Izuku drastically lowered its momentum at the last second) and almost knocking off his glasses. 

Iida still kept his balance, somehow, screeching to a stop on the other side and stiffly bowing to the applause. 

"Thank you, everyone!"

Satou's quirk made him fall almost immediately, his quirk being terrible for balance. 

Koda wasn't very good on the rope either, and Izuku poked him with the lightest throw possible.

Kirishima asked to go again, and Izuku let him. The redhead grinned wide when he got across despite the increased number of attacks, using careful activations of Hardening along his arms or legs just before impacts.

Ashido went after her horn buddy, her balance incredible as she leaned under shots and dodged through the rest. She did a smooth cartwheel in the middle of the gap.

Shoji grew out all of his arms, keeping both sides even and still keeping a wide shield. He walked forward casually, not bothering to dodge, his entire upper body protected. Izuku aimed for his legs without remorse, and he toppled down like a falling tree.

Tooru took off her gloves, rendering herself completely invisible. She didn't seem to realize that still meant she needed to be dodging, so after seeing the rope bend at the exact same frequency a 'lucky' shot hit exactly where her face was.

Fuji basically cheated, completely covering himself in his protective wings and flying straight forward. He got several boos from his fallen comrades. 

Asui made the mistake trying to leap across and got sniped mid-air. Was Izuku enjoying this too much? Probably.

Jirou got far with a few smart blasts of sound yet wasn't fast enough to dodge a faster one. She got caught in the stomach and thrown straight off the rope.

"Bitch!"

"Langua-"

Jirou turned her glare on him, and Iida promptly stopped talking.

Aoyama propelled himself across with his Naval Laser, a dazzling smile on his face. He couldn't see where he was going, though, and was instantly knocked down. 

Katsuki blasted straight forward, his eyes calculating, probably already knowing Izuku was going to be a lot harder on him than the other blonde.

Twin balls streaked out from either side, and he halted his momentum just in time to dodge. He moved in every direction using his quirk, not having to stay on the rope with his ridiculous mobility. Izuku adjusted the turrets to track him, watching the blonde weave through a storm of violet balls, blasting away any that got too close. 

He really was quite skilled compared to the rest. That kind of control took time and practice.

Katsuki aimed for the other side whenever he saw an opening, seeming to realize that he couldn't keep this up forever. His explosions got more powerful the more sweat he had, yet at the same time that meant he couldn't make the small, precise blasts for his dynamic style of movement. Flames burst from his feet like jets at the same time, keeping him above the pillows below.

After a minute passed Izuku threw in his chains, forming them out of the air around Katsuki. They lashed out like snakes and the blonde's jaw set, twisting his body just in time to escape. One latched around his ankle, and a well-timed explosion broke it off, obscuring Izuku's vision with smoke. At the same time, a burst of magic threw Katsuki onto the other platform. 

The blonde panted, exhausted but victorious, and the students around him stared in awe.

Kirishima was in tears. "Bakubro. That was one of the manliest things I've ever seen-"

"Shut the fuck up."

Sero had been using the time to set up a web of tape on either side of him- catching each ball before they hit. Izuku's projectiles didn't weigh much, being literally mana and air, and as each one stuck to the tape they formed a makeshift shield.

The living tape dispenser's abilities were great for capture, Izuku noted. He needed to teach Sero how to handle a weapon if the boy was going to fight monsters, though-tape didn't have much attack value.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and Izuku glanced to the side to see his daughter with a familiar, competitive grin.

"Don't hold back on me Dad, alright?"

Izuku hummed. "...Wouldn't that be favoritism?" 

Akari rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I saw you shoot at Bakugou for like...two minutes. I haven't had a good challenge in a while."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "You know, I still remember you absolutely hating these training exercises as a kid. Where'd that little goddess go?"

Akari laughed. "You completely corrupted her. Now I wake up early and train every day. And enjoy being pelted by magic dodgeballs. It's all your fault, really."

"Actually, you're the one who asked me if I would-"

"I'm next up on this tightrope thing, aren't I?" Akari interrupted. "Don't keep the rest of the class waiting."

Izuku nodded with a smile, and the mounted launchers on either side of the gym tripled in size.

Akari took her first two steps forward, full of ease as if she wasn't balanced on a narrow rope. But if you looked closer, her smile was fading into something more determined, tense.

The skill of class 1-A varied immensely from student to student. This was especially true when you compared kids like Todoroki or Katsuki to Kaminari. Akari, though, had decades of experience over the rest of them. While she was at U.A University for fun, she wasn't exactly learning much fighting against her human classmates.

If she wanted a challenge, well, he'd give her one.

On her third step, three projectiles shot out from the turrets. They were the size of cannonballs, streaking through the air at subsonic speed. Akari dived forward, the attack missing the next student in line by inches. Poor Ojiro flinched back, barely seeing the violet blur.

"What-"

Now near the center of the rope and away from the other students, she was far more open. Izuku didn't give her time to breathe, firing off more and more dodgeballs that she gracefully weaved through. 

She twisted under a shot before rising up to bat away another with her palm. But there was a ball hidden behind it, her eyes missing the tiny detail until it was almost too late. Akari ducked just in time-

Izuku formed an air construct right behind her, the ball reflecting off towards her back and forcing Akari to use a light shield to block it. She braced under the impact, holding firm.

"-the fuck?!" Ojiro finished. "Sensei, are you trying to kill us? " 

"Nah. Just me." Akari said. Ojiro blinked. Behind him Todoroki was glancing back and forth between the dodgeballs and Akari's smile, confused.

Izuku couldn't help but laugh. "Complaining already, Akari?" 

Akari shot bullets of light behind her without a glance, deflecting the next attack down and knocking pillows up from the force. Her shield morphed into a large white sphere around her, and dodgeballs slammed against it harmlessly like a hailstorm.

She grinned from under her magic. "Nope, not at all. Really, I could do this all week-"

The light construct shattered under the next blow, and Akari's eyes went wide as the ball skimmed past her cheek.

"Are you sure about that?"

He saw the very moment her racing mind switched from 'defend' to 'oh shit, run'. She kicked off towards the opposite platform at startling speeds, the rope beneath her sloping down from the force. 

A tall, violet wall blocked her path and she flipped over it easily. Mid-air, a reinforced box formed around her-

A sword of light took shape in her hand and she slashed , tearing it into pieces with a single blow. Each air shard curved through the air and shot back at her.

Akari used her Prism-the sword in her hands bursting into six colored orbs. They swirled around her airborne form at a rapid pace, knocking away each attack as she landed perfectly back on the rope. 

"I have no idea what's happening." Kaminari breathed. "But it looks really fucking cool."

"That's light magic, right?" Ashido asked. "Hey, Tooru, can you do that cool rainbow thing too?" 

"Nope. Akari's just amazing." Tooru admitted, before raising her voice several levels louder. "You're doing absolutely incredible, Akari!" 

Akari found the time to flash a bright smile at the invisible girl, suddenly getting...faster?

Huh.

Izuku flicked a hand, a hundred chains coiling into a massive, detailed serpent. The links in his chains looked like dragon scales and Izuku's magic created a smooth pattern of violet and purple color. His long body winded around in loops through the air, his large jaws opening up wide like laughter. 

Ridiculous feats of control like this were usually useless in combat, but sometimes, well, you just needed to be a little dramatic. And there wasn't a better word to describe Amethyst the Great in all of his glory. 

The human screams were definitely satisfying, too. 

Meanwhile, Akari only narrowed her eyes, Red and Blue morphing into a sword and shield. The rest of her lights knocked away the dodgeballs still being fired at her as she lowered her center of gravity, ready. 

Amethyst The Great didn't disappoint, diving low and forcing her to duck under his huge form. He twisted back fast, striking a blow against her shield that nearly threw her off. Akari swung Red at him on his next pass, but the blade glanced off his scales harmlessly. 

"Holy shit, is that a dragon? That's the manliest thing I've ever seen-sorry, Bakubro."

Katsuki growled at him absentmindedly, his fists clenching and unclenching as he stared at the fight in front of him. 

"Nah, that's not a dragon." Fuji said. "Dragons have wings, right?" 

Akari backflipped over the mighty jaws, slashing down on Amethyst the Great's neck. The air construct hissed, actually damaged this time, and flew out of range. 

Asui tilted her head. "A lot of dragons are wingless, kero."

Tokoyami nodded solemnly. "The great creatures are recorded in many forms and types in our ancient history, seen differently from culture to culture. The mystical bea-"

"Fumi agrees, basically." Dark Shadow cut him off.

"You are well informed, Tokoyami-san!" Iida praised.

"They can?" Jirou asked. "I mean, a lot of our legends have wingless dragons. But if the dragon doesn't have wings...isn't it just a snake?"

A quick cartwheel got Akari out of the way as Amethyst The Great suddenly whipped his head around. His mouth opened wide, launching hundreds and hundreds of violet dodgeballs.

"Oh, for fucks sake." Akari cursed, her mana rising. Her orbs joined together into a single shape, each one taking a corner. The floating hexagon spun into a powerful shield, protecting her from the onslaught like an umbrella.

"Even you could classify it as such." Yaoyorozu mused over the loud sound of battle. "I definitely would not call that 'just a snake'."

"You know, Atlas-sensei only threw a few balls at me." Kirishima said. "I almost feel bad for her."

Kaminari shrugged. "I don't know man. If I could do a super cool rainbow thing, I think it'd be pretty fair to have a higher difficulty setting."

"True."

"It could be a dragon that possessed wings before, only to lose them in a great battle against a terrible foe." Todoroki reasoned.

Tokoyami nodded. "You're right, that could certainly be the case..."

Ojiro stared at them. "Huh? How does it even have a backstory? Didn't Atlas-sensei just create it?"

"What if it's both? Like a dragon and a snake?" Uraraka murmured.

Sero blinked. "How would it even be both? I mean, it's either a dragon or not, right?"

"A dragon's just a flying lizard, isn't it?" Satou said. "That...thing doesn't have wings, but it's definitely flying around."

Kaminari squinted. "I don't know man. It really doesn't look like a lizard to me."

"Flying reptile, then." Satou amended.

The magical hexagon shot forward, bashing against Amethyst The Great's floating, chainlike body and knocked him back. Akari didn't let up, the lights changing into blades to slice at him. The beast was on the defensive, now, flying out of her strikes but keeping up his barrage. Too big of an opening, and Akari would dash to the platform.

Ashido clapped her hands. "C'mon people, it's totally a snake. Trust me. Just look at that long, snakey body."

"Mina, that's totally a badass dragon." Tooru argued.

"You know, there's only one way to find out. Hey, Atlas-sensei," Kaminari called. "Is that thing a dragon or like, a really big snake?" 

Izuku glanced over. "Oh, Amethyst The Great? Yeah, he's a serpent. Beautiful, isn't he?" 

"Ha! I knew it!" Ashido cackled. Tooru's uniform drooped.

"He's wonderfully shiny, Atlas-sensei." Aoyama praised.

"I should have known." Yaoyorozu muttered. "It seems I need to study up on my creatures more..."

Iida nodded. "Valuable knowledge, and not just for fighting monsters it seems. May I join you, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Of course, Iida! You don't need to show me such respect, though."

"Can I come? I don't know much about monsters, but some of them seem really cool!" Uraraka chimed in.

Ojiro sighed. "Am I the only one thinking about that name-" 

Jirou cut him off to ask the more important question. "Wait, Atlas-sensei. How the fuck are you making a huge moving, fighting creature with reinforcement magic?" 

He'd been wondering when one of them would ask. Izuku shrugged. "Practice." Decades and decades of it. "It's like Cloudy, just...bigger."

"That literally explained nothing, but okay." 

Izuku made Amethyst the Great curl around the rope as it rushed back towards Akari. She couldn't move left or right on the narrow surface, meaning she was forced to leap straight into the air. 

Amethyst the Great rose up to meet her and Akari acted fast, leaning back and kicking her legs up into his body and throwing him into the roof. She visibly focused, each of her colored orbs combining together in a shine of blinding light.

There was a katana in her hand, white with flickers of color in it like a contained rainbow, radiating power as she reinforced it with her remaining mana. Mid-air she gracefully flowed into one of Kensei's stances.

Amethyst The Great had swung back by the time it ended, bearing down to crush her from above-

An upward cut. 

Izuku couldn't hold back a smile as the near-perfect slash sliced clean through the great serpent like paper, the sheer force continuing on to rip open the durable roof and burst through the exposed clouds. 

The halves of Amethyst The Great fell apart into chains and dissolved into nothing as Akari flipped down, landing on her feet on the goal platform. 

The goddess wiped the sweat off her forehead with a grin, rolling back her shoulders as the katana in her hand disappeared.

"That was pretty fun. How'd I do?" Akari asked. Most of the class simply stared at her in awe.

Izuku grinned back at her. "Amazing, Akari. You literally raised the roof."

Akari glanced up. "Oh, uh, my bad..."

Izuku waved it off. "U.A's budget is ridiculous, don't worry about it."

Tooru caught the girl in a tight hug. "That was so cool, Akari! You were moving so fast I could barely see you-your beautiful hair just went whoosh! And where'd you learn to use a sword like that?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, stars in her eyes. "Your movements were quite smooth. I've never seen such fine swordsmanship before!"

Akari swept a hand through her hair with a smile. "Thanks, guys. I learned how to use a sword from my Uncle Kensei. He's...weird, but like, super strong."

"No offense, Akari, but you're kinda overpowered. Like, that was some top ten shit." Kaminari said, still staring up at the missing ceiling.

"...I'll take that as a compliment."

Following that show was probably...hard. Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Ojiro were impressive, but after seeing Akari Izuku doubted 1-A was as impressive as they would've been.

Tokoyami's Dark Shadow covered him like a cloak, the boy shouting out something about an abyss before pulling off the technique. The boy's movements were clumsy and untrained, but the augmented power behind them wasn't bad. He rushed towards the end, Dark Shadow helping him stay on(and holding a conversation the entire way.)

Ojiro was graceful, dashing across the rope in a series of flips. His tail whacked away any balls easily and maintained his balance.

Todoroki went last, freezing over the rope with an ice bridge. Izuku narrowed his eyes as he continued to use only ice, blocking the dodgeballs with giant walls of frost and spikes. Not a hint of his other quirk, still. He slid to the other side before his body suffered for it, but Todoroki definitely needed to start using all of his quirk soon.

Izuku ended class and most of them rushed out together, excited. Todoroki stopped by him, his face still the same stoic mask as it always was.

"Atlas-sensei. Can I ask you something?" Todoroki asked.

"Of course."

"You went a lot harder on Midoriya than the rest of us. Was that because of her capability, or because she's your daughter?"

Izuku hummed. An interesting question. "The former. Akari's speed, reflexes, and physical strength from her quirk and training are similar to mine. That's why in an exercise like this, she can go through a much more difficult challenge than the rest of the class-that is, if she wants to. Does that answer your question, Todoroki?"

Todoroki nodded and left without a word. 

"I'm kinda worried about him, honestly." Akari whispered. "I mean, there has to be a reason he limits-and harms-himself like that."

Izuku sighed. "Yeah. From the look on your face, I guess you have a plan for that?"

Akari smiled. "Yep. That brings me to what I wanted to ask. For the sports festival, how much should I uh...hold back?"

Izuku thought about it. "None."

Akari blinked. "Huh?"

"Obviously make sure you don't injure the other students, but besides that..." Izuku shrugged. 

"You wanted to be the best hero, right? So do the best you can, Akari."

Notes:

Confused Nezu is utterly hilarious to me, for some reason. Also, I'm not gonna lie, I forgot Snipe existed and had to go back and write him in. He's cool but damn is he irrelevant.

This ended up being my longest chapter yet, which I should probably apologize for. Splitting it into two just seemed kinda lame.

I realize that I haven't written many Akari or Aurora fights-a mistake I'll be working to rectify with stuff like the badass Akari moment I loved writing.

As always, feedback is welcome.

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