21

Chapter 21

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Izuku hummed a song he'd heard somewhere under his breath, leaping across through the sky in his iconic cloak-turned hero costume. Violet platforms formed underneath his feet like stepping stones, pushing him further with each jump. Excited shouts and points came from the street below.

He was rapidly rising through the hero polls. He wasn't very flashy, all of his fights ending in a blink, yet he somehow had a growing fanbase anyway. According to his coworkers at U.A, he was seen as the next 'Symbol of Peace', his strength compared to All Might.

Izuku didn't really care-the hero rankings were based on popularity, not strength, and that's not why he became a hero. Fighting human enemies was interesting and new , each villain with their own unique quirk and/or magic. And then there were the-

Sharp, foreign mana brushed against the edge of Izuku's senses, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Izuku twisted mid-air, kicking off in the opposite direction, wind blowing past his face and rippling through his hair. 

Ever since humanity returned, yellow portals had been opening-carrying with them this unnatural mana that made Izuku's gut twist. They hadn't been a problem at the start, both extremely rare and bringing ridiculously weak monsters. Heroes could deal with them with ease, especially those used to taking out monsters during the Drift.

But as months passed, the portals only grew increasingly common and more dangerous. 

Izuku cut through the sky, a few jumps taking him to Hosu City in a minute. He closed in on the scene, landing on the street without a sound.

Heroes were already on the scene, Izuku noticed. The duo had gotten all of the civilians out of harm's way(instead of running, the dumb humans stayed close enough to watch the fight) and were beating back the creature. 

There was only one monster, the large yellow portal slowly closing behind it. It was bigger than anything Izuku had seen so far, a green, scaly body as wide as a truck. Two heads whipped around, blasting yellow energy at the heroes.

Izuku watched as the leader, a man completely covered in white armor, blazed circles around the beast, dual blades on his arms slashing at it with each pass. His sidekick fired off blue blasts while he drew its attention, attacking from range. Their teamwork was fluid and impressive.

The monster lunged and the armored man slid under its jaws, tracing a long cut with his blades. It roared in pain, golden dust floating off the wound, and the other hero struck with a burst in the opening. 

Izuku stepped next to the hero as he caught his breath, the engines on his arms giving off smoke. "Hello."

He startled, eyes going wide behind his helmet. "Atlas-san? When'd you get here?"

Izuku lifted his hand and the twin heads harmlessly crashed against an air barrier, protecting Ingenium's sidekick. She stared at the sudden forcefield, confused.

"Just now. Do you two uh...want help with that thing?" Izuku asked. They were handling it fine, but Izuku could never just sit back and watch when people were in danger. Also, this guy was clearly Iida's dad or something.

Iida's dad nodded. "Yeah, that'd-"

Izuku's fist flew and a gaping hole carved into the monster's chest in an instant. . It stilled, both heads glancing down in confusion as it disintegrated into dust.

He still didn't get why monsters died like that, but not having to deal with the bodies was nice.

"-be great..." he trailed off. "Holy shit, they weren't kidding about you. Thanks for the assist."

"No problem. Hey your Ingenium, right? I think your son's in my class." Izuku said.

Ingenium's sidekick coughed next to him, and the hero seemed to wilt behind his armor.

"My what ?"

Izuku held a hand in front of his chest. "This tall, serious, has engines?"

"...Oh, you mean Tenya. I heard you were the heroics teacher at U.A. How's my brother doing?" Ingenium stressed the word. 

"He's driven and has potential, but kinda stiff. Iida emulates you a lot." Izuku commented. Their hero costumes looked nearly identical, and they even fought similarly with their engines. Ingenium seemed a lot smoother though, more natural.

Ingenium chuckled. "That he does. Can I ask you something, Atlas-san?"

"Sure."

"Why is there a yellow cone on your head? I thought it was a mutation at first, but up close-"

"Oh, this?" Izuku smiled, tapping the reinforced implement with a finger. "It's my horn."

Ingenium stared. "But it's clearly made of paper-"

" It's my horn."

A yellow sleeping bag slithered into the gym like some kind of giant snake. Akari and the rest of her class didn't even bat an eye at Aizawa-sensei's entrance. 

Though she did wonder when the man actually got into the bag. Did he crawl all the way here from the teacher's lounge?

Aizawa-sensei yawned as he stood to his feet. "Alright hellspawn. As you know, the U.A Sports Festival is in four weeks. That means we're going to be increasing your training immensely-Plus Ultra or whatever."

Akari slowly raised her hand. "...What's the Sports Festival?" 

Aizawa-sensei blinked. "...Huh, I guess it has been five years. Basically, all of the students in the year face off in competitions, with the last round being tournament fights. Many citizens tune in to watch it every year."

Huh, that sounded pretty fun! 

"Didn't we just get attacked by a bunch of villains? What if that happens again?" Kaminari asked.

"That won't be a concern. We will have several heroes patrolling the event and in attendance, including Atlas and All Might. This is the first Sports Festival after the Drift, making it incredibly important to display the strength of our future heroes."

"...Isn't showing off our strengths and weaknesses a terrible idea?" Fuji said hesitantly.

Aizawa-sensei sighed. "Yes, but that's exactly what's going to happen to any hero that works in the spotlight. If you need to, talk to me after class so you can opt out. However, this is also an excellent chance to get internship offers from heroes who see you in action."

He walked over to the training mats at the center of the gym, the class trailing behind him like baby birds.

"Raise your hand if you have any experience with hand-to-hand combat."

Akari did so, along with barely a third of their hero class. Aizawa-sensei sighed. 

"Those you have at least some idea what you're doing, pair off on the mats there. No emitter and transformative quirks allowed, first one to be pushed off or knocked out wins. The rest of you will be working with me to get some foundation."

"Isn't this a little...unfair for people who don't have mutation quirks?" Shoji asked. Despite living in the same dorm, Akari never saw the man without that cool mask on. He probably liked being mysterious, or something.

"Preparing for that kind of situation is part of why we're doing this." Aizawa stated simply. "And asking you, Fuji, and Ojiro not to use your extra limbs would throw you off balance. Asui, you're an exception. Don't use your tongue." 

"Okay, Sensei."

Aizawa-sensei glanced at Akari, probably thinking about her physical strength. He knew she had the common sense to hold back, though she doubted he knew just how much stronger she was.

"Fuck yes! How badly can I hurt them?"

"No permanent injury, Bakugou." Aizawa-sensei said, leading his group away. The remaining members of 1-A edged carefully away from the blonde.

Akari paired up with Kirishima, standing across from the boy with the large blue training mat between them. His hero costume left him completely shirtless for some reason. Maybe it got in the way of his Hardening?

"Let's have a manly fight, Midoriya!" Kirishima grinned, his teeth razor sharp. 

"Sure." Akari smiled back, his excitement infectious.

Aizawa-sensei called the first round.

Kirishima threw the first punch and Akari sidestepped just the right amount, throwing a kick at his exposed side. Kirishima winced but didn't falter, launching blow after blow.

He fought completely directly, Akari noticed, steadily advancing forward like a battering ram. His punches had a bit of practice behind them though they were wild, unrefined. 

Akari caught a hook on her forearm and elbowed him in the chest, forcing the boy to take a step back. She swung an axe kick before he could recover, carefully holding back as she struck down his unhardened shoulder.

He stumbled, barely keeping his footing. "Whoa, that was fast!"

He rushed forward and she weaved through every punch easily, leaning just out of range. Despite that, he only grinned wider.

For Akari, sparring with her classmates was a control exercise. It was easy to regulate her strength after decades of living on Earth(and it's very breakable stuff)and practicing with her dad. 

But actual combat meant that she had to regulate every movement, every touch, constantly keeping her speed at human levels. And her attacks , well, she really didn't want to murder her classmates.

"I'm going to kill you, bastard!"

...Except maybe Bakugou. He was loud and annoying.

She couldn't lower her own reflexes, though. Even when she stood still, Kirishima's inexperienced punches moved at a snail's pace. Her mind wandered to the rest of her classmates as they sparred at the edge of her vision.

It was incredibly sad to watch Aizawa-sensei teach Kaminari how to throw a basic punch, his arms wobbly and thumbs inside his fist. Sure, none of her classmates were actually as old as she was, but they were still nearing human adulthood and entering a profession based on combat...

Heroes primarily fought with their quirks, almost to the point of relying on them. While there were heroes like Aizawa-sensei without physical/combative abilities, they were almost completely overshadowed. Akari understood why most humans didn't focus much on martial arts, but to someone like her it was a little disconcerting.

"You must practice a ton, Midoriya!"

Akari blinked, surprised. "Thanks, Kirishima."

Akari zoned back in to deflect a punch, landing a clean palm strike on Kirishima's chin. The boy went flying off the mat, back hitting the ground hard. 

She internally let out a sigh of relief when Kirishima took her hand, unharmed, letting her pull him to his feet.

"You were holding back a lot, huh." Kirishima stated. 

Akari nodded, a touch guilty. "Yeah. I'm sorry-"

Kirishima shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. I have a long way to go. But Midoriya, how'd you get that good? You fight so...fluidly!"

Akari shrugged. "I train a lot, I guess. My dad taught me."

Todoroki's eyes flicked to her from the other mat, suddenly interested.

"Oh, I see. You must have practiced a ton!"

Akari smiled. Not many people seemed to notice that-especially humans, who believed her strength was from a lucky quirk instead of decades of effort. "Thanks, Kirishima."

"Switch!" Aizawa-sensei called out, and the sparring students rotated. Akari turned just in time to see Sero fall over from trying to kick too high, deepening Aizawa-sensei's scowl even further. Kaminari was on the ground, unmoving.

"Heaven, he's going to kill them," Akari muttered.

"I didn't take you for someone religious, Akari." Tsu, her new partner, glanced up at her in question.

Akari blinked. "What-oh, yeah, I believe in gods and stuff. I mean humans already have quirks and magic, it doesn't seem too far-fetched..."

"I wasn't judging you, kero," Tsu said. "I apologize if I came off as direct or rude-it's just in my nature to say what I think."

"I think that's pretty cool, Tsu," Akari said honestly. "Someone blunt yet true is very trustworthy."

Tsu nodded just as Aizawa-sensei called them off.

The frog-like girl immediately fired off a set of kicks, launching off the ground like a spring.

Akari ducked under an impressive dropkick, watching Tsu's dark-green hair fly up at the movement. The girl landed smoothly, twisting into a roundhouse kick that clipped Akari's nose. Akari punched at her stomach and Tsu flipped back out of range.

Tsu's fighting style was the complete opposite of Kirishima's, airborne and full of kicks instead of his pure brawling. She wasn't bad.

Tsu leaned back a full ninety degrees, dodging a hook before aiming a blow at Akari's head. She was certainly flexible-possibly from her mutation? Akari didn't really know much about frogs.

"What abilities does your mutation give you?" Akari asked, curious. She was starting to push Tsu back now, kick by kick.

"A couple-" Akari blocked a punch, feeling the girl's notably larger hand. "-things, kero. I have stronger legs and a very long tongue. I also swim really well."

Akari caught Tsu's leg and threw her, the frog-like girl rolling with the impact and stopping just inside the mat. "That's kinda cool. Where I'm from, there aren't many mutation quirks." More like none. "So I think they're pretty interesting."

Tsu croaked, moving into a crouch. Next she was going to...

Akari sidestepped and Tsu's legs flew past her, her eyes wide before a perfectly timed uppercut sent the airborne girl tumbling to the ground. Tsu came to a stop outside the area, staring up at Akari from the ground.

"A lot of people would disagree with you." Tsu murmured. "Mutation quirks aren't looked kindly upon, especially after the Drift..."

"Well, they're dumb." Akari stated simply. "I don't think any people in our class are like that, either. 

Tsu looked at her for a moment before nodding. "...I guess so, kero."

Her last opponent was clearly excited, the floating gym shirt bouncing in place. Tooru was wearing short sleeves, Akari realized, so without focusing on her mana she couldn't tell where the invisible girl's arms were. Clever.

"I won't go easy on you, Akari!" Tooru declared.

Akari smiled. "I wouldn-"

She stepped back on reflex, a slight breeze brushing her face. Tooru hadn't even waited for Aizawa-sensei before attacking. "Hey!"

A disembodied laugh was the only response she got as Tooru moved again, her sleeves slashly wildly. Akari focused on her shirt as she blocked, trying to trace the girl as invisible fists crashed against her forearms.

Akari couldn't fight blind like her Dad could. She knew the general area where Tooru was from her still-visible clothes, but with no way to see her arms nearly all of Tooru's punches landed, impossible to counter.

"You're being really mean, you know." Akari complained. 

Tooru giggled. "It's not like I can make myself visible! And Akari, you're barely affected!" 

Akari couldn't turn her godly durability off, either, which was pretty unfair. But that wouldn't matter if Tooru pushed her off the mat.

Tooru must have worked really hard to be a hero with an ability like hers, and it showed. Her footsteps were quiet, blending in with the loud voices around them

Tooru was getting more confident, pushing Akari back against the mat. Attacking Tooru's shirt wasn't working, so Akari improvised-throwing twisting hooks and swinging her leg for where she guessed Tooru's head was.

The floating uniform crumpled in at the last moment, and Akari's roundhouse kick hit nothing but air. If Akari could see her face she bet Tooru would be grinning her wide smile, her bright blue eyes glittering as she danced out of range yet again.

Hm. Maybe she was going about this the wrong way.

Akari automatically stepped back when she saw her shorts raise, letting the kick fly by. She dived in with a palm strike, knocking Tooru back in the opening.

Instead of trying to react in time, all Akari needed to do was predict her movements. Now that she had a decent handle on how fast she was moving...

Akari swept low for Tooru's legs, forcing her to leap up. Timing it perfectly, Akari grabbed the space above her and caught an invisible fist in her palm.

"Gotcha." Akari cheered.

"Oh fuck-"

Akari twisted, throwing Tooru over her shoulder in a fluid move. The invisible girl shrieked as she was swung down in arc and slammed into the mat. The breath left her in an audible gasp.

Quickly Akari pinned Tooru's other arm down, giving her no time to escape.

"You surrender, Tooru?" 

Tooru struggled a bit, Akari's grip not budging at all, before letting out a sigh. "Fine, I give up. It's unfair-you're way too strong, Akari!" 

Akari grinned down at her. "Thanks."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Akari stood, pulling the girl up with her. Tooru swayed a bit with the movement, brushing against Akari's arm as she regained her footing.

"You're pretty strong too, Tooru."

Tooru snorted, still panting. "Uh-huh, that's why you didn't even break a sweat."

"I mean it!" Akari insisted, staring where she guessed her eyes were. "Your form is really good, and you have a lot of talent."

She really wished she could see Tooru's face right now-wait, Akari could do that!

Sapphire eyes blinked into existence, her long silver hair forming out of nothing like an illusion.

"Really-" Tooru paused. "Oh, I'm um-visible. Why?"

"Hi." Akari said, watching Tooru's cheeks flush red as she got her breath back. "Anyway, I think you just need more experience. Want to spar again later?"

Tooru stared back. "Uh...sure."

Akari smiled. "Cool-"

She was cut off as Mina screeched at the top of her lungs. "Oh my god, is that Tooru-"

Izuku hadn't even noticed that night had fallen, stars visible against the sky and streets nearly empty. That happened sometimes-hours slipping through his hand like grains of sand before he knew it. 

He'd most likely patrolled far longer than he was supposed to, but Izuku didn't really mind. Hero work wasn't really work for him, it was just something easy yet satisfying to do when he wasn't teaching. Staving off the eternal boredom was his real job.

He stopped on the edge of a high building, relaxing in the view of the world below. Everything was silent, as it rarely was after humanity returned. As much as he loved the constant clamor and voices that told him that the Drift was over, moments like this were precious.

The air shifted, and Izuku's hand snapped up on reflex. Something soft caught between his fingers, a twitching red feather trying to escape his grip. 

"Damn, your reflexes are fast." A man landed a few meters away, wearing an open jacket and a yellow visor over his eyes. Most noticeably for Izuku, though, were the huge red wings poking out of his back.

Izuku shrugged. "Thanks. You uh-" He held up the feather. "-dropped this."

The feather glided out of Izuku's hand, flying into the man's wings. So he could control them telekinetically, that was interesting. Fuji couldn't do that.

"You're a hero...right?" Izuku was pretty sure he was the only top hero with wings. And that was named after a bird. 

He grinned. "Yeah, that's me-the number three. You must be Atlas."

"You're ranked third? Wow. You must be strong, then."

"...You don't recognize me?" The man looked surprised.

Izuku squinted at him for a moment before it clicked. 

"Oh wait, I know you! You're the bird guy! My students love you."

The bird guy just stared at him. "My name's Hawks. I can't say I've ever gotten this reaction before."

"Sorry, I don't know many heroes."

"Seriously? But you're a hero. You should least know the top ten?"

Izuku rubbed his horn in thought. "Well, I've met All Might. He was pretty funny, I guess."

Hawks swept a hand through his own hair. "Huh. Well, whatever. I wouldn't say I'm strong, but I am really fast. I heard rumors about you, and had to see if you were as speedy as they say. I know I'm Hawks but-"

"Cool. So...do you want to race or something?"

Hawks blinked. "Wow. No one's ever asked me that before."

"Really? That sucks."

"I know, right? They just give up immediately, because 'I'm Hawks', saying I just want more bragging rights. Which is true, but I also want to race!"

Izuku nodded in sympathy. "My wife and daughter work together to trip me up, now. This one time I was ahead, and they made this-" Izuku stretched out his hands. "really big rope of condensed light that I never saw coming. Totally unfair."

Hawks winced. "Do you usually win, then?"

Izuku skillfully changed the subject. "...Anyway, where are we racing to? U.A?" 

Hawks raised an eyebrow at the deflection. "Nah, you teach there. Bet you know some super shortcut."

"Fine. Alright, let's go for the-" Izuku suddenly sighed.

"What?" Hawks asked.

Izuku waved a hand. "Monster attack. It's the third one today, for some reason."

Hawks still had a lazy smile on his face, posture completely loose but when Izuku glanced at him his eyes were alert.

"Where?" 

Izuku hummed. "...Right here, apparently. Weird, never had a portal form on me before."

"You're pretty casual about this." Hawks noted. "Most heroes are terrified of these things."

"Are you?" Izuku asked.

Hawks smirked. "Nope." 

The foreign sense of energy came to a head, yellow rift tearing into the space in front of them. It was smaller than usual, Izuku observed, and thinner too. But Izuku's senses were prickling, ready, and a hand drifted to the staff on his back.

A single figure stepped through before the portal closed. Izuku blinked.

The man was tall, almost a head taller than Izuku himself. Two horns extended out of his inky black hair, long and curled, but neither were as cute as Eri's. He was shirtless, some kind of scaly armor covering his bottom half, and his skin was a crimson red.

A single human figure. Then Izuku felt his mana-an overpowering mass that almost felt sickening, wrong like a mysterious monster portal multiplied a thousandfold. Nope, no way was he human. 

Izuku doubted Hawks could sense mana, but the winged hero tensed next to him, clearly aware of the threat.

"Greetings!" The man boomed, arms wide in front of him, his powerful voice loud enough to wake the entire block. "My name is Briareus, the Hundred-Handed One."

Hawks snorted. "Sorry to break it to you, man, but you only have two of them."

"That's rude." Izuku admonished. "I mean, it's probably a title or something." 

"Still sounds pretty dumb." Hawks commented.

"...Isn't your hero title literally just 'Wing Hero'?"

Hawks grimaced at the reminder. "Well then, what's yo-"

The air temperature dropped several degrees as Briareus narrowed his pitch-black eyes. "I do not appreciate being ignored. You. The one with the white hair. You're 'Izuku', correct?"

Izuku blinked. Huh, a monster knew who he was. Weird.

"Yeah, that's me-"

"I am here to kill you, Izuku." Izuku froze. His actual name-confirming Briareus wasn't from Earth. "Bird, you are free to leave-this is none of your business."

Hawks burst forward, two feathers sharpened in his hands like red blades. "Yeah...no thanks. Don't feel like letting you kill my new racing buddy."

Briareus merely nodded. "Protecting your friend. I can respect that. You'll die first, then."

And the instant before Hawks struck, Briareus moved.

If Izuku hadn't been waiting for it, he wasn't sure if he could have reacted in time. But he had, so when the world slowed to a crawl, he was already running.

Hawks's eyes were wide, trying to reverse direction with a powerful flap of his wings as he flew back in slow motion inch by inch. The hero's instinct saved him-the red fist that would have killed him instead just grazing his yellow visor.

Briareus's second punch cut through the still air mercilessly, a direct punch for Hawks's throat that the hero wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge-

Izuku blurred in, stopping the lethal blow with his palm and pulling Hawks out of the way by the back of his jacket with his other hand in the same motion. With the momentum he swung a kick, knocking Briareus back and giving him some breathing room.

"You know me," Izuku stated, tense like a coiled spring. His hand still stung a little from that blow-Briareus was strong. And he hadn't held back at all with that punch, aiming to kill the human with zero hesitation.

"Yes, I've heard many tales of you, Prince of Heaven." Briareus grinned. "I'm quite honored to kill you."

"...Can I ask why you're here to kill me?" Izuku asked, curious. "That hasn't happened in a while."

Heaven's politics were not that intense, and there definitely weren't any struggles for Amaterasu's throne. That didn't mean that there weren't a fair share of people trying to assassinate him or Aurora.

But this felt different.

"Sadly, I can't tell you that." Briareus informed regretfully. "However, be satisfied with the fact that you will suffer a proud death on the battlefield."

"I don't think that helps much, man." Hawks quipped. The fact that he had nearly died a second ago didn't even seem to register. "How about you take a proud death?"

A huge mass of feathers suddenly descended from the sky above them, surrounding Briareus like a vice. 

Briareus batted at the feathers blindly, the swarm unrelenting as they cut the man again and again. But didn't seem to be doing any damage, merely buying time.

"Tsk. Even using most of my feathers, I can't leave a scratch, huh." 

"Hawks. Can you evacuate everyone within a few blocks?" Izuku said.

Something in his voice made Hawks glance at him, stunned. "Of course, but do you really think you can take this guy on alone? He has an incredibly powerful amplification quirk-"

An ear-splitting crack resounded throughout the entire area, shattering the windows on every building nearby. Every feather was knocked outward in a burst of wind, revealing a now angry Briareus, his red hands pressed together in a clap.

"Nevermind." Briareus growled. "I'm plucking that bird first."

"Hawks, Go! " Izuku ordered.

Hawks hesitated for a moment, clearly annoyed. "You better know what you're doing, Atlas."

He jumped up into the sky.

Briareus lunged for the escaping hero, hands curled in for Hawks's neck-

"Nope."

-only for Izuku's fist to catch him in the jaw before he even got close, knocking him clear off the roof.

A quick leap put him in front of his still-flying enemy, and he spiked Briareus down with a powerful kick. The man crashed into the empty street like a meteor, and Izuku could already see feathers carrying the nearby humans away to safety.

After trusting that to Hawks, Izuku didn't have anything left to worry about.

"So you're a monster, right?" Izuku asked as the dust settled. "Never met one that could talk before."

Briareus laughed. He didn't seem the least bit affected after being smashed into the ground. "Something like that. And you are a god, aren't you? I've killed many of your kind before."

Izuku's eyes narrowed. "So why do you monsters want me out of the way? Fear?"

If some monsters were intelligent, then that changed everything. They would have actual strategies and training, instead of random, weak attacks.

"I may have come here to see how strong you are, god, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid."

An extra arm burst out of the monster on either side, his four limbs rearing back in perfect coordination.

Briareus grinned, full of malice. "It's quite the opposite, really." 

He clapped his hands together.

Izuku formed an air barrier on reflex, the incoming shockwave rippling across it like rain off an umbrella. The force wrecked the street at Izuku's sides, leaving him untouched. The loud, booming sound made him pretty glad that he wasn't any closer.

Something Briareus immediately fixed, stepping into his space to shatter the forcefield with a fist, already swinging three more for Izuku's head.

Izuku ducked, sweeping at Briareus's legs and twisting with the movement to drive his elbow into Briareus's gut. He pushed the arm further in with his other palm, jumping back when the monster tried to grab him.

"What is that thing on your head?" Briareus asked. "That does not look like it's made out of organic material."

Izuku cracked an air whip against the monster's shoulder, and it broke on impact. "What do you mean? It totally is."

Briareus lunged to close the distance, summoning four more arms, and now there were eight different punches to counter. Izuku was starting to lose ground, ducking and weaving and deflecting through the onslaught. He was landing his own hits, but Briareus was unrelenting.

He'd never fought against anyone with an ability like this. It reminded him of Shoji, in a way, but far stronger. At first, creating extra limbs seemed weak, but when you had to block eight fists with two hands you quickly realized that was completely wrong.

Briareus caught both of Izuku's hands so on impulse Izuku stabbed his reinforced horn forward, the unexpected attack actually crashing into Briareus's gut and giving Izuku an opening.

Izuku leaned all the way back, letting the mass of limbs fly over his horn, and swung his feet up into Briareus's jaw. He pushed off his hands as Briareus's fists came down on the street in front of him, landing lightly on the street.

Briareus raised his arms to attack again-

-and suddenly found that he couldn't. Dozens of violet chains slithered around his many arms, holding them firm.

A roundhouse kick crashed against his cheek, whipping his head to the side. "All you do is punch. Doesn't that get boring?" Izuku asked.

Briareus merely looked amused, despite being trapped in place. "No. Why would my fighting style get boring? Especially when-"

Izuku's eyes went wide, a surge of mana making him leap back.

Like some kind of horror movie, the chains broke, links ripped apart like paper. His arms had increased again, Izuku knew, but now he could barely count them as they swirled around, weaving into yet somehow not tangling with each other. It had to be at least twenty.

"What the fuck." Izuku blurted.

"-I have this many arms." Briareus laughed. It was just as loud as before, but now it grated at Izuku's bones and prickled his skin. "Oh...how I love seeing the reactions."

He was enhancing all of them, Izuku realized. Not only was each limb kept track of, but he was also using his magic on all of them in a ridiculous feat of concentration.

"The despair when they realize what that nickname means." Briareus caught an axe kick with five forearms, and then another to the neck as Izuku twisted in mid-air. Izuku threw a few jabs at his back, but they were batted away easily. A chop or ten crashed into the back of Izuku's head, making him blink back stars.

"That you're really good at Rock-Paper-Scissors?" Izuku couldn't resist saying.

"I've never heard of this 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'. Is it some form of combat? Then yes, I must be."

Izuku rolled under seven hooks, barely rising to his feet in time to sidestep another attack and then another. He held back a hiss as twin punches plunged into his chest, probably breaking something.

"You're really arrogant," Izuku noted. 

"And you're not nearly as strong as I am," Briareus growled.

Izuku raised an air wall between them, just in time to avoid being grabbed(and how terrifying would it be to be being pulled in by that thing). The barrier bought him a second before shattering into pieces, but Izuku sharpened the fallen pieces and shot them into the monster, doing nothing but ticking him off.

"Irritating pest. If you give up now-" Briareus yanked on Izuku's leg, and he kicked the arm away with a jolt of panic. "-I won't make your death as painful as possible-" He roared as an air spike stabbed through his foot, giving Izuku the opening to punch him in the face.

"No thanks," Izuku responded, forearms starting to ache as he blocked another flurry of fists. "Don't feel like dying at all, really."

One hand raised from the army of arms to wipe his face, another two limbs sprouting out from...somewhere. How did he even have room for all of those?

"Then-"

The last trace of human mana left the area, the entire surrounding area now bare spare for a few lingering feathers and the annoying monster in front of him.

Izuku felt himself smile. Hawks had pulled through-getting every single civilian out of the area within minutes.

"Finally." Izuku interrupted the monster, cracking his neck. " Now we can get started."

Briareus blinked, taken aback. "Wha-"

Izuku stepped in front of him, staff unslung from his back and swinging in a fluid motion, bright violet lighting up the ruined street.

Stance Two: Bash.

A red swarm of arms rose up to block the blow, but the sheer force continued through with several cracks and sent him skidding to the side.

Izuku stabbed his staff down and vaulted over a dozen punches in a clean arc. The glowing metal struck down on Briareus's less protected head in that instant, and Izuku hit the street in a roll.

Stance Ten: Uppercut.

The sudden blow knocked several arms straight up-

Stance Eleven: Double.

-and his trusty staff rolled back to rest under Izuku's forearm before striking twice with blinding speed in the same instant, dual blows crashing against Briareus's sides.

Izuku snapped a kick into the monster's gut, pushing his other leg back and raising the weapon to parallel to the ground-

Stance Three: Pierce.

A point-blank range, the stab was lethal. Briareus went flying back, his body crashing over the street, many arms flailing out wildly as the wind howled and buildings were ripped apart around them.

The monster tumbled across the ground before even more arms flooded out, digging into the street until he came to a stop. Slowly Briareus straightened up to his full height again, his chest now completely covered in limbs. There were just so many, and at once they all curled into fists and knife-hands like a mind-bending mirage.

"So that's your trump card," Briareus remarked. If Izuku squinted, he could see something gold dripping out of his stomach. Blood? "A weapon. I don't understand how it made you so much stronger, but it's still not enough, Prince of Heaven."

Izuku sighed, lazily twirling the staff between his fingers. "You know how annoying it is to hit someone with uh..." No way was he counting those.

"70." 

" 70 arms? Well, you probably do, actually, but it's really irritating. That's so many arms for you to block with! And I only have one staff."

There was a spotlight light coming from somewhere above them-a helicopter? Izuku didn't dare look away to check, his mind racing.

The Pierce definitely should have killed him. Izuku had relied on the element of surprise, combining several stances together in the perfect pattern, poking away at the mass of arms to land a good hit. Clearly, it did something-he'd hurt him, but Briareus was still standing. 

Briareus cocked his head to the side. "I've never met an opponent like you before. Usually, they're screaming in terror by now."

Izuku actually was, just internally.

"You have been a strong opponent." Briareus nodded. "In respect, it's only fair if you die to my full strength."

"O-Oh don't worry about that, you really don't have to..." 

The mass of arms got even larger, and now Izuku really wanted to throw up as he raised his staff, reinforcing it to its limit.

"...do that."

"I, Briareus the Hundred-Handed One, acknowledge you Izuku, Prince of Heaven. Meet your end at my many hands!"

Why did the monster have to be so dramatic? Izuku barely had the energy left to talk. 

Briareus wasn't any quicker now-if anything, he was a little slower. But that didn't matter when he was swinging one hundred fists forward at once, an inevitable wave of red death. There was no room to dodge.

Izuku spun the staff, faster and faster and faster until it was a blur of violet in his hands, its outline a near-solid circle that made the air sing. 

Stance Four: Shield.

Izuku grit his teeth as the barrage crashed down on him only a moment later, a fierce tsunami. Enhanced blow after blow pounded against his staff, each hit a painful jolt against his tired arms. The wind blew back his hair wildly, and Izuku couldn't even spare a hand to brush it back down.

"An interesting technique, Izuku." He couldn't even see the monster's face through the storm of red and violet. "But how long can it last!"

Not long, from how his body was starting to shake and how his poor staff was starting to break apart from the force. But Izuku ignored that, focusing on the rhythm, the way around half were slamming into his staff at each beat, waiting for the right time. 

And then it came, all one hundred red fists rearing back for the final blow.

Izuku forced himself faster, twisting around with the ridiculous amount of circular motion to deliver a powerful blow, air curling around the staff's end.

Stance Five: Whirlwind.

The mighty tornado swirled through the air, throwing up one hundred arms with it as small cuts formed all over Briareus, the monster knocked backward. And for a single, precious moment, the monster was completely open, his wound bleeding gold. Izuku reared his arm back-

Stance Six: Javelin.

And launched his weapon with all of his remaining energy.

Briareus's black eyes went wide as the staff struck true, stabbing through his chest in the same spot as before. This time it went through, catching halfway out of his body. Golden dust drifted out, floating through the air, and Briareus's grin finally fell as he disintegrated into nothing.

"Gotcha." Izuku's voice felt heavy, just like his eyelids-he really needed a nap. 

Izuku turned to walk home, his now significantly more ruined staff sheathed on his back, his perfectly intact horn sitting firmly on his totally messed up hair, the destroyed block around him completely empty(it wasn't like he needed his hero salary, anyway), and a news helicopter buzzing somewhere above, probably recording.

...He'd deal with that last thing tomorrow. 

Notes:

In Greek mythology, Briareus has fifty heads and one hundred arms, letting him throw one hundred boulders at once at his enemies(that must be like getting hit with a mountain).

In my version, he only has one head because writing a character with fifty heads would be really really weird. Like does he talk out of all of them? How do you keep track of all of them in a fight?

So I settled on one head and one hundred arms, because yeah.(If you throw Rock and Paper, one in each hand, then Briareus needs to throw all Paper to avoid losing at least once, hah)

I thought of putting him in like months ago, and the idea didn't even seem weird to me until now.

Oh, also Izuku and Hawks are now racing buddies, lmao

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