So, um, hey everyone. It's been, like two months since the last update again. Most of that time was used to study for my AP exams, and that takes priority over the updates of this story.
People need to be patient. I see your comments about being too slow to update, well sorry, anyways, I hope everyone is doing great today.
I keep on saying that my Fire Emblem story will be up, but like, I haven't gotten around to posting it. Eventually, it will come, but not now, or tomorrow, maybe next week if I find the time to finish and upload it.
If you have any questions, feel free to express them. Same spiel, constructive criticism is welcomed.
HUGE NOTICE: Looking for a beta-reader for this story. Kind of crazy that given how successful this story is, I have no beta-reader for the story, so if you're interested, do let me know. I might allow two people to beta-read it, maybe three to help with improvement. So, if you'd like to help out and beta-read the updates, let me know.
Any ideas? Let me know what you're thinking and maybe I'll implement it in a story of mine, or something. I don't know….
Anyways, let's get it right to the chapter!
Chapter 22: Io, The Illustrious Solar Dancer
The two of them clashed, a small power struggle from the get-go before they disengaged from each other. Midoriya frowned slightly as he studied Io and her fans, the intense aura that was spilling out of her, and the uneasy feeling coming from her weapons.
"This'll be very difficult, possibly the toughest challenge I've ever faced so far, besides confessing to Momo, but that's beside the point. I'll need to be careful and gauge her abilities-!" Midoriya flinched, taking a step-back and skimming his cheek, and saw his blood on his fingertips. He saw Io holding her hand out, catching her fan while maintaining her gaze towards Midoriya.
"I'd suggest not standing there idly when you don't know your opponent's capabilities. I, however, can't say the same thing in terms of your position at the moment." Io said, twirling her fans fluidly before letting them go, and then they began to dance around the arena. She then summoned more fans before throwing them straight at Midoriya, causing him to dodge to the side, only to grit his teeth in pain as one of her fans managed to cut his side.
"Flashing Delaware Smash!" Io's eyes slightly widened as she crossed both of her fans and sliced in front of her, creating a windshield that blocked the attack, but some of the force of the attack still managed to connect and staggered her. She huffed as she still kept her fans close to her body and glared right at the boy. She snapped her fingers and the two fans that twirled around the arena began shooting solar beams right at Midoriya. He quickly surrounded himself in his solar aura and dodged the attacks that came in rapid succession. Dashing around the arena, Midoriya sent several Flashing Delaware Smashes, solar enhanced versions of his regular OFA techniques, forcing Io on the defensive as he rushed towards her and held out his palm, creating several solar sword constructs that surrounded her. Closing his fist, he commanded the swords to crash down on Io. She quickly launched her fans at her Midoriya, occupying him as she gracefully dodged each attack, and as she was essentially dancing around the light sword constructs. Sidestepping the last one, she grabbed it by the handle and threw it straight at Midoriya, enhanced by her solar powers. He saw it barreling towards him and summoned the Shining Mirror, making it the size of a normal body mirror, and planted it right in front of him. It absorbed the construct and disappeared in a dazzling bit of light, and Midoriya quickly dashed forward once more, creating solar binds that clutched the supporting fans, disabling them from doing anything else, and lunged right at Io with a solar infused Detroit Smash.
"Flashing Detroit Smash!" Io summoned more fans and held up her guard, a golden aura forming all around her as she faced him head-on. As the distance was closing, she began to build up energy and was about to release it when Midoriya dissipated suddenly. She was caught off-guard for a second before quickly dispersing the energy, creating a barrier around her before Midoriya landed his punch. The shockwave of the attack forced him to back up as she used the opening to pivot herself and gathered her energy before firing off several rays of light at him. Io then clasped her hands together, and the rays suddenly veered off in many directions, creating a sporadic cage of attacks. Midoriya grunted as he redeployed Shining Mirror and created a barrier that covered the rest of his body.
"Hmmm, I must say, both are performing very well. Very outstanding indeed. I wonder what Midoriya will do to beat Io, perhaps I should teach him some techniques and improve on his battle-mentality." Amaterasu said, watching as Midoriya and Io continued with the test. She rubbed her forehead as she looked around the testing site, seeing the damage is done to the area outside of the arena, destroyed buildings, and cracked walls Io's fans all over the place.
Io, using her attack as a distraction, dashed forward, conjuring more fans, and launched them at Midoriya, using her solar abilities to enhance and arc them to avoid the mirror.
"This is quite troublesome, but a little exciting to say the least. I get to test my abilities against someone strong, and yet, still inexperienced when it comes to experienced combatants." Io muttered to herself as she light-stepped around to Midoriya's side and sent a fireball ahead of her. The fireball caught Midoriya off guard and came into contact with his right side, not doing much damage, but succeeding in making him lose focus as he dropped his barrier. Before he could do anything, Io rushed up towards him, using the fan's handle, she struck him in the stomach with it before injecting solar energy into the handle and essentially punched condensed solar energy into his stomach. Midoriya gritted his teeth as he light-stepped, creating distance between the two of them.
"I'm surprised you know light-stepping, Midoriya. Very impressive." Io stated, summoning even more fans, causing Midoriya to deadpan at her.
"How many fans do you have?" He questioned.
"Don't even bother asking, Izuku. She won't even tell me how many fans she has, nor where she stores them. It's honestly very annoying." Amaterasu chimed, taking a sip of some saki she randomly conjured up. She sighed contentedly before looking at the two of them.
"Both of you are doing great, by the way." Io just sighed before turning towards Midoriya and summoned several pillars of light that struck the arena. Midoriya tightened his guard as he watched her closely while turning on OFA for the first time during the battle while also activating his solar energy. The pillars hummed and started glowing before collapsing, littering the arena with light shards. Io hummed before sending several solar fan constructs at Midoriya, who destroyed them with his light constructs. He kept a constant eye on the shards while maintaining his defensive stance. The second he blinked, Io disappeared. Feeling a tug in his body, he instinctively dodged and sent another Flashing Delaware Smash in that area, seeing Io appear and disappear to avoid the attack.
"She's using those shards for teleporting, most likely." Midoriya thought before blocking a kick from Io and sending out a solar ray at her but missed as it went straight through her. He quickly ducked, avoiding the fan constructs and sent several light blasts at Io, slightly staggering her. She recovered quickly and dissipated once she touched one of the shards. Thinking while blocking her attacks, Midoriya gathered solar energy into his fist before slamming it down onto the arena floor, creating fractures that stretched past the arena and into the replica of Mustafa. Amaterasu looked at the damage and sighed.
"So, he ruptured the arena, destroying the shards of glass and also creating a natural obstacle with the rugged terrain. Very, very interesting." She noted, picking up some rice crackers and snacked on them as she watched on.
The shockwave that reverberated through the arena staggered Io as she lost her footing from the teleporting across the shards. Midoriya, taking advantage of her lost balance, light-stepped towards her and punched her, but she managed to use one of her fans as a breaker. She was pushed back from the force of the punch, but she quickly up-righted herself and calmed her nerves. Midoriya rushed her, powering up a Detroit Smash, but Io managed to side-step his attack. Grabbing his arm, she spun, smashing him straight into the ground and summoned several solar fan constructs before sending them straight into Midoriya with her still in the blast range of the attack. Amaterasu watched as the explosion of the attack caused her snacks to fly out of her little resting area. She sighed before looking at the spot that the two of them were at, the arena covered in debris and smoke. Before she got off of her area to check the situation, Io popped out of the smoke as she was sent backward. Io created a solar wall that cushioned her and stopped her from flying out of the arena, which would be considered a loss. Amaterasu then looked back to see the smoke disappearing from the arena, showing Midoriya with both of his hands covered in solar energy, but he was also pretty banged up. He had several cuts and bruises, plus the wound coming from his forehead. The goddess whistled in astonishment.
"Simply marvelous. He's still upright from that attack, however…" She narrowed her eyes, sensing that his energy was significantly depleted before the attack. He was panting heavily and sweating profusely, the damage of the attack was tremendous, but he was still standing nonetheless. He had put a lot of his solar energy alongside OFA in blocking that attack, and the attack to create distance between him and Io. The retainer of Amaterasu wiped some blood that trickled down the corner of her mouth and cleared her throat, getting Midoriya's attention.
"I must admit that you are tougher than you appear, that I must commend you for your control over your abilities, and I also commend your last attack there," Io said. A tiny smile appeared on her face as she summoned more fans, and watched as Midoriya caught his breath before powering up what little energy he had to complete the test. OFA's energy danced around him as he surpassed what little solar energy he had and went beyond his capabilities. Io's lips turned slightly up as she closed her fans and got on one knee while the other was bent forward, almost like the starting position for a sprint contest, and began to chant something softly. As she finished up her chant, several red markings appeared all over her body and her hair turned from platinum blonde to a fiery reddish-orange, and her eyes had a reddish hue that overlapped her azure blue irises. Midoriya sensed an abundance of energy coming from Io, but oddly enough, he didn't feel nervous or scared about the outcome of the battle. He was facing a very strong opponent, and it was a great experience to be able to learn about himself.
"I suppose this is going to be the final moments of the test, am I right?" Midoriya said out-loud, causing Io to chuckle lightly.
"I guess so. I won't be holding back, I'd suggest you do the same." She said before an intense aura engulfed her, signaling a power increase, and Midoriya did the same. The tension exploded around the arena as the pressure was palpable, and the arena fractured even more than it was before. Amaterasu stood up from her little observation area as both Midoriya and Io were gathering the solar energy that was scattered across the arena. The pressure exerted by the two of them even caused part of the roof that was damaged to collapse, leaving holes throughout the holes. The two combatants maintained eye contact, as both were continuing to build-up energy. All of a sudden, the pressure dissipated abruptly as the two of them charged straight at each other. Midoriya gathered all of his energy, both OFA and solar, into his fist, planning to put everything into his final Detroit Smash. Io's fans were enveloped with her aura as she faced Midoriya head-on. The two of them were closing the distance quickly as they light-stepped towards each other, putting their everything into their last attacks, yelling at the top of their lungs to out-do the other. As they got closer to each other, Midoriya began to pull back his fist while Io held her fans open as she contorted her body to use her hips to increase the power. The two of them were close, very close as they were about to unleash their attacks, but before they could connect, both of them were surrounded by a box of solar energy and their attacks bounced off of the surface, dispelling the energy from the two of them.
"Alright, that's enough you two." Both of them turned to Amaterasu clapping her hands as she dispelled the constraints, and the two of them powered down, returning to their original state.
"Well, all I can say is that both of you were wonderful out there," Amaterasu said as they walked up to her. The goddess put her hands on their shoulders and hummed softly, healing both of their bruises and also recovered their energy.
"Anyways, carrying on from the battle, Midoriya." He looked at her. Amaterasu held no emotion on her face as she studied him. After a couple of seconds, she sighed and rubbed her temple, which didn't look great to Midoriya.
"Judging by your expression, milady, I didn't do pass the test." Midoriya blurted out. Amaterasu looked at him before nodding and walked up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Well, technically you are both right and wrong. Yes, you failed the test on its condition that you had to defeat Io, but didn't fail in my expectations. I wasn't expecting you to defeat Io, not meaning to sully your combat prowess, but you do lack experience against very skilled opponents, like Stain for example. You may have not realized it, but you were weaker when fighting the Hero Killer due to his combat experience, in essence, your fear of such a strong and experienced opponent is what caused you to be weaker." Amaterasu continued, creating chairs for the three of them to sit and further discuss Midoriya's dilemma. Being the way he has been ever since he was a child, he took notes as Amaterasu gave out hints and critiqued him on different points in his fighting technique. After a while of hearing Amaterasu's advice, he summarized it in a couple of bullet points.
Better pivoting when attacking. (Steadier body control)
Mixing up the sizes of solar beams and take advantage of refractive surfaces.
Solar energy is synonymous with heat energy, take advantage of the heat.
Use solar energy to overwhelm opponents with power or speed.
Healing critical injuries or multiple injuries will deplete energy faster.
Using solar energy with OFA can have different effects, depending on the situation.
Don't suck.
Midoriya didn't put the last one in there, Amaterasu did, saying it was motivation for him to improve, or maybe it was just to get a kick out of his situation.
"Anyways, I'll just mention that you passed my exam, you did exceed my milestone goal for you, and you did manage to get Io to get serious enough to power-up. A plus on your part." Amaterasu chipped in, before motioning for the two of them to follow her out of the testing site. Once they exited the building, Amaterasu clapped her hands together, causing the building to be engulfed in bright light and begun repairing the damages that had occurred during the test. Midoriya watched in wonder as she worked up her magic, having a bright smile on her face as she finished up the repairs.
"Seeing you in amazement by something so trivial is amusing, my champion. I can do much more than simple repairs. Shortly, you'll be able to go far beyond what you are capable of, whether you are ready or not because your enemies won't twiddle their thumbs as you grow stronger. You need to hone your skills and combat prowess, and you also need to work on your lunar aspect. I suspect my lunar counterpart will be appearing soon enough, she has been very busy." Amaterasu said, trailing off with a frown. Midoriya tilted his head at the sudden change in mood as if she wasn't the biggest fan of whoever her counterpart is. He did understand that he should hone his lunar aspect.
"Anyways, do be cautious from here on out. You don't know what's going to come to fruition. I suppose I should report to your principal and All-Might that we've finished the examination." Amaterasu began walking back to the test site that everyone else's test.
"I've been wondering, what have you told All-Might and Principal Nezu?" Midoriya asked.
"Oh? I just told them that I was your mentor on Celestial Omage and some other non-important information. Don't worry, I didn't say anything about my identity and I said my quirk was similar to your solar aspect." Amaterasu said.
"She also asked if she could stop by from time to time to examine your progress in person, and also apparently she's coming along with you guys to the training camp after the exams are over." Io chimed in, idly playing with her fans as they walked to the rest of Class 1-A.
"Really? You'll be chaperoning us at the training camp? That's surprising, that does remind me, I need to talk with Itsuka about the details and how the lodging is going to be settled." Midoriya said, grabbing his notebook and began scribbling down what they need to do on. Aizawa had told the representatives that they were going to a fancy resort that doubled as a training camp. The pro-hero tasked them to go over lodging and other stuff, such as food duty and supplies.
"I'm kind of excited that I'll be an overseer of your training camp. However…," Midoriya looked up from his notebook, watching Amaterasu's passive expression darken slightly as she glanced at him, a serious tension suddenly enveloped the area. Io had an indifferent look on her face while Midoriya had droplets of sweat form on his forehead.
"As much as I would love to help, if there is an enemy attack, I won't be able to engage against them, as it is decreed by the laws that govern us gods. Io will be able to help, but I will be forced to sit on the sideline. It is in your best interest to heed my warning and make sound judgment, I know you will." Amaterasu's voice rang across is mind as they continued their walk towards the testing site that Class 1-A is present at.
And done! Well, I hope you all enjoyed it, given how the long waits for each update are. Sorry about that.
I've been wondering, do you want me to use move names, like 'Flashing Delaware Smash' and so on, or do you want me to be plain and just say 'attack'. Let me know, and also, do you guys want me to do an overview of Midoriya and his abilities, I remember I was going to do that but didn't get around to doing that, so here I am asking.
What's also been good is that I've graduated from high school, go class of 2020. It's been very surreal to say the least.
If you have anything, feel free to be expressive.
Once again, I'm asking for a beta-reader, or maybe multiple ones. Also, a discord is an idea, but most likely not one that is a benefit, just a thought.
Anyways, I hope you guys have a good day, and I'll see you soon, or eventually enough.
Take care!