Chapter 5:

"Ouch." Inko landed on her feet. It didn't hurt as much as she expected, but her conditioning back when she was alive used to be fighting bears. Still, that sudden power up from the Goddess of Seasons caught her by surprise. Outboxing is off the menu, since she knew gods could fight for years. "Eh, screw it. I'll make it up as I go."

"Searing Summer." Demeter's dress suddenly changed to a fiery yellow. She used the trees to transport herself towards her opponent and opened with a straight punch. Inko swayed backwards to dodge it, then moved forward while swaying from side to side. "My move?"

"Your move? This is the dempsey roll." Inko said. Demeter stopped just as Inko moved forward, bidding her time for the right counterpunch. When Inko was close enough, Demeter's gauntlets lit itself on fire and went for a punch. Demeter fired another straight punch with all her might. However, Inko saw this coming the moment Demeter stopped moving. She ducked under the punch and used the momentum she built to get behind Demeter.

"That won't work!" Demeter went in for a left hook, but Inko swayed to the side again, letting her body carry her footing. Inko, finally seeing the chance, sent a powerful right hook to Demeter's face, knocking the goddess down and sending her skidding on the arena's floor.

"As the great Muhammad Ali said, Graceful like a Dragon, Ferocious like a Tiger." Inko said without letting up. She ran after Demeter to throw another punch. Demeter made a tree between them to block her attack, but Inko simply punched through the trunk. Her range would not have hit Demeter, but her new power allowed her to pull the goddess' head to her punch.

"Is that what Muhammad Ali says in your universe?" Other Izuku asked Boxing Izuku. "Ours is more like Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee."

"Ours is Eat Shit, Live Long." Another Izuku intervened.

"Okay, fine, I admit. You're a better fighter than me." Demeter stood up and wiped the blood off her busted lip. She raised her hand, and another tree grew underneath Inko. Inko saw this coming after being hit the first time. She jumped back only to have another tree grow. "Welcome to my domain, The Eternal Forest!"

An entire forest grew inside the arena with different plants like the wildflowers, pomegranate, mistletoes, and even trees like the Lepidodendron that were thought to be extinct.

"I haven't seen her do that in years." Hades shot up and recognized his mother-in-law/sister's move.

"I've never seen my mother do that." Persephone looked at the arena now covered in plants. "When was the last time she did this?"

In the myths interpreted by mortals, it was said that Zeus took down the great monster Typhon. That was a lie. When Typhon injured Zeus and left him defenseless, it was Demeter that created a forest, her dominion, and used it to torture the great monster.

The vines ripped off the monster's flesh. The flytraps bit off his snake-like tentacles. His horns were knocked off by dead trees and his eyes pecked out and eaten by carnivorous plants. It took nine days for Typhon to die only because Demeter allowed him to do so. What only felt like nine days to Demeter herself, felt like millions of years to the great monster. What has been done to Typhon terrified even the giants, lowering their morality enough to help the gods win the Gigantomachy.

"She killed Typhon with it. I wish this human good luck." Hades looked at the screen summoned by the god, Janus, to let everyone know what was happening inside the forest.

"A forest?" Inko swayed her head back, barely dodging a flytrap trying to bite her head off. "This reminds me of the time I spent two months in the Suicide Forest for endurance training."

Inko dodged everything that came after her and destroyed them with her punches. She weaved to the side when a tree fell on her and jumped to the side to avoid the pitcher plant's digestive enzymes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of a similar gauntlet. Having no time to dodge, she blocked the hit, sending her into a tree.

"You should be dead by now." Demeter said, taking a fighting stance.

"Please, terrible mother goddess, it would take more than plants to kill me." Inko ducked under another attack from a flytrap and hit Demeter with a haymaker. The goddess flinched, allowing Inko to use the opening to hit her abdomen with an uppercut.

"It looks like the boxing champion was undeterred by the same forest that killed Typhon!" Hermes could not believe his eyes. The gods themselves were shocked to see a mere mortal surviving without breaking a sweat from the terrifying goddess' attacks.

Inko is moving purely on instinct. While she can dominate in the ring, she has no chance against a goddess. She dropped a lot of things she knew and made things up on the fly. Now that there's a forest in the arena, she can turn this into an advantage. She grabbed vines everywhere and tied them from tree to tree, all while hitting Demeter. Using the quirk she was granted, she dragged Demeter inside the ring.

"What's this? Inko is pulling Demeter inside a makeshift boxing ring!" Hermes realized what was happening. Persephone stood, not expecting to be worried about her mother.

"Yeah! Mom! Lay the smack down on her!" Boxing Izuku stood up to cheer for his mom. Inko was continually punching Demeter, but it looks like Demeter was slowly returning the punches.

Inko ducked under Demeter's punch again, but the goddess expected it this time. She kicked Inko and that put her back on the offensive. "STOP! CALLING! ME! A! BAD! MOTHER!"

Inko was now on the defensive, but this time she had a plan. She let Demeter back her into the corner of the makeshift ring and grabbed onto the ropes. She dodged and weaved her body around, avoiding all the goddess's strikes.

"A rope-a-dope?" Muhammad Ali was shocked to see his technique being used. Though, from seeing her fight, he expected no less from the apparent best from another world.

Inko did one thing she would never expect to do against anyone to get out of this situation. She kicked the Goddess of Seasons away from her. Demeter was forced away, but the goddess didn't falter and went for a jab. Inko intercepted the punch with a full-power straight punch. The punch was so strong that it broke Demeter's left gauntlet. Humanity cheered when Inko threw another punch and broke Demeter's other gauntlet.

"I mean, the myth says it all, Demeter. I don't think the pomegranates are the primary reason your daughter only sees you for six months." Inko danced around the goddess. "I know saying those things will throw you out of focus."

"You…"

"If those words weren't true, you wouldn't be so affected by it." Inko was not hitting her. The boxer was waiting for her to get up again. Demeter noticed this.

"You dare pity me? Why won't you hit me when I'm down?!"

"Consider it professional courtesy." Inko leaned into the vines, waiting for Demeter to get up. Of course, if the goddess copies Antonio Inoki, she has no problems performing a ground and pound. Demeter finally stood up, but the boxer didn't realize what happened in that split second.

In Demeter's mind, she remembered the moments she had with her daughter. It was eons ago, but she still remembered it like it was yesterday.

"Mother, have you seen my human friends? They were going to teach me how to catch fish." Persephone entered their home asking Demeter where her friends were. The Goddess of Seasons was busy creating a new planting style called the 'Bonsai', and didn't even bother looking back.

"Oh, I've killed them, Kore." Demeter nonchalantly said all while snipping off the leaves that she didn't value.

"What?!"

"I'm just teasing. I merely turned them into plants." Demeter finally turned around to present the Bonsai tree to her disgusted daughter. "See? Don't they look lovely? They can't harm you anymore."

"Harm me? Mother, it was just a- ugh." Persephone stormed out of the house. Demeter scoffed, wondering why her daughter had grown distant. Her work was interrupted, however, by Persephone's scream. She immediately dropped everything and ran outside, only to see chariot tracks left behind.

She looked and looked all over the world, visiting every pantheon at the time to look for Persephone. She could not find her. Demeter, in her grief, extended winter for who knew how long. Years passed, and Zeus has had enough. He finally visited the grieving goddess.

"Hades took her." Zeus would have rolled his eyes, but he did not want to end up in Demeter's Eternal Forest. "Will you please bring the other three season's back, dear sister?!"

"Hades took her? Why?" Demeter's chilling hands grabbed onto Zeus' toga. The king of Olympus immediately felt the freezing touch of the goddess.

"Probably because that was the romantic advice I gave him, but I'm not telling you that." Zeus thought, but he feigned ignorance and shrugged. She planned to visit the underworld, but Hades was already expecting her by the entrance.

"Step aside, brother. You better be thankful that us gods don't have genes to worry about like humanity because I will make your life a bigger living hell." Demeter warned Hades, but the King of the Underworld refused to step aside.

"Sister, with all due respect," Hades paused for a moment to block Demeter's fist. He was more annoyed than afraid of Demeter. "With all due respect, I've also tried convincing Persephone to talk to you. She does not want to see you."

"I will flood the Underworld with the souls of the dead." Demeter threatened Hades, but the King remained firm and unafraid.

"If you do so, I will release the dead into the land." Hades spat back. He shook his head at Demeter's attitude. Still, he intends for them to reconcile for the sake of the Earth. He reached inside his pocket and took out a mirror. "When Persephone decides to talk to you, she will communicate through this mirror. If you can promise me that you will restore the four seasons, I will do my hardest to convince my wife."

"Your wife?! She's your niece!"

"And her father is her Uncle Zeus!"

The argument came to an end. Demeter did as her brother requested. She restored the spring, summer, and autumn seasons. She waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. She didn't know how long she waited, but the mirror finally activated. She looked to see Persephone, a bit older now and dressed in robes fitting for a Queen of the Dead.

"Kore, please, come back. I know Hades took you from me." Demeter begged her daughter through the mirror given to her by Hades. The Earth has been suffering an eternal winter in her grief. She had done everything to protect her daughter. There was nothing wrong with that.

"I came with him willingly, mother." Persephone answered coldly. "But he convinced me to visit you. Six months a year only, mother. Unlike spending time with you, I'm happy to be with him."

"But why? I gave you everything! Why must you be so unthankful?" Demeter asked Persephone.

"It's true. You gave me everything. That includes a miserable life. See you in three months, mother." Persephone shut off the mirror, leaving Demeter to stare at her own reflection. Three months later, Persephone kept her word, but she never wore a smile every time she's with her.

"I want to live." Two trees sprouted beside Demeter. She reached into the hollow and took out her strongest weapons, the golden sickles that she took from her father, Saturn. It was named 'The Horae'. She took away the lives of many titans and monsters using these weapons. "I… I want to make amends to Kore."

Demeter stopped holding back. Inko barely dodged the swing of the sickle. It effortlessly cut through the trees and vines that made the makeshift ring. "Those gauntlets belong to my grandson, anyway."

"I shouldn't have forced you to reflect. I definitely shouldn't have, but congratulations on wanting to make up for it!" Inko swayed back and side-to-side, dodging the swings of Demeter's weapons. Vines held on to her, but she always broke free in time.

"What's this? Demeter gained her second wind!" Hermes shouted through the microphone while cheering for his aunt. The gods cheered for Demeter. Even Persephone, for all her resentment, did not want her mother to die, and so she cheered as well.

"Decaying Autumn." Demeter whispered to her sickles. Her dress turned orange, and the sickles combined and turned into one scythe.

"They didn't call her the Lady of the Golden Blade for nothing! Look at how she works that scythe!" Hermes was now excited to see Demeter in action. The Izukus, however, were worried about Inko barely dodging the swings. Even if she technically wasn't they're mother, she's still Inko Midoriya.

"Come on, mom. End it already!" Boxing Izuku's palms were bleeding from the pressure when he balled his fists, wishing for his mom to be okay.

"Searing Summer." The scythe went ablaze, sending out fiery swings at the boxer and cutting down trees in a single slice. Inko still got a few hits in, but it was futile. Vines of the forest wrapped around the boxer's feet, causing her to go off balance. Demeter, finally having an opening, slashed Inko's face with the burning scythe, leaving a burn scar.

"Gah!" Inko yelled out in pain. Her right eye felt like it touched the sun itself. She could still feel the burn prickling like melting needles on her face. Demeter didn't let up, kicking the boxer and swinging her scythe again, this time creating another scar on Inko's chest, dangerously close to her heart.

"Mom!" Boxing Izuku couldn't bear to see his mom in severe pain. He saw her finally go down, not moving.

"INKO MIDORIYA IS DOWN! Is it over?!" Hermes was out of his seat, face near the glass to inspect the downed fighter. The Primordial Void was annoyed again to see their representative go down. Demeter stopped swinging her slice the moment Inko went down.

"Thank you for helping me realize what I've down wrong. I'll remember you forever." Demeter acknowledged her opponent and began walking away from Inko, thinking she was dead.

"MOM!" Demeter assumed the boy was Inko's son. She felt pity for the boy and his mother.

Inko had other ideas. She was down; she was in pain. It's been a long time since she felt this way. She considered giving up, but then she heard her son crying for her. That was enough for her. Slowly, but surely, she stands up. She grabbed onto the tree trunk for support, but got back on her feet on her own.

"Hey! Demeter!" She called out to the goddess as the human audience cheered. Inko smiled and pointed at Demeter through her gloves. "I didn't hear no bell."

{-To Be Continued...

Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I'm just using this to practice making fight scenes