Even though it felt better to have said everything out loud, to stop keeping quite as many of the anxieties he'd been building up over Gluttony bottled up as he had, Izuku still felt guilty for yelling at the only person who'd really tried to help him. Despite being a species which was, well, demonised in his world, Justice had treated him with kindness and respect since the moment he'd arrived, and he'd repaid that kindness with frustrated anger. And then there was the…
"'Return the power'?"
"Wait, what do you mean he can say goodbye to his mother?"
"Arf?"
Other problem laying everything out had generated.
"Oh- Well- You see…" he looked to Justice in support.
"Yes, well… his mother is in another Circle, and the power…" she paused, the answer on the tip of her tongue. While Izuku wasn't sure deception was an entirely positive skill, he couldn't help but be amazed at her incredible ability to improvise-
"… Yeah, I got nothin'."
- which apparently still had its limit.
"Look, I'll be straight with you Cerbs."'Cerbs'? "This guy's punishment was total BS, so we're headed to the surface to-"
"The surface?!"
"You mean the mortal realm?!"
"Arf Arf?!"
Ok so we're just admitting that we shamelessly lied to the infamous hellhound who can breathe fire and probably tear me to shreds in seconds this is fine this is fine.
"I-" Izuku tried to interrupt, "I'm really sorry that we lied to you Miss Cerberus, it's just that this is really important and-"
"I want in!"
"Mor-tal realm! Mor-tal realm!"
"Arf!"
"Wha-" he stuttered at their complete turnaround in mood, "But, why-"
"Corruption!" one answered.
"Mayhem!" another added, while the hound shrank back into a humanoid demon.
"Pancakes!"
"… 'Pancakes'?" Izuku echoed in confusion.
"Pancakes…" Justice confirmed with a sigh. After rubbing her temples in exasperation she soon agreed, "Ok, fine. If you promise not to tell anyone, you can come with. I'll even get you some treats while we're there."
"""Yeah!"""
"But no corruption!" she insisted to the Cerberi triplets. Despite a small groan they soon complied, two shifting back into hound forms to continue their journey.
"… Wait, what about the 'mayhem'?" Izuku asked.
"Two of Hell's most infamous demons are headed for the surface along with a deceased soul carrying one of the most powerful quirks in the world." Justice mounted one of the hounds. "Mayhem's pretty much guaranteed. Why argue?"
"Hahaha…" Izuku laughed nervously while the humanoid Cerberus helped him mount his hound-Cerberus, "That… That was a joke… right…?"
His question was answered with his companion taking off to their next destination.
"Right…?" he asked the human Cerberus travelling with him, who merely returned a grin full of razor-sharp teeth
… This is… probably fine…
The first few hours of their journey went without much of note, giving Izuku a chance to take in the new Circle. The thing he first noticed was the distinct lack of any dessicated human husks crawling through the ground, much to his relief. They passed the occasional humanoids, but he was unsure if they were humans or demons: The differences could be difficult to spot when they travelled past at high speeds, and most were preoccupied with… activities. Ones that made Izuku tend to look away.
The other, most immediate change was the climate: Gone was the bitter, frozen and slimy wasteland of Gluttony, replaced instead by a parched savanna stretching as far as the eye could see. No longer was Izuku grateful for the warmth provided by Cerberus' fur, instead relieved to have her separating him from the scorching, cracked red soil beneath their feet, as well as the protection her form gave against the constant, howling wind. Any conversation with Justice was made indecipherable over the gales, while any with the humanoid Cerberus riding with Izuku was done through yelling.
"We're gonna stop for a minute!" said Cerberus called through the winds.
"What? Why?"
"There's an oasis over there!" she pointed to a spot in the distance, where a distinct formation of rocks could be seen, "We'll take a quick break!"
Izuku soon agreed, grateful for a brief chance to rest. While the travelling was nowhere near as exhausting as the trek through Gluttony had been, clinging on against the gales still took energy. That, and the lack of recent rest beyond a brief brush with death2 made the thought of a pit-stop particularly appealing.
As they approached it became clear the rocks were angled spires of brimstone, large but facing almost horizontal to form a large central opening through which steam was pouring out.
Wait… This doesn't look like an oasis… while Izuku was willing to forgive the lack of palm trees and coconuts, he was quite confident an oasis should have visible water.
A sheltered formation around a sunk circular area…
"Is this a caldera or something?" he muttered
"What?" Cerberus evidently couldn't hear his muttering.
"This! Is this a caldera?!"
"What's that?"
"It's…" a geological formation? A sinkhole formed by a collapsing magma chamber?
The heat and humidity intensified as they approached.
"It's really hot!"
"Oh! Then yep!" Cerberus happily replied.
"Can I survive that?!"
"Ehhhhhh…" Cerberus shrugged, the smile still on her face, "Guess we'll find out!"
"That's not-" his complaint was cut off as their hound-Cerberus leapt into the hole, dragging the not-lava-proof-Izuku with her.
Can I just go a day without nearly dying again?! I'll take a double-digit number of hours at this point…!
SPLASH
The first thing Izuku noticed after crashing into the unknown fluid was the absence of any painful, scorching death befalling him courtesy of a cauldron of lava.
The second was the lack of the horrendous, soul-sucking dread that he'd experienced in the lake of Tentatio, thank whatever passed for divinity around here.
The third was the fact he couldn't breathe.
"*gasp*" he spluttered after broaching the surface, a few brief coughs coming up before he looked around.
"It's…" he paused before taking in the small lake around him, the hot-but-not-painful water filling it giving rise to a dense steam which blocked much vision past a dozen or so meters, the occasional smooth rocks jutting out to form what almost looked like natural seating and beds.
"It's… a hot spring?" he asked incredulously.
"Yep." Justice confirmed; turning he found her sitting against a rock, specks of water glistening as she worked to get the partially-dried detritus off of her clothes and skin.
"I'm so glad the water doesn't make your clothes translucent…" Izuku sighed in relief.
…
…
"… Did I say that out loud?"
"Yep." she suppressed a chuckle while working to get the crud off of her suit – evidently whoever made demon suits understood that they needed to be easily washable.
"I-I'M SO SORRY!" Izuku bowed so low he had to spit out water before he could continue, "I just still feel awful that you had to go through all that to rescue me and I didn't even realise that you still had to deal with that stuff because Cerberus got most of it off of me which I still haven't properly thanked her for and I just thought it'd be really embarrassing and super stereotypical and you're like the most beautiful person I've ever met and I-I-I" he cut himself off and blinked.
He blinked again.
He was struggling not to pass out from the combined forces of extreme heat and embarrassment.
"I-I-I-I-I-"
"My, Izuku…" Justice feigned a swoon, "To think all it would take is a mere hot springs cliché for you to be reduced to a simple lech…"
"Yeah…" he heard one Cerberus sigh as she floated, relaxed atop the springs, while the other hound-form Cerberi wheezed in something resembling a chuckle.
"N-N-No-I swear I didn't mean to say that even though it's completely true though honestly a massive understatement of how amazing you are and-"
AAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHH! He dunked his head underwater and screamed in an attempt not to embarrass himself any further, before a hand soon gently pulled him up again.
"Relax, man, I'm messing with you." having evidently dealt with most of the immediate filth on her suit's outer layers, she simply found a rock to lay back and relax on, "Welcome to the Circle of Lust, and the curse that comes with it."
Curse…? Izuku paused a moment to think, Gluttony caused hallucinations of our desires… So Lust…
"Makes us appreciate true beaut-mrph mrph?" lacking the dexterity for a foot, Izuku instead settled for putting his fist in his mouth.
"Any thoughts or feelings you have which hold any sort of romantic or sexual attraction basically lose any internal filter. You think someone's hot, you're gonna tell them they're hot, no matter how much you might wanna keep that fact to yourself." after Justice's explanation, Izuku waited to make sure his thoughts were under control before removing his hand.
"… You know, these curses seem weirdly set on reinforcing people's sins rather than actually, y'know… Fixing them."
"Hey, you want fixes, find a rehab centre; Hell's for punishments." she paused, "Actually, I think Hell might have a better turnaround… Whatever, you get the idea."
"But shouldn't the afterlife be dedicated to soul's… salvation, or something? Plus, it seems harsh being sent down here just for enjoying… Um…" his face flushed mere seconds after he'd been starting to recover, "You know…"
"Relax, no one's down here for showing their partner – or partners, if you're more like us demons – a good time every time. Think more, 'You were too obsessed with banging the secretary you just hired to deal with the national health crisis you're in charge of co-ordinating.'"
Izuku blinked, "… That example seems extremely specific."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"
With that… interesting bit of information stored away, Izuku was happy to spend the rest of their break simply relaxing in the warm water rather than engage in conversation and make a further fool of himself. Apparently 'warm' wasn't enough for some demons, however, as he spotted Cerberus heating the water with flame breath. He also noticed Justice breathing steam down to heat hers up, so apparently it wasn't a Cerberus-exclusive ability.
Despite the urge to get back home, it was becoming clear that this journey was a marathon, not a sprint, and he still hadn't had a chance to recover after nearly drowning/freezing/fading to unimaginable torment.
I don't even want to think about what that would mean… he felt a shiver despite the comfortable heat of the hellspring. He'd come this close to failing at the first real hurdle, to facing a future full of pain and suffering.
And it's not just me. All of Japan was on the verge of losing one of its cores of stability… When the world first saw the rise of quirks, they weren't a simple boon, but a radical force which shaped nations. Anti-quirkism, quirk-supremacy, quirk normalisation, quirk institutionalisation… Every country found their own way to adapt to the new world order quirks posed, and every person had a different idea on the 'right way'. Japan had quickly opted for a hard government-controlled policy; to make public utilisation of quirks near-universally illegal, excepting those that obtained permission to use them in legal protection – a classification which would eventually come to be known as 'hero'. The result was well over a century of chaos and villainy that was only ended when an incredible hero emerged, one with unparalleled strength and of unquestionable character. When All Might had given them hope.
And if it were down to me, we would've lost the spark keeping that hope alive.
He glanced at the two(four?) demons of Hell responsible for saving that spark. While one humanoid Cerberus lay floating atop the pool asleep, the other seemed to be racing their hound-form counterpart back-and-forth between some sets of rocks, both their tongues hanging out and their faces full of innocent joy. Justice had slung the suit jacket off to dry on one of the rocks, and seemed happy just relaxing on one of the warm bed-rocks. After noticing Izuku's gaze she gave him a smile while lowering her glasses ever-so-slightly to give a look of concern – a question of whether he was still coping.
He smiled back with a nod, sorry for worrying her but, at the same time, both relieved and reassured that he had someone looking out for him.
It's a good thing I'm not alone…
After a few more minutes Justice informed him she was going to try getting her other clothes clean – after burying his head into the water upon his mouth trying to say something no-doubt embarrassing, he moved through the springs behind a couple of rocks to give her some privacy. He thought of doing the same with his own, ruined hero outfit, but realised that practically all of the muck had already been removed.
I'll have to thank Miss Cerberus again later…
Plus, his clothes were already in tatters. A thorough wash would probably break it into a pile of soggy cloth. Or non-existence.
I mean, I arrived with these clothes, but surely they're still on Earth? Is this part of my soul? Is the damage purely psychologically-projected? Can I remove them?
A quick check revealed that he could, in fact, remove his socks.
Guess it's another… well, 'quirk' of Hell to deal with…
Instead of trying to decipher mysteries he'd probably never understand, he simply took this moment to relax. The water was warm, the air the same… For just a minute, he could finally-
"As the mortal sank back into the luxurious springs, he found his attention drifting towards a smooth, silky voice…"
Huh? His focus drifted towards the location of an unknown, feminine and faux-suave voice.
"But despite the desires of his yearning heart, the dense fog of indecision blocked his desperate gaze…"
… What?
"Is somebody… narrating?" Poorly.
"His confused voice betrayed the uncertainty in his heart, emotions in turmoil as he failed to reconcile his heart with his destiny…"
That's…
"I don't think you should re-use the word 'heart' so much." the repetition was starting to grate, "Maybe try using some synonyms like 'soul' – though I'm not sure if that conveys different information here – perhaps restructure the sentence so it refers to the emotions felt regarding the one to whom his heart yearns."
Usually he wasn't one to give unsolicited writing advice, but he was trying to relax and maybe Lust's curse extended to thoughts on hobbies.
"Oh that's good!" the voice exclaimed, "- I mean, shush! I'm trying to set a mood here!"
"Sorry." Izuku apologised by instinct, simultaneously wondering if he should call Justice and Cerberus for help or whether that would just 'ruin the atmosphere' and make this bodiless voice angrier.
"A-hem!" the voice cleared their throat… Assuming they had one, "But as the fog settled in his soul, so too did that which clouded his vision…"
At their words the steam over the spring seemed to thin slightly, granting Izuku a view of the voice's owner. A demon (because of course), one with black horns surrounded by the now-familiar silvery-white hair – hair which almost seemed fluffy from its wavy and unruly style. It reminded Izuku of his own hair – fluffy and bouncy and impossible to manage – albeit white and the curves softer. Still, he immediately felt a sense of shared grief with this stranger. Around the hair, he noticed, a plethora of hearts seemed both intermingled in the cowlicks and floating around her head somehow, an aesthetic extending to her eyes with their white, heart-shaped pupils. Considering such an appearance wouldn't be impossible for a quirk to produce, seeing it on a demon wasn't much of a surprise.
What was a surprise, however, was her clothing: Unlike the rest, she'd clearly come in anticipation of a swim, and wore clothes appropriately.
That is to say… very little.
"The mortal's blushing bashfulness betrayed him bewitched to the most beautiful body he had ever beholden-"
"Justice is prettier."
…
…
…
He tried to hide under the water.
I want to go back to Gluttony… It was less painful.
"Hey, Izuku~" he could hear Cerberus' distorted voice through the liquid, becoming clear after he broached the surface enough for his ears to be above the waterline.
"Just wanted us to check you were ok- Modeus!" her demeanour flipped from bored to excited like a lightbulb, immediately jumping forward to give the underdressed – or maybe we're all overdressed given the situation? - demon a fierce hug.
"It's been forever!"
"Cerberus… Can't… Breathe…"
"But we don't need to breathe."
"Damn." Modeus sighed and gave up the apparent act before whispering to Cerberus, barely audible to Izuku's ear, "Can we catch up later? There's a mortal here I need to sedu-"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! What have you been up to?!" she didn't even seem to register Modeus speaking, "I've been doing a lot of playing, and wandering, and frolicking, and running, and wandering-"
"You said that already, Miss Cerberus." Izuku pointed out.
"There's been a lot of wandering." Cerberus nodded while releasing her grip on Modeus, "Oh! And some light tormenting. But it's no fun when the cold dulls their pain…"
Once again, I would like to thank whoever made sure I ended up with Justice: God, Buddha, Izanami, RNG-
"Anything fun?" Modeus asked with a smirk.
"Nooo…" Cerberus whined, "Why do you even care so much about that… What about you?"
"I…" Modeus posed dramatically with a superior smirk, "Have only been reading and re-reading the greatest works humanity has to offer!"
"What's that?" Izuku asked out of curiosity, "Marukami? Wilde? Dostoevsky? Please don't tell me it's Yotsubashi…" he'd read 'Meta Liberation War' as part of his own research into quirks, and couldn't help but be as disappointed as he was disgusted by the contents. Despite opening as a genuine plea to dissociate quirks from people and simply accept one another, it gradually deteriorated into a barely-coherent rant attempting to justify not only violent rebellion against laws like 'hey maybe don't use a super-radiation quirk in a public place', but later suppression of 'inferior' quirkless individuals. It seemed fitting that a demon would enjoy their work, but Izuku hoped desperately he wouldn't be dealing with someone who'd hate his very being.
For his interest, Modeus happily swam back to the rock she'd posed on and pulled out a book from behind, lightly throwing it over to him.
As Izuku glanced at the cover, his disappointment was immeasurable. His day ruined.
I would've preferred quirk suprematist rhetoric to sparkling vampires…
"Uhhhh…" he tried to discern a polite way to ask why she had almost criminally bad taste, "How many books have you read, exactly?"
"Four!" Modeus answered smugly, proudly revealing she'd only read a single book series, "And I've read them a lot."
Oh you poor, poor demon…
"Have you considered… Reading something else? Anything else?" his question earned a pout from the uncultured demon.
"I can't… I brought these from the mortal realm and I'm not allowed up to get any more…"
"Oh! Oh! You could come with-" Izuku quickly moved to try and prevent anyone else discovering their plans without Justice's approval, putting a hand on Cerberus' mouth to stop her.
"M-Miss Cerberus was just assisting Miss Justice to escort me to- AHH!" suddenly Cerberus was biting his hand. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" he tried to pull his hand out but the demon's jaw had set.
"Oi!" Justice's voice mercifully arrived through the pain, "Can't I get 5 minutes to wash the putrefied mire out without…" she took in the situation with a brief look, while Izuku noted she'd managed to clean her outfit. "Cerberus, release…" the Cerberus biting his hand tightened her grip.
"But he's so tasty…" the other human Cerberus whined.
"Release…" she insisted sternly, only to be met with a growl.
"The longer you hold on, the longer we have to wait until pancakes…" After a brief and low growling whine, she released Izuku's hand.
"Good girl." she looked to Izuku, "So what'd I miss?"
"I was telling Miss… Modeus that you're escorting me to the outer ring of Limbo…"
"Ohhhhhh." Cerberus perked up.
"Right! We're definitely not secretly planning to go to the mortal realm and get pancakes!" the other winked towards Izuku.
"Definitely!" he had to fight the urge to groan, before an optimistic thought occurred.
Well, I thought Cerberus wouldn't buy my story, but then-
"You're going to the mortal realm?!"
Damn.
"Yeah, uh…" Justice scratched the back of her head, "I don't suppose there's any way we could convince you not to tell anyone…"
"I wanna come with!"
Izuku and Justice glanced briefly at each other, before turning back to Modeus.
""… Yeah, that sounds about right.""
"So do you think we'll run into any other demons who will want to come?" Izuku asked Justice as they watched Modeus and Cerberus catch up and gush about mortal realm delights before they headed out.
"Ehhhhh…" she tried to think about any other possible passengers. There were three standout demons in Limbo, but 'Monica would be holed up in her office, Judgement was more likely to be a roadblock than a hitch-hiker…
"One. We need to visit them to get some stuff, but I doubt they'll want to leave unless we spell out our intentions. So long as we're careful, this should be the whole party."
With over double as many bodies to get through the gate as expected… she sighed.
"Right." Izuku nodded.
"Any other questions you want to ask? Now's probably the best time."
"That's…" he hesitated, "You said we should be able to visit my Mom?"
"Yeah, should be time." assuming giving his power back was a simple find-the-number-one-hero-and-go deal, they'd probably have at least a few hours before anyone figured out exactly what they were up to, let alone being able to find them. Might as well give both he and his parent – singular, by the sounds of it – some closure while they were there.
"Thank you…"
"Like I said, don't mention it." Justice flashed a grin. Maybe she should try and make a bigger deal out of it to get him to give up something else, but he was already on the hook. Using something like that as leverage would a) probably grate on his already-hanging-by-a-thread mental state – more trouble than it was worth, and b) leave a bad taste in her mouth.
"Even so, thank you." he fidgeted in place, "Um, also… About the deal we made…"
"You can still back out of it before we leave Hell if you want." like he'd even consider it…
"No!" he immediately shook his head, while Justice had to wave at Cerberus and Modeus to assure them everything was fine.
"No, I'm still committed. It's just… I was wondering…"
"What fate you have in store after all's said and done?" he nodded timidly in response, "That's fair. Now let's see…" she huffed in thought, "A pretty standard 'got ya!' is soul consumption. It's the de-facto result of signing your soul to a demon with minimal thought." she couldn't suppress a slight grin as Izuku went rigidly pale beside her.
"Oh… Right… That's…"
"The demon gains all your memories, powers like quirks, and gets a bit stronger in general. The soul, or consciousness or whatever, gets to enjoy the pain of being… I dunno, digested I guess? And then you basically stop existing."
"… I see…" Izuku's words were caught somewhere between resigned apathy and a terrified squeak.
"'Course, with a soul like yours I'd probably get indigestion, so I'll have to think of something else." he immediately deflated into the water, relief washing over him with the waters of the hellspring.
"Thank you…"
"Don't mention it." she rubbed his lowered head, "I'll probably get you to be my assistant for a few decades or something, I dunno." these past two centuries of clearing the backlog had been an absolute nightmare as far as she was concerned; getting someone she could trust to dump some of her work on would be a welcome relief. Still, there were no guarantees.
"Kinda depends on how this all ends up." she glanced down at him, "Any other questions?" he seemed to think for a moment before looking back up at her.
"Why do you wear sunglasses? Is it to shield yourself from brighter souls? Or is it just a style thing? Because they do look incredible on you but so would anything or noth-" he dunked his head back under the water and screamed.
I didn't know curses could be so fun! She pulled his head back out of the water with a laugh, one that only grew as he slowly spit out the water he'd taken on like a drenched cherub.
"Little of column A, little of column B." she eventually reigned in the laughter, "Plus it used to be good for helping with the sulphur and brimstone dust, but mainly it's just to hide my eyes."
"What?" he blinked at her, "Why would you hide your eyes."
She took her glasses off for a minute and looked at him to make it obvious. Even though her soul sensing ensured she had a solid grasp on where a person was, the difficulty in determining specific details made it difficult to actually keep direct eye contact most of the time. Usually her gaze would drift off just a liiittle bit too much – a trait pretty much everyone found incredibly unnerving.
"… I don't get it." Izuku's voice seemed genuinely confused.
She could only blink in response for a minute. "Huh." she put her sunglasses back on, "Most people find it weird."
"Um… I don't think you've got the best, uh, sample of people down here…" he chuckled awkwardly.
"Nah, it was the same while I was on the surface." she sighed, "They're not cruel about it or anything, it just puts them off a bit."
"Oh." Izuku seemed at a loss for what to say, before the telltale sign of 'speech on, brain off' appeared. "Well, for what it's worth, you've got the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Like… A determined steel enshrouded by a compassionate warmth and owlish wisdom… all of which seems sorely lacking in this place."
The two of them blinked at his description, while Izuku's face slowly grew redder than the steamy springs would normally suggest. Though Justice felt like it had become marginally hotter.
Probably just the winds dying down a bit to let the heat here settle.
"A-At least, that's what I think but I mean that's just my opinion but that's- I mean I don't mean to say that- I mean, ugh-" he splashed his hands down before wincing in pain.
"What's… Wait, that bite's still bothering you?" she glanced at the mark her poorly-trained associate had left.
"N-No, it's fine-"
"Give it here…" she sighed at her companion's continued neglect of his own well-being. After showing the wound it was clear Cerberus had munched on him more than expected, the back and palm of his hand both sporting a nasty gash.
"And you didn't mention this because…"
"I-I just didn't want to bother anyone…" Justice mouthed the response herself word-for-word as he said it. Even his stuttering was becoming predictable to her.
"Of course…" she sighed, "Well, maybe this'll help convince you to not do that."
She placed both hands over his, closed her eyes, and focused on pouring some demonic energy into the wound. Physical bodies were beyond her ability to heal, and anything severe would be too much for her, but a basic soul patch-job like this was something even a novice demon could manage with a little effort. A few moments later she took her hand away and the wound was gone.
"There. Sorted." she allowed herself a smirk.
"What- That's- How-"
"A demon never reveals her tricks…" she paused, "Oh, but do me a favour: Don't go to Modeus for healing unless it's basically life-or-death."
"Ok… Why?"
"Because the humour won't be worth the issues."
Izuku sighed beside her, "Why are so many of your answers cryptically vague?"
"More fun that way!" she smiled in turn.
"Yeah…" his sigh deepened, before glancing at her again, "Also, um… I'm sorry."
"… About…"
"Yelling at you before. You've been really generous ever since I got here and-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there." she interrupted, "That wasn't exactly you're…" she clicked her tongue, "In retrospect I should've…" she groaned in frustration, unable to find the words to express that it had been more her fault than his, that she'd only yelled at him because it had been the most panicked she'd been in who-knows-how-long, and how to explain it all in a way that wouldn't have him blaming himself regardless.
"… Let's just say that whole event was a mistake on all sides."
"That's-" Izuku paused under her stern yet empathetic expression.
"… I'd like that." he smiled and went back to enjoying the springs. It seemed like their conversation was over, but Lust had other ideas:
"You know, I think dying was actually worth it since I got to meet you…"
Justice honestly couldn't tell how much of that was exaggeration. Regardless, she was glad he became preoccupied drowning himself in embarrassment, too busy to see her face betraying a slightly deeper shade of red than could be excused by the heat.
The rest of the journey was thankfully uneventful, excepting perhaps a debacle involving Modeus insisting on riding with Izuku for some reason. Thankfully the issue was quickly resolved, but less thankfully it took Justice casually hurling her over to a Cerberus in hound form, who caught her by the teeth before putting her on their back. The whole incident revealed one fact and reinforced another: Justice was far stronger than first glance would have you believe, and demons were beyond strange.
After that it was a continued ride through Lust's parched plains and wild winds. Now, though, without a human Cerberus to help him stay on, he was clinging to his hound Cerberus' fur far stronger. After a fierce gale forced him to grab on tightly for a moment, they let out something between a whine and a growl.
"S-Sorry, Miss Cerberus… I've not got much practice riding, uh… well, anything, to be honest… so…" they huffed in something resembling acceptance, before slowing down a touch and nodding for Izuku to move up a bit further. After a series of instructions conveyed in vague gestures, disapproving growls and approving yips, he found himself far more secure, perched between the shoulder blades and finding it easier to get a grip around the neck – a position Cerberus seemed happy to accept.
"T-Thank you…" he laughed nervously, unsure exactly how he should conduct himself. Interacting with the hound had reminded him that while, yes, this was a large hellhound serving as a form of remarkably fast transport through wastes he'd otherwise have to struggle through, a beast which could tear him limb-from-limb effortlessly, this was also a fully sapient demon who he'd held regular conversations with.
Also, it was a girl.
Don't make it weird don't make it weird don't make it weird…
"Um…" he mentally scrambled to find a conversation topic before his thoughts spilled out as this accursed land wished, "I think that I was interrupted when I tried to say this earlier, but, um… I really am sorry about lying to you before." Cerberus didn't respond verbally, but a brief glance back with a questioning eye prompted him to continue.
"It's just, well…" he breathed out and tried to view the situation more from a demon's perspective… Whatever that entailed.
"I know that you probably just see me as… as another dumb mortal. Probably one who's just lying to get his way and…" he let out a brief, rueful chuckle, "Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if you're waiting for me to show my true colours and watch Justice beat the hell out of me… Or into me, I guess." their short laugh implied he was probably on the right track.
"But, that's not the reason. I lied because… Well, mainly because Justice told me other demons finding out would be a bad idea. But also…" he sighed, "Because I was scared. Scared that you'd attack me, or tell someone else, or do something to stop me. I know it was probably wrong of me to assume the worst of you, and I am sorry about that as well… but I only did so because of how important it is that I succeed in this. It's…" he groaned, "Well, it's kind of hard to explain, especially in a pretty much one-sided conversation, but it's important that I get back to the surface. Like… really, really, really important. Not just because it'll save a lot of people, though it definitely will. But because if I don't, if I… if I fail… It'll be my fault. People's hope, people's lives, their encouragement of me, the chances they gave me, the chances other people were deprived of to help me, everything… If I can't give this power back, then all of that will have been for nothing. And I'll be the one to blame." he took a breath, "I refuse to let it be pointless. So I need to fix this, I need to do this, no matter what…"
Even if I end up a demon's assistant for the rest of eternity… Even if it ends up worse that that… it'll be worth it to set this right…
"… Though, being Miss Justice's assistant forever doesn't sound too bad…" he blinked, before sighing and mumbling into Cerberus' fur.
"I really hate this Circle…"
"Bark!" A smiling dog's face met him after pulling his own out of the fur, before licking at him excitedly.
"Hey- Easy- WOAH! Careful!" the action had thrown their balance off, and the winds made them slip for a moment.
"Maybe save that for when we're out of here… But I guess that means you understand, so… Thank you." after turning their attention forward, Izuku patted Cerberus slightly, to encourage them forward and show his appreciation. He'd not meant much by it, but after he stopped they let out a slight whine, jostling him in an obvious attempt to make him keep going.
Ehhhh… It's kind of weird, come to think of it… But if she enjoys it… I guess it's fine?
Justice couldn't believe what she was not seeing.
"Hey, Modeus…"
"Yeah?"
"Have I gone crazy? Or…"
"No, but I think Hell has."
"Right…"
After reaching the towering cliffs of Ferox separating them from the circle of Limbo, their party had dismounted their rides. All normal, nothing unusual, until…
"There, do you like that? What about here? Yeah, who's a good girl…" and then Izuku's Cerberus had rolled over, and he'd been petting them mercilessly ever since.
"Have you ever done that?"
"I tried, once." Modeus stated flatly, "It took me over a week to recover." Justice nodded at the expected answer.
I can't tell if he's fearless or suicidal… Maybe both?
"And you're cool with… this?" she turned to ask one of the Cerberi who'd just morphed back into a human, only to be surprised upon finding them slinking to the ground with a content sigh.
"So good…"
"So relaxing…" the hound Cerberus let out a happy chuff to emphasise the point, before lazily licking at Izuku in appreciation.
"Who the Az is this kid…?" Modeus breathed in admiration.
"Someone who needs to get back to the mortal realm." Justice shook off the initial shock and made to interrupt the petting session.
Only to stop in her tracks when the two human Cerberi growled at her, energy so focused in circles she assumed her eyes were glowing red.
"… In a few minutes."
After waiting for more than just a few minutes, Izuku realised they needed to get going and was able to pacify Cerberus with a reminder of the pancakes awaiting beyond the next Circle. Instead, they turned their attention to the cliffs.
"So Gluttony needed you to face your deepest desires. Lust needs you to… Be good at rock climbing?" Izuku asked incredulously.
"Not really. Though, it'd probably help." Justice admitted, "But if you watch the would-be escapees for a minute you'll get the picture."
"Right." Izuku did as was asked and turned his attention to the sinful souls clawing their way towards Limbo.
"Justice?"
"Yes, Izuku?"
"Are they… Naked?"
"Yes, Izuku."
"Why are they naked?"
"It's the circle of Lust, Izuku." Justice's obvious answer was met with a weary sigh.
"I'm really starting to hate Hell."
"Then it's working as intended!" Cerberus stated.
"Maybe I could help you hate it less…" Justice had to pull Modeus away to stop yet another delay.
"Wait, what do you mean starting?" she asked.
What, was near-eternal punishment by fate, freezing, and soul-sucking sludge not enough?
An awkward chuckle from Izuku later and what they'd been waiting for happened: One of the climbing souls was suddenly blown directly away from the cliffs. They tried desperately to hang on, but within seconds they were thrown back, dozens of miles deep into Lust.
"What was THAT?!" Izuku exclaimed.
"That." Justice emphasised, "Is the defence mechanism separating Lust from Limbo."
"As lovers were carried away by their passions, so too will their passions set them adrift…" Modeus explained.
"… I'm sorry?"
"You think dirty thoughts, the wind yeets you off the cliff." Justice explained more clearly.
"Oh." Izuku looked back up at the cliff, "So we have to climb this while keeping our thoughts focused?"
"Demons aren't affected by the circles' curses." she reminded him, "And that'll take you days, minimum, by which time someone will have 100% noticed I'm missing."
"Ok." while he seemed somewhat anxious at the unknown, his face showed clear relief at the fact he wouldn't have to climb a sheer cliff with zero rock-climbing experience.
"Then how do I get past this."
"Easy, you take the elevator instead of the stairs."
"What does that even-"
"Izuku." Justice lowered her stance slightly to be eye-level with Izuku, staring into his eyes with head turned directly towards him to convey the importance of what she was about to say. "I need you to make sure, make absolutely sure, that you don't think of anything that would give the gales reason to whisk you away."
"Ok… how do I…"
"Again, just focus on what's important. Friends, family, everything that will be gone if we don't succeed. Heck, focus on some nice food if it helps keep your mind off anything worse. It doesn't need to be for long, and even if you go all self-sacrificing edgelord again it won't really matter here."
"I wasn't- wasn't that bad…" Justice placed her hands on his shoulders.
"But what matters is that you keep mind focused on the serious issues here, and don't let it wander. Think about everyone on the surface who needs your help, think about the family you need to give your farewells. Think about how important it is that we get you back home."
"…" he met her gaze, "… Ok." he nodded slowly, the confusion and exasperation in his eyes giving way to an unyielding determination. Justice was tempted to say something to get him flustered as a test, but the chances were that would just ruin his resolve. That was something which would be difficult to get back – especially with Modeus primed to screw with him in every sense of the word, and Cerberus' impatience likely not giving him any time to recover. It was now or never.
"And remember one other thing, one other very, critically, important thing." she lowered her hands to hold either side of his chest, lowering herself slightly more as a wound coil ready to spring.
"I'll catch you." his determination faltered.
"What do you m-EAN" she flung him up in the air with as much force as she could muster, his body sailing up and out of site within moments.
Might've overshot it a bit… she began scaling the wall at inhuman speed.
Eh, he'll be fine.
I'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIESOMEONEHELPSOMEHELPSOMEONEHELPSOMEHELPSOMEONEHELPSOMEHELPSOMEONEHELPSOMEHELPPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE-
As Izuku soared upwards through the sky at what he assumed must be Mach speeds, he didn't have the time to use Justice's advice of thinking about what was important rather than anything potentially perverted, as he was instead focused on the fact he was soaring upwards through the sky at what he assumed must be Mach speeds.
With no landing strategy.
Instead he panicked, the air rushing past him as if a gale, the noise as it reached his ears almost deafening and the feeling of air pressing on his skin almost burning from the friction. Was he hearing a sonic boom? Was he going so fast as to burn up in Hell's atmosphere? Did Hell even have an atmosphere? Such questions built up in the back of his mind, unanswerable all the time he was overly focused on the 'OH GOD I'M GOING TO DIE' aspect of his situation.
After… Some amount of time – maybe seconds, maybe minutes, it was difficult to tell when you were hurtling to your death – his ascent started to slow. For a moment the thought was slightly calming, before he realised what would immediately follow, and instead panic quickly set in again. He looked around in a frenzy, only to realise that the cliff he needed to climb up was now gone – he was hurtling far above it. The realisation brought a moment of clarity.
Ok, I've got over the cliff, now I just need to get back down to the top of it… without dying…
Slowly his ascent ceased, and as he reached the apex of the trip he noticed what seemed to be a winged demon flying nearby. They were too far to make out the details, beside the fact their clothes seemed to be their standard red shirt and grey suit trousers, and that they seemed to be a motion that might have been waving.
Izuku waved back, not wanting to seem rude, before promptly falling at an alarming rate.
No! Wait! It's just like the entrance exam! He prepared his fist and tried to think back, Just hit it at the right time and… Wait…
As he tried to tap into One for All's power, it became clear something was… off. He could still feel it coursing through his being, but the way it moved around inside him, the way it came to the fore as he concentrated, felt different. Less restrained. Less predictable. Chaotic.
If I can't control it, then… But, no, All Might must have been joking about the exploding limb thing, right? I mean, how could he even know that could happen… Wait… he didn't know that could happen, right?
But the question of whether his mentor had former now-limbless students aside, it still remained that One for All felt different, and that, after some consideration, he had absolutely no idea how quirks transferred into the afterlife.
After some more consideration, he realised the ground was approaching at an alarming rate.
Ok, gotta make a decision… Using One for All is a risk, but hitting the ground at terminal velocity is also ridiculously, insanely risky. Justice seemed to imply that my body is a bit different now, but I don't know if that applies to- his eyes widened in remembrance, Wait! Justice! She said that she'd catch me, right?!
The ground grew closer.
So, do I just do nothing?! Or is she expecting me to slow down first? She didn't say anything about using my quirk, so I guess that would imply she'll take care of it maybe?
The ground grew closer still, his eyes beginning to make out details that implied he only had a dozen or so seconds left.
But then, do I just trust her to catch me? This is literally putting my life in her hands- no, it's putting who-knows-how-many lives in her hands! Can I really just trust her with that? She's a demon! A demon I've known for all of, what, a day? A demon who has explicitly stated my soul will basically belong to them at the end of it all! A demon who… Who…
Having only a few seconds left, he released his grip on One for All.
A demon who's already saved me numerous times… he scrunched his eyes shut, I'll trust her to do it once more…!
With his resolve set, he tried to keep down the panic and awaited the inevitable impact. Any second now…
"Woah!" he felt a sudden pressure on his legs and chest, before being swivelled around to feel the pressure on the back of his knees and shoulders. Opening his eyes, it was clear he'd already slowed significantly, but was still airborne. Not a few seconds later, his saviour landed on the ground with a CRACK
As Izuku took a few deep breaths to calm the panic that had been rising, Justice smiled back with her typical relaxed grin.
"Told ya I'd catch you."
A/N:
And so we reach the end of the penultimate Circle of Hell - just 1 more to go, but it's a longer one!
This chapter was a lot of fun to write; light-hearted hijinks are always nice and Modeus' lines basically write themselves. Seriously, she kicks in my door, beats me up and scrawls purple prose and horni where her dialogue was supposed to go. That's not going to be her entire character or anything, but I'd be lying if I claimed it wasn't a lot of it.
Also, this fic now has over 100 favourites! It is no longer the least-favourited MHA/Helltaker crossover on this site - take that short 1-shot published nearly 3 years ago! BOW BEFORE MY SUPREME WRITING MIGHT!
In all seriousness, once again thank you to everyone reading for giving this a chance and your continued support, and as per usual feel free to comment with thoughts, feedback, criticism etc.
Ciao!