Chapter Five ~ Monsters Are A Thing Now
Note: Sorry this took so long. On top of not feeling well I have been a littler burnt out with life in general so I took a break for a few days.
Izuku groaned, his eyes cracking open to a glaring light that sparked a heavy pounding behind them. By the gods, everything hurt. What had even happened?
"See! I told you he would be fine!" An unfamiliar voice declared.
"You said he might be fine." The much more familiar voice of Artemis ground out. Why was she so angry?
"Potato-potato," the noticeably masculine voice shot back, "You're just upset you needed your big brother's help, Arty."
The sound of something sharp being drawn over a leather sheath reached his ears. A brief scuffle followed, a few pained grunts and slapping sounds caught up in the middle of it all. Was five minutes of peace too much to ask for? The rumbling pain bouncing around his skull told him that in his life, it very well was.
"Children!"
On his second attempt at cracking open his eyes, he was a bit more successful. The bright light that had initially assaulted him had moved off somewhat, leaving the clear night sky hanging far above him. Stars and a beautiful full moon affixed just over his head; a sight he never really got to see back in the city.
Craning his head a bit he was surprised to find Hestia sitting on a log by a fire, a curious anger burning in her normally calm eyes. Turning the usual orbs of silent orange flames into a roaring crimson. Quietly she poked at the fire.
"Beautiful." He muttered to himself, lost for a second in the moment until a muffled chuckle sounded out behind him.
Craning his head a bit he was surprised to find Hestia sitting on a log by a fire, a curious anger burning in her normally calm eyes. Turning the usual orbs of silent orange flames into a roaring crimson. Quietly she poked at the fire and as she noticed him her features calmed somewhat.
"He called you pretty!" More scuffling followed.
As quickly as they had calmed the fires burning in place of her eyes flared back to life. "Children!" she thundered once more, looking somewhere off to the side of him.
Izuku followed their murderous path to find Artemis standing there holding a man he vaguely remembered seeing before in a headlock. One of the man's hands was frantically prying at the goddess' tightening grip while the other firmly grasped her other wrist, barely holding back the silver hunting knife clutched within her palm.
A silent moment passed with only the man's grunts and the cackling of the fire attempting to fill it. Then finally Artemis released the man all at once, stepping back from him to slide her knife into its sheath on her hip.
As the man began to dust himself off, muttering obscenities under his breath the whole while, she glared at the unknown figure, then turned to him. Her gaze softened somewhat, eyes surveying his body for any injuries, stopping on his chest for a moment. When he shifted under her gaze their eyes met for a moment.
Suddenly she turned, walking a few feet toward a silver tent situated beside his own before disappearing through its flaps.
"You're welcome!" The man yelled after her. Shaking his head he turned to Izuku with a roll of his sky-blue eyes, "Chicks am I right?"
"Apollo." Hestia hissed behind him.
The man, Apollo as it seems, held up his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright! But she started it Auntie and you know it." When she did not respond, or at least not in any way Izuku could see with his own gaze locked with Artemis' tent, the man held up his hands once more, "Fine, I get it, no more talking."
"Anyway, name's Apollo kid," the deity literally lit up as he shifted from the elder goddess to the teen still laying on the ground, having gone back on his word of no talking in what had to be record-worthy time, "god of..well a lot of things actually, we haven't met yet."
Apollo had walked over to him during his introduction and was now holding out a hand to help the young man up. Taking it Izuku rose to his feet, finally taking a good look at the luminescent godling standing before him.
He was tall, six feet or so which Izuku had come to realize was about standard among males within the Greek Pantheon. Waves of golden blonde hair spilled out over his head halfway down his neck. It parted in the center, bangs tucked to their side to reveal chiseled features and vibrant blue eyes.
A golden wreath held his hair mostly in place, a rather unique addition among the deities he had met thus far. Unlike his sister, who wore a silvery-grey set of robes and a light mix of leather armor, the god wore a simple white toga outlined in a shiny golden meander. It rose up and over, leaving his left arm and peck exposed while clasping together at a point over his right pectoral behind a golden clasp shaped like a radiant sun.
A pair of metal bracers wrapped around his forearm, similar to the ones Zeus wore, with a smaller band coiled around his right bicep.
Honestly so far, outside of maybe Zeus himself, Apollo looked most like what he would have normally pictured a Greek god as. Which was to say a lot of gold. But then again if he remembered his lessons with Hestia right Apollo was the god of a lot of things, but these days chiefly the sun.
"Izuku," the teen greeted, "Nice to meet you, Lord Apollo."
The sun god snorted, "None of that kiddo, you're basically family now. Well actually after today you might actually -" The god looked at something over his shoulder and snapped his mouth shut.
Izuku glanced behind him, finding Hestia glaring at her nephew. "Should I be worried?" he asked, turning back to the god.
"N-no, no nothing, don't worry about it. Good work with the beach so far by the way."
"Uh, thanks?" Where had that come from?
Apollo waved him off, "Don't worry about it. Anyway, how are you feeling? I patched you up as best I could. Good thing Arty called as quickly as she had. Man you should have seen her freaking out, never seen anything li - got it shutting up." The god cut himself off, once more glancing at the goddess sitting behind the teen.
Izuku blinked, having almost forgotten the fact he fought that thing by the stream. But it was daytime when that happened, late yes but sunset was still a while off. Did he pass out?
"What was that thing?" He asked, eyes finally focusing as he looked toward the sun god.
Apollo shrugged, "native monster, you'll have to ask my sister. Not familiar with the monsters here or their magic. Sorry about the scars by the way."
Izuku glanced downward. True to the god's word four jagged scars raked their way across his chest. Weird, they didn't hurt at all, but then again that was probably thanks to the fact that among his many titles, Apollo was the god of healing.
"It's fine," Izuku muttered mutely. He didn't even bother to meet the god's eyes, blankly staring at his former wound while his hand traced the pale jagged lines cutting across his chest. "My mom is going to kill me."
"Can't help you there kid, maybe ask Un- yes ma'am, shutting up." Apollo snapped his fingers.
Which almost drew Izuku's attention, but his eyes hardly climbed halfway up his savior before a searing pain ignited from his right arm. Blinking back tears he clutched at the burning arm with his other, holding it close to himself. Through the haze of pain he noted an onyx sunburst branding itself out a spot right beside Hephaestus's hammer and anvil.
"Good luck with my sister kiddo, you're gonna need it." Apollo disappeared in a luminescent beam of pure sunlight.
"Feel pride," Hestia called out to him, "Apollo's domains allow him a great deal of insight into the hearts of mortals." She patted a log beside her, motioning for him to sit. She continued as he moved to do so, "He is as eccentric as any of my brother's children, but would not so carelessly had he not found your character worthy."
Izuku glanced back toward the burned patch of grass that had previously been the sun god.
"Him and Artemis don't get along?"
Hestia chuckled lightly, "As well as any siblings do. They care for one another, in their own ways. Speaking of, it would seem you have impressed both of the celestial twins this day."
Izuku could only raise a brow at the goddess, completely nonplussed by that information. Artemis was a bit…colder than he had expected. What on earth could he have done to impress her?
"I take it you think Aphrodite has been 'going easy on you'," the goddess air quoted with an amused smile, when he continued to stare blankly, even more confused, she shook her head. "Aphrodite is capable of many things, but she does nothing in moderation. I am afraid she is quite frustrated at how you've denied her advances thus far."
"What does that have to do with Artemis?"
Hestias winced a little, he almost hadn't noticed the movement. "A centuries-old argument is rearing its head it seems and my niece is quite…flustered by it."
When he moved to ask more she held up a hand to stop him, "I am sorry Izuku, It is not my place to say more than that. But I will say that Artemis was also quite impressed by your recent encounter with the creatures of your mythology."
She motioned back toward where he had been lying earlier. A few feet from the tattered remains of his shirt, which he had apparently been lying on, sat the cracked remains of an oversized turtle shell. Had he carried that up here with him?
"What was that?" He tried again. Some of the anxiety he had felt when it spotted him clawing its way back from his memories.
"I believe that Artemis referred to it as a Kappa," Hestia supplied, laying a calming hand on his shoulders, "quite a powerful creature when in its own domain. To have bested it with no formal training and only a small fraction of Hephaestus' power was quite the feat. One neither I, Apollo, nor my niece have overlooked."
"Monsters are real?" He asked, turning back toward her.
"They exist in many forms, but they are as real as you or I. But you have proven yourself more than capable of dealing with them. You have come a long way in such a short time, Izuku Midorya. I am proud to have you among my family."
"Thank you…a-auntie." He tried nervously, wincing at himself as if he had just said the most cringy thing to ever cross his lips.
Judging by how Hestia's eyes literally flared with excitement and turned a comforting mix of white and orange it hadn't been as bad as he expected. He was startled when her hands snapped forward, squeezing his cheeks affectionately.
"Now was that so hard?" She asked playfully, she had only been trying for months now. "Such a sweet young man, which makes this next part very hard for me." Her hands released him, well one did, the other snatched his ear, pinching hard.
He yelped.
"How can you be so stupid? I expect this kind of behavior from Ares, maybe even Hephaestus or Apollo, but you?" That stung a lot more than he cared to admit for some reason. She continued her tirade, "Fighting an unknown monster in its domain without someone nearby?"
"Ow! I didn't know! I swear! Ow! I just wanted to look around! Ow!"
She searched him for a moment before releasing him with a heavy sigh, straightening her robes a bit as she did so.
"Very well," she said tersely, "but should it happen again you will be hearing from me. Now consider this your reward for what you've accomplished today, I apologize for being a bit late but Hephaestus had been quite adamant about being the first to bless you."
He cried out in pain as once more his arm erupted into unimaginable pain.
"And that a punishment for being quite foolish," she added as he sucked air through his teeth, trying to push past the pain. "Now have something to eat, you've had a long day."
Without another word she disappeared in her usual flash-turnado of amber flames. The log she had been resting on now sported a rectangular metal tin filled with rice and a very delicious-looking curry.
When the pain in his arm finally settled he looked toward his arm. To the left of Hephaestus' mark, the opposite side of Apollo's, sat a black pillar supporintg a similar colored basin, an ebony fire burning above it.
With a resigned breath he reached over to Hestia's seat, took the currey, and slowly began to munch on it. All the while trying to figure out how he ended up being branded by four gods in two days and fighting monsters in the woods. Fuck that, how was he going to explain tattoos and these insane scars to his mother?
Hey, maybe next time he would find a Titan in the woods instead and would die in heroic combat trying to save some cute girl. That would be preferable to what his mother was going to do to him when she found out.
Would blaming Izanagi work or would she think he was crazy?
Nah, blaming a god from his own pantheon felt a bit cheap. Ares seemed like as good a scapegoat as any. Yep, definitely Ares' fault.
Izuku woke early the next morning, his internal clock having long been conditioned by his early morning sessions with Hephaestus combined with his school schedule. A few birds were chirping off in the woodlands beyond the fabric of his tent. Yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes he stood and executed through the flaps.
Artemis was sitting on the same stump Hestia had been last night, the fire still smoldering at her feet. Curiously she was using one of the twin hunting knives she carried to sharpen the tips of wooden arrows.
Noticing him approaching she greeted him with a nod, her silvery eyes raking over his form. She stopped for a moment on his chest and reminded him that he had yet to replace his damaged shirt.
"Sorry," he scratched at the back of his head, a nervous lopsided grin rising to the surface, "I forgot to get a new shirt after everything that happened last night."
"Do they hurt?" She almost whispered, completely ignoring his statement while remaining locked with his scars.
Izuku shook his head, "Not really, but I guess I have Apollo to thank for that."
The huntress scoffed, muttering something under her breath. With a snap of her fingers, a silver t-shirt appeared in her hands. She tossed it over to him and waited patiently for him to don it.
"I'm glad," she said as his head peaked through its allotted hole in the fabric, "I was worried about - ahem, worried that you wouldn't be able to keep up with training today." She straightened herself in her seat, looking away from him.
She reached down beside her, lifting a quiver of arrows before depositing the one she had been working on in it alongside the others. She tossed it to him over her shoulder, which barely gave him time to react. Hardly catching it without spilling its contents he turned toward her curiously.
"Your first task is to hit the target three consecutive times."
His gaze followed her arm as it outstretched, directing his attention to a hastily made target hanging from a tree quite some distance away. Considering he had never even held a bow before wasn't this a bit much? Then again if his experience with other deities was anything to go by the Greeks did nothing the easy way.
Throwing the quiver strap over his shoulder he noticed a key issue with his assigned task.
"I uh, I don't have a bow?"
"Men," the goddess muttered just loudly enough for him to hear.
Once more her hand extended, her fingers coiled vacantly around the air. A large seed appeared, hovering between her fingers and palm. He watched on fascinated as it sprouted. Green stems extended outward in either direction, thickening and browning as they did so, slowly unfurling into the shape of an intricate bow of interwoven roots. Silver light arced between the arch, solidifying into a silk-thin bow-string.
Looking it over once she held it out for him to take.
"It's beautiful," he whispered, looking over the work of art she had gifted him. Looking from it to her a soft smile split her calm features. With nothing more than a nod of agreement she directed his attention back to the target.
'Okay Izuku, you can do this.' He tried to hype himself up, sweating nervously as he pulled an arrow from his quiver. 'And sure you've never held a bow even once in your life. But are you really gonna fuck up twice in front of an admittedly stunning goddess?'
Notching it in a manner similar to what he had seen in some of the games he played, he steadied himself. Taking a deep breath he put the target in sight, then as he exhaled released the strong.
The arrow sailed across the clearing, thudding uselessly into the tree's trunk, a few short inches over the target. Great, good job Izuku, that two for two. Talk about embarrassing.
"A good shot," the goddess noted, nodding proudly at the arrow. "Your stance could use some work, but I can see Hephaestus' strength will not go to waste."
That was the second time someone had mentioned Hephaestus in that manner.
"Why does everyone keep mentioning bringing up Hephaestus like I'm him?'
His companion raised a delicate brow, "You are his champion are you not?" Her eyes darted to his right arm. The shirt she had given him was a great fit, but the slightly shorter sleeves had left his tattoo exposed.
"I still really don't know what that means. Hestia never really touched on it much."
She shook her head, then inclined her head toward the target, "try again."
He did as instructed, but before he could loose the arrow she stepped in front of him. Giving him a once over she stepped toward him, grabbing his elbow and bringing it in slightly. When she stepped away he loosed the arrow. This time it struck a bit lower, hitting the upper edge of the target.
"Your status as a Champion is conditional, that brand," she motioned toward his arm, "marks you out. Try again."
Once more he notched an arrow, this time she used her feet to nudge his own apart. When she was satisfied he nodded and he loosed. With a heavy thud his third arrow hit lower still, closer to the center but still a bit off.
"Each mark indicates a god that has blessed you. Hephaestus and Hestia are no surprise, but I had not expected my idiot brother to step forward. At least not this quickly. Again."
This time she lightly nudged his arm, lessening the tension on the bow-string. His arrow sailed through the air like a missile, impacting directly in the center. He had no time to celebrate however as Artemis' smile grew somewhat.
"While training your body will prepare you for battle, no mere mortal could stand against an Elder God and survive, let alone come out unscathed. Again."
Again he notched an arrow. This time the goddess placed a hand on his shoulder and the burning in his arm flared. This time it was as though it was only a mild sting compared to the usual brand. He looked back at her, meeting her gaze. She nodded and he loosed. The arrow rocked outward, striking the bullseye. Splitting not only his previous shot but the target as a whole.
As she retracted her hand he looked to his arm where an onyx crescent moon with an arrow running through it was slowly fading into his skin.
"Our blessing imparts you with our power," she continued as he gazed back at her, "you are gifted a fragment of our knowledge, our strength, our power."
"Then if I'm supposed to fight Titans shouldn't everyone just bless me?"
The goddess rolled her eyes, "Men, so clueless."
"A blessing is very…intimate. As it binds you to the god who grants it so too does it bind them to you. Such an act is permanent, for both parties. The gods who mark you are committing themselves to you. So long as you live those brands will remain, and so long as they remain so too will the bond."
Finishing her explanation Artemis summoned another target and began walking over toward the force, intent on replacing it for more archery practice. Giving him some valuable time to process the information she had just saddled him with.
Absently he grabbed his arm, rubbing his thumb over the brands, watching as they contorted with the skin around them, glowing a soft metallic gold as he passed over them.
Did he deserve such a commitment? From the gods themselves no less?
Thunk…Thunk…Thunk…Thunk
Izuku released a deep breath, watching as yet another arrow bridged the gap between his spot at the far side of the clearing and the thatch target across from him. How Artemis had convinced his mother to allow a two-week 'camping' trip with relative strangers was beyond him. Most likely Hestia had done all the talking on that front.
Although they were only eight days into the fourteen they would spend among the flora and fauna of Japan's untamed wilderness it already felt as if he had been here for months. Hephaestus relied on a very fluid teaching style, not overly strict, and insisting mistakes were the first step to learning.
Artemis held no such notions. From the moment he awoke till the moment he eventually collapsed in his tent, muscles screaming and dead to the world, she drilled into him every skill a hunter should know. One mistake on the hunt was synonymous with choosing between life and death.
For the most part, their days consisted of target practice with the occasional instruction on various herbs that Artemis would bring back from her daily scouting trips. Much to the goddess' frustration Izuku was a natural with a bow — which made zero sense considering she was supposed to be teaching him. Shouldn't she be happy he was at least half-decent with her weapon of choice?
But no, every time he landed a bullseye there was a noticeable twitch of something similar to annoyance on his instructor's delicate features.
Vocally she had declared that this sudden proficiency with archery was born in part from her brother's blessing. Which given their noticeable rivalry was a plausible excuse. But something about it all made him feel as if he was missing another facet of the story.
"Enough," Artemis finally declared with a frustrated huff, "you have proven yourself at least capable of wielding a bow if nothing else. Shoulder your quiver and follow me."
Having learned very quickly that arguing with the goddess was detrimental to his health, an hour as a jackalope did wonders for one's self-preservation instincts, he grabbed the quiver propped up on a stump beside him and tossed it over his shoulder.
Counting over the arrows quickly to take stock of what he had remaining, a habit he was quickly picking up, his count was interrupted when the goddess extended a hand into his view. In her hand she loosely palmed the blade of pure silver, the hilt wrapped in a forest green leather.
"Take it," she motioned it toward him after he had glanced up at her, "consider it a reward for advancing your training."
"Thank you," he accepted the weapon, tentatively inspecting it. Unlike his bow the design was simple, no grandiose engravings or intricate shaping. Just a plain hunting knife. A bit more modern than the curved blades she carried.
The auburn-haired goddess shook her head, offering a leather sheath for it as well, "Although you cannot be counted among my huntresses, it is tradition for me to gift new members of the hunt with a dagger before their first hunt."
First hunt? With Artemis? In what he could only assume to be monster-infested woods? Gulp.
Izuku shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "First hunt?" he asked timidly.
"Would you rather spend your time breaking my targets?" An auburn brow raised, her head inclining to the pile of destroyed targets he had gone through over the past few days.
He shook his head. As much fun as learning how to use a bow had been, it was growing a bit dull. Not that he was ready for a real hunt, but hopefully this would be something as simple as killing a few rabbits and coming back to camp.
'Oh who am I kidding, I'm totally about to have to kill something terrifying'
Him and his big mouth.
Turns out that was exactly what Artemis had in mind when deciding on his very first official hunting trip. According to the goddess killing the Kappa had 'proven he was ready for a true hunt' and although he had no idea what that meant, he was starting to wish he had let the turtle-man eat him.
For almost an hour they had trudged through the underbrush. Following the stream he had killed the aforementioned monster in further up the mountain. Avoiding some of the more populated spots — seriously, how many of those damn things lived up here? — in brief detours into the ever-thickening woods.
In a few spots, where the boulders had gotten particularly large, they had been forced to clamber over a few. Weirdly enough Izuku had become keenly aware of how easy the trip had been. Yeah, he struggled here and there on difficult terrain, but only due to inexperience with navigating any topography that wasn't metropolitan.
Ever since Hephaestus had blessed him his body felt so much lighter. Triply so now that Hestia and Apollo had followed in the forge god's footsteps. A trip like this would have normally left him winded at the very least, but he was nearly as fresh now as he had been earlier this morning. Which was to say nothing of his strength.
Working with Hephaestus had helped to develop quite the even spread of muscle across his body, that much was true. But even that did not excuse the sheer force he had exhibited when fighting the Kappa. While it was nothing in comparison to heavy hitters like All Might it was surely nothing to scoff at.
Unfortunately, his godly companion had noticed his ability to keep up quite early on. Which, to put things simply, meant she wasn't holding back. If not for his increase in strength, speed, and stamina he was positive he would have lost the goddess much earlier in this trip as she dashed through branches overhead or darted across boulders.
'On the bright side, I can get a good look at her a -' Brain, really it would be a good time to shut the fuck up before that thought line gets him an arrow through the testicles.
If his slow, practically non-existent mastery of his emotions he had done anything for him outside of letting him carry out conversations with his companion while at least partially maintaining eye contact, it had at least kept him from embarrassing himself.
There was something about Artemis that felt so natural in a way that sent his head in a spin. Added to the undeniable fact that she was a goddess, and an extremely beautiful one at that, it was safe to say his face was stained a permanent crimson.
Speaking of, she had disappeared, dashing through a clump of leaves up ahead, vanishing from sight with hardly a rustle. Quickening his pace he pushed on, jumping over a few roots and quickly approaching a wall of green.
Prepping himself he leaned into the run, raising his arms into an X shape before his face before crashing into the thicket. He skidded to a halt the moment his perspective was clear of leaves, being assaulted by the unfiltered light. Lowering his arms and taking in the area around him he spotted Artemis a few feet in front of him.
They stood in a small clearing formed around the base of a steep vertical cliff. A large fissure divided the rock face before them, forming a central point for the clearing. The cave was massive, easily fifteen to twenty feet in height with an easy thirty-odd feet in width at its greatest expanse.
"I am quite surprised you kept up at half my normal speed," the goddess praised, not truly realizing how much she had just damaged the boy's self-esteem.
Half?
"In this cave is a creature," Artemis thumbed over toward the fissure, "kill it and I will consider training you properly."
Properly? What the hell had they been doing up until now?
"Seeing if this was worth considering," The goddess answered, a prideful little smile on her otherwise amused face.
Oh gods. How often did she read his thoughts?
He swore her smile had shifted into a knowing smirk for a moment before it was back to normal. She jumped high, sailing over him and landing in the outstretched branches of a nearby tree.
"I will be waiting here, nobody." Although he briefly considered she was insulting him he felt that given how devious her smile had turned, she was in on a joke he was about to learn the hard way.
Did he have to do this? No, but what kind of idiot runs out on a chance to get more training from a goddess, especially if that goddess was Artemis herself? So again, did he have to do this? Yeah, unfortunately, he did. Which let's be honest, totally fucking blows.
Pulling an arrow from his quiver and notching, holding his bow low and at the ready, he began a cautious approach toward the cave housing his supposed target. Thankful as he was for this opportunity to live his dream, it was moments like these that made him think that maybe he might be dumber than he thought.
Seriously, who walked into a monster's cave? Better question, and one that had been bothering him for a while now, how were mythological creatures running around without showing up in mass media everywhere?
The first thing he noticed upon entering the mouth of the cave was the smell. Something rotten was lurking farther in still, a near visible miasma of death and decay assaulted his nostrils. With every step it grew stronger, choking his senses as tears welled up through the stinging in his eyes.
Added to the fact it was steadily getting darker the further he went the visibility of his surroundings was steadily dropping.
Something caught him underfoot, nearly toppling him in the process. Whatever it was rolled away, then clattered into something else with a rattle. Then something much more alive responded with a deep puff of hair; which coincidentally only made the air even more toxic.
"Gruh?"
In a panic Izuku wiped the tears from his eyes, blinking rapidly to force his vision to focus. Something he was quickly beginning to realize was the last action taken in an annoyingly long list of decidedly bad decisions.
What had nearly tripped him was a very human-looking skull, which had rolled down a small incline into a veritable graveyard. Hundreds upon hundreds of bones from countless animals and creatures that inhabited the forest lay sprawled about the cave.
Atop this mountain of corpses stood one of ugliest things he had ever seen; and he had fought a bowl-headed turtle-man in a creek the other day so that was saying a lot.
It was huge, easily ten to twelve feet in height. Towering far over him and hardly fitting in the cave itself. Hard grey skin covered its body, solidifying everywhere but the joints into a sharp chitinous-like armor. Thankfully most of its bulk was covered in a patchwork of animal pelts it was using as a poor imitation of clothing.
The trunk of a large tree was being held limply in one of its hands, what Izuku could only guess was its weapon of choice.
Its feet fell heavy, shaking the ground a bit as it swivled toward the green haired invader.
Two large horns jutted out from either side of its forehead, jagged fanged teeth jutted out from behind a mouth held limply open. Patchy scars stretched across its empty eye-sockets, its sole means of visualizing its surroundings a great yellow eyes beset vertically in the center of its forehead.
Carefully Izuku notched an arrow, taking aim for the glaring weakness in the creature.
"Gruhhh?"
"Bet you didn't see this coming." Izuku smiled despite his racing heart. Then, with a calming exhale he loosed his arrow.