Chapter Seven ~ The Hunter

Note: Yeah so I'm sorry this one is a bit behind. I have had my hands full beyond measure. Classes are starting back up, which has been absoulte hell considering I only need 3 more classes to graduate with my degree and, guess what? They have all been filled. So I have been fighting tooth and nail. On top of that I have started a new job where I work with children with autisim, which has been a pretty drastic shift.

That said I am sort of figuring out my schedule so I have had a bit of time to write. However I have also started toying with some more ideas. One that is based in the warhammer 40k universe and another in PJO, with a bit of an Isekai kinda twist. I have yet to decide which one I want to presue. I love 40k but am not as fluent in it as I would like to be for something like this. However I am worried that by writing two stories using the same gods I might get some thinks mixed up here and there.

Anyway, hope you call enjoy.

"Man kiddo! How'd you even manage all this?" Apollo chuckled nervously, tending to a few surface wounds. Warm light radiated from his palms, weaving back together muscle and sinew. Which was admittedly much more relaxing than when he had been snapping ribs back into place a moment ago. "Four broken ribs, six fracture, you've torn about every muscle you have, and I am pretty sure I had to grow you a new kidney just now."

The fire burning toward the 'center' of their camp flared, roaring in rage alongside their mistress.

Izuku did not even consider so much as glancing toward the hearth goddess beside him. While he had not been privy to the words her and Artemis had shared, the uncharacteristic look of shame that the huntress had worn spoke volumes. Once more, a reason to be thankful he had only seen hints of Hestia's wrath.

Speaking of, he was becoming quite used to the goddess's presence. To the unspoken annoyance of his current tutor she had visited every other day, pressing no end of home-cooked goods into their arms and refusing to leave until they both had eaten.

"She took him up the mountain to hunt an Ogre." Hestia hissed, eyes still locked on Artemis who was seated a few feet away, closer to her tent. The goddess was fletching arrows quietly, only sparing Izuku an occasional glance.

Apollo looked to him for conformation and Izuku nodded, "I mean, I killed it though!"

Apollo then turned to Hestia for further insight until she huffed begrudgingly, "While he may have killed the creature, you, Apollo, can see to as how that turned out better than any of us."

The Sun god pursed his lips, nodding softly, then smartly turned back to continue tending to Izuku's wounds. It was funny how, from what he understood, Apollo was willing to tease and prod his sister even if it killed him, but was unwilling to press Hestia, who was in her more common guise of a young girl, any more than he needed

"You know…" Apollo began again after a moment of silence, stepping back from a healed Izuku and dusting off his hands. "That explains a lot, but I don't think even monsters back home have enough blunt force to shred muscles like that. Anything else I need to know? Especially since I can probably count you as an official patient now."

Izuku just shook his head, scratching at the back of it absently, "Not really, I just kinda fought it."

"With Hephaestus' hammer," Artemis added quietly, locking eyes with her brother for a moment.

"You managed a corporeal summon?" Hestia turned to him, surprise evident in her fiery eyes.

"Kinda," Izuku offered, looking to his hand. Squeezing slightly, as if attempting to grip at something that wasn't there, "Not really sure how, though."

Really, he had no idea. One minute he had just wanted to push himself, to win, the next he was swinging a hammer. Only, to him, it hadn't been a hammer, it had been a part of him. Something that had always been there, just waiting to be used.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Apollo looked him over one good time before humming a thought.

"While seriously impressive for a mortal, blessed or not, I can't exactly see that being the issue."

"Or it could have been the fact he was channeling all his divine power into brute strength." Artemis huffed, glaring at the young man in question. Izuku was not entirely sure what about that made her mad, but chose to nervously advert his gaze anyway.

"He what?" Hestia barked, rounding on him with a glare worse than anything Artemis or Apollo had received thus far. "The fact that you are still standing here is a miracle!" She stood, marching toward him with an accusatory finger, "How could you do something so stupid!? Your body is still mostly mortal! You can't handle that kind of direct use yet!"

Honestly, he kinda felt like he was going to cry. Nothing had made him feel this upset since the last time his mother had done such a thing. It now made a great deal of sense why most of the gods tended to mind the words of the elder goddess.

"Incredibly stupid," Artemis agreed, standing from her seat, "But not entirely his fault."

Izuku watched in morbid wonder as Artemis stared down Hestia, of all people. A pat on his shoulder brought his attention to Apollo, who gave a thumbs up and mouthed a quick 'good luck' before disappearing in another ray of sunshine.

Seriously dude? That was way too bright.

"Do not test me, niece. I will see neither him nor you hurt. His time for battle will come, but it is not today." Izuku was pretty sure he could have cut the tension between the two goddesses with a knife. But he had a new-found respect for 'seeing where this goes' after having met the Greek gods.

"Hephaestus, Apollo, you," Artemis pointed at her aunt, "had no sense to so much as give him," she jerked her finger toward him, "insight, let alone actual instruction on how to use your blessings. Hades, he's been using a flint this whole time to light the fires. He can breathe fire!"

It was actually kinda cute seeing Artemis throw her hands up in exasperation. Which also brought to bear the thought that if he ever chose to tell the huntress that she was 'cute when annoyed' he would be better off wrestling another ogre.

Wait -

"I can breathe fire?"

Artemis threw her hands in his direction, as if to say, 'see? I told you!'.

Hestia deflated with a heavy sigh, "You are right, of course. I had not considered how a mortal might come to understand our power." She turned to him, clasping her hands in her lap, then spared a glance back at her niece, "If you will leave us for a moment, Artemis. I believe I have two lessons to teach the newest member of our family."

Izuku was almost positive Artemis had sent him a triumphant smirk before disappearing behind the folds of her tent. Well, that was weird.

"It seems our huntress has taken a liking to you," she followed his gaze, a small sly smile creeping up, but not quite reaching her eyes. That did not mean, however, when he blushed, she wasn't all too happy to press further, "I dare say I have not seen this much of her self with another man outside her brother in quite a while."

"W-well, I didn't, I-I haven't-"

"Done anything?" Hestia finished, inching closer to him to take up his hands in her own, "You, a mortal, walked into this forest with hardly the power of a demigod, then slew a beast that has killed thousands in these hills. Which set expectations quite high," she finished with a chuckle.

That kappa had nearly killed him. Something he would hardly put in such a heroic way.

"The ogre had been more a test of…pride, than anything else. One I believe you have gone above and beyond for. I must admit, you have taken to your blessings quite deeply."

Was he really doing that well?

"But to use it so recklessly!"

Yeah, well, not as well as he would like…

"I-well, I didn't, you see the thing is -"

"Izuku," Hestia breathed out his, calming herself and him in the process, "while I am upset with the dangers you posed to yourself, they are not wholly your fault." She let go of his hands and dusted off her robes before standing, staring at him with a pained smile.

"It seems it is we who have failed you," She stepped into the dying flames of the fire beside them, the embers bursting back to life in her presence. "I shall find time to speak more on this topic, but now Apollo has recommended you rest. The others will be by at some point to teach you of their own blessings."

A flash of fire and she was gone.

Izuku stumbled from his tent with a yawn. Most of the aching in his rib cage had died down to a light numbness. Apollo had done a pretty fantastic job at healing him, but had left some of the work to his own body; and blessings. Something about 'getting a healthy dose of godly power' or what-not.

That said, apparently Apollo's powers worked better during the day—big shocker there—so while the bones had mended there was still a fair bit of bruising.

A quick look around told him that Artemis must have wandered off at some point; being that the alternative was that she had slept in, and that was probably impossible. Which meant he was alone. Welcoming trills from Arcee greeted him as he neared, forcing him to amend that thought somewhat.

Truth be told, he was a bit happy to have a moment to breathe. Artemis was a great teacher, but she had no tolerance for slacking. Which would be a great trait if she did not consider a moment to catch his breath as such. So if she wanted to scout for a bit or hunt or do whatever she did out in the forest, he was happy for the break.

Pulling a bottle of water from a cooler Artemis had summoned, he wandered over to his beloved motorcycle. Arcee had been quite diligent in her duty of guarding their supplies, even if she hadn't really had to do much at this point. Giving her a loving pat on her head, or roughly where it should be, he fumbled through the bag, deciding on a couple strips of jerky for a not-so-complete breakfast.

"Doing okay 'Cee?" He managed through a mouthful of dried meat.

Beeeeep Bep

"I figured," he nodded mostly to himself, "we'll drive for a whole day to make up for it."

BEEP? Trill! Beep…?

Izuku choked on some water, "Back roads? Jumps? I mean…" He scratched at his cheek nervously, "I don't know 'Cee. That's a bit dangerous?"

Beep…

"Fine," he bit into another piece of jerky with a roll of his eyes, "but I am not washing you after."

Trill!

Shaking his head, he offered the bike another pat, then trotted over toward the embers in their fire pit. They reminded him of the ogre, cracked with fire and ash, but glowing with life. What a strange world he had stumbled into. A few months ago he was so normal it was almost abnormal. Now he was conversing openly with gods and fighting monsters.

He should be terrified, running away at the first change he was presented.

One hand rose into the center of his gaze, eyes meandering across the callouses. The shaking was gone, all that nervousness washing away with each step forward into this land of myth and magic. Sure part of him was scared, the gods had put him under no illusion as to what he would come to face in the future. But he knew backing down came with its own consciences. Who knew how many people would die if he chose not to try.

Balling his fist, he turned over the hand, eyes falling to a small scar cracking the otherwise tan skin on the back of his hand. Set aside the fact it was another reason his mother was going to die of a heart-attack, it was also something he found some small pride in.

It was a mark of hard-won victory.

The old Izuku would have died in that cave, chewed apart by the ogre and left as another skull to be crushed underfoot. The new Izuku had stood toe-to-toe with a beast that would give most heroes pause, coming out battered and bruised, but as the last man standing. That alone was something to be proud of. Now he had a reminder of that.

"Wicked scar, punk." An all-too-familiar voice grunted from across the fire pit.

Well, now he wanted Artemis back. He would take knife fights in which he got his ass kicked or a few hours of archery practice any day compared to time with the god of roid-rage. Hell, maybe another ogre was wandering around and he could go fight that instead.

Or have Arcee beat him up. That sounded well deserved.

"Arcee."

The automaton began to shift into her combat form but stopped halfway through, seemingly stuck, her frame shivering as she tried to fight through the blockage.

"None of that, Izuku," the warm voice of Hestia scolded as she appeared from the embers between him and Ares. One hand extended toward his mechanical companion with a small frown on her face. "Believe it or not, my nephew has volunteered to help."

Hestia shot the aforementioned god a warning look. Which was promptly ignored by the war deity as he sheathed his sword with a disappointed frown, eyes still locked on the quarter-changed form of the motorcycle.

"Izuku," the teen locked eyes with the goddess, "your mother was graceful enough to extend your stay with us for another week."

He couldn't help the widening of his eyes. Inko Midoriya was willing to let her baby boy spend more time alone in the woods…with relative strangers? Gods above Hestia and her must get on well.

"During that time," the goddess continued, "You will be training with these two during the day, and Artemis later in the evening. As for my niece, she wished for me to inform you she will be hunting during your earlier sessions."

"Hunting?" he raised a brow. Wasn't the whole point in being out here for her to teach him how to hunt?

Hestia frowned, glancing toward the tree line, "She seems to have found some interesting quarry and wished for time to pursue it."

"Wait," Izuku raised a brow, garnering him the hearth-goddess' gaze once again, "you said two?"

Ares groaned.

As if taking that as its cue, an owl screeched out from among the pine-nettles before a majestic golden barn owl darted from the branches. It swooped down somewhere off to the side, forcing him to dart his eyes away as it disappeared in a shower of golden light.

"That would be me, young Midoriya." Soft tones carried over from just outside his vision.

A woman stepped into frame, a face he had seen in passing but had yet to become familiar with. Cool gray eyes swept over him, calculating as they took in every inch of his form, how he stood, the twitches of his face. Long black hair was clipped neatly behind her, falling neatly down her back.

Most of her serene form was decorated with a snug bronze armor under which ran the crimson sheets of a short robe. One arm hung limply at her side, a strange metal bracer set with a small round face fixed just below her wrist. In the other, a long spear shimmered in the morning sun, devoid of any decoration save a crimson strip of fabric wrapped below the tip that shifted calmly in the breeze.

She was beautiful. An equal only to the huntress he had found himself somewhat, ashamedly, infatuated with recently. Artemis was…serenity, the rush of the chase, the calmness of the night. In that same sense this woman was grace, a certain regal elegance, a bubbling gaze of curiosity.

"Lady Athena," he greeted with a bow of his head, one she returned with ease.

"There is no need for titles between family," though her words were warm, her features were not. There was the smallest crack of a smile, a brief flash of kindness in her eyes, but it was all dulled below her carefully maintained countenance. "Our Aunt thought I could offer insight. Given as I am to be among your tutors, it is only right I step in where needed."

At that Izuku turned once more to his pseudo-aunt who merely smiled, taking a soft step from the fire pit. With a flick of her hand it was filled with timber, and in a flash ignited into a cackling flame.

"I am quite afraid of the things you might find in these woods, Izuku." There was a seriousness to her tone that made his throat feel dry. Even as she began summoning ingredients and setting about making a small meal, even as the fire danced before her and the sun cast down upon them all, a shadow was drawn across her face.

Had Artemis…found something? Is that what she was out doing instead of training?

"In a manner of speaking," Athena answered his thoughts, clearly keeping to the godly trade of not respecting personal boundaries. "An intelligent beast, nothing more."

"Those kinds of things are rare, and dangerous too." Ares, in a rare moment of seriousness, nodded his agreeance. "That ogre you killed? A small fry compared to sentient monsters."

That thing was small?

"Eh," the god shrugged, "more like the difference between a tiger and a pissed off monkey armed with an assault rifle. Both are dangerous, but one can kinda think like we do, and you know, can use a gun."

Athena craned her head, blinking owlishly at her brother. Seemingly torn between the wisdom in that statement and the awful metaphor used to deliver it. Izuku took it to mean that Ares using his brain was as unfamiliar to his family as it was to him. Which to be fair was not all that unsurprising.

Then again, given his luck, neither was the sudden understanding that something at least nearly as smart as him was lumbering through these woods. That did not, however, settle the pit forming in his stomach when he thought of the tree-stand they had found the night before. A feeling that deepened when he remembered the look on Artemis' face when she had clambered down from its perch.

Then again, he highly doubted that any monster could have snuck that close to their camp with Artemis around. So it was more likely that Artemis had stumbled across other evidence of a something powerful and had decided to follow up.

"That is our hope as well." Athena's gaze swiveled back to him, still searching for something.

Ares grunted, stepping closer as he did so, "Bit -" the war god stumbled when both goddesses' piercing gazes snapped in his direction. "Brat…" he paused for a moment, "hasn't said much, but it was clear she wasn't happy."

"Sure, alright, okay. Anyway do I need my knife, can we just start now?"

Both war deities blinked at him, the goddess by their side shaking her head in bewilderment. After a quiet moment, in which he was not quite sure what exactly he was supposed to do to be honest, Athena broke from her stupor.

"You do not have…questions?" She asked with an almost disappointed pout.

Bad brain, down boy.

"Not really, there is a solid ninety-percent chance Artemis is gonna make me fight whatever dangerous mythological horror she finds. Questions is less time training, less time training means I'm less prepared, which means I die."

Hestia sputtered out something that sounded like a mix of a laugh and a sigh of pure exasperation. Ares looks like he had gotten lost somewhere between 'ninety' and 'percent'. But Athena, oh Athena had shifted from a dour pout to something he only imagined could be compared to hitting the lottery.

"Well then if It's like that we can break your time down as efficiently as possible, knowing her it will be closer to sundown before we see her. So that gives us quite a time to work with. If I led and then Ares followed after we could…"

Izuku watched with some twisted amount of humor as the goddess descended into a mumbling mess of ideas and plans to implement them. For some reason, he had a feeling he knew better than anyone how she was feeling right now. Though he highly doubted it was nearly as attractive when he did as such.

Which he could happily ponder for a moment, as he was more than positive the goddess' thoughts were too far from him to-

Athena straightened herself suddenly, using her free hand to align the robes beneath her armor somewhat. Clearing her throat, the goddess began to speak, but refused to meet his eyes, instead seeming to focus on his forehead.

"Hephaestus tells us you are an excellent study, as such I will begin by tutoring you further on the basics of the divine power you wield." Great time alone with another attractive goddess, as if his life wasn't already at risk.

"Then I get to beat the shi- err, spar with you a bit." Ares grinned, seemingly pleased with himself. Part of Izuku considered that he genuinely thought he was being sly somehow.

Then time with Ares after said goddess. The real issue right now was if his hormonal brain had more likelihood of getting him smote from existence than his body did of being beat to a bloody fucking pulp by a Greek war deity. The answer: probably.

"That's fine," he shrugged, "at least after I beat the shit out of you, you won't have to worry about getting any uglier."

The war-god's nostrils flared at the slight, "The fuck you say to me, you little shit?"

"Apollo was right, there really isn't anything between those eyes." Izuku chuckled aloud, but in reality was fighting both his stutter and nerves with all his might. If this was to be formal training, he knew very well Ares would not hold anything back, regardless of temperament.

On any ordinary day, that would mean he was not likely to land a single blow. But on a normal day, Ares would be calm, ready for what was coming, and more than a little excited to hit him a few times. Something that would be a lot harder for him to do, if he was totally pissed off.

When the god took an angry step forward, the haft of Athena's spear fell between them, dangling in the air with a weight that made it feel as much a wall as it was a spear. The two younger gods locked eyes for a moment. Athena's calm, dignified demeanor against Ares' twisted plum-faced snarl.

After a moment, he spat on the ground between them, then turned from the goddess toward the fire pit. Going about putting himself together a hot dog from Hestia's assortment of summoned foodstuffs. Glaring at the Greek champion through every step of the process.

"I do not know whether I should applaud you, or question your sanity," Athena almost cooed, glancing between him and her brother. A barely noticeable smile tugged at the corners of her lips, an amused shimmer in her eyes.

"It's gonna sound crazy, but he actually gets stupider when he's angry. Makes him easier to hit."

Athena gave a small, almost amused nod. She had gotten to know her brother's flaws well over the centuries.

"Plus, if I piss him off now he'll have some time to stew a bit. Hephaestus used to rile him up a lot before her sparring matches on the beach. So I know he's guaranteed to just charge me the moment the fight starts. He's acting rashly and I now know his first move. Pretty much the only tactical advantage that might land me a blow and save some of my pride."

"Ah, but my brother's anger will not be abated by a simple sparing session." Athena mused. She was right, of course. Ares was one to hold a hell of a grudge, but thankfully he was rather simple-minded when it came to that as well.

Izuku shrugged, "Eh, I just planned on letting him fight Arcee for a bit."

Trill, beep beep beep?

"No 'Cee," Izuku rolled his eyes, looking past the goddess to the bike.

"Forgive me, my ability to speak with automata is a bit more limited than Haephestus', or what his blessing confers upon you." Athena began, closing her eyes for a moment, as if it was taking all her willpower to school her features. "But I believe your creation just requested to…"

"Cut off Ares' man-bits?" the greenette deflated, "yeah, I think her and Artemis have been talking when I'm not looking."

Athena tried to resist, truly, but at that moment, for the first time in a very long time, she laughed. It was light, hardly a chuckle by mortal standards, but the sound had been enough to bring a smile to Hestia's dour face and draw a curious gaze from the still seething Ares. Just enough of a reaction from both for Izuku to realize this was an uncommon occurrence.

"Perhaps," Athena tried through the final throes of her amusement, "perhaps I can understand why my sister finds your company so enjoyable. Come, let us begin."

Izuku nodded, a smile split across his face. Although Ares was likely to be a major pain in the ass during these sessions, he was not so sure he could say the same for Athena. There was little doubt as to if a deity of warfare and wisdom was going to take it easy on him or not, but at least she seemed to be good company.

Now he could only hope she stayed out of his head enough that his hormonal brain would not actively give away the fact that he found her attractive. Or, at the very least, that her figure was just as wonderfully curvy as her sister's, even below all that armor.

A dusty gold bloomed across the goddess' face, and her eyes once more found their way to his forehead.

'Oh I am so fucked'