Pantheon

Chapter Two ~ A Cyborg and a Succubus

Izuku snapped awake, expecting to find himself on the floor of the kitchen, but instead, he was tucked neatly into his bed. Slowly he rose, looking around his room in utter bewilderment. Everything was just as he left it, nothing moved, nothing changed.

Shaking his head at the thought he slowly rose to his feet, finding himself once more met by the smell of food creeping through the seams of his door. Had that all just been a dream?

Maybe not all of it he decided upon taking his first step, the soreness in his calves flaring to life. Although he had never been overly athletic he had always maintained some level of physical fitness. Which was to say he wasn't necessarily the slowest kid in gym class. He wasn't the fastest either but that was beside the point.

With that said, his body ached.

Every muscle was screaming out in terror of a day that entailed doing anything other than laying in the bed, completely still, forever.

The point being if his muscles ached then at least the vast majority of the day was decidedly real. So while he had no idea as to if the crazy ancient guy with the pointy stick was, or if he was a stress-induced hallucination, he knew that the Ares guy was real at least.

Real? Yes. A steroid-crazed fitness freak with an absolute disregard for child safety laws? Also yes. But a Greek god on Japanese soil who had for some reason decided to help a random nerd get a good lift in on a random Saturday? That part was mostly up for debate.

"Honey?"

His eyes snapped toward the door, worried for a brief moment that the strange woman from last night was real and not a figment of his imagination. Even if imaginary katsudon was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life.

Instead, his mother stood there, forest Greek hair in her messy morning bun, pink slippers on her feet, and dull green eyes gazing at him with a decidedly usual amount of worry.

"Is everything alright Izu?"

He blinked, he wasn't quite sure, "Yes?"

"You were all tucked in when I got home. I don't think I've seen you sleep that deeply in years." She cocked her head to the side slightly, then moved over to him in a few short steps. Her hands cupped his face, moving it side to side gently as she inspected him. "Are you okay honey? You look exhausted."

She was one to talk. He had no doubt she had gotten home late if the bags under her eyes were anything to go by.

"I'm fine Mom," he lied, "just tired."

She watched him for a moment before sighing, "Okay honey, but you can talk to me if something is wrong, okay?"

Accepting his nod she patted his cheek before going back about whatever she had been doing before coming to check on him. Deciding to follow behind her in the hopes of breakfast he moved to join her only to stop, deciding to grab his phone first. Then he paused.

There, on his nightstand just beside his phone, sat a small roll of parchment. It was just a small scrap he might not have noticed had it not been for the bright emerald green strip of fabric that sealed it. Surely not...

Despite his better judgment he chose to take the paper, carefully unraveling the knot and unrolling it. A short, neat letter written in golden ink greeted him.

You seemed quite tired so I put you to bed.

A new face waits for you at the beach, he is quite excited to make a new friend. Take your time, he will be there when you are ready. Do be patient with him, he is a bit eccentric even among our family.