Total Command

Chapter 56: We answer the call when needed

He had seen it millions of times before, looped the videos that he found online, taken notes on frame-by-frame analyses posted, and even done some attempts of his own.

Each time it took his breath away.

But this time was different. This time he got to watch it live, right in front of his eyes.

And he had front-row seats.

It was like watching poetry in motion.

Miruko spun like a gymnast, her arms tucked in over her chest, preserving her momentum as her hair flowed freely, splaying at all sides with the centrifugal forces and turning her into a true white spiral. She spun faster and faster, until the air itself cracked, thundering as she broke the sound barrier yet again.

Her arms snapped outward, slowing her down for just a moment; enough for her to adjust course and rotate her body.

Then the real magic happened.

Her spinning motion turned from lateral to vertical in an instant. Her crimson eyes locked onto her target with a predatory look that didn't fit her prey animal motif. Her leg shot out, heel glinting even in the dim light of the night sky.

Then her powerful thighs flung it down with enough speed to produce contrails created by its arc towards her target.

The white crescent it left behind was what gave the move its name, after all.

The steel of Miruko's heel hit the exposed brain of the winged beast; the speed, the momentum, and all the force she had generated struck straight at the monster's command center.

There was a sickening, echoing crack .

The head was gone, its spine not having nearly enough strength to resist such an overpowering force.

The tanky body of the monstrosity tipped forward, the minimal inertia it's body had gained from its resistance spinning the whole body forward and taking Izuku along with it.

Its muscles went lax, the body already dying with the brain gone. And as the muscles went lax, both it and Izuku spinning. Its claws loosened from his ribcage, giving his muscles enough space to move again.

His arms shot out, fingers gripping and pulling the claws out from his shoulders, freeing himself from the talons. He continued the spinning motion the body had started, his feet landing on its torso.

Then the world thundered as he crashed back into the earth, his boots snapping through the ribcage of the monstrosity, swallowing enough of his downward momentum that he landed safely.

The moment his brain processed that he was safe, his eyes shot back up, looking for the dropping-

He sent the signal through his arms, gauntlets unlatching and loosening around his arms as he flung both limbs back, the metal armaments flying off his arms and into the road, giving him just enough time to catch Miruko.

His arm had managed to get under her knees and another right behind her back as he crouched, trying to absorb enough of her kinetic energy that she would be unhurt as well.

For a breathless moment, she was in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck right after his catch, trying to keep herself secure.

He didn't notice or care that he was holding her in a princess carry. She didn't mind it either.

"Good... catch," she breathed out, crimson eyes locking onto his emeralds.

"Good save," he commented back, his own breathing stabilizing. "...How were you planning to land?"