The Hero and the Genie

Chapter 7: Clash at Mermaid Falls

"Here we are," said Sky as she and the two heroes landed in an area with lots of water. "Mermaid Falls."

Deku looked around for a moment and admired the lovely sight. The waterfalls made some rainbows. The water looked crystal clear. He observed for any enemies in the area; but so far, there were none at all.

"Keep your guard up, Deku," said Shantae cautiously. "I bet you that some mermaids and crabs are hiding here."

"Crabs?" Asked Deku. "What's so scary about crabs?"

"You'll have to see for yourself," Sky answered for Shantae.

Deku shrugged slightly. Then, he put on a brave face. "Okay," he said. "Let's stop Hypno Baron! But first " he added as he turned to Shantae.

Shantae stared at her friend curiously before she felt something being put into her hands. She looked down and saw a pair of strange things.

"Ear plugs," Deku explained as he started to go into a muttering mode that Shantae found to be oddly adorable "After our... um... unpleasant fight, I made these for us. As long as they're in our ears, we will not be able to hear the mermaids singing. That way we won't become entranced by their voices. Then again, we have to deal with their queen. We don't wanna hurt her. So how do we free a hypnotized mermaid without hurting her? Maybe we can figure something out while we fight the other mermaids here and..."

Shantae placed a hand on Deku's shoulder. "Um... Deku?" She said. "You're muttering."

Deku realized what he was doing and blushed in embarrassment. "O-oh, sorry," he stuttered. "I-it's a habit of mine. W-whenever I start to get an idea, I start muttering to myself. Sorry about that."

Shantae giggled. "It's okay," she said sweetly. "It was very cute."

Deku blushed bright red at the half-genie hero's comment. Shantae immediately realized what she had said and began to blush as well.

Sky, who hadn't left yet, stared at Deku. She felt as if there was something familiar about this hero. But what was it? Where had she heard that stuttering before? She then noticed Shantae blushing and recalled how she had done so around Izuku Midoriya.

Wait a minute, she thought. Midoriya. Is Deku actually Midoriya as a hero?

She stared at Deku for a little longer, then decided she would ask about it later.

"All right, you two," said Sky. "Good luck out there! Give Hypno Baron a good beating for me!"

The two heroes shook themselves out of their blushing stupor and nodded with determined faces. Then they put on their ear plugs and set off to find the baron and the enslaved mermaids.

*****

"SCIMITARS," shouted Shantae as she summoned a bunch of swords around her. She charged at a bunch of mermaids and destroyed their weapons. She then proceeded to knock them out with hair whips.

"SMASH!!!" Shouted Deku as he unleashed a powerful punch that knocked back several mermaids.

Thanks to Deku's ear plugs, the two heroes were safe from the enchanting songs of the mermaids. Along the way, some of the mermaids began to come to their senses. Upon being freed from Hypno Baron's control, the mermaids agreed to help Deku and Shantae defeat Hypno Baron.

Soon, the mermaids led them to a big room. From the shadows, they noticed a bunch of mermaids were being held in cages. Some were aggressively attacking the cages in an attempt to get free. Others were already under Hypno Baron's control.