So this is the piece I did for the fanzine, BnHA Mirrors! If you are interested in it, check out their tumblr page.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or its characters.
Two men bolt through the large drawboard gate, heaving as they run as fast as their legs can carry them. They flee in terror from a pursuer that neither of them bother to check for. Rain has turned the misty hill into slippery and treacherous terrain. The younger and slower of the two inevitably loses his footing, landing hard on the ground and knocking the breath from his lungs. His companion neither slows nor looks back as he disappears into the mist ahead. Fear pushes aside any betrayal he might have felt as a black arrow sinks into the ground next to his elbow with a reverberating thock. Scrambling to his feet in an instant, the young trespasser also retreats over the grassy hillside, away from the looming silhouette of the keep.
A lone figure stands within the mouth of the gate, bow still vibrating in his hand as he watches the men flee. Lowering the bow, Tenya reaches a hand up and flips his helmet visor up. Only when he can no longer hear their footsteps and frantic shouting does he turn away and return to the halls of Ironlace Keep. With the bow strung across one shoulder, Tenya ventures over to a corner of the large, open courtyard and kneels to examine the two intruder's abandoned packs, left behind in their hurry. One is embroidered with a crest depicting a human skull impaled by a golden knife, a large ruby inlaid in the handle.
"Treasure hunters," Tenya muses. "Of course."
Not the brightest bunch, but they had guts ... for the most part. It had just been Tenya's luck that the older intruder was also incredibly superstitious. Tenya would have laughed, had the notion not also been slightly pathetic.
A quick loot through the bags reveals some interesting items, but nothing of serious value: a bottle of semi-precious pebbles, a journal, tarnished silverware, and a small dragon statue that was carved by … dwarves, if Tenya had to guess. Either that, or the Pulvakar nomads, who were known to ride the beasts. Barbarians, his brother had called them. Tenya shrugs and pockets the trinket. The packs are made with good, tough leather. Tenya can use that, too.
Lugging the packs over his shoulders, Tenya pauses for a moment, scanning the empty courtyard, silent save for the soft sounds of the wind in the tower rafters and water dripping from the eaves. A faraway sound haunts his ears, a faint but persistent humming that never entirely goes away. Shaking his head, Tenya goes inside.
The armory is cold. He can see his breath cloud before him as he enters the stone room. An empty brazier sits on the wall. Tenya could light it for warmth and light, but the shadows serve their purpose by maintaining the illusion that the room is not as empty as it really is. Small glints of light reflect off three suits of armor lined up against the wall. Excluding the armor he's wearing, this is all that remains. A few other scraps of metal are gracelessly piled in the corner. None of them go together. Nothing really seems to go together anymore. He drops the packs beside the scrap metal and closes the door, casting the room into darkness once more. He sighs as he restraps his bow and carries on. How sad it is, to have an armory with no armor in it.
Tenya returns to his abruptly interrupted routine, picking up his broom and sweeping the sound of twigs scraping against the stone is strikingly loud in the gloomy atmosphere. Tenya likes it that way—the noises of the broom drown out the humming. He changes the hay in the stables next, even though there are no horses. His sword doesn't really need sharpening, but the vibrations of the whetstone over the steel soothes him. The garden has only sprouted weeds and crabgrass for a long time, but the smell and feel of the freshly tilled dirt is invigorating.
But when it's time to check the barracks in the towers, Tenya's steps slow and a pressure builds somewhere behind his heart. He stands in the middle of the courtyard, neck craned up to stare at the ramparts. He used to look upon the four towers as guardians, watchful sentries that protected the paladins. Now, they seemed more malignant, wardens to a prison where Tenya is the sole inmate. He shakes his head quickly, trying to rid the dark thoughts from his mind. They are just towers, he's been in all of them countless times. Turning on his heel, Tenya makes his way towards the northwest tower.
The barracks remain untouched. The beds are unkempt from being hastily tossed aside by their former occupants. For all the discipline that is drilled into a paladin, it's amazing how easily it is forgotten during a surprise attack. Personal belongings are scattered about: books laid on their pages, stationeries filled with now-dry ink, whittle workings dropped into their shavings—small projects the esquires whiled the time away with, projects that would never be finished. To Tenya, it feels like he's invading a tomb, and it's almost too much to bear.
The next two towers take their toll, too. Seeing the scraps of his friends' lives lie scattered and forgotten is a punch in the gut. He doesn't touch their things out of respect. Their memories are still fresh in his mind, as if he had only spoken to them yesterday. Truthfully, he hasn't kept track of the days. He doesn't want to.
Tenya's feet carry him unwillingly to the last tower on the southwest corner. He stands in the darkness of the hall, seeing the small glints of light from the door's metal works. The iron castings around the frame and lattice works are beautiful, but Tenya can't bear the sight of it; he can't stand to think what might be on the other side.
"Tomorrow," he tells himself, and turns away. Tomorrow he will definitely check the southwest tower. But not today.
When night comes, he retreats to the closet in the hallway beneath the eastern rampart. It's small, cramped, and possibly the coldest room in the entire keep, but it's the only place Tenya feels safe enough to rest. The beds in the barracks look comfortable and warm, but they aren't his. His honor as a Paladin will not allow him to use what doesn't belong to him without permission. So he resigns himself to that tiny room, barricading the door with a mop. There's some matting on the floor and a flour sack stuffed with straw. The sleeping arrangements are beyond uncomfortable, and some days he swears he hears his own bones creaking within him. He's okay with that, though. He will bear creaking bones and metal sores on his skin if it means he might have a full night's sleep.
That usually isn't the case, but Tenya still hopes.
After he triple-checks the security of the door, he procures the little dragon statue from his tunic and places it with the other wares he's collected from "visitors". Among the collection is a timekeeping piece that no longer works, a little doll in a white dress, a locket necklace—sealed shut— and a bundle of twigs, twisted to vaguely resemble a knight. Turning the dragon figure to face him, Tenya sits back and takes in the strange gathering. With a disheartened sigh, Tenya reaches up and touches the dragon on the head.
"I welcome you, forgotten one," he says softly. "You'll fit right in."
His helmet and sword sit next to his head, easily within reach. As Tenya lays back, the flour sack is barely full enough to support his head. The curvature of his armor won't allow him to lie flat. He doesn't blow the candle next to him out yet, and the small flame reflects off the eyes of the small family of owls roosting in the rafters. Sometimes, the scratching of their talons wakes him up, but chances are it's probably because he startled them with his yells. Sleep has become a rare luxury for Tenya; closing his eyes at the end of the day has become a gamble. The humming follows him into his dreams.
He dreams of fighting and fire. Swords clang sharply, and his brethren's shouting fill the air of Ironlace keep. But Tenya isn't fighting. He's searching. Shadows of the enemy are converging on him, but he doesn't notice. Tenya feels like he's running through molasses, limbs heavy and slow. One by one, the figures of the paladins disappear. He's surrounded, and lashing out will do nothing because he knows the battle is already lost.
But before the shadows reach him, somebody calls his name through the smoke. A hand shoves Tenya hard in the chest, and he falls backwards onto the floor. An enormous bang echoes in front of him and he is cast into darkness, the outline of the closet door illuminated by fiery-orange light.
Tenya wakes up to the first light of dawn. His hands are shaking, and his throat is raw.
The southern rampart provides the broadest lookout point. One of the best parts of having a keep situated on the edge of a steep cliff is that there is only one way anybody can reach it. Of course, that also means there is only one way out. Tenya sharpens sticks into arrows and fletches feathers onto the shafts. He can see the whole courtyard from up here, and walk over to the western rampart to look over the valley, but mist that drifts down from the mountains hides everything. Only on particularly warm days does the air clear and let the warm sun renew the land. However, it's the beginning of spring, so there would be no rejuvenation in the near future.
A small sound cuts through the mist—the humming—and Tenya's thoughts. He pauses and perks his ears, alert for anything; but there is only silence. Reluctantly, he returns back to the knife and wood in his hands. But not four seconds later, that same noise echoes. Setting his arrows aside, Tenya places his hand on the pommel of his sword. There's another, longer pause where all Tenya hears is the wind from the valley and the soft whine of blood rushing through his veins. Beyond the mice and the owls, there has never been a lot of wildlife around these parts. Songbirds are few, but not uncommon.
This is definitely not a songbird.
Tenya snaps his head toward the noise and leans over the rampart to peer through the mist. Time passes and nothing emerges, but the sound is constant now, and unmistakably human in nature. It's the sound of somebody's backpack shifting, and there is more than one.
As the figures finally dissolve out of the fog, Tenya spots the shape of a mage's staff over someone's back and a nerve twists in his gut. He can't see any recognizable weapon on the other two. He's not afraid that they might spot him—he knows that Ironlace Keep is only but a silhouette at that distance. Nevertheless, he stands tall and collects his arrows. He has to move quickly if he wants to prepare for his unwelcome guests.
Two boys and one girl. The girl is the one with magic, clearly a citizen of the enchanted people of Be'leauvoir. But she comes off as harmless. The boys, however, might pose a problem. One is a wild-haired lad carrying a claymore across his back. The sword is huge and looks ridiculous against the boy's lithe frame. Tenya doesn't really believe that he can wield it, but he knows not to underestimate people. The other boy must be a foreigner. Tenya cannot tell where he might be from, since he bears distinctive traits from two nationalities. He's split right down the middle, one half has the iconic pale-hair of the Eunolan people in the west, and the other half displays the icy-blue eye color and red-hair of the Nashat in the north. He carries a sword and shield, like Tenya. His face is marred by a burn.
The small group enters Ironlace keep without much ceremony. Tenya watches them from the shadows, already plotting to spring his first trap. They talk softly to each other as they slowly advance within the keep.
"This definitely seems like the place." The foreigner looks up to the towers, eyes squinting against the backlit sky.
"I'm still not sure about this, Todoroki." The swordsman looks anxious. "Was it wise to take the word of those two men? They didn't seem like the honest type."
The witch manages an uncertain smile. "Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts, Midoriya."
The swordsman scowls deeper, saying nothing as he casts a weary glance to the scorched stone walls.
They must be talking about the treasure hunters. It had only been a few days since they ran screaming from the keep. But this isn't the first time that he's heard visitors refer to him as a ghost. He's developed a reputation through his endeavors to keep people away. But if these people were here, then that could only mean …
"Heroes," Tenya groans. Perfect.
That was the term Tenya used for people who came to the keep for no reason other than to see what was going on. He's dealt with people like this before—people who handle risk and uncertainty for a living. But these adventurers are about the same age as him. They lacked the time-worn personage that most marauders gained in their travels. They didn't carry themselves like heroes—yet.
Tenya huffs and sits back. Sooner or later, they would realize there was nothing strange about the keep—apart from it being abandoned—and that whatever they had heard was superstitious nonsense. But he needed to keep an eye on them. If they started snooping too much, Tenya might have to do something drastic.
"Could we get some light please, Uraraka?" Midoriya asks.
With a flick of her wrist, the mage sparks a ball of purple flame into life. It hovers just above her palm, illuminating the courtyard. Tenya has heard of witchfire before, but has never seen it in person. The girl, Uraraka, immediately becomes his main concern. Kneeling to the ground, the foreigner examines some gouges in the earth, giving Tenya a clear view of the crest on his shield. It's a crest that he is not familiar with; but, unless his eyes are deceiving him, part of the crest is emblazoned with a flaming crown encircling a heart. A crown of any sort on a crest can only mean one thing—royalty. Tenya's never seen a prince before; he looks … normal.
"There was a battle here," Todoroki declares. "But it's strange that there aren't any corpses."
"Maybe they've all rotted away," Midoriya offers. "This place does seem rather ancient."
He's wrong. Not about Ironlace Keep being ancient, but about the corpses. There were no corpses; it had been a bloodless battle. An echo of clanging swords behind Tenya makes him snap his head around to look. There's nothing there.
"I don't think that's it."
The two boys look to the witch, whose eyes are locked on the burned banner still hanging from the ramparts. The sigil on the banner is marred beyond recognition, the blackened cloth fluttering in the slight breeze that runs through the castle. Her eyes are cast far away, head cocked as though she was listening to something she couldn't quite hear.
"What is it?" Midoriya turns to her, eyebrows knotted with concern.
"I … I'm not sure yet." She tears her eyes away from the banner. "I can sense trace amounts of magic here, but it's very faint. I think … it might be blood magic."
Midoriya and Todoroki share an uneasy look, like they've never seen her act this way. Tenya's skin crawls, too. He doesn't know anything about magic, but he doesn't need to in order to know that "blood magic" is bad. But … paladins don't practice magic. So if it wasn't the paladins, then who …?
"But do you sense any spirits?" Todoroki asks. The witchfire flickers in Uraraka's hand.
"No." The party stands silently in a triangle for a minute. Tenya's hoping that they will silently decide to leave. Uraraka's eyes suddenly stick on something, and she moves into the halls of Ironlace Keep. The swordsman and the prince, with some reluctance, follow after her.
Tenya curses softly as he pushes away from the walls and takes the shortcut behind the stables to the upstairs corridor that runs along side that hall. The humming becomes a buzz.
Tenya dashes from one grate to the next as the adventuring party wanders through the halls. The acoustics are just right, so he doesn't need to be standing right next to them to hear what they're saying, though the iron bars between them make it difficult to see. The purple glow of the witchfire pulses as Uraraka leads the way. The two men behind her are drawn into her stupor, almost bumping into her when she suddenly stops.
The young witch looks around to the dark stone walls and lifeless braziers. "Something terrible did happen here," she mutters. "Todoroki was right about that."
"Can you sense something, Uraraka?" Midoriya's hand hasn't left his claymore.
Shaking her head, the party slows as they approach a door. The prince is the one to test the knob. Locked. They move on without much fanfare, but Tenya lingers. That door used to lead to the kitchen. The cook, Sir Trevor, had always been protective of his stocks. Tenya and the other esquires used to get into all kinds of shenanigans stealing chocolate or sugar. They were always caught, but the cook's rough personage was betrayed by a kind heart. Trevor was—no, is a kind man that looks after the younger recruits like sons. Without him, Tenya never would have learned true compassion.
The buzz gets louder.
To catch up to the party, Tenya moves back out to the courtyard via the stairs by the tower. From here, he can stick to the shadows of the eaves and remain out of sight. He's barely missed anything. Tenya's always been fast; his brother and the other paladins have said so. Tenya had perfected the ability to move quietly despite wearing heavy armor over the years. He never thought that he would use it for spying and espionage.
"Doesn't this place seem a little too … I don't know, clean?" Midoriya mumbles to the party. Todoroki and Uraraka look to him, eyebrows cocked. "I mean, there's no rubbish, there's no rats—there's not even cobwebs. If I didn't know any better, I would say that there were people living here."
The prince and the witch, looking around themselves, realize that he has a point. Tenya grimaces, annoyed that his tidiness was working against him. What was he supposed to do, live in squalor? He might be a disgraced esquire, but that doesn't rob him of his dignity. Besides, if the others … no, when the other paladins return, they can come home to a beautiful keep. He will not apologize for his habits, and his guests have long outstayed their welcome.
Tenya reaches over and opens the door next to him. There's a hollow sound like somebody taking a deep breath, and a thunderous bang explodes from down the hall. The party all but jumps out of their skin. Weapons are in their hands in the blink of an eye. The jewel embedded within Uraraka's staff shimmers like water. The claymore that Midoriya wields with surprising ease gives off a faint, celestial glow. The party rushes off toward the direction of the sound, but Tenya does not rush after them. Reaching two fingers underneath his helmet, he massages his temple, trying to stave off the building headache. The sound of clanging swords he had heard earlier was back, along with the crackle of burning wood.
Something was wrong. Something was about to happen.
Always trust your instincts, his brother had taught him. You know more than you think you do. Right now, Tenya's instincts were telling him to go back to his closet, lock the door, and wait for the intruders to leave. His pride, on the other hand, would never allow him to do that. So he sighs, closes the door to the armory that they left open, and follows after them.
He finds the adventuring party investigating the door that had been flung open by the back draft Tenya created. There was nothing supernatural about the keep at all. Knowing the ins-and-outs of the keep, it didn't take long for Tenya to figure out how to use the quirks of Ironlace to his advantage: open a particular air shaft just the right amount, and the entire castle would echo with ghostly moans. Things like that. All he had to do was set the atmosphere, and let fear and paranoia handle the rest.
"I think it was just this door." Todoroki quirks an eyebrow as he closes the door. "Nothing else."
"Doors violently throw themselves open all the time, right?" Midoriya grits, his claymore still unsheathed.
"I still can't sense any spirits," Uraraka cups her chin in thought. "If there is something going on here, then it has nothing to do with ghosts."
Todoroki sheaths his saber. "We can't know anything for sure. Let's keep going."
Tenya struggles to keep himself from groaning and slamming his head against the wall as the group continues down the corridor. Tenya watches the purple witchfire dim around the next corner. Maybe these heroes were too brave for their own good, but that didn't change the fact that they were inexperienced. Maybe he could use that to his advantage; it was time to take the offensive.
The spiral staircase is narrow, and unfortunately for the adventurers, not large enough for them to wield their weapons effectively. Tenya beats them to the top of the tower by taking the catwalk over from the northwest tower. Climbing on top of one of the bunks, Tenya hoists himself up into the rafters and patiently waits.
The door opens and purple light floods into the room. Tenya can't help himself from hunching against the wall, even though he knows he is well hidden in the shadows. His hand twitches on the rope tied off on the wall next to him.
"This is the last room," Midoriya says as he follows the other two into the room. "Nothing so far."
The party splits up and starts searching. They find more of the remnants of his lost comrades. Uraraka picks up an old book—Sir Hozu's journal—and scans the pages.
"Hey guys, I think—"
The rope snaps against Tenya's fingers. The cacophony of cracking metal and knocking joints create a wonderful prelude to the dummy in armor that drops right into the middle of the party. The jerk of the rope causes black fluid to fly from the limbs of the body and splatter across the whole room and its occupants. The witchfire goes out, and Tenya perks his ears for the sound of screams and fleeing footsteps.
But instead, the room below him is illuminated by a burning light eminating from Uraraka's staff. The dummy goes stiff, as if gripped by a large, invisible hand. The prince and the swordsman move in sync, one going high while the other goes low. The claymore cuts cleanly through the midsection of the dummy at the same time the saber disconnects the head from the chest. Flashes of fire and fighting jab painfully behind Tenya's eyes, and he nearly falls from the rafters. Darkness returns as the staff dims. It only takes a couple of seconds for the mage to summon her flame once more, and the three adventurers converge on the mutilated practice dummy.
Tenya's mouth falls open in shock. The buzz in his head becomes deafening.
"Is this … some kind of joke?" Todoroki sounds like he's on the verge of rage as his sword pokes the torso of the dummy. "Because it's not funny."
"What the hell is going on here!" Tenya can hear Midoriya gritting his teeth in frustration. "Please tell me that this isn't the Ghost of Ironlace Keep?"
"Is this mud?" Uraraka mumbles as she wipes a smudge of black from her cheek.
"Where the hell did this thing—"
Another clang from a different door somewhere else in the keep bursting open cuts off the prince before he can finish the thought. The swordsman and the witch both swear as they jump, and all three of them race out of the room to chase after the noise.
Only when the purple light is completely gone does Tenya drop down from the rafters and slowly approach the fallen mannequin. Nobody had ever fought back before. These people … they really were too brave for their own good. Tenya doesn't realize that he's clenching his fists, or that they are shaking. He can't think straight with the buzzing in his mind and the fire behind his eyes. All he wanted was to be left alone in peace, to look after Ironlace Keep till the day the paladins returned. Yes, they were going to return some day, because if they didn't then that would mean—
That would mean that the other paladins—
That would mean that his brother—
A snarl escapes him as he kicks the dummy's detached head. Why couldn't people just leave them alone? What gave everyone the gall to just waltz into their castle and do whatever they wanted? Take whatever they liked? To attack them for no reason?
Enough is enough. It was time for Tenya to take matters into his own hands.
He's done sneaking around. Searching through the castle, Tenya's sword and shield are already held before him. He lost track of the intruders when they left the tower, but it doesn't take long for him to find them again—standing before the doors to the southwest tower. His heart seizes with terror.
"I think it's coming from here," the mage says. She's anxious as she reaches for the door, like she doesn't want to know what's on the other side, either. "The magic, it's getting stronger …"
The snap of Tenya's visor shutting down over his face causes the intruders to spin towards him. Tenya steps out of the shadows, already low in a fighting stance. The two men draw their weapons once more, but the witch only stares at him in puzzlement. She doesn't reach for her staff. Tenya doesn't plan to attack her either—for now.
"So this is the ghost," Todoroki mumbles. Midoriya looks equal parts scared and angry. It doesn't escape Tenya's attention that the prince is eyeing the crest on his shield, and it sparks familiarity within him. Good, he thinks. The crest of the Ironlace Paladins will be the last thing these adventurers see. Tenya says nothing as he advances on the group. His heart is pounding loudly in his ears, rivaling the buzzing. He needs to do something to quiet all the noise. Something to make them go away. A roar tears from Tenya's lips as he raises his sword and charges. Uraraka's eyes go wide.
"Wait!" She cries out and grabs Todoroki. But she only has one hand, and Midoriya ignores her plea. He rushes forward to meet Tenya, blessed sword glowing in his hands. The sharp sound that cuts through the air is the first time Tenya's heard swords clash since the night the keep was attacked.
The claymore lands heavily against Tenya's broadsword. The weapon is almost knocked from his hand by the force of the impact. But he's trained to fight many types of foes, and knows to use his shield to support himself. Growling in frustration, Tenya shoves the sword back at its wielder, arching his own blade in a deadly strike. But Midoriya is quick and knows how to wield his claymore. Using the momentum of the heavy blade, Midoriya twists the sword to arc over and quickly block Tenya's hit. The blades collide so hard, sparks fly. Tenya knows that he can't fight this man for long—his hand is already starting to hurt from gripping his sword so tight—but if there's one thing he remembers from his brother's lessons about combating warriors with two-handed weapons, it's that they can be easily knocked off balance.
Midoriya hefts the claymore over his head with a massive shout. The blessing on the sword begins to glow brighter with golden energy. Tenya knows a finishing blow when he sees one, but the swordsman left himself wide open. Grunting between his teeth, Tenya lifts his shield in front of him and charges. The paladin's shield hits Midoriya square in the chest, knocking him completely off his feet and sending the claymore skittering across the stone tiles. Midoriya looks up in time to see the shield drop, a broadsword taking its place in a deadly lunge towards his chest.
But Tenya's jab is knocked aside by a saber. Todoroki, having shaken himself from Uraraka's grip, flicks the thin, curved blade up to engage Tenya. He narrows his mismatched eyes at the esquire seconds before he quickly jabs the sword at the narrow gap of Tenya's visor. Tenya barely evades in time. With that one move, he can already tell that besting the prince is going to be a much bigger challenge than his companion presented.
The prince fights with the speed of a striking snake, and it's all Tenya can do to move his sword and shield in time to keep the saber from slipping between his armor. As irritating as it is, Tenya is impressed. The prince hasn't even taken up his own shield. Todoroki is clearly highly educated—trained by masters to use his weapon from a young age. But so was he. It doesn't take long for Tenya to see the rhythm of Todoroki's technique. Locking blades with the prince, Tenya grinds his sword down the length of the saber towards the prince's hand. Todoroki breaks the lock before Tenya's sword makes contact. His helmet hides the manic smile on Tenya's face as he plunges his blade towards Todoroki's stomach.
But Tenya has broken his cardinal rule—to never underestimate anyone.
He can almost see it happen in slow motion. Todoroki lets go of his saber, and for a split second the blade hangs in the air as the prince changes his grip from underhand to overhand. His fingers close around the hilt of the saber once more as Tenya realizes that he's about to lose this fight. The saber is sweeping through the air towards his helmet, the thin blade catching the glint from the witchfire as it thrusts towards his throat.
But the blade changes direction, and Todoroki brings the force of the pommel down onto Tenya's unprotected sword arm hard. Tenya's hand goes limp with pain and the broadsword slips from his fingers. Too stunned to anticipate what comes next, Tenya stands frozen as Todoroki spins on one heel, bringing the other foot up through the air. The heel of the prince's boot connects solidly with the side of Tenya's helmet. Knees giving out beneath him, Tenya crumples to the floor, falling back on his elbows as the world spins around him. When he looks up, there's a saber pointed at the gap in his visor. He freezes, and waits.
He's strangely calm—almost serene. Tenya closes his eyes as the saber comes closer. Maybe now, he and his brethren might finally be reunited.
"Wait! Don't kill him!"
Tenya snaps his eyes open to see Uraraka beside Todoroki, a pleading look in her eyes and a grip on his sword arm. Midoriya, still winded from Tenya's hit, is bent over carefully drawing air into his shocked lungs. Todoroki doesn't take his eyes off of Tenya, nor does he lower his sword.
"I wasn't going to," the prince mumbles. "But why shouldn't I?"
Uraraka looks to Tenya. She can see straight through him, he realizes. Moving away from Todoroki without answering, Uraraka kneels down next to Tenya. His instincts are screaming at him to run, to fight, to do something—but he doesn't. Uraraka lifts up her free hand toward his face, and a spike of fear causes Tenya to audibly suck in a breath. She pauses at the sound, and her eyes turn soft. The purple witchfire casts her appearance in a lavender shade that Tenya is strangely enchanted by.
"It's okay," she says lowly, moving her hand once again. "I won't hurt you."
She curls her fingers under the edge of Tenya's helmet, cool pads brushing against his heated skin. Gently, Uraraka lifts the helmet from Tenya's head, revealing his sweaty face and disheveled dark hair for all to see.
"That's … not a ghost," Midoriya grumbles.
The adventurers surround him, not sure what to think. Tenya's mind is racing, but his thoughts are a jumbled, incoherent mess. A red ring appears at the edge of his vision. It's becoming hard to breathe, too. The faces of the adventurers transition from confusion to mild shock. The buzzing in his head has not gone away, and now his ears are also filled with the rapid beating of his heart and the clanging of swords and the crackle of fire and the screams—
A small hand lays on his bicep, and a warmth that Tenya's hasn't felt in a long time floods through his body. The tightness in his chest eases, and he can breathe again. His heart stops pounding, and although the buzzing doesn't completely go away, it is reduced to a low hum that he can easily ignore. He feels weightless and free, his burdens cut loose. Closing his eyes, Tenya gasps as the warmth fills him to the brim, and then slowly recedes.
Opening his eyes, Tenya meets the waiting stares of the heroes. The red ring is gone—in fact, everything he sees is unbelievably clear. Slowly turning his head, he looks to Uraraka. The palm of her hand is still faintly glowing pink with her enchantment. Tenya gapes at her, and for a while, the two simply stare at each other. Todoroki has lowered his sword at last, but still keeps it in a firm grip.
"What—" It's been a long time since he's spoken with something that wasn't an object or an owl. "What did you do?"
Uraraka smiles at him. "That was my Heart Light spell. You like it?"
"I … yes, I like it very much … thank you."
"Who are you?"
Tenya looks back up at Todoroki. Midoriya is standing behind him, claymore in his hands once again.
"And what was that magic you were using?"
Now it's Tenya's turn to be confused. "Magic? I don't—"
"It wasn't him." Uraraka stands and faces her companions. "Not really. I can't say for sure, but I think … I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"Iida," he says without thinking. "Tenya Iida."
She smiles at him again. "It's nice to meet you, Iida. I'm Ochako Uraraka."
"I know," he blurts out once more. It seems that Uraraka's spell loosened his lips as well as his chest. Uraraka continues with her earlier explanation without pause.
"Do you remember the blood magic that I sensed earlier?" She points a finger back at Tenya. "I'm pretty sure it's coming from him!"
There's a long bout of silence as everyone takes in her words. None of them are more shocked than Tenya—because there's no possible way that he could ever possess magic. As his brother had so eloquently put it, Tenya had about as much magic as a doorknob. Magical powers were not suddenly gained, not without intensive training—training Tenya had never even touched.
"I-I have …?" Tenya laid a hand on his breastplate, almost expecting to feel the magic on him.
Uraraka, seeing his fear, turns to him once more. "Sometimes, when magic is used against its nature, it leaves traces of malevolent energy. These traces can be known to cling to objects and people. So the magic isn't in you, it's more like it's … on you."
"Can you remove these traces?" Midoriya asks. The witch frowns and shakes her head.
"This isn't my specialty, and this blood magic is strong." She looks Tenya in the eye. She seems almost sad, but reaches out her hand to help him up. "All I can do is lessen the effect it has on you for a little while."
"What happened here?" Todoroki cuts in. "The sigil on your shield … I've seen it before."
Tenya contemplates not telling them anything—making up some extravagant lie that will get them to leave the keep. But he's never been good at lying, and he has a strange sensation that this group of heroes are meant to be here.
"It is the crest of the Ironlace Paladins." Tenya looks down at the shield from where it had slipped off his arm. "For generations, we have protected this land from evil and despair. We were a beacon of hope for many, and a force not to be reckoned with."
"Wait, I've heard of you guys!" It's Midoriya that cuts in, the suspicion in his features turning to wonder. "The Ironlace Paladins are supposed to be the greatest paladin order in all of Ascya."
Tenya, to say the least, is surprised. "We were, once. But not anymore."
"But why?" Uraraka asks.
"Years ago, we were betrayed." The memories rise to the front of his mind like oil on water. "A recruit left the order on bad terms. I was just a squire at the time, so I didn't know the man or why he was forced to leave. My brother, the captain of Ironlace, never told me. But whatever the reason, that recruit never forgot what happened—and never forgave."
"This is starting to sound familiar," Midoriya mumbles. "Wasn't there a skirmish with some heretics? I live on the other side of this country. When word reached my village, some details had been lost."
"They were more like radical." Tenya scowls. "And it wasn't a skirmish—it was a siege. That recruit had somehow managed to cultivate a following, poisoning the minds of a few with falsehoods that paladins were corrupted. When their numbers had grown large enough, they—"
Fire flashes behind Tenya's eyes. He's young again, too small for his armor as well as the sword he wields as he runs through the throng of dueling people. He wants to help, wants to fight. But he's scared and he doesn't want to die and if he doesn't find his brother soon—
Tenya sees him. Tensei is locked in a sword fight with another man whose shield is stained black. Wide eyes that seem to glow sweep across the battlefield and land on Tenya. He's frozen to the spot as the man shoves Tensei away from him and stalks towards the young squire, sword raised to strike. But the blow never comes. The man falls to his knees, revealing Tensei with his pommel still raised. The man is dazed, but not for long. Tensei grabs ahold of Tenya's arm and bolts away from the enemy, the two of them stumbling through the living forest of swords to try to find safety. Paladins on all sides are being bound by the invaders, glowing cuffs around their wrists hissing with energy. The paladins are losing this fight, but still, the brothers run.
Tensei throws open a door and tosses his younger brother into the small space of the closet. Tenya spins around in time to see his brother smile one final time and say one last word. The door closes, engulfing Tenya in darkness. The burning orange light of fire outlines the door like a gateway to hell, and Tenya can tell by the way the door refuses to open again that it's been locked or barricaded. All he has are sounds—sounds that grow fainter as the night goes on, and finally dissolve away by the next morning.
"The first scavengers came two days after the battle." Tenya draws his story to a close. "They were the ones to open the door and let me out. They were … startled, I guess. I've been here ever since."
The heroes are silent as they stare at him and absorb his tale. Uraraka's purple witchfire waivers as if caught in wind. But the air is still.
"I'm so sorry," she speaks first. "About your friends."
Her words, although comforting, make him angry. "No, they weren't killed. They were taken."
"Taken for what?" Midoriya asks.
"I've been asking myself that for years."
"Why have you stayed?" Todoroki is looking at Tenya like he's just tasted something sour. "Why not leave? Go look for them?"
Tenya doesn't answer right away. He's thought about it; leaving the keep and seeking out his brethren, or perhaps abandoning the order and starting a new life somewhere far away. But then what? The most likely scenarios would be that he would fail in any attempt to rescue them, or live out the rest of his life in shame and dishonor. And even if Tenya did somehow manage to save his kin, how could he stand before them when he had hidden from the battle like a coward?
To Tenya, it was a fate worse than death.
"Somebody had to protect the keep," Tenya offers as an answer. "Keep everything tidy for when they come back."
It's obvious that none of the heroes believe him, and Todoroki isn't having it.
"If you're not going to give us answers," the prince says as he draws his saber once more and spins towards the door leading to the southwest tower. "Then we'll find them ourselves."
Raising the sword over his head, Tenya's muscles seize in terror. "No, don't!"
The saber comes down on the handle of the door with a sharp clang. The door jumps open, and Todoroki impatiently pushes his way into the tower, out of reach of Uraraka's light.
"What is it, Iida?" She turns to him.
Tenya gapes at the open door. He had been avoiding searching that tower for so long, and now …
"That tower," he starts, mouth dry. "Those are my brother's chambers."
Midoriya and Uraraka share a look. Todoroki calls out to them from within the tower, beckoning them to come in. The two adventurers hesitate only for a moment before following him into the tower. Tenya, though terrified of what he will find, follows after them.
His brother's room is in disarray. Papers are scattered over the floor and his desk is overturned. Gouges in the floorboards and walls stand out like scars. The bed has been cut open, hay and feathers exposed. There's a dark smear across the blanket. But there's no body, no rotting corpse or any sign that anybody might have been killed in this room. For that, Tenya is extremely relieved. Todoroki is kneeling, inspecting the floor by the dim light of Uraraka's flame. When he stands, he's holding something in his hand—a scrap of cloth.
"Here," the prince says as he holds it out to Tenya. "Does this look familiar?"
Tenya takes the scrap and spreads out the edges. There isn't much, but he can still make out the printed image of a sword with a jagged edge. He hands the scrap back to Todoroki, shaking his head.
"It's the crest of the Order of Stain." Todoroki watches Tenya carefully. "They came out of nowhere a few years ago, and have been slowly gaining power. They have no affiliation with any country or nation. If these are the people that attacked you, then they have bigger plans in the making. If they captured the paladins, it's very possible they could be alive, but in danger."
"It's not just them, either," Midoriya cuts in, cupping his chin in his hand as he thinks out loud. "They've been causing trouble all over the place—and it's getting worse."
"All the more reason to go have a look. See what's going on." The prince crumples the cloth in his hand and drops it to the floor.
Tenya knows where this conversation is going before it gets there. Uraraka grips his arm once again, her eyes alight with excitement and anticipation. "You should come with us!" She says, her witchfire flaring brighter. "We could help you find your brother and the other paladins!"
It's a strange feeling, that after all these years the danger of that night is still present in the world. Even stranger still that these adventurers did not dismiss his hopes, didn't try to persuade him that his brethren must be dead. There had been a part of himself, a part he hadn't even known about, that needed that validation. His doubts finally cast aside, however, he is left with only his shame. When he shakes his head, the smile falls from Uraraka's face.
"I can't." Tenya turns away from the heroes. The hum in his head gets a little louder.
"Can't or won't?" Todoroki demands. "Do you honestly want to stay here? Waiting for your friends that you don't even know will return? Wasting away in this keep? Or do you want to fight for your friends? To actually do something to honor what the paladins stand for?"
His words, though harsh, are undeniably true. "This keep is my home."
"The keep wasn't your home, Iida," Midoriya steps in. "The paladins were. Home is not a place, it's the people who make you feel safe. It's wherever you need it to be."
"Join us, Iida," Uraraka speaks softer now, with more conviction. "Let us help you rescue the paladins. We could do it, if you're willing to try."
A strange sensation settles over Tenya, like the push of a river current. There must have been a reason why these heroes came to his keep, and now Tenya thinks he knows why. Todoroki is right—it's time he started taking control of his destiny.
"Alright," Tenya claims, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Let's do it."
Returning to the armory, Tenya takes one of the packs left by the treasure hunters. Their bags are large and spacious, and the durable leather will keep it's contents dry. His last stop is the closet that has kept him safe for many nights. Tenya is almost sad to leave, but he's made up his mind. On a whim, Tenya puts the tokens he's collected in his bag among the essentials. Something tells him they might come in handy. Finally, with one last goodbye to the owls, Tenya leaves the closet door cracked and makes his way to the gates.
The heroes are waiting for him there. Before they embark, Tenya takes one final look around the courtyard. So many memories, so many experiences, good and bad, witnessed by the high stones walls and the tall towers. Tenya became who he was within this keep, had found himself among the halls. But Midoriya was right—though the keep may have been a shelter, it was not a home. Tenya's home was elsewhere, and in danger. On his honor as a paladin, he would do whatever it took to free his brethren. So, Tenya hoists the pack onto his shoulders and departs Ironlace Keep. Not ten feet away from the fort and it seems like the mist is clearing.
"Can I ask you something?" Midoriya falls into step beside him. "What was it your brother said to you?"
Tenya smiles, something he hasn't done in a while, and takes a deep sigh through his nose. Somewhere, Tensei is waiting for him, and it's clear that he's kept his brother waiting long enough.
"Live."
A/N: This story is actually different than the one you will find in the zine. The story that was published had unapproved edits in it as well as spelling and grammatical errors.
I do think it would be fun to make a little mini series out of this, but I won't promise anything. This was a lot of fun to write! The name of the country and nationalities are fictional, made up by yours truly.
As always, read, review, and enjoy!