The thieves slid along the tiled rooftops, making small noises of pottery hitting against the balls of their feet and the palms of their hands. They hopped between chimney and rooftop, scaling the tall castle in search of their entry point.
The leader of the pack, a dashing young man with mismatched red and white hair, grabbed onto the corner of the stone rooftop. He looked down at the town below from the great view of the rooftop, admiring the scenery.
He could get used to this.
One of the accomplices that was traveling with him, a guy with dirty blonde hair and red eyes turned to his leader "Hey! Icy hot!" He yelled with a whisper, "Get your ass in gear, let's go!"
The leader held up a finger to the boy, signaling for his silence. The spiky-haired ball of temper growled at him, another accomplice with spiky red hair putting a hand on his shoulder to calm the other.
Shouto took in the view one more time, taking a deep inhale in and a slow exhale out. Yeah, he was used to it.
"You're going to make us miss our window!" A pink-skinned for whisper shouted, pulling at the back of Shouto's vest and leading him away from the edge.
They opened the panel of the roof without hesitation, tying the rope around Shouto. A black haired accomplice gave a thumbs up while tugging at the rope, signaling that it was secure then handing Shouto a leather satchel to place the goods in.
The four of them held onto the rope, then lowered the leader into the big hall. He slowly went further down into the grand room without a sound, his arms and legs spread for mobility if needed.
Shouto was inches away from the crown, grabbing it swiftly and placing it into the brown satchel. He secured the prize as one of the guards with their backs turned sneezed into his gloved hand.
"Bless you," Shouto mumbled softly, placing the satchel over his shoulder.
"Thanks," The guard mumbled softly while wiping his nose, then quickly realized that there shouldn't be a voice behind him. By the time he looked around, the leader was already gone. By the time the rest of the guards were alerted, the group was already making their escape.
Izuku was smiling brightly as he was collecting his painting materials and placing them back into the small wooden chest which he kept all of his art supplies. "This is it. This is a very big day, Tsu," He chuckled softly, picking the small frog up as she climbed up onto his forearm. "I'm finally gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her."
There was a distant voice that sounded through the room, one that made Izuku gasp. "Izuku!" The deep male voice sounded. "Let down the rope!"
Izuku stood up, looking at the frog who had made her way onto his shoulder. "It's time!" Izuku said excitedly, with a hint of nervousness.
Tsu puffed out her chest and sat tall, showing him that he should be brave and have confidence in his actions. Izuku chuckled softly at the frog's encouragement "I know, I know, come on, don't let her see you!"
Izuku pulled the curtain together and covered his new painting, Tsu clinging onto it and hiding behind it at the same time.
"Izuku! I'm not getting any younger down here!" The voice sounded again, getting impatient.
Izuku ran to the window, leaning out of it and shouting down "Coming, Father!" He grabbed the rope that hung right next to the window and hung it over the hook that rested at top of the window frame. He lowered the very long rope down, his father hanging onto it as Izuku pulled him up.
Once his father was pulled up and climbed through the window, Izuku gave him a bright smile and welcomed him home with a cheerful "Welcome home, Father!"
His father sighed, pulling down the hood of his cloak and stepping down from the windowsill. He looked at Izuku "I don't even know how you manage to do that every single day," He commented, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Izuku chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck and reeling with a small "Oh, it's nothing,"
His father's sarcasm grew as he walked further into the tower "Then I don't know why it takes so long~" He spoke with a slight sing song tone to his voice as he walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room. Izuku was silent, then his father sighed again. "It was a joke, Izuku,"
Izuku chuckled nervously again, "Hehehe...right…" He mumbled before taking a deep breath and waking over to his father. "So, Father, as you know tomorrow is a very big da-"
The green haired boy was cut off by his father, his voice calling out to him as he looked over himself in the mirror. "Izuku, I'm feeling a bit run down. Would you sing for me? Do that, then we'll talk."
Izuku blinked for a second then smiled "Oh! Yes Father!" He then quickly ran off then grabbed his father's chair and brought it to the center of the room. He centered it just right before going to fetch the small stool he sat on, placing it down in front of the chair. He then ran off again, grabbing the brush his father always used and then came straight back. He placed the brush in his father's hand and sat his father down all before sitting down on the stool he had placed down for himself.
Izuku then sat up tall, closing his eyes tightly and starting to sing the song at a rapid fast pace. His hair started to turn into and glow a bright shade of gold. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what on-"
His father widened his eyes, "Wait!" He shouted, grabbing the boy's hair and scrambling to brush it.
Izuku kept singing, keeping his eyes closed and ignoring his father's plea to get him to slow down. "-ce was mine, heal what has been hurt, change the fate's design, safe what has been lost, bring back what once was mine-"
His father started to get frustrated with him, even though the singing did ultimate have an effect on his appearance and overall age. "Izuku!" He shouted, looking at him.
Izuku turned around his glowing and golden hair turning back into his normal and encaptivating dark green hair, leaning forward and standing up. "So, Father, earlier I was saying tomorrow's a pretty big day…. and you….didn't really respond, so I'm just gonna tell you….it's my birthday! Uh…. Tada?"
His Father sighed, crossing his arms. "Nope, can't be. I remember clearly, your birthday was last year," He spoke with his sarcastic tone again, glancing up at Izuku as he sat on his chair.
Izuku chuckled nervously, replying with a hesitant tone "That's the funny thing about birthdays….—they're kind of an annual thing!" Izuku smiled then sighed, sitting back down on his stool and looking up at his Father. "Uh….Father... I'm turning eighteen, and I wanted to ask...what I really want for this birthday…" Izuku started to mumble, a thing he would frequently do and go off on tangents doing "Actually what I really wanted for quite a few birthdays now, maybe from f-"
His Father sighed, pinching his temples and shutting his eyes. "Okay, Izuku, please, stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling–blah-blah-blah-blah, it's very annoying," He stood up, walking away from Izuku and towards the basket he had brought home.
Izuku sighed, pressing his knees together and looking to the side as he fiddled his thumbs. Tsu was there, behind the leg of a table. She urged him on, nodding her head and making a hand motion to tell him to keep going. Izuku gave her an awkward smile and took a deep breath before turning to his Father again. "I….! I want to see the floating lights!"
He pauses while picking up a piece of fruit, setting it back down gently into the basket. "Um, excuse me?" He asked, raising a brow.
Izuku jumped a bit, laughing out of anxiety trying to stop him from doing this. "Oh, uh, well…. I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights?"
His Father chuckled a bit, a skeptical tone in his voice as he replied "Ooooh~ You mean the stars,"
Izuku smiles softly looking off to the side "Well, that's the thing.." He then climbed up towards the top of the tower using a ladder, opening up a small window on the roof and pulling back a curtain. Behind a curtain was a layout and mapping of various constellations and stars. "I've charted stars and they're always constant–but these–they appear every year on my birthday, Father–ONLY on my birthday. And I can't help but feel like they're… they're meant for me," He walked over to his new painting of himself looking up at the floating lights with hope and wonder. He then looked over to his Father, who was turning away from him. "I need to see them, father, and not just from my window….In person…..I have to know what they are…"
His Father walked towards the window, looking back at him "You want to go outside? Oh Izuku…" He proceeds to shut the shutters of the window, preventing light from coming in through that part of the room. He then walked over to Izuku.
His father then started to warn Izuku through the use of scary images and dark tones to instill fear in Izuku
Izuku's father walked up to him, looking down at him intensely "Izuku?" Izuku's knees trembled slightly, looking up at his father and replying with a small 'yes'. His glare hardened, his voice depended as he places his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Don't ever ask to leave this tower, again,"
Izuku looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact with his Father, disappointed but replying to him with a loyal "Yes, Father…"
His father's face softened, patting Izuku's shoulder with a small smile. Izuku flinched slightly at the pat, but it was small enough so it wasn't noticeable. "That's my boy," He pulled his hand away, stepping back and looking at Izuku. "Father knows best."
