"So we've almost got the damn thing in the bag when who walks in but Aunt Mitsuki." Deku continued, Kirishima was giggling already "And we look at her and she looks at us, I've still got a fake beard of armpit hair on my face, and she knows we're busted, we know we're busted. It is dead silent. The moment of calm before the storm. And then Kacchan pushes me down and bolts the other direction." Kirishima howled with laughter. This story was always a winner.
"Alright, alright, I think that's enough break time for now." Kirishima's face soured but he didn't protest as he pulled himself to the archery station "Do you not like archery?" Deku inquired
"It's not exactly my specialty." Kirishima admitted. Riotans were renowned for their hand-to-hand and close-range combat. Archery was pretty far out of their comfort zone.
As they practiced it became apparent that, no, it really wasn't. Most of his arrows didn't even make it to the target, let alone the bullseye.
"Would you like some advice?" Deku offered tentatively after a while
The Riotan Prince sighed in defeat "Please." He said
"You keep hesitating before you shoot. When you pause like that, your muscles get all tense and locked up. It can throw the whole thing off. Take the shot before they get the chance."
Kirishima frowned but nodded and pulled back the bowstring again. He hesitated. "But I have to aim." He protested
"Don't aim." Deku awnsered "Your eye's know where they want the arrow to go. Trust your eyes."
Kirishima took in a breath and tried again. He pulled back the bowstring and let the arrow fly.
Thwunk!
"Nice one!" Deku congratulated. The arrow had embedded itself in the target. It wasn't a bullseye but it was closer than he'd come before that morning. Kirishima was still frowning.
"It could still be better."
"So? Yuuei wasn't built in a day." Deku countered "So long as you remain critical there's no harm in taking the little victories when they come to you."
Kirishima quirked an eyebrow and Deku knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth "You sure you grew up with Katsuki?"
Deku chuckled. Kacchan was always so unforgiving in his pursuit of his own razor-sharp image of perfection. He remembered the days he'd spent watching him practice. Then later getting his ear screamed off as he tried to achieve the same skills.
"I can't focus with you yelling at me, Kacchan!" He'd protested, crying
"You will learn to or you will die!" Kacchan roared back
"I can see why he likes you." Deku responded, ignoring the question. His comment clearly catching Kirishima off-guard.
"Does he?" He asked, turning his face in a futile attempt to hide his creeping blush "It's hard to tell sometimes with him."
Deku chuckled again "You're honest, hardworking, and straightforward. What's not to like?"
Kirishima's ears were turning red and Deku decided, as much fun as this was, it was time to switch strategies "He got sick of Yuuei's court when he realized it was none of those things."
Kirishima went stiff and Deku knew he'd hit the right nerve "I wasn't planning on saying anything, but… he did come home real upset the other day. Thinks you're keeping secrets from him."
Midoriya frowned and nodded his head sadly, his brow pinching. It figured he couldn't keep a lid on this stuff forever. But he wasn't ready to be confronted yet. Time. He needed more time.
"I mean, I don't mean to sound rude, I know what they say about the Secrets of the All Mights. But-"
"No. No, it's not that I don't want to tell him I just-" he sighed, letting his frustration of the last few days bleed through his voice, and hid his face in his hands. When he peeked out from between his fingers again he met Kirishima's concerned red irises. He sighed again and let his hands fall "Listen, Eijiro-San, if I tell you do you promise not to tell Kacchan? It… It would be better if he heard it from me first."
Kirishima nodded, his eyes sincere "Of course. I never tell a secret."
Deku took a breath, looking down at his fiddling fingers nervously before he spoke "The truth is… I'm engaged to Shoto."
Kirishima's eyes went wide. "I know. I know." He assured him before things could start to spiral "It's… big. The political ramifications alone… Ochako probably would've married him for his gold if his hand wasn't already promised. But I'm not… opposed to the idea." He admitted, a blush rising on his cheeks
"Kacchan dosen't exactly have a track record of greeting my suitors with open arms. And aren't they just getting along merrily already." He nodded towards the grove of trees nearby where the two men were having a talk that seemed to involve very little taking and quite a lot of haughty silence. Even at this distance, he could practically see the ominous storm clouds swirling around them.
"I see…" Kirishima agreed "Well, I'll be sure to keep this between us then."
Bakugo stared intensely at Todoroki. Todoroki stares intensely back. Neither of them were moving. Neither of them were talking. Down by the archery station, Kirishima's howling laughter sounded. They ignored it.
It was Bakugo who broke the silence first "Who ordered the attacks?"
"My father." Todoroki awnsered immediately
"Did he know who he was?"
"He wasn't anything then. He was just my manservant."
"Liar." Bakugo said
"I saved him from the attacks. If you-"
"I'm sure he thanks you for it." Bakugo interrupted "But if you'd done your fucking job correctly, he'd never have been in danger to begin with. Deku may believe in second chances but I do not."
Todoroki's mouth twisted sourly. He spat at Bakugo's feet."Dump your bullshit on some other doorstep. You think I conspire with my father? I have more reason to hate him than you could ever know."
"You're still his son aren't you? You think I look like my mother because I chose to?" Bakugo countered
"What are you even complaining about? You would've benefited from his death more than anyone."
Bakugo's hands were at his swords faster than he could think. Todoroki's mismatched eyes widened as he stared down the razor sharp edge of his blades. Anger pounded in Bakugo's head so hard his eyes bulged. He'd barely moved but his breathing felt labored
"Say that again." He seethed "And I will cut you down your ugly middle. This isn't Endeavor, bitch. But you are a Todoroki and whatever your father's planning you're apart of it whether you like it or not. And i swear to every fucking god in every fucking heaven if anything happens to Deku… All the fire and ice in the world won't be enough to keep you safe."
Thunk!
An arrow embedded itself in the tree next to Todoroki and Bakugo knew without having to look Deku was marching his way over to them to demand what was going on. He had no interest in defending himself or watching Deku or Kirishima do so on his behalf, so he turned and started off unhurriedly. No one made any effort to stop him. He didn't catch most of the ensuing conversation but when he heard Deku cry aloud "Shoto, what an awful thing to say! Oh my god, don't be such an ass!" He almost turned around just to catch the shocked look on his scared face.
Momo's patience was wearing thin, and she wasn't making much effort to keep it to herself.
"Explain it to me one more time." She said tensely "Why we're purposely ignoring the best lead we're likely to find."
Deku shook his head and held his ground "I won't ask this off him, Momo. I can't."
"Have you discovered something new since the last time we spoke?"
"No."
"Well neither have I. And I'm beginning to think-"
"Do you become desperate so easily?"
"Watch yourself, Deku." Momo warned. The two stared at each other testily for a moment before she sighed and tried again "When do you think we'll have another chance like this? Your wedding? It will be to late by then. When he goes home that door could be lost forever. You know what will happen if we fail."
"Of course I know what will happen." Deku said gravely, feeling utterly exhausted all of a sudden. Momo put a hand on his shoulder and offered him a comforting look. Deku smiled gratefully as the large woman pulled him into a hug
"You know when people tell you your kindness will be the death of you?" She whispered in his ear "This is what they mean. Please understand. You're not the only one at risk."
Deku blinked back the tears as he buried his face deeper in her shoulder "Would you ask Shoto to relive the day he was burned?" He mumbled into her skin
"No." She admitted, softly, after a moment
Deku's hands started to shake just remembering that blank, expressionless look in Kacchan's eyes as they'd carried him off without even bothering to bind him.
"The treaty has stood for thirty years."
"Which is exactly why it needs to be revisited with stronger ramifications for breaking it imposed! It's so flimsy they've gotten away with breaking the damn thing half a dozen times!"
"Sure, because that dosen't look anything like a young, brash new prince throwing his weight around!"
There really was nothing as uncomfortable as two foreigners passionately arguing over you about politics you only vaguely understand. Yet that was the position Kirishima was in right now. Todoroki was there too, but he didn't seem nearly as uncomfortable as he passively sipped his tea.
The days had fallen into a regular rhythm during their trip. Training in the morning, an elaborate meal at midday, sometimes a nap and sometimes sitting in on negotiations, and then either games or some other sort of entertainment in the evenings. It was pretty relaxing, all things considered. Though, the longer it went on the more it became apparent Midoriya and Bakugo couldn't go fifteen minutes without knocking heads over something.
Kirishima was starting to think if one of them said the sky was blue the other would say it was red just to spite them. Suddenly, though, the argument was cut short when something caught Midoriya's eye. His expression soured a hundred fold.
"Ugh, look at that display." He remarked bitterly.
Kirishima spun his head around to follow his gaze but he only found the tiny form of Lord Mineta strutting about through the doorway, a cape flowing behind him.
"That putrid little vindictive asswipe." Bakugo agreed
"I'm gonna say something." Midoriya said decisively, getting up swiftly and marching over to the short lord. Bakugo went too, muttering about how Midoriya was "about as threatening as a head of broccoli" And Kirishima's head still spinning about what the poor lord had done to envoke their combined wrath.
"Did you follow any of that?" Todoroki asked, which caught Kirishima even more off guard than the Yuueins had. Todoroki usually just ignored him. Kirishima offered an uneasy smile and a shrug.
Todoroki frowned "Me neither." He confessed "I don't understand this place. Not it's rules or it's politics or it's people."
Kirishima smiled and reached across the table to grab Todoroki by the shoulder "Hey, I get it." He said. But Todoroki sent him a look that made him wonder if he did
"Bakugo made Midoriya's life a living hell for years. Yet he welcomes him home with open arms the moment he sees him again. Bakugo oozes ambition and yet…" The prince shook his head again "I just don't understand them."
Kirishima hesitated a moment, scratching the back of his neck and trying to find the right words. He'd been trying to figure out just how they ticked himself and hadn't made much headway. In Riot, they'd just shove them in the sparring pits and by sunset they'd be laughing about whatever they were so upset about. Whatever was going on between those two was different, and way above his pay grade.
"Look, I don't understand them any better than you do." He admitted"But that's becuase I'm trying to understand them as a Riotan and you're trying to understand them as an Endeavoran. But those two are as Yuuein as it gets. They've got their own way of dealing with things. We don't have to understand it, we just have to respect it."
Todoroki furrowed his brows. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could Midoriya and Bakugo came back into earshot, bickering again about something g else Kirishima didn't follow and the two princes agreed with their eyes not the talk about it.
The green haired man was holding a yellow piece of cloth in his hands that Kirishima realized after a moment was Mineta's cape. While they walked and took their seats again, still bickering and seeming oblivious to their company, he tore it into little pieces and shoved those pieces under a bread basket like one would he any the wiser.
"You should burn it." Bakugo suggested
"Yeah, whatever, tomato tomahto." Midoriya brushed it off
"Then why not just-"
"Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Oh, dear, are you two at it again?" A new voice cut in, making the other two fall silent abruptly. Kirishima directed his eyes to the short, plump woman with green hair and a sun pendant suddenly standing in the doorway.
"Ma?"
"Auntie Inko?"
The woman smiled warmly "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said "I was in the area and thought I'd poke my head in. You two aren't fighting again are you?"
"No." Both men said at once. Inko sent them a look that said she didn't believe that for a second before turning her gaze to Todoroki and Kirishima. Kirishima took the initiative, standing up and holding out his hand for her to shake.
"Queen Mother." He greeted
Inko looked taken aback as her cheeks colored.
"That's not a thing with All Mights." Bakugo hissed at him and Kirishima suddenly felt his cheeks color at his mistake.
Inko laughed it off "You must be Kirishima-Sama. I hear you've been quite the good influence on Katsuki here." She said, ruffling the blond's hair gently. Bakugo sunk his head low on his shoulders. Kirishima just chuckled lightly and accepted the compliment. "You two must be patient with my silly boys here. They've always been a bit like cats and dogs. You know, when they were babes-"
"Ma! Not this again!" Midoriya moaned, but Inko continues as if he hadn't spoken
"We couldn't keep them in the same room becuase if one started crying, the other would start crying louder and next thing you know they've gone and made a competition out of it!"
"Yes, Auntie, you've told us." Bakugo said, his body so tense it reminded Kirishima of a coiled spring, building up tension but unable to release it.
"She hasn't told us." Kirishima pointed out unhelpfully
"Please." Todoroki added "Tell more stories about when they were babies."
Midoriya sent him a murderous look.
Inko smiled, looking more than happy to have an excuse "Oh, well, they were just always competing over everything and daring each other to do silly things. You try having two seven year olds tell you they don't want to eat the dinner you've made them becuase they've gone a spoiled their appetite on lemons and worms!"
Kirishima snickered at the image. Todoroki looked delighted.
"Ma." Midoriya groaned
"Oh, alright, fine!" She relented. She pressed a kiss to her son's forehead, then to Katsuki's, who muttered about how embarrassing she was but accepted the kiss all the same. Even with then sitting and her standing they were just about at the same height. "You boys behave now."
"Yes, Ma."
"Yes, Auntie." They agreed
Midoriya Inko took her leave with one last smile and wave. She was barely out of the room before Todoroki and Kirishima started snickering. Midoriya buried his reddening face in his hands while Bakugo slammed his fist on the table as yelled about how she was a sweet lady and they'd better both shut up!
"At least she didn't give The Speech." Midoriya mumbled to his noodles
"There's a Speech?" Todoroki asked, smiling eagerly
Bakugo smacked Midoriya on the arm and shot him an irritated look. Midoriya gestured I'm helplessness.
"Long story short, one day we'll have kids who treat us as bad as we treated her and then we'll all be sorry!" Bakugo elaborated, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed but his scowl not as prominent as he probably meant it to be.
"Didn't she make you swear off having kids at one point?"
"Yes! Because one day they are going to be being little shits and I am going to know what she felt like and I was not ready for her to be right about that yet." Bakugo grumbled
And just like that conversation shifted to easy reminiscing about Midoriya Inko. The two looking as comfortable as they had about the ring each other's necks a moment ago.
All men are boys before their mother. Kirishima thought, amused, as he ate his steak.
"And in the red corner we have the Heir to the Kingdom of Endeavor, who wields one of the most powerful quirks in all the five kingdoms, the one and only Todoroki Shoto!" Uraraka cried
"Is this really necessary?" Todoroki asked from inside the ring
"Dosen't hinder me." Bakugo replied, getting a last stretch of his muscles in
"And in the blue corner we have this nobody from a nowhere village in Yuu-"
"Hey, I'm from that village!" Deku interrupted
"Yes, but you've since risen above that station." Iida pointed out
"What's that supposed to mean?" Deku demanded
"Alright can I just do my commentary? Thanks." Uraraka chastised "Alright where was I? In the blue corner we have this modify from nowhere! Gifted with broadswords, spears, bows and arrows, he's done it all! The man who can do anything, Bakugo Katsuki!"
The two fighters stepped into the ring and took their stances. Iida called start and the fight began. The air grew cold immediately in spite of the summer air as Todoroki threw ice at his opponent. But Bakugo was skilled enough with his swords to dodge and leap and cut through the ice where needed. It was a fight for the ages and had it been any other two fighters, Deku would've been delighted.
"Alright, what've we got for bets?" Uraraka asked eagerly "I say fifty on Shoto-Kun. No way Bakugo can keep up."
"I'll take that bet." Kirishima agreed quickly "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew him better."
"You know this is going to end terribly, right?" Deku chastised him, feeling very irritable.
Kirishima just shrugged "Probably." He agreed "But sometimes men just gotta fight." He was no help, and Deku scowled in reply before he went back to watching the fight. Kacchan was making progress towards his target, his face pulled back in a frustrated snarl Deku knew all too well. Oh yes. This was going to end just terribly.
"It is funny, though." Kirishima was suddenly whispering in his ear "If things had worked out differently, they'd be engaged right now."
Deku could only manage a bitter laugh. He wondered if Kirishima knew what a weighted idea that was. If things had worked out differently. If Kacchan was Prince instead of him. It had been close. Closer than most people wanted to admit. Up until the day that cape was draped around his shoulder he had still believed somehow Kacchan would take his place as All Might's Heir and Successor.
The problem was, as they'd overheard All Might complain more than once, they were just such complete opposites in their strengths and weaknesses. One was too eager to please, the other unwilling to compromise. One shied from crowds but shined with individuals, the other masterful with large, nameless masses but with the people skills of scorpion. Sometimes he wished he could just smash their heads into one, yet they seemed eager enough to do it themselves! Haha!
Well, in any case, Kacchan wouldn't be engaged to Todoroki, that was for certain. He would sooner cut off his hand than let it be offered as part of someone else's political maneuvering.
Cut off a hand… something about the phrase tickled at the back of his memory.
But then again, Deku had been against the idea too when they'd been told. And then he'd gone and fallen in love with Todoroki. And Kacchan with Kirishima, of all people. Love was such a funny thing.
What was it he'd said? Deku focused harder on Kacchan's hands as they swung his swords through the air. His swords… Oh!
"Look here, Deku." Kacchan said as he drew his swords on him "Do you know why I fight with both hands?"
Deku shook his head.
"Most people only fight with their right hand. But that makes them dependent on it. What if you lose your sword? Or your hand gets cut off? It's more work, but this way I'm ready for anything."
Deku nodded in understanding then asked "So can you fight with your feet as well?"
"What?"
"What if both your hands get cut off?"
Kacchan stared at him, blinking slowly, for a moment before he started taking off his shoes and grumbling "Fucking Deku."
Deku gasped. His head felt full to bursting all at once. As if a dam or window glass he wasn't aware was there was suddenly shattered. And behind it was a picture more beautiful than Deku had dared to dream of before. It was so simple… Could it really be this simple?
Deku didn't stay to watch the rest of the match. He didn't see Todoroki inevitably loose because he refused to use his fire powers, or Kacchan's refusal to accept the victory if his opponent wasn't giving it his all, or whatever mess would come after that. He suddenly had something much more important to do.
He found Momo in their library and escorted her quickly somewhere private for them to talk. She must've seen the light in his eye because she didn't seem irritated with him.
"What's going on?" She asked
"I have a plan." Deku told her excitedly.
He relayed all the details of the still fresh plan to her as quickly as his mouth would allow. When he was done, the Endeavoran Lady was quiet for a long time, mulling it over and looking for any holes. Finally she just asked "You're sure you can pull this off?"
Deku nodded, grinning like an idiot but he didn't care. Momo smiled too and that's when he knew he had one.
"Alright then," she agreed "Let's break some hearts."
They agreed it would be for the best if Bakugo skipped training the next morning, and Kirishima was stupid enough to think that meant he could sleep in. Bakugo kicked him awake and out the door before he could even think about resisting. They were going on a hike, apparently. Kirishima yawned but knew better than to complain. This would be a chance to see more of Yuuei than just the palace grounds. And the lush forest that surrounded the palace estate was such a far cry from the sights of Riots barren, rocky beauty he found himself pacified easily enough.
Bakugo clearly knew where he was going. He picked his way through the thick rootey path with confidence and ease while Kirishima kept tripping and wandering too far from the path. They made their way in silence, for the most part. Bakugo occasionally yapping at him to keep up, watch his step, and quit gaping they're just trees damnit!
Eventually their rumbling stomachs mad them stop and rest. Bakugo found a stream and caught them some fish, skewered them, and set them over a fire for breakfast. And once they were good and brown, they ate them. Bakugo took a bite and sighed, smiling wistfully.
"That takes me back." He said "I can't remember the last time I had a good smoked trout instead of all that fancy crap back in the palace."
"You used to do this with Midoriya, didn't you?"
Bakugo chucked "That brat was always complaining. 'Kacchan, I'm thirsty!' 'Kacchan, my feet hurt!' 'Kacchan, I'm scarred!' Gods, what a wimp."
Kirishima smiled. He bit into his own fish. It tasted strange and a thought struck him. "We don't have much fish in Riot." He couldn't help but say aloud
Bakugo snorted "You just notice that? You're a desert people, idiot."
"We don't have much of anything in Riot." Kirishima clarified "I mean… we're basically completely dependent on Yuuei for food."
Bakugo studied him incredulously for a moment "Our alliance-"
"We make our money by charging traders and travelers for safe passage through the dessert. And they only suffer us long enough to get somewhere else. We really are The Land Nobody Else Wanted, aren't we?"
Two sets of red eyes met. One frightened like a wounded animal and the other steady and determined. "For centuries, you have provided my country with the stone we need for our building projects. These include aqueducts, damns, bridges and roads that we need to maintain our crops and our place in the Five Kingdoms. Food is important, yes, but it's something every kingdom can produce on their own. Making us an easy luxury to be cut if relations turn sour. But they can't afford that with Riot because you are the center of all trade in the Five Kingdoms. Where else would the merchants meet? Urbaity? With their mountains? Horses would die and cargo would be lost and everyone would lose their gold."
"Katsuki-" Kirishima tires around the tightness in his chest
"If you speak ill of your country again, I'll skin you alive." He said without a hint of humor
"You only ever speak ill of your country." Kirishima countered
"I'm not the fucking prince."
They sat in silence a while then. Kirishima nibbling absentmindedly on his fish while Bakugo ripped the meat from their bones like an animal. Kirishima watched him closely, probably staring, but he couldn't make himself look away.
"I can practically hear those gears turning in your head, Shitty Hair." Bakugo said eventually "Spit it our already."
"I just… I keep getting reminded you're not from Riot." Bakugo raised his eyebrow at this but before he could bite back Kirishima kept talking "I just… I knew, of course, you were Yuuein but… you talked like a Riotan, dressed like a Riotan. It's like… I could almost pretend you were mine. And now I'm being reminded you're not."
Bakugo looked away from him, but his eyes were just wide enough to betray that his words had rattled him.
"I… I am Yuuein." He said slowly, then he flicked his intense red irises back to meet his. His eyes as steady and determined as he'd ever seen them. "But I'm yours too."
Kirishima's heart skipped a beat "N-Not All Might's? Or Midoriya's?"
Bakugo stood and made his way to Kirishima, squatting so they were face to face "Yours."
But Kirishima couldn't stop the words coming out of his mouth at this point "You know he's probably better than me at this whole prince thing. It's barely been a week but he's already-"
"Say one more word to me about how great Deku is. I dare you." He said without venom, his hands came up to cup his face and Kirishima thought his heart would break out of his chest if it continued like it was. It was like something out of a dream. Their faces were so close their noses were almost touching.
"There is no one better than you, Eijiro. No one."
Kirishima gave in. Like the weak man he was, he gave in. He leaned forward, opened his mouth, but they never made contact. Bakugo stood. His lips suddenly seeming miles away.
"We should head back." He said, pointedly not looking at the foolish prince at his feet.
He left without waiting for a reply.
