***Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! I love the comments and the kudos! ^_^

***Just a quick note, I'm not very familiar with Tarot cards and the like, so I'm putting my own spin on it for the sake of the story. It's not my intention to offend anyone. This is an altered history, after all.

***Warnings: Mild language, shy Tokoyami, humor, hangover, mention of authority abuse, magic-use, fluff

***Please, read on and enjoy! Comments and kudos welcomed! 3

Chapter 2: The Cards

Tokoyami follows the officer down the stairs, each squeak and strain of the wood echoing in his ears like a drum. He will find Deku and they'll be arrested, tried and hanged within the week. Tokoyami's heart raced when the officer's boots clomped on the floor. The area is still warm from the fire burning the stove, proof that someone is here. Tokoyami swallows hard, closes his eyes for a moment in silent prayer, then looks to the bed.

It's empty! And made! The blankets are straight, flat, and wrinkleless.

'What the-?'

"You keep a bed down here?" Overhaul asks, turning to him.

"Um...I...yes. Yes, I do. Strange thing, I know. But, when you...run an establishment like mine, I can't allow sick travelers to rest in the rooms shared by others." 'Whew! That was close.' Now, the officer has to buy his story, which wasn't entirely untrue. In a sense.

"Good thinking," Overhaul says as he stalks around the area, looking high and low. "Are you also a doctor, little birdie?"

"I'm not a licensed doctor, sir, but I do have some basic knowledge of medical practice from experience of watching others."

Overhaul looks around the room, gives a nod, and walks towards Tokoyami. "I would like one more drink before I leave."

Tokoyami follows him up the stairs, pausing a moment to look back at the empty room, wondering where Deku was hiding.

Izuku hears the door close and pushes the lid off the wine barrel, taking in a deep gulp of air. He sputters and coughs into his elbow to muffle the sounds while his eyes dart wildly around the room. No one is there. He's safe. Tokoyami is going to get his feathers all ruffled when he sees the mess. Wine everywhere. Izuku splashed and slipped on wine as the liquid drips from his body and sticks the curls of his hair together. Izuku had chosen the barrel with the least amount of wine, so it wouldn't submerge when he got inside. He thought his hair would keep dry, but no such luck. The curls were going to be a bitch to brush out later.

'I need a bath now,' he says, standing in front of the stove to start drying off. Izuku sniffs the wine and licks his arm, smacking his lips at the sweet taste. 'Mm. It's good.'

Seeing as the barrel of wine is now… 'contaminated'...Izuku decides to get himself a drink. Then two. Then three. He had just escaped death for the second time in two days. A few drinks won't hurt.

Tokoyami pours the officer a drink (cleaning the cup this time) and even offers the man some stew. The officer declines, unaware of or not noticing how the entire tavern room has fallen eerily silent. The patrons are hesitant to speak or move. Since their return from searching the tavern, Tokoyami noticed the number of guests dwindled. He couldn't blame them for wanting to leave after a Regent's Patrol Officer took a seat at the bar.

"You've been a fine host and an honest man," Overhaul compliments. "To show your service to the king, he who sits upon the throne, would you be willing to...lend me a hand?"

Tokoyami hides his trembling hands by cleaning another cup with his apron. "Of course, sir. I am here to serve His Highness,"

The words were like acid on his tongue. He'd like nothing more than to remind the Patrol Officer that the 'king' he currently 'serves' is a fake; a regent, known only as such, to those who oppose him. However, Tokoyami knows that, deep down, he is no fool when it comes to dignity and pride. If he were to voice his true feelings and opinion right now, the officer has every right to kill him. Lying dead upon his family's tavern floor will solve nothing. One gets more flies with honey, and just beyond that sweet, sweet honey, there is a spider's web. And flies...they cannot see the web and end up caught by their own greed only to have the life drained from them by the silent predator waiting in the still of the night.

"I am looking for a man. An outlaw."

Tokoyami looks surprised. "An outlaw? There are many of those in these times, sir."

"But this outlaw stands out from others," Overhaul reaches into his jerkin pocket and takes out a crumpled flyer with a sketch on it. He slides it across the bar to Tokoyami. "We are searching for a young man, taller than you, with green hair and eyes. Freckles dot his cheeks. He gives the allure of a pleasant, kind, and sweet young boy you'd want your daughter to bring home to meet her father. Do you understand?"

Tokoyami looks at the poor sketch of what, he assumes, is Deku's face. Tokoyami almost laughs at how wrong the artist is in portraying the 'outlaw' he hides in his cellar. Deku has green curls, not spiky hair. His eyes are not narrow with malevolence but wide with a light that shines in the absence of the sun. The freckles on his cheeks are few, not like a spotted hog rolling around in its cud in this depiction. Deku's freckles litter his broad shoulders and the back of his neck, creeping up into a mossy hill of green. Tokoyami lifts his eyes from the flyer to the officer. This man wouldn't know Deku if the 'outlaw' put on a jester's hat and did five backflips in front of him.

"I do, sir," Tokoyami says. "This outlaw...he looks quite the villain. Should I be worried?"

"Not worried," Overhaul answers. "Just...aware."

"Who is he, though? I've had officers pass through before and none of them have mentioned this outlaw in particular. Is he guilty of some great crime?"

Overhaul finishes the drink and puts his plague mask back on. "You don't have to know who he is, barkeep. All I ask is this: if you see a man with green eyes and hair, do what you must to keep him here."

"Keep him here, sir?"

"Yes. Keep him here, and secretly alert the authorities. I will be placing many Patrol Officers on the main roads and villages in the upcoming days to help keep watch. We believe he is somewhere in these parts after escaping the fight. I trust your tavern...Evermoor...will be willing to serve my men when necessary?"

Tokoyami swallows the lump in his throat. "Sir, while I would give my full consent to offer your men hospitality, I do have ordinary people who frequent this place. They bring their families, their children...their wives and daughters. Their young sons…"

Overhaul sighs. "I see what you're asking. This isn't a brothel by night?"

Tokoyami flashes him a look of offense. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"I've offended you. That wasn't my intention. How do you make money if you're not offering the sins of the flesh after drinking hours are over?"

"With all due respect, sir, I run a clean establishment here where all can feel safe and comfortable. If patrons leave with a partner, then that is their choice. I serve food and drink while providing travelers with a soft bed and a warm breakfast to fill their bellies. This is NOT a brothel."

Overhaul glares golden eyes at him and Tokoyami buckles under the look.

He bows his head low. "Forgive me my incompetence, sir,"

"The outlaw I seek is known for desiring men," Overhaul tells him. "Your hospitality and open-armed welcome is something that will attract the man I seek. This is why I ask that you keep him here, should he ever come. He would like you. This man is of flesh and blood like any other young man with something to prove. Feed him, sweet-talk him, and then bed him. Call the Patrol Officers when he is sleeping off the wine and afterglow."

Tokoyami cannot believe that the kind soldier he is hiding his cellar is anything like what this officer is claiming him to be. Tokoyami counters him, though. "Don't all young men have something to prove? Don't we all like to...indulge in pleasure wherever we can? Be that flesh, food, wine, or coin?"

Overhaul stands up from the stool and bows to Tokoyami. "Men like you and the outlaw, yes. Men like me...I am above the common and the rabble."

Tokoyami tries not to glare as the officer takes his leave of the tavern. 'Obnoxious scum!'

While his curiosity as to Deku's whereabouts eats at him, Tokoyami stays at the bar until everyone leaves, which isn't long. The night had gone from merriment to awkwardness and people wanted to go home. Tokoyami could not blame them. After the last person leaves, Tokoyami locks the door and makes his way to the cellar, calling Deku's name. The first thing Tokoyami's sees is a barrel lid on the floor surrounded in wine. Next to the fire sits Deku with a lazy smile on his flushed face. Did he get a fever again? Tokoyami hurries over to Deku only to smell the wine on him and the cup he's holding.

"Where did you hide?" Tokoyami asks him. "Did you hide in that wine barrel?"

"Yeah. I used the one that was least filled," a hiccup escapes his lips. "It was the only place I could think of to hide. I figured you wouldn't want to sell wine that I've bathed in, so I kind of helped myself." He gives Tokoyami a sheepish, tipsy smile.

Tokoyami sighs heavily, rubbing his temples and grumbling. "Luckily, that barrel was low quality, so not much is lost-" he blinks at Deku's sudden slumped, snoring form.

Tokoyami frowns. He had so many questions for Deku, and the man was an utter mess. He would have to clean Deku's sleeping form of the wine before the bugs find him. Tokoyami leaves and returns with a basin of warm water, a bar of soap, fresh clothes, and a brush. He keeps Deku by the fire, starting with removing the shirt, then pausing at the pants. Tokoyami recalls the officer saying that Deku likes men. He feels the heat beneath his feathers as he tells himself to stop thinking about 'that' and help Deku. Tokoyami keeps his eyes upward while taking the sticky pants off and tossing them to the side.

Deku, apparently, cannot hold his alcohol for he barely moved as Tokoyami rubbed the warm, soapy cloth along his body. He removes the dressings as well on the wounds, slightly annoyed that he would have to start all over again with keeping them clean. The wine should, however, help to flush the wounds, but Tokoyami would rather rely on his salves and creams. Deku's body bares more faded scars among toned muscles, many of which appear to be from blades or bullets. As he moves closer to Deku's thighs and hips, he keeps his eyes closed to spare Deku some decently, even if that is the lie he tells himself.

It's been far too long since Tokoyami has shared a bed with another that wasn't Dark Shadow. After the loss of Shoji two years ago, Tokoyami couldn't bare to seek out another partner. When his father died, Tokoyami dealt with the loneliness for a few months until Shoji came. Then he had a partner, he had help, and the nights were never lonely. Strangely enough, Tokoyami has cared for and healed many men, commoner or soldier, and the thought of asking one into his bed never crossed his mind until now. Maybe it was the 'danger' Deku is associated with giving him a little bit of excitement from his usual boring days. He has his magic, his healing, and his spiritual rituals, but those can only keep him sane for so long. Though he operates a tavern, he doesn't interact closely with the patrons. They know him, they trust him, and he makes conversation, but won't go out of his way to make friends.

Tokoyami, finished with Deku's attractive, scarred body, moves to the sticky green curls. As he rubs the soap and water into the curls, he realizes that Deku's features are way too obvious, regardless of the poorly sketched flyer. Green hair will catch attention. Tokoyami decides that he will ask Deku to use a temporary charcoal dye to make the green hair black. He even has makeup (left by a woman) that he can use to cover the freckles on Deku's cheeks. So, should something like tonight happen again, and it will, with officers coming in, Deku can hide in plain sight. Tokoyami will need to keep suspicion away as much as he can.

After rinsing the soap from Deku's hair, Tokoyami struggles to lift the heavy sleeping man from the floor. While he isn't physically weak, Tokoyami doesn't have the muscles of Deku who's a trained soldier. Carrying egg baskets and small wine barrels is barely soldier training. When Shoji was with him, the man could lift multiple items with his many arms as if they were feathers. Tokoyami settles on dragging Izuku to the bed instead, then lifting the rest of the naked form onto the sheets. He keeps his eyes anywhere but down, quickly covering Deku with the blanket. The man is still snoring softly.

Tokoyami stares at Deku's sleeping face, wondering what other crimes the man is accused of. Fighting for the Good King is not a crime. But, has he done something else to warrant a flyer for his arrest rather than other 'rebels'? Tokoyami hasn't seen any flyers seeking out others. Deku is the first one. What is it about this man that makes him a prime target for The Regent? Tokoyami reaches his hand down to brush the damp bangs from a warm forehead. Either another slight fever or its from the wine. Deku's entire body was soaking in wine, though. Tokoyami takes the basin and chamber pot to empty them both and returns, placing the chamber pot beside the bed. He's fairly certain vomit will come before a full bladder and cleaning up one mess is more than enough. Tokoyami mops up the wine, feeds the fire and returns upstairs.

He lays in bed with Dark Shadow curled up beside him, purring in content. Tokoyami looks over at the empty spot next to him and sighs. The upcoming days are going to be difficult with Patrol Officers wandering around. Not only will their constant presence be a threat to Deku's life, but it's going to hurt his business. People will be afraid of these officers because they are above the law. Regular village guards, sheriffs, and judges are below Patrol Officers and they must follow the laws like everyone else with a slight upper hand of power over the common man. Patrol Officers are allowed a lot of freedoms, such as they don't have to pay for food, drink, or board. They have the right to enter someone's house if they feel they need to or help themselves to people's pantries and livestock. Physical and verbal abuse, sexual assault, and public punishment or humiliation for offenders are also allowed without blame on their end. They were probably the ones who tried to hang Deku.

Tokoyami has a dilemma now, and it's keeping him from falling asleep. The healer in him cannot send Deku out in the near winter chill still wounded and battling and on and off fever. However, hiding Deku here is going to hurt his business, and while Tokoyami understood the chance he takes when hiding friends of the cause, he never expected Patrol Officers. He still cannot accept that Deku is some kind of vicious criminal. There must be a reason why he didn't tell Tokoyami his real name or even give his last name. It wasn't Tokoyami's place to pry into the secret, personal lives of others. He rolls over and disturbs Dark Shadow who gives a growl of annoyance.

"Oh, be quiet," Tokoyami tells him. "Go catch some mice."

He will ask Deku tomorrow.

The clock strikes two and Tokoyami still cannot sleep. He keeps thinking about the mystery behind Deku. Even if he does ask, what if the man wouldn't tell him? Tokoyami can't help the cause and Deku if he doesn't know what Overhaul wants him for. Tokoyami decides to consult the cards and the spirits seeing as sleep will not come to him. The cards can give him hints that he can then slowly pull answers from Deku.

Tokoyami lights a circle of candles on the floor. He adorns his purple cloak and shuffles the cards. He chants three incantations, one for each card, deciding to take the short reading. He repeats the chant three more times before turning over all three cards. Looking over each card one-by-one, Tokoyami traces the pictures with his finger, then opens his pouch of crystals to sprinkle the stones around the cards. He listens to the voices of the spirits.

'He is a man of great importance…a threat to The Regent. He will do great things…change the world. He's honest and noble. Strong, but emotional. He is set on a path for greatness,' Tokoyami closes his eyes for a moment then opens them again. 'That's why Overhaul wants him dead or arrested.' One of the cards suddenly flips itself and Tokoyami lets out a quick gasp. The other two cards do the same and a candle snuffs itself. 'I have to keep him safe…or all is lost.'

Tokoyami blows out the rest of the candles. "Just who are you, Deku?"

'Arrrrgh! My head!' Izuku flops back on the bed after his second bought of throw up in the chamber pot. The rancid smell of sour stomach and wine kept making him nauseous. Where was Tokoyami? He needs something for his head and the aches in his muscles. The arrow wound was hurting more than usual. There's movement coming from the floorboards above, then the door opening, and soft footfalls on the steps. He sits up quickly with a smile, then instantly regrets it as the pain rushes to his head. "ARGH!"

"I'm way ahead of you," Tokoyami says without greeting. He hands Deku a tray with broth and a cup of fizzy water. "The broth for your stomach, and the medicine water for your head."

"Thanks again. Sorry, it stinks…I um…got a bit sick."

Tokoyami picks up the chamber pot. "I know. That's why I left his here."

"You're not bothered by it?" Izuku crinkles his nose at the smell, leaning away from it.

Tokoyami shrugs his shoulders. "Well, it's not pleasant, but it's part of being human. I'll be right back."

"I can toss it if you want?"

"No. It's best that you stay here. I'll be back shortly."

Izuku squeezing his knees together. "Before you go, I have to-" he stops as Tokoyami already hands him another chamber pot from, seemingly, out of thin air. "Thanks. You think of everything, huh?"

"Well, we 'witches' certainly are the evilest beings that walk this earth," his tone is laced with sarcasm.

Izuku's brows furrow and he says, "We'll talk about…last night when you get back."

Tokoyami takes the pot out back to dump it and hears some commotion in the street. Peeking around the corner of the wall, he sees that Patrol Officer; Overhaul, he thinks, giving orders to other Patrol Officers. 'So, it begins,' Tokoyami says to himself. 'I can already sense the fear in the village and the earth trembling. I should consult the crystals tonight.'

Izuku looks over the rim of his bowl as Tokoyami reappears. Whatever type of broth this was, Izuku wanted more of it. He will have to ask Tokoyami how the man manages to run this place and make food and wine all by himself. But right now, they have more important matters to discuss.

"You met Overhaul last night," Izuku states. "Is he still in the village?"

"He is, and he's brought other Patrol Officers with him this time,"

Izuku grits his teeth. "Damn, that's not good. The people won't feel safe, and the officers are after me," he notices a box in Tokoyami's arms. "What's that?"

"I barely got any sleep last night," Tokoyami tells him. "I've been thinking about your health, the officers, and how I can continue to keep you safe until you're well."

Izuku smiles softly at Tokoyami's generosity. "I shouldn't have to stay here for more than two days, maybe one, now that I know the Patrol Officers are here. Is that makeup?"

Tokoyami nods. "Yes. Overhaul wants me to be on the lookout for a green hair and green-eyed man with freckles deemed a dangerous outlaw. I cannot continue to keep you hidden while you heal. I wasn't expecting Patrol Officers. So, we paint you up to look different."

"Paint me up?" Izuku repeats. "But it's better if I just leave, Tokoyami. If they get word that I took off, they'll leave your village."

"This is true. However, I do not believe you are well enough to leave just yet."

"Tokoyami, while I'm grateful for your devotion to our king and cause, I can't very well let you take care of me when I am putting you in even greater danger. I'm still a stranger, after all. You don't really know me well enough to want to protect me at the cost of your life or your home."

That statement gives Tokoyami pause while preparing the temporary black hair dye. "Deku…from what I could gather last night from Overhaul, you are not a regular, run-of-the-mill outlaw," he turns to face him. "You're something different, and Overhaul knows it. He wants me to somehow lure you here, get you drunk, take you to my- um, rooms, and secretly call for your arrest. They believe you are somewhere here in this village, or that you may pass by."

"All the more reason for me to leave!" Izuku demands. "Tokoyami, if you can send word to my base, someone will come and escort me out of the village and you won't have to worry. I don't want to put you in danger. Not after all you've done for me." He hisses in pain when the arrow wound starts to throb.

"That arrow wound is troublesome," Tokoyami puts the makeup down and goes to feel Deku's forehead. "Slight fever again. The wound may be infected."

Izuku sighs. "You're pretty stubborn."

"I sense there is something special about you, Deku, and while I understand you don't want to tell me, I will not push you. But I do want to help you."

"Ugh. Fine. One more day, though. That's all, and I mean it. One more day, and then I'm gone."

"If I deem you well enough."

Izuku grumbles and eventually gives in seeing as Tokoyami won't budge. He sits with his arms crossed as Tokoyami tends to the arrow wound. "What else did Overhaul say to you? About me?" he asks between his hisses of pain as the sting of new stitches threads through his skin.

"You're a threat to him and The Regent. The cards told me but I had a suspicion-" he pauses when he realizes he just told Deku about his cards and the reading. While Deku knew about his herbalism, he didn't let on that he can contact the spirit and elemental world (to an extent).

"The cards?" Izuku looks back at him. "Are you a fortune-teller?"

Tokoyami's eye twitches. Simply calling someone of his cabal and Moon Circle a 'fortune teller' is an insult. Any swift thinking con-artist that can read a person's facial expressions and speak quickly can tell someone's future for a few coins. "I can…interpret things on a higher level than others. Nothing more."

"But you said 'cards'. You read the cards, and they spoke to you. Isn't that telling the future? OW!"

"Sorry." Tokoyami 'pricked' Deku with the stitching needle.

"Tokoyami, I'm not going to think evil of you if you work with magic. Our King, All Might, doesn't discriminate against anyone…and neither do I."

Tokoyami is silent for a moment as he snips the stitch with his beak. "My herbalism is only part of my abilities. I can understand the elements through phases of nature and the moon as well as the sun. I can speak to the spirits of the earth. Nothing about this is evil. We do some strange things, yes, but nothing is in the name of evil," he rubs a stronger medical salve on the wound. "It can be used for evil, but one has to already have an evil heart to want to turn the light of magic into something dark," he bandages the wound. "My readings told me that you are important for the world to change, and I cannot let you leave here knowing that something may happen to you that will endanger all of us. I don't know what the final outcome is…but I have to keep you safe. That's why we're going to dye your hair and cover your freckles, so you remain here, get better, and then move on."

Izuku laughs and answers, "I already have a secret base that I need to return to, Tokoyami. You can't make me your prisoner," he teases.

"I have no such intentions," Tokoyami says. "I want you safe because…because I want our Good King back. No one has heard from All Might…"

Izuku takes Tokoyami's hand and, with a sigh, tells him about the king. "All Might, our Good King, is not doing very well. While he is still alive and in command, he is very, very weak. He hasn't been on the battlefield for a long time, that's why no one has heard anything. I wanted to stay and fight with him, but he sent me back here to the kingdom to help the others try and keep order until his return. It's…complicated...I don't know much about the main issue myself. Only All Might knows. Tokoyami, if you can read cards and crystals, do you think you can give me an idea of what the outcome will be?"

Tokoyami looks down at his hand in Izuku's scarred one. "No one knows the future, Deku. I can try, but the magic doesn't always work that way."

Izuku turns his head to the side to cough, then says, "Go get those cards, and do a reading for me!" He grins.

Tokoyami stares at him. "I'm not a 'fortune teller'. My skills are not cheap parlor tricks,"

Izuku nods. "I know that! I trust you, Tokoyami! Please, do a reading for me?"

"…only if you promise to remain here until you are fully well, danger or no danger. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Tokoyami prepares the circle of candles and shuffles his cards. He feels a little uncomfortable with Deku staring at him. Clearing his throat, he gives the deck to Deku and tells him to shuffle it. Deku does so and hands it back. Chanting a few words and channeling the elements, Tokoyami begins flipping over some of the cards. He glances over at Deku who is studying the pictures as if he were studying a school book. Deku's cheeks are still flushed. That fever is going to be more troublesome than the arrow wound.

"In good news, there is no death that I see," Tokoyami says. "There is a tragedy,"

"What kind?" Izuku asks.

"It's uncertain," He looks at Izuku. "You may ask something. Anything you wish to know, and I will see if I can answer it for you,"

Izuku knows what to ask first. "Will All Might return as king?"

Tokoyami nods. "Yes, he will, but his reign will not be long," he frowns and his shoulders slump. "Again, there is no death for him anytime soon...but...I'm not sure,"

Izuku swallows hard. "He needs to name an heir. That's what I get from it. What do you think?"

Tokoyami nods. "Possible, yes."

"Will I do something great?" Izuku asks.

"Very great. It will help many," Tokoyami smiles softly. "This is a good reading so far. The spirits seem to favor you, Deku."

Izuku grins and asks, "Why is that card not flipped over?"

"It's not ready to be read yet. Do you have any more questions?"

"Not really. Flip that card over. I'm curious!"

Tokoyami shakes his head. "You need to flip it over. That's your card."

"Mine? Wow! I wonder what it is!" he coughs again and picks up the card to look at it. He shows it to Tokoyami. "What's it mean?"

Tokoyami feels his face heat with a flush and he lowers his hood, thinking about this morning and how he admired Deku's handsome face and body as he bathed him. "It means you're going to meet someone special."

TBC