ONCE AGAIN, RAIN WAS SOFTLY HITTING THE GROUND OF MUSUTAFU.

It always rained on this day, perfectly fitting the mood. Mirio had noticed that the princess was rather quiet. She always kept to herself, but not like this. She had gone all morning without saying a single mean thing to him, like at all. The only thing she had said to him all day was good morning. She even left Nejire in the dust.

Mirio didn't even hear a peep out of the king that morning during breakfast. Was he somehow transported to a whole different world?

Sure the princess was starting to warm up to him, but it wasn't like someone had thrown her in the oven overnight. No, something was wrong and he had no idea why. Had their moods been affected by the rain?

Mirio swore to himself that he was going to shine some rays down on the princess' cloudy day so that he can somehow make her smile again. After the whole naked incident, it took him days to get back on her good side and he was going to take that opportunity to go even further into her good side.

He wanted to not only be the best guard, but also a good friend that she could lean on.

After breakfast, the princess weaved her way through the many halls of the castle with Nejire and Mirio quietly following her around. She had a slow step and would often study the walls of the castle she had always been stuck in.

Mirio was confused as to where she was taking them, but it didn't matter anyway. He would always follow the princess no matter what.

She had brought them all towards the front of the castle to stare out of the balcony. Her eyes looked down at the courtyard that anyone could enter. Many of the kingdom's citizens swarmed the courtyard with flowers in their hands. The courtyard was already decorated with plenty of planted flowers so why bring more?

In the middle of the courtyard stood a tall concrete statue of the late queen, the princess' mother. She stood dressed in her finest rock clothes. A long cloak draped over a silk looking dress. In her hands she held her crown while staring out to her living people with a soft smile. Below her, everyone's flowers were laid against the floor being drenched by the pouring rain.

The three of them watched as the group of citizens down below made a passageway for their king, Mirai. He walked up to his wife's statue and stood there in the rain, just watching her.

Mirio was now more curious than ever. Why would they start mourning for the queen now? He stepped forward and quietly made his way over to the princess to try and understand the mellow vibe that haunted today.

Nejire tried to reach out her hand to stop him, "Mirio𑁋"

But it was too late, he was already at her side. He tilted his neck to the side to try and get a better look at her face which only led him to the realization of why Nejire was trying to stop him.

Flowing from the princess' eyes were small tears. Mirio was now terrified of being right next to her. He wasn't sure if he should go back to Nejire's side or comfort the princess in her time of turmoil.

Before he could even make a decision, the princess turned to him with fresh tears spilling from her eyes, "Togata..." She stopped herself unsure if she should turn to him for an answer to this question. "Do you think I'll be a good queen?"

His round eyes widened at her sudden question. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that why you're so sad today?"

She took her long sleeve to wipe away some of the tears. This was the second time that Mirio had seen her crying and she wasn't excited about it, "No you idiot." Mirio sighed with relief at hearing her call him an idiot. She's not sick after all! "Today marks the 10th year since my mother passed. That's why we're all sad, not because I'm insecure. That's everyday."

"Oh! That makes a lot more sense," Mirio awkwardly laughed not sure if he was allowed to or not. "But then why are you worried about being a good queen?"

"Because!" Her eyes went back to the courtyard. "Look at all those people. They loved my mother because of her kindness and the way she tended to every need of her people. Yet here I am crying because I know I will never be like her. All I do is whine and complain like now and I can't even control my quirk correctly."

The princess was in turmoil. All she ever heard about her mother was how amazing she was. A powerful quirk user, a kind heart, a smart brain, and a loving wife. She stared down at her father who was still allowing himself to be drenched by the rain. She couldn't help but wonder if he was worried about the future that she might lead the kingdom to. She didn't know her mother that well before she died so she's not sure how a queen should act or what a queen should say.

Was she even fit to be a princess?

Mirio's hand slipped over her own causing her to flinch and turn towards Mirio. In his eyes she saw that he understood her struggle and knew that she was striving to be better, "It's okay to have emotions, princess. I get emotional too sometimes and whine and complain, so does everyone else. And you need to stop saying you can't control your quirk! You're getting better at it everyday and I know that because I've seen you grow. You just need to be confident in yourself."

She couldn't understand Mirio. She thought that on the first day their relationship would've already been cut by her rude attitude, and yet he's been by her side everyday showing nothing but undying support. She just couldn't wrap her head around it at all.

"You make no sense to me, Togata," Even though she was trying to establish a cool exterior, she couldn't help but wrap her hand around his. "But I guess I have no other choice, but to try."

His hand came over to her cheek to wipe away any remaining tears while a smile slowly returned to his face. This time she didn't flinch at his touch, rather she accepted it.