The Monster of Yuuei

by Glow in the Rain

The monsters were called Nomu: mindless, terrible creatures that instilled fear in the Kingdom of Yuuei. But one monster always showed up in a whirlwind of smoke and black tendrils, tearing the Nomu apart. The Monster of Yuuei, they called it. It doesn't take long before a witch, the Captain of the Guard, and the Crowed Prince realize there's more to this monster than it seems.

3. A Distant Echo

3: A Distant Echo

Hours later, and Ochako was still at a loss for words. The whispering trees hushed as she walked by, going eerily silent in her presence. They knew this man, this Izuku, but they dare not speak of him to her.

For the world to react this way, he had power. Monstrous power; deep and old and respected.

He was in her home.

She had no idea what she was doing.

With a sigh, she stepped into the swamp protecting the heart of her domain, stopping only to adjust the bags she carried. Her market trip was a day early, but she needed too much to wait for Friday. She had also needed time to think. The forest's reaction to his name had left tingles across her skin, striking at her nerves in a way that she could not easily shake. Even now, she could still feel the sensation clinging to her like a film of dried sweat.

Tsuyu was nowhere to be seen, but that did not surprise her. The spirit had been waiting when she left, uttering a cryptic comment about the importance of her guest. When pressed, she put a finger to her lips and simply smiled.

The chickens scattered as she crossed the mossy floor to the cottage, and Ochako stopped at the door. Adjusting the weight of her bags, she rapped her knuckles against the weathered wood, hoping to not startle her guest before entering.

He was waiting for her, sitting upright in his bed with Dragon sleeping on his lap. Haunting green eyes tracked her movements as she unloaded her goods onto her kitchen table. She turned to regard him quietly, noting he broke eye contact the moment she made it, fixating on her shoulder. His fingers twitched, curling into the edge of the blanket in a subtle sign of nervousness.

She swallowed the cotton in her mouth. "Izuku."

The wind sighed at his name coming from her lips, but his response was quite the opposite. Wide eyes snapped back up to meet hers, the glow intensifying behind the messy curls. He looked beyond shocked at hearing his name, and the vulnerability in his expression made her heart ache.

Offering a small smile, she continued gently. "In all my years of living in this forest, I've never seen it respond so much to a name. Not even my own." She paused, before adding. "It is a beautiful name."

He said nothing, eyes darting around as he processed what she was saying. Finally, he lifted his gaze to her and squinted, as if trying to see her more clearly. After a few seconds, his eyes widened, and he sucked in a soft breath. When he spoke, his voice was soft and husky, but full of revelation. "You…are an Echo."

Ochako's brow dipped in confusion, and she shook her head softly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's…" He coughed, a flicker of frustration flashing across his freckled face, because the wounds in his neck had not yet healed enough for him to speak easily. Pressing his fingers to his throat, he massaged the tender skin, thinking. Finally, he lifted his gaze back up to her. "Can I… write?"

XX

It was times like this that King Enji wished the All Mighty Mage was still alive and around. He would have known how to deal with these Nomu… he would be able to devise proper counter measures from the monsters terrorizing his kingdom.

As much as the King had been envious of the late legend's magical prowess, he desperately wished he could rely on him now. However, the All Mighty Mage had not been seen in over a decade, and so he was presumed to be dead.

The soft sound of footsteps made Enji look up to see his youngest son appear at the entrance to the room. The King smoothed over his expression, nodding his head. "What is it, Shouto?"

The Prince bowed his head in response, his expression blank. "I wish to join Captain Bakugou's forces in pushing back the Nomu."

The torches in the room flickered violently, betraying the King's otherwise masked expression. "This again? We have been over this before, Shouto. If something were to happen to you, it would cripple the Kingdom, and we would be vulnerable to attacks from our neighbors. The Todoroki name must not fall."

It was an argument they had had before, ever since he turned sixteen, the minimum age to be recruited into the guard. However, this time, Shouto did not back down. A flicker of something dark crossed the younger man's face, leaking through the mask he preferred to wear around his father. "We're facing a real threat that could destroy everything we know, and you're still worried about protecting our family name."

The torches closest to the young Prince burned a hot white, the last word escaping his lips with disdain.

Enji's eyes widened at the emotion his usually closed off son displayed. He frowned, glancing away, pondering the situation heavily. With a long sigh, he took a moment to carefully choose his words before asking, "What is your reason for wanting to fight, my son?"

The young prince scowled, as if the answer was obvious. "You only want one? Our people need us! Ruling a country does not mean we sit in the safety of our castle while our people suffer, Father! Our citizens are scared, and our soldiers are tired. These attacks are getting worse, and that large Nomu may not be the only one of its kind. I have strong magic, Father, and I have trained with a sword since I was a child. I should be out there, helping protect the country you claim we should be protecting. What kind of heir just sits here and watches his people suffer?"

Enji sat back, regarding his son before him as the torches stood eerily still, in a way fire shouldn't. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes. "I should have expected no less from my own child."

Shouto narrowed his eyes, but Enji continued, looking up to meet his gaze. "Forgive me, my son. I am in the wrong. I have put my desire to protect you above my responsibility to protect our people. It is unbecoming of a King."

The young man said nothing, even if really wanted to agree. This was the farthest he had ever gotten in this argument, after all. It would be wise to not stoke the fires of his father's pride.

After a reflective moment, Enji nodded, standing up from his throne. "Very well. If you wish to join the guard, I shall allow it."

Shouto blinked, his surprise showing on his face for the briefest of moments, before he resumed his mask. "...Thank you, Father."

Enji held up a hand. "However, I have two requests." The younger man narrowed his eyes, but the King did not waver. "First, as you have no real combat experience, much less against these monsters, you will report to Captain Bakugou and do everything he says."

Shouto's brows lifted slightly, ignoring the happy flip his stomach did at his father's words. It was everything in his power to keep his tone neutral and carefully controlled. "...Very well. And the second request?"

Enji stepped down from his throne, walking towards his younger son. "I have been patient regarding this, as I did not want to push you, but if you're going to be out there fighting, this changes things." He paused, placing a large hand on his son's shoulder. "You need to produce an heir, in case something happens to you. And to do that, you need to break the curse that damned witch put on you."

Shout felt as if he had been doused with cold water, washing away the excitement he felt. "Ah."

XX

While speaking was difficult, writing was another, different kind of difficult. He knew the characters and remembered the movements, but with his right arm still healing, the finer motions were a struggle.

With a soft sigh, he paused to inspect the messy scrawl of ink on the parchment and ensure it was readable. As painful as this was, having something to focus on, to do, had helped a lot to reorient him in this new setting he found himself in.

A warm brush against his mind made him pause, and he let his eyes close as he listened, trying to pick up on what was being whispered to him from deep within. It had been quiet since he took injury, hiding deep in the recesses of his mind, but the unwavering intensity he felt promised it was still there, waiting like always.

With gentle coaxing, he felt it, more than he heard it. Echo.

He opened his eyes, staring down at the parchment through dark lashes. So he was right; she was an Echo. Never in his life had he seen one, but now as he watched her interact with the world, he understood why they were so unique. No wonder her name caused such a ripple around her. The magical world adored her because she could talk to it.

Movement out of the corner of his eye made him look up as the witch–Ochako–approached. In her hands was a folded piece of sage green fabric and a pair of tweed sandals. His brow furrowed as she knelt down before him, placing the items beside him. "These are for you."

His lips parted in surprise, and he glanced briefly at her face before down to the materials, realizing the fabric was an article of clothing. His voice cracked, but he managed to squeeze out, "...For me?"

She nodded, unfolding the linen. "It's just a robe, but it will do until your wounds are fully healed. Your rags are in ruins and not really fit for wear."

For some reason unbeknownst to him, he felt a heat touch his face at that, and he glanced down at the floor. "...Thank you." Moving his makeshift writing station aside, he reached out for the fabric, but she shook her head.

"You need a proper bath first."

He made a confused noise, eyes following Ochako as she stood up and walked around his bed through the door leading to the veranda, where the bubbling pool of water was. Waving her fingers over the pool, she willed the water to respond, speaking as she worked. "We'll need to make sure you don't reopen your wounds, but this water has healing properties. And, quite frankly, you're a mess."

Izuku glanced back down at the floor, embarrassed, although her words did not seem to have any bite. In fact, the tone was unfamiliar to him, but if he had to describe it, he would call it …soft. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look over to him, a smile on her lips. "You don't look like you take good care of yourself, so let's work on fixing that, okay?"

That made him snap his head up. He stared at her mutely, unsure of what to say as his mind turned into a foggy soup of confused thoughts.

She was caring for him. Clothing him. Offering him a bath. It had been so long since he had exposure to real human interaction, and he couldn't recall when it was last like this.

"There," She said, lowering her hand as gentle steam began rising from the water. "Let's get you clean."

XX

As Ochako helped Izuku lower himself into the bath, she was admittedly impressed by how well he was moving considering the extent of his injuries. She kept her hands on him, aiding him as he sank into the hot water, modesty protected by a towel wrapped around his waist. He hissed softly at the sensation, but when she asked if it was too warm, he shook his head sharply.

After ensuring he had everything he needed, she gave him some privacy, stepping back inside. Her gaze fell to the parchment. Crouching down, she picked up the sheet and her eyes skimmed over the shaky words. Her brows lifted at seeing just how much he had written so far. It was practically the start of a book, and it made Ochako realize very quickly that this man, despite appearances, was surprisingly well educated.

"You won't remember this or find it in books because a very powerful magic erased this knowledge from our history before I was born. I know the truth because my Master told me. He could remember.

Magic is a living ecosystem, but most people can't interact with it directly or even see it in its native form. The magic that most people see and use are called Cores, which are pieces of the magical world that break off to live in the physical world. Sometimes Cores manifest as magical beings, sometimes they bind to objects. Other times, they attach to people. Everyone who can use magic has a core that lives in them, but they can't communicate with the core, only draw power from it.

You are different. You have an Echo Core, which lets you talk to magic and interact with it. …"

His story ended there, with a shaky trail of ink from where he pulled the quill away. Ochako stared down at the words on the parchment, tapping a finger to her lips thoughtfully.

What he wrote, while unusual, did overlap with how she understood the world. She knew she was different, though she did not know why. For most, magic was a tool to be used, but for her, it was a companion. A partner. Magic lived and she could feel it, hear it, and sometimes see it.

No one else seemed to understand, simply treating her as a powerful mage, when really she was only borrowing from the world around her.

However, the rest of this, about erased history… that was a hard stretch. Magic so powerful that it wiped knowledge from everyone's mind? From every bit of recorded history?

She paused, her breath catching as she thought to the Royal Archives, and the restricted collection called the Empty Books. They were suspected of being cursed, as they were scriptures that teemed with magic, but the pages were blank, save a few sentences or words scattered between the pages.

She looked back up towards the man bathing on her veranda, her brows dipping low. Just what was going on?

XX

"I don't know what has pissed him off today, but he is in a foul mood."

"It has something to do with an order from His Majesty. I saw a royal messenger here earlier."

"Do you think it's because–" "Shhh!"

Shouto's eyes cut over to the group of soldiers who quickly broke apart to acknowledge him, bowing stiffly as he walked by. Even without hearing a name, he knew exactly who they were talking about, but unlike them, he also knew why the Dragon of Yuuei was so angry.

And he was ready to face it head on.

Head held high, he stepped inside the Captain's quarters, not bothering to announce his presence.

Katsuki of House Bakugou was leaning over his desk, palms braced against the wood as he stared at a spread of parchments in front of him. Off to the side stood Eijiro of House Kirishima, marking locations on a large map of the kingdom that hung on the wall.

Both looked up at the unannounced intrusion, and Katsuki looked like he was about to snap something angry before he realized who was standing before him. He swallowed the words like they were bitter, nostrils flaring as he stared at the Prince before him. It had been a while since Shouto had seen him this worked up.

Kirishima gave his Captain a sidelong glance at his lack of decorum, before he sighed and dipped into a respectful bow. "Young Majesty," He greeted.

Shouto nodded back to him. "Hello, Eijiro." He paused, turning to the captain before him, before deciding he needed to stoke the fires a little more. "Captain…Is that how you greet me?"

Katsuki growled, standing up straight and giving Shouto a deep bow, his head almost smacking against his desk. Eijiro stared down at his Captain in exasperation. It wasn't the first time he'd witnessed such antics between these two, after all.

Doing his best to keep the amusement out of his voice, Shouto commanded, "You may rise."

He could hear the sharp inhalation from Katsuki as he straightened back up, glaring hot daggers at him. It was very hard to not smile in response, but he somehow managed to keep his expression contained. Slowly, the Captain walked around his desk, pointing a finger at him. "You…"

Shouto looked toward the Lieutenant Captain, nodding politely. "Eijiro, would you give us five minutes, please? I promise nothing will be set on fire this time."

The redhead glanced between the two of them, before sighing once again. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Prince Shouto. Excuse me." With that he walked off out of the room, his heavy boots thudding against the weathered stone on his way out.

The moment the door creaked shut behind him, Katsuki advanced, storming up to the prince and grabbing his shoulders. "What the hell did you do?"

In response, Shouto lifted a brow, lightly resting one of his hands on top of Katsuki's. "I got my father to agree to let me help fight."

He felt the other man's fingers dig into his shoulders, but he stood there patiently, watching the Dragon silently war with himself on something. Finally, he snarled, "You could get hurt."

Ah, there it was.

Shouto nodded in agreement. "I could, yes. So could you. Do you think I don't worry about you?"

"It's my fucking job, you pain the ass!"

"And mine is to be a good leader for our people. I can't do that behind the castle walls. You know this, Katsuki. Would you follow a King who does that?"

The blond gritted his teeth, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He jerked his head away, staring off at the wall, the torchlight reflecting in his eyes. Finally, he grumbled, "At least he's being smart about this for once." Turning, he leveled the prince with a look, his voice regaining its confidence. "You're going to do everything I say, or I will kick your royal ass back to the castle so fast; do you hear me?"

"I'm sure you'll take good care of me," Shouto replied fondly, a genuine smile breaking out on his face. He watched as the last dredges of anger in the Dragon's eyes died, replaced by the burning intensity that normally showed when they were alone.

It reminded him of what else he needed to say, and he swallowed uneasily. "There's… something else."

Sharp eyes narrowed, and he felt Katsuki's hands twitch on his shoulders. The man seemed to remember he was still holding onto him, and he took a step back, letting his hands drop to his sides. Shouto's eyes followed the movement as he lamented the loss of his touch.

"What is it?" Katsuki asked quietly, noting the subtle change in his Prince's demeanor.

Mismatched eyes lifted to meet crimson and voice near a whisper, he answered.

"My father is pushing me to break Ochako's curse."

XX

The sun was setting, casting long shadows everywhere it could. Ochako pursed her lips, pulling the skillet off the fire as she finished preparing dinner. The meat sizzled as she moved it to the plates, and when she turned to put down the skillet, she jumped to see Izuku standing against the doorway.

His curly hair clung to his face wetly, soft glowing eyes watching her in the low light of the hearth. He was steadying himself against the door frame with his good hand, wrapped in the robe that she gave him. It was slightly too big, but her measurements had been a guess at best, anyway.

Before she could offer to help, he crossed the small distance to his bed, doing his best to favor his injured side. Once seated, he stretched his legs towards the hearth and sighed softly.

Ochako set aside the skillet, moving to pour the tea. "May I ask you questions about what you've written so far?"

She looked over to him, and he nodded, though she thought he looked a little unsure of himself.

"Thank you." She brought the cups of tea over, handing him one and setting the other down on the floor near him. As she moved back to the kitchen, she started. "I understand that someone like myself, who can interact with the magic around me, has an Echo Core, and I'm going to guess it's rare, since I've not met anyone else like me. Is that right?"

He nodded, taking a small sip of his tea.

"Do you also have this Echo Core?"

She watched him as he paused, his glowing eyes flickering up to her. Slowly, he shook his head, but the hesitation made her suspicious.

She frowned, bringing around two plates of food and offering one to him. "Then how else would you know what I can do, unless you saw me do it?"

He placed down his teacup and took the offered plate, settling it on his legs. She sat down on the floor across from him, the light from the hearth casting her in a rosy glow. Reaching up, he rubbed his throat and spoke. "Is…Different."

She supposed that made sense, because the magic he had wrapped around him as the Monster of Yuuei was certainly not the same as what she could do.

She tilted her head at him. "Is the core you have also special?"

She watched him stop breathing, staring down at his plate. Slowly, he nodded, not looking up at her.

"Is it–" She stopped, watching as his head jerked up sharply, eyes wide as he stared off into the distance. She frowned, following his gaze, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. So instead, she listened.

The woods rustled uneasily, leaning away from the east. Her breath caught. "Nomu?"

He nodded slowly, body tense and eyes transfixed on something only he could see. "Eight small. One bigger." His eyes glowed intensely. "At the east pine forest."

Her breath caught. "You… you can see them?"

He nodded again. "See their cores."

They had cores.

And the Monster of Yuuei was still too injured to fight.

He jumped as she scrambled to her feet, moving aside her food. "Wait…"

"You stay here," She snapped, beckoning the forest to support her. "You cannot fight as you are. I will go in your stead."

He stared at her in horror, shaking his head rapidly as she gathered her things. "You… can't!" His voice was breezy, lacking strength.

Turning to him, she gathered magic from the forest around her, eyes glowing a dusky pink. "Watch me."

XX

Katsuki growled as he urged his horse to go faster, riding towards the monsters. Of course Shouto would insist on joining the patrol right after getting his father's approval and of course they would hear Nomu the moment they got past the farmlands.

If Shouto got so much as a hangnail from this, Katsuki was going to murder him.

The light at his back let him know that the Prince was right behind him, using his fire to give them visibility as the last embers of sunset fell behind the mountains.

He drew to a stop, dismounting as he saw the Nomu crash out of the forest and onto the road, drawn to the beacon of light that was Shouto's fire. It was large, but not like the one in the market, half the size and full of lean muscle. It leveled glowing red eyes onto the troop and with a shriek, barreled towards them. A pack of smaller Nomu bounded behind it, trilling in unison.

Sparks flickered at Katsuki's fingertips as he grinned under his helm, feeling his magic spring to life as adrenaline coursed through him. He charged forward, bringing forth an explosive blast of energy as the larger beast bore down on him. His magic hit the monster full force, and Katsuki dove out of the way as it slammed down where he was, smoke and sparks coming off of its thick skin.

Drawing one of his swords, he twirled it around and darted around the creature, drawing its attention away from the rest of his men. It followed him, spinning around with startling agility as it advanced on the Dragon of Yuuei. In response, Katsuki suddenly pivoted, jumping up and throwing himself over the creature's body with a blast of magic, landing on its back. Raising his sword over his head, he thrust it down into the skin of the great monster. It reared up, thrashing around, threatening to toss him off. He held onto his sword, but the blade had not penetrated deep enough to be of consequence. With a mighty shake, the creature dislodged him, sending him and his weapon flying across the clearing.

He landed roughly on the ground, feeling sharp pain lance up his arm and shoulder. Grimacing, he pulled himself to his feet, looking up as the Nomu advanced on him.

A hot blast of fire wrapped around its head, sending it screaming in agony. To his right, Shouto stood there, flames spinning around in a whirlwind of fury. He lashed an open hand out, sending another blast of fire at the Nomu as it recovered, effectively grabbing its attention away from Katsuki.

The Captain's eyes widened. "No, you idiot, get away!"

Shouto ignored him, sending another rush of fire towards the creature, ensuring he had its attention before he began to kite it further away from the treeline, leaving the rest of the smaller Nomu to the other soldiers. As dangerous as this thing was, setting the entire forest on fire would be a consequence he did not want to deal with.

Shaking off the flames, the creature bounded for him, although an explosive blast at its flank made it stumble. Katsuki darted around from behind, sending volley after volley, aiming for the beast's belly.

It was a slow battle of whittling away at the protective hide of the monster, but the stench of burnt flesh promised they were doing something.

Something flickered above, just out of the corner of Katsuki's vision. He chanced a look up, seeing lightning crackling in dark clouds overhead. The sky had been clear when they had set out for patrol, and it took only a moment before the confusion gave way to shock as the sky opened up and lightning arced down, striking the Nomu with incredible force.

He whirled around as the monster screamed, eyes searching everywhere before he saw her standing at the distance, staff in hand and cloak billowing as energy crackled around her. The scent of burnt flesh was permeating the air, but the creature was not yet down. It staggered, before it whipped its head around, landing its sights on Ochako like it knew she was there. With an unnatural twist of its head, it screeched in a way that sounded excited and bounded for her.

Shouto clapped his hands together, flames sharpening like an arrow that he released at the Nomu's flank. The piercing fire ripped through the hide, sending black blood spurting onto the dirt road, however the monster did not stop its advance.

Ochako narrowed her eyes, waving her staff around as it collected energy around her. Heaving her weapon, she sent a volley of raw magic hurtling at the creature. It twisted in a moment of evasiveness, the magic impacting against its shoulder instead of its head and bursting into an explosion of violet particles. As it closed the distance between them, the witch gritted her teeth, pulling everything around her into a tight magical shield and braced for impact.

The impact was a blur of black and green lightning ramming into the monster, sending it crashing into the field. Blood flung from the tumbling body in a messy spray, and the creature groaned as it landed in a boneless heap some distance away.

With wide eyes, Ochako slowly lowered her shield as she stared at the crouched form of black energy before her, inky tendrils whipping around him angrily. No sign of skin was visible, the magic wrapping around him like a living exoskeleton.

Just past him, she watched as Shouto and Katsuki approached, coming to a stop a few meters away. Izuku whipped his head to them, staring at them intently from where he perched. Shouto's fire flashed around him, unsure if he was going to attack.

"Wait!" Ochako shouted, scrambling up and putting herself between Izuku and the other two men.

At the same time, Katsuki had put a hand against Shouto's chest, giving a sharp shake of his head. "Don't attack. It doesn't attack humans."

Shouto glanced over at him, then back to the hooded woman and the monster. A shout from behind caused all of them to turn, seeing the rest of Katsuki's troop had taken down the last of the Nomu.

Katsuki whipped his head around, looking at Ochako urgently. "You need to go. Now."

Shouto gave the captain a perturbed look, before his brows shot up and he looked back at the disguised witch. "...Ochako?"

The Dragon hissed, covering the man's mouth with his hand. "Get out of here before they see you! Go!"

Ochako took a step back, glancing back to Izuku. Green eyes stared at her intently through the veil of magic, before he yanked her towards him with a tendril and took off into the night, leaving behind the smoldering battlefield and the surprised shouts from the soldiers.

XX

As Izuku bounded across the fields, his good arm holding Ochako close and his magic supplementing his injured limbs, he replayed the words that had sounded from his Core after she left, driving him out to the battlefield despite his condition.

She has a Relic. They will hunt her. Then, they will hunt you.

- XX -

AN: I'm realizing that my brain refuses to write Shouto as anything other than a little brat when it comes to his relationship with Katsuki. Sorry, not sorry.