Journey to the Past

Author's note: Thank you for your patience! I hope you will enjoy the next segment.

Chapter 6: Introductions and Explanations

"Ugh!" Denki let out a long aggravated sigh as the group slumped through the slowly melting snow and into more tolerable weather terrain. There was still a sharp winter crisp to the air, but at least they'd all survived the snow and border crossing without much fuss. Still they'd been walking for three days, and had just barely made it out of Aldera territory and into the pretty countryside of Nabu. "Are we gonna walk all the way to Tatooin?"

"Relax, man." Kirishima assured giving him a friendly slap on the back. "We're taking a boat once we reach the shores of Nabu."

"Ooooh…" Denki sighed but then groaned. "So we're walking all the way to the coast, huh?"

"No, we'll catch a bus once we reach the next town. Shouldn't be more than another half day's walk." Kirishima stretched and breathed in the fresh air. "Mmmm man, smell that fresh air! I gotta tell yah, I'm kinda glad to be out of that stuffy, crowded train car. It's much manlier to hike the terrain."

"It's hard to argue with you there." Deku laughed but slumped on a nearby stump. "Though my feet are doing their best to argue for me."

"Humph! Wimp!" Bakugou barked but plopped his butt down in the grass right next to him.

"Why don't we take a breather?" Todoroki suggested and set his bags down to sit next to Deku.

"Sure, but not too long. The bus depot closes after dark and we'll want to get our tickets as soon as possible." Kirishima gave a call out to Iida who had scouted ahead and was plucking flowers from a nearby field. "Hey iida, We're taking a break! Why don't you bring over some of those provisions and we'll have a snack while we're about it."

"Right away!" Iida practically skipped over, humming. He'd strewn the flowers into a kind of crown and placed it over Deku's head. The gesture made him laugh.

"You're sure in a good mood, Iida-kun."

"I'm quite happy, your highness." Iida pulled out the bags of leftover jerky, bread slices, and canteens filled with water. "You and Lord Todoroki have reunited at long last. Soon you shall be reunited with your only family, and I shall be reunited with my one true love… Lady Ochako!"

"I see…" Deku sent Todoroki a nervous glance. The two of them had yet to really talk about the past, or really acknowledge their reunion. They'd been more preoccupied with trying to get past the border, and figuring out a route to their wayward destination. "Who's Ochako?"

"She's…" Todoroki started to speak, but Iida immediately took the opening.

"Who's Ochako?" Iida adjusted his glasses and lay a hand on his heart. "She's only the most tender little morsel, and a cup of hot chocolate after a long walk in the snow."

"Oh boy, there he goes again." Kirishima laughed and grabbed Iida's hands. "Hey Iida, maybe you'd better exnay on the ocha-kay. Gah!" Kirishima stumbled as Iida pulled him into a clumsy waltz along the road. The sight of it had Todoroki and Deku laughing and enjoying the show.

"She's a delicate pastry made of whip cream and laughter!" Iida exclaimed, his face completely enamoured.

"Gross! Is he talking about a chick, or a cream puff?" Bakugou grunted and scratched at his ear with his back paw.

"Kacchan don't refer to girls as chicks, and I'm pretty sure he's not talking about a cream puff… I think." Deku scratched his cheek at the image growing in his head from Iida's description.

"Oh it's a chick alright." Denki laughed as well. "Ochako is Lady Inko's cousin… once or twice removed I think. Which would make her your cousin as well Deku, but distantly related. Other than you she's the only family Inko has. She and her ladies maids have been tending to Lady Inko since she moved to Tatooin, keeping her company so she doesn't feel so lonely."

"I see…" Deku's eyes saddened. "So, Lady inko… My mother… she thinks i've been dead this whole time?"

"No." Todoroki held Deku's hand comfortingly. "She never gave up hoping you were alive and safe somewhere. I…" Todoroki hesitated, rubbing his thumb over Deku's knuckles. "I made a promise to her and to myself that I would help find you, and bring you back to her. I'm glad that our search wasn't in vain."

"It's still all so surreal…" Deku looked down at their joined hands. "For ten years… I thought I was alone, and that Kacchan and the others at the orphanage would be my only home." He gripped Todoroki's hand back. "I may not remember her, or my life from before… but I can't wait to meet her. I just hope that she accepts me."

"Aww come on, man." Kirishima picked up Bakugou, helping him scratch the itch along his ears and neck. "Of course she will. You're her son."

"Yeah, but… She's royalty." Suddenly dread filled him up as he thought of that hitch. "Oh man! I don't have any proper clothes at all… and the way I talk, and walk… I don't even know how to dance."

"He's got a point you know." Denki jerked a thumb in Deku's direction. "To even get near Lady Inko we'd have to convince her staff and counsel that Deku's the genuine article. He's not gonna get past the front gate looking like that."

"Hmmm…" Kirishima held his chin. "That's true. The original plan was to just tag along with Lord Enji and Shoto, but that plan's literally been derailed."

"The clothes we can buy once we reach the coast. I've enough on me to cover for at least one good suit." Todoroki got to his feet. "As for everything else," he aimed a smile down at Deku and held his hand out like a proper gentleman. "I can teach you."

"Lord Shoto…" Deku took his hand and rose to his feet. "Do you really think you'll be able to teach me enough before we reach our destination?"

"You've already got the makings of royalty in you, Izuku." Shoto gripped his hand a little tighter. "It just needs to be polished up."

"I am well versed in your family history and have read nearly every book in your family library." Iida proudly boasted, adjusting his glasses. "If you have any questions regarding the lineage you need only ask."

"Hey yeah, and Kaminari and I were stable boys and spent a lot of time riding horses so we know all about proper posture and stance." Kirishima stood tall and straight with his chin high. "We'll give you a nice royal make-over, and every house in Tatooin will be rolling out the red carpet for your arrival."

"You fellas are wasting your time." Bakugou complained. "Deku being Deku is gonna screw everything up. If you're gonna make-over anybody, then turn me back into a human being!"

"Don't worry, Kacchan." Deku assured the growling pup. "I already promised we'd find someone to change you back."

"How the hell do you expect to find a mage when you're busy getting pompous lessons from candy cane over there." Bakugou eyes Todoroki with a snarl.

"Nepotism, Kacchan." Deku smiled. "My mother is bound to know someone… and Kirishima didn't you say you know a mage who can help him?"

"Yeah, and actually Uraraka knows her." Kirishima mentioned to Iida who held his heart, sighing again. "I'll ask her to introduce us once we've completed our business with the Queen."

"See?" Izuku beamed down at Bakugou. "You'll be back to normal in no time."

"Yeah, yeah, well we're not doing much good just standing around grinning at each other like doofuses. Forward March, Shitty Hair!" He stuck his paw out, and Kirishima laughed.

"I have no idea what he just said, but I'm assuming he's urging us to keep moving." Kirishima adjusted his hold on Bakugou and proceeded to walk further down the path with Iida and Kaminari flanking him. Deku and Todoroki lingered back a little, admiring the trio.

"This feels… strange to me." Deku sighed and rubbed the strap of his bag nervously. He always felt a bit shy and nervous when it was just him and Todoroki. There was a thudding in his heart… a kind of longing he'd felt ever since their first meeting. "Being here with all of you, like close friends. I've never felt this kind of connection before."

"You did tell me that it wasn't often that you got the chance to play with other boys. Your sisters were a bit older than you were, and probably lived a whole different world from you. I was very much the same after it all happened."

Todoroki went quiet for a moment, his smile gone and replaced with a look of grief. Deku frowned and slowed his pace a bit more, instinctively taking his hand to hold him back as well.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that." Deku turned fully towards him and Shoto met his eyes. "I don't remember much of anything about that night, except for what I've seen in dreams or brief flashes that come and go. I remember being scared, but not for myself. I was worried for others. I could hear screaming, women and children crying, the horrific sounds of violence and destruction. I've had nightmares about it."

"That's not what I want you to remember about that night." Todoroki pulled his hand up to his face, where his scar lay. "I want you to remember us… that brief happiness we shared before everything went dark."

"Lord Shoto…" Izuku rubbed his thumb gently over the scar, and Todoroki opened his eyes again, emotions swirling in them. He'd always hear that Shoto Todoroki was so stoic and standoffish… but that was not the man he saw. He saw such raw feelings in those eyes, and it made his heart fill with those same emotions.

"Izuku… Do you remember me at all?"

"Please don't forget me…"

The words that echoed in Izuku's head were spoken softly, and weepily as if said with a throat full of tears. Izuku felt his own throat close at the emotion.

"I won't forget you, I promise."

"I-" Deku started to respond to Shoto's question, started to say that he did remember the promise, that he didn't forget him… but a sharp nip at his ankle caused him to yelp and he looked down at a snarling Bakugou.

"For fuck's sake, Deku! Stop mooning over the candy cane and let's go!" He nipped again, this time yanking on Deku's pant leg with his teeth.

"Alright, alright, we're coming!" Izuku shook him off and sighed. "We'd better not fall behind or he's liable to drag me all the way there by his teeth.

"That'd certainly be a spectacle." Todoroki said annoyingly but quickened his pace to match the others. They had time, he reminded himself. Izuku was here, he was alive, and they were putting everything back to rights. There was plenty of time to talk about the past, and about the emotions he'd been carrying with him for the past ten years. For now, their priority was getting Izuku to meet his mother, and teach him how to make a good impression on the welcoming committee that stood in their way.

Todoroki took stock of him now. Watched his nervous stride, his hunched shoulders, and downcast eyes. He reached out, his fingers gently brushing under Izuku's chin and tapping it upwards. Deku's eyes immediately lifted and shifted to him. Todoroki sent him a charming smile.

"Your posture is horrible…" he shifted his touch and pressed between Izuku's shoulder blades. "Never look down, and keep your shoulders back. You're royalty… and royals walk tall and never look down on anyone."

"Ah, r-right." Izuku blushed and shifted his stance to Todoroki's direction. He immediately felt different… a sort of pride swelling inside him. He got an image inside his head… an image of a tall blonde man with strong shoulders, and a bright white smile that was as warm as sunlight. It made him smile.

"Better… now take longer strides, you've got good strong legs, you should use them." Todoroki picked up his pace, letting his own long gait eat up ground faster. Deku met his pace, grunting a little as he stiffly kept his body upright. They caught up to the others, in fact bypassed them as their pace exceeded theirs.

"Hey look at you!" Denki grinned watching Izuku keep stride with Todoroki. "Walking like a true prince."

"Yeah, one with a stick up his ass." Bakugou grunted.

"Hey Deku, slow it down some! You're shorter than Lord Shoto and don't have as long of legs." Kirishima called out.

"Right!" Deku slowed his pace, his legs stretching out more casually.

"Don't lose confidence." Iida suggested with a wave of his arms. "Royals always walk with purpose, and always have a place to be."

"Right!" He responded again, his eyes hard and focused. "Can I ask a question?"

"You're a prince, you don't ask questions, you demand answers." Todoroki explained and glanced back at him. "What do you want to know, your highness?"

"Why does someone want to kill me?"

That statement brought everyone to a startling halt. Shoto slowly turned, his eyes stricken with grief. No one knew what to say, or how to respond.

"I'm sorry." He shifted his eyes, resisting the urge to look down. "I just keep thinking about the train, and what the man who locked me inside the baggage car had said.

"What did he say?" Todoroki asked, his eyes hardening.

"He told me he wanted to show me something… then when he shoved me into the car he said it was my "private car" and he called me "your highness." I don't know how he found out who I was, but he knew and he tried to murder me."

"I thought you said it was a conductor who locked you in there because he thought you were a stow away." Shoto scowled.

"He was dressed like a conductor, and at the time I didn't know who you were so I didn't want to expose that." Deku shifted uncomfortably now. "Then when the car became decabled, and started going haywire I realized that I was meant to die. I just… I don't know why."

There was another long moment of silence before Shoto spoke up again.

"It's because you're the heir. Right now Alderra has no King, and it's caused some disorder in the kingdom. Allowing villains and other criminals to run more freely and less likely to be caught."

"All of which will end once you return to your throne and bring order back." Iida placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and another over his heart in a sign of loyalty.

"I thought Shoto's father, Lord Enji Todoroki, was acting steward. Can't he provide the necessary security?"

"Lord Endeavor does what he can, but he doesn't have as many supporters as your father once did." Iida explained. "You're King Toshinori's son, his direct descendent and that fact alone will gather all his local and foreign supporters to your cause. The villains fear your return because they know that with a true hero wearing the crown their days are numbered."

"A hero?" Izuku's eyes went brighter at that phrasing. "You really think so?"

"Yes…" Shoto smiled and walked to him. "I can't see you being anything less than a truly heroic king."

Bakugou scowled as he eyed the faces around him. He didn't care for what they were saying… placing all this pressure and demand on Deku when the guy barely knew how to walk like a noble, let alone rule as one. He gave a quick yip and head butt Kirishima to get his attention.

"Ah, right…" Kirishima rubbed his chin and pet Bakugou on the head. "We can talk about all that later. So long as we make sure that no one finds out who you are we should be okay from here on out. That goes for Lord Shoto too, as the Todoroki family is also very influential and villains wouldn't hesitate to attack him either if they knew who he was."

"I can handle myself," Shoto scowled. "However, I agree that we should keep a low profile and keep our identities a secret for the time being. We'll pick up lessons and the Q&A once we find a more private place to continue."

"Alright, I understand." Deku lowered his head, but quickly lifted it when Shoto tapped his knuckle under his chin. "Heh, sorry, force of habit."

"Well get out of that habit." Shoto now pinched his chin between his thumb and knuckle. He leaned in, giving Deku an intensely long stare. "Understood?"

"Y-Y-yeah, understood!"

"Good…" He looked to the sky. "Let' s pick up the pace. We only have a short time to reach our destination before it gets dark."

"Psst…" Kaminari leaned into Iida and Kirishima whispering. "How come you guys didn't tell the Prince about All for One?"

"That wizard is dead, and we don't want to shock him too much with information about that night." Iida lowered his head as his own memories of that night came back. "From the looks of it, it seems to be coming back to him in pieces, and if we tell him outright what happened that night then it may shock and scare him off."

"You right, and we can't let that happen, for Todoroki's sake." Kirishima whispered, and glanced down at Bakugou who wriggled out of his arms. "Hey whoa, where's the fire man!" He let go and watched Bakugou flick his tail up high and trotted ahead to walk beside Deku. He worried for a moment that the ball of floof would spill the secret to Deku, and started to say something to stop him.

Instead Bakugou turned his head a little to look back at him, and flicked his tail back and forth in some kind of silent signal. It was as if he was agreeing with what they had said, and was in his own way, protecting Izuku too.

"You may have a temper, Baku-Bro, but you sure are only a manly dog." Kirishima grinned and wrapped his arms around iida and Denki. "I get the feeling everything is gonna turn out all right for us, guys."

"You bet!" Denki agreed with a wide grin. "So long as we don't have any more surprises like that train, I don't see how anything else could go wrong.".

~Meanwhile~

All For One sat on a throne of skulls, eyeing the orb that showed Izuku's party strolling down the path. He hadn't said anything to the three young villains for nearly an hour as he seethed and scowled into the vision..

"You have failed, Tomura Shigaraki." He finally spoke, folding his hands in his lap. "The young prince still lives."

"To be fair we did everything you asked…" Toga laughed it off and approached the glowing reliquary. "Could be your little toy is just broken." She poked the glass and All for One's hand whipped out, snagging hers. She let out a yelp as his grip was tght enough to crush bone.

"Don't… touch that again. I sold my soul for that TOY, my life.. No… my very existence depends on it. You break it, you'll pay for it!"

"Eh heh.. Y-Yes sir!" Toga gulped loudly and yanked her hand back when he released her and cowarded behind Dabi. "Sorry!"

"She's not wrong. It wasn't the execution, but rather the plan itself. We should have just blown the entire train up." Shigaraki grunted and scratched at his neck. "He wouldn't have been able to walk away from that."

"Maybe, but are you all that confident that we could have made it off in time?" Dabi sighed. "As it is we had a hard time sneaking off after we set the trap for the prince. If his stupid friends hadn't showed then both he and my little brother would have died just as we'd intended."

"How did you manage to get your brother in there?" Toga asked curiously.

"Happy coincidence… It seems he's just as annoyed with my old man's ways as I was, and was looking to hide from him "

"Sounds like the two of you could actually get along." Toga teased and with a giggle.

"You're not wrong." Dabi smirked. "It's a pity he's such good friends with the wayward prince or I may have actually had the chance to reform him. By putting his lot in with that freckle face he's sealed his fate."

"There may still be a chance you can convince him to take your side." All for One's tone changed, not so much smooth and charming, but instead wicked and vengeful. "If their relationship becomes strained, then perhaps you can use that to your advantage." He tapped his fingers together. "I think we should take a different approach this time. A more personal attack, something that's more enticing and a bit more…" All For One's smile came out slow and creepily. "... cruel."

~Ask BriRy`~

Bri: My apologies for the short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it none the less. :)

Next Chapter: What Dreams May Come