Chapter One:
Izuku crouched down and waited for the double-doors to open. At five years old, the little demon prince was small enough to completely hide behind a porcelain vase. Only the tips of his black wings pointed out.
The doors to the throne room opened as a guest approached—a man in a fancy blue kimono, no doubt presenting a petition to High Lord All for One. Izuku saw his chance. He darted forward. Air rushed through his hair as he took flight.
The guards cried out as he soared over their heads, but no one dared grab him. They knew that if they laid a finger on the High Lord's son, it would mean their lives.
In his rough and clumsy flight, Izuku tumbled over the heads of several demons in elaborate kimonos. He nearly bumped into the hair of a woman wearing a tall bun topped with a jeweled comb. She dropped to her face on the floor to avoid touching him.
Waving his arms, Izuku careened toward the golden throne at the end of the red silk carpet. "Daddy!"
High Lord All for One, known to his family as Hisashi, looked up. He wore a sokutai, a traditional embroidered robe with heavy triangular sleeves. The outer coat on top of the white pants made his giant size even more imposing. Only the high lord could wear that particular shade of dark yellow. Ram horns curled over his curly white hair. Each gem on his golden crown gleamed with magic. The tips of his white bat wings perked up at the sight of his son. "My little bitten!" he cried, the term for a baby bat.
Izuku landed in his father's outstretched arms. "Daddy, I can fly!" he cried. Izuku had taken flight for the first time earlier in the morning, under his mother's patient teaching. Naturally, he'd run to show his beloved father right away.
Hisashi kissed the top of his son's head. "What a wonderful first flight. I'm so proud of you, bitten. This deserves a special gift. What would you like?"
Izuku giggled. "I don't know." His father always gave Izuku anything he wanted the instant a hint of desire left his mouth. The young demon prince's bedroom overflowed with rare and valuable treasures from around the world. Izuku could think of nothing he didn't already have.
Hisashi smiled. "Then I'll have to surprise you." He looked up, and his face hardened. "What are all of you still doing here? Leave us. I'm celebrating my son's first flight."
The demon guest in the blue robe cleared his throat. "High Lord, I traveled a long way to meet with you—"
"Then I'm sure your business can wait until tomorrow." Hisashi spoke in a soft, deadly voice.
Every demon in the room fled.
Hisashi turned his adoring eyes on his son seated in his lap. "What a precocious child you are! You're flying even younger than Y—but he was sickly, of course. I'm so proud of you."
"I love you, Daddy." Izuku beamed.
"I love you more than all the magic in the world, my little bitten." Hisashi cuddled his son close.
This was high praise indeed, because everyone knew High Lord All for One had the power to steal magical gifts and an endless appetite for them. Izuku chirped in pleasure, nestled in his father's warm arms.
The moment was interrupted by a knock. Hisashi's head snapped up, his eyes blazing.
A guard called timidly, "Please, begging your mercy, High Lord, but you long ago commanded us to bring anyone with word of your brother before you at once, no matter what business we had to interrupt."
Hisashi's teeth ground as loudly as thunder. The arms around Izuku tightened.
The poor guard stuttered, "Please, I really do think you want to see this. The bounty hunters have…they have him. Y-yoi…" The guard could not bring himself to finish speaking the name which had been forbidden in the palace.
Hisashi glanced down and stroked his son's head. He whispered, "This will only take a minute, bitten. I'll take care of these fraudsters. Then I'll find the perfect gift for you."
Izuku's deceased uncle Yoichi was a tender and dangerous topic. Hisashi often praised Izuku and gave him gifts whenever he acted at all similar to Yoichi. But when Izuku made the mistake of mentioning his uncle first, it would put his father in a bad mood for days. Inko had taken her son aside and given him an abridged version of the story. Long ago, before Izuku had been born, Dad and Uncle Yoichi had fought. Uncle Yoichi had tried to run away from home, and he'd fallen into a pit of lava. Because there had been no body, for a long time, Dad had clung to hope that his precious little brother might still be alive. He'd offered a massive bounty, enough for a demon to live like royalty for an immortal lifespan. This had lured in hundreds of con artists. Dad had been so furious that he made them all disappear. Mom had said that Dad still felt very sad about Uncle Yoichi's death and Izuku should not bring up the subject.
"Come in," Hisashi growled, although with red light crackling from his eyes he became less Hisashi and more All for One. A clawed hand tightened on the armrest.
Izuku felt sorry for the bounty hunters who were about to make his father very angry. Though Izuku loved his father, he had seen other people suffer from All for One's vicious temper. The angry glares always turned to smiles whenever Izuku was around, so he tried to deflect his father's wrath whenever he could.
The huge brass doors creaked open. Half a dozen burly demons in leather armor entered, dragging a prisoner behind them. The man's feathery white wings had been bound with leather straps and a muzzle covered his mouth. He hissed like an angry animal. Though he was taller than his captors, his thinness made him look frail. Golden sparks of magic danced off the chains around his arms, showing that he was desperately trying to use magic despite the suppression of his enchanted bindings.
The prisoner looked up. His wild, long white hair shifted off his face, revealing emerald eyes with white pupils—the exact same shade of green as Izuku's own eyes. Izuku gasped, leaning forward to take a closer look. Even with dirt on his face and bruises on his arms, this man was the prettiest person Izuku had ever seen—except for his mother, of course.
Hisashi stood up. Izuku fell to the floor on his bottom. "Daddy!" Izuku cried, shocked at how unceremoniously he'd been pushed off the throne.
As if in a trance, Hisashi walked forward. "Daddy, it hurts!" Izuku shouted. His backside stung a little. Mostly Izuku felt shocked at being ignored by his father. Hisashi had always immediately run to kiss and heal his scrapes and bruises. But this time, Hisashi didn't even turn around.
The bounty hunters parted before Hisashi, bowing to the floor in silence. The sheer power radiating off the High Lord had rendered everyone in the room unable to move—except for the prisoner bitterly struggling to the end. Growls continued to spill from his gag as he thrashed.
Hisashi bent down in front of the prisoner. The other demon tensed, lowering his head to avoid meeting the High Lord's eyes. Hisashi grabbed a fistful of white hair and yanked the man's head up.
The prisoner spat at his face.
"You're good," Hisashi said hoarsely. The spittle trickled down his chin, but he didn't even wipe it off in his total focus. "Very good. I've never seen a fake as good as you." He stroked the dirty cheek reverently. The prisoner shuddered. "But true blood connection can't be imitated. As soon as I touch you with my magic, I'll know."
The prisoner went mad, spitting and fighting against his chains. Still gripping the white hair, Hisashi's hand began to glow. Sitting on the floor, Izuku watched raptly. No one in the room, from the guards to the bounty hunters, dared make a sound.
The air crackled, then sang with power. Even on the other end of the throne room, Izuku could feel the resonance between the magic inside his father and the prisoner. This was irrefutable proof. The prisoner could only be Izuku's Uncle Yoichi, returned from the grave.
Hisashi threw back his head and screamed with joy. He lunged forward, crushing the prisoner to his chest. His claws dug into the other's wings, leaving scratches on the chains. Without looking, Hisashi said, "All of you will be greatly rewarded for bringing him, even more than I promised. You guards as well, for knowing to bring him here at once. Now get out of this room."
The guards and bounty hunters fell all over each other in their haste to leave. The metal door clanked shut behind them.
Hisashi rocked his little brother in his arms like an oversized baby. Tears poured down his cheeks. Hisashi wept silently except for the occasional gasp for air. Izuku had never before seen his father cry, and the sight made his chest prickle with uneasiness. Yoichi had gone limp, sullen rage filling his eyes.
"You're alive," Hisashi whispered. "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive!" His voice rose with each word. "I knew you faked it! I knew it! You hated me enough to hurt me like that? You wanted to leave me so badly? I'll never let you." His voice choked with sobs. "I'm…so happy…that you're alive." He removed the muzzle.
Immediately, Yoichi bit Hisashi's ear.
Through his tears, Hisashi chuckled. "Just like old times." He yanked his brother away by his hair. The injury healed immediately, from one of the demon lord's many powers. Hisashi kept stroking Yoichi's hair as Yoichi tried to move away from him. "Where have you been, my dear and foolish treasure?"
Yoichi clamped his mouth shut and glared.
"Keep your secrets." Hisashi laughed darkly. "I'll still hunt down every last person who kept you from me."
There was something dark in this room, something that made goosebumps rise all down Izuku's wings. "Ow!" he cried again, trying to snap his father out of it. Surely it would be unthinkable for his father to ignore his cries of pain for a third time.
Yoichi looked up. "I'd heard that you reproduced, big brother. I can't believe that you found anyone who wanted you. So this is the boy? He looks just like you as a child. He's hurt, shouldn't you help him?"
"Oh, so you'll acknowledge other people but not me?" Hisashi's voice filled with a simmering anger. His dark gaze fell on his son. Izuku flinched. He had seen that look of jealousy on his father's face before, whenever Izuku paid attention to someone else. But this was the first time that Izuku had been the target of the hostility. It made him shudder and slide backwards on his bottom.
Yoichi's voice rose. "I see your pettiness hasn't changed one bit!"
Arms tightening around his brother, Hisashi growled at Izuku, "I ordered everyone in this room to leave. What are you still doing here?"
"But…you pushed me off your lap…and it hurts." Izuku's lower lip wobbled. Tears overflowed from his eyes.
"Izuku, leave." Hisashi snarled.
Izuku stumbled to his feet and fled the throne room, too shocked and scared to even remember how to fly.
His father never called him "my little bitten" again.
Izuku rushed down the hallway, carrying his stuffed rabbit, his favorite drinking cup, and a dozen drawings. His father loved gifts—both receiving them and showering Izuku with them. If Izuku gave his most cherished possessions to his father, then surely Daddy would stop being strange.
Ahead, Izuku heard his father's voice, too distantly to make out but in a questioning tone. Izuku picked up his pace. An unfamiliar demon replied, "We've interrogated the bounty hunters about your brother's location but they don't know where he has been hiding—"
Izuku rounded the corner so fast that he ran into someone's legs. "Oopsie!" he cried, lunging to catch his stuffed rabbit before it fell.
The strange demon leapt backward, crying, "Your Highness, I'm so sorry!" He cast a terrified glance at Hisashi.
But Hisashi did not look upset at the man who had bumped into Izuku. Instead, he stared down at his son with a look of annoyance, as if he'd found a possession out of place.
Izuku held up his greatest treasures. "Daddy, these are for you! I drew a new drawing of us, too." He shifted his arms to show a picture of his mother and father holding hands with Izuku in the middle.
Coldly, Hisashi said, "I'm busy right now. I don't need children's toys. Run along."
The demon looked between the High Lord and his son, a calculating look forming on his face. Izuku did not understand that look, but it made him shiver.
Izuku whispered, "Are you angry at me, Daddy?" Surely that must be it. Izuku must have done something wrong without realizing, like that time he'd asked his father where his uncle had gone. If only his father would tell him what he'd done, then Izuku could apologize and everything would go back to normal.
"Yes, I'm angry at you," Hisashi said. "Because you're still standing in my way."
Izuku's world shattered. Tears and sobs shook his small body. He could not move. His legs remained frozen as his father walked around him and left without a backward glance.
For the last hour, Izuku had been sobbing into his pillow. He had finally run out of tears. Only a few sad hiccups remained.
When Izuku heard the sound of the footsteps, he sat up and rubbed his face, trying to hide the tear tracks. It could only be his mother. Izuku and Inko lived in a luxurious set of rooms taking up the entire basement of the palace. Hisashi had an adjoining bedroom. Only the three family members were permitted in the lower floor. Heavy wards would kill anyone else who tried to enter. The rooms were cleaned by magic. Inko had told Izuku that his father was extremely paranoid and didn't feel safe in a space occupied by anyone except family. Even Inko herself wasn't permitted to stay in Hisashi's bedroom while he slept. Paranoia had also led Hisashi to set up his bedroom in the basement, which he'd reinforced to survive any magical explosion or natural disaster.
"Izuku?" Inko called, her voice drifting down the long corridor. Her sandals clacked on the floor. "Can I come in?"
"Yes, Mommy," Izuku said, proud of how he kept his voice steady.
But as soon as Inko saw his face, she knew. "Oh, baby," she whispered, rushing across the bedroom and flinging her arms around him.
The kindness and the warmth of her hug made Izuku break down again. He sobbed into his mother's chest as she rocked him back and forth.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner," Inko whispered. "I just came from a meeting with your father—the High Lord—your father. He says we have to move out of our rooms. I'm afraid we only have a few hours to pack. I'm so sorry." In a lower voice he probably hadn't been meant to hear, she muttered, "If I'd known Yoichi was alive, I never would have married Hisashi. Hell, if only he could run off again."
Izuku stiffened. "Is Daddy throwing you away?" Many demon lords and ladies casually discarded consorts every couple decades. But his mother had been the adored jewel of the court, seemingly safe from all machinations. "Is it because of me?"
"Of course not. You've done nothing wrong." Inko clung to Izuku tighter. "It's because your uncle has been…returned home. The High Lord does not feel like Yoichi will be safe if anyone else has access to the royal quarters. It's ridiculous, of course! I clearly explained that we were no threat and besides he could ward Yoichi's room so we couldn't enter, but he said…well."
Hisashi had always said that he only felt safe in spaces where no one except his family could enter. It went without saying that if he no longer wanted Inko and Izuku in his safe space, then they were no longer family.
Izuku whispered, "Did Daddy stop loving me?"
"I…I…" Inko's inability to speak was its own answer. "I'm sure your father still…in his own way…maybe he'll…"
Izuku couldn't understand how it was possible for his father, the person who had given him nothing but love for the first five years of his life, to simply stop loving him one day. "Will you stop loving me someday too, Mommy?"
"No! Never!" Inko clung to her son and wept.
The High Lord's palace was guarded by shriekers, undead creatures that only obeyed the royal family. Hisashi had not yet revoked Inko's ability to command them, so they let her pass. Spreading her black wings wide, she flew up the side of the palace.
In a mad state of fury, Inko pounded on the window of the High Lord's office. "Hisashi! Hisashi! Get your pointy-tailed butt over here!"
Hisashi opened the window. Taking in Inko hovering outside, his face twisted with annoyance. "I told you that I was too busy to discuss your housing any further. My decision is final."
Inko screamed, "Izuku has been crying his eyes out because he believes that you don't love him any longer! I couldn't tell him otherwise because you certainly haven't been acting like you do lately!" Her voice choked. She swallowed before she started crying. It did not look like her husband was in any mood to be moved by tears. "Please, reassure Izuku. Just give him a single word. I've been comforting him all day, and he's still inconsolable."
"Good for you for doing your duty as his mother," Hisashi said. He'd always praised her for being a good mother, but now there was a mocking edge to his tone. "What, did you come here to ask for a new necklace as a reward? As if you don't have enough jewelry already."
Inko swallowed back her tears again. In the past, Hisashi had often bestowed expensive presents on her whenever she made Izuku happy. It had been sweet but unnecessary. How dare he throw that in her face as mockery now? Between clenched teeth, she said, "I want you do to your duty as a father. You hurt your son."
"I'm far too busy to deal with a child's temper-tantrum." Hisashi's wings snapped wide. His fangs flashed. Inko involuntarily fluttered backward. In a voice crackling with magic, Hisashi growled, "Traitors and enemies kept my little brother from me for decades. I don't know who they are or if they will come after him again. The palace may be infested with spies. Don't you dare bother me with insignificant matters until I've hunted down and killed every last one of them." His eyes blazed red, magic enveloping his pupils. "Anyone who interferes with my search for the traitors will be treated as an accomplice."
Inko's wings shook, barely keeping her aloft. She knew her husband's reputation, but she'd never seen him so close to the edge of madness. His obsession with his little brother had always brought out the worst in him.
Her marriage with Hisashi had been a political match. After the death of her entire family, she'd needed a protector and he'd desired their hereditary lands. Also, he'd wanted a family. She'd had an inkling that he'd wanted a replacement for his little brother. During their first meeting, he'd told her that he hoped that his white bat wings and her feathery black wings would combine to produce a child with white feathery wings…just like Yoichi. When Izuku had been born with black bat wings, Inko had worried. Fortunately her son had come out with his uncle's eyes, and Hisashi had doted upon him immediately.
The more Hisashi adored Izuku, the more wealth and power he showered on his son's mother. Inko had believed her gamble had paid off. She'd grown to care about her husband, and he'd been affectionate toward her, too. Even with the evidence staring her in the face, she struggled to believe that he'd completely throw her and Izuku away, just because he had his brother back in his possession. Did he not have room in his tiny, black heart for more than one person?
Inko swallowed. If she'd lost her husband's affection and protection, then she was in a very precarious position. She had little power without him. Worse, her son would become the target of the High Lord's exceptionally cruel court. She modulated her voice to be gentle and appealing. "Hisashi, please. I understand why you wanted us to move out of our rooms, that's fine." It most certainly was not fine, but there was nothing she could do about it. "But it will look to the court like you've abandoned us. People will start bullying Izuku just to see what they can get away with. Please, make some sort of gesture to show that we're still under your protection. If you would even bestow a small gift on Izuku or appear with him in public, that would be enough."
Hisashi regarded her with the cold eyes of a stranger. "Don't you think it's about time for Izuku to grow up and stop being so weak? He's a prince. He needs to learn to take care of his own enemies."
Inko's wings wilted. As she started to fall, she flapped rapidly to remain in place. "Izuku is only five years old! You sheltered him all his life!" It wasn't fair. Even though most demon nobility raised their children to be tough, Hisashi had always coddled Izuku. He had seemed to enjoy his son's weakness and dependency. But now he had the nerve to act as if this was someone else's problem? "Izuku is very smart. He can definitely become a great asset to your court, if you give him more time to grow up."
Hisashi's lips curled back in a sneer. "At Izuku's age, I'd already started making allies to take the throne. I was only a little older than him when I won my first duel against an adult. How can that child possibly be useful to me?"
Too late, Inko realized that Hisashi did not truly want a strong son. That would be a threat to his power. As an immortal, he did not need an heir. He'd spoiled and doted on Izuku as a replacement for his little brother, but now he had his real brother back. He no longer had any use for Izuku at all. In a soft, defeated voice, she said, "We'll leave the court and return to my ancestral lands. Please grant us permission, my lord." They would have to live off a much smaller stipend, but Izuku had never been a greedy child. He gave away most of his toys to his friends. It would be better than letting Izuku be bullied and beaten by demons who wanted to prove themselves stronger than the abandoned prince.
"And then you'd become targets for my enemies or symbols to people who want to replace me. I think not, Inko. When we married, you promised to stay at the palace."
Inko hissed, "You promised me many things you no longer plan to deliver!" This bastard no longer wanted her or her son, but he was still too possessive to let them leave. Unfortunately, that was just like Hisashi.
"I have no time for this conversation. I must bring my little brother his meal. Yoichi has been refusing to eat. Do not bother me again." Hisashi slammed the window shut in Inko's face.
Clutching a golden crown tucked under his coat, Izuku crouched behind a bush, waiting for the walkway to the palace to clear. Instead of his usual noble kimono, today he'd changed into a grey yukata that didn't stand out. He wore slippers for moving silently.
His new rooms were small and cramped, and their belongings had been damaged by the careless movers. Most of Inko's jewelry had been stolen. Even more importantly, several of her paintings had been destroyed. Inko had taken up painting as a hobby since shortly after Izuku's birth. She'd worked for nearly a year on a life-sized detailed portrait of their family, but when they'd unwrapped it, water had completely destroyed the canvas. Inko had nearly wept, but then put on a brave face and said she could make a new painting with just the two of them. Then Inko had discovered that all her paints were missing, and she'd finally broken down crying.
Izuku had a plan: he would sneak out of the palace and sell his crown, then buy his mother new paints. In fact, Izuku had five crowns his father had gifted him on each birthday. He'd picked a crown with a large diamond in the middle. Surely it would be worth enough money to give his mother a wagon full of paints and make her smile again.
However, no matter how long Izuku waited, the people coming in and out of the palace were endless. Izuku pouted.
The sun had nearly set. Finally, the walkway was deserted. Izuku stood up.
"What are you doing out here?" someone asked from behind him.
Izuku whirled around, then sighed in relief. It was Tsubasa, Lord Garaki's grandson and a good friend. "Hi, Tsubasa! I'm sneaking out of the palace. I'm going to sell my crown to buy paints for Mom." He held it up. "Can you help me? Maybe I could pretend to be you, or you could sneak me out in your cart, or we could create a distraction together. The main gate has demonic guards as well as shriekers, but I have a couple plans."
Tsubasa's expression had been grumpy, but as Izuku rambled, a mean smile formed on his face. "Give me that." He snatched the crown. Tossing it in his hand, he chuckled. "I bet it's heavy because it's expensive."
Izuku shifted, his wings twitching. "Please, be careful. If you dent my crown, I might not be able to sell it for as much money."
"Don't you mean my crown?" Tsubasa's smirk widened. He put the crown on his head. "I think it suits me more than you."
Izuku chuckled nervously. "I can't give it to you. I need to sell it." Something felt wrong, but he pushed his doubts aside. Izuku had often given Tsubasa his toys before, so he could see where there had been a misunderstanding. Sometimes Tsubasa got a little pushy about wanting Izuku's belongings, but he always backed off whenever Izuku told him to. Izuku never got upset because he knew he had more toys than his friend, and he wanted to share. Surely this time would be no different.
Tsubasa kicked Izuku in the stomach.
As he fell, Izuku cried out in both surprise and pain. This wasn't possible. His friends couldn't just stop liking him for no reason…not like what had happened with his father. Shock kept him lying on his back staring up with watery eyes.
Standing over Izuku, Tsubasa crossed his arms and spread his red wings wide. "Listen up, weakling. I only pretended to be friends with you because my parents made me. Who would want to play with a pathetic demon who has no magic? Do you know how revolting it was to suck up to you? Now that your father threw you away, you're nothing. You're not strong enough to beat me, so from now on, I'll take whatever I want from you. That's the law of the demon world."
"I need a gift for Mom!" Izuku got to his feet. "Give it back!" He lunged, grabbing the crown. Surprise let him snatch it.
Izuku leapt into the air, but Tsubasa had the gift of speedy flight. Tsubasa grabbed Izuku by the back of his collar and dragged him to the ground.
"Give me the crown!" Tsubasa howled, his face turned red and ugly. Izuku curled up in a ball, refusing to let go of the crown. Not even when Tsubasa kicked and punched him. A blow to Izuku's head sent the world spinning and doubling.
The guards ran over and hauled the two boys away.
Izuku was mostly unconscious when the guards dragged him into the throne room. He only saw flashes of color and heard brief moments of sound. His head lolled, sending pain through his neck.
Each word from the too-close guard sent pain spiking through Izuku's head "…he was trying to sneak out of the palace, High Lord…"
High Lord. Daddy. Izuku's head shot up. He made out the blurry figure of his father on the throne. In a dazed voice, he cried, "Daddy, it hurts!" while holding out his bleeding arm.
Coldly, Hisashi said, "I sentence him to spend the night in the dungeon as punishment."
As the guards dragged him away, Izuku remembered. His father didn't love him any longer.
A guard stole the crown that Izuku had tried so hard to protect.
Inko came to pick Izuku up first thing the next morning. She'd worn an elaborate red and gold kimono with flowing sleeves to remind the guards of her status. But Izuku could tell from the sloppiness of the belt that she'd had trouble putting it on without her maids to help. She wept as she carried him back to their rooms. Izuku overheard his mother trading her earrings to a doctor with a healing gift. Izuku had never needed a doctor before. His father had always erased even the smallest scratch from his body right away. Over the last day, he had felt pain unlike anything in his short life.
The healing completely vanished his injuries, but his mother told him to rest inside the room for a couple days. Izuku didn't argue. He felt unready to face the new, bleak world. A few days turned into a week. Izuku supposed that he had to leave his bedroom at some point, and his mother's concerned glances confirmed this. But he was scared. Even more than the beating, he feared going outside to face the cold eyes of all the people who had once adored him and now had turned on him.
As Izuku rested in bed, his shock and pain started to mix with anger. It wasn't fair. Daddy had been mean to Izuku just because his uncle had returned home. Izuku hadn't done anything wrong! The more Izuku thought about it, the more he wondered why his uncle had been dragged back in chains. His mother had said that Daddy and Uncle Yoichi had a fight. That seemed like a very bad fight. If Daddy was that angry, why hadn't he thrown away Uncle Yoichi? Even though he threw away Izuku who did nothing wrong?
Izuku decided to see his uncle. Maybe Yoichi could tell him why Izuku had been abandoned and what he could do to get his father back. Late at night, Izuku threw on a green cotton kimono over his sleeping clothes. Then he snuck out of his room and followed the familiar route back to the basement where he used to live.
Only shriekers guarded the stairwell. Hisashi trusted no one living to obey his commands nearly as well as his undead minions. A dozen demon corpses with exposed brains formed a solid wall, but they slid aside to let Izuku pass. He was still a member of the royal family.
The steel basement door glowed with a mixture of red, green, and yellow sigils, forming dancing and shifting patterns. Izuku placed his hands on top of the light.
In the past, the wards had always vanished to let Izuku in. But now they remained steadily pulsing and impenetrable. Hisashi must have changed them.
Rage and frustration filled Izuku, pounding out a brutal beat into his sleepy head. He refused to turn back.
Frowning, Izuku remembered how his father's bedroom had always been protected by special wards. Only Hisashi could turn them off, because he was the only person who had the gift to steal magic. His brow furrowing with concentration, Izuku pictured how his father would reach out a hand to touch the glowing lines. The shimmering magic pulsed under his fingers. Closing his eyes, Izuku tugged.
He felt a strange tingling through his body. It was a comforting feeling, satiating him and vanishing his tiredness. When Izuku opened his eyes, the wards were gone.
Izuku hadn't expected that to work. It must not be as hard as his father claimed.
Izuku pushed open the door. As soon as it closed behind him, the glowing wards reappeared. Good—Izuku hadn't been sure how to put them back.
The glowing stones lining the wall lighted automatically as Izuku climbed down the stairs. Stopping at the bottom, Izuku looked between a door on his left and a door on his right. He did not want to go into his father's bedroom. Daddy had always been a grump when woken, even before he turned mean. Since Izuku and his mother had been thrown out of their rooms to make space for Yoichi, that was probably where he could find his uncle. Izuku touched the door to the right. Once again, he tugged at the wards to make them vanish.
When Izuku opened the door, for a moment he thought he'd picked the wrong one. This place looked nothing like his old quarters. All the walls between the rooms were gone, replaced by a giant garden. The light from the cracked door fell across a field of brilliant flowers. They alternated colors, from brilliant yellow tulips to purple lilacs to baby blue eyes. Bushes with small white flowers added a spattering of green. Wisteria grew up the walls and hung from the ceiling. But the beautiful garden had no scent. In the dim light, it took Izuku a moment to realize all the plants were artificial, shaped from clay or cloth.
A winding path led to the cage in the middle of the room. The person-sized birdcage was made of pure gold. A round bed filled the entire bottom, just long enough for the prisoner inside to lie down. Izuku recognized his uncle from their fateful first meeting in the throne room. In sleep, Yoichi looked even more beautiful and even more frail. The dim light falling on his thin wrists made his skin glow like moonlight. His small ears and nose were delicate as a doll's. A golden collar fastened around his neck. His white hair splayed around his head and horns, looking soft as a cloud. He'd wrapped his feathery white wings around his body like a cocoon. A handful of petals had fallen across his sleeping form, making him resemble a flower fairy.
Izuku's heart twisted. Had he always been a second best replacement for this bewitchingly perfect angel? It felt like a magical spell had been cast over this beautiful scene, and he wondered if disturbing the sleeper would bring down a curse on his head. Izuku steeled his will and took a step forward.
As soon as Izuku set foot in the artificial garden, a glowing ball of light overhead activated. The ceiling shifted to the color blue as the fake sunlight filled the room. The artificial plants looked more unnatural in the brightness.
Yoichi sat up with low, long growl. Pushing his hair off his face, he hissed, "It is too early in the hells-cursed morning! Big brother, if you woke me up because you had another fucking nightmare—interrupting the few precious hours I get without your loathsome company—then I swear, I will rip out your spleen. I could replace it with the brain you apparently have no use for except to weigh down your inflated head. Those precious horns of yours are going straight up your ass. By the time I remove most of your spine you'll be the only demon in the world who can self-fellatio—"
Were flower fairies usually this violent? Apparently it had been a mistake for Izuku to rouse his uncle from his clearly much-needed beauty slumber. He wasn't sure what was a spleen, but he preferred it inside his body. His knees shaking too badly to make a run for it, Izuku dropped to his knees and hid behind a rosebush.
"Hisashi?" Yoichi looked around. His eyes widened as they fell on the bush.
Realizing his wing was sticking out, Izuku quickly folded them behind his back.
"A child?" Yoichi mumbled. "How did you get in here?" His eyes widened. "Nephew?"
Author's Note: This was written for Mimic's "Love What You Hate" event, challenging authors to write tropes that they hate. I don't like drama arising from stupid miscommunications which could be solved if two characters just talked it out…so bring on the drama for this fic!
Also, I've always disliked it when a hero and a villain are related but both of them are indifferent to each other. This is 100% a matter of personal preference, but it just seems so pointless. If there's no conflicted emotions or difficulty fighting each other, what narrative purpose did the big secret relation reveal serve? Why not just make them strangers? As people who read my fics can probably tell, I like stories with twisted bonds and deeply entangled love and hate.
Normally I would never in a million years write a fic where All for One dislikes Izuku. However, Gentrychild's fic "Lost Souls" made me go "oh, yes, I love it!" As it turns out, it's possible to have all the drama and angst even in an AU where Izuku and All for One hate each other's guts! Thus for the contest I decided to write something set in that AU, where Izuku is the demon prince abandoned by his father. Here's a standalone prequel about how Izuku ended up discarded. Thank you to Gentrychild for brainstorming and letting me use the AU! FYI, this is an alternate universe of "Lost Souls," so it will have a different ending. "Lost Souls" is posted on Archive of Our Own, delete the spaces to get the link:
archiveofourown.
org/
works/40193997
This fic will update twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays in order to finish by the end of September, in time for the contest deadline.