Inko hummed softly to herself as she wandered around the halls. She couldn't help but looked back down at the necklace that Toshinori had given her. It was, rather strange that he would give her such a gift. Why would he give her something as beautiful as this? This was something that he should give to his bride, not his slave.
Yet, he had said that there would be no such thing for him. Why though? Any woman would be lucky to have a man like him as their husband. Sure, he didn't show any emotions, but he was still a good man. Did they only see him as an unfeeling man?
Shaking her head, the young woman made her way outside hoping that maybe some fresh air would do her some good.
Walking out of the castle grounds, Inko couldn't help but inhale deeply. Feeling a little more at ease, but she couldn't help but frown a little in confusion. It was a little quiet here today, so she couldn't really be sure as to what it was that would make the guards to hold on their drills today unless something came up?
Looking around, she saw a sight that she didn't think that she would ever see. There, was the king sitting around a bunch of children. He was saying something to them but she couldn't really hear him very well. Tilting her head, the young woman made her way over to the group and tilted her head once again at him. "King Toshinori, what are you doing?" asked Inko with a frown.
The king flinched before looking up at the green haired woman. He stared at her in shock, or at least that was what his eyes showed her. "Uh… Inko, I thought you'd be inside with your chores." Toshinori, a faint blush on his cheeks as he avoided her gaze. Was this something that he didn't expect a lot of people to know about himself?
Folding her arms behind her back, Inko looked over at what the children were doing, and noticed… flowers in their hands. "Huh?" Inko said with a frown on her face, a little confused as to what it was that they were doing.
"Join us! King Toshi was teaching us how to make flower crowns!" One of the children said with a giggle.
Smiling a little, Inko turned to the king and saw that his ears were red. He was teaching them on how to make flower crowns. As if sensing what she was thinking, he whispered "My mother used to make them with my sister and I. I um… I sometimes look out for the children for the other slaves that don't want them to work while doing chores that are too hard for them to handle themselves. So, I take it upon myself as their king to tend to the children."
Inko giggled a little before sitting down on her knees as she gazed up at the king. His hands still fumbling with the flowers and it made Inko smile a little at the sight. Even while he was embarrassed he could still keep working on the task at hand, showing how committed he was to spending time with the children. Though if she was honest, she didn't think there were this many children here in the castle, but it wasn't as if she knew all of the slaves here in the first place.
"May I make one?" asked Inko with a smile on her face.
Toshinori blinked as he looked over at her and seemed to stare at her in shock. "I never knew how to make one myself as a child. I was busy working or helping other children." Inko gave him a sad smile, causing Toshinori to stare at her with sadness in his eyes. He nodded his head before looking around for any kind of flowers that she could use before his eyes fell on one of the many gardens that he had. "You can use any of my flowers Inko. I don't mind, I have plenty of flowers to spare."
Inko smiled at the king before pushing herself up and patted his shoulder, feeling him flinch a little at her touch. It seemed as if he was still nervous over her seeing him surrounded by a bunch of children. Did he think that she would think differently of him just because he was spending time with them? No, really it rather warmed her heart to see such a thing. To see that even though the king himself, had no children of his own that he still enjoyed being around them.
A soft smile grew on her face before making her way over to the gardens. Really, it was nice to see some kind of positivity here. Compared to past masters, past homes where she had to clean up after her masters, she had to say that this was the one she liked the most thus far. The king, Toshinori, treated her like any other person even though he did give her orders here and there but he was kind about it. Never pushing her to do something that she didn't want to do or even forcing himself on her and for that she was thankful.
Walking along the flowers, she frowned a little as she wondered what kind of flowers that she could use for a crown. She couldn't help but blush a little at the idea of making one for the king. 'It would be fair to give him some kind of flower since in a way, he did give me one.' the green haired woman thought to herself as she looked at the necklace that Toshinori had given her.
"That's pretty." Said a voice, causing Inko to yelp as she turned around and came face to mask with Zuko. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He said with a bashful smile while rubbing the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle.
"It's okay." Inko set the necklace back under her dress before looking at the masked man with a frown on her face. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought the guards were patrolling."
"We are, I'm just doing mine within castle grounds to make sure no one escapes is all." Zuko said with a smile on his face before he looked around and frowned at Inko for a moment. "Why are you in the gardens?" He asked with a tilt of his head.
Oh, right he wouldn't know why she was out here. Normally she was inside cleaning up after the king or helping him or anyone else with something or another. Waving him off a little, Inko had a soft smile as she said "Well, the king is making flower crowns with the children here and I thought it sounded fun so asked if I could join." Inko giggled a little behind her hand before adding "Toshinori said I could go and get some flowers from his garden, he didn't care if I used his flowers."
"I remember that…" whispered Zuko.
"Remember what?" asked Inko with a frown.
"Nothing important. Have you decided on flowers?" asked Zuko with a tilt of his head.
"No, I kind of want to make one for Toshinori."
"Oh it's Toshinori now eh?" Zuko said with a chuckle, causing Inko to blush madly. Just as she was about to say something, he held up his hand before shaking his head. "Do not worry, I won't tell a soul. I think it shows how much the king trusts you." Inko frowned a little at that. What could her calling him by his name, without his title mean by trust? It didn't make sense to her though she knew that she cared about the man but… well she wasn't sure what it meant. "Anyway, as for a crown, maybe use these sun flowers."
"Huh?"
"He reminds people of sun flowers right? May as well use them for him." Zuko suggested with a grin on his face. "Let me help you." He offered before helping Inko pull off some sun flowers, making sure to keep the stems so she would weave them. At least, she was sure that was how you did such a thing in the first place when it came to making flower crowns.
Inko smiled a little at the thought. Yeah, in a way he does remind her of sunflowers, how could he not? His hair, his eyes shining with so many emotions yet at the same time being tall and strong for those around him. Yet, still showing a softer side to him at the same time. It made her wonder how she had been lucky to have him find her. Even though she was nothing more than a slave, she couldn't help but look up at the thought of her heart being in its own turmoil as well.
She knew that she felt something for the king, no doubt about that. Yet, even with what little time she had spent with the captain, well it was still hard to say what she felt for him as well. It had been a while since she had seen him now that she thought about it. Did he feel guilt over putting her in danger even though he hadn't meant for that to happen?
Maybe she'll have to ask the king to let her see All Might at some point. So tell him that he had no reason to be feeling guilt over what had happened. It wasn't as if he had planned for her to fall over like that.
"Inko?" came Zuko's voice, causing her to look back up at the masked man. Her silence must have worried him. "You okay?"
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Inko said with a small smile before looking at the small pile of flowers in her hands. "Thank you. I just hope that you don't overdo it okay?" Bowing to the man, Inko started to make her way back to the king and the children.
The children were laughing and giggling while they took turns hiding in the king's cape or just sat on his lap. The king of course, just kept working on crowns while letting the children do as they wanted. Even a little girl climbed up onto his shoulder as she giggled in his ear. Inko couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was rather cute and made her want to giggle at the sight.
Making her way over to the king, the young woman knelt next to the blonde as she asked "So, how do I do this?"
Toshinori turned to Inko and blinked at her before holding up his own flower crown and said "Watch." Inko watched the blonde as his large hands seemed to weave the stems together, making sure that they were knotted and weaved much like you would with someone's hair. Inko couldn't help but stare in awe. "Like that." He said as he finished a flower crown of roses the thorns having been removed so they wouldn't poke at anyone's head.
Inko stared at the red roses with wide sparkling eyes, she loved roses and it made her smile at the crown all the more. "It's lovely, though why did you pick roses? How did they get here?" asked Inko with a frown on her face as she looked up at the man with confusion. The children giggled a little as Toshinori had a faint blush on his face before looking away. "King Toshinori?"
"Um… I… uh…" He looked like he was struggling with the words before shaking his head quickly. His hair flying everywhere until the two long locks soon fell back against his shoulders and chest when he had stopped the motion. He quickly raised his hands with the crown before settling it atop of Inko's head carefully and looked away once it was neatly placed upon her head. Inko couldn't help but stare in shock as he set the crown of roses atop of her head. Her, of all people.
But why?
If that was going to be the case, then she would have to return the favor as well. Smiling, she started her own attempt at making the crown of sunflowers. Though, it seemed easier said than done as her fingers couldn't seem to work the way that she had seen Toshinori do it. Frowning a little, the young woman tried again, and it went nowhere. The flowers just unraveled themselves in an instant.
"Like this." He reached over, causing the young woman to blink as green eyes met blue ones, their gaze stayed focused on each other for a brief moment. No, it may have seemed brief to those around them but between the two of them it had felt like an eternity. "Carefully now." He whispered softly, causing Inko to look down and watched as he seemed to guide her fingers to weave the stems to bind the flowers. Inko couldn't help but stare in awe at how gentle Toshinori held onto her fingers.
Toshinori's fingers were strong yes, calloused from years of using some kind of weapon that she figured was a sword. It made her wonder how long he had to learn until he mastered the use of a sword. How many fights the man had been in until he was a hardened hero so to speak, a hardened warrior.
It was rather amazing really. Someone who had seen many things, most likely many fights and the like and yet, he was able to be so gentle with his hands as well.
Before she knew it, the crown was done and rested in her hands, along with Toshinori's large hands holding her own. "They're beautiful." Inko whispered softly, gesturing to the flowers being made into something so simple, having made them even more beautiful than before.
"Yes… they are." Toshinori whispered softly, causing Inko to look up at the man. Seeing that it wasn't the flowers that he was looking at but her eyes. Blushing softly, the young woman wasn't sure what was going through the king's head, but it made her wonder if he was talking about the flowers in their hands.
Toshinori leaned closer to the green haired woman, causing her to blush a little more. She wasn't sure what it was that he was going to do but it had her heart hammering in her chest. The young woman was sure if he was going to do what she thought he was going to, that her heart would burst from her chest. "My king?" Whispered Inko.
"Inko…" Whispered Toshinori, his eyes half open as he gazed at her with that strange spark of emotion flashing in his eyes. It was the one thing that she couldn't read from him. It was an emotion that she, herself was unfamiliar with. Something that she herself had never felt in her entire life.
"Miss Inko!" called one of the children, snapping both adults out of their trance as they turned to the child in question. It was a little girl with black eyes that seemed to sparkle with a solar system. "What are you going to do with your flower crown? King Toshi gave you his."
Inko looked at the crown in her hand, then looked up at Toshinori. He seemed to be staring at her in confusion as well. She had known who she was going to give her crown too once she made it, though she hadn't expected him to give her one in turn. Pushing herself up, Inko held the crown in her hands, feeling the king's hands drop from hers as she took a careful step toward the king and gave him a soft smile. His own eyes looking almost… hopeful.
"Well, since our dear king has given me a crown of my own I think it is only right that he gets one in return don't you children agree?" asked Inko.
"Yeah!" They all cheered.
Inko giggled a little before carefully setting the crown atop of the blonde's head, having to lift the two locks through the crown so they rest against the stems and flowers. Toshinori blinked his blue eyes in confusion before a faint blush was growing on his face once again. In a way, he looked rather adorable with a blush on his face. It made her rather curious as to why he was feeling such a thing but at the same time it made her feel happy that she had caused such a thing from the man.
"Why me?" asked Toshinori softly.
"Because I think sunflowers suit you. You're strong, protective and kind even if you don't show it on your face, you do in other ways." Inko said with a smile on her face before kneeling back down on the grass with the children. They all giggled at the stammering king, which again had confused the green haired woman but figured that he was only like this because he wasn't used to someone giving him something no matter how small.
Turning back to face the king, she saw a faint smile growing on his face. One the children hadn't noticed, but she did. He smiled, the king had a true smile on his face. Her heart raced within her chest as she stared at the blonde man next to her. Wanting to engrave this image to her memories, wanting to draw this moment so she could treasure it for the rest of her life.
Soon, the smile faded as the king turned to stare at the green haired woman with his blue eyes looking at her in concern. "You okay?" He asked softly.
"I am. I just saw a beautiful sight that I wanted to remember forever is all." Inko said with a smile on her face. The king just blinked at her in confusion, wanting to ask her as his lips moved to speak out his question until he let out a loud yelp in shock.
"Gah!" He shouted, as the children all but tackled him to the ground. Inko couldn't help but giggle a little. Even though his expression didn't change again, she saw his eyes sparkle in happiness. A feeling that he could still feel, she could tell that much. Though, she just hoped that this feeling never left the king, if anyone deserved to feel happiness, it was him.
