Toshinori couldn't believe that Inko had agreed to come to the ball with him. It was amazing for sure, though he just hoped that he could gather up the courage to tell Inko that he did indeed love her. That everything he had done was for her. To make her happy, to show her that he could love her regardless of her status. To him, none of that mattered to him. The only thing that mattered to him was the kind of person that she was.
"My king?" came a voice, causing Toshinori to turn quickly and looked at Zuko. He was dressed up for the ball it seemed as well but was still keeping up with the mask and his guard attire as well. Interesting combination.
"What is it Zuko?" asked Toshinori.
"I wish to guard you and Inko this evening."
"Why?"
"Because there is danger here and I would prefer if you and Inko weren't in any form of danger."
Toshinori just raised an eyebrow at the young man. It seemed rather odd that the young man would want to use up the one night a year where people could have fun. Could enjoy themselves. Plus, if anything did happen, it was most likely that Enji would just use up his quirk and mention how he was the better king because he had a quirk.
It got rather annoying after a while.
Just as Toshinori was about to open his mouth to decline the offer, Zuko held up his hand to silence the blonde king. "No matter if you agree or not, I will be protecting the both of you this night. I won't allow anyone to get hurt, not again." Toshinori frowned a little at that. What did that mean? Was someone hurt at some kind of party when he was younger that he tried to protect? It was possible, he just hoped that this boy would just relax and calm down. He was taking this a little too seriously. At this rate, the poor boy would have a heart attack.
"Alright, but just breathe here Zuko. If you overwork yourself you'll end up killing yourself."
"I don't plan to die." Zuko said with his teeth pulled back in a version of a snarl. Toshinori just blinked at the seriousness of this young man. He was going beyond that was for sure. Though again, he just hoped that the young man didn't get himself killed in the process despite his promise that he won't.
Running a hand through his hair, Toshinori let out a soft sigh as he nodded to the young man. "Alright, but if you do I'll have to find someone to bring you back and beat some sense to you." Toshinori said lightly before reaching over and picked up his crown. It wasn't anything fancy really, just a wreath like styled crown decorated with blue jewels that people had said, looked like his eyes. He didn't wear the crown very often, as he thought that he was showing off his power enough as it was just by being him.
So he only wore the thing during special events such as the winter ball.
Closing his eyes, he slid the crown on until it settled on his forehead, pulling his long bangs out from under the metal until it laid against the crown. God, he just hoped that he didn't have to wear this for too long. It always pinched at his head whenever he wore this thing.
Shaking his head, the king looked over to the young guard as he asked "So, why are you so adamant about protecting Inko and I?"
"I have my reasons sire. Reasons I don't think I can ever fully explain… but…"
"But what?"
"You both are rather important to me."
Okay, that threw him off a little. How would the two of them be important to him in the least? Sure, Toshinori was his king but that was about it. He couldn't even see the young man's face so how was he to mean anything really to the young man when the masked man couldn't even trust his own king enough to show his own face.
As for Inko, he could kind of see it as she was kind to everyone. Wanted to help everyone in any way that she could. Her heart, he found, was the purest thing in this entire world. Taking a deep breath, the king looked at his guard as he said "I still wish you would tell me why you are really here, why Inko and I are 'important' to you but you won't do such things."
"I know sire."
"Just be thankful that I am your king. Other kings would have had you killed thinking you were some kind of spy." Toshinori pointed out before crossing his arms over his muscular chest.
"I wouldn't dare try to lie to you sire. You could easily snap my neck if I messed up." Zuko said with a chuckle before he started to walk on ahead. Only to stop again as he looked over his shoulder at his king once again. "But, promise me something."
"What is it?"
"Keep Inko, and yourself away from Princess Kira. I know that you have no right to trust me on this but please, keep her away from the both of you. That woman is more dangerous than she lets on." Okay, that seemed to confuse the king all the more. There had to be a reason for this, there had to be something going on that Zuko was refusing to tell him though he wasn't sure what it could be as the man was still so secretive about everything that was happening.
"Alright, I'll keep the both of us away from her."
"Good and… when confessing to Inko just… be yourself. Don't hide yourself by anything, don't hide behind the emotionless mask. Smile, show her by your own facial expression that you do indeed love her. Regardless of the form that you take."
Form? But, what did he mean by that?
"Come, let's go get Inko shall we?" Zuko said with a chuckle before making his way out the door. The king in tow though still confused by his words. What did he mean by all of this in the first place?
Making his way to Inko's room, Toshinori checked himself over to make sure that he looked presentable. Besides the crown, he wore his dark blue vest with a black shirt and matching pants to go along with it. His cape, was also a dark blue to go with his vest, it was to help him stay warm while they were inside since it could get chilly within the castle walls.
Taking a deep breath, he reached up and knocked on her door. A meow reached his ears, remembering that Inko had kept that kitten that she had saved from the tree. Though, thinking back to that day made him blush at the thought of her soft lips upon his. He wished to taste them again but knew that he had to be patient with it. Good things came to those who waited.
"Usagi stay in here please." Inko said with a tone that made Toshinori think of a mother scolding their child. It made him smile faintly before it vanished. Once the door opened though, Toshinori swore that his heart stopped beating, having died and gone to heaven.
Inko wore a purple dress fit for a princess. Sleeveless as it clung to her curves while it flowed out around her waist. Her ears had golden hoop earrings, eyes having purple eye shadow and her lips looked pink as a cherry blossom. Her hair was done up in a half bun with some of the green locks flowing down her back in what would be best described as curls that also seemed to frame her face perfectly.
He couldn't help but fall even more in love with her.
"My king?" Inko said a little nervously with his staring.
Blinking his blue eyes a few times, Toshinori gave her a small smile before it vanished and he bowed to her before holding his arm out to her. "Shall we? I didn't mean to stare at you like that Inko it… um…" Damn it, how could he say it without sounding like some creep? As if he was just noticing her beauty before she got herself dressed up like this? He had no idea, but he just hoped that everyone wouldn't try to worm their way to her, she was his. At least, as long as she would have him.
Inko blushed a little at the blonde before wrapping her arms around his forearm. Looking up at the tall man before she looked away. Toshinori frowned a little at her before he calmly said "You know, you look beautiful tonight." Inko looked up at him and frowned causing him to blush as he looked away. "Not that you aren't beautiful regardless but… um… to be honest, I didn't think you could get even more beautiful. No wait that sounded wrong. That sounded as if I never found you beautiful because I do! I really do! But uh… um… shit I'm not good with this and I'm sorry-"
"Toshi."
Blinking his blue eyes down at her, as she looked up at him. Her face tinted so red that he thought that her face would melt off at this rate. Yet, her smile itself was enough, it told him that she knew what he was trying to say. He couldn't help but smile gently at her before it faded from him. It was official, tonight was the night. He was going to tell Inko that he loved her, that he wanted her for his bride and that he didn't care what the other royals thought of him.
That his bride, was his choice alone, that he didn't have to follow the rules of other royals because he loved Inko more than he could ever love a princess.
Turning his gaze to her, Toshinori felt his heart thumping quickly within his chest. There was still so much that he had to tell her. So much that he had to tell her about himself because he didn't want there to be any more secrets between the two of them and this secret was the biggest one of all. That he was not just the king but the captain of the guard. That he was All Might and that he was the one that kissed her.
Ugh why did this have to be so hard?
Shaking his head, the young man tried to keep himself calm. To keep himself collected but he wasn't sure what he could do. It just seemed as if everything that would go right in his life that he would have a lot of trouble. Such as when he tried to kiss Inko as himself, Hizashi burst into his study or when the children yelled out at him and then of course tackled him to the ground.
Then of course when he had tried to confess to her that he loved her. Only for Hizashi to burst into his room and he was go angry he threw something at the man. He couldn't even remember what it was that he had thrown in the first place. Only that he was pissed at another moment between the two of them being interrupted in some way.
"Sire, I'll try not to crowd you both so you can enjoy yourselves." Zuko said with a chuckle before folding his hands behind his back as he gave them both a smile. Toshinori, along with Inko could only blink as he stared at the two of them. It seemed that his statement had confused the both of them and chuckled a little. "Don't worry, I'll keep you both safe but I will still you both your distance." Zuko said with a chuckle.
Toshinori could only blink at him in confusion. What was this guy's angel?
Toshinori couldn't believe how many people showed up tonight. They must have thought that he had finally chosen a bride. Well, they weren't far off, he had chosen but nothing to be official right now. Turning his gaze to Inko, he couldn't help but smile a little at her. Her eyes were wide and full of wonder to the point that they almost sparkled.
They shined like bright emeralds and it made him smile.
"Like what you see Inko?" asked Toshinori.
"It's amazing, I mean, I've cleaned it and all but this place it looks so lively." Inko said in awe.
"Yeah, it was my turn to host this year. They all hope that I found a bride as I wasn't expecting this many people to show up."
"A bride…" Inko whispered, her voice sounding a little sad.
Turning to her, he frowned a little before leaning close to her ear. "Do not worry, you have nothing to worry about." Inko frowned as she looked up at Toshinori and saw that he gave her a soft smile. She stared at him with wide eyes, it seemed that she still wasn't used to seeing him showing any kind of emotions. "Shall we go in my dear?" Asked Toshinori.
Inko nodded her head and smiled as Toshinori guided her through the crowd. A lot of couples just chatting among themselves. It made Toshinori envy them a little. Knowing that they all had someone that they loved and had their love in return. Yet, he knew that he had to be careful with Inko. Not wanting to rush into things with her as it seemed that she had never felt love like this before with anyone in her life. So, he knew that he would still have to be careful when it comes to showing affection like that.
Turning his gaze back to Inko, he saw that her eyes were still full of wonder and amazement.
"King Toshinori." Came a voice, causing Toshinori to turn his head and wanted to groan as he saw Enji coming toward him. His flames gone for the most part, most likely so he doesn't burn anyone. "I see you at least brought a woman with you but… did it have to be your maid?"
Toshinori had his emotionless mask back in place and turned his gaze to Inko. She was trying to hide behind him, it seemed that Enji made her rather uncomfortable. "I thought that I had told you to bring a princess. In fact, I had heard that Princess Kira had come to your castle to be your guest to the ball."
"She is of little importance to me. I have told her many times that I would never marry such a woman as her. She may be beautiful on the outside, but her soul itself is ugly and vile. If I did pick a bride, picked a guest to come with me to this, I would want someone that I find lovely inside as well as out and that is Inko here." Toshinori all but snarled at Enji. He was growing rather tired of having people telling him who he could or couldn't bring. Who he could and couldn't love. It was the one thing that he was getting rather tired of hearing over and over again.
Holding onto Inko a little more, hoping that her presents alone would be enough to calm him. So far, it was working as she was the only thing that kept him calm. "Inko is my guest today, just as much as Rei is yours. You shouldn't judge me without judging yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me I would like to enjoy my time with Inko." With that, he started to take his leave with the green haired woman.
"I'm sorry Toshi."
"What for?"
"Because I'm not royalty. If I was, then he wouldn't have been judging you for it-"
"Inko, stop that right now. You have nothing to be sorry for. I chose you, I could have taken Princess Kira but she rubs me the wrong way. You though, you make me happy. You make me want to feel again and for that I am grateful." He gave her a small smile before leaning close, pressing his forehead against hers. "I do not care what they think. If they didn't want me with you I would have just come to this alone, for it was you and only you that I would want to be here with."
She couldn't seem to stop the blush as it rose to her cheeks. His words must have touched her in some way, it made Toshinori want to kiss her but he knew that he still had to wait. He had to wait for the right moment to confess what was in his heart. If he rushed it, then he could scare her off and possibly never see her or Tenko again as she would most likely take the boy with her.
The thought of losing the both of them broke his heart and he wasn't even sure why… sort of anyway. He knew with Inko, it was because his heart would break. As for Tenko, he just… cared about the boy as if the boy was his own. As if the boy was his own flesh and blood but he knew that he had to be calm and rational about all of this. Knowing that if he pushed everything then he would lose everything. The thought of losing them, it broke his heart and he didn't want to risk that.
Taking a deep breath, the young man looked down at Inko as he whispered "You're more beautiful than any princess here Inko."
"I am?" She asked softly.
"You are." He whispered softly, his eyes lighting up from the idea of confessing to her. Looking around, he saw that the couples were gathering around. Music started to play and it was then he knew the way to confess to Inko. He would do this, he could do this! He had to. Smiling to himself, the young man couldn't help but feel rather giddy at the thought of confessing to her. To asking her to marry him, though he just hoped that doing both wouldn't be pushing it onto her. He would propose yes, but again he wouldn't rush for a wedding, he wanted to think about her feelings as well.
"May I have this dance my lady?" Toshinori asked, holding his hand out for Inko to take. The green haired woman looked up at Toshinori's eyes before looking back at his hand then back up at his face. Blinking a couple times, the young woman seemed a little nervous about everything that was happening around her though at the same time it seemed that she had finally come to a decision.
Giving the tall blonde a small smile before she nodded her head. "Yes." She said before sliding her hand into his. Toshinori smiled a little at her before walking over toward the dance floor. He wrapped his free arm around Inko's waist, holding her as close to him as he could. Though he found that he still had to bend down just for her to hold him. Frowning a little, the young man bent down and picked up Inko, holding her up with his arm, both now being eye level.
"Toshi?"
"I figured, this way we can easily gaze at each other's eyes instead of you looking at my stomach and me at your head." Toshinori said with a soft smile. Inko blushed a little, causing Toshinori to smile a little more at the sight. He loved how adorable she was when she blushed like this. The young king knew that he wanted to have a good time, wanted to enjoy some time with the green haired woman before he confessed because again, he wanted to make sure that she saw it in his actions as well as his words.
"Toshi, why are you going so far out of your way to make sure that I'm enjoying myself?" Inko asked softly.
He gave her a soft smile, a true one at that. It seemed to have made Inko blush a little more before he finally answered her. "Because you are special Inko. You are a special woman to me." Inko blinked at his words, it seemed that she didn't understand what it was that he was trying to say.
The young woman couldn't help but blush all the more though as she stared at Toshinori. The blonde king smiled at her as he pulled her closer to his chest. His eyes softening as he stared at the green haired woman as he looked at her. Swaying his body around as he held onto Inko in his arms.
"Toshi, am I really that special to you?" asked Inko.
"Yes. You are, I would do everything in my power to keep you safe." Toshinori promised, causing her to look up at him with confusion in her eyes. He just smiled at her, a smile that was so bright that it could have lit up the entire room. "Inko, if you are ever in danger, I would gladly fight to keep you safe. I would throw away my own life, just to make sure that you lived to see another day. If you are sad, I would do what I could to cheer you up. I would even act like a silly idiot just to get you to laugh."
Inko could only stare at him in confusion. It seemed that his words hadn't fully reached her yet. Well, he may have to bring out the big guns so to speak. Letting out a soft sigh, hoping to calm his nerves, the young man looked at Inko with a soft yet scared gaze. This was a moment of truth that would either save him or destroy him and he wouldn't force Inko to be with him. "Inko, you are important to me. The only one that is more important to me than my own life and my own kingdom."
"But why?" asked Inko.
"Because, I… I…" Biting his lip, he tried to think of his words on this one. Looking at her, he saw that she was giving him a concerned gaze. IT seemed that she saw the fear in his eyes and it was enough to show her that he was scared of what he was going to say. "Ever since I saw you, I knew you were special." Inko frowned a little. "Your eyes, they showed me just how beautiful your soul was and I feared that I would have tainted that soul. When you were assigned as my maid, I had hoped to keep my distance from you." Inko frowned all the more at that.
Shaking his head, he looked at her as he said "But I started to get to know you. You weren't bothered by the fact that I never showed emotion. That I always seemed to tell you what to clean even though I've never punished anyone."
"Because you are a good man." Inko added with a soft smile of her own.
He returned her smile before he went on with his speech. "But, soon I had started to realise something that I didn't think I had a right to. To feel something that I didn't think that I could ever feel and it only got stronger the more I got to know you. You have accepted everything about me even to uh…" He blushed a little more at his next phase of words. "Sensitive skin." He looked away for a moment before looking up at her. "You've looked out for me, tried to help me in any way that you could and I don't think that I could ever thank you enough for that."
"You don't have to thank me Toshi." Inko said with a frown.
Shaking his head, the young man gave her a small smile before he chuckled a little. Softly enough where it was drowned out in the music, but only loud enough for Inko to hear. Inko blushed at the sound of his chuckle. "Inko, I've tried to tell you this a while ago but… I got interrupted."
"Tell me what?" asked Inko with a frown.
"I love you."
Inko stared at him with wide eyes. Her eyes filling with tears yet refusing to spill over. Lifting her hand from his shoulder, she covered her mouth in shock. "Inko, I am in love with you, you are the only woman that I would want to be with. I don't care if you aren't a princess. To me, that doesn't matter."
"But… you are to marry a princess not a slave."
"I have never seen you as a slave Inko. I don't plan to any time soon. I love you, from your heart to your beautiful soul. I love you, for you." He leaned his forehead against hers, gazing deeply into her eyes. His eyes filled with nothing but love for the green haired woman that sat on the crook of his arm. Inko just stared at him with wide eyes, it seemed that this had surprised her to the point that tears streamed down her cheeks, having not been able to hold her tears back any longer.
He had thought that he had fucked up in some way. Not really sure what more he could do before he took another deep breath. "Inko, I don't want some princess as my bride, I want you. Please, tell me what you feel for me. I promise, should you love me I will make your life every day worth living. Every day I'll do my best to make you smile each and every day. If you do love me, I promise not to rush anything that you are uncomfortable with for I want to make sure that you have no regrets being with me."
Inko just looked at him, her eyes searching his as if trying to find any hint of a lie from the man. Though it seemed that no matter what, she just couldn't find anything but the truth from the man. A soft smile came on her face as she reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, causing him to stare at her with wide yet hopeful eyes. "I love you."
Those words were all that he needed to hear. Toshinori couldn't stop himself as he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. He loved the feel of her lips on his own. Knew that this was the moment of his life that he had been waiting for. That this was the woman that he loved more than anything in the world. Yet, as he kissed Inko someone saw the whole thing and snarled. There was no way that they would allow this to happen. King Toshinori will die, if not then the woman would.
