Chapter 5: Cleaning House
Chapter summary: Since Shouta's well enough, he decides to repay the dwarfs the only way he knows how-by cleaning house.
Two weeks passed, and Shouta was finally able to de-mummify himself. Shouta didn't realize how much he needed to use his hands until he couldn't anymore, so he was relieved. More so because he could finally do stuff for himself again. The kids did their best and were very earnest in helping, bless their little hearts, but they were a little—too eager, and as such, a lot of mistakes were made, which usually ended up causing more harm than good. Shouta didn't fault them, of course, and was very thankful for their efforts. Still, he was glad he didn't have to worry about water getting spilled on him when a dwarf ran with a glass of water, only to trip on a loose board.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked the dwarfs who were all lined up outside the door of the cottage, each holding a lantern in hand.
Since Shouta could move around and take care of himself, it was decided that Izuku and Momo should return to work with the others. It was unfair that the rest of the dwarfs had to do their share of the work as well as their own. If Shouta could look after himself, there was no rational reason for them to stay all day.
"We'll be fine!" he was assured by Ochaco. "We do this every day, so it's not a big deal at all." Shouta bounced from foot to foot but not in a way that could really be noticed as he leaned on the doorway.
As an adult, he was wary about letting children go off alone into the woods, especially these woods. The rational part of his brain however reminded him that the dwarfs lived in here for most of their lives and none of them seemed worse for the wear. The forest might have been only hostile towards humans, so beings like the dwarfs were fine. If nothing else they each had magical powers to defend themselves with.
So he just stood at the doorway as they said their goodbyes.
"Be sure to get plenty of rest!"
"If you get hungry, just grab an apple off the tree, okay?"
"Be careful now!"
"Don't talk to strangers or let them in while we're gone, okay?"
"Watch out for anything that gets past the lamps!"
"And don't get eaten by the lion-bears!"
Shouta listened to all their concerns patiently, a bit amused but also slightly annoyed.
'They do realize that I'm the adult here, right?' Still, Shouta did his best to appease their concerns.
"I'll be careful," he promised.
Shouta waved them on their way as they started to march off, singing, "Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho! It's off to work we go!"
'Ugh, they're too energetic,' he thought with a sigh and roll of his eyes. 'Still, being able to just walk into those woods like it's no big deal…' Shouta's nails dug into the woodwork as he looked out into the distance beyond the bridge.
The darkness stared back like a violent beast, waiting for its prey to lose its guard. It was suffocating just looking at it. Despite the lights scattered among the area, the darkness weighted heavily around and above as if pressing on a dome of light. Shouta wondered what would happen if it cracked.
A shiver went through his bones at the thought. He quickly went back into the cottage—not that he was trying to hide or anything. That wouldn't be rational. He simply had things to do, which was why he made sure that the door was closed.
Speaking of-
Shouta glanced around the house with determination. This mess had been driving him insane for two weeks and now he was going to do something about it! Maybe he wasn't healed enough to brave the forest, but he could brave the dust-bunnies and cobwebs. He was going mad doing nothing and needed to move his body around. And the house was overdue for a cleaning, so it was only reasonable to kill two birds with one stone.
He rolled up the sleeves of the dark blue shirt Momo made him along with a pair of bright yellow trousers. After the bandages were removed everyone noticed how torn and ragged Shouta's old clothes were, so Momo created a new set for him. He wouldn't say they were his style as they were far too bright and mix-matched, but his clothes were ruined beyond repair so it only made sense to accept the dwarfs' kindness once more. At least this finally seemed to convince Denki for once and for all that Shouta was NOT a vampire.
"No self-respecting vampire would ever wear anything but black," he had said. "And they definitely wouldn't be caught dead, or un-dead, in bright yellow." So they did some good.
It took a few minutes, but Shouta managed to find a broom hidden away in the corner behind several cobwebs, though he did have to fight a spider or two for it. He spent the day like he would have if he was still back at the castle. Sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing the floors, washing dishes that weren't cracked from being tossed aside, and repairing all the salvageable clothes. Some had a hole here or there with berry stains but most just stank. He'd have to wash them later.
None of it was easy work, and Shouta had to stop to rest a few times, but it was something familiar in a world completely unfamiliar. It also gave him time to ponder the million and one questions he had stuck in his head.
Why did Shigaraki want him dead now all of a sudden? He had several years to kill Shouta, especially with his mother out of the picture. So why now? What changed?
Was it because he was old enough to rule? No, he had reached the age years ago. Besides, to reclaim the throne would need an army or some sort of noble support. As a result of living as a scullery servant, he had none of that.
Had he offended Shigaraki somehow? If so, how? Shouta never saw or talked to the king. He just did his work and napped, occasionally going out on a date with Hizashi, but that was it.
Hizashi theorized that since Shigaraki wanted his heart he was planning a ritual of some kind. But what? And why did he need Shouta's heart?
And what was he doing to do to Hizashi when he saw that he failed to do as he asked?
'Hizashi…' A scowl crossed his pale features.
"Tch!" Shouta tossed a rag in the bucket with a grunt. As he stood, his brows furrowed and he folded his arms around him. He paced a little.
'Where is he?' Shouta knew he was obsessing uncharacteristically, but circumstances were hectic, to say the least. For two weeks Shouta had been worrying about his love's fate with no answers in sight.
Hizashi said he had a plan, but what plan? And what if the said plan failed and the king found out he let Shouta go? Hizashi could have been executed already and Shouta would never know-
Shouta tripped into the bucket and water spilled everywhere. Shouta caught himself before he fell and pressed a palm to his head.
'Shit.' Then he tilted his head back, barely seeing the cobwebbed ceiling.
"Hizashi…"
He missed him. He missed his non-stop babble, his loud, ear-shattering laugh, the way he would always lean up against Shouta and hold his hand. The way his lips pressed against his with a smile. He missed running his hand through his hair and playing with the ends. He missed his cheerful, bright green eyes that reminded Shouta of the soft green hills where they would have their dates.
What if Shouta never saw him again? What if Shouta never got to hear his voice again? To feel his touch? To tell him he loved him? What if he was gone forever?
Shouta let out a low groan in the silence.
He wanted nothing more than to run back to the palace to save Hizashi but knew that was idiotic. Firstly, he had no idea where in the forest he was, so he had no idea which direction to go to get out. And considering the forest almost killed him after he was there for five minutes, it was obvious this was not a place he wanted to get lost in. On top of that, he was still limping and sore. No condition for travel. Plus—as much as he hated to admit it—returning to the palace might do more harm than good. If Hizashi somehow by some miracle managed to trick Shigaraki, then showing up would ruin everything. As annoying as it was, the most rational thing to do at the moment was to trust Hizashi and wait. No matter how hard it was.
Shouta looked out the window where the light from the lamps outside was struggling to shine in through the dust. His eyes watered a little.
"Hizashi… Please be safe."
Shouta went back to work, focusing on every sweep, scrub, and mop he did. It wasn't hard to distract himself. There were a million things to do between the dust, the dirt, the cobwebs, moss, mold—things he didn't want to identify.
Yet somehow he managed to finish before evening (according to the clock). Cleaning the palace daily by himself Shouta was fairly competent at what he did. (Though the house did put up a fair fight.)
He wasn't done, however.
Shouta walked to the fireplace where he had stew cooking. He wasn't a fancy cook as he preferred not to cook at all. The only reason he learned in the first place was because Hizashi would bring him gifts or trinkets from his hunts. Shouta wanted to be able to return the favor to show that he appreciated the gestures. But because he never left the palace except when he and Hizashi had a date he never had anything. So instead he learned to prepare meals for the hunter whenever he visited (sneaking around the cook of course).
Shouta tasted the stew. It was a simple recipe, but it was better than apples. He didn't particularly hate apples but after two weeks of the red fruit, he needed something different. He didn't have to look far for the ingredients. Not far from the apple tree was a garden overgrowing with vegetables and potatoes. Most were covered by weeds but after some fighting, he managed to get just enough food for supper. Tending the yard would be tomorrow's project, he supposed.
'There's something to look forward to.' After stirring the pot he glanced at the small clock on the wall.
'It's been a while. Are they alright?' They should be. After all, they did this every day, so there shouldn't be any need to worry. In fact, if he was correct, they should be back fairly soon.
777
Just as Shouta was thinking this, the seven dwarfs were marching home. The darkness surrounded them like a thick fog, trying to swallow them, but the light from their lanterns kept it at bay and lit their way home. They were folded forward, shoulders slumped. Toru leaned against Tenya.
"Yawn! So tired..." she whined.
"I'm going to bed and never waking up." Denki moaned behind her.
"Hey, cheer up guys! We gotta be upbeat for Mr. Aizawa!" Ochaco said, despite the fatigue under her eyes.
"Yeah, he must have been bored and lonely being by himself all day." Tsuyu said. The others agreed. They've always had at least one person with them all their lives, so the thought of being completely alone was sad and a little scary.
"Oh yeah and we had such a great-" Denki was interrupted when he crashed into Toru, who had come to a sudden stop. They both fell forward with a cry.
"What now?!"
"L-look!" Izuku pointed at the house. "Smoke!"
Smoke swirled in an array of twists, turns, and patterns out into the air. It seemed to come from the chimney on the tall roof of the cottage.
"It's coming from our house!" Tenya cried. Everyone shared a worried look. Momo pulled her hands to her chest.
"You don't think..."
"IT'S A DRAGON!" Toru and Ochaco cried in unison as they clung to each other.
"But! But how?!" Izuku stuttered, his little body trembling as frightful tears started to well up in his eyes.
"Does it matter?! We have to get out of here!" Denki cried behind him, tugging on his red tunic.
"But what about-!"
They all gasped as they thought the same thing.
"Mr. Aizawa!"
The dwarfs quickly raced towards the house in a scrambled panic.
"We'll get the water!" Tsuyu called. She and Momo stopped at the stream where Momo conjured a pail.
"We'll get a big stick!" Toru said as she and Ochaco dragged Denki after them.
"We will?!"
Thanks to his speed Tenya reached the cottage first. Though he was afraid of what was inside, he still threw the door open with all his strength.
Shouta jumped as the door swung open and hit the wall.
"What the hell-?!"
"Mr. Aizawa are you okay?!" Tenya yelled. Izuku was right behind him, fists balled, in case he had to fight. Tsuyu and Momo appeared quickly after with a bucket of water followed by Toru and Ochaco who held a large stick, who was then followed by a cowering Denki.
"Don't worry Mr. Aizawa! We have water-"
"And a big stick!"
"Die dragon!"
"Don't eat us, dragon!"
Shouta cut through all nonsense with a single flat sentence.
"What the hell are you all going on about?"
The dwarfs froze in place and looked around. Once they noticed the lack of a giant fire-breathing reptilian creature they started to feel very silly. They shuffled in place.
"We-we saw smoke coming from the house," Izuku started, face starting to heat up. "So we thought..."
"It was a dragon...?" Ochaco finished, the red from her rosy cheeks spreading to the rest of her.
Denki and Toru quietly moved the stick to the side, hoping Shouta didn't see it.
Shouta stared at them long and hard with a look that clearly said, "You are all idiots." Then he closed his eyes and sighed.
"If you're talking about the chimney smoke then it's just the fireplace."
"Fireplace?" The dwarfs turned to said object and stared at it. While it had always been there, the fireplace being lit was a new and unusual sight.
"Come to think of it, my dad would make a fire in things like that once in a while..." Ochaco reminisced, her tone thoughtful. She caught a whiff of the pot. "What's that and why does it smell good?" Denki sniffed the air too.
"Hey, that does smell good!"
"That's the stew," Shouta explained.
"Like that stuff witches make? Are you a witch, Mr. Aizawa?" Shouta fought back a groan.
"No, I'm not. And it's not a witches' brew. It's a stew," He folded his arms as he watched the children with a raised brow. "Don't tell me you never had any..." They shook their heads.
Now that they were assured there was no fire breathing threat the dwarfs were now able to notice the rest of the house and the odd changes to their home since this morning. With curiosity replacing worry they began to explore the place to find all the new changes, like a scavenger game.
"Ah! Look! There's no footprints on the floor!" Toru cried.
"That's because the dust is gone. See? Our chairs are clean too." Momo said as she ran a hand over a wooden chair.
"The sink's empty. Did someone steal the dishes?" Tsuyu asked, puzzled as she peered into the sink. She wasn't too concerned as Momo could make more, but it was still strange. "Our cobwebs are gone too."
"No, they're here! Um, the dishes, I mean." Izuku said. "He hid them in the cupboards. And they're not sticky anymore!"
Shouta put a hand to his head as he felt a migraine coming on. Were they serious or just messing with him?
"It's called,'cleaning them and putting them away.'" he said. His brows scrunched together as he glanced at the kids, part annoyed, part curious. "Haven't any of you ever tidied up before?"
The kids all shifted, all looking ashamed in their own way.
"Well, um, we used to help our parents and then on our own at first, but then, well, we..." Izuku stammered off.
"It's just… well, after working all day at the mines and stuff, we were really tired. And there wasn't exactly a need to..." Momo muttered. They mumbled a few more excuses, hands fiddling with their shirts as they scuffed at the floor with their feet. The gist past it all was what Shouta had already figured out; no adults were around so they didn't bother.
"We have no excuse!" Tenya suddenly shouted, making the dwarfs around him jump. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, his hands in fists as he leaned forwards in a bow, internally scolding himself. "We allowed ourselves to become content in the doldrums of laziness when it came to our home! Our parents and our ancestors would be ashamed!"
"Ant sisters?" Toru said, mishearing him.
Shouta decided not to say anything more about it. What's done was done. And honestly, they were children. It wasn't that surprising that they would let things get out of hand with no one to force them otherwise. If anything Shouta was more amazed that the house wasn't falling apart. (Though he did find some spots in need of repair.)
"Well, supper's not ready yet," he told them. "So you'll have just enough time to wash and change clothes." The kids all looked at him with large, horrified round eyes.
"Wash!?" They all wailed.
"We haven't washed in forever!" Denki complained. Shouta could believe that just by looking at and smelling them.
"Then it's past due, isn't it?" he said firmly. Not that he was one to talk. At the palace, he would go for weeks without bathing. It was such a chore to get the water and a waste of time he could have been using to nap. Still, this was them not him so it was different. He pointed over his shoulder. "There's a fresh trow of water outback. Go get cleaned."
The others hesitated but gave in with a sigh.
777
Outside they gathered around the trow. Denki stared at it with an unsure frown and pursed lips.
"So, does anyone remember how to do this?" he asked.
"I swim in the stream a lot," Tsuyu said, poking at the water's surface and creating a ripple. "Maybe it's like that?"
"It's cold!" Toru pouted as she dipped her finger in.
"Come now, everyone," Tenya quipped up. "Mr. Aizawa worked hard for us today! The least we can do is wash ourselves up."
"But how?"
Izuku looked at the strange, soft rock in his hand. As he bounced it a little and rubbed a thumb across the edge, a memory stirred.
"Um! I think we use this!" He held out the sweet-smelling stone to the others.
"What is it?" Tsuyu inquired, staring at it. Izuku's mind went blank.
"Er, well, I—I-I don't really remember...Ah!"
The rock slipped from his nervous palms and dropped into the water with a small plop! Izuku fished it out as quickly as he could, but it shot from his hand and hit Momo on the head.
"Yipe!"
"Ahh! S-sorry!" he cried as Momo fell back with a yelp. The others helped her back up as she rubbed her forehead, holding the block.
"Hey, what are those?" Ochaco pointed at Izuku's hands.
"Bubbles!" Momo supplied helpfully. "There's some in the water too, see?" Something clicked in Tenya's head.
"Ah! Soap!"
"Is that a curse word?"
"Of course not, Denki! I remember! Mother used to use soap to wash things; floors, dishes, my hair… Ah, I think I recall how now..." He grabbed the soap from Momo. After a moment's thought, he rubbed it on his head.
"I don't think it's working," Ochaco said after a minute.
"I think you have to be wet." Tsuyu said, a thoughtful hand on her chin.
"We have to get wet?" Toru whined. "But I don't want to! It's cold!"
"That never bothered you before," Denki muttered. Toru huffed as she splashed some water in his direction. "Hey!" He splashed her back and she returned the favor, again.
"S-stop it, you two! We're supposed to be-" Both of them splashed Izuku.
"That was uncalled for-" They slashed Tenya as well. In retaliation and mischievousness, Tsuyu and Ochaco started splashing the other two.
Shouta wondered what was taking so long, so after removing the stew from the fire so it wouldn't burn, he went outside to check on the commotion.
When Shouta stepped out he saw four of the kids were laughing and shrieking with glee as they splashed each other while the other three were unsuccessfully trying to stop them.
"Enough!"
The result was instant.
Water was everywhere and the kids were soaked with suds here and there. Tenya and Denki even had little soap beards. Izuku must have gotten some in his eyes as he was rubbing at them as they watered.
Shouta thought about scolding or yelling at them. However, they looked like adorable wet kittens, so he just placed a hand to his head and let out a breath.
"I told you to wash, not drown yourselves."
"Sorry..." they all mewled.
Shouta spent the next 20 minutes properly rinsing and drying the kids before changing them into neat clothes. Despite all the complaining and trouble, the dwarfs seemed happy to be clean.
The human had to rewarm the stew, but at least it was still serviceable to eat. Shouta just barely managed to stop the kids from digging in with their hands and get them to use a spoon.
"How did you make this from the apples?" Izuku asked as he and the others gobbled on the stew.
"I didn't. I used the vegetables in the garden." Shouta explained. Tsuyu tilted her head.
"We have a garden?" Shouta fought very hard not to slam his palm into his face.
'How did these morons…'
"Did you really only eat apples till now?" he asked. Tenya spoke up;
"Not at all," he said. "We also had berries from the bushes."
"Oh! And nuts!" Toru added, sputtering stew.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." The man frowned. "That's it? Nuts and fruit? What about in winter?" The kids had to think for a moment to recall what "winter" was, then remembered from the All Might stories.
"Well, we don't get winter here," Izuku explained, tapping his spoon softly against the bowl. "Everything pretty much stays the same around here."
"Really? There's no changes in the weather?" Izuku shook his head. Shouta supposed it made sense; this was a magic forest after all.
The topic changed as Izuku started to talk about his favorite hero once again. Shouta only half-listened as he wondered how Hizashi was doing…
{To be Continued…}
A/N: I just wanted to have my version of the wash scene.
Dwarf Facts:
*Dwarfs are messy beings. Cleanliness is not a strong suit and neither was hygiene. Hell, half of them went their whole lives without ever bathing as it was seen more as a frivolous thing, like painting your nails. The only places Dwarfs kept clean were their workplaces and only so they could find their tools, so if a house was clean it was only because a dwarf decided that was their workspace. They weren't lazy; in fact, they were the opposite. But after working all day and keeping that place tidy they liked returning to their familiar mess to collapse in.
**Meta Note: Tenya used to try and keep order at first, but then the years passed and he started to let things slide as they fell into a doldrum. (Btw, the reason you're seeing the word 'doldrum' a lot and used in the wrong way is that as I was writing I fell into nostalgia and watched "The Phantom Toll Booth.")
World Facts:
*Because the Daemonium Forest knots its branches together to keep light out it also keeps out the snow. That being said, ice will still form in places. The dwarfs' area stays the same year-round because of the special gems. When the snow melts it will slip through as rain. This rain is poisonous as it becomes infected with dark energy the longer it stays atop the trees.