Chapter Seven:

Izuku sat with his legs dangling over the wall of the summer palace. Staring at the barren ground below, he grew flowers.

All for One had been draining the summer realm of magic, as he drained his own people of magic. Outside the beautiful, lush palace gardens, dead cracked brown ground spread in all directions. Yoichi had wept when he'd first seen it. Izuku had been unnerved. He'd seen his poppa shed tears before, but never weep so silently and hopelessly. He wanted to make it right.

Ever since then, Izuku and Yoichi had taken turns pouring magic into the summer realm. They both had access to royal magic now, as Izuku was the new summer king and Yoichi was prince-regent for him. Izuku still hadn't properly figured out how to control it. The power felt like a wild horse or perhaps a tiger underneath him. Annoyingly it was interfering with his ability to use regular small spells. Yoichi had never been given proper access to royal magic and was fumbling as well. He thought the other monarchs might be able to help them learn. For now, Izuku could at least pour power back into the land.

As Izuku stared at the ground, the green grass spreading out from the wall grew longer. He had nurtured trees lining the road. Under his gaze, they grew a foot taller. Izuku panted, tired. His hands and wings shook. He had not come even close to running out of magic, but he'd hit the limits of what his body could handle. Flexing his wings, he prepared to take flight.

A white cloud appeared on the horizon. Izuku squinted. The cloud was moving too close to the ground to be natural. Even from this distance, he could feel the cold radiating off it, an intrusion into his territory.

As the frosty wisps came closer, Izuku could make out Shouto's face. The yuki-onna waved and mouthed something indecipherable.

"Winter intruder!" bellowed a deep voice below. Kurogiri shot out of the palace gate, wielding a long spear.

"No!" Izuku cried. Wings folded back, he shot down.

Izuku crashed into Kurogiri before he could reach Shouto. Green light blazed around his body. He'd had a notion of using vines to hold Kurogiri in place. But the power came too hot and fast to be controlled. What if he destroyed Kurogiri?! Izuku tried to drag his magic back.

Kurogiri screamed. His voice sounded different, less gruff. The shadows around his face briefly pulled back, revealing light blue hair and sparkling blue eyes.

Izuku grabbed Kurogiri and held him up. The darkness retreated from his body, leaving a fae with glowing blue wings. He looked unnaturally pale, almost like a corpse. Izuku grabbed his wrist, and was relieved to feel a faint pulse.

Shouto landed on the ground. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I drop into the winter realm all the time, I should have remembered to be more careful with summer. I was in such a hurry to tell you—this is my fault."

Wetting his lips, Izuku said, "Actually, I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Kurogiri looks fae again."

"That's Kurogiri?" Shouto's eyes widened.

Closing his eyes, Izuku sent out a tendril of magic to summon his poppa.

Yoichi met them at the entranceway to the palace. He looked resplendent in a white kimono with a red coat. A Sakura hairpin pulled back his newly bright pink hair. But he remained bare of tattoos. Izuku still winced to look at where they had once been.

Shouto and Izuku carried Kurogiri between them, one arm slung over each of their shoulders. Izuku said, "I tried to heal Kurogiri, but he's still asleep."

Upon seeing Kurogiri, Yoichi's eyes widened. "Oboro…" He swayed. "I suspected Kurogiri was him, but I was never certain." Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He dashed them away. "I've been crying too much lately."

"That's okay. It's a family tradition," Izuku joked.

Yoichi waved a hand, and Kurogiri levitated in the air. "I once knew Oboro Shirakumo, the jester of the summer court. You've changed him back." Yoichi brushed back the wavy blue hair to touch Oboro's forehead. "He's just sleeping off the magical exhaustion. Izuku, this is amazing. You saved him. This means we can save the other mindless fae."

Ears drooping, Izuku admitted, "I don't know how I did it."

"Then we'll experiment until we figure it out," Yoichi said. "I'll take Oboro to the sickbay. You should enjoy your time with your friend." He walked away, Oboro floating after him.

Shouto asked, "Does this mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Nah, it worked out for the best," Izuku said. "What brought you here in such a hurry?"

"My mom thinks she figured out how to wake up my big brother," Shouto said. "But we need your help."

Dabi, aka Touya Todoroki, had fallen into a coma since All for One had been sealed away. The yuki-onna had speculated that with All for One gone, Touya was like a puppet with cut strings. Clan Head Rei had brought in numerous magical experts with no luck.

The palace had a mirror in the throne room capable of teleportation. Of course, only royals could activate it for security reasons. As Izuku tinkered with the settings, Shouto explained, "Only summer magic can wake my big brother up. We suspected as much from the beginning, but Mom was afraid it would turn Touya into your puppet. I told her that we could trust you, but she didn't think that switching from one master to another would be good for his mental state."

If Rei didn't trust him, Izuku wouldn't blame her. She'd never even met him. There were probably complicated political implications to the young summer king controlling the son of the yuki-onna clan head. "I wouldn't control your brother. I'd like to help."

Shouto said, "Mom thinks that if you create a charm with a lock of your hair or a drop of blood, we can give that to my brother and use it to wake him up, but without creating a link between you like the one All for One used to pour hatred into Touya. It would cost a bit of your magic, and we'd owe you a debt." When Izuku opened his mouth, Shouto added, "My mom understands what it means to owe a fae debt and she's serious."

Izuku would have promised to help for free, but he knew as a king he ought to take the favor. Especially because he'd be giving up magic that belonged to the whole kingdom and could be used to regrow the land. Royalty made everything more complicated. He still lived in hope that he could persuade Yoichi to take over as king permanently and free him. Yoichi had insisted that he shouldn't take the throne before Izuku was old enough to know what he would be giving up. Izuku recognized a cop-out when he heard it. They both had launched campaigns to persuade each other.

Swiveling the mirror, Izuku asked, "Does this look like your home?" The mirror showed a snowy mountain, a swirling ice palace visible through the falling snow.

Shouto nodded. "That should be close enough."

"Let's go save your brother." Izuku hadn't been overly impressed with Dabi but he would do it for Shouto. He cast a spell to keep himself warm, then stepped into the intimidating cold.

Rei stood on the sweeping ice staircase. At first glance it seemed like she wore a kimono, but on a closer look, opaque glowing snow cloaked her and trailed down along the floor. Blue frost patterns covered her body. Her bright red lips stood out against paper-white cheeks.

The palace floor and pillars gleamed. Icicles hung down from the ceiling. Snowflake patterns formed on the glass windows between the pillars. "We're grateful that you came so quickly, Your Majesty." Rei inclined her head, one sovereign to another. "I'm already in your debt for freeing my oldest child from All for One, and soon I will owe you a second time. As soon as I heard of Touya, I wanted to invade summer to retrieve him. But as the clan head, any move I made could result in a war. It would have been irresponsible of me to drag my entire network of allied yokai into conflict with the fae. I intended to negotiate with All for One—but any bargain would have been unpleasant. We kept it from our children to avoid giving them false hope until we knew if the resurrection was real or an illusion. Then Shouto charged off." She cast her youngest son an exasperated but fond look. "If he'd been caught as well, I would have been in serious trouble."

Izuku cleared his throat. "It's an honor to meet you, my lady. Your son came to the summer realm to rescue me, and he's been a good friend to me. I think we can call the first debt even."

"But Touya caused you to be captured in the first place," Rei said. "I must insist. It's a matter of honor."

Izuku was still weak on court protocol but he felt it would be rude to refuse a second time. "I respect your honorableness."

Enji Todoroki walked up and put his arms around his wife. She nestled her head against him affectionately. Izuku recognized Enji from his old hero merchandise. A decade had passed since Enji had retired as a hero, yet he looked healthier and happier. His eyes had a softer light than when he'd been Endeavor. Enji said, "I agree with my wife—we're in your debt." Glaring at Shouto, he said, "And you're still losing phone privileges for a month for sneaking out."

Shouto crossed his arms and did not look sorry.

Rei led them up the stairs. Touya lay on a bed made of snow with his arms crossed. Strangely his hair kept shifting: one moment black, the next red, then white. Izuku recognized this as a sign of magical instability. "What should I do?"

Extending her hand, Rei formed an ice crystal. "Please put a bit of magic into this. We don't need very much. I'll take care of channeling magic to keep my son resurrected afterward."

The first time Izuku tried, he exploded the crystal. Wet drops hit Rei's face and absorbed into the frost patterns.

"Ahhhhh! I'm sorry!" Izuku flushed to his hair roots. He'd put in too much magic.

"A little ice can't hurt me." Rei smiled gently. "Please try as many times as you need."

The second time, Rei ducked the ice fragments. The tenth time, Izuku managed to create a glowing green flower inside the crystal.

Rei placed the crystal on Touya's chest. It sank into his skin. Slowly, blue eyes opened.

"Touya!" Rei cried, flinging her arms around him and sobbing.

"Where am I?" Touya mumbled. "Mom?"

Enji ran over and grabbed his son's other side, tears streaming unabashedly down his face. Shouto knelt down next to the bed. Izuku retreated to the hallway to give them a bit of privacy.

Eventually, Rei and Enji came out. Smiling radiantly, Rei said, "Touya would like to apologize to you for his role in kidnapping you."

"Is he back to normal?" Izuku asked anxiously.

"Even better," Rei said cryptically.

Izuku stepped into the room, then paused to hear Touya and Shouto talking.

Touya said, "Your scar is all my fault, little brother. I'm sorry. I thought I could stop my quirk from overheating by taking a bit of your ice magic, and you agreed—but you were too young and I pressured you into it." He hung his head. "My parents told me it wouldn't work, and they were right. I burned down the building and hurt you."

"So that's what happened," Shouto murmured. "No one would tell me."

"Probably they didn't want to taint my memory, not that I deserved it." Touya ran his fingers through his hair. "Especially since I got turned into a puppet by our enemies. I don't remember much of it. Just constantly being angry all the time. I forgot about my good memories of our family and had nothing but hatred."

"That wasn't your fault. You were brainwashed," Shouto said. "I don't blame you for what happened when we were children, either. You were what, eleven or twelve? Younger than I am now, certainly. You didn't know better."

"You grew up to be such a good kid." Touya ruffled Shouto's hair.

Shouto looked up. "Midoriya is here! You can apologize."

Touya shrugged. "Eh, I guess I'm sorry for kidnapping you even though it wasn't my fault. Your evil dad was the one who controlled me. If anything, I should be asking you for compensation."

"Big brother!" Shouto chopped Touya on the head. "Apologize properly!"

"Ow!" Touya rubbed his head. "Weren't you just saying it wasn't my fault?"

"It's fine, really." Izuku shrugged. He wasn't going to hold being brainwashed against someone.

Shouto wailed, "You're embarrassing me in front of Midoriya!"

"What, do you have a crush in him or something?" Touya snorted. Shouto blushed crimson. Leaning closer to stare at his face, Touya laughed. "You do! I thought I'd have at least a few more years before I'd need to give anyone the shovel talk." Touya raised his voice and looked at Izuku. "Hey, you, I burned myself to ashes so you'd better believe I could do it to you."

"Stop it!" Shouto shrieked. "We only just met, it's too soon!"

Izuku, who'd been about to convince himself that this was only brotherly teasing, froze. Too soon? As a fae, he was very sensitive to the subtilities of words. Did that mean Shouto actually…

Touya laughed. "You just met and you already took on a fae king for him. I'd say you've got it bad." He slung an arm around his little brother and glared at Izuku. "For your information, yuki-onna have very intense and challenging courtship rituals—"

"Speak one more word and I'll kill you!" Shouto made good on his threat by strangling Touya.

Enji rushed into the room. "Touya, no bullying your brother—wait, it's Shouto this time!"

After the parents settled the brotherly quarrel, Rei insisted on treating Izuku to some of her homemade sugar cookies (with no debt). Then Shouto left with Izuku.

Izuku noticed that Shouto didn't seem willing to look him in the eye. He cleared his throat. "I think we're a bit too young for me to start researching yuki-onna courtship rituals, but I like you a lot. I think you're cool, Todoroki." He winced. "I swear I didn't mean that as a pun."

Shouto looked up, his eyes sparkling. "Do you want to start as friends and see where it goes from there?"

"I'd like that. And I'll save my first dance for you at the next fae ball." Izuku held out his hand, and Shouto squeezed it.

When Izuku arrived home, he found Yoichi standing in the front lawn, burying a body. Vines obscured the corpse and wrapped around, dragging it into a pit in the ground. Then the earth swallowed it up.

Yoichi turned around, holding a bloodstained hairpin in his hand. His hair had darkened to reflect his bad mood. "There was another assassination attempt. With my older brother gone, everyone thinks summer is weak. In particular, they think I'm weak." His hair went from dark blue to angry-red. "I don't even think this one was trying to kill me! He wanted to use me as a hostage against Kaiji and Sanzou, would you believe the nerve?"

Izuku shook his head. "Shocking. One person to kidnap you, that's an insult. Do we know who sent the assassin?"

"Redcaps work as mercenaries. I doubt he knew his own employer." Mournfully, Yoichi asked, "Are you sure you don't want to take over the kingdom early? The fae have had child kings without regents before."

Izuku knew his poppa was kidding—although Yoichi definitely didn't want the throne, he'd never leave Izuku to handle this mess alone. Nor would either of them trust someone else to guard over the seal on All for One after last time. He responded in a similar lighthearted tone. "No way, I at least want to graduate from college in the human realm. What if we find some other sucker to pass it off onto?"

Yoichi sighed. "You joke, but I've already looked for distant cousins and came up emptyhanded." He mopped the blood on his cheek with a handkerchief.

Izuku spotted a new tattoo on his poppa's wrist: an open birdcage with a small chick flying out. The wings flapped very slowly on his skin. "Oh, what a lovely new tattoo."

Yoichi's eyes lit up. "I meant to show you." He held out his arm. "I got this to symbolize my freedom from All for One. I'm raising the chick into a full dove."

"I'm sorry that you lost your tattoos for me," Izuku said softly. They had represented years of work to ink and for Yoichi to cultivate the living tattoos. Some had been done by human artists long since dead. A living tattoo would never come back the same way twice. They had been irreplaceable.

"It's not your fault." Yoichi patted Izuku's head. "I knew big brother would do that. He was always insanely controlling and he treated me like a child. I made the sacrifice willingly. I've been making plans for my new tattoo sleeves. I'm trying to view it as a fresh start with a new canvass."

Izuku recognized "trying" did not mean the same thing as succeeding. "You don't have to hide being upset around me. I'll work on blaming All for One instead of myself."

Yoichi laughed. "That's the correct way of looking at it." His hair turned pink from pleasure, and the chick on his wrist grew a bit.

Izuku hesitated, then blurted out something he'd been wanting to say. "By the way, I erased my memory of your true name. Dad made the potion for me as soon as he woke up."

"Oh!" Yoichi blinked. "You didn't have to rush to do that, I trust you."

"Yeah I did, because no one should have your name ever again." It meant a lot to Izuku that Yoichi hadn't immediately anxiously asked him to erase his memories. But Izuku would never have waited long enough to make Yoichi ask. He would never be All for One.

Yoichi hugged Izuku. They nestled close together, breathing in the sweet smell of the garden.

Then Yoichi said, "Oh, I got so distracted burying the corpse that I forgot to tell you—Oboro woke up."

When Izuku arrived upstairs, the sound of merriment drifted from the sickbay. Oboro sat in his bed, balancing a quill pen on his upper lip. He laughed, letting it drop. Izuku was surprised to see the serious Kurogiri with such a big grin on his face.

Three people surrounded Oboro. Looking over their shoulders, he waved at Izuku. "My savior! Come meet my best friends. This one goes by Shouta Aizawa." He pointed at the dark-haired bakaneko with cat ears and a tail. "And this one by Hizashi Yamada."

A second mouth sprouted from the back of Yamada's blond head and cried, "You didn't tell me the little king would be so adorable." Ah, a two-mouthed yokai.

"We're in your debt for saving our friend, Your Majesty," Aizawa said seriously.

"I agree." Yamada bowed.

The favors crackled in the air, revitalizing the summer magic flowing through the room. Izuku felt a little overwhelmed and not sure how to respond as a king. He settled for responding as a person. "I'm glad I could help, and I plan to keep helping the other mindless fae. Oboro, you looked after me when I first came to this palace, but I don't know if you remember."

"I remember flashes." Oboro bounced over. "I wish I'd done more to help you when you were captured."

"That wasn't in your control in the slightest. If anything I feel like you're owed reparations for what the summer court has done to you." Izuku decided to commit himself like a proper king. "Is there anything you'd like?"

"Uh-huh!" Oboro nodded. "I'm throwing a big party to celebrate my return, please let me host it in the castle."

Izuku blinked. This new exuberant personality would definitely take some getting used to.

Elbowing his friend, Aizawa hissed, "His Majesty must be busy preparing for his coronation. Don't impose on him."

"Oh, a small party of just your friends should be fine." This was a very small favor compared to what Izuku had been picturing. "It will take a while to prepare for the coronation." According to Yoichi, the coronation needed to be an extremely formal affair as a show of strength for the Summer Realm. And there would need to be top-notch security because even a failed assassination attempt would be embarrassing.

"Excellent!" Oboro tried to hug Izuku but his friends dragged him off, lecturing him about being rude to royalty.

As it turned out, Oboro's idea of a small party with just his friends included nearly a hundred people. Oboro had a lot of friends, and he'd invited their families, and he'd also asked the children to bring along their friends so that Izuku could meet others his own age.

Izuku and Yoichi had already released many of the mindless servants from their bondage, but most of them immediately fled the summer kingdom afterward. This was understandable but had left them understaffed. So the family had been working hard preparing for the party.

After spending the entire morning cleaning the ballroom together with his poppa, Izuku's wings drooped with exhaustion. Even with animal helpers, it had been a lot of work. But he still had to carry in the food.

Sanzou and Kaiji were hard at work in the kitchen. Healing magic had gotten them both into tip-top shape, but wounds from the Summer King did not completely heal. Sanzou had a new cratered scar poking out of his hair below his ear, and Kaiji had several long scars running up his arms.

The two of them coordinated their efforts with practiced skill. Sanzou flipped an okonomiyaki out of the frying pan—a Japanese pancake with octopus and cabbage. Kaiji drizzled sauce and seaweed flakes on top while Sanzou poured batter for the next pancake.

"I'm here to take the finished food," Izuku said.

Sanzou gestured at the counter. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Seriously, when we thought we'd lost you—" Tears came to Kaiji's eyes. "You mean so much to us! We love you!" He hugged Izuku.

"Yes, you've told me that a dozen times since you woke up, Papa." Izuku patted Kaiji on the back.

"I'm so proud of you," Kaiji whispered. "You defeated All for One himself! I only wish I could have seen the look on his face when you sealed him. You're the strongest, bravest kid in the universe. And I'd still be able to tell you that if I was a fae."

Kaiji had said that half a dozen times too, but Izuku still felt warm inside to hear it. He murmured, "My parents taught me how to be strong and smart."

Sanzou came over and kissed the top of Izuku's head. "You would have been talented no matter your parents, but I'm glad we got to raise you."

The giant wood burning stove growled like a dragon. It had a glowing green tube extending from the top and red eyes above the flickering flames. Kaiji and Sanzou ran to check up on their cookies. Izuku flicked his fingers, and the food floated down the hallway after him.

By the time Izuku finished moving the food, Yoichi had picked out their outfits. The party was casual dress, but according to Yoichi, even picking out the correct casual clothing had meaning for royalty. Izuku didn't understand the court protocols yet.

Yoichi helped Izuku fasten a tan yukata with green stripes. Then Yoichi put on a pale pink kimono a shade lighter than his hair. The sleeves and bottom had a flower pattern. Izuku helped Yoichi fasten his red silk obi into a butterfly knot.

This style of kimono was female rather than male. Izuku had noticed that Yoichi had been shifting toward a more feminine manner of dress lately, as well as a few small changes in facial features and body shape. But among the fae it wouldn't be polite to comment before Yoichi formally switched pronouns. Fae in general made a point of not asking personal questions because they couldn't dodge them with polite lies. It was better to wait and let other fae tell you whatever they wanted to share at their own pace.

Yoichi let part of his hair flow loose, with part pulled up into a bun with a small, golden crown as befitting a royal regent. Izuku had been pleased to learn he didn't have to wear a crown because he wasn't the party host. That thing made his head ache. However, he did make sure to fasten on the fan pin that Shouto had given him. Izuku had made certain Shouto would be invited. They'd promised each other a dance.

His wings trembling with nervousness, Izuku went to the entranceway to let in the guests.

Cheerful chatter filled the ballroom. The room was too large for even a hundred people, so most clustered around the long food tables. Kaiji and Sanzou had outdone themselves with a Japanese feast. There was no band, but Yoichi had brought over speakers from the human realm to play gentle traditional music.

The guest of honor, Oboro, had decided to see how many petite cakes he could balance on his nose. Yamada laughed while Aizawa stood ready to catch them. A dark-haired spring fae named Nemuri Kayama stood alongside them, edging Oboro on.

This was an informal party, so the guests wore all manner of clothes. Yamada and Kayama both wore yukatas, whereas Aizawa had decided to wrap himself up in a sleeping bag. The adults largely dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, but most of the younger ones wore modern clothing.

Nana stood by the punch bowl, looking elegant in a long, black dress. She was chatting with Tenko and All Might. Tenko had formally thanked Izuku earlier for rescuing him from All for One. As the winter king, All Might was not supposed to be here so he'd used illusion magic to make himself look skinny.

Izuku's uncles En and Banjo were currently in conversation with his three parents. Hikage was nearly invisible unless someone knew how to spot him lurking against the wall but he was listening. Banjo waved his arms wide as he told a story. Yoichi laughed behind his hand. Sanzou wore a grey suit, and Kaiji wore jeans with his "Kiss the Chef" apron still on. Izuku wasn't sure if that was an accidental oversight. Should he say something? Or would that just give his fathers an excuse to indulge in PDA again?

The other fae were giving Izuku's parents a wide berth. He suspected it must be because of Kaiji's reputation in particular, judging from the terrified looks cast in his direction. It annoyed Izuku a little. How dare strangers treat his papa like a monster in his own home? But Izuku supposed he shouldn't make an issue of it unless it bothered Kaiji.

Izuku looked around, hoping to see Shouto. Had he arrived yet?

"Midoriya!" Mina waved at him from next to the dessert table. As one of his first orders, Izuku had lifted the exile on her and her parents. But he'd yet to have a chance to see her because he'd been so busy.

By her side, Ochaco slipped mochi into her purse. She looked up and smiled at Izuku, too.

"I'm glad you two could make it." Izuku walked over. "I haven't had time to tell you yet how grateful I feel. Even though we barely knew each other, you still tried to help me at the ball. And you saved Todoroki from himself."

Mina slapped him on the back. "It was fun! Just never tell my parents. Hey, get this. Uraraka got stopped by the guards when we left the ball. I nearly had a heart attack, but it turned out she'd filled her purse full of desserts."

Ochaco blushed, white frost swirling up around her. "In my defense, fae balls have the most amazing food."

"She even argued the guards into letting her leave with her mochi stash."

"You should be grateful! They were too distracted to pay any mind to Todoroki and his disguise while they were arguing with me."

Izuku laughed. "You're welcome to take away our leftovers."

Mina whispered, "Be careful, she'll take you up on that."

A furry white blur shot forward and leapt on Mina, licking her face. "Gigantomachia!" she cried, hugging him and rubbing under his chin.

"Whoa, he doesn't take to just anyone." Izuku petted Gigantomachia's head. Fortunately the tiger had immediately transferred his loyalty to Izuku after All for One had vanished.

Mina explained, "I used to play a lot with Gigantomachia when I was a little girl, before my family had to flee the summer realm." She rubbed her nose against his. "Who's a good boy? Yes, you! I missed you, too."

Gigantomachia purred and rolled over to show his belly. Mina rubbed his tummy, cooing nonsense.

"Hey, Midoriya, I didn't know you'd been invited to this party." Kaminari walked over, wearing shorts and a tropical shirt. Sero followed after him. Ochaco briefly glanced up from the food table to wave at them, but otherwise seemed consumed by eating. Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's as she swallowed another miniature cake. Mina was too distracted dangling a piece of yarn over Gigantomachia to even notice her friends' arrival.

Izuku smiled. "I wasn't exactly invited because—"

"You snuck in! I respect that." Sero laughed. "You should be careful, though. There are some unsavory rumors going around about the new summer king."

A devil of mischief seized Izuku. "Oh, like what?"

"Apparently someone was stupid enough to kidnap the son of the Iron Maelstrom." Kaminari shuddered. "I mean, if you want to commit suicide, maybe don't drag the entire fae realm down with you? Every fae has been cowering at home in terror since we found out the Iron Maelstrom had returned."

Sero said, "It gets juicer! At first everyone assumed the Iron Maelstrom's kid must be human. But rumor in the marketplace says the Iron Maelstrom and the Omnicidal Prince got married and had a son. Which I didn't believe at first, because why would the Iron Maelstrom hook up with a fae?"

Kaminari said, "I assume they bonded over their mutual love for brutally murdering fae."

"That would make a surprising amount of sense, actually," Sero said. "Do you think they swapped massacre techniques as courtship?"

Kaminari covered his eyes. "What kind of terrifying monstrosity of a son would those two produce? I assume the kid is six feet tall and has fangs dripping with blood. He must feed on the souls of innocent fae."

"But what does this have to do with the summer royalty?" Izuku asked innocently, barely stopping himself from laughing.

Sero said, "I heard a rumor that All for One's brother is the kid's other dad, and it turned into a big custody battle. All for One kidnapped his nephew and the others came to find him."

"By the seasons!" Kaminari gasped. "With that kind of bloodline, the kid must be a total psycho."

"Definitely." Sero nodded. "The kid defeated All for One before his parents even had the chance. The new summer king must be the single most terrifying fae to walk the face of the earth. I'm glad he's not here, or I would have been too scared to come." He gestured at the empty thrones in the back of the room.

Izuku could no longer restrain his toothy grin. "I'm the new summer king."

Sero and Kaminari looked at him, looked at each other, then ran at Mina screaming, "Save us!" They both hid behind her.

Mina looked up from petting Gigantomachia. "What did you two do?"

"We're sorry!" Sero sobbed, clinging to Mina's leg. "We didn't know, Your Majesty! Ashido, please ask your king to spare our miserable lives."

Crouched down and hiding behind Mina's other leg, Kaminari said, "You look less terrifying than I thought, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I just thought the Iron Maelstrom's son would be more of a walking killing machine."

"Shhh! Stop making this worse!" Sero hissed.

Izuku said, "I'm adopted."

"Oh, praise the seasons," Kaminari whimpered.

Izuku said, "All for One is my biological father."

Kaminari collapsed into a pool of tears.

Looking down at them, Mina said, "Really, you two are embarrassing me."

Oblivious, Ochaco kept devouring desserts like she had a bottomless stomach.

Although Izuku had circled around the entire room, he still hadn't found Shouto. At times like this, he really wished the fae realm had cell phone service. Izuku knew that Shouto wouldn't stand him up. That was the whole problem. If Shouto was late then something must have happened to delay him. Izuku didn't know if it was a big event or a minor one. Should he stop by the yuki-onna's mountain just in case? Or wait a bit longer?

Izuku's musings were cut off by a piercing scream.

The entire room turned to watch as Yoichi stabbed a hairpin into the eye of a redcap. The pin was attached to the royal crown. Without the hairpiece, his pink hair fell loose over his shoulders. Vines erupted from the ground, dragging the dying goblin deep into the earth. A splatter of blood hit Yoichi's kimono. Then the marble tiles fell back into place as if they'd never been disrupted by an impromptu burial.

After a murmur, the party resumed. The guests went back to dancing and eating. One assassination attempt didn't stop a fae party.

Izuku ran over. "Are you injured, Poppa?"

"Not in the slightest. None of the blood is mine. But this outfit was new, and it's hard to get bloodstains out of silk. Ugh." Yoichi tucked his bloody crown into his obi. "But! I have good news! Before he died, the latest assassin called me 'The Butterfly with a Stinger.' True, I was hoping for a more badass nickname, but at least I'm starting to get a reputation."

"That's great, Poppa." Izuku gave Yoichi a two-handed high-five. "If you keep on murdering assassins, then I'm sure your nickname will keep getting more brutal and dark."

"Yeah!" Yoichi's wings perked up. "Perhaps there are benefits to being prince regent after all."

Kaiji rushed over. Flicking a drop of blood off Yoichi's face, Kaiji sighed and gazed into his eyes. "You're never more beautiful than when you're covered in blood, love."

"Kaiji! Not in front of Izuku!" Yoichi giggled.

Sanzou cleared his throat and held out his hand. "I agree. May I have the next dance, darling?"

"I have two hands." Yoichi offered a hand to each of his partners. The three of them danced together, sometimes in a triangle and sometimes taking turns twirling each other. Kaiji and Sanzou didn't seem to care about getting blood on their hands from touching Yoichi. However, the rest of the guests were staying far away from them and the trail of blood they left on the ground as they spun in circles. Yoichi laughed, pure joy on his face as he hugged his lovers close.

"Excuse me?" The voice came from behind Izuku. "May I have this dance?"

Izuku turned around. Shouto Todoroki wore a pure white suit with a dark blue tie. Silver snowflakes gleamed on his hair. With a slight frown, he said, "Sorry for being late. My big brother accidentally set fire to the palace again. I had to find a new outfit. If I hadn't been in such a hurry, I would have strangled him even harder this time. You promised to dance with me first, and I kept you waiting so you couldn't dance at all."

"Oh, no one else was asking me to dance anyway," Izuku said. "Apparently I'm considered a rabid monster."

"How strange. I find your feral smile very attractive," Shouto said seriously.

And Izuku found it attractive that Shouto found feralness attractive. It must run in his family. Smiling, he held out his hand. Something about the look in Izuku's eyes made Shouto blush. He took the offered hand. As the music shifted to a waltz, the two of them swirled on the dance floor. And the other fae moved out of their way.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: The Greatest Sacrifice

Kaiji: In order to save our son, will you give up anything?

Yoichi: I'd give up my life! My freedom! And my tat—my tat—yes, my tattoos too, but give me a moment to mourn them.

#

Omake: Worth a Shot

Izuku: Hey, Mina. As the only other summer fae I know, would you like to take the throne? My poppa and I don't want it.

Mina: Sorry, I'm heading back to winter! Unexpectedly it turns out I would prefer freezing forever!

Izuku: I get it, no one wants this damn heavy crown.

#

Omake: Looking Out for Her Son

Rei: What would you like to repay our debt? An artifact from the treasury, eternal air-conditioning, my youngest son's hand in marriage?

Izuku: Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

Rei: You should hold onto your favor, I have a feeling you two might want the marriage option in a decade.

#

Omake: Look at the Bones

Sero: Somehow, we're both still alive. Unless the summer king is only toying with us and plans to kill us later. All for One used to do that.

Kaminari: He looks so harmless, but do you think he's like the killer bunny from Monty Python?

#

Omake: Same Priorities

Tenya: What a relief that All for One has been sealed away.

Kaminari: No longer will fae tremble in fear of being stripped of their magic.

Aoyama: I'm finally free! I can stop crying at night!

Mina: My exile has been lifted.

Ochaco: I'll miss the food at his parties.

Everyone: …

Ochaco: What? He had an amazing buffet spread!

Author's Note: The final quote this week is: "It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing." This represents Shouto's choice to forgive his older brother for his childhood scar and his actions while under mind control.

Initially, I went back and forth on Dabi being brainwashed by All for One or acting of his own free will. On the one hand, we all know Dabi needs no manipulation to commit fratricide. On the other hand, fae All for One's whole deal is mind-controlling people, and I wanted to give the Todoroki family a happy ending in this story.

This is a great AU for the Todoroki family. After Touya "died" in his accident, Rei persuaded Enji to move back to her homeland. Enji quit being a hero, spent more time with his family, and got back to his roots of helping people instead of chasing hero ratings. As a result, Rei and Enji have a stable and loving relationship, the siblings are close, and Shouto gets along with his dad. It made sense that a happier family would have produced a less unhinged Touya. I was tipped over to the brainwashed side by this week's final prompt. No one was going to forgive All for One so it had to be referring to Dabi!

Thank you to Possiblycringe (tumblr) / BucketOfMud (Ao3) / Popsicles (discord) for the fun collab! For our final art piece, we see poor Yoichi mourning his tattoos. I really like the haziness! It seems to perfectly suit Yoichi's melancholy mood. Delete the spaces to get the link:
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Discord link:
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Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos, it has been fun sharing this fic and reading all the other amazing Dad for One week offerings.