Chapter Text
“Izuku, sweetie, make sure you don’t wrinkle your clothes. We’ll be leaving for the parade soon and we won’t have time to change into something else.” Inko turned to glance over her shoulder, keeping a careful watch over her son as he ran around playing ‘Pirates’ with little Katsuki. While Izuku was a well-kept young boy, she knew the two of them weren't known for being too careful when playing their games. “We need to always look our best when going out to see the town's people."
“Mom, it’s December, I’ll be wearing a coat anyw-”
Before he could finish his sentence, Katsuki swung his toy sword and landed a blow directly against his stomach. Izuku clutched the spot where he had been struck and fell to his knees, dramatically accepting his defeat as Katsuki raised his sword to the sky. The 8-year-old was beaming with pride as he snagged another victory out from under him. “Take that Deku! I am the greatest captain to have ever sailed these mighty seas!” Izuku bowed his head and laughed “Aye aye, Captain Kacchan!”
“A prince should never admit defeat that quickly”
Izuku turned his head towards the familiar voice. There stood the king himself, Yagi Toshinori, with his bulky frame filling the archway. Izuku was quick to rise to his feet and face the man before acknowledging him with a formal bow. He wore a wide smile on his face as he stood up straight. “I'll do better next time, I promise! Kacchan is just good at Pirates. Maybe you could show me how to use a sword so I can be ready for the next game.”
Toshinori chuckled as he walked into the room, meeting Izuku where he stood near the crackling fireplace. He placed his hand on top of his head and ruffled his unmanageable hair. “I suppose you are getting to that age, aren’t you? How about this, we can start working on all of that after Christmas? Let your mother keep her peace of mind until after the holidays.” Toshinori caught a glimpse of his wife through the corner of his eye only to see her shoot him a small, and far from threatening, glare.
Toshinori was crowned king of Yuuei many years before he had met Inko. Everyone encouraged him to take a wife while he was still young so when the time came, he would be certain to have an heir to take the throne. Years passed before the young king fell ill, forcing him to realize he should have taken their suggestions more seriously. Without an heir to take the throne when he was gone, the future of his kingdom would be uncertain.
It was a warm summer morning when a new maid walked into Toshinori’s bedroom to open the heavy curtains that blocked out the bright beams of sunlight. He stirred from his sleep and his tired eyes only opened enough to spot the green-haired woman looking at him with a smile that but the sun itself to shame.
“I’m sorry to wake you, your Majesty, but how are you going to get any better if you're kept in a stale room all day?”
From that day on, the maid would greet him every morning and bring him his tea every day. He quickly learned her name to be Midoriya Inko. She was a widow who moved into the castle with her infant son and became a maid to support the two of them. It was not long before Toshinori found himself falling for the extraordinarily kind and beautiful woman. They were married not too long after Toshinori began seeing improvements in his health. On that day he gained not only a wonderful bride, but a son as well.
Though his health returned in full, Toshinori was left unable to have children of his own. After discussing with his wife, the two decided Toshinori would raise Izuku as his own son and proclaim him to be the kingdom’s heir. He loved the child as if he had been his own, for he was. Even if he was not biologically the boy’s father, he cared for him just the same. Inko and him watched the boy group up over the years throughout castle walls. From his first words to the first steps, to making his first real friend; they were there for all of it.
That is how they found themselves standing in the middle of the den, all together as they were meant to be.
It was perfect.
“But for now, let us worry about getting to the parade on time. We wouldn’t want to make everyone wait for us, now would we?” Toshinori removed his hand from the top of Izuku’s head. He turned to look at the other boy, sword still clutched in his hand. “And young Bakugo, your mother has been looking for you. They’re all set to leave, best hurry along so you won’t be left behind.”
Katsuki grumbled something under his breath as he tossed the fake sword on to the small pile of toys the boys had set up. As he began walking past Izuku, he turned and looked at him with a furrowed brow. “Just remember, Deku, no matter how much training you have, I’m still going to be better than you.” He ran out of the room, leaving only the three members of the royal family left in the den.
As Izuku bent down to gather up the various toys scattered about, Toshinori stopped him, getting on one knee to match his level. “My boy, before we leave, I want to give you one of your Christmas presents a little early.”
This piqued Izuku’s interest, abandoning the toys to face the man. He looked up at him with anticipation. With his messy hair, scattered freckles, and childish grin; it was no wonder the young prince found himself spoiled as much as he was.
Toshinori smiled as he reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a small box. He held the shiny gold trinket in the palm of his hand and held it out towards the boy, who was hesitant to pick up the fragile present. Izuku looked at the king with caution, but he simply smiled and nodded, encouraging him to take it. So Izuku carefully picked up the little box and held it up to admire it in the light. “It’s pretty! But... what is it?”
“That, my boy, is a very special music box. Try winding the little nob on the side.”
Doing as he suggested, Izuku turned the nob and watched as the box began playing music. He recognized the of so familiar melody. It was the same tune his mother would sing him to sleep with whenever a nightmare kept him awake. Inko rose from her seat across the room and made her way over to them, smiling as she looked at her son whose eyes were filled with stars as if he had been handed the world. “Now whenever you feel lonely or sad, you can just play this song and know how much we love you” she said.
Izuku was beaming as he held the gift against his chest. “I love it! Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, my boy. We’re glad you like it.” Toshinori rose to his feet and glanced at the clock hanging up on the wall. “With that said, we do need to be going now. Go on and get your coat on. It’s snowing and we don’t need you getting sick.” Izuku nodded as he slipped the music box into his pocket before hurrying out the door to fetch his things. Toshinori smiled warmly as he watched him go, taking his wife’s hand in his own. They shared a brief movement together without exchanging a word and soon followed the young prince.
♥♥♥
“Shhhh, be quiet, you’ll wake him up” Inko shushed her husband as she opened the door to Izuku’s room. The vacation house wasn’t as well kept as the palace, so each step they took made the floorboards creak beneath their feet. Izuku’s excitement wore him out rather quickly. By the end of the parade, Izuku had fallen asleep, slumped over against his mother’s side. Now he was resting peacefully in Toshinori’s arms, head resting on the man’s broad shoulder.
“It’s fine, Inko. He’s out like a light.”
“I know... but he just looks so peaceful...”
Thay made their way to the bed nestled underneath the small window overlooking the sea which let in the soft light from the evening sky. Inko pulled back the covers before Toshinori bent over to carefully lay the child down without disturbing him. With only a small shift coming from the boy, Inko tucked him in with all the sheets she could. “Do you think he’ll be warm enough? Maybe we should find a few more blankets .”
“He’ll kick them all off halfway through the night. Let’s leave him be.” Inko, though unconvinced, nodded her head. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her son’s forehead as if to wish him goodnight before the royal couple quietly made their way out of the room, gently shutting the door behind them.
For hours Izuku slept peacefully, wrapped in a pile of cozy blankets, unaware of the rising temperature and the heat creeping in from beyond closed doors. If it was not for the smoke reaching his nose and forcing him awake from coughs erupting from his throat, he might not have even noticed anything wrong. His eyes squinted open enough to see thick gray smoke seeping in from the crack under his door.
He shot up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes as they began to water from the smoke. Izuku swung his feet over the side of his bed. He stumbled as he walked to the door, curiosity getting the best of him, but as his hand reached the doorknob he was met with scorching pain. The knob was too hot for little hands, leaving read marks against his palms as he backed away from the door.
“Mom! Dad!” Izuku called out as he stared helplessly at the door trapping him inside like a caged animal. He could make out the sound of stifled voices yelling, or even screaming, but they were too far away for the boy to make sense of any of it. “Help, please! I can’t get out!”
“DEKU”
Relieved by the sound of his familiar nickname, Izuku opened his mouth to yell something back, anything that would let his friend know where he was and that he was still in there. However, before he could make a sound, part of the ceiling only a few feet away from Izuku gave in and crashed down on to the floor beside him. He let out a scream as he backed up, finding his legs pressed against the edge of his bed.
He could not hear anyone, and the sound of his name was long gone. For a brief second, he wondered if he simply imagined it to give himself a bit of hope. Izuku watched anxiously as more and more boards began crashing down around him. He crawled on to his bed and backed away from the door until his back hit the wall.
No one was coming for him.
The idea consumed his thoughts and tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. The temperature continued to rise and Izuku found it hard to tell the difference between his sweat and tears at that point. His only comfort was the cool breeze brushing against the top of his head.
A cool breeze?
Izuku looked up in confusion. There above his head was the window he had forgotten about with air seeping through the cracks. He jumped up and turned to open the window handle and let the chilly winter air hit him all at once. Letting the fresh air fill his lungs, he could finally gather enough of himself to think through what he could do.
There was no way to climb down to safety. When he looked down there was only a drop that led to the ocean below. The sound of waves crashing against rocks filled his ears. The water was deep, he knew this because his parents never let him swim there without them. If he jumped in, he would be fine, but the current was stronger than he had seen it before. Was it worth the risk if he could not swim against it?
Izuku glanced back at the door. Smoke continued pouring into the room, no sign of it stopping any time soon. He had two options. 1. Stay behind and hope someone finds him before the fire gets to him or 2. take his chances with the sea below. He could wait for something to happen to him, or he could do something himself. Without taking up time to think it over, Izuku pulled himself up slipped his leg out of the window. For a moment, he let himself sit there, taking in the calm of the night sky. Slowly, he took in one last deep breath.
He let go.
What was only a few seconds at more, played in slow motion. His body fell fast, the frigid air cutting against his skin until his small frame hit the water. Izuku imagined he would stop and start floating up, but instead he kept sinking lower and lower and he was not able to move him. He started kicking his legs while trying to pull himself up with his arms, but a strong wave pushed him back.
The water was cold, and he could feel his clothes weighing him down, but he did not stop trying. He kicked and kicked, refusing to give in to the whims of the sea. The more he moved the more light that began to fill his field of vision. Izuku swam up until his fingertips shot through the surface and his head was above water once again. He gasped for breath after spitting out a mouthful of water and his hair lay soaked against his face.
He had done it. If he could manage to swim to shore, he would be fine. Izuku let his relief wash over him, losing his concentration in exchange. Unprepared for the strong current rushing towards him, the water pulled Izuku back like a rag doll. None of his kicking worked as the wave consumed him again. With fear in his eyes, he struggled to keep his body afloat. Suddenly, his head collided with something hard, one of the rocks he had noticed early. His eyes struggled to stay open as his body became limp.
Everything went black.