Chapter Text
Izuku took a deep breath, attempting to calm his buzzing nerves and racing heart. He still hadn’t fully processed everything, but he didn’t have time for that. It was already past first light, the glittering colors of sunrise casting pale light and deep shadows over Astriceli.
It was time for him to make his appearance in front of his people, the council, the guard, his father.. Everyone not in attendance to the impromptu ceremony would know the prince would be descending to the surface in due time.
Izuku heard his cue, the subtle wording his father had come up with when he returned to tell Izuku the last minute preparations, and also mentioned how the council was furious with him for not consulting them on this matter.
“This is a royal order. You don’t get a say in this decision.” He had told them, fully asserting his authority over the ten elders in front of him.
Seven narrowed her glowing yellow eyes at him from below her hood, face cast in dark, impenetrable shadow, “Be careful with what you say, my liege , we wouldn’t want you turning into a tyrant, now would we?” She threatened, mocking Oboro’s status as king in the process.
“One royal order in the twenty years I’ve been ruling doesn’t make me a tyrant, seven.” He argued. Oboro was right, he wasn’t the tyrant, they were, and all eleven in the room knew it, “My son is to do as he is told by me, you have no authority over him.” He said assuredly.
And yet here Oboro was, sending his son off into the unknown to escape the fate nearly carved into stone. It was dangerous, foolish, reckless, and so, so many other things that would be considered unethical in the eyes of his people and the elder council. But that doesn’t matter, not now.
Izuku straightened his posture, and dusted himself of any dirt sticking to his clothes (there was none) before appearing to the crowd of citizens who had come to attend the official, yet unofficial ceremony of his departure and their reunion, and possible future alliances, with the kingdoms below.
Taking one last deep, calming breath, Izuku walked out and took his rightful, familiar place to the right of his father, the council members standing behind them, surveying the event with glowing eyes of multiple shades.
He could feel their gazes burning holes into his back, their displeasure and resentment of the situation forcing Izuku to suppress both shivering from the intensity, and cowering away from their leering presence. His father no doubt felt the same.
“As you all heard not long ago,” His father began, drawing the crowd's attention to where he and Izuku stood, the civilians’ excited and curious gazes putting Izuku more at ease, “My son, Prince Shirakumo Izuku, will be descending to the surface below, in the company of a trusted guard that I selected, to reunite us with the kingdoms we have isolated ourselves from for over a century.”
Cheers erupted from the crowd, though others looked less pleased and some even downright angry at the notion. Most likely grudges against the surface dwellers passed down through the generations between Astricelie’s separation with them.
Oboro continued when the crowd’s ruckus subsided, the council still discreetly glaring their disdain for what’s happening, “I have no doubt that Izuku will complete this task and return to us safe, healthy, and with new bonds and alliances in toe,” Oboro looked to Izuku performing a small gesture, inviting him to address the crowd.
Izuku replied with a minuscule nod to his father, who stepped away from the center and allowed Izuku to take his place in addressing the citizens gathered around him, “I promise that I will do everything in my power to return to Astriceli. This journey will hopefully allow me to experience more of the world, create unbreakable bonds, and overall aid me in becoming a better future king.” The crowd shouted their approval, happy to hear Izuku address himself as their future ruler, something he doesn’t do often.
Izuku stepped down to the old altar, a small platform above the center of a fountain in town square. The crowd already surrounding the area, and the guard Izuku is set to travel with waiting on said platform, her gaze cold and uninterested. How inviting
Izuku took his place next to the guard, he would have to ask her name later, but honestly, she didn’t seem too thrilled to be traveling to the surface, let alone with him. His father said he picked her, so unless something changed and the council got in the way, this is who he picked.
Izuku was pulled out of his thoughts and had to suppress a surprised gasp when he noticed the sigil under him and his companion begin glowing with swirling blue and white light, a soft buzzing sound vibrating through the air.
Izuku looked over to his father one last time, flashed a beaming smile that he was returned, before being swallowed by a cloud of ominous, swirling, black and purple fog.
✬
It was an odd feeling. Teleporting, that is. It was very strange, Izuku imagined this is how it felt when someone.. Fell from his kingdom. Weightlessness, the feeling of floating without actually floating, and a sense of unknowing about what's to come.
Both Izuku and the guard next to him gasped when their vision cleared and their feet were on solid ground, neither of them had even registered that their senses had seemingly shut off in the time they had been traveling.
Izuku huffed out a shuddering breath, the realization slamming into him harder than a pound of bricks. He wasn’t on Astriceli anymore, his father wasn’t with him, and neither was anyone else he knew from his life in the clouds.
The only one with him was the selected guard, and she was as much a stranger to him as the alien world surrounding him. The surface was so.. Different from what Astriceli was, he expected it, sure, but it didn’t make it any less breathtaking, terrifying, mystical.
The grass wasn’t wispy, and it didn’t swirl away and dissipate beneath his shoes, the tree's leaves lacked any sense of being similar to the soft, feather-like ones of his home. The sky-
The sky ! It was.. That was home, he couldn’t see Astriceli, it blended in with the sky and clouds from below to keep it well hidden, but the sky.. It was different, but in a way he couldn’t describe, it seemed darker-
“I don’t wish to disturb you, but we should find a path that will lead us to a town, my prince.” His guard interrupted his musing, pulling his attention to her instead of his surroundings.
Izuku flushed slightly, his face taking on a light dusting of pink in embarrassment, “Ah, of course! I apologize for keeping you waiting and having to pull me away from my own thoughts..?”
“Intelli Saiko, your majesty,” She formally introduced with a bow. Her voice was light, and an air of confidence surrounded her, Izuku noted.
“Uh.. There's no need for you to be that formal with me! I’d prefer you just refer to me by my first name without all the titles and royal jargon.” Izuku responded, his nervous nature slipping out causing him to speak quicker than what was deemed appropriate.
Saiko hummed in acknowledgment, “I understand and will do my best to follow your orders.” She replied.
Izuku sweatdropped, this was going to be.. Difficult to say the least, he'd have to make do, no matter how awkward this was for the both of them, “It.. It wasn’t an order, more of a request? Um.. you were saying we should look for a path earlier though, so we should probably go do that..”
“As you wish, Izuku.”
Gods this was going to be an awkward few months.
❂
It had been about three days since Izuku and Saiko had arrived on the surface. The two of them had been searching for a path, a town, something that had any semblance of civilization or sentient life. So far the only form of life they’d encountered was animals, ones they were very unfamiliar with, but animals nonetheless.
It was unnerving to the both of them, Izuku showing how concerned he was more than his stone faced guard. Her sharp eyes constantly scanning the areas they walked, and her pointed, sylvan Izuku noted , ears perked and listening for any sign of impending danger, on top of searching for someone that might be able to help them.
And yet for three days and two nights they’ve found absolutely nothing, the journey so far was not a waste of time and energy, according to Izuku, Saiko.. Izuku couldn’t exactly tell how she felt about, well, much of anything.
She was a complete stranger to him, one who was outwardly stoic and intelligent, that bleed into her being a little too prideful in her actions and the way she speaks. Izuku didn’t exactly dislike her, but.. She was a bit much?
Saiko honestly reminded him of four, which unsettled him greatly. The council as a whole did and for someone that he was being forced to grow closer to for his own (unneeded) protection while traveling and forming alliances and bonds-
“There are people farther up the way we’re traveling,” HIs guard interrupted his runaway train of thought, “Prince, I’m going to request you stay back here for your own safety. If I don’t return in the next few minutes or you hear any sort of fighting occur, run back the way we came and get as far away from the site as possible.”
Izuku looked at her like she grew a second head, she didn’t even spare him a glance before she was taking confident strides forwards, her ears pricked and a hand placed on the hilt of her sword in preparation to be unsheathed.
“I- No?” Izuku got out, shaking himself out of his surprised stupor, “I’m not a helpless damsel like in those children’s fairy tales! I can handle myself if a fight breaks out, so I’m not just going to-”
“You’re Majesty.” She interrupted turning towards him, her eyes hard and cold. She was doubting him and they both knew it, “I understand you can.. Thats not the point. It’s for your own safety that you stay back while I handle negotiation with whoever this might be.”
Izuku pursed his lips into a hard, thin line. He hated this, the way she was talking to him made his blood boil ! “I’m not -”
“You are! ” Saiko demanded, raising her voice slightly in futile hopes of drowning out Izuku’s defiant attitude, “You will stay here and way until I either return or you will flee, possibly using the crystal to warp home . ”
Izuku decided it would be best to comply. Fighting was going to get him nowhere. It would be best to let her scout ahead and do as he was told, as much as he hated being viewed as if he’s not able to fight, “Fine. I’ll wait here, but If you aren't back in ten minutes I won’t run. I will come looking for you. That's final.”
Saiko looked greatly displeased by his defiance, but nodded in agreement nonetheless, quickly setting off in the direction she had heard the noise of people coming from.
Izuku sat against a tree after watching her leave. He could use this time to study his surroundings a little more, even if the environment hadn’t changed much from when they first arrived. He decided to pull out one of his field journals, continuing a sketch of a plant he had seen yesterday because one of the small flowers was growing near where he was sitting.
The sketching allowed him to calm down from his confrontation. Both of them were in an environment they weren't used to, far away from home and constantly on edge because of the lack of any trace of civilization in the last days they’d been here.
Izuku would apologize to his guard when she returned, she was only doing her duty as his assigned protector and didn’t deserve his ire. It was unfair to argue with her on this matter, instead, he would discuss it further with her later, in a more calm matter that wasn’t putting them in possibly active danger.
He continued his ministrations of sketching, writing, and checking his pocket watch until he heard footsteps approaching from the path Saiko had taken, her armored figure returning with no trace of anyone else following.
“Did you not find anyone, Saiko?” Izuku asked, puzzled. Saiko had said she heard people traveling near to them so for her to come back with no other people or even a greeting signaling that she had met others who would be willing to assist them was strange.
Saiko shook her head, “Sorry, but no. It was a false alarm, no one was near here.”
Something was off, perhaps Saiko had encountered someone or at least spotted them and deemed them dangerous, “Ah- Alright. Should we keep searching then?”
Saiko smiled at him, “We should.”
Izuku gathered his things, Saiko not even attempting to make a move to help him. She always tried to help him even when it wasn’t at all necessary. Mentally he shook off the weird feeling thats was steadily forming in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know Saiko all that well, only having first seen and met her three days ago, maybe she finally gave up on being so uptight and trying to help him at every inconsequential moment?
❂
Saiko had been acting.. Odd, is the nicest way Izuku can put it.
She had been separating from him more to go and check sounds, she insisted on sitting close to Izuku when it started getting colder as it neared night, and she was very touchy. Hells, even her speech patterns were different!
In conclusion, something was wrong. Very wrong. Either this wasn’t Saiko or his guard had been inflicted by some sort of magic, both scenarios were problematic in many ways.
If Saiko had been the victim of some sort of magic infliction then it could be from either a person she had ran into when searching, completely rearranging her personality to be the opposite of what she originally was. A lot of the time with that sort of magic it could only be undone by the user who cast it or a mage more powerful than the original curse cast.
If it was natural magic, something Izuku had studied in his free time back in Astriceli, then that could be just as problematic. Often times those sorts of magics came from plants or mushrooms releasing pollens or spores that altered the infected mind, and often times lead to death.
There was the third option of this not being Saiko at all, and instead being an imposter. Someone who overtook her identity or her body as a whole.
If that was the case the real Saiko was either dead or being held somewhere, there was no other way about it.
Izuku didn’t know what to do in this situation, honestly. How do you bring something up like this with the infected person being the only other party to discuss with, not to mention her newfound willingness to ignore Izuku’s concerns at every opportunity made things exponentially more difficult.
But he had to try, right? Try to see if he could break through to her in some capacity, to know that she wasn’t too far gone and could be brought back from this.
Izuku licked his lips nervously, they were dry because of his having to ration water more and more as days passed, “Hey, Saiko?”
Saiko hummed in acknowledgment, not turning around to face her princely companion, instead opting to keep walking forward, her pace and gate faster and more preppy than when Izuku had first met her.
“Um.. Are you ok?” Izuku cringed at that. Wow, Izuku, how eloquent of you to put it like that . Then again what else could he really ask? “Are you feeling okay, I mean? You’ve been really.. Off? The last few days..”
Saiko seemed to freeze midstep, but recovered so fast Izuku swore he just imagined it, “What do you mean?” She asked, her voice holding an undertone of something Izuku couldn’t identify.
Izuku pursed his lips. He felt that telling her about her mannerisms before would cause her to change for some reason. Something really wasn’t right here.
Instead of answering in full, he shrugged, before realizing his companion still wasn’t looking at him. Her attention still firmly on the nonexistent path ahead of them, “I don’t know. I just..” What could he say here? “You haven’t been wearing your monocle or anything the past two days. It’s kind of strange, especially because you said you needed it to see and all.”
“What are you talking about?” Saiko giggled, turning to look at him while walking backward. She was expertly dodging trees and fallen branches, something Saiko wouldn’t do before under any circumstances, “I never wore a monocle.” She stated.
She did. “And you haven’t been addressing me like you usually do..” Izuku trailed off. If she asked He wouldn’t tell her what that title was. Only Saiko would know that information.
Izuku was truly an idiot not thinking of that sooner.
Saiko tilted her head, a small, empty grin adorning her face, once again extremely out of character for the periwinkle haired girl, “Adress you how..?” She inquired. Izuku saw she was beginning to sweat, not much, but it was noticeable if you looked closely.
“You should know, shouldn’t you?” Izuku said nonchalantly, “It is part of you’re job after all.”
“... C’mon Zuku’! You’ve known me for a long time now!” Saiko started “I-”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Izuku growled. Thats was confirmation enough for him, “I literally only met you after we arrived here and the only thing I know about you is your name and the fact that you’re supposedly a guard.”
The periwinkle-haired woman narrowed her eyes, Izuku could’ve sworn they just flashed to a different color.. “Supposedly? What exactly makes you have doubts about my standing as a guard?”
“I have never once met you at any point in my life before we arrived here on the surface.” Izuku lunged at her. Swiftly knocking her off her feet, snatching her sword away in the process.
He glared down at the girl. She lay there stunned on the floor, obviously not expecting him to attack and threaten her out of nowhere like that. His father always said to fight dirty, it gave you the best chance at winning, “I want to know exactly who you are and how you wiggled you’re way into this position.” He demanded, positioning the tip of his stolen weapon to her throat, “You will give me answers.”
Saiko huffed out a small, breathy laugh, “And how do you know I’m lying to you?”
Izuku’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not stupid. You may think I am, but you are sorely mistaken.”
She clicked her tongue at him in irritation, “Do you really think this is fair? Now, why don’t you give me my sword and we can talk. Like you said, you only met me when we first got here, so how do you know I haven’t just been using a persona around you before now?”
“Because Saiko’s speech pattern and mannerisms were completely different from yours. And I know for a fact she didn’t have enough skill or patience to come up with a scheme like that. The real Saiko spoke to me with the utmost respect, you on the other hand speak to me as if you’re entirely careless. Now I’ll ask again and even add an additional question.”
“Who are you and what the hells did you do to my guard?”
The imposter sneered at him, Saiko’s appearance melting off of her in thick, greyish blobs of some kind of slime-like substance. A blond girl sat in his guard’s place, her yellow eyes slitted and sharp teeth catching the light, “Clever boy~” the imposter sang, “Too bad I won’t be telling you anything!” She chirped.
The blond girl grabbed the blade of the sword that was being held against her throat, paying little attention to the fact she had just sliced her own hand open, blood oozing out of the wound and onto the blade. She ripped the blade from Izuku’s hands and knocked him away with a kick aimed directly below his ribs..
It happened so quickly Izuku could barely process and regain his composer before she was slashing at him, the blade she had retaken from the prince now close to slicing open his abdomen.
Izuku dodged, luckily rolling away just in time to narrowly escape the attack, the metallic object only succeeding in cutting part of his, thankfully, loose shirt. He discreetly grabbed a handful of loose dirt, taking care as to hide it from his attacker, “You still haven’t answered me!” He taunted.
The blond grinned at him, her fang-like teeth glinting in the late afternoon light, “You won’t be needing answers after I’m done with you! It’s such a shame though, you were really pretty, even without being covered in blood.” She sulked.
“But now I’ll make you look amazing !” Izuku dodged another attack, pulling out a knife he had hidden in a sheath that was unnoticeable under his sleeve. It wasn’t going to do much against a sword, but it was better than nothing, and would hopefully give him an opening to use the dirt he had scooped up.
He lunged at her, a move she wasn’t expecting by the way her eyes widened slightly and her rapid shift from an offensive to a defensive stance. Izuku feinted, pretending to kick her legs out again, but pulling back at the last second and blinding the girl, tossing the dirt he had picked up into the imposter’s eyes.
She fell to the ground alongside her dropped weapon, a pained screech ripping from her throat. Izuku kicked away the sword, making sure she wasn’t able to get to it before driving the dagger into her hand, pinning it to the ground, and pulling another skreigh from her.
The blond attempted to send a hate-filled glare his way, but the combination of dust and pained tears prevented her from opening her eyes in their entirety.
Izuku gritted his teeth in frustration. This girl wasn’t going to give him answers, and considering how aggressive she’s been up to this point, Izuku can, unfortunately, discern that Intelli Saiko is no longer alive.
Izuku sent one last glare to the agonized girl he had trapped, “An eye for an eye, a kill for a kill.” The prince muttered.
His dagger was pulled out of the girl’s wounded hand, both of her appendages holding deep wounds. Ones from when she had grabbed the sword blade earlier in the fight, and now the hole that went straight through her bone and was bleeding profusely.
Izuku grimaced, he didn’t want to do this but he had no other option.. Letting her go would be a horrendous decision and would only lead to more trouble in the future, though there is no telling that ending her here won’t also cause a similar chain of events to unfold.
“Are you going to sit there all day or are you going to use that dagger to put me out of my misery?” The blond choked out, catching Izuku’s attention once more.
Getting lost in his own thoughts wasn’t good, especially when he was still technically in a fight. He hasn’t won yet.
Izuku glared at her, a gesture she returned, though more subtly due to her impaired vision. Lifting the blade Izuku swiftly bright it down, breaking through her skull and piercing her brain. Almost immediately she went limp. Her yellow eyes were still stuck in a glare, but now held no signs of life.
Izuku got off of the, now dead, impersonator. Izuku bit his lip unconsciously, mind whirling, trying to desperately to fully catch up with what happened, whilst also trying to figure out what to do next.
He was alone. In an unfamiliar environment that had zero signs of civilization or life, other than the girl he had just killed. Her blood was staining his shirt and skin, the distinct smell of iron wafting through the air and will no doubt attract scavengers or large predators.
Sighing Izuku grabbed the sword he had kicked- Saiko’s sword. The hilt was slippery with blood as well, the silver blade also stained varying shades of scarlet to brown.
This was a complete disaster.. Even so, giving up wasn’t something Izuku was willing to do.
With a heavy heart, he shot one last glance at the blond corpse, sending a prayer to whatever deities might be listening that both she and Saiko will pass on peacefully and face fair judgment for their actions.
The young prince of Astriceli was no entirely alone. His guard was dead, he has no way to contact his people without returning to his home in the sky, and he is utterly and entirely lost..
Walking some more couldn’t hurt, right? After all, he needed to try to find somewhere safe to shelter before it got dark, as well as a place to rinse off the blood congealing this person.
Izuku doesn’t want to return him with only the news of Saiko’s death and the attempt on his life.. All he can do for now is hope nothing else horrible happens. Hope something good will grace him in return for the tragedy he’s currently endured. And hope that civilization will be somewhere nearby.
May the gods have mercy on his wayward soul.