Chapter Text
King Toshinori was a wise man, but he didn’t think himself as someone with all the answers. The one thing he did know? He wasn’t getting any younger.
His health wasn’t anything to be proud of, either. Multiple near fatal wounds had left him unable to keep fighting a few years ago, and he knew his lifespan had shortened considerably because of them.
In all his years, he had never taken a mate. Had never fathered any heirs that could continue his line. He never answered his people’s questions as to why he refused to meet any Beta or Omega that could bear him strong children, or even take a concubine if it was commitment he was against. And even with his poor health and old age, he never regretted his choice.
At the advise of his right-hand man he had selected a successor, an Alpha of noble upbringing who would be presented as crown prince once his education had been complete, and then promptly named King upon reaching majority of age.
And with the time for his retirement quickly approaching, he found himself with less duties and more free time than he knew what to do with. He couldn’t fight, couldn’t train the recruits, and was mostly only working in logistics for defense and planning for betterment of the kingdom.
He was bored out of his mind.
One rainy day found him lazying around his rooms, sitting by the fireplace as he looked for something to busy his mind with.
His walls were lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves so full they threatened to one day give up and bury him in their contents, yet he’d gone over every single one more times than he could count. History, tactics, manners, philosophy, agronomy. He knew them back to back and knew he’d fall asleep as soon as he started reading any of them.
The fire suddenly crackled louder than normal and a piece of burned tinder jumped out. Toshinori hurried to kick it back into place but missed and instead it ended up on the corner of the room. Sighing, he picked up the ash shovel and headed to pick it up, when he realized what it had crashed against.
His eyes widened as he saw the little, unassuming chest hiding behind the last bookshelf. He dropped the tool and fell to his knees, scrambling to pull it out and into the light of the fire. It was covered in a thin layer of dust, and he used the sleeve of his shirt to lovingly clean every crevice of it.
It was a simple wooden box, nothing like the heavily decorated or gold plated furniture of the castle. This was simple and rustic, hand-carved in a cold autumn by novice hands. It was something so dear to his heart, and he couldn’t believe he’d simply let it lay there, lost to time and oblivion as his duties took front place.
With all the love and care he could muster, he picked up the box and sat back down by the fire, forgoing the comfortable chair to kneel on the carpet. The lid opened with a rusty creak, and the contents inside were thankfully intact. He pulled out each item one by one. Letters and drawings, dry flowers pressed inside a pocket sized book. A dirty little handmade doll with his own likeness. A…A necklace, emeralds interwoven within a silver chain, with the biggest one embedded in the locket it held.
He took in a shaky breath, bringing the locket to his heart and closing his eyes, memories flooding his mind with regret and his eyes with tears. Truth was, there wasn’t a single day he didn’t remember, he didn’t think about her.
Her face was as clear as ever behind his closed lids. Her luscious green hair like a cascade of spring down her back, with eyes that saw deep into his soul and put the very jewels in his hands to shame. Work roughened hands that held his face so gently, a smile so sincere that put all his fears to rest.
He struggled a bit opening the locket, too small for his hands, but when he finally managed he was oh so careful to not drop the single viridian lock inside, the last gift she’d given him before they had to part ways.
Toshinori had tried to find her, sent envoys to her town to bring her back to him, only to come back empty handed; she’d moved away, the townsfolk had said. Packed up her few important belongings and left one night without telling anyone of her destination. No one had ever seen her again.
He’d searched for her far and wide, sending more and more people to neighboring towns, then to other kingdoms, but she never appeared. No one had ever seen an Omega woman with green hair and eyes, not in the hospitals, nor farms, not even in small settlements that were new enough to not appear in maps.
It was as if she’d vanished. And with her, went Toshinori’s heart.
Now, with his time nearing an inevitable end in maybe a few years time, he didn’t want to go without at least knowing of her fate. He could try, one last time.
Opening the door to the halls of the castle, he spoke to the knight standing guard.
“Bring me Aizawa. I have a job for him”
“Haven’t you already used enough resources looking for her?” Aizawa asked him, picking up the old piece of parchment with the portrait of the young woman his king had drawn while they still were together. She wouldn’t look like this anymore, but knowing how she used to look could tell him what to look for.
“I just…just need one last search. Just one more time before I give it up” Toshinori pleaded him. “You’re the best tracker I have in the guard, and now that you’re retired I could ask you this favor”
“You will not order it of me?”
“I know it’s a selfish endeavor. I wouldn’t be tyrannical enough to send you out as an order” Toshinori said with a wry smile. “Don’t think of it as your king giving you a job, but more as…an old friend asking for a favor”
Aizawa hummed, picking up the locket next. He carefully brought it to his nose. It smelled subtly of pine, the leftovers of a scent that in its prime must’ve been as strong as a forest in bloom. He saved the scent to memory as he prepared his answer for the king. “How much time will you give me for the search?”
“I couldn’t ask you to be out there once winter starts” He said. “In three months time, when the wind starts cooling, you can consider your search finished and come back home. I will give it up then”
In all his years of service, Aizawa had seen the king send search parties one after another to find his lost flame, and had never once been successful. He had to admit it made him curious how it was possible for a peasant to hide her tracks so well that not even trained soldiers could trail her. But most of all, he’d witnessed the king lose a bit of the light in his eyes with each search that returned empty handed, his body becoming frail with age from his old injuries and the sadness turning his scent bitter with pain and sorrow. Even if he had been trying to find a mate, no one would have accepted him in that state.
He sighed, closing the locket and placing it back on the table. “Give me three days to set everything up. I’m taking some people of my choice with me”
“Shouta” Toshinori said breathlessly, standing to hug his old friend with all the strength his body could muster, which was a surprising amount. It was a testament to he beast he had been back in the day. “Thank you. Thank you so much”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it” Aizawa patted his back. “Just, take this time to rest. You’re looking tired as of late”
Aizawa didn’t take a big group with him, unlike the previous search parties. He’d chosen a handful of knights from the guard that had his absolute trust and also possessed skills he knew would come in handy. He’d chosen Asui Tsuyu, a Beta who could identify poisonous plants and venomous animals with a glance. Uraraka Ochako, an Alpha who never forgot any path she walked through. Iida Tenya, another Beta who had memorized every map of their kingdom and those adjacent. And the last one was Bakugou Katsuki, an Alpha who possessed the keenest nose Aizawa had seen after his own, and would help extend the search area immensely.
They all had been brought to the king’s chambers so they could see the portrait and scent the locket, and had departed soon after on their mission.
“What if her hair has already turned white? Could we even recognize her?” Ochako asked atop her horse, taking note as always of all landmarks they passed.
Aizawa shook his head. “It’s unlikely. The king might’ve aged faster than he should’ve, but he mentioned she was a few years younger than him, and he still keeps his hair as sunny as ever. Their parting was seventeen years ago, so keep that in mind when looking for her”
“That’s as old as we are” Tsuyu commented.
“I still can’t understand how someone could go unnoticed for so long” Tenya said. “By all means, she must’ve passed through some town in order to survive”
“You can’t find someone who doesn’t want to be found, Glasses” Katsuki said. “You’d be surprised how easy it can be to disappear if you put your mind to it”
The plan was to go through all the main roads and towns first, then branch out to the less populated areas to try their luck. They hoped they wouldn’t have to resort to leaving the kingdom, as it could be considered by some as an act of espionage and possibly lead to attacks on their territory.
Just visiting every town and village took them a whole month, being thorough enough to stop in every house, inn and market to make sure not a single person had gone by without being asked about the woman. Some mentioned they’d already been asked about her many times before by other knights sent by the king. They expressed their sadness at not being able to help, since she clearly had meant a lot to their beloved ruler.
They couldn’t find any more information on the farms, the mills by the rivers, the fishing towns near the sea. Travelling merchants who had walked every path and more for years were no help. At the end of the second month it felt as if the Omega had been but a feverish delusion of the king’s mind.
“This forest is dangerous. I doubt anyone lives here” Tsuyu said as she picked up a vibrantly colored frog from Tenya’s armor with her gloved hands. She gently set it inside a prepared jar and added it to the others in her satchel for later use in her research. “Many animals and plants here are deadly and inedible”
“It’s the only part of the kingdom we haven’t searched yet. Previous parties avoided it for the same reason” Aizawa explained. “If we can’t find anything here, we’ll have to risk getting into King Enji’s territory”
“Ugh, I’d rather winter came early” Katsuki grumbled. And it said something, with how much he hated the cold.
Aizawa ignored him. “Let’s go. Uraraka, keep an eye out. Not a good place to get lost”
“On it”
It was difficult traversing the forest without a path. The horses kept getting stuck in the brambles, and fallen logs littered the way. The thick canopy didn’t let enough light in and it was almost as if time stopped making sense. Tsuyu’s mind was on overdrive, everywhere she looked at there was a new possible threat they had to avoid grazing with the limited space they had. Even Ochako felt as if every time she looked, a new vine or branch that had not been there before had appeared, making her doubt her own instincts.
At some point they had to dismount and walk the rest of the way. Unnaturally colored rivers crossed the forest and fed thorny bushes that easily reached their waists. Katsuki had taken the front, expertly bringing his sword down on everything blocking their path. Then suddenly, with his sword up and ready to strike, he froze.
Aizawa patted his shoulder. “Katsuki ? Everything alri—” He halted as well, nose twitching uncontrollably at the sudden spike in a new scent.
“What is it?” Tenya asked, trying to look ahead but only seeing darkness.
“There are no pines in this forest, are there?” Katsuki said quietly, quieter than he’d ever been in his life.
“Not a single one” Aizawa confirmed.
Before they could take another step, a sound had their blood chilling in their veins.
Growling.
The scent of pine Katsuki and Aizawa had detected before increased tenfold, flooding the forest with the undertones of a warning than even the Betas could feel. The growling was high pitched and dangerous, a signal for them not to take another step, to turn around and never return.
Well, Katsuki wasn’t particularly known to do as he was told outside of the job.
He marched forward, not caring that his boots sank in the mud or his cheek got scratched by the branches on the way. The rest followed closely, on guard as the warning growl got higher in pitch the further they moved.
Soon enough they walked into a clearing, a single ray of sunlight finding its way down through the trees illuminating the entrance to a cavern dug into the side of a hill. The scent was thicker here, as if the entire place had been thoroughly marked. On a side of the clearing a patch of dirt had been dug up and some familiar, edible plants were budding with the little light they got, and nearby lay a pile of old animal bones, most likely leftovers from whatever prey could be found here.
They barely had time to look around the place properly, though, as a blur flashed out of the cave and went straight for them.
Katsuki had been ready, dropping his sword and receiving the full impact of the growling creature just to roll around and pin it to the floor. Sharp teeth were bared at him, but Katsuki had a good hold that prevented any further attacks. Which was good, because the Alpha couldn’t stop staring.
“Aizawa, I thought you said we were looking for a woman” He said, looking down at what he know recognized as a feral Omega in his hold. An Omega who looked and smelled exactly like the person they were looking for, if only covered in dirt and with features twisted in a ferocious snarl.
“That’s right” Aizawa sounded as confused as Katsuki. This Omega was the spitting image of the woman in the portrait, with the difference being his primary gender and the fact his hair was a mess of viridian curls instead of the straight and proper tresses in the portrait. Almost like a lion’s mane.
Katsuki hadn’t broken eye contact with the Omega, slowly releasing a blanket of his own scent. He wanted to send the signal they were not a threat, that he needed to calm down because Katsuki did not want to hurt him and—
A loud whine from inside the cave surprised him enough to allow the Omega to throw him off himself, scampering over to the source of the noise.
“What the hell?” Katsuki wondered, staying close to the ground as he slowly approached the cave.
It was dark inside, but his eyesight was good enough he could make out the shape of the Omega, purring softly to something deeper inside. “I…I think he has someone else in there”
Ochako tried to sniff them out. “Can you see? Is it her?”
“Too small” He said, trying to get closer. The Omega rounded up on him and bared his fangs once more, but this time no sound came from his throat. The scent of pine was intertwined with something more subtle, softer. Like freshly fallen snow, and rain on a summer day. Two completely different scents. “There’s two of them”
“He has pups” Aizawa concluded, and suddenly he, Katsuki and Ochako took a few steps back. Nothing good ever came of an unknown Alpha encroaching the hideout of an occupied Omega’s nest.
“So…what do we do now?” Tenya asked, looking worriedly at the nest. “We can’t leave him here, it’s not suited for him, or the pups”
“That, and something else” Aizawa looked at the Omega with calculating eyes. “How old would you say he is?”
“Looks young, maybe sixteen? Seventeen?”
“God fucking dammit” Katsuki cursed under his breath. That's how long Aizawa had said she'd been missing for. “You don’t think…”
“I think” Aizawa said. “we need to calm him down, and get some answers”
Katsuki sighed, locking eyes briefly with the Omega before looking down. It would do no good to seem like a threat right now. “Just make sure to keep me covered”
He slowly started pulling off his armor, letting the heavy pieces fall with a thud on the packed forest floor. He untied his scabbard and threw it away, leaving him in only his plain clothes and completely defenseless save from his own teeth and hands.
It seemed to work, at least. The Omega was looking at him still, but it was a bit less guarded than before. His fangs were still on display and his eyes were wary of the others, but this one who had held him down had his focus for now. He slinked closer slowly, sniffing the air around and trying to find any signs of deceit or danger, but apparently found none as he kept advancing.
Katsuki tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes, submitting to the Omega to earn his trust as fast as he could. He felt the rough touch of dirty skin grazing against his, a nose breathing heavily up and down his neck. Those sharp little fangs touched his skin briefly a couple of times but Katsuki didn’t move.
“Who” He heard the boy say, his voice rough from the intensity of his growls before. “Who…are you?”
“My name’s Katsuki” He muttered, barely moving his lips. “We don’t want to hurt you”
The Omega crooned low in his throat, leaning forward even more. Katsuki was getting dizzy from his scent, whether in a good or bad way, he couldn’t tell. It was nice and fresh, but also sharp and intense. It burned his nose but left him wanting more.
Kasuki's shoulder was being pushed and he complied, dropping to the floor and letting the Omega climb over him. That seemed to please him a bit more, his green eyes clearing a bit and looking down at Katsuki with a curious glint.
“What’s your name?” Katsuki asked, feeling bold.
The Omega’s breathing turned even, still heavy but more regular. He dug his sharp claws in Katsuki s arms, holding him still as he leaned down by his ear.
“I…Izuku”
“Izuku” He breathed out. “Let us help you”
“You…You won’t…”
“We don’t want to hurt you” Katsuki repeated himself. “We won’t harm your pups”
Izuku growled once more at the acknowledgement of the kids, bearing down on Katsuki and getting up in his face.
When the Alpha didn’t make a move to throw him off or intimidate him back, Izuku quieted down, then slowly climbed off him by himself. He got closer to the cave and started purring softly, coaxing its occupants to walk out.
Katsuki wanted to sit up at the sound, wanted to be closer to the Omega as he called the kids outside, but he knew the trust they were building was tense as a stretched thread, threatening to snap at the first wrong movement. He remained there.
The first pup out was a boy, black hair and eyes as he looked around warily at the strangers. Right behind him was a girl of similar age, with a shock of long white hair and red eyes. They were holding hands, and none of them looked anything like the Omega.
They hurried to hide behind Izuku, looking scared at the newcomers. As time passed and no movement was made, Izuku seemed to slowly slip out of his feral state and back into consciousness. He stood up a bit straighter, actually took notice of the other three standing by the tree line, and calmly turned to talk to the pups.
He finally sighed, sitting down and hugging the kids close. He looked at Katsuki again. “How did you find us?”
Aizawa riffled through his bag and pulled out the copy of the portrait he was carrying, handing it to Katsuki who in turn offered it to the Omega. “We were looking for her”
Izuku unfolded the parchment, face falling into a soft, vulnerable expression as his eyes filled with sadness. “You won’t find her”
“You know her?” Tenya asked.
Izuku gulped as he returned the picture. “I did” He said. “She passed away. Years ago”
Katsuki held the picture loosely in his hand. “Was she…”
Izuku nodded. “My mother”
Katsuki made eye contact with Aizawa, the older Alpha looking troubled at the confirmation of his suspicions. Katsuki faced Izuku, extending the parchment once more. “You should keep this”
Izuku took it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. “T-Thank you…I…I haven’t seen her face in so long…”
“Izuku” Aizawa approached, feeling the mood lift to something calmer. “We would like for you to come back with us”
Izuku looked at him, alarmed. “W-Where do you want to take us?” He gathered the children in his arms.
“Calm down, we won’t take your pups away” Ochako reassured him. “We live in the castle. Work for the king”
“This is no place to raise children” Tsuyu said. “We can bring you somewhere warm and safe, with lots of food and clean water”
“And why would you want to offer us that?”
“Because the king personally sent us to find your mother” Aizawa said. “And we think he’d like to met you”
It was easy to pack Izuku’s belongings, since he had none. He gathered both kids in his arms with unexpected strength and expertly walked around trees and bushes, avoiding the murky waters and stepping over stones to avoid getting his bare feet stuck in the mud.
When they reached the horses, Katsuki offered him his, helping him up and then handing him the pups, showing him how to hold on while he took the reigns to guide the animal by foot. At the pace that arrangement left them in they would be reaching the castle just before winter found them.
Izuku was small and scantily clothed, having used most of his own attire to fashion garments and shoes for the kids. Luckily his size allowed him to be able to accept spare pieces of clothing the others could offer him to warm up. Tsuyu’s spare shoes and Tenya’s vest, plus Katsuki’s fur cape that was big enough to cover him and the kids.
He and the pups ate ravenously in each inn the stopped at, and slept like rocks on the soft beds. The first one they stopped at gave them the chance to clean up, and Izuku revealed more than just similar features to his mother, Inko. He also had a smattering of freckles all over his face and body, and his curls didn’t disappear once his hair was properly brushed. He had soft, round features that were a bit similar to the girl under his care, Eri, and a defiant personality that was rubbing off on the boy, Kouta. For someone who had lived in the forest, he had a strange grace to his features, even if his gestures were tough and animalistic.
Katsuki was adamant on making sure all of them ate enough and more, and had the biggest bed available wherever they stopped. He hoped they trip would give them the chance to rest and fatten up. The pups had been thin, but Izuku was downright skin and bones, clearly having given all his meals to them for who knows how long. His Alpha was pacing restlessly within him at the sight of them so in need of care.
Aizawa took the time traveling as a chance to tell Izuku more about their reason for the search. About how the king had looked for his mother for years but never found her, how this had been his last hope at seeing her again.
Izuku had remained quiet during the story, just looking ahead into the distance.
When the castle was finally visible over the horizon, the first snowflakes had started to fall. Katsuki made sure his cape was properly placed over the Omega’s shoulders.
People passing by stared at them as they dismounted and let the stable hands take their horses away.
“Alright, I need to go tell the king of our arrival. We don’t want him getting a conniption when meeting you” Aizawa said, gesturing for Izuku to wait with the others in the entrance hall.
Izuku didn’t answer. He had been oddly quiet the last part of the trip, only talking to his pups when they got antsy at being on the saddle for too long.
When Aizawa disappeared behind the doors, Katsuki rounded up on Izuku.
“Hey, what’s going on with you?” He asked softly, grabbing Izuku’s shoulders over the fur of his own cape.
Izuku pursed his lips, looking away. Having been surrounded by his scent for most of the trip had made him a bit more receptive to Katsuki.
“Come on. Tell me what’s wrong”
“I” Izuku started. “I don’t think…I want to…” He gulped. “I don’t want to see him”
Katsuki tilted his head. “What? Why?”
But at that moment Aizawa came back. “Come on, he’s waiting for you”
Toshinori could’ve died right there when Aizawa told him what he’d found.
Inko was long gone, but they had found her son. That news broke his heart in more ways than one, but he wanted to meet the boy nonetheless.
When the doors were pushed wide open and the search party walked in, he could glimpse a touch of green in the middle, and his heart stopped.
The boy was like a window to the past. The same fresh, strong scent. The same face he held dear in his mind was in front of him once more. So similar, yet so different.
He stood up from the throne, hurrying to meet them halfway through.
They stepped away to let him closer, only Katsuki standing nearby in case Izuku needed some extra support.
Toshinori looked at him, disbelief widening his eyes as he fought to keep his hands still when all they wanted was to make sure the boy was real. He curiously looked at the children holding his hands, hiding beneath the cape as they huddled closer to the Omega.
“You’re” Toshinori cleared his throat. “You look just like her…”
Izuku’s eye twitched.
“Could you tell me your name?”
“Aren’t you supposed to introduce yourself first?” Izuku grumbled.
His words took Toshinori by surprise. “O-Of course, my boy. You’re right” He bowed deeply, more than he should’ve given his position. “I’m Yagi Toshinori, at your service”
“Izuku” He said simply. He didn’t move, didn’t bow back, didn’t even nod. Just kept his chin raised in defiance. From the outside, it looked as if the roles had been reversed; the king deferring to a simple peasant, looking as if the Omega was of higher rank.
Toshinori tilted, his head, looking at the boy with curious eyes. “…Midoriya Izuku?”
Izuku suddenly growled, snarl back in place after weeks of peace during the trip here. The guards lining the hall rushed forward, weapons at the ready to defend their king.
“Stop!” The king ordered, making everyone halt.
Izuku’s pupils were dilated, leaving nothing but a thin ring of green around them. “How dare you” He said. “How dare you say her name!”
“My boy, calm down-”
“Don’t call me that!” Izuku shouted. “You don’t know anything about me! Anything about her!”
Katsuki tried to reason with him. “Izuku, this is not the time—”
“No!” He wrapped the cape tighter around him, covering the pups from sight. “It’s not fair!”
The silence was such, you could hear a pin drop in the next room over. The only sound being the quiet sobbing of the pups and the panting of he Omega as he regained his breath from his yelling.
“It’s not fair” He repeated, softer this time. “All my life…all her life, wasting away, trying to keep me alive” His eyes met Toshinori’s. “And you were just here, drowning in your riches”
Toshinori tried to get closer. “Izuku, I swear I tried to find her—”
“It doesn’t matter!” Izuku shrieked. “It doesn’t matter because she’s dead! She’s dead and I’m-” He chocked on a sob, tears starting to leak from the corners of his eyes. “I-I-I’m…I was alone…and scared”
Suddenly a tiny face popped from the opening of the cape, Kouta’s scared and teary eyes glaring up at Toshinori.
“Stop making Izu sad!” The pup yelled, voice wobbly, terrified of whatever was making Izuku so angry. As soon as he had appeared he was gone, pulled back in by Eri.
Izuku sighed, wiping the tears from his face as he turned to Katsuki. “Please take me somewhere else. I can’t be here anymore”
Katsuki was still shocked from the interaction he just witnessed, but nodded, letting Izuku walk ahead of him as he guided him back outside. He took a second to bow his leave at the king before hurrying after the Omega.
Toshinori, on the other hand, was devastated. This wasn’t how he’d expected the meeting to go. Aizawa had given him a short version of the story, including where they found him and the conditions he lived in. He had failed to locate Inko on time, so the least he could do was make sure her son had a proper chance at a good life; he hadn’t expected the boy to be so hostile from the get go.
“All of this is very sudden to him. Give him some time” Aizawa appeared at his side, guiding him back to his seat.
“I…Y-Yes, you’re right” Toshinori sighed, dragging his hand down his face. “I don’t understand, why didn’t she ever come to me? If she needed help, why did she disappear?”
Aizawa hummed. “I have a theory”
“Izuku, you need to calm down”
They had arrived to Katsuki’s room. Izuku hadn’t had one assigned to him yet, and at this rate Katsuki was scared he’d run away before they had the chance to do so.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Bakugou Katsuki” Izuku hissed, punctuating each word with a tap of his finger on the Alpha’s chest. Eri and Kouta were so exhausted they had passed out cold the moment Izuku tucked them in the bed, and now he had to be quiet. “If I want to be angry, then that’s what I’ll be”
Katsuki sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Okay, look, you clearly haven’t told me the whole story. Could you tell me what made you so angry? Please?”
He had gotten closer, Izuku’s figure free now that the cape was unnecessary in the warmth of the room. Katsuki dragged his hands down the Omega’s arms, a comforting gesture that had Izuku melting into the touch. He had started purring as well, low and soft, making Izuku’s entire being sing in tune.
He rested his forehead on Katsuki’s shoulder. He spoke softly. “The earliest thing I can remember, is my mom smiling at me”
Katsuki nuzzled his hair, urging him to continue.
“She was always smiling” He laughed wetly, tears springing back up at the memory. “But she was also so tired. We never settled down in a village, or a town. We were always moving from one place to another, never staying anywhere after people would get too close. All those years, she never told me why. She would always find a place to set up camp; a cave, the hollow trunk of a tree, a group of bushes to hide into”
“Is that what you were doing when we found you?” Katsuki asked, massaging his arms as he kept his gentle grip on them.
Izuku nodded. “I felt it was safe enough” He said. “Mom always told me to stay put, to wait for her to come back and not make a sound. She would leave for hours, coming back with wood and game to keep me warm and fed. She almost never took anything for herself”
Katsuki had now wrapped his arms around him, swinging back and fort softly on the balls of his feet to keep him calm. Izuku had hugged him back immediately.
“She worked too much to take care of me, and in the end it’s what killed her. She fell ill and just…wasted away” He was openly sobbing now, his tears drenching Katsuki ’s shirt. “I-I couldn’t even bury her. I was just t-twelve. T-The forest took care of her”
“I’m sorry” Katsuki pulled him closer. “I’m so sorry”
“I kept moving after that” Izuku continued, trying to get away from the painful memory. “I found Eri and Kouta in the snow, almost frozen. T-They had lost their own parents and were wandering together. I managed to warm them up, and kept them”
“You did great”
“I didn’t know what else to do. I did the same my mom did for me. I never understood why she would sacrifice so much for me, until I came across them” He sighed, tired after talking so much. “When you appeared, promising us a home and safety, I was so happy” He said. “But then…when you told me about…about how the king had something with her…I was so angry”
Katsuki chuckled. “I think you made that very clear to everyone”
Izuku buried his face in Katsuki’s chest. “It’s just so unfair. She went through hell, trying to survive, when the king who says loved her so much was here all this time”
Katsuki pulled him back to look at him face to face. “You know, he was telling the truth. He’s been sending out people to find her since I can remember” He brushed Izuku’s curls away, tucking them behind his ear. “I won’t speak for your mother and wonder why she kept running away, but just know that if he had found her on time, he would’ve given her the world”
Izuku stayed quiet, then spoke in the softest whisper. “She was my world”
Katsuki could only hold him.
At some point during the quiet time afterwards there was a knock on the door, Aizawa letting himself in after Katsuki gave him the okay.
“Everything alright?” He asked, glancing at the kids asleep under the blankets.
“As alright as it can be” Katsuki said, allowing Izuku to break away from him to face Aizawa more properly.
“I won’t apologize” He said, frowning at the knight.
Aizawa raised his hands. “Whatever problem you have with the king, that’s between the two of you”
“Then why did you come all the way here?” Izuku asked. “I’ll be surprised if I’m allowed to stay after today”
“I need to ask something of you” Aizawa said. He always looked much more approachable without his armor, softer, somehow. Izuku was willing to listen. “I need one of your hairs”
“A hair?” Izuku blinked. “What for? You’re not going to curse me, are you?”
“Nothing of the sort. Just need to test a theory” Aizawa shrugged. “It won’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about”
Izuku looked at him critically before twirling a single hair around his finger and pulling. He handed the strand to him. “You’ve kept me and my pups warm and fed for weeks. I guess it’s the least I can do”
“Thank you” Aizawa said, turning to leave. “You can get comfortable here for now. Your room is being prepared as we speak”
And without waiting for an answer, he was off.
Chiyo had been the royal sorcerer and medic for decades, serving under Toshinori and his parents before him for as long as she can remember.
This little bit of magic she’d learned had never been necessary before, but Aizawa had insisted on at least trying to confirm his theory. Toshinori was sitting in front of the fire as Chiyo kept adding salts and plants to it, chanting words as she did so.
“Do you have the sample from the mother?” She asked him once she was done, the fire a bright purple behind her.
He nodded, handing her the locket.
She opened it and carefully extracted a single hair from the inside, closing it and handing it back to his owner. She threw the hair into the fire, turning it a glowing dark green.
“Now yours, dearie”
She repeated the process with the long blond hair Toshinori handed her, and the fire turned a strong red.
“There we go” She looked satisfied with her work. “Now, Shouta?”
Shouta gave her the last piece, a green curly strand from Izuku.
Upon contact with the fire, it burst with light, blinding them momentarily before it settled back down. It was a beautiful royal gold. As if the sun itself had found its way inside the little room to warm up their very essence with its light.
“W-What does that mean?” Toshinori asked, looking at the flame in awe. It was so compelling, almost asking him to reach forward and touch it.
Chiyo shook her head. “It means, my king, that Shouta was right”
Aizawa sighed, sitting down next to Toshinori. “Well, at least now we know why she was running away” He said tiredly. “He’s your son”
In the stillness that followed, Toshinori could only utter a soft ‘Oh’ before fainting.