Chapter Text
Katsuki heads for the gates, a gorgeous field waiting just outside. As he reaches the edge of the palace, he’s grabbed by the back of his neck by a firm hand.
“Where do you think you’re going, brat?” his mother asks.
“Let me go, you old hag!”
“I just want you to be careful," he struggles in his mother’s grasp. “Katsuki, are you listening? You can’t just take off, you could get hurt—”
“Hurt or lost or fucking kidnapped,” Katsuki interrupts.
Mitsuki glares, unimpressed. “And don’t even think about leaving the kingdom’s borders, I can’t protect your scrawny ass out there.”
“I know! Next you’re gonna be telling me not to talk to strangers,” he rolls his eyes. “Can I fucking go now?”
“Very funny.”
“Listen to your mom, Katsuki.” His father smiles from behind Mitsuki before giving her a soft kiss on the cheek to calm her down.
“Yeah, yeah.” Katsuki turns for the gates again but is once again grabbed by his mother.
“And stay away from the Deserted.”
“Nothing there but a bunch of back-stabbing, murderous outsiders.”
Katsuki rolls his eyes at his mother’s advisor.
“Tenya is right. You can't turn your back on them.”
“Why the fuck not?”
Mitsuki sighs, “never mind. Just get out of here before I change my mind.”
The small blond takes off before his mother can stop him again.
“And stay on the fucking path, you brat!” she calls after him.
Masaru chuckles at his wife, “Mitsuki, who does he remind you of?”
“What? Who?” she glares over her shoulder.
“He's just like you were when we were young.”
“Exactly,” Mitsuki sighs. “Do you realize the dangers we put ourselves in?”
Her husband snorts, “you mean the dangers you put us in? He'll be fine.”
She waits for Masaru to leave before calling for Hanta and Denki.
“Your Majesty?”
“I need you to keep an eye on Katsuki. You know he's bound to run off.”
“Don't worry, Mitsuki. We're on it,” Denki salutes.
Katsuki is walking on the damn path when he sees a deer in the corner of his eye. He starts following but it quickly takes off.
“Hey, get back here!” he chases it until it eventually stops for a drink at a small lake. He tries sneaking up on it when he notices where he is.
“Whoa…” Katsuki stares across the water at the Deserted . “I wonder what’s out there…”
He’s just about to walk around to see it for himself when he’s tackled from behind. “Don't worry, Katsuki! I got you!”
“You’re crushing me!” he groans from under Denki’s tight hug.
“Great,” Hanta sighs. “Now I have to go back and tell the queen that I let her son get squeezed to death.”
He walks over to the pair and yanks them from the ground. “Let me define ‘babysitting’.”
Katsuki stands and brushes the grass off of his pants, glaring daggers at the two idiots.
“Sorry,” Denki smiles sheepishly. “Now, Katsuki, as the queen’s son, you know better than to go off all alone. You could have been hurt.”
“Hurt?” Hanta begins pacing. “Oh, Mitsuki would have our heads!”
The blond rolls his eyes.
“You didn't slip a disc, did you?” he begins fussing and inspecting the explosive boy. “Catch a fever? Get a hangnail?”
“Hanta! What the hell?”
“I had one once,” the dark haired boy shakes his head.
“Very painful,” Danki adds.
“Excruciating. Darling, with your complexion you should stay out of the sun.” Katsuki whacks the stupid hat Hanta is trying to force on his head. “What? Do you wanna burn?”
“Fucking stop! Will you just listen to me for a damn second?”
“I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Did you say something, Your Highness?”
Katsuki growls at the title, “I'm not just a fucking prince!”
“Well, what else is there?” Denki questions.
The blond pauses, not prepared for the question.
“Well, while you're figuring it out,” Hanta interrupts. “Let's eat!”
They start pulling snacks out of their bags, eventually reaching the Oreos. Hanta offers one to Katsuki but he just glares at the stupid cookie.
“No? How about you, Denks?”
“I love Oreos!” He takes the cookie and eats the cream before putting the outer cookie back in the container.
“Ew! You always do that! You eat the cream out of every one and then put it back. It drives me crazy!”
“But the cream is the best part!”
“Denki, my love, the chocolate is the part that matters.”
“CREAM!”
“COOKIE!”
“CREAM!”
“COOKIE!”
“Tastes good.”
“Too sweet.”
As the two continue to bicker, Katsuki sneaks around the lake and takes off for the Deserted.
He’s faced with the bottom of a huge mountain when he hears something move behind him. Katsuki spins around, coming face to face with a short boy with plain black hair and bright red eyes.
“Who are you, Intruder?”
The stranger begins walking around him, but the blond is careful to keep the boy in his line of sight. He stops moving when he notices Katsuki is following his every move.
“What are you doing?”
“My mom says to never turn your back on an outsider,” the prince growls.
The boy smirks, “you always do what mommy says?”
“Tch, no!”
“Bet you do,” he laughs. “I bet you're a mama’s boy.”
He backs away to lean against a cave opening, giving Katsuki a proud smirk. “ My kind don't need anybody. I take care of myself.”
“Oh, really?”
Before the prince can call bullshit, a loud roar suddenly sounds from inside the cave. Both boys stare shocked at the opening before the stranger grabs Katsuki’s hand and drags him into the surrounding forest. “Run!”
Another roar is heard as a hyena follows close behind.
“This way!” the dark haired boy pulls the prince behind a nearby tree stump.
“That was a close one,” Katsuki sighs.
“Yeah,” the outsider agrees. He stands up to look around and his eyes immediately go wide with fear. “Not good!”
He takes off, leaving the blond to hide alone. “Hey! What about me, asshole?”
“I’m distracting him. Run!”
Katsuki starts running in the opposite direction but when he looks back he sees the hyena closing in on the stranger. He quickly heads in their direction, grabbing a rock when he gets closer.
“Get down!”
As soon as the boy is out of the way, the blond throws the rock at the hyena's head, “move it!”
He rounds a tree, pulling the stranger behind him. They quickly find a low branch and climb until they’re out of reach. (Let's
“We did it!” Katsuki sighs, leaning back. “I fucking did it! Ha! Did you see the size of those teeth?”
He grins at the stranger, full of adrenaline and excitement.
“That thing was totally gonna eat me right there!”
“And I jumped in and hit him on the head!”
“We make a good team,” the outsider smiles. “And you… You were really brave.”
“Yeah?” Katsuki smirks. “You were pretty brave too.”
“Oh!” the stranger reaches his hand across the branch. “My name's Eijiro. Kirishima Eijiro.”
“I'm Katsuki,” he slaps the hand being offered and jumps out of the tree. “Tag! You're it, loser!”
He jogs a few feet but quickly realizes he’s not being followed. “Um, hello? I run, you tag… get it?”
When the boy jumps down but still doesn’t move, Katsuki becomes confused. “What's the matter? Don't you fucking know how to play?”
The outsider opens his mouth to respond but is stopped by Mitsuki’s growl.