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Shouto Todoroki was having an awful day. The worst day of his life, actually.
No, that was not an over exaggeration. He was truly having a terrible day, and the impending doom of his father’s kingdom was only adding onto the growing panic inside of him.
It had all started when he was trapped in the literal pits of fiery hell and told by All For One, an all powerful mythical being hellbent on destroying Yuuei, that doomsday was coming and the fall of Yuuei was impending. Of course usually Shouto wouldn’t believe him, but when he actually gave a date Shouto was quick to take him out, barely escaping with his life. That was the beginning of his problems, and it was only three in the afternoon.
Then, to top it off, he arrived back on Yuuei to find out his eldest brother Touya was causing chaos, living up to his godly title of the god of mischief and pretending to be their father. Of course his act was up when Shouto arrived and to his shock and awe he found that Touya had somehow managed to leave their shitty old man in a retirement home on earth which had been demolished.
“I swear I left him right here,” Touya said with a shrug, gesturing at the demolished building.
Shouto shook his head. “Of course you did.”
Of course his father wasn’t dead, just on the verge of dying, and when they met him the area Shouto liked to call “The Void” he died in front of them, but not before telling them that the fall of Yuuei was impossible to avoid and despite killing All For One he would rise by the next full moon and Shouto and Touya had to work together to save those kingdom folk to avoid ‘Ragnarok.’ Oh, and Tomura Shigaraki, their infamous brother who was cut out from the history books after attempting to destroy Yuuei one time before, was going to come out of his confinement and wreak havoc on Yuuei once more as soon as Enji died.
Well.
And of course, because fate hated him, Touya decided he did not give a shit and stuck Shouto through a random wormhole as soon as Shigaraki appeared. Shigaraki followed them there and shoved Shouto and Touya out, and soon they were flying into the middle of space into a random place in the galaxy. Soon enough Shouto found himself on a planet on the opposite end of the galaxy from Yuuei where he was forced to fight, and of course Touya the bastard was there, grinning down at him through the glass separating the wine room from the arena Shouto had to fight in.
He really, really hated Touya.
To make matters worse, a very familiar face he hadn’t seen in nearly two years was his opponent, though this time he was in his large green form and seemed to have no recollection over who Shouto was even though they had bonded over katsudon two years ago. Well, he had bonded with Izuku, not Deku the giant green monster that easily decimated him and sent him flying in the arena, knocking him out in the process.
It was only eight at night and he had practically been flung through all the corners of the universe, and he still had to get back to Yuuei before all the people living three would be killed at All For One’s hands. He knew Touya would be no help, and now stuck in a room with Izuku he realized he was the only one he could count on.
“Izuku,” he tried, only to be glared at by the giant green monster. “Izuku, please. I need your help.”
“No.”
“I need to get out of here. Do you know how I can leave?”
“No.”
“I know you know how I can leave,” Shouto deadpanned. “You’re the master of escaping tricky situations. So tell me, how do I leave?”
“No.”
Shouto had forgotten how much he disliked it when Izuku was in his giant beast form. Normal Izuku with his adorable freckles and curly green hair and emerald eyes that sparkled whenever he spoke was a sight for sore eyes that he missed terribly. Izuku was kind and willing to help. But Deku? Deku was loud, mockingly so, and stubborn as a brick. Izuku was stubborn too, but less to the degree Deku was.
He wanted to talk to Izuku, not Deku.
“What if I helped you leave too?” Shouto inquired hesitantly, “would you tell me how to leave then?”
“No.”
“Izuku, I’m not playing around here with you. My kingdom is about to be decimated by All For One. You remember him, right? The ugly monster who wanted to take over your planet earth two years ago?”
“Potato head,” Izuku eloquently said.
“Yes, him! I needed your help to save my kingdom. Please, Izuku, you’re all I have.”
“No.”
“Planning an escape out loud? You must not know the art of secrecy,” a woman with black hair held high in a ponytail said from the front of the room.
There was something familiar about this woman, something that tickled the back of brain that he couldn’t immediately pin down. It had something to do with that tattoo etched onto her forearm, one that he knew he should know but couldn’t recognize it. Maybe Izuku had done a number on his brain by flinging him around like that.
“Who are you?”
“Momo Yaoyorozu,” she said easily, stone grey eyes looking Shouto up and down. “You’re not much to look at, let me tell you. It’s no wonder the big guy easily took you down. Aren’t you supposed to be an all powerful god?”
“You know who I am?”
“The hair is hard to miss. Also,” he frowned, “your brother was placed to work beside me. He’s a nuisance, let me tell you.”
Shouto, despite feeling somewhat offended that she had said he wasn’t much to look at, scowled and kicked a bottle Izuku had crumpled up on the ground. “Stupid Touya.”
“The God of Trickery,” Momo said with a shake of her head. “A true nuisance. But moving away from that, you do realize that you cannot leave this place right? It’s designed for you to stay. Surely the other prisoners waiting for their turn to fight in the arena told you as much. It’s futile trying to leave.”
“So I’ve been told,” Shouto said with a glare back at Izuku who only shrugged. “But you don’t understand; my people are going to be killed by a powerful being, and it won’t be just them. It will be the entire land that gets decimated. You have to understand that I must go.”
Momo sighed. “I’m not the one in charge here; that would be The Grandmaster, Twice, and I highly doubt he would let you leave especially after the fight you put up in the arena today with Deku.”
“I thought you said it was horrible,” Shouto couldn’t help but reply bitterly.
“Oh, it was. To anyone with battle training it’s easy to see that you were completely out of your league there, but apparently it was more entertaining than watching the other prisoners fight so he will not let you leave.”
To anyone with battle training.
The tattoo and her muscular build suddenly clicked in Shouto’s mind, and with wide eyes, he said, “You’re a Valkyrie, aren’t you?”
Momo’s eyes widened and she quickly folded her arms behind her back, tilting her head up slightly. “And if I was, what would you do? Execute me like your father did to the last few survivors who didn’t manage to escape after we failed to stop All For One the first time around?”
“No, I would never,” Shouto said in alarm, “I’m nothing like my father at all. I don’t agree with what he did at all. The Valkyrie shouldn’t have been punished for his mistake that allowed All For One to enter Yuuei and cause damage in the first place.”
“All For One ugly,” Izuku said as he munched on an apple that looked ridiculously small in his grip.
“Yes, thank you for that inspiring comment.”
Momo shook her head. “I don’t care if you agree or not with his actions, prince. I am no longer a Valkyrie so do not call me by that name.”
“Yaoyorozu, you fought for Yuuei before. You and all the other Valkyrie–”
“And look where it got us,” she said bitterly. “I am the only one left, and I’m only here because Lady Kayama, our leader, saved me and gave me another chance to live. I am never returning to Yuuei again, prince.”
“But it’s your home.”
“It hasn’t been my home for a while,” she replied with a frown. “Maybe it’s yours but I have moved on. I understand your urge to leave, to protect your people, but I won’t help, and recruiting the giant one won’t happen either. He belongs to the Grandmaster.”
Shouto scowled at that. “He does not belong to anyone except himself. If he wants to he can come with me, but he chooses to stay here because you have brainwashed him into thinking this is all that life has to offer; endless fruit supply and victory in the arena. You’ve ruined a perfectly good warrior and turned him into a pet!”
Izuku’s curious eyes turned to him, slowly munching on his apple.
“You can take it up with Twice, not me. I am simply under orders to make sure you both don’t leave, and you’re making my job very difficult by being a hassle to deal with. Your next match with Deku is tomorrow morning, by the way.”
“I won’t be around until tomorrow morning,” Shouto snapped, his irritation beginning to rise, “I won’t sit around like you do knowing you can help save the land you once called home. Yuuei is a land full of caring, nurturing people who are probably scared out of their minds that All For One will destroy them, yet you won’t help. How on earth did you even get chosen to be a Valkyrie?”
“Shouto mean,” Izuku spoke as he chucked an apple at Shouto’s head. “Leave her alone.”
“You want to stay here and put your past behind you? Fine. Be that way. But my father is dead and I am the only one left who can save them. I won’t sit back and let my people die.”
Momo frowned and averted her gaze to the side, arms folded across her chest. “Good luck escaping. You’ll never make it out alive.”
“Watch me,” Shouto bitterly replied.
Momo stalked out of the room with her hand clutching her forearm, a far off look in her eyes. That left Shouto and Izuku in the same room, and all of a sudden Shouto noted the lack of apple crunching in the background.
He was met with the sight of Izuku staring at him with his head tilted to the side, eyes squinted as if he were thinking.
“Hey–”
“Shouto angry,” Izuku concluded with a scowl. “Shouto need to get home. Deku helps.”
“What–”
Before Shouto knew it he was scooped up into Izuku’s arms and they were breaking through a window, alarms sounding in the distance as they made a great escape.
Now Shouto had fantasized about being held in Izuku’s arms, but in his fantasies he hadn’t imagined Izuku being in his beast form and shouting at the top of his lungs or that he would be so green. It was...a little weird, if he was being honest, but he would have to settle for this now until he got the chance to be bridal carried by Deku instead.
“Where are you taking me?”
Under ordinary circumstances Izuku probably would have replied “to the spaceship!” or “to get help!” but this time around he only screamed louder, landing on both feet in the scrap metal yard Shouto had landed on just a couple of hours ago.
“Hey! Where are we…”
Shouto went silent as Izuku pointed at a well hidden ship underneath more scrap metal, the door hidden just behind one panel of metal. With a strong pull he yanked it off, opening the ship and coughing when it opened and a musty air gust met his face.
“How...when did this get here?”
“My ship,” Izuku replied proudly, though there was an odd twinge in his voice, something akin to fear and confusion creeping into it.
Shouto noticed it almost immediately, turning around to ask Izuku what was wrong. He was met with the sight of Izuku staring at the metal panels of the ship with a terrified look on his face, his stance wide and chest visibly heaving up and down.
“Are you alright?”
“No.”
Shouto let out a small exhale, gently patting one of Izuku’s massive green hands. “You will be as soon as I get out of here. Do you remember at all how you landed?”
“Sky...falling…”
There was a vein jumping on Izuku’s forehead and Shouto decided to stop prying, instead turning his attention to the dashboard. “Damn Hatsume for inventing such a complicated thing...I got it.”
“Shouto.”
“Access denied.”
“Todoroki Shouto.”
“Access denied.”
Shouto scowled, internally cursing Hatsume. “Candy cane,” he said bitterly, then groaned when the panel activated.
Stupid Mei and stupid Christmas parties.
“Candy cane?”
Shouto whirled around and was met with the sight of Izuku staring at him with the intensity of one thousand men, mouth whispering some words that Shouto couldn’t hear. There was a look of confusion written in his face perceivable by his brow twitch, and Shouto hesitantly approached him, worried about why Izuku wasn’t speaking anymore.
“Izuku…?”
“Candy cane,” Izuku said ruefully before letting out a loud roar and hurdling at the side of the ship, tugging at his scalp as if he were trying to tear it off.
“Izuku!”
“No!” Izuku bellowed, face scrunched up in pain, “no!”
Shouto could do nothing but watch on helplessly as Izuku broke the ship more and more, though his concern was mostly for Izuku who looked like he was fighting with himself, and it hurt him to know that it was Izuku fighting for dominance somewhere in there, trying to get to ‘candy cane’ like he had eloquently dubbed Shouto at a Christmas party when they were drunk.
Horror turned into amazement when Izuku slowly reduced in size and the bellowing turned to whimpers, and then eventually instead of a man in green there was a tall man with tan freckled skin and emerald green eyes full of confusion staring right at Shouto. A very tall, naked man.
Shouto flushed red and turned back around, practically begging his brain to erase the image of Izuku’s beautiful sculpted biceps and freckled skin from his memory. He didn’t even know the freckles could go so low on someone’s body.
“Shouto?”
“Izuku,” he rasped out, voice cracking slightly, “please find something to cover yourself with.”
Izuku let out a squeak of embarrassment. Shouto heard some ruffling around the back of the ship, the sound of someone tugging on clothes and the sound of a zipper and a mumbled curse. Then he turned around and found Izuku standing in the middle of the ship with old white shirt that left his biceps out on display, a true blessing really, and black skinny jeans that were way too tight in SHouto’s lightehead opinion.
“Shouto,” the green haired man called out before letting out a hiss, cradling his head.
All of Shouto’s embarrassment was thrown out the window as he rushed forward to help Izuku kneel down on the ground, the green haired man letting out a stuttered gasp.
“Izuku, how do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Izuku managed to say through his groans. “I feel so...bad. What the hell happened? Why are you here?”
“What do you mean why am I here?”
“You’re supposed to be in the pits of hell,” Izuku hissed as he flicked his own forehead. “Stupid brain. I’m supposed to be on my way to help get you out of there...so why are you here?”
Shouto’s frown softened. “You have no idea what happened, do you.”
“Did you escape? Did I pass out after saving you?”
“Izuku, I crawled out of hell with All For One’s head by myself one day ago after being stuck there for a year. I didn’t even know you were on your way to save me until now.”
The two stared at each other in horror before Izuku let out a nervous laugh.
“There’s no way I’ve been out for one year, Shouto. I mean, I set off yesterday to save you...you’re pulling my leg, right?”
“You’ve been in your beast form for one year,” Shouto said with a hint of disbelief in his tone, the implications dawning on him. “You crash landed and in your panic you transformed...Izuku. You’ve–”
“No!” Izuku said, clutching Shouto’s arm tightly, “it hasn’t been a year. You’re lying! I mean, me? In Deku mode for a year? I just...I just...oh…”
“Izuku?”
Izuku went slack against Shouto’s left side, his curls invading Shouto’s senses.
“I remember,” he said softly, voice as tired as an old man about to die. “I remember...it was like I couldn’t get control, Shouto. I mean, he took over and wouldn’t let me take over after and it was so dark and I was so alone and I just–”
“Breathe,” Shouto instructed, holding Izuku’s hand gently, “breathe, Izuku.”
“This is bad. If I’m famous then the people on this planet will know who I am and if they want to keep me then I’ll have to go because I can’t run away now that the ship is busted and–”
“Breathe.”
“Don’t tell me to breathe,” Izuku snapped irritatedly, shoving Shouto by the shoulder, “I’m breathing perfectly fine. I’m just...trying to process what happened.”
He then gasped, emerald eyes widening and shooting upwards to meet marble grey and turquoise blue eyes. “You said Yuuei was in danger. What danger? I’m missing bits and pieces…”
“All For One is going to bring destruction to Yuuei by the next full moon and I need to stop him and save my people.”
“Hold on,” Izuku said with squinted eyes, “didn’t you say you killed All For One?”
“Technically, but–”
“So how is he going to rise if he’s dead?”
“I decapitated him,” Shouto explained slowly, leveling eye contact with Izuku. “I decapitated him and brought his head back to Yuuei where it’s locked away. My father, Endeavor? He died.”
“He died?” Izuku gasped.
“Yes, he died. But before he died he gave me a warning about an event called Ragnarok where All For One would rise and destroy the kingdom. But right now there’s someone else terrorizing the kingdom, this being Shigaraki who wants to make the kingdom his–”
“Hold on. Is All For One taking over? Or is Shigaraki taking over?”
Shouto blinked. “Yes. The point is, Izuku, that Yuuei is going to be destroyed and only I can stop Shigaraki from doing so. But I’m going to need help. I have to return home to save my people. Will you help me, Izuku?”
Yes, Shouto knew Izuku would say, because Izuku always says yes. It’s one of the many things I love about Izuku.
“No.”
Shouto blinked. “But–”
“No,” Izuku stubbornly replied, “I’m not going anywhere and you can’t make me.”
Shouto huffed out an annoyed sigh, internally cursing the green haired man’s stubbornness. For such a pretty face he sure can be stubborn.
“And why not?”
“You just want me to go because of Deku,” Izuku replied crossly.
Shouto froze like a deer caught in the headlights, the tips of his ears turning pink like they did when he was embarrassed. Izuku had once called it strawberry ears and he had laughed while Shouto blushed like an idiot, and it was a nice laugh at the time because it was innocent but now that Izuku was glaring at Shouto almost knowingly, he was just embarrassed.
“No,” Shouto weakly tried to assure him, “that’s not why I want you to come back home with me.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Izuku retorted with a glare. “You know that right? I know you only want me to go because of Deku. Well guess what? If I turn into Deku one more time then I might not come back.”
“I’m telling you, that’s not why I want you to come back to Yuuei with me.”
Izuku narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Really?”
“Of course, Izuku. I care more about you than Deku. I don’t even like Deku, really. I prefer you.”
Izuku’s scowl softened and a small smile replaced it. “Thank you.”
And when he said that he was being honest; he did prefer Izuku’s laugh and eyes that crinkled at the sides when he smiled than the big brute who was determined to smash everything in sight and flick Shouto across an arena like a little bug. Though…
“But if I’m being honest–”
“I knew it.”
“–Deku would be much more useful in helping save my home,” Shouto said with a wince, hating how much he sounded like he was taking advantage of Izuku’s monster form.
“I’m useful too!” Izuku protested with a pout, “me, Izuku Midoriya! I’m useful too!”
“Can you lift twenty-thousand pounds like this?”
“No, but I have seven different PhDs!” Izuku continued, side eyeing Shouto. “Does Deku have seven different PhDs? Is he smart enough to come up with a tactical plan to take down the bad guys?”
“I appreciate the tactical plans but brute force is needed to defeat Shigaraki.”
“Then find it somewhere else.” Izuku blew a raspberry at Shouto, “I’m not going to do it. If I turn into Deku I might not come back out and I like myself more as a human than a giant monster, thank you very much. So no, no Deku. I’ll only go with you if you don’t make me turn into Deku or else I’m finding my own ship out of...what is this place again?”
“Shiketsu.”
“Right, Shiketsu. Take me as Izuku or I’m flying out of Shiketsu without you.”
Shouto let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. You don’t have to transform into Deku. But we need to get out of here and we’re getting out together, and you need to stay hidden.”
Izuku wrinkled his nose. “Why?”
“Don’t you remember? You’ve been stuck here for one year and the guy who runs this planet made you fight in his arena. He even made us fight together.”
“Oh. Did I win?”
“No, I won,” Shouto lied with a glance at the wall. “That’s not important right now, though. We need to get out of here and make sure they don’t catch us.”
“You winning doesn’t sound right,” Izuku hummed quietly, though he didn’t hesitate to hold on tightly to Shouto’s left arm. “How are we getting out?”
“Well we need to find a ship since this one is dead. Put on this cloak, okay?”
Izuku grimaced as he held the cloak up. “Why do I have to put this thing on? It’s old and tattered. Are you running away?”
“Didn’t you hear me say that we can’t let them catch us?”
“I was more focused on the obvious lie that you beat me.”
Shouto rolled his eyes. “Is it really so implausible that I could win a fight against you?”
“Yes.”
“Fine,” Shouto retorted haughtily, internally offended. “That’s not important now, though. We have to focus on staying hidden so neither of us gets sent back to that prison.”
“Is that why you’re making me dress up like a peasant?”
“Yes.”
“And what are you supposed to be with that disguise? A gypsy?”
“A fugitive. Come on, Izuku. Let’s go.”
Izuku let out a groan yet nonetheless followed after Shouto, holding onto his forearm tightly as if he were escorted down the aisle. The mere comparison made Shouto blush up to the tips of his ears, yet the trembles he could feel from Izuku’s hand left him a tad worried.
“Izuku?”
“I’m freaking out here,” Izuku hissed, clutching on tighter to his arm. “Shouto, I’m freaking out!”
“Think about your mom’s katsudon,” Shouto tried to soothe, patting Izuku’s hand gently and giving it a firm squeeze. “The pork in the center, the rice...the onions…”
“You’re just making me freak out even more! I want to go home…”
“I promise we’ll get you home after I save my people, okay? And then you’ll never have to be on another planet that isn’t Earth and you don’t have to stress out anymore.”
“Promise?”
“I promise?”
Of course fate hated him so he was biting his words as soon as they turned left from the junkyard and a dust of green was thrown at their faces, the same shade of forest green that Izuku turned into when in his monster form. And of course because fate wanted to continue being a bitch, they were separated and Shouto found himself trying to avoid a soldier while desperately calling out for Izuku’s name like it was a prayer on the tip of his tongue.
“Izuku! Izuku!”
“Shouto!”
They were separated by an enormous soldier that glared down at Shouto and lifted his arms above his head to slam the beefy things over his head, but before he could do that he was knocked out cold on the ground with a familiar face standing behind him, a small smirk on her face as she looked up at Shouto.
“Oh.” Shouto blinked, “it’s you. Yaoyorozu. What are you doing out here?”
“Looking for you,” she said with an upwards chin tilt, a curious look filling her stone grey eyes. “The Grandmaster is looking for you, you know. He’s sent the citizens out on a manhunt to find you and return his precious champion.”
“Champion?” Izuku asked, holding tightly onto Shouto’s forearm.
Momo raised a brow. “Your boyfriend, I presume? I didn’t know the God of Thunder’s...tastes...ran in that direction.”
“I don’t know anything about this champion,” Shouto rushed out, the tips of his ears red, while Izuku sputtered, “we’re not boyfriends! Far from it!”
“Uh-huh,” Momo said flatly, visibly unconvinced. “Well, your relationship doesn’t really matter to me so I’ll leave it at that. What does matter is the fact that I am going to return to Yuuei with you.”
Shouto’s brows shot up into his brows. “You are?”
“Yes.” Letting out a sigh, she shook her head. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”
Izuku and Shouto followed her, twisting through various large and small bodies that were dancing out in the street celebrating Deku, and when Izuku’s fingers curled into Shouto’s exposed skin and his nails dug into his flesh Shouto only patted his hand in a weak reassurance that it was all okay, because it was all he could do.
Momo led them into a secluded apartment complex, pausing at the end of the hall and turning around to stare directly into Shouto’s bi-colored eyes.
“Your words were harsh and cruel, prince, but they managed to get through to me. I’m willing to return to Yuuei and help you save those poor people who are being tormented at Shigaraki’s hands, but solely for selfish purposes.”
“Selfish purposes?”
“Yes,” she said, eyes narrowed. “I want him to pay for what he made the rest of the Valkyrie go through; for their deaths at his hands and at the hands of Enji Todoroki. I am returning for revenge. But ultimately speaking, I am on your side.
Shouto nodded. “Very well. Then there’s three of us on this team now.”
“Does the team have a name?” Momo inquired with a brow raise.
“The Revengers.”
Momo blinked slowly, nose scrunching up in disbelief. “The Revengers? It sounds rather childish, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but it’s fitting for our mission. You and I are both on a quest for revenge and...Izuku?”
Izuku blinked. “I’m undecided. Well, dragged along really. I just want to go home.”
“Yes, that,” Shouto awkwardly said with a rub of his free hand against the back of his skull. “Well, it seems like there’s three of us ready to take Shigaraki down. Though, I don’t understand why you brought us here, Yaoyorozu.”
“I have a peace offering.”
The door to her left opened to reveal Touya in chains, the white hair with red roots and the long black robes unmistakably his. His dull turquoise blue eyes stared up at Shouto, lips curled down into an unimpressed frown.
“Surprise,” he deadpanned.
“Touya,” Shouto said with his head held high, looking down at Touya with a wrinkled nose.
“The Valkyrie got me.”
“I can see that.”
Touya barely flinched when Shouto chucked an empty crunched up can at his head, the can hitting his forehead with a clang and falling to the ground after. He only glared at it then scowling looked up at Shouto, and hissed, “ow.”
“Alright. Now I know it’s you.”
Shouto took a few more steps into the room with Izuku hooked to his arm, the taller man glaring at Touya with those emerald green eyes of his.
“Midoriya,” Touya acknowledged with a dry smile.
Izuku hummed, unhooking himself from Shouto’s side to edge closer to Touya, lips pressed thinly together and brows slightly raised.
“That last time I saw you you were ready to kill a bunch of people. Where are you at these days?”
“It varies from moment to moment,” Touya replied ominously.
“Stop being a dick,” Shouto snapped, turning back around to follow Momo further inside her apartment. “Izuku, leave him be. He’s an ass.”
“I knew that already but apparently he’s also a mass murderer,” Izuku mumbled as he followed Shouto, his arms tightly folded across his chest.
“He’s a nuisance is what he is,” Momo called out as she laid her sword to rest on the kitchen counter. “Alright. Here’s the deal, prince. I have a ship we can use to escape and there’s a wormhole just outside the city limits that can take us to Yuuei. The journey will take about eighteen months but it is the safest way to get back.”
“No,” Shouto frowned, “by the time we arrive back at Yuuei it will be too late. Shigaraki plans to take over the throne by the full moon which is tomorrow night. He’s most likely on Yuuei already and we can’t let him stay there.”
“So what do you suggest?” Izuku asked curiously.
“We go through the big wormhole.”
Momo flushed red and looked aside. “The Devil’s Anus, you mean?”
“Anus,” Izuku repeated with a snort, slapping a hand over his mouth to cover his giggles when Shouto turned to shoot him an exasperated look.
“For the record I didn’t know it was called that,” Shouto said with an annoyed glance out the window.
“That wormhole looks like a collapsed neutron star,” Izuku said with humor laced in his tone, stepping aside to look up at the large wormhole overlooking the center of the city.
“If we’re going through that big thing then we need a spaceship that can withstand the wormhole’s geomagnetic strength,” Shouto said as he risked a glance at Izuku.
Izuku brightened up at that. “Yes! That’s right! Wow, you’re smart Shouto. Where’d you pick up a sudden understanding on how spaceships work?”
“A book.”
The truth was that Shouto had spent so much listening to Izuku’s rambles that they made sense to him and he had absorbed the words Izuku kept spouting out. That and he wanted to impress Izuku and his seven PhD’s, too.
“Well, you’re right! The spaceship has to be able to withstand the geomagnetic strain or else we’ll be ripped into pieces.”
“And it needs cup holders,” Momo said as she tossed Shouto a wine bottle. “If we’re going to die we might as well drink too.”
“I like you,” Izuku grinned, snatching the wine bottle out of Shouto’s hand. “Have we met before? I feel like I know you.”
“I feel like I know you too!” Momo laughed, the first happy gesture she had done in the day Shouto had known her.
“Alright. So we have to steal a ship that can get us through that–”
“Not to interrupt your stupid little scheme–”
To Shouto’s surprise, Momo chucked an empty beer bottle at the wall behind his head. Touya winced when the glass shattered and Izuku looked at her in awe while Momo glared coldly at Touya.
“If you know what’s good for you then you won’t speak.”
Shouto blinked. “What did he–”
“Don’t ask.”
“I was just going to say,” Touya continued with a flat look, “that your plan to steal a ship without tripping the sensors is absolutely ridiculous. You’re going to get caught.”
“Oh yeah?” Izuku quipped, hands on his hips, “then what do you suggest oh evil one?”
Shouto held back a snicker at that, earning himself a grin from Izuku and a snort from Momo who was eyeing him almost knowingly.
“The Grandmaster had a great amount of ships. I may have even stolen the access codes earlier today,” Touya snickered to himself.
“And suddenly you’re overcome with the urge to do something nice,” Shouto deadpanned.
Touya rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I’d rather have a fate with The Grandmaster than do the right thing. No, I’m simply asking for safe passed through The Shithole–”
“The Anus–”
“The Shithole,” Touya deadpanned. “If I give you the access codes to the ship thenI get a safe passage through The Shithole.”
Izuku tugged on Shouto’s hand and waved Touya off with a hand. “Okay, yeah, Shouto can I just talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.”
“Right. Well, I was just talking to him a few minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill us
Momo scoffed. “Yes, he did try to kill me.”
Shouto folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Touya out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, he’s tried to kill me too. On many occasions, actually. There was this one time when we were younger when I had an obsession with snakes. He knew I loved them so he transformed into one–”
“No,” Izuku whispered.
“–and when I went to pick up the snake to admire it he screamed ‘Shouto!’ and stabbed me. I was eight at the time.”
Both Izuku and Momo cast Touya concerned and horrified looks, but Touya only grinned to himself, eyes averted from the trio.
“Well,” Momo spoke up, stone grey eyes flickering back to Shouto, “if we’re going to sneak in then we have to distract the guards.”
“You’re right. Izuku, can you use one of your PhD’s to get us out of this?”
Izuku brightened up, and cracking his knuckles, said, “leave it to me.”
“Who’s this guy again?” Momo asked curiously.
“I’ll explain later.”
“Who is she again?” Izuku asked.
“I’ll explain later.”
Of course later never came because much more important things took place that made him forget about explaining to Momo who Izuku really was. Based on the look of pure fear in Izuku’s eyes when Touya quietly whispered, “show her the beast” he had a feeling so was best not to say anything either.
The next few hours passed by a blur; Izuku led a rebellion against The Grandmaster, Touya was left restrained near the ship dock by Shouto who decided he did not want to bring Touya back to Yuuei just yet, then they were all chased by the guards until they disappeared into The Anus and promptly passed out.
When they woke up they were back in Yuuei, and as soon as they arrived they were attacked, leaving Izuku at the front wheel of the ship while Shouto moved out of the seat, already tugging on the red cape trailing behind him.
“Wait!”
Shouto felt the familiar tug of his hand and looked down, only to see Izuku looking up at him with concern laced in those pretty emerald eyes of his, concern that Shouto could feel by the way Izuku held his hand so tightly.
“You’re not going to die right?”
Shouto blinked. Realistically speaking, he had lost to Shigaraki before and was sent hurtling into a strange planet that he had barely made it out of. Shigaraki had already caused hell before when his father was in charge of Yuuei, but now that he was gone and Shigaraki was just as powerful as ever, well. Let’s just say the odds of him living through this battle weren’t all that great even if he was a god.
But still. Izuku freaking out wouldn’t help him stay in his human form, so with a smile and a nod, he said, “I’m a god, aren’t I?”
Izuku’s lips quirked up into a grin, and with a blush and satisfied nod, he said, “good. Then kick Shigaraki’s ass.”
And because Izuku said it like that, well, Shouto didn’t really have the option to lose here. Now not.
So he fought; he fought with the intention of taking Shigaraki down without fulfilling the prophecy. He watched on as Touya who appeared in the sky on a ship helped the people get on while sneaking into the palace, and he watched Momo fight with every bit of leftover hatred and guts inside of her, taking down Shigaraki’s minions with a sword slash and a punch to the face, grinning the whole time.
And Izuku? Apparently Izuku, despite all his fears that if he switched back into Deku, switched back to protect the people from the giant beast Shigaraki had brought in, jumping off the ship and falling ungracefully before going into full battle mode. It honestly touched Shouto, really, that Izuku had decided to turn into his monster form to help a cause that was so dear to Shouto’s heart.
The battle was long and arduous, and just like the prophecy Enji had given him All For One rose up again in flames, a giant monster who was the one to destroy Shigaraki and the rest of Yuuei in the end. Yuuei was gone and Shouto was now king, leaving Touya a little bitter and Momo proud to serve a king who protected his people and fought with bravery. But most importantly, it left Izuku smiling when he managed to come back, shrinking in the ship when Shouto squeezed his hand.
“You’re king now,” Izuku laughed. “I never thought I’d see you reach this point with your brother trying to kill you and all.”
“Well, believe it. I’m king now.” He frowned. “Though, now I have to make an executive decision. Where do I bring all my people?”
“I hear New York is nice this time around,” Izuku innocently said, a cheeky grin on his face. “Copious amounts of pollen and ice cream trucks.”
Shouto snickered lightly, and with an amused glance at Izuku, nodded and said, “alright then. Earth it is.”