Chapter Text
Shouto nudged Soba with his heels, and she obediently sped up into a trot, the crowd parting like water around them as he rode through the market towards the main gate. She needed no encouragement to break into a canter once they left the main road, and Shouto bit back a whoop as they headed for the nearest shore. It was undignified, he wasn’t to act in such a way. Not so long as he was in public, at any rate. Momo was even worse than him, when it was just the two of them, and his siblings... well, they had been easy to persuade to join in, before the demon rejected Touya.
Shouto shook his head, banishing those thoughts. He’d finished his tutoring and training early enough to make time for a ride, he wasn’t going to spend the whole time thinking of the past. Soba slowed again as he eased the reins, and Shouto patted the side of her neck as he looked around, observing his options. The path to the lakeshore was well-worn and familiar, he’d ridden it near daily for a while, enjoying the tranquility he could never find in the heart of the city when home had been fraught with tension.
Hmm, maybe the lakeside trail wasn’t the best for not thinking about the past. The one up to the top of the hill overlooking the lake had no such memories connected to it, though, and he could admire the view for a bit before he had to turn around and ride home for dinner. He nudged Soba with his heels again, pulling gently on the reins to direct her up the hill, and his mind wandered again as she began to climb, content to follow the winding trail and only occasionally stop to nibble at the ground-cover. He’d managed to finish his history tutor’s work early today, but tomorrow they were doing maths again, and that tutor would just give him more work to do if he finished fast, which was unlikely in the first place. Finances were hard. Sure he knew he’d need to know them when he was old enough to be given land of his own, but that didn’t make them any easier.
With that in mind, if he wanted to take Soba out it would have to be early, before his daily lessons even began. And if he was riding before his lessons it would have to be short, light. He’d been promised a proper spar tomorrow, and then Momo was coming at the week’s end and if he got hurt sparring with his tutor she’d refuse to fight him. Again. Would insist on just doing boring old drills, which were better than gossiping like they did on other visits but still not as nice as sparring with his betrothed.
“Oh, hello!” an unfamiliar voice said, bright and blandly pleasant. Shouto startled back to the present and looked ahead to see a girl at the top of the hill, looking down the slope at him. “We weren’t expecting company.”
“Nor was I.” he said, leaning forwards slightly as Soba picked up the pace a bit, eager to get to the top of the hill. He stilled her with the reins when they drew level with the girl, and dismounted smoothly, giving his unexpected company a quick once-over. The girl was clearly a mage’s apprentice of some sort judging by her dress and the symbols stitched into the strap and cover of her bag, most near to likely his own age. The green-haired boy, also likely his age, was probably a sellsword. He wore no armour, his clothing simple and sturdy, but he carried the sword on his hip with a practiced ease. The third of them, however, gave him pause.
Taller and broader than the others, wearing a full suit of armour and sharply squared glasses, Shouto didn’t doubt that one was the leader of this little adventuring party. A noble of some sort for sure, anyone less wouldn’t possess armour of that quality. Or vision aids, most likely. But he wasn’t bowing or saluting, which meant he didn’t recognize Shouto as the prince, so he must not be from one of the noble families in the capitol.
“I’m Uraraka Ochako.” the girl said with a bright smile, pink sparkles of gravity magic drifting up from her fingers as she waved a hand cheerfully. “These are my friends, Midoriya Izuku and Iida Tenya.” she gestured to them, and Shouto nodded politely at each of them.
“And you are?” Midoriya asked, not a note of guile in his tone. Either this boy was spectacularly good at lying, or they really didn’t know.
“Shouto.” he said, giving the small, polite bow he’d been given by other noble’s sons at every formal event he’d attended in the past decade. The Iida family were minor nobles, their patriarch deeded some land in an outlying village, but most of the family lived in the capitol, serving as royal and city guards. All of them, in fact, save for their elderly patriarch, his equally elderly wife, and the youngest son, a boy who Momo had called exceedingly formal but Shouto had never met, as the Iidas weren’t of a standing to attend his father’s balls as guests.
“This land isn’t privately owned, to my knowledge.” Iida said, shifting slightly to stand at a perfect parade rest.
“It belongs to the King.” Shouto pointed out. Midoriya rolled his eyes.
“Everything belongs to the King, in the end.” he said with the tone of someone who’d had this argument many times before. “What Tenya’s trying to say is that he’s pretty sure we’re not trespassing, so please don’t ride off and grab the guard or anything.” he chuckled, lifting his sword hand to rub at the back of his head. “Tensei would never let us hear the end of it.”
Shouto quickly revised his assumption of Midoriya and Uraraka’s social standings. They must come from locally notable families if they were on a given-name basis with an Iida. “Even if I left to fetch the Guard, you would be gone by the time they arrived.” he pointed out. “Not that I’m going to, Iida is quite right that your presence here isn’t trespassing.”
Uraraka sighed, shoulders slumping, and Midoriya flashed a bright grin at Iida. “See, Tenya? We can have dinner here no problem.”
“We were just sitting down when I heard you coming.” Uraraka explained. “Would you like to join us?”
“I’m afraid I’ll be expected to have supper with my family when I return home, but if you have some water I could use a drink.”
“Of course!” Iida said sharply, and Shouto found a young sapling to hitch Soba to while the adventurers laid out a rain cover and set out some travelling food. Bread, hard cheese, smoked meat, an a piece of fruit each. They must have just resupplied at today’s market.
Uraraka poured him a cup of water, which he sipped politely while the three adventurers dug into their meal. It tasted of magic, an odd tang he’d never quite gotten used to, but at least he knew it was clean. “So, what brings you three out this way?” he asked, looking over them.
“We’re on a Quest to destroy the Great Evil.” Midoriya said, the capital Q audible in his serious voice.
“You know, Deku...” Uraraka said slowly, eyes on the chunk of bread in her hands, which she was carefully ripping a hole in. “He looks like he’s probably a pretty powerful mage. We could always use more firepower.” she glanced up, and Shouto caught a flash of something sharp and calculating in her eyes.
Midoriya looked at him, tilted his head slightly as he looked Shouto up and down, then broke out in a sunny smile. “Yeah. You look trustworthy, join our quest!”
“Deku!” Iida scolded, bringing his hand down on Midoriya’s head in a sharp chopping motion. “Shouto just said his family expect him home for supper! You can’t expect him to drop everything for our Quest!” he gestured widely with his arms as he scolded Midoriya, the movements sharp and his hands stiff, flat, not fists of anger or splayed in wild emotion.
“Sorry, sorry.” Midoriya laughed. Uraraka caught Shouto’s eyes, rolled hers, and set about stuffing the hole in her bread with meat and cheese.
“I’ll think about it.” he said, and all three adventurers looked at him in clear surprise. “I do have to get going now, though.” he lifted the cup, drank the last of the water in it, and set it back down on the impromptu picnic blanket. “Thank you for the drink.”
“It was nothing.” Midoriya demurred. “We’ll be here ‘til sundown, if you decide you want to join us.”
Shouto nodded, rose to his feet, and walked back over to where Soba stood patiently, nibbling at the leaves of the tree. He really did have to hurry home, Father would be cross if he was late because he got distracted on a ride.