Chapter Text
Denki silently walks through the deserted and eerie streets, deep in thought about the past. He reminisces about the time when the monster kingdom was teeming with life and activity. However, the present reality is starkly different, especially in this part of the kingdom, which is ruled by two kings, a prince, and a princess. Denki finds himself in a desolate and grim corner of the kingdom, where the darkness looms large, and danger lurks around every corner.
As he moves through the deserted streets, his mind drifts to Kirishima, who used to reside in this part of the kingdom. "I wonder how Kirishima is faring with his prince," he murmurs to himself, his tone laced with sarcasm. "I wonder what could have driven him away from this place?" However, Denki has no time to dwell on these thoughts; he has his own problems to contend with - primarily, how to survive.
Despite his exceptional skills as a bard, Denki has found himself in a precarious situation. He has been forced to resort to thievery to make ends meet in this harsh world. Although he despises stooping to such tactics, he knows that he has no other choice.
As he navigates the shadows, his hood drawn over his head, he avoids making eye contact with anyone. He understands the importance of remaining cautious, especially as night descends. The darkness brings with it an array of dangers in the form of nocturnal creatures that emerge from their hideouts.
Despite being bundled up in multiple layers of clothing, Denki shivers in the biting cold. "May the gods rid me of this cold," he grumbles to himself as he trudges on. He feels that the odds are stacked against him, as humans are not supposed to be out and about in the kingdom, especially after dark.
Denki knows that he must be vigilant and avoid drawing attention to himself. He moves carefully, hoping to evade detection as he stalks his next target. However, as he wanders through the dangerous streets, his thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the sight of a little girl. She has a bag of gold clasped in her tiny hooves and appears to be around six or seven years old. Her furry goat legs resemble those of a fawn, and her head is covered in a mane of grayish-blue-ish hair that's tied up in a bun. The bright red eyes in her small face capture Denki's attention and he can't help but wonder who would leave a child that young unattended in such a dangerous place.
As Denki approaches the little girl, he can't help but notice the glimmering bag of gold she holds in her tiny hands. Although he knows it's unethical to take it from her, his empty stomach growls, and he begins to consider the possibility. However, before he can even make a move, he senses a presence behind him. Suddenly, a tall tiefling emerges from the darkness beside the girl, standing taller than Denki by a lot. The boy appears to be around the same age as Denki, with short wild, curly lilac hair and a long tail that sways behind him. His horns dip into the crown of his head before rising again, and his face and hands are dusted with intricate black markings.
However, what catches Denki's attention the most are the boy's deep purple eyes, which glow in the darkness and seem to pierce through Denki's soul. It's a silent, yet powerful warning to stay away, and Denki feels a cold shiver run down his spine. He doesn't dare move an inch, afraid that any sudden move will make him their next target. As the boy stands there, his long pointed ears are pointed back, and his eyebrows are narrowed, giving him a fierce and intimidating appearance.
It's at this moment that Denki notices that the boy's tail isn't moving anymore, and he can now see the leather and rings that adorn his hindquarters. Denki's heart stops, and he whispers under his breath, "A soldier." His eyes widen, and his heart pounds so loud that he's sure they can hear it. Only soldiers have those rings and that leather pattern. The rings show how many battles they've fought, and the leather shows their ranking. This soldier has four rings and a light silver-ish color with a crisscross patterned with snakes carved into the piece of leather. He's a royal guard, one of the king's personnel, hence the snakes, and Denki knows that he's in trouble.
The young girl ceased her conversation with the merchant and turned towards the soldier. "Hito, he does not possess it," she spoke, however, "Hito" remained unresponsive and simply continued to stare at Denki. The little girl fixed her gaze to see what the Tiefling was staring at, and saw the boy who appeared to be paralyzed with fear, and moved closer towards him with her hooves clicking on the stone pavement. The soldier quickly followed in pursuit, and Denki dared not move a muscle. When they reached him, Denki had to look up to meet the boy's eyes, while the little girl tugged on his pants and addressed him politely, "Excuse me, sir?" Denki stuttered in response, "Um- Uh.. Y-Yes, little one?" The girl tilted her head towards him and introduced herself, "My name is Eri, and I was wondering if you knew where I might find some jade?" Denki's response was prompt, "N-No, I don't know. I'm sorry." Eri's face drooped a little, and she said, "It's alright. Thank you," turning away and trotting off with her hooves still clicking. However, the soldier lingered, and a low growl emanated from his throat, causing Denki to back away as his knees buckled. "Hitoshi! We need to go!" exclaimed the little girl. Hitoshi let out a scoff of air from his nose and walked away, leaving Denki alone, scared, cold, and hungry. But before they were out of sight, Denki heard a quick "Oh! I almost forgot" from Eri, and she tossed him a few gold coins. "Please go find somewhere with a bathhouse and some food. I don't mean to sound bad-mannered, but..." she trailed off, and Hitoshi spoke up, "You smell of death, you're human, so it makes it even worse." Denki stammered out a "Th-Thank you!" and grabbed the coins, running off, fearful they might change their minds.
"May I inquire as to why you have acted in such a manner?" queried Hitoshi, while Eri, maintaining her composure, kept her eyes downcast and replied, "The man had a putrid stench and I believed it to be our papa's wish." As they made their way forward, Hitoshi frowned and said, "Dear sister, I implore you, that was your doing and not ours." Eri let out a soft laugh and replied with a disapproving look, "Father would have been displeased with your generosity towards a human, of all beings." It was now Eri's turn to frown and her tail twitched in irritation as she said, "Why does he harbor such antipathy towards humans? What wrong have they ever done to us?"
Hitoshi grimaces as memories of battles and abuse caused by humans flood his mind. He still bears the scars from when he was just a boy, inflicted upon him by humans. He has lost so many lives due to human actions and almost lost his father because of them. However, his sister is too young to remember any of it. "Lucky is she," Hitoshi thinks before speaking. "Humans have done terrible things to us, Eri," he pauses, "things I shall not delve into." he says "let us steer back to the palace, Father should be scrutinizing for us by now"
and off they went to meet with their parents
their Papa's voice boomed through the room, startling Hitoshi and Eri who were kneeling in front of him, heads bowed and eyes shut. eri's little ears flat and back and Hitoshi's longer ears drooped down "Where have you been?" he exclaimed, his tone laced with anger and concern. "We have been worried sick! Toshi, you know better than to go out with her without one of us," the king reprimanded his son in a stern voice. baring his fangs Meanwhile, their other father: shota, stood silently beside them, his face twisted in a scowl as the snakes on his head writhed about.
Hitoshi's heart sank as he heard his father's words. He knew that they had made a grave mistake by venturing out without permission. Both of their tails were tucked under their legs, a sign of submission and guilt.
"Hitoshi, you are grounded," his father declared in a firm voice. Hitoshi's head shot up in surprise. "What?" he protested. "If it weren't for me, she would have just steered off by herself!"
"That's precisely the point," the gorgon king retorted, stepping up from behind Hitoshi. "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have aone out at all. You should have known better than to put her in danger like this. You both are lucky that nothing happened to you. From now on, you both will be under strict supervision, and any disobedience will have severe consequences."
As Hitoshi knelt on the ground, his mind was filled with conflicting emotions of guilt and frustration. His sister knelt beside him, both of them responding in unison to their father's instructions. "Yes, father," they said, their voices betraying their sadness. "Go to your chambers. We shall discuss this matter in the morning, your knights will accompany you subsequently" their father instructed with a stern voice. With their tails still tucked, they both stood up and ran off to their respective quarters.
"Well, I would not have gone to such lengths to give them supervision, but if you think it will help, then I trust your judgment," Yamada said, his voice calm and collected. Shota, on the other hand, huffed with disapproval. "I just do not understand. He knows how dangerous it is for her," he said with a frown. Yamada walked closer to his partner and said, "In all truthfulness, she is safer with him than any of the guards combined." shota cast a disapproving glare at his husband and, Yamada spoke in a low voice, "You know very well that he would have slaughtered anyone who dared to come close."
Shota, with a heavy heart, let out a deep sigh and leaned against his husband's broad shoulders, seeking comfort. "Yes, I know," he replied in a gruff tired voice.
Feeling the tension in the air, Yamada the ever blood thirsty vampire proposed, "I think it's time I had a drink, my love. would you like some ambrosia ?"
Chuckling, Shota answered, "unfailingly, my dear," and both of them laughed softly, momentarily forgetting their worries.
After a brief moment of silence, Shota raised a question, "What are we to do with them?" lifting his head to face his partner
His mate gazed at him thoughtfully before replying, "We let them grow I suppose, as we did"
and Shota sighed for the umpteenth time and paused for a moment "Let us go get the wine and the ambrosia" and the vampire laughed loudly
Hitoshi lay on his bed, feeling perplexed and frustrated. He had buried his face in the pillows and let out a deep sigh. Monoma, sitting next to him, was laughing at Hitoshi's despair, which only made the prince feel more irritated. Monoma's attempt at empathy was nothing but a faux attempt to console him. Hitoshi felt disappointed that his friend was not trying to understand his situation.
"As the prince of the kingdom, Hitoshi, you are shrouded in mystery, as nobody has ever seen your face. you had left the castle with the six-year-old princess, who is also a mystery, as nobody knows what she looks like, to search for Jade". Monoma couldn't contain his laughter as he spoke about it, making Hitoshi feel even more frustrated.
Hitoshi turned his head towards Monoma and said, "Monoma Neito, you are not helping." Monoma stopped laughing and replied, "I'm not attempting to
help." The prince groaned, and Monoma spoke up again, "What about that little plebeian you saw, the human?" Hitoshi shot him a disapproving look and said, "Just because they are not of our status does not mean you can refer to them as a peasant. Watch your tongue around me, Eladrin." His nose scrunched at the use of the term 'Eladrin,' something he only used when he was angry. Before the blond loud-mouthed Eladrin could speak, his superior was standing with a blade to his throat. "Not another word, Neito," he said sternly.
Hitoshi stood for a while until they heard a gruff and gravelly voice at the prince's window. "Temper temper, you would think that a prince would have a little more patience towards his best mate, don't you think, Eijiro?" It was a mocking voice directed towards Hitoshi.
"Hello Katsuki," Hitoshi angrly said as he sheathed his sword. he heard a gruff huff of air under the barbarian "And Eijiro," he said the dragon-born redhead growled a friendly hello as Bakugou climbed into Hitoshi's bedchamber. "Nei, give us a moment," Hitoshi spoke clearly frustrated. "Yes sir," Monoma left. Although the king told him not to leave his son's side he did not want to be beheaded that night so he left
"Pray tell, how does one find the experience of living the royal life?" Katsuki inquired in a teasing yet mocking voice, mimicking an exasperated version of the tiefling way of speaking. His dragon-born Kirishima crawled into the room after him, and the tiefling's deep indigo eyes followed Kirishima's every move as his claws lightly brushed against the polished parquet floor, reminiscent of the grandeur of other castles.
Hitoshi, requested Katsuki, in a very displeased voice "Would you advise your lizard mutt to present himself in a more proper form? His claws are ruining my just-polished floors, and I do not wish to clean them again."
"You polish your own floors?" Katsuki asked, and Hitoshi glared at him. Katsuki then whistled, signaling for Kirishima to transform into a more humanoid appearance. However, his long horns, huge wings, long tail, scales, and claws on his hands and feet still made him unmistakably a creature.
Hitoshi expressed his frustration and warned Katsuki, Katsuki, "Your mother will be greatly displeased with you and us when you are discovered here."
Katsuki appeared unfazed by the warning and responded bluntly, "Oh please, I am currently mating with a dragon, and she has not shown any objections. What more trouble could I possibly find myself in with demons and creatures?"
Kirishima was embarrassed and exclaimed, "Katsuki!"
Hitoshi shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, muttering, "Why must you always say such things?"
Katsuki simply cackled. "what! I am not wrong! And it not anything the prince over er is shy of, aight that right tom cat? heard you were found in a brothel tavern just the other day" he said and Hitoshi's face scrunched and turned with frustration and katsuki spoke again "Breeding with whores and the needy nowadays I see" katuski is pushing his buttons but he kept himself calm and level "Mind your tone" he said deeply and gravel voice rung through the room and katsuki glared "do not tell me what to do, I am not one of your soldiers, and I will not hesitate to fritter your royal brain all over this floor"
"katuski! do not" Kirishima said and Hitoshi scoffed he and katsuki glared at each other waiting for the other to even dare to move in a threatening manner
Lady Eri let out a deep sigh, burying her face into her stuffed toy while sitting in the little fort that she had built with the help of her second knight, Mirio. "I was merely skimming for jade," she said, kicking her fluffy little hooves in frustration. Mirio, who was brushing her hair, was a half-orc known for his kind and gentle nature, unlike the rest of his kind, or so she had heard. "I do understand your concern, Your Highness. However, you mustn't forget that there are rules in place to ensure your safety," he said in a reassuring tone. Lady Eri knew that he was right, but she couldn't help feeling a bit defiant. "I just...oh, I don't know. I feel terrible for getting Big Cat in trouble as well," she said, referring to Hitoshi. Mirio chuckled. "I'm sure you do, but I agree that you should not have hauled him into this."
"I hope he's not too cross with me," she said, sounding sadder than she had hoped. "He won't be, my Lady. If anything, he's cross with himself," Lady Eri replied with a nod of her head. Hitoshi takes immense pride in his impeccable conduct, especially considering his identity as a tiefling. He finds solace in following instructions, as it is a way of demonstrating his capabilities beyond what he was ever deemed capable of. "That makes it worse somehow," Lady Eri said, sounding pitiful and guilty. and mirio laughed some more but they were interrupted by the sound of something being slammed in the room across from them, Hitoshi's room a few muffled yells and shouts mirio pulled eri into his lap and held her tight "its nothing" he whispered know how much the yelling frightens her
“What is it?” She asked barely a whisper and then they heard a scream