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“He’s coming! The Demon Lord!”
When he heard the shout, Toshinori already stood from his seat and put his attention to where the doors slammed open. He knew to keep calm as he already stepped around the village leaders who all groaned at the shout.
“You heard him, ready the defenses,” he said, already reaching for his satchel that he keeps ready at all times.
Ready for when his ward, Midoriya Izuku, comes to warn them whenever All for One draws near.
Even though the Demon Lord has yet to personally appear, it never hurts to be prepared.
He then rested a hand on his boy’s shoulder and put on his best calming smile as he crouched down to be eye level with him.
“Can you take me to where you saw the signs?” He asked.
Izuku nodded, though he frowned when he saw what was likely annoyance on the leaders’ faces.
This was the third time he came yelling about All for One, and this very meeting was about his constant crying about the Demon Lord coming.
Two of the leaders Toshinori was meeting with both sighed as they approached.
Mera Yokumiru and Tsuragamae Kenji were the two most annoyed by Izuku’s antics, especially Mera.
“We were just talking about this, Yagi,” Mera spoke in a flat tone filled with nothing but annoyance.
“I’m aware, but we have to stay vigilant and take all signs of the Demon Lord seriously even if he isn’t physically present,” Toshinori said as he followed his boy towards the border that keeps their village safe.
He only had to glance for a split second to see a tear in the border, a dead spider lily sitting right in front of the crack.
Within the border.
With a deep breath, he reached into his satchel and pulled out a small bottle.
“Good job, Izuku. Had this been left to fester then he would have gotten in,” Toshinori said, remembering how he always made a point to praise his ward for keeping constant vigilance whenever he patrolled the border.
Especially when he noticed how the villagers acted whenever Izuku would raise the alarm.
With a quick flick of the hand, he emptied the contents of the bottle on the ground where the crack had started to form.
He watched as the border shimmered, healing the crack that allowed All for One to slip in enough to leave that flower behind.
An obvious taunt.
“I wish the others could see the cracks like us,” his boy whispered, gaze falling to his feet.
“It’s better if they don’t, because once the cracks are visible to them then it’s game over for the village. The only thing we can do is fix the barrier when it cracks and make sure they are prepared for if they ever see any cracks,” he explained, already picking up the dead flower right as the villagers slowly arrived with their weapons at the ready.
“Where’s the Demon Lord? Or was that brat pulling our legs again?”
Toshinori sighed as he held up the dead flower.
“There was a crack in the barrier, large enough for him to slip this in. Had we been any slower then it would have been game over, so be faster.”
He remembered when the villagers were much faster at reacting to the warnings, but it appeared they might have gotten too complacent.
“How do you know your brat didn’t plant that flower himself? Face it Yagi, that kid is trouble!” One of the villagers shouted.
“He would never! The two of us want you to be prepared for this in the event we are unable to seal the cracks in the barrier that is protecting you from the Demon Lord, so you have to always take Izuku’s warnings seriously no matter what,” he argued.
Even though the villagers were silent, Toshinori knew a majority still held their doubts.
He knew Izuku could also tell, from the way he clung to the back of his shirt. Hiding from the villagers’ sights.
“I’m going to patrol around the barrier for more cracks, all of you are to reinforce the seals at town square,” he ordered, though he knows he will have to double check those seals at the end of his patrol.
“Yagi, the seals are fine. They haven’t weakened since you put them in ten years ago.”
“Do not argue with me, check the seals,” he said, already turning to lead Izuku away from judging eyes.
His boy kept his head down, though he could see that he kept his eyes trained on the barrier.
“I checked on your supply in the basement,” he finally spoke after a few feet.
Toshinori nodded, the satchel feeling light from the two bottles that remained.
“There’s enough to last us a few more days,” he said, worry gnawing at his chest at the idea of leaving the village.
Of leaving Izuku alone with people who had started to grow complacent.
Overly confident in a barrier and wards that were weakening as the days dragged on, with All for One’s forces constantly trying to find a way in.
“I could go instead.”
He froze at what his ward offered.
“No, you have to stay here. You and I both know what will happen the moment you leave, and it’s my job to protect you,” Toshinori said, planting both hands on Izuku’s shoulders.
He looked him in the eye and tried to give a reassuring smile.
“Besides, I’m certain that All for One will leave the barrier alone when he sees me leave. He is confident that I will never leave you out of my reach.”
“But what if he doesn’t follow you?”
Toshinori couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh he will, because I am good at drawing his attention.”
For the first time since sounding the alarm, his boy smiled.
“You do piss him off a lot.”
“Come on, let’s finish patrolling the barrier.”
–
The moment his guardian crossed the barrier, he could feel eyes on him.
A hand pressed down on his shoulder, leaving a burning sensation as he looked up to see Leader Mera looking at him with tired eyes.
“I don’t want to hear a single pipe out of you about the Demon Lord, understand?”
Izuku’s throat went dry as he quietly nodded.
He kept his guardian’s satchel clutched tight to his chest, the clinking of bottles sending a wave of comfort through him as he took a deep breath.
Picturing his protector was standing by his side as he looked Mera in the eye.
“He told me to raise the warning if I see any cracks in the barrier, no matter how small.”
“Raise the alarm then, but know that we won’t listen unless the Demon Lord actually makes an appearance. Do you understand?”
Izuku didn’t say anything as he watched those who saw his protector off left to go about their usual business.
He looked at the barrier once more, carefully inspecting for cracks while walking the perimeter.
Even if his guardian was the only one in this village that ever took him seriously, he would not give up on keeping everyone here safe.
Even if he would have to face the Demon Lord alone, he would do it to protect the villagers who doubt him.
Even if it means…
Even if it means letting the Demon Lord get the other half of his treasure back.
“Stop thinking like that,” he hissed, bonking himself on the head lightly in the way his guardian would do when he hears Izuku speak like that.
“It won’t come to that because he will keep the Demon Lord distracted.”
Despite saying that, he couldn’t seem to convince himself of the fact.
Especially as he felt something watching him from beyond the barrier, sending shivers down his spine.
“It will be fine, everything will be fine.”
–
Nothing was fine.
He scrambled to grab the satchel that Yotsubashi’s adoptive son held out of reach, sneering while waving it around.
“What are you going to do about it? Huh? Cry Demon Lord again?”
“Give it back, Geten! My guardian gave it to me so I could fix any cracks that appear in the barrier!” Izuku shouted, trying in vain to snatch the satchel back.
Geten’s grin only widened as he watched Izuku struggle.
“Well seeing as this was a gift from someone who is far more useful than you,” he began, slightly lowering the satchel to where it was just barely out of reach before snatching it back up.
“Go fetch!” He shouted, throwing it like it was a piece of trash.
With a shout, Izuku ran for the satchel—hoping and praying that the bottles inside weren’t damaged.
Though the sound of something cracking sent ice cold panic through him as he picked up the satchel and opened it.
“No,” he whispered, eyeing the liquid that had spilled from the broken bottles.
The potion his guardian made to reinforce the barrier protecting the village.
The only thing that can heal the cracks.
He turned when he heard Geten laughing.
“Do you realize what you just did? You destroyed the only thing that can fix the cracks in the barrier!”
“Oh shut up, we all know there are no cracks in the barrier. It’s all in your head. Yagi only indulges in your delusions because he’s stuck taking care of you. That man pities you, especially since your parents didn’t want a freak like you.”
Izuku flinched.
“Take that back.”
“Why? It’s the truth, and everyone here knows it! Why else are you always following Yagi around like a lost little duckling? He only tolerates you because it’s his job, but watch. The moment he realizes what you really are, then he will ditch you. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if his little excursion is just an excuse to finally abandon you.”
He wanted to argue back, especially as he remembered his guardian was the one who always encouraged him to speak up if he noticed a single flaw in the barrier.
To help the village stay vigilant in case the barrier does break.
And yet, he could already see Geten walking away while laughing.
After taking a deep breath to cool his head, he turned to patrol around the perimeter once again.
He knows what Geten said wasn’t the truth, but it still stung hearing those words because he was trying his best to keep everyone safe.
Just like what his guardian told him.
“It’s better that they don’t see the cracks, because that means the Demon Lord can break through. Once that happens, then it’s over for everyone here,” he whispered, praying he doesn’t find a crack in the barrier.
He ignored the stares he received as he lightly pressed a hand against the barrier, feeling the heat that used to burn him when he first started this.
However, like his mentor, he had gotten used to the stinging pain that would jolt into him.
“And even if he does break through, then I’ll join in the fight. Or even fight him by myself, just long enough for everyone to evacuate.”
Even though that goes against everything his guardian told him, he knows he wouldn’t be able to sit by and watch people possibly die when he could do something to help.
As he kept moving, almost at the end, Izuku found himself smiling with relief when he didn’t find a crack.
His guardian would be returning the next day, and not a single crack has appeared in the time he was gone.
Meaning the Demon Lord put all of his attention on tracking down Izuku’s guardian instead of trying to break into the village.
For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief.
They would be safe, the Demon Lord wasn’t trying to break through now.
He doesn’t have to raise the alarm again.
“Time to go home and prepare a meal before checking the barrier one more time,” he mumbled to himself, turning to walk away from the barrier and back home.
However, he felt something tug at him, as if his hand was glued to something.
“It’s you,” a raspy voice spoke.
Izuku froze. He turned to see his hand stuck against the barrier, pressed against another hand.
A hand that belonged to a familiar looking stranger with bright red eyes that stared at him with curiosity.
“Who are you?” He asked despite knowing deep down who this stranger was.
He knows he’s seen him before, has met him before coming to this village, and even lived in the same place until they got separated.
But he doesn’t know this stranger’s name.
“You don’t remember? We must have been separated for too long, but don’t worry. Master will bring us back to how we should be.”
Izuku shook his head as he tried to take a step back, and yet his hand remained firmly attached to the stranger’s.
The stranger who reached through the barrier for his other hand.
This shouldn’t be possible.
Those connected to the Demon Lord shouldn’t be able to cross through.
The barrier should stop them!
“Stay- Stay away from me!” Izuku shouted, trying once more to pull his hand free.
“Why? We belong together, a matched set. Master won’t rest until he has what belongs to him back.”
Before he could react, the familiar stranger rushed forward and grabbed him.
“And I don’t ever want to be apart again,” he whispered.
With a gasp, Izuku sat up from where he lay.
His eyes frantically searched around until he noticed he was surrounded with dead spider lilies.
Hoping that this was just a prank that Geten and his friends pulled on him, but when his gaze fell on the barrier he knew that wasn’t the case.
“I have to warn them,” he whispered, already moving and hoping that he could convince them without his guardian there to spur them into action.
But deep down he knew the truth.
–
“Mera, you know just as well as I that Yagi’s boy is nothing but trouble,” Rikiya said the moment he was given the floor to speak. “His constant cries about the Demon Lord need to come to an end.”
The other leaders in the meeting nodded in agreement with his statement.
“It’s quite obvious that he’s doing it for Yagi’s attention, I mean think about it. Ever since Yagi went on his supply run, the child has not once spoken about the Demon Lord. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a figment of the boy’s imagination at this rate, as none of us have even seen or heard of this Demon Lord before. Not since Yagi and his child moved in.”
He knows he’s only ever heard of the Demon Lord in children’s fables, as a means of teaching them to be good children lest the Demon Lord steals them away.
The fact that Yagi has not taught his ward the difference between reality and fiction has caused nothing but trouble.
“It is getting bothersome,” Mera admitted in his dry voice. “Plus the other children have started to pick on him. That includes your child, Yotsubashi.”
“Geten was merely acting on everyone’s irritation, but I’ll tell him to stop it as soon as Yagi’s child learns that there is no Demon Lord coming for us.”
“Then it’s decided. As soon as Yagi returns, we’ll tell him that this Demon Lord nonsense will come to an end.”
Rikiya smiled at the decision. He knows that peace would soon return to the village.
Then they can focus their efforts on expansion, just like how his ancestor dreamed.
“He’s coming!”
The groans filling the room were palpable as the doors slammed open with the very child they were talking about.
“The Demon Lord, cracks in the barrier, so many dead flowers. We have to ready the defenses! Now!”
With a deep breath, Rikiya turned his attention onto Mera and Tsuragamae and nodded at them both.
“I’ll take care of it this time, you two know what needs to be done,” he said, now focusing on the resident problem brat before putting on his best smile for the child.
Such a shame that he will have to crush the hopeful gaze the boy gave in response to his smile.
“We need to hurry to my guardian’s basement, that’s where the rest of the enchantments are for reinforcing the barrier. But please, be ready to defend yourselves in case we’re too slow to get the barrier fixed,” the boy spoke, already sprinting away.
For a brief moment, Tsuragamae set a hand on Rikiya’s shoulder.
“Are you sure about this? Yagi won’t be happy when he returns.”
“I am,” he said, already following the child to Yagi’s house where he saw the door was left open.
As he stepped in, he briefly glanced at the pictures of just Yagi and the boy before heading straight to the basement where he could hear the clinking of bottles.
“Leader Yotsubashi, are you up there? Can you please come down and give me a hand?” The child asked.
“Of course, I’ll help you,” he said, careful to keep his tone jovial as he reached for the door leading to the basement.
With a resounding slam, he sealed the door shut.
“Leader Yotsubashi!?”
“I’m afraid we’ll have to take drastic measures, but worry not. Your guardian will understand when he comes home,” Rikiya said, dragging a shelf to block the door so the child couldn’t get out.
“What are you doing? I have to repair the barrier!”
“The barrier is fine, there are no cracks in there. So sit tight and we’ll bring you food through the window. When Yagi returns, we will all have a long talk about your delusions.”
He ignored the incessant banging as he stepped out of the house to stare up at the clear sky.
Not a single fault in the barrier to be seen as it shined with Yagi’s powerful magic.
And as soon as Yagi returns, he will see that his brat needs to be brought under control.
–
Heart racing with a familiar unease as he banged against the door, begging for Leader Yostubashi or someone to let him out, Izuku found himself curling against the door.
At least this prison actually had a light source, unlike the first two.
“Maybe I can squeeze through the window? Or even pass the enchantments onto someone?” He asked, already preparing himself to walk towards the single window that illuminated the basement.
However, his legs refused to move.
“Still refusing to eat?” The shadow of a memory spoke.
He covered his ears, not wanting to hear that oily voice again.
But it didn’t matter when this voice wasn’t even physically present, instead just a memory that was yet wasn’t his.
“You’re wasting away, just give in already.”
With a deep breath, Izuku tried to push those words away and instead at least crawl towards the window.
“If you really think death would keep you from me, then you are a fool. But don’t worry, I have a new name for you—my precious treasure. A name that fits your new form, a name that compliments my own name even.”
Words from the second prison, words from his own original memories.
Words that have circled around him until the day his guardian and protector came for him.
Words that still follow him.
As he reached the window, he could only stare when he saw the cracks had already spread all over the barrier.
It was only a matter of time until they festered and split wide enough for everyone to see them—a matter of time until the barrier shatters, dooming everyone here.
“There has to be another way out, I can’t be too late,” he whispered with hands pressed against the window.
–
As the villagers continued about their day, finally finding peace from their resident issue being locked away, they didn’t even bother looking up or around.
Too focused on themselves, they didn’t even see the cracks grow in size, until a sound like a window breaking filled the land.
Geten was the first one to look, his grey eyes wide when he saw the previously blue sky had turned a blood red as what felt like shards of glass rained on everyone.
Followed by monsters of different shapes swooping down on the people, with two of them carrying a pair of regal looking figures that looked like they came straight out of a storybook.
“So this is the supposedly impenetrable Deika Village, but it appears your barrier has finally failed after ten years,” one of them spoke in a voice that held pure power, freezing everyone in place as he grinned at them.
Though Geten noticed that the smile did not reach this man’s dull eyes.
“Master, my heart is here,” the younger man spoke.
“I will personally retrieve it for you, Tomura. In the meantime, you may do what you want to those who kept your heart from you. After all, only your heart would think to warn these fools about me.”
That’s where he’s seen that man from.
The Demon Lord.
Which means Izuku was right.
Tomura, the Demon Lord’s heartless apprentice, grinned.
“Gladly.”
–
Toshinori knew something was wrong as he neared the village.
He should have seen the shimmering barrier that kept All for One out, but there wasn’t even a single shine.
The smell of smoke hit him first, sending a sinking feeling through his gut.
Something was very wrong.
He didn’t even bother with tying the horse as he quickly dismounted and rushed in, only stopping when he saw what remains of the houses.
Though calling them any type of building would be generous.
“Izuku,” he whispered, already heading to where his house stood.
Hoping that it was still intact, praying that he would see his boy hiding in one of the many safe spots he had built to prevent him from being found.
Though knowing that boy, he wouldn’t just sit by and hide away.
The thought would have normally brought a fond smile to his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to lift a corner of his mouth as he stared at the massive hole in his house.
Right where the window to the basement was.
The sound of a cough caught his ear, renewing the hope in his chest as he ran towards it.
As soon as he found Izuku, they could then move to a new village. Hopefully one that wouldn’t grow complacent like Deika Village.
“Izuku!” He called out as he headed to where the coughing was only to freeze at the sight of Yotsubashi Rikiya, the one leader that he absolutely loathed with a burning passion.
However, it was Yotsubashi who initially welcomed them into the village and provided them with a home so long as they contributed to the community.
“Yotsubashi, where is Izuku?” He asked after helping the man out from the rubble.
His first priority was to find and protect Izuku, no matter what.
The man groaned.
“Basement of your house, we- we didn’t believe him. So I- I trapped him in there.”
One second he was looking Yotsubashi in the eye.
The next, Yotsubashi was sprawled on the ground with blood coming out of his nose.
Toshinori wiped the blood from his knuckles as he turned in the direction of where he instinctively knew All for One’s castle was.
With a deep breath, he walked out of Deika Village and to where his horse remained.
“I’m coming for you, Izuku. Just sit tight, ok?”