Chapter Text
Once upon a time in a land filled with magic, a battle for the Dragon Throne was about to begin.
The current king, Kaji had fallen ill, his death now said to be imminent, and the line of succession had unfortunately been bungled beyond repair.
First there was Prince Enji, the elder brother by a mere four minutes and twenty seven seconds– not that anyone ever asked.
His birth had been celebrated, King Kaji and his queen ecstatic over their convenient ‘heir and a spare’ delivery. Enji had been Crown Prince Enji for much of his life and it was only after the scandal over his treatment of Crown Princess Rei and his first son Prince Touya became public that King Kaji had finally learned the truth of his beloved Enji’s temperament.
Horrified at the thought of so tyrannical a successor, the title of Crown Prince had immediately been stripped from Enji and summarily bestowed upon his more benevolent, younger by four minutes and twenty seven seconds brother, Hisashi.
Crown Prince Hisashi who at the current time of King Kaji’s illness had not been sighted at court in over ten years.
Oh he had not fled his duties, nor abandoned his kingdom, nor fallen to an assassin’s blade. Crown Prince Hisashi had merely taken a knee before his father’s throne and requested permission to Quest for the All Blade.
This request had of course been granted.
Crown Prince Hisashi had been known far and wide as an accomplished Elementalist of Fire– much as everyone of the royal line tended to be– and it had been understood that his return would be swift and glorious.
Alas, it had now been ten long years since, and the court had already begun referring to Crown Prince Hisashi in the past tense as they gathered in corners to whisper and mutter of who would inherit the throne now.
And thus, enter the dilemma.
Hisashi’s Princess, the lovely and gentle Inko carried herself with dignity and grace, refusing to instigate feuds with her rivals no matter how tenuous her position had become. She had been an Air Elementalist of little renown and therefore was not eligible to inherit the Dragon Throne herself. Her son Prince Izuku had somehow inherited even less magic than her and though he strove to improve his skill and strength without relying on magic at all, he was often ridiculed and looked down upon by his peers.
(Crown Princess Inko had spoken her fears about Izuku aloud only once, on the night before her beloved Crown Prince Hisashi had taken the knee before his father, when he had last embraced his lovely wife and vowed to find a solution to protect their only son.)
That had been ten years ago.
Now, Prince Enji, once passed over for the throne due to his volatile nature and unrestrained temper, could no longer remain silent at the thought of a boy as weak as Izuku taking what should have rightfully been his. He now took every opportunity to toe the line between lese-majesty by overly extolling the magical prowess and power of his own most prized son, Prince Shouto, whenever Prince Izuku was brought up.
The constant comparisons had the desired effect and now that King Kaji lay on his deathbed it seemed the battle for the throne would be– not as had long been predicted between the two fire twins– but between their respective sons, the princes Izuku and Shouto.
And none in the capital had even the question of which between the two would win.
Izuku swings his sword with everything he has, all of his frustrations and shortcomings, his pain and his grief.
The sword thunks deep into the practice dummy, lodging itself inside and refusing to emerge no matter how Izuku tugs at it.
Perfect.
Now he cannot even cleave a dummy in two with even a real sword?
Pathetic.
He’s just so very–
“Not bad Zu.” a voice whistles from somewhere above him. “I’m sure you’ll get it next time.”
Izuku huffs and pointedly doesn’t look up.
Great, he’s got an audience.
No surprise there honestly, Rody goes wherever Izuku does, that’s his job as a Prince’s bodyguard. But where Prince Shouto’s bodyguard Sir Tenya is always at his prince’s side, standing at attention, rulebooks memorized and everything, Rody is a bit more… rough.
He’s always sneaking around, tailing Izuku from a distance– that distance more often than not being in the direction of up . And that’s not even getting into the rare Communion magic he wields, or the nightly poker games in the kitchens where Rody fleeces the staff out of their gossip and pocket money both.
Izuku’s just glad Rody now filters out the useless stuff before making his morning reports. The son of the crown prince has no business being so on top of the staff’s, well, business. He’s pretty sure Rody just shares those bits with his mom instead though. Princess Inko at least seems to find it entertaining.
All in all Izuku’s bodyguard acts like more of a Rouge than a Knight. And Izuku means that literally considering Rody only got the job because he’d attempted pickpocketing Princess Inko during an incognito trip into town and she’d been so amused by it all that she’d immediately offered him the position as Izuku’s companion.
Ten year old Izuku hadn’t understood, but at eighteen he can see the wisdom now of ensuring that his bodyguard would be willing to fight even a royal in the pursuit of accomplishing a goal. And considering Princess Inko has been sponsoring Rody’s siblings in the years since then, Rody’s loyalty is nigh unbreakable, even if the order to hurt Izuku were to come from the king himself.
Just as Princess Inko had planned.
Izuku yanks uselessly at his sword, utterly and completely frustrated at the unshakeable feeling that Rody is silently laughing at him.
“Hey.” an emotionless voice suddenly says from right behind him.
Izuku whirls around, heart in his throat because shit shit there’s a succession battle going on right now and he’s so fucking useless he’s letting people sneak up on him while he has literally taken the liberty to disarm himself for them.
Prince Shouto blinks at him, all stoic and strong and unflappable and perfect and Izuku has to resist the urge to take an intimidated step back.
“H-Hey,” Izuku squeaks back.
“Can we talk?” Prince Shouto says, like it’s even a question, like Izuku could somehow stop his more powerful cousin if he really wanted to.
“Um…”
Pino flies down from the trees above to land on Izuku’s shoulder and the light squeeze of her talons against him helps to ground him from making a fool of himself.
That’s right.
Even if Rody hasn’t revealed himself just yet, Izuku isn’t alone. It helps to remember that.
“...sure.”
“Not here,” Shouto immediately says, already turning away like it’s understood that Izuku will just follow him to a more secluded area where he will probably not be murdered.
“Uh.”
“Oh,” Shouto pauses and looks back. “You may bring your weapon with you of course. I am aware of the current situation and understand if you need some… assurances.”
“Right…”
Izuku turns to face his traitorous sword and that stupid training dummy like they might have decided to come unstuck on their own in the minutes that he’d had his back turned. No such luck.
With a short sigh that he hopes Shouto can’t hear, Izuku wraps his fingers around the hilt and tugs with all his might.
Nothing doing. The sword refuses to budge.
“You are doing that wrong,” Shouto says.
“Thanks for stating the obvious,” Izuku grits back, pulling hard enough with his entire body that if his sword were to suddenly come unstuck he’d immediately fall over onto his butt.
“No I meant… You misjudged the angle and hit the groove they use to simulate bone with your swing. Jiggle it lightly before pulling it out on an angle. Don’t try to yank it out straight.”
Izuku’s back is to Shouto and he can’t help mouthing the words to himself mockingly. Oh sure, that easy huh? Just shake it lightly instead of yanking and–
The sword pops free and Izuku does in fact land on his ass. Honestly the way his day is going he’s going to count himself lucky that he didn’t accidentally cut himself.
Shouto doesn’t even look at him, walking up to inspect the dummy, hands clasped behind his back and…
And what the heck? He’s showing his back? To Izuku? His rival for the throne who literally has a sword in hand?
Izuku immediately lets the sword go at the mere thought.
He would never.
But he wouldn’t put it past his uncle to try and make it look like he would.
Shouto, apparently oblivious to Izuku’s inner turmoil, nods to himself as he finishes his assessment. “Nice. You managed to cut through the reinforcements my father slipped into your training equipment. A standard dummy wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“What?”
“I suppose it makes sense. You might not have much fire magic but there’s a reason your father wanted to get you a better sword after all.”
“What?!?” Izuku all but shrieks, half leaping up to grab at Shouto’s lapels.
Shouto shifts minutely as Izuku does. He doesn’t dodge or break free of Izuku’s hold but it is very very clear that it’s not because he can’t.
“Not here,” he repeats, glancing around for prying eyes. “My chambers. If you’ll allow.”
Izuku narrows his eyes. It could still be a trap but…
But Shouto had mentioned Izuku’s father.
And Izuku gets the feeling that somehow… Shouto knows more about all that than Izuku himself does.
They settle in Shouto’s tea room and Izuku almost feels bad for the maid who will need to clean off the couches once he is gone. Dammit, he should have taken the time to change.
There’s no tea service set up which makes sense since Shouto is being so private about this that even his ever present Sir Tenya is nowhere to be seen.
Still, a nice warm teacup to hold would have given Izuku something to fiddle with at the very least. Even if he wouldn’t have trusted it enough to actually drink it.
The silence continues to stretch as Izuku waits for Shouto to say whatever had been so important that he’d breached the unspoken divide the warring factions had erected between the two possible heirs.
“Izuku…” Shouto finally starts, his posture perfect and his stare unflinching. “…objectively speaking I am definitely stronger than you.”
Izuku startles. “Y-You don’t say.” Whatever he’d been expecting, it had not been that.
Pino chitters from his shoulder, giving a short little hop in place, feathers ruffling outwards and everything and Izuku grits his teeth. Somewhere, up in a tree or a corner of the rafters, Rody must be listening in and laughing at him.
His cousin on the other hand… Shouto doesn’t look like he’s said it to be boastful. Rather he looks quite saddened by that fact.
Izuku blinks as it all sinks in. “You…” he starts, testing the words as he says them but not finding them to be untrue. “...you don’t want to be the heir… do you?”
Shouto blows out a long breath and it’s like Izuku gets to watch him deflate in real time as even his previously perfect form slowly slumps over so he can rest his head on his hands, his elbows on his knees.
It’s the closest to disheveled as Izuku has ever seen him.
“No,” Shouto says, still sounding maddeningly composed even as his shoe taps at the ground in the way that might be a sign that he’s anxious. “I don’t.”
He looks up at Izuku then and Izuku is shocked by the absolute storm of pain swimming in his cousin’s eyes. “I can’t.”
Despite himself Izuku leans forward, unsure of what’s really going on but desperate to somehow be of help.
Pino chirps harshly and tugs at one of his curls in a clear attempt to make him lean back but Izuku ignores her, and by extension, Rody.
He might not be as close to Shouto as he’d like to be but they are cousins after all, sons of twins no less. They are about as close to being brothers themselves as they can be and Izuku wishes they’d been allowed to grow up that way in the first place. Prince Enji had refused to allow it, not after it had been revealed that Izuku’s talents lay less with magic and more with the sword.
That’s when the sabotage must have started, he muses. And–
Oh.
Of course.
“It’s your father isn’t it?” He says the words low, unable to shake the fact that his uncle might somehow hear him if he says it any louder.
Shouto just looks at him miserably, even as his facial expression remains chipped as if from ice and…
It all finally clicks.
Shouto had never been aloof, never been cold and closed off and arrogant.
At least, not on purpose.
Or perhaps a better way of describing it would be, not by choice.
Shouto looks around before slowly nodding his head. “If I am crowned,” he whispers, his voice scraping hoarsely in more emotion than he’s ever shown before. “I will most likely be reduced to a puppet beneath my father’s heel.”
“But you–!” Izuku starts before cutting himself off with a gasp. Right, no shouting, lower Izuku, whisper.
“But you,” he tries again, his voice as soft as he can make it. “You’re so strong. Surely you could oust him yourself once you had the power?”
Shouto shakes his head, averting his gaze to stare out the window instead. “He is holding my mother… and my siblings. I don’t know where he has put them but he has assured me that if anything ever happened to him they would be left to starve. I cannot rebel against him until they are safely out of harm's way.”
Izuku’s throat works soundlessly as his hands open and close uselessly.
“...what can I do?”
The words slip out almost without his consent but Shouto just nods like he’d been expecting it.
Dammit Izuku really has walked right into a trap, hasn’t he?
“A trade.” Shouto says, seeming to return to his former calm and composed self now that they’ve reached an understanding. “Your knight communes with birds does he not?”
Pino startles, launching herself at Shouto with a loud indignant squawk and Izuku just barely manages to snatch her back in time before she can peck at him and get Rody arrested.
“...what makes you say that?” he tries weakly.
Shouto raises an eyebrow.
Izuku folds. “Alright fine. But you can’t have him! He’s mine!”
“Aw I’m touched, truly.” Rody laughs, dropping to the floor between them in the most dramatic yet somehow worst attempt at a bow Izuku has ever seen. “But yeah, I’m not exactly on loan out.”
Shouto nods once more. “I do not need you perse. Merely a bird of intelligence that can follow my father as he tends to the details of my family so I can find where he’s hidden them and move them myself. Preferably while he’s distracted over the succession.”
Izuku frowns.
Rody narrows his eyes. “Nice try Princey, but I’m not leaving Izuku’s side until after the Competition of Heirs. Not for anything. And definitely not for you.”
“Again, I do not need you. Merely a–”
“Yeah yeah, a bird I’ve communed with to give it orders. Well news flash Princey, those wear off right quick. If I’m not mentally tagging along I’d give it a couple hours before they forget what they were doing. Even if they found your family they’d never make it back to you with that info before returning to normal.”
“But this one could,” Shouto says, tilting his head towards Pino who has since made herself comfortable in Rody’s hair. “You’ve had that one at your side since Princess Inko first brought you here and that means it is attuned to you enough for long distance orders. Am I right?”
Rody bares his teeth in answer. “If you think I’m going to give you Pino you–”
“In exchange,” Shouto says, managing to speak over him somehow without even raising his voice. “I shall tell you the truth of Crown Prince Hisashi’s disappearance. Why he truly left, where you can find the map to where he was heading and,” he hesitates before finishing his sentence. “...and what probably happened to him to keep him from returning.”
Izuku looks at Rody.
Rody looks at Izuku.
Pino looks at Shouto.
In the end there’s not much of a choice.
They shake on it and then Shouto begins speaking.
He tells of a son born with weak magic, of a parent’s love and the fear that the child would not survive at court.
He tells of a Fabled Quest and a magic sword known only as the All Blade, said to be so sharp as to be able to cut through magic itself.
He tells of a crown prince abandoning his home and his duties in search of the only weapon that would be able to keep his son safe.
And…
He tells of a jealous brother and troops sent out after him in secret, of attempts to sabotage the quest by any means necessary.
By the time Shouto is done talking the sun has long left the sky, the three of them have long missed dinner, and Izuku has long run out of tears.
But he knows what he needs to do now.
Find the All Blade.
And use it to defeat Shouto in the Competition of Heirs so that his cousin can finally be free.