A royal library; one so large that it could be classified as a lounge for a huge party of people. The bookshelves stretched up towards the ceiling, and there was even a staircase that led to an even larger, and seemingly endless, second floor.

There hung a chandelier, a mixture of different crystals lighting up the room. Each bookshelf was lined with books of all genres: Fantasy, mystery, legend, and more, all sorted out by last name.

It was any reader's dream to be in a place so beautiful. But for a couple of guys who were searching for something? Not very pleasing.

"Are you sure it's in here? We've searched three shelves already, and no luck." A tuft of green hair was bouncing from one shelf to the next. The fact that they had been here for too long caused him to yawn, and there were still many shelves to search, probably at least fifty, maybe even more. "This is just insane! Who needs this many books anyway!?"

On a table nearby, there sat a tall man, hands pushed against his knees. His feet were planted on one of the velvet chairs as he watched the greenette search through the bookshelves. He began to crack his neck back and forth, his spiky black hair swaying along with him, "You know how King Endeavor is. He's a selfish bastard. There's some books here that haven't even been released to the public, y'know."

The pair of viridian eyes seemed a bit irritated at his partner, narrowing his gaze at him. He didn't, however, complain about his lack of assistance, and continued to search the bookshelves. "How do you even know so much about this place anyway, Dabi?"

It seemed like the man was running his finger against the large purple scar that was on his jawline. "Let's just say there was this guy that I used to know. Now hurry up, you're boring me, broccoli head." He waved his hand in a gesture to continue with what he was doing.

"Easy for you to say. And for the last time, my name is Izuku Midoriya." Rolling his eyes, the greenette started walking further into the library.

"Eh, names are overrated." Dabi shrugged, starting to lay himself out on the table. He kept one leg forward and the other bent, while his hands acted as a cushion for his head. He began to yawn, shutting his eyes as he did so.

Izuku grabbed a book off of the shelf in front of him, beginning to skim through the pages quickly. The cover was nothing appealing, and it didn't seem to have a title either, which was part of the reason why it had caught his interest. "That's coming from someone so adamant about the name Dabi."

A chuckle escaped the black haired male's lips, a smirk reappearing on his face in amusement. "Man, you really are hilarious. Really, I think you'd get along with Shouto pretty well, you're both such smartasses."

With the mention of the young prince's name, Izuku froze, stopping himself from looking further into the book. All he could remember was the day prior, when he had first laid eyes on the handsome half and half male. Sure, his face was appealing to him, but he couldn't help but despise him, thanks to what his father had said. Usually, he would be the forgiving one, but at the moment, he was pissed at the fact that nobody was willing to help with his missing mother crisis.

However, that had all changed when he had returned home after he was thrown out of the castle. A group of outcasts had come to his doorstep, offering him with the first and only assistance to find his mother on one condition: he helps them find a flower for them.

Now, that probably would sound strange to any normal civilian, but the flower they were searching for was far from normal. The Eternal Lotus, a flower so rare that only one existed in the entire world, hidden deep in the forests of the Fang Empire. The flower itself was a mix of french blue and baby blue, and glistened whenever the light touched it, and even glowing when the sky grew dark. However, it wasn't the appearance of the plant itself that caused the group to go after it: it was the tale that came with it.

It was said that this flower could grant the holder one wish, and only one. Once the wish was granted, then the petals would fall, returning the flower to the soil, which would allow it to grow back only after another century. It was any person's dream to find something so powerful. But the power that it gave people would lead them to yearn for it for their own selfish desires.

Of course, the unsuspecting greenette complied, and decided to join the group, which was part of the reason why he was in the library with Dabi at the moment. Although his trust issues had skyrocketed after his encounter with the king, Izuku was willing to take any assistance he could get, and took his chances with the unusual group. So far, it consisted of six members, and a seventh mystery member, that Dabi kept on the down low with the rest of the league.

But of all things, Izuku didn't expect to practically be doing the dirty work himself. Dabi, being the most willing to help the greenette, decided to go with him to search for the map that led to the Chusi Woods. The map just so happened to be in the Fire Kingdom's castle, which, to Izuku's surprise, Dabi knew quite a lot about. Even so, Dabi refused to help look for the book that had it, despite his knowledge about the place.

Though their personalities seemed to clash, they both had the same idea in mind: King Endeavor should not be in control of the kingdom. Dabi seemed to hold some sort of long term grudge against the king, but wasn't willing to share details with anyone. Izuku, on the other hand, felt that someone else would be better suited to the job, unless the king just so happened to change his ways for the kingdom's good rather than his own.

But in a kingdom with a king and his sheep? No, it just did not seem possible. Especially to Dabi.

The black haired male began to hum, "You seem to have stopped with your complaining. What's the matter, is it because I mentioned Shouto's name?"

Izuku blinked himself out of his trance, looking back at the page he had stopped on. He paused, staring at a picture of a blank faced kid. "Hey, what's this?" He started to walk back over to Dabi, holding the book open to show him what he was talking about.

Dabi opened his eyes, the turquoise glow of his irises becoming visible to the green haired boy. When he looked at the page, he noticed the familiar picture of a young boy, probably about thirteen years old in the photo. He chuckled, "So it's that book? Ah, that's a picture of the eldest prince of the Fire Kingdom."

He decided to take a look back at the picture. The white hair that the kid had immediately reminded him of Shouto's brother, Natsuo, who had just arrived earlier that day with their sister. "So this is what Prince Natsuo looked like as a kid?"

"Prince Natsuo? Please, don't mistake those dashingly good looks for Natsuo's. This is a picture of Endeavor's first son, Touya." Taking the book out of Izuku's hands, Dabi started to flip to the back cover, dragging his fingers against the leather. He then stopped at the end, where a paper began to peel off from the inside, "Anyway, look, the little bastard hid the map in their photo album, what a coincidence."

He pulled the map out of the book, and handed it to his green haired partner. Beginning to sit himself upright, he stretched his arms out towards the ceiling, waiting for the boy's response.

"This is it alright. I'm surprised it wasn't hidden somewhere more subtle." Izuku was gripping onto the parchment tightly. Finally, he was going to get to where he needed, and hopefully get to his mother to return home just as promised. He started to tear up at the thought of it.

It felt like it had been forever since he last saw the forest green hair of his mother, one that had always been tied nicely into a bun, and even her simple pink dress that she always seemed to wear. The last thing he saw of her was a large smile, and that had pained him just to think about how much distress she must be in now. Of all people, why did it have to be her? It just wasn't fair.

Dabi hopped off of the table, starting to crack his neck using just his hands. "If we're done here, we could get going. I'm sure Fuckhands would be pleased to see that we now have the map in our possession."

"Fine. But you make it sound like you're going to help too." He started to roll up the map, and stuffed it into a pouch attached to his pants.

"Of course I'm not gonna. You know the deal."

Izuku rolled his eyes, "You could at least do—"

A creak was heard from the library's entrance, which was followed by a series of slow footsteps. Izuku froze. Someone had just entered the library, and now he was going to be caught. He turned to look where Dabi had been standing for assistance, only to realize that his partner had immediately abandoned the scene without a single trace.

A monotone voice was heard from the entrance just after the door had been shut once more, "I know you're in here. Infiltrating the castle shouldn't have been the greatest decision." He recognized that voice anywhere: it was none other than Shouto Todoroki.

Of course he knew that he was here. He knew he shouldn't have talked to that blonde haired knight, but now it came back to bite him in the ass. If only he had been sneakier and less friendly when it came to others.

Goddammit Izuku, do something before you get figured out!

"U-uh... I'm not here..."

Oh wow, you're an idiot.

Izuku facepalmed, shamefully poking his head out of the side of the bookshelf. He started to stare at the prince who he saw had immediately made eye contact with him the moment he looked his way. Unfortunately, he was still as handsome as ever, so he couldn't help but keep his eyes widened in awe, just as last time.

"So it really was you. Your name was Izuku Midoriya, if I'm not mistaken." Shouto took a few steps closer, tracing his fingers against each bookshelf that he passed by. The look in his eyes looked somewhat concerned, yet Izuku couldn't help but feel like it was out of pity.

The greenette's hand trailed down to his pouch, starting to clutch it defensively. "Wh-why would you remember my n-name? Y-you should st-stay away from me." Why was he stuttering so damn much? It was just Shouto, and plus he had been practicing this encounter for hours. So then why did it never turn out the way he talked it out in his head?

"How could I forget a name like yours?" His gaze fell down to where Izuku's right hand now was, tilting head when he noticed that he was hiding something inside.

Izuku started looking around the room. Where did Dabi exit? He had seen large windows, but they had everything but an opening to escape. There was no way out, other than the entrance... unless he had somehow found a secret tunnel somewhere in the library. Given the fact that this place was so big, that didn't seem too far fetched.

However, now he needed to find that exit himself.

"G-go away... I need to go..." He began to back away, trying to get further into the library.

Shouto sighed, "You can't go. You have something that doesn't belong to you." The prince gestured to the leather pouch at the greenette's side, and started to walk faster toward him.

Izuku shook his head with a gulp, "No, I don't... j-just... what I have isn't any of your business!" It was obvious that he was shaking, but he still ran away on instinct. He wouldn't let himself get caught, he just couldn't. Yet the guilt that he had for stealing was getting to him, and his chest began to feel heavy as the tears in his eyes began to build up.

If it had been any other person, Shouto would probably have let them leave. But, this was on the topic of Izuku, the cute boy that he had the urge to help no matter what. He could tell by the look in his eyes that this hadn't been any of his intention, but felt as if there was no other way to go about it. He understood what he was going through, and just couldn't sit by as he suffered. "Listen to me, let me help you."

"No, you won't help me... I already have help... leave me alone... go back with Prince Katsuki or something..." The fact that he was focusing on where Shouto was rather than where he was running caused him to trip, falling face first onto the marble floor.

Now that he was vulnerable, Shouto took this chance to go to Izuku's side, and take his attempt to retrieve the map from his sash. However, the greenette was smarter than this, and took the opportunity to trip the prince as well, sending him onto the floor next to him.

Still, Shouto needed to try and change whatever course he had decided to take. "Stealing won't do you any good... listen to reason, Midoriya."

"What do you know about reason!? You kicked me out of the castle without remorse!" At this point he started to cry, struggling to stand himself up. The water from his eyes began to fall on the left side of Shouto's face, rolling down his soft skin as well.

"That was my father who kicked you out, I was willing to offer—"

"You can't take it back now! What's done is done!" He eventually got to his feet, slowly trying to get away from the scene.

Shouto managed to grab onto Izuku's pouch, looking at the map that was sticking out. All he could see was the map's title that read Chusi Woods, and next to it was something written in red ink. "I wanted to help you... I still do. Midoriya, don't tell me you're tr—"

Izuku shook his leg, getting the prince to loosen his grip. "Even if you said that, you wouldn't have stayed true to it, I know it! You're just trying to win my approval to get the throne! You're exactly like your father, you don't care for your citizens!"

Shouto stopped. You're exactly like your father. There was nothing he despised more than being compared to King Endeavor, especially since that was how it's been for most of his life. And now, hearing it coming from someone else? Oh how much that threw him off from the topic at hand to the point that he could no longer focus on reality.

Saying that out loud stung, because he knew that none of that was true. But how else was he supposed to get Shouto off of his tail? Izuku looked down at the prince, biting at his lip when he saw that he was no longer looking his way. Now he really messed up, but he couldn't get sidetracked, for he still needed to find that exit.

Even if he hated Shouto, he still couldn't help but feel bad for what he said. He started to use his sleeve to wipe his tears, and whispered out a small, "I'm sorry," just before he dashed as fast as he could to the other end of the library, where he eventually found the exit.

The prince collapsed to the floor, smashing his fist against the ground. He was at a loss for words, he couldn't even yell out in anger. The only thing he did was start crying, for he felt that what Izuku said was correct: If he couldn't even help his citizens, of course he was exactly like his father.

He felt the urge to break out into a sob, but he just couldn't allow himself to. He didn't want to alert anyone nearby, so instead just used his white sleeves to wipe away his tears.

Before he got himself to his feet, he sat with his legs crossed on the floor. He needed a moment before he could return to the banquet hall, where he eventually had to go to. He started to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

"What business does he have at the Chusi Woods? I need to go after him. Whatever he's doing, I can't allow him to go alone." His left hand trailed to his scar, where he felt Izuku's tears beginning to dry up. Now he felt even worse, but he wasn't going to let that get in the way. He was going to help Izuku no matter what.

Shouto stood up, taking in one last deep breath before he turned to the large library doors. If he stalled any longer, his father would surely get suspicious of his absence, and surely wouldn't spare any mercy when scolding him later. Thankfully enough for him, Katsuki hadn't come running over for him, so maybe he hadn't taken as long as he thought.

Quickly leaving the library, the dual colored male returned to the banquet hall, reaching for the crimson doors where he heard a loud commotion coming from the inside. "What the hell's going on in there?"

Upon opening the doors, he was greeted by a cake that was thrown right at his face. Oh dear god, what did Katsuki do this time?

He attempted to grab a cloth napkin, wiping the freshly baked dessert off of his blank and unreadable face. When he opened his eyes, the only thing he saw was an unbelievable amount of chaos going on in the room.

First, Katsuki was holding Denki by his shirt collar, shaking him violently when he saw Shouto enter the room. It seemed like he was blaming the blonde for the whole situation, and looked ever more pissed when he saw the cake land on Shouto's face. Denki looked like he was desperately trying to defend himself, sweat dropping quite a lot when he looked at the ash blonde.

Then, there was Hitoshi, who was trying to help Denki down from Katsuki's grasp. At the same time, however, he was trying to take part in whatever was going on in the room, a slightly tired smirk drawn out on his face.

Of course, Natsuo wasn't letting everyone else have fun without him, so he seemed to have been assisting in the so-called 'distraction', although he definitely had no clue as to why this was happening in the first place.

And finally, there was Fuyumi, scared out of her shit while she tried to bring calm to the entirety of the room, but to no avail. She really didn't want her father to find out that the room was a mess, the table was a mess, everything was a mess. If only she had a more peaceful company, then maybe she wouldn't have been so worried

Shouto began to pinch the bridge of his nose, then sighed pretty loudly. He should have expected this, especially since he had left Katsuki of all people in charge.

At least King Endeavor wasn't there yet, or, so he thought.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵