Under An Enchanting Moonlight (TodoDeku Fantasy AU)

Chapter 20: Messages Unsent, Words Unreceived

Just as they exited the meadow, Izuku had been curiously staring at the pouch in his hand. He couldn't really focus his vision on it, for the world still seemed blurry due to his ignorant act not too long ago. He turned his gaze to the prince who still had his arm around him, and had been carrying him along the new path that had been drawn out for them on the map. The knight coughed, this time in an attempt to catch Shoto's attention, however, it still came out in a hoarse and rough tone.

"I can carry you instead. You still sound pretty bad, and if walking, even with my support, is making it worse, then I don't want you to be doing it." His eyes came off of the map and onto the greenette, who was contemplating what to reply with. He sighed, "Don't overwork yourself."

"N-no h-hey, I promise, I'm n-not trying to. It's just uh... well.." he trailed off, but then his eyes landed on the pouch again, remembering something quite vaguely. "H-hey, didn't Shoji s-say th-that we have to expose this flower to the sunlight once we are out of the meadow?"

He blinked with realization, and put his steps to a halt. This startled Izuku, however, he tried not to show it. "You're right. Go ahead and open the pouch."

Nodding, the knight did his best to loosen the knot that Fumikage had made, though it was fairly hard for him to see where it was. The felt pouch dropped down onto his palm gently, a flower that had been hiding its petals within each other, looking as if it weren't fully bloomed quite yet. Once the sunlight hit directly on the top of it, the petals opened slowly, almost as if it were waking up from a small slumber. It's petals were generally pure white, but had streaks outlining the inner form of the petals, that were changing colors in a rainbow and prismatic pattern.

The knight was in awe. It was one of the prettiest things he had ever laid his eyes on. He didn't peel his eyes off of it, he wanted to admire it for a bit longer, "W-wow! It's beautiful!"

The prince smiled, but not at the flower. He was seemingly looking at the smile on Izuku's face. "Beautiful indeed." He cleared his throat and finally started to stare at the flower for reals. He had a thought, but immediately let it pass, as he got a whiff of the fragrance it had let out. "It smells like..."

"Candy! And caramel? Wait, roses? Vanilla? Strawberries...?" Izuku attempted to finish his sentence, and kept on trying to pinpoint what scent it had been giving off, but it kept on changing with each few seconds that passed. "Wow! The scent keeps changing, but it's so sweet!"

"A flower of mysteries. She wasn't lying when she read that to me. But there's still one thing that puzzles me...." He put his hand on his chin, as his gaze was locked directly on the flower.

"What puzzles you, Sho?" He blinked, and tried to move his gaze toward the other male, though he wasn't quite sure if it was actually him. He only was able to think it was him due to the red and white colors on the top of his head.

The prince shifted his gaze toward Izuku, staying silent. He assumed he had heard the legends about the flower too, but he guessed that his mother didn't have any stories to tell about it. "Never mind. I was just thinking out loud."

He nodded, "Okay, if you say so." He looked back at the flower, "Hey, we should probably get these back to Aoyama and Hatsume. N-not t-that I don't l-like being w-with you... uhm it's just Iida and Uraraka-San will probably get worried for us...."

"You're right. You can't stay in those torn clothes forever either." He smiled sweetly before getting an idea. He let Izuku hold onto him as he crouched down a bit, "Climb on, if you can, that is."

He himself thought he was maybe a bit too heavy to be carried on the back. However, if the prince could carry him bridal style as well as move a large rock on his own, then carrying him on his back shouldn't be a problem at all. He did his best to climb on the prince's back, wrapping his arms slowly around his neck, trying not to choke him. He snuggled his face into his shoulder and closed his eyes, shamelessly sniffing his hair. "You smell like peppermint." He liked his scent better than the scent of the flower itself, and sunk into his shirt more.