~•Guardementals•~

Thursday, September 7th, Light Kingdom.

Everything else about planning three events all within a few months of each other was fun. Izuku and Denki tried multiple different flavours of cake, picked out outfits, and chose a bakery with the best baked goods in the city to contribute towards each event, paying them enough money to cover the costs of the ingredients and the prices of the food itself.

However, Izuku hates writing the invitations. And he had to write two to each noble. Ochako had stepped up as his aide to help him with the smaller nobles, the ones that no one could remember because there were too many of them.

So here he was, on a rainy day, in a study that was given to him, writing out invitations to royals and higher nobles. Tea was being constantly served to him, a servant ready pour another cup if he asked. He also had a good amount of snacks coming through.

"Alright, who's next?" He asked Ochako. He'd just finished the invites for Queen Ryukyu, and was eager to move on.

"Let's see... King Enji and his four kids," Ochako replied. Izuku sighed.

"Great. The king who's clearly an asshole," he muttered. Ochako giggled at his words. "Am I wrong?"

"Nope. But it's polite to invite him. Maybe you could befriend his youngest and create an alliance with him? Also, I've heard that he needs more friends, so it'd be good for him as well, not just for the kingdoms." Izuku thought about it.

"Eh, sure. It would also be very rude to not invite him despite how much of an asshole he is." He began to write out the letters, using cursive to make it look relatively nice. When he finished both, he handed them to Ochako, who sealed them with wax and a sun shaped stamp, the symbol of the Light Kingdom.

It took a few hours, but eventually they finished the invites they had to do for the day. Izuku stood up and stretched, sighing with relief as his joints popped satisfyingly. Then he left the study and went to the library, where he spent his quiet time until Denki came to annoy him.

"Hey, 'Zuku, how're you doing?" He asked, sitting on the back of the couch Izuku was currently curled up on and falling backwards so that his legs were in the air and his hair was dangling downwards. Izuku sighed and shut his book.

"I don't know. I hate having to write out invitations," he said. 

"Yeah, me too," Denki agreed.

"You only have to write one lot! I have to do two!" Izuku exclaimed. Denki broke out into laughter. "Yeah, sure, laugh at my pain why don't you." Denki began to cackle. Izuku huffed.

"I'm sorry, but we did decide to have three events each a month after each other," his brother pointed out. Izuku pouted.

"Should've had ignored your birthday then."

"Hey!" Denki protested. Izuku smiled.

"You know I'm joking."

"I know." The boys took one look at each other before they burst out into laughter. It took them some time to calm down, but when they did, they went silent for a bit.

"The rain's let up, we could probably go outside if we wanted to, maybe do a bit of practice," Denki commented. Izuku looked outside to see the clouds clearing. 

"Why not, I don't even have anything better to do," Izuku agreed. The boys left the library, making their way outside. they were joined by Kacchan, who only came with them to laugh at their failures and train himself. 

The ground was wet, but that was fine. The boys all wore their horse riding boots, which were naturally dirty from all of the times they had run through the woods and had been to the stables to clean out their horses stalls. Yes, the stable hands could do that, but they were given the choice to tend to their horses which they did whenever possible.

The three of them went to their areas. Kacchan trained his fire and his explosions, while Denki trained himself in his light refraction. Izuku went to his own area, where there were plants, and knelt down.

He placed his hands on the soil, closing his eyes and pushing the tips of his fingers into it. He took a breath, and let himself feel everything under the ground. The secret tunnels under the castle for quick getaways, the dungeons and safe rooms, the place where the Dragon Keeper's dragon would sleep if they came to visit if there even was a Dragon Keeper around anymore, the roots of the plants, the stones, the worms and ants and beetles and bugs that lived in the ground. 

He allowed for himself to feel it all, and began to broaden his search. He felt the rain water seeping deep into the ground, soaking into roots as it went. He felt the vibrations of people moving from far away. Guards, servants, and the familiar beating of his parents and his friends hearts. The unfamiliar beating of new servants, the nervousness they felt. He could feel it all, and only when his skin made contact with the ground. If he went blind then he would be fine as long as he wore shoes that didn't have soles. 

He focused on bringing the plants up, to make them grow faster. They obeyed him, seeking the light that seemed to come from his finger tips, then the sun's light. He pulled up rocks and made flowers bloom when they should have been closed. A perk of his powers.

He opened his eyes to see the plants he had brought up. He stood up and looked over to his friend and brother.

Kacchan had burned Denki's arm, which barely bothered the blonde as he just used his abilities to heal it, leaving no evidence of a burn behind on his skin. Kacchan was lying in the grass, sulking about something. Izuku ignored him and went over to Denki.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He burned me, and now he's sulking because I'm blaming it all on him," Denki explained.

"You wouldn't have been burned if you had just fucking listened," Kacchan snapped.

"Says the one sulking in the wet grass." Kacchan glared at Izuku, who just raised an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?" Kacchan flipped him off. 

"Fuck off," he huffed. Izuku just smiled. 

_______________________________________

Thursday, September 7th, Northern Kingdom.

Shoto finished his letter and sealed it with wax, using a light blue wax instead of the red that they normally used so that he wouldn't freak his mother out. 

He went to the roost, where the messenger birds waited. He whistled, and a pure white owl flew down to him and held its leg out. 

"Take this to my mother, Kaiyo," he instructed, stroking the owl's feathers as it hooted. He carried it over to the window and held his arm out. The bird flew off, carrying the letter to Shoto's mother with it. Shoto watched as it became a speck on the horizon, flying to the family estate that his mother had been moved to while she got better.

Shoto stayed there long after the bird disappeared from his sight, not wanting to go down. He let the cold wind blow against him, watching as the fallen leaves swirled. Fall in the Northern Kingdom was beautiful, with the reds and oranges and purples. It was one of his favourite times of the year. 

He had to go down eventually, so he did. He decided to go to the river, so he made his way to his room to go change into clothes more suitable for it, which included a thick fur coat meant to keep him warm. He didn't really need it, as he could warm himself, but he still put in on and walked to the stables.

Yuki greeted him, her head over the door. He stroked her face, smiling as she nuzzled him.

"Want to go out for a ride?" He asked her. She snorted in response, which Shoto took as a yes. He led her out into the aisle and tied her up, taking her tack from the stable hand that came to help him. He made sure that the bridle was secure and that the saddle wasn't hurting Yuki in any way before leading her outside and mounting.

It was a quiet day, with the birds that were to stay throughout the winter chirping away, some flying from tree to tree. Many of the trees were red and orange, but there were a few amount that were green, pine trees that grew straight and strong. He could see Squirrels climbing the trees, their coats a variety of browns and even some reds, blending in with their surroundings well and hiding from predators. He saw a fox dash across the path, its coat a beautiful colour of a golden orange. 

He was the most at ease in nature. The beauty of it all never failed to escape his gaze, and he never failed to appreciate it. It was one reason why he wanted to live on a farm, why he spent so much time at the stables, and why he insisted on taking care of his own animals. Not only did it stop him from having to spend so much time with Enji, but it allowed him to decompress, to relax and fell as though he was a normal human being and not some prince raised high up on a pedestal for all to see, raised higher than his brothers and his sister and forced into doing things he never wanted to do.

He came to the river, which was still flowing, and dismounted. He tied Yuki to a tree, giving her space to graze and drink from the river if she desired. He removed his cloak and his boots, rolled his pant legs up and waded into the water.

His body didn't react much to the water, the cold in one half of his body a normal thing in his day to day life. He walked over the rocks of the braided river, looking down into the crystal clear water. There was the sound of someone walking over the rocks and joining him, but he didn't look back. There was a squeal when they entered the water though.

"How can you go into the water? It's freezing!" Toga exclaimed. Shoto looked back and grinned at his bodyguard.

"Because I'm naturally cold," he responded over the sound of the rushing water. Toga pouted and sat down on the rocks, resorting to throwing them into the river, watching as the ripples caused by the stones that were swept away by the current, either to find a new place to rest or to find their way to sea.

"I heard from someone down in the market that Prince Izuku of the Light Kingdom is going to be Crown Prince, and him and his brother are going to have their birthdays before then," Toga randomly said. There were times where Toga was allowed to go down to the market, as Enji wanted her to seem like a normal girl that was a friend of Shoto's. She was, but her job was to be... well, a bodyguard. She often came back with a whole lot of candy and a bunch of gossip, both of which she shared with Shoto.

He went back to the shore and sat next to Toga, activating his left side to warm him. Toga held out a bag filled with all sorts of candy, and Shoto reached in, savouring the chocolate he pulled out. She also had a bunch of breads, including doughnuts, which she had also grabbed. He took one.

"What else have you heard?"

"Prince Denki and Prince Izuku are a month apart, and the ceremony for the Crown Prince is a month after Prince Izuku's birthday."

"So, if Enji is invited, which I'm sure he is, he'll bring me and my siblings as well as Momo, and we're going to be there for..?"

"Three months," Toga clarified. Shoto turned to look out at the river before him, chewing on his doughnut thoughtfully.

"He'll probably want me to be allies with the Crown Prince, but I've never heard anything about him." Toga understood him. She pretty much always had. He could say something, a statement, and she could give him information that he needed, even though he never actually said it. 

"From what I know, both Prince Denki and Prince Izuku are children of light, but Prince Denki's adopted, so the crown technically automatically goes to Prince Izuku. Prince Izuku is also a child of the earth. He's known for being really kind and smart, and for being caring while still having fun. Prince Denki is known for being the same, but a lot more crazy than his brother. That's all that I know, though, so you'll have to see when we get there." Shoto nodded. 

"Alright, thanks," he said. He grabbed a random piece of candy and bit into it, savouring the taste. Toga ate a chocolate doughnut, eating a bit like an animal. Shoto guessed that it wasn't a very good time of month for her.

Momo ended up joining them in their eating candy by the river and gossiping. Shoto took the time to soak up his friend's company and to eat as much candy and as many doughnuts as possible.