chapter five;

     "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!", shigaraki yelled as he threw his bowl of miso soup at kurogiri's feet.

     "tomura, it'd be best for you to ingest some—"

     "I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT!", shigaraki screamed, to which kurogiri just sighed.

     the misty man bowed as he left shigaraki alone, tending to the people who were waiting outside.

     "make sure no one disrupts his majesty today...and perhaps for the next few as well", kurogiri instructed the other maids and butlers.

     all of them dipped their heads in acknowledgment as they separated to complete their work for the day.

     "still acting like a bitch huh?"

"I'd watch your word choice commander. his majesty isn't in a particularly good mood as you can tell", kurogiri warned.

dabi just clicked his tongue in annoyance as he uncrossed his arms.

"where's that little brat? I usually see her running around with that crazy lunatic", the burnt male questioned.

     "her highness is resting at the moment. have you and toga sent out the letters yet?", kurogiri inquired.

"yeah yeah. our people should be returning soon", dabi sighed, not knowing what the sudden hustle was for.

"splendid. I do hope that you have already started preparing a present for her highness", kurogiri reminded.

"a present?! that brat's turning—"

"dabi", kurogiri warned.

"she's turning five. she won't remember anything once she's older. there's not point", dabi scoffed.

"whether she remembers or not, it is now that we are concerned with", kurogiri said.

     "though his majesty does have his eye on one of the party contenders".

     dabi just rolled his eyes as he nodded.

     "one of the knights running for the position of crown prince right?"

"indeed. I believe his name is bakugo katsuki, with the quirk of explosion".

_♚_

youko hugged her teddy bear—that she named kimi—as she skipped through the vacant halls.

     the little girl arrived at the dining hall, to which breakfast was always prepared; steaming hot.

     "good morning!", youko greeted kurogiri as he was already waiting for the little princess to show up.

"good morning your highness. how'd you sleep?", kurogiri asked as he revealed a small bowl of miso soup and some nori (seasoned dried seaweed).

"by the way, where's his majesty?", youko asked, to which kurogiri debated whether he should answer honestly or not.

"his majesty's—"

     "my apologies for the interruption, but...". the servant momentarily glanced at the princess before whispering something to kurogiri.

     "I'll be back soon your highness. please excuse me", kurogiri bowed as he walked away, leaving youko alone with kimi and her breakfast.

"your highness, please allow me to escort you back to your room", servant boy offered.

"mm....okay!"

     youko quickly hopped off her chair as she had finished her porridge and some nori. the little girl clutched onto kimi with her left arm as he held onto servant boy's hand.

     the brown-haired male guided youko towards the opposite end of where her room should be.

     "umm...excuse me sir...but I thought my room was on the south side?", youko asked, starting to question whether it was an actual accident or on purpose.

     the boy suddenly stopped walking as he gripped tightly onto the little girl's hand, making youko wince.

"c-can you please let go? you're hurting m—"

"and how do you think I felt when your father killed my entire family in front of me?!", the boy interrupted.

youko started tearing up as the boy's harsh gaze pierced into her soul. perhaps it was his quirk, but youko couldn't move an inch as she felt her energy drain.

"it seems that there was a dirty rat inside my palace", a hoarse voice suddenly said, making youko's eyes dart towards shigaraki, who was still in his black yukata and looking quite pale.

     the boy tensed at the king's presence as he immediately pulled out a knife from his pocket, pressing it against little youko's neck.

     "if you want her to live then BACK UP!", he threatened.

     shigaraki took a few steps forward, careful with his pacing as the boy stumbled back a few with youko.

     the little princess could hardly breath properly as the knife sinked a bit into her skin.

     tears began streaming down her rosy cheeks as shigaraki looked indifferent.

"p-papa...h-help me please", youko coughed out as the blood started staining her white dress.

     kimi dropped onto the floor as youko felt her eyes struggling to keep open.

     though what happened next was a blur, youko soon woke up on shigaraki's bed with kimi in her arms and bandages around her delicate neck.

     "you're awake", shigaraki softly murmured as he sat up on the bed, prompting youko to swiftly do the same.

     "mhm".

     "how're you feeling?"

     "okay...what happened to him?", youko meekly asked.

     "kurogiri took care of him", shigaraki vaguely answered.

     he wasn't about to tell youko about kurogiri warping the man into toga's torture chamber and having her stab him to death.

     'no...she probably wouldn't appreciate that knowledge'.

     "oh".

     shigaraki started scratching his neck as he didn't know what to do next. the man was still sick and didn't exactly have the energy to care much about what had happened.

"are you okay?", youko asked, glancing up at shigaraki, who's blue locks were stuck to the man's slightly sweaty face.

     shigaraki simply grunted in response as he laid back down, draping the blanket over his shoulder.

     youko scooted closer to shigaraki as she hesitantly hovered her little hand above his head, only to be held by shigaraki's hand.

"what are you doing?", he glared.

"I-I just thought you'd feel better if your hair was out of the way", youko simply answered, to which shigaraki had begrudgingly let go of the little girl's hand.

youko breathed out a breath of relief as she started combing through shigaraki's tangled locks. surprisingly, it was quite soft and shorter than she imagined.

as youko carefully swayed the bothersome locks out of shigaraki's face, the little girl unconsciously placed her tiny hand on shigaraki's cheek.

youko was baffled by how dry the man's skin was. she didn't think it was possible for someone's skin to feel so rough yet smooth.

"call me that again", shigaraki suddenly commanded, making the little girl flinch.

"huh?"

"call me...what you said earlier", shigaraki mumbled with his eyes still closed.

youko had to recollect her memories for a bit before she had assumed what shigaraki was even remotely talking about.

     "papa...?"

     shigaraki let out a nearly silent hum as the girl gave him a small smile.

     it was truly nice for youko to stop calling her father "your majesty" all the time. papa was definitely more suitable for their father-daughter relationship that was in the process of being built.

     "sweet dreams papa", youko whispered as she fell flat onto her back and wormed her way into shigaraki's embrace.

     it probably wasn't recommended to stay that close to a sick person, but youko persuaded herself that it'd be fine.

     shigaraki didn't seem to mind either, as he was dead asleep, feeling the warmth of not only his blanket, but a little body curled up next to him.

✦ . . . . ────────☀️