The greenette was leading his way out through the open field, doing his best to try and read the map that was given to him by Yuga. If he had known that the path that Yuga had mapped out was written in glitter, standing out more with the reflection of the Sun, then he would've asked for a better map than this. However, they were already practically at the mountains, so it wasn't like they could turn back now. He was constantly squinting, bumping into every tree and bush in the process, but was too focused on trying to read the map.

"Izuku. Be careful, you're going to get yourself hurt again." Shoto was staying next to the other male, making sure to walk by his side so that he wouldn't get lost. The only thing was that Izuku kept on drifting to the side, constantly getting his clothes caught in the bark of trees or the branches of the shrubs.

"Don't worry, Sho. I'm being extra careful," he said, still not paying attention to his surroundings. He was just about to fall into a hole, since he had been drifting that far off of the path that was made for them.

The prince blinked, and then sighed, not wanting him to fall into it, thinking it would be a hassle to get him out of there. He then wrapped his left arm around the other male, making sure to keep him both on path and right by his side the entire time, as he guided him along their course.

That's when the knight finally diverted his eyes away from the parchment, and looked at Shoto who had been keeping his eyes straight ahead, being wary of the path before them. Izuku's face became red, but he made no comment about what was happening, only because his arm felt warm and safe, especially with this cold breeze that followed them as they walked. He went back to looking at the map, hiding his face behind the paper as to make sure Shoto wouldn't be able to see the flustered expression on his face.

Clearing his throat Shoto was keeping his eyes focused ahead, "You know... I've heard a lot about the Rainbow Lotus, you know the flower we're looking for." He was doing his best to break the silence, since he would rather talk to the other male instead of keeping it awkward between the two. Izuku looked at him slightly to let him know that he had his attention, and that he wasn't just ignoring him. "My mother used to read me a few stories, besides the legends of King All Might. Some seemed to be like fairy tales, where everything turned out wonderful in the end. I heard that the Rainbow Lotus has the power to grant one's greatest wish." He then looked down and smiled, "But then again, that could just be a silly story, right?"

"Um... well I mean you actually could never know!" He smiled a bit back at him, not wanting his small fantasies to go to waste. "B-but u-uh... what's your g-greatest wish, Sh-Sho?" He asked it hesitantly, gulping right afterwards mainly because he didn't want to pry too much into his personal business, which he felt he already did too many times.

He blinked and looked at him, his face visibly kind of pink. Not as much from what he had been asked, but from Izuku's small smile, which seemed to shine brighter than the Sun itself. He diverted his head and covered his mouth in the fastest way possible, trying his best not to look at him for too long, for he thought if he stared long enough, he wouldn't want to look away. "U-um... well..."

Tilting his head, the greenette was wondering why his reaction had been so weird, as opposed to the reactions he had in their previous interactions. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me... I understand." He looked shyly at the floor and held the map tighter in his hands, trying his best not to say something that he might regret.

"Izuku, it's not that... um... it's..." he looked back down at the other male, and didn't even know how to explain himself, it was kind of weird for him. He took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, before gathering back up his courage to speak normally. "All I want is..." he paused for a second, and knew exactly what he was going for, however, he decided to say something else, "All I want is for someone to be happy." His face looked calm, but the only words he could hear in his head was, You. I want you to be happy, in every way, shape, and form, and I don't know how to describe it.

"Someone?" He returned his gaze back up to the taller male, and thought that his response was far too vague. He saw his eyes meeting Shoto's, and for some reason, they didn't feel cold anymore, they seemed almost welcoming, as his gaze seemed to get softer by each day that passed. "Well I mean, I guess that makes a lot of sense. I mean, though you didn't specify, I guess it's logical to only say that your wish is wonderful!"

He strangely felt his face get hot again, but tried not to turn away this time, thinking that maybe he would come off as rude if he kept on avoiding eye contact. However, Izuku had been wondering why his face was such a bright color, even though he knew how his face would turn that same color, he didn't think Shoto's was like that for the same reason. "Well... what's your greatest wish, then...?"

Looking a bit to the side, he hesitated a bit, "Um... w-well... I r-really d-don't k-know." He truthfully knew what it was deep down, but he wasn't about to expose himself, for he was afraid of what would happen if he did.

He nodded, "That's alright." His voice was gentle, as he proceeded to walk on ahead, gesturing for Izuku to follow closely behind him, or at least right next to him if he really wanted to. "There's one more thing about that flower..."

Shuffling quickly to join his side, the greenette gave him a look of interest, "One more thing? Like what..?"

Looking up to the tip of the mountain tops, he shook his head and smiled, "Oh nevermind."

Izuku couldn't even question it, he was too focused on the majesty which was Shoto's face. He couldn't help but stare, but he violently shook his head so that the prince wouldn't catch his awed expression. "Uhm okay then, Sho! L-let's go on and find this flower then! It'll be a great adventure, just the two of us, don't you think?"

"Just the two of us," he mumbled back, keeping his eyes on the path ahead, thinking about something that must have been pleasing to him, since his expression seemed to be very calming. "Yeah... let's go then."

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"That mushroom's pretty, look how pink it is." Izuku was pointing at a large mushroom that seemed to be out of place on the path up the mountain. He mostly was trying to lighten the mood, since he knew that they were both trying to hide their frustration.

"That's the third time we passed it." It wasn't that he was trying to kill the other male's optimism, it was only that he was getting pretty tired of seeing that same mushroom from the times they had been going in circles.

Izuku then looked at the map again and groaned, the markings getting harder and harder to read by the second. "Argh! I can't read this map! It's so... it's so..." He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and shoved the map into his bag, trying to hide his obviously irritated expression.

Shoto could clearly see the tears welling up just at the rim of his eyelid, and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Izuku. Let's not follow the map then."

"What!? That's a horrible idea, what if we die??? I don't want you to die..." he plopped himself down onto a rock, putting his hands on his cheeks, now looking more upset than angry. He shook his head, and repeated to himself quietly, "I don't want you to die...."

The prince seemed to have exceptional hearing, so he went over and sat himself down right next to the greenette so that their legs were touching. "Look. I won't die, just as long as you won't. I'll stay safe, you don't have to worry about me, you understand?" He looked at him with a calm expression, doing his best to distract him from his frustration.

He looked at Shoto but then looked down at one of his legs, "O-of c-course." He was getting more nervous for some reason, though he had practically been much closer to Shoto than this, it was something about the change in the other male's tone that was making him panic internally. "Sh-Sho... um..."

"What's wrong?"

Izuku gulped and ruffled his own hair, stopping himself from saying something dumb, "N-never mind." He hid his now red face, trying to make sure Shoto wouldn't suspect anything.

The prince stood up and offered his hand to the knight, "Come on. As they said, as long as we have each other, we'll be fine." Izuku was hesitant about taking his hand, and just stared at it for a few seconds. "If you're worried that you can't keep me safe, don't worry. I trust you with my life, Izuku."

"Y-you trust m-me...?"

He nodded, "But the question is, do you trust me?" His hand was still out, waiting for the greenette to take it into his.

"Y-yes." He took the prince's soft hand, and used it to get pulled off of the rock and gently put his feet to the ground below. "Um... so do you have any idea which direction we should go then?"

He tightened his grip on Izuku's hand, thinking about it for a moment, "No." But he then smiled, almost as if there was nothing wrong about that, "But as my brother Natsuo always says, we can just... wing it? Is that the right word? Though I'm still not entirely sure why he would use a term like that, we aren't even birds..." he mumbled the last part to himself, trailing off.

Izuku giggled, thinking that it was still cute that he misunderstood quite a lot about figurative language. "Alright then, let's go with your gut feeling then. Lead the way, your majesty." He winked at him playfully, waiting for him to take him anywhere he felt like going.

He only responded with a smile, pulling him gently along the path, before deciding otherwise. He then turned left off of the dirt that had been paved out for travellers, and pushed some bushes out of the way in order to walk in the direction he had in mind.

"W-woah, th-that was a quick direction change! A-are you s-sure about th-this...?"

Stopping, Shoto looked the other male directly into his green irises, "You said that you trust me, so let me do this." Izuku nodded, and didn't say another word, letting Shoto continue through the grassy areas. "I'm sorry if this is weird being left alone with me."

"It's not weird. I think it's actually really nice." He paused for a few seconds before realizing that Shoto was a bit quiet, expecting more words to come out of him than that. "I mean, it's not that Iida and Uraraka aren't nice to be around, it's just that whenever it's the two of us... I feel something."

"Like what?" He let go of Izuku's hand, and pushed a large rock out of the way, using his strength alone. He didn't really show it much, but he had actually a lot of raw strength himself, even if it wasn't as much as Izuku had. He wiped away a bit of sweat that had trickled down his face, but that only added onto his handsome appeal.

Izuku's face became a dark shade of red, as he watched the prince's every action carefully. "Uhm... I-I d-don't know, I-I r-really l-like being w-with y-you... I-I j-just don't k-know how to e-explain i-it." He wanted to hit himself on the head for saying something so stupid in the first place, Shut up, Izuku. You don't know what you're talking about. Besides, it's not like a PRINCE would want you of all people, especially if there are better people out there for him.

"Like being with me, huh?" He grabbed his sword and sliced at a blocked off path with thin trees in a row, almost like an open aired prison cell. "I like being with you too," was his only response without any further explanation. It's not like he could explain it even if he wanted to, but he had a feeling he knew what it was, but he didn't know how to use the word he was thinking about, so he kept himself quiet for the time being.

"You do...?"

"You're very comforting to be with, Izuku. I told you already that you have done so much for me. There's so much I want to express, yet I cannot find the words." He sheathed his blade, continuing to hold it by its golden hilt. "Maybe I'm being too needy. Or maybe I'm not going for what I need to. Whatever the case, I think I just need to follow my heart, just as my mother had said, and just as Touya had said."

Touya. That's the second time he brought him up. He must have cared about him a lot. Though he doesn't show it as much anymore, I can tell that there's still something that's bothering him. I hope that it doesn't hurt him too much to open up with his past. Izuku was lost in his thoughts, as he held his chin and looked at the ground.

"Izuku? Are you alright?" He finally let go of the blade's hilt and went back to take Izuku along his now created path. "It looks like something is bothering you."

He snapped out of it, and looked back up at Shoto, "Ah! S-sorry, I g-got distracted, I'm so s-sorry!"

"Why are you always apologizing for doing nothing wrong?"

"S-sorry, i-it's j-just a h-habit!"

He chuckled a tiny bit under his breath, yet he kept his same monotone voice that he always seemed to speak with, thought it was getting more and more soft by the second. "It's okay. I find it adorable."

HE THINKS I'M ADORABLE!? SHO, WHAT!?!!??! He gulped, hardly able to process what he was telling him, or rather, not really wanting to accept that he actually thought that. He didn't know if that was actually what was going through his mind, but he didn't feel like Shoto was toying with his emotions either. "Y-you don't actually believe that d-do y-you?"

Blinking rather obliviously to why he was questioning his words, he continued to make him flustered, "Of course. I'm not one to lie to people I care about."

How do I even respond to that? I don't know why he's telling me this. Goodness, please just please I hope none of what's happening right now is a dream. He shook away his thoughts from his mind, "C-come on, we h-have a mountain to c-climb." He started to walk ahead, trying to get everything off of his mind, still thinking that his feelings just weren't acting right at the moment.

"I-Izuku w-wait, hey don't go too far ahead." He started to panic, because he had forgotten to mention something that was behind the trees, which is part of the reason he had gone back in the first place, just before he got distracted by Izuku.

"Hm? What do you mean? I'm walking toward the path you pathed! I trust your gut feeling, Sho! Don't worry, I'll be fine." He proudly stomped ahead, once again just as King All Might did whenever he marched into battle.

He started to slowly shuffle after him, his voice getting quieter, "P-please n-no d-don't go over there."

"Everything's gonna be alr—" he was cut off by the sound of falling rocks, as well as slipping. "Oops." He then finished off his small monologue with a long scream, sounding like he was trying to hold on for dear life, "SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Shoto ran directly after him, but wasn't sure what to expect, now that they were both in huge danger.

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