Shoto wasn't expecting his journey to turn out like this, let alone have himself disappear from the group twice.  However, he couldn't even bring himself to turn back now, and his mind was too occupied on what he was becoming.  A monster, he thought, it's just as mother said.  I am truly nothing but a monster.  He didn't know where he was going exactly as he ran into the forest, but he couldn't help but feeling as if he were falling...

                                            and falling...

                                            and falling...

                                                                      and falling...

Down into an endless abyss.

With a heavy feeling in his heart, and his mind giving him the sense of drowning in a cold and empty ocean, he was lost in thoughts all alone. He didn't have to push others away, but it was the only way he knew how to deal with emotions. Izuku had really been trying to help, but Shoto didn't want him to see him. No, not like this. He didn't want to lose another person, not right in front of him, and most certainly not by his own hand.

He sat down underneath a tree, looking down at the unnatural black color of his hand. They had turned into claws, and were no longer human fingers. He only thought about how hideous he was. Not only on the outside, but on the inside. He couldn't shake this horrible feeling away, so all he could do was sit with his emotions. His past. His fears. And most importantly, his tears. He was crying, and now he couldn't stop it. Not this time, no matter how hard he tried.

He was becoming close to Izuku already, and he felt as if he messed it up, just as he thought he did to everyone else in his life. He hit his fist against the ground, making the surrounding area shake, leaving a hole in the spot. He thought that maybe taking a nap will shake him off the feelings he tried so hard to hold back. Laying down on the covered ground, he closed his eyes, though he had already taken a nap that day, and led himself to sleep.

Nearby, the greenette had been trying his best to look for the prince. After all, it was a knight's job to help people, and if he couldn't even lift the burden off the prince's shoulders, what kind of knight would he be? He made sure that he took Guinevere with him, because he knew that was an important thing to him, so maybe it would help to cheer him up. He navigated his way through the woods, although his sense of direction was usually all over the place, this time he felt like he knew where Shoto might have been. Once he reached the half and half boy, he let go of the ivory horse's golden reigns, leaving her to search for a little snack. Izuku kneeled down next to Shoto, looking how his whole left side had been transformed. He saw why he wanted to run away, but he didn't know why he felt the need to push him away. He really wanted to help him, and understand what he was feeling, and tame whatever beast was inside. He gently caressed the prince's soft skin on the right side of his face. It was cold, unlike the warm touch of his left side. He cleared his throat and spoke softly, though he knew that Shoto couldn't hear him, "I'm really sorry that I made you feel bad. I was trying to help, truly. And I know that you don't want to speak to me right now, but my mother always told me what would help people to calm down a bit. So maybe I can reflect that out onto you."

He choked up some other words that he had to say, but he didn't want to ruin what he already had. Instead, he changed the words he had thought up originally, "I'm not entirely sure if it'll help, but it always did for me. My mom always sang this song as a lullaby whenever I felt sad, or even mad. But, it always helped, now matter how bad I felt. And I care about you, and I want you to be okay. And just know if you need me, I'm right here."

He grabbed some nice ivory flowers that had fallen from the trees nearby, and started to place them around the resting prince. He began to hum softly and soothingly, before singing in a soft and gentle tone, "One day I'll find it/The source of the burning fire in my heart~/The pain of waiting again to see you/the feelings you left that filled my eyes with tears/the fireflies that light a path to a summer that may not return~" He continued, almost completely surrounding Shoto with flowers, "You stay silent leaving me with your kiss/I saw you nod in the light of the flames/Crying your tears I could see your flickering smile~"

Finishing what he started, he smiled softly, "There. That should do." He took the prince's transformed left hand, and held it inside his own. "I hope this will help." He planted a kiss on it softly, not entirely sure what he hoped to accomplish. However, before he knew it, he began to turn back to normal again. "Sh-Shoto?" He began to scoot back, trying to give him a little bit of space, but could not let go of his hand. He tugged harder, even using his other hand to help, but to no avail.

The prince, after returning back to his normal state, opened his eyes, looking at the greenette softly. "Izuku............... Midoriya?" He realized that their hands had been intertwined, and his face became slightly pink. "Um is everything alright?"

The knight began to panic, once again making eye contact with the other male's glistening eyes. He gulped trying to explain, "Uh w-well I saw you w-were stressing a-a-and though you told m-me to leave y-you alone, I t-thought it best to p-p-provide you with some moral support a-and then I tried to c-calm you down s-so then you t-t-transformed back t-to normal a-and then o-our hands got c-c-caught together a-and t-then you j-just so happened to w-w-w-wake up before I c-c-could move mine s-s-so now we're in this s-s-situation. B-but o-of course I d-didn't mean t-to do that, but I mean it's not like this feeling i-is nice-- WAIT I DIDN'T MEAN THAT! W-what I meant was that w-well I was j-just t-trying to h-help a-and.." He continued to speak rather fast and he was fumbling with his words as he tried to explain it the best he could.

All Shoto did was smile gently as he looked at Izuku. He brought his left index finger to the greenette's mouth, "It's okay. I understand what you're trying to say." This only made the other male break out into much more panic than before, and his face became a bright red, making the prince chuckle silently under his breath. "I'm sorry you had to see that part of me but.... I don't understand.. How were you able to fix it?"

Izuku breathed in, trying to calm himself down so he could answer with no problem at all. He then realized what Shoto's last sentence said, and he tilted his head, trying to understand, "What do you mean by 'how were you able to fix it'?"

"Well I didn't mean to offend you if that's what you mean but..." he then turned his words into a mumble, "...he said that only... no... I mean he did but there's no way..." He shook his head violently, removing the thought off his mind. "Nevermind about that. Just, thank you."

"Thank you..? Um... y-you're welcome, though I didn't really do anything to help." The knight began to mess around with his fingers, drawing his gaze away from the prince nervously. "I mean, all that I really did was sing and surrounded you with flowers AND BY THE WAY I'M SO SORRY IF YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO THESE LET ME GET THEM OFF OF YOU!!!"

Izuku began to move his hands in fifty different directions, trying to get the flowers off of Shoto. However, the prince grabbed his wrist and stopped him in his tracks. He looked him dead in the eye, right before pulling him into a gentle hug. "You don't need to worry. But really, thank you."

He let out a small gasp, covering his mouth from over Shoto's shoulder. The hug surprised him, but it was warm and safe, almost like his bed. "Sh-Shoto...? W-what are you d-doing?"

"I'm showing my gratitude for your help. I'm sorry for pushing you away back there. I lost myself. But really, I owe you one." He rested his chin on the other male's shoulder gently, tightening the hug ever so slightly.

He stopped freaking out, and wrapped his arms around Shoto, returning his hug. "I um well... you're welcome then! I'm glad i could help with whatever it was!"

The prince began to slightly pull away, but instead of his hands moving away from the knight, they only dragged along his arm and to his soft hands. He put a hand on his chin, and without thinking his face drew closer to Izuku's. The greenette, not knowing what he was doing either, drew closer as well, closing his eyes in the process. They made it to the point where their lips were only but a centimeter from the other's, before they were stopped by an unsettling yell.

"Prince Shoto!!!" Tenya had come into the scene, his hair ruffled and messed up. It was obvious that he had been struggling to keep up with his search for the prince, and was still pretty mad that he ran off on his own. Ochako had been jogging up from closely behind, as it seemed the armored knight had been running the whole way around in a big hurry.

Izuku and Shoto both popped off each other, moving to two far ends that were at least six feet away from the other. The prince's face was vacant and he looked calm and collected, realizing what he had been doing. The knight, however, had held his arms stiffly to his sides, as if he were in the presence of a royal family, which he was, but he didn't see Shoto as someone who was overly formal and concerned with those kinds of things.

Tenya hadn't even noticed what they had almost done, and grabbed the prince by his wrist. "Prince Shoto, do you have any idea how much I've been worried about you!? What would have happened if Izuku hadn't found you!? I would have been punished by King Endeavor himself!"

Shoto's expression was blank, as he let himself get dragged off by the knight, "Iida," was all he said, his voice as monotone as always.

The blue haired male darted his head at the greenette, "And why didn't you find us sooner? I was worried for the both of you! At least Uraraka reported back when she didn't want to be left alone!" The brunette waved and laughed nervously, not really wanting him to tell them that.

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, trying to hide what had happened that day, "W-well I was going to report back to you, but we got caught in a bit of a rough patch... ehehe...." He was sweatdropping, a little bit running down the side of his face, kind of nervous.

He sighed, "I just don't want any of us to get hurt. I'm glad you found Prince Shoto in enough time before he got lost on his own, never to return. I know how he is, he gets distracted easily. One time, he almost left the castle garden because he saw a butterfly. I had to stop him and ask him what he was doing, and all he said was that 'he wanted to follow it'. I told him that maybe one day he could spread his wings and fly."

Shoto's eye's shifted to Tenya, "But Iida, I don't have wings. How in the world am I supposed to fly?" It was easy to tell he asked this in all seriousness, and there was not at all a speck of self doubt in his question.

Tenya face palmed, letting go of the prince's arm. Ochako was trying to hold back her laughter as she approached the greenette. Izuku had already started to giggle, before making the other two members break out into laughter as well.

Shoto raised an eyebrow, overly confused by the squad's behavior, "I don't understand. Why is everyone laughing? Is there something I missed?" He then made sure to grab Guinivere, since she had been standing right there, waiting for them to leave.

"No, Todoroki-Kun! It's just that that went right over your head!" Ochako was smiling widely, her hand hovering over her mouth as she continued to giggle loudly.

"Nothing went over my head. But if anything did, I would have caught it without hesitation."

The group laughed harder, "Todoroki!!!"

"Yes. That's my name. You keep saying it, and you have my attention. Is something the matter?"

They all kept laughing but Tenya started to drag Shoto away, making the other two follow them, "It's okay, one day you'll know." He began to wipe the tears that began to form in his eye sockets from all of his laughter. The prince's confusion hadn't died down, for he was much too concerned whether they had some kind of inside joke or something else.

Once Izuku and Ochako were able to disperse their laughter, the witch got closer to the knight and walked right beside him. "I know it's kind of late, but you should tell me everything!"

The greenette looked mildly confused, "Everything of what?"

The brunette whistled and looked up, waving her wooden staff ever so slightly, "I know that Iida was too busy freaking out to notice, but I saw how close you two got! Maybe there's a little tension going on between you~"

"WHAT!?" He covered his mouth, realizing how loud he yelled that out. "I-I mean o-of course not! It was just a little mistake, I-I'm sure! I m-mean i-it's not l-like he MEANT to g-get that close. B-but of c-course he didn't! I mean, w-why would he? I b-bet he has better priorities than m-me a-anyway!"

She wiggled her eyebrows, "Hmmmm, it kind of seems like someone has a little crushhhhh~"

He frantically moved his hands around in circles, trying to explain himself, "I-I n-never said that!!" His face became a dark shade of red, obviously embarrassed. "B-besides, he's g-getting married anyway... s-so it wouldn't matter if I d-did!"

"You never know, maybe you'll end up crashing the wedding. You won't know what the future holds until it actually comes." She winked, as if she was an all knowing wizard.

Izuku gulped and shook his head, shaking the thought from his mind from the thought. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he failed the mission either, for protecting Shoto was his top priority.

Before they even realized it Tenya had called them over to another resting site that he had already set up as their camp. "Midoriya! Uraraka! This is our resting site! Please join us for supper, it's almost ready!" He was making strange hand motions, almost robotic, as his fingers seemed as if they were stuck together.

Shoto was already sitting on a log, leaving his horse to enjoy a small thing of apples. He then saw the other two who had barely been exiting the woods. He motioned for Izuku to join him, and patted the spot right next to him on the log. Ochako noticed, and nudged Izuku's shoulder forward, telling him to take the offer and sit next to the prince. The greenette's smile was shaky, however, he took the seat anyway, letting the half and half boy nod softly in response. The witch took a seat next to Iida, letting the other two enjoy their so called 'friendship'.

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