THE morning after the ball was where the real work began.

nanako remembered loud and clear the deal she had made with tomura, and she was not about to lose the game when she sounded so confident last night.

"so....what do I dooooooooo~", nana whined as as she sat with her knights and maids.

"why're you like this nana", shinso sighed.

"OKAY WELL LISTEN! IT WAS JUST IN THE MOMENT, OKAY?!", nana yelled back.

"yeah and now look at what happened", he retorted.

"so what do I doooooooo?"

"what else can you do, you'll just have to win the competition of inheriting the throne against your sisters so you can marry him", todoroki said.

"which, I still don't know why you'd rather marry him than me", kaminari chimed in.

"honestly, I'd marry you kami, if it weren't for the fact that I need to save my sisters from whatever he's planning", nana said with a serious tone.

"a-anyways, why's he so persistent with you inheriting the throne?", midoriya asked.

"that's a good observation midoriya, good job", nana said as she patted his head.

"nanako, for your safety, you should probably stop this before it gets any worse", kirishima said.

"I agree with shitty hair, if you get into deep trouble, I'm not sure we'll be able to save you this time", bakugo said seriously.

"don't worry you guys, I can take care of myselfffff", nana said.

"nana, you can't even walk without tripping", mina said.

"shut up mina!", nana jokingly said. she sighed before standing up, making everyone else stand up too.

"ochako, accompany me to the garden. I want to take my mind off some things", nana said as ochako followed nana, alone.

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. tea .:**:☆ *:.｡.✿

"ochako, come sit next to me and enjoy the morning breeze", nanako commanded.

ochako sat next to nana as nana looked up at the sunset. it was truly a beautiful view. if only someone wasn't spying on her 24/7.

"come out and enjoy the view with us", nanako said out loud. ochako was confused.

a long moment of silence.

"or you can just stay in that bush and enjoy the view from here", nanako said as she chuckled.

"n-nana, who are you t-talking to?, ochako asked. 'maybe princess nanako was going crazy from all the stress', she thought.

"fine", a male voice said as he got out of the bushes. a male with black hair and scars and staples on his face appeared.

"w-who a-are you??", ochako asked, freaking out.

"don't worry ochako, he's one of tomura's", nana explained.

"what's your name hot stuff?", nana joked as she laughed.

"the name's dabi, princess nanako", dabi said.

"come, sit next to me and enjoy the sunrise with us", princess nana said as she patted the seat next to her.

dabi hesitated before complying to nanako's command. this was the first time he's been on the same seating as a royal. being the commander of knights for tomura was pretty rough since he has a childish temper despite his high intelligence.

"dabi, since you're always watching me, might as well come out and enjoy some time with me and my friends", nana said, while still looking at the sunrise.

"friends?", dabi asked confused. he didn't know the royal family had friends, much less people they considered close.

"yeah, like ochako here. there's also mina, and my six knights that always follow me around. they're very close friends of mine", nanako explained.

"hm. maybe I will", dabi replied as he also enjoyed the sunrise.

✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. nanako's pov .:**:☆ *:.｡.✿

"it's time for lessons nana", ochako quietly said as she stood up.

nodding, I stood up while offering dabi a hand. honestly, he's kinda a snacc like todoroki.

he took my hand and stood up along with us.

"let's go dabi, come with me to my lessons, this time you don't have to hide in the bushes or the trees", I teased while laughing.

seeming somewhat annoyed, he scowled. although without any complaint, he followed behind me.

once we arrived outside the library of the palace, my knights were already waiting for me, along with my sister and their knights.

"who's that, nana?", itsuka asked me.

"ah, he's..."

"oh god nana. please don't tell me that's another one of them", momo said, seeming disappointed.

"OI! THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!", bakugo yelled.

"bakugo", I said while looking at him. he seemed to have got my sign and backed off.

"no, he's not. he's a new knight, I just happen to find him attractive so I'm keeping him by my side, that's all", I explained. it made me wonder if there were people tailing itsuka and momo too.

"I see. then let's head in for class", momo said, with her knights following behind her, then itsuka and so on.

"are you alright, nana?", midoriya asked, whispering.

"I'll be fine midoriya, she's not wrong anyways. I was a hoe", I said as I walked in, sitting down at my desk, waiting for our private tutor.

dabi looked around the library, catching my gaze. his turquoise eyes reminded me of a certain todoroki. I didn't put too much thought into it as our tutor started talking about whatever.

I needed a plan to protect my sisters while seeing what his plan is.

'what better thing to do than to get close and personal to him?', I thought.

'but how...?'