Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

XLIII

The next few days were a lot better for everybody. Sero and Kirishima, true to Midoriya's words, were both unharmed from Shoto's ice. The first thing that they did, much to his surprise, was rush over to him and crowd him with a hug, asking if he was okay and that they were sorry for being so overbearing. He didn't feel like they had anything to apologise for, he should have expected it considering the nature of the people here, but with apologies from both him and them the incident was soon a part of the past. 

Two more meetings were held now that the weather was getting more severe. There were talks over food, and strategies for rationing should supplies diminish too quickly were put in place across all of the tribes. There were even extra storage spaces for food in the castle should anyone choose to spend time there. Several halls and rooms had become rest spaces for the people, both to escape the harsh weather and to find out all of the information they could about what their king was doing to protect them. Shoto was happy the meetings were successful, and since the first one everyone's acceptance of him had only become clearer. It was refreshing to know that his voice and opinions were being valued. 

The warriors were growing stronger every day. Their unity and their bonds strengthened with each day of training, and with Shoto and Iida's help they easily grasped all of the basic combat taught in Endeavour. With Bakugou and Midoriya leading the power training, and the representatives, or, as Midoriya insisted he call them, his friends, leading weapons training, with each passing day Shoto began to feel more hopeful that this could really be the end of his father's tyranny.

He himself began taking an hour each evening for himself to train, whether that be with Iida practising the sword or by himself with his power, it gave him a sense of stability and assurance of his own capabilities and strength. Yet, with each passing day, that familiar itching, almost burning sensation, grew and grew on the left side of his body until there were times he could almost believe his father was standing right next to him. He had neither told nor shown anybody his secret, and even Iida had only ever seen him wield his ice power, but during the evenings where the best he could do was take walks in the snow he wished he could let it all out. 

The goddess, the maiden, Bakugou, his friends, they had all accepted and embraced him, encouraged him to be his true and fullest self. He felt like he was betraying their trust, yet at the same time he knew the pain and suffering caused by his hands and the hands of his father, and after everything he had done since arriving here he didn't want to cause any more trouble. Each day he carried with him deep guilt, guilt he knew that if he spoke of to anyone they would tell him it was foolish and unfounded. One day, whether that be in a week or a year or far in the future, he would have to reveal the truth, but until that day, and until he was ready, he would keep it locked away for the good of everyone. He could not yet believe the maiden's words, that he was perfect in his entirety, when he could not break free from the ghosts of his past, but he hoped that one day in the future he would be able to accept himself as he was, not as anything or anyone's other than Shoto. 

He found this sense of hope was becoming a familiar companion to him, sometimes it was even stronger than anger or fear or guilt. Hope was such a foreign thing to him, but now he cherished it every time he was blessed by it, kept it safe and close to his heart so he would have something good to focus on if times were difficult. He could see hope in the castle. Here it was lively and warm, people sharing good meals or praying with their families. He could see hope in the people. From the way they shared their blankets and food, to how from time to time someone in the hallway would stop him and thank him for all he was doing to help them. He could see hope in the meetings he attended. In Endeavour he would only feel rage at the vanity and greed of his father's advisers, how they cared not for the people but how much gold they could fit into their pockets, whereas here he saw the way everyone cared for their tribes and for the forest, how they looked not only to Bakugou as their king but to him to with an expression of hope and trust.