Hero's Kingdom

Summary: An extra for those who've read and enjoyed my Midori Series. Izumi is a common apothecary with an affinity for learning about the world she lives in. Bakugo and Todoroki are the heirs to their respective lineage but want to break free. The three will come together with a group of others to take on a threatening evil.

Chapter 1: A Simple Life

Izumi liked to learn. The world was full of new and exciting discoveries for the brightest minds to discover and explore. From nature, to history, technology and art, the country of Yueii was a wide and interesting place to learn.

"Izumi!" Inko, her mother, called out from the front door of their home. The small cottage was part of a cluster of farm houses located on the outskirts of the castle town. On their land they along with several other farmers tilled the land, fished, hunted, and gathered supplies to feed themselves as well as the nearby kingdom. Izumi wasn't much of a farmer… she was better at preparing and using the bounty of crop to make various things such as medicines, and other various remedies. She was a good apothecary because she studied the various plants and minerals and what she didn't know she found out. Everything she knew she wrote down, and had dozens of books littering her workspace.

"Yes mom?" Izumi stopped admiring the pretty blossom in front of her and close her latest notebook.

"You should head to town before it gets too late Izumi. Don't you have people waiting for you?" Inko held up a brown sack and shall for her. "Come on, hurry now. I've packed you some fresh bread and apples in case you get hungry."

"Thanks mom…" she took the satchel and strapped it over her and then slid the shall around her shoulders. "I'll try to be home by dark."

"Are you going to be okay alone? I could ask Shinso to go with you if you'd like."

"I'm okay, Mom." Izumi waved a hand smiling "Shinso's probably busy with the harvest, I don't want to bother him." She picked up her skirts and hurried down the road. "I'll be back soon!"

"Be careful, Izumi!" Inko called after her daughter and held her chest. She didn't like her daughter going out on her own… but the girl was headstrong, and was far braver than her mother. "Just like your dad… rushing off with a smile even though there's danger around every corner." She pulled her hands into a prayer position. "Watch over her, Hisashi."

Hisashi Midoriya had been a man of learning. He had travelled the world, often returning with gifts and stories to enchant his family… but had died shortly after Izumi had turned three… killed by a pack of wolves, or so those that found his body assumed. The only thing they had left of him was the stories of his adventures… and a small sword he had kept on him for protection. Not that it had done him any good. Still… Izumi carried the best parts of her late husband, and hoped the girl had more sense to stay away from the dangers of the world.

Izumi was ten minutes from the gates of the castle town when a stray butterly caught her eye and perched on a bud of a tree. She opened her notebook and began to sketch the unique patterns and shape of its wings.

"Look how beautiful you are…" She scribble a note identifying the color and got closer hoping to see its legs and body. "Hmmm six legs, traditional for an insect… ah!" She gasped as the butterfly flew down and propped on the edge of her book. She smiled and gently pressed her finger on its legs. It hesitated, but then floated onto it, gently batting its wings. "Curious thing aren't you? Just like me. Most butterflies are skittish, but you're not."

The sudden rustle of leaves had Izumi tensing up. The butterfly finally flew from her hand as a voice called out a war cry and its shadowed body leapt from the bushes. Izumi squealed and fell, her notebook flying from her hands. Now on her hands and knees Izumi groaned, the shouts turning to big rude laughter. She pouted immediately recognizing the figure now.

"Very funny, Kacchan… look at the mess you made." She scowled at the young man in front of her. Katsuki Bakugo, he was the son of a chief, and she'd known him since they were children. She'd gotten caught in one of his traps, but instead of eating her as she had expected him to, he let her go, in return she had to play games with him, and entertain him when he was bored. She would think after more than a decade he'd have finally outgrown his childish behavior… pfft fat chance.

"That's what you get for leaving yourself so vulnerable." Bakugo smirked and hefted her up by her waist as easy as he would pluck a piece of fruit. The guy was built for only being sixteen years old, all muscle and athletic. It came from having been trained to hunt and fight all his life. "You're as helpless as a baby rabbit."

He crouched down and plucked an apple that had fallen out of her pack, bit into it and then shoveled the rest of the stuff willy nilly in her bag.

"Oh for crying out loud Kacchan, don't do it like that." She knelt with him, her face close as she repacked her sack making sure none of the bottles were damaged. "Shouldn't you be at home doing something chiefly? You are taking over the tribe soon aren't you?"

"Sorta..." He said with a mouth full of apple. He took another bite while he watched her. "My father says I need a bride first."

"That makes sense…" Izumi commented keeping her eyes on her task. "Produce an heir and all that. Have you found a suitable mate yet?"

He stopped eating, tossing the apple over his shoulder, and his lips spread into a confident smile.

"I might have… she's the perfect woman for me. Soft, warm, quiet… she just needs to be taught a little obedience." He lifted a hand to her chin and pulled her face. "Right, Usagi?"

"Usagi…" her face fell and she smacked his hand away. "The answer is no."

"Hah?" Annoyance came over his face and he stood up. "What do you mean no? I said you're perfect."

"I'm saying no thank you… I'm not a part of your tribe, Kacchan. Your father would certainly not approve. If you want a bride, look to your own kind! Besides, I'm not about to be your plaything for life."

"I thought you already were." He snagged her around the waist pulling her in and smiling. "That was the deal wasn't it? When I released you from my trap." He licked her cheek and had her flinching back.

"Ewww!" She smacked his chest and wiped her cheek. "Knock it off, this isn't funny!"

"I'm totally serious," his smile suddenly faded and he bent his head in nuzzling her neck. "I don't want any of those other women, Usagi. I want only you."

"Kacchan…" she blushed and wriggled in his hold her hands pressed on his hard chest. All manner of inappropriate images flashed in her mind and she felt her breath quicken. "Stop it, let me go!"

"No…" He pulled her in close, his mouth dangerously close to pressing to hers. He felt her sharp inhale of breath, and prepared to devour her.

"Gotcha!" Kirishima, one of Bakugo's tribe mates, roped him around the neck yanking him away from Izumi while three others jumped a top him and proceeded to hogtie him down. "Finally… took forever to find you."

"Kirishima! You damn bastard let go of me! Untie me this instant!" Bakugo squirmed and wriggled under the ropes and tried to knaw them off with his teeth.

"Hehehehe…" Kirishima crouched down poking Bakugo in the cheek. "Sero and I figured you'd go chasing Midoriya." Kirishima turned to her and saluted. "Good Morning!"

Izumi couldn't help but smile. Though her heart was beating rapidly she couldn't help but laugh.

"Good morning, Kirishima-kun."

"Sorry about the trouble," He motioned his team to haul Bakugo up and drag him back into the forest. "We'll do a better job of keeping an eye on him. Although if you came to visit more often he may not have the urge to runaware so much." He bounced his eyebrows and had her laughing.

"I'll keep that in mind." Izumi laughed and once again settled her belongings. "I need to go into town…" She glanced over his shoulder at Bakugo, holding her chest that was still thumping from the beat of her heart. "Make sure Kacchan stays out of trouble."

"We'll do our best, be safe Midoriya."

Izumi waved and hurried off to town. Kirishima looked after her smiling.

"Sweet girl… entirely too good for our prince. Hmmm?" he knelt and picked up the notebook Izumi dropped. "What's this?" Flipping through it he saw the notes and pictures inside and chuckled. "Must be Midoriya's" he sniffed and nodded when it help her scent "I'll give it to Bakugo, I'm sure he'll like it."

He jogged off into the woods.

"Oi! Wait for me!"

~Kingdom of Tatooin~

The Castletown of Tatooin was also known as Hero's Kingdom. It's rich history was filled with some of Yueii's bravest heroes, with the most legendary of all being the story of Sir Might. The kind knight had been captain of the royal guard, and had protected the king and his family from a raging war against a terrible evil. Since then it was said he'd left the kingdom in search of a successor, but never returned. In memory of his bravery and kind acts they had statues to commemorate him, and he was considered the symbol of peace amongst their people.

Izumi loved the stories of heroes. Once upon a time she had dreamed of being one as well. While most girls wanted to be the princess being rescused, she wanted to do the rescuing. She dreamed of going on adventures, slaying demons, riding off into the sunset atop a great golden dragon. It all seemed so dramatic and dazzling to a young girl.

Still she learned at a young age that she was not meant to go on those kinds of adventures. On top of being born a female in a male dominated society, she was, in social standards, poor. Oh she wasn't starving or anything like that, but heroes were primarily rooted from elite families. Well educated, well dressed, and trained in the arts of combat from the time they could walk. While Izumi was well read and versed, she only owned three outfits none of which were hero worthy, and the only sword she'd ever held had been her fathers which was old and rusted and couldn't even cut an apple. She didn't know the first thing about combat, other than to poke them with the pointy end.

Still she was content. She enjoyed her life, helping people the way she knew how. She made medicines for the sick and ailing. Gave herbal remedies and scented wax candles to uneasy hearts, and provided supplies to those in most need of them.

She spotted a hungry little boy and girl trembling in an ally and gave them the bread from her satchel. Petting them on the head she continued her rounds around the market area, giving potions to three sick patients, a set of scented candles to a barmaid in need of a romantic setting, and finally made her way to the castle gates for her final customer of the day.

"Excuse me!" She shouted to the top of the tower. "I've a delivery for Lady Ochaco!"

"Ah! Miss Midoriya!" The guard waved at her and raised the gate to let her in. "Right on time." He came down to greet her.

"How are you, Iida?" She smiled at him. "Is your wound okay?"

"Yes, thanks to the medicine you gave me my arm has fully healed." He bowed respectfully. "I thank you, miss Midoriya."

"You're welcome. You must be working hard."

"You know us here at the castle. We're always busy." He gave her a pass and smiled with a salute. "See you soon."

"Will do!" She saluted back to him and walked down the path to the back of the courtyard. Lady Ochaco was the king's primary mage, and she was in charge of all magical elements. The young woman was also Izumi's best customer.

"Ah Finally!" Ochaco floated down from her book shelf and hurried over taking the bottles from her. "Thank you, Midori-chan! It's so hard to grow these herbs myself, the castle gardens just doesn't have the right conditions for it."

"It's my pleasure, Milady." Izumi eyed her outfit. Ochaco was the epitome of what she imagined a mage to look like. Simple gown, but paired with a rich purple cloak and mage's hat, jewelry around her neck and in her ears. Izumi glanced down at her own attire with a sigh. The simple green frock and skirt did little to flatter her, and it didn't help that it was stained and dirty from falling down earlier.

"Oh Midori, you can call me Ochaco. We've known each other for over a year now." She pointed at her face smiling and had Izumi flustered.

"Yes well, it's stil not quite appropriate for me to be so informal with someone of your position."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… if you'd just take the job I offered you, you wouldn't have to worry about such nonsense. Plus you'd have plenty of money. The King pays us mages very well." She wagged a finger in the air and then proceeded to go to her cauldron and apply the herbs. "Your potions always come out way better than mine and you know so much more about plants and alchemy… heck you know more about a lot of things. I bet you could be a mage too if you studied up."

"I'm flattered, but really I couldn't. If you want though I can leave you my notes on…" she searched through her parcel for her notebook and went pale. "Oh no… my notebook, where did it… AHHH!" She suddenly remembered her encounter with Katsuki and she gripped her hair. "Oh damn that Kacchan! Now I need to buy a new notebook." Her head slumped as she ran fingers through her already mussed curly hair. "Paper is so damn expensive, too."

"If you need a notebook…" Ochaco dusted her hands off and went searching through her belongings. "Let's see I know it's here somewhere… AH! Here is it!" She held out a notebook for her. The outside was leatherbound, with gold etching and the depiction of a rabbit on the front. "Here you go… it's a bit old and some of the pages are already filled but there's still plenty of room."

"Oh wow! Thank you!" She took it and skimmed through the first pages. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Hmm? This isn't your handwriting."

"No, but that's because it isn't actually mine. I found it just lying on the ground during my last trip to Nabu. The stuff inside is very cryptic so I can't make any of it out."

"Hmmm interesting…" Izumi let her eyes dance over the unique wording and symbols. "This use of language is unlike anything I've ever seen. Can I really have this?"

"Sure, consider it payment for the herbs… oh and put me down for a case of wild rose petals. I like using them to scent my baths." Ochaco said with giggle and went back to work on her cauldron.

"Mmm sure thing…" busy reading, Izumi strolled out of the workship muttering to herself of the contents of the book. She wandered out, focused on trying to form letters or images from the shapes. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, and barely was able to dodge when an arrow zipped by her head making her squeal and duck for cover. "MERCY!"

"Are you okay?!" A voice called out to her. She opened her eyes just enough to see the shiny boots of a high class male. Deciding it was the best course of action to stay bowed down.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude on your space." She said with a tremble in her voice.

"No, I should be the one to apologize. I got distracted and nearly hurt you. Do you need help up?" He held out his hand to her. Izumi looked at it, and then slowly upward. She saw the handsome face, marred by a burning scar over his left eyes, and knew who he was.

"Prince Shoto?"

"Yes, please let me help you up." He came closer, and Izumi panicked and fumbled to her feet backing away to bow more properly.

"No! No I'm fine! Really! Thank you, your highness!"

"Are you sure?" Concerned he stepped closer for a better look, and lifted her chin to see her face. Her eyes danced around, too afraid to look him in the eye. "That arrow came pretty close. It didn't graze you did it?" The hand gently moved, brushing over her cheek and Izumi felt all the blood rush to her face.

"I-I-I'm fine! No damage.. Eh heh heh…" She swallowed hard. What the hell? He was so close! She'd never met the prince before let alone been withiin touching distance of him. This had to be some kind of dream or a dazed fantasy… or maybe that arrow really had hit her and she was experiencing some kind of dream while laying in a pool of her own blood.

"Good, I'm glad you're not harmed." He smiled gently at her. His eyes caught sight of her notebook and he raised a brow. "Usagi?"

"Yes!?" She snapped upright and had him chuckling.

"I was just admiring your journal.. But is that your name? Usagi?"

"Huh? Oh, no, this is I mean… my name is Izumi, but I've a friend who calls me usagi because of how timid I am. Eh heh, he's silly." She smiled and blushed keeping her head low.

"That's not a very good reason." Shoto frowned at that. "He should call you Usagi because you're cute."

"Eep!" Steam came out of her ears… and the extra heat in her face was making her dizzy. "Th-th-thank you!"

"Shoto!?"

The Booming voice had the smile on Shoto's lips fading, and Izumi cowering all over again. She glanced over briefly to see the King himself walking towards them and she immediately went into a boy.

"Your Highness!"

"Father…" Shoto said in a grimacing tone.

"Quit flirting with the peasant and get back to your training…" he demanded and eyed Izumi. "As for you, you don't belong here. Go before I call the guards."

"Y-Yes, your majesty! Please forgive the intrusion!" She bowed further and hurried off. Shoto sighed and glared at his father.

"She wasn't causing any harm."

"She was distracting you. You don't have the time to be distracted by a peasant woman. If you want a female companion I've a number of eligible young ladies from court you can choose from."

"Tch…" Shoto growled and walked away from him.

"Where are you going now?"

"To have a word with the guard!" He called back, steamed. Do this, Do that, he was really getting sick of his old man running his life. If the asshole wanted him to become a better leader than the previous king, he had to start trusting him to do more than obey orders. He needed to make his own decisions!

Iida closed the gates after Izumi left and put a hand over his heart bowing when Shoto approached. "Good evening, your highness. Everything here is running ship shape!"

"At ease, Iida…" Shoto stepped to the gate, lifting a hand to the iron grate and looking after Izumi's trailing form. "That woman… who is she?"

"Who? Oh you mean miss Midoriya?"

"Her name is Izumi, isn't it?" Shoto looked to Iida now, face cool and serious.

"Yes, Izumi Midoriya, she's an apothecary and self self taught alchemist. She's quite the scholar."

"Self taught? There's not many women of her humble background that can read and write let alone teach themselves."

"Agreed, she's an amazing young woman. Lady Ochaco requests her help and product time to time and I believe that was why she was here today."

"I see…" He looked back to where Izumi's form had vanished in the crowd. "Izumi Midoriya…" He wondered what other secrets she was hiding behind that frightened shell. A woman like that, a shy self taught scholar who was able to dodge his arrow so naturally, was worth getting to know. "Iida, find out where she lives. I want to see her wares for myself."

"Yes, your highness!"

~Dagobah Tribe~

Bakugo paged through Izumi's notebook. He didn't know the common speak that she wrote in, but he liked the pictures she drew in them. He particularly liked the sketch she'd made of him near the beginning of the book, with his traditional garb, and a saber in hand.

She made him come across tall, strong, and intimidating which is what he liked. When they'd first met she had been caught i one of his traps, and since she'd been too small to eat he'd decided to play with her instead. He enjoyed teasing, and scaring her… enjoyed playing games, and learning about the world she came from. The streets, the buildings, the pompous society… he could never be a part of it… but he wouldn't mind seeing it first hand.

He had found himself talking to her about his own life, on how he'd become the leader of his people, and the routine and responsibilities it included. He'd told her of the battles he'd fought with other tribes, and had tried to teach her to hunt, but she failed miserably at it. Stil he enjoyed her company, and it was far more entertaining than hanging out with the females of his tribe. She'd even tended his wounds when he'd been attack by a lone wolf.

He looked down at the scar on his arm that he proudly wore now. The wolf hadn't come out so lucky. He'd skinned the beast and wore its fur as a cloak. In return for her kindness he'd given Izumi one of the wolf's teeth he'd painted and fashioned into a necklace… and wore its mate on his ear.

He'd expected her to be a little bit put off by it, but had instead smiled and put it on.

"I'll cherish it." She had said. Was it no wonder he couldn't get her out of his mind. It didn't help that she smelled nice too, he brought the notebook to his face and sniffing it. She smelled of her work, earthy with just a hint of sweetness.

"Oi, Kirishima." He set the notebook down in his lap and looked to his best friend and tribe mate.

"Yes, My lord?" Kirishima looked up, his mouth full of meat.

"How would you feel if I said I wanted Usagi to be my bride?"

"Hmmm…" he munched thoroughly and swallowed before answering. "I know you like her. She's a bit too shy and timid for our kind but… the pack likes her nonetheless. She knows all kinds of interesting stuff about medicines, and healing… so I can see it." He grinned widely. "Yeah, I'd totally approve!"

"Good…" Bakugo smirked and tossed the book on his bed of furs. "Then make the preparations. Tomorrow I'm going to go fetch my future wife."

~Ask Briry~

Briry: First chapter of a new story! I'm so happy I finally got the details worked out. I meant to publish this a long time ago but was struggling to continue the premise. I kept their original names despite the fact they're supposed to be portraying different characters. I didn't want things to get confusing. So hopefully you guys enjoyed the first chapter and are looking forward to the second!

Next Chapter: Snatch and Rescue