Chapter Text
The next week flew by within a daze; Mirio waking up before even the sun would be tinting the sky, working on understanding and working on the magic of permeation, many times he would lose the stone at first and would have to spend hours trying to grab it again. Then he would spend part of the day wandering about the castle, trying to get a handle on using the magic in a more common and active way, instead of just turning it on and off; granted he would end up walking face first into walls more than not. Then of course he would somehow get trapped in a few of the magic spells that still linger around the place that Izuku has apparently not been able to take down, or have left up on purpose to make sure anyone besides them who try to investigate the ruins either run away in fear or he is able to safely remove from the castle once they fall victim to any of the smaller traps.
Then as dusk hits, Izuku comes down from his room right now as the last rays of sunset disappear and he takes to teaching both Mirio and Tamaki about the history of their kingdom; and he has to say, it is a bit more eye opening when you are being taught by someone who was actually there for battles and wars, and really helps Mirio feel more connected to his family as Izuku tells him about his predecessors, including funny old stories that he would have never heard otherwise. Usually it is far past midnight when he makes it to his cot in their tent and falls asleep as soon as his boots are off… only to start the process all over again the next day.
All too sudden, the last day of their stay came, as they would still need to travel back to the city.
“I wish i could have a bit more time to get a better handle on this magic.” Mirio says to Izuku as they walk through the hallow halls, the moon light shining through holes in both stone and windows alike.
“I know, however you can not be gone for too long, the kingdom needs both of you, especially now that you have gone through the test; you probably will not have as much free time as you used to.” Izuku says, a bit of a chuckle catching up with him at the end. Mirio can’t help but laugh along with him, knowing full well that he is going to be much busier. “Just don’t forget to practice when you can,even if it is mundane or simply working on passing through objects; Permeation is quite tricky to get a handle of and it takes concentration and planning ahead to help get a handle on it.” Izuku adds on, getting Mirio to nod along.
“I just wish you could come with us; you have been a fantastic help, and i hate to think of you out here all alone and by yourself.”
Izuku gives a solemn smile “But I can not, I would love to be able to see how the kingdom has grown with my own eyes, instead of hear about the changes in the world. But it’s too dangerous to leave. And maybe….I’m too afraid to leave as well.” Izuku says, the last sentence barely even a whisper.
Mirio can understand, and he is sure that he is not the first to offer him a place within the castle that he so rightly deserves to be in; but these ruins are both his ward and his prison. He can’t leave the vault of magic unattended, even with the spells he already has up to protect the place, its too dangerous. And maybe he is afraid of what he may do if he actually leaves. Mirio knows that Izuku would never do anything to harm anyone ever again, but that does not mean that Izuku thinks this; they last time he left this place he apparently went on a rampage and only came out of it because his uncle found him.
He just wishes that he could help Izuku in some way, but he just wasn’t sure how.
Yet.
With dawn a mere hour away, and their camp all packed up and his father and Sir Nighteye making sure they left nothing behind, Izuku approaches him and hands him the Permeation stone, however this time it is connected to a wireframe and a chain that seem to change color in the light. “ the wire and chain should help keep the stone on you at all times; it will inhibit the magic of the stone itself some, at least enough to make sure it won’t phase off of you. Just make sure to keep it on you when trying to use the magic of the stone.”
He explains as he places it into Mirio’s hands. He places it around his neck and tucks the stone under his shirt, feeling the cold touch of it on his chest. “Thank you, Izuku.” The smile he gets is truly blinding, as though it was the sun itself.
“And remember, you are always welcomed here, feel free to come back any time.” Izuku adds on, looking up to the sky and seeing how the colors are already paling. “I need to get back inside soon; Toshinori, Nighteye, Mirio, Tamaki, I wish you all a safe trip back.” And with his final goodbye, Izuku walks back into the ruins, closing the doors behind him with a resounding thud.
With one last look at the collapsed castle as it was bathed within the myriad of Dawn’s pinks and blues, they all climbed back onto their horses and began the trek back to the castle.
The trip unfortunately took longer than the trip to the Ruins; as the weather was against them and made them stop in a cave for a few days, however besides the few days of harsh rain, the trip back was plain. Every moment that they would stop, Mirio would try and get any kind of practice he could with working with his magic. It didn’t give him much time to really put in the work that he wanted to, but even just a few minutes practice could make a world of difference.
On the 7th day, in the early morning hours to where almost no one even hinted at being awake, they finally made it back to the city and were at the gates of the castle, the guards on duty bowing to them and swiftly opening the gates for them. It was thankfully a quite reception, as it mostly just the maids and stewards starting their duties for the day as they made their way through the halls, each of them quite exhausted and run down from the days they have spent sleeping on either hard or muddy ground. Mirio especially was quite ready to sleep on just about any furniture that looked comfortable enough, doing so much training with his magic and staying up til who knows when at night for two weeks finally catching up to him.
As soon as he made it into his room, he shrugged off the clothes that were well worn with sweat, dirt, dust and debris and instinctively held the stone within his hand as he collapsed into his bed, the mattress welcoming him in its warm and soft embrace. The smooth and fresh sheets are something he has missed quite dearly as well.
“Oh dear mattress, how I have missed you so!” He laments half heartedly, sleep already pulling on his eyelids and filling his mouth with yawns.
He is not sure when exactly he fell asleep, and he is sure that if any of the chamber maids were to come in right now they would be quite embarrassed or either quite angry at him for ruining the fresh sheets; however, as he feels the cool, gentle and slow pulse of the stone in his hand and the tug of sleep, he could care less at the moment.
It felt as though nothing could ruin his sleep, not the knocking of the maids, nor the sound of the guards stomping through the halls through their patrols. Mirio was dead to it all as he slept.
When he finally began to rouse through the heavy fog of sleep, it was already noon. Groggily, he lifts himself to his elbows, the weight of sleep still pulling on his muscles and keeping his eyes from adjusting to the brightness like he wanted.
“Wha-what woke me up?” He mumbles, stumbling out of the bed and over to his wardrobe, and thankfully to muscles memory was able to put on a loose shirt and a pair of trousers, even if it was untucked and would definitely have the maids up in a fit, he would rather be dressed slightly before anyone decided to come into his room.
As if summoned, his door slams open and two figures fall to the ground, one being Amajiki and the other being Lady Nejire, one of his closest friends besides Amajiki and a knight apprentice, even being of noble blood, she was always one to break boundaries and not care for what other people thought. While it is not uncommon for women to become knights, it was more uncommon for ladies of nobility to become one, but Nejire decided she wanted to be a knight and has never backed down from that decision even once.
Of course, ending up on the floor of his bedroom seeming to be in a tussle with Amajiki was definitely not how he expected to see his friend after being gone.
“Mirio! You’re back! See Jiki, I knew he would be awake! Tell me, what was it like? Was it scary? Did you complete the test?! What kind of test was it? Or am I not supposed to ask that? Did you see anything cool there?!” She rattled off, not even trying to get off of Amajiki...or the floor.
“Nejire, he woke up because you were making a huge racket outside of his door.” Amajiki quietly scolds, although it sounds more like a question coming from him, but Mirio can always tell what his best friend means by his words.
“Well it doesn’t matter as long as he’s awake now!” She says cheerfully, nimbly getting up from the floor and hopping over to the lounge chair on the other side of the room, draping herself across it as she has always done. “So come on! You gotta tell me! You wouldn’t let me come along, no matter how much I bagged, so you have to at least tell me about it!”
Mirio would love to be able to tell her everything; the magic spells, the tower, the room filled to the brim with all sorts of magical items, and Izuku, he knew that she would love to hear about Izuku. He would love to talk about him, about their family’s past and everything about him….
But he can’t.
No matter how much he wants to boast about Izuku and tell the truth about the ruins, he can’t. It would put Izuku in danger, it would put All for One in danger. It could be seriously dangerous if anyone found out about it and tried to use it for their own gain, or even worse, for villainous activity.
He can’t tell her.
No matter what.
But Mirio has never been one to lie often, he always followed the rule that trust and honesty are two sides of the same coin. In order to truly trust someone, and put your trust in someone, you must be honest. He knows that not everyone follows that rule, and many people try to use his open heart for their own advantage; but that’s why it’s even more important that he is honest with his friends, they are always by his side no matter what and have never hidden anything from him.
And if it were any other matter, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell her, but he also knows that Nejire is a bit air headed, not in a bad way, in fact its definitely saved all three of them a number of times from adventures they would get into growing up, but it also made it hard to always trust her with secrets, cause she would forget that they were meant to be kept a secret, and chat about it in the open like you would any other conversation.
He never wants to lie to her….or in general if he can help it….but….
But now he has to break that vow; to protect Izuku.